Field of Screams - Part 3

Chancellor Sheppard stood in his office, looking through the window as another storm raged on outside. His office was dark and the only light present was his computer's monitor, and the occasional lightning flashes. He was greatly concerned for the gates that held the the Sacred Beasts. "Two of the ten gates have abeen unlocked…"

A whirring sound made him look over his shoulder. It was his monitor that whirred to life and showed a dark figure wearing a mask with tubes hanging around it.

"You disappoint me." The figure said. " Your excellent duelists only excel in losing. Why don't you give up and surrender the eight remaining keys now?"

"It's not over!" Sheppard replied. "And if I know my students, they'll never give up, no matter what the odds! I mean after all, they've come to this island to be champions!"

"Hmm, and they'll end up victims. My vampire is ready to feed again." The figure chuckled darkly and the screen turned off.


In the infirmary, Alexis sat at her brother's bedside, hoping for him to get better and wake up. But so far, nothing had changed. The same thing applied to Kaito. Jaden and Andrew were asleep as well, the latter being watched by Clover who was sitting at his bedside.

Alexis turned around and saw Jaden tossing a bit in his sleep, groaning in pain with every movement. "Jaden... get well. After all, with my brother still unconscious, and Zane's soul stolen, we'll need all the help we can get to fight the Shadow Games and that vampire Camula."

Clover stared at Andrew with sad eyes. She noted that he groaned a little in his sleep. "Get some rest, Andrew." She muttered. "As much as you might want to help, you'll need it."

Jenny came into the infirmary at that moment. "Hey." She greeted.

"Hey." They both responded.

Jenny turned to Alexis. "Anything new?" The other Obelisk girl shook her head. She gave her a sympathetic look. "I see." She then walked over to Andrew's bed. "This is insane."

Clover sighed. "Tell me about it. Not only did that bloodsucking hag steal two of the spirit keys, but she also took down Zane by using some crazy soul stealing card. How are we supposed to defeat her?"

As if hearing her question, the half armlet next to Andrew started to glow, surprising the two girls.

"What's going on?" A voice asked weakly. Both of them, plus Alexis, turned their attention towards Kaito who had just woken up. They also noticed his half armlet glowing as well.

But that didn't stop there. They suddenly noticed something else glowing. They turned and saw the half medallion around Jaden's neck acting the same way. And then...

"Ngh…" Hearing the groaning, the girls turned around and saw the half medallion around Atticus' neck glowing too. Not only that, his hand was reaching for it.

"Atticus!" Alexis gasped.

"He's awake!" Jenny added.

"Well I'll be…" Clover muttered.


Meanwhile at the lake, Chazz, Bastion, Shiori and Micheal were standing in front of the unrolled carpet leading to the castle, while Syrus and Chumley were pushing and dragging a reluctant Professor Banner, who had his cat in his arms.

"Come on, Professor Banner." Syrus begged. "You have to duel that vampire! I mean, you're a Shadow Games expert!"

"Yeah! Not only that, you're the only one out here that's wearing garlic aftershave!" Chumley added.

"I can't duel!" Banner protested. "Who will take care of my cat!? And for the record, I don't even have a spirit key!"

"Don't worry about it. This is clearly a job for Chazz Princeton anyway!" The black clad Slifer bragged.

"If you mean feeding the cat, I think you're right." Bastion remarked.

"That's assuming he'll be able to fill in Banner's shoes…" Michael said jokingly, causing Shiori to snicker while Chazz was glaring at them.

"The cavalry's here!" Alexis, Jenny and Clover greeted loudly as they were coming towards the group in a small motorboat. They stopped next to the red carpet and stepped out in the shallow water.

"We don't need Banner when we've got Jaden and Andrew." Clover spoke up.

The two boys in question got up from within the boat's confines.

"Hey guys." Andrew greeted.

"What's up?" Jaden asked.

"For the last time, you can't!" Syrus said.

"Yeah, you're still hurt, Slackers." Chazz reminded them.

"It's true." Bastion added.

"And you're in worse shape, Andrew." Shiori said.

"You shouldn't be here at all." Michael added.

"It's the best we've got." Jenny replied.

Alexis nodded. "See, we were back at the hospital…"


Flashback

"You're finally awake!" Alexis pulled off Atticus' oxygen mask.

He spoke up weakly. "Alexis... I need to tell you about her. The vampire known as Camula. You can not defeat her like the others."

"But why not?" Jenny asked.

"Her necklace." Kaito spoke up, getting the girls' attention. "It's a Shadow Charm that gives her the power to steal souls. I'm sure you've seen her use it already."

Atticus looked down at his medallion half. "But you can stop her with another charm."

"Or in this case, two." Kaito added, glancing at his half armlet.

"Then, with the medallion and the armlet…" Clover said in realization. "…we can stop her from using that Illusion Gate card against us!"

"That's right." Kaito replied. "Just put the halves together, and the charms should push back Camula's power away from anyone. And... before you go, you should know we weren't the only students brainwashed into becoming Shadow Riders. There's one more person. I don't know her real name... but she calls herself Black Thorn."

"Thanks." Jenny said.

Flashback end


"If we can stop her stealing souls, we can duel with all our might, rather than just standing scared." Alexis explained.

"Doesn't scare me." Chazz muttered.

"Speak for yourself!" The Crowler doll in his pocket squeaked.

"So we fight fire with fire." Jenny continued. "We've got our own Shadow Charms!"

"Compliments of Atticus…" Jaden said, showing his medallion halves.

"And Kaito." Andrew added, holding up one half armlet in his right hand, while the other is attached to his arm.

At that, everyone walked inside the castle, with Clover giving Andrew some support since he was still weak after his duel. They entered, more determined than ever. "Alright, Camula, let's go!" Jaden called out. "I'm here for my friends' souls, and I'm not leaving until I get them!" A flock of bats flew out of the darkness. The group dashed through the hallway, trying to avoid the flying bloodsuckers until they reached the room where Zane had been defeated. They looked up and saw the vampire mistress standing on top of one of the balconies.

"Actually, truth be told, dear, you're not leaving here again." She stated. "Not a single one of you are!"

Andrew turned to his Slifer friend. "Jaden, since I'm more exhausted than you are, you can take her on."

"Sounds good to me." He replied.

"Isn't that cute? One duelist relying to another." Camula said mockingly. "Of course, I have a duelist of my own who more than gladly will assist me."

Everyone became confused.

"What? She's got someone else here?" Chazz asked.

"But who is it?" Shiori added.

Camula smirked. "Oh, but she's right here?" Her eyes glowed red.

And at that moment, everyone heard footsteps coming from behind her. The group watched as a figure came out. It was a girl wearing a black, sleeveless top with a collar, a skirt, knee length socks and boots. The group gasped when they saw her face and silver gray hair. Not to mention those red eyes, that appeared to be dull and lifeless for some reason.

"Mahiru!?" Andrew said.

"What is she doing here?" Jenny asked.

Clover turned to the vampire with an angry look. "What did you do to her!?"

Camula chuckled. "Nothing. I just let her visit here... and in exchange, she became my loyal servant." She turned to the goth girl. "Isn't that right?"

Mahiru bowed to her. "Yes, mistress." Her tone was stoic.

"Goodness me! She's being mind controlled!" Bastion pointed out.

"Aw man!" Syrus said.

"Not lishus." Chumley added.

"Let her go, right now!" Jaden demanded.

Camula chuckled again. "The only way for you to free her from my spell is to defeat either her or me in a duel. Now then…" Her necklace started to glow a little as the room was suddenly filled with purple mist, alerting the students, plus Banner.

"Hey! Turn on the light!" Chazz exclaimed.

"Dear me!" Banner said in panic.

This went on for a moment before the mist finally cleared.

"Is everyone okay?" Alexis asked. But then she noticed that someone was missing. "Jenny? Jenny, where are you?"

The others realized that as well, and noticed that Jenny wasn't the only one missing.

"Wait! Where is Shiori?" Bastion asked.

"And Michael and Clover?" Syrus added.

"And Andrew?" Jaden said. He then turned to the vampire mistress. "What did you do to them!?"

Camula chuckled. "Oh, I just gave them some privacy. Behold!"

The group almost jumped as more purple mist erupted from the floor in the middle of the room. But instead of filling up the whole room, the mist swirled around until it formed a sphere. And then, an image was formed within it...


Andrew, Shiori, Michael, Jenny and Clover gasped when the mist cleared, and realized they weren't inside the castle anymore. Instead, they found themselves in a cemetery. And it was definitely not a nice place. Purple mist. Dead trees. Tombstones everywhere. Not to mention the sky was violet with an orange full moon as the only source of light.

"Wait a sec! Weren't we in that castle a second ago?" Shiori asked in bewilderment.

"What is this place?" Michael wondered.

"And how did we end up her?" Jenny added.

Clover looked grim. "Camula! Somehow, she teleported us."

"But why?" Andrew asked.

"To make sure that she gets your remaining spirit keys." A familiar voice spoke up. Everyone turned and saw Mahiru standing in front of them with a duel disk on her arm. Her look was as stoic and lifeless as before.

"Mahiru!" Jenny said.

"Prepare to duel... and to hand over your keys."

"Come on, Mahiru! Snap out of it!" The fairy duelist called out.

"It's no use." Michael said grimly. "She's fully controlled by Camula."

"Which means we have to duel her." Andrew added as he tried to stand on his own, but grunted in pain.

"Andrew, you're still in bad shape." Clover said.

Shiori stepped forward with a determined look on his face. "Take it easy, pal. I'll duel her."

"Are you sure? She's pretty tough." Jenny pointed out.

"Positive. It won't be easy, but I can do this."

Michael nodded to him. "Good luck then."

Shiori walked forward as he activated his duel disk. "Alright, Mahiru. As much as I hate to do this, I'm going to knock some sense into you, no matter what it takes."

"You cannot win." Mahiru replied bluntly. "None of you can. Once my mistress unlocks all the spirit gates, the Sacred Beasts will be unleashed, and the whole world shall fall to its knees."

"We'll see about that." Shiori retorted as both of them drew their opening hands.

"Duel!"

Shiori: 4000

Mahiru: 4000

"I'll go first." Mahiru drew. "I summon Pyramid Turtle in defense mode." The turtle with the pyramid-like shell appeared. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1400 LV: 4) "Then I'll place one card facedown and end my turn." A card appeared behind the turtle.

"Then here goes!" Shiori drew his sixth card. "I summon Alexandrite Dragon in attack mode!" The jewel scaled dragon appeared. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 100 LV: 4) "Now attack her Pyramid Turtle!"

"Shiori, wait!" Andrew called out. But it was too late. The dragon reared back its head and spat a torrent of flames, burning the turtle to a crisp.

"You activated Pyramid Turtle's special ability." Mahiru spoke up. "When it's destroyed in battle, I can summon a zombie type monster with up to 2000 defense points. Zombie Mammoth, arise." True to its name, the new monster that appeared was a zombiefied mammoth. (ATK: 1900 DEF: 0 LV: 4)

Shiori blinked. 'I expected something more than that.' He then narrowed his eyes. 'But still, I can't let my guard down.' He inserted a card into his duel disk. "I end my turn with a facedown."

Mahiru drew her next card. "Reveal facedown card." The card in question flipped up. "Creature Swap."

Shiori gasped.

"This spell card forces each player to choose a monster from their respective side of the field. And then, those two monsters switch places. And we both only have one monster each." Zombie Mammoth and Alexandrite Dragon were enveloped in light. When it died down, they were on the opposite sides of the field.

"This sucks." The ritual duelist muttered.

"Now to pay the prize." Mahiru continued. "Since you have no zombie type monsters in your graveyard, Zombie Mammoth is automatically destroyed. Not only that. When it's destroyed, its controller takes damage equal to its original attack points."

"No way!" Shiori stepped back as the mammoth exploded.

Shiori: 4000-2100

Andrew and the others looked at their friend worriedly as he fell on the ground.


Back in the castle, the remaining key keepers watched as the orb of purple mist showed them the ongoing duel.

"Okay, what happened to them. Where are they?" Jaden wondered.

"If I were you, I'd be worrying about the situation occurring here." Camula replied. "After all, you still have to deal with me."

Jaden glared at her before he went up the stairs leading to the balcony opposite the Shadow Rider. And then, both of them activated their duel disks and drew their opening hands.

Jaden: 4000

Camula: 4000

"Alright, Camula! Get your game on! And I mean on high, Camula!" Jaden declared as he drew his sixth card. "Cuz when someone duels my pals and turns their souls into dolls, it puts me in a bad mood!"

"And let me tell you something. I don't care."

"Maybe this will change your mind! Polymerization! I fuse Elemental Heroes Avian, Sparkman, and Bubbleman!" The three named monsters appeared before starting to merge together. "Now introducing, Elemental HERO Tempest!" The three heroes became a flash of blue, green and yellow light, which formed a shining orb, from which emerged the powerful man with armor and wings. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2800 LV: 8)

"Wow!" Syrus exclaimed. "What a way to start the duel!"

"Jaden wants to end this quickly." Bastion stated. "And with Tempest out there, he might just be able to do it."

"I wouldn't count Camula out just yet." Chazz said.

"Yes." Banner nodded. "After all, we've seen how strong her cards can be. Especially that Illusion Gate."

"We'll just have to hope she doesn't get a chance to play it." Alexis murmured.

"Last, I'll throw down a facedown." Jaden inserted a card into his duel. "Let's see what you got!"

"Well well. If you're in such a hurry to lose. Alright, I play…" Camula drew a card and looked at it. She smirked before she revealed it. "…Ilusion Gate!" The stone archway and door rose up behind her.

"It had to be that one." Jaden said sarcastically.

"I'm sure you remember its effects. To begin, all monsters on the field are instantly destroyed. Then I get to summon any monster you've played." Camula's necklace glowed again. "And all I need to pay for all of this, is a soul to the Sacred Beasts, should I happen to lose this duel. Now who's going to be the lucky one?" The Illusion Gate opened and black smoke came out of it, surrounding the audience, causing them to cough. And without anyone noticing, some of the smoke entered the dark sphere that was showing the duel between Shiori and Mahiru.


Speaking of whom, the ritual duelist groaned as he got back on his feet.

"Are you okay?" Andrew asked.

"I'll be fine. It's gonna take more than that to take me down!"

"Then I'll just continue…" Mahiru replied as she was about to play something else, before she noticed something appear from above. Whatever it was, it caused her to smirk.

"I don't like that look on her face." Michael muttered.

"What's she up to?" Jenny wondered.

Clover was about to say something, but noticed something come from above. "What the…" It was then that the audience was surrounded by black smoke and started to cough.

Shiori was shocked by this. "What's going!?"

"It appears my mistress' Illusion Gate has been activated." Mahiru said.

The ritual duelist gasped. "Oh no!"


Jaden watched in shock at his friends' suffering.

"Oh dear me. This decision is just far too hard to make." Camula said smirking. "Why don't I just put all your friends at stake?"

"What!?" Jaden exclaimed. "All of them!?"

"Never underestimate the power of the shadow. With this necklace, I can do anything."

Just as Jaden started to get worried, his medallion halves were accidentally put together. As soon as that happened, a bright light began to shine from it.


Back in the cemetery, Shiori watched in horror as his friends suffered the black smoke.

"Looks like Jaden is about to lose, unless he's willing to give up the souls of his friends." Mahiru stated with a cruel smirk.

While coughing, Andrew pulled out the half armlet he got from Kaito. 'Not if I can help it.' He then connected it to the one on his arm. At that moment, the Shadow Charm unleashed a bright light that pushed the black smoke back where it came from.

"What!?" Mahiru said with wide eyes.

Shiori smiled. "Nice!"

"What do you know? The Shadow Charm works!" Michael commented.

"And knowing Jaden, he's using his own Shadow Charm right now." Jenny added.

"Good timing, Andrew." Clover complimented.

"Thanks." The hero duelist nodded.


Back in the castle, Camula watched in shock as the light from Jaden's medallion pushed the black smoke away from the audience.

"What happened?" Chazz wondered.

"Jaden's Shadow Charm cancelled the power of her necklace." Alexis explained.

"And look." Banner pointed to the black sphere, from which even more black smoke was forced out by some light. "It looks like Camula was trying to put the others' souls at stake as well. But it seems that Andrew was able to use his Shadow Charm as well."

"Just in time!" Bastion added. "I thought we were all done for."

Camula screamed as the light forced the Illusion Gate's doors closed. Jaden's medallion dimmed down to its original state.

'Thanks Atticus. And you too, Andrew. I couldn't have done it without ya.' Jaden thought to himself before he focused on his opponent. "Looks like if you still want to use Illusion Gate, you'll have to do some soul searching without my friends."

Camula's response to that was a glare.

"So what do you say you put that cheating card away and get on with this duel?"

The vampire hissed. "I think not! Illusion Gate, open your doors and accept my soul as a sacrifice! And now, unleash your powers upon the field." The doors opened up again and fired a stream of purple energy which destroyed Jaden's hero monster.

"Tempest!"

While the Illusion Gate absorbed some ashes from the fallen hero, Camula spoke up. "Oh don't you worry, you'll see him again soon. But he'll be fighting for me!" The archway's doors closed themselves for a moment before opening up again, allowing Tempest to return to the field, but he was a little darker looking than before. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2800 LV: 8) "Next I'll summon Zombie Werewolf in attack mode!" The gray furred lycanthrope appeared next to the stolen hero. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "Now, Elemental HERO Tempest, attack Jaden!" The hero monster shot out a stream of blue energy at Jaden from his cannon. The Slifer cried out in pain as his friends gasped worriedly.

Jaden: 4000-1200

"And I'm not done yet!" Camula said, smiling triumphantly. "Now... Zombie Werwolf, atta…" But she suddenly noticed Tempest groaning and acted strange. "Tempest? What is wrong?"

Jaden snickered. "Guess he doesn't like his new boss. But you can forget the two week-notice. I think I'll just play my trap, Cross Heart!" He referred to the now faceup trap card. "And that puts Tempest back on my side."

"What!?" Camula watched as Tempest's appearance turned back to normal as he returned to Jaden's field. That caused Illusion Gate to disappear. The vampire mistress scowled. "Go ahead and take him back. I will still win."

"Looks like Jaden's learned a few new tricks." Chazz commented.

"I hope so." The Crowler doll said.

"There's more where that came from!" Jaden drew a card. "Alright! Time to teach that werewolf pooch a few new tricks! Like how to play dead!" Tempest another energy beam at Zombie Werewolf, causing it to howl in pain before shattering into pixels.

Camula: 4000-2400

Camula chuckled. "How quickly you forget. When you destroy my werewolf, another one comes from my deck with a little surprise. 500 more attack points." A second werewolf appeared and howled. (ATK: 1200-1700 DEF: 1200 LV: 4)

"Maybe a facedown will tame him." Jaden said hopefully as he placed a card facedown.

'Fool! You have much more to worry about than just him. This next turn shall prove that.' At that Camula drew. "I play the spell Pot of Greed. Now I may draw two more cards." After she drew her extra cards, she chuckled lightly upon seeing them. "Jaden... tell me, do you know the only thing worse than a vampire mistress? A vampire mistress with a grudge."

That made Jaden slightly worried.

"Goodbye my werewolf! I sacrifice you to summon Vampire Lord!" The werewolf disappeared and was replaced by the gentleman vampire. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1500 LV: 5) "And now, I'll remove him from play to summon forth... Vampire Genesis!" The large, purple vampire behemoth rose up in Vampire Lord's place. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 2100 LV: 8)

"Did you see that?" Syrus asked.

"Unfortunately." Chumley answered.

"3000 attack points!" Chazz noted.

"And a powerful special ability to boot." Bastion added. "Jaden will have his work cut out for him."

"Next I'll use the spell card, Genesis Crisis!" A spell card appeared behind Genesis himself. "Now, every turn, a zombie type monster is transferred directly from my deck and into my hand." She took a card from her deck and revealed it. It was a monster known as Ryu Kokki. "And with Vampire Genesis, I can discard that monster to the graveyard to summon another one. It can be any zombie monster, as long as it is a lower level. So I'll be discarding Ryu Kokki to bring back vamp's best friend, Zombie Werewolf!" The named monster reappeared and howled. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "Now if I recall, your Elemental HERO cannot be destroyed in battle, as long as you sacrifice one of the other cards on your field."

Jaden gasped and glanced at his facedown card.

"And it seems you have one. Pity if something should happen to it. Like for example, if it disappeared…" Camula held up a spell card. "Due to my Giant Trunade!" The spell card unleashed a green-colored wind that caused Jaden's facedown card, along with Camula's Genesis Crisis, disappear. And at the next moment, each card was back in its owner's hand.

"How did she know to do that?" Syrus wondered.

"I don't know." Bastion admitted. "Camula knows our decks better than anyone. And what's more, she's calculated a perfect strategy against them."

"So, isn't the villain supposed to tell the charming hero how she did it?" Jaden asked. "Cuz I'm all ears."

Camula's eyes glowed red before she answered. "You didn't think my bats were just for decoration, did you?" A few bats appeared and flew around her. "They were spying on each and every one of you! And just as they told me the weaknesses of your pathetic little friends, Crowler and Zane, they told me yours. You can't win! And with the information I shared with my little servant, Mahiru, your friends won't stand a chance either!"

Jaden glared at her. "We'll see about that!"


Some time earlier

Back in the cemetery, Andrew's armlet glowed for a moment before the light died down.

"What did you do?" Mahiru demanded.

Andrew smirked. "I just stopped Camula from stealing our souls."

"Which means we're safe." Michael added.

"Looks like your 'mistress' won't have it her ways." Shiori commented. "So how about we continue?"

Mahiru scowled. "So be it. I summon Gozuki in attack mode." A black bull demon with a big hammer rose next to Alexandrite Dragon. (ATK: 1700 DEF: 800 LV: 4) "Next I'll use the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your facedown card." A whirlwind appeared and blew Shiori's card away.

"That was his only defense!" Clover pointed out.

"Now he's wide open!" Jenny added.

"Now, Alexandrite Dragon, attack him directly!" The dragon shot out flames from its mouth.

"I don't think so!" Shiori took a card from his hand and slid it into his graveyard slot. And then, a small creature appeared in front of him. To everyone's surprise, it looked like Kuriboh. But instead of having a furry body like the original, this one had a metallic, sphere-like body. The monster blocked the fire attack before it shattered into pixels. And it was then the dragon crouched down.

"What? What is this?" Mahiru asked.

Shiori smirked. "This is Sphere Kuriboh's special ability. By sending it from my hand to the graveyard, I can force your attacking monster to switch to defense mode."

The goth girl scowled again. "Fine I'll just attack you with Gozuki." The bull demon swung his hammer at Shiori, causing him to fall on the ground.

Shiori: 2100-0400

He groaned as he rose up again. "Man, that hurt!"

"It's not over yet." Mahiru continued. "I activate Gozuki's special ability. Once per turn, I can send a zombie type monster from my deck to the graveyard." She took a card from her deck and slid it into the graveyard slot. "I end my turn."

"Finally!" Shiori drew a card and looked at it. He smiled. "Perfect! I activate the ritual spell card End of the World! For this ritual, I sacrifice Djinn Demolisher of Rituals and Djinn Presider of Rituals…" The red and green, chubby fiends appeared. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 600 LV: 3) (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1400 LV: 4) "And while I'm at it, I sacrifice... Sphere Kuriboh!" The small, metallic creature appeared as well. (AT: 300 DEF: 200 LV: 1)

"But that monster is in your graveyard!" Mahiru protested.

"That's right. And that lets me use his second ability. By removing him from play, I can use him as a sacrifice when I ritual summon a monster. And now you guys, make some room for Ruin, Queen of Oblivion!" The three monsters disappeared, and the elegant, white-haired woman with the red scepter took their place. (ATK: 2300 DEF: 2000 LV: 8)

"That's one of his best monsters." Michael noted.

"And with the monsters Shiori sacrificed for her, she's not a monster to take lightly." Andrew added.

"Now Ruin, destroy her Gozuki with Blast of Oblivion!" The woman conjured a ball of energy with her scepter and blasted the bull demon.

Mahiru: 4000-3400

"You just activated Gozuki's second ability. When it's sent to the graveyard, I can remove a zombie type monster from my graveyard and summon another one from my hand." Mahiru took Pyramid Turtle from her graveyard slot. "Now, say hello to Patrician of Darkness." An new monster rose up in Gozuki's place. It looked like a blue-skinned man with white hair and pointy ears. He was clad in red robes with black shoulder plates. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1400 LV: 5)

Shiori raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're planning to do with that monster, but I won't let you get me. Especially since Djinn Presider of Rituals gave Ruin a handy ability. Every time she destroys a monster in battle, I get to draw one card from my deck." He drew. "And here comes her very own ability. If she destroys a monster in battle, she can attack a second time." The woman conjured another energy ball. "And don't think you can stop her attack. Because thanks to my Djinn Demolisher, you can't target her with card effects." At that, Ruin fired her energy ball, which went straight toward Patrician of Darkness.

As it got closer, Mahiru smirked. "I might not be able to stop your attack... but I can do this" And it was then the blue-skinned man's eyes glowed red. This confused Shiori for a moment.

And then, his confusion was replaced by shock when the energy ball changed direction and destroyed Alexandrite Dragon. "What the heck!?"

"My Patrician of Darkness allowed me to get around your monster's ability. As long as he remains on the field, I can choose the target for your attacks."

"No way!" Jenny gasped.

Clover almost grimaced. "That is one clever move."

Shiori clicked. "Okay, you got me there, but at least I get to draw another card." He drew his extra card. "I play two facedowns and end my turn." Two cards appeared at his feet.

Mahiru drew her next card. "First I'll activate the spell card Book of Life. This lets me summon a zombie type monster from my graveyard, and then take a monster from your graveyard and remove it from play. Now watch as I summon forth the Vampire's Curse." The blue-skinned man was joined by a man with purple skin and blue hair. He was wearing a dark suit with dark-purple armor. He also had one bat wing that rose from his shoulder while the other was covered by a red cloak. (ATK. 2000 DEF: 800 LV: 6) "And out of all the monsters in your graveyard, I remove Djinn Demolisher of Rituals."

The named card came out of Shiori's graveyard slot. "Great." He muttered sarcastically.

"And now I activate the field spell Vampire Kingdom." Once she inserted her card into her duel disk, the orange moon was suddenly glowing red instead. And the whole cemetery was replaced by a dark town. Looking at Mahiru's side of the field, everyone could see a castle standing atop a hill.

"What is this place?" Andrew asked as he and the others became a little nervous at this eerie scenery.

"For you... your tomb." Mahiru replied sinisterly. "With this field spell in play, zombie type monsters gain 500 attack points when they're in battle. Now it's time to say goodbye to your so called queen! Vampire's Curse, attack!" The vampire hissed and dashed towards Ruin.

"I activate my trap card, Reinforcements!" One of Shiori's facedown cards flipped up. "With this, I can increase a monster's attack strength by 500 points for one turn. And I'll add those points to Ruin." The named monster was surrounded by a blue aura. (ATK: 2300-2800) The vampire got even closer and was prepared to sink his fangs into his prey. (ATK: 2000-2500) But Ruin raised her scepter and blasted him with an energy ball.

Mahiru: 3400-3100

"And with another monster destroyed, I get to draw another card." Shiori drew.

"Nice one, Shiori!" Andrew cheered.

But Mahiru chuckled. "You may have survived this round, but you might not be so lucky next time." She was now suddenly surrounded by a red aura, surprising the key keepers. "When Vampire's Curse is destroyed in battle, I can pay 500 life points, so he can return during the standby phase of the next turn."

Mahiru: 3100-2600

Shiori frowned. "That's not good."

"To end my turn, I summon Soul Absorbing Bone Tower in defense mode." A tower of bones shot from the ground next to Patrician of Darkness. (ATK: 400 DEF: 1500 LV: 3)

"Alright then, my move." Shiori drew.

"And with that, Vampire's Curse comes back from the grave." True to Mahiru's words, the vampire rose up on the field. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 800 LV: 6) "And here's a little surprise. Since he was summoned by his own effect, Vampire's Curse gains 500 attack points." (ATK: 2000-2500)

"No way!" Shiori muttered in shock.

"Just great. Like that monster wasn't strong enough." Clover remarked.

"This isn't good." Michael murmured.

"I'm afraid it gets worse." Mahiru continued. "My Bone Tower has a special ability. Whenever a zombie type monster is special summoned, two cards are sent from the top of your deck to the graveyard." Shiori looked grim as he took his two top cards and slid them into his graveyard slot. "And with that done, I activate Vampire Kingdom's second effect. Once per turn, after a card is sent from your deck to the graveyard, I can send a dark Vampire monster from my deck to the graveyard, and then, I can destroy one card on the field.

"Seriously?" Andrew asked in shock.

"But wait! Ruin can't be targeted by her effects." Jenny reminded him.

"Perhaps. But with Vampire Kingdom, that monster is not an issue. On the other hand…" Mahiru eyed on Shiori's facedown card. "I believe that facedown card might be troublesome. So I'll get rid of a Vampire monster to destroy it." She took a card from her deck and slid it into her graveyard slot. After that, a familiar gentleman vampire appeared for a second before he disappeared. And then, Shiori's facedown card was surrounded by a red aura before it shattered into pixels. "Now you're unable to use it." Mahiru stated.

But to her confusion, Shiori laughed. "Actually, what you did, was exactly what I needed." And it was then, a trap card appeared. "The card you destroyed was Wild Tornado. And by destroying it, you activated its effect, which allows me to destroy one faceup card on the field. There goes your Vampire's Curse."

Mahiru gasped as a tornado came into existence and blew the named vampire.

"Nice!" Michael grinned. "Since that vampire was destroyed by a card effect, he can't return to the field."

"True, but wouldn't it be better if he destroyed the field spell?" Clover wondered.

Shiori smirked, and held up a spell card. "I was about to do that, by using my very own Mystical Space Typhoon." The card created a cyclone that blew at Mahiru's field, causing her field spell tray to pop open, and Vampire Kingdom disappeared, bringing everyone back to the cemetery. "And now it's battle time! Ruin, attack!" The white-haired woman shot two energy balls, destroying the Patrician and Bone Tower.

Mahiru: 2600-2300

"Two monsters destroyed, two extra cards for me." Shiori drew his extra cards and inserted one of them into his duel disk. "I end my turn with a facedown."

Mahiru glared at him. "I'll get you for this." She drew. "I activate Pot of Greed, so I can draw two cards." She drew her extra cards and looked at them. She couldn't help but chuckle at what she got.

"What did you get?" Shiori demanded.

"Just something my mistress decided to share me with. I summon Vampire Bat in defense mode." The big, creepy bat appeared on the field. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "Then I'll end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared behind it.

"Vampire Bat?" Clover repeated.

"That's one of the monsters Camula used against Crowler." Michael said.

"And that monster is bad news." Jenny added. "When it's on the field, it gives all zombie type monsters, including itself, 200 attack points." (ATK: 800-1000)

"But that's not the worst of it." Andrew pointed out.

Shiori looked worried as he heard his friends. 'He's right. That Vampire Bat can save itself from destruction by simply sending another one from the deck to the graveyard. Which means my Ruin's attack won't do so much.' He drew. "I summon Battle Footballer in defense mode." The familiar football player rose next to Ruin. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 2100 LV: 4) "I end my turn."

Mahiru drew a card. "Prepare yourself, key keeper. I activate the spell card known as Card of Safe Return." A spell card appeared on her field. "From now on, I can draw three cards when a monster is summoned from the graveyard. And now I play my trap card…" Her facedown card flipped up. "Return of the Zombies!"

"Uh oh!" Shiori widened his eyes.

"With this, I can remove a zombie type monster on the field from play and summon another one from the graveyard in defense mode. So I'll remove Vampire Bat, and then summon Vampire Lord!" The bat disappeared and was replaced by the gentleman vampire. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1500 LV: 5) "And with him resurrected, I draw three cards." Mahiru drew.

"This is bad." Andrew said.

"Big time." Clover added.

It was then Mahiru gave her opponent a cruel smirk. "I got just what I need. Thanks to my mistress, you're finished. I remove Vampire Lord in order to summon Vampire Genesis!" The gentleman disappeared and the purple, vampire behemoth rose up on the field. (ATK: 3000 DEF: 2100 LV: 8)

"Uwah!" Jenny shuddered. "That monster, too?"

"What else did Camula give her?" Michael wondered.

"I'm glad you asked." Mahiru replied. "She gave me this; Genesis Crisis!" A spell card appeared. "With this card in play, I can add a zombie type monster from my deck to my hand." She took a card and held it up. It was Vampire Vamp. "And then I'll use Vampire Genesis' ability. By discarding a zombie type monster, I can summon another one from my graveyard, as long as its level is lower than the one I discard. So I'll get rid of Vampire Vamp to summon back my old friend, Vampire's Curse!" The vampire with purple armor revealed rose up next to Genesis. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 800 LV: 6)

Shiori grimaced. "Not him again!"

"Unfortunately, it's true. And with him summoned from the graveyard, I get to draw three more cards." Mahiru drew. "And now I activate Terraforming. This spell card lets me add a field spell from my deck. And I know just the one." She took a card from her deck and held it up "Now I play my second Vampire Kingdom!" And just like that, everyone was back in the dark town.

"You must be joking." Andrew muttered.

"It's time to claim my prize. Vampire Genesis, destroy his Ruin, now!" The behemoth turned itself into a flow of crimson mist that flew straight toward Shiori's ritual monster. (ATK: 3000-3500)

"I activate a trap!" Shiori interrupted. "And this is a move I'm borrowing from one of my friends!" His facedown card flipped up. "Covering Fire! This lets me increase my monster's attack points with the same amount as the attack strength from my other monster. Which means my Battle Footballer will share his points with Ruin." Some energy were transferred from the footballer to the ritual monster. (ATK: 2300-3300)

"That's not enough!" The mist surrounded Ruin and destroyed her.

Shiori: 0400-0200

(ATK: 3500-3000) "And now, Vampire's Curse, eliminate his Battle Footballer!" The armored vampire dashed forward… (ATK: 2000-2500) and clawed the footballer, causing him to explode. (ATK: 2500-2000) "I place a card facedown and end my turn by activating the effect of Return of the Zombies. By returning a zombie that I have removed from the game, I can place it back on the field." Two cards appeared at Mahiru's feet as she shuffled Vampire Bat back into her deck. "It's hopeless for you. Thanks to my mistress, I know all your cards and strategies. No matter what you'll do, you can't win. Juts give up and surrender your key."

"Don't listen to her!" Andrew called out. "I know you can win this, Shiori! There's always hope!"

"Not this time!" Mahiru retorted. "Don't you see? I told you, I know all your weaknesses! You have no chance against me!"


Back to Jaden's duel

"And now, Vampire Genesis, go and attack that Tempest!" Camula commanded her best monster. "Crimson Storm!" The vampire behemoth turned itself into a crimson mist, which caught Tempest full center and destroyed him.

"So much for that Elemental HERO Tempest." Chazz commented. "Now Jaden's out there like a sitting duck."

"And I think that Zombie Werwolf likes duck. This could be it, guys." Syrus said nervously.

"This is very anti-lishus." Chumley added.

After Vampire Genesis returned to her field, Camula laughed sinisterly. "You're through! Zombie Werewolf, attack Jaden directly!" The werwolf howled as it leapt towards the Slifer and clawed him. The spectators gasped as he groaned and stumbled a little. But to Camula's confusion, he didn't fall. "Well? Fall down! You should have no more life points left!"

As a response, Jaden laughed. "Guess again, Camula!"

"How is this?" The vampire asked.

"Insurance is how." Jaden held up a trap card. "When you sent this facedown card back to my hand, its effect went off and I got 500 life points just in time.

Jaden: 0300

Camula scowled. "I see. How fortunate for you. But you just postpone the inevitable. I activate the magic of Genesis Crisis. And now I'll add yet another zombie monster from my deck to my hand." The card she added to her hand was Despair from the Dark.

"Jaden's hanging on, but still, Camula has way more life points than him." Alexis remarked.

"For sure." Chazz agreed. "Shadow Charm or not, how could we ever let him duel Camula? He's just not at the top of his game. We might as well hand over our spirit keys right now."

"There's always hope." Bastion pointed out. "But I'll admit, with that Vampire Genesis and Genesis Crisis on the field, there isn't much of it."

"Let's bargain with her." Banner suggested. "Maybe put her in touch with a local blood bank."

"I think this is bigger than that, Professor." Jaden said. "I mean sure, vampires crave blood, but I think this one craves our spirit keys a lot more."

"Pathetic mortal." Camula spoke. "You have no idea what I crave. Centuries ago, the vampires were a proud and peaceful race. We lived in harmony with our mortal brothers and sisters. That is, until the dark times... until the war. No one knew who struck first, but the fighting was fierce. Neither soldier nor child was spared the horror as hatred decimated both our peoples. I, the last of my race, had no choice but to go into hiding. For years, I slept, a coffin as my home, then a stranger approached, the dark power of shadow coursed through his veins. He offered me a choice; spend an eternity in my tomb, or accept his Shadow Charm and join his quest for the Sacred Beast cards. For each duelist that I would beat in battle, their soul would be mine…" While speaking, she pulled out the Zane doll. "Which I would use to resurrect my defeated army of vampires. And we would suck our revenge from the bloated vein of humanity!"

"Wow! A little too much information there." Jaden said. "So, if I go down right now… you'll get my key and my soul to start a vampire army?"

"You're smart for a mortal. Perhaps you'll do us both a favor and just give up, Jaden. I will make it painless."

"Lady, if you think that I'm gonna give up, you really have gone baddy." Jaden looked down at his deck as he was about to draw. 'Alright, it's down to this...'


"Don't you get it? It's impossible for you to win." Mahiru stated. "Just give up already."

"Come on, Mahiru! You have to pull yourself together!" Jenny pleaded. "Camula's controlling you! Mahiru, please!"

Andrew turned to Shiori. "Come on, Shiori. You gotta fight back! You can't give up!"

The ritual duelist was silent, and looked like he was staring at the ground. But that didn't last long as he turned to his friends, smiling confidently. "Don't worry, I wasn't planning to. There's no way we can let that vampire hag get away with this."

Mahiru scoffed. "You are a fool."

Shiori turned to his opponent. "Wrong. I'm about to win and set you free. Just watch!" He drew. "I play the Card of Demise! This lets me draw until I have 5 cards in my hand." He drew his extra cards. "I activate the Black Illusion Ritual!"

"Another ritual spell?" Clover asked.

Michael grinned. "Yeah. And a really good one, too."

"For my sacrifice, I remove Djinn Disserere of Rituals from graveyard." The brown-skinned fiend with his big shield appeared. (ATK: 200 DEF: 200 LV: 1)

"That was never sent to your graveyard." Mahiru protested.

"Actually, it was, thanks to your Soul Absorbing Bone Tower." Shiori replied, making her realize what he meant. "And now I summon Relinquished!" The shield wielding fiend disappeared and was replaced by the golden eyed creature with its vein covered body. (ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1) "And now for his special effect. He can absorb one of your monsters to add its attack and defense points to his own. So I'll be taking your Vampire Genesis." The Relinquished's circle opened up and started to suck in the named vampire monster...

"I don't think so!" Mahiru interrupted as one of her facedown cards flipped up. "I'll use my Return of the Zombies to remove my Genesis from play and summon another monster from my graveyard." The purple behemoth disappeared, and Relinquished stopped its assault. And then, to everyone's confusion, Genesis Crisis and Vampire's Curse shattered into pixels.

"What just happened?" Clover Wondered.

"I don't know." Andrew admitted.

"If I don't have Vampire Genesis on the field, Genesis Crisis is destroyed, along with all zombie type monsters on my field. I didn't want this to happen, but you forced me. Now, with the effect of Return of the Zombies, I summon Vampire Vamp!" The silver-haired vampire woman with bat wings and horns appeared and kneeled down. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 2000 LV: 7) "And since your Relinquished already activated its effect when I removed Vampire Genesis, it can't use it again this turn."

Shiori gritted his teeth.

"No!" Jenny gasped disbelieved. "That means he'll be defenseless!"

"So this is it?" Clover asked, feeling the same. "He's about to lose?"

"It's not over!" Andrew replied, still feeling determined. "Shiori can still win this."

"Dude, I don't want to sound negative, but I don't see how he's gonna turn this around." Michael admitted.

"Like I said, it's impossible." Mahiru spoke. "I know your decks all too well. There's nothing you do I can't predict."

But Shiori smirked and held up a card, confusing her opponent. "It's all thanks to Camula's bats, right? I remembered that she used them to spy on us. So I added something extra into my deck."

"What!?"

"Now say hello to the newest addition to my deck!" A light pillar erupted next to Relinquished. When it died down, everyone could see a new monster. It looked similar to Dark Eyes Illusionist. But its's entire body, minus its arms, was more golden than the original. It also had a purple ring with spikes circling around its lower body.

"What on earth is that!?" Mahiru demanded.

"This is my Millennium Eyes Illusionist. And this monster has a nice ability. First I'll discard it from my hand…" Shiori slid the card into his graveyard slot. "And then, I get to choose an effect monster on your field. And then, I can equip it to a restrict fusion monster or… Relinquished!"

Mahiuru's eyes widened as the golden creature turned into golden particles and entered the ritual monster's body. And then, its circle opened up and started its vacuum effect again. And this time, it was aimed at Vampire Vamp, who ended being sucked into the circle. And then, her upper body appeared on one of Relinquished's armor pieces.

"And here's the best part; due to Millennium Eyes Illusionist's effect, that monster is treated as being equipped by the equipped monster's effect."

Now his friends were full of hope again.

"Awesome!" Andrew cheered. "That means Relinquished just absorbed that vampire's attack and defense points!" (ATK: 0-2000 DEF: 0-2000)

Mahiru glared at her opponent. "You little…"

"Hold on! I'm not done yet! Now I activate the spell card Ritual Weapon!" A spell card appeared. "This card gives my ritual monster 1500 attack and points." (ATK: 2000-3500 DEF: 800-2300) "And then I'll play another equip spell, Opti-Camouflage Armor!" Another spell card appeared, and Relinquished was surrounded by a white aura.

"What's that do?" Andrew asked.

"Beats me." Michael replied.

"Now Relinquished, strike her down with Pilfered Power Attack!" The ritual monster started to absorb energy from Vampire Vamp.

Mahiru smirked. "You forgot about my other facedown!" The card in question flipped up. "Haunted Shrine! Since I have no monsters on my field, I can summon a zombie type monster from my graveyard. And I resurrect Vampire's Curse!" The purple-armored vampire appeared again. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 800 LV: 6) "And with him on my field, attacking now will be pointless! I'd just summon him back again."

The audience started to get worried.

But Shiori smirked. "Good thing I don't need to attack him.

"Huh?" Mahiru blinked.

"Haven't you wondered about why I equipped Relinquished with Opti-Camouflage armor? I did it because I knew you would play something to summon a monster and use it as a shield. Because even with a new monster on your field, your life points aren't safe. You see, thanks to my equip spell, Relinquished has the ability to bypass your monster and attack you directly!"

Mahiru gasped. "No way!"

His friends cheered.

"Now Relinquished, end this!" At that, the ritual monster shot a beam of light energy at Mahiru, who cried out and passed out.

Mahiru: 2300-0000

As the holograms disappeared, the key keepers approached the goth girl, who lay on the ground.

"How is she?" Michael asked.

Shiori kneeled down and checked on her. When he did, she stirred a little. "She's okay."

That made the group sigh in relief.

"Good." Jenny said.

"At least it's over." Andrew added.

"Not really." Clover disagreed. "We may have saved Mahiru, but the others are still confronting Camula."

The masked hero duelist frowned. "Oh yeah, you're right. Let's hope that they're…" But he was interrupted by the purple mist, which started to swirl around the group like a tornado.

"Oh, what now!?" Shiori asked he and his friends were forced to close their eyes.


And just as Jaden was about to make his move, everyone noticed something strange happening to the sphere made of purple mist. Its shape started to shift like crazy.

"What the…!" Chazz exclaimed.

"Oh dear!" Banner gasped.

"What's happening!?" Camula asked in shock.

And it didn't take long before everyone got an answer to her question. The mist dissipated slowly. When it was all gone, everyone was met by the sight of their fellow key keepers, plus Clover, standing in the middle of the room, surrounding an unconscious Mahiru.

"It's Andrew and the others!" Syrus pointed out happily.

"They're back!" Chumley added.

"Hey guys!" Jaden called out.

"Hey everyone!" Andrew greeted back.

"What happened to you?" Alexis asked.

"We'll tell you guys later." Jenny replied. "But for now, you should know that Mahiru is okay."

"Thanks to Shiori who defeated her." Michael added.

"What!?" Camula hissed in anger and surprised.

Jaden smirked at his opponent. "Looks like your little mind control scheme didn't work so well. Now let's end this duel, shall we?" He drew a card. "Sweet, I'm starting with my Pot Greed." He drew two more cards and looked at them. "Or in this case 'Pot of Need'. Cuz that's just what I got! I play Dark Factory Mass Production! This lets me take two monsters from the graveyard and put them right back in my hand." He took back Avian and Sparkman. "Now I activate this... Fusion gate!" A dark swirling cloud appeared overtop of them. "You can forget about Polymerization. This baby lets me fusion summon without it."

"So what?"

"So check out Avian and Burstinatrix. Or should I say, Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!" The two named monsters merged together and formed Jaden's headliner. (ATK 2100 DEF: 1200 LV: 6) "There's more! I'm fusing Wingman and Sparkman to make something even better!"

That made his friends surprised.

"Two fusions?" Alexis wondered.

"This must be something big." Andrew said, awaiting what his friend is about to play.

"I summon Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman!" Flame Wingman and Sparkman flew into the dark cloud. And then, a new figure appeared, shining so brightly that Camula was forced to shield her eyes. When the light dimmed down, everyone could see a green skinned man clad in bright white armor, with a helmet and razor like wings. "Alright, Flare Wingman! Now let's get our pals' souls back!" (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2100 LV: 8)

"Flare Wingman?" Camula repeated, clearly confused by things. "But you've never used that card in your deck before! You have to be cheating! You put it in there when I wasn't looking, didn't you!?"

"Cheating?" Clover repeated, giving the vampire a glare. "For your information, you used your pets to spy on us! So the only one who's been cheating, is you!"

"And anyway…" Jaden spoke. "I didn't even sneak him in anyhow."

"You lie!" Camula persisted.

"Not really. I just figured that since you were all about the shadows, I should pack something that's bright. Like the Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman. And boy is he. Check out that glow."

"Fine, use him. With just 2500 points, he still won't defeat Vampire Genesis!"

"Actually, Camula, yeah he will. Cuz for each of my Elemental Heroes that are just chilling away back in the graveyard, Flare Wingman gains 300 attack points." The spirits of Bubbleman and Tempest appeared and faded into the new hero. (ATK: 2500-3100)

"Then my vampire…" Camula began.

"Is about to bite the dust!" Jaden filled in. "Shining Flare Wingman, show this lady how we do things back at Duel Academy! Attack Vampire Genesis with Solar Flare!" The shining hero jumped hero jumped and dove down. "And when Vampire Genesis is not on the field, all zombie type monsters you have out are destroyed!" The hero monster struck the purple behemoth with a glowing fist, causing to explode, along with Zombie Werewolf.

Camula: 2400-2300

"Sorry, but it takes more than that to defeat a vampire!"

"Good, cuz I got more for ya! Flare Wingman's special ability. And it's better than a wooden stake. You get hit for damage equal to the attack points of the monster I just destroyed."

"No! It can't be!" The hero stood in front of Camula and shone with a light so intense that caused her to cry out before she fell to her knees.

Camula: 2300-0000

"That's game!" Jaden said, doing his trade mark pose, but then, to his surprise, Illusion Gate appeared behind the vampire woman.

She turned around as its doors opened up, and a huge spectral hand appeared and passed through her and grabbed her soul. Then it retreated into the gate and it closed up before it disappeared. Camula's body turned into dust, and all that was left was her necklace and the Zane doll.

"Look! It's Zane's doll!" Jaden pointed out. The doll glowed with a purple aura and grew into the Obelisk student in question, who lay on the floor unconscious.

"Big bro!" Syrus, Chumley, Bastion and Alexis rushed over.

Chazz looked down and saw that Crowler was free form his doll form and clinging to him. "I'm back!"

"What the…!"

"Now get me out of this stinking pocket!"

Suddenly, the castle began to shake violently. "Guys!" Jenny screamed. "The castle isfalling apart!"

"Let's go!" Bastion shouted as he and Chumley lifted Zane over their shoulders. Michael and Shiori carried Mahiru.

Everyone ran out of the castle as fast as they could.


And they made it just in the nick of the time. They watched as the whole castle crumbled into nothingness. Shortly after, the dark clouds disappeared, and the sun shined brightly in the sky.


Something that Miss Fontaine noticed from the infirmary.

And so did Atticus and Kaito, who smiled. "They did it." The former said.

"Yeah." The latter nodded.


Everyone stared at the spot where the castle once stood until they heard someone groaning. They turned to Mahiru, who lay on the ground, and saw her eyes opening up slowly.

"Ah, Mahiru." Bastion was the first to approach her and kneeled down next to her.

The goth girl blinked a few times before she noticed the Ra student. "Bastion…" She sat up slowly, and looked around confused. "Where am I?"

"You're at the lake." Andrew replied.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Banner asked.

Mahiru looked down and thought about it for a moment until she suddenly remembered. "I was hearing rumors about a vampire, and decided to investigate it. It was then I saw the rumored vampire defeat Dr. Crowler in a duel. After that, I decided to use my knowledge about vampires and confront her, so I walked into her castle. And then, I…" She closed her eyes and rubbed her head. "I… don't know what happened next."

"Well, from what we learned, Camula ambushed you and took control of your mind , before forcing you to duel one of us." Shiori explained.

Mahiru's eyes widened briefly before she lowered her head, feeling ashamed. "I see. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to…"

Jenny placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. You couldn't help it. That could happen to anyone."

"All that matters is that everyone's okay." Bastion added.

Mahiru looked at them, and smiled.

Alexis looked up at the sky. "At last, the nightmare is finally over."

Bastion gave Jaden Camula's necklace. "This one at least."

"Because Camula was just the third of the Shadow Riders." Michael added.

"And that means more are on the way." Andrew said. "We must be ready when the next one comes." Everyone nodded at that.


And that's end of the vampire. I'll see you again.