Author's Note: And now for the conclusion.

Chapter Six: Desperate Gambit of Love

Drake snapped up a card, and then instantly drew twice more, just as he did every turn. Of course it also diminished his already minuscule life points, but he didn't seem bothered. "I activate Shadow Control, which removes the limitation for zones for the rest of the duel. This means that we can play monsters or magic and trap cards in any zone, not limited by type." (DLP: 300)

That meant he could now have a total of twenty magic and trap cards on the field at one time, which didn't bode well for Kirani. "I set three cards face down. Now, it's time to get back to building that rampart I spoke of. Activate magic card, Rampart of the Dead!"

Kirani gasped in horror as ten bloated corpses, their flesh hanging from their putrid yellow bones, clambered out of the ground and advanced on Drake. "These zombies will now take the top ten cards of my deck to the grave at a cost of half of my life points." (DLP: 150)

Each of the zombies took one card from his deck, groaning as they held them up to face Drake. "Every one of the ten cards discarded that is a trap card is then set on my field, but cannot be activated for two whole turns, counting from the opponent's turns. And from what the zombies show me, all ten of the discarded cards were traps."

He snatched the cards back from the corpses and then placed them all onto his duel disk. In moments their physical representations were created, giving him a grand total of seventeen cards face down on the field. "A matter of time isn't it? Looks like time is on my side. Now...it's the end of my turn, but it's the end of you. Time's up!"

And the reaper's scythe pressed against her throat.

Blood pooled down the blade, and Kirani's mind was aflame with thoughts, flickering in and out, none with focus. The blood leaking from her throat was too much for her to handle, and her body began to fail her, weakness seeping into her limbs. It would all be over for her soon. 'So this is how it ends?' (KLP: 200)

'No, not like this.' The fog that was spreading over her mind seemed to lift slightly at these words. Words that hardly seemed to her own mental voice in her head. The pain was pushed into the depths of her mind, and then all was clear again.

When her vision returned to normal she saw that Drake looked absolutely furious. The second thing she noticed was that though blood still stained the reaper's scythe, no more was flowing from her throat. Slowly she reached up to touch her neck, and discovered the wound had healed. "Amazing..."

Drake snarled, his left eye twitching with irritation. "What's amazing is your fucking dumb luck! Once again you used the Heart of Love without knowing how to do it, and you healed yourself. Bah, this dumb luck shit is pissing me off!"

Although this seemed to be the truth, something about the situation didn't sit right with Kirani. She remembered something about the voice she had heard, but her mind had been too bogged down by pain to really register it. "Dumb luck...I'd call it providence. Now, if you might recall, it's my turn!"

She held the drawn card up to her eye, and began to consider the situation. Ten of the seventeen face down cards on Drake's field couldn't be activated for another few turns. But seven traps was still a very deadly number, so there was no way she could launch an attack. 'And though in his next turn he'll drop to fifty life points, I'll lose in my next turn if Death Awaits is still in play...'

Her eyes trailed over to his field, assessing the situation. Finally, she knew what her move would be. It was the only move she could make at this moment. "I set one card face down. That's the end of my turn."

The dark duelist immediately drew his three cards for the turn, not looking bothered in the slightest that his life points were almost completely depleted that turn. After all, why would he be worried when Kirani was about to lose in her next turn. "It's almost over wench, soon you'll be dead, and no amount of your magic can stop that." (DLP: 50)

"We'll see jerk, we'll see." Drake frowned, noticing the confidence in her voice. He knew her to be powerful and resourceful, and he wouldn't put it past her to have some method to halt his damage. And he had only one more open zone left on his field.

'I don't know what she's planning, but I'll save that last open zone for later. I've learned my lesson before about filling up all my zones completely. If they get locked, then it would be virtually impossible for me to make any move.' There was no easy way out of this, so he had just one choice.

"For the moment, I end my turn. Now, let's see if you can stop death!" He grinned in anticipation, knowing that the moment Kirani drew the end would either hit, or falter. This could be the end for her.

Kirani drew, not even looking at the drawn card or the other two cards she held. The reaper's blade began to press against her neck, and then she moved her hand to her disk and pressed a button on it. "Reverse card open!"

The trap flipped up, and the reaper's scythe halted, lightning crackling off of it and arcing towards Drake and through Kirani as well. "You...you'd actually use that trap in this duel?"

"That's right. My trap card, Lightning Reflective Surface, divides the damage equally between us. That means each of us will take eight hundred and fifty life points." Both duelists tried to fight back the pain as the electricity surged through their bodies.

"You...think you can tie the duel and then everything will be fine? No...I won't allow that...deck trap activate!" Kirani's eyes widened as a card popped out of Drake's deck, and he held it above his head. The lightning flowed from him into it, and then it vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Negative Energy Decoy is a trap that activates from my deck whenever I would lose the duel from damage. All that damage to my life points is negated, and then Negative Energy Decoy is removed from the game. So if you intend to kill me, you'll have to kill me three more times!" He smirked, and then pointed out something else.

"Of course, there won't be anymore times for you, since now your half of the damage finishes you off. And I doubt you have a Negative Energy Decoy in your deck, considering this trap is part of my soul." He licked his lips, ready the moment the duel was over. He was itching to test out the newest punishment he had thought up.

"No...I didn't intend to tie the duel, I had intended to win. Open quick-play, Emergency Provisions! I'll sacrifice Lightning Energy Charge and Lightning Reflective Surface to gain two thousand life points!" The two cards she still had on the field faded away, granting her a boost in life points, just as she was drained further. (KLP: 1350)

Drake seemed a bit miffed, but still not bothered, even though he had fifty life points left. "You can't save yourself from Hell Greed with Negative Energy Decoy, since that isn't damage, that's a life point payment. So next turn, you lose the duel."

"Oh that's highly doubtful. Especially since I now activate Dark Mirror, which lets me copy one card you've played this turn. I think I'll copy Emergency Provisions and sacrifice my Hell Greed." The continuous magic card vanished, and the duel was back on. (DLP: 1050)

Kirani sighed, realizing that she should have known that he wouldn't let himself die so easily. Most likely he had another way of saving himself from the payment, or else he wouldn't have been so cocky. Now all she had on the field was a set monster. "I set one card face down, and end my turn."

"Draw." He added the card to his other three cards, then passed a glance over her field. He still had sixteen face down cards, which was more than enough to finish her off next turn using Death Awaits.

"Your time is just about up girl. Now, I set one card face down and end my turn." Now once again he had seventeen face down cards, and that was easily going to be enough to end this. This was her final chance.

"So much confidence...too much. You placed Death Awaits over another of your trap cards, which means it's easy prey for my own trap card, Dust Tornado!" Drake frowned as a vortex of sand and dirty spun across the field towards his magic card.

One of his face down cards could protect his traps, but his Death Awaits was a magic card, and wasn't protected. "Fine, destroy Death Awaits. I've still got seventeen face down cards, and those can easily finish you off!"

"Who said I was targeting Death Awaits? No, I'm targeting the card that makes it possible for it to remain in play where it is. Expanding Shadows!" Drake's eyes went wide as one of his key cards was blown away by the deadly dust devil.

Kirani grinned, knowing what would happen next. "Now, since Expanding Shadows has just been destroyed, all magic and trap cards that are outside of their appropriate zones will be instantly demolished!"

"Not if I can help it! Memories of the Damned, reveal yourself my counter trap! I can activate this card only when traps on my field would be destroyed. It places three counters on them, protecting them from destruction that many times." Three spheres of dark energy appeared above the traps, and one instantly shattered to keep them in play.

"Each of your turns you'll lose another counter though, so that won't last you long. But for three such uses, surely there has to be a cost." Drake nodded and ejected his deck from the slot, fanning through it.

"Of course there is. As its cost I have to select three magic cards from my deck and send them to the cemetery. Guess which three I'm choosing?" He chuckled as he held up his three Death Meteor cards, and then deposited them into his graveyard. Now all he had to do was draw Armageddon Meteor and he would pretty much have a guaranteed victory.

Kirani sighed and drew, at least satisfied that Death Awaits had been destroyed, thus saving her from defeat this turn. It was odd to think that those moves had occurred in Drake's end phase, before she even started her turn. "Now...I know how to speed this process up. I flip summon Kaiser Seahorse(1700/1650)."

The muscular blue armored creature revealed itself, standing up from a crouching position and holding its trident in preparation for throwing it. Drake knew what would happen next. "Now I sacrifice Kaiser Seahorse to summon Gilford the Lightning(2800/1400)!"

Kirani's previous monster turned to energy, floating up into the air as an offering for one of the mightiest warriors in the game. Lightning crackled along the sky, signaling the coming of her monster. "Pity, I have no cards that would force you to attack. I'm also sure the reason you're summoning him is because you have Eye of the Storm in your hand."

Although Kirani made no response to this comment, Drake knew it to be true. From his own experience, he knew that Eye of the Storm was a magic card that could only be played if Gilford the Lightning was on the field. At a cost of that Gilford's attack for the turn, all of the opponent's magic and trap cards would be destroyed. "I can't have that now can I? So I activate Broken Heart!"

The lightning in the sky immediately faded away, and the Gilford that Kirani had been placing on her deck popped back up, forcing her to catch it. "Broken Heart negates the summon and removes that monster from the game. So farewell Gilford."

Although her plan had been foiled, Kirani wasn't going to despair yet. After all, there was no point in despairing just because a plan had failed. "I set one card face down, and end my turn."

Drake drew, barely noticing as another counter faded away. Now he had just fifteen face down cards, but five open zones. He had four cards in his hand, and now one of them was worth actually playing. "On the off chance that you were thinking of trying that trick again, I've got a card for you."

He slid open the side panel of his duel disk, and placed the card into it. "I play my field magic card, Ring of Fire and Death! As long as this field card is in play each of us can activate trap cards from our hands at a cost of five hundred life points!"

Kirani frowned as a circle of fire leapt up around them, and on the outside of that there was a line of fallen corpses. "I get the feeling that's not all it does."

"Good guess. Each of us has to attack the opponent once per turn with a monster. That is of course provided we actually have a monster on the field. So, sit back and let me win, or try and win and fail. What will it be?" The fire seemed to roar higher when he said these words.

"Is that all?" Drake shook his head, not feeling that he was finished yet.

"I think I'll play Magical Well, and place a magic card from my deck into my hand. Of course I can't set or activate it this turn, but next turn will do just as well." He placed the card into his hand, and then waved Kirani on, showing her that he was done.

Grimacing, Kirani knew that there were several choices he could have made. Either he was going for another Expanding Shadows so he could protect his trap cards, or he had just grabbed the card that she was dreading. Armageddon Meteor. 'Knowing him, he probably took Armageddon Meteor so he can finish me off. I'll just have to be prepared.'

"I set one magic or trap card face down on the field. Though I know I can't beat you in the magic and trap war, I have every intention of living on until I find a method to actually defeating you." Now she had just two face down cards to combat his fifteen.

Once more he drew, putting his hand size back up at four cards. But it was the card he had taken through the use of Magical Well that interested him the most. "Prepare to burn you little bitch. I activate my magic card, Armageddon Meteor!"

The skies seemed to rip apart as the massive meteor gathered its power together for one single strike. "I'm not going to die just yet! Activate trap, Spark Seal! This halts the activation of one card for three turns!"

There was no motion in the sky as there was before, signaling that the meteor was frozen just beyond the clouds, keeping it from view. It wouldn't be revealed until three turns later. "Damn you...I don't want to wait three fucking turns! Bah, I set one card face down."

Frustrated that his attempt to kill her had been delayed, he was ready to end his turn. But there was on more thing Kirani had to mention. "The second effect of Spark Seal lets me draw one extra card immediately, so I'll do that now."

She drew two cards, one from the effect and one for the start of her turn. Looking them over, she knew just what to do. "I play Enter the Storm, which at a cost of one thousand life points lets me special summon Gilford the Lightning, and I'll bring back the one that was placed out of play!" (KLP: 350)

The lightning restarted and in mere seconds her warrior stood on the field, his armor shining brightly. "I see...you brought out your monster but managed to get around the effect of Ring of Fire and Death. Because Enter the Storm prevents your monster from attacking, you're safe. At least until I draw a card that can force an attack."

Kirani nodded, but that wasn't all she was going to do. "I'm not just done there. You predicted this move correctly before, so now I'll use it. Eye of the Storm, do your stuff!"

Winds swirled over his field, but the final counter was sacrificed to protect his cards. "You see, Ring of Fire and Death remains, so next turn your beastly Gilford will have to attack, and of course he'll walk right into a trap."

"Your field card may have been protected then...but it isn't now. So it's time to play my own field card, Heart of the Storm!" A massive storm cloud gathered over head, and the energy of the lightning in it surged through Gilford, boosting his attack power by four hundred.

Not only that, but the twin circles of flame and corpses vanished, replaced by this new field. Drake snarled in irritation, knowing that there was little he could do about it. And worse yet, it would still be two more of Kirani's turns before his Armageddon Meteor activated. "Fine, but that makes this the perfect time to activate this trap card, Devil Life Absorption!"

Energy flooded out of Kirani's disk in black waves, cascading down upon Drake, imbuing him with further energies. "Now this trap grants me life points equal to the amount you've lost in this duel." (DLP: 7200)

"Fine, take your life points. But though my turn is over now, this duel isn't." Drake merely shrugged, grabbing up another card off his deck.

With no counter to protect his traps, instantly ten of them shattered into nothingness. Although he was annoyed by the damage, it wasn't a complete and total loss. "You destroyed Shatter Point, so I'll use it to destroy your remaining face down card."

"Fine with me, I'll just activate it in response. Gilford's Parting Gift! I can send a Gilford to the cemetery to gain its attack or defense as life points!" Gilford the Lightning vanished, and Kirani's life points took a turn for the better. (KLP: 3550)

"That's still not enough to save you from Armageddon Meteor once it activates. Now, I think it's still my turn." Holding up the cards he had in his hand, he knew he had to make a decision on what to do.

Despite his current lack of options, he didn't seem that worried. Two more turns from now his Armageddon Meteor would have to activate, and then it would deal 5000 damage to her life points. Potentially that should end the duel. "End turn."

Kirani drew, and she looked at it, slightly surprised. Drake mentally filed away the expression for later, knowing that it meant something. 'Let's just see what she has planned.'

"I pass my turn." Drake didn't let the surprise he felt show. He had honestly been expecting something more impressive than a completely empty field. Although that was the case, there was very little he could do at the moment with the handful of cards he had.

"Since my whole field is full, I guess I have little to do. But in my next turn, Armageddon Meteor will activate and burn away all of your life points. So really, there's little that you can do. But we'll just wait and see I guess. End!" It was obviously just bluster, but that didn't matter. Unless she had some plan, she was going to lose in his next turn.

She drew her card, and then flipped it over, revealing a magic card. "All I needed was just one card, but this will help. Pot of Greed activates!" She snapped two more cards up and added them to the other card she held.

"What do you think you can do with those cards?" There was a hint of curiosity in his voice. He still had that expression of hers filed away, and he had the feeling the reason behind it was about to be revealed.

"I play Monster Reincarnation, discarding Wise One Gilford in order to pick up a monster from my grave." She placed the chosen card into the graveyard, and then grabbed the new card that her cemetery slot spat back up at her.

Drake mentally reviewed the monsters that had gone to her cemetery so far in the duel, and there were quite a few. 'What could it be? Gilford of Thunder for more cards? Berserker Gilford for raw power? Or perhaps something that I don't know about.'

"You're about to meet my trump monster, and I know that you know what it is. I call forth the spirits of Gilford the Lightning, Gilford of Thunder, and Berserker Gilford, removing from the game as offerings to one of the mightiest of them all!" Lightning crashed down around her, lighting up even the darkness as her monster's descent was readied.

"The single-strike killer...Gilford, Lord of the Storm(2800/1400)!" Drake's words rang true as a towering figure landed on the field in a crouch, one knee on the ground and the other up to his chest, his right arm resting on it casually. He was Gilford the Lightning, if Gilford the Lightning had swapped out his regular armor for gold armor and a fancier sword.

"You're right, my level ten monster, the card that can win a duel in a single attack. Lord of the Storm, whose special ability upon being summoned destroys all cards on the field and in both player's hands! Storm of Destruction!" Lord of the Storm rose to his feet, and unsheathed his sword.

Instantly lightning began to rain down over the field, bolt after bolt, turning from tens to hundreds in mere seconds. Had the lightning been real they likely would have been blinded or killed by the light and the charge infused in those hundreds of bolts. Then, it was done.

The field now stood completely barren, nothing to stop Lord of the Storm from rampaging. No wall of traps, nothing at all to halt it. But besides itself, Kirani's field was also barren. "You've stripped yourself of hand and field for twenty-eight hundred damage? But in my next turn you take five thousand damage, and you have no cards to stop that."

"Not true. When my hand went to the cemetery, I discarded Lightning Fail Safe, which increases my life points by two thousand if it goes to the grave because of an effect. So, I'll survive Armageddon Meteor." Light flickered around her as she gained much needed life points. (KLP: 5550)

"Gilford, attack Drake directly with Storm Blade Cut!" Lightning escalated around the blade as the warrior swung it in a sweeping arc. Huge streams of energy came off of it as the power exploded out of it, colliding with Drake. A dark aura emerged around him, blocking him from physical harm. (DLP: 4400)

"You're good...but your turn is over. Now, it's my turn to see what I can do!" He picked up the top card of his deck, and then the meteor that was hanging overhead started moving again. It streaked straight towards Kirani, and exploded with force great enough to easily shatter a building.

As the smoke cleared, Kirani could clearly be seen within. She was on her hands and knees, breathing heavily, sweat beading on her brow. The red glow that surrounded her had diminished, and it was obvious she had used a lot of power defending herself from the strike. "But I'm still here...still fighting on." (KLP: 550)

"Still here...yeah you are, but not for long! I play Treasure of Slashing Life!" Kirani cursed his luck, even as he drew a brand new hand of five cards. It hardly mattered that he'd have to discard his whole hand in five turns. The duel wasn't likely to last that long.

"Before I continue, I'll activate The Haunting Cycle. This continuous magic card first takes all magic and trap cards in my cemetery and out of play piles and shuffles them back into my deck." He did so, restoring his deck to full size, with the only missing cards being the four he held and his magic card.

"Step number two is to activate End of Existence, which removes one monster on your field from the game." There was a clap, like thunder without a storm, and then Lord of the Storm was gone, removed from play.

"Now for step number three. Body Count activates, letting me draw one card for every monster of yours I've destroyed or removed from the game. That's six cards, so let me replenish my hand." With the bonus cards he gained, he now held nine cards.

Kirani couldn't help but feel worried, since she had no cards whatsoever against the nine he held. Were he an offensive duelist, she'd probably be finished in this turn. "Keep playing...I don't want to have to wait all day."

Drake smirked, amused by her comment. "Impatient to do eh? Fine, I won't keep you waiting! I play Expanding Shadows, and follow that up with seven cards face down."

His field filled up almost completely, and now he had a massive barrier and one card left in his hand. "Now, Twilight Renewal lets me draw five cards since it's the only one in my hand."

Five more cards entered his hand, and he seemed oddly amused by what he saw. "By discarding Death Awaits from my hand I can activate the continuous magic card Death Approaches, which will deal you 300 damage per set card during each standby phase."

Kirani felt a foreboding presence fill the dueling field, and knew that it was true. Death was coming for her. "Finally to end my turn I set three cards from my hand face down, and end my turn."

Her knees felt weak as her hand hovered over the top card of her deck. She had tried everything she could think of, even Lord of the Storm had failed. She had burned away his field, and he had recovered almost immediately, not giving her any chance at all. 'And with those three Negative Energy Decoys in his deck I'd have to deal 4400 damage four times this next turn to stop him before I lose. And no single card can do that...no single card...so I lose don't I?'

She should have known really. It had been a desperate move on her part, trying to duel him like this to bring back her lover. Never before had she beaten Drake, and the closest she had ever come in all the years she knew him was when he was just one card away from decking out and top decking, but he won anyways. 'I'm just not quite at his level...there's no way I can beat Drake, no matter which one it is.'

'Maybe not on your own, but you aren't alone. You never are, don't you remember that?' A soft touch on her cheek made her tilt her head up, and she found herself staring at a spectral version of Drake smiling down at her. Yet just meters away stood the scowling dark Drake.

"You're the part of Drake that's connected to my soul...you haven't appeared to me since I dueled Taichi last. I...I thought you were gone." He shook his head, still smiling, and cupped her chin with his big hand.

'Kirani, I'm always part of you. No amount of magic can change that, because the magic that connects us is stronger than the darkness. It's the light of our souls...and that bond can't be broken by anything, not even the gods. So...together, let's win.' A genuine smile spread across her beautiful features, seeming to illuminate the darkness.

With ghostly hands to guide her, she was able to stand back up on her feet, the Heart of Love blazing once again. She felt a pulse from within her, and she knew, somehow she knew what would come of this duel. She knew what had to happen once it was over, but she didn't know if she could. 'How can I? After all of this, how could I?'

The partial soul of Daisuke Ihachi stood behind her, his hand over hers, guiding it to the top of her deck. 'Kirani, I understand. And if I do, then sooner or later he'll understand as well. You have to do it, you know that. Now, let's show him the strength of our joined souls!'

She nodded and together they engaged more and more power, shocking dark Drake. It was at this moment that he finally understood what had been happening all along. 'This whole time she's been leeching off of me...this whole time I couldn't hurt her because the soul within this body...it's connected to her. Without my knowledge, she and my light half were and are...soul mates.'

"Although I've never managed it before, it's something I'll do right now! I'm going to defeat you, in this final turn! Activate Heart of Love special ability, Desperate Gambit of Love!" The red glow surged from all around her, flowing into her duel disk, empowering it.

"Desperate Gambit of Love resets the duel for me, returning all cards of mine back to my deck and resetting my life points at the starting amount. Then I'm allowed to draw one card, and can activate it without interference if possible. If I can't play it, my turn ends immediately. So, it's time for me to draw!" Two hands, one physical and the other spiritual, drew the needed card. Drake took a step back as he recognized the power he was sensing. (KLP: 4000)

"Drake...this is our last turn, you know that, and I know that. And burning in my heart is something given to me by the presence of the man I love. Absolute Determination!" She held the card up, and its effect activated, allowing her to draw her entire deck.

'Our souls are so joined together that she was able to draw a card that should exist only in my light half's soul deck! And this card...it's responsible for the single defeat that this deck took!' He looked to his face down cards for reassurance, but somehow he didn't feel that confident anymore.

"Activate magic card, Heavy Storm!" The winds picked up, and Drake did what he had to. He activated his counter trap. The winds faded away as three black spheres appeared, floating above his field.

"Memories of the Damned, at a cost of my three Death Meteors once again, lets me not only negate the destruction of my traps this once, but also places three counters that will protect them. So there's nothing you can do about it!" Yet despite his words, he didn't feel his confidence flowing freely. She still had a hand the size of her deck.

"Giant Trunade!" Before the winds could even get underway, the energies were absorbed by the counter he removed to protect his traps from leaving the field. Two more remained.

"Go, Enter the Storm!" Gilford descended from the sky above and unsheathed his sword, ready for action. Drake knew the reason for summoning that card, and knew what was going to come next. (KLP: 3000)

"I won't allow it! Broken Heart negates the summoning!" Kirani barely seemed to be slowed down as Gilford the Lightning vanished into the mists, leaving no trace whatsoever.

"I won't let you break my stride, because this is the last turn! Monster Returned brings back Gilford the Lightning, and then I activate Eye of the Storm to destroy all your magic and trap cards!" A bolt of lightning shot out from the mist, and another counter shattered. Gilford walked onto the field, calm and confident.

"Next up, Roar of Thunder! I sacrifice Gilford the Lightning to special summon Gilford, Deity of Lightning and Thunder(3600/2400)!" The glowing, god-like version of her key monster replaced the regular one, his shining sword held high.

"His effect can now let me destroy all magic and trap cards on your field and in your hand! Split them apart!" A blue bolt of lightning streaked down from the heavens, and blasted away the final counter. Now his trap cards were vulnerable once again, and her stride had yet to break.

"Now, Magic Shard Excavation brings back a card at a cost of two from my hand. Then I play that card, Heavy Storm!" Drake threw up his hands to shield them from dust particles as all nine of his remaining set cards were blown completely apart.

"It's not enough...still not enough!" Kirani shook her head and threw down a card from her hand onto the field. A behemoth of a warrior appeared, revealing himself as none other than Berserker Gilford(3000/0), the most powerful level four in the game.

"Next I equip Deity of Lightning and Thunder with Lightning Blade, raising his attack by eight hundred, bringing him dead even with your life points! Next, Monster Reborn activates to return Gilford the Lightning(2800/1400) to the field!" Once again her key monster returned.

"Then I special summon Gilford the Swift(1400/500) to the field!" The thin, rapier wielding Gilford zipped out into play, his sword held at the ready. Now the stage was set.

"Deity of Lightning and Thunder, attack him directly with God Lightning Stroke!" One tremendous stream of electricity pounded into Drake, burning away forty-four hundred of his life points. Or at least it would have, if it weren't for the beacon that appeared above him, drawing in the energy.

"Negative Energy Decoy protects me, and then removes itself from the game. And I still have two more of them left in my deck!" Kirani nodded, understanding it perfectly. But she wasn't about to let her stride be broken.

"Berserker Gilford, attack him directly!" The hulking warrior slammed the butt of his sword into Drake's stomach, doubling him over. The damage wasn't enough to finish him off, so Negative Energy Decoy's effect didn't activate. (DLP: 1400)

"Gilford the Swift, direct attack!" A single slash of its rapier would normally have been enough to finish Drake off, but once again another Negative Energy Decoy was activated, protecting him from losing the duel.

"Gilford the Lightning, Thunder Bolt Cut!" Another blast of lightning caught him in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards with smoke curling up off of his body. Yet again a Negative Energy Decoy activated, and he remained safe.

"I'm still alive...three tries...three final attempts...and now you've failed. All I have to do is last until my end phase, and Absolute Determination's effect will make you lose the duel. I'm not the one who loses, it's you!" His lips started to part wide for what was bound to be an evil laugh, but they stopped short when he remember a card that Kirani had in her deck and was now holding up.

"Lightning Strikes Twice lets each Gilford the Lightning in play have two battle phases this turn...so now...it truly is over. Here's a message from the real Drake and myself to you. Die! Supreme Thunderbolt Cut!" Lightning coursed through Drake's body as the steel of Gilford's blade conducted it through him. And there was no way to stop it. (DLP: 0)

He fell to his knees, breathing heavily, staring at her in shock, unable to believe that he had actually lost. "I lost...so that means..."

His head tilted backwards as he screamed to the heavens, pulses of energy flooding through his body. One pulse, then a second, and finally a third, and at long last it seemed done. Slowly, Kirani approached him. "Drake...is that...the real you?"

Violet eyes looked up at her, violet eyes filled with horror, fear, and remorse. Those violet eyes could belong to not a single soul other than the man she had fallen in love with. "Kirani...I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen."

She dropped to his side and embraced him immediately, her touch telling him that everything was alright, that she didn't blame him. Her touch, her warmth, and her eyes conveyed more than words would have. He simply knew her like he knew himself, and that was why he knew it wasn't over. "Kirani...you're on the verge of tears...what's wrong?"

Kirani backed away and stood up, looking down at him, blinking back tears. "This last fight...it's told me something I needed to hear, and so has the Heart of Love. I...as hard as this is to do...I'm leaving Drake."

His stare was blank, as if he didn't understand. Or maybe he couldn't bring himself to understand. "I...but why?"

"I learned just minutes ago that this world isn't safe for...certain people. And I know that you're always going to be right in the thick of it. So the safest thing for...certain people, is if I leave. I'm sorry, but I have to go...I don't want to, but I have to. I can only hope that you'll understand, and that you won't hate me. Just please remember that I will always love you...I just can't be with you right now."

And then, in what was perhaps the most mind numbing event of the day, Kirani uttered a single word that shattered everything for him. "Goodbye."

Then she was gone.

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Author's Notes: And now, for plotage.

Next Time: With one shocking declaration Kirani has changed Drake's life. But life must move on, and Dalin's call has gone out to those who can aid him. They will gather at the appointed spot to hear the truth that awaits them. When the clock strikes midnight, it will begin.

See it all in, The Midnight Meeting Pt. 1

Review Response

Time Mage: I'm surprised you caught that. And yes, parts of this duel were inspired by my duel with Nick. And your theory...it was wrong.

G.O.T. Nick: Two turns, but yeah, whatever.

The White Mage: Because she's a good guy...and because if she did the main protagonist of the series would be evil for the rest of the series, that's why.

Original Cards

Note: Actually, screw it. It takes WAY too much time to do this. If you don't recognize a card, I probably made it up, but you've figured that out by now you sly dogs. Good for you.