"Whose next?" Raven asked as the obnoxiously pleasant announcer woman returned.
"You, Japanese Champion Raven Vaniver with the Tyrant Dragon, are up against the duelist from Egypt Shikeru Ryou wit the rare Orichalcos Curse Card."
"Let's play, Shikeru!" Raven smiled.
-O-
"My move!" Raven drew, "Go, Kanan the Swardsmistress in attack mode!" Raven slid a card face-down.
"Nice opener, Raven." Shikeru drew, "Banisher of the Light in defense mode!" he set two cards face-down.
"My move again." Raven studied his hand. He needed at least 2050 points of attack. He needed a way to summon his Dark Magician. And he had it. "Cost Down!" Raven smiled, "I discard the Mirage Knight to lower the level of the monsters in my hand, so I can offer my Swardsmistress to play my Dark Magician!" The red armored mage came forth, white hair peaking out from under his hat, "Magician, attack!"
"Not bad, but I plan to kick this up, Raven. First I reveal my Pyramid of Light!" A pyramid of blue light closed in around them, "And now that it's my move, I activate the Orichalcos Curse Card!" His field slot opened, and he slid the card in. The strange symbols around his Life Point meter began to gleam a bright green, and above them a ring of green light with the same runes on it formed. The ring began to spin rapidly as it fell to the ground. Then lines connected several times making one large star-like rune in the center. It was the exact symbol as depicted on the card. The same symbol appeared on Shikeru's forehead, and his eyes took a decided red gleam.
"Uh-oh." Raven watched the impressive battle animation.
-O-
"Well, don't get me wrong, Lantash. This has been remarkably disturbing. I hope to have the chance to really hurt you in there, but for now, I'm outta here." Illarya turned to leave.
"Say what you will, I can tell it's your way of showing me that you care." Lantash smiled.
"In your sick, twisted dreams, Lantash." Illarya walked into the antechamber.
Lantash smiled and walked away.
-O-
"Say goodbye to your Magician, as I pay 1000 Life Points to summon Andro-sphinx and Sphinx Teleia. Now, my Teleia, it's feeding time!" The Sphinx with the human head lunged at the Dark Magician.
"Reveal Mirror Force!" Raven smiled. Teleia crashed into a wall of multi-colored light and her attack crashed into Andro-Sphinx.
"Not bad, Vaniver, except now I pay 1000 more Life Points to summon Theimen the Great Sphinx!" The two destroyed Sphinxes combined to from another beast, this one with an attack skyrocketing to 6500. A Symbol of Orichalcos apprised on both the head's foreheads, and both sets of eyes gleamed red, as the attack power increased to 7200.
Raven looked at Theimen. He was just one card short, here. He needed a miracle with this draw. He got a card to help him stall, but not what he needed. "Set one card face-down and summon Breaker the Magical Warrior in defense mode. Breaker, activate effect, destroy the Orichalcos Curse Card!" Breaker threw it's sword into the center of the arena, destroying the Curse Card, lowering Theimen to 6500 points of attack, and returning Shikeru and his beast to their normal conditions, "Dark Magician, defend. Go, Shikeru."
Shikeru drew, "Summon Peton the Dark Clown in defensive position. Theimen, consume the Dark Magician."
Raven drew. Nothing. "Go."
"Offer my Dark Clown for my Kiser Glider!" A dragon appeared next to the Sphinx. "Glider, destroy Breaker." Shikeru smiled, "You fought well. Theimen, attack!" The crowd gasped as the great sphinx flew at Raven. A cloud of smoke arose. As it settled, Raven stood, Life Points resting at 2000. "How?"
"Trigger spell card, Heart Reborn!" Raven smiled, "When my Life Points drop to zero, this card raises them to 2000. Nice try."
"You bought yourself a turn, Vaniver." Shikeru said, crossly.
Raven smiled, "Your monster's weakness is its defense. Although you monster has 6500 points of attack, it only has 3000 poins of defense."
"So?" Shikeru snapped.
"Activate Enemy Controller and Monster Reborn! Come back Dark Magician!" Raven's Mage returned to him, as the Great Sphinx defended itself.
"Still don't see the plan..." Shikeru sighed.
"Activate spell card Shinato's Ark, offering my Dark Magician and my Blowback Dragon to play my Shinato, King of a Higher Plane!"
"Shinato can destroy my monster!" Shikeru stepped back.
"Worse than that, Shikeru, Shinato deducts a destroyed monster's attack points from your Life Points!" Raven smiled, "Ye shall be judged!" Shinato shot a blast at Theimen. "Game over, Shikeru!"
When the dust settled Shikeru handed Raven a copy of the Curse Card. "Be careful with this card, Raven. It has power greater than you'd think." Shikeru began to walk away.
"Shikeru, was that one trap called the 'Pyramid of Light'?" Raven asked.
"Yeah, why?" Shikeru asked, looking over his shoulder.
"No reason." Raven walked off. He remembered the note he found from Shadi a day earlier.
-O-
"Kaomi, that trap was caked the Pyramid of Light." Raven said to her.
"So?" Kaomi tilted her head. Raven handed her a piece of paper, which she read aloud, "Raven, You have handled this task better than brilliantly. If anyone should wield these scales it should be you. I apologize for taking them back from you, but I had little choice. I am of the opinion that the Millennium Puzzle, Millennium Ring, the Millennium Rod, the Millennium Eye, the Millennium Necklace, the Millennium Key, and your Millennium Scales will need to gather again soon. This said, rumor tells of an eighth. Rumor also has it that before departing for America, the Pharaoh destroyed it. I do not believe the second rumor. It's possessor, Anubis, was destroyed, and banished from the Pyramid of Light, but I believe the shattered Pyramid wasn't the authentic one. I am of the belief that the authentic Pyramid of Light shall reveal itself to you. Bide your time and wait for its arrival or my return. In the meantime, Raven, do enjoy yourself. You deserve a break. Play the game, become as well known as the Pharaoh himself, and have fun! Life has much to offer. You will do well to enjoy it. You have a lifetime of challenges to your honor and to the Pyramid and to those you care for, so the reprieve should be indulged in. Best Wishes, Shadi." Kaomi paused, "Shadi?"
"The turban dude, remember?" Raven smiled.
"Oh, yeah. Him." Kaomi folded the note and handed it to Raven, "It's just a coincidence."
"A series of odd coincidences can be construed as fate." Ardrea said to Kaomi.
-O-
"Lantash. You're late." Set said, standing by the entrance to the building.
"I stopped to talk to Illarya." Lantash replied.
Set looked visibly angry, "What? Why?"
Lantash shot him a glare, "We could help her restore her Yami form. You should have seen Yami Illarya. A ruthless leader with hopes of enslaving the world, much like Lady Hathor."
"You're hopeless, Lantash." Set shrugged, "Come, Lady Hathor will arrive soon." Set walked outside, followed by Lantash.
-O-
"Next up is Kaomi Itai, the Japanese duelist with Envoy of the Beginning, against Seeker, the American Exodia Duelist."
Kaomi just laughed and entered the arena.
-O-
"Let's go, little girl!" Seeker drew his first hand.
"After how badly Sevanos beat you in the Fallen Star Cup, then how badly Aura beat you in California, and your crushing defeat at the hands of the King of Games in Battle City... face it Seeker, Exodia decks just don't work for you. Epically since you've cheated your way here. Yeah, be careful with that old Rare Hunter outfit of yours, I can see the bracer feeding cards into your hand." Kaomi pointed to Seeker's right arm, "I assume your first five cards have already been switched out for Exodia."
"What? You think I'd cheat?" Seeker scoffed.
"Honestly, I wouldn't expect you to play fair." Kaomi smiled.
Two officals from the Tournament approached Seeker, checked his arm, and sure enough found a device designed to take cards from his hand and feed in pieces of Exodia. They ripped it off, and walked away.
"Wanna play fair now, Seeker?" Kaomi smiled.
"How did you know?" Seeker reshuffled his deck.
"Saw you loading it in the antechamber earlier." Kaomi smiled.
"Let's go, little girl!" Seeker drew his first hand, again.
"You say that to me again, I will personally beat you to death with my Duel Disk." Kaomi eyed her hand, "Summon Nimble Momonga in defense mode and set two cards face-down."
"Summon Sacred Crane and set a card face down."
Kaomi smiled, "Nimble Momonga, attack the Sacred Crane!"
"What?" Seeker looked stupefied. The squirrel flew at the Crane, which struck it down. Seeker laughed.
"Laugh it up." Kaomi's Life Points rose to 4400, and two more Momonga appeared on her field, "Offer my two new Nimble Momonga for my Seiyaryu!"
"Reveal the Jar of Greed trap card!" Seeker drew a card. He paused, and then drew another, "Graceful Charity" He drew three more, "Discarding Sacred Crane and Exodus Blade." He smiled, "Now, Monster Reborn, return my Sacred Crane, allo0wing me to draw one card, and giving me two Cranes."
"Wow. That all ya got? Summon Dark Blade! Blade and Seiyaryu, attack!" Kaomi smiled as her monsters took out Seeker's Cranes.
"Summon Sangan in defense mode. Go."
"Summon King of the Swamp. King, take out San-"Kaomi froze. She knew Blade and Seiyaryu could end this, Seeker must have figured it out as well. "No. You know I would destroy Sangan... you must have four pieces of Exodia already."
"Smart girl. End the game now, Kaomi." Seeker taunted.
"Set three cards face-down and end my turn." Kaomi scowled. As stupid as it sounded, she had to keep him from attacking a monster more powerful than Sangan.
"Sangan, attack Seiyaryu!" Seeker smiled.
"Trigger trap card, Wall of Revealing Light, paying 2000 of my Life Points so that Sangan can't attack." Kaomi smiled. That was a smart move... sort of.
"Go." Seeker seemed annoyed.
Kaomi drew.
-O-
Lantash and Set stood outside.
"Lantash. Wait here. I'm going to go take care of something." Set walked inside.
"Hey!" Lantash called after him.
-O-
I can't attack Sangan, but I can't just sit here forever. Kaomi reasoned, I've gat to do something... and I think I know what. Kaomi threw down her Pot of Greed. Kaomi drew her two cards slowly. A great smile swept her face. "Offer Seiyaryu and Dark Blade for the Dark Magician!" Kaomi's dark armored mage came forth.
"Have you lost it, girlie?" Seeker laughed, "The Dark Magician is worse off than your Seiyaryu was!"
"Really?" Kaomi smiled, "Activate Dedication through Light and Darkness!" Kaomi watched light and dark energy infuse her mage, transforming it, "Behold, my Dark Magician of Chaos!"
"So?" Seeker shook his head, "Three hundred more points of attack."
"And a nifty little effect. My monster won't dispatch your furry friend to the Grave, but remove it from the game. Meaning no Exodia for you." Kaomi observed her Magician ready it's staff, "Dark Magician of Chaos, Ultimate Silence!" Kaomi ordered. The Sangan shattered, and the resulting Life Point damage made Seeker wince. "Last move, Exodia lover. Can you pull a rabbit out of your deck?"
Seeker drew. He paused, and then played a defensive monster.
"No? Too bad." Kaomi drew. "Remove Seiyaryu and Dark Magician from play to bring forth my chaotic solder, my Envoy of the Beginning!" Kaomi paused, letting Seeker realize just how screwed he was. "Ultimate Silence, take away the monster!" Kaomi didn't even bother to check what it was. "Envoy, finish him!"
-O-
A car came to a stop before Lantash and a woman in a cloak exited. She had amazingly green eyes and long dark hair. She wore all black with the black cloak. From her neck hung a bizarre pendant. It was a blue pyramid marked with a gold Eye of Anubis.
"My mistress." Lantash dropped to one knee.
"Rise, Lantash. Where is Set?" the woman asked in a somewhat kind-sounding voice.
"Putting Shikeru in his place, I believe."
"Good. The Brothers Ryou are great forces, sadly neither much fancy us." Hathor smiled. "Show me inside." She demanded.
-O-
"Next duel is Japan's Aura Leathe with a buncha Millennium cards against the Canadian Rose Faye with the Random Alarm Clock."
-O-
"Hello, Set." Shikeru approached him from behind.
"Shikeru. You think I'm so abusive? Prove yourself." Set smiled.
They stood in an abandoned section of hall leading to another section of the complex.
"Let's play, Set." Shikery smiled, his duel disk shooting out of it's resting position.
-O-
"I set a monster and two traps. Go." Aura smiled.
"Me too." Rose copied her move.
"Reveal my Millennium Cursader, allowing me to get a monster in face-down defense mode. And I'll offer the crusader for my Millennium Shield." Aura smiled as the great shield appeared before her. "Go."
"I set another monster in defense mode and activate my trap, Solemn Wishes!" Rose grinned, "This trap grants me with five hundred Life Points per turn. Go."
Aura gritted her teeth, "Activate my Shield and Sword spell card! This reverses the Attack and Defense point of all monsters on the field, meaning..."
"Your big gold shield has three thousand points of attack." Rose closed her eyes.
"Millennium Shield, attack!" The Shield slammed into one of the monsters. A rat. "Bubonic Vermin." Aura sighed.
"My turn!" Rose smiled, her Life Points climbing to 4500, "I get a new face-down Vermin which I'll reveal to bring out the third. Now, I also reveal my Random Alarm Clock!" A clock with arms and legs appeared before her. It looked a little like the Time Wizard. "Alarm Clock, Random Alarm Roulette!" The two hands of the clock spun rapidly out of control. As they began to slow, the entire building seemed to stand still. The hands came to rest on three. "Three turns to go, Aura. Wait a second, now that I end my turn, it's two." The hands moved to the two.
"You'll lose. Mark my words." Aura drew.
-O-
"Activate Orichalcos Curse Card." Shikeru smiled, "Powering up my Andro-Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia!"
-O-
Aura smiled, "Polymerization, combining my Black Luster Solder, my Millennium Shield, and my Millennium Sword!" The Shield flew into the air, as well as a gold sword, and a great light came from them. When it faded, a solder in shining gold armor with an Eye of Anubis on the headpiece stood, holding them. "Meet the Millennium Luster Solder!" She smiled, "My solder has five thousand points of attack, by the way, so with one swing of the sword, he'll knock you out. Solder, strike down her clock and end this duel now!"
"Reveal Trap!" Rose smiled as a small ring of metal flew from the back of her clock. It came to a stop before the Luster Solder and shot a shield of energy back toward Rose. The Solder crashed head into the ring of metal, which shot a ray of energy at Rose's Duel Disk. The Solder returned to Aura's field, "That was my lovely Draining Shield, which rose my Life Points to 9500. And with only two turns to go, Aura." Rose drew, receiving a boost from Solemn Wishes to put her at 10,000, "My monsters defend, and I set a new trap for you. Go." The hands moved to one.
-O-
"I summon my Andro and Teleia and offer both for the Great Sphinx, Emissary of Thebes and my Thiemen the Great Sphinx!"
-O-
"Activate spell Temporal Portal of the Ancient Dragon, offering all the monsters in my hand and my face-down Millennium Crusader to summon the Millennium Dragon at 3250 Attack power. Now for the ultimate last-ditch effort. Polymerization!" The Solder mounted the Dragon as the earth shook, "Behold, the Dragon Knight of Millennia! This is the fusion with the greatest attack power, presently resting at 7700!" Aura smiled, "Attack! Stop the clock with Millennium Fury!" A beam of energy shot from the Solder's sword and fused with the dragon's breath, striking the clock and shattering it.
"Reveal Monster Reconstitution!" The shattered bits of the clock reformed themselves. "Let's see now... nope. Really nothing I care to do this turn." Rose smiled, "Random Alarm Clock, it's wake up time! Activate effect!" The bells on the alarm clock began to ring as both players' Life Points appeared on the field before them. Aura's read 4000, but Rose Faye had 10500 Life Points. "It's over, Aura."
Aura's Life Points fell rapidly as the ringing intensified. She fell to her knees.
"Your Millennium Sword will make a nice addition to my deck." Rose walked off.
-O-
Set approached Hathor and Lantash.
"Ryou is out of the way." Set smiled.
"Good. Can't have him or the Doom Organization stepping on our toes during Phase Two." Lantash nodded.
"Speaking of, we'll start right after this tournament." Hathor nodded.
"Yes, Hathor." Set bowed.
"Lady Hathor, why not start during the tournament?" Lantash suggested, "I mean, Phase One is complete. Seraph has fought Nemesis. If we get the Itai out of the way sooner, we can proceed to Phase Three straight after the tournament."
"Phase Three... which was that? I know Four is conquest." Set scratched his head.
"Set, you ignorance amazes me." Lantash shot him a glare, "Three is the final preparations for Four."
"Your plan is sound, Lantash. It meets with my approval."
-O-
A good hour later, the woman smiled with the announcements of the first duels of the quarter-finals. "Lantash with Chaos Emperor versus Shuyin with Ultima."
-O-
"Let's have fun, Lantash!" Shuyin smiled.
Lantash sighed, "This won't take long." He drew. "Activate spell card Painful Choice." He smiled. "Take your pick, Shuyin. Do you add to my hand my Envoy of the Beginning, my Jinzo, my D. D. Warrior Lady, my Tribe-Infecting Virus, or my Ring of Destruction."
"Ring of Destruction" Shuyin said quickly.
"Alright. In that case, I remove Jinzo and Envoy of the Beginning from play to summon my Chaos Emperor Dragon!" The Emperor Dragon appeared on his field, "And set two cards face down. Go." He smiled, having his all-powerful Dragon after the first turn.
Shuyin drew, knowing full well he was screwed. "Aw, yes! Summon Griggle in defense mode and activate the Mystic Box card! This gives you control of my monster in order to take yours to the Grave." Boxes encased the two monsters
"Not so fast, Beolve! Reveal my Ring of Destruction!" The box on Lantash's side exploded, knocking both players down to 1000 Life Points.
"Alright. You wanna play? We'll play." Shuyin sat three cards face-down. "Go, Lanny."
Lantash drew, "Activate Monster Reborn."
Shuyin cursed under his breath as the Envoy returned to the field,
"Now, summon D. D. Warrior Lady. My warrior Lady will remove your monster from play!"
Shuyin cursed loud enough for spectators to hear.
"Envoy, direct assault!" Lantash simply walked off.
-O-
Set stood opposite Cid in the arena.
"Set, duelist of the Sphinxes." Cid sized up his opponent, "You will fall."
"Cid, duelist of the Dragons." Set smiled, "No, I won't."
"We will see." Cid drew, "Summon Spear Dragon and set three cards face-down. Go."
""Summon Sphinx Warrior of Darkness, with an equal attack force, in attack mode and set one card. Your move." Set smiled.
"Equal attack for now. I first reveal Solemn Wishes, giving me five hundred Life Points when I draw. And to commence my turn, I set one card and play Foolish Burial, sending my Necromancy spell to your Graveyard." Cid grinned, "Then I play Card Destruction." Both players discarded their hands.
"What use was that? So there's a spell in my grave and we have new hands." Set scoffed.
"Activate Trap, Forced Perspective!" Cid smiled, "Forced Perspective allows me to get one card from your Graveyard and force you to play it. I select Necromancy."
"What?" Set took a step back.
"So my four monsters return. Behold, X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, Z-Metal Tank, and Dragon Dwelling in the Cave!" Cid smiled, "Now, X, Y, and Z, merge!" The three metal components flew into the air and combined.
Once they completed fusing, Set laughed, "You lost three monsters. Necromancy deducts all your monster's Attack and Defense points by 1800 points! Meaning your new powerhouse has 1000 points of attack."
Cid looked despondent, "I end my turn."
"Summon another of my Sphinxes! Now, activate the Field Spell Pyramid of the Ancients and my trip Pyramid of Light! Now I pay 1000 Life Points to summon Andro-Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia." Two more Sphinxes appeared before him as two great pyramids appeared behind him. "Teleia, take out the Dragon Cannon! Andro, the Spear Dragon."
"Activate my Reverse Trap card!" Cid smiled, as the 1800 decrease became an increase and the Sphinxes 700 point increase became a decrease. This put Andro and Teleia down to 2300, while Dragon Cannon soared to 4600, and the Spear Dragon's ATK climbed to 3700. "That's a total of 3700 points of damage, more than finishing you!" Cid smiled.
"Wrong. Reveal trap Wall of Sands!" A wall of swirling sand appeared before Set, disallowing the blast from hitting him, "My Wall prevents all battle damage. And now, I pay 1000 more Life Points to summon Theimen the Great Sphinx!" The tow fallen Sphinxes merged to make one. "Theimen has 6500 points of attack, friends." He smiled, "Too bad. I win next turn."
Cid drew and eyed his hand. He still had a chaince, but it was a little one. "Summon my new defensive monster and switch all my other monsters to defense mode as well."
"Cower, Orlandu. Since I know youre face-up monsters, I'll first destroy your Dragon Cannon." Theimen demolished the metallic dragon.
"My move!" Cid drew dramatically. This was it. "Reveal Summoner of Illusions offering my Dragon Dwelling in the Cave to form the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
"Too little, too late." Set sighed.
"Really? Now I discard Thunder Dragon to add two more to my hand. I also summon Spirit Ryu! Now, I discard Red Eyes Black Dragon, Curse of Dragon, Meteor Dragon, Thunder Dragon, Thunder Dragon, and Luster Dragons #1 and #2 to boost Ryu's attack!"
"Still too small. Now that my Sphinx is receiving its bonus from my Pyramids again, it's up to 7200 points of attack." Set folded his arms.
"And now, you fool, I offer the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" The Blue Eyes began to glow and break apart, "To summon my Blue Eyes Shining Dragon! And, with Blue Eyes, Red Eyes, Curse of Dragon, Meteor, three Thunders, both Lusters, and the Dragon Dwelling in the Cave, my Shining Dragon gets a 5000 point boost!" Cid smiled as the glowing Blue Eyes Shining Dragon appeared behind him with 8000 points of attack. "That beats your Sphinx. Blue Eyes Shining Dragon, attack!"
Set braced himself as Theimen shattered. He drew, set a card, and solemnly ended his turn, Life Points down to 1300.
"Blue Eyes, obliterate!"
"Reveal traps, Ring of Destruction and Barrel Behind the Door!" Set called. The ring of bombs exploded, dealing Cid a total of 16,000 points of damage. Set exited the arena, victorious.