Chapter 37: Chasm of Phantasms

"I imagine they'll be heading your way next…they're not with Rommel, I checked myself…there's no need to worry, but I would keep an eye on him. His deck is powerful, and I sense that his brother may have a certain aura about him…it's possible…we'll see soon enough…"


It took a few weeks to sail all the way up to Eastern Europe from Antarctica, let alone to make the trek across Hungary, but now Andrew and his group made it to Budapest in search of the next Trinity Advisor and in turn the next key. The only issue that really came up-

"Why did we have to climb down here again?" Creighton moaned, shining his flashlight along the walls. "I don't like this one bit!"

"I'm not the biggest fan of this place either frankly," Izzy said, working hard to keep her light and her focus straight in front of her.

"Look, I know it's not ideal, but it's the closest thing I could think of as to where the Advisor might be," Andrew said, flashlight in one hand, medallion in the other. "Besides, who'd want to come down here anyway? It's filled with all sorts of dead bodies!"

"Don't remind me," Creighton snapped.

Such is how it was, given that the group was now exploring the catacombs of Budapest. The walls were lined with all sorts of skulls of people long gone; some of the bones riddled the floor, perhaps that they fell out or were also unfortunate wanderers of the labyrinthine halls of death.

"What are we even looking for down here?" Creighton asked.

"Presumably whatever the medallion's pointing to," Andrew answered, checking the medallion. The glowing arrow shined in a new direction, pointing down a hall leading left which Andrew headed down promptly, the others right behind him.

"And is the medallion going to speed this up any faster? The sooner we get out of this creep fest, the better!" Creighton groaned, stepping on a large skull that disintegrated beneath his feet. He yelped and leapt into the air, being caught by Kari just behind him. She glowered at him as he smiled sheepishly before she dropped him on the ground again.

"Have some patience, dude," Andrew said. "We're bound to find it any second…right…about…now!"

The medallion now shined towards the wall next to Andrew, outlined with skulls just as with any other wall. The group gathered around this segment of wall that the medallion pointed towards, somewhat confused as to what they were looking at.

"That medallion better not be pranking us," Creighton said.

"Maybe there's a password or a secret knock?" Kari suggested.

The group looked at the wall for a while until finally Izzy stepped forward. She grabbed for one of the skulls and pulled it out, leaving the rest of them perfectly intact.

"Be careful!" Creighton said as Izzy looked around the wall again. She then fit the skull she had plucked into an open slot off to the side. Gradually, she kept up the process of rearranging the skulls on the wall until finally she stepped back from her work. The skulls were now somehow formed into an upside down triangle, perfectly balanced and firmly situated in their spots.

At first nothing seemed to happen, and the rest of the group was wondering what exactly had accomplished. The longer they stood there, the quieter the catacombs seemed to get, and the more curious the others were. Finally Andrew opened his mouth to ask before a shining light shone through the skulls, illuminating the cracks in a few of them. The light glowed until finally the group saw it: the iconic Trinity symbol shining through the cracks in the skulls.

"How the bloody hell did you figure that out?!" Creighton asked astonished.

Izzy shrugged and said, "Lucky guess."

"That's one hell of a lucky guess," Andrew commented.

The light continued to glow for a bit before finally fading away. Then the wall opened up behind the skulls, causing to fall on the floor and shatter like glass vases. The group was no longer preoccupied with the skulls, their focus now on what lay behind the wall. Several torches lit up, revealing a hallway that led further into the earth.

"Speaking of hell…"

Andrew then headed down the hallway, once again with the other following behind him. Eventually the hallway led into an open circular chamber, in which there were several robed people in the room. The moment the group stepped inside, the hooded figures began chanting a strange incantation.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Creighton asked with great concern.

"Ya know, I'm beginning to wonder that myself," Andrew said.

"Now you're wondering?!"

"Fear not, friends, you have arrived."

The group turned and saw near the center of the room stood one notable figure dressed in a similar tunic that Sandra had worn, though his was far more regal than hers. He took off the hood he was wearing, revealing his darker skin and dark brown hair, with brown eyes to compliment them entirely.

"I am known as Jake Allen," the man introduced himself. "And as I understand it, you've come to challenge me."

Andrew stepped forward with a smile. "I like your style," he said. "I bet you duel even better than you look."

Jake smiled. "I think I'm going to have fun with this duel," he chuckled, extending his arm out. One of the other hooded figures approached him with a large jar, setting it down next to him. Jake then raised his arm high in the air and then plunged it up to his elbow into the jar, a slimy muck squelching and splashing out of the jar as he did so. Then he shattered the jar, revealing his arm now covered in mud and equipped with an earthy Duel Disk.

"Well that's different," Creighton said as the two duelists prepared themselves.

"LET'S DUEL!"


"The chest is here?"

Matt's group had a much easier time getting to Hamburg, Germany, to find the next chest. The real difficulty was in keeping the ship under the radar while also sailing into one of the more populous cities they could have traveled to. Eventually they found a spot where Matt could more accurately locate the chest's whereabouts and the ship would be out of sight.

"You never know where in the world Montalban's goons could be," Matt said at one point, and the truth was clear in Hamburg where subtle hints of Montalban's mark could be seen everywhere - cafes, bookstores, museums, even ice cream parlors! The signature black and curvy M could be seen throughout the city, and so the group was forced to bank on sneaking into the city and seeking out the chest at night. The group managed to work their way through the town, the medallion tugging them around until it led them to the entrance of a large three-story mansion.

"It would figure that we're at a cemetery at night," Willaby said.

"Is that what this is?" Yugi wondered.

"Yeah, it really doesn't look like a cemetery," Shannon noted. "More like a mansion of some kind."

"That's just the main entrance," Matt said, walking a little further down the deserted night street. "Behind it's the actual cemetery."

"How big could it be?" Joey asked aloud.

"Ohlsdorf Cemetery is known for being the largest non-military cemetery in the world, second largest overall," Willaby responded as he walked by him.

"Guess that makes it pretty big," Yugi nodded, following suit of Matt and Willaby.

The group walked down to a large gate, a booth nearby with a sleeping security guard and a sign saying, "Öffnungszeit: 09.00 - 21.00."

"Opening time," Matt translated for the others. "Not that we're coming during open hours anyway."

Checking on the guard, Matt brought out the Compass Medallion and climbed over the gate with ease. He paused for a moment before signaling for the others to come over. One by one, the group clambered over the gate and assembled on the other side. Matt then checked his medallion for a direction, being pointed straight ahead.

"Come on," he said before hustling off towards the medallion's direction, the others on his heels. The group were able to keep to the path, ducking out of the way when a security guard walked in their path. It seemed almost too easy for them, though the trek continued for quite a ways.

"Man, and I thought we'd be done walking after running around da city," Joey complained.

"It couldn't be much further, keep up the pace!" Matt said.

At long last, the group arrived at a large headstone near a lake. The headstone itself was nothing impressive, a meager cross that stood on a nameless grave. The one distinguishing feature upon it was the symbol of three upside-down triangles forming a larger triangle.

"This is it," Matt said.

"And we only had to walk the whole graveyard to get here," Tristan moaned.

"I'll admit, I would've thought it'd be easier to just use another entrance," Willaby panted.

Matt didn't pay much attention to them as he inspected the grave itself. "There's gotta be something here," he murmured to himself. He turned back to Willaby and asked, "Did you happen to bring a shovel?"

"A shovel? What, are we desecrating bodies too?" Willaby asked.

Suddenly off to the side, a shovel landed near the group. They all stared at it at a moment before looking up at the one who threw it over to them. The familiar purple robes and American bandana gave away their new arrival's identity long before the lantern was fully raised.

"Well well well, fancy meeting you lot here," Keith sneered.

"I thought you might show up here," Matt said sternly.

"Hey, when you wander around a town practically owned by Montalban, you're bound to be spotted," Keith shrugged. "Nevertheless, here we are again."

"You gonna fight us yourself dis time, or you gonna crawl back under the rock you came from?" Joey taunted.

Keith simply shook his head. "Nah, my associate wanted to get a shot after Seeker's failure in the Amazon," he responded. "Perhaps you'll remember him?"

"Nyeh heh heh heh heh heh~"

The eerie laughter immediately caught Yugi's attention. "I know that voice," he said, and sure enough a tall lanky man dressed in a red suit and wearing a blue and black striped mask appeared from the dark in the light of Keith's lantern. He bowed, taking off his red top hat as he introduced himself, "It's good to see you again Yugi. I'm honored to meet you again, even in a place like this."

"Arkana," Yugi said. He remembered this Rare Hunter as well, nearly having his legs sawed off as a result of their previous encounter. Arkana proved to be a very tricky opponent, but Yugi was not only able to outsmart him and his cheating ways but even to overpower his Dark Magician with the power of the Dark Magician Girl.

"Come now, no need to be so cold," Arkana responded, putting his hat back on his head. "I've changed just as much as the other Neo Ghouls, maybe even more so! I've turned over a new leaf with Master Keith here and become a resounding success for my new employer."

"So you're confident that you'll win this fight then, eh?" Matt said, smiling a little bit.

"Arkana's an expert on the magical side of Duel Monsters," Keith explained. "His deck has been constructed to take advantage of their greatest power and employ it with unbelievable results. Believe me, it's always a treat to watch one of his duels now."

"Maybe you'd like to put your dueling where your mouth is!" Matt said, bringing out his Duel Disk. "I took down the last one of you without any problems, and I can do it again!"

"Can't say I didn't warn ya," Keith chuckled. Then he began to walk away and said, "There's a place over here by the lake that should provide a good dueling spot."

The group followed Keith and Arkana over to a small open part, with a lovely view of the lake just nearby. It was then that Yugi noticed that the guards from before were beginning to gather around the area, but they weren't doing anything to stop them.

"You noticed it too, Yugi?" Joey asked. "I get da feeling dis was a trap."

"Me too," Yugi concurred.

"You think Montalban has control over the cemetery too?" Tea asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Willaby nodded. "It would explain why we've had an easy time getting here, and more importantly why Keith's here."

Arkana took his spot on one side of the field while Matt set himself up on the other side, ready and raring to go. The Duel Disks activated, and they called out:

"LET'S DUEL!"


Andrew: 4000
Jake: 4000

"I'll start things off then," Andrew said, drawing his next card. "I'll summon Ancient Hero Guardian (4/800/2000) in Attack mode!"

An earthy jar appeared on the field, accompanied by the sentient rocks that formed the body of the summoned Hero. Its eyes radiated as it reassembled its form, brandishing its shields.

"Then I'll just Set this card face-down," Andrew continued, "and with that I'll call it a turn."

"In that case, it's my move!" Jake announced, drawing a card. "And I'll activate Terraforming to add a Field Spell card to my hand. And the card I choose, I'll activate! Go, Chasm of Phantasms!"

The enclosed arena changed into a narrow gorge, with scaling cliffs on both sides of the group. The air chilled as a faint light poured into the valley.

"Man, I didn't think things would get creepier," Creighton said, looking around the crevice.

"Next I activate Painful Choice!" Jake continued. "With this card, I select five cards from my Deck, and you pick one of those to add to my hand. Then the rest will go to my Graveyard. So go ahead, pick whichever card you'd like!"

Jake then brought out five cards to display off of his Duel Disk, revealing Earthbound Spirit, The Trojan Horse, Golem Sentry, Guardian Statue, and Criosphinx. Andrew looked over the cards for a moment before finally picking, "I'll choose Earthbound Spirit!"

Jake smiled as he added the card to his hand, sending the rest to his Graveyard. At that moment, several withering spirits appeared and began to float around the chasm, moaning their eternal wail.

"What's this?" Izzy wondered looking around.

"Ohhhh, you gotta be kidding me!" Creighton yelped.

Andrew noted these phantasms and looked over at Jake, asking, "Is this part of your Chasm's power?"

Jake chuckled and replied, "Indeed it is! My Chasm of Phantasms activates whenever an EARTH monster is sent to my Graveyard, adding a Phantom Counter on it for each one."

(Chasm of Phantasms: 4 counters)

"And that's not all," Jake continued. "I'm using the power of The Cheerful Coffin to send 3 more EARTH monsters to my Graveyard!"

Jake then discarded Earthbound Spirit, Grave Ohja, and Hieracosphinx from his hand, allowing for more departed souls to enter into the Chasm's void.

(Chasm of Phantasms: 7 counters)

"And now I summon forth my Giant Rat (4/1400/1450) in Attack mode!" Jake continued, bringing forth a rat carrying a skull in its paw. "And now the power of my Chasm will be unleashed, raising the power of all EARTH monsters on the field by 100 points for every Phantom Counter on it!"

The souls then swirled around the Giant Rat, gathering up a mystical power and increasing its strength!

Giant Rat (4/1400/1450 - 4/2100/1450)

""Now Giant Rat, attack Ancient Hero Guardian!" Jake declared, sending the rat to attack the jar, which hid itself behind its shields in order to protect itself. The resulting blow caused several of the pebbles to fly back and hit Andrew, reducing his Life Points.

Andrew: 3400
Jake: 4000

Jake looked up curiously. "That should've done more damage," he said. "Your Guardian only had 800 Attack points!"

Andrew smiled. "Maybe you should check the power of your card again," he said, indicating his Guardian as it revealed behind its shields several swirling phantoms surrounding itself as well.

Ancient Hero Guardian (4/800/2000 - 4/1500/2000)

Jake blinked for a moment and then laughed. "I suppose I did say all EARTH monsters, didn't I?" he chuckled.

"What's with this guy?" Creighton asked. "He didn't even realize his own card helped power up Andrew's monsters too?"

"He must've got caught up in the moment," Izzy mused.

"In that case, Andrew should be able to take advantage of this," Kari noted.

"It's my turn then!" Andrew said, drawing his next card. "And I switch Guardian to Defense mode and summon Ancient Hero Bladegon (4/2000/1200) to the field in Attack mode!"

Ancient Hero Guardian (4/1500/2000 - 4/1500/2000)

The guardian then hid itself away in its protective jar as the great blue dinosaur arose, brandishing its sword-like claws once again!

"Now attack the Giant Rat!" Andrew declared. "Use the power of the Chasm to increase your strength!"

The dinosaur roared as several more spirits infused themselves into its claws before it leapt up and dove down at the Giant Rat, slicing it into clean strips!

Ancient Hero Bladegon (4/2000/1200 - 4/2700/1200)

Andrew: 3400
Jake: 3400

"You remember that my Chasm gains a counter each time an EARTH monster is sent to my Graveyard," Jake smiled, "and on top of that, my Giant Rat has the power to summon out another Giant Rat from my deck to the field to replace itself!"

Sure enough, even more phantasms appeared to accompany the arrival of the new Giant Rat.

(Chasm of Phantasms: 8 counters)

Giant Rat (4/1400/1450 - 4/2200/1450)
Ancient Hero Guardian (4/1500/2000 - 4/1600/2000)
Ancient Hero Bladegon (4/2700/1200 - 4/2800/1200)

"That's alright with me," Andrew said. "I'll end my turn with that."

"Now it's my turn!" Jake announced, drawing his next card. "Now go, Giant Rat! Attack Ancient Hero Bladegon!"

"Huh?!"

The newly summoned rat charged forth at the dinosaur, only to impale itself on the sharp claws of its adversary and be destroyed!

Andrew: 3400
Jake: 2800

"Why would he do that to his own monster?" Creighton wondered.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Izzy replied. "He's going to take advantage of the Chasm's power and increase the strength of his EARTH monsters even further!"

"But he's just strengthening Andrew's monsters too! So why go through all that trouble?" Creighton pressed.

"That I don't know, but it's gotta be part of his strategy if he's willing to lose Life Points over the matter," Izzy concluded.

"Now for another Giant Rat to be summoned to the field!" Jake announced, bringing forth another of his rats as the Chasm's population of spirits increased even more.

(Chasm of Phantasms: 9 counters)

Giant Rat (4/1400/1450 - 4/2300/1450)
Ancient Hero Guardian (4/1600/2000 - 4/1700/2000)
Ancient Hero Bladegon (4/2800/1200 - 4/2900/1200)

"Now hit him again!" Jake declared, sending his Giant Rat forth to slaughter itself against Bladegon's blades once again, taking an increased amount of damage again! "And now I'll summon forth Golem Sentry (4/800/1800) to the field as per my final Rat's ability!"

Replacing the rat now stood a great stone gate, wielding arms and legs along with a giant rock spear, ready to fend off any attacking monster as the Chasm's power grew even more.

Andrew: 3400
Jake: 2200

(Chasm of Phantasms: 10 counters)

Golem Sentry (4/800/1800 - 4/1800/1800)
Ancient Hero Guardian (4/1700/2000 - 4/1800/2000)
Ancient Hero Bladegon (4/2900/1200 - 4/3000/1200)

"I don't suppose I could convince you to attack again," Andrew joked.

"Laugh all you'd like," Jake smiled back, "but now my Graveyard is filled with enough monsters that I can summon forth this: my Skeletal Enigma (7/?/?)!"

Arising from the earth below them reached out a skeletal hand, nearly scaring Creighton back into Kari's arms again only to have her sidestep him and let him fall to the ground. The hand pulled out along behind it a great mass of bones which formed themselves into a large and imposing skeletal being!

"You may not appreciate the full power of my Skeletal Enigma just yet," Jake said, "but believe me, it's well worth it, for you see after I summon it by having at least 10 monsters in my Graveyard, it gains 200 Atk and Def for each of those monsters!"

The skeleton then gathered onto itself a collection of bones, including some of the skulls from the Giant Rats. It rearranged itself around these new bones, growing a trio of horns on its head as part of its newfound power!

Skeletal Enigma (7/?/? - 7/2000/2000)

"And on top of that, since it is also an EARTH monster," Jake continued, "it gains the power from the field itself!"

The skeletal being then became surrounded by the phantasms of the chasm, increasing its strength even more!

Skeletal Enigma (7/2000/2000 - 7/3000/2000)

"Looks like you're not the only one with a strong monster on their field now!" Jake said, laughing heartily as Andrew looked on at this great menace.


Arkana: 4000
Matt: 4000

"Well then, let the show begin!" Arkana said, drawing into his first card. "I'll start with the magic of my Spell Absorption card! Now each time either of us activates a Spell card, I'll gain 500 Life Points!"

"That's a powerful card to have, especially in his deck," Yugi said. "Arkana's deck is practically filled with magic cards to take advantage of, and I've no doubt he's going to utilize that Spell Absorption to his advantage."

"So he's going to just gain a bunch of Life Points each turn?" Joey summarized.

"Basically," Yugi answered as Matt maintained his focus on Arkana.

"Now I'll activate the field spell, Magical Citadel of Endymion!" Arkana continued. His new card brought forth a giant citadel out from the ground, surrounded by an aura of magic. The citadel towered above the duelists in the Graveyard, reaching colossal heights as the effects of Arkana's other magic card triggered.

"And since I activated a Spell card, my Life Points are increased," Arkana explained as the magic took hold, surrounding him in an aura of light.

Arkana: 4500
Matt: 4000

"Now I activate Spell Power Grasp!" Arkana continued. "This magic card allows me to add what is known as a Spell Counter to any card that can hold such counters, such as my Magical Citadel of Endymion. Then after that, it adds another Spell Power Grasp from my deck to my hand!"

Matt scowled as Joey yelped from the sidelines, "Say what?!"

True to his word, the magic transferred a shining sphere of magical energy into the towering citadel, increasing its power as Arkana gained Life Points and added a new Spell Power Grasp from his deck to his hand.

Arkana: 5000
Matt: 4000

(Magical Citadel: 1 counter)

"I should also point out that each time a Spell is activated, my Magical Citadel gains another Spell Counter, so with Spell Power Grasp, the Magical Citadel gains a counter!" Arkana explained, as yet another sphere of magical energy flew upwards into the citadel.

(Magical Citadel: 2 counters)

"And now I activate my Dark Magic Curtain!" Arkana continued. "By paying half of my Life Points, I'm allowed to bring out my greatest spellcaster straight from my deck!"

Arkana: 2500
Matt: 4000

"Man, is this guy's turn ever going to end?" Joey wondered.

"Don't underestimate him just yet," Yugi said. "He's about to bring out-"

"I summon the Dark Magician (7/2500/2100)!"

With that said, a large red curtain appeared on Arkana's field, heralded by a skeleton on top. The curtain billowed and flowed until it revealed the magician, clad in red armor and with a wicked grin on his face. His long white hair was tucked into his pointed hat, a small goatee resting on his chin.

"Whoa! Dat Dark Magician ain't like yours at all, Yug!" Joey said.

"And now Spell Absorption gives me life while my Citadel gains another counter," Arkana sneered, recovering from his loss while another magical sphere flew upwards towards the citadel.

Arkana: 3000
Matt: 4000

(Magical Citadel: 3 counters)

"Now I'll play this one card face-down to end my turn," Arkana finished.

"This is bad," Yugi said. "He's already got his Dark Magician out onto the field, and I'm certain his face-down card is a Trap."

"I bet Matt'll be fine," Tristan encouraged. "He's probably already got a strategy to beat this guy."

Matt drew his next card and looked over his hand. "I'll start by activating the Dragon Shrine spell," he said. "With it, I can send a Dragon-type monster to my Graveyard, and if I send a Normal monster as a result, I can send another Dragon to the Graveyard. I'll start with Divine Dragon Ragnarok, and since he's a Normal monster, I'll toss another Dragon into my Graveyard."

As Matt sent his two Dragons to the Graveyard, Arkana snickered. "I hope it was worth it to use that Spell," he said, "as I now gain Life Points, and my Citadel gains another counter!"

Arkana: 3500
Matt: 4000

(Magical Citadel: 4 counters)

That Citadel is going to cause some problems if I let it stay on the field for too long, Matt thought to himself. But there's nothing I can do about it, especially with that Dark Magician in play. Of course, I should be fine with this!

"I summon my Decoy Dragon (2/300/200) to the field!" Matt said, bringing out the familiar teal dragon, who cooed upon its summoning.

The others behind Matt looked on with disbelief. "What is dat?" Joey asked.

"Definitely not the move I would've expected," Tristan noted.

Arkana simply laughed. "I don't suppose you've got anything stronger in your hand to beat my Dark Magician," he mocked. "But I can't blame you, it's very difficult to beat 2500 Atk points on the first turn."

Laugh while you can, Matt thought to himself. With my Tyrant Dragon in the Graveyard, any attack you make will backfire on you.

"I'll end my turn with these two face-down cards," Matt finished, Setting his two cards.

"Good, now it's my turn," Arkana said, drawing his next card. He smiled and said, "I'll start by playing a monster face-down on the field, and then I'll use Thousand Knives!"

"Oh no!" Yugi yelped as Matt grimaced.

"Wait, why's that bad?" Shannon asked.

"Thousand Knives activates while Arkana has a Dark Magician, and it destroys one monster on the field instantly!" Yugi replied.

"But that means!"

"Go, kill the Decoy Dragon!" Arkana commanded as several knives floated around the Dark Magician. The magician grinned evilly and unleashed the shower of knives down on the diminutive dragon, eliminating it from the field!

"By using my Spell, I gain even more Life Points, and my Citadel grows even stronger!" Arkana said, opening his arms widely to accept the flow of energy.

Arkana: 4000
Matt: 4000

(Magical Citadel: 5 counters)

Keith chuckled off to the sidelines. "This is the power of Arkana's new deck," he said. "It takes advantage of all the Spells he can play, increasing his strength each time. As long as he's got those two cards in play, he's going to be unstoppable."

"We'll just see about that," Matt retorted, catching Arkana and Keith's attention. "I activate my face-down card, Dragon Swarm!"

"A Trap card?" Arkana gulped.

"Since my Dragon was destroyed, I'm allowed to bring out two more Dragons straight from my deck!" Matt explained. "So now, I bring out Jubilant Dragon (4/200/1900) and Emotional Dragon (4/1500/1500) to my field!"

On his field now were two new dragons, one of a great golden color that encircled a pot of gold, the other a wispy purple dragon wielding two goblets of fine wine. The two shielded themselves in front of him in order to protect his Life Points.

"And thanks to my Jubilant Dragon's effect, I can draw a new card from my Deck," Matt said, proceeding to do as such. "Looks like you won't be reaching my Life Points any time soon!"

Arkana snarled but regained his composure soon enough. "We'll see about that!" he said. "Go, Dark Magician! Attack the Jubilant Dragon!"

The dastardly mage raised his staff and aimed it towards the cheery golden dragon. It sent a burst of dark magic towards it, wiping it off the field with ease!

"My Jubilant Dragon's ability activates again!" Matt said, drawing a new card. "Since he was destroyed, I get to draw another card. And also, I can activate my Trap card! Vengeance of the Dragons!"

"What?!"

Keith winced. "Now he can summon a Dragon from his hand and destroy one of Arkana's monsters, inflicting damage to his Life Points equal to its Atk," he said.

"Now I'll summon out Des Volstgalph (6/2200/1700) to the field in Attack mode!" Matt declared, bringing forth a black dragon with red markings across its body. "And then, I'll destroy your Dark Magician!"

A great burst of dragon fire exploded from the Trap card, aimed straight at Arkana's Dark Magician! A great explosion followed, obscuring the field in smoke!

"The Dark Magician is no more," Matt said.

"Hehehehe, that's what you think!"

The smoke cleared and revealed the Dark Magician, grinning as wickedly as ever and completely unharmed. The group recoiled in shock.

"But how is that possible?!"


"Now I'll flip over my Golem Sentry to face-down Defense Position via its effect," Jake said, proceeding to turn over his armed golem and transform it into a horizontal card. "And that will end my turn."

That Golem Sentry could cause problems for me if I let it stay on the field for too long, Andrew thought to himself, drawing his next card. But if I send it to the Graveyard, I only strengthen his Chasm of Phantasms and consequently his monsters as a result. I'll have to come up with a different strategy for beating him.

Looking down at his next card, Andrew smiled. "I'll summon Ancient Hero Cosmo Star (4/1900/1800) to the field!"

A brand new hero emerged, a star-shaped warrior with arms and legs that brandished a pair of metal boxing gloves. It pounded these gloves together, creating several sparks that rained like stardust.

"I've never seen an Ancient Hero like that before," Izzy said.

"Even now, his deck is full of surprises," Creighton smirked.

"Now I'll use the power of Ancient Hero Cosmo Star!" Andrew said. "With his power, I can destroy one of your Spell or Trap cards and inflict 500 damage to you if I'm successful! So now, I'm going to destroy the Chasm of Phantasms!"

The star warrior leapt up into the air and charged its fist, ready to rain down on the chasm with its power! It then dove straight down, fist extended, aimed right towards the middle of the chasm! A huge explosion occurred on impact, blinding the group momentarily. A few moments later, the results of the star warrior's ability were revealed-

"What?!"

"It's still here!"

Jake smiled. "This Chasm is protected by the spirits that inhabit it," he explained. "As such, whenever the Chasm would be destroyed, I can negate its destruction by removing 3 Phantasm Counters."

(Chasm of Phantasms: 7 counters)

Skeletal Enigma (7/3000/? - 7/2700/2000)
Ancient Hero Guardian (4/1800/2000 - 4/1500/2000)
Ancient Hero Bladegon (4/3000/1200 - 4/2700/1200)

"So you protected the Chasm by weakening its power," Andrew summarized. Then he smiled and continued, "I'll Set this one card face-down to end my turn."

"Now it's my move," Jake said, drawing his next card. "And I'll activate it, the Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw 2 cards!"

After retrieving his two cards, Jake continued, "Now I'll attack your Ancient Hero Cosmo Star with Skeletal Enigma! Go-"

"Not so fast! I activate my Fear of the Ancient Heroes Trap card!" Andrew countered. "Now you won't be able to attack as long as I've got an Ancient Hero on my field."

Jake frowned but then shook it off and said, "In that case, I'll flip over Golem Sentry and use his ability to return one of your monsters to your hand, like your Ancient Hero Bladegon!"

The face-down golem revealed itself and then rushed at Bladegon, forcing it back with its spear until it disappeared from the field and the card forced back to Andrew's hand.

"Now I'll flip Golem Sentry face-down again, Set this card and end my turn," Jake finished.

"Alright, my move!" Andrew said. "And I'll start with using Cosmo Star's effect again!"

"What? But why?!"

The star warrior once again leapt into the air, charged its fist, and then dove down upon Jake's field, only for the Chasm to repel the attack with a horde of ghosts.

(Chasm of Phantasms: 4 counters)

Skeletal Enigma (7/2700/? - 7/2400/2000)
Ancient Hero Guardian (4/1500/2000 - 4/1200/2000)

"I get it!" Creighton said. "He's weakening the power of the field spell so that Jake's monsters won't be nearly as powerful!"

"Makes sense, actually," Izzy noted.

"Now I'll summon Ancient Hero Bladegon back to the field," Andrew continued, "and then I'll sacrifice all three of my Heroes in order to summon Ancient Hero Superior (10/?/?) to the field!"

The arrival of the bladed dinosaur was swiftly cut off, as it joined the jar and the star warrior in combining together to create Andrew's ace monster, its blazing robes accentuating its arrival along with its trademark weapon.

"Not unlike your Skeletal Enigma, my Ancient Hero Superior also gains power when he's summoned," Andrew said. "In fact, he gains 800 Atk and Def points for every Ancient Hero in my Graveyard!"

Ancient Hero Superior (10/?/? - 10/2400/2400)

"Next, I'll use his special ability to give him an additional 500 Atk points!"

Ancient Hero Superior (10/2400/2400 - 10/2900/2400)

"Now go! Attack his Golem Sentry!" Andrew declared, sending his great warrior into the fray!

"Not so fast!" Jake interrupted. "I activate my Trap, Roar of the Graveyard! Now that I have at least 10 monsters in my Graveyard, I can destroy all your monsters instantly!"

With that, a horrendous sound emanated from Jake's Duel Disk, traveling its way across the field and bombarding the blazing warrior! Jake smiled but then took a moment as he realized something was wrong. Then Superior broke through the sound and proceeded to destroy the face-down Golem Sentry!

"What?! But how?!" Jake asked as another ghost appeared on the battlefield.

(Chasm of Phantasms: 5 counters)

Skeletal Enigma (7/2400/? - 7/2500/2000)
Ancient Hero Guardian (4/1200/2000 - 4/1300/2000)

"Sorry, but my Ancient Hero Superior is immune to Trap effects," Andrew explained, a confident smile on his face. "Looks like you didn't get the memo on that."

"Heh, I heard you were tough, but I couldn't imagine that you were this strong," Jake said. "You're more than a worthy opponent for me."

Andrew smiled at the compliment as Jake drew his next card. "I'll switch my Skeletal Enigma into Defense mode," he said. "That'll be it."

For now…


"How did your Magician survive my Trap?!" Matt asked.

"Ehehehehehe, maybe you'll have better luck looking at the Trap card I activated," Arkana replied. "My Dark Illusion countered your Trap's destructive effects and allowed me to save my Dark Magician."

"So it negated the effect of Matt's Trap that would've destroyed the Dark Magician," Yugi said.

"Dat's crazy!" Joey yelped.

Matt grimaced as Arkana continued, "Now I'll use my Spell Power Grasp to do just what I did the last time, adding two counters to my Citadel, giving me Life Points, and adding my last Spell Power Grasp to my hand!"

Arkana: 4500
Matt: 4000

(Magical Citadel: 7 counters)

"Looks like I'm the one with the upper hand now!" Arkana sneered. "Now I end my turn!"

"Hmph, well then I guess it's time to show you what I can do," Matt said, drawing his next card. He looked at it and realized it was the Dragon of Hope (1/0/0).

Good to see you again, old friend, Matt thought to himself. I made need you in a second. But first…

"First, I activate A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon to return Des Volstgalph to my hand and destroy all Spells and Traps on the field!"

The charred dragon then vanished with a great flurry of wind that whipped out at the Magical Citadel!

"Alright! He's gonna wipe out dat tower!" Joey said.

"Don't count on it," Yugi replied, drawing the others' attention.

"I'll activate the power of my Magical Citadel!" Arkana said. "With it, I'll remove one of its Spell Counters to protect it from being destroyed!"

Sure enough a magical sphere flew up to the top of the tower, activating a beacon of light. The light poured out and surrounded the citadel in a magical shield, protecting it from the wrath of the wind!

(Magical Citadel: 6 counters)

"And on top of that, since you activated a Spell card, my Citadel gains another counter anyway!"

(Magical Citadel: 7 counters)

"Looks like you won't be laying waste to my citadel just yet!" Arkana laughed.

Matt smiled and said, "That's alright. I just wanted to make sure the rest of your field was clear."

"What do you mean?" Arkana demanded before realizing that his Spell Absorption card was disappearing, gone with the wind.

"Of course! Since his Spell Absorption card was also on the field, it got destroyed too!" Tristan said.

"Yep, and that means no more Life Points for Arkana," Yugi nodded.

Arkana grimaced as Matt continued, "Now I'll summon Blizzard Dragon (4/1800/1000) in Attack mode!"

The great icy blue dragon arose on Matt's field, roaring out as it was ready to rumble!

"Next I'll use Blizzard Dragon's effect to freeze over your Dark Magician!" Matt continued, letting his dragon breathe a freezing breath onto the magician, freezing it in place!

"No! My Dark Magician!" Arkana gasped as his monster was encased in ice!

"Now I'll wipe out your defenses!" Matt declared. "Go, Blizzard Dragon! Attack his face-down monster!"

The dragon roared before leaping into the air and dive-bombing Arkana's face-down card, which revealed itself as a duo of red plants with blue stems and yellow petals. The dragon ripped the plants apart, destroying them with ease as particles of light flew into the air.

"You may have destroyed my Magical Plant Mandragola (2/500/200)," Arkana said, "but now its effect will activate, placing Spell Counters on any cards on the field that will take them, like my Citadel!"

Sure enough, the particles of light flew upwards together into a magical sphere, which then proceeded to fly up into the towering citadel above.

(Magical Citadel: 8 counters)

"It doesn't matter what you do," Arkana said. "My monsters will live on, my tower will still stand, and soon you won't have any Life Points left to your name!"


AUTHOR'S NOTES

Whoa! Getting a little crazy with our dueling there, aren't we? What kind of cards do these guys have?!

Andrew vs. Jake

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.

Chasm of Phantasms (Field Spell)
Effect: If an EARTH monster(s) is sent to your GY: place 1 Phantasm Counter on this card for each one. All EARTH monsters on the field gain 100 ATK for every Phantasm Counter on this card. If this card would be destroyed, you can remove 3 Phantasm Counters from this card instead.

Painful Choice (Normal Spell)
Effect: Reveal 5 cards from your Deck to your opponent. Your opponent picks 1 to add to your hand, then send the rest to the GY.

The Cheerful Coffin (Normal Spell)
Effect: Discard up to 3 monsters from your hand.

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.

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.

Golem Sentry (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 800 Atk, 1800 Def, Rock, EARTH
Effect: Once per turn: you can change this card to face-down Defense Position. When this card is Flip Summoned: Target 1 monster your opponent controls; return that target to the hand.

Skeletal Enigma (Effect Monster)
Level 7, ? Atk, ? Def, Zombie, EARTH
Effect: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned by having 10 or more monsters in your GY. This card's original Atk/Def become equal to the number of monsters in your GY x200. Cannot be destroyed by battle. If this card is removed from the field, banish it.

Ancient Hero Cosmo Star (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1900 Atk, 1800 Def, Warrior, LIGHT
Effect: Cannot be destroyed by battle. Once per turn: you can target 1 Spell/Trap card your opponent controls; destroy that target, and if you do, inflict 500 damage to them.

Fear of the Ancient Heroes (Normal Trap)
Effect: Until the End Phase, as long as you control at least 1 "Ancient Hero" monster, monsters your opponent controls cannot declare an attack.

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.

Roar of the Graveyard (Normal Trap)
Effect: If you have at least 10 EARTH monsters in your GY: destroy all monsters your opponent controls.

Matt vs. Arkana

Spell Absorption (Continuous Spell)
Effect: Gain 500 Life Points after a Spell card resolves.

Magical Citadel of Endymion (Field Spell)
Effect: Each time a Spell card is activated, place 1 Spell Counter on this card. If a card with a Spell Counter(s) is destroyed, place its Spell Counters on this card. Once per turn, if you would activate a card effect by removing a Spell Counter(s) from a card you control, you can remove that many Spell Counters from this card instead. If this card would be destroyed, you can remove 1 Spell Counter from this card instead.

Spell Power Grasp (Normal Spell)
Effect: Target 1 face-up card on the field that you can place a Spell Counter on; place 1 Spell Counter on that target, then you can add 1 "Spell Power Grasp" from your Deck to your hand. You can only activate 1 "Spell Power Grasp" per turn.

Dark Magic Curtain (Normal Spell)
Effect: Pay half your LP; Special Summon 1 "Dark Magician" from your Deck. You cannot Summon other monsters the turn you activate this card.

Dark Magician (Normal Monster)
Level 7, 2500 Atk, 2100 Def, Spellcaster, DARK

Dragon Shrine (Normal Spell)
Effect: Send 1 Dragon monster from your Deck to the GY, then if that monster in your GY is a Dragon Normal Monster, you can send 1 more Dragon monster from your Deck to the GY. You can only activate 1 "Dragon Shrine" per turn.

Divine Dragon Ragnarok (Normal Monster)
Level 4, 1500 Atk, 1000 Def, Dragon, LIGHT

Thousand Knives (Normal Spell)
Effect: If you control a "Dark Magician": Target 1 monster your opponent controls; destroy that target.

Dragon Swarm (Normal Trap)
Effect: If a Dragon monster you control is destroyed: you can Special Summon 2 Level 4 or lower Dragon monsters from your Deck.

Jubilant Dragon (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 200 Atk, 1900 Def, Dragon, EARTH
Effect: If this card is Summoned: draw 1 card. If this card is destroyed: draw 1 card. If a Dragon monster is Summoned: you can discard 1 card; draw 1 card.

Emotional Dragon (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1500 Atk, 1500 Def, Dragon, FIRE
Effect: Unaffected by your opponent's Spell effects. If this card attacks, you can discard 1 card. During your next turn, if you did not discard a card for this effect, this card cannot attack.

Vengeance of the Dragons (Normal Trap)
Effect: If a Dragon monster you control is destroyed: you can Special Summon 1 Dragon monster from your hand, then target the monster that destroyed it; destroy that target, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's Atk.

Dark Illusion (Counter Trap)
Effect: When a Spell/Trap card, or monster effect, is activated that targets a DARK monster on the field: Negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card.
NOTE: With PSCT and such, this card should actually negate the entirety of Vengeance of the Dragons, since it partially targets as part of its effect. It's just weird given that I have the Special Summon as part of what would be the "cost" rather than the resolution of the effect, but of course it wouldn't work out for Matt in the duel if the whole card was negated, would it? I believe by modern standards, the printing of "Vengeance of the Dragons" would actually target the monster first, then Special Summon, then destroy, then damage, rather than Special Summon first, then target, then destroy, then damage.

Dragon of Hope (Effect Monster)
Level 1, 0 Atk, 0 Def, Dragon, LIGHT
Effect: (Quick Effect): You can discard this card from your hand; Special Summon 1 Dragon monster from your Deck.
NOTE: Lowkey might be the most broken Dragon support in the game if ever printed.

A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon (Normal Spell)
Effect: Return 1 Level 5 or higher Dragon-type monster you control to the hand, and if you do, destroy all Spell and Trap cards on the field.

Blizzard Dragon (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1800 Atk, 1000 Def, Dragon, WATER
Effect: Once per turn, you can target 1 monster your opponent controls; it cannot change its Battle Position or declare an attack until the opponent's next End Phase.

Magical Plant Mandragola (Effect Monster)
Level 2, 500 Atk, 200 Def, Spellcaster, DARK
Effect: FLIP: Place 1 Spell Counter on each face-up card that you can put a Spell Counter on.

Will Matt be able to conquer Arkana's new and improved deck, or will he succumb to the power of the Dark Magician? And can Andrew keep up the fight against Jake's Graveyard-based strategy, or will Jake overwhelm him with an army of spirits? Keep a weather eye on the horizon for the next chapter!