A/N: Chapter 43 is here! Who'd have thought the story would be this long? Not even yours truly thought that! Goes to show how wrong even the author can be, doesn't it? And with that, enjoy the chapter!

Mira: Well, in that case, I hope you don't mind if I explain. Jade pulled back Gemini Elf because of Wall of Illusion's special effect -- any monster that attacks it is automatically returned to its owner's hand. Thus she was able to replay it after Dark Hole. As to Kyle... well, he's not quite Yugi, but he's got faith. Read on and see what happens!

Eusine: That he could; after all, he knows everything that Kyle knows about Duel Monsters, which may be useful in the future. As to the present... well, take a look!

Many more thanks to Ankhutenshi. Once more, you know why.

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Kyle's LP - 2950

Jade's LP - 5200

--

Kyle opened his eyes, glimpsed the card he'd just drawn, then – with great relief – announced, "I play Swords of Revealing Light!"

A series of swords comprised of blinding light stabbed down from above and pinned the Gemini Elves, as well as their Malevolent Nuzzler equipment; the trio hissed indignantly.

"You're pinned for three turns. Now I'll place one monster face-down and end my turn."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Running scared? How very convenient."

"Keep talking," Kyle snorted. "We can dispute Dark Hole for a while."

"How about... no. Mine was strategic, yours is desperate. I'll play one card face-down. End turn."

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "You'd do it, too, if you were in my position." He drew. "Another monster face-down, and my turn's finished."

"Which I'm not. I draw." Jade countered. Her LP scrolled up again. 6200. "Thanks for the opportunity to amp up my LP," she said conversationally. "End of my turn."

"No problem," he scoffed, as he drew. "One more face-down, and end turn." This is the last turn the Swords are in effect... let's hope I get a winner next turn...

"My turn again," she said, watching her LP counter. "What, no counter-traps in that whole deck?" She laughed.

"Counter-traps would do no good now, Solemn Wishes is active," Kyle retorted.

She drew and laughed. "You're right, of course, but you must be getting frustrated by now. And if you aren't, you will be now. I just drew Pot of Greed, which I'll activate to draw two more cards!"

Kyle crossed his arms. "Your Life Points will go back down, it'll just take a little longer."

"We'll see. You've got lots of tribute fodder on your field, let's see what you do with it now. End turn." The Swords disappeared from the field and freed the trio on Jade's side. Kyle drew his next card.

"One more monster face-down, and end turn. Not only are they tribute fodder," he remarked, "they're great as hidden effect monsters."

Jade rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. I draw."

Kyle had to chuckle. "Bring it on. You're the one that wanted to duel."

"My Gemini Elves, attack his left-center face down monster!" The twin elves leaped forward and blasted twin energy beams at Kyle's left-center face-down, the Nuzzler ever at their side. Kyle's Aqua Madoor (1200/2000) appeared for a brief instant and then was destroyed in a shower of holographic broken glass. Kyle discarded the monster wordlessly, and Jade looked fondly at her trio as she said, "End turn."

Kyle afforded his opponent a single flickering glance before he drew his next card. "Another monster face-down, and end turn."

"Boring," Jade said witheringly. "I draw." Her LP scrolled to 7700.

"Bah." Kyle waved his hand at her in a dismissive manner.

"Hmm," Jade said. "Elves, attack the monster he just played." They sprang forward again, and Kyle's Mysterious Puppeteer (1000/1500) was destroyed in the blink of an eye. When the attack was finished, Jade added, "Since I don't think it'll be even remotely useful this game, I discard Megamorph to keep to the card limit. End turn."

Kyle drew his next card and snorted. "You might have reconsidered that maneuver. You want an interesting game, here's something that'll keep your interest." He placed a magic card face-up. "I play Change of Heart." Jade wrinkled her nose as the childlike, half-angel, half-demon possessed her Elves, taking the Nuzzler with her.

Kyle chewed his lip for a moment. "Not sure about attacking with your Servant in play... but on the other hand, if I want low LP, this is about the only way to do it. Gemini Elves, attack Jade's Life Points!"

"Discard first," Jade reminded him.

Kyle obeyed. "Black Dragon Jungle King goes to the grave."

"Now," Jade said, satisfied, "I activate Mirror Wall. The 2600 is cut into 1300, and that barely touches me."

Kyle shrugged. "It still takes you down. I'm satisfied with that. But before I finish my turn, I'm going to make it a little harder on you and sacrifice your Elves in order to place another monster face-down."

That got a reaction, and Jade scowled fiercely at him, though he didn't respond to the scowl. He simply smiled. "End turn."

"I draw," she said shortly. Her LP became 6900. "And since I don't want to pay 2000 LP to keep Mirror Wall around, it goes to the graveyard. I'll play one monster face-down, and one face-down card as well. Your turn."

Kyle drew, his stroke somewhat more confident now that the twins were out of the picture. "I'll end my turn without playing a card," he said.

"I draw." She did so. "Let's see what you've got hidden on your field." Jade said, and flipped her face-down monster. "I call The Stern Mystic (1500/1200) into attack mode!"

Kyle shrugged slightly and flipped each of his monsters face-up. The field revealed The Forgiving Maiden (850/2000), Catapult Turtle (1000/2000), Mystical Elf (800/2000), and Shining Abyss (1600/1800). "Your face-down gets revealed to me, as well," Kyle noted.

Jade laughed. "Sure does." She showed the one face down card on her back row, and it was the trap card Dark Spirit of the Silent. "All right, I'll admit though. Catapult Turtle was not what I expected to see under there. But I'll play my own Change of Heart on it. C'mere, Turtle."

Kyle rocked his head to one side as he turned his monsters face-down again, as per Mystic's effect. "Got a use for my Turtle, do you?"

"Hey, it's your monster, you know it's effect. I'll power up my Mystic with a Book of Secret Arts, for another 300 attack points, and then sacrifice it for Catapult Turtle's effect – of which I'm sure you're aware – to inflict 900 damage directly to your Life Points."

Kyle shrugged as his Life Points lost 900, giving him 2050. "Not really a big deal, but if you insist..."

"Mmm, yes... I do insist. I'll finish by playing Monster Reborn on my Blue Dark Magician (2500/2100)," Jade said, and with a swirl of light, the aforementioned sorcerer appeared in a battle stance on her field.

"Oh, great," Kyle muttered.

"Blue Dark Magician, attack his Forgiving Maiden!"

The sorcerer pointed his staff and the field flashed negative colors in the monster's trademark attack.

"You can have your Turtle back, since my turn is finished," Jade said generously.

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Thanks." He drew. "One monster face-down, and I switch Turtle to defense mode. That ends my turn."

"I draw." She eyed his field. "For all the good it does. Magician, take out the Catapult Turtle." Catapult Turtle vanished under the hailstorm of negative light. "End turn."

Kyle drew. "One monster face-down, end turn."

"And your last decent defense by the looks of it," Jade noted. "Magician, his Mystical Elf, if you would." Like Catapult Turtle before her, Mystical Elf was likewise annihilated by Jade's Dark Magician. "End of my turn."

Kyle pulled his next card and rolled his eyes as he did so. She's toying with me now... "I place one magic/trap face-down and end my turn."

"I draw." Jade smirked. "I sure hope these LP counters go into five digits."

"Soon enough, you'll just have to worry about keeping yours in the triple digits," Kyle remarked.

Jade raised her eyebrow. "So says you. Your dueling so far hasn't given me anything to that impression yet, though. Maybe it's a fluke that you hold two Labyrinth Brothers after all. I play one card face down." She set a card on her magic/trap field, and smiled. "And end turn."

Kyle snorted. "Oh, yeah? Then why keep your eye on me all this time? I told you once before you wouldn't want to duel a weakling. Maybe your 'fluke', then, is that you've gotten an array of goodies while my deck has preferred to hold back its own." He drew. "I'll hang on to this one and end my turn."

"Like I said, we'll see. So far, you're all defense and luck. That's going to change right now. I draw…. and summon White Magical Hat (1000/700) to the field in attack mode!"

Kyle raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She continued, "And I equip him with the Axe of Despair, for an extra 1000 attack points." A gleaming axe appeared in the spellcaster's hand, looking slightly out of place with the stage-magician costume the monster wore. "And he will attack your center face down."

Kyle's Shining Abyss emitted a sharp squeal as White Magical Hat's attack split it in two.

"And my Magician will attack your right-hand monster."

Kyle's Hayabusa Knight became the third to fall before Dark Magician's attack.

"End turn," Jade said, pleased.

Kyle harrumphed as he drew his next card. He beheld it for a moment or two, then placed it on the field. "I place one monster face-down and end my turn. I promise it'll pique your curiosity, no matter what you may think of my dueling skills, or lack thereof."

"I draw. One more, and we'll hit those five digits. Has this become annoying yet?" She chuckled. "I hope so. Dark Magician, attack his first face down!"

Kyle smirked. "Not going for it? You'll have to, eventually, or I will. For now..." Kyle's Maha Vailo was revealed a moment before it shattered under the attack.

Jade looked slightly startled at seeing a Maha Vailo fall under her own attack, even if it wasn't her monster. But she masked her feelings after only a brief second. "True, but you could be bluffing," she said contemplatively. "My White Magical Hat attacks your little hidden surprise."

"No bluffs here," Kyle said, "but I don't want my little friend destroyed just yet... so I'll activate Reverse Trap. It reverses all additions/subtractions to attack/defense factors. Instead of 2000 ATK, your Hat now has 0."

"You're not going to have a choice." Jade's hand darted to her own field and turned over the card she had played last turn. "Counter with Seven Tools of the Bandit to knock off your Reverse Trap's effect." A thousand of Jade's LP vanished.

Kyle bit his lip in annoyance. "Fine, so destroy it. It's a flip effect, anyway." Kyle's Magician of Faith (300/400) appeared from underneath its card for a moment, but cowered under White Magical Hat's blow and shattered like so much glass.

"True. Pick your magic card, and get on with it."

"I know just the card I want," Kyle said, and with that, he selected his Swords of Revealing Light card.

Jade rolled her eyes. "End turn."

Kyle drew, and smirked at his opponent. "I'm confident for a reason, Jade. But of course, why bother just saying it? You're tired of that. So I'll show you, and with a card you've played once already." He placed a magic card on the field whose picture was black as space, save for a ball of white in the center.

Jade gave him a funny look as the spatial vortex of his Dark Hole sucked away her two monsters, but said nothing.

"And to follow through, I play La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp (1800/1000) in attack mode." Kyle picked up a card from the top of his deck and put it in his graveyard, to follow the effects laid out by Gravekeeper's Servant. "I discard Judge Man (2200/1500). La Jinn, attack her Life Points!"

Jade's platform mimicked the sensation of being struck, but it stopped after a few seconds and she again said nothing. Kyle stared resolutely across the field. "I end my turn."

"I draw," Jade said, and her Solemn Wishes replaced a portion of what had been taken, giving her 7600. "I place two magic/traps and a monster face down. End of my turn."

"Goody." Kyle drew. "I place one magic/trap and discard..." Kyle drew the next card and shrugged. "Black Pendant in order for La Jinn to attack your face-down."

"Activate Negate Attack."

Kyle harrumphed. "End turn."

"I draw, and place a second monster face down. End of my turn."

"Now who's got the boring game going?" Kyle admonished. "One monster face-down, and I discard The Stern Mystic to have La Jinn attack the face-down you just played."

A woman in dark maroon robes and surrounded by flames appeared for an instant before the Fire Sorcerer was destroyed. "I'll use her effect and discard two cards from my hand to inflict 800 point direct damage to your LP."

A bolt of fiery lightning lanced out and struck his platform. Kyle's Life Point counters descended to 1250, while Jade's remained at 8100.

Kyle hummed. "End turn. Nasty little surprise."

Jade chuckled. "Yes, well, she's very good at surprises, isn't she? I draw, and play another monster face down, end turn. Now, what other surprises are hiding beneath, do you think?"

"Wouldn't need to think about it, necessarily," Kyle answered, slipping the next card from his deck. "I do have my Swords card, after all. On the other hand, I can wait. You always decide when the appropriate time is to show yourself... I'll bet the same is true for your cards. You don't want me to see them yet, and to avoid nasty effects like that, as well as losing any more good cards to your Gravekeeper's Servant, I think I'll pass on the attack and just place one monster face-down. That ends my turn."

"I draw," Jade said, and her LP escalated to 8600. "You should have attacked. Now you've let me get enough tributes on the field to summon, and what a summon she will be. I sacrifice Nemuriko (800/700) and my last Maha Vailo to bring Cosmo Queen (2900/2450) to the field in attack mode!"

Jade's Nemuriko and Maha Vailo shimmered on the field for a brief second before fading away. In their place rose a gargantuan female Duel Monster, one that seemed to hold dominion over the entire platform. Though she was a hologram, her very presence demanded respect, and her image oozed charisma from every illusory pore.

She wore a robe of crimson and black, and a massive cylindrical crown adorned her head, so low that it almost covered her eyes. Her eyes were still very much visible, however, from under the dark shadows cast by the crown; they glowed a bright red. Her hands were clasped together, as if in prayer. Her outline shimmered with a soft red aura.

Kyle let out an annoyed grunt and scratched his temple absently, recalling his recent duel with Shadi. "Impressive, Jade. But old hat."

"There'll be nothing 'old hat' about her when she wins me this duel. Cosmo Queen! La Jinn demands your attention," she laughed.

Cosmo Queen's hands pressed more tightly together, the interlaced fingers pressing harder against each other, and she muttered a prayer in a foreign tongue. A bluish globe of energy appeared before her, and lightning struck the globe from all points on the platform.

The globe streaked forward and struck La Jinn squarely in the chest, and the green genie exploded in a hail of sparks.

Kyle pursed his lips as he discarded the now useless La Jinn. "I may be down, but I'm not out yet."

Even Jade seemed impressed with the visual effects of her most powerful Duel Monster. "Not yet," she agreed, "but not long now. End turn."

Kyle drew his next card. "It'll take a while yet, though. Should've used this when I had the chance... too late to worry about it now. I can still save myself. Activate Swords of Revealing Light. Then I place one monster face-down and end my turn."

"I draw…. hmmm," she said, looking at the card. "This'll do. I place one card face down and end my turn."

Kyle drew and scoffed. "About time this thing showed up. I play Mystical Space Typhoon on Solemn Wishes."

Jade couldn't help but laugh. "That took forever, didn't it?" She obligingly discarded the trap she had set in her opening hand. "It certainly served me well."

"Looks like it. But things change. End turn."

"I draw. No more LP increases for me, but 9100 is plenty."

"It ought to be."

"End turn."

Kyle blinked at his next card and couldn't help but grin. "Hope you weren't planning on keeping Cosmo Queen around for very long."

Jade narrowed her eyes, and he continued. "First, I flip Bite Shoes (500/300) into attack mode. Its effect allows me to switch an opposing face-up monster to defense mode. Guess which one that is." Kyle smirked.

"Cosmo Queen, obviously. But her defense is still 2450."

"That's all I need." Kyle's voice became stronger. "I sacrifice Bite Shoes and my face-down Weather Report (950/1500) in order to summon Suijin (2500/2400) in attack mode!"

"Suijin," Jade uttered admiringly, even as the Labyrinth Brother loomed over her defensive Cosmo Queen. Suijin emerged from its card as though it were a water container made of thin plastic. What identified it as a monster were the two vicious arms that hung from either side of the equally vicious, razor-toothed mouth in the center. It glowered at Cosmo Queen with little remorse in its gaze.

"Just a little reminder of what we're fighting for," Kyle said. "Suijin, attack Cosmo Queen!" He discarded from the top of his deck, and Castle Walls went to the graveyard.

Suijin summoned a huge tidal wave to the field, and aimed the tsunami at Cosmo Queen. The wave washed over her and crushed her under its sheer force.

"You don't need to remind me, Kyle," Jade said quietly, barely able to be heard over the sound of the breakers. "I activate Michizure."

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Taking Suijin, I assume."

"Yes."

"If you're so intent on robbing me of my monsters, I play Last Will. It lets me bring one monster from my deck as a special summon, provided it has an attack power of 1500 or less, and that a monster on my field has been sent to my graveyard this turn." Kyle looked through his deck for the monster he desired.

"The monster of my choice," Kyle announced, "is Koumori Dragon (1500/1200) in defense mode. End turn."

"I draw, and set a magic/trap face down and summon Maiden of the Moonlight (1500/1300) to the field in attack mode."

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "With Swords still in effect, you'll have a tough time getting to my Life Points."

"Your Swords are finished," Jade said. "End of my turn."

The Swords vanished -- for the second time -- as Kyle drew his next card. "That's fine," he said, "because I don't really need them now. I play Monster Reborn."

"Activate Imperial Order!"

Kyle grunted and saluted with his Monster Reborn card before discarding it. That knocks out all magic cards... "Waiting for that, weren't you?"

"Mmm... does it show ?" Jade asked sweetly.

"Only in your voice. End turn."

"I draw, and I'll keep Imperial Order around – losing 700 LP in the process, but who cares about that when one has as much as I do? – and then I summon Neo, the Mystic Swordsman (1700/1000) to the field in attack mode."

"Activate Trap Hole," Kyle announced. "Deja vu."

Jade's jaw dropped. "Your card was a Trap Hole? Why didn't you use it before now?"

Kyle allowed a lopsided smile as he cocked his head. "I wanted to see just how far I could push it. I only had one left."

"That's a stupid way to play." She said, "Maiden attacks your Dragon."

Kyle grunted and discarded his dragon. "Maybe it's stupid... but I've managed this far without it."

"End turn."

Kyle drew his next card, and placed the card he'd just drawn. "I play Rogue Doll (1600/1000) in attack mode."

"Trap Hole," she said with a shake of her head. "Admittedly, that is getting old."

Kyle laughed contemptuously. "And here you were complaining about my Trap Hole! In any case, that'll end my turn."

"Sorry," she said, evidently annoyed with having to use it. "I draw. I'm letting Imperial Order expire." Jade announced. "So not only do I get my Gravekeeper's Servant effect back, but I can also play Black Pendant, to increase Maiden's attack by 500. Sorry, Kyle."

He scoffed. "You're apologizing. And for what? You haven't gotten me yet."

"Haven't I? You can't destroy Maiden while she's wearing the Pendant, or you'll take 500 damage. Maiden, attack his last face down."

Kyle's Kotodama was wiped off the field. Its owner grimaced as the realization struck him. She's right... unless I can get my Life Points back up, I'm done for, either by sacrifice or by attack. It's just a matter of time.

"End turn."

Kyle drew his next card. "I can hope, can't I, for a happy ending?"

"I suppose, if you're into that kind of thing."

"Remember the fairy-tale ending? I told you about it once. One monster face-down, end turn." He looked across the field, past her Maiden, and at his opponent. "Everything will turn out for the best. Maybe it won't be the way I want it... but it'll be for the best. That's what I believe."

"I draw." Jade said. "And yes, I do remember. It was idealistic," Jade admitted, holding his gaze with her green eyes. Her tone turned slightly bitter. "But... it's still just that. A fairy-tale that you believe in. I sacrifice Maiden of the Moonlight to play Magical Marionette (2000/1000)."

Kyle closed his eyes and bowed his head. That's it...

His Life Point counter scrolled down to 0 before the monster even appeared on the field.

Slowly, he gathered his cards back into his deck and lowered his station back to ground level. He stepped around the side of the platform, intent on meeting Jade there, no matter how much it pained him to do so.

I met the challenge... I lost. Not much else to say.

I am sorry, Kyle. I wish the battle had turned out for the better.

I did the best I could. We all learn.

Jade walked up to him, watching him carefully. "Good duel," she said sincerely.

Somehow, he found the strength to look her in the eye. When he saw the sincerity in those green pools, he was convinced of the sincerity in her voice, and he knew in his heart that she meant it. He offered his hand; she took it and they shook firmly, her eyes never leaving his.

He took a deep breath, expelled half of it, then flipped through his cards until he found the one he was looking for. He carefully slipped it out from his deck and held it out to her. "You wanted it," he said. His voice held no trace of malice, nor trace of joy. It was devoid of any emotion whatsoever. "It's yours now. Take care of it."

Jade reached out and took his Sanga of the Thunder, now hers, and traced her fingers over it. "You know I will. It will be with its brother, Kazejin. And eventually, I'll get Suijin, too. It's a family that can't be split up for long."

Kyle's voice became firm. "That's where you're wrong. If you get Suijin, it won't be from me. You can count on that. I'll get stronger. And we will duel again."

Jade slipped Sanga into her deck; it became indistinguishable from her other cards, as though it had just now been truly taken from him. "Yes, you will get stronger. And yes, we will duel again," Jade agreed. "But I've got one thing going for me that you don't have."

Kyle crossed his arms. "That being?"

"My fairy-tale ending has already come back to bite me in the ass." She gave a wry little smile. "So now I leave it alone. Maybe where dueling is concerned, you should do the same."

He shook his head. "Wrong again. I'm not going to give up so easily. Not even after that. You may have my favorite card now... but that won't stop me. You won't stop me."

She looked at him steadily. "I don't want to stop you, Kyle. I have no doubt you'll go far. Even if I don't win Suijin from you, I'll win it from someone and then I'll have the Gate Guardian. Or maybe ambitions and dreams are the same thing."

"Then I have both. And I'll chase them until they get tired of running." A side of Kyle's mouth quirked up. "In the meantime... we'll duel again. We both know it. But I need more time." He turned and headed back up the hallway. Halfway up the passage, he called over his shoulder. "Find me when I'm ready."

"Count on it, Kyle," was her quiet response. "You can count on it."

Kyle stopped in the lobby to discard his ID bracelet.

"Excuse me, sir?"

Kyle glanced up from the trash can, which he had become unduly fascinated with. The receptionist was hailing him. "Yes?"

"Sir, I have something for you. Your... friend left it with me."

He frowned, but went over to the desk.

"She wanted you to have this."

The receptionist held in her hand half the money Kyle had paid her... Jade's admission money.

Kyle blinked, but took the money. He frowned slightly. Jade... why do you have to be so damned stubborn?

He looked back at the receptionist, whose expression was quizzical. "Is there another way out of that room?"

She shook her head. "Not that I know of."

"Did she pass by after me?"

"I didn't see anyone."

He rolled his eyes. It doesn't matter... she's gone anyway.

The receptionist cocked her head. "Just out of curiosity, sir... may I ask who won?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Why do you want to know?"

"This job brings in good money, but it's really boring." Her eyes shone. "Please, can you tell me who won? I'm just curious."

He was silent for a moment. Then...

"She did."

He left the duelist center... and Sanga of the Thunder... behind.