With Christmas quickly approaching, I'll have to hurry if I want to make good on my promise to have this story into the finals by then.
Writer Awakened, I agree. The Yu-Gi-Oh! dub names sound awful. I mean, Tea? Whenever I read that, I think of the drink! The fact is that I started with the dub names and if I switched over, it would confuse readers and break the continuity of the story.
WARNING: This chapter contains some graphic violence as well as death. If you feel offended by such material, please do not read on.
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"Hey, Arrathir!"
Arrathir turned around and saw Khell heading his way.
"So how many?" he asked.
"Five," said Arrathir, showing off his locator cards.
"Well, I just happen to have seven!"
"I seriously think you're going to make it to the finals," said Arrathir.
"Hey don't worry," said Khell, clapping him in the back "You'll make it too. What's wrong?" he added, seeing the look on Arrathir's face.
Arrathir related the recent events to Khell.
"So you destroyed his deck? Well, it's all he deserved."
"And this is what you deserve!"
Arrathir felt a crushing blow at the base of his skull. He saw stars. Before he could react, he was kissing the pavement. He looked up, dazed, his head throbbing like the membrane of a speaker at a rock concert. Six burly men, dressed in the same purple robes as the Rare Hunter he'd just defeated were attacking Khell. The mage was wielding his staff and one man was already on the ground in the foetal position, clutching his crotch. Khell sidestepped a punch and delivered a sharp blow to his assailant's ribs, probably cracking several. He swept another one off his feet before brining his staff down on the man's stomach. As the man bent over in pain, Khell cracked him over the head. Arrathir saw one of the attackers withdraw something from his pocket.
Is that a gun?
As Khell whirled around, the man threw a punch at him. Arrathir saw a blue spark in the man's hand and heard an electric sizzle. Khell screamed in pain and fell to the ground, twitching from the effect of the stun gun. The man grinned, leaned over and withdrew Khell's deck from his Duel Disk. He riffled through the deck and withdrew a card. He also took all of Khell's locator cards. Meanwhile, one of the two other men came over to Arrathir and grabbed his deck. Arrathir punched him in the face, resulting in the other man coming over and kicking him in the head. Arrathir decided it might not be a bad idea to keep still. The man grabbed his deck and withdrew a card while his companion took his locator cards.
"Later, losers!" said the men, running away while carrying their downed comrades.
Arrathir shook his head to clear it. He checked himself. Nothing appeared to be broken, though he suspected he might have a mild concussion. As he felt his head, he felt something. Blood. The last kick must have cut him. He saw Khell was still on the ground. He got up and went over to his friend.
"Khell, you O.K.?"
"What was that?" asked Khell "I haven't felt this was since a red mage cast a Shock on me!"
"Well, it was a stun gun. It sends a massive electric shock through your body."
"What happened after I fell? I can't remember."
"They took your locator cards and some card from your deck. They did the same to me," said Arrathir, riffling through his deck to see which card was missing.
"They took our locator cards? All of them?" asked Khell.
"I'm afraid so," said Arrathir.
"They took my Krosan Cloudscraper!" yelled Khell.
Arrathir was shuffling though his deck when he noticed something was off.
Where's my Havoc Demon? Those bastards!
"They took my Havoc Demon! That's it! They're gonna pay!"
"How will we find them?" asked Khell.
"Those were Rare Hunters. We just need to find guys in purple robes and get them to tell us where our cards are."
"Let's go," said Khell
They set off to accomplish their revenge. As they walked down an alleyway, they saw two cloaked figures ahead of them.
"Hey you! Stop!" yelled Khell, running to catch the figures.
The two turned around. They were two men, one tall and lanky, the other short and portly. The tall one was wearing a black and red mask on half his face while the short one wore a white mask.
Looks like the Phantom of the Opera had twins.
"Where are our cards?" asked Khell.
"Oh," said the short one "So you're the one with the God card."
"Hold on, Lumis," said the tall one "Let us have a little fun with these fools."
"Very well, Umbra," said Lumis "You! If you want your cards back, you'll have to defeat us in a double-duel! If you win, you get your cards back, but if you loose, you die!"
Gulp.
"We accept," said Khell, before Arrathir could recover.
"Fine," said Umbra "Follow us."
The Rare Hunters led Khell and Arrathir to a foundry. In the centre was a large pit where a glowing mass of molten metal lay, waiting for forging. There were two catwalks on either side of the pit, with small projections that ventured out above the molten mass.
"We duel here," said Umbra "You two, go up that catwalk and take your places. Your cards are there," he said, indicating a padlocked box "If you win, we'll give you the key to the lock."
Arrathir and Khell climbed up the metal stairs and each walked onto the projections. Umbra and Lumis took their places on the opposite catwalk.
"Your life counter is connected to your catwalk. When your lifepoints reach zero, the bolts holding your section explode and you fall into the molten metal!" said Lumis.
Arrathir suddenly realized that this was no longer a friendly duel. They were wagering their lives!
"Khell," said Arrathir "I don't think we should do this! It's just some cards, it's not worth putting our life on the line!"
"I'm disappointed," said Khell "Obviously Lu Chao underestimated you."
"What?"
"Never mind. Arrathir! In real mage duels, you are always playing with your life! Live dangerously a little! I promise, you will survive."
"So, is it shared life?" asked Arrathir.
"No," said Umbra "We each have individual lifepoints."
Which means if one of us looses, the other is almost guaranteed to loose as well.
The duellists powered up their Duel Disks, drew their seven-card hand, and…
"DUEL!"
"We'll let you go first," said Umbra.
"Fine," said Khell "I summon Metamorphic Wurm (1500/1500) and I set one card. Your move." (A/N: The turn sequence goes: Khell, Umbra, Lumis, Arrathir. Individual life and creatures.)
"I summon Shining Abyss (1600/1800), set one card, and end my turn," said Umbra. A metallic monster with wings appeared on the field.
"I play Mask of Brutality," said Lumis "This card equips to Shining Abyss and raises its attack and defence by 1000 points! To keep it on the field, I must pay 1000 lifepoints per turn. However, I also play my magic card, Masked Doll, which negates this effect. Then I set one card. Your turn."
Arrathir surveyed his hand: Zombie Masters, Lingering Death, Demon's Horn, Zombie Trailblazer, Cruel Revival, Dirge of Dread, Volrath's Stronghold and his newest card, Clutch of Undeath.
"I play Demon's Horn. This artifact allows me to gain 500 lifepoints whenever a player plays a black spell. Next, I summon Zombie Master (1000/1500) and I play Volrath's Stronghold. This card allows me, once a turn, to return a creature card from my graveyard to the top of my library. Next, I play Lingering Death on your Shining Abyss. You must sacrifice it at the end of your turn. I end my turn."
KHELL: 10, 000
UMBRA: 10, 000
LUMIS: 10, 000
ARRATHIR: 11, 000
"I summon Canopy Dragon (2000/2000)," said Khell "And I set one card. Your move."
"I summon Vorse Raider (1900/1200)," said Umbra "Now, I attack you," he pointed to Arrathir, "With my Shining Abyss!"
"I take it," said Arrathir.
KHELL: 10, 000
UMBRA: 10, 000
LUMIS: 10, 000
ARRATHIR: 9000
I still have plenty of life and I'll be gaining more with Demon's Horn.
"I play Mask of the Accursed on your zombie," said Lumis. A grotesque mask attached itself to Arrathir's Zombie Master. "A monster equipped with this card cannot attack and its controller takes 500 points of damage at the beginning of their turn. I end my turn."
Shit. Not so good.
KHELL: 10, 000
UMBRA: 10, 000
LUMIS: 10, 000
ARRATHIR: 8500
Let's see, next card…Excellent! Carrion Feeder! Now I can sack my Zombie Master into it, getting rid of that mask and bring him back to the top of my library!
"I summon Carrion Feeder (500/500)," said Arrathir "And I sacrifice my Zombie Master into him to increase his attack and defence by 500!"
"Ha," said Lumis "I activate my trap card, Mask of Restrict! You cannot tribute monsters!"
Damn! Half of Khell's deck is useless now!
"Hey, Khell," said Arrathir "We've got to help each other out."
"I noticed," said Khell "Their decks seem geared to work as one. We must try to work against them together."
"I play Clutch of Undeath on my Carrion Feeder, raising his attack and defence by 1500! He's now a 2000/2000. Plus, I gain 1000 life from my two Demon's Horn. Your move."
KHELL: 10, 000
UMBRA: 10, 000
LUMIS: 10, 000
ARRATHIR: 9500
"Well," said Khell "I summon Kurgadon (1500/1500). Whenever I play a creature with an attack of 3000 or more, I put one 1500/1500 counter on him. I attack Umbra with Canopy Dragon!"
Khell's dragon flew at the Vorse Raider, incinerating it in a torrent of flames.
KHELL: 10, 000
UMBRA: 9200
LUMIS: 10, 000
ARRATHIR: 9000
"So you've managed to put a dent in my lifepoints, no matter," said Umbra "You are only delaying your fiery death. I set one monster and one card and end my turn."
"I summon Grand Tiki Elder (1500/1800)," said Lumis "Next, I play Curse of the Masked Beast, sacrificing both our monsters for its effect, allowing me to summon The Masked Beast (3200/1800)!"
"Wait a sec!" said Arrathir "I thought we couldn't sacrifice monsters."
"The Mask of Restrict's effect only targets you," said Lumis "Now, watch as the Masked Beast arrives! Mask Beast, attack Khell!"
"I block with my Canopy Dragon! Both creatures are destroyed."
"Poor fool," said Lumis "I use another Mask of Brutality to raise my Masked Beast to 4200/2800!"
The Masked Beast tore through Khell's dragon and caused a sever blow to his lifepoints.
KHELL: 7800
UMBRA: 9200
LUMIS: 10, 000
ARRATHIR: 9000
"My turn," said Arrathir "I summon the Soulless One (1500/1500)! Next, I play Cruel Revival on your Masked Beast, destroying it!"
However, the beast remained on the field.
"Activate trap card," said Lumis "Magic Jammer!"
SHIT!
"I end my turn," said Arrathir.
KHELL: 7800
UMBRA: 9200
LUMIS: 10, 000
ARRATHIR: 9000
(500 damage from Mask of the Accursed and 500 life gained from Demon's Horn)
"Playtime is over," said Khell "I play Crush of the Wurms, putting three 3000/3000 wurm tokens into play!"
As soon as the wurm token appeared however, a giant hole appeared beneath them and they all fell into it.
"Activate trap card," said Umbra "Trap Hole. It destroys any summoned monster with an attack of 1000 or greater."
"Damn!" said Khell "I end my turn!"
"I summon The Bistro Butcher (1800/1000)," said Umbra "Then I end my turn."
"Your life-gaining card won't help you much longer," said Lumis "I play Mask of Dispel on your Clutch of Undeath. You take 500 damage per turn until the card is destroyed or removed from play. Then I set one card and I attack you with The Masked Beast!"
"I block with Carrion Feeder and Zombie Master," said Arrathir "Your creature is destroyed!"
"Poor naïve boy," said Lumis "Did you really think I did not see that coming? I play my trap card, Mask of Weakness. It lowers your Carrion Feeder's attack by 700. Both your creatures are destroyed!"
"And so is yours!" said Khell "Activate trap card, Firebolt! It deals 1000 damage to your Masked Beast!"
KHELL: 7800
UMBRA: 9200
LUMIS: 10, 000
ARRATHIR: 8300
Suddenly, Arrathir's Carrion Feeder reappeared on the field.
"What happened?" asked Umbra.
"I used my Zombie Master's effect," said Arrathir "When a zombie dies, I can regenerate it. My turn. I summon Corpse Harvester (1500/1500) and I use Volrath's Stronghold to return Zombie Master to the top of my deck, then I attack with my Soulless One!"
KHELL: 7800
UMBRA: 9200
LUMIS: 10, 000
ARRATHIR: 8800
"Activate trap card, Mirror Force!"
All of Arrathir's zombies were destroyed in a blinding flash of light.
"I end my turn," said Arrathir.
Damn! I'm really in for it now! I hope Khell can protect me with his creatures.
"I summon Krosan Drover (1000/1000)," said Khell, who was getting very pissed about the Mask of Restrict "We could have finished this long ago if they didn't have that card," he told Arrathir, "I set one card and activate my other trap card, Carbonize, dealing 1500 damage to your Bistro Butcher. Now I attack Lumis with Kurgadon!"
"I flip my facedown monster," said Umbra "Man-Eater Bug, it destroys your Kurgadon. My turn, I play Monster Reborn to revive my Grand Tiki Elder. Next, I sacrifice Grand Tiki Elder and Man-Eater Bug to summon Masked Beast Des Guardius (3300/2500)! Your turn."
"I play Chosen One," said Lumis "I select one Monster Card and two non-Monster Cards from my hand. One of my opponents randomly selects one of the three cards. If it is the Monster Card, it is immediately summoned and the remaining two cards are sent to the graveyard. If it is not a Monster Card, all three cards are sent to the graveyard." Three facedown cards appeared on the field in from of Lumis. "You, Khell. Choose a card."
"Careful, Khell," said Arrathir.
"I choose that one!" said Khell, pointing at the left card. The card flipped over to reveal Millennium Golem (2000/2200).
"I attack Arrathir with Millennium Golem!" said Lumis.
Arrathir saw the creature coming. He waited for Khell to order his monster to block, but he never did. The Millennium Golem's attack hit him straight on.
KHELL: 7800
UMBRA: 9200
LUMIS: 10, 000
ARRATHIR: 6800
"Sorry," said Khell in response to Arrathir's dirty look.
Now Arrathir was sweating, and not just from the infernal heat that reigned in the foundry. Khell and himself were behind on their opponents, with Lumis sitting at an intact 10,000. If they didn't get their act together, they'd loose for sure! He drew and summoned Zombie Master (1000/1500), gaining 500 life in the process, and ended his turn.
KHELL: 7800
UMBRA: 9200
LUMIS: 10, 000
ARRATHIR: 7300
"YES!" said Khell, drawing his card, "FINALLY! Decimate! It lets me destroy target artifact, target creature, and target enchantment. I destroy your Mask of Restrict, your Masked Beast Des Guardius, and, I'm sorry, Arrathir, your Demon's Horn."
"Khell! What was that for?" complained Arrathir "Now I can't gain any life!"
"Sorry," said Khell "But it's the card's effect. Now, watch as I sacrifice Krosan Drover to summon Crater Hellion (3000/3000)! When it comes into play, it deals 2000 damage to each other creature! Then I flashback Firebolt, dealing 1000 damage to your Masked Beast Des Guardius! I attack Lumis with Crater Hellion!"
KHELL: 7800
UMBRA: 9200
LUMIS: 7000
ARRATHIR: 7300
Shit, a few more attacks like that and the duel's in the bag!
"I'm really sorry I let you take that attack," said Khell "But I needed my Krosan Drover to summon Crater Hellion."
"It's O.K.," said Arrathir "Let's kick their asses!"
"You haven't won yet!" said Umbra "I set one monster and end my turn."
"No matter what you summon, my Crater Hellion will destroy it!" taunted Khell.
"Your monster won't be able to attack for a while," said Lumis "Activate magic card, Swords of Revealing Light! None of your monsters can attack for three turns!"
Arrathir drew his next card, Undead Warchief.
Well, every bit helps.
"I summon Undead Warchief (1500/1000), and I end my turn."
"I summon Nesting Wurm (2000/1500)," said Khell "When this card comes into play, I search my library for three other copies of this card and put them into my hand. I end my turn."
"I set another monster," said Umbra "And I sacrifice my first facedown monster to summon Millennium Shield (0/3000)! I end my turn."
Shit, they're building up a massive defence!
Lumis set one card and ended his turn.
Come on deck, don't fail me now!
Arrathir drew a Reaping the Graves.
"Perfect! I play Reaping the Graves to return my Soulless One to my hand. Next, sacrifice Zombie Master to summon Soulless One (3000/2500). Next, I attack Umbra with Soulless One since Swords of Revealing Light don't affect my monsters."
"I block with my facedown card, Blast Sphere. When my opponent attacks this card facedown, it equips to their monster, destroying it during their next upkeep and inflicting direct damage to their lifepoints equal to the monster's attack! As well, damage does not apply."
Oh shit! Not only does my attack not resolve, I'm gonna loose 3000 lifepoints!
"I end my turn," said Arrathir.
"Right!" said Khell "I play Thunderclap on you, Umbra, dealing 1500 damage to your lifepoints!"
KHELL: 7800
UMBRA: 6700
LUMIS: 7000
ARRATHIR: 7300
"I set one card and end my turn."
"I set one monster," said Umbra "And summon Vorse Raider (1900/1200). I end my turn."
"I play Pot of Greed, drawing two cards and end my turn."
At the beginning of his upkeep, Arrathir's Soulless One exploded, cutting back his lifepoints.
KHELL: 7800
UMBRA: 6700
LUMIS: 7000
ARRATHIR: 4300
Suddenly, there was an explosion under Arrathir's feet and his section of the catwalk shook.
"What happened?"
"That was the first bolt exploding," said Umbra "When the next one explodes, you'll fall into the smelting pit!"
"Not going to happen," said Arrathir, drawing Contaminated Bond "I play Contaminated Bond on your Millennium Shield." A thin black like sprouted from the shield and attached itself to Umbra. "Now, whenever you attack or block with this creature, you loose 1500 lifepoints! I use Volrath's Stronghold to return Soulless One to the top of my library and end my turn."
"I play Violent Eruption on Umbra," said Khell "Dealing 2000 damage to you!"
KHELL: 7800
UMBRA: 4700
LUMIS: 7000
ARRATHIR: 4300
"And I end my turn."
"I set one monster and end my turn," said Umbra.
"I set one card and end my turn," said Lumis.
"My turn," said Arrathir, drawing Soulless One "I summon and attack Lumis with my Soulless One!"
"I block with my facedown card and flip it over," said Umbra "Cyber Jar! It destroys all monsters on the field!" The Cyber Jar exploded, taking all monsters on the field with it. "Next, we each take five cards from the top of our decks and show the cards to each other. All monsters with an attack of 2000 or lower are immediately summoned, the rest go into our hands."
Arrathir picked up the top five cards of his library: Soulless One, Necromancy, Vengeful Dead, Festering Goblin, and Lethal Vapors. He placed Vengeful Dead (1500/1000) and Festering Goblin (500/500) into his Duel Disk. Khell summoned a Metamorphic Wurm (1500/1500) and a Krosan Drover (1000/1000). Umbra summoned Gemini Elf (1900/900), Wall of Illusion (1000/1850) and Penguin Soldier (750/500). Lumis summoned nothing.
"I end my turn," said Arrathir.
Last turn until Khell can attack again!
"I summon Nesting Wurm (2000/1500), set one card, and end my turn," said Khell.
"I play Monster Reborn," said Umbra "Reviving your Crater Hellion (3000/3000)! It deals 2000 damage to each creature! All monsters die! Now, Crater Hellion, attack Khell!"
However, the monster did not attack. It stood there, looking at Khell, as if it was waiting for his command.
"Why aren't you attacking, stupid beast?" yelled Umbra.
"The Crater Hellion knows you are not its master," said Khell "It will not attack me."
Go, Heart of the Cards!
The Crater Hellion suddenly exploded in a shower of pixels.
"What happened?"
"The creature was torn between its loyalty to Khell, and its need to destroy," explained Arrathir "It did the only thing possible to fulfill both: destroy itself."
"This is impossible!" said Umbra "There's no way the cards can think!"
"If you believed in the Heart of the Cards," said Arrathir "You would see your cards are more than cardboard rectangles with numbers and writing. If you treasure and trust your cards, they will not let you down."
"Shut up!" said Lumis "It's my turn. I set one card and end my turn!"
"I play Tortured Existence," said Arrathir "This card allows me to discard a card to return a creature card from my graveyard to my hand. I discard Soulless One to return Undead Warchief to my hand, summon it (1500/1000) and I play Necromancy to return my Soulless One (4000/3500) to play! I attack Lumis with Soulless One!"
"I block with Wall of Illusion," started Umbra, but Khell interrupted him "I activate my trap card, Firebolt, flashing it back, to deal 2000 damage to your Wall of Illusion."
The Soulless One charged at the unprotected Lumis who screamed in terror as the attack hit him.
KHELL: 7800
UMBRA: 4700
LUMIS: 3000
ARRATHIR: 4300
"I set one card," said Khell "And I attack Umbra with Crater Hellion!"
"I block with my facedown card, another Blast Sphere!"
"I end my turn," Khell growled.
Arrathir was beginning to feel excited. They might actually win! With his Soulless One on the field, he could crush almost anything their opponents summoned.
"I set one monster," said Umbra "And end my turn."
"I set one card and end my turn," said Lumis.
I can wipe out Lumis' lifepoints with one attack! Wait! What am I thinking? If I do that, I'll kill him! I'm no murderer! Maybe we can get them to surrender!
"Hey!" he called out "You guys wanna forfeit? It's pretty obvious we've won!"
"Never!" said Lumis "We will never surrender to you!"
"Then I guess I'll just attack Umbra with Soulless One!"
"I flip my facedown card," said Umbra "Penguin Soldier (750/500). It allows me to return up to two monster cards to their owner's hand. I'll return your Soulless One and Undead Warchief."
At the beginning of Khell's turn, the Blast Sphere exploded, taking his Crater Hellion.
KHELL: 4800
UMBRA: 4700
LUMIS: 3000
ARRATHIR: 4300
"I play Roar of the Wurm, flashing it back to put two 3000/3000 wurms into play!" said Khell "I attack Umbra with one and Lumis with the other!"
"I block the wurm attacking Lumis with my Penguin Soldier," said Umbra.
The penguin stood its ground against the attacking wurm, but was overrun by the ferocity of the attack.
KHELL: 4800
UMBRA: 1700
LUMIS: 500
ARRATHIR: 4300
"I play Change of Heart," said Umbra "And take control of your wurm token."
"What's the use?" asked Khell "It won't attack me."
"No, but I can sacrifice it to summon Shadow Ghoul (1600/1300). This monster's attack is increased by 100 for each monster in my graveyard, making it a (3000/1300). I end my turn."
"I set one card and end my turn," said Lumis.
Arrathir stared at the card he'd just drawn: Terror. With the ability to destroy any non-black, non-artifact creature, this card could win them the game.
"I summon Undead Warchief (1500/1000) and set one card (Terror). I end my turn."
I'll bet anything that facedown card is a trap.
"Ha," said Khell "I play another Roar of the Wurm, flashing it back to put another two 3000/300 wurms into play. Next, I sacrifice all three wurms to summon…Avatar of Might (4000/4000)!"
"Khell," said Arrathir "Don't attack. I've got a feeling that one card is a trap."
"What if it isn't?" asked Khell "I can finish this duel right now! Krosan Cloudscraper, attack Lumis!"
The mutant lumbered forward and raised its mighty fist above the trembling Lumis. Just then, the beast exploded.
"Activate trap card," said Lumis "Widespread Ruin. When an opponent attacks with one monster, their monster with the highest attack is destroyed."
I told you so.
"I play Heavy Storm," said Umbra "It destroys all magic and trap cards in play! Next, I attack Khell with Shadow Ghoul!"
"I block with Undead Warchief," said Arrathir as the two monsters met and destroyed each other.
KHELL: 2800
UMBRA: 1700
LUMIS: 500
ARRATHIR: 4300
"Thank-you," said Khell.
Arrathir just smiled.
"I end my turn," said Lumis.
"I draw," said Arrathir (Betrayal of Flesh) "I play Betrayal of Flesh, allowing me to return one monster from my graveyard to play. I return Undead Warchief (1500/1000)."
"Arrathir," said Khell "Attack Lumis! He's wide open and they have no traps left!"
If I do that, I'll kill him. It's no more than he'd deserve.
"I can't," said Arrathir "I don't want to kill him!"
"Arrathir," said Khell "It's them or us! Do you want to die?"
"No," said Arrathir "I attack!"
The Undead Warchief flew at Lumis and clawed away his last lifepoints.
"Nooooo!" said Lumis as the blots under his platform exploded, sending him tumbling into the smelting pit. He tried to grab onto the catwalk, but his gip gave up and he fell. His body burst into flames as he hit the liquid metal. Arrathir could hear the skin sizzling and he could smell the burning flesh.
Umbra was stricken as he watched his partner die a fiery death. He hesitated, then lay his hand on his deck, surrendering.
KHELL: 2800
UMBRA: (Resigned)
LUMIS: 0
ARRATHIR: 4300
Suddenly, the Eye of Horus appeared on his head and his eyes went blank.
"Congratulations," he said in a monotone voice "You defeated me, yet again. As promised, here is your key," Lumis threw a metal key onto the foundry floor. "As for this pitiful idiot, he knows the price for failing me." Umbra leaned forward until his centre of gravity took over and he fell over the railing, Yami Marik releasing his control just as he fell. Umbra screamed as he met the same fate as his friend.
Arrathir was severely shaken. He had never seen anybody die before and he had trouble coping with his emotions. Khell meanwhile had unlocked the box and recovered the stolen cards.
"Here," he said, giving Arrathir his Havoc Demon and locator cards.
"Khell," said Arrathir "We just killed them. They're dead because of us!"
"We had no choice," said Khell "Had Yami Marik gotten a hold of Krosan Cloudscraper, I shudder to think what he could have done with it."
"We've got to hurry," said Arrathir "We haven't got much time left to get our last locator cards!"
The two duellists left the foundry to find new opponents.
To be continued…
Author's Note: Wow. Long chapter, but it should hold you over until I finish the next one. Keep those reviews coming!