Chapter 10: Mr. M and His Funky Molecules - Part 1

As I lay in my plush bed, the sheets wrapped and twisted around my body like the linen wraps that covered mummies, I can hear Mr. M down in the kitchen making breakfast, listening to a very upbeat rock song about some girl who has been living in an uptown world, sung from the perspective of the downtown man who is in love with said uptown girl. Sitting up and looking out the window, I begin thinking about how long I've spent awakening to morning sun coming through a massive crack in the ceiling, and wonder how Rally and the others have been doing since I've been gone.

Yellow sunlight spreads through the room through the eastern window, blossoming across the wooden floor as if the room were being consumed by the petals of a sunflower. Outside, the sky is a brilliant blue, painted with a few puffy white clouds that drift like lazy sheep through a river. Leaning over, I see that Dr. Pepper is no longer beside me—probably gone down to see whatever Mr. M is doing.

A week has passed since I was released into Mr. M's care, and each day, I've wandered the halls of his large home and crossed the beautiful lawn with an ancient tortoise at my side, and each night, as Dr. Pepper sleeps quietly in his bed beside my own… I'm beset by nightmares.

Not just the one with the golden eyes, either. New ones, no doubt brought about by the hollow feeling I have in the pit of my stomach every moment I spend in this house. Many come and go in confusing blurs, the subjects of which are barely memorable at best, but there's one… one that refuses to leave my mind, no matter how much I try to force it away.

I cannot see anything, or anyone; I float in blackness, swimming in a sea of pure solitude. Some cold feeling in the pit of my stomach warns me that here, my heroes cannot help me. I feel strangely weightless as I drift through the endless darkness, faintly wondering if this is what it's like at the bottom of the ocean, where no sunlight reaches.

Then the pressure starts, feeling at first like a set of comforting arms wrapping around my shoulders from behind, but quickly squeezing and squeezing until the hug becomes a crushing vice grip. And then she speaks.

"Ben… you've finally come back to me…"

The voice is familiar, like Mr. M's eyes; I try but am unable to place it, though I know that I've heard it many times in my life. It evokes feelings that I cannot begin to describe; something warm, certainly, but something sad too, yet those words do not even scratch the surface of how hearing her voice made me feel.

"They'll never… take you away from me again…" she says, the suffocating hug threatening to crush the life out of me. "You're mine. You'll always be mine…"

I grow lightheaded. My thoughts start slipping away from me…

"I WON'T LET THEM TAKE YOU FROM ME!" her voice rises from a low whisper on the wind into an angry shriek, wailing as if mortal harm were being inflicted upon her. It increases in pitch and volume until my eardrums seem to shatter, and my mind goes blank…

…And then I wake up, each time coated in a fine film of cold sweat, breathing heavily to try and reclaim the breath stolen from me by the bone-crushing grip. I'm alone again, seemingly without even Shapeshift to keep me company for several minutes. Soon he speaks to me again, but most times my mind is too focused on the dream that just occurred to be much conversation, and he eventually gives up. I don't feel good about basically telling him to buzz off, but this dream just won't quit weighing on me.

Who is the female who speaks to me? Who do the golden eyes belong to? Why did these dreams only begin appearing after I arrived in the City?

And… why does all of this seem so familiar, and yet at the same time it's just out of my reach? All these mysteries locked deep inside my mind… I can't tell if they're actually beginning to surface, or if they're taunting me with merely the tip of a greater iceberg with no intention of revealing themselves… perhaps ever.

With these thoughts in mind, I shudder, and get out of bed to get dressed. All the while, the woman's words scream through my brain, accompanied by the pair of gleaming golden eyes.

[Cue in opening theme: "Imagination" by Caleb Hyles feat. Gareth West (English cover of the first opening for Haikyuu!)]

As the sweat rolls down my face, sweltering heat comes in waves

We open on a shot of Ben's face, staring up at the sky as the shadow of a cloud passes over his face. As the cloud drifts past and the sun beams down on his face again, he begins to smile.

I hear our voices echo, as we're standing side by side!

The camera begins to zoom outward, revealing that standing in a circle around Ben is each of the Omni-Heroes; in no particular order, Escuridão, Great Tornado, Absolute Zero, Nova Master, Gaia, and The Shining.

An open window lets in light, I turn my eyes up to the sky,

Now the camera shoots down to the ground, looking up at the assembled group of heroes and their leader as the urban sprawl of Skyscraper shoots up above them

Questionings if to someone will come our way, Mr. Future

Ben's face focuses in on the camera as we see the shadow of someone's legs stepping in front of us. We can see Ben grin as his heroes fall in line beside him.

(Oh come on, come on) If there is still a chance…

A sudden swift upward shift from the camera, and we're viewing Ben and his heroes from above, and in the shadows of Skyscraper, dark figures begin to form, faceless phantoms that stand to oppose our hero.

(Oh come on, come on) Go and get… it!

Taking the first step, Ben leads the charge as his heroes run forward at the shadow figures. Great Tornado streaks through the sky, a bright green wind trailing behind him as The Shining appears alongside him, bright light emanating from his body. Absolute Zero and Nova run right beside Ben, leaving trails of ice and fire in their tracks, respectively, while Gaia stomps alongside, and Escuridão dodges from shadow to shadow, as dark as darkness itself. Just as they reach the figures and begin to fight, a bright light suddenly consumes the screen.

You can't move me, you can't break me!

The light dissipates and shows the heroes at battle. First, we see The Shining lashing out for a punch, his fist enclosed in a blinding bright aura as it smashes into the stomach of Crab Turtle. Next we see Great Tornado blasting away a slew of Spellcaster monsters, namely Endymion and Breaker, among others.

You will always look right through me!

Nova Master appears on screen next, its full body aflame as it lunges toward Frost and Flame Dragon, Absolute Zero combatting the Flame half as Nova Master prepares to strike the Frost half.

I will falter, I will stumble, but I'll keep on suffering!

Gaia raises a massive boulder above its head, hurling it at Doom Dozer as the insect is restrained by shadow tendrils courtesy of Escuridão.

Never give up, never give in—I can't let it end in failure!

We spin to view Ben now, his fist clenched in anticipation as we begin to rotate, revealing that all the battles are going on simultaneously. Finally tired of seeing his heroes fight at his command, he charges into the fray as well—focusing specifically on one shadow figure.

Oh, my imagination's fighting to believe—

Ben throws a punch of his own as he reaches the character, the air around his fist blurring as he strikes mere shadow—though as the figure disappears, we get a sudden glimpse of gray hair…

Believing in something!

The shadows, Skyscraper, and the heroes all disappear at once, leaving Ben standing in the subway tunnel with Rally and the rest of the Satellite crew, looking at him hopefully.

Oh-oh! Believing in something!

Ben mounts his Duel Runner, pulling his helmet on and giving them a grin.

Oh-oh!

And on the last note, he speeds off down the tunnel, the shot fading to grayscale on his friends waving him off. The title, "Stardust Accelerator: A Hero in Time" appears in bright gold lettering, standing out against the gray as the form of the Crimson Dragon wraps around it.

"Is something the matter, Ben?" Mr. M asks me as we sit at the large dining room table. Before us lays a feast of pancakes, toast, bacon, sausage, eggs of all kinds… all served up on a dozen gleaming white plates, cooked by the old man himself. In two crystal glasses, orange juice swirls about like a wild tangerine sea. "You've hardly eaten anything."

I stare quietly down at the jelly-smeared toast in front of me, a single bite taken out of it ten minutes ago, then left alone. The dreams have been running wild through my mind in a crazed stampede, relentless and haunting.

"They'll never take you away from me again…" the voice whispers, cold and venomous in the back of my head.

"Ben?" Mr. M asks again, his eyes full of concern.

"I've, uh… been having dreams… bad dreams," I clarify after a moment. "Ever since I came here. To the City, I mean. I've been thinking about them nonstop… but I can't figure out what they mean."

"Hmm," Mr. M studies me for a moment, pushing a set of large glasses up his nose. They magnify his eyes, and I suddenly feel like a difficult equation being pored over by an aspiring scientist. "Dreams, you say… they can have any range of meanings, from a purely scientific perspective. Would you care to share them with me? I became quite fond of psychology in my forties, perhaps I could shed a bit of light on them."

I hesitate, but then nod slowly, taking a slow gulp of orange juice to wet my dry throat. "Alright…"

Mr. M does not move, or speak, or even seem to breathe as I retell my dreams to him in as much detail as I can muster up. His eyes stay fixed on me as I describe the golden eyes, the inky black monster with its beating wings and deathly sharp claws, the female laying claim to me… and Terra Firma, which is the only one to seemingly get some sort of reaction out of him.

"Hmm, yes, I had noticed that Terra Firma was absent from your roster," he comments rather absently, as if it only barely weighed enough on his mind to comment on it. I open my mouth to say something, but before any words come forth he explains, "Forgive me—when they handed over your deck and Duel Disk to me, I took the liberty of going through to make sure everything was there. You're missing a good few of your Fusions, actually, though I do happen to have one here."

"You do?!" I say in surprise, my chair scraping across the floor as I stand up at once. "Is it—"

"No, it's not Terra Firma," Mr. M says, a bit sadly. He looks down to the table for a moment, takes a bite of my toast, and then stands as well. "Help me get these wrapped up, if you would be so kind. We can have them for supper one night."

Dr. Pepper comes over to stand beside me, clutching a peach in his beak. His beady black eyes look up at me with some sort of understanding, and I almost feel calm with his presence beside me. I crouch down and give him a pat on the head, and then go to help Mr. M with the food and dishes.

Once the remnants of breakfast is packed away in aluminum foil and plastic wrap and our glasses of orange juice traded in for bottles of water dressed with fancy labels, Mr. M, Dr. Pepper and I retreat into the living room.

Bright and sunny, the living room is a wide carpeted space of couches and coffee tables all spreading out like arms and legs from a central armchair, facing a large flat-screen television mounted on the wall, with various boxes and box-like objects sitting on a wooden shelf beneath it. Plant life blooms throughout the room, from colorful flowers in vases on the coffee tables, to tall, leafy plants that grow in ceramic pots on the floor, some so tall that they reach toward the ceiling.

Mr. M shuffles his way across the floor and sits down in the armchair, letting out a sigh as his old bones settle into his seat. Dr. Pepper creaks slowly over to the couch to his left and in a surprising display of agility leaps up, circling like a dog a few times before laying down. Following their lead, I sit down on the right couch, sinking into the soft faux leather and kicking my legs up.

What follows next is merely an example of our morning routine.

Mr. M turns on the television and scrolls through the channels until he brings up the news, brought to us through the courtesy of a rather rude-looking woman with long blonde hair; Angela Snows, I think her name is, or something similarly stupid and weather-related. Mr. M then comments on how much he dislikes the news, but makes no attempt to change the channel. Dr. Pepper eats a vegetable tossed his way by Mr. M; today, the snack is a radish. I sit there a bit awkwardly, not sure what to say, or if I should say anything, based on how intently he seems to be focused on the news that he hates so much.

But then, the moment Ms. Weather Name signs off, he turns to me with a small smile.

"You know what I would very much like to do today, Ben?" he asks after a moment, motioning for me to stand up. "Well, be a good fellow and move these tables, if you would; move one out of the way, then the other with the ends facing the couches."

After doing what he says, he stands up, rather forcibly moves a disgruntled Dr. Pepper from the spot he had been so comfy in, and sits down at the table. He then reaches into the pocket of his sweatpants and pulls out a small red box, setting it on the coffee table. Pressing a button on the side of the table, the wooden covering in the middle sinks inward slightly, creating a small indent, and then splits down the middle, sliding back into the table. My eyes go slightly wide; I've never seen it do this before.

Before my eyes, Mr. M proudly smiles down at the miniature dueling field, complete with designated zones for monsters, backrow cards, the Fusion deck, and the main deck. Black on white, it almost looks like a chalk drawing on the asphalt of a playground.

"Do an old man a kindness and duel him," Mr. M says, the proud smile working its way into an excited grin as he places his main deck in the zone. "It's been a very long time since I've had anyone here to duel except Dr. Pepper, and he's getting rather predictable in his old age."

Dr. Pepper huffs indignantly at this, but remains otherwise motionless.

Reaching into my pockets, I feel the cards moving about loosely and unprotected. Running my fingers across the backs, I glance somewhat guiltily at the red box he kept his cards in; perhaps I should get something like that… though in blue, I think. Removing the main deck and Fusion deck from my pocket, I place them in the zones as well.

A second button push from the old man, and multicolored lights begin to chase one another around the edges of the little arena. "It's been far too long since we've last dueled… but maybe it will help you recall something. Since this is my house, I'll be taking the first move!"

Ben: 4000 LP / Mr. M: 4000 LP

As per usual, we each draw five cards. My arm feels oddly flimsy without the weight of the Duel Disk attached to it, and my legs shake a bit involuntarily in absence of a Duel Runner beneath them.

"Oh—and in addition, if you can manage to defeat me, I'll be handing over that Fusion monster I mentioned!" Mr. M adds on, his posture changing from a bent elderly man to something resembling a proud young duelist in his prime. He makes a bit of a show out of drawing his next card, adding a powerful flourish that one his age shouldn't be capable of. "Allow me to give you a bit of a chemistry lesson, my friend, on behalf of Chemicritter Hydron Hawk!"

He places the card onto the table in front of him, and in a flash of light, a blue hawk appears, about the size of a small toy. Angles, curves and crystals seem to make up the transparent, but slightly blue-tinted body of the winged creature, and as it snaps its beak together ferociously, flexing its talons and beating its wings, I can see an angular H presented on its chest, and behind that I spot blue and red orbs floating about in pairs of one blue and one red. (Chemicritter Hydron Hawk: Level 2, WATER, Winged-Beast-type/Gemini; 1400 ATK/700 DEF)

As the card's stats are revealed on what I now realize is actually a screen rather than a tabletop, I scrunch my face up in a bit of a frown. "A Gemini monster?" I ask, recalling one of the thugs in the Satellite who had used such monsters.

"Indeed! Each of my Chemicritters is a Gemini!" Mr. M explains. "But don't underestimate them; I know that there's a bit of a stigma, but they've served me perfectly well over the years."

"I see," I respond, not quite sure if I believe that. The Gemini monster is extremely slow; in order to get its effects, it must be Normal Summoned a second time, depleting your summon for the turn, implying it even survives that long to begin with.

"But, instead of showing you their true potential this turn, I do believe that I'll place two cards face-down and hand the reins to you," he states, and just like with the monster, as he places the face-downs on the field, the cards appear floating in midair just like they would if we were using Duel Disks.

"My move, then! I'll draw!" As I take the card from the top of my deck, I feel a wave of nostalgia running through me, invigorating me. A smile comes across my face as my eyes sweep across the hand I've drawn.

Voltic, Stratos and Poison Rose make up the monsters I have to choose from, with a catalogue of two copies of Hero Barrier and a Hero Pressure to supplement them. Feeling my hand working on its own, I quickly place Stratos onto the field.

"Here comes Elemental Hero Stratos, the man with the fans!" I declare, feeling that last part slip out before I even thought of it.

Stratos zooms onto the field from seemingly nowhere, his entrance covered by a flash of light as the projector does its work. As his turbines spin and he hovers in midair, I can't help but see him as an action figure, with posable arms and legs and fans that really spin if you press a button a certain number of times. Though he's so much smaller than the form I'm used to seeing him in, there's a certain confidence that comes over me with his presence. (Elemental Hero Stratos: Level 4, WIND, Warrior-type; 1800 ATK/200 DEF)

"Ah, Stratos! I hadn't expected to see him quite so early," Mr. M comments, resting his chin on his hands as he studies myself and my cards. "Very good—I'm assuming that you'll be using his effect to add a monster?"

"Er, yes," I say awkwardly, having been prepared to explain the effect myself. "How did you—"

"Know? Ben, my boy, I've known you practically your whole life—I know the ins and outs of your deck better than any other!" Mr. M declares passionately, leaving me with a sense of regret at having accepted his challenge.

"Right… well, I think I'll pick… Elemental Hero Knospe!" I continue. I pause in thought, wondering why I had said that, but keep feeling my eyes drawn toward Poison Rose; something is compelling me to bring her out.

"An interesting choice. Planning to summon Gaia, perhaps?"

I freeze, but only for a moment. No one in the Satellite, or even among the Securities seemed to have any concept of what my Heroes could do, but then this man can predict any move I make?

It shouldn't be that surprising, I tell myself. He said it himself—he looked through the deck when he got it from the Securities.

It's more than just that, he already knew your deck—he knew that the Boss was missing, remember? Shapeshift interjects. I attempt to press him further, but he doesn't speak after that.

"Could be Gaia. Could be Great Tornado. Maybe something completely different," I suggest, hoping that I might be able to throw him off his guard. "Who knows? But what I do know is that Stratos is going to attack Hydron Hawk! Cyclone Scythe!"

Just as Stratos's turbines begin to spin at speeds so quick they seem to disappear, Mr. M holds up a single long, spindly finger in response.

"Allow me to stop you there—with my Trap Card, Burnout!" He exclaims, flipping one of his face-down cards face-up, with the hologram opening up in response. "By removing from play a Chemicritter on my side of the field, I can Special Summon two more from my deck with different names from the removed monster! Farewell, Hydron Hawk—in your place, I shall be calling upon Chemicritter Oxy Ox and Chemicritter Carbo Crab, each in defense mode!"

In a brilliant burst of multicolored light, the crystalline hawk seems to vanish as Mr. M removes the card from the field and sets it off to the side of the table. After taking a moment to search his deck, then allowing me to cut it and shuffle, he places two new monsters on the field.

Both are similar in appearance to their hydrogen-based brother; angular, crystalline and transparent, though with a colored tinge based on their attribute.

Oxy Ox is the first to appear, a green-tinted ox with its glasslike face designed in a permanent frown, an O etched on its head between two fiery horns. Underneath its transparent outer layers, green and orange orbs work together, all connected throughout the body. It stamps a forest-green hoof and snorts at me, ready for a charge. (Chemicritter Oxy Ox: Level 2, WIND, Beast-type/Gemini; 0 ATK/2100 DEF)

As a FIRE monster, Carbo Crab is largely an orange crab, its glassy skin brightly tinted. Six legs scuttle about restlessly, gray eyes like marbles staring out at me as it clicks its two pincers, one larger than the other, sharp and jagged like a rock. A network of blue orbs webs its way through the creature's body, branching out around a large C. (Chemicritter Carbo Crab: Level 2, FIRE, Aqua-type/Gemini; 700 ATK/1400 DEF)

"Damn… that's a good trap you have there," I find myself complimenting, already eating my words somewhat at my previous contempt for Geminis. "But it's not enough to save Carbo Crab! Go on, Stratos!"

This time there is no card played by Mr. M to come to the crab's rescue. Spinning with the ferocious roar of a jet engine, twin tornadoes spin their way out of Stratos's wings, staggering across the field with deadly, ripping winds. Converging on the crab, they join together to form one powerful cyclone that tears the monster to shreds before Stratos's turbines settle and the tornadoes disappear without a trace.

"It's a shame you weren't able to destroy Oxy Ox, he is the real threat," Mr. M comments… was that a taunt? I hadn't been expecting something like that out of this kindly old man.

"From there, I'll set three face-downs and end my turn!" I decide, setting the two Hero Barriers and one Hero Pressure. Unlike decks I faced in the Satellite, there seems to be some synergy between the cards; I can't be too careful.

"I draw!" That flourish again; there's something about it that seems… oddly familiar as I see it again. One fluid movement, taking the card from the top of his deck and then extending his arm fully into a straight line… but where have I seen it before? "Next, I'll be Gemini Summoning Oxy Ox—which gives him the effect which will bring about your doom! Thanks to him, once per turn I can Special Summon a Gemini monster from my hand, though it won't have its effects yet."

"A free summon, just like that?" I blurt out, shocked by this ability. Though the lack of the summoned monster's effect counted for something, there should have been some sort of cost, right?

"Quite so, old friend!" Mr. M responds. "I'll be summoning Poly-Chemicritter Dioxogre, the fiend of carbon dioxide!"

In reference to its status being a combination of carbon and oxygen, the summoned beast seems to be a mix of Carbo Crab and Oxy Ox, with the jagged, but even sharper-looking claw of the crab, and the hooves and horns of the ox. Its body appears to be a solid color, though the hologram has it constantly changing; on its front, a C in the vein of Carbo Crab's can be seen, with one of Oxy Ox's Os attached to it diagonally on either side. The face of the cretin is hideous, and a bit terrifying, with an elongated snout filled with sharp, daggerlike teeth that stick out in all directions like broken spears. Staring, slanted white eyes glare emotionlessly at me, as a man of wild bluish hair bursts out from between the horns and climbs down its back. A single pointed horn rests between the two ox horns, gleaming white like the beast's teeth, and a long, whip-like tail thrashes this way and that as the creature stares me down. (Poly-Chemicritter Dioxogre: Level 8, DARK, Fiend-type/Gemini; 2800 ATK/200 DEF)

"How do you like this one, Ben? As I recall, you were rather fond of chemistry in school…" Mr. M muses. "It's quite lucky that I drew this, actually, or else I'd have nothing particularly helpful to summon through Oxy Ox's effect."

"Is that so…" I say, a bit put off by the sudden powerful summon. "Well, I can't say I like chemistry much anymore. Your monsters have seen to that."

He spreads his hands, a playful grin coming onto his wrinkled face. His eyes shine brightly with a sort of joy I haven't seen since coming to live with him. "Oh, come now Ben! You'll hurt their feelings if you say that too loudly—and when Dioxogre's feelings are hurt, his effect just might activate! By Gemini Summoning him, I can remove from play one Gemini monster from my Graveyard, then destroy any one card you control!"

I scowl slightly, trying to think of what he might choose. He said that he had looked at my deck when I was released to make sure there wasn't anything missing; that means he knows I could have Hero Barrier, and how many I play, as well as Hero Pressure and any number of the other magic and traps I have in my arsenal. And of course… most of these cards are reliant on having a Hero on the field.

"By removing my Chemicritter Carbo Crab from the game, I shall destroy your Stratos!"

Suddenly, a play comes to mind, the memory of a ruling I learned when I first began dueling. "Stratos may be going, but that doesn't mean you'll have a direct attack on me! I activate Hero Barrier! As long as I have an Elemental Hero monster on the field, I can resolve its effect to negate an attack this turn!"

The swirling blue barrier forms in front of me, a tall wall of rippling energy that looks more like the downpour of a powerful waterfall. Through the hologram, I give Mr. M a small grin of my own.

"Don't look so smug, old chum, did you forget that I have two monsters on my field?" Mr. M remarks, sweeping his hands across the two small holograms that sit as still as toys in front of him. "I'll switch Oxy Ox to attack position, and then have him attack to bring down your Hero Barrier!"

The small ox lowers the front of its body into a crouch, the fires of its antlers blazing brightly. Pawing at the ground with one hoof, much like a bull about to charge, it lunges forward, dashing across the table and thrusting the flaming horns directly into my wall. A spiderweb of brilliantly white cracks work their way up the barrier, and finally with a surprisingly loud crack, it shatters like glass.

"Which will leave you right open for a direct attack from Dioxogre!" Mr. M bellows, throwing his hand out in front of him. His voice sounds surprisingly young as he declares his attack, his movements youthful as if this duel were rejuvenating him. "Go, Poly-Chemicritter Dioxogre! Carbon Crunch!"

The fiend pulls its arms back behind it, throwing its head back in an angry roar. Its body radiates with energy, the torso flashing between transparent and solid, giving me glimpses of rapidly moving molecules on the inside, bouncing around like an army of flies trying to escape a sealed room. Lowering its ugly face, it opens its mouth and shoots a burst of green and red fire at me, which rockets across the table and strikes me square in the chest. It doesn't hurt near as much as it likely would if it were a full-sized duel, but there's still a stinging pain in the center of my solar plexus left behind as I watch my Life Points drop on the table's display.

Ben: 1200 LP / Mr. M: 4000 LP

I grimace, lightly patting at the spot where the creature's attack struck me. I hadn't been expecting him to switch his 0 ATK Oxy Ox into attack position just to break my Barrier… but then, he knows my deck well. Stratos is one of the strongest monsters I can Normal Summon; if I tried with anything else, even if I destroyed his Ox, a single attack from Dioxogre would deplete my Life Points, whether he used the effect or not. And of course, there's still that second facedown… perhaps a second Burnout? Or something even worse?

"My goodness, Ben, you've gotten rusty since we last dueled. My first attack, and you're already set to lose!" Mr. M teases, shuffling his cards around in his hand. "Well, I'll be ending my turn there. I wonder, can you make a comeback from this?"

A sense of competitiveness rises in me, bubbling in my stomach and then shooting up through my chest and into my brain. Before the words even register in my mind, I'm calling back, "Don't you worry about me—you should know I like a handicap like this! I draw!"

Expecting to see me, big guy? The voice chimes in as I take the top card from my deck. The burst of playful laughter comes soon after, and a smile spreads across my face as I see the card I've drawn.

"And here's my retaliation! I summon Elemental Hero Shapeshift, in attack mode!"

As the card is placed on the field, Mr. M's eyes go slightly wide, the grin dropping from his face for a moment.

With an acrobatic leap, Shapeshift springs onto the field, placing his hands on his hips proudly and sticking out his chest as he stares at Mr. M and the monsters before him. Thin and gaunt with a mop of brown hair resting upon his head and fanning down over smirking face, and clad in a yellow jumpsuit with streaks of blue running up and down its sides, there's an odd sort of power that radiates from him. (Elemental Hero Shapeshift: Level 1, DARK, Warrior-type; 0 ATK/0 DEF)

"Time for the fun to REALLY begin," I state, my own face now sharing a smirk with Shapeshift.

AND THAT'S A WRAP! I apologize for the sudden ending… well, no, not really, I intended for this to be a two-parter actually. BUT! We're finally seeing Ben's first duel in the City—and finally getting to see the mysterious Shapeshift in battle! We've also gotten a rather… disturbing new dream to look into. I wonder who this female is? And just who is Mr. M, with his crazy Chemicritters and his knowledge of Ben's past? Can Shapeshift really turn the tide of the duel, like Ben thinks he can?!

…Of course, I know the answers to these, and you don't. Or at least, hopefully you don't, I'm not ready to become so predictable yet.

Anyway, won't take up too much of your time here. If you think you're starting to figure anything out, message me if you want! I can tell you if you're right, if you really want me to spoil things, or I can tell you if you're wrong. Or both. Hopefully the wait between chapters wasn't too long, and I hope that you all enjoyed the rewritten ninth chapter! There was a pretty clear winner in the vote, there were only I think two or three that voted to have Ben go to the Facility. Hope you guys weren't too mad, and that this progressing story is making up for it!

As always—take care, brrrrush yo hair, I'll see ya when I see ya, PEACE, and of course, stay healthy out there!

~Chase