"Fader are you okay?" asked Evo. He was about to rush to the young man's
side but he was cut off with harsh words from Sin.
"Stay your hand thief. If he cannot get up and continue this battle under his own power, than he shall forfeit the duel to us, and it will leave you alone to continue the fight."
"What did you do to him Sin," shouted back Evo. "Fader's monster wasn't destroyed, so why did he get a penalty."
"I am as shocked as you are, the very incident brings up new and exciting questions. And a new challenge for Fader if he wants to continue the duel. Of course he could always just back out now."
"I'm still in this," Fader retorted as he got back to his feet. "I don't know what kind of tricks you're playing but I'm not going anywhere until you're defeated. You won't take Serena, or our God cards." Fader steadied himself on his feet. He had seen Discord experience the shadow game penalty earlier when she lost her Shadow Goblins, but he had no idea of how intense the pain was going to be.
"Are you okay?" he heard Yami ask from within his mind.
Fader replied telepathically with the spirit of the Puzzle. "I'll be okay. I just want to get this duel over with."
"It won't be easy now that we've lost Osiris, and considering the pain that you experienced from the attack. It will be very dangerous for us if we don't figure out how or why we're suffering the same pain that Sin feels when the spirits pass through him."
"We'll be fine."
"Don't gloss over this so quickly Fader, there must be a reason for this."
"My turn," Evo said. "I'll draw my next card, and then Summon a monster into defense mode. And one more card face down with it. My turn is over."
Fader: 3500, Evo: 5100, Sin: 3600, Discord: 2300, Turns Left: 12
"Stalling will do you no good in this game," Discard said as she began her turn. She pointed up to the sky as an eighth small fireball placed itself in formation with the others, forming the beginnings of a circle. "In only twelve more turns I'll be able to take either of you down forever, leaving the other alone to defend against the combined assault of myself and Sin."
Evo bit back with his own comments, "Don't worry Discord. You won't even last five turns, let alone twelve."
"You're going to pay for your insolence. I still owe you pain from my humiliation in America."
"You're more than welcome to try, if you can."
"I can do more than try. I summon the Shaman of the Shadows (1400/1500), and thanks to it's ability I'll search my deck for Giant Soldier of Shadows (1300/2000) and special summon it to the field in attack mode. Now my Shaman of the Shadows will attack your face down monster."
"Sorry Discord, but you attacked my Draining Hands of the Damned (1100/2000). Not only will you take 600 damage from your attack but my monster will increase my own Life Points by the same amount. Now if you'd care to attack with your other monster too I would love the extra Life Points." Discord's face showed her obvious resentment at having walked straight into Evo's ploy like that. She slapped two cards into her Duel Disk and waved her hand towards Fader, signaling the end of her turn.
Fader: 3500, Evo: 5700, Sin: 3600, Discord: 1700, Turns Left: 11
Fader looked quizzically at Evo. He wasn't playing as ferociously as he normally did. All he was doing was sitting back and gaining Life Points. He was barely attacking, and was leaving most of the offensive work to Fader. There was no way the two of them could beat Sin and Discord if they didn't work together to attack.
"Don't worry about Evo," Yami voice rang once again in Fader's mind. "Evo is an experienced duelist. And he has also dueled both of these opponent's before. he may know something that we do not. Trust him and trust in yourself."
Fader nodded to the wise spirit and drew his next card. he smiled as he realized that Discord had left herself open once again. "Well Discord it looks like you've left your monsters vulnerable again. I'm about to take a chunk out of your Life Points. Leo, attack his Stone Soldier with Crushing Roar!"
"I don't think so, Fader. I activate my face down card, Book of Moon! This card will flip my Giant Soldier of Shadows into defense mode."
"It's too late to call back my attack!" Fader exclaimed as he watched his Lion continue its attack against a now superior defender, and his Life Points dropped. "I'm not done yet. My Skilled Dark Magician can still destroy your Shaman of the Shadows and deal you 500 points of damage." The Skilled Dark obliterated the Shaman and once more Discord's body was passed through by one of the spirits of the Shadow Realm. "My turn is over."
Fader: 3400, Evo: 5700, Sin: 3600, Discord: 1200, Turns Left: 11
"And my turn had just begun," Sin continued. "It's time to take you down a peg Fader. I summon the D.D. Warrior Lady (1500/1600). She is much superior to her male counterpart that I attacked Evo with last turn, boasting more attack and defense power. She also boasts the same ability to remove monsters that she battles from the game. And her target is going to be your face down monster!"
"Sorry Sin, but you just attacked Aquarius the Water Bearer (300/1900), you lose 400 Life Points."
"Maybe so, but you lose your monster!"
"I don't think so." Fader pointed up and all the duelists looked at what he was pointing at. It was then that the dark void of the Shadow Realm began to become littered with glowing sparkles of light. "Witness the Midnight Sky Sin. This field magic card grants all of my monsters immunity from your monster's special abilities and effects."
"But how did you play it on my turn?"
"You helped me Sin. Whenever my Aquarius is attacked while face down she allows me to search my deck for this card and bringing it immediately into play. Your D.D. Warrior Lady is useless now."
"I'll play this card face down then my turn is over."
Fader: 3400, Evo: 5700, Sin: 3200, Discord: 1200, Turns Left: 10
"This game is going to be over for both of you soon enough Sin," Evo said. "And I'll bring you both down. Starting with this magic card, Destruction of the Great Wall. This card destroys all monsters on the field that have 2000 defense points or higher."
"Are you sure you want to play that card, Evo?" Sin asked.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Well you may destroy my D.D. Trainer and Discord's Giant Soldier of Shadows but you will lose your own Draining Hands of the Damned as well."
"That's a price I am quite willing to pay in order to teach you a lesson in humility."
"But is it a price that your partner is willing to pay? Remember what happened the last time one of my own monsters was destroyed. Both Fader and I shared the pain of death for the monster's destruction. Is that something you're willing to do again?"
Evo didn't even have time to think, Fader burst in with his words immediately. "Do it Evo, don't listen to what he says. I can handle it. You need to do what you have to." Fader braced himself for the pain that was coming. It was trick. Something Sin was put the odds in his favor. Fader was determined not to let some trick of this cheap copy bring him down.
Evo nodded at Fader's words as he turned back to Sin and Discord. "Nice try Sin. Go my magic card, eliminate the monsters!" The ground cracked and burst forth swallowing the monsters with a high defense on the field. As the monsters plummeted to their dooms the spirits of the Shadow Realm attacked all of the duelists together. Once again the cry of pain could be heard across the battle field as Evo, Discord and Fader dropped to the ground. Only Sin remained standing, this time however he appeared less stable and wobbled a bit as he recovered from the loss of his Trainer. Evo was the first of the other three back to his feet, Discord and Fader joined him shortly thereafter.
After he had re-composed himself Evo spoke again, " Now Discord is wide open for a direct attack. I summon the Dancer in the Dark (1700/900) and it will attack Discord directly, eliminating her from the game her from the game as well as her Final Countdown."
"Think again thief. I activate the trap card, Negate Attack. Your monster will do nothing but sit there."
"I end my turn then."
Fader: 3400, Evo: 5700, Sin: 3200, Discord: 1200, Turns Left: 9
Discord pulled a card from her Duel Disk. "I will play a card face down and a monster in defense mode. Eight turns left."
"Those eight turns aren't going to be even close to being enough Discord. Thanks to your help I'm about to turn the tide in this match. Your Book of Moon, my own Midnight Sky and Evo's Destruction of the Great Wall gave my Skilled Dark Magician the three counters that he needed in order to for him to be sacrificed to special summon the Dark Magician (2500/2100) from my deck." In a bright flash Fader's Skilled Dark Magician was gone and the purple clad Dark Magician stepped forward, readying its staff for battle.
"It's my turn to thank you as well Fader," interrupted Sin.
"What?"
"You've just allowed me to activate my trap card, Reflected Summoning. This card can only be activated when my opponent summons a monster. If I have a monster of the same name in my deck, than I can summon my own to the field. Behold my Dark Magician!" Sin's trap card turned up revealing a large mirror. The mirror turned and the visage of the Dark Magician appeared reflecting on the glass. Then the image of the Dark Magician became dark as the noble purple robes of the Dark Magician turned blood red and it's purple hair became a grey to match its controller's.
"You may have a Dark Magician Sin, but mine is the true master of magic."
"We will see Fader. Bring on your attack!" "I don't think so. I have another target in mind for my attack, your teammate's face down monster. Dark Magician destroy Discord's last defense to clear a path to her Life Points!" The Dark Magician attacked in a massive display of raw magical power but Discord's monster insolently stood its ground."
"Nice try," Discord said with an evil grin. "But the Soul Hunting Specter (300/200) cannot be destroyed in battle. My Life Points are safe."
"That maybe so, but I can still do some damage to your ally. My Leo the Lion now has 2100 attack power and Sin left his D.D. Warrior Lady in attack mode. Leo attack his monster!" Leo rushed forward and tore through the D.D. Warrior Lady dropping Sin's Life Points by another 600. The image of the D.D. Warrior Lady didn't leave the field immediately, its faint image still remained as it sliced Leo with it's glowing blade. "What happened?" Fader exclaimed.
"Did you forget my D.D. Warrior Lady's special ability?" Sin asked.
"My monster was immune, thanks to my Midnight Sky card."
"But it's not immune when your magic card is not active," Discord interjected. "I used my face down card, Book of Eclipse to turn your face up Magic card, face down, preventing it from working and preventing you from activating it's effects for the rest of the turn." Fader looked up and Discord was right, the stars that had littered the sky in the Shadow Realm were gone and his field magic card had been turned face down. The only things left in the sky were the twelve lights of Discord's Final Countdown and the spirits of those lost to the Shadow Realm.
"You should be happy," announced Sin. "Since the monsters were removed from the game the spirits have no reason to attack us. I doubt you would have been able to handle the pain of both our monsters being destroyed."
"Your concern is touching but unnecessary. Make your move."
Fader: 3400, Evo: 5700, Sin: 2600, Discord: 1200, Turns Left: 7
"Your Life Points have reached an impressive height thief," Sin said, as a sarcastic compliment to Evo. "I think they've gotten too high though. Allow me to aid you in bringing them back down to a reasonable level. Dark Magician attack his Dancer in the Dark!"
"I activate my trap card, Drain Shield, Sin. It not only negates your attack but increases my Life Points by the amount of your monster's attack power, so I gain 2500 Life Points."
"You get ahead of yourself thief. I too have a trap card to activate for the paltry sum of 1000 Life Points, Trap Theft."
"I thought that only allowed you to move face up traps?" Evo asked.
"That is one of its functions yes, but its other ability allows me to negate your trap and move it to my side of the field to be used on a later turn. Your monster is destroyed and you lose 800 Life Points." The spirits passed through Evo again, dropping him to the ground. he didn't rise right away. "Is the pain too much for you thief?"
"Go to hell!"
"You don't get it do you? We are in hell and this is where you're going to stay for all eternity!"
"Yeah well," Evo replied. "I don't plan on showing up here for a very long time. You can save me a seat while you wait here. I activate my other trap card, Sustaining Replenishment. When you destroy one of my monsters, I can remove it from the game to gain Life Points equal to its level multiplied by 500. So you may have dealt me 800 damage with your attack, but I gained another 2000." "Well then thief. Your field is clear, take your turn and try to save yourself."
Fader: 3400, Evo: 6900, Sin: 1600, Discord: 1200, Turns Left: 6
"I set two cards face down and a monster in defense mode. My turn is over."
"No other fight to put up?" said Discord. "After all of those big words and grand displays of power? All you can do is sit there and gain Life Points. Pathetic. Your partner is doing better than you are, but even he will fall. There's nothing you can do to stop my Final Countdown from taking him into the shadows, and then Sin will destroy you with his Dark Magician. I'll play this, Premature Burial, which would normally force me to pay 800 Life Points to special summon a monster from my graveyard, but thanks to my Spell Economics I don't have to pay anything. My Goblin Shadow Force is back on the field and will attack and destroy your face down monster."
Evo could do nothing as the Goblins appeared on the field and rushed his face down Gravekeeper's Axe Wielder (1900/100) destroying it immediately. Discord made taunts at him as he regained his composure from the spirits attack once again, "If you're lucky you'll get one more turn before you're banished forever to the abyss of darkness, because the next time I take my turn is when dear Fader will be taken by my Final Countdown. And you, you can barely stand, you'll collapse the next time one of your monsters is destroyed."
Fader: 3400, Evo: 6900, Sin: 1600, Discord: 1200, Turns Left: 4
"I don't plan on that happening at all," Fader said with scorn as he drew his card. "I'll start by reactivating my Midnight Sky field magic card. Then I'll have my Dark Magician attack your Goblins Discord and send them to the graveyard once again. How does it feel? Do you think that you can stand up to the pain of death anymore?"
"I'm going to enjoy watching you scream in agony as the Final Countdown tears you away to the darkness forever."
"It hasn't happened yet Discord, I'm still here. And standing proud," he told her as she got back to her feet. "Can you say the same?" He turned to Sin. "Bring it."
"I have no plans to attack you this turn Fader. I too will enjoy watching you suffer the effects of the Final Countdown. My attention is on your partner this turn. First by clearing out his field with this card, The Dark Magic Attack which destroys all the face down cards he had left protecting himself with."
"Unfortunately for you Sin, I can activate both of them. The first is Life Force, which reinforces my Life Points by another 1500 points, and the second, Ghost of the Pot of Greed allows me to search my deck for a card and put it on the top of my deck, by discarding my hand."
"Those 1500 Life Points aren't going to matter when I attack you with the full force of the Dark Magician to take 2500 away from you. Dark Magician attack him directly."
"Not this turn Sin!" shouted Fader. "Aquarius, defend Evo's Life Points!" Fader's monster jumped into the path of the attack that was meant to hit Evo, shattering immediately. In seconds a spirit was on top of Fader and making him experience his monsters last thoughts of pain as it was sent to the graveyard. To everyone's surprise though, anther spirit mirrored it's ally and attacked Sin in the same fashion as its partner attacked Fader. Sin dropped to his knees as the pain washed over him, catching him off guard.
"Very curious," Evo said as he watched Sin fumble back to standing.
"It seems that you and I share the same problem Sin," Fader spat out. "You're going to experience the pain of my monsters dying as I experience yours."
"I can handle the pain. Can you? Was that worth it Fader? To protect an ally who has done nothing to aid you this battle?" "It doesn't matter Sin. Evo is my ally, and he doesn't have to do anything to earn my protection. I will defend him until the end if I have to."
"A foolish notion. He has no field, no cards in his hand. He is useless to you. Let him lose and focus on caring about your own interests. I play one card face down."
"Maybe you see it that way Sin, but I don't." Fader turned to Evo. "Go ahead."
Fader: 3400, Evo: 8400, Sin: 1600, Discord: 1200, Turns Left: 4
Evo drew the single card that he had placed on top of his deck with his trap card into his hand. Whatever card it was Fader had to trust that it was going to help. "I play this card face down and end my turn," he said.
"This duel is approaching it's final end," Discord said. "Fader will fall now and then Sin will crush Evo on the next turn. The Final Countdown has ended!"
"Not yet it hasn't!" shouted Evo. "And it's not going to!"
"How do you plan on stopping me?"
"With this trap card, Joined Gallows Rope!"
"What?"
"This trap card can be activated anytime when I have 7000 or more Life Points higher than one of my opponent's. I have 7200 higher than you do Discord. This card immediately drops both of our Life Points to 0, removing us from the game, just before your Final Countdown can claim Fader."
"That's not the way the card works," she argued. "My Life Points are the ones that have to be higher."
"Sorry Discord, but you're thinking about a different card, the Self Destruct Button. This card is similar, but works differently. We're both out of this game, and it's time for Fader to show your partner why he won Battle City!" As his Life Points hit zero Evo collapsed to the ground the look of confidence in Fader still on his face."
Fader: 3400, Sin: 1600
"Nice play Evo," Fader announced with triumph. "See Sin I knew that protecting my ally would be worth it. And now it's my turn. So I'll play the magic card Mage Power and equip it to my Dark Magician raising his attack power by 1500 Points. 500 for the Equip card itself, 500 more for my face down card and another 500 for my Midnight Sky Field magic card. That boosts his power to 4000 points. Dark Magician attack!"
"You're a fool Fader! I still have the Draining Shield that I stole from your partner, you're Dark Magician's attack is negated and I gain 4000 Life Points!"
"I'm not an amateur Sin. Don't think that I forgot about you stealing Evo's trap card. I have no plans to give you a boost of 4000 to your Life Points, so I'll activate my face down card Trap Rebounding. Your trap card is negated and bounced back to your hand. My Dark Magician's attack may drop 500 points but he still has more than enough power to destroy yours."
"I don't think so Fader, I still have one more card on the field and it isn't a trap card. It's the Mystical Space Typhoon and it will destroy your Mage Power card, dropping both of our monsters to the same attack once again, and with no time left to call back your attack they'll both be destroyed."
The two Dark Magicians attacked each other with violent displays of magical energy and true to Sin's word both of them destroyed each other in the assault. This was not the only price to pay as tasting the blood of the fallen monsters in the air the spirits dove once more at the duelists. Two passed through each of the duelists, one for each of the Dark Magicians lost in the combat. Sin stood fast against the attack, staggering briefly before regaining his balance, but the assault was too much on Fader's body and the pain overwhelmed him, causing him to crash to the ground. As he fell one word permeated his lips, "Serena."
Sin recovered from his attack and laughed at he witnessed his only adversary fall unconscious to the ground. He was about to declare his victory, when a bright golden glow burst forth from the Millennium Puzzle. A brilliant bean of light shot up into the dome of Shadowy energy, causing the spirits to scatter as the barrier between worlds collapsed. Standing on the other side of the barrier, holding her Millennium Rod and glowing from head to toe in a golden aura as Shadi, Jaina, Adora and Caecius watched was Serena floating five feet off the ground. The light from the Millennium Rod and Puzzle faded and Serena floated back to the ground. She opened her eyes and glared at Sin.
"How? What?" a shocked Sin blurted out.
Caecius spoke up. "Their love, the bond between the two of them resonated through their Millennium items. Their hearts reached out to each other across the void of the Shadow Realm to bring each other together when the other was in need."
"The duel is over my dear," Sin told her as she walked over to Fader's body. "Your lover has lost."
She looked at his Duel Disk and Fader's Life Point counter. "His Life Points never hit zero," she said.
"A technicality. He cannot continue with the duel so he has lost."
"This duel isn't over," she replied as she switched Duel Disks with Fader, placing his active one on her own wrist. She took her deck out of the pouch on her belt and replaced his deck with her own. She then stepped up to Evo. "You hurt my boyfriend. And now you're going to pay."
Serena: 3400, Sin: 1600.
"Stay your hand thief. If he cannot get up and continue this battle under his own power, than he shall forfeit the duel to us, and it will leave you alone to continue the fight."
"What did you do to him Sin," shouted back Evo. "Fader's monster wasn't destroyed, so why did he get a penalty."
"I am as shocked as you are, the very incident brings up new and exciting questions. And a new challenge for Fader if he wants to continue the duel. Of course he could always just back out now."
"I'm still in this," Fader retorted as he got back to his feet. "I don't know what kind of tricks you're playing but I'm not going anywhere until you're defeated. You won't take Serena, or our God cards." Fader steadied himself on his feet. He had seen Discord experience the shadow game penalty earlier when she lost her Shadow Goblins, but he had no idea of how intense the pain was going to be.
"Are you okay?" he heard Yami ask from within his mind.
Fader replied telepathically with the spirit of the Puzzle. "I'll be okay. I just want to get this duel over with."
"It won't be easy now that we've lost Osiris, and considering the pain that you experienced from the attack. It will be very dangerous for us if we don't figure out how or why we're suffering the same pain that Sin feels when the spirits pass through him."
"We'll be fine."
"Don't gloss over this so quickly Fader, there must be a reason for this."
"My turn," Evo said. "I'll draw my next card, and then Summon a monster into defense mode. And one more card face down with it. My turn is over."
Fader: 3500, Evo: 5100, Sin: 3600, Discord: 2300, Turns Left: 12
"Stalling will do you no good in this game," Discard said as she began her turn. She pointed up to the sky as an eighth small fireball placed itself in formation with the others, forming the beginnings of a circle. "In only twelve more turns I'll be able to take either of you down forever, leaving the other alone to defend against the combined assault of myself and Sin."
Evo bit back with his own comments, "Don't worry Discord. You won't even last five turns, let alone twelve."
"You're going to pay for your insolence. I still owe you pain from my humiliation in America."
"You're more than welcome to try, if you can."
"I can do more than try. I summon the Shaman of the Shadows (1400/1500), and thanks to it's ability I'll search my deck for Giant Soldier of Shadows (1300/2000) and special summon it to the field in attack mode. Now my Shaman of the Shadows will attack your face down monster."
"Sorry Discord, but you attacked my Draining Hands of the Damned (1100/2000). Not only will you take 600 damage from your attack but my monster will increase my own Life Points by the same amount. Now if you'd care to attack with your other monster too I would love the extra Life Points." Discord's face showed her obvious resentment at having walked straight into Evo's ploy like that. She slapped two cards into her Duel Disk and waved her hand towards Fader, signaling the end of her turn.
Fader: 3500, Evo: 5700, Sin: 3600, Discord: 1700, Turns Left: 11
Fader looked quizzically at Evo. He wasn't playing as ferociously as he normally did. All he was doing was sitting back and gaining Life Points. He was barely attacking, and was leaving most of the offensive work to Fader. There was no way the two of them could beat Sin and Discord if they didn't work together to attack.
"Don't worry about Evo," Yami voice rang once again in Fader's mind. "Evo is an experienced duelist. And he has also dueled both of these opponent's before. he may know something that we do not. Trust him and trust in yourself."
Fader nodded to the wise spirit and drew his next card. he smiled as he realized that Discord had left herself open once again. "Well Discord it looks like you've left your monsters vulnerable again. I'm about to take a chunk out of your Life Points. Leo, attack his Stone Soldier with Crushing Roar!"
"I don't think so, Fader. I activate my face down card, Book of Moon! This card will flip my Giant Soldier of Shadows into defense mode."
"It's too late to call back my attack!" Fader exclaimed as he watched his Lion continue its attack against a now superior defender, and his Life Points dropped. "I'm not done yet. My Skilled Dark Magician can still destroy your Shaman of the Shadows and deal you 500 points of damage." The Skilled Dark obliterated the Shaman and once more Discord's body was passed through by one of the spirits of the Shadow Realm. "My turn is over."
Fader: 3400, Evo: 5700, Sin: 3600, Discord: 1200, Turns Left: 11
"And my turn had just begun," Sin continued. "It's time to take you down a peg Fader. I summon the D.D. Warrior Lady (1500/1600). She is much superior to her male counterpart that I attacked Evo with last turn, boasting more attack and defense power. She also boasts the same ability to remove monsters that she battles from the game. And her target is going to be your face down monster!"
"Sorry Sin, but you just attacked Aquarius the Water Bearer (300/1900), you lose 400 Life Points."
"Maybe so, but you lose your monster!"
"I don't think so." Fader pointed up and all the duelists looked at what he was pointing at. It was then that the dark void of the Shadow Realm began to become littered with glowing sparkles of light. "Witness the Midnight Sky Sin. This field magic card grants all of my monsters immunity from your monster's special abilities and effects."
"But how did you play it on my turn?"
"You helped me Sin. Whenever my Aquarius is attacked while face down she allows me to search my deck for this card and bringing it immediately into play. Your D.D. Warrior Lady is useless now."
"I'll play this card face down then my turn is over."
Fader: 3400, Evo: 5700, Sin: 3200, Discord: 1200, Turns Left: 10
"This game is going to be over for both of you soon enough Sin," Evo said. "And I'll bring you both down. Starting with this magic card, Destruction of the Great Wall. This card destroys all monsters on the field that have 2000 defense points or higher."
"Are you sure you want to play that card, Evo?" Sin asked.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Well you may destroy my D.D. Trainer and Discord's Giant Soldier of Shadows but you will lose your own Draining Hands of the Damned as well."
"That's a price I am quite willing to pay in order to teach you a lesson in humility."
"But is it a price that your partner is willing to pay? Remember what happened the last time one of my own monsters was destroyed. Both Fader and I shared the pain of death for the monster's destruction. Is that something you're willing to do again?"
Evo didn't even have time to think, Fader burst in with his words immediately. "Do it Evo, don't listen to what he says. I can handle it. You need to do what you have to." Fader braced himself for the pain that was coming. It was trick. Something Sin was put the odds in his favor. Fader was determined not to let some trick of this cheap copy bring him down.
Evo nodded at Fader's words as he turned back to Sin and Discord. "Nice try Sin. Go my magic card, eliminate the monsters!" The ground cracked and burst forth swallowing the monsters with a high defense on the field. As the monsters plummeted to their dooms the spirits of the Shadow Realm attacked all of the duelists together. Once again the cry of pain could be heard across the battle field as Evo, Discord and Fader dropped to the ground. Only Sin remained standing, this time however he appeared less stable and wobbled a bit as he recovered from the loss of his Trainer. Evo was the first of the other three back to his feet, Discord and Fader joined him shortly thereafter.
After he had re-composed himself Evo spoke again, " Now Discord is wide open for a direct attack. I summon the Dancer in the Dark (1700/900) and it will attack Discord directly, eliminating her from the game her from the game as well as her Final Countdown."
"Think again thief. I activate the trap card, Negate Attack. Your monster will do nothing but sit there."
"I end my turn then."
Fader: 3400, Evo: 5700, Sin: 3200, Discord: 1200, Turns Left: 9
Discord pulled a card from her Duel Disk. "I will play a card face down and a monster in defense mode. Eight turns left."
"Those eight turns aren't going to be even close to being enough Discord. Thanks to your help I'm about to turn the tide in this match. Your Book of Moon, my own Midnight Sky and Evo's Destruction of the Great Wall gave my Skilled Dark Magician the three counters that he needed in order to for him to be sacrificed to special summon the Dark Magician (2500/2100) from my deck." In a bright flash Fader's Skilled Dark Magician was gone and the purple clad Dark Magician stepped forward, readying its staff for battle.
"It's my turn to thank you as well Fader," interrupted Sin.
"What?"
"You've just allowed me to activate my trap card, Reflected Summoning. This card can only be activated when my opponent summons a monster. If I have a monster of the same name in my deck, than I can summon my own to the field. Behold my Dark Magician!" Sin's trap card turned up revealing a large mirror. The mirror turned and the visage of the Dark Magician appeared reflecting on the glass. Then the image of the Dark Magician became dark as the noble purple robes of the Dark Magician turned blood red and it's purple hair became a grey to match its controller's.
"You may have a Dark Magician Sin, but mine is the true master of magic."
"We will see Fader. Bring on your attack!" "I don't think so. I have another target in mind for my attack, your teammate's face down monster. Dark Magician destroy Discord's last defense to clear a path to her Life Points!" The Dark Magician attacked in a massive display of raw magical power but Discord's monster insolently stood its ground."
"Nice try," Discord said with an evil grin. "But the Soul Hunting Specter (300/200) cannot be destroyed in battle. My Life Points are safe."
"That maybe so, but I can still do some damage to your ally. My Leo the Lion now has 2100 attack power and Sin left his D.D. Warrior Lady in attack mode. Leo attack his monster!" Leo rushed forward and tore through the D.D. Warrior Lady dropping Sin's Life Points by another 600. The image of the D.D. Warrior Lady didn't leave the field immediately, its faint image still remained as it sliced Leo with it's glowing blade. "What happened?" Fader exclaimed.
"Did you forget my D.D. Warrior Lady's special ability?" Sin asked.
"My monster was immune, thanks to my Midnight Sky card."
"But it's not immune when your magic card is not active," Discord interjected. "I used my face down card, Book of Eclipse to turn your face up Magic card, face down, preventing it from working and preventing you from activating it's effects for the rest of the turn." Fader looked up and Discord was right, the stars that had littered the sky in the Shadow Realm were gone and his field magic card had been turned face down. The only things left in the sky were the twelve lights of Discord's Final Countdown and the spirits of those lost to the Shadow Realm.
"You should be happy," announced Sin. "Since the monsters were removed from the game the spirits have no reason to attack us. I doubt you would have been able to handle the pain of both our monsters being destroyed."
"Your concern is touching but unnecessary. Make your move."
Fader: 3400, Evo: 5700, Sin: 2600, Discord: 1200, Turns Left: 7
"Your Life Points have reached an impressive height thief," Sin said, as a sarcastic compliment to Evo. "I think they've gotten too high though. Allow me to aid you in bringing them back down to a reasonable level. Dark Magician attack his Dancer in the Dark!"
"I activate my trap card, Drain Shield, Sin. It not only negates your attack but increases my Life Points by the amount of your monster's attack power, so I gain 2500 Life Points."
"You get ahead of yourself thief. I too have a trap card to activate for the paltry sum of 1000 Life Points, Trap Theft."
"I thought that only allowed you to move face up traps?" Evo asked.
"That is one of its functions yes, but its other ability allows me to negate your trap and move it to my side of the field to be used on a later turn. Your monster is destroyed and you lose 800 Life Points." The spirits passed through Evo again, dropping him to the ground. he didn't rise right away. "Is the pain too much for you thief?"
"Go to hell!"
"You don't get it do you? We are in hell and this is where you're going to stay for all eternity!"
"Yeah well," Evo replied. "I don't plan on showing up here for a very long time. You can save me a seat while you wait here. I activate my other trap card, Sustaining Replenishment. When you destroy one of my monsters, I can remove it from the game to gain Life Points equal to its level multiplied by 500. So you may have dealt me 800 damage with your attack, but I gained another 2000." "Well then thief. Your field is clear, take your turn and try to save yourself."
Fader: 3400, Evo: 6900, Sin: 1600, Discord: 1200, Turns Left: 6
"I set two cards face down and a monster in defense mode. My turn is over."
"No other fight to put up?" said Discord. "After all of those big words and grand displays of power? All you can do is sit there and gain Life Points. Pathetic. Your partner is doing better than you are, but even he will fall. There's nothing you can do to stop my Final Countdown from taking him into the shadows, and then Sin will destroy you with his Dark Magician. I'll play this, Premature Burial, which would normally force me to pay 800 Life Points to special summon a monster from my graveyard, but thanks to my Spell Economics I don't have to pay anything. My Goblin Shadow Force is back on the field and will attack and destroy your face down monster."
Evo could do nothing as the Goblins appeared on the field and rushed his face down Gravekeeper's Axe Wielder (1900/100) destroying it immediately. Discord made taunts at him as he regained his composure from the spirits attack once again, "If you're lucky you'll get one more turn before you're banished forever to the abyss of darkness, because the next time I take my turn is when dear Fader will be taken by my Final Countdown. And you, you can barely stand, you'll collapse the next time one of your monsters is destroyed."
Fader: 3400, Evo: 6900, Sin: 1600, Discord: 1200, Turns Left: 4
"I don't plan on that happening at all," Fader said with scorn as he drew his card. "I'll start by reactivating my Midnight Sky field magic card. Then I'll have my Dark Magician attack your Goblins Discord and send them to the graveyard once again. How does it feel? Do you think that you can stand up to the pain of death anymore?"
"I'm going to enjoy watching you scream in agony as the Final Countdown tears you away to the darkness forever."
"It hasn't happened yet Discord, I'm still here. And standing proud," he told her as she got back to her feet. "Can you say the same?" He turned to Sin. "Bring it."
"I have no plans to attack you this turn Fader. I too will enjoy watching you suffer the effects of the Final Countdown. My attention is on your partner this turn. First by clearing out his field with this card, The Dark Magic Attack which destroys all the face down cards he had left protecting himself with."
"Unfortunately for you Sin, I can activate both of them. The first is Life Force, which reinforces my Life Points by another 1500 points, and the second, Ghost of the Pot of Greed allows me to search my deck for a card and put it on the top of my deck, by discarding my hand."
"Those 1500 Life Points aren't going to matter when I attack you with the full force of the Dark Magician to take 2500 away from you. Dark Magician attack him directly."
"Not this turn Sin!" shouted Fader. "Aquarius, defend Evo's Life Points!" Fader's monster jumped into the path of the attack that was meant to hit Evo, shattering immediately. In seconds a spirit was on top of Fader and making him experience his monsters last thoughts of pain as it was sent to the graveyard. To everyone's surprise though, anther spirit mirrored it's ally and attacked Sin in the same fashion as its partner attacked Fader. Sin dropped to his knees as the pain washed over him, catching him off guard.
"Very curious," Evo said as he watched Sin fumble back to standing.
"It seems that you and I share the same problem Sin," Fader spat out. "You're going to experience the pain of my monsters dying as I experience yours."
"I can handle the pain. Can you? Was that worth it Fader? To protect an ally who has done nothing to aid you this battle?" "It doesn't matter Sin. Evo is my ally, and he doesn't have to do anything to earn my protection. I will defend him until the end if I have to."
"A foolish notion. He has no field, no cards in his hand. He is useless to you. Let him lose and focus on caring about your own interests. I play one card face down."
"Maybe you see it that way Sin, but I don't." Fader turned to Evo. "Go ahead."
Fader: 3400, Evo: 8400, Sin: 1600, Discord: 1200, Turns Left: 4
Evo drew the single card that he had placed on top of his deck with his trap card into his hand. Whatever card it was Fader had to trust that it was going to help. "I play this card face down and end my turn," he said.
"This duel is approaching it's final end," Discord said. "Fader will fall now and then Sin will crush Evo on the next turn. The Final Countdown has ended!"
"Not yet it hasn't!" shouted Evo. "And it's not going to!"
"How do you plan on stopping me?"
"With this trap card, Joined Gallows Rope!"
"What?"
"This trap card can be activated anytime when I have 7000 or more Life Points higher than one of my opponent's. I have 7200 higher than you do Discord. This card immediately drops both of our Life Points to 0, removing us from the game, just before your Final Countdown can claim Fader."
"That's not the way the card works," she argued. "My Life Points are the ones that have to be higher."
"Sorry Discord, but you're thinking about a different card, the Self Destruct Button. This card is similar, but works differently. We're both out of this game, and it's time for Fader to show your partner why he won Battle City!" As his Life Points hit zero Evo collapsed to the ground the look of confidence in Fader still on his face."
Fader: 3400, Sin: 1600
"Nice play Evo," Fader announced with triumph. "See Sin I knew that protecting my ally would be worth it. And now it's my turn. So I'll play the magic card Mage Power and equip it to my Dark Magician raising his attack power by 1500 Points. 500 for the Equip card itself, 500 more for my face down card and another 500 for my Midnight Sky Field magic card. That boosts his power to 4000 points. Dark Magician attack!"
"You're a fool Fader! I still have the Draining Shield that I stole from your partner, you're Dark Magician's attack is negated and I gain 4000 Life Points!"
"I'm not an amateur Sin. Don't think that I forgot about you stealing Evo's trap card. I have no plans to give you a boost of 4000 to your Life Points, so I'll activate my face down card Trap Rebounding. Your trap card is negated and bounced back to your hand. My Dark Magician's attack may drop 500 points but he still has more than enough power to destroy yours."
"I don't think so Fader, I still have one more card on the field and it isn't a trap card. It's the Mystical Space Typhoon and it will destroy your Mage Power card, dropping both of our monsters to the same attack once again, and with no time left to call back your attack they'll both be destroyed."
The two Dark Magicians attacked each other with violent displays of magical energy and true to Sin's word both of them destroyed each other in the assault. This was not the only price to pay as tasting the blood of the fallen monsters in the air the spirits dove once more at the duelists. Two passed through each of the duelists, one for each of the Dark Magicians lost in the combat. Sin stood fast against the attack, staggering briefly before regaining his balance, but the assault was too much on Fader's body and the pain overwhelmed him, causing him to crash to the ground. As he fell one word permeated his lips, "Serena."
Sin recovered from his attack and laughed at he witnessed his only adversary fall unconscious to the ground. He was about to declare his victory, when a bright golden glow burst forth from the Millennium Puzzle. A brilliant bean of light shot up into the dome of Shadowy energy, causing the spirits to scatter as the barrier between worlds collapsed. Standing on the other side of the barrier, holding her Millennium Rod and glowing from head to toe in a golden aura as Shadi, Jaina, Adora and Caecius watched was Serena floating five feet off the ground. The light from the Millennium Rod and Puzzle faded and Serena floated back to the ground. She opened her eyes and glared at Sin.
"How? What?" a shocked Sin blurted out.
Caecius spoke up. "Their love, the bond between the two of them resonated through their Millennium items. Their hearts reached out to each other across the void of the Shadow Realm to bring each other together when the other was in need."
"The duel is over my dear," Sin told her as she walked over to Fader's body. "Your lover has lost."
She looked at his Duel Disk and Fader's Life Point counter. "His Life Points never hit zero," she said.
"A technicality. He cannot continue with the duel so he has lost."
"This duel isn't over," she replied as she switched Duel Disks with Fader, placing his active one on her own wrist. She took her deck out of the pouch on her belt and replaced his deck with her own. She then stepped up to Evo. "You hurt my boyfriend. And now you're going to pay."
Serena: 3400, Sin: 1600.