Author's Note: Reader beware.

Chapter Nineteen: Human Processing Plant #312

Ryu sighed, ignoring the cheerful humming from the seat next to him. Apparently when deciding to help them Pegasus had also invited himself along on their quest. So far they had already sent out messages to those Pegasus could find direct contacts for, and now they were in the process of rooting out others.

Their current aim was to get in touch with the reclusive group formerly known as the Doom Soldiers, Dartz's right hand men. Amelda, Varon, and Raphael were powerful duelists, and because they could wield the power of the Orichalcos most likely had some degree of magical ability.

Ryu wouldn't have minded the presence of Pegasus if it weren't for the incessant humming. After all, despite having lost to Yugi years before, Pegasus was still one of the world's finest duelists, and the game's creator with knowledge of every card. 'Game creator or not, if he doesn't stop with the damned humming I think I'll smack him!'

"Ooo, a message, how interesting." The former gang member's attention was drawn fully to the platinum haired duelist who was currently leaning forward in his seat on the plane. After fiddling with a few dials a screen in front of them flicked on, giving them a clear view of Isis.

"Ahhh! Isis, how wonderful to see you! And is that the brooding Rishid I see behind you? To what do I owe the honor of this phone call?" Isis appeared as calm as ever despite Pegasus' exuberant greeting. She did however crack a smile at his boyish enthusiasm.

"Pegasus, it is good to see you again. Unfortunately I come baring heavy news. If our young companion's theory is correct then everyone is in danger. Myself, Rishid, and Alice are currently attempting to meet Dalin, so you, Ryu, and Autumn must deal with this matter." Ryu and Autumn slid closer so they could get in on the conversation.

Once he was sure he was within view of the camera, Ryu jumped into the conversation. "What's the thing we have to deal with? We are kind of busy searching for the Doom Soldiers right now."

The Egyptian woman didn't even blink at the sudden outburst. "I'm afraid this matter takes precedence over your previous assignment. I'm sure you're aware of the new mystic drug going around called 'Blood' that grants people Darkness Powers, correct?"

Autumn rubbed her chin, thinking back on their previous duels. She recognized the name indeed. "I've heard mention of it on the news, but not as a mystic drug. On the other hand all of us were attacked and forced into duels by some freaks using that stuff. And it definitely gave them Darkness Powers, if not extremely powerful ones."

"It seems that we have discovered the potential source of this drug. If Alice's theory is right then a deadly force is just waiting to be unleashed upon the world. You're going to have go and seek out whoever is handing out Blood and bring a stop to its production." The three duelists exchanged glances.

Ryu wasn't going to take that easily. "I don't know about this. How do you expect us to track these guys down with so little information? What are we supposed to do, sniff around for them? If anybody knew then the police would have been all over it already."

Immediately Pegasus shook a finger right in Ryu's face, grinning like a maniac. "Ah, but that's where you're wrong Ryu-boy! As a matter of fact I was recently outbid by a relatively minor company for the rights to an old meat processing plant. I was going to make it into a card production plant, but they got it first."

The younger duelist shrugged, looking bored. "Yeah, so what? Just because some company outbid you doesn't mean anything to me."

"They just happen to be a company that was an offshoot of Paradias, you know, the company owned and controlled by Dartz. And my own information sources say that Paradias has been under new management since a few months after the Eikyuu dilemma." Ryu and Autumn exchanged glances, remembering their experiences with the Seal of Orichalcos, even though they hadn't dealt with Dartz.

"You're saying that this plant may be where Blood is being made? Well then, what are we waiting for?" He grinned, cracking his knuckles, already imagining bursting in on a bunch of drug lords and beating them to within an inch of their life. Something like the old gang days.

Isis couldn't help but frown at Ryu's sudden gung-ho attitude, and wondered if it might be bad to send these three on this mission. However, there was no other current option. "Very well then, good luck to all three of you."

With that the image faded, leaving the three of them staring at a blank screen. Pegasus picked up a side phone and pressed a single button, ringing up the pilot of their private plane. "Croquet, turn us about. We have some new coordinates."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ryu looked up at the plain warehouse in front of them. It was a sparse gray color, and it was in the middle of nowhere in Colorado, a state which Pegasus had assured him 'was of no consequence to anyone'.

A pulsing from his right hand made him look down and he willed the golden gauntlet to appear on his hand. He reached out for the warehouse, and suddenly images began flashing through his head. "GET OUT!"

The other two turned to stare at him as he dropped to his knees, both hands gripping at his head. The gauntlet was glowing brightly, but as they rushed to aid him the light faded away. He let his arms fall to the ground, supporting him as he panted for breath. "This place…it holds horrible memories…suffering beyond anything I though was possible."

Autumn gulped, looking up at the massive but simplistic structure. If the gauntlet was reacting so heavily and giving Ryu these horrifying memories then whatever rested within the building must be horrifying indeed. "This has to be the place."

Pegasus nodded slowly, even his carefree mannerisms gone in the sight of what memories of this place had done to Ryu. Carefully they helped the weakened duelist to his feet and started marching him into the warehouse. 'Time to cross the Rubicon. There's no turning back now.'

Autumn gripped Ryu's shoulder hard, making him focus with her on the cameras that were panning around the building. If what Misuno was saying in her head was right, the magic they were casting together would blind the cameras to their presence. "In we go."

Under the pressure of Pegasus' hand the back door creaked open, allowing all three of them to slip in. The smell hit them like a blast of fire from a furnace. "Oh dear god…"

Even Ryu, who had smelled similar things, gagged at the smell. Autumn leaned over and emptied out the little bit of food she had eaten today onto the ground, and Pegasus looked close to doing the same. "It's the smell of fresh and dried blood…so much of it."

Straightening his back, Ryu moved away from the two, supporting his own weight again. "You two stay here, I'll go investigate further. If I need you I'll call you."

He started to walk ahead, but was stopped when he felt a hand drop onto his shoulder. He looked back and found Pegasus giving him an intense stare with his one eye. "I'm afraid I can't let you go alone. There's no telling what's out there, and I led us here. I'll go with you."

Autumn pushed herself off her knees and got back to her feet, ignoring the fact that she had just thrown up moments ago. "I'm going as well. I have to go, it's something that I need to do. We have to stop whatever is going on here."

Ryu frowned, thinking about how the two would react to whatever was ahead. Pegasus had shown that he could handle himself pretty well, but Autumn was still sensitive. Then again if worse came to worse he could count on Misuno or AB taking over. "Alright then, let's do this. But be quiet, we're sneaking around here."

Both of them gave him a brief nod, and then they were on their way, Ryu in the lead. Slowly he inched around the corner, scanning the hallway to see if anyone was there. "It's clear, and so long as our spell holds the cameras aren't an issue. Let's move."

Again they slipped down the hallway, moving as quickly as they could without making much noise. Yet again they reached a corner, and now Ryu could hear some sort of noise. It sounded like…

"Brace yourselves, one more hallway." They crept forwards, the terrible smell assaulting their noses, and the sounds from before growing louder. By this time Pegasus and Autumn had also recognized the sounds they were hearing.

When they rounded the corner they got their confirmation of exactly what those noises were. Ryu clapped a hand over Autumn's mouth and shot a glare at Pegasus, mentally telling him not to make a sound. But they had every reason to react badly, because the sounds they were hearing were the sobs and screams of living human begins.

Autumn's entire body was quivering, sobs threatening to break out at the sight before them. Pegasus had his one eye downcast and a hand pressed against his chest, where his heart was racing. "How could anyone do this to another human being?"

Meat processing plants in the United States were notorious for being just a hair breadth away from being shut down at all times, with strict regulations on cleanliness required. Large slabs of various types of animal would hang from meat hooks while not in use, and then moved into large grinders for processing. "I'll never eat meat again…"

The sounds of suffering were coming from human beings of varying ages hanging from those meat hooks by their bare hands, the hooks spearing through their palms. They were all stripped naked, their flesh lacerated and bleeding. "Who would do this?"

Although the other two were looking away, Ryu knew he had to investigate further. He continued to scan the room, taking in all of the horrors to be seen. Beneath the rows upon rows of human beings hanging by meat hooks were intricate symbols painted into the ground, and based on the reddish black color Ryu figured it was also blood. 'It's a ritual or something…'

Motioning for the others to stay he slipped forwards, keeping along the edge of the wall, moving further into the room. Once he had covered a distance of about twenty feet he saw exactly what had become of the giant vats that were usually used to process the blood from the slaughtered animals. The rows of hanging people were slowly but surely moving until they hung over the vat.

Once there a bored looking man or woman, depending on the specific vat, would begin to cut them with blood encrusted knives, letting the blood drip freshly into the vat below. These were the people who were sobbing the most as their wounds were freshly reopened. 'They aren't killing anybody! They're just using them over and over again as a source of blood!'

Ryu could only imagine what the meat grinders were now used for. That would be the perfect way for them to deal with anybody who happened to die during the process. And as he thought about the large number of people in the plant, he came to a sudden realization. 'The wave of kidnappings…all those missing people…this is where they're going!'

The entire place was a factory for torturing human beings and using their blood as a key ingredient in the creation of the horrible mystical drug called quite simply Blood. 'That's why the police can't trace it in people's systems. It's just regular blood! But how could human blood give other human beings darkness powers?'

"Trespassers, how pleasant." The confident voice in English brought Ryu's attention back to where the others had been waiting. To his horror they were each being held by the arm by a bored looking security guard.

The man who had spoken was dressed in a business suit, his black hair combed neatly to one side. He looked almost bored as he surveyed Pegasus and Autumn. "It's rare that we get anyone who practically volunteers to be a supplier of our prime ingredient, but if you insist I have some free spots for you."

Autumn spit at him, the spittle splattering against his cheek. He growled deep in his throat and whipped the saliva off. He closed his eyes, looking calm and in control…and then he slammed his fist into her face. She would have been sent tumbling to her back if it weren't for the guard's grip keeping her up. But her nose was bleeding profusely, and she looked barely conscious. "Nobody disrespects me. I'd like to say they'd make it extra painful for you, but at this point that is impossible. Take them and hang them up with the rest!"

Ryu glanced down at the gauntlet on his hand, considering his options. He wasn't an expert in the item's use, but he did know he could take those two security guards by surprise if he got close. They wouldn't be able to draw their weapons if he was fast. 'I have to think this through quickly!'

Already the guards were dragging Pegasus and Autumn towards the rows of hooks, Autumn kicking and screaming and Pegasus looking like he was just barely keeping his fear in check. 'I won't let them get hurt! No more thought, it's time for action!'

The guards approached two open hooks, ignoring the sobs and thrashing of the people around them. They began to manhandle Pegasus and Autumn up towards the hooks which lowered to meet them. "Everybody struggles at first, but you'll get used to the pain after a while. Of course you'll never get used to the whole process, nobody has."

"Fuck you!" Autumn tried to swing her head back to catch the guard in the nose, but he was obviously experienced in dealing with struggling victims and easily avoided the blow. He began to stretch out her hands, placing them just above the hooks. One thrust down and the hooks would pierce through her flesh.

"Kyaa!" The security guard had barely enough time to look up before somebody swung down from the conveyer line and a pair of feet slammed into his face, sending him flying backwards, blood spurting from a shattered nose.

The second guard released Pegasus and dropped his hand down to his gun, trying to pull it out and train it on Ryu before he could make the charge. Just as his hand found the clasp and began to get it out a fist collided with the back of his head, making him lose balance. Ryu capitalized on this mistake and grabbed the man's arm, slinging him over his own shoulder and into the far wall. He slid down, unconscious.

Ryu picked up the fallen guard, looking up at Pegasus who was busy rubbing his sore fist. The eccentric billionaire smirked, looking a little bit like his normal carefree self. "That certainly is more painful than it looks in the movies."

"It's about to become more painful! You three…you've trespassed enough. You're too good to be turned into the watered down form of Blood, that's for sure. Of course that's the only way to keep you sane and not turn you into murderous animals but…well I'll let you get killed by my special guards. Hanson, Vincent, heel!" The business man had appeared at the end of the conveyer rows, and snapped his fingers.

Ryu narrowed his eyes, stepping in front of Pegasus as the older man helped Autumn back up. He gulped when two shapes slinked out from the shadows and sat on their haunches next to the business man.

"What the hell…what's happened to them?" The creatures sitting at the man's side weren't dogs at all, but rather people. They were dressed in little more than rags, their skin scuffed and covered by dried blood. Their mouths were dripping with their own slobber, and their eyes held a murderous rage barely contained.

The dark haired man reached out with each hand and stroked the two feral men's heads, causing them to growl and stiffen, though they didn't attack. "This is the result of pure Blood. I don't know how it's made, but it's the original base for the process we use to create this artificial form of Blood. These men feel no pain, have supernatural strength and speed, and they are nothing more than bundles of hate and rage, coupled with the desire to rip apart everything they see. Training them was…very difficult."

Ryu cocked the hammer of the .45 back, raising the pistol to take aim at the man and his two 'pets'. "Whether or not they feel pain, this will kill them just like it would kill anybody else. And you? You'll die as well for all your sick actions! This place needs to be shut down to stop the flow of Blood to the world!"

"Stop the flow? Boy, you're ignorant. This isn't the primary or original factory, nor is it the only factory that produces Blood. It's being made all around the world, and this is Human Processing Plant #312 of the North American Division. Even if you blew this place straight to hell you wouldn't make a difference." Ryu heard gasps from both Pegasus and Autumn, but he kept his surprise to himself. There was no way he was giving this freak a psychological advantage over him.

"Be that as it may I'm still bringing this factory down on your head and the heads of all the sick bastards you have working here! Now, die bastard!" He pulled the trigger, an explosion of sound coming from the gun as the bullet erupted from the end. But instead of blowing a hole in the man's head it struck one of the two feral men in the shoulder, as he had jumped into the way.

The business man smirked, stroking the man's hair. "Good work Hanson, Master Zane appreciates it. Now, go bring me back another victim for the process. Sick 'em!"

Never in his life had Ryu seen anyone move as fast as the two dog-like men did. He jerked the gun slightly to the left, taking aim at the first one and firing off two rounds at it. They hit the psychotic feral man head in the chest, but he didn't even slow down. "Shit!"

He threw himself to the side, rolling to avoid the strike of the one he had looked away from. To his shock the fist that had been swung at him hit the cement and sent cracks spiderwebbing. 'Damn it, they're stronger than I ever could have guessed!'

They were after him again in seconds, lust for blood in their eyes. Without thinking it through Ryu snapped the pistol up and emptied the clip at the closest one, bullets peppering the former man's flesh. Ryu grimaced as one bullet shot through the creature's face, dropping it like a rock. 'Shit…I panicked and now I'm out!'

He had seen death by gun before, but he had never seen a reaction like what happened next. Instead of acting out in rage or completely ignoring it, the remaining freak howled and descended on his fallen companion, his bare hands ripping into the dead monster's flesh. "Autumn, Pegasus, let's get out of here!"

The older man jerked Autumn to her feet and the two started running towards Ryu, who was waiting for them before starting back to the exit. He tossed the now useless gun aside, hoping that the beast that was once a man remained distracted for a bit longer. 'Come, just stay there you freak!'

Zane sighed and snapped his fingers, bringing the beast's attention to him. "Vincent, stop having fun right now. Those three are getting away, now go rip them limb from limb. Remember, it's more fun when they're alive isn't it? Now go Vincent, kill!"

Immediately Vincent was charging towards them, or more specifically directly at Pegasus and Autumn. "Damn it!" With a roar of his own to match the beast's Ryu threw himself at it, slinging his fist at the monster's face. The glowing gold gauntlet pounded into the side of the monster's face, hurling it backwards.

"Pegasus, Autumn, keep going! I'll hold this monster off as long as I can!" They stare at him for a second in shock, but his absolutely serious look told them what they needed to know. Pegasus grabbed Autumn by the arm and started dragging her away.

She flailed at Pegasus, horrified as the beast tackled Ryu to the ground and began grabbling with him, snarling as it tried to sink its teeth into him. "We can't just leave him! We've got to help him!"

"Help him how? By getting in his way? If we want to help Ryu we have to leave, it's the only way out of here! We need to rethink our strategy if we're going to do anything worthwhile!" He felt his heart hardening even as he dragged her towards the exit, knowing that he was condemning Ryu to death…even if it was by the man's own word.

They were jerked to a halt by a scream of pain, and even Pegasus looked back to see what had happened. The drug addled human had sunk his teeth into Ryu's left side and appeared to be doing its best to rip him open with jaw strength alone. At the same time Ryu was landing as many blows as he could onto the monster's head and body, but it simply shrugged them off. "I won't let Ryu die here!"

Pegasus gasped when Autumn successfully jerked her arm out of his grip and started running forwards. Neither Ryu or the monster noticed, but the head of the factory, Zane as he called himself, looked equally as surprised. "What the hell?"

When Autumn dropped to the ground next to the ground who had been manhandling her earlier, Pegasus understood. She worked as fast as she could, Ryu's screams the perfect incentive. Finally she worked the clasp free and cocked the hammer back, whirling the gun around to face the monster.

The bullet that tore into its side easily caught the monster's attention, pulling it away from Ryu. Howling in rage at being attacked it leapt off Ryu and ran towards Autumn instead. Her eyes widened in terror at the incoming beast, and she started squeezing the trigger indiscriminately, not taking a moment to aim. Just like Ryu's shots before, the bullets did damage but didn't even slow it down. 'It's truly a monster!'

When the gun clicked empty she panicked, as it was only a handful of feet away from her. As its hate filled eyes locked with her, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was going to die. 'It'll rip me apart...I wonder if…it'll hurt.'

She closed her eyes, and felt something wet and hot spray across her face. She sat there on the cement like that for several seconds, waiting for impending death. When nothing happened she looked up. What she found wasn't what she was expecting. "W…what?"

The former human was twitching on the ground in front of her, obviously still alive because of its thrashing teeth and furious eyes, but it wasn't moving. Standing over it, breathing heavily, was Ryu, his side bleeding a little. "Even these freaks can't move if you break their necks, and a flying kick to the back of the neck will do that even to the strongest person."

Zane gulped, looking on with trepidation and fear as the former gang member stalked over to the conveyer line, snapped a hook off of it, and then proceeded to walk back to the paralyzed beast. With one swing he buried the meat hook into its head with a meaty thunk, ending its movement. "That's gonna be you and the rest of your buddies."

The business man took a cautious step back as Ryu began stalking towards him, Pegasus coming from the opposite side and Autumn waiting behind. "I…I'll call the other guards!"

"You don't have any other guards, everyone here is either a worker, or hanging from hooks. All you needed was those two security flunkies and your super drug addicts, isn't that right? Now you're all alone, and I'm going to make an example of you." Ryu cracked his knuckles, ready to inflict some serious harm.

Zane shivered at the intense gaze, and then his eyes lit up with sudden realization. "I know how to deal with you after all! The power of the second stage of Blood runs through my veins, and with it…I invoke a level four Darkness Game!"

An orb of darkness raised around Ryu and Pegasus, trapping them inside with the now cocky business man. "You two, you've never experienced anything like this. It'll be a duel, regardless of if you know how to play! Two on one because I'm generous!" (ZLP: 4000)

A jet black duel disk formed on his arm, deck already in place. Ryu and Pegasus snickered, each of them triggering their own duel disks. Ryu slipped six cards off his deck, taking the advantage of the first turn. "You've made your last mistake. I'm Ryu Shigeru, a professional duelist." (RLP: 4000)

Pegasus drew five to match the five that Zane was holding, his cocky mannerisms returning. "Yes, this could quite well be the stupidest decisions I've ever heard. Since you obviously don't know, I am Pegasus J. Crawford, inventor of Duel Monsters and former champion of the entire game." (PLP: 4000)

Zane frowned, some of his confidence slipping away. But his eyes pulsed red as he drew on the power of the second stage of Blood to reinforce his will. "It doesn't matter; in a Darkness Game with the power of Blood 2 fueling me I am more powerful than any single duelist!"

Ryu shrugged, and tossed out a card. "Keep talking cocky boy. Sapphire Dragon(1900/1600) in attack mode and then I'll throw down two face downs. That's it from my end."

The blue skinned dragon shrieked even as Pegasus drew his own sixth card. "Ooo, what a wonderfully magnificent hand. I suppose I'll start by placing a monster in defense mode." A card appeared horizontally in front of him.

"Then like Ryu-boy I'll cover two cards. Why that's the end of my turn, your chance to show us what you're made of Zaney-boy." Ryu chuckled at the irritated look on Zane's face. It was obvious that Pegasus overly friendly dueling manner caught everyone off guard.

"You better believe I'll show you what I'm made of! I'm made of just what anybody else is: blood! My turn and my draw!" He drew, holding the card up for both of them to see. It was a magic card that showed globes of blood in human form.

"Go magic card, Blood Puppet Ritual! For every increment of one hundred life points I pay I can generate one Blood Puppet(200/200) token, none of whom take up monster zones. So, I pay thirty-nine hundred life points!" He groaned as blood began seeping from the very pores of his skin, coming together until they created thirty-nine individual puppets of blood. (ZLP: 100)

"Each turn….each turn I can sacrifice one Blood Puppet to deal you its attack as damage. Blood Spear on that cocky jerk!" One of the puppets shot forward, slamming into Ryu's body and exploding, spraying him with the thick ichor. (RLP: 3800)

Recovering his breath as his own produced drug replenished him; Zane slipped two of his remaining cards into his duel disk. "Those two face down, and then I'll set a monster in defense mode, just like Pegasus. End turn!"

Ryu drew. "I summon Diamond Soldier(1800/1600) emerges and attacks your face down monster!" A warrior in perfectly shimmering diamond armor was summoned from his card and instantly shot at the set monster, slamming its sword into the face down creature.

"You've fallen for it! Blood Magician(1700/1900) takes control of any monster that it beats in battle, even if that's just in defending! Come to me Diamond Soldier!" The soldier's eyes went vacant as it floated over to Zane's field. (RLP: 3700)

"Actually, that works perfectly well in my own advantage. Even if this attack will damage me, I'm perfectly willing to destroy it. Sapphire Dragon, destroy Diamond Soldier!" A burst of blue crystal flames scorched the warrior, leaving little but ash in its place. (RLP: 3600)

"When Diamond Soldier is destroyed I can take a jeweled dragon from my hand or deck and summon it to the field. So now I'll introduce to you a monster after your own heart, the Bloodstone Dragon(2900/1500)!" A dragon with blood red scales and eyes now stood on Ryu's field, staring down at Blood Magician and Zane as if they were snacks.

Pegasus' eyes widened as he saw what Ryu was intending to do. If he did it wouldn't end well for them. "Ryu, wait a moment!"

Unfortunately for him his dueling partner was already too far into the command to notice his declaration. "Bloodstone Dragon, fricassee that puny magician!" A belch of flames consumed the monster, leaving Zane's field open of monsters.

The dark haired business man smirked, and Ryu gasped as Bloodstone Dragon moved over to Zane's field. "The monster that slays Blood Magician comes under my control. So thank you for the monster. Any other moves?"

Ryu shook his head, berating himself mentally for making such a stupid move. 'Next time I'll wait and hear Pegasus out before making a move like that.'

Now it was Pegasus' turn, and he looked supremely confident. He pointed to his face down monster and it flipped up. What stood on his field was a bearded man with glasses hunched over a desk, drawing something. "Meet Cartoonist(300/500)! He's a lot like me, an artist, and as long as he's in play I can consider 'Toon World' to be in effect."

Ryu let out a sigh of relief, knowing that Pegasus' toons could easily clinch the match. Zane didn't get the significance though, because Toon World was a one of a kind card owned by Pegasus and Pegasus alone. "It's time to activate another of Cartoonist's effect, Art Attack!"

Pegasus held up one of the four cards he was holding and proceeded to insert it into his graveyard. "By discarding a card from my hand Cartoonist lets me special summon a toon from my hand, deck, or cemetery to the field. Meet the cuddly and ultimately powerful Blue Eyes Toon Dragon(3000/2500)!"

A psychotic cartoon form of Seto Kaiba's infamous dragon popped out of one of the pages that the Cartoonist was drawing on, and it began sticking its tongue out at Zane. "That cartoon freak won't be touching me, even if it is slightly stronger than Bloodstone Dragon."

"Indeed, that's true. After all, this toon can't attack the first turn he's summoned. Truly a pity. But since he was a special summon I can also bring out these girls to join the party, Toon Gemini Elves(1900/800)!" A feminine pair of monsters, who would have been seductive beauties if real, had been turned into silly caricatures of their original selves.

"Since these girls can't attack this turn either, why I suppose that's the end of my turn as well. Back to you Zaney-boy." Zane frowned, but immediately pointed at his set cards, which flipped up to reveal themselves as continuous trap cards.

"During your end phase I activate both of my trap cards, Life-Absorbing Machines each of them! During my standby phase each one grants me back half the life points I paid for effects in the previous turn. Together that means I get back it all!" He chuckled as he drew, his life points pumping back up. (ZLP: 4000)

"Blood Spear!" Ryu braced himself as another of the puppets slammed into him, further draining his life points. He could see what was going to happen next, and he nodded to Pegasus to let him know he was fine. (RLP: 3400)

"Now, Bloodstone Dragon will attack Sapphire Dragon!" The larger dragon sent a streamer of flame at the smaller, but Ryu was ready for it. He depressed a button on his disk and one of his two set cards flipped up.

"Simple but easy, Negate Attack stops you in your tracks!" Zane's eyes burned bright red as he saw the trap, and he snapped one of the cards he was holding around in a complete arc so he could show it to Ryu.

"Negative Morality lets me pay one thousand life points to negate one effect! So Negate Attack fizzles, allowing my attack to continue!" Ryu grimaced as the rippling of energy faded away, and the flame slammed into Sapphire Dragon, burning it alive. (RLP: 2400, ZLP: 3000)

"Don't think I don't know Bloodstone Dragon's effect! I pay fifteen hundred life points to double the damage it's done this turn! Feel the pain!" Ryu screamed as flames erupted all around him, scorching his flesh. Worse yet, he was sure he could feel the bite wound bubbling. (RLP: 1400, ZLP: 1500)

The flames faded, letting Ryu go. He staggered, nearly dropping to the ground, but still managed to remain on his feet. Zane looked supremely confident at the sight of the weakened duelist. "That cost twenty-five hundred life points total but…I'll get those life points back next turn won't I?"

"Maybe so but…I've still got a response. Reveal continuous trap card, Gem Mine! Whenever I lose a monster I get to search for and add a jeweled dragon or its rider from my deck to my hand!" A card popped out of his deck which he easily caught.

"That doesn't matter, I've got you where I want you. Set two cards face down, and then end turn!" He sneered at Ryu, who in return sneered right back. Then Ryu drew his card for the turn.

Ryu glanced down at the cards he was holding, and saw a combo ready and waiting. "I play Diabolic Servitude, raising Diamond Soldier from the grave. But he won't stick around, because I tribute him for Emerald Dragon(2400/1000)!"

A larger, green skinned version of Sapphire Dragon appeared, roaring at Bloodstone Dragon. The bigger red skinned dragon just roared right back, drowning out the weaker monster's roar. "Bloodstone Dragon is stronger, but not for long. I use my recovered Diabolic Servitude to bring back Sapphire Dragon!"

Zane shrugged, brushing the monster off. After all, it was much weaker than the monster he had. "You seem too cocky Zane, so I'll teach you a lesson. Activate Union Copy, which lets me discard one card to treat one monster on the field as the union component to another monster I have in play. Now, Sapphire Dragon acts as Emerald Paladin and equips to Emerald Dragon!"

The blue dragon morphed into a green armored warrior and leapt up onto Emerald Dragon's back. "Together at last, and Emerald Dragon now gains three hundred points! Since that's not enough to beat Bloodstone Dragon I'll throw Dragon Treasure into the mix!"

Zane frowned as Emerald Dragon's attack points rose by a total of six hundred points, making it reach three thousand attack. "So it's one hundred points higher than Bloodstone Dragon. What makes you think my set cards aren't traps?"

"I don't know, let's find out. Emerald Burst Stream!" Green flames licked at the edges of Emerald Dragon's mouth, and then with that command it unleashed them. A pure stream of that crystal fire shot out and hit Bloodstone Dragon, making it explode into pixels like so many monsters before it. (ZLP: 1400)

Ryu then gave a nod to Pegasus, who drew for the turn. "Ah yes, perfect. I'll discard another card to bring out the second Blue Eyes Toon Dragon(3000/2500) and then I'll summon on my own a Toon Masked Sorcerer(900/1400)."

Two more cartoon monsters popped out of the pages of the Cartoonist, completely filling all five of Pegasus' monster zones. "Since toons are special summons, I'll tribute Toon Masked Sorcerer to summon Toon Summoned Skull(2500/1200)!"

A crazed cartoon version of the demon monster popped out of the pages of the Cartoonist, joining the other monsters that he had already gathered. "Like my other monsters it cannot attack this turn. However, my first two toons can and will!"

A beam of white light shot from the toon dragon's mouth, while two beams of red energy shot from the hands of the elves. Zane sneered and snapped one arm out to his right, causing the trap that was there to reveal itself. "Shield of Blood! By sacrificing a Blood Puppet while being attacked directly I can negate that attack!"

Two of the Blood Puppets threw themselves in the way of the attack, detonating into a shower of blood that rained over the field. Pegasus frowned, having burned his hand in that turn, just like Ryu had. "Very well, I end my turn." (PLP: 3500)

"Why did your life points go down? I didn't do anything to damage you." The game creator sighed, looking very bored as he explained.

"As long as Toon World is in play, which it is with my Cartoonist in play, I can have my toons attack directly. But some of the stronger ones, like Blue Eyes Toon Dragon, require a five hundred life point cost to attack. That's what happened." Zane's eyes widened as he contemplated receiving a direct attack from each of those toons. He was lucky to have his trap card.

Zane drew, but despite the fact that he held only one card in his hand he seemed supremely confident. "Let's start this turn off like clockwork! Blood Spear!" Ryu groaned as once again he was covered in blood. (RLP: 1200)

He smirked, taking a brief glance down at his set card. "I'm going to turn this duel supremely in my favor by bringing down all of your paltry defenses. And I'll do it with one card alone. Reveal set card, Tribute of Blood!"

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Author's Notes: Okay, got this up. Next I'll do some updating on Rising Star.

Next Time: The horrifying discover made by Ryu, Autumn, and Pegasus goes unnoticed on the other hand of the planet. Despite working together Kai and Takuya seem to be facing an unstoppable foe, and even if they win there are still secrets to be dealt with. But first thing's first…how do you defeat a foe that can't lose?

See it all in, Balancing Equation!

Review Response

Time Mage: As you can see it was more about Am-heh's blood than anything else.

WolfGeneral: You know, you were right. I had about nine hours of sleep, and I feel a lot better.

Darksoulkai: Yeah.

Black Death X: Did you take that description right out of some website? Because I've seen that exact description before.