Chapter 35: The Frozen Ocean

"You gotta be kidding me!"

Andrew stood on the deck of the Herald, huddling himself in his jacket. He could neither figure out how Matt managed to talk him into this nor how the medallion he had obtained led him all the way to the Antarctic Ocean off the coast of Antarctica. The chilling winds and falling snow hardly made anything better.

Thinking it was best to leave Matt with some good dueling partners should it come down to it, Andrew had taken Creighton, Izzy, and Kari along with him as part of his crew. He planned on taking Shannon along, but she insisted on going along with Matt, and there was no splitting apart the dream team of Yugi, Tea, Joey, and Tristan. With their destinations set and their plan in motion, the two groups split up, heading off into the world in search of the chests or, in Andrew's case, the advisors wielding the medallions.

And here it led him to the Antarctic.

"Wonderful," Andrew muttered to himself. "Just wonderful."

The others shared their sentiments with him, coming out onto the deck with mostly winter jackets, though Creighton too lacked the proper clothing and was left chilling in the wind.

"Figures that Kaiba wouldn't have given us enough jackets," Creighton chattered, shivering in the cold.

"To be fair, Kari did say this was a low-tech ship," Izzy noted.

"It's true, Kaiba spared no expense in making this as low-tech as he could," Kari said, huddling up in her coat.

"YOU MEAN HE SKIMPED OUT ON AN EXTRA COAT OR TWO!" Creighton yelped, sneezing a little over the cold.

"Don't be picky," Kari snapped.

"Whatever," Creighton muttered. "So now what do we do?"

"I have no idea," Andrew replied.

"Perhaps we could call them out?" Kari suggested.

"I don't know why that would work exactly," Izzy said. "It is a secret organization after all."

"So what, we can't just tell em we're here for the dragons, and we have a good cause?" Creighton asked.

A moment passed by. Then Andrew raised his hands and cupped them around his mouth, shouting out, "HEY! WE'RE HERE TO CHALLENGE THE TRINITY FOR POSSESSION OF THE MEDALLION!"

And then…nothing happened. The group waited for a long while, wondering when something - if anything at all - would happen. Then Andrew sighed and turned to the others.

"Well if anyone else has any suggestions, now would be-"

SHWING

Suddenly out of nowhere a grappling hook latched onto the railing of the ship. Then another one shot out and hooked the ship, and then another followed suit until the Herald was firmly rooted to the spot.

"I guess the Trinity found us," Andrew noted.


"Ya gotta be kidding me!"

Joey was swatting away at the abundant wildlife of the rainforest, trying to keep them off of him as Matt led the group around, the compass medallion being his only guide. While Andrew and his team had been led down towards the cold waters of Antarctica, Matt and his team had journeyed into the humid atmosphere that surrounded them in the Amazon in search of the chest.

"Man, who would've thought we'd end up in the Amazon of all places?" Tristan mused.

"Yeah, now I wish I had more bug spray," Tea complained, waving her hand around.

"You and me both!" Joey remarked as he swatted yet another mosquito off of him.

"Don't worry, guys," Matt said, "it's bound to be around here somewhere."

"Aye, I believe I remember you remarked upon that about an hour, some trees, and a couple of leeches ago," Willaby said, pulling off another one of the bloodsuckers off his leg again.

"I gotta hand it to the Trinity," Yugi said, "they know how to hide something."

"How do we know when we found da chest anyway?" Joey asked.

"Don't worry, you'll know when I know," Matt replied dismissively, looking down to make sure they were all still going the right direction.

Exploring the Amazon was a dangerous enough task in and of itself, let alone without the courtesy of modern technology. The only remnants they carried along with them were a couple of flashlights and their Duel Disks, seeing as there was no telling who they'd run into. Matt had mostly suggested it as a precaution to any potential enemies they should run into that might challenge them over the chest.

Part of an ancient edict that the Trinity had placed on the medallions and the chests was that if a battle was waged over them, the winner would be the one to claim it for themselves. This was in part to keep thieves from stealing the chests away from their hidden locations, as well as a deterrent for Rommel's forces to actively seek them out. Ideally the chests had remained in their hidden locations untouched by the hands of anyone who might have stumbled upon them.

It was a few more yards of walking through the dense rainforest, with most of the group tapping into the limited water supply that had been brought for their meager expedition. Then suddenly, the Compass Medallion began to glow brighter than before. Matt smiled as he looked down at the medallion.

"We're getting close!" he said, and he began to head deeper into the rainforest as the group followed suit. Soon they found an open clearing within the rainforest, a great circle of about seventeen feet in diameter. Here there was no sign of life, a radiant circle of a sacred presence.

And there lying in the middle partially buried in the ground covered in moss and vines lay the chest.

"Bingo!" Matt exclaimed, with the group looking down in a curious awe. Matt advanced towards the chest, ready to pull it out from the-

"Well well, if it isn't just what we're looking for."

Suddenly a burst of smoke came out of nowhere, enveloping the group and blinding them partially.

"What the -?!"

"Where'd that come from?"

Then just as suddenly as the smoke appeared, it dispersed, revealing two men in purple cloaks. One had a long sinister face to accompany his tall and lanky body, his snake-like eyes accentuated by his long strands of whitened hair stretching across his head in a reverse V pattern. The other was stockier and had more muscle, his sunglasses covering his eyes and in turn being partially covered by the blond locks of hair that stuck out from beneath his American flag bandana.

"It can't be!" Yugi gasped, recognizing the latter of the two, and he wasn't the only one.

"Bandit Keith," Joey scowled.

Keith merely laughed and said, "Fancy running into you two here of all places! Guess this job's going to be more interesting than I thought."


"Guess this place is going to be more interesting than we thought."

Andrew and the others stood on the deck of the ship as a group of people hoisted themselves out of the water and onboard. They were dressed as though from an ancient time, garbed in now soaked skirts, loincloths, tunics, and sandals. Some wore helmets of metal with a mark of three triangles, all pointing downward and connected such that they formed a larger triangle.

"The Mark of the Trinity," Andrew said.

"So it is them?" Creighton asked.

"I recognize the symbol from some of Matt's research," Izzy said. "If they are adorned with it, then they must be associated with them at least."

One of the helmeted warriors stood up and asked, "What business have you with the Trinity?"

A slight pause occurred as the group looked at the soldier who had spoken up. Andrew replied, "I'm here to challenge the advisor in charge?"

"You wish to challenge Lady Sandra?" the soldier questioned.

"If she's the one in charge," Andrew replied.

"They're surprisingly accommodating," Creighton murmured to Izzy.

"How do you know of our presence here?" the soldier said, continuing his interrogation.

"I don't think that really matters," Andrew said.

The soldier then extended a hand out, and the water on deck surged quickly and formed into the shape of an icy spear. The soldier then pointed this spear right at Andrew and repeated, "How do you know of our presence here?"

Andrew had raised his hands in self-defense, hoping not to get speared through the chest by the stray soldier. "I'm not here because of Rommel if that's what this is all about," he said quickly and hesitantly.

The soldier motioned with his head, and two more soldiers went through the group. They looked them over as their eyes glinted, scanning them as the group stood there and watched. Izzy and Kari both moved their arms around as though to cover themselves, though both were well-clothed.

"It's true sir," one of the soldiers said. "The Mark of Rommel is not upon them."

The soldier wielding the spear then looked over the group once more before disintegrating the spear back into water. Then he signaled one of the people without a helmet, who then brought out a small horn-shaped seashell and blew into it, sounding out a trumpeting call.

The call summoned forth a great wave that rose up from the water. The wave then formed itself into an aquatic sphere that descended upon the deck of the ship. Inside was a beautiful woman who wore a tunic that covered her entire body, leaving only enough room to see her bare feet. Her wavy brown hair draped over her shoulders, and once the sphere of water dissipated, she opened up her crystal blue eyes.

"You are the one who summoned me?" the woman asked, addressing Andrew in particular.

"I suppose so," Andrew answered. "You must be the one they call Sandra."

"Sandra Isabella, one of the six advisors of the Trinity," Sandra replied, bowing humbly. "I must say, I'm impressed that a normal outsider managed to locate one of us."

"Well perhaps we're not normal outsiders if we found you," Andrew teased.

The soldiers seemed to tense up, but Sandra merely smiled. "I believe you're here to claim my medallion?" she asked.

"That's the rumor," Andrew replied.

"There's no need to hide the truth from me," Sandra said, her eyes glimmering briefly. "I can see into your mind. I know your desires, your hopes, your fears. I know everything about you, Andrew."

"I never said my name," Andrew said, a little surprised. The rest of the group gasped as well.

"We of the Trinity have had years to develop certain unique abilities," Sandra explained, holding her left arm up in front of her. Then a swirling mass of water formed around her arm, shaping itself into a Duel Disk. She smiled as she asked, "Shall we get started then? I know the question you want to ask."

"And I don't need to read your mind to know the answer," Andrew replied smiling back. He reached into one of the storage chests near the mast and pulled out his own Duel Disk, equipping it onto his arm and slipping his deck into the slot.

"LET'S DUEL!"


The two parties continued to stare each other down, Keith and his man smiling widely, Matt and the others looking stern.

"Hehehe, you can relax guys," Keith said. "It's great to see you all again, after all of what we've been through together. I'm sure you've got lots of stories to tell."

"Zip it, ya creep," Joey snorted.

Yugi and Joey were both very familiar with "Bandit" Keith Howard, having first met up with him in Duelist Kingdom. Back then, Joey had been shanghaied and forced into dueling one of Keith's goons, only to turn the situation around and win the match. Eventually he would go head to head against Bandit Keith himself, knocking him out in the semifinals of the tournament. Yugi would eventually run into him later on under the control of Marik, only to have him lose his sanity and nearly destroy the Millennium Puzzle in a fit of madness.

"Whoa, guess there's still some hostility," Keith responded, holding his hands up defensively. "You still mad about that whole stealing your card to get past the semifinals? Loooook, that was the past! Now we've got more pressing matters to discuss here in the present, like which of us is going to be taking that chest home with us."

"What interest do you have in the chests?" Matt asked, suspicious of the appearance of these strange folks.

"You must be Matt," Keith said snidely. "I've heard quite a lot about you, actually. You see, my employer has a keen interest in keeping you out of his affairs."

"Montalban." The name was the only one that came to mind in Matt's head.

"Ahhhh, so you're already acquainted!" Keith chuckled. "Well then, I guess there's no need for formalities!"

Something seems off about Keith, Yugi thought to himself. He's not like how he was back when we last saw him.

Keith smiled and turned to his companion and said, "Well Seeker, here's your chance to prove your worth."

"Hehehehehe, it won't matter who my opponent is," the man replied, activating a Duel Disk from beneath his cloak. "No one can defeat my new deck."

Yugi and Joey also recognized the man that Keith identified as Seeker, being the first opponent Yugi had faced back in the Battle City Tournament. Prior to the tournament's opening day, Joey had lost to Seeker's Exodia deck and consequently lost his Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Yugi then dueled Seeker, figuring out his strategy and annihilating it with his own deck. He won back the Red-Eyes Black Dragon and tore up Seeker's fake cards, and that was the last they had seen of him until now.

"Den I guess it's time to duel! Come on, ya freakshow, I'll take ya on!" Joey challenged.

"No."

The group looked over at Matt who had spoken up. "I'll take care of this."

"Hehehehehe, this ought to be more interesting than dueling either of those two anyway," Seeker chuckled. "Not that either of you would last long enough to beat my improved strategy."

"Say dat again to my face!" Joey growled.

"Willaby! My Duel Disk," Matt asked, with Willaby bringing out a crimson disk. It was similar in design to the duel disks that Yugi and Joey had seen being used when the Orichalcos was a major threat, though its main body was not inlaid with ancient runes. Matt equipped the Duel Disk to his arm and activated it, the blade flexing outward before extending back to its full five spaces. Seeker then activated his own Duel Disk, the classic halves joining together before setting themselves in place. Keith in the meantime settled himself against a tree nearby.

"LET'S DUEL!"


"I shall go first."

Sandra: 4000
Andrew: 4000

Sandra drew her first card and examined her hand before declaring, "I'll Summon forth Cure Mermaid (4/1500/800) from my hand."

A blonde-haired red-tailed mermaid appeared from a wave of water, resting her body on the deck of the ship and smiling charmingly. She even gave a sly wink towards Andrew, who faltered a little over the action.

"Next I'll activate my Charm of the Seven Seas," Sandra continued. "With this card, I'll be able to regain 500 of my Life Points for each of my monsters that is a WATER Attribute."

"So you'll be recovering Life Points," Andrew summarized.

"You put it so crudely, but yes," Sandra replied. "Now I'll end my turn with one face-down card."

"Then it's my turn," Andrew said, drawing a card. With that Cure Mermaid on her field, along with that Charm of the Seven Seas, she's going to gain a lot of Life Points. I need to get rid of it as soon as I can.

"I summon Ancient Hero Bladegon (4/2000/1200) in Attack mode!" Andrew declared, summoning once again the infamous bladed blue dinosaur. "Now go and attack Cure Mermaid!"

The beast lunged forth towards the beauty, extending its razor-sharp claws and preparing to strike-

"I activate Tidal Surge," Sandra responded. "With it, I can negate an attack against a WATER monster and switch the opposing monster to Defense Mode. And unless you have a way of switching it back to Attack Mode, that monster must remain in Defense Mode while it remains on the field."

"What?!"

Suddenly a powerful wave kicked up, knocking back Bladegon and forcing it to retreat.

Ancient Hero Bladegon (4/2000/1200 - 4/2000/1200)

"She just completely foiled his move!" Creighton yelped.

"A flawless counter no less," Izzy noted. "I suppose that's to be expected when you're fighting against the Trinity."

Andrew flinched a little and said, "I end my turn."

"Now it is my turn," Sandra announced, drawing her next card. "Now with Cure Mermaid and Charm of the Seven Seas, I gain 1300 Life Points."

The mermaid created a small shining sphere of water that showered over Sandra as her charm glowed a bright aquamarine, enveloping her in a veil of healing.

Sandra: 5300
Andrew: 4000

"Next I summon Star Boy (2/550/500) to the field," Sandra said, bringing forth a tentacled cyclopean starfish next to her mermaid. "With Star Boy in play, all my WATER monsters will get stronger by 500 points while any FIRE monsters will lose 400 Atk points."

The strange alien starfish then cheered merrily, bouncing around and boosting the strength of itself and the wondrous mermaid.

Cure Mermaid (4/1500/800 - 4/2000/800)
Star Boy (2/550/500 - 2/1050/500)

"Next I discard my Warrior of Atlantis (4/1900/1200) in order to add A Legendary Ocean to my hand, which I then activate," Sandra continued.

With her field spell in play, the ship plunged down into the depths of the surrounding waters, encasing the group within a large sphere of air underwater. Ancient ruins could be seen under the waves, enhancing the strength of Sandra's monsters with a mystical power.

"My monsters will lose a level, but they will gain 200 Atk and Def in exchange," Sandra explained as the power surged through her monsters.

Cure Mermaid (4/2000/800 - 3/2200/1000)
Star Boy (2/1050/500 - 1/1250/700)

"Now I'll Set one card face-down and end my turn," Sandra said, finishing her turn.

"No attack, huh?" Andrew asked.

"I'm well aware of your monsters' abilities," Sandra explained. "They can't be destroyed in battle, so attacking Bladegon now would lead nowhere."

"She knows about the Ancient Heroes?!" Creighton yelped again.

"Calm yourself, Creighton," Kari said, "she knows a lot of things we don't."

Andrew drew his next card and said, "I'll Set one monster and one card face-down and end my turn."

"That's it?" Creighton wondered aloud. "I thought he'd be doing more than that!"

"He's in a tough spot right now," Izzy said. "I hope he'll be able to get out of it."


"Let the hunt begin!"

Seeker: 4000
Matt: 4000

Seeker drew his next card and browsed his hand. My deck is far stronger than it was back in Battle City, he thought to himself. There's no way an amateur will be able to defeat me!

"I activate my Gravekeeper's Servant spell!" Seeker announced. "Now whenever you attack, you'll have to send the top card of your deck to the Graveyard."

"That wasn't in his deck before," Yugi noted quietly.

"Yeah, looks like he's changed things up a bit," Joey concurred.

"Next I'll Set one monster and one card face-down," Seeker continued, "thus ending my turn."

"My move then," Matt said, drawing his card. "And I summon Spear Dragon (4/1900/0) in Attack mode!"

A blue dragon with a long pointed nose arose on Matt's field, stretching out its wings as it glared with red eyes at the opposing field.

"Now I attack your monster with Spear Dragon!" Matt declared discarding the top card of his deck to the Graveyard. "Go, Cyclone Blast!"

The dragon opened up its mouth wide and released a mighty twister that soared across the field, ramming into the face-down monster and blasting through it to Seeker! The monster was revealed to be Giant Rat (4/1400/1450), who dropped his skull as he was destroyed.

Seeker: 3550
Matt: 4000

"As you know, Spear Dragon inflicts damage regardless of your monster's position," Matt explained, "and when he's done attacking, he goes right into Defense Mode to protect my Life Points."

The dragon did just as Matt had described, shielding itself with its wings as it went on the defensive.

Spear Dragon (4/1900/0 - 4/1900/0)

"That may be, but I now activate the ability of my Giant Rat!" Seeker said. "With it, I'm allowed to summon an EARTH monster from my deck with 1500 or less Atk points. And I choose my Stone Statue of the Aztecs (3/300/2000)!"

Replacing the rat appeared a stone head composed of green and blue bricks, with a couple of hands held up in front of it to protect itself. Matt grimaced at this monster but still remained composed.

"I'll Set one card on the field to end my turn," Matt said.

"Not quite," Seeker interrupted. "I activate my trap card, Sixth Sense!"

With the card's activation appeared a simple die, which spun around as Seeker explained, "With this trap card, I can call out two numbers between 1 and 6, and if the die rolls on either of those numbers, I can draw that number of cards. But if it should instead land on another number, then I'll be discarding that many from my deck straight to the Graveyard."

"That sounds like a risky card," Matt noted.

"Not if the numbers I pick are 5 and 6!" Seeker said, triggering the die to roll around on the field.

"If his deck's da same as before," Joey said, "den dis could be really bad!"

The die continued to roll until finally it stopped, landing on-

"A 3!"

"Aww yeahhhh!" Joey cheered for the result.

"Looks like you'll be sending the top three cards of your deck to the Graveyard instead," Matt said.

Seeker and Keith both simply smiled as he sent the three cards to his Graveyard. Yugi watched with a worried expression.

I get the feeling that's just what he wanted, he thought as Seeker drew his next card.

"Now that that's taken care of," Seeker said, "I'll play Upstart Goblin, giving you 1000 Life Points and allowing me to draw a card from my deck."

Seeker: 3550
Matt: 5000

"Now I switch the Stone Statue to Defense mode and Set two cards on the field!" Seeker said, "thus ending my turn once more."

Stone Statue of the Aztecs (3/300/2000 - 3/300/2000)

Matt looked on with a curious expression, thinking about his opponent's last few moves as he drew his next card. He's played defensively and been focused on drawing cards mainly, he thought to himself. Could he be running an Exodia deck?

"Now I sacrifice my Spear Dragon for Tiger Dragon (6/2400/1800) to the field!" Matt declared.

The blue spear-nosed dragon then disappeared, giving rise to a tiger-like dragon! It roared as it spread its magnificent purple and green feathered wings, which began to glow with brilliant sparkles.

"Since I summoned Tiger Dragon by tributing a Dragon-type monster, his effect activates," Matt explained. "So now I can destroy up to two of your face-down Spell and Trap cards!"

The dragon roared as it flapped its wings, showering a stream of sharp jagged feathers at Seeker's cards!

"I'll chain my trap cards to your effect, Jar of Greed and Reckless Greed!" Seeker retaliated. "Now I can draw 3 cards from my deck with their effects just before they're wiped out!"

The cards activated in the nick of time, their effects going off just before getting skewered in a shower of purple and green feathers.

"That's alright with me," Matt said smiling as he discarded the top card of his deck again. "Now Tiger Dragon, attack and destroy the Stone Statue!"

The dragon howled and charged into the stone head, shattering it into bricks and pieces with ease.

"Now I'll Set one card face-down to end my turn," Matt finished.


"Now it is my turn," Sandra said, drawing a new card. "Now I will gain 1800 Life Points from my Mermaid and the Charm of the Seven Seas."

Sandra: 7100
Andrew: 4000

"Next I will activate my face-down card, Moray of Greed!" Sandra declared. "With it, I return two WATER monsters in my hand to my deck, shuffle it, and then draw three new cards. And given that the only two cards in my hand are WATER monsters, I fulfill the requirements to use my spell."

She revealed her Mother Grizzly (4/1400/1000) and Gora Turtle (3/1100/1100) as a green eel rose up from within her deck and snatched the two cards. It returned them to her deck and gave her three new cards, snickering with its greedy smile all the while before finally disappearing.

"Now I switch Star Boy to Defense Mode and summon Arctic Beluga Cannon (4/1900/1200) in Attack mode!"

With her declaration, Sandra brought forth a mighty white whale, armed with double cannons on its back. It cooed a sweet song, only off-put by the presence of the twin barrels on its back.

Star Boy (1/1250/700 - 1/1250/700)
Arctic Beluga Cannon (4/1900/1200 - 3/2600/1400)

"With my Arctic Beluga Cannon on the field, I can now eliminate your monster by Tributing my Cure Mermaid," Sandra explained.

The mermaid loaded herself into one of the cannons on the beluga's back, aiming it towards Andrew's face-down monster. The beluga then roared and blasted the mermaid out at the genie, revealing the dusty soldier and destroying both of them!

"I activate Ancient Mirage!" Andrew responded. "With this card, when one or more of my Ancient Heroes is destroyed by a card effect, I can bring them back. So say hello again to Ancient Hero Nomader (4/1000/1000)!"

The soldier reappeared in a twister before shielding itself in front of Andrew to protect his Life Points, his spear armed and at the ready.

"Very well," Sandra said, Setting a card from her hand. "I end my turn."

"Now I draw," Andrew said, drawing his next card. Suddenly the beluga roared again, firing off its other cannon with a freezing ball of ice! The ice ball struck Nomader, dazing it greatly and taking the group by surprise.

"I forgot to mention that during your Standby Phase, my Arctic Beluga Cannon fires at one of your monsters so that it can't attack this turn," Sandra explained. "And since Bladegon can't move anyway, the only viable target is Nomader."

"Well I guess then this should come as no surprise, but I'm about to turn up the heat in here!" Andrew said. "I sacrifice Ancient Hero Nomader for Ancient Hero Phoenix Flare (5/2300/1200)!"

The soldier disappeared in an encircling ball of flame, which rose up off the ground and spread out a pair of fiery wings. The mighty bird cawed loudly as its majestic red and gold plumage appeared from the flames. The starfish's aura surrounded this new brilliant bird, weakening its flames and dampening its power by a small fraction.

Ancient Hero Phoenix Flare (5/2300/1200 - 5/1900/1200)

"Even the powers of your Star Boy won't be able to protect it from my Phoenix Flare's attack! Go strike down the Star Boy!" Andrew declared.

The phoenix then rose up into the sky, surrounding itself with flames. Then it dive-bombed the tentacled starfish, smashing into it with all of its fiery power and destroying it completely! The effects were near-instantaneous, with the aura dissipating from both Andrew's and Sandra's monsters.

Ancient Hero Phoenix Flare (5/1900/1200 - 5/2300/1200)
Arctic Beluga Cannon (3/2600/1400 - 3/2100/1400)

"Awesome! Now his monster is stronger than that Arctic Beluga Cannon!" Creighton said.

"Not that it matters," Izzy pointed out. "His monster has already attacked, and he doesn't have any cards to protect it from Arctic Beluga Cannon's effect."

"I'm sure he's got a plan though," Creighton said. "He's gotta!"

"I end my turn."

The group looked over stunned. With four cards in his hand, Andrew couldn't do anything?

"Then it's my turn," Sandra said. "And now I activate my face-down card, Aqua-Protection Seal! This card will give me 500 Life Points as long as I have a WATER monster during my Standby Phase. Combined with my Charm of the Seven Seas, I now gain 1000 Life Points."

With that said, a large seal formed around Sandra, infused with an aquatic aura. The seal brought forth several tiny bubbles that restored her life as her Charm glowed to give her more as well.

Sandra: 8100
Andrew: 4000

"Now I will summon Amphibious Bugroth MK-3 (4/1500/1300) in Attack Mode!" Sandra continued, bringing forth a mighty diving robot that looked on with curiosity. The power of Sandra's field spell infused itself into the strange machine, boosting its power even further.

Amphibious Bugroth MK-3 (4/1500/1300 - 3/1700/1500)

"Huh…I wouldn't have thought the Trinity were ones for machines," Kari noted.

"Maybe they're adapting to the world around them?" Creighton wondered aloud.

"Whether the world knows of our existence or not, we will not exclude ourselves from learning of its progress," Sandra said. "My Bugroth, for instance, has the power to dive through the ocean and attack your Life Points directly if I control an Umi field spell."

"But she doesn't control an Umi!" Creighton pointed out.

"I think you should study up on some more cards," Izzy said adjusting her glasses. "Her field spell is A Legendary Ocean, which itself counts as being an Umi while it's active on the field."

"So then she does have an Umi?" Creighton asked.

"Precisely. Go, Amphibious Bugroth MK-3!" Sandra declared. "Attack his Life Points directly!"

The mechanical wonder then flew off into the legendary ocean, swimming around the outside of the air pocket. It got in prime position before launching two torpedoes towards Andrew from outside the bubble, blasting away at a good chunk of his Life Points!

Sandra: 8100
Andrew: 2300

"Hang in there Andrew!" Izzy cheered from the sidelines.

"Now I will use my Arctic Beluga Cannon's ability," Sandra continued. "I tribute my Bugroth MK-3 to destroy your Ancient Hero Phoenix Flare!"

The beluga cooed as the diving robot loaded itself up into one of the cannons. The cannon aimed itself over at the great phoenix before firing off an icy shell, decimating the grandiose bird.

"And that will conclude my turn," Sandra finished.

"Man, no offense to work with, no way of getting past her monster," Creighton said. "And to top it all off, she's still gaining Life Points! Can Andrew even make a start on her?"

"Please, you make it sound like it's impossible."

The group looked over at Andrew who stood there smiling. "I've had a plan this whole time!" he said confidently. "Now watch it unfold!"

He drew his next card as the Arctic Beluga Cannon unleashed an icy ball upon the Ancient Hero Bladegon, dazing it as the one monster left on Andrew's field.

"Not that it matters, but your Bladegon won't be able to attack this turn even if you manage to switch it to Attack Mode," Sandra pointed out.

"Who ever said I'd be attacking with Bladegon?" Andrew countered.

"Then what monster will you attack with?" Sandra asked.

"Easy! I'll start my offense with Ancient Hero Phoenix Flare!" Andrew declared.

"But Phoenix Flare is in the graveyard!" Creighton yelped.

"That's true, but that's exactly why he's attacking," Andrew said as a fireball emerged from his graveyard. It started out small but then grew bigger and bigger until once again the mighty phoenix spread its wings out and unleashed its flames! "My Phoenix Flare has the ability to revive itself whenever it gets destroyed by a card effect, then it wipes out all Spells and Traps on the field!"

"So the reason he didn't play any cards face-down was to avoid hurting himself from Phoenix Flare's revival!" Creighton realized.

"Which he had anticipated its destruction the moment he summoned it," Kari noted. "I'll admit he's pretty good at thinking out his moves."

"Yeah, but I bet Izzy's the only one who'd top him on that," Creighton teased, nudging Izzy.

"Now go! Phoenix Flare Wing!"

The phoenix incinerated its wings and threw down great fiery streams towards all of Sandra's Spells and Traps, wiping out her Charm, her Seal, and her Legendary Ocean! With the effects of the field spell no longer in play, the ship rose up and broke through the surface of the water, returning the group to the chilling air up above.

Arctic Beluga Cannon (3/2100/1400 - 4/1900/1200)

"I think I liked things better underwater actually," Creighton said, shivering as a chill wind slivered down his spine.

"I'm not done yet," Andrew said. "Now I Tribute my Ancient Hero Bladegon in order to summon Ancient Hero Piratical Demon (6/2300/1200)!"

The bladed dinosaur that had long stood defending Andrew now finally disappeared from the field, replaced by a great demon dressed in a tattered naval uniform. A tricorn hat rested upon its matted hair, which in turn rested upon the gaunt face of a worn skeletal demon, the fatigue of battle drawn across its face. It pulled out its great sword and twirled it about, ready to strike down his opponent.

"My Ancient Hero Piratical Demon is a special kind of hero in my deck," Andrew explained. "You see on the turn he's summoned, he rallies any other Ancient Heroes in play to him and allows them to strike twice during this turn's Battle Phase!"

Indeed as he spoke those words, the demon brandished its sword high and attracted the attention of the phoenix, waving around the blade in the air before finally directing it towards Sandra and her monster.

"Now go my monsters! Strike down her Arctic Beluga Cannon and her Life Points!" Andrew declared, sending forth his monsters into battle. The demon sped by, tearing through Sandra's monster like it was nothing. The cannons upon its back exploded, devastating the poor creature and taking it down for the count! Then the demon charged along with the phoenix at Sandra, dashing her with flames and steel before the phoenix lunged forward and clawed at her with its talons!

Sandra: 8100 - 7700 - 5400 - 3100 - 800
Andrew: 2300

"Whoa! He totally reversed the duel in a single move!" Creighton exclaimed. Even the Trinity guards realized that things weren't going well for their leader, some even stepping forward to offer her aid. Sandra however held them back, finding herself on her knees for the first time in a long long time.

"I must say I haven't seen any sort of attack like that in many years," Sandra said. "It spoke to me of how great your power is, truly a force to be reckoned with. Yet power alone will not win this day."

"I know," Andrew said. "That's why I'm Setting this card face-down and ending my turn."

Sandra stood up and smiled with a keen look in her eyes. "It seems you're expecting there to be something more," she said. "I must admire your intuition. Not everyone can sense an opponent's strength like we can, nor can everyone learn to know when their opponent has yet to fall."

"The stories I've heard about the Trinity are true then," Andrew said. "I imagine then you've got something more for me to contend with?"

"Persistent indeed, powerful certainly," Sandra said, a twinkle in her eye as she drew her next card.


"Now it's my turn!" Seeker announced. "Normally I would draw a card, but since I used the power of Reckless Greed, I'm unable to utilize my next two Draw Phases."

"So he can't draw cards for two turns? Dat can't be all dere is to it!" Joey said.

"Read the cards once in a while and you'll learn a thing or too," Keith taunted from the sidelines.

"After all you've put us through, you're da last person I wanna here dat from!" Joey retorted, shaking a fist in Keith's direction.

"I told you that's all in the past, didn't I?" Keith responded. "I'm a changed man after all! Sure, I lost my mind for a while there, but once my head cleared up, everything else became clear to me. I stumbled upon a humble truth when I came back: I couldn't just cheat my way through life, I'd have to learn how to bend the rules in my favor. That's when I heard about Marik Ishtar's fall at the hands of Yugi in the Battle City Tournament, and I decided that the group he had been leading - the Ghouls - was now vacant in terms of a leader. So I gathered the best duelists from that group along with a few flunkies and started up the Neo Ghouls."

"So the Neo Ghouls are just the same Ghouls from before?" Yugi asked.

"In body only, my young friend," Keith replied, raising a finger. "There's a reason it's called 'Neo Ghouls'. I restructured the whole system to be more legitimate. I exposed to these poor fools how playing by the rules didn't necessarily mean the death of dueling. I gave them a reason to fight on after their master dissolved the group, how to make their skills even better, their decks even stronger! And now here we are, a perfectly legal dueling participant with a perfectly legal set of cards, playing it straight as an arrow."

"You really think we're gonna believe dat junk?!" Joey yelled back.

"Enough, Joey."

The group all looked over at Matt, who had stood by silently the majority of this speech. He looked over at Keith with a determined and fiery look in his eyes.

"Let's get one thing straight here," Matt said. "No matter what you've done in the past, no matter what you're doing here now, it won't change what's going to happen in the future. I don't know you well enough to say whether you're good or bad, but I do know enough to know you've done some terrible things in your past. So now it's time for me to make sure not only to win this duel to keep this chest out of Montalban's hands but also to keep it away from you! Because it's people like you that these Spirit Dragons were sealed away in the first place!"

A slight pause followed as Keith simply cleaned out an ear with one of his pinky fingers. "Believe whatever you want to believe then," he said. "At the end of the day, it all just comes down to whoever wins the duel anyway. Seeker, please, continue your move."

"With pleasure, Master Keith," Seeker replied, bowing to Keith before resuming his turn. "Now I'll activate my Messenger of Peace!"

With the activation of his spell card, a tall priest rose up and raised his hand. Behind him rose a ring of light that froze Matt's Tiger Dragon in place.

"Hehehehehe, with my Messenger of Peace on the field, there won't be any attacks made by monsters that have 1500 or more Attack points," Seeker explained, "which will render your most powerful monsters useless!"

"But most of his monsters have more than 1500 Defense points!" Tristan noted.

"That's the idea," Seeker responded, Setting a new monster. "And with my new face-down monster, I won't be touched by any of your attacks!"

"Is that so?"

The group looked up at Matt as he drew his next card. "I'm going to have to disagree then," Matt said with a smile. "First I activate Pot of Greed to draw 2 cards from my deck."

After doing so, Matt continued, "Now I activate the power of my Electro-Dragon Pulse!"

The Tiger Dragon began to charge up with electricity that surged through its scales. Then it roared and released an electric pulse that ran across the field. The messenger held his arm up to protect himself, but the magic circle of light behind him dissipated!

"My Electro-Dragon Pulse allows me to negate your Spell and Trap cards if I have a Dragon on my side of the field until the end of this turn," Matt explained. "Now I'll summon Lava Dragon (4/1600/1200) and equip it with my Dragon Claws spell!"

A purple dragon with yellow eyes and a yellow sail ridge that split across its back appeared on Matt's side of the field, its eight legs landing on the ground surprisingly delicately. It growled a little as its claws were extended by a great length.

"With my Dragon Claws equip spell, my Lava Dragon is able to gain 800 Atk points!" Matt explained as his monster grew in strength.

Lava Dragon (4/1600/1200 - 4/2400/1200)

"Now my Tiger Dragon attacks your face-down monster!" Matt declared, sending his Tiger Dragon after Seeker's new monster. The monster flipped over to reveal a giant stone warrior armed with two stone swords on its shoulders. The Tiger Dragon smashed through the stone soldier, shattering it into rubble.

"And that's not all," Matt said. "Now I'll have my Dragon's Rage Trap card activate! With it, I can inflict damage to you regardless of your monster's position!"

The rubble then descended on Seeker, hitting his Life Points harshly!

Seeker: 3150
Matt: 5000

"Now my Lava Dragon, attack him directly!" Matt commanded, sending his eight-legged dragon to tear into Seeker's Life Points further!

Seeker: 750
Matt: 5000

"And now I'll activate my other face-down card, Treasure Trove of the Dragon!" Matt continued. "This allows me to draw a card for each Dragon I control, so I draw two cards!"

"What a move," Yugi said. "Not only did he bypass Seeker's defenses and inflict a ton of damage, but he even managed to add more options to his turn!"

"He might even win it right here!" Willaby cheered.

Matt looked over the cards in his hand, but he found no way to end the duel then and there. "I'll Set one card on the field and end my turn," he said.

"Guess that's all you've got left," Keith said with a sly chuckle.

Looks like I'm not done just yet, Matt thought. I don't even know how many pieces of Exodia he's got in his hand. I hope I can keep him at bay until then!


AUTHOR'S NOTES

Man, who would've thought things would pick up so quickly? The cards no doubt will explain a thing or two!

Andrew vs. Sandra

Cure Mermaid (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1500 Atk, 800 Def, Fish, WATER
Effect: During each of your Standby Phases: gain 800 LP. You must control this face-up card to activate and resolve this effect.

Charm of the Seven Seas (Continuous Spell)
Effect: During each of your Standby Phases: gain 500 LP for each WATER monster you control. You can only control 1 "Charm of the Seven Seas".

Ancient Hero Bladegon (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 2000 Atk, 1200 Def, Dinosaur, EARTH
Effect: Cannot be destroyed by battle. If this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent. If this card attacks, it cannot attack during your next turn.

Tidal Surge (Normal Trap)
Effect: When your opponent's monster declares an attack on your WATER monster: switch the attacking monster to Defense Position. Its battle position cannot be changed.

Star Boy (Effect Monster)
Level 2, 550 Atk, 500 Def, Aqua, WATER
Effect:All WATER monsters gain 500 ATK, also all FIRE monsters lose 400 ATK.

Warrior of Atlantis (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1900 Atk, 1200 Def, Aqua, WATER
Effect: You can discard this card; add 1 "A Legendary Ocean" from your Deck to your hand.

A Legendary Ocean (Field Spell)
Effect: (This card's name is always treated as "Umi".) All WATER monsters on the field gain 200 Atk/Def. Reduce the Level of all WATER monsters in both players' hands and on the field by 1.

Moray of Greed (Normal Spell)
Effect: Shuffle 2 WATER monsters in your hand to your Deck, then draw 3 cards.

Mother Grizzly (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1400 Atk, 1200 Def, Beast, WATER
Effect: When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the GY: you can Special Summon 1 WATER monster with 1500 or less Atk from your Deck in Attack Position.

Gora Turtle (Effect Monster)
Level 3, 1100 Atk, 1100 Def, Aqua, WATER
Effect: Monsters with 1900 or more Atk cannot declare an attack.

Arctic Beluga Cannon (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1900 Atk, 1200 Def, Aqua, WATER
Effect: Once per turn: you can Tribute 1 other WATER monster you control to target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy that target. During your opponent's Standby Phase: target 1 monster they control; that monster cannot attack this turn.

Ancient Mirage (Normal Trap)
Effect: If an "Ancient Hero" monster(s) was destroyed by a card effect this turn: Special Summon all "Ancient Hero" monsters destroyed by card effects this turn.

Ancient Hero Nomader (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1000 Atk, 1000 Def, Warrior, EARTH
Effect: Cannot be destroyed by battle. Once per turn: you can target 1 monster your opponent controls; it loses 500 ATK until the end of the next turn.

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.

Aqua-Protection Seal (Continuous Trap)
Effect: During your Standby Phase, if you control a WATER monster: gain 500 LP.

Amphibious Bugroth MK-3 (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1500 Atk, 1300 Def, Machine, WATER
Effect: As long as "Umi" remains face-up on the field, this card can attack your opponent directly.

Ancient Hero Piratical Demon (Effect Monster)
Level 6, 2300 Atk, 1200 Def, Fiend, WATER
Effect: Cannot be destroyed by battle. If this card is Summoned: during the Battle Phase, "Ancient Hero" monsters you control can attack twice. If you use this effect, you must skip your next turn's Battle Phase.

Matt vs. Seeker

Gravekeeper's Servant (Continuous Spell)
Effect: Your opponent must send 1 card from the top of their Deck to the GY to declare an attack.

Spear Dragon (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1900 Atk, 0 Def, Dragon, WIND
Effect: When this card attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage. If this card attacks: switch it to Defense Position at the end of the Damage Step.

Giant Rat (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1400 Atk, 1450 Def, Beast, EARTH
Effect: When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the GY: you can Special Summon 1 EARTH monster with 1500 or less Atk from your Deck in Attack Position.

Stone Statue of the Aztecs (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 300 Atk, 2000 Def, Rock, EARTH
Effect: Double any Battle Damage your opponent takes when they attack this monster.

Sixth Sense (Normal Trap)
Effect: Declare 2 numbers from 1 to 6, then your opponent rolls a six-sided die, and if the result is one of the numbers you declared, you draw that many cards. Otherwise, send a number of cards from the top of your Deck to the GY equal to the result.
NOTE: The effect mentioned in the chapter may imply that the user rolls the die, or perhaps that the card rolls the die. I'd like to think that the latter is more implied than the former, but in any case, it should be noted that the user DOES NOT roll the die in ANY case.

Upstart Goblin (Normal Spell)
Effect: Draw 1 card, then your opponent gains 1000 Life Points.

Tiger Dragon (Effect Monster)
Level 6, 2400 Atk, 1800 Def, Dragon, EARTH
Effect: When this card is Tribute Summoned by Tributing a Dragon-type monster: you can target up to 2 Set Spell/Trap cards your opponent controls; destroy them.

Jar of Greed (Normal Trap)
Effect: Draw 1 card.

Reckless Greed (Normal Trap)
Effect: Draw 2 cards and skip your next 2 Draw Phases.

Messenger of Peace (Continuous Spell)
Effect: Monsters with 1500 or more Atk cannot declare an attack. During your Standby Phase, pay 100 Life Points or destroy this card.

Pot of Greed (Normal Spell)
Effect: Draw 2 cards.

Electro-Dragon Pulse (Normal Spell)
Effect: If you control a face-up Dragon monster: Negate the effects of your opponent's Spell and Trap cards until the end of the turn.

Lava Dragon (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1600 Atk, 1200 Def, Dragon, FIRE
Effect: You can Tribute this face-up Defense Position card; Special Summon 2 Level 3 or lower Dragon monsters (1 each from your hand and GY).

Dragon Claws (Equip Spell)
Effect: Equip only to a Dragon monster. It gains 800 Atk.

Dragon's Rage (Continuous Trap)
Effect: When a Dragon monster you control attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing Battle Damage.

Treasure Trove of the Dragon (Normal Trap)
Effect: Draw 1 card for each Dragon monster you control.

Will Matt be able to bypass Seeker's defense and beat him before he brings out the unstoppable Exodia? And will Andrew continue to dominate in his duel, or will Sandra pull out something new?