A/N: Okay, so since everyone was curious about where the ritual card went, I'll insert a little background for you: in the YGO game Forbidden Memories, to perform a ritual, you'd have to have three specific monsters on your field in order to bring out the ritual monster (which actually was not present within the deck). Once the ritual was performed, the cards used to perform it would vanish, leaving the brand-new monster behind only for as long as the duel played out. And now that you know that, on to Chapter 42! Big thanks go to Ankhutenshi for her help on this one... as always, she's a huge inspiration to me.
Skraku: Oh, you think that was an interesting twist, eh? Just wait 'til you see what's coming!
Wolfwings: Look down... and a little bit up... and you'll find out!
Mira: As always, glad I could entertain you. Hope you like what's up next!
Monica: Good to know you're enjoying. And you'll see for yourself, have no fear.
Eusine: Who says addiction is bad? Onward and upward!
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Kyle headed back into his apartment with a frown on his face and his apparently brand-new Tri-Horned Dragon card in hand. How could this have happened? he wondered. I thought Tri-Horned Dragon was an old ritual monster.
Apparently it is. But I seem to recall that you once saw a Tri-Horned Dragon card being sold for what you believed was an outrageously high amount of currency, and that card showed a normal monster.
Is this thing even genuine, though?
The powers of the Shadow Realm are vast. I believe it could have been made to become genuine. And if not, then the guardian afforded the card to you by some unknown means.
Very strange, indeed. Kyle shrugged. Well, it's going into my deck; that much is for certain. Besides the Blue-Eyes card I gave to Monica, I've never had a monster with such high attack power before. I may need it.
For what? Another tournament?
Possibly. Or if Jade comes knocking on my door. She's bound to have seen the duel between me and Madison. She had to have seen it; she was there. So now she knows that I have two Labyrinth Brothers hiding away in my deck. It'll be to my advantage if she doesn't know about Tri-Horned Dragon. He smirked. Better not tell Monica, either… I think she'd get jealous. She doesn't have one of these.
Kyle…
Kyle frowned, noticing the "tone" Theoris had taken. What's wrong?
Nothing is, now… I owe you a debt of gratitude I wish I had a body to repay. You fought the guardian to save me from certain destruction. We both know you would have done no such thing for your family; that you would consider me worth fighting for…
He grinned. "Oh, now don't you start getting mushy on me," he said aloud. "It's because of you all this good stuff has happened to me, and you know it. If anything, the debt to repay was, and still is mine."
Kyle… I believe the time for action against the magicians is approaching. And soon.
What makes you say that?
Your likeness has been seen by many people now, and along with it, the Millennium Shield. The guardian saw it; so have others seen it. The magicians' force permeates this strange world still, and I find it very likely they will eventually realize that you are the one who carries the shield.
Do you expect me to do something about it?
You must be on your guard now, more than ever. Do not expect any mercy from them when they come.
You make it sound inevitable.
It is. You have only one choice – and one choice is no choice at all. You must fight them when they come. You must hold them off with all the strength you can muster.
This from the man who ran away from the magicians both times he encountered them, Kyle thought bitterly.
…Kyle…
He sighed. I'm sorry, Theoris. But I'm not quite sure how you expect me to live up to all this. Beyond the duel with Shadi, I've never dealt with magic before. I need to learn about what options I have before I face this old enemy.
In that case, I shall teach you everything I know about the Millennium Shield. And hopefully, you will be able to unlock new abilities with time and practice. It is time for you to know everything.
--
And so it was that at night, while Kyle slept, Theoris would impart his knowledge to the young man who had now become his charge. Theoris taught Kyle everything he knew of the magicians, of the other Millennium items, and of the powers he had found within the shield. He even showed Kyle the styles of combat to be used with bladed weaponry, such as knives, swords, and scimitars, in conjunction with a shield. These dreams/memories were so powerful that they became etched into Kyle's mind, unable to be ejected even if he tried to do so.
And if the magicians were coming, he didn't much want to.
During the day, he searched for a job in writing, though he was rather lazy about the search after winning all the money he'd won from the Madison tournament. On the Net, he continued to find spreading rumors of an elite Duel Monsters tournament being set up in Japan. So far, however, nothing had popped up in the news to substantiate the rumors… thus they remained only rumors.
Nothing new came of Kyle's search for Gate Guardian. He wasn't particularly discouraged; he knew a card as rare as that would likely be virtually impossible to find. He continued to converse with Chubs over Instant Messenger programs; his former teacher was getting a good deal of publicity himself back in Indiana, and meanwhile he was continuing to push for an increase in duelist rank high enough to earn a right to practically any Duel Monsters tournament out there.
Meanwhile, Monica had left Oregon for a few days on a flight to Washington, D.C., where (she claimed) she was going to meet with a political action committee on possibly doing public service announcements. Kyle advised her to push hard for it; most duelists in the nation knew her name – if from nothing else, the Favorites charts on American Duel Monsters tournament brackets.
Kyle still wasn't applying all that many changes to his dueling deck just yet, although everyone around him encouraged he do so, and especially in that instance when he lost a match against a local opponent. Usually the opponent would then laugh in victory and pump his fists, claiming he beat the Madison tourney champion, and "Maybe I should've gotten an invitation!"
I'll change it around… when I feel like it.
And that was when trouble winged his way.
--
One Week Later
--
Kyle left his apartment and mounted his motorcycle. Need to pick up a few books, may as well do it today.
He made for the southwest corner of the campus, where the bookstore was located... not to mention one of his favorite pizza joints. He grinned as he passed the place. Gonna make sure to grab something on the way back.
He took a right turn and passed a small park. There were several people there; some mothers with their kids on the equipment, some people taking walks, some on benches...
His eyes narrowed when he saw one of the people in that last category. It seemed like every time he saw her, she had a different book in her hands, and today was no exception.
I guess she wanted me to spot her.
What do you mean?
Every time I see her, I end up going over to talk to her. And every time I talk to her, the subject of me "spotting her" comes up. She tells me that if she doesn't want me to spot her, I won't be able to... but that when I do see her, it's because she wants it. Or finds it convenient.
Does that mean she wishes you to approach her?
Only one way to find out. Haven't talked to her in a while. But I'd best be on my guard; now I've got two Labyrinth Brothers, and as far as I know, she's still only got one. She wants the set.
Kyle parked in a convenient spot, got off his bike, and went over to meet her. She raised her eyes before he got to close to her. "Good morning."
Kyle snapped off a mock salute. "And to you. Mind if I have a seat?"
Jade made a show of considering it. "I suppose not," she answered after a moment, moving over to the end of the bench to give him room.
Kyle offered a wry grin. "Yeah, sure, think about it. As I recall, you don't much like it when I'm standing over you." Nevertheless, he sat down.
"Did you know your favorite pizza place has a special on today?" she asked out of the blue. "Buy two slices, get one free?"
Kyle cocked his head. "Thanks for the heads-up, I'm kinda hungry."
How did she know that was your favorite place?
She knows a lot about me. It's creepy.
That goes without saying.
"So what are you up to today?"
"Book hunting," Kyle answered. "New class schedule's creeping up on me. Not that I really need them quite yet, but it's good to get a jump on the subject matter and get ahead... wouldn't you agree?"
"Always a good strategy," Jade agreed. "But that wasn't quite what I meant."
Kyle raised an eyebrow. "I know. I'm just pretending I've got no idea what you're talking about."
"You're not doing a very good job of it," Jade responded blandly. Her tone perked, though, on her next words. "How would you feel about holding off on the book-buying and the pizza for a little while?"
"I'm not sure I really want to. Hunger and a thirst for knowledge usually take precedence for me these days."
"Not even for a duel? The platform at the duelist center downtown is open," she said confidently.
Kyle rocked his head to one side. "Knew it. You're actively after my Labyrinth Brothers now."
"Yes, I want them. And you did say that once you had something of equal value, you'd duel me. Now you've got two somethings of equal value, so I'd say we're long overdue for our match. Don't tell me you forgot, and don't try to back out of your promise now." Jade's tone had an undercurrent of bitterness to it – Kyle attributed that to her absence in the Madison tournament.
He crossed his arms. "No, I haven't forgotten. So now you consider me a serious challenge?"
"If I didn't, I wouldn't be challenging you, would I?"
"I suppose not." He eyed her with a mixture of amusement and suspicion. "So this means I've got a chance of winning, huh?"
"Come now," she said, pretending to be dismayed. "Sanga and Suijin are yours now. What's my single Kazejin got on that?"
Kyle grinned wryly, the second occurrence since he'd approached her. "Nice try. I know better. But I remember the promise. I won't back out."
She tucked her book back into her bag and stood. "Like I said, the platform is empty at the moment."
"Need transportation?"
Jade looked somewhat surprised at the offer. "Sure," she answered.
Kyle mounted his motorcycle and activated the engine, which virtually roared to life. He looked to her apologetically. "Loud, I know, sorry."
She grinned. "Apologize to the people who are still trying to sleep at this hour, not to me."
He scoffed as she mounted the cycle behind him, then took off for the duelist center.
--
The platform was an indoors affair, like most of the other public platforms were. It was too much hassle to maintain the platforms after inclement weather, and maintenance workers would surely be horrified at the amount of graffiti kids would have been likely to spray on the sides... assuming they couldn't get to the duelist platforms.
A bored receptionist looked up at the two duelists through half-lidded eyes and pointed at the sign over her head which listed the entry fees. Kyle handed over the money without question.
She handed Kyle a pair of ID bracelets meant to confirm they'd paid for a dueling session. "The platform is all the way down that hall."
Kyle nodded. "Thanks." He handed Jade one of the bracelets.
She took it wordlessly and snapped it around her wrist. They made it about halfway down the hall before she said, "Why'd you pay for me too?"
"Courtesy," he responded. He looked back at her. "Just thought I'd do something nice for somebody, for once. You don't mind, do you?"
"Mind? No. Hardly. Curious as to why the sudden burst of generosity on your part? Yes."
Kyle shrugged. "There's no reason why I shouldn't be generous. I've got money."
Jade looked at him as though she were going to say something, but evidently decided not to in the end.
When they entered the expansive, sunlit room where the platform was located, Kyle gestured grandly. "Take your pick."
"Sure." Jade walked towards the blue end and stepped onto the platform. She pressed the button on the edge of the console; the section raised so that she was overlooking the field. These were a newer style holo-platform, and included an automatic shuffler, so she placed her deck in the slot and listened as it whirred smoothly as she watched him.
Kyle stepped onto the red platform, rose to the overhanging position, and inserted his deck into the auto-shuffler as well.
Be cautious.
Duh.
"Duh"?
...Never mind.
Jade's deck reappeared from the shuffler a few seconds later, and she drew five cards. "As I challenged you, you choose whether to go first or second."
Kyle chewed his lip for a moment, then said, "I'll go second. What're your stakes?"
"My Kazejin versus your Sanga."
He narrowed his eyes. "And what if I were to propose Suijin instead?"
"Not good enough."
He sighed. "Fine. But we're playing by Kaiba's sacrifice rules, four thousand Life Points."
"All right," she nodded, agreeing to his terms. "I draw." She looked at her opening hand before announcing, "I place two cards face-down and Maha Vailo (1550/1400) in attack mode. End of my turn."
He raised an eyebrow as he drew. "I also place two cards face-down, and one monster face-down. That'll finish my turn."
Jade drew her next card. "I activate my face-down trap card, Solemn Wishes. Starting next turn, every time I draw a card, my Life Points increase by 500. Vailo, attack his face-down monster!"
Kyle flipped over one of his face-down m/t cards. "Activate Enchanted Javelin." He grinned at Jade as his Life Points rose. "You're not the only one who's good at increasing your LP."
"I still get to see your monster," Jade said with a shrug.
"True," Kyle responded. His grin didn't disappear as he flipped his monster card face-up. "Wall of Illusion (1000/1850) stays on the field. I assume you know its effect, being the expert you are."
Jade nodded and put her Maha Vailo back into her hand, as her Life Points descended to 3700. "I do. I'll finish my turn by playing one monster face-down." She set a card and it's holographic representation appeared, designated by a blinking rectangle on her field.
Kyle drew his next card and considered it a moment. "All right, I play Neo the Magic Swordsman (1700/1000) in attack mode!"
"Activate Trap Hole," Jade announced.
Kyle sighed and watched the dramatic holographic representation of the play as Neo hit the field and then was swallowed up by a crag that spontaneously appeared under him. He discarded the monster. "Too bad. But you're down one Trap Hole. End turn."
"I draw," she said... "And my LP increase by 500. And then I flip my face-down, another Maha Vailo, into attack mode."
"Two can play at your game of Trap Holes," said Kyle, as he flipped his other face-down m/t.
Unlike Kyle had done, Jade smirked when her Vailo disappeared. "Was waiting for that. I replay the Vailo you returned to my hand in attack mode, and equip it with Malevolent Nuzzler for an extra 700 attack points. Because of its effect, it's quite the bonus. (2750/1400)."
"True," he conceded. "But if you attack Wall of Illusion, it won't keep that effect for long."
"I'm not attacking this turn. Your Wall is meager defense with a semi-decent effect. I can wait. Your turn."
Kyle scoffed at the barb as he drew. "Insult it all you like, it's still a thorn in anyone's side. I place one monster face-down and end my turn."
Jade drew her next card and didn't hesitate in setting it into play, even before her Solemn Wishes was finished adding another 500 to her LP. "I play my Gemini Elf (1900/900) in attack mode. It's strong enough to take out your Wall while leaving my powered-up Vailo on the field. Twins," she chuckled, looking at the holographic siblings, "Tear down his Wall, wouldn't you?"
Kyle chewed the inside of his cheek as the twin elves attacked Wall of Illusion. The wall fell apart on the field, and Kyle discarded it. Jade collected her card from the field and the siblings disappeared. "And I'll have my Vailo attack your face-down."
Kyle flipped his face-down and subsequently discarded it. "Big Eye (1200/1000) is destroyed, but now I get to arrange my next five turns. Won't that be a joy."
"If you think it'll help." Jade smirked. "Once you're done with your deck, my turn is over."
Kyle nodded once in affirmation, then drew his next card. "I play the magic card Fissure to destroy Maha Vailo."
A crevice opened up beneath Jade's Vailo and it dropped from view without a sound. Jade looked only mildly annoyed.
"Then I place one monster face-down and end my turn." The look on Kyle's face was one of satisfaction.
"I'll pay 500 LP to put Nuzzler back on the top of my deck, as per its effect," Jade said, placing it as indicated. "But since I get 500 points per turn anyway for drawing, it really didn't cost me a thing."
"True enough."
"Then I draw," she said, "And play Graceful Charity. Which is another 500 LP, giving me 5200."
Kyle rolled his eyes and shook his head in annoyance. Every time she draws, she gets stronger, and she has more of a chance to win.
"I choose to discard Black Pendant and..." She paused, obviously not sure what else she wanted to throw away for Charity's effect. "And my Dark Magician," she said finally, putting the two cards in the graveyard.
Kyle cocked his head. Dark Magician? That probably means she's got something worse in mind. That doesn't bode well.
"Then," she smiled grimly, "I play Dark Hole."
"Oy," Kyle groaned. There was nothing he could do but discard his Spirit of the Harp. Empty field means direct attack!
"Gemini Elf in attack mode!" The siblings reappeared on the empty field, staring at Kyle. "And I'll put my recovered Malevolent Nuzzler to good use," she added, and a green skinned woman with a vertical eye on her forehead appeared between the twins, smiling seductively. "That's 2600 direct damage. Attack!"
Kyle's station bucked under the attack, and he instinctively grabbed for the railing. "Agh... the effects are almost too realistic for my tastes."
"I'll finish my turn by putting this into play: Gravekeeper's Servant," Jade said, setting the magic card next to her Solemn Wishes. "Every time you attack, you discard from the top of your deck. That ought to wear you down fast."
"I might consider it if any of my monsters were strong enough to fight back," Kyle muttered.
"That," Jade replied loftily, "is not my problem. End turn."
I don't have any monsters in my deck with a defense that high, and I can't attack without losing something! She's got me bogged down in every aspect! How am I supposed to beat that?
He drew his next card, his eyes clenched shut. Give me a winner...
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Next up: Can Kyle beat Jade at a game she plays even better than Madison? Stay tuned! And review if the spirit so moves you to do so!