Author's Notes: Here is Ch.4 and....well that's all I guess. Read, enjoy, then review.

Chapter Four: Broken

Yugi and his friends have just arrived in San Francisco, California. They are now being taken by limo to see Pegasus in order to get some answers. While Yugi's friends were all looking out the windows, excited by the things they saw, Yugi was too worried about the events going on to find any enjoyment in any of it.

Because of the monsters appearing, Timeus, the Seal of Orichalcos, the mysterious trio working for something they called Doom, the strange stone, the god cards being stolen...it all came together to make him feel so worried that he couldn't find any fun in it. He was just focused on what was ahead, which was getting the promised answers from Pegasus.
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Meanwhile Seto Kaiba is heading on his private Blue Eyes Jet to Duelist Kingdom. Looking out over the island approaching below he can only think back to his last time at this island, when he had to struggle to get Mokuba back. It had been a long and arduous task that had nearly cost him and Mokuba everything.

The Blue Eyes Jet touched down and he and Mokuba exited the plane, taking his brief case and DD2 with him. To their surprise they found the main entrance already open, but no sign of guards anywhere. As they continued walking into and through the castle they could find no trace of anyone at all. It was as if everyone had vanished.
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Back at the San Francisco Airport, a large brown duffel bag has just been taken off of the plane. Inside the bag are Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood, who are hiding away in the bag so they can get to Duelist Kingdom. From the little they had heard, Pegasus had invited Yugi and his friends to his own personal headquarters for some reason. That had to be to give them rare cards, there was no other explanation.

Of course their plan had somewhat backfired, and now they were busy being bounced around and hoping their bag didn't get claimed by the wrong people. There was no guarantee of that, so they were just going to have to hope for the best. And considering their track record, that wasn't saying very much.
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Seto Kaiba now stands at the edge of a great drop where the dueling platform could rise up. Walking out from the shadows on the opposite side was none other then Pegasus J. Crawford in his red business suit, platinum blonde hair hanging loosely and covering his left eye. Mokuba cowered behind Kaiba, seeking support. "Pegasus! Other than Kaiba Corp., Industrial Illusions is the only company that could produce these monsters! Explain yourself!"

Pegasus merely chuckled and pronounced the one thing Kaiba had been expecting. "Win the duel first, then you'll know the truth. It's as simple as that....unless you're afraid of a little rematch?" Kaiba grimaced at these words, remembering his previous duel against Pegasus. He had lost against the might of the magic card Toon World and had his soul trapped in a card just like his brother had. But last he knew, Taichi Nobuki had possessed the Toon World card, so there was no telling where it was now.

From beneath them the platform rose up, connecting itself and allowing the two duelists to walk out into their proper positions. Pegasus placed his deck down in its place, but Kaiba chose to connect his DD2 with the platform, and then inserted his dueling deck into the disk and preparing for the duel to start. Both duelists drew opening hands and started off.

Mokuba left to go watch from the sidelines, while the duel began. Pegasus started simply by placing a single card face down and then summoning the same alligator monster that he had used against Kaiba in their first duel. It was in defense mode with sixteen hundred defense points. Kaiba sneered and set a card face down before summoning his Spear Dragon and attacked the alligator using its trample ability to deal damage while the other monster was in defense mode.

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Back to Yugi and his friends, things had gone bad. After being attacked by a group of bikers and having their ride blown up, and being saved by someone Joey insisted was Mai, the group had set off for Industrial Illusions again. While they did this, Rex and Weevil had been picked up by Duke Devlin who had helped retrieve their wallet from a mugger. Finding out where Yugi and the others would be, he let the two duelists drive with him to the headquarters.

Upon getting to Industrial Illusions the gang found that nobody was there. A motorcycle dropped from above, and to their surprise Mai stepped off of it. Though greetings were exchanged, Mai revealed that she had wanted the power offered and had used it to take Pegasus' soul after defeating him in a duel. Then she swiftly challenged Joey, and activated the Seal of Orichalcos.

"I'll prove my strength by defeating you! I summon the Harpy Lady(1300/1400) in attack mode, and it gains dark power! Now my turn ends, and I challenge you to show me your strength in this duel!" Joey stared at her and at his duel disk, horrified at what was happening. His mind could form only a few words, and they were simple ones. In fact, one thing was forefront on his mind.

Why?
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While this was going on, a few things are currently happening back in Japan. In Domino City both Ryu and Autumn are headed towards the Domino Airport. Their decision had been made to confront the new threat that was arising, and they were both at the ready. After a bit of deck tweaking the two had set out for the airport with tickets in hand. Each one had their silver duel disks strapped to their arms in standby mode, with their decks in their pockets, ready to be used at a moments notice.

The card that Autumn had gained in her duel against Tobaroshi, the Heart of Friendship, was nowhere to be found. It wasn't in her deck, or anywhere else. And yet she continued to tell Ryu that she knew, deep inside, that it was with her even if they couldn't see it. This threat was entirely different from Taichi in such a fundamental way that Ryu couldn't really place a finger on it. Autumn on the other had knew exactly what the fundamental difference was.

Taichi hadn't been human. Their new enemies were all too human, and all too convicted. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In Tokyo something else was happening. What was happening was a certain top-knotted bi-eyed duelist was busy walking with Dalin and Isis back to Isis' office at the museum. They had just finished eating lunch and were going back to analyze some more of the texts that Isis had at her disposal. There were many questions left to be answered, and the answers they had so far were highly disturbing.

"Kai Kaethen, your last few minutes on this plane have just arrived." The three duelists stopped walking at these words, and looked around to find the source. A man dressed in a pure white robe that covered his entire body, including his head, seemed to flow out of the brick of the building next to them. He stepped out in front of them, spearing them with his dagger-like gaze, the only part of his face that was truly visible, and even that was only truly visible on one side. Kai noticed the infinity symbol embalzoned upon the left breast of his robe, and started to make the connection.

"You're one of them. One of those people.....the Order of the Fallen Stars, or whatever the proper name is." The man kept his gaze on Kai for several seconds, and then turned his glare upon Dalin, his eyes so hard it was as if they were trying to kill Dalin just by looking at him. Seeing this problem as his own Kai stepped forward to confront the newcomer.

"You are mostly correct Kai Kaethen. I will grant this one moment of relief in knowing that it isn't I who has the task of crushing you into nothingness. Nor will it be a true member of the Order. I believe you will find your opponent to be most satisfactory." The man in white gestured off to his left, where the opponent was approaching. The chosen opponent was just under six feet, about sixteen, with spiky blonde hair. He was wearing a blue denim jacket over a t-shirt depicting a nuclear hazard symbol. Kai recognized him, because this was Kevin Hunter. Kai's eyes narrowed as he noticed a pure black duel disk on Kevin's arm.

"Why should I duel any of you?" Kevin grimaced and drew an opening hand, activating his duel disk which slid out into position. Kai refused to activate his own, and simply stood there, waiting. He cast a look back to Dalin, silently asking if Kevin would remember the things that had happened. Dalin shook his head ever so slightly, confirming that Kevin would know nothing of the happenings in the Shadow Realm.

"Listen up, the name is Kevin Hunter, and you don't have a choice. If you don't duel me, a bomb under the street will detonate. If you don't defeat me in the next thirty minutes, then the bomb will also detonate, probably killing us and at the very least killing dozens of people." Kai's eyes widened and he again turned to Dalin, looking for counseling. The older duelist nodded, and a confirming nod was given by Isis. Kai slowly gave a nod in response, and activated his duel disk, putting it in place and drawing his starting hand. (KLP: 4000, KeLP: 4000)

Kai drew six cards and selected the cards he wanted to use. He started off by picking a monster to summon. "I don't know why you're doing this Kevin, but I don't intend to let you get away with it! I summon Mirage Mage(1900/800) to the field and place two cards face down! End turn!" His powerful magician appeared, revealing a cloaked figure in a pale gold robe wielding a long staff. This monster had a powerful effect that Kai might be able to utilize. The man in white leaned back up against the brick wall, idly watching the duel. However, his eyes kept flicking towards Dalin and Isis.

Kevin grinned at the challenge and added another card to his hand before swiftly placing a single card face down and watching it appear on the field in front of him. "That card goes face down, and then I summon Masked Dragon(1400/1300) in attack mode! Now hurry up this duel before the bomb goes off, or you'll be responsible for so many deaths that you'll never forgive yourself!" Kai's brow furrowed as he listened to his opponent speak. Despite the other duelist's words....it was as if he was speaking about himself. Was this something Kevin was being forced into, or was he imagining things?

"I place a monster in defense mode and then I attack your Masked Dragon with my Mirage Mage!" The gold robed spellcaster raised his staff and fired a beam of golden energy at the armored looking dragon. At the very last moment a familiar trap card flipped up, one that Kai knew the effect of. It would allow the Masked Dragon to defeat his Mirage Mage in battle.

"Reveal trap, Energy Drain! Now since you have three cards in your hand my dragon will gain six hundred attack points, making it a full one hundred points stronger then your magician! Now, Masked Dragon, counterattack with Masked Flame!" The dragon reared its head back and spewed forth a jet of flames, only to have the magician's beam splash the fire aside and streak onwards to shatter the dragon into pieces. "What happened?" (KeLP: 3500)

Kai smirked and gestured to the set card on his right. It was now flipped up, revealing a purple background and showing a hexagram with some sort of spell going on in the center. It looked similar to the Magic Jammer card, only a slightly different design. "My Trap Jammer card allowed me to discard a card to negate the activation of your trap. Since Energy Drain didn't increase your dragon's power my Mirage Mage was victorious."

Kevin grimaced and glanced briefly at the middle of the street. Then he turned his gaze back to the field and ejected a card from his deck. Kai started to ask the question, but Kevin beat him to the punch. "When Masked Dragon is destroyed I can special summon a dragon from my deck with fifteen hundred or less attack points. So I summon Twin-Headed Behemoth(1500/800)!" The dragon that appeared was a creature with two fierce looking heads, but it was no threat to Kai's Mirage Mage.

"I place one magic or trap card face down, and then release my turn, passing control to you! Now let's hurry this up!" His card appeared, replenishing his supply of cards to protect him that were on the field, however it also dropped the number of cards in his hand to just one, whereas Kevin would have five cards as soon as he drew, giving Kevin the numbers advantage. As he drew, Kevin glanced at his watch and then quickly back up to the duel.

"I play two magic or trap cards face down. Now....now I have to do what has to be done. I'll change everything around with this card, using its power to grant me the advantage! I play the Seal of Orichalcos!" Kai didn't recognize the name of the card, and he was shocked as a seal shot down from the sky and closed them in together, forcing Dalin and Isis out. He moved to go to them, but was bounced backwards by the seal.

The white robed man chuckled at Kai's fall. "Kaethen, nobody leaves while the Seal of Orichalcos is active, nobody leaves and nobody gets in. BY playing this card Kevin has become what he has to be for this duel, he has acknowledged the darkness within him and gained dark power, increasing his strength and boosting all of his monsters by five hundred!" Now, blazing upon Kevin's forehead was the same seal symbol that enclosed them, and the same symbol burned upon each of the heads of his dragon.

"Twin-Headed Behemoth, attack and destroy Kai's Mirage Mage!" Kai quickly flipped up his set card, a Magician's Select trap, depicting the image of a Dark Magician on it. Using the trap while he had a magician on the field he could destroy the weakest monster on his opponent's field when he attacked. Kevin shrugged and ended his turn.

The moment Kai drew, he watched in horror as the Twin-Headed Behemoth rose again. Kevin threw back his head and laughed hysterically, the darkness behind his new confidence showing. "After being destroyed, Twin-Headed Behemoth can rise again one time with his attack and defense set at one thousand a piece. But with the Seal in play that becomes 1500, giving me more breathing room." Kai growled deep in his throat and looked at his new card, hoping for a good card to work with.

"Mirage Mage is stronger than your dragon now, so I'll just have it attack and destroy it!" The Mirage Mage raised its staff and unleashed a barrage of energy bullets. The dragon responded by firing off twin jets of flame that zipped straight through the bullets and ignited Kai's magician, burning it to cinders. Kai was amazed not just at his magician's defeat, but because he had felt the heat, and nearly been burned by it! This stuff was way too real.

"Looks like you fell for my trap Kai. One of my placed cards was the equip card called Dark Dragon Nails, which boosted my dragon by seven hundred points, making it three hundred stronger than your magician. Looks like you fell for an easy trick." Kai's life points fell, and slightly disheartened the bi-eyed duelist set a single monster in defense mode and then declared the end of his turn. (KLP: 3700)

Kevin drew a card and then intoned his next move. Kai watched as Kevin's other set card flipped up, revealing a trap card, but with the symbol for permanence. It was a continuous trap card, one that showed a Fallen Angel Marie holding up a wrapped bento box. "My Gift of the Fallen will increase my life points for each of my monsters that goes to the cemetery. But I've still got more. I set a single card face down and then I summon Alligator Sword(1500/1200)!" The lizard warrior appeared and gained dark power, making it stronger than ever at two thousand points.

"Alligator Sword will destroy your newest set monster!" The lizard creature rushed forwards and swung its blade down. It shattered the monster, revealing a little squirrel that looked as if it had been flattened by a passing car. Suddenly Kai ejected two cards from his deck and placed them both onto his monster field, and two horizontal set cards appeared in front of him. Kai's life points also shot up. (KLP: 4700)

"Nimble Momonga huh? Well that's fine, I'll just avoid them for now. Twin-Headed Behemoth, use your Twin Flame attack and burn his other set monster into cinders!" The dragon opened its two sets of jaws wide and unleashed two intertwining streams of flame that collided against Kai's monster. However it was revealed as a powerful looking magician holding an ivory staff. It used the staff to wield off the flames and remained completely unharmed.

"My Steadfast Magician(500/2200) has defense points equal to your dragon's attack, therefore nothing happens. So now you can't get past one monster, and if you go after my two others you'll only increase my life points. What will you do now?" Kevin growled and motioned for Kai to start his turn. The magician duelist gladly complied, drawing a new card to bump his hand back up to two.

"I'll play a monster in defense mode and end my turn!" He grimaced as all he could do was to play defensively. He couldn't just sit back and let Kevin take this duel, and just defending was only helping the clock tick towards their demise and the deaths of helpless people around them. Should they say anything about the bomb he was certain it would just be triggered, and nothing would have been accomplished.

Isis looked up at Dalin and asked a question that had been on the tip of her tongue since the start of the duel. "This Seal of Orichalcos, it's power feels great, but do you think it can be defeated?" Dalin stared straight at the robed man, and slowly nodded his head in the afirmative. He could think of two ways to get rid of the Seal of Orichalcos, unforunately he doubted Kai had the cards necessary to do so. The question that was brimming in his mind was whether Kai was willing to win this duel or not.

Kevin seemed furious at Kai for just playing defensively and he practically ripped the next card off his deck. He stared at it for several seconds and then slapped it onto the field. "I won't let you just ride through this duel! I'll end it as quickly as I possibly can, and I'll do it by summoning my ultimate monster. And the first step towards that is by summoning Black Flare Dragon of Horus LV4(1600/1000)!" The monster that was summoned was a relatively small silver dragon with a fearsome fiery aura about it.

Kai quirked an eyebrow, uncertain as to what this creature was. On the outside Dalin stood still, not making any motion to offer advice. Isis looked at him beseechingly, but he shook his head. "I can't coach any duelist through a duel. It isn't right. Kai has to win this duel for himself and for his reason, I can't help him in that or it wouldn't be right. I don't want you helping either." The tanned Egyptian woman nodded in understanding, and turned back to watch the duel continue.

"I have Black Flare Dragon of Horus LV4 and my Alligator Sword both attack and destroy your two remaining Nimble Momongas! Then my behemoth will follow up by destroying your newest monster!" The three monsters attacked, one with silver fire, one with a sword, and the last with twin streams of fire. Each easily managed to destroy their targeted monsters. Two little squirrels and a blonde female magician that appeared briefly before vanishing under the torrent of flame. (KLP: 6700)

"Now I end my turn and reveal the truth! During the end phase of a turn that my LV4 destroys another monster in battle, I can send the LV4 to the cemetery to special summon a Black Flare Dragon of Horus LV6(2300/1600) from my deck or hand to the field! And since a monster of mine went to the cemetery I gain seven hundred life points! However, after the initial increase I will only gain five hundred life points a turn." The monster that replaced the silver dragon was a larger version of the same, and far more dangerous in appearance. With a boosted 2800 attack power it was nothing to sneeze at. (KeLP: 4200)

Kai took a deep breath and drew a card. He looked at it and then kept himself from making any sort of reaction. He looked over at the new monster, wondering if it could bring out another stronger version. Kai had never encountered any monster like this before, and he had no idea of what to make of it. What would you call such a monster, a level monster? "Play one card face down. End turn!"

Kevin pulled free his next card and then played it onto his field, watching as it appeared, taking up another monster zone. The new monster was also a dragon, armored and armed with sharp claws and small spikes from its armor. "My Armed Dragon LV3(1200/900) will give you a little more to worry about. But wait, there's more! Black Flare Dragon of Horus LV6, destroy Steadfast Magician!"

The mighty beast unleashed a torrent of silver flame that roared over his defensive magician, obliterating it completely. But Kai wasn't just ready to be finished off. "Reveal trap card, Soul Crosswire! My deadliest trap costs me one thousand life points, but it lets me special summon a level four monster from my cemetery and a level four monster from my deck when you destroy one of my monsters! So I'll raise my two Magician's Valkyrie(1600/1800), one of which you destroyed earlier. Now with both on the field you can't attack!" The two blonde spellcasters shimmered into view, crossing their wands to project a thin energy dome in front of them. (KLP: 5700)

"Fine, but be warned, now is the moment of the appearance of the first of my two ultimate beasts! I end my turn and send LV6 to the cemetery to special summon Black Flare Dragon of Horus LV8(3000/1800), the final version!" In place of the previous dragon was a dragon at least twice as large as a Blue Eyes, and more fearsome then the white scaled beast could ever be. The silver dragon let out a roar of triumph as it appeared, easily dominating the field. (KeLP: 4700)

Kai drew his next card, nervous about the situation. He was facing down an unknown monster with an unknown effect. It had thirty-five hundred attack points, making it stronger than anything his deck could bring out. His only defense at this point were two monsters that would only last as long as Kevin didn't get a card with a monster removal effect. "I play a card face down. That's all I can do."

"Now that it's my standby phase I'll introduce you to the second to last phase of my second ultimate creature. I sacrifice Armed Dragon LV3 to special summon Armed Dragon LV5(2400/1600)!" Yet again a smaller dragon was replaced by a larger and more fearsome version of itself. Now Kai was facing down two monsters with attack power rivaling that of a Blue Eyes White Dragon. One stronger, and one only barely weaker. He also had a very bad feeling about those monsters as Kevin hadn't revealed any effects yet.

"Armed Dragon LV5 allows me to discard a monster from my hand to destroy one face-up monster on your side of the field with equal or lesser attack power. So I'll discard Ryu-Kishin Powered with sixteen hundred attack points to destroy the Magician's Valkyrie on the right!" The dragon opened its jaws wide, gathering up the energy for its assault. It pushed its head forward and vomited up a stream of dark red energy that exploded against the barrier his magical women put up, and then pierced straight through it. (KeLP: 5200)

The light faded, and revealed the two magical girls unharmed, looking slightly sweaty but their barrier still intact and still keeping him safe from any attack his opponent might make. "By discarding a card from my hand I was able to use my Effect Break trap card, negating the use of your monster's effect. It also saved my two monsters." He slid the last card in his hand into the graveyard, glad that he had managed to protect himself for one more turn. He was certain Kevin's other card was not another monster card.

The dragon duelist grimaced and then pressed a button on his black duel disk. "Reveal trap card, Liquid Soul! By removing the monster I just discarded from the game I can draw a brand new hand!" Kevin happily placed his Ryu-Kishin Powered into his pocket and then drew cards from his deck until he held six cards. He lifted his head from looking at his cards to say what his next move would be, but Kai was already in action.

"Now that my hand is empty I can finally use my set card, Power Balance! Since I've got zero cards it forces you to discard half your hand, and then I draw cards equal to the number you discarded! So now we'll be on even terms when it comes to hand size." Kevin quirked an eyebrow and then nodded, selecting three cards that he took away from his hand. Kai swiftly drew three cards, giving him more options. But to his surprise, Kevin was smiling. The white robed man was giving him an appraising look, as if surprised that Kai had so successfully set up Kevin.

Kevin's response to the use of Power Balance changed the situation. "The three cards I'm discarding by your card's effect are Dark Gremlin, Vorse Raider, and Big Shield Guardna. Each of which are monsters. Therefore I'll gain fifteen hundred more life points, setting me easily ahead of you!" He shoved the three named monsters into his graveyard and then laughed as his life points started ticking upwards, making them quite a bit higher than Kai's were, and quite a bit higher than they had been when the duel had started. (KeLP: 6700)

"I've got another move to make. I set one magic or trap card and then I use the magic card that will reveal my second ultimate monster to you earlier than expected. Go Level Up! This magic card lets me sacrifice a level monster to special summon the next level, so I sacrifice my Armed Dragon for Armed Dragon LV7(2800/1000)!" The last form of the hideous dragon took its place beside Black Flare Dragon of Horus LV8, its foot steps making heavy impacts that shook the entire street. Kai noticed for the first time that people had stopped to watch the duel. (KeLP: 7200)

Taking a deep breath the bi-eyed duelist plucked another card off the top of his rapidly thinning deck and examined it. He looked at his other cards and then at the field. Despite the effectiveness of his magical girls as a defense, he couldn't count on them forever. He was going to have to clear a path to Kevin's life points if he wanted to even put a scratch in the other duelist. "So much for your ultimate monsters, because they're about to be worm food. Go, Dark Hole!"

A giant black vortex appeared up above the field, its terrible forces pulling on each of the monsters. They were all struggling, but they couldn't hold up for long. It would only take a little bit more effort before the field was cleared of monsters. Sure it would increase Kevin's life points, but it would also even things up. "Its time I turned this duel around!"

Kevin stared up at the vortex with a look of mild amusement. He turned to his massive silver dragon and spoke his command. "Black Flare Dragon of Horus.....close that rift." The dragon belched up a swirling beam of silver and gold energy that convulsed around the Dark Hole. Kai couldn't believe what he was seeing, but the assault of the dragon was closing his vortex. The dragon had just fizzled his magic card. "But....how?"

The dragon duelist clenched his right fist and held it up, laughing as his dragons let out their own ear splitting roars. "Don't you see? I told you that my dragons were my ultimate creatures, and this is one of the reasons why! Black Flare Dragon of Horus LV8 allows me to negate the activation and effect of any magic card I choose...and destroy it. I wanted to keep my dragons, so I just negated and destroyed your vortex."

Kai's body clenched up as he realized just how bad the situation was. A dragon with over three thousand attack that could negate magic cards. Another with over three thousand attack that, if it was anything like its predecessor, had a powerful monster destruction effect, and three other strong monsters that could cut through his life points like butter. Things probably couldn't get any worse. But of course, like in all such things, he was wrong.

"Now that you understand the hopelessness of this duel, I want you to know that I won't exactly enjoy what happens when you lose. I never wanted to take your soul or anybody else's, but if that's what has to be done so that....damn it! I didn't want this to happen." Kai felt as if the floor had fallen out from under him. Once before he had experienced losing his soul, and now here the situation was presented before him again. It was not something he wanted to repeat, but it wasn't looking like he had much choice in the matter. Something was definitely up with Kevin, and he was fairly certain it had something to do with the strange man in white.

Kai didn't know how he could win, but he did know how he could lose. He also knew what losing would mean in this situation. Not only would his soul be forfeit, but all these people around them would also have their lives forfeited....and for what? What was the reasoning behind all of this. "Please....please I want you to tell me why this is happening. Why is this happening? Please. Tell me!"

Kevin's fists shook with rage as he spoke, and Kai could literally feel his anger. "You've got no reason to ask me that! Continue your turn or forfeit the duel and the lives of all these spectators along with your own soul! There's a duel going on, not a flashback session!" Kai sighed and simply placed a monster onto the field and finished his turn.

The dragon duelist selected another card off the top of his deck, and he smirked at the sight of a familiar wind type monster. Using this creature he could turn the duel in his favor. "I discard Spear Dragon for Armed Dragon LV7's effect! Dragon's Inferno Rage!" The beast opened wide its mouth and poured forth liquid death. A crimson stream of energy that boiled Kai's two magical women alive, leaving no trace of them whatsoever. The effect of the dragon had destroyed both with great ease. (KeLP: 7700)

"Now, Alligator Sword attacks your set monster!" The lizard warrior charged in and slashed its weapon down, cutting apart the monster that was there. It shattered, and then several seconds it reformed, revealing a silvery mechanical pod that was familiar to just about any duelist who had been playing long enough. The Cyber Jar which would destroy all monsters on the field.

"I won't allow my monsters to fall like that! Activate set card, Absolute Negation! Your monster remains destroyed, but mine are protected from any destructive effects. And my turn is over at that juncture. Go ahead and make your peace before my dragons devour you alive!" He ferociously completed his turn, and it was left to Kai to continue the duel. The bi-eyed duelist could only draw his next card, hoping for some good to come of it.

"Pot of Greed!" He used the familiar card to draw two more cards, giving him a total of four. He stared at three of the cards in his hand and then shook his head in wonder. He slowly slid two of them onto the field and then placed the other onto his disk. "Two cards face down and a monster in defense mode. My turn is over, but I'm certainly not beaten yet!"

Kevin shrugged and picked up another card, looking at it for several seconds before deciding on his move. "I sacrifice my Alligator Sword in order to summon the mighty earth dragon, Death Volstargaf(2200/1700)!" The lizard warrior vanished in a ray of light and was replaced by the much stronger black dragon with its reddish armor on its chest. Kai didn't know much about the monster, but he had heard that its strength lay with its two effects. What they were, he didn't know. Of course, since a monster went to the grave, Kevin gained more life points. (KeLP: 8200)

"Death Volstargaf, attack and destroy Kai's set monster with your Demon Flame Breath!" The dragon sent a gout of magma from its mouth, exploded over Kai's set monster. The monster was briefly revealed as an angel in a school uniform wearing glasses. It was the Hysteric Angel, an angel type monster with a bare minimum five hundred defense points. Dalin was surprised completely by the sudden show of the angel. (KLP: 5200)

"See the power of my Death Volstargaf? Whenever it destroys a monster in battle and sends it to the cemetery, regardless of what other damage is applied you automatically take five hundred points of damage, making it a fantastic trample monster!" The mighty Death Volstargaf let out a triumphant roar at having its effect revealed, and some of the spectators were awed by how completely Kevin was dominating the duel. So many powerful dragons with so many deadly effects. It was hard to keep up with such things.

Kai just grimaced and pressed two buttons on his duel disk. His two trap cards sprang up, revealing exactly what they were. "I'm using two traps, Chain To Rivaling Souls is the first! I special summon a monster from each of our graves in attack mode with their powers reduced by five hundred. So I special summon your Spear Dragon(1400/0) and my own Steadfast Magician(0/2200)!" The two named monsters appeared, one a robed magician and the other a blue dragon with a needle-like nose.

"That's not all! Because I've special summoned my Steadfast Magician I can activate my placed card, Magician's Ordination! It automatically ends the turn in which a magician is special summoned. Then I get to draw a card!" Kevin grimaced as his turn automatically ended, and Kai drew a card, giving him two cards in his hand. Now it would be Kai's turn, and he had to hope for something good, otherwise he would be finished for sure.

Kai placed two fingers on his next card and held them there for several seconds. He stared at his opponent and then at his card, looking at the field an considering his options. There were plenty of cards in his deck, and he knew them all by heart. But only one card that he possessed could possibly turn the tide. If he drew any card but that one card he would lose the duel. And he couldn't afford to lose. "Draw card!"

The card came up in front of him, and its image was like a shining beacon of light through the darkness that was surrounding him. There was his opponent with no cards to get in the way, and here he was with three cards in his hand. Everything was falling into place. "One of the side effects of Chain To Rivaling Souls is that the monsters revived in such a way can't be sacrificed unless I discard one card for each I wish to sacrifice."

He took two of the cards from his hand and held them up, showing them to Kevin. The other duelist recognized both images, and knew that neither card was useful to the other duelist. Why was he being shown them? "By discarding these two cards from my hand I open my options and allow myself to sacrifice my two monsters!" He deftly shoved the two cards into his cemetery slot, leaving him with one card in his hand. The one card that was that beacon of light to him.

"No matter what monster you summon you can't possibly compare to the might of my dragons! No monster that can be sacrificed for by just two monsters can compare to the thirty-five hundred attack points of my Black Flare Dragon of Horus, or even the thirty-three hundred of my Armed Dragon. In fact, few two sacrifice monsters can hold up against the superior strength of my Death Volstargaf's twenty-seven hundred! What can you possibly summon that could compare to my monsters?" The crowd agreed, those who actually played the game knowing the truth of the matter. It was absolutely impossible.

Dalin smirked and raised one hand to point at Kevin, declaring in a loud voice his support of Kai. "You're wrong Kevin! In the entire game of Duel Monsters there is one monster that in this situation can triumph over your mighty dragons! And he has drawn that card!" Kai nodded once and picked the two monsters on his duel disk off of it, sliding the magician into his cemetery and tossing the dragon to Kevin so he could do the same.

"Dalin is telling the truth. Now witness the might of what has just become the strongest of my monsters, know it and fear it! Because this is what I have drawn!" He flipped the card around and displayed it to Kevin. As soon as the duelist saw it his eyes lit up in fear, as he understood exactly the trap he had placed himself in. He hadn't realized that his opponent possessed that card, and he hadn't even thought of it until this moment. The man in white just stared coldly at the proceedings.

"Rise up mighty Buster Blader(2600/2300)! And because there have been a total of ten dragons that have been played both on the field and in the cemetery, my warrior gains a total of five thousand attack points!" The purple armored warrior took shape on the field and then raised his blade, gathering in the power of the ten dragons. It formed into his sword and all things were clear, for its power shot up to an astounding seventy-six hundred.

"Buster Blader, I wish for you to destroy the Armed Dragon. Attack it with your Dragon Buster!" The blader let out a cry of triumph as it swept its huge blade in a sweeping arc. With that one stroke it decapitated the once incredibly powerful monster, shredding it into tiny little holographic pieces. Kevin winced as the holographic shards flew at him, nearly striking him. Slowly his life points dropped, and he let his shoulders droop slightly. (KeLP: 4400)

Dalin quietly applauded Kai's choice of dragon to attack first. An amateur might have gone after the Twin-Headed Behemoth first in order to inflict a little bit more damage, but Kai had chosen the real threat he wished to eliminate and then destroyed it. Without the Armed Dragon as a threat, Kai could summon more monsters without fear of having them destroyed. His next target would have to be the Black Flare Dragon. "My turn...is over."

Kevin grimaced in disgust at what he had. He quietly placed the card face down and then moved his four remaining monsters into defense mode. They shifted themselves until they were sufficiently protected. His voice was listless as he spoke. "I set one card face down and move my monsters into defense mode. That's all."

Kai nodded and drew another card. "I place one card onto my field. Now Buster Blader will destroy Black Flare Dragon!" The mighty warrior jumped onto the dragon's back, and despite its protests and attempts to dislodge the warrior, it was unsuccessful. With a single stroke of its sword the blader managed to gut the dragon, destroying it in its practiced manner. Since it was in defense mode no damage was inflicted, and since it went to the cemetery Gift of the Fallen increased Kevin's life points. (KeLP: 4900)

The dragon duelist drew his card listlessly and then set it on the field next to his other card, giving him a total of three magic or trap cards on the field counting his continuous trap card. He shuddered as he was unable to do anything. "I won't....I can't....I REFUSE TO LOSE THIS DUEL! TO MUCH IS RIDING ON IT FOR ME TO LOSE!" Kai was shocked by this sudden outburst of anger, and he certainly didn't know what his opponent was talking about.

"I just can't give up. If I lose this duel, then I've lost my last chance at getting my parents back. My dad died years ago, and then just last year my mother died as well. Then a few people came to me, and gave me an explanation, they gave me a new path to take." His words came through clenched teeth, like he was reliving the moment as he spoke the words. Kai could understand that, and he knew that was exactly what was happening. The same pains that Kevin would have felt at that time were being felt right now.

"They told me about how human beings were all servants of chaos, and that so long as these chaotic natured people continued to rule the planet than innocents like my parents would continue to suffer and die." The crowd was looking shiftily around, feeling uncomfortable to be hearing this rather negative story. Certainly the duel had been a bit odd, but any duel that just happened in the middle of the street was odd. This was....well it just sounded bad.

"They explained everything to me so perfectly. I realized after they told me it all that the death of my parents was merely a message, telling me of what my purpose in life was. It is my purpose to serve the coming Order, to do whatever is needed of me. They had me plant the bomb, and had me start this duel. It's what they wanted. All I have to do to set the world right and make my family happy in death is to defeat every duelist they put in my path and succeed in any other tasks they put before me. You're one of the stepping stones on the way to that Order that can bring back my parents, so you have to die!" The word bomb certainly registered in the minds of the spectators, and they were all bolting as fast as they could, screaming about a bomb.

Dalin roared at them to shut up or risk having someone set it off. The people on the street quieted down, and waited as Kevin continued talking. "Just last night this guy came to me and told me that my first targets had been selected. I'd only have to beat six duelists at the most now. You two were to be my targets. And now....here we are, with just six minutes left and counting. And....well it's your turn."

Kai nodded, and drew a card, quickly activating it. "I understand your feelings Kevin, but if you do manage to win then I'm certain worse things will happen. I intend to win this duel and find the culprits responsible for this and make them pay! To start off I'll play Monster Reborn to revive a Magician of Lost Ways(2000/1600) that I discarded earlier!" The monster that Kai brought back was a powerful looking mage in bright robes that seemed to flow like the stars.

"I've got three magic cards in my cemetery, so Magician of Lost Ways gains three hundred attack points from each of the them, giving it 2900. My two monsters will attack your two monsters!" The blader rushed into battle swinging his sword and the magician launched a magical attack. One of Kevin's set cards flipped up, revealing a strange looking box shape.

"My Guard of Card magic card lets me discard a card to negate your battle damage for this turn, protecting my monsters. The card I've discarded is Hyonzaru, increasing my life points by five hundred and boosting the Buster Blader by a further five hundred attack points." He sent the monster to the cemetery, and Kai declared the end of his turn, knowing that the true end was fast approaching. He had a monster too great to be defeated, and he wouldn't stop until he had success. (KeLP: 5400)

Kevin drew a card, and then shook his head in regret. "I pass." Kai drew his next card and swiftly summoned the Skilled White Magician(1700/1900) to the field in attack mode. It appeared in its white robes and stood next to his three monsters. He looked over at Kevin's two monsters and then back at his own. Attacking directly with the Buster Blader would certainly end the duel in one stroke, but the heat he had felt earlier was very real. If he attacked directly with the power that the Buster Blader had....he might kill Kevin. Then there wouldn't be a body for Kevin's soul to return to.

"I destroy your two monsters and then have Skilled White Magician follow up with a direct attack!" His two stronger monsters used their respective attacks to blast the Twin-Headed Behemoth and the Death Volstargaf into absolute oblivion. Then the remaining magician fired a beam of white light out of its staff, sending it crashing into Kevin and knocking him off his feet. His shirt was smoking from the attack. (KeLP: 4700)

The dragon duelist added another card to his hand, and then instantly activated it. "I feel that soon this duel will come to an end. So I'll speed things up with the Card of Sanctity!" Due to its effect both players swiftly drew cards until they held six cards a piece. Kevin drew a total of five cards while Kai drew six cards, and their decks became lower then they were before. Now the last moments of the duel were approaching.

"I activate my set card, Surge of Power. It allows me to have all power boosts become permanent. Now, I summon Spirit Ryu(1000/1000)!" A sprite dragon was summoned to the field, not looking very fearsome. Its power increased to fifteen hundred, but it was far from matching any of Kai's monsters. However, the Spirit Ryu had a powerful effect, but it wasn't strong enough to aid Ryu. In fact, all it would do was to aid Kai and his Buster Blader.

"Now I play Flight of Dragons! At a cost of two thousand life points I can place every dragon in my cemetery into my hand. So come to me my dragons!" His cemetery ejected all the cards in his graveyard and he searched them all until he held every last one of his dragons, meaning he had just added eleven cards to his hand. He now held fifteen cards total. (KeLP: 2700)

"The effect of Spirit Ryu allows me to discard any number of dragons to increase its attack power for a turn. Surge of Power will make that permanent, and Flight of Dragons gave me all I needed. I discard the eleven dragons I returned plus two more I hold in my hand to increase my Spirit Ryu's attack power by a total of thirteen thousand points!" He dumped almost his entire hand back into the cemetery, allowing the Buster Blader's attack power to shoot back up, one thousand points higher then ever before. Thanks to his continous trap, he gained lots of life points. (KeLP: 9200)

Despite the increase in power for the blader, it was nothing compared to the huge increase that was given to the much smaller dragon. Its power was now fourteen thousand five hundred points, an astounding amount that was more then enough to defeat even the strongest of monsters. "Now I play Heavy Storm to clear the field of any traps you might have!" A gale force wind picked up, ready to destroy Kai's set card.

He grimaced and flipped his card, revealing it to them all. "Activate Soul Spell! I return Skilled White Magician to my hand and then summon Tyko the Magician(1600/1800) in defense mode! His effects lets me force any magicians on the field to change modes in order to increase my hand by one for each that changes modes! So I move my Magician of Lost Ways into defense mode to draw a card!" Kai's newest monster was a magician in blue robes, who instead of holding a staff or a wand held a big book that on the front said: 'Big Book of Names.' Kai's other magician crouched down in defense.

Kevin shook his head, a ferocious gleam in his eyes. "It doesn't matter, I won't accept anything less than victory! This attack is for my family! Spirit Ryu, ANNIHILATE!" Kai didn't see what happened, and neither did anyone else on the outside of the seal. Suddenly the entire inside was filled with a bright light, a light so blinding that none could see through it. Somewhere in that light there was a battle going on.

The light cleared, and it was revealed that the Buster Blader was no more. All that was left on Kai's field were two magicians, both of them in defense mode. Neither would be much defense against the awesome powers of the Spirit Ryu with its now permanent fourteen thousand five hundred attack points. Attack strength that could be increased at any time just be discarding more dragons. "I set up on card and end my turn. I'm sorry Kai, but its over for you. There's no way to recover from this." (KLP: 300)

Kai had a view of his entire hand, so he knew exactly what Kevin didn't. Closing his eyes he drew a card and placed it in his hand. Then, he began his turn in earnest. "I summon Skilled White Magician again. Next I play Magician's Grimoire, sacrificing each of my magicians to place two magic counters apiece on the field. That gives me six floating tokens total." The three magicians vanished in a blaze of light, and replacing them were six glowing lights above where they had previously stood.

"I play Sacrifice and Live, tributing a magic counter to increase my life points by eight hundred." One of the spheres of light shot towards Kai and zipped around his body. Finally it settled into him, filling him with its joyful light and increasing his life points by the stated amount. It was nothing compared to the amount of life points that his opponent had, but it was enough. (KLP: 1100)

"Now I will unleash the ultimate power of my supreme set of monsters. I'll do it with a single magic card that costs one thousand life points to activate. The one thousand life points that I can now afford. The card I play is this: A Breaker Family Reunion!" He slid the card into an activation slot and watched as it appeared in front of him, showing Breaker the Magic Warrior knocking on a door. Peering through the window were several similar looking faces. (KLP: 100)

"According to its effect I'll summon every breaker monster in my hand! Now I summon Breaker the Magic Warrior(1900/1000) the original! Next I summon Monster Breaker(1900/1000)! Lastly I summon Breaker Blader(1900/1000)! Each with the same stats and each with a powerful effect which will bring you to your knees!" The three monsters shimmered into view, and everyone was astonished. Even Dalin had never seen these monsters before, because they were extremely rare.

Breaker the Magical Warrior was in crimson armor with a long sword, pale skin, and a shield with a gem in the center. Monster Breaker was obviously of the same brand for it was completely identical down to every last detail except for one. Its armor was pitch black. Breaker Blader was cut from the same mold, however its armor was a solid gray color, and its blade was longer and more curved. They were not all of his breakers, but they would do the job. "I sacrifice Breaker the Magical Warrior's magic counter to destroy your set card!"

The magician extended his blade and shot a beam of red light at the card, flipping it up. The card was revealed to be a Mirror Force trap card shortly before it was blasted into oblivion. "I remove Monster Breaker's magic counter to destroy one monster on the field, namely your Spirit Ryu!" Monster Breaker slashed once with his sword and blasted the Spirit Ryu into oblivion, clearing the field of anything to stop Kai's onslaught.

"Now, I command each of my monsters to attack directly....as lightly as they can!" The three monsters nodded and approached Kevin, slashing at him. Their blades made such force through the air that they knocked him back into the seal. It wasn't as damaging as a cut would be, but it was enough to show the power behind the strokes. With the three direct attacks Kevin's life points took a turn for the worse. (KeLP: 4100)

"I sacrifice Breaker Blader's counter to activate his special ability, Dual Strike! Every time I remove a counter from him he can attack again. Before I attack I move one of my spare magic counters to him. Then I go on the offensive again!" The other two breakers stepped back and allowed the Breaker Blader to make another powerful cut at Kevin, doing even more damage and dropping the dragon duelist's life points even further. (KeLP: 2200)

"I remove its newest counter and then move another onto it. Now it attacks directly once more!" Another stroke of its blade forced Kevin back, dropping his life points within striking range. Kevin knew he was finished, and he couldn't help but look away before that final blow would land. The crowd look nervous as if they could hear the seconds ticking away. Little did they know that they were right, and only fifteen seconds remained before the bomb would detonate and take out half the block. (KeLP: 300)

"Please forgive me Kevin, Breaker Blader, end it now! I'm sorry!" One last time the blader made his strike, knocking Kevin off his feet and to the ground. The last remaining life points trickled away at what seemed a snail's pace as the time to detonation clicked down. Kevin's life points were completely depleted at last, and the duel was over. Kai had no idea that he had finished his opponent off just seconds before the timer hit zero. (KeLP: 0)

The seal started to close around Kevin, and the dragon duelist struggled against it for the last moments he had left. He looked over to Kai and Dalin and shouted his last words. "I'm sorry father!" With that said, the seal took his soul, and all that made up Kevin Hunter was no more. All that was left was a lifeless shell waiting to be restored to its normal state.

"Congratulations Kai Kaethen. You are a failure. Though you defeat the opponent I set out you were unable to discover your true purpose. Until that moment you're a nothing. If you wish to know more than your books can tell you, I suggest you come to the Tokyo National Airport. Give these two tickets to the person at the front desk and you will be directed to a private jet which will take you to where you need to go. From there you gain another chance at having your questions answered." He tossed a ticket to Dalin and one to Kai, leaving Isis with no way to follow if they did go. Then the man in white swept his robe around Kevin's body, and dissolved into a pile of sand that flowed through the cracks in the cement, vanishing completely.

The people around them relaxed as the two vanished, feeling that the threat to their lives was gone now. Dalin, Kai, and Isis all gave each other meaningful looks, and then started heading back to the museum. Preparations had to be made before they left. There were things that had to be done. With these thoughts in mind they quickly departed the area.

About a block or so away they stopped when a man stepped out in front of them, grinning widely at them. A jagged infinity symbol had been cut into his jaw and onto the backs of his hand. In fact, they seemed to have been cut into his skin everywhere. "Our order will last past the end of time! It is the order of infinity, the last and greatest order of all! THE ONLY ORDER!"

The three stepped back as he raised his hand, holding up a small device that looked like a joystick with a single button. His thumb was right over the button, and it looked ready to press down. Dalin knew instantly what it had to be, and made a reach for it, but there just wasn't enough time. The thumb came down and depressed the button.

Taking the matter into his own hands the muscular duelist grabbed his two companions and pulled them to the ground just as a blast ripped through the air, tearing about ground, buildings, and people with equal uncaring.

When at last it seemed safe to rise, the three duelists did so, and found the scarred man lying on the ground, a road sign half-way through his chest. Looking backwards they saw flames licking the sky, as much of a block burned in the fires created by the explosives set by this cult. There was no telling how many lives had been lost.

"There's no time to spare. If we don't move quickly, I fear more lives will be at risk. We cannot stop even for a moment!" As soon as Dalin was finished speaking his words the three of them took off running, hoping that their speed would aid them in stopping these lunatics before too many more people payed the price required of carrying out the ideals of this supposed Order.

How many more had to die at their hands before everything returned to normal? How many more before they were satisfied? XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

While all this had been going on, Joey had come to a raging....or rather not to his duel against Mai. At a critical moment he had been taken to the Duel Monsters world where he successfully unleashed the last Legendary Dragon. Using the power of Helmos he combined it with his best available monster to create an equip card. He combined it with the Time Wizard and created....a pink hammer with wings.

Everyone, including Joey, had been shocked, amused, and in Joey's case disappointed in what came of the combination. Joey was determined not to give up though, so he equipped it to his Fiend Megacyber and had it use it. The power of the Time Hammer sent each of Mai's monsters out of play, with numbers on their heads. Each would appear on the field after the next, and no other monsters would be summoned until they had all been brought back.

The duel turned totally in Joey's favor and there was no way Mai would have been able to win. Seeing this Varon, one of the Doom Soldiers, used the power of the strange green stone to shatter the Seal of Orichalcos and end the duel, saving Mai from having her soul taken. Mai and the two Doom Soldiers who had been there, Varon and Raphael, each departed.

It was a good time later, and the gang was approaching the house they had been asked to come to. It was Professor Hawkins' house that they were going to in order to learn a few new things. However, when they got there they found the house in ruins, and little Rebecca came out to them crying about how her grandfather had been taken.

A Message had been left for Yugi, a message that spoke of an obvious trap. For the time being they relaxed, they had to. There was nothing they could do until they figured out a plan of action. And while they did this, other plans were being formulated.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A circle of robed men stood around the hexagram, watching replayed images of Kai's defeat of Kevin. They whispered words amongst each other and then finally one of them spoke. "It would appear that this one is an uncertain. Either he is one who we might be looking for our he is not. Perhaps the messenger we sent was not the right stimuli. For the time being it would be best if we continued as we have. Test the others first."

The images shifted, showing Ryu and Autumn walking down the street, headed towards Domino City Airport. Then it moved to an image of Dalin and Kai "Dispatch two more messengers. One for the large one and the other for the one with Friendship. Continue searching for signs of our others."

The man before them bowed low and then swept away, taking himself from their site. Slowly they each turned back in on the circle and watched the images dance. The images danced just as they made certain figures dance. They who made the world dance. "And of our candidates?"

"Two have been selected and are being made ready as we speak. The third is still a mystery to us. It will take the emergence for them to truly be selected. Keep them at the ready, we may require them at any moment."

"And of this Atlantean Dartz and his soldiers?" There was quiet for several moments as the men considered the question. Finally one spoke up.

"We deal with that situation as we always have. Use what we can of his and ignore it all otherwise. He is as he has always been. Of no consequence." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Author's Notes: And there it is, Chapter Four, totally completed with a cool original duel. I especially hope Paul and Edgar enjoyed this chapter as it starred their characters. Yes, that is correct. Kevin Hunter is owned by Edgar, not me. I'm merely borrowing as I did before.

Original Cards By Me

Kai: Effect Break, Tyko the Magician, Magician's Grimoire, Sacrifice and Live, A Breaker Family Reunion, Monster Breaker, Breaker Blader

Kevin: Gift of the Fallen, Liquid Soul, Absolute Negation, Flight of Dragons

Original Cards Not By Me

Kai: Soul Spell, Magician of Lost Ways, Chain To Rivaling Souls, Magician's Ordination, Soul Crosswire, Steadfaster Magician, and Mirage Mage are all property of Time Mage who also owns Kai.