Here we are again. Sorry for the wait, but first I had to make a TON of cards for this chapter, then all that data took FOREVER to get to my home computer from school, then the marking period at school ended, and so forth. However, Spring Break is the week (Although I'm working 32 hours Monday-Thursday). On the other hand, we are FINALLY working on the transfer of data from the old computer to the new, so I'll soon have my own computer in my room for my own evil purposes. But first, before my evil begins, my Card of the Chapter:

Blade Knight

(Light/Warrior/4/1600/1100)

Effect: If the number of cards in your hand is one or less, raise this monsters attack points by 400. Also, if this is the only monster you control on the field, negate the flip effects of monsters it destroys in battle.

This is one of my favorite monsters, although it's a bit lack luster. It first appeared in the Battle Royal at the Alcatraz Duel Tower during the Battle City Finals, used by Kaiba.

This monster does have its uses though. Having the potential to be a level four monster with 2000+ attack points is always good, and being as how he's a warrior, he can hit the field fast (If you're using the right kind of deck).

Sadly, the secondary effect isn't as great. Sure he can negate flip effects, but only if he's the only monster you control when he's on the field. That means that you're not hit your opponents Life Points, and they may get a monster out with enough defense points to hold him off. Sadly, if you're worried about flip-effects, go with Sasuke Samurai.

Overall Rating: 3/5

He's got his uses, and in the right deck, can be very deadly. Also, if you run a deck that constantly has you running out of cards (XYZ Dragon Cannon anyone?), the you've got this guy to then go in and stomp on the enemies Life Points, 2000 or more at a time. If you want to debate this, my email is in my bio, as is my AIM Screen Name.

All information concerning this and most other Japanese cards comes from Edo's Yugioh Page. For more info, ask me for the URL and I'll hook you up.

Now for some advertising: Today, I'll give you my top five stories:

1) 100 Years After Battle City (Aldea): The BEST Yu-Gi-Oh story I've found! The way the characters are set up, as well as the Duels, makes it one heck of a read.

2) What Was, What Is, and What Shall Be (thegymrat): Another great work! I tell you, no one else has got such an incredible story, save Aldea, in my opinion (And it's INSANLY close between those two).

3) Master of the Cards (Chuck ZFB): The first story I began to rad regularly here on ff.net, and the secong longest Yu-Gi-Oh story I've found. With great Duels and fun characters, this is a fun and uplifting read to get to when you feel weighed down or just want something not so angsty as so many people write.

4) Tokyo Tournament (G.O.T. Nick): Here is a good balance between serious and fun. Sometimes light, and at others deep, Nick gives you some good stuff to chew on.

5) Interference: The Millennium Eye (Wise Man Domingo): Perhaps the best story at discovering a character, this story shows incredible effort and skill, and I bow in reverence to it, as it (As do the others above mentioned), surpasses me in every way.

If you're story is not mentioned here, understand it is not an insult. These are just the STORIES I find to be the best. The Helldragon, for instance, makes my Top Five authors list, because overall, he's one of the best, but none of his individual stories deliver what the above do.

Now, on with the fic:

Disclaimer: I don't own it. That's final!

Chapter 8: A Night To Remember

Kevin Hunter stared into the sky. The setting sun told him that he should try to get some rest, and on that thought he turned towards the apartment where he was lodging during the tournament. It was abandoned, yet was still in one piece. It couldn't have been idle for more than a few months. However, it was well worth it to Kevin, who hadn't had much money to start with.

'Ever since dad died, I've been scraping just to survive.' he lamented. 'But I'll find that psycho who killed him! I swear it!'

A bright flash of light averted his gaze to the right. Rising above some buildings was a massive pillar of rose petals, which rapidly dissipated into shards of holographic light.

"A Duel?" he questioned the silent air as he sprinted over towards the area where he had seen the lights. What he found was a figure sprinting away, hunched over something, the edge of a Duel Disk reaching out passed his side.

However, it was the other figure that caught Kevin's attention. It was a young lady about sixteen, her light brown hair with various locks branching slightly in various directions. Her eyes we a kind, gentle blue, with a tranquility like that of the sea. Her white shirt, azure vest, and beige pants simply stood as blurs of light in Kevin's transfixed gaze.

"Um......" the young woman squealed, blushing and turning away. "Can I help you?" her small voice barley managed to get out. "And, could you please stop staring?" Kevin immediately turned away and began to reprimand himself.

"I'm sorry." he muttered, blushing, but less so than the girl. "I was just, that is, I saw the lights from that Duel, and it intrigued me. And, well, high?" he more guessed than greeted, the crimson glow in his cheeks raising.

"Um, yeah." she giggled, turning her face to meet his. "Um, my name is Sakura Haeru."

"A beautiful name." Kevin smiled. "'Cherry Blossom Shine', if I'm not mistaken is it's meaning." Sakura blushed deeper. "I mean, my name is Kevin Hunter."

"American, then." she asked.

"Uh, yeah. I was born there, but moved here when I was a kid, and then my father died, so I've been stuck here in Japan ever since."

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "About your father, I mean."

"Oh, no, really; it's alright." Kevin reassured her. "I was just trying to, you know, fully explain myself."

"I understand." she giggled again. "So, now that you've solved your mystery of the bright-lights-coming-from-a-Duel, what will you do next?"

"Um, I was headed back to the place I was staying, but I think I have enough time for one or two more things." Kevin grinned, continuing to stare into space, having been unable make eye contact since he had caught himself staring.

"And what might those be?" she asked.

"Well, first off, I was thinking of dinner, if you don't mind company." he offered.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Sakura blushed deeply.

"If you wanna call it that." Kevin responded, seeming to regain some of his confidence.

"And the second item of business?" she continued to prod, although the crimson in her cheeks did not waver.

"I think I have enough in me for one last Duel." he smiled. The lights in Sakura's eyes suddenly burst into flames.

"Alright." she smiled, her Duel Disk folding out. "But let's Duel first. After all, I need to know if my escort can protect me, or I him." she giggled.

"Agreed." Kevin sighed, slipping his deck free and inserting it into his devise.

"Let's Duel!"

Kevin-4000/Sakura-4000

"Ladies first." Kevin said with a small bow to the beauty, who giggled again.

"Alrighty, draw." she said. "I'll set a card face down and then I'll summon Vakyrie Randgrior (500/2500) in defense mode." A beautiful woman with flowing black hair and covered in armor, riding a horse (Also covered in the silver armor) appeared, a transparent dome shimmering around her. "Your turn." she smiled.

"Cool." Kevin grinned, surveying his hand. He drew a card. 'Awesome!' he shouted. 'Chaos Emperor Dragon!' he glanced back at his hand. 'And I've got the right kinds of monsters in my hand. Now all I need it get them in the Graveyard.'

"I'll set my own card face down and summon Dark Gremlin, in attack mode! However, as my monster's too weak to destroy your monster, by a lot, it's back to you."

"How sweet." she purred. "But first, I'll activate my face down card, Solemn Wishes. Now I gain 500 Life points every time I draw a card." She slipped a new card into her hand. "I'll set a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

Kevin-4000/Sakura-4500

'Is every woman I face here in Battle City going to use that card?' Kevin nearly shouted out loud, indicating the Solemn Wishes trap. "Now I'll summon Plasma, the Starlight Ryu (1800/1100) in attack mode!" A pale skinned dragon, standing on two legs with large wings beating ferociously as its tail swished. "Plasma, attack her defense monster!" The dragon opened its mouth and released a golden beam that struck the face down monster, which appeared as another maiden in armor on horseback, only with beautiful violet hair. She was instantly eliminated.

"You've hit my Valkyrie Rota (1500/500), and when she's flipped over, I can reduce one of your monsters attack points by half. So now I'll cut your Starlight Dragon's attack points to 900."

"What?" Kevin gasped. "Fine. I'll end my turn there."

"Goody!" she cried, drawing a card, raising her hand to four and gaining Life Points. "I play Graceful Charity, so now I draw three more cards!"

"But that means that you'll gain another fifteen hundred Life Points!" Kevin gasped.

"I know." Sakura chirped, pulling the new cards free.

Kevin-4000/Sakura-6500

"Now I discard these two cards to the Graveyard." She held the two cards up to the small opening, which then pulled them in neatly setting them out of sight. "I'll end my turn by setting this card face down. I guess you can go."

Kevin grimace as he drew his fifth card. 'Why didn't she attack. She didn't even summon a monster. Is it because she's out of monster's who's level is low enough, or is it something else. Either way, I need to take advantage of her open field. Her two down cards worry me, but even if my assault fails, I can still force her to use up a trap.'

"Alligator Sword (1500/1200) in attack mode! Attack!" he shouted as the green skinned lizard warrior leapt at Sakura's open field.

"I activate a trap card." Sakura meekly squeaked, pressing a button on her Duel Disk. "Aurora Veil stops your attack and allows me to search my deck for a monster with the word 'Valkyrie' in their name." she giggled as she puled her deck free, searched her cards, and added one to her hand withing a few simple seconds. "Anything else?"

"No." Kevin growled. He was getting worked, even though he had more monsters on the field, and his Life Points hadn't been touched. However, every last one of his attacks had been used against him in some way.

"Alright, my turn then." she smiled, drawing a card and raising her Life Points yet again.

Kevin-4000/Sakura-7000

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn."

Kevin drew another card and was greeted by one of his better monsters. "I'll sacrifice my Plasma the Starlight Ryu and Alligator Sword to summon Hyozanryu (2100/2800) in defense mode! Now I have an even stronger defense than you!" he smiled. "I'll also switch Dark Gremlin to defense mode and end my turn with one last face down card."

Sakura drew her fifth card, added it to her hand, and ended her turn by setting another card face down.

Kevin-4000/Sakura-7500

"Time for me to turn this Duel around!" Kevin smiled. "First I'll sacrifice my Dark Gremlin for my Different Dimension Dragon (1400/1500) in attack mode!" The sleek silver dragon appeared, folding his four wings around himself protectively. "Then I'll remove my Dark Gremlin and Plasma the Starlight Dragon in the Graveyard from play to summon my Chaos Emperor Dragon-Messenger of the Apocalypse (3000/2500)!" One of Kevin's two most powerful monsters appeared, roaring with a holler that was feared by all on the field. "Now I'll use my Dragon's effect to destroy all cards on both players fields and in our hands, dealing you 300 points of damage for each card. But first, I need to pay 1000 of my Life Points." he stared at his Life Point meter as it ticked down.

Kevin-3000/Sakura-7500

The dragon spewed a cloud of fire into the air which descended upon the field, burning all the cards active. Kevin began to place his two cards into the Graveyard when he noticed Sakura standing quite still.

"What are you doing?" Kevin demanded of her. She reached for her Duel Disk and pressed a button.

"I'm activate my trap card, Twilight of the Gods." Suddenly, the light over Kevin and Sakura's face down cards brightened, and the flames backed away from them. "This trap activates when a monster effect that would normally destroy all my monsters, magic/traps, or cards in my hand, it cancels it out. Therefore, all our cards stay in effect."

"You've got to be kidding me!" he shouted, returning his hand to its original position against his fingers. "Oh well, I can still get at your Life Points. Chaos Emperor Dragon, attack her Valkyrie Randgrior!" The dragon reared back his head and let loose his black flames, which shattered the armored maiden's magical field. "Now I'll have Different Dimension Dragon, attack your Life Points!" The silver beast released its rainbow colored blast, which struck the young beauty, but did minimal damage to her ever increasing Life Points. "That ends my turn."

Kevin-3000/Sakura-6100

"I'll draw and gain 500 Life Points," Sakura began her turn, making her hand increase to five cards.

Kevin-3000/Sakura-6600

"And now, it's time to end it all." she laughed triumphantly, yet weakly. "I play the magic card, Walkuren Ritt!" (A/N: Que German Symphony, 'Flight of the Valkyries') The card revealed itself as multiple ancient temples amongst the clouds. A light appeared above Kevin's head and holographic rose petals began to materialize, spinning rapidly around both Duelists. "This card allows me to special summon all monsters in my hand with the word 'Valkyrie' in their name! So now I summon three Valkyrie Sovite's (1600/1600 x3) and Valkyrie Altest (1600/1600)!"

Out of the sphere of light emerged four maidens on horseback, each dressed in silver armor. The first three had pick hair that reached their mid-back, while the thirds was teal and of the same length.

"Now I'll activate Valkyrie Sovite's special ability." Sakura giggled happily. "When she's first summoned, she destroys one enemy monster! And since I have three, all of your monsters are destroyed!" The three pink haired ones pointed their swords at Kevin's three dragon's, and each blade emitted a burst of lightning that struck a separate dragon and destroyed it. "Now, Altest attacks!" The green haired warrior dug her heals into her horses sides, forcing it forward, her sword raised. "Perhaps I should explain." Sakura grinned as the Valkyrie's size increased, resulting in Kevin's eyes bulging. "When Altest attacks, she removes one monster in your Graveyard from play, and then her attack points become whatever the removed monsters is; three thousand for this attack, thanks to your Chaos Emperor Dragon."

"No!" Kevin shouted. "I have only 3000 Life Points to begin with!"

"I know." she smiled. "Altest, attack!" The Valkyrie leapt into the air and brought her sword crashing down on Kevin.

"Activate trap cards!" he shouted. "First I'll use my Enchanted Javelin to raise my Life Points by the same amount as your attack!"

Kevin-6000/Sakura-6600

"And because you're attack power is 3000, I'll also use my Nutrient Z trap card to increase my Life Points by 4000 before the damage is dealt!"

Kevin-1000/Sakura-6600

Sakura stared blankly as Kevin took the attack head on, barely flinching as the attack went through.

Kevin-7000/Sakura-6600

"Now I'll have all three of my Valkyrie Sovite's attack directly!" she screamed. Each of the three slayers rode past Kevin, carrying their weapons through, catching him on the sides as they passed. Kevin was thrown back, crashing to the cement ground. Slowly he lifted himself off the ground and brushed bits of dirt off his shirt, grinning slightly at Sakura's shocked expression. He glanced at his Life Points, checking the overall damage.

Kevin-2200/Sakura-6600

"Anything else?" he asked calmly.

"Well, actually yes. I'll activate my face down card, Reginleif!" she sighed as her last down card activated. "Now I can draw one card for each Valkyrie on my field, so that's four." she sighed as she was allowed to draw her new cards. "And now I'll summon a monster in defense mode, and end my turn." As she surrendered control over to Kevin, her four Valkyrie dissapeared. Kevin opened his mouth to question, but Sakura beat him to it. "After using Walkuren Ritt, all Valkyries summoned through its effect are shuffled into my deck at the end of my turn." (3)

Sighing in relief that he wouldn't be needing to worry about the power of those Sovite's or Altest for a while, Kevin drew a new card. "I summon Spear Dragon (1900/0) in attack mode!" The winged blue creature appeared, flapping wildly to stay in the air. "Now Spear Dragon, attack her face down monster!" The dragons mouth opened, making room for the cyclone of wind that built up withing its jaws. However, the monster struck by the blast (Another Valkyrie, this one with forest green hair) did not explode like most victims would, but parried the attack to the left with her sword. "I don't understand." Kevin gasped.

"My Valkyrie Mist (1700/1200) is immune to the attacks of any monster that has 1900 or more attack points." Sakura explained.

"Oh well." Kevin smiled. "You still lose 700 Life Points, thanks to Spear Dragon's special ability."

"Wrong again." Sakura defended. "Valkyrie Mist also lowers all battle damage she takes to zero."

"Fine." Kevin mumbled. "Spear Dragon switches to defense mode unfortunately, but its your turn."

"I'll gain another 500 Life Points, set a card face down, and end my turn." Sakura squeaked.

Kevin-2200/Sakura-7100

"I'll play Pot of Greed!" Kevin laughed as he drew another two cards. "And then I'll play Heavy Storm, meaning you're done raising your Life Points!" he called as the tempest ripped both Sakura's Solemn Wishes and her face down card off the field.

"I'll activate a trap card!" Sakura shouted as her face down card activated. "Apple fo Freyja allows me to draw one card when its destroyed or removed from the field." She pulled a new card from her Duel Disk and added it to her hand.

"Enjoy it while you can." Kevin smiled. "I summon Surge the Torrential Ryu (1500/1500) in attack mode!" A sapphire blue serpent with amber eyes and taloned hands appeared on Kevin's field, poised for battle. "And next I'll switch Spear Dragon to attack mode. Now Surge, attack her Valkyrie Mist!" The blue beast released a solid swirl of water that plowed through the green haired Valkyrie. "And now, Spear Dragon, attack her Life Points directly!"

Kevin-2200/Sakura-5200

"Your turn." he grinned. He now had two solid monsters on the field, and was finally getting through Sakura's Life Points, meaning he'd soon have another Locator Card, rare card, and his first date in a while.

"I'll summon my Valkyrie Dritt (1000/1600) in attack mode!" The new Valkyrie had bright red hair that barely passed her ears. "For every monster removed from play, she receives 100 extra attack points." she smiled. "And so, to raise her points, I'll play Soul Release to remove your Different Dimension Dragon, Hyozanryu, Plasma the Starlight Ryu from play, meaning she gains another 400 attack points. Valkyrie Dritt (1500/1600) attack and destroy his Spear Dragon!" The blue beast screeched loudly into the air before disintegrating as the Valkyrie slashed it in two. "I'll also set this card face down and end my turn."

"Fine with me." Kevin grinned. Although Sakura's monster was equally strong as his own, he could easily turn that around. "I sacrifice my Torrential Ryu to summon my Des Volstgaf (2200/1700) in attack mode. Des Volstgas, attack her Valkyrie Dritt now!" he shouted as his monster released its blue flame attack.

"Activate trap card, Aurora Veil!" Sakura shouted. The screen of dancing lights once again appeared to protect his opponent. "And so I'll once again add a Valkyrie to my hand from my deck."

"I'm not done yet." Kevin shouted as he grabbed his last card from his hand. "I'll set this card face down and end my turn."

"I play the magic card, Treasure of Nebel." she called. "This card allows me to search my deck for a magic card called 'Nebel Ring,' which I'll then play on your Des Volstgaf!" Around the red and blue scaled dragon appeared a gleaming silver ring which glowed a pale white. "Now I can draw five cards from my deck." she giggled excitedly as her hand increased from three to eight. "Now I can set one card face down and then I'll sacrifice my Valkyrie Dritt to summon my Valkyrie Sigrdrifa (2300/2300) in attack mode." Her new Valkyrie was adorned in emerald armor with white hair. "And Sigrdrifa gains half the base attack points of the monster that was sacrificed to summon her. Since Dritt's base attack is one thousand, Sigrdrifa will gain 500 attack points (2800/2300). Now my monster, attack his Des Volstgaf!"

"Sorry Sakura." Kevin grinned, swinging his arm wide as his face down card flipped over. "My Shrink magic card will cut your monsters attack power in half for this turn (1400/2300)!" The Valkyrie suddenly began to slow down and shrink as her power began to fade. "Des Volstgaf, counter attack!" he shouted. However, his dragon did not budge. It simply stood still, allowing Sakura's monster to skid to a stop and leap back to safety. "What happened?"

"My Nebel Ring happened." Sakura smiled weakly. "As long as it's in effect, your monster can't respond to your commands, such as counter attacks, changing modes, etc." she began to once again blush. "So I end my turn, and now my Valkyrie Sigrdrifa returns to her beginning strength of 2800."

"My move." Kevin shouted as he grabbed a card. He then reached for another card, but was interrupted by Sakura.

"Wait just a second!" she shouted softly. "My Nebel Ring has another ability; during each of your draw phases, you'll draw two cards. If they're both magic or trap cards, you're just fine. If you get one or two monsters, you must one of them."

Kevin cringed as he stared at the card he had drawn. 'My Blue Eyes. If I don't get another monster, I'll have to discard it.' He grabbed a second card from his deck. 'No!" he screamed. 'My Magic Drain!' He seethed heavily as he slipped his most prized card into his Graveyard, Sakura giggling slightly when she saw what card it was after recovering from the initial shock of seeing a Blue Eyes White Dragon.

"I set one card face down and end my turn. Make your move!"

Sakura drew her seventh card. "I play Maiden of Swan!" Her newest magic card revealed itself, a holographic swan flapping its wings and leaving the two dimensional image. "This magic card allows my to instantly special summon any one Valkyrie onto my side of the field!"

"I activate my face down card!" Kevin shouted. "Magic Drain! If you can't discard one magic card from your hand to the Graveyard right now, your magic card is negated."

"But I can't afford to discard a magic card from my hand." she whined.

"Well, sorry." Kevin sheepishly sighed. He glanced again at her beautiful face and his muscles relaxed slightly at the sight of her. He quickly shook his head, though, and returned to the Duel.

"I can still summon my Valkyrie Hildr (1900/1700) in attack mode and end my turn with another face down card."

Kevin snatched two cards off the top of his deck, stared a second at them, and then returned his attention to the gorgeous young woman. "Sakura, I'm sorry to say that I'm about to turn this Duel around. You see, of the two cards I drew, neither was a monster, meaning that I finally got some options, and don't have to discard anything. So first I'll play this," he shouted as black clouds formed above as lightning began to sound. "Raigeki will destroy both of your monsters instantly! Then I can set this card face down and end my turn."

"I'm going to play another Maiden of Swan!" Sakura shouted with glee as she activated the magic card. "And I'll use it to summon Valkyrie Altest (1600/1600) in attack mode!" The teal haired Valkyrie appeared once again. "And now I'll play these two magic cards, Blessings of Aurora Borealis and Time of Peace!" Two permanent magic cards appeared on Sakura's field. "First my Blessings of Aurora Borealis lowers the level of all Valkyries in my hand by one as long as it's on the field. Second is my Time of Peace, which activates whenever a monster is removed from play, increasing my Life Points by 500. So now I can summon a second Valkyrie Altest in attack mode (1600/1600). Then I'll remove your Spear Dragon (1900) and Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000) from the game to increase their strength! Not only that, but I gain 1000 Life Points for having removed two monsters from the game!"

Kevin-2200/Sakura-6200

Both Valkyrie kicked their horses, beginning their charge. The first one, which had three thousand attack points thanks to Kevin's Blue Eyes, slashed down on Kevin's Des Volstgaf (2200), which exploded. The second then struck his Life Points directly.

"I win!" she cried happily.

"Wrong." Kevin corrected her. He held up his Duel Disk towards her so that she could see the Life Point count.

Kevin-100/Sakura-6200

"How is that possible. My first Altest should have taken 800 of your Life Points off, which would leave just 1400 more for the second, which had 1900 attack points, to eliminate."

"You're right, except for one very important detail." he smiled. "You see, whenever a magic card is activated, my Des Volstgaf gains 200 attack points for that turn. Since you activated three magic cards this turn, its strength increased to 2800, so I only lost 200 Life Points when it was destroyed, so I had 2000 left when you attacked the second time. Now it's my move!" he pulled one card free. "And I'll activate Taxation of Soul!"

"What will that do? Since you didn't get a monster card, I can now attack on my next turn directly!" Sakura laughed.

"It allows me to draw one card for each monster that has been removed from my Graveyard from play! And since you've done such a wonderful job of removing my cards from play, I now get to draw six cards!" Kevin greedily replenished his hand. "I'll summon Vorse Raider (1900/1200) in attack mode! Now Vorse Raider, attack her Valkyrie Altest!" Kevin's monster raised his glaive into the air, intent on slashing the Valkyrie and her horse in two.

"Activate trap card, Flame of Rogue!" Sakura cried defiantly. A pillar of blue flames erupted between the two monsters. The brown skinned beast swung down, but his weapon was unable to penetrate the twister. "This trap card stops all attacks made by a monster who's attack points are below 2000, so your Vorse Raider can't attack me."

"Fine." Kevin scowled. "I can still set these three cards face down and end my turn."

"Then I'll activate the magic card, Griffins Feather Sweep!" she called as a large bent feather appeared over her spiraling flame as well as her face down card. "This card will destroy both of my trap cards, but increase my Life Points by 500 for each one I destroy." The feather swept a gust of air at her cards, releasing a single blast of wind which began to tug at her cards.

Kevin-100/Sakura-7200

"Then I'll chain my magic card with my face down Apple of Freyja, which I hope you recall, allowing me to draw one more card." she slipped it free, giving her a hand of one. "And now it's time for you to witness the power of my favorite monster!" she yelled, ejecting her deck from her Duel Disk. "When Flame of Rogue is destroyed, I'm allowed to search my deck and summon this," she held out her card for him to see before smacking it onto the field. "I summon Valkyrie Brunhilde (1800/2000) in attack mode!" Sakura's new Valkyrie had a fine golden crown and majestic sapphire hair. "Then I play the magic card, Excalibur, which will double my monsters attack strength so long as I continue to skip my draw phase each turn!" The Valkyries very plain sword was replaced by a thin bladed and well decorated one, causing the Valkyrie to smile at the new strength she now had (3600/2000). "Valkyrie Brunhilde, attack his Vorse Raider and finish him!" she hastily shouted. The Shield Maiden raised the sword into air, the tip to Vorse Raider. A burst of lightning reached out towards Kevin's monster.

"Reveal trap card, Mirror Force!" Kevin shouted as the multi-colored wall appeared, absorbing and then reflecting the attack, which crashed into Sakura's monsters, obliterating each one of them in a flash of light. However, as the light faded, Kevin could see that Sakura's strongest monster was still on the field. "What?"

"My Valkyrie Brunhilde has a few powerful effects." Sakura explained. "When it is destroyed, I can sacrificed 1000 of her defense points (1800/1000) to revive her!"

"My move!" Kevin cried, raising the number of cards in his hand to five. "Sakura, it's over, and I'm sorry." he boldly stated, closing his eyes as he did. 'Hope this doesn't screw up our date.' he mentally noted.

"I summon my Lord of Dragons (1200/1100) in attack mode, and I'll play my Flute of Summoning Dragon magic card to summon another two dragon monsters!" he cried in triumph as the blue caped monster with the dragon bone armor appeared, grabbing a golden horn which he blew into, which was fallowed by the appearance of Kevin's Luster Dragon (2400/1400) and Sapphire Dragon (1900/1600).

"How unlucky for you." Sakura chided, looking from Kevin's four monsters to her Valkyrie Brunhilde, which was beginning to glow. "You see, another of Valkyrie Brunhilde's special abilities is that she gains 300 attack points for every dragon monster on your Graveyard, so now she has an attack of 2500, just enough to make her immune to any attack from you."

"I beg to differ." Kevin grinned. "Activate face down magic card, Revival of the Diamond Blade, sacrificing my Sapphire Dragon to do so!" His blue scaled dragon disappeared, only to be replaced by a green and much larger creature. "This magic card forces me to sacrifice a specially summoned dragon monster to summon the Diamond Head Dragon (2900/2600), whose stats are that of the monster sacrificed to summon it, plus 1000!"

"No!" Sakura cried in terror.

"Finally, I'll activate my Megamorph magic card to double my Luster Dragon's attack points (4800/1400)! Now Diamond Head Dragon, attack Valkyrie Brunhilde!" he commanded.

The dragon reared back its head, preparing to attack. A burst of fire formed in its mouth. Kevin looked into Sakura's eyes, noticing the immense fear and pain that was developing within her. Tears began to form in her eyes as she cringed back, waiting for the shock of the blast.

"Stop!"

The dragon steeped down, the fire instantly extinguishing in its maw. Sakura looked up as the holograms began to fade and Kevin's Duel Disk returned to its standby position. She looked around confused. "Why did you stop?" she questioned innocently.

"I couldn't do it." he smiled. Alas, it was that very innocence with which she stared into his eyes, and perhaps also his heart, that had stopped him. "I couldn't bring myself to be that cold and merciless as to butcher your favorite monster like that, and I didn't need to. I had won, so it didn't make any difference."

Sakura blinked back a tear of gratitude as she lifted herself up from her slump. A hand reached down and gently wrapped its fingers around hers. Warm fingers, full of kindness and care. "Thankyou." she whipered as he lifted her up. "I guess you'll want one of my Locator Cards and Valkyrie Brunhilde?"

"Of course not." Kevin said, pushing the Duel Monsters card back. "I can't use it, and being as how I didn'tactually finish you off, I can't take it. You keep it, and continue to fight your way through Battle City. You still have a few of these?" he asked, holding up the one Locator Card she had thrust into his palm. She nodded, holding up two more. "Alright then. Tomorrow, I'll see you at the Finals." He turned to leave.

"Wait!" Sakura called after him. "I thought we had a date?" Kaevin smiled and extended his hand in greeting. She took it, and then lifted herself up, and planted a small kiss on his cheek.

'Huzzah!' Kevin shouted in his head. "Huzzah!'

To Be Continued....

Sakura is actually mine, but based off of my friend, Yugi Muto, who's got some decent stories, and would have constant updates if her Internet would work for more than three days before breaking down for months.

The fallowing is a list of cards that I made for this chapter that are my original design:

Sakura- Valkyrie Sigrdrifa, Valkyrie Mist, ValkrieRota, Valkyrie Randgrior, Aurora Veil, Reginleif, and Twilight of the Gods. Just about every other card Sakura used (Altest, Sovite, Brunhilde, Flame of Rogue, Apple of Freyja, Maiden of Swan, Excalibur, and Walkuren Ritt) are the creation of Kazuki Takehashi, and appeared in the Doom/KC Grand Prix Arcs that just ended in Japan.

Kevin- Plasma the Starlight Ryu, Surge the Torrential Ryu, and Taxation of Soul.
There you all go. And about the whole remark about 'Flight of the Valkyries', you need to have seen the Japanese episodes of the KC Grand Prix, in which, the villian, Siefried von Schoider uses Walkuren Ritt, and it is each time accompanied by that song. I find this to be quite comical, as everything up until then is hardcore Japanese and some cool rock, and out of nowhere, they begin to play a centuries old German Symphony. Sorry again for the wait. See ya.