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Chapter 4: Mystery of the Vial

Back in the living room, they all pondered the strange note that had been left.

"It has to be a trap," Neo stated.

"It's likely," Rue agreed. "But we might not get another chance like this. If we're going to take down Thanatos, we have to know where he is, right? So let's go after him."

"Easier said then done," Claire pointed out. "He has had time to prepare for this, while we don't. If we are to find him, then we have to leave in about ten minutes."

"But in a way, we did prepare," Larka said. "Our decks have been upgraded, and if all goes well, that will be the only thing we need against Thanatos. If we defeat him in a duel, maybe he will be forced to change back into Max."

"That's if luck is on our side. And since when have we had luck?" Rue asked.

"A surprising amount of times," Hope replied. "So are we going to go there?"

"I don't know… I have a really bad feeling about this…" Will said. He couldn't explain why, but he felt a deep sense of dread in going to meet Thanatos this time. Was it fear? No… something he couldn't describe…

"I don't think there is anyone among us who could say truthfully that they don't have any bad feelings about this," Gaston joked.

"But we have to try. For Max's sake," Hope declared. "Any objections?"

Everyone remained silent, even Will. Although he still did not trust this, he pushed his doubts aside.

"Then let's go."

After attaching their Duel Disks, and after Brandi told Hime they would be out for a while to search for Thanatos, they left. The walk to the beach took only a minute or so.

And immediately, they saw him. But this time, he did not wear the black cloak. They could not have recognized the armor he wore, and did not have any idea on how he had acquired it. But after the woman and her guard had left, Thanatos had taken the armor from the corpse to equip himself.

He also had on the black Duel Disk. This only added to his intimidation. Few of them could bring themselves to look into his blood-shot eyes.

"I knew you would not be able to resist," Thanatos smirked.

"Of course not. We have to take you down sometime, so we might as well do it when we know where you are," Rue stated.

"You think any of you stand a chance against me? Highly doubtful. But if you wish to meet your fate, then so be it." He activated his Duel Disk.

"You want a duel? I'll take you on!" Rue challenged.

"I prefer to choose my victims," Thanatos said. "And at this moment, I have no interest in you. Will, you are the one I desire to duel."

"Me? Why?" Will asked.

"For reasons I have no intention of explaining. Now, do you accept?"

"I'll take the choice that lets me have a chance of living," Will answered, activating his own Duel Disk.

"Whoa, are you sure about this?" Neo said nervously. "He isn't going to be an easy opponent."

"We don't have a choice. If we are going to defeat him, then we have to try to do it now. Will we get another chance in the future? Besides, if we refuse, we die instantly. I refuse to give up that easily."

"Yeah… you're right," Neo nodded. "Alright, take him on! I'll remain by your side the entire time!"

"That's one reason I'm confident enough to do this," Will smiled.

"Are you ready?" Thanatos growled impatiently.

"Yes. Let's begin."

Will: 8000

Thanatos: 8000

"Since you challenged me, I'll go first," Will announced. "I lay one monster in defense mode, and one card down. That's it."

"This should be entertaining… I activate Lair or Ten-Thousand Demon Lords. Then I summon Demon Soldier. (1900/1500) He attacks."

"You've destroyed my Magical Plant Mandragona. (500/200)"

"I lay one card down, and that is all."

"Hm… I summon Skilled Black Magician. (1900/1700) Then I equip him with Power of Magicians, which raising his stats by 500 for each magic or trap card on my field. I have one other, so that's a 1000 stat raise. (2900/2700) Also, Skilled Black Magician gets one magic counter because I used a magic card. Now I'll have Skilled Black Magician destroy your Demon Soldier!"

Will: 8000

Thanatos: 7000

"It seems you have some strong attackers," Thanatos said. "But in the end, it will not make a difference. Are you done?"

"Yes."

"Then I shall start by activating my face down trap card, Demon's Cry. By paying 500 Life Points, I am allowed to special summon one card with the word 'Demon' in its name to my field. However, it cannot be sacrificed, and it will be destroyed at the end phase of my turn. So I will choose to special summon Demon Soldier."

Will: 8000

Thanatos: 6500

"Then what's the point in that card? Besides having another attacking monster, I suppose," Neo said doubtfully.

"It has more uses than that, as you will now see. Now I play Degration. I can only activate this card when I have a card with the name 'Demon' on my field. It allows me to take control of one of your face up monsters on the field by equipping them with it."

"This is not going to end well," Neo muttered as the Skilled Black Magician went over to Thanatos.

"I lay one card down, and then will order Demon Soldier and Skilled Black Magician to attack."

Will: 3200

Thanatos: 6500

"Normally, on your turn, I would lose 800 Life Points because of Degration. But that will not happen this time. I sacrifice your Skilled Black Magician for Swift Lightning King Demon-Skull Demon. (2500/1200)"

"Not good," Will commented as the monster emerged.

"I will end my turn at that. My Demon Soldier is destroyed as well."

"Um, Will? If you have any strategies in mind, now would be a great idea to activate them," Neo said.

"Alright, I will. I lay one monster down, and another card down. That's it."

"Attack with Skull Demon."

"I activate Magic Cylinder, negating your attack and dealing Life Point damage equal to his attack power to you."

"Not yet. My Skull Demon's effect activates. I roll a die, and if it is a one, three, or six, your targeting card is negated and destroyed."

They all held their breath as the die hologram came down, clattering to a halt.

"Whew… a five…" Neo sighed in relief.

Will: 3200

Thanatos: 4000

"Hmph… I lay one card down, and end my turn."

"Now we go on the offense!" Will said. "I flip summon Saint Magician. (300/400) Her reverse effect allows me to select one magic card in my Cemetery and add it to my hand, so I choose Power of Magicians. Then I sacrifice her for Magical Marionette! (2000/1000) Then I activate Clarity of Mind, which allows me to retrieve another Clarity of Mind from my deck. This also gives my Magical Marionette a magic counter. (2200/1000) Then I equip it with Power of Magicians, giving it another counter. (3400/2000) Then I remove both counters to destroy Skull Demon! (3000/2000)"

The die fell again, this time landing on a two.

"Alright, good! I'll have Magical Marionette attack you directly!"

Will: 3200

Thanatos: 1000

"When you destroyed my Skull Demon by using a monster effect, you activated my Lair's effect. I select a monster with 'Demon' in its name that has a level lower than six and add it to my hand."

"Alright… I end my turn."

"I lay one monster in defense mode, and one card face down. Then it is your turn."

"Darn… I have no monsters to summon… I'll attack it with my Magical Marionette," Will decided.

"My Hell Pawn Demon. (1200/200)"

"Then it's your move."

"Perfect… I will play Magic Guarder, which will put a magic counter on my Lair. When you try to destroy Lair, the magic counter will be destroyed instead. Then I summon another Hell Pawn Demon. I also activate Cry of the Living Dead on my previous Hell Pawn Demon."

"Why did you do that?" Neo asked.

"When a Hell Pawn Demon is on the field, you cannot attack any of my monsters with the word 'Demon' in their name, except for the Pawn itself. Now that I have two out, you cannot attack either."

"That sounds like the Troop Commander combo," Hope realized. "When two Troop Commanders are out, you can't get past them to hit your opponent's Life Points unless you have direct attackers or you get rid of one or both with a magic, trap, or effect card."

"I end my turn at that."

Will examined his next card. "Argh… I seriously don't know what to do here. The only thing I can think of is to do this. I'll activate Clarity of Mind, so I can get another one from my deck. And since you used your Magic Guarder last turn, that means my Marionette has two counters. I'll get rid of them to try to kill one of your Pawns!"

"If it is a three, my Pawn lives," Thanatos told him as the die fell, and finally stopped at…

"Dang it!" Will muttered, seeing the three. "I end…"

"I pass," Thanatos said.

Will thought for a moment as he looked at his card. "Wait…Thanatos! How much Life Points would you normally be forced to pay to keep your Pawns out?"

"500 for each one."

"Then this should work! I'll use Neo's effect now! By paying 500 Life Points, my Marionette will attack your Lair! That means your Magic Guarder is gone! Then I end my turn."

Will: 2700

Thanatos: 1000

"Oh! I get it now!" Claire said. "If the Lair is gone, then Thanatos will be forced to pay for both his Pawns, which will cause him to lose the match!"

"It sounds like a good plan, but will he pull it off in time?" Hope said nervously.

"We can only hope so," Larka replied.

"Heh… I first activate Jar of Greed, to draw two cards. Then I play Early Burial, to revive my Demon Soldier in attack mode."

Will: 2700

Thanatos: 200

"Now I summon Genocide King Demon. (2000/1500) Then I activate Diskabaddo Attack. By sacrificing my Demon Soldier, my Genocide King Demon is allowed to attack directly."

Will: 700

Thanatos: 200

"So that's how Max's opponents have felt when Olympion slashed them," Will groaned as he got up from the fierce slash he had received.

"I am done."

"Will! We can win now!" Neo exclaimed.

"Yeah, I think this will do it… I pay 500 Life Points to have Magical Marionette destroy the Lair!"

Will: 200

Thanatos: 200

"Now I end my turn. And you have to pay for your Pawns and King, which makes me the winner."

Thanatos smirked. "I thought you would be more cautious then that Will. It is lucky for me that you weren't though."

"What?"

"I activate my two face down cards. The first one is called Altar of Sacrifices. By sacrificing a monster on my side of the field, my Life Points increase by the monster's attack point amount. So I choose to sacrifice my Genocide King Demon… ironic once more, if I do say so myself."

Will: 200

Thanatos: 2200

"You said you activated two cards. What is the other one?" Will asked.

"It's a continuous trap card called Seal of Blood. I select a monster with 'Demon' in its name. Every time I have to pay for that Demon, you have to as well."

"But that means…"

"Yes. It means you lose. I choose one of my Hell Pawn Demons. When I am forced to pay 500 Life Points for it, you are as well. I also lose 500 Life Points from the other Pawn, but that makes no difference."

The Hell Pawns both turned to Thanatos, and without hesitation slashed him fiercely. Thanatos did not seem to even notice the pain though. Afterwards, one of the Pawns moved over to Will, and brought its sword down on him as well. Will fell to a kneeling position, holding onto his injured side as he let out small gasps of pain.

Will: 0

Thanatos: 1200

"You were a better opponent than I expected," Thanatos commented. "A pity that it was all for nothing, eh?"

"No… not again…" Hope whispered.

"Perhaps I shall make your death a quick one, since you improved as a duelist." He stepped forward, towards Will.

But Neo leapt in front of Will. "No! I won't let you!"

Thanatos raised an eyebrow. "You knew what the conditions were. And now they will be carried out. Are you trying to dishonor yourself by breaking the rules?"

"I may be dishonoring myself, but it would be even worse if I just stood by and did nothing! I'd feel far more guilty if I let Will die when I could have prevented it!" Neo snarled.

"But you can't stop me from doing it. Compared to my strength, you are nothing."

They did not even see what Thanatos did, he moved so quickly. They did see Neo crash into the sand a distance away though.

Neo started to rise slowly, growling as he tried to stand. But apparently, he had been injured in the chest, and was finding it difficult to stand up.

"Neo, stay back! You don't stand a chance!" Will said as he got up. "He wants me… so let's keep the death toll at one, and not two!"

"But Will…" Neo protested.

"I advise that you listen to him," Thanatos told him as he stood in front of Will, grabbing him by his right arm.

As Thanatos was distracted, Will brought up his left arm, bringing a kunai hidden in his left sleeve to his hand. And before Thanatos could react, Will brought the kunai down onto Thanatos' right arm, impaling it.

Thanatos' grip did not even falter. He simply reached over with his left hand and pulled out the bloody kunai, tossing it aside. "You are still full of surprises, hm? Even though it is only a minor annoyance, you have still succeeded in making me want to make your death far more… painful."

Will did not have a chance to do anything before Thanatos slammed him into the ground and held him down, while bringing out a syringe filled with a red liquid.

Thanatos noticed Will's glance at the syringe. "Do you recognize it?"

"Blood…" Will whispered. He was not completely sure, but that was what he suspected.

"Yes. But it will have a far greater effect than you might imagine." Then he swiftly stabbed into Will's right arm with it, and started injecting it.

"What the hell does that creep think he's doing?!" Rue yelled, stepping forward.

Before he could go any further, Ruecian grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Let go! I'm not going to stand by and watch this!" Rue snarled.

"You can't interfere!" Claire said. "If we try, it will only make matters worse! Thanatos could easily kill Will instantly if we tried anything, and then he would kill the rest of us as well!"

"But… no!" Rue growled.

"We're helpless…" Hope said softly. "We can't even save ourselves, let alone our own friend…"

Rue swore under his breath before stepping back, glaring at Thanatos. Ruecian did not let go of his arm though.

By this time, the syringe was empty. Thanatos stood up, calmly putting it away. "I trust you already feel the effects?"

Will did not respond. He could not. For the second the injection had started, he had felt something he had only felt once, and had no desire to ever feel again.

Will's skin felt as though it were being branded. His whole body was on fire. This agony… he wanted to die…

So… it was… a prediction of… what would happen… this pain… oh God… someone kill me… this is… too much… let it end… let it end…

But none of his friends heard this. All they could see was Will lying on the sand, letting out soft cries of pain.

"What did you do to him?!" Claire exclaimed.

"I trust you will soon see for yourself," Thanatos smirked. "I must take my leave now… but I am sure we will meet again quite soon." Then he ran off, towards the forest.

Nobody even bothered trying to go after him. Neo was the first to reach Will, and looked over him. "Will! Say something! Will!"

All Will did was let out another snarl of pain, not even seeming to notice that Neo was there.

"What did he do to you?" Neo whispered.

The others could only watch as Neo picked Will up, gently lifting him.

"…We can't stay here…" Neo said. "We need to… go back to Brandi's place…"

"Yeah. Let's go," Hope agreed, forcing herself to look away from Will. "We'll see if we can help Will there…"

The trip back was a silent one, with a depressed ambience. Even Malon seemed sad; he walked slowly, his head to the ground, ears dropped, whimpering softly.

Although Neo still seemed to be injured, they let him carry Will anyway. They could tell Neo was already feeling ashamed by the fact that he had not been able to stop Thanatos, and they did not want to hurt him anymore than he was now.

They were back at the condo quickly, although it seemed to take forever. Brandi opened the door, and held it open so that the others could enter.

Hime came up to the front almost instantly. "How did it go?" Then she caught site of Will. "Is he ok?"

"We don't know," Perseus replied. "He needs a place to rest though."

"Of course… But what happened?"

"Thanatos injected him with something," Larka explained as they went into the living room. "We do not know what it was, but the effects seem to be apparent enough. He's been in pain ever since."

Neo set Will on the couch as Claire gave a more detailed explanation. Hope and Rue walked over to examine him though.

"Damn… I wish there was something we could do…" Rue said.

"I think we all wish that," Hope responded. She picked up Will's right arm tenderly, to look at where the needle had entered. But something made her forget about that entirely.

"Guys! Look over here!" Hope exclaimed.

"What is it?" Gaston inquired as they went over to them.

"Will's skin! It's… changing color! Like… it's becoming… black?"

"Say what?" Rue looked at Will's arm as well. "Huh? What the hell?"

"It… isn't his whole arm though…" Brandi noticed. "Just sections… it's like… stripes or something are starting to form."

"Stripes? What is this supposed to mean though?" Rue wondered.

Claire stood up. "There's no point in trying to deny it. We have no clue on what is going on with Will, and we need to find out as soon as possible. We need to take him to the hospital. Does everyone agree?"

"That would probably be best," Hope nodded.

"I'll call an ambulance," Mana offered. "What should I say? That a friend of ours is deathly ill?"

"Yeah, that's good," Brandi replied. Mana left instantly.

Neo was looking at his arm still. "The stripes… they're growing blacker by the second…"

Hope looked over at Will's face, and once again froze in shock.

Gaston noticed her go pale. "Hope? What is now?"

"L-look here…" Hope indicated to where a stripe had ended on his face, on the left cheek. But it did not just suddenly get cut off. It had become something…

"What is that?" Gaston asked, looking closer. Then he stepped back. "No way! It isn't…"

"But it is," Hope said softly. "A snake's head."

"What does that mean?" Neo questioned, looking worriedly at the area.

"This reminds me of something that happened to me once…" Hope explained. "A while back, in Teknisk Wereld, I dueled Malady, and she used a card called Black Snake Sickness. Each turn that passed caused a virus that looks identical to this to emerge, burning into our skin… it is just too much alike to be coincidence."

"But that's impossible," Perseus protested. "You can't use Duel Monster cards in the real world like you can in Teknisk Wereld."

"I know… I just don't understand what this means…" Hope replied.

"Alright, the ambulance will be here shortly," Mana announced, coming back in.

"Thanks," Larka said. "So I assume that most of us should stay here?"

"That would be for the best," Claire agreed. "Neo should go of course… anyone else?"

"I will," Hope volunteered. "And Gaston can come too."

"That should be enough then," Claire decided.

"But…" Rue started.

"You're staying here, Rue. We can check on Will later," Claire told him.

"…Fine…"

Hime had left to wait by the door, and then beckoned. "It's here. "Hope, Gaston, Neo, come on over. Bring Will with you."

Once again, Neo lifted Will, and they went outside. Two men were waiting outside of the open ambulance.

When they saw Will, both flinched.

"Well, we suspected as much…" the first one sighed.

"That doesn't make it any better," the second said, putting Will on a stretcher.

"What are you talking about?" Gaston inquired.

The two men looked at each other. Then the first man spoke again. "You will see when we get to the hospital. Get on in the back."

They sat down, Neo next to Will while Hope and Gaston were a bit farther back. Soon the vehicle was off.

A few minutes into the silent drive, Gaston went over to Neo. Hope gave him an questioning glance, but Gaston shook his head. So she stayed where she was.

"How do you feel?" Gaston asked, sitting next to his friend.

"Physically, a little bit sore, but nothing too bad…" Neo replied.

"And mentally?"

"…Like I'm being torn apart," Neo said quietly. "I just… I didn't want this to happen again."

"What do you mean, again?"

"Will… he was killed by Juno. I tried to help him… I really did… but I was too weak to be able to save him. When we were both brought back to life, I swore I'd get stronger in case that happened again. But it was all for nothing… I wasn't able to help at all this time. Will's being tortured by a disease that might kill him, and all I can do is watch!"

By now, Neo was shaking slightly, trying not to let tears fall. Gaston grasped his hand in a comforting way.

"There are few in these worlds who would give their life to save another. You are strong-none of us could have done anything. And you tried to help, regardless of what the consequences might be-I think that shows that you are definitely one of the strongest Soul Monsters any of us know."

"…But…"

"Neo, you are still needed, but not on the battlefield. Will is battling this… virus, or disease, or whatever it is at this very moment. He needs to have one of his closest companions with him at a time like this. Only you can make him continue living. So stay with him while we go after Thanatos."

"…Alright. Thanks."

"Glad I could help somehow," Gaston said, rising. "It looks like we're here…"

They were soon inside a room, waiting for a nurse to come and check on Will. In a few seconds, she came in.

"Lilian!" Hope exclaimed.

"Ah, you're…?"

"Hope. That's Gaston, he's Neo, and Will's the one who's ill."

"That's right. I remember that Matt mentioned your names. So let's see…" Lilian looked at Will. The stripes had turned a pure black by now. "Again? How many more will come in like this?"

"What do you mean?" Hope asked.

Lilian grimly looked at Will's right arm. "This is a virus we know almost nothing about, except that it has, so far, been always fatal. Don't panic yet!" she said to Neo, who looked about ready to do so. "Even at this moment, scientists are working on trying to find a cure for it. And how soon someone dies can vary. Perhaps your friend will be one of the lucky few who have lived for a long time. Although, from what it seems, the victim's are in constant pain… so maybe it isn't something I should call lucky."

To try and veer away from the uncomfortable conversation, Hope brought up a question she was still confused on. "The men in the ambulance seemed to know they would be bringing in another who got this virus."

Lilian sighed. "We've had a massive outbreak. Several infected people have been brought in. The worst thing is that we just don't know how to help them."

"A… massive outbreak?" Hope asked. She thought back to Thanatos injecting the fluid into Will.

If the only way this disease was transmitted was through syringes like that… then a massive outbreak is impossible. Thanatos alone couldn't do it. So that must mean… he is working with at least one other person… if not more…

-----

"Sir!" The scientist ran up to his boss.

"What are the results?"

"The vitality signs… just look at them!"

The man looked at the data. "What? These signs are so… erratic."

"Sir, what does it mean?"

"This Thanatos is truly powerful… no, inhumanly powerful. We have gained a very valuable, if not unpredictable, ally."

To be continued…