Fader stood and stared in awe at the great form of the Saint God Dragon
Osiris as its long, flowing, crimson body encircled the sky and the dueling
field. He had only seen the monster once before, in his shadow game against
Yami and he had not managed to defeat the awesome beast. Yami had used the
God's power to completely crush every ounce of opposition that Fader could
muster and left Fader in a coma for a month. Now he was facing into those
same cold amber eyes once again and he could almost feel Osiris's breath on
his face.
"Make your move Puzzle holder," Caecius called out in an ironic way. Fader did not have the puzzle at that moment. It had been stripped away in veil of darkness so that Fader could not receive Yami's council.
Fader breathed deeply. Not only did he have to contend with the awesome powers of the God card, but Caecius' Millennium Eye was peering into Fader's mind and allowing him to see every card that Fader drew, every strategy that formed in his mind, everything. That eye would prove to be more of a problem than the Saint God Dragon itself. As long as Caecius knew what was coming then there'd be no hope of Fader winning the duel.
"Concentrate," came a voice in Fader's mind. It was the voice of Yami. "I have to talk quickly. It is difficult to communicate with you right now. The Eye is not as powerful as you think. It can be blocked, by your own internal power." And Yami's voice faded. Fader closed his eyes and thought about what Yami had just said. His own power. His strength of spirit as a duelist. His belief that he can win.
Fader thought about the others he had left behind in the main chamber of the Temple. About Shadi, Jaina and Adora abut the inner strength he felt from them even though he didn't know them that well. About Evo; whose strength of character was indomitable and had threatened once before to overwhelm Fader when they had dueled what seemed like ages ago. And he though of Serena, someone he had only known for a short time, but felt such a connection with, bonded to her by a force he couldn't explain. Within each of them he had felt an energy that was familiar to him. They all had such a strong sense of power.
Finally he thought back to his father, Hartland Fader, who had taught him so much not just about dueling, but about life and facing your own fears and your own demons and overcoming them with a light from inside yourself that never went out. Your own power. Something that no one could take away from you, and no one could see.
Fader drew his card.
"Let's see what you've drawn there."
He could feel Caecius trying to reach out with his Millennium Eye to peer into Fader's mind and see what card it was that Fader had played. Fader concentrated on his own light and pushed against Caecius' intrusion with all the strength he could muster. "Not this time Caecius!" Fader shouted back. "And not again. I don't need the powers of the Millennium Puzzle to beat you. I have myself, and my cards to rely on. I play Card Destruction!"
"An interesting move, but Osiris' attack will stay the same at 4000. You haven't changed a thing."
"Actually, I've changed this whole duel. Before you could see into my hand and my mind and know everything that I had planned for you. But now that I've focused on my own strength and can block you out, you won't know what to expect anymore!"
"Then make your move."
"I summon Sagittarius, the Archer (1400/1800) to defend my Life Points from your attacks." Fader slapped down the card into the duel disk and watched as the mighty centaur appeared in front of him. "Now you can't attack me directly."
"Can you be so sure?" Caecius asked. "Or do you not know about Osiris' other ability?"
"Other ability?" "Watch. Osiris attack with your other mouth!" Seconds later Osiris roared once again and it's second, smaller mouth opened slowly. Then without any other signs of warning it blasted Sagittarius with a powerful blue wave of energy, destroying it instantly.
"What happened?"
"Whenever you summon a monster to the field, Osiris's second mouth will attack it and drain away 2000 points from whatever mode it was in. and as an added bonus, any monsters that are in defense mode and have their defense drop to 0 are immediately destroyed. Since your Archer only had 1800 defense points it was incinerated, leaving you once again completely open to my attack!"
Fader was in shock. He had no idea that Osiris had hidden another power like that within it. Of course he hadn't known about the ability because he hadn't had the time to summon a monster when he faced one before. It had overwhelmed him before he had the chance. Fader took one of the cards from his hand and placed it face down. "I'll set this card face down then. And end my turn."
"I hope for your sake that you know better than to try and destroy a God with a trap card. They are immune to every card effect that attempts to destroy them, other than the effects of another God of course." Caecius drew his card and without looking at it immediately set it into play. "I'll summon this monster in defense mode. Then I'll attack with Osiris!" Osiris' attack blasted straight at Fader, sending him flying back into the far wall of the chamber.
Fader: 2400, Caecius: 4000.
"What happened? Your Life Points were struck directly."
Fader looked up from where he was knocked back to. "I don't think so Caecius. I activated my trap card, Star Shield, which reduces all the damage I take this turn to 0." Fader pulled himself to his feet. The trap he had set may have absorbed the damage and saved him from losing the duel, but it hadn't made the attack hurt any less. It felt like he had actually been hit by the dragon's deadly attack, not by a holographic attack at all.
"Take your turn then."
Fader drew another card. he didn't have any more traps to protect himself with anymore. He had to rely on his monsters. "I'll set this card face down. And summon this monster in defense mode now." Osiris' second mouth opened once again and blasted Fader's newly set monster. This time however it remained on the field. "Sorry Caecius, but my Cancer the Crab (100/2200) had enough to defense points to remain o the field after your God's special ability. And that's going to save my Life Points." "For this turn only," Caecius replied as he drew another card. "You can't keep playing in defense mode forever. And what happens when I summon another monster. Your single defensive card can't protect you."
"Too bad whatever monster you summon can't attack me this turn. Thanks to your own trap card, Stasis Shell."
"That's quite alright. I finally have the cards I need to make Osiris even more powerful!"
"Each one you play though will cost your dragon 1000 attack and defensive points. So they will drop from the 5000 it has now," explained Fader.
"Actually they're going to grow," came the correction. "Just watch. First I summon Gearfreed the Iron Knight (1800/1600). Then I'll change the position of my face down monster into attack mode, revealing the Royal Magical Library (0/2000)."
Fader didn't see the significance. "So what happens now?"
"Do you know Gearfreed's special ability?"
He nodded. "Whenever an equipment magic card is played on Gearfreed he immediately destroys it."
"Very good. And you should also know that whenever a magic card is played, like an equipment, my royal Magical Library charges up. After it charges three times I can draw a card from my deck." Caecius held up one more card from his hand to show Fader. "And this card will make everything clear in just a second. I'll equip Gearfreed with this, the Dagger of Butterflies!" Caecius placed the card into his own duel disk beneath Gearfreed. The card tried to power up Gearfreed but was immediately destroyed.
"What was the point of that? Just to charge up your library by a little?"
"Not at all. the Dagger of Butterflies has a special ability in addition to the 300 point attack boost it would give a monster. Whenever the Dagger is destroyed while equipped to a monster it returns to my hand, free for me to use again and again. I can keep equipping it to Gearfreed again and again to continuously charge up the Royal Magical library and keep drawing cards."
"But you'll only be able to hold six cards in your hand at the end of your turn," Fader said as Caecius continued to draw cards. "All the extra cards you draw will be discarded."
"Hardly. Not with this card, Infinite cards. This card will allow me to hold any number of cards in my hand for as long as it remains on the field." Caecius drew a few more cards. His hand looked huge to Fader. "Twenty," he said. "Seems like a nice number to me. I have to leave a few cards in my deck. I could keep drawing until I have a way to eliminate your monster with a magic card, but I'm wary about wasting cards while you have that ominous face down card. And as you so aptly pointed out my Gearfreed cannot attack you this turn. So my Dragon will eliminate your Crab and you can take your final turn."
Caecius had just managed to up the stakes of the duel once again. And they were stakes that Fader didn't think he could continue to keep up with. He didn't know if there was anything left to do.
"Make your move Puzzle holder," Caecius called out in an ironic way. Fader did not have the puzzle at that moment. It had been stripped away in veil of darkness so that Fader could not receive Yami's council.
Fader breathed deeply. Not only did he have to contend with the awesome powers of the God card, but Caecius' Millennium Eye was peering into Fader's mind and allowing him to see every card that Fader drew, every strategy that formed in his mind, everything. That eye would prove to be more of a problem than the Saint God Dragon itself. As long as Caecius knew what was coming then there'd be no hope of Fader winning the duel.
"Concentrate," came a voice in Fader's mind. It was the voice of Yami. "I have to talk quickly. It is difficult to communicate with you right now. The Eye is not as powerful as you think. It can be blocked, by your own internal power." And Yami's voice faded. Fader closed his eyes and thought about what Yami had just said. His own power. His strength of spirit as a duelist. His belief that he can win.
Fader thought about the others he had left behind in the main chamber of the Temple. About Shadi, Jaina and Adora abut the inner strength he felt from them even though he didn't know them that well. About Evo; whose strength of character was indomitable and had threatened once before to overwhelm Fader when they had dueled what seemed like ages ago. And he though of Serena, someone he had only known for a short time, but felt such a connection with, bonded to her by a force he couldn't explain. Within each of them he had felt an energy that was familiar to him. They all had such a strong sense of power.
Finally he thought back to his father, Hartland Fader, who had taught him so much not just about dueling, but about life and facing your own fears and your own demons and overcoming them with a light from inside yourself that never went out. Your own power. Something that no one could take away from you, and no one could see.
Fader drew his card.
"Let's see what you've drawn there."
He could feel Caecius trying to reach out with his Millennium Eye to peer into Fader's mind and see what card it was that Fader had played. Fader concentrated on his own light and pushed against Caecius' intrusion with all the strength he could muster. "Not this time Caecius!" Fader shouted back. "And not again. I don't need the powers of the Millennium Puzzle to beat you. I have myself, and my cards to rely on. I play Card Destruction!"
"An interesting move, but Osiris' attack will stay the same at 4000. You haven't changed a thing."
"Actually, I've changed this whole duel. Before you could see into my hand and my mind and know everything that I had planned for you. But now that I've focused on my own strength and can block you out, you won't know what to expect anymore!"
"Then make your move."
"I summon Sagittarius, the Archer (1400/1800) to defend my Life Points from your attacks." Fader slapped down the card into the duel disk and watched as the mighty centaur appeared in front of him. "Now you can't attack me directly."
"Can you be so sure?" Caecius asked. "Or do you not know about Osiris' other ability?"
"Other ability?" "Watch. Osiris attack with your other mouth!" Seconds later Osiris roared once again and it's second, smaller mouth opened slowly. Then without any other signs of warning it blasted Sagittarius with a powerful blue wave of energy, destroying it instantly.
"What happened?"
"Whenever you summon a monster to the field, Osiris's second mouth will attack it and drain away 2000 points from whatever mode it was in. and as an added bonus, any monsters that are in defense mode and have their defense drop to 0 are immediately destroyed. Since your Archer only had 1800 defense points it was incinerated, leaving you once again completely open to my attack!"
Fader was in shock. He had no idea that Osiris had hidden another power like that within it. Of course he hadn't known about the ability because he hadn't had the time to summon a monster when he faced one before. It had overwhelmed him before he had the chance. Fader took one of the cards from his hand and placed it face down. "I'll set this card face down then. And end my turn."
"I hope for your sake that you know better than to try and destroy a God with a trap card. They are immune to every card effect that attempts to destroy them, other than the effects of another God of course." Caecius drew his card and without looking at it immediately set it into play. "I'll summon this monster in defense mode. Then I'll attack with Osiris!" Osiris' attack blasted straight at Fader, sending him flying back into the far wall of the chamber.
Fader: 2400, Caecius: 4000.
"What happened? Your Life Points were struck directly."
Fader looked up from where he was knocked back to. "I don't think so Caecius. I activated my trap card, Star Shield, which reduces all the damage I take this turn to 0." Fader pulled himself to his feet. The trap he had set may have absorbed the damage and saved him from losing the duel, but it hadn't made the attack hurt any less. It felt like he had actually been hit by the dragon's deadly attack, not by a holographic attack at all.
"Take your turn then."
Fader drew another card. he didn't have any more traps to protect himself with anymore. He had to rely on his monsters. "I'll set this card face down. And summon this monster in defense mode now." Osiris' second mouth opened once again and blasted Fader's newly set monster. This time however it remained on the field. "Sorry Caecius, but my Cancer the Crab (100/2200) had enough to defense points to remain o the field after your God's special ability. And that's going to save my Life Points." "For this turn only," Caecius replied as he drew another card. "You can't keep playing in defense mode forever. And what happens when I summon another monster. Your single defensive card can't protect you."
"Too bad whatever monster you summon can't attack me this turn. Thanks to your own trap card, Stasis Shell."
"That's quite alright. I finally have the cards I need to make Osiris even more powerful!"
"Each one you play though will cost your dragon 1000 attack and defensive points. So they will drop from the 5000 it has now," explained Fader.
"Actually they're going to grow," came the correction. "Just watch. First I summon Gearfreed the Iron Knight (1800/1600). Then I'll change the position of my face down monster into attack mode, revealing the Royal Magical Library (0/2000)."
Fader didn't see the significance. "So what happens now?"
"Do you know Gearfreed's special ability?"
He nodded. "Whenever an equipment magic card is played on Gearfreed he immediately destroys it."
"Very good. And you should also know that whenever a magic card is played, like an equipment, my royal Magical Library charges up. After it charges three times I can draw a card from my deck." Caecius held up one more card from his hand to show Fader. "And this card will make everything clear in just a second. I'll equip Gearfreed with this, the Dagger of Butterflies!" Caecius placed the card into his own duel disk beneath Gearfreed. The card tried to power up Gearfreed but was immediately destroyed.
"What was the point of that? Just to charge up your library by a little?"
"Not at all. the Dagger of Butterflies has a special ability in addition to the 300 point attack boost it would give a monster. Whenever the Dagger is destroyed while equipped to a monster it returns to my hand, free for me to use again and again. I can keep equipping it to Gearfreed again and again to continuously charge up the Royal Magical library and keep drawing cards."
"But you'll only be able to hold six cards in your hand at the end of your turn," Fader said as Caecius continued to draw cards. "All the extra cards you draw will be discarded."
"Hardly. Not with this card, Infinite cards. This card will allow me to hold any number of cards in my hand for as long as it remains on the field." Caecius drew a few more cards. His hand looked huge to Fader. "Twenty," he said. "Seems like a nice number to me. I have to leave a few cards in my deck. I could keep drawing until I have a way to eliminate your monster with a magic card, but I'm wary about wasting cards while you have that ominous face down card. And as you so aptly pointed out my Gearfreed cannot attack you this turn. So my Dragon will eliminate your Crab and you can take your final turn."
Caecius had just managed to up the stakes of the duel once again. And they were stakes that Fader didn't think he could continue to keep up with. He didn't know if there was anything left to do.