The Phantom Strikes

In the dead of night, in the middle of a big city, a lone figure was jumping on the roofs, from one building to another. Eventually, he stopped when landed on the roof of a building with a big sign on the front that had the words 'Museum'. Due to the darkness, it was hard to see the figure's face. But if someone would spot this figure, they would have noted that he was wearing a cape and a top hat.

The figure chuckled. "It's pay day."


A couple of days later, in the morning at Duel Academy, everyone was having breakfast. In the Slifer Red dorm, everyone was eating peacefully. Well, except for Jaden, who was munching like crazy, as usual. Among the other Slifers, there was one particular person who was sitting a table at the corner. It was Xander, and while he was slowly eating his breakfast, his eyes were focused on a laptop.

"Hey, Xander. What are you watching?" Nathan, who was sitting across him, asked.

"I'm not watching." The young mechanic replied, his eyes still focused on the screen. "I'm reading. I like reading the news on the morning."

"Is that right?" The water duelist asked.

"Yup, and I think you'd like this..." Xander turned the laptop around and showed him an article with the picture of a certain underwater place.

"Ocean Academy!?" Nathan noted.

"That's right." Xander replied with a smirk. "Apparently, they managed to get things settled down there." He then pointed at a smaller picture of a dark-skinned man with dark hair, wearing a headband with tsunami wave looking patterns. "They even found a new headmaster to run it. Mako Tsunami."

"Mako Tsunami! Wow! I knew that he was a top-ranked ocean duelist, but I never thought he would actually take the job."

"I guess he just loves the ocean that much." Xander assumed while smiling. But that smile was replaced by a frown. "It's a shame that other places aren't so full of good news."

"How come?"

"Well, today's news contains something serious." Xander turned the laptop and quickly typed on it. "A few days ago, a museum in New York has been robbed."

"For real!?"

"Yeah, some of the valuable paintings have been stolen. And what's more, the thief left a card behind. A card with the words 'The Phantom Strikes'."

"The Phantom?" Nathan repeated.

"According to the news, The Phantom is a master thief. He's been stealing many valuable things all over the world, wether it's art, jewels, or even rare Duel Monster cards." Xander explained.

"Wow! That Phantom must be a very skilled thief, considering that he hasn't been caught yet."

"Yeah, so far, he always managed to slip away. People are trying to figure out who he is. But no such luck. A few people only managed to get pictures of him, but that's that." Xander turned the laptop around again and showed Nathan an image of this so called master thief. The picture showed a shadowy figure that seemed to be wearing a top hat and a cape.

"So is that him?" Nathan asked. "That could be anyone."

Xander nodded and closed the laptop. "And that's what makes The Phantom so mysterious."


Later on, it wasn't much happening around, considering that it was weekend. As for Andrew, he was sitting under a tree. He decided to relax for once. He looked through his deck in silence. It was then when a pair of hands came over his eyes. "Guess who." A feminine voice whispered into his ear.

"Jenny?"

"You got it!" She replied, taking her hands off and sitting down next to him. "How're you doing?"

"Well for a moment, a little good." Andrew gave her a smile. "And now with you here, very good."

The fairy duelist smiled back. "Aren't you sweet?" She then gave him a kiss on his cheek. "So are you looking through your deck?" She asked, noting the cards he was holding.

"Yeah. I was just considering to make a few changes." He looked at his spirit key. "After all, we only got 4 Shadow Riders to deal with."

Jenny nodded and looked at her own key.. "And odds are they are even stronger than those we defeated so far."

"Yeah, and we can't let get the remaining keys and unleash the three Sacred Beast cards. So-hm?" Andrew looked up when he noticed his duel spirit, Phantom Magician, floating in front of him, looking around. "Phantom Magician?"

Jenny followed her gaze and noticed the duel spirit. "Oh!"

"What's wrong?" The Ra asked.

"I'm not certain, but I think I just sensed a presence." The skeletal spellcaster replied.

"What kind of presence?"

"I don't know. Something that's a little... spiritual."

"Spiritual?" Jenny repeated. "Like a duel spirit?"

"Maybe. it's hard to tell now. I don't sense it anymore."

"Speaking of spirits..." Andrew turned to Jenny. "Since when are you able to see Phantom Magician?"

Jenny shrugged. "Since now, I guess. Well, if he showed up around you earlier, I probably could have seen him." She then took out her deck and picked up a certain. "Especially after how Tethys helped me when I dueled Kang." After hearing those words, the Goddess of Light decided to appear right next to her.

"Indeed."

"Tethys." Jenny smiled.

"Hello there." Andrew greeted.

Phantom Magician approached them. "It's a pleasure to properly meet you." He bowed to her.

Tethys gave him a smile. "Same here."

Both duelists smiled at this. Jenny turned to Andrew. "I was wondering. When was the first time you saw your duel spirit, or heard his voice?"

"The first time I was able to hear his voice was when I dueled you the first time. But the first time he showed himself to me was when I dueled Kang. I guess you never saw him at the time."

"I don't think so. So you never saw his spirit before then?"

"No. In fact, I never saw his spirit before that time. Not even when I first got him when I was a kid..."


Flashback

A younger Andrew was walking with his mom, holding her hand. They came to a card shop. Later on, they came out of there, with Andrew being joyful for his new Duel Monster cards, much to his mom's amusement.


Another time, Andrew was sitting at the kitchen table with Clover. They were dueling each other. Andrew placed the Phantom Magician card.

"There were many duels where I played Phantom Magician. And he always helped get through tough situations."

Flashback end


"And that makes him one of my favorite cards." Andrew finished.

"Thanks, partner."

The Ra boy gave him a smile before turning to his girlfriend. "So what's the story behind your card?"

"Tethys?" Jenny looked up to her spirit. "Well, she was a gift from my grandma. It was on my seventh birthday..."


Flashback

In a living room with a big couch and large plasma TV, a seven year old Jenny dressed in a light-blue dress with stars was sitting on the floor, opening a box. She pulled out what was inside, and smiled to see a small jewelry box. "Ooh! What a nice Jewelry box!"

Jenny's mom, Leila, smiled to her daughter. "Now you have something to store your jewels and other valuables."

"Thanks mom! Is dad coming home soon?"

That question made Leila drop her smile. "I'm sorry, Jenny. But your dad seems to be too busy with his job."

Jenny looked down with a sad look. "I see."

"Don't be sad, Jenny." An elder voice said. The girl looked up and saw an old lady wearing a green sweater and a grey skirt that almost reached her feet. Her hair was grey and short. "Just because not everyone is here to celebrate, you don't need to be sad."

"Grandma!" Jenny smiled and stood up.

The old lady chuckled. "Now now, settled down. I've got you something." She reached into a pocket and pulled out a card. "Here you go."

Jenny grabbed it and looked at it. It was Tethys, Goddess of Light. "A card."

"Since you started to play Duel Monsters, I thought you would like it."

"I love it! That angel is pretty!"

Her grandma smiled. "Well, you better keep that card safe. Someone as precious as you should have a guardian angel keeping an eye on you."

Unbeknownst to Jenny, Tethys appeared right behind her.

Flashback end


"That's what she said." Jenny finished.

"Is that right?" Andrew asked and turned to the winged woman. "So did her grandma knew that you were a duel spirit?"

"I can't say for sure that she knew or not." Tethys replied. "But what I do know is that I felt something special about Jenny. And I've been watching over her ever since."

Jenny gave her duel spirit a smile. "And I'm glad you did."

"Now that's sweet." A new voice commented.

They all turned to see another duel spirit. A familiar, green-haired spellcaster.

"Hi, Wynn." Andrew greeted.

Jenny blinked. "You got another duel spirit?"

"Yeah. Remember that time when Chazz had to duel one of his brothers to save Duel Academy?"

"Yeah. He was forced to duel with a handicap. To duel a deck full of monsters with less than 500 attack points."

Andrew nodded. "And the only place he could find any was that well where duelists abandoned weak cards."

"So you're saying..." Jenny trailed off and turned to the green-haired duel spirit.

"That's right. Wynn was one of those cards."

"Nice to meet you." Wynn greeted happily.

"Likewise." The fairy duelist greeted back. She then frowned. "I still can't believe that someone would toss away their cards just like that."

The spellcaster spirit's expression changed from happy to sad. "Unfortunately, there are people in the world who would do that, for one bad reason or another. That's something I know all too well..."


Flashback

"I used to belong to an Obelisk Blue student. He was a cocky boy who bragged for his victories. He always believed that his strategies were perfect. Especially when I was involved. But as his time at the Academy passed, he started to lose constantly, simply because his strategies started to get predictable..."

The Obelisk boy was dueling a Slifer Red student, believing that he was going to win without any problems. But...

"Battle Warrior, attack!" A man in blue suit and a visor struck him with a right hook.

Obelisk Student: 0700-0000


"Gearfried, attack!" A knight in black armor struck him at a Ra Yellow student's command.

Obelisk Student: 1300-0000


"This happened so many times that he was getting angrier for every loss. There was even one loss that made him so mad, that he beat his opponent up with his fists."

Many other students watched in horror as the Obelisk student approached a Slifer student, who was laying on the floor with a bloody face. Before the furious Obelisk student gave the poor guy something more, he was stopped by a few members from the Security Action Squad.

"Of course, the staff members were not happy with his behavior. So they decided to have him one more duel, and said if he lost, then he'd be expelled from Duel Academy."


"And it seemed as though that he had everything under control."

The Obelisk student was facing another Slifer student.

Obelisk Student: 1600

Slifer Student: 1400

The Slifer student had a monster on his field known as Flame Cerebrus (ATK: 2100 DEF: 1800 LV: 6) and a facedown card. The Obelisk student only had a facedown monster on his field.

"My turn!" He drew a card and looked at it. He grinned. "Perfect! I activate the equip spell, Scroll of Bewitchment! With this card, I can change a monster's attribute! So now your Cerebrus is a wind attribute monster!" A green aura surrounded the fiery, three-headed dog creature. "And now I summon Wynn the Wind Charmer!" His facedown card flipped up and revealed the green-haired girl in brown robe. (ATK: 500 DEF: 1500 LV: 3) "Thanks to her flip effect, I can take control of your wind monster!"

"I don't think so! I saw that coming! I'll use Dust Tornado to destroy your equip spell!" The Slifer interrupted and revealed his facedown card, which created a tornado that blew the equip spell away, making the green aura leave the fire monster.

"What!?" The Obelisk exclaimed.

"And now you're mine!" The Slifer drew. "Flame Cerebrus, attack!" The three-headed monster spat torrents of flames that swallowed the screaming Charmer before engulfing the Obelisk student.

Obelisk Student: 1600-0000

Due to the shock of his loss, the Obelisk student fell down on his knees.


Later on, he was walking away from the academy building, and he was really angry. He held up the Wynn card and gritted his teeth. "It's because of this! I lost because of this... worthless card! And now I've been kicked out! You stupid weak excuse of a card!" He then tossed the card, letting the wind carry it away.

"And so, I was blown away and flew through the forest until I ended up in that well..."

Flashback end


"And since then, I've been stuck there and watched as more cards were abandoned by their heartless owners." As Wynn was telling her story, she was staring at the ground with a sad look on her face. Andrew and Jenny felt bad for her, and so did Phantom Magician and Tethys. "The longer I've been down there, the more bitter I became because of how cruel we, 'the weak and worthless cards', were treated. And I've been hating humans because of that."

"That's just awful." The fairy duelist muttered.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Wynn." Andrew sympathized.

Phantom Magician was about to comfort her, but Tethys beat him to it as she approached her and gave her a hug. "You certainly have been through so much pain in the past." She said while stroking Wynn's hair. "And for some people, or spirits, there are sad things you won't get over so easily. But you don't have to deal with it by yourself. You're not alone."

Wynn looked up and glanced at Andrew, Jenny, and Phantom Magician giving her a smile. (Well, the former two, since the skeletal spellcaster is wearing a mask.) Wynn smiled back. "Yeah, you're right. And I'm glad I'm not."

Unbeknownst to them, two glowing orbs were listening to them from a distance. And then, they flew off.


At the Obelisk girl dorm, Alexis, Jasmine, Mindy and Cynthia were in the common room and were simply chatting away about everything and nothing. "Hey Alexis, where's Jenny?" Cynthia asked.

"I'm pretty sure she's spending time with Andrew somewhere."

"So is it true then?" Jasmine asked. "Jenny and Andrew are a thing?" That earned her a smile and nod from the blonde Obelisk girl.

"I knew it." Mindy said while crossing her arms. "I totally knew those two would be together."

Not too far away from them, Clover passed by. And just hearing someone mentioning Andrew and Jenny's relationship made her form a downcast look on her face.

While her friends were chatting, Alexis grabbed her spirit key and looked at it. 'There aren't many Shadow Riders left. We can't let them get their hands on the Sacred Beast cards.'

No one was able to see the two glowing orbs float right behind her before leaving.


Michael and Shiori were in the card shop and hanged out. "It's been really calm around here, hasn't it?" Shiori noted.

"Tell me about it." Michael agreed. "Ever since defeating Jonathan, we haven't been attacked by any of the remaining Shadow Riders."

"But it probably won't be long before they strike again." The ritual duelist grabbed the key around his neck. "So we better not mess up when they do, or we'll lose the seven remaining keys."

"I'm with you, pal." The dark duelist nodded.

As they chatted away, the two glowing orbs passed by and left the shop.


Meanwhile, Dr. Crowler was in an empty classroom, talking to a janitor looking guy. He was wearing a black cap that kept his eyes hidden. The only feature of him that was clear, was his mustache. "Now then, be sure to make this place clean. Don't miss a single spot."

"No problem, sir." The janitor said as the blue headmaster walked away. He then started to mop the floor. But while doing that, he smirked. "Duel Academy, eh? For a prestigious dueling school, it was way too easy to infiltrate this place. But I'm pretty sure whatever I can steal will be worth it." As soon as those words left his mouth, he was joined by the two glowing orbs that been lurking around the academy. And then, they changed into two small monsters.

One of them was a red monster, with a slightly chubby body, and an onion shaped head. He was wearing bikini briefs and a yellow scarf around his neck. He had an angry look on his face.

The other one was blue with a very slim body, also wearing bikini briefs. He had a sort of laid-back expression on his flat face.

"Alright you two, tell me what you found out." The janitor demanded. "Did you find something of value?"

"Well..." The blue spirit began while yawning. "We did hear something interesting. Something like..."

"We heard some kids talking about keys and cards!" The red spirit interrupted.

"Keys and cards?" The janitor repeated.

"I don't know the details!" The red spirit continued. "But they were babbling about keys that would unleash the... the..."

"Sacred Beast cards." The blue spirit filled in.

"I WAS GONNA SAY THAT!"

The janitor smirked in interest. "Sacred Beast cards, huh? They sound really powerful cards. Tell me more."

The blue spirit scratched his head in thought. "Let's see. Uummm... oh, I remember one of the kids mentioning about seven remaining keys... I think?"

"So, there are seven keys that are needed to unlock... whatever it is to keep those cards safe. Where can you find these keys?"

"Oh! Those kids we mentioned are wearing them around their necks!" Red mentioned.

"But we only saw 5 of them, though." Blue pointed out.

"5? Then find the remaining the two and report to me."

"What!?" Red exclaimed angrily. "No way we're gonna search an entire school for two measly keys!"

The janitor scowled. "Oh yes you will. After all..." He then pulled out two cards from his pocket. "You don't want me to do anything... hasty with these."

The spirits wer instantly panicking. "No! Not at all!" They yelled.

"Good. Now go and find the two remaining keys." At the janitor's demand, the two spirits flew away.


"Don't touch my food!" Chazz yelled angrily.

"I was just asking if I could have the fish." Jaden replied.

"Not a chance!"

"Then can I have the rice?"

"NO!"

That's what's been going at the Slifer Dorm. It was lunchtime, and Jaden was devouring his food in his usual way. And of course, he couldn't resist to try and take something from the others' plates, including Chazz.

"I wonder if Jaden's stomach even has a limit." Nathan mused, sitting at a table a few rows away from the arguing Slifers.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Xander replied and sweat dropped as Chazz wrapped an arm around Jaden's kinda in a way to strangle him.

As they were fighting, their spirit keys were swinging wildly. Something that the red and blue spirits noticed and flew away.

"Coo." Winged Kuriboh cooed when it appeared.

"What was that?" Jaden asked as he and Chazz stopped. "You saw someone?"

"Saw what? Some more fur balls?" Chazz asked.

The three Ojamas appeared above his head. "Maybe it's a hungry wolf!" Ojama Green deduced.

"There are no wolfs on this island, chowdahead!" Ojama Black argued.

"Whatever it is, it won't stand a chance against us!" Ojama Yellow boasted and made a pose. "After all, we are invincible with our brotherly love! Not to mention the Boss supports us and..."

"SHUT UP YOU STUPID FREAKS!" The black clad Slifer snapped at the spirit trio.

Of course, for the other Slifers who couldn't see duel spirits, he looked like he lost his mind.

"Okay..." Nathan trailed off.

"That was random." Xander added.


Later that night, practically everyone has gotten to bed and fell asleep. At the Obelisk Blue boy dorm, Michael was sleeping deeply, almost snoring. He was laying face-up, with his spirit key around his neck. While he was sleeping, a pair of hands approached his key. One of them was holding a scissor, which was used to cut the cord that was tied to the key. And the other hand grabbed it.


Everyone at girls' dorm were asleep as well. Including Alexis, who didn't notice the mysterious thief who snatched her key the same way they did with Michael's key.


And the same thing happened with Jenny as she was sleeping peacefully, unaware of the thief who easily took her key.


And at the Ra dorm, Shiori was also asleep, and just like the others, he failed to notice the thief who took his key.


The thief even located Andrew's room and snuck in to take his key. However, at the same time, Wynn suddenly appeared from his deck that was placed on the desk. She yawned a bit before she turned to Andrew's bed. She saw the thief grabbing Andrew's spirit key and snuck away. It took her 5 seconds before she gasped and realized what she just witnessed. "Oh no!"


Meanwhile at the Slifer Dorm, Xander was in his dorm, tinkering with a tiny round device. He had the small lamp on the desk as the light source. Of course, that was a bother to his roommates.

"Hey, Xander..." Nathan said tiredly from his bottom bed bunk. "Can you give whatever you're doing some rest?"

"Some of us are trying to sleep, you know?" Matt added, looking down from the top bunk. Since he and Xander had one bed bunk to spare, Nathan was allowed to move in with them after he arrived at the academy. There weren't much trouble during their time there. Although, sometimes when Xander worked on something mechanical, he ended up getting so focused the he would even work during the night.

"Is it night time already?" Xander asked, staring at them for a moment. And then he scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry guys."

"Can you just go to sleep? That's something I want to do." Nathan said.

"Okay, okay. Let me just put..."

"WHAT!?" A voice yelled from outside, startling the trio.

"What was that?" Matt wondered.

Xander quickly got up on his feet and ran outside and found Andrew, Jaden, Syrus, Chumley and Chazz. And they were all concerned.

"How on earth did they do that!?" The black clad Slifer questioned.

"What happened?" Nathan asked as he and Matt came out of their room.

Andrew turned to them. "Someone stole our spirit keys!"

They gasped. "For real!?" Matt asked.

"No joke it's real!" Jaden confirmed. "Andrew just called us and said that his key was missing when he woke up. And I just checked the key I have around my neck... only it's not around my neck anymore!"

"The same thing happened to me." Chazz added. "That can only mean one thing..."

"The Shadow Riders are back!" Andrew said grimly.

"So what are we gonna do?" Syrus asked.

"We're gonna find the thief, that's what!" Jaden replied. "Come on!" He then ran off, and was then followed by his roommates, Andrew, and Chazz.

"Why do we have to run!?" Chumley complained.

Xander, Matt and Nathan watched as they left.

"What do we do?" Matt asked.

"I think we should help them!" Nathan declared, getting a concerned look from his roommates.

"I don't know, Nathan." Xander said. "If this is the work of a Shadow Rider, we should let the others handle this."

"Shadow Rider or not, we can't let the thief get away! So I'm gonna help!" With that, Nathan ran off.

"Nathan, wait!" Matt called out and ran after him.

"Don't just run away like that!" Xander added and followed them.


Meanwhile, someone was sneaking around in the forest. Because of how dark it was there, anyone would have a hard to see their figure. But it was clear that this person was wearing a cape and a top hat. The figure was holding up the seven remaining spirit keys. "Now that was easy." The thief said smugly. "Why they let a bunch of kids guard these keys, I don't know. Now all that's left is to find the safe or whatever these keys are for."

It was then the two spirits appeared again. "That's easier said than done." Blue said.

"Haven't you found it yet?" The thief asked.

"Hey! Why don't you try search the entire island for the hidden safe!?" Red asked angrily.

But the thief scowled and took out the two cards from earlier. "In case you have forgotten, I'm calling the shots here. Now, unless you want me to rip these cards in half, you will do as I say."

"Yes, Boss!" The spirits replied in fear.

"Good. Now go and find the place where..."

"HEY!"

The thief quickly turned around and saw Nathan running towards him. "You there! Drop those keys!"

But the thief clicked his tongue and fled.

"Stop! Get back here!" Nathan called out and chased after him.

This kept on for about a few minutes until they came out of the forest and reached a cliff. Once the thief stopped, he turned around and faced Nathan. And the moonlight gave the water duelist a good look on him. Not only did the thief wear a top hat and a cape. He was also wearing a black tuxedo that matched them. He was also wearing a white mask that had a smiling face.

"Gotcha, you sneaky thief!" Nathan said.

The thief was about turned to right and was about to run, only for Matt to show up. "I don't think so!"

He then tried to head for left, but Xander came out of the forest and blocked that way. "You're not going anywhere!"

The thief looked around, and noted that he was surrounded. Some people that were in this situation would be either panicking or aggressive. However, this person was instead laughing, much to the boys' confusion. "Well well. It's been a long time since the last time I was cornered like this."

"Who are you?" Matt demanded.

But before the thief could respond, Xander seemed to recognize him and spoke up. "Wait a minute! You look like... like..."

"What is it, Xander?" Nathan asked.

"...Are you... The Phantom?" The mechanic asked.

The masked thief chuckled. "I see my reputation precedes me."

"Who's Phantom?" Matt asked.

"The Phantom is a master thief who steals valuables all over the world." Nathan replied while glaring at The Phantom. "Hand over the keys you stole!"

"Oh? You mean these?" The master thief asked and held up all the spirit keys he had. "Sorry, but I'll need them to get the true treasure hidden on this island. The so called 3 Sacred Beast cards."

"No way we're gonna let you get those dangerous cards!" Matt retorted.

"Dangerous, you say?" The Phantom asked, confusing the boys again. "I live for danger! Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to get my hands on some of the most rare items and cards in the world. And those Sacred Beast cards will make my collection more valuable than it is now."

"Are you serious?" Xander muttered.

'I guess that means he's not a Shadow Rider.' Nathan mused. "Whatever the case, you're surrounded. Just give up and hand over the keys."

Once again, The Phantom chuckled. "Last time someone who tried to capture me and said that... suffered a humiliating defeat."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll show you..." The thief wrapped his cape around himself. And when he unwrapped it, he was suddenly wielding a duel disk. "That is... if you dare."

"A duel?" Matt questioned.

"Fine! If that's how you want, then bring it!" Nathan declared.

"Very well." The Phantom brought up another duel disk and tossed it over to the water duelist.

He put it on his arm, and inserted his deck. "Alright then..." Both of the activated their duel disks.

"Let's duel!"

Nathan: 4000

The Phantom: 4000

"I'll go first." The thief announced, drawing his sixth card. "I summon White Magical Hat in attack mode!" A man appeared in front of him, wearing an outfit that was identical to his own. However, this man's tuxedo was purple, and his cape and top hat were white. And he wasn't wearing a mask, so everyone could see his mustached face. Instead, he was wearing a monocle. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 700 LV: 3) "Then I activate the spell card, Quick Rush!" The spell card appeared and unleashed an aura that surrounded the white caped gentleman. "Thanks to this, my monster can attack this turn, regardless of any effects or rules."

"Uh oh!" Nathan widened his eyes.

"Now attack!" The gentleman rushed over to Nathan and simply slapped him on his face.

Nathan: 4000-3000

"And now my monster's special ability activates! Every time he deals battle damage to you, you must discard one random card from your hand."

The Slifer frowned as he shuffled the cards in his hand, held them out without looking at them and discarded one of them.

"I place two cards facedown and end my turn." Two cards appeared at the thief's feet.

"My move!" Nathan drew. "I summon Great White in attack mode!" A giant white shark with sharp teeth appeared. Unlike a regular white shark, this one had a pair of arms. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 800 LV: 4)

"Sorry, but you just triggered the trap card, Bottomless Trap Hole!" The Phantom interrupted and revealed one of his facedown cards. "Since you summoned a monster with over 1500 attack points, that monster is destroyed and removed from play." A glowing hole was formed on the ground and swallowed the shark. "So my monster is safe."

But Nathan smirked. "Guess again! I activate the spell card, Water of Life!" The spell card appeared and poured a lot of water on the ground. "Since I have no monsters on my field, I can summon a monster from my graveyard."

"Huh?" The Phantom sounded confused.

"Remember when you forced me to discard one of my cards? Well, that card was a monster, which I'm bringing back right now! Come forth, Spiral Serpent!" The water bubbled until Nathan's mighty sea-serpent rose up with a mighty roar. (ATK: 2900 DEF: 2900 LV: 8)

"Awesome!" Matt cheered.

"That's more like it!" Xander added.

"Now Spiral Serpent, attack his White Magical Hat with Spiral Wave!" The creature opened its maw and spat out a spiral wave of water.

"Impressive." The Phantom complimented. "However, that won't work against the trap card, Power Frame!" His other facedown card flipped up and created a barrier that protected his white and purple clad doppelgänger from the water. "This trap negates your monster's attack. And as a bonus, it becomes an equip card that makes my White Magical Hat's attack points the same as your monster's attack points." (ATK: 1000-2900)

"That's not good." Nathan muttered as he inserted a card into his duel disk. "I end my turn with a facedown."

"My move." The Phantom drew. "And I'll play the equip spell, Book of Secret Arts!" A book appeared in front of White Magical Hat, who grabbed it. "Since my monster is a spellcaster, this gives him 300 attack and defense points." (ATK: 2900-3200 DEF: 700-1000) "Now attack his Spiral Serpent!" The gentleman pointed a finger toward the water creature and fired a white magic beam.

"Not so fast! I activate Poseidon Wave!" Nathan's facedown card flipped up. And then, it suddenly summoned a big tidal wave that blocked the attack and washed the field. Once it was over, The Phantom, along with his monster, was laying on the ground.

The Phantom: 4000-3200

"What just happened?" The thief questioned as he stood up.

"It was the effect of my trap card." Nathan explained. "It negates your monster's attack. After that, it deals 800 points of damage for every Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua type monster on my field."

"Tch..." The Phantom scoffed and inserted a card into his duel disk. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."

"I draw!" Nathan drew his next card. "I summon Star Boy in defense mode!" A red starfish appeared. It actually had a face. One single eye, and a mouth with relatively sharp teeth. (ATK: 550 DEF: 500 LV: 2) "With this little guy on the field, all water monsters on the field gain 500 attack points." Both of Nathan's monsters were surrounded by a blue aura. (ATK: 550-1050) (ATK: 2900-3400) "So now I can take down your White Magical Hat with Spiral Serpent!" The named monster reared its head back, preparing its attack.

"I activate my trap! Shadow Spell!" The Phantom interrupted and revealed his facedown card. The card unleashed some chains that wrapped themselves around the Sea Serpent, keeping it from moving. "Thanks to my trap card, your monster can't attack or switch modes. Also, its attack points are lowered by 700." (ATK: 3400-2700)

Nathan frowned. "I end my turn."

"I thought you would." The Phantom drew. "First I activate the spell card, Pot of Greed. It lets me draw two extra cards." He drew from his deck. "And now it's time for White Magical Hat to take down your Spiral Serpent!" The monocle wearing gentleman fired another white magic beam. And this time, Spiral Serpent was hit and exploded.

Nathan: 3000-2500

"This is bad." Matt muttered worriedly.

"Hmm." Xander hummed as he reached for his PDA.

"And once again, his special ability forces you to discard a card from your hand." The spellcaster pointed a card in Nathan's hand, making it glow.

Nathan smirked and slid the card into his graveyard slot. "Thank you. That card was Card of Compensation. And after sending that spell card from my hand to the graveyard, I get to draw two cards." As he drew his extra cards, his smirk almost widened when he looked at his opponent. Even though his face was hidden behind that mask, Nathan could tell that The Phantom was giving him an angry look.

"Not that it will help you. Make your move!"

"If you insist." Nathan drew. "I think I'll summon Maiden of the Aqua in defense mode." A young woman appeared next to the starfish. She had blue hair, with some of it tied in two circle-shaped braids on the back of her head. She was wearing a black, skin-tight outfit with a blue scarf around her neck and white sleeves that didn't connect to her bodysuit. She was carrying a trident. (ATK: 700-1200 DEF: 2000 LV: 4) "I place one card facedown and end my turn." Nathan concluded and inserted a card into his duel disk.

"My move." The Phantom drew his next card and looked at it. He chuckled. "Perfect. I just got another handy equip card." He inserted it into his duel disk. "I activate Fairy Meteor Crush!" A red aura surrounded the white and purple clad gentleman. "Thanks to this spell, when my monster attacks a monster in defense mode, and if its defense points are less than his attack points, the difference is dealt to you as damage!"

"Uh oh!" Xander let out.

"That means..." Matt trailed off.

"You're finished! White Magical Hat, attack! Destroy his Star Boy!" The gentleman ran over to Nathan's field...

"I activate my trap! Tornado Wall!" Nathan interrupted and revealed his facedown card.

"What does that do?" The Phantom wondered.

"It's a continuous trap card, that protects me from all battle damage I would take from your attacks. But only when Umi is on the field."

"Umi?" The thief repeated. "Umi is a field spell, and you never played one!"

Nathan shrugged. "That's true, but..." It was then the blue-haired woman raised her trident. And then suddenly, a tidal wave came from nowhere and the whole place was now covered in water. "My Maiden of the Aqua has a special ability. As long as she remains on the field, the entire field becomes Umi."

The Phantom gasped. "But then..."

"That means my trap card takes effect." Nathan filled in as whirling pillars of water were formed in front of him. "Sure, I still lose my Star Boy..." The starfish got a punch from the gentleman and shattered into pixels. (ATK: 1200-700) "But thanks to my trap, I won't lose any life points."

"Tch." The Phantom scoffed. "I end my turn."

"Alright then." Nathan drew. "I activate the equip spell, Heart of Clear Water" The named card appeared behind the Maiden and a blue aura surrounded her. "By adding this card to my Maiden, I can make her invincible in battle. Also, she can't be targeted by destruction effects. I end my turn with one facedown." A card appeared at his feet.

The Phantom drew. He chuckled when he saw his new card. "Looks like your powerful defense won't be powerful enough. Not when I have Lightning Vortex!"

The three boys gasped as the thief discarded one of his cards.

"By simply discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy all face-up monsters on your field." The spell card unleashed a bolt of lightning that struck the the Maiden and destroyed her. And as soon as she left the field, the water was all gone. "And without your Maiden, your trap card is useless." True to his words, Nathan's trap card disappeared.

"Not bad. But you just triggered my new trap!" Nathan's facedown card flipped up. "Torrential Reborn! When my water monster is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can resurrect it." And so, from a pillar, the Maiden appeared again. (ATK: 700 DEF: 2000 LV: 4) "And there's more. For every monster that was summoned by the effect of my trap card, you take 500 points of damage!" The Maiden rose her trident, making another tidal wave appear and wash the field, forcing the thief back a bit.

The Phantom: 3200-2700

"So you brought your monster back, huh? Too bad she won't be around for long! White Magical Hat, attack!" The gentleman fired another white magic beam. "And don't forget, thanks to Fairy Meteor Crush, you'll still take damage!" The beam shattered the blue-haired woman into pixels and struck Nathan instantly.

Nathan: 2500-1300

"And once again, you have to discard a card from your hand." The thief reminded his opponent as he was forced to discard the one remaining card in his hand. "I end my turn."

"Damn." Xander muttered. "Nathan's field is completely empty. And so is his hand. How is he supposed to make a comeback?"

"My turn." Nathan drew his next card and looked at it. He frowned. "I was hoping for something better. Oh well. I summon Gora Turtle in defense mode!" A relatively small turtle with cute face appeared. It had some kind of carvings on its shell. (ATK: 1100 DEF: 1100 DEF: 3) "I end my turn."

The Phantom laughed at his move. "Is that the best you got? That won't help you at all!" He drew. "Now it's over! White Magical Hat! End this!" The gentleman pointed a finger and charged up his magical power. But then, the carvings on the turtle's shell glowed, and the gentleman suddenly lost his powers and fell to his knees much to The Phantom's shock. "What!?"

Now it was Nathan's turn to laugh. "Sorry pal, but it's not over just yet. I was actually worried for a sec, but not anymore. Because with Gora Turtle on the field, none us are able to attack with monsters that have 1900 or more attack points."

"You mean that... I won't be able to destroy your monster and wipe you out!?" The Phantom asked disbelieved.

"Unless you have a monster with less than 1900 attack points."

The Phantom growled while looking at his hand. 'Just you wait.' He inserted a card into his duel disk. "I place one card facedown. It's your turn!"

"Okay then." Nathan drew.

"I activate my trap card!" The Phantom interrupted and revealed his facedown card. "Raigeki Break! Who needs monsters to get rid of your turtle, when you have this trap card? By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy a card on the field!" The thief discarded one of his cards as the trap card fired a bolt of lightning and zapped the turtle until it shattered into pixels.

Nathan frowned and looked at his new card. "In that case, I'll do this: By removing a water monster in my graveyard from play, I can summon Aqua Spirit!" Gora Turtle appeared for a moment before disappearing. And then, a large bubble appeared in front of him. And then, it released a blue light before popping, revealing a new monster. It was a girl with pale blue skin in a matching dress, with dark blue hair. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And that ends my turn."

"Hmph. Looks like this is the end for you." The Phantom commented and drew his next card.

"Is it?"

Before the thief could respond, he was startled by a big water sphere that swallowed White Magical Hat. The gentleman was now trapped. "What the...?!"

"I just activated my Aqua Spirit's special ability." Nathan explained as the monster in question held up her hands toward the water sphere. "During your standby phase, I can force your monster to switch mode. So your White Magical Hat is in defense mode, and is going to stay that way for the rest of this turn."

The thief had the urge to clench his hand with the cards he held, but controlled himself. "I place one card facedown and end my turn." He glanced at the card that appeared at his feet. 'He may be safe for now. But if he's dumb enough to attack, I can use my Final Attack Orders to switch my monster back into attack mode and wipe out the rest of his life points. The Phantom is about to win again!'

"Okay, my move!" Nathan drew. "I activate Pot of Greed! Now I can draw two more cards!" He reached for his deck. 'And I better get some good ones.' He drew his extra cards, and paused for a moment. He then looked at them and smirked. "Gotcha!"

"Huh?" Matt and Xander looked at their friend curiously. And so did The Phantom.

"First I activate the spell card, Salvage! now I can take two water monsters from my graveyard and add them to my hand, as long as their attack are 1500 or less. And I think Star Boy and Fenrir will do."

"Fenrir? Since when did you have that card in your graveyard?" The thief questioned.

"Since the last time you used your monster's ability against me." The water duelist replied and took his two monster cards from the grave. "But for now, I summon Abyss Soldier in attack mode!" A tall, blue, whale-like humanoid creature with a golden trident appeared next to the Aqua Spirit. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 1300 LV: 4) "And this guy has a special ability. Once per turn, I can discard 1 water monster from my hand in order to send a card on the field back to its owner's hand."

"What?!" The Phantom exclaimed.

"So I'll discard Star Boy, so I can get rid of your facedown card." The Whale-like soldier pointed its trident toward the facedown card, causing it to glow. It then vanished and reappeared in The Phantom's hand.

"It can't be!"

"I'm afraid so. And in case you are wondering about my Fenrir, I can summon it to the field by removing two water monsters from my graveyard!" Star Boy and Maiden of the Aqua appeared briefly on the field. "Now come out, boy!" And then, from the mist that covered the field, a wolf with silver-gray fur, red glowing eyes, and sharp claws appeared. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "Now Fenrir, attack his White Magical Hat!" The wolf pounced on the gentleman and slashed him with its claws, causing him to explode. "And now, Aqua Spirit! Abyss Soldier! Attack!" The girl created a sphere of water. The whale-like soldier then held its trident ready, as its tip was glowing. And then, it thrusted the weaopn into the water sphere, sending it flying. It collided the thief with a big splash. As he fell onto his back, his mask fell off, revealing a face, identical to White Magical Hat.

The Phantom: 2700-0000

The holograms disappeared, Nathan stared at his fallen opponent. He was joined by his friends.

"You did it!" Matt said.

"You defeated The Phantom!" Xander added.

"It wasn't easy." Nathan replied. "But totally worth it."

"You think so?" Someone asked. The trio turned and saw the thief getting back on his feet, giving them a glare. "You may have won the duel, but you just gave the opportunity to leave!" He then started to run.

"No!" The water duelist exclaimed.

"Stop him!" Matt called out.

"Halt!" Someone yelled as a spotlight blinded the thief. In fact, bunch of spotlights brightened the area. And before the thief knew it, he was tackled by some members of the Disciplinary Action Squad. Their leader approached the struggling thief who was restrained by them. "You are not going anywhere, mister."

"Whoa! Where did they come from?" Matt wondered.

"I was wondering when they would show up." Xander commented, getting curious looks from his friends.

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked.

The mechanic smirked and held up his PDA. "While you were dueling, I sent a message to the others."

"And we brought the DAS with us." Someone added. The trio turned around and saw Andrew approach them, along with his fellow key keepers, plus Syrus and Chumley.

"Glad you guys could make it." Xander greeted.

"I can't believe you guys took down that guy just like that!" Jaden said with a grin.

Chazz crossed his arms. "It's actually hard to believe that you bozos could take down a Shadow Rider."

"Actually..." Matt spoke up. "That guy isn't a Shadow Rider."

"He's not?" Syrus and Chumley asked.

"No. When we confronted him, he mentioned something about adding the Sacred Beast cards to his collection." Nathan explained. "I don't think he even knows about the story behind them. Also, when I dueled him, the duel was a normal duel, and not some kind of Shadow game."

"I guess that makes sense." Shiori said thoughtfully.

"At least the keys are safe again." Alexis said in relief.

It was that moment Wynn decided to appear when she noticed something. "Andrew, look!"

The Ra followed her finger and was shocked to see two red and blue spirits floating a bit away from The Phantom as he was taken away. "No way!"


Later on, Andrew was back in his dorm room, and had two cards placed on his desk. Those cards were the ones that the two spirits were part of. Somehow, The Phantom managed to drop those cards after he was defeated. So after taking those two cards with him, Andrew decided to ask them some questions.

"So, you two were working for The Phantom?"

"Yeah, sort of." Blue replied.

"We never wanted to help that wacko!" Red said angrily. "We were forced to do his biddings!"

"That's right. He threatened us and said he would tear us apart if we didn't obey him."

That explanation made Andrew angry. And Wynn shared his anger. "That's just cruel!" She said. "Abandoning their cards because they're weak is one thing. But threatening their lives? That's too far!"

"Indeed." Andrew agreed before turning to Red and Blue. "It must be an awful life for you guys. But you don't have to worry about that anymore. You're among good people here. Unlike that thief, me and my friends treat our cards with respect and care. You guys don't have to be slaves anymore."

The two spirits were extremely happy by his words. They then gave him hopeful looks. "Does that mean you're gonna adopt us?" Red asked.

The Ra looked away with a thoughtful look. "I could. But I'm not sure if you guys are gonna do so much if I add you to my deck."

"Aww." The groaned in disappointment.

But then, Andrew perked up. "But I know someone who can have you..."


Next morning

"You've gotta be kidding me." Chazz muttered in annoyance.

"Trust me, it's for the best for those two." Andrew replied with a smile. "Anyway, I need to go. See ya!" He then left, leaving Chazz behind. He was really annoyed right now. Especially since the Ojama trio were dancing in a circle right above his head, along with the red and blue spirits.

"Hooray! Our cousins are here!" Yellow cheered.

"Now we're a quartet!" Green added.

"A quartet is a group of 4 people, numbskull!" Black corrected.

"Finally we're together again!" Blue stated.

"Let's party all night!" Red declared.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" Chazz yelled angrily.


Later on, Andrew and Jenny were taking a walk near the beach. They certainly were enjoying each others' company. But then...

"Andrew?"

They looked forward and saw Clover standing in front of them. And she seemed to have an uncertain look on her face.

"Clover? What's up?" Andrew asked. Jenny was curious by this.

"I was just wondering..." The redhead paused for a moment before speaking up again. "...if I could talk to you about something... alone."

Andrew didn't know what was up, but he could tell that Clover didn't want to wait. "Sure. I don't mind." He then turned to his girlfriend. "I'll be right back."

Jenny frowned slightly, but nodded. "Right."

And so, Andrew and Clover walked away until they were at a good distance. "So, what did you want to talk about?" Andrew asked.

Clover didn't say anything at first. But she eventually took a deep breath and spoke up. "Andrew, there's something wanted to tell you for a long time. You and I have been friends ever since we were kids. We always played together. We dueled together. You were always there for me. You were always a great friend. But..." She trailed off as a single tear ran down her left cheek. "As the time went on, I've been having... special feelings for you."

Andrew's eye widened slightly. "Special feelings?"

Clover nodded. "You see, I actually wanted the both of us to be more than friends. I wanted us to be like... well, like how you and Jenny are."

"So then..." Andrew realized it slowly. "You're saying that you..."

"Yes. I love you, Andrew. I always did." The redhead admitted.

"Oh." Now Andrew started to feel guilty. "I had no idea. I'm... I'm sorry, Clover."

"It's okay. I don't blame you." Clover said and turned around. "I just wasn't quick enough to tell you before Jenny did."

Andrew could tell how really upset she was. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, I'm flattered by your affection. But I'm afraid I must tell you I never felt the same thing for you. You're really attractive, but I only see you as my best friend."

"I see." She muttered, without turning to him.

"To tell you the truth, things haven't been the same without you. I really missed the things we did together when we were kids."

"Do you mean that?" Clover, turning her head a bit, but not enough to see his face.

"I do." Andrew replied with a smile. "Even if we won't be a couple, can we at least still be friends?"

He waited patiently for her answer. Eventually, she turned around and gave him a small smile. "Yes. Of course." She held out her hand.

Andrew smiled back and shook it. "Thanks."

"You can go back now. I think Jenny waited long enough."

"Right." Andrew started to leave, but said one last thing. "Thanks for telling me all of that."

"No problem." The redhead said and kept her smile as Andrew left. But as soon he was gone, it slowly changed into a sad look. "Damn it. Damnit all..." She muttered.

Unbeknownst to her, a shadowy figure was hiding in the forest nearby. They then held up a book that had a glowing circle on its cover. And then, a smaller circle, identical to the one on the book appeared on Clover's forehead, who never noticed or felt anything at all...


Phew! And that's that. And as I mentioned at the end of the last chapter, the two upcoming chapters will be based on the episodes of the two next Shadow Riders. And making those shouldn't be as troublesome as this one. Until next time.