Duel Terminal
By 7th Librarian
A/N: Thanks to Cyber Commander for letting me borrow this character concept from his older stories.
Chapter 3: A Match Made In Hell
"You cannot be serious." Lero had never thought he'd utter those words to his wife, if only because it was a law of the universe that Sumire Pegasus was as serious as a heart attack. It was right under 'Light is the fastest known thing'.
"There were six duelists attacked in the last two weeks. All of them have injuries that prevent them from competing in the upcoming German Championship and reported that the duel felt 'way too real'. Alongside this, their decks were looted of rare cards." Sumire pushed the manila folder at him, tapping it pointedly. "You can read all of their statements and police reports right here."
Lero opened the folder and quickly paged through the contents. He didn't recognize any of the names, but they did corroborate what she'd just told him. They were all attacked by a Rare Hunter woman who used strange dragons that 'broke the rules of the game'. He soon saw why as he found some of the photos. THey were blurry and obscured, but one had a large black dragon with a rainbow sheen on its wings plainly visible. "That's…Mirror Force Dragon."
"Bellerophon, I am not familiar with everything. So, saying that name like it means something is lost on me."
"Sorry. I'll explain - the Orichalcos incident thirty years ago meant Yugi Mouto, Joey Wheeler and Seto Kaiba all received help from the Duel Monsters Spirit World in the form of three powerful dragons known as Timaeus, Hermos and Critias. Their card forms could 'break' the game rules by fusing together with spells and traps alongside monsters to create wholly new and original monsters." Lero said, flipping through the photos again and pushed a few free. "Here - Tyrant Burst Dragon, Mirror Force Dragon, Doom Virus Dragon. Those were all the ones Seto Kaiba created with his dragon, Critias."
"So someone has found a way to mimic this power?" Sumire asked in concern. "Or gotten into our records and created the cards for themselves?"
"I don't think the latter is possible. Those kinds of records are kept on our secure servers, which aren't connected to anything at all." Lero paused, as a thought occurred to him, but he brushed it aside. "The former seems the most likely. Though how they even know about the Legendary Dragons is a bigger question."
"Chloe suggested a different theory - that the woman is one of the Signer candidates and received one of the dragons. The Ushbaki and the Spirit World were quite intertwined centuries ago and apparently even worked with the Legendary Knights to defeat a crisis known as the Earthbound Immortals." Sumire said. "This is why we must go after her."
Lero frowned. "It seems too risky. We should rather work with law enforcement and just have her brought to us."
"That risks alienating her and even if she is a criminal, that does not mean she is not a worthy Signer. If that were the case, Jackie would have never gotten her Signer Mark." Sumire pointed out. "We have two duelists who make it a habit to peruse the Dueling Underworld. Kaede as the Devil Dragon and Jackie as Straightjacket. And while the European Underworld requires a lot of money to get into, we have that in spades as well. Verthandi has already agreed to sponsor the pair into the underworld and -"
"Wait - wait -who- hold up!" Lero held up a hand to stop her from talking. "What do you mean she's going to sponsor them? How is getting involved in the Dueling Underworld going to help us?"
"The underworld here requires a down payment to enter. Duelists cannot be freelance, they must be representing a company or individual. And things are more structured than elsewhere. You can only access certain circles of individuals and influence by winning - and betting- more money to get into them." Sumire rattled off. "And it is an open secret the Rare Hunters had a very strong stake in this underworld. Kaede and Jackie get inside, they get the information we want."
"Yeah, but they're also famous-"
"Only as duelists that you hired to help defend you in the Bride Tournament six months ago. Their real identities are not public knowledge - I have made sure of that before even presenting this plan." Sumire said firmly. "And that fame can leverage their entrance into the underworld. People will want a piece of someone who made a name for themselves to boost their own prestige."
"Okay, but this is dangerous. Dueling Underworlds play dangerous games, Sumire." Lero chewed on the inside of his lip. "Is it really worth risking three people's well-being to satisfy our curiosity?"
"We run the risk of this woman attacking more people if we do nothing. More than that, Chrysaor is hunting for Signer candidates as well. Any potential ones we can remove from the board hinder him, even if we do not add them to our group. And if she is allied with the Rare Hunters, then she becomes a source of information and a means of leverage against Chrysaor. Even if she escapes us, we gain information about her powers and potentially how she's replicating her dragons."
"Convenient." Lero stared at the desk, mulling this over in his mind. "It sounds like you have it well in hand. So why are you even telling me this now? I'd have thought you'd have just done it."
"You are my husband. We must have good lines of communication." Sumire explained. "And you have little control over your life as of late. Presenting you with this plan is my first step into restoring your agency."
There were some unspoken words there - 'and to get you used to giving orders as Signer King'. Lero stared into Sumire's ice-blue eyes. As always, he couldn't plumb their depths but they were serious.
They always were.
"Make it happen. But no unnecessary risks to anyone. At the first sign of real danger, they pull back. We'll find another way to track this woman if we have to." Lero said at last.
"It will be done, husband." Sumire nodded to make it official and turned to sweep from the room. "Please spend some time with Jackie before they go. She has been antsy lately and I do not want her stress to affect her performance."
"...are we talking spending time or spending time with-"
"However it has to happen, Bellerophon."
TTTTTTT
"Soo, Fireball, you ever done any of this kinky, sneaky secret agent stuff before?" Jackie asked. She and Kaede had shoved themselves into one of Verthy's spare dressing rooms. Meaning it could have doubled as a small apartment and they didn't shove themselves in so much as tried not to get lost.
"Sure, I've broken into lots of places…from behind a computer screen," Kaede informed her in that curt tone that she had started using when any allusion to her work for Dark Virtue was mentioned.
"You've never gone all Mission Impossible on a bar full of scumbags and had to beat some answers out of them?"
"...what exactly do you think intelligence assets do?"
"What I just said, alongside seducing someone?" Jackie scoffed as Kaede rolled her eyes. "You are the worst secret agent ever. If you're not out there kicking ass and taking names, why even keep the job a secret? Just say you're an analyst or whatever."
'Maybe I like having my privacy. Maybe I don't want to answer questions." Kaede replied in the same curt tone as she slipped behind a screen and threw her street clothes out from behind it before grabbing the black and electric blue outfit she wore under her blood red coat.
"Hey, we're gonna be like, wife-mates or whatever at some point. We should be able to open up to one another and share stuff." Jackie coaxed as she dug through her bag and pulled out the namesake garment that she'd taken the name Straightjacket from.
"Fine - I'll tell you more about my work at Dark Virtue if you tell me your real name."
Jackie froze, her straightjacket suddenly feeling very constricting. "My real name is Jackie."
"Nope. You have no birth records, form of I.D. or other identifiable trace to your past life. Normally, if you're living off the grid, I'd get it. But not you, ohhh no." Kaede's voice floated over the top of the screen as a cloud of smugness. "You have made a name for yourself…almost bullishly, in a way. Like you want to stamp this identity over yourself to prove a point about something."
She slid the screen back, still shirtless but utterly confident in her assessment. "...or to someone."
Jackie felt the urge to rip her jacket off hulk style and pound the knowing look off Kaede's face, wife-mates be damned. But there was a knock at the door, and Kaede's face shifted to a neutral expression as Lero walked in followed by Verthy.
"Just making sure you're both - boobs!" Lero threw his hands up over his eyes. "Kaede! I knocked!"
"I know. I just didn't care," the Japanese woman smiled innocently, enjoying her friend's bashfulness, before turning to the last member of their party. "I see our patron is ready to go."
Verthandi's smile was serene, completely at odds with the sleek, perfectly tailored jumpsuit she wore. Satin tuxedo stripes ran up the side of the wide legs and along the arms, ending in a business jacket-style collar. The neckline plunged deeply to reveal an elaborate diamond necklace nestled between her breasts, and made perfectly clear that there was no bra beneath it. Her hair was done up in a neat simple bun, but with more diamond pins stuck into it. She looked expensive, Jackie thought, but not obscenely so.
Lero cautiously removed his hands from his eyes as Kaede slipped back behind the screen, and he sighed. "I still think this is a bad idea. I don't know what Sumire was thinking suggesting it."
"Your wife is smart, Sky Horse - listen to her," Jackie said, her mood still soured from Kaede's probing. She threw her jacket on and stomped her boots, antsy to get this night over with.
"This is a lot of effort for no gain if we don't succeed." Lero pointed out. "And if she is a Signer Candidate, she's still a criminal.""
"We knock her ass unconscious and drag her back to the group where we trade everything she knows to Dark Virtue in exchange for her being given house arrest to the lot of us so you and she can bang, she gets the cool tat and a magic dragon and we save the world." Jackie corrected him. "And we get a jet ski."
Everyone else in the room stared at her, Kaede even peeking around the screen to do it. Jackie gave them all a scowl. "Don't look at me like that - jet skis are cool!"
"We can just buy one…" Lero started.
"Yeah, but why do that when we can get someone to do it for us? Things are so much better that way." Jackie nodded sagely. "My plan is simple, effective, and gets you laid. It's win-win."
"You want to get me laid…" Lero started again and then shook his head. "No, never mind. I've given up trying to grasp your thought processes. Anyway, can you two give me a moment alone with Jackie?"
"Yeah, sure." Kaede merged from behind the screen, slipping the demonic looking dragon-mask over the upper half of her face. Her full Eliminator outfit was sharp like a knife, the crisp lines so severe one expected to hear them hiss as they cut through the air. "C'mon, tall, leggy and gorgeous, let's go give our decks a once over."
"Flatterer." Verthy beamed as she took Kaede's arm and two swept from the room, leaving Lero and Jackie alone.
The two stared at each other, then Lero let out an 'eep!' as Jackie abruptly shoved him hard in the chest and dumped him into a pile of abandoned clothing. "Hey-!"
"Hay is for horses, Sky Horse." Jackie said as she flopped next to him. Rolling over so her head was on his chest, she dug out her phone and pulled up Spotify. A moment later, the strains of rock music began to pound out of the small device.
"...is this the latest Three Days Grace album?" Lero asked after the vocals had kicked in. "I didn't realize they had a new one."
"Yeah, it dropped a month ago." Jackie said as she snuggled closer to him. Through the link, Lero could feel tension and worry slowly ebbing away. "I'm not a huge fan - can't remember any of the lyrics resonating with me, but it's a step in the right direction."
"You said that about the last album."
"Yeah, but the last album was garbage. Too many guests, not enough originality. The only thing going for it was some new passion and that lead guitarist."
"Is that the one you knew before he was cool?"
"Think so? Was years ago. And let's be honest, Sky Horse, I pulled a lot of people in a lot of bars. Kind of goes with the culture." Jackie said and wrapped her free arm around him. "But now I'm a one-man woman."
Lero squirmed a bit. "Yeah, but you have to share-"
"And I'm fine with it. Really, Lero, I am. I've never laid 'claim' to anyone or been 'claimed', either. I passed through gang after gang on my own whims. It was understood that there wasn't any exclusivity with some of the top dogs." Jackie assured him. "I'm used to it. Like I said, I'll back up on this thing and help you come to grips with it."
"Does this mean I get to-"
"You do not get to ride my baby, no." Jackie cut him off and poked him in the side when he pouted at her. "That bike is mine."
"I get Sumire as a wife, but I can't fly her dragon jet. I get you as a Signer wife and I can't ride your bike." Lero groused playfully. "Is this whole thing just to torment with things I can't have?"
"Please - Fireball's willing to give you the whole kit and kaboodle. And Ojou, if what happened on your date is any indication, probably wants to buy you all the kit and kaboodle." Jackie said with an eye roll. "You'll be fine, you big baby."
"Says you." Lero kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her. Despite everything, he did feel calmer just holding Jackie. Her feelings through think seemed to suffuse into his own, generating this wave of calm affection that lapped at them over and over as the moment drew on. "How long till you girls head out, anyway?"
"''Bout twenty minutes."
"Long enough to listen to this album?"
"Only if we skip the songs I hate."
TTTTTT
Getting into the underworld had been easy. Just park the limo next to all the others and then show your suitcase full of money at the nondescript door guarded by the nondescript man and then enter to take the nondescript elevator down a few floors.
The trio settled into a corner table, one of the scant few empty ones around. The entire building was filled with rich people in richer outfits, all wearing various masks and enjoying high-class food and wine as they watched two duelists go at it in a cage match in the middle of the floor.
"Sheesh. These people are wearing more money than most of us will ever see in our lives and yet here they are acting like us rednecks at a monster truck rally." Jackie muttered under her breath as one of the duelists took a very powerful hit and was thrown back into the cage wall, their yells of pain drowned out by the crowd's laughter and applause. "Guess the saying is true - you can't buy class."
"Money is a drug, my dear. The more of it you have, the less it seems to mean and the deeper you go down the rabbit hole." Verthy explained as she opened the screen at their table and began to scroll through the menu options.
"That why you bathe in milk?" Kaede teased.
"I have a condition and it's called 'I like having supple skin'." Verthy retorted wryly, but her smile faded as she continued flipping through the menu. "Looks like Sumire was right - we're in the outer arena. If we want to progress further and get closer to those Rare Hunters, we're going to have to win."
"That's what I'm here to do." Jackie said, cracking her knuckles. "Point Straitjacket at an opponent and I'll point them to an asylum."
"It's not that simple. These matches are wagers, of a sort. You put down bids and then other customers decide whether or not to match you or raise it. Winner takes all. It's playing poker with duelists instead of cards." Verthy said as she swiped across the screen a few times. "And at some of the higher bids, you wager your duelist as well. Lose and they enter the employee of the winner. Meaning that the further we go in, the higher the stakes are for all of us."
Jackie's eagerness faded at hearing that. "Yeah, no thanks. I can just tell by looking that half the people, man, woman or inbetween, are going to want to play grab-ass with their duelists."
"We'll start small. We have all night and if you both earn a win and money, then the combined amount and the prestige will be enough…" Verthy started, only to be cut off as Kaede leaned over her shoulder to peer at the screen. "Can I help you?"
"Just looking at targets -" Kaede broke off, letting out a hiss of eager anger and then jabbed a finger onto the screen to select an amount and an opponent. "Verthy, hit the fee to pay for us to go next. I'm not waiting."
"Kaede!" Verthy swore in German under her breath as the redhead strode dramatically towards the arena.
"Looks like we're in it now." Jackie drawled in amusement. "Fireball's ready to explode on us…"
"I can only hope she knows what she's doing." Verthy replied coolly, but did as Kaede asked and hit the option that let her put down a payment ot have her duel next. Then her eyes lit up on the opponent Kaede had selected and a knowing 'ah' escaped her lips. "So that's it…"
"What's it?"
"OI, GHOST BITCH!" Kaede barked as she kicked the cage's door open. "GET YOUR ECTOPLASMIC ASS OUT HERE SO I CAN KICK IT!"
A curious murmuring erupted from the gathered spectators at the Devil Dragon's audaciousness but it was interrupted by a triumphant cackling. "I can't believe I'd run into the likes of you here!"
The shadows on the other side of the arena seemed to part as a woman emerged from them. Unlike Kaede's full-covering outfit, she was dressed a bit more revealing in a white skin-tight bandage dress, the cutouts strategically placed to avoid being too revealing. As the figure stepped under the harsh lighting, tiny pinpricks of red were visible on skin-tight fabric and skin, as though they had been sprayed by a fine mist of blood. "You finally work up the courage to brave the underworld or did your prize money run out?"
"At least I have money to burn; hard to build a career on losses, Samhain. But I will admit you might have more courage than me. I don't think I could handle coming out dressed like a back-up actress in zombie porn." Kaede said blithely, her lips lifting in a cruel smirk as Samhain glowered. "Aww, did I touch a nerve?"
"Hardly. You aren't spitting fire, Devil Dragon." Samhain retorted. As she spoke, waiters entered the arena with them and placed metal bands on their necks, arms and legs."But you came here to duel, so I'll be glad to give you your funerary rites!"
"Bitch, please - I'll savor your screams as you burn in hell!"
Both duelists lifted their arms and their Duel Disks activated in unison as the crowd's excitement rose to an excited murmur at the rivalry. "LET'S DUEL!" (KLP:8000) (SLP:8000)
"I go first! Draw!" Samhain pulled the card free and then swept it into her disk. "I set this card face-down and summon Death Messenger in defense mode." A spectral skull trailing a comet tail of energy appeared in front of her, cackling at Kaede obnoxiously. "My turn is over." (0/0)
"No wonder you're slumming it down here if that's the best move you've got to open with." Kaede mocked as she drew. "I summon Infernalqueen Archfiend and as long as I have her on the field, all my Archfiends gain one thousand attack points!" A skull-and-bone queen, her violet cape tattered as she snarled hungrily. "Battle! Destroy Death Messenger!" (900-1900/1400)
Samhain watched as the queen's claws slashed her spectral monster apart. "And your moves are getting predictable. I activate the effect of Death Messenger. By spending one of five specific cards to the graveyard since you killed it, I can destroy a card on your field!"
"Infernalqueen's effect! When you target her, I roll a die!" Kaede flung out her hand and a skull-themed die clattered across the field and came up on a one. "Which does nothing! Great!" As if to compound her frustration, Infernalqueen glared at her before exploding into dust.
"Is that all it took to put your fire, Devil Dragon? This move wil probably douse you for good! Reveal trap card! Booby Trap E lets me discard a card to set a card onto my field from my graveyard." The trap in front of Samhain shattered as she shoved a card into her graveyard, then reformed instantly. "I'm sure you know what it is."
"Anyone who's read your profile knows what it is." Kaede glanced down at her hand and then plugged a card into her disk. "I'll set this to end my turn. Go ahead and make your doom and gloom proclamation!"
"Fear it, run from it or hate it, Devil Dragon, destiny still arrives. I activate my set Destiny Board." The trap flipped up, morphing into a giant ouja board in the air above Samhain. A planchette moved across it to highlight 'D' and a flaming copy of the letter appeared. Not a moment later, it moved over to 'E' and that letter appeared. "And since its your End Phase, I place one Spirit Message into play. Once I spell out your death, you will lose the duel!"
"You have to last five turns to do it, Samhain!" Kaede crossed her arms, the red eyes of her mask glinting malevolently in the gloomy cell they were in. "So I'll just crush you in four!"
"'I'll hold you to it." Samhain drew for her turn. "I summon the Death Dreaming Spirit in defense mode!" Shadows pulled in around her field, twisting to reveal a bed. Whoever was sleeping on it wasn't visible in the dark, but that didn't matter. A garish red, blue and green monster loomed over the bed with a shield and sword. A cruel chuckle reverberated as the unknown sleeper tossed and turned in apparent pain. "For its first power, my monster gains four hundred more defense points for each of my Spirit Messages in play. (1300/1800-2600)
She lifted a finger to point across the field. "And for the second, my monster has one attack for each of the messages in play and can attack you while in defense mode! Go, Death Dreaming Spirit! Give her a taste of what awaits her in the world beyond! Death Dream Slash!"
The demon stretched out like taffy, coiling around Kaede before driving its blade into her back. The blade erupted from her front in a spray of blood, the Devil Dragon screaming and arching in agony as the shock bands activated and drove electricity into her.
"K-" Verthy shot up but Jackie's hand on her arm kept her seated.
"Easy, Ojou." Jackie said, her voice low. "This is the underworld, remember. If we can't handle this, we don't deserve to be here. And Kaede's no stranger to this."
"I know, but that pain is so real." Verthy replied, just as quiet and not nearly as calm about this, watching with concern as Death Dreaming Spirit stabbed Kaede again. "She could get hurt."
"And you think we won't get hurt trying to save the world?"
Verthy gave the masked woman a frown, clearly not wanting to admit she was right, but could think of a reply.
Samhain watched as her spirit retreated to her side of the field, Kaede bent over and heaving for breath. "How about it, hmm? The taste of pain here in the underworld? I promise you, the only release you'll find is death…"
Kaede's wicked laugher brought Samhain up short as the Devil Dragon lifted her head enough to show a wild grin. "You think that hurt, ghost bitch? It just made me feel alive!" (KLP:8000-6700-5400)
"That's what irritates me - you just don't know when to be scared!" Samhain hissed. "I end my turn!"
"Oh, I've been scared plenty. But only things worth being scared over - you might as well be a kid in a bedsheet! My draw!" Kaede ripped the card free and then slammed one into her disk. Twin braziers ignited behind her, the demonic flames silhouetting her in a way that was all ruthless joy. "I activate Archfiend Hall - Avernus which lets me summon an Archfiend from my hand as I have no monsters! And I'll normal summon alongside it! Darkbiship Archfiend and Hellpawn Archfiend!"
Her first monster was a scowling demon wrapped in a blue cloak while the other was smaller, lacking skin and having only exposed muscle laid over by bone armor. (300/1400) (1200/200)
"Now I'll give my two monsters a tune-up! The demon king demands a demon castle! Tower over the rabble and terrorize the weak! Synchro Summon! Level 5! Death-Castle Archfiend!" Her two monsters vanished, replaced by a looming castle tower constructed entirely out of bones. The drawbridge and eyes were made out of hardened skin or muscle, flexing and opening to reveal it to be a demonic face. (1600/2300)
"And what's a good castle like this without a king? When I summon this monster, I can summon Terrorking Archfiend from my deck!" Kaede yanked the card from her deck and the drawbridge mouth opened, letting a armored demon wielding an axe stalk his way forwards, looking rather murderous at the ghosts who were occupying what was now his front lawn. (2000/1500)
Kaede pointed at Death-Castle and a fire lit up at the top of the tower. It began to cycle through numbers before settling on a blazing '1' that was accompanied by wailing screams of something in pain. "I activate my monster's effect and getting a one on the die roll means I can add an Archfiend equip spell from my deck to my hand!"
Her deck churned and spat out the card that she plugged into her disk. "Revival of the Archfiends revives Infernalqueen!" Fires erupted in front of her and the clawed hand of Infernalqueen burst through the arena's concrete like it was nothing. She hauled herself out of the depths, growling and eager for vengeance. (900-1900) (2000-3000) (1600-2600)
"Battle! Destroy Death Dreaming Spirit, Terrorking! Hell Plague!" Terrorking opened his mouth, a nightmarish droning filling the air as a horde of locus spewed out. To make matters worse, they were on fire and whatever ectoplasmic energy that Death Dreaming Spirit was made out of, the locusts found it edible. In short order, there was nothing left of the monster.
"Now tastes the fires of hell, Samhain! Your little ouija board can't predict this! Infernalqueen, Death-Castle! Direct attack on her life points! Let's make her burn!" Kaede laughed as her two monsters obeyed, both of them spewing a stream of flames across the field. Samhain howled as they licked and lashed at her, the false pain of the holograms becoming real as the shock bands kicked in and she was sent stumbling against the cage wall for a second, more potent zap. "There we go - that's the noise that lulls me to sleep at night! The sound of you landing in second place!"
Samhain carefully got to her feet, the fresh pains making her movements stiff and cautious. Her black was beginning to curl from the electricity, but the twisted locks framing her only exaggerated the hard, haunted set of her pale features. "Is that so? Then I'll be the nightmare that never lets you sleep again - by crushing you in this duel!"
A cackle came fom the floating ouija board above her field and the planchette moved, settling onto an 'A'. The letter itself appeared alongside the other two as the Eliminator reached for her deck. "One more turn down and one step closer to your death, Devil Dragon!"
She held up a spell card. "But let's see how much blood we can take from you before the noose tightens! The spell Foolish Burial sends one monster from my deck to the graveyard! Then I summon my Beheaded Revenant!"
As before, fog spilled across her field. The clank of armored footsteps followed and a shape emerged from the fog. A knight's armor, wracked with rust and dried blood to the point it was hard to tell the two apart. True to its name, it was headless but clearly seemed to think Kaede was involved in that as it pointed a sword at her. It was so well used that the chips had become jagged, savage notches. "Looks like he thinks your head will be a good replacement! That should be just fine; I've never seen you use yours!" (1200/1700)
The Devil Dragon just stared at the monster from behind her mask, the backlighting of her Archfiend Hall casting her face in such deep shadows that her smile was haunting the gloom. "It'd be a step up from the pumpkin that's yours, Samhain."
"We'll see! As I have one of my Messages in play, I can summon this monster from my hand! Planchette!" A toy doll, half of its head missing and giving the usual cheerful expression a soul-craving bent, swayed her way onto the field. Thick mist spilled out of the wound and the seams on its body, morphing into faint images of wailing faces and grasping hands. (600/200)
"This is new. I didn't think that Destiny Board had a lot of support cards." Jackie observed. "And isn't that the doll Dark Necrofear carries?"
"The original Destiny Board cards were tied to that monster, but not anymore." Verthy shivered a bit and shook her head. "So very creepy…"
"Horror isn't your thing?"
"No, my thing is dresses and sewing and romance films."
"See, that's horrifying - real people don't act like that."
"And horror film characters aren't missing a few brain cells themselves?"
"Touche."
Samhain smirked as Kaede's lips thinned. "I see you figured it out, Devil Dragon. You weren't the only Eliminator who got new cards from I2 to promote the new lines! Planchette is a Tuner and now I tune her with Revenant! You couldn't take it all with you, but you'll take it all back to warm your grave! Wealth, power and blood! Synchro Summon! Level 6!"
The fog spilling around Planchette swelled, consuming both her and Revenant. A rattly moan came from the fog as a new figure emerged. Ratty clothing hung from an emaciated body that still had enough sinew and muscle left to blindly swing a rapier about. Pearly white bone shone here and there through the desiccated flesh and a few beetles scuttled in and out of the hollow eye sockets. "Aristocratic Deathhaunt!" (1200/800)
"Oh, how spooky." Kaede said flatly. "I am so terrified of that pile of bones."
Samhain just shook her head. "You will be. Or didn't you notice that fog from his summoning is still here and reaching across the field?" Her expression grew darkly delighted as Kaede's monsters began to curse and snarl patches of their bodies began to rot and corrode to drip off them into chunks that vanished into the fog. The faint noises of scuttling insect lets and something munching on meat followed. "Deathhaunt gains four hundred attack for everyone of my messages in play while your monsters lose that amount!" (1200-2400) (1900-700) (3000-1800) (2600-1400)
A gauntleted hand punched through the arena floor and then the rusted, blood-spattered knight was tearing himself free of the place like he'd been buried under it. "And since I have at least three messages in play, my Revenant can revive himself and he gains eight hundred more attack." (1200-2000)
Samhain pointed across the field as the crowd around them crowed it's delight at the turn of events. "Beheaded Revenant! Dethrone that queen! Death Blade!"
The knight lunged across the field, slicing through Infernalqueen with ease. Blood spurted up from the neck stump as the fiend's body sagged into the fog and was consumed by a chittering mass of something. "Oh - and one more power my knight gets! Each time he kills a monster, you take eight hundred damage!"
Kaede screamed as the blade slashed over her chest, the shock bands crackling so ferociously it sounded like bones breaking. (KLP:5400-4100-3300)
The other duelist didn't have time to savor her victory, though, as flames erupted where Infernalqueen had been and a moment later, the cruel monster was back where she had been. "What - what happened? How did your monster come back!
"Hehehe…I discarded a monster called Desrook Archfiend." Kaede held up the card in question despite the pain she was clearly in, her smirk wicked.
"But that only works on Terrorking!" Samhain argued.
"In Death-Castle, all of my Archfiends, alive or dead, are Terrorking, Samhain. And each time I special summon one of them, I can add another Desrook to my hand." Kaede did so, wagging the card back and forth mockingly as Samhain clenched her first in frustration. "Want to assail my castle again or is it just too much for you?"
Samhain barked a laugh. "Don't be absurd - you're hardly unconquerable! You or your castle! Deathhaunt! Topple that castle!" The blind demon lurched forwards, swinging its weapon this way and that as it advanced.
"Trap card! Attack Guidance Armor! Now your Deathhaunt has to attack my Terrorking!" Kaede watched as the former aristocrat stumbled for the king. Terrorking caught the wrist of the smaller monster and opened his mouth. The flaming locusts buzzed out, swarming into Deathhaunt's sagging jaw and eye sockets. Soon Deathhaunt was on fire, being eaten and melted at the same time. "Oh and did I mention that since you killed Infernalqueen before, Revival of the Archfiends gain Terrorking her attack points?" (1800-2500)
"No…!" Samhain snarled as her monster finally exploded. She shoved the card into her graveyard with a glare across the field. Deathhaunt could revive himself, but Terrorking negates monster effects when he kills something! I have to go on the defensive! (SLP:4500-4400)
"I set one card face-down." She shoved the card into her disk. "And end my turn!"
"Draw." Kaede pulled the card free, her smile only growing as her shock bands activated and sent sparks crackling all over her. "That's the stuff - I'll happily pay five hundred life points to keep both Infernalqueen and Death-Castle in play and another eight hundred to for Terrorking. The price for victory over you, Samhain, is so unbelievably cheap…hehehehehe…" (KLP:4100-3600-3100-2300)
"Keep laughing, you masochist." Samhain snarled back, baring her teeth in a not-quite unpleasant grin. "And I'll give you the greatest pain as my Destiny Board stops your heart!"
"Your beauty certainly isn't getting there, Samhain. But keep dressing like that porn extra and maybe you'll get there someday." The Devil Dragon taunted, clearly savoring how her rival snarled again and the audience rippled with laughter. "Now let's continue my turn. I activate the effect of Death-Castle again."
The flames ignited and souls wailed as a three floated above the demon castle. "Another odd number, another equip card search." Adding the card she wanted to her hand, Kaede slapped down another one. A Horrorpawn appeared with a gutteral growl. "With this tuner, I'll tune it and my Terrorking together! Serve in hell, slaughter in heaven! Pain and suffering is the only code you follow, terror the only lord serve! Synchro Summon! Level 6! Dusktemplar Archfiend!"
A angry bellowing roar ripped across the playing field as a figure leapt down from the top of Death-Castle's tower. Unlike the other Archfiends, this one was covered head-to-toe in black bone armor that steamed and hissed as if it were fresh out of the forge. In one arm, there was a flame-shaped shield and the other, an actual flaming sword. (2900-3900/2500)
"Death-Castle! Send that revenant back to his grave! Soul Fire!" Kaede snapped her fingers and Death-Castle's drawbridge lowered, letting the monster billow out a stream of hellfire again.
"Activate reverse card - Quick Summon!" Samhain watched as a curtain suddenly swallowed up her Revenant. The fabric was revealed to part of a monster who was nothing but that curtain, two arms and a head that was forever cackling. "I sacrifice Revenant for Puppet Master in defense mode and then use Puppet Master's ability by paying one thousand life points to summon three monsters from my graveyard in defense mode! Planchette! Deathhaunt! The Portrait's Doom!" (0/0) (SMLP:4400-3400)
The curtain parted, revealing Planchette, Deathhaunt and a new monster that looked like a picture frame. The picture inside was alive, showing someone visiting Dark Necrofear like she was a fortune teller and the foggy crystal ball forever spelling out 'D-E-A-T-H'. (600/200) (1200-2400) (1200/1500)
"I resume battle - Puppet Master dies!" Kaede sneered as the monster was eaten away by Death-Castle's flames, cackling even as it died. She held up a spell card and the dying monster exploded. "I activate the quick play spell Overflow! Since I just destroyed a monster in battle, I can destroy one card on the field! Destiny Board is gone!"
Samhain braced herself as the flaming pieces of Puppet Master perforated her Destiny Board card. "You can't stop this prophecy so easily, Devil Dragon! Thanks to The Portrait's Doom, my Spirit Messages remain in play even without Destiny Board! And then I activate my portrait's other ability!"
"You what?" Kaede growled, watching as the living portrait suddenly teleported into the space Destiny Board had occupied. It rippled and glowed, the paint flecking off it to reveal it to be another identical copy of Destiny Board. "It became Destiny Board!"
"It became my trap in more than name; it took its effects, too!" Samhain's smile broadened sharply as the crowd cheered and roared at her move. "The clock's still ticking, Devil Dragon!"
"We'll see! Dusktemplar! Battle!" The armored knight roared again and launched himself across the field. The flames on his shield glowed and twisted into a '4'. "When he battles, I roll a die! And a four means your monster effects are negated! Deathhaunt dies!" The aristocrat was slashed in twain, both pieces erupting into flames as the monster erupted into wails. "Infernalqueen! Attack that doll!"
The cackling demon queen breathed a wave of fire over the doll, laughing even wildly as it melted from the heat and the screaming, pained souls around it were reduced to vapor by the blaze. Kaee didn't look nearly as pleased as she grabbed a card from her hand. "I set one card face-down! End turn!"
"Tick-tock, tick-tock. Wasn't that your fourth turn? Didn't you say you'd have beaten me by now? How disappointing.." Samhain mocked as the letter 'T' appeared alongside the others there. At the same time, Deathhaunt clambered his way out of the arena floor. "You couldn't even kill Deathhaunt properly, let alone me!"
"It's just a false hope, Samhain." Kaede replied with a cool smirk. "Something that I and my Archfiends will savor as we rip it and your life points away from you."
"Big talk, but let's see if your passion can measure up or if I'm going to home disappointed by you again!" Samhain drew. "I activate Monster Reincarnation, discarding a card to add my Planchette back to my hand. Of course, I'm going to summon her again."
The creepy doll reappeared alongside Deathhaunt, both of them being swallowed by the misty fog of souls. "Deathhaunt is powerful but he's not enough to crush you. So let me introduce you to the monster who commands the doom of souls and surpasses death itself! Destiny in your right hand, Fate in your left hand, you embody the joyous cruelty of certainty in an uncertain world! Synchro Summon! Level 8!"
A broad green hand clutching a wineglass parted the fog like a curtain, allowing her monster to stride out. He was bigger than either duelist, those almost wholly immaterial as if he were a ghost. Whilst he wore the robes of a holy man, they were garishly gold, black and red in mockery of the sanctity they were meant to portray. "Destiny Ruler Ha-Des!" (2500/1700)
Kaede and the Archfiends stared at him, then they all erupted into varying degrees of laughter. "So that old relic is still kicking? After losing his hell to the Dark Ruler of the Abyss and then the zombie plague, you'd think he'd learn to give up!"
"A true ruler is a ruler no matter how he exists, unlike how your petty Archfiends bow down to the Emperor like frightened children." Samhain shot back and then pointed at Infernalqueen. "Ha Des! Show her some real hellfire! Soul Eradicate!"
Ha-Des knocked back his wine and chucked the glass over his shoulder with a booming laugh. He held out both hands, white-blue flames igniting in each of them. Infernalqueen screeched in sudden pain, clutching at her throat as he laughed. The same flames spilled out of her mouth and eyes before she shattered apart. (KLP:2300-1500)
"Since he won in a fight, Destiny Ruler Ha-Des activates his special ability! I place one Spirit Message from my deck to the field like Destiny Board put it there!" Samhain threw back her head and laughed as the crowd exploded into surprised noises as the planchette moved over the ouija board one final time and a flaming letter 'H' appeared alongside the other four. "You lose, Devil Dragon!"
Her laughter was cut off by a loud slicing noise and she lowered her head to stare in befuddlement at flaming sword lodged through her Destiny Board. "What…is this?!"
"Dusktemplar's ability, Samhain." Kaede's lip lifted in a mocking smile "Whenever any Archfiend battles, I roll his die. And I only get two options with it. Either I negate all your monster effects…or all your spell and trap ones. Which means your 'Instant Win'...isn't."
Silence hung in the air and the crowd cheered and clapped as Samhain stared in disbelief. Jackie thumped her fist on the table. "Hell yes! I knew that she'd stop that dead in its tracks! Go, Devil Dragon, Go! Kick her ass!"
Her cheering was cut off as Verthy suddenly hugged while squealing in delight. "Ack -hokay - need -air!"
"She did! She stopped the one turn kill! Oh, this is fantastic! Stupendous! Our net worth tonight is going to be amazing"
"Verthy- please - I can see my life flashing before my eyes-!"
Samhain's face twisted into a dark snarl and she clenched her fist. "You haven't escaped my clutches yet, Devil Dragon! Ha Des' other ability activates! Since he destroyed a monster, you take five hundred damage for each Spirit Message I have! Destiny Burn!"
Kaede shoved a card into her disk as Ha Des hurled fireballs at her, small explosions of red-yellow flame stopping the phantom blaze in its tracks before it could even reach her field. "I discard Kuriboh to negate the effect damage."
Samhain's eyes widened, then narrowed as she bared a fang in apparent delight. "I'd expect nothing less from the one who I consider my rival…but your place is under me, Devil Dragon, as I show your soul a world of pleasurable death! I banish three monsters to special summon Dark Necrofear in defense mode!" A tall, blue-skinned demon appeared, clutching a copy of Planchette and staring out at the Archfiends with a cold, dead gaze. (2200/2800)
Beheaded Revenant appeared as well, crouching behind a new, mottled shield. "Since I banished Revenant, he returns as well! And since I haven't normal summoned this turn, I set one monster in defense mode! End turn!"
She looked down at her hand, lips curling in delight. Her set monster was Absorbing Jar, which would blow up all of her Destiny Board cards and put them in the graveyard. Which was right where she needed them. The ritual monster and spell in her hand would be usable on her next turn then and since the Devil Dragon had so politely set up a shooting gallery for her, she'd be able to win with Destiny Board. Dread Soul Dragon Necroscythe will be your doom!
"My move. Draw." Kaede drew, her lips twisting into a satisfied, if cruel, grin. "It's been fun, Samhain, but we both know you can't handle my fires for too long. So it's time to end this! I summon my last Horrorpawn!" The little demon reappeared. "And now I tune it with Dusktemplar!"
"Your burning hot red dragon or whatever you call it?" Samhain asked with a shake of her head. "My monsters are in defense mode, it's power won't let you get anywhere!"
"The Devil bleeds and his blood burns the world! Burn down all shielding lies and reveal the rage that will ignite the inferno of war!" Kaede watched with dark glee as her Horrorpawn and Dusktemplar
melted into the raging blaze that ignited on her field. Inside the blaze, a dragonic shape formed and then a flap of great wings scattered them. The dragon was big and while it lacked the polished sheen of Hot Red Dragon Archfiend, the armored scales and bulkier body suggested it was just as powerful. The battering ram to its counterpart's explosion. "Synchro Summon! Level 8! Red Dragon Archfiend!" (3000/2500)
"She what?!" Jackie hissed angrily. A glance showed her arm glowing faintly with a dragon's claw and she met Verthy's gaze. "That's another Signer Dragon! We weren't supposed to bring those!"
"We didn't!" Verthy assured her "But I guess she thought having two was a loophole! Where'd she even get it?!
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out!" Jackie growled.
"I equip Red Dragon Archfiend with Blood of the Archfiends." Kaede crossed her arms as her monster began to bleed, the dripping blood sizzling across the arena floor and igniting sporadically until it looked like her monster was shedding a countless amount of sparks. "Battle! Attack Dark Necrofear! Hell Eruption!"
Red Dragon Archfiend opened its mouth, unleashing a wave of flames that crawled over Dark Necrofear. The monster just stared with silent numbness even as the flames caused her to shatter apart. Samhain, however, reacted with more concern, shielding her face and taking a step back. "What good does that do? She was in defense mode!"
"That means nothing against my dragon - when he attacks a defense mode monster, he instantly destroys it! And then all other defense mode monsters you have! Crimson Tide!" Kaede laughed as her dragon's flames spread, melting away Beheaded Revenant and Samhain's set monster like they were wax candles. "Now to finish you off! Trap card! Lineage of Destruction! My monster gains one attack for every monster you have that was destroyed this battle phase! And that was three! HELL ERUPTION!" (3000-4800)
"No-!" Samhain could do nothing as the dragon gathered more flames in his maw and unleashed them. Destiny Ruler Ha-Des was evaporated into nothing in an instant and even Destiny Board was consumed like crepe paper by the demonic flames. The direct attack that followed slammed her into the cage wall a second time her screams of pain nearly drowned out the roar of fire and Kaede's triumphant laughter. (SMLP:4400-2100-0)
The ghost duelist sagged to the floor, panting in exertion. Fear crossed her face as a shadow loomed over her. The Devil Dragon, her face a mix of cruel excitement. Samhain growled, fingers curling into fists. "Y-you..b-itch…"
"If that's all your reduced to, Samhain, I'm disappointed. I thought you'd be a lot more clever with how you were working your mouth earlier." The Devil Dragon mocked…and then reached down a hand, her ire dropping away. "You'll just have to try harder next time."
"Same to you, Devil Dragon." Samhain let herself be pulled up and stretched, working the kinks out of her body that the shocks had left. "You got lucky this time."
"Funny. I get lucky everytime I win, but every time you win, it's skill." Kaede gave her fellow Eliminator an eyeroll. "But then again - aren't I in the lead again? I think your skill isn't all it's cracked up to be."
"Trust me." Samhain leaned in close, cupping Kaede's face. "My skills are more than enough for you…at least, the latest fan polls put me in first place and you're where you should be. Beneath me."
"Tch. Like the Internet knows what it wants!" The Devil Dragon caught Samhain's wrist and pulled it of her face, but didn't let go. "You got time for more tonight?"
"No. I'm still working, loss or not. But good luck with whatever you're here for." Samhain said, eyes flicking to where Verthy and Jackie where sitting. "And I hope you survive your pretty friends over there."
"Uhh…" Kaede looked sheepish and rubbed the back of her head. "Say, there room in your bunk tonight…"
"Nope." Samhain said, clearly enjoying her rivals sudden worry. "I'll have to catch you next time."
"Likewise." The two fist-bumped, then headed for their respective exits. "Don't let anyone else take you down, ghost bitch. I'd miss my favorite punching bag."
"You keep running that mouth, Devil Dragon and I'll be sure to you put in an otherworld of hurt."
Kaede approached her table, suddenly aching and stiff. "So…yeah, I won! And-yeep!" She was summarily seized on either arm by her two friends and dragged off into a dark corner. "Ow! Girls! That hurts! I got zapped with real electricity up there! And it caused real pain!"
"I'll give you something to whine about if you don't 'fess up." Jackie said with a growl, pushing her against a wall like some kind of bouncer while Verthy watched with classy, cold distance. "Spill it, Devil Dragon! Where'd you get that second Red Dragon Archfiend monster?"
"It's just a dragon-"
Jackie shoved her still glowing arm into Kaede's face. "And my new tat says it's a magical dragon! And I know you didn't go to Skeleton Knight to get it!"
Kaede didn't back down. "I can't tell you."
"Bullshit!"
"I can't. It's part of how I got this one. And my first one. All I can do is promise it's not going to hurt anyone and the risks are ones I understand." Kaede said seriously. "Now put me down, Straitjacket."
"Or you'll what?" Jackie said back softly. "You can't solo this shit. We're in this together and that means trusting each other!"
"Says the woman who didn't even visit her dying King."
"You-"
"Enough, girls. And I use the term because I'm the only woman present at the moment." Verthy cut in sharply. The two looked at her, but she just gave them a measured gaze. "Think about where we are and what we're doing. Infighting like this is just going to cause problems that everyone else here won't hesitate to take advantage of. We can deal with this issue later. Or rather, the Devil Dragon is going to explain to Lero why she's got two dragons."
The two masked women matched gazes for a moment, then Jackie let Kaede down and stormed for their table. "Fine by me. If you lie to him about all this, Fireball, I won't forgive you for it. He's got enough on his plate without one of us not playing ball because of 'reasons'."
Verthy watched her leave and was even more surprised to see Kaede's shoulders slump as the Eliminator let out a deep sigh. "Feeling regret that easily? After what you just said, I thought you'd be keeping your cards close to your chest."
"I want to and I thought I could, but…" Kaede shook her head. "It's complicated, Verthy. Jackie's right. But the reasons why I'm keeping secrets, my dragons - I know I'm right, too. I have my secrets because I don't want the world to decide things because of who my parents are."
"Something I can agree with, just not your methodology. However, we will table that for the night." Verthy assured her. "Your victory now is what matters and now our progression towards our mystery woman." A playful light entered her eyes. "Speaking of which - you and Samhain have a bit of mystery between you two. Just how intense is your rivalry, my dear?"
Kaede laughed a bit. "Oh, it's intense enough that we have fan sites dedicated to us. But it's never gone beyond the dueling field. It'd ruin the fun if it did."
"Almost a pity. It seems like you two get along passionately." Verthy said as they started walking after Jackie. "Do your stinging barbs extend to the locker room, too? Or are you private besties when the outfits come off?"
"Nope." Kaede shrugged. "I have no idea who she is behind her Eliminator identity.
"Truly?" Verthy asked in amazement. When Kaede nodded, she made a noise of disbelief. "How can that be? Aren't your identities crafted by I2 and your real names and such available through records?"
"They can be, but a lot of us keep our identities a secret from one another. It helps make sure we can't backstab each other's strategies. Plus, in this day and age, just our names could mean more than a few angry duelists could track us down for revenge after we Eliminate them." Kaede pointed out. "Safety is important when you're playing the heel."
"Even so, aren't you curious as to who Samhain really is?"
"Yeah, but I'm sure she's just a random person I wouldn't recognize."
TTTTTT
Samhain exited the underground, drinking in the sting of the cold night air on her aching body. Those shock duels hurt, but they weren't anything she wasn't used to. She'd do whatever it took to find more challenges worthy of her talents and to improve her skills with. What hurt worse was the loss she'd just taken.
With a twist of her fingers, a cigarette appeared between her fingers and she put it to her lips, producing a lighter with the same trickery. When you were an Eliminator, you learned all kinds of little shortcuts to hide necessities in, on or around costumes that vastly favored form over function.
A puff of smoke sent her annoyance at the Devil Dragon wafting across the night, leaving only her frustration at the result. She and that damnable redhead had been going back-and-forth, back-and-forth across the last four years of their careers. Neither pulled ahead of the other for very long, but Samhain had thought she'd pulled ahead by a good lead as of late. Then again, they hadn't had a duel for nearly eight months now and it was looking like that win in the Bride Tournament had ignited a fire under her rival.
And now one was sparking to life alongside her cigarette in here. She'd been bouncing around the dueling Underworlds for the last few months, thinking she'd pushed herself to the limit with mundane challengers. But the Devil Dragon had come out and shaken her out of her little rut. Maybe it was time to reexamine herself and see what had stopped her from progressing.
The first step to that was taking some time away from work and hiding at home. She pulled out her cell phone and punched in the number she wanted. Despite the late time in Germany, her target would be to be well awake across the world in Japan.
The phone answered on the second ring. "Hey, look at this. My daughter actually remembered that she has parents. Or finally remembered the phone number."
"I might have forgotten it thanks to that merger with I2 and your title changing along with your office." Samhain fired back in the same playfully mocking tone. "How's it feel to step down from CEO of KaibaCorp to Head of the Board of Directors for Industrial Illusions, Dad?"
"Like a giant weight's been lifted off my shoulders. Works a bit easier now that I'm not the final stop for all the company's problems."
"Psh, you say that, but Sumire is a slave-driver. I'm sure she's got you working sixty hours now that she's finally taking some honeymoon time with her husband."
Her father barked a laugh. "Sumire? Honeymoon? Those two words don't exist together in the same dictionary. It's hard enough to convince her to take some time with him during the day."
"I'm sure the great Mokuba Kaiba will be able to convince her." Samhain said. "I know my cousin isn't a social butterfly, but now she's got some family of her own, I think she should be building some stronger relationships."
"Aren't you the pot calling the kettle black, Samatha?" Mokuba pointed out. "You've barely spent any time with her in the last year and you haven't any relationships of your own."
"Except with the Bitch Dragon…" Samantha said under her breath, but apparently her uncle caught it if his laugh was any indication.
"You lose to her again?"
"I didn't lose, I merely failed to win!"
"Uh-huh. I'm just waiting for you to swear cartoonish vengeance and that you'll get her next time."
"Ugh, Dad, really. You're reading far too much into it. She's a talented duelist, but she's not anyone important besides that." Samantha sighed as her dad's laughter grew. "What is with you!? Everytime! Why is this so funny to you?"
"Nothing, nothing! Just happy my girl is carrying on the family tradition of holding onto grudges and improving herself!" Mokuba said in between laughter.
"God, parents are so weird!"
TTTTTT
A/N: Just how did Kaede get a second Signer Dragon? Why is she keeping it from the group? And will she and Samhain ever figure out their real identities? We'll have to let those questions stew on the back burner for a while because Jackie is up next and in the dueling underworld, things ancient and painful lurk…
Next Chapter: Prehistoric Hell!
TTTTTT
Accessing…Accessing…Accessing…
Files Accessed.
Password: **********
To K-
My Dear Colleague,
The history of this world is fascinating! The saying is apparently true, there more things in heaven and earth than dreamt in my Duel Theory! We are currently exploring the Burning Wastes, per your suggestion, and have managed to find the ruins you indicated. They do indeed seem to come from my homeworld, though they are unlike any museum I have ever visited. But the building is mostly intact and we should be able to fortify it for the Volcanics to use as a base.
Sadly, one of the rooms that has suffered the most damage is the records room. And all that has done is spur my curiosity - there are scraps mentioning monsters called 'Jurracs' and I was wondering if you could tell me more about them? There is precious little to do these days except waiting - my wife may be strong, but one person can only do so much until help arrives.
Reply: To K-
My Dear Colleague,
I would be happy to explain the Jurracs to you! So few of we Termians are interested in the history of our world and I lament that we never seem to learn from it, only repeat it!
The Jurracs are one of the original 'tribes' that dominated our world's previous age. They were apparently during the formation of the world itself, dinosaurs absorbing the powers of burning meteors that struck the planet. Their new literal fire power made them aggressive and powerful, as they spread outwards rapidly across the Burning Wastes - though they were called the 'Lava Fields' then. The other tribes at the time - the Mist Valley, the X-Sabers and the Ice Barriers - struggled to deal with them, opting to give them a wide berth and hope that since they had no one left to fight, the Jurracs would just continue in-fighting.
It was this isolation that spelled their doom, however. The Worms invaded the Lava Fields first, perhaps correctly assuming that the Jurracs would be easier prey alone and that if Jurracs lent their power to the other tribes, the Worms wouldn't be able to defend against such overwhelming firepower. The Jurracs, for their part, seemed to instinctively recognize that the Worms were such a threat to all life, they had to be completely eradicated. They unleashed the meteoric power inside them and rained themselves across the Lava Field, trying to burn out the Worms to the very bedrock.
Alas, all it did was slow, not stop, the Worm Invasion. But the sacrifice was not in vain. For while the Worms ignored the now 'Burning Wastes' as they focused on the other tribes, scattered survivors and warriors from lesser villages and clans hid in the Burning Wastes - and in doing so, mastered the flaming energy left behind the Jurracs. In time, they would rejoin the war as a united army calling themselves 'The Flamvell'.
TTTTTTTT
Death Dreaming Spirit
DARK
4 stars
Fiend/Effect
1300/1800
Effect: This card can attack while in face-up defense position. This card can attack a number of times equal to the number of differently named 'Destiny Board' and 'Spirit Message' cards that are face-up on the field. This card gains 400 DEF for each face-up 'Destiny Board' and 'Spirit Message' on the field.
The Portrait's Doom.
DARK
4 stars
Fiend/Effect
1200/1500
Effect: The 'Destiny Board' effect of 'When any 'Destiny Board' or 'Spirit Message' card leaves the field, send all 'Destiny Board' and 'Spirit Message' you control to the graveyard' is negated while this card is face-up on the field. If a 'Destiny Board' or 'Spirit Message' is destroyed while this card is face-up on the field or in the graveyard, you can place this card face-up in your Spell and Trap Zone and target the destroyed card; this card gains the targeted card's name and effects and is treated as if being placed by the effect of 'Destiny Board'. You can only use this effect of 'The Portrait's Doom' once per turn.
Beheaded Revenant
DARK
4 stars
Fiend/Effect
1400/1700
Effect: For each face-up 'Destiny Board' or 'Spirit Message' on the field with different names, this card gains the following effects:
1+: This card gains 600 ATK
2+: Inflict 800 damage to your opponent each time this card destroys a monster as a result of battle.
3+: Once per turn, if this card is destroyed, you can Special Summon it but banish it when it leaves the field.
4+: Once per turn, if this card is banished, you can Special Summon it.
Planchette
DARK
2 stars
Fiend/Tuner/Effect
600/200
Effect: You can Special Summon this card from your hand if you control a face-up 'Destiny Board' or 'Spirit Message'. If this card is in your graveyard because it was sent there was a Synchro Material for a Synchro Summon, you can reveal any number of 'Spirit Message' or 'Destiny Board' in your Hand and in your Graveyard, place them at the bottom of the deck and draw the same number of cards. You can only use each effect of 'Planchette' once per turn.
Destiny Ruler Ha-Des
DARK
8 stars
Fiend/Synchro/Effect
2500/1700
Effect: 'Planchette' + 1 or more Fiend-type Monsters.
Once per turn, if this card destroys a monster as a result of battle, you can place one 'Spirit Message' from your hand, deck or graveyard face-up into your Spell and Trap Zone (this is treated as being placed by the effect of 'Destiny Board') inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each face-up 'Destiny Board' or 'Spirit Message' you control with different names. You can only control one face-up ' Destiny Ruler Ha-Des'.
Aristocrat Deathhaunt
DARK
6 stars
Fiend/Synchro/Effect
1200/800
Effect: 'Planchette' + 1 or more Fiend-type monsters
For each face-up ' Destiny Board' or 'Spirit Message' on the field with different names, face-up monsters your opponent controls lose 400 ATK and DEF and this card gains 400 ATK and DEF. If this card is destroyed by your opponent's card and sent to the graveyard, you can Special Summon it during the End Phase but banish it if it leaves the field.
Death-Castle Archfiend
DARK
5 stars
Synchro/Fiend/Effect
1600/2300
Effect: 1 Fiend-type Tuner + 1 or more Fiend-type monster
During your Standby Phase, pay 500 life points or this card's effects are negated until your next Standby Phase. When you Synchro Summon this card, you can Special Summon one 'Terrorking Archfiend' from your Deck or Graveyard. Once per turn, when a 'Terrorking Archfiend' is Special SUmmoned, you can add one 'Desrook Archfiend' from your Deck or Graveyard to your Hand. All 'Archfiend monsters' you control and in your graveyard, except Death-Castle Archfiend, are treated as 'Terrorking Archfiend'. Once per turn ,you can roll a die and activate one of the following effects depending on the result:
1,3 or 5: Add one 'Archfiend' Equip Spell from your Deck to your Hand.
2,4 or 6: Add one card that refers to 'Terrorking Archfiend' from your Deck or Graveyard to your Hand.