Evo drew his card, losing 700 Life Points in the process. He had drawn a
powerful magic card, but it had no use right now and to play it would cost
him 1000 Life Points; a sacrifice he wasn't ready to make just yet. Looking
at the situation he was better off not playing anything. He had two
monsters on the field while Fader had none, and his Horseman's attack power
had grown another 200 points from the Castle of Dark Illusion's effect. It
was going to cost him 600 Life Points to make the attack but Fader would
lose 2500,a trade well worth it.
"I won't play any cards," he announced. "But I will attack with the Headless Horseman to strike your Life Points directly."
"I'm afraid not Thief," Fader replied. As the Headless Horeman rode forward to attack Fader it froze in place floating off its horse. It's arms and legs were spread apart in hte air as a wierd metal rack in hte shape of a Pentacle appeared behind it, shackles binding its limb in place.
"Torture Wheel!" Evo exclaimed with horror.
"So you know it?" Fader asked. "Then you know that it will prevent your monster from moving and will deal you 500 damage during each of my standby phases. Add to that the effects of Torture Room of Nitemares and you'll lose 1000 Life Points every turn."
"My turn is over then," Evo said angrily. He had walked right into Fader's trap like a fool. For all his vaunted experience of millenia of playing Shadow Games he was making the moves of an amateur. Something else was bothering him though. His other self really. Fader had won Torture Wheel from the Gamble Brothers back in Battle City. His host vessel had watched the entire match. It was right afterwards that the two met officially, so of course Evo knew of the card, why would Fader think otherwise? His vision was still blurry as he watched Fader and he felt a little more light headed.
Fader drew his card losing the required 200 Life Points, a paltry sum compared to the thousand that Evo lost from the effects of Fader's two cards.
Evo: 5900, Fader: 7470.
"This is no match," Fader said. "It's an execution. Are you even trying Theif?
"The game is far from over. Just make your move," Evo barked at his opponent.
"Fine," the young man replied. "I was through with the warm-up anyway. Time for the real match to begin. And I have the perfect monster. I summon the Dark Magician (2500/2100)!" The card image appeared on the field and the monster began to take shape.
"What the hell?" Evo said as the Dark Magician had completely formed. "Your magician..." It was different. Instead of the normal purple hair and robes that it wore typically, this Magician now had grey hair and red robes to match the cloak and hair of its controller, Fader. Somehow not only had Fader changed, but his monster had as well.
"The only thing you should worry about my Magician is it's power," Fader told him. "Dark Magician attack the Castle of Dark Illusions!" The Dark Magician raised it's staff and in a flash the floating fortress exploded raining down debris whcih crashed all around Evo.
"Do you still think that the game isn't over Thief?" Fader shouted. "Make your move!"
Evo: 5900, Fader: 6670.
"I have only one move to make," replied Evo solemnly as he drew his card. "I play the field magic card, Graveyard of the Wandering Spirit. It will raise the attack and defense power of all my Zombies by 200 points. My turn is over."
Evo: 4200, Fader: 6670.
Fader laughed. "That's your best move? You're making this too easy. You try to make your Horseman stronger hoping that even cofined as it is it will still be stronger than my Magician, but you forget that without the Caslte of Dark illusions its power returned to its original 2100. Even with the boost from the field magic card it isn't strong enough to hold up against my monster's onslaught. I'll just draw, you'll lose 1000 Life Points and my Dark Magician will attack and destroy your weak monster." The Magician raised its staff to attack once again but froze in place. Fader's Life Points dropped as Evo's rose.
Evo: 4450, Fader: 5120.
"Sorry," apologized Evo. "I should have explained the effects of my magic card better. Not only does it raise the statistics of all my zombies by 200 but whenever you attack your mosnter becomes possesed by the Wandering Spirit. You lose Life Points equal to half of your monsters attack power and my life Points go up by the same amount. I can only posess one of your monsters at a time but since you only have your Dark Magician whenever you attack with it, you will lose Life Points, not I."
"You still have a few surprises left in you Thief. Excellent. I wouldn't want to kill you too easily."
"I'm going to enjoy banishing your spirit to the reaches of the Shadow Realm. You think that you know darkness and torture? I haven't begun to show you what those words truely mean."
"You can try," Fader replied smiling evilily.
Evo blinked a couple of times, trying to clear his head. I won't let this whelp defeat me, he thought to himself. His legs were beginning to feel numb as he stood there.
Fader laughed once again. "How do you plan on defeating me Thief when you can't even stand up straight? Is this game too much for you?" The young man was taunting him. Laughing in his face to try and make him lose confidence.
Evo closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to use the power of the Millennium Ring to reinforce hiself against the negative effects of the Shadow Game. "Your concern for my well being is touching," he said. "I doubt that I will have the same compassion for you when you are losing."
"Your vessel has given you a better sense of humor," came the reply. "But humor and jokes cannot change the outcome of this duel. I will be victorious and you will be dead."
"I will draw and set this card face down," Evo said. He lurched as another 1700 Life Points fell away from his total. The reinforcement of his Millennium Ring could only do so much to stave off the effects of having the blood literally drained from one's body.
Evo: 2750, Fader: 5120.
"If you're done," Fader started, "Then I would like to bring this Duel to an end. There is of course a bonus for you preventing me from destroying your Headless Horseman on my last turn; it remains trapped by the Torture Wheel casuing you to lose another 1000 Life Points.
Evo: 1750, Fader: 5120.
"I could of course just let Torture Wheel drain away the last reminants of your Life Points over the next two turns but I've always preferred a more personal touch to my victories. The sense that you were utterly helpless to stop me."
"Make whatever move you way to," Evo retorted. "The Wandering Spirit can still posess your Dark Magician. If you attack you just aid me in destroying you."
"I'm not going to attack with the Dark Magician," Fader said. "Allow me to introduce you to the highest level of Spellcasters, the Cosmo Queen (2950/2400). Even the famed Dark Magician isn't a match for this beauty's power. Cosmo Queen attack the Headless Horseman!" The Queen froze in place as the Dark Magician had the turn before. "What?" Fader cried out.
"You act before thinking," Evo said. "The Wandering Spirit isn't confined to the same monster every turn. I can chage its target at the start of each of your battle phases, and I of course, moved it to posess your Cosmo Queen."
Evo: 3225, Fader: 2595.
"Dont get too cofortable with your lead Thief," Fader cautioned. "You've just shown the major weakness in your defense. You can only posess one monster at a time, freeing my Dark Magician to attack and finally destroy your pathetic monster." The Dark Magician blasted the Headless Horseman with a blast from it's scepter, leaving only an empty Torture Wheel to fade away.
Evo: 3025, Fader: 2495.
"You're wide open now, completely vulnerable to attack on my next turn."
"We'll see."
"Indeed. I'll set this card face down as the final move of my turn," the card image appeared and reduced Fader's Life Points another 500 points.
"As you end your turn, I'll draw my card and tell you that your time has come. You can't stand up to what I have ready for you."
"You are all talk Thief," Fader said. "You have no monster on the field and to summon anything strong enough to stand up to my Spellcasters would cost you a great number of Life Points."
"Not at all. In fact I've already payed the Life Point requirements nesessary to summon my monster."
"What are you talking about? You only have your three worthless face down cards."
"You're only partially correct, all I have are three face down cards, but they are far from worthless. Behold," Evo declared as he activated the cards in front of him. "I activate His Body, His Soul and His Sword, using the power of these three magic cards to special summon the Unholy Champion of Darkness (2950/2100). Since it's a special summon there are no Life Point costs to summon him other then that which I already payed to set the three magic cards. Now with the power bonus he recieves from my graveyard field magic card my Unholy Chapion is powered up to 3150 attack points and will attack your Cosmo Queen." The Unholy Chapion shifted the weight of its massive sword in both its hands and hefted the blade high above it's head, preparing to crash down on the Cosmo Queen.
"Now you are the one who acts without thinking. You've walked right into my trap again. Mirror Force!" Fader shouted, activating his trap card and causing a glowing barrier to form around his monsters. The barrier was useless however as the Chapion's blade tore through both it and the Cosmo Queen, slicing her in two.
Evo: 1725, Fader: 2295.
"What?" Fader said with shock. "Your monster should have been destroyed!"
"Unholy Champion on Darkness is pratically invicible," Evo explained. "Each of the three magic cards used to summon him also protect him from different afflictions; His Sword protects him from monster effects, His Body protects him from magic cards and His Soul negates the effects of any trap cards. Your Mirror Force was useless against him, and now you're ultimate Spellcaster is broken and dead at your feet," Evo said. He was still fighting an ever weakening body, but soon it wouldn't matter as he stood on the precipice of victory.
"As your turn ends," Fader started, "So does this duel. My visctory has been sealed. Your monster is nothing. Its power to be protected by all effects is useless if you cannot defend the means of that protection."
"What are you talking about?"
"I play the Heavy Storm to destory all magic and trap cards on the field, eliminating not only your monster's protection but your Graveyard field magic card as well."
"You still can't destroy my monster, it's too powerful for you to attack."
"Maybe in a direct confrontation your Champion would emerge victorious, but every Magician has one final trick waiting for the final act," Fader said holding up a magic card. "The Thousand Knives focus the power of the Dark Magician into the blades, destroying any monster on the field, and without His Body to defend your monster, Unholy Champion is as vulnerable as any other!" The knives flew with perfect speed and precision skewering Evo's Champion in seconds eliminating his last defense from Fader's power.
Evo: 1725, Fader: 1095.
"You have no more monsters on the field, no more magic cards, no more traps. In short you have no hope Thief. Dark Magician strike down this worthles being from my sight. Dark Magic Att---," Fader was cut off before he could declare his attack.
A surge of white radiant energy broke through the barrier in the Shadow Game wall that surrounded the two competitors. The light spread further and furtherencompassing all of the dark energy that linkied them to the Shadow Realm and returning them to the sanctuary of the Tomb-Keepers. Both competitors turned their atention to the source of the the light to see Serena, Adora and Shadi all styanding together, their Millennium Items glowing with golden auras.
Serena stepped forward, lowering her Millennium Rod. She turned to Evo's opponent. "This match is over. You aren't Fader, so who the hell are you?"
"I won't play any cards," he announced. "But I will attack with the Headless Horseman to strike your Life Points directly."
"I'm afraid not Thief," Fader replied. As the Headless Horeman rode forward to attack Fader it froze in place floating off its horse. It's arms and legs were spread apart in hte air as a wierd metal rack in hte shape of a Pentacle appeared behind it, shackles binding its limb in place.
"Torture Wheel!" Evo exclaimed with horror.
"So you know it?" Fader asked. "Then you know that it will prevent your monster from moving and will deal you 500 damage during each of my standby phases. Add to that the effects of Torture Room of Nitemares and you'll lose 1000 Life Points every turn."
"My turn is over then," Evo said angrily. He had walked right into Fader's trap like a fool. For all his vaunted experience of millenia of playing Shadow Games he was making the moves of an amateur. Something else was bothering him though. His other self really. Fader had won Torture Wheel from the Gamble Brothers back in Battle City. His host vessel had watched the entire match. It was right afterwards that the two met officially, so of course Evo knew of the card, why would Fader think otherwise? His vision was still blurry as he watched Fader and he felt a little more light headed.
Fader drew his card losing the required 200 Life Points, a paltry sum compared to the thousand that Evo lost from the effects of Fader's two cards.
Evo: 5900, Fader: 7470.
"This is no match," Fader said. "It's an execution. Are you even trying Theif?
"The game is far from over. Just make your move," Evo barked at his opponent.
"Fine," the young man replied. "I was through with the warm-up anyway. Time for the real match to begin. And I have the perfect monster. I summon the Dark Magician (2500/2100)!" The card image appeared on the field and the monster began to take shape.
"What the hell?" Evo said as the Dark Magician had completely formed. "Your magician..." It was different. Instead of the normal purple hair and robes that it wore typically, this Magician now had grey hair and red robes to match the cloak and hair of its controller, Fader. Somehow not only had Fader changed, but his monster had as well.
"The only thing you should worry about my Magician is it's power," Fader told him. "Dark Magician attack the Castle of Dark Illusions!" The Dark Magician raised it's staff and in a flash the floating fortress exploded raining down debris whcih crashed all around Evo.
"Do you still think that the game isn't over Thief?" Fader shouted. "Make your move!"
Evo: 5900, Fader: 6670.
"I have only one move to make," replied Evo solemnly as he drew his card. "I play the field magic card, Graveyard of the Wandering Spirit. It will raise the attack and defense power of all my Zombies by 200 points. My turn is over."
Evo: 4200, Fader: 6670.
Fader laughed. "That's your best move? You're making this too easy. You try to make your Horseman stronger hoping that even cofined as it is it will still be stronger than my Magician, but you forget that without the Caslte of Dark illusions its power returned to its original 2100. Even with the boost from the field magic card it isn't strong enough to hold up against my monster's onslaught. I'll just draw, you'll lose 1000 Life Points and my Dark Magician will attack and destroy your weak monster." The Magician raised its staff to attack once again but froze in place. Fader's Life Points dropped as Evo's rose.
Evo: 4450, Fader: 5120.
"Sorry," apologized Evo. "I should have explained the effects of my magic card better. Not only does it raise the statistics of all my zombies by 200 but whenever you attack your mosnter becomes possesed by the Wandering Spirit. You lose Life Points equal to half of your monsters attack power and my life Points go up by the same amount. I can only posess one of your monsters at a time but since you only have your Dark Magician whenever you attack with it, you will lose Life Points, not I."
"You still have a few surprises left in you Thief. Excellent. I wouldn't want to kill you too easily."
"I'm going to enjoy banishing your spirit to the reaches of the Shadow Realm. You think that you know darkness and torture? I haven't begun to show you what those words truely mean."
"You can try," Fader replied smiling evilily.
Evo blinked a couple of times, trying to clear his head. I won't let this whelp defeat me, he thought to himself. His legs were beginning to feel numb as he stood there.
Fader laughed once again. "How do you plan on defeating me Thief when you can't even stand up straight? Is this game too much for you?" The young man was taunting him. Laughing in his face to try and make him lose confidence.
Evo closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to use the power of the Millennium Ring to reinforce hiself against the negative effects of the Shadow Game. "Your concern for my well being is touching," he said. "I doubt that I will have the same compassion for you when you are losing."
"Your vessel has given you a better sense of humor," came the reply. "But humor and jokes cannot change the outcome of this duel. I will be victorious and you will be dead."
"I will draw and set this card face down," Evo said. He lurched as another 1700 Life Points fell away from his total. The reinforcement of his Millennium Ring could only do so much to stave off the effects of having the blood literally drained from one's body.
Evo: 2750, Fader: 5120.
"If you're done," Fader started, "Then I would like to bring this Duel to an end. There is of course a bonus for you preventing me from destroying your Headless Horseman on my last turn; it remains trapped by the Torture Wheel casuing you to lose another 1000 Life Points.
Evo: 1750, Fader: 5120.
"I could of course just let Torture Wheel drain away the last reminants of your Life Points over the next two turns but I've always preferred a more personal touch to my victories. The sense that you were utterly helpless to stop me."
"Make whatever move you way to," Evo retorted. "The Wandering Spirit can still posess your Dark Magician. If you attack you just aid me in destroying you."
"I'm not going to attack with the Dark Magician," Fader said. "Allow me to introduce you to the highest level of Spellcasters, the Cosmo Queen (2950/2400). Even the famed Dark Magician isn't a match for this beauty's power. Cosmo Queen attack the Headless Horseman!" The Queen froze in place as the Dark Magician had the turn before. "What?" Fader cried out.
"You act before thinking," Evo said. "The Wandering Spirit isn't confined to the same monster every turn. I can chage its target at the start of each of your battle phases, and I of course, moved it to posess your Cosmo Queen."
Evo: 3225, Fader: 2595.
"Dont get too cofortable with your lead Thief," Fader cautioned. "You've just shown the major weakness in your defense. You can only posess one monster at a time, freeing my Dark Magician to attack and finally destroy your pathetic monster." The Dark Magician blasted the Headless Horseman with a blast from it's scepter, leaving only an empty Torture Wheel to fade away.
Evo: 3025, Fader: 2495.
"You're wide open now, completely vulnerable to attack on my next turn."
"We'll see."
"Indeed. I'll set this card face down as the final move of my turn," the card image appeared and reduced Fader's Life Points another 500 points.
"As you end your turn, I'll draw my card and tell you that your time has come. You can't stand up to what I have ready for you."
"You are all talk Thief," Fader said. "You have no monster on the field and to summon anything strong enough to stand up to my Spellcasters would cost you a great number of Life Points."
"Not at all. In fact I've already payed the Life Point requirements nesessary to summon my monster."
"What are you talking about? You only have your three worthless face down cards."
"You're only partially correct, all I have are three face down cards, but they are far from worthless. Behold," Evo declared as he activated the cards in front of him. "I activate His Body, His Soul and His Sword, using the power of these three magic cards to special summon the Unholy Champion of Darkness (2950/2100). Since it's a special summon there are no Life Point costs to summon him other then that which I already payed to set the three magic cards. Now with the power bonus he recieves from my graveyard field magic card my Unholy Chapion is powered up to 3150 attack points and will attack your Cosmo Queen." The Unholy Chapion shifted the weight of its massive sword in both its hands and hefted the blade high above it's head, preparing to crash down on the Cosmo Queen.
"Now you are the one who acts without thinking. You've walked right into my trap again. Mirror Force!" Fader shouted, activating his trap card and causing a glowing barrier to form around his monsters. The barrier was useless however as the Chapion's blade tore through both it and the Cosmo Queen, slicing her in two.
Evo: 1725, Fader: 2295.
"What?" Fader said with shock. "Your monster should have been destroyed!"
"Unholy Champion on Darkness is pratically invicible," Evo explained. "Each of the three magic cards used to summon him also protect him from different afflictions; His Sword protects him from monster effects, His Body protects him from magic cards and His Soul negates the effects of any trap cards. Your Mirror Force was useless against him, and now you're ultimate Spellcaster is broken and dead at your feet," Evo said. He was still fighting an ever weakening body, but soon it wouldn't matter as he stood on the precipice of victory.
"As your turn ends," Fader started, "So does this duel. My visctory has been sealed. Your monster is nothing. Its power to be protected by all effects is useless if you cannot defend the means of that protection."
"What are you talking about?"
"I play the Heavy Storm to destory all magic and trap cards on the field, eliminating not only your monster's protection but your Graveyard field magic card as well."
"You still can't destroy my monster, it's too powerful for you to attack."
"Maybe in a direct confrontation your Champion would emerge victorious, but every Magician has one final trick waiting for the final act," Fader said holding up a magic card. "The Thousand Knives focus the power of the Dark Magician into the blades, destroying any monster on the field, and without His Body to defend your monster, Unholy Champion is as vulnerable as any other!" The knives flew with perfect speed and precision skewering Evo's Champion in seconds eliminating his last defense from Fader's power.
Evo: 1725, Fader: 1095.
"You have no more monsters on the field, no more magic cards, no more traps. In short you have no hope Thief. Dark Magician strike down this worthles being from my sight. Dark Magic Att---," Fader was cut off before he could declare his attack.
A surge of white radiant energy broke through the barrier in the Shadow Game wall that surrounded the two competitors. The light spread further and furtherencompassing all of the dark energy that linkied them to the Shadow Realm and returning them to the sanctuary of the Tomb-Keepers. Both competitors turned their atention to the source of the the light to see Serena, Adora and Shadi all styanding together, their Millennium Items glowing with golden auras.
Serena stepped forward, lowering her Millennium Rod. She turned to Evo's opponent. "This match is over. You aren't Fader, so who the hell are you?"