Chapter 26: A Test of Wills

"Oi oi! Watch where you mop there, Joey!"

"Nyeh, you keep saying dat like it's gonna help!"

"Ya know, he may have a point if you can't mop that well."

"Watch it!"

"Come on, guys, keep it together."

Joey and Tristan resumed their mopping duties as Andrew walked the deck of the ship with Yugi. After helping Shannon to escape from Montalban's prison, he managed to get in touch with Yugi and his friends in order that they might help him sail his recently acquired ship. Taking care to leave their respective families an indication as to where they were headed and packing and preparing appropriately, they soon found themselves off at sea with the smaller boat that Andrew had acquired...or perhaps more accurately, the boat that he had hijacked from the docks. It had been nearly a month since their departure from Domino City, and they were out at sea with no indication of where Matt and the others could be. Andrew figured though, knowing his brother, that he was likely on his way towards one particular location, a spot in which he now took the others towards.

Without mentioning exactly what it was to the others.

Whilst Andrew and Yugi walked the deck and Joey and Tristan mopped it, Shannon managed the sail, and Tea rested below decks in one of the beds. Shannon finished her task and then headed over to Andrew and Yugi, who were now at the bow of the ship looking towards the sea.

"We're only a few days away from the Panama Canal, by my estimate," Andrew was explaining to Yugi while they looked out onto the horizon.

"I'll admit, I wasn't expecting us to sail so far," Yugi admitted.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll meet up with my brother at that spot soon enough."

"And where exactly is this spot?" Shannon intervened.

"There's no need to worry about where it is exactly," Andrew responded dismissively. "The important thing is, once we're there, we're bound to find Matt in a matter of days."

"With all due respect, I think it would be nice if we all knew where we were headed to," Shannon spoke up.

"Right now, we're headed towards the Panama Canal to continue through on our journey to get to Matt," Andrew replied. "Unfortunately, it's going to take us a long time to get there, especially given the speed of our vessel and the distance we have to traverse, but we're bound to arrive long before Matt even gets close."

"Besides, dat side trip onto dose Hawaiian Islands was really something!" Joey chimed in, mopping by the bow.

"I'll say! I've never eaten so much food in my life!" Tristan added as he passed on by as well.

"That wasn't a vacation, that was a necessary side venture that we needed to take to not starve to death!" Shannon berated the two. "Now how long is it until we find Matt?"

"Well, given that it's been about a month already..." Andrew took a moment to think on all the formulations that went into nautical traversing in order to come up with an estimate of time. "I would say we'd run into him in about three months' time, give or take."

"Three months?!" Shannon yelped.

"That's assuming the month and a half of travel to get to our final destination and assuming Matt takes his time getting over there," Andrew shrugged. "Really, it's a matter of circumstances, but we're bound to have everything taken care of."

"Taken care of? Circumstances?!" Shannon was starting to get a little peeved. "I don't even think you know where you're going!"

"Of course I know where we're going," Andrew replied coolly.

"Then what's our final destination?"

"It's still a ways away, just relax and-"

"How can I relax if we don't have the slightest clue where to go?!"

"We already know where we're going-"

"You know where we're going, the rest of us are just along for the ride!"

The argument was starting to become a little too much to handle. Joey and Tristan had stopped working to watch the struggle while Yugi worked on mediating between the two. Even Tea ended up coming out from below decks to check on the noise.

"Now come on, let's not lose our heads now-"

"The only one about to lose their head is our sorry excuse for a captain if he can't even tell us where we're going!"

"Maybe you'd be better off in your cell, your Highness."

"If it means that I'd be waited on with good service and a comfy bed while waiting for Matt to rescue me, then fine, yes I would-"

"Oh right, because that's obviously on his mind right now."

"Can't we just talk about this?"

"We're obviously talking about it right-"

"And how dare you assume that he wouldn't be thinking about me!"

"Well, yeah, of course he's going to think of his friends, so yes, he'd come for you eventually, whenever that would be-"

"He'll do it when he has time!"

"Or when he sends his brother to fetch you while he runs off with Slifer the Sky Dragon."

"I-I'm sure he had a good reason!"

"Right, just like when he left you in that cell."

"THAT'S IT!"

Shannon charged through the hatch to below decks, nearly trampling Tea in the process. The others looked on curiously until she reemerged with two Duel Disks. She tossed one over to Andrew who caught it effortlessly before it could fall overboard.

"If you're not going to tell me where we're going," Shannon announced, strapping her own Duel Disk to her arm, "then I'll just have to beat it out of you!"

"This is rather unlike you," Andrew noted. "Granted, you've been on a ship for about a month or so. Could be some form of seasickness or something. Ah well, if it's a duel you want, how could I refuse?"

He smiled as he strapped his own Duel Disk on his arm and prepared his deck. Yugi and the others took refuge on the sidelines to keep out of their way.

"So what happened here?" Tea asked curiously, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Da way I understand it, Shannon's frustrated over not knowing where we're going," Joey explained, "so she's gonna duel Andrew to get da answers she wants."

"To be fair, I don't think we even know where we're going in the first place," Tristan noted. "But she better be careful - she's challenging the guy who can go up against Yugi."

"Well it should be good to take a break from all this sailing around to watch a Duel," Yugi pointed out.

"Dat's true," Joey mused. "I hadn't even looked at my Duel Monsters cards since we set sail."

At that point, Andrew and Shannon each activated their Duel Disks and readied themselves.

"Well then," Andrew leisurely asked, "shall we get started?"

"It would be my pleasure!" Shannon answered back.

"DUEL START!"

Shannon: 4000
Andrew: 4000

"I'll go first," Shannon announced, drawing her first card. "And I'll activate my Terrorizing the City spell card!"

"Terrorizing da City? In da middle of da ocean?" Joey asked, confused.

"That card allows Shannon to bring out some of her most powerful monsters right from her hand to the field," Andrew explained. Then he smiled and said, "This should be interesting if you're using your real deck."

"You better hope I don't ruin your chances of victory too soon!" Shannon retorted. "Now I'll use Terrorizing the City's effect to bring out a Level 8 or higher Monster King from my hand! And I call upon the Toxic Smog Monster King (8/2400/2100)!"

Suddenly, an enormous black creature appeared with a single hideous eye staring down at Andrew. The others jumped back a little bit, or in Joey's case overboard. Tristan quickly fished him out as Joey yelped, "Dat's one freaky monster!"

"You gotta remember that these things are holograms sometimes," Tristan snorted.

"I'll Set one card on the field before I end my turn," Shannon continued as a single card appeared.

"If that's all you can muster on turn one," Andrew taunted, "then this won't be a long duel. My move!"

He drew his next card and looked over his hand before saying, "Now I'll summon a monster in Defense mode before I end my turn."

The others seemed a little surprised. "Only one monster?" Yugi wondered aloud.

"You better not talk down to me when you can only make one play!" Shannon scoffed, drawing her next card.

"Because one monster is all I need to stop your deck," Andrew replied.

Shannon flinched as the others looked back and forth for an answer. Andrew continued, "The Monster Kings themselves are incredibly powerful, boasting high stats and strong effects at a steep price. Because they're so powerful themselves, they don't really like to share their territorial space, so the player can only have a single monster on the field at a time. That in turn can lead to a lot of problems if the monster she has out isn't able to work around the monsters her opponent wields."

"I get it," Yugi understood. "If she has a Monster King out, she can't willingly adapt to a situation her opponent might come up with. She's forced to rely on one monster at a time."

"I thought you couldn't do dat in Duel Monsters," Joey mused.

"It's not recommended, but like I said, Monster Kings were designed to be one-monster operations," Andrew finished.

"If you're done giving the lecture," Shannon intervened, drawiner her next card, "it's time for my Toxic Smog Monster King to attack your monster! Go, Toxic Breath of Annihilation!"

The foul fiend opened a mouth beneath its eye and fired off a heavy black stream of air towards Andrew's monster, which revealed itself to be a jar that deflected the attack!

"Seems you've hit my Ancient Hero Guardian (4/800/2000)," Andrew responded as the monster assembled itself together into its true form.

"It's one of dose indestructible monsters!" Joey yelped.

"Not quite," Shannon retorted. "I'll use Toxic Smog Monster King's effect to wipe out your guardian!"

The fiend transformed itself into a dense fog and surrounded the Ancient Hero Guardian, corroding away at it until it was destroyed.

"Looks like your monster couldn't handle the power of my monster," Shannon taunted.

"Don't get too full of yourself just yet," Andrew parried, drawing his next card. "I'll play my monster face-down and set two more cards."

"It's a shame neither of those cards will do you any good," Shannon mocked, drawing her next card.

"That's where you're wrong," Andrew replied. "Go, Curse of the Ancients!"

A dark wind swept across the field and whirled about Shannon for a moment as it drained away her Life Points.

Shannon: 3500
Andrew: 4000

"Now with my Curse active, you've lost 500 Life Points," Andrew explained, "and your monsters will lose 500 Atk and Def each turn."

Toxic Smog Monster King (8/2400/2100 - 8/1900/1600)

"That won't stop me from attacking anyway!" Shannon exclaimed. "Go, Toxic Smog Monster King!"

The fiend once again breathed its corrosive breath at the monster, revealing it to be a bizarre creature half golden yellow and half midnight blue, its face covered by a mask that was half sun and half moon. It robes fluttered behind it as the breath passed by, and as the breath failed the A marked on the mask was revealed.

"Now you've attacked my Ancient Hero Lunasolares (4/1500/1500)," Andrew said.

"That must be one of the Ancient Heroes we hadn't seen yet," Tristan exclaimed.

His deck continues to be full of surprises, Yugi thought.

Indeed, his deck is extremely versatile from the look of it.

Yugi looked over at Yami who had appeared next to him once again, watching the duel with a smile on his face. Yugi remember how the Pharaoh had enjoyed their own duel with Andrew and wondered if he was watching if only for Andrew's deck.

"Now I'll use Toxic Smog Monster King's power to wipe away your Ancient Hero!" Shannon exclaimed.

"Not if I activate my Ancient Heroes' Shield!" Andrew countered. "With it, I'll protect my monster from your effect until the end of the turn!"

As the fiend transformed itself in order to attack the hero, a mysterious veil appeared to protect the magician from the assault.

"Then it's your move," Shannon groaned, ending her turn begrudgingly.

"With pleasure," Andrew responded, drawing his next card.

Toxic Smog Monster King (8/1900/1600 - 8/1400/1100)

"Soon your monster will be nothing more but dust in the wind," Andrew taunted. "I'll switch my Lunasolares to Attack Mode and have him attack you directly!"

Ancient Hero Lunasolares (4/1500/1500 - 4/1500/1500)

"He can't do dat, can he?" Joey asked as the monster lunged forth and fired a beam of light at Toxic Smog Monster King! Just then, the monster transformed itself into its blackened fog form and disappeared, forcing the attack towards Shannon!

Shannon: 2000
Andrew: 4000

"One of the other downsides to Toxic Smog Monster King is in its effect to not be an attack target," Andrew explained. "And since it's the only monster that can be out on the field, it makes Shannon the only attack target. Now go, Lunasolares! Attack her again!"

The magician lunged forth and fired a dark beam of moonlight at Shannon through the fog of her monster!

Shannon: 500
Andrew: 4000

"Huh? His monster attacked twice?" Joey asked.

"It must be its special ability," Yugi explained, "and because of it, Shannon's down to only 500 Life Points."

"And now I'll Set this monster and end my turn," Andrew concluded.

"Then it's my move! I draw!" Shannon exclaimed.

Toxic Smog Monster King (8/1400/1100 - 8/900/600)

"I've no choice but to switch my Toxic Smog Monster King into Defense Mode and use its ability to destroy your Lunasolares!" Shannon continued.

The ghoul transformed itself into its smog form and surrounded the magician, corroding and eating away at it until it faded away into nothingness. Afterwards, the creature reappeared in its normal form and shielded itself.

Toxic Smog Monster King (8/900/600 - 8/900/600)

"And I'll play one more card face-down before ending my turn," Shannon concluded.

"My turn then," Andrew announced, drawing his next card as the wind reemerged and swept away the smog fiend's power.

Toxic Smog Monster King (8/900/600 - 8/400/100)

"Now it's time for me to rid the field of your Monster King," Andrew declared. "I'll start by flipping up my face-down monster, Ancient Hero Typhoonador (3/1200/400)!"

The whirlwind genie appeared once more on Andrew's field, its trademark twister whirling beneath its torso.

"Now I'll activate the power of Typhoonador to destroy one of your face-down cards!" Andrew exclaimed.

The genie whipped up a twister and focused the wind towards one of Shannon's Set cards!

"I'll activate the card you just targeted!" Shannon declared. "Go, Proof of Powerlessness!"

The smog ghoul opened its maw once again and roared loudly across the deck of the ship!

"With my Proof of Powerlessness Trap card," Shannon explained, "I can destroy all monsters on your field with a level of 5 or less, just as long as I control a level 7 or higher monster. Naturally, my Monster King fits the bill."

The roar crippled the genie and blew it away into oblivion!

"Figures," Andrew responded nonchalantly, catching Shannon by surprise. "Now I'll summon Ancient Hero Gamble-Lee (3/200/1400) in Attack mode!"

A suave gambler appeared on Andrew's field now, dressed in his neat vest and a baggy sirwal and pointed shoes. He smiled a cheeky smile as he held in one of his gloved hands a single die, the same glove upon which was the signature A.

"Because your Toxic Smog Monster King decided to destroy Ancient Hero Lunasolares, it lost its ability to dematerialize and avoid my attack," Andrew explained. "You know what that means. Go, Gamble-Lee!"

The gambler enhanced his die into a larger die and tossed it at the smog fiend, crushing it with its sheer girth.

"I'll Set one card on the field and end my turn," Andrew declared.

"Then it's time for my move," Shannon announced, drawing her next card.

"Now that her Toxic Smog Monster King has been removed from the field, she's allowed to bring out another one of her Monster Kings if she wants," Yugi pointed out.

"And I think I'll do just that!" Shannon announced. "I use Terrorizing the City's effect to summon forth my Mystical Moth Monster King (8/2800/2100)!"

A brilliantly colored insect resembling a mix between a moth and a butterfly appeared on the field, flapping its wings and spreading about a sparkling dust.

"First things first," Shannon continued. "I'll use the special ability of my Mystical Moth Monster King to give myself 1000 Life Points!"

The moth fluttered around Shannon, showering her with its dust and restoring her Life Points!

Shannon: 1500
Andrew: 4000

"And now I'll attack your Gamble-Lee with my-"

"Sorry, but I'm stopping your attack," Andrew interrupted.

"What?!"

"I'm activating my face-down card, Fear of the Ancient Heroes," Andrew continued, triggering his face-down card. "With it, I can prevent you from attacking with your monsters if I have an Ancient Hero on my field."

"Good move," Yugi nodded. "His monster isn't that powerful, so he utilized another one of his cards in order to protect it from being destroyed."

Shannon flinched but quickly recovered. "It doesn't matter, I'll be able to take your monster down on my next turn!" she said.

"We'll see about that," Andrew replied, drawing a card. "First I'll start by activating Gamble-Lee's effect!"

"Gamble-Lee's effect?" Joey asked. Andrew smiled at this remark, saying, "You ought to appreciate this ability, as it involves a little bit of luck. You see, by activating his ability, I'm able to roll a die and destroy all the monsters on your field with a Level that is less than or equal to twice the number I rolled."

"So let's see, in order to beat dat moth, den he's gotta roll higher dan dat monster's Level, cut in half, and den..." Joey attempted to figure out the number on his fingers.

"Get it right," Tea sighed. "He has to roll a four or higher."

"Go, Gamble-Lee! Cast the die of fate!" Andrew called out, signaling the gambler to roll his trademark die. The die rolled about for a little bit until it landed on-

"Just what I needed!"

"Oh no!"

"It's a four!" Joey yelped.

"Now, Gamble-Lee! Unleash your power!"

The gambler fired a beam of energy at the die, causing it to open up and fire off a greater magical beam at the Mystical Moth Monster King! The moth screeched loudly before disappearing from the field.

"Fortunately for you, I can't attack in the turn I use Gamble-Lee's effect," Andrew said, "but I can still use him as a tribute to summon my Ancient Hero Phoenix Flare (5/2300/1200)!"

The gambler disappeared in a flash of fire, and from the embers arose a mighty phoenix! It wore an amulet that featured the trademark A of the heroes, and its wings burned with the flames of its summoning.

"That'll do for now," Andrew finished his turn.

"Man, Andrew hasn't even taken a single point of damage," Tristan noted.

"Dat's true, isn't it?" Joey confirmed. "And he's pushed Shannon back into a corner again."

"Don't be too quick to assume she's down for the count," Yugi said. "After all, he gave her a big opening by using Gamble-Lee's effect."

"It's my turn then," Shannon announced, drawing her next card. "And I'll start by activating the Reckoning of the Monster Kings spell! With it, I can call forth a Monster King from my deck to my hand, and in combination with my Terrorizing the City spell, I can bring it forth directly to my field! So now I will summon forth The Emperor of the Monster Kings (12/?/?) in Attack mode!"

A great light shone down as a powerful being arose from behind Shannon! It stood at a great height, appearing much like a dragon but lacking a distinct pair of wings. Its mighty tail swished about as it extended its claws and roared proudly.

"Now that I have The Emperor of the Monster Kings in play, I can really do some damage," Shannon remarked. "I think I'll start by using The Emperor's special ability to gain the Atk and Def of every monster on the field!"

The Emperor of the Monster Kings (12/?/? - 12/2300/1200)

"Next I'll equip him with the Monster King Crystal Spear!" Shannon declared. "With its power, my Emperor gains an additional 1000 Atk points!"

The Emperor of the Monster Kings (12/2300/1200 - 12/3300/1200)

"Now it's time for my assault! Go Emperor! Blazing Crystal Spear!"

The Emperor then breathed down upon its newly-equipped spear, infusing it with the power of its fiery breath before throwing it towards the mighty phoenix!

"As usual, my Ancient Hero cannot be destroyed in battle," Andrew reminded her absentmindedly, "though I will still take the damage."

The spear made contact with the phoenix and diverted its energy off towards Andrew while the phoenix deflected the spear itself back to the Emperor!

Shannon: 1500
Andrew: 3000

"Now I'll Set one card to end my turn!" Shannon concluded.

"I suppose it's my turn then," Andrew announced, drawing a new card. He looked at it and then back at Shannon. "Looks like it's the end of this duel."

Everyone recoiled with shock. "He can't be serious!" Joey yelped.

"Did he draw the card he needed?" Tristan wondered aloud.

"First," Andrew continued, "I activate my Monster Reborn spell to bring back Ancient Hero Typhoonador from my Graveyard."

The whirlwind genie appeared once again on the field thanks to the powers of the resurrection spell.

The Emperor of the Monster Kings (12/3300/1200 - 12/4500/2000)

"Next, I'll use Typhoonador's ability to destroy your Crystal Spear," Andrew continued, prompting his monster to unleash a typhoon against the crystal spear.

The Emperor of the Monster Kings (12/4500/2000 - 12/3500/2000)

"Now I'll sacrifice my Ancient Hero Typhoonador and my Ancient Hero Phoenix Flare," Andrew declared.

"Is he going for what I think he's going for?" Joey asked aloud as the monsters were surrounded by a familiar burning aura.

"And I'll use their power to summon out my Ancient Hero Superior (10/?/?)!" Andrew continued.

The monsters were then consumed in flames that brought forth the mighty warrior that had beaten Yugi in the tournament. It brandished its trademark weapon as the other fallen Ancient Heroes appeared beside it and infused their power into it.

Ancient Hero Superior (10/?/? - 10/4000/4000)
The Emperor of the Monster Kings (12/3500/2000 - 12/4000/4000)

"Sorry to say it, but it seems our monsters are tied," Shannon said. "You may have brought out Superior, but you won't be able to defeat the Emperor!"

"True," Andrew said. "However, I managed to draw a card that could help speed that up."

"Could he have really drawn a card dat powerful?" Joey asked.

"Anything's possible with his deck," Yugi noted. "We don't know what kind of card he drew."

"I'll now activate my Key of the Ancient Heroes!" Andrew declared. "This card equips itself to my Superior and raises its Atk by 1000 points."

A large key appeared, its long sharp end protruding from a ring grip behind it. The warrior reached out and grabbed this key and brandished it just as easily as its regular weapon.

Ancient Hero Superior (10/4000/4000 - 10/5000/4000)
The Emperor of the Monster Kings (12/4000/4000 - 12/5000/4000)

Shannon's eyes widened. "I've never seen you play that card before," she gasped.

"Take it as a sign that you've forced my hand," Andrew replied. "Now it's time for Superior's onslaught to begin! Go, Superior! Attack the Emperor!"

The warrior charged forth with its weapons, dodging past fireballs spewed from its dragonic nemesis. Finally he lunged forward and struck down the Emperor!

"I activate my Emperor's effect!" Shannon countered. "With it, I can negate his destruction once per turn, but I'll have to switch him to Defense Mode afterwards."

The Emperor knelt down on the ground, beaten down but still strong.

The Emperor of the Monster Kings (12/5000/4000 - 12/5000/4000)

"Man, and I thought Andrew might've had dat for a second," Joey commented.

"Don't be too hasty to count him out yet, Joey," Yugi responded.

"Now I activate the power of the Key of the Ancient Heroes!" Andrew declared.

"What?!"

"With its powers, after Superior attacks," Andrew explained, "if you still control a monster on your field, I'm allowed to attack it again with Superior! And since your monster's in Defense Position, my Key will allow Superior to inflict the difference as damage to you!"

The warrior leapt forth once again and thrust its trident towards the Emperor!

"I'm activating my Monster Crystal Shield to protect the Emperor from being destroyed this turn," Shannon exclaimed, quickly activating her trap and protecting her Emperor from the warrior's wrath. The shockwaves bounced off of the shield and struck Shannon, forcing her to the ground.

Shannon: 500
Andrew: 3000

Shannon soon got up and said, "At least I've saved my monster."

"A costly misplay," Andrew frowned, shocking Shannon. "Now Superior, once more!"

The warrior leapt forth one last time and plunged its trident through the Emperor, the energy waves crashing against Shannon and depleting the rest of her Life Points!

Shannon: 0
Andrew: 3000

"And that's the game," Andrew said, deactivating his Duel Disk and gathering his cards. Shannon fell to her knees on the other side of the deck and looked down at the ground as Andrew walked over to her. She looked up at him as he loomed over her.

"I guess you won," she groaned, looking down again. "I won't ask about where we're going anymore."

A tense silence persisted for a moment as the others watched anxiously at Andrew and Shannon.

"Tortuga."

Shannon looked back up at Andrew as he passed her by to go below decks, a foreboding chill passing by. "We're heading towards Tortuga," he repeated.

"Tortuga?" she asked.

"I've known my brother long enough to know where he'd go in case he was in danger," Andrew explained. "First thing he'd do is go to Tortuga, get information, find a crew. Or if it's not the first thing, it's a guarantee he'll make port there to go scouting. We'll meet up with him there and journey along with him after that."

And with that, Andrew disappeared below decks. Everyone on deck looked at each other, some with curiosity, some with confusion, and Shannon herself with dread.

They were headed to Tortuga.


"What do you mean they've disappeared?"

"Well that's just it, sir. They've just...vanished."

Montalban sat behind his mahogany desk stirring around a glass of wine contemplatively as he looked at the lowly officer before him. The poor fellow had been given the misfortune of informing Montalban of Shannon's jailbreak nearly a month ago, and now he had been once again privileged with the dishonor of informing Montalban about the tracking signals that had been placed on Shannon during her stay going out. Without a notable tracking signal on Shannon, it would be nearly impossible to locate her location and as such keep an eye on at least one of those meddlesome brothers. Never mind that Creighton and Izzy's trackers were destroyed not long after he had sent them to find Matt on that accursed island in the first place.

Montalban took a sip of the wine as he continued to stare the poor man down. "I must say this doesn't look good on your record," he noted. "I'd have taken off a dock of your pay if her escape hadn't been premeditated. And yet you've brought up no plausible explanation for why our tracking devices have been tampered with?"

"We did put the devices in the buttons of her clothing as per regulations," the officer explained, "and we've kept a tab on her Duel Disk in case she took it with her, but as you know it's a rather temperamental technology. It could be that she washed the clothing since then, possibly dousing our trackers on her clothes. I have reason to suspect that the Duel Disk was in a duel, we've been working on how to keep our tracking devices from suffering from the energy spikes that occur in duels-"

"So you think that perhaps she was in a duel at some point before our tracking devices went out?" Montalban asked.

"It's possible," the officer answered.

Montalban then stood up and indicated for the officer to follow him over to the large world map on the wall. The two stood by as Montalban asked, "Where exactly was the last transmission signal from?"

The officer went up to the map and pointed out a small part of the Pacific Ocean. "Right about in here sir," the officer answered. "We had tracked their departure from Domino Pier and all the way to Hawaii, from which they took a turn to the southeast and eventually..."

The officer trailed off as Montalban observed the direction he had been indicating. Then Montalban began tracing the line himself with his cane to the point where the officer had stopped and looked around the map. Then his eye caught the sight he was looking for and he smiled as he traced the route over to-

"The Panama Canal," he murmured.

"Sir?" the officer asked.

Montalban turned to the officer with a chuckle. "His brother is as predictable as Matt is," he said. "They're headed towards Tortuga."


AUTHOR'S NOTES

Dueling? In MY Yu-gi-oh! fanfic?!...well, yeah, it's been long enough I'd say. Let's look at some cards!

Terrorizing the City (Continuous Spell)
Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase: you can Special Summon 1 Level 8 or higher "Monster King" monster from your hand. You cannot Normal Summon or Set the turn you activate this effect.

Toxic Smog Monster King (Effect Monster)
Level 8, 2400 Atk, 2100 Def, Fiend, DARK
Effect: This card's controller can only control 1 monster. Cannot be targeted for attacks, but does not prevent your opponent from attacking directly. Once per turn: you can target 1 monster your opponent controls; destroy that target, and if you do, negate this card's effect that prevents it from being selected as an attack target.

Ancient Hero Guardian (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 800 Atk, 2000 Def, Rock, EARTH
Effect: Cannot be destroyed by battle. Double any Battle Damage your opponent takes from battles involving this card.

Curse of the Ancients (Continuous Trap)
Effect: When this card is activated: inflict 500 damage to your opponent. During each player's Standby Phase: monsters your opponent controls lose 500 ATK/DEF.

Ancient Hero Lunasolares (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1500 Atk, 1500 Def, Spellcaster, LIGHT
Effect: Cannot be destroyed by battle. This card can attack twice during each Battle Phase.

Ancient Heroes' Shield (Normal Trap)
Effect: "Ancient Hero" monsters you control are unaffected by your opponent's card effects until the end of the turn.

Ancient Hero Typhoonador (Effect Monster)
Level 3, 1200 Atk, 400 Def, Spellcaster, WIND
Effect: Cannot be destroyed by battle. Once per turn: you can target 1 Spell/Trap on the field; destroy that target, also this card cannot declare an attack this turn.

Proof of Powerlessness (Normal Trap)
Effect: Activate only while you control a face-up Level 7 or higher monster. Destroy all face-up Level 5 or lower monsters your opponent controls. Monsters you control cannot attack this turn.

Ancient Hero Gamble-Lee (Effect Monster)
Level 3, 200 Atk, 1400 Def, Spellcaster, EARTH
Effect: Cannot be destroyed by battle. Once per turn: you can roll 1 six-sided die; destroy all monsters your opponent controls with a Level less than or equal to double the result of that roll, also you cannot perform your Battle Phase this turn.

Mystical Moth Monster King (Effect Monster)
Level 8, 2800 Atk, 2100 Def, Insect, LIGHT
Effect: This card's controller can only control 1 monster. If a Spell/Trap card or effect is activated that targets this card: negate that effect. Once per turn, during the Main Phase: you can gain 1000 LP.

Fear of the Ancient Heroes (Normal Trap)
Effect: If you control an "Ancient Hero" monster: your opponent's monsters cannot declare an attack while you control an "Ancient Hero" monster.

Ancient Hero Phoenix Flare (Effect Monster)
Level 5, 2300 Atk, 1200 Def, Winged Beast, FIRE
Effect: Cannot be destroyed by battle. During the Standby Phase of your next turn after this card was sent to the GY: Special Summon it to your side of the field, and if you do, destroy all Spell/Trap cards on the field.

Reckoning of the Monster Kings (Normal Spell)
Effect: Add 1 Level 8 or higher "Monster King" monster from your Deck to your hand.

The Emperor of the Monster Kings (Effect Monster)
Level 12, ? Atk, ? Def, Reptile, FIRE
Effect: This card's controller can only control 1 monster. This card's ATK and DEF are equal to the total ATK and DEF of all other monsters in play. Once per turn, if this card would be destroyed: negate its destruction, then switch this card to Defense Position.

Monster King Crystal Spear (Equip Spell)
Effect: Equip only a "Monster King" monster. It gains 1000 Atk, also if it attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing Battle Damage. If the equipped monster would be destroyed, you can send this card to the GY instead.

Monster Reborn (Normal Spell)
Effect: Target 1 monster in either player's GY; Special Summon it.

Ancient Hero Superior (Effect Monster)
Level 10, ? Atk, ? Def, Warrior, EARTH
Effect: You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) by Tributing all "Ancient Hero" monsters you control. Cannot be destroyed by battle. Unaffected by your opponent's Traps. This card's original Atk and Def are equal to the number of "Ancient Hero" monsters in your GY x800. Once per turn, during your Main Phase: you can have this card gain 500 Atk.

Key of the Ancient Heroes (Equip Spell)
Effect: Equip only to an "Ancient Hero" monster. This card's activation and effect cannot be negated. It gains 1000 ATK, also when it attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing Battle Damage. After the equipped monster attacks an opponent's monster, if the opponent controls at least 1 monster, the equipped monster can attack again.

Wow, it feels good to see a duel again! As for the timeline, it should be noted that this takes place before Matt's group meets up with Auntie Margareta in Chapter 26. Good stuff!

With that said and done, it's time to set sail into Tortuga!...what?