Chapter 39: Volcanic Entity

"Geez, first it's cold, then it's underground, and now this!"

Creighton's complaints were loudly proclaimed to the world, but to his credit it was well justified as the group was now climbing up the side of a great mountain. The mountain itself wasn't particularly tall, but the billowing smoke from its summit wasn't a pleasant sight to be hiking towards. Most of the crew even opted to stay behind at the Herald, figuring that the billowing smoke was a sign that this wasn't meant to be a Sunday stroll.

The small group that did decide to climb Mount Stromboli pursued the summit with haste. Having taken some time to get back to the ship from so deep inland and then sail such a distance, though it was not so long, they knew that it would jeopardize their efforts should anyone closely associated with Montalban be in pursuit. Combined with the strenuous climb, the overall mood was a bit testy.

"Why couldn't the Trinity just set-up shop near a bakery in France?" Creighton whined. "Or maybe near a burger joint in New York? Or even just an open field - I'll take a freaking farm over climbing this!"

"It's not to their advantage, technologies improved, things have changed, etcetera etcetera," Andrew retorted. "We've been over this nearly a thousand times."

"You know what we haven't been over nearly a thousand times? Mountains! I don't climb mountains!"

"Well then you should get out more and climb mountains."

"Who has the time to climb mountains? Who even climbs mountains in their spare time?!"

"Hikers, mountaineers, bikers on some places, families trying to beat the whining out of their kids with some walking-"

"Well it sure ain't working!"

"Believe me, I know."

"How do we even know that this guy's at the top of the volcano?"

"We don't."

"OHHHHHHH, GOOD! For a minute there, I thought we might be GOING somewhere with this! But NOOOOOOOOO! We're just climbing an active volcano on a HUNCH!"

"This is where the medallion said to go, so that's where we're going."

"And your medallion didn't tell you to go grab some food before sailing out of Hungary?"

"I didn't even know we needed it that badly!"

"Which is why we've been sailing for days on nearly empty stomachs, and now you're having us hike up a damn volcano to find a guy we don't even know is there!"

"BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!"

The two looked over at an infuriated Kari, her face contorted with raw anger.

"I've had it up to HERE with you two! You do nothing but complain! And you do nothing but argue back! Every day it's, 'What's gone bad' this, and 'What's gone bad' that. I'm so sick and tired of hearing your voices, I almost feel like puking because all I hear is the sound of you two IDIOTS YELLING BACK AND FORTH, AND I JUST WANT TO RUN THE BOTH OF YOU THROUGH YOUR ROYAL JEWELS WITH A SWORD!"

Andrew and Creighton both instinctively guarded their crotches as Kari huffed and puffed. Izzy came over and patted her shoulder in an effort to calm her down.

"Nothing like a woman scorned," Andrew said.

"You can say that again," Creighton replied.

"Why don't we take a break?" Izzy suggested calmly. "It's been a long day, and we can drink some of the water we've got."

"I suppose," Andrew said, looking around for a spot to sit. He noted a group of rocks nearby and signaled to them saying, "Why don't we go over there?"

Nodding along, the other three joined him in taking the short trek over to the rocks. As they approached, the group noticed some steam rising up from behind the curtain of rock.

"Do volcanoes steam on their slopes?" Creighton asked.

"Not the last time I checked," Izzy replied.

"But steam comes from water," Kari said. "And if there's steam, that means there's water. And that could mean…"

Her thought went unfinished as the group looked at each other. Then the dashed quickly behind the rocks and found-

"A HOT SPRING!"

"ALRIGHT!"

"DIBS!"

The boys wasted no timing in taking off most of their clothes and jumping right into the steaming waters of the spring. The girls, while equally excited, took a moment to look around and find a spot where they too could dip into the spring, out of sight of the other two. The four relaxed and bathed in the spring, taking long deep sighs and breathing in the steam, stimulating their senses.

"Man, this is just what we needed," Creighton said.

"I couldn't agree more," Andrew nodded. "I almost wish the rest of the crew were here to see this."

"Nahhh, they'd take up too much space," Creighton said before dipping his head underneath the water.

"Fair point," Andrew sighed.

On the other side in a sheltered part of the springs, Izzy and Kari relaxed in their part of the simmering waters.

"Man, it's been so long since I've been in a hot spring," Kari said.

"It is really nice," Izzy replied, taking her glasses off and rubbing the steam off of them.

"I can just feel the knots in my shoulders dissipating," Kari sighed.

"Yeah, I wonder if spas are like this," Izzy wondered aloud.

"You've never been in a spa?" Kari asked.

"I've never been in a hot spring either," Izzy confessed, wiping her glasses with her shirt on the rocks.

"Really? You must be tense," Kari said. "Surely you've gotten a shoulder rub before?"

"Not even that."

"Wow, you've really gotta go to a reflexology place or a spa or something. You've gotta be harder than these rocks!"

"I don't know about that…"

"Here, lemme help you out."

Taking advantage of Izzy facing the rocks already, Kari wound up her fist and punched Izzy square between the shoulders! A moment passed by before Kari yelped with pain; Izzy barely moved at all.

"Geez, it's more like metal back there!" Kari said, massaging her poor hand.

"Hmm, maybe I should go to a spa," Izzy mused.

"Yeah, when this is all over, I'm taking you out to a massage center!" Kari said. "You're gonna be looser than an unused rubber band."

"…what?"

"Sorry, office humor. I've gotten used to being Kaiba's secretary for a bit."

"Hey guys?"

The two girls looked up and yelped with surprise at Andrew's sudden appearance, smacking him immediately across the rock and into the springs again.

"Have you no sense of decency?!" Kari yelled, covering herself with her clothes as Izzy began dressing back up again.

"Seriously, give a girl some space," Izzy said, blushing violently.

Andrew surfaced from beneath the water glaring. He muttered something, but all that was seen was bubbles rising up to the surface.

"Get out of the water, we can't hear you apologizing," Kari snapped.

Andrew then rose up out of the water and said, "I was going to ask if you two had seen Creighton on your end of the springs. He kinda disappeared from my end."

"We haven't, but he'd get the same treatment you did if he was," Kari said dismissively, getting her clothes back on.

"Weird…" Andrew then dove back into the spring, no doubt searching for Creighton. Their brief spring treatment interrupted, the girls decided to exit the springs and wait for Andrew to come out again. A few minutes went by before he did, stepping out of the hot spring and reaching for his clothes.

"Well, he's not in there for whatever reason," he said as he began putting his attire back on.

"You think he might've gone ahead to the summit?" Izzy asked.

"And leave his clothes here? Not likely," Andrew said.

"Maybe he found another part of the spring and hid over there," Kari suggested.

"Maybe, but I think I swam around the whole thing and didn't run into any sort of secret passages," Andrew replied.

"Hmm, where'd he go?" Izzy wondered.

Suddenly from behind the rocks, a group of warriors jumped out, immediately surrounding the three friends. They hooped and hollered and raised their spears above their heads! The trio looked around themselves and realized they were trapped!

"Where did these guys come from?!" Kari called out over the hollering.

"They must've been waiting to trap us!" Andrew said. "We're surrounded!"

One of the warriors hopped down off of the rocks and approached the group. "You are prisoners now of the great Admiral Marshall," he said, "Leader of the Trinity's Forces, Defender of the Sacred Key, Master of Tactical Manew…Manuu…Manoova? Manuvah?"

"Maneuvers?" Izzy suggested.

"SILENCE!" The warrior yelled with an accusatory point of his spear. A moment passed by before he lowered it and continued, "Master of Tactical Manuevers. Now, you will come with us!"

The girls looked over at Andrew who simply shrugged and followed the warrior willingly. The rest of the warriors surrounded the three as they escorted them to another part of the mountain where a clean slab of stone was placed. The leader placed his hand on a part of the wall, triggering a magical triangle to appear and open the side of the mountain, revealing a path that went deeper into the volcano.

A great gust of heat could be felt as the pathway opened, and the warriors continued to lead the trio down the path into the volcano…


"What exactly are we doing here again?"

"We're searching for the chest, of course."

"I got dat, it's just…"

"Just what? You worried about something?"

"Oh I dunno, maybe it's da fact dat we're looking for it in some ruins NEAR AN ACTIVE VOLCANO!"

Joey wasn't entirely wrong with his assertion. Matt's party had sailed away from Germany as soon as they could, though they didn't get too far as they sailed straight towards Naples, Italy. There they would once again trek inland towards the ruins of Herculaneum, where the compass medallion led them. This was of course near the infamous Mount Vesuvius, which had buried the town centuries ago along with nearby Pompeii.

"Relax, Joey, Vesuvius hasn't erupted in nearly a hundred years," Matt said as he inspected some of the finely preserved houses nearby. "It probably won't erupt until long after we've left."

"Or it could erupt while we're still looking," Tristan teased, sneaking up behind Joey and startling him with a loud "BOOM!"

"DON'T DO DAT!" Joey yelled, nearly strangling Tristan. "Ya coulda given me a heart attack!"

"Come on, guys, we've got more important things to worry about," Yugi pleaded from the side, hoping to break up the two. Meanwhile Tea ignored the boys and kept searching around the ruins. After once again checking another house without any success, she left the building and looked up to see-

"Isn't that…?"

The group looked over towards where Tea was now pointing. Confused at first, Joey had to ask, "What're ya talking about, Tea?"

"That mark over there," Tea replied. "That's the Trinity mark, right?"

Curiosity took the group, as all they could see were buildings. They huddled around Tea to find what she was pointing at. Some of the buildings had curious notches around them, cracks that etched their way through them in a curious pattern.

"I still don't see it," Yugi said.

"Me neither," Joey remarked.

"It was there a moment ago," Tea said, a little disappointed that now she doubted what she had seen.

"What time is it?" Matt asked.

Shannon checked her wristwatch and replied, "A little after 5. Why?"

"Wait here for a minute."

Matt then scurried off around the cracked buildings, hustling up to a higher vantage point. When he was sure he was at the right angle, he brought out a small but powerful flashlight and shone it into the cracks of the building. Just as he did, the group gasped.

"There it is!" Tea said.

"The Mark of the Trinity!" Yugi said.

Sure enough, the symbol of the Trinity shone clearly through the cracks, lit up against the group by the power of Matt's flashlight. Just as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared, and a few minutes later, Matt came back to the group.

"How did you do that?" Yugi asked.

"Just a simple trick with light," Matt explained. "The time of day would've shown that this house was used by the Trinity back in ancient times."

"But I already looked through the house, and there was nothing in it," Tea said.

Matt grinned slyly and replied, "That's cause there's another house the Trinity was using."

"Oh, I get it," Yugi said. "Light shines through those cracks at that angle twice a day!"

"And because Mount Vesuvius is to the east of our location," Matt continued, "we've got the perfect angle to check for it!"

"Hey yeah, you're right! Let's go check it out!" Joey exclaimed.

The group then headed into the house and checked for a way to get higher up. Eventually Shannon found a good spot between the cracked building and the summit, signaling to the others about her location. She then proceeded to shine a light through the building with her own flashlight, illuminating a new pattern on the appropriate house nearby. Eager to investigate, Matt ducked right into the house-

"Well well, took you long enough."

Matt's excitement quickly faded as he realized he'd been beaten to the punch - again. There in the midst of what could've been the living room sat Bandit Keith, a grin so wide he could've painted stripes on himself and called himself Cheshire. And under his boot sat the chest, already free from its bonds.

"You know, those Trinity folks were real crafty bastards, eh?" Keith remarked. "Coming up with that little light trick in order to signal which house was theirs and all."

"Enough talk, Keith," Matt said, activating his Duel Disk. "Get your goon out here and let's get this over with."

"Whoa, take it easy, Matt," Keith said, holding his hands up as though he were surrendering. "I thought we'd have a chat first at least."

"I'm not in the mood for your games," Matt replied. "If you're not gonna duel me, then I'll just take the chest by force."

"Ah ah ah, you know that's not how this works," Keith said. "I'm the one with the chest, so I've got all the time in the world. Or would you rather I just send this to Montalban right now?"

A pause followed as Matt considered Keith's words. It was true though; having gotten here first, Keith could've taken the chest and left already. Yet here he was, waiting for Matt to show up. Something was different about this encounter.

"What do you want?" Matt finally asked.

"That's more like it," Keith smiled. "You're already up two Spirit Dragons to our none, and chances are that key ain't gonna be flying to me. So let's up the ante this time: whoever wins gets everything: the key, the chest, and even those two Spirit Dragons you're hanging onto."

"You know I'd never agree to that," Matt said.

"True, but I think you'll have a change of heart," Keith said. "You remember where your friends are, right?"

Matt's eyes grew wide as he realized that no one else had followed him into the house since he'd gotten here. He turned and ran out the entrance, finding himself face-to-face with a group of uniformed goons, with several of them holding onto the rest of the gang. A few of them struggled as Matt searched around for a way out, an escape of some sort, but it was no use.

"It's a trap…"

Keith chuckled as he exited the house. "Course it's a trap," he said. "You think I'd give you a choice in the matter?"

Matt turned back to Keith and demanded, "Let my friends go, it's me you want anyway."

"You know I'd never agree to that," Keith echoed Matt's words with a laugh. "Beat my Ghoul, and I'll let your friends go too."

"Fine," Matt agreed. "Let's get this over with then! Bring him on!"

Keith smiled as he sidestepped out of the door frame, allowing for another person to exit the house. This was a strange fellow with large shoes and baggy pants strung up by overalls over his black shirt. His face was covered in a variety of piercings, and his eyes were baggy as though he hadn't slept for days. A lock pendant swung from a chain by his neck as he calmly walked into the remaining light of the day.

"This is Strings," Keith introduced. "He doesn't talk much, but don't worry, I'll help narrate his moves so you don't get lost."

"Be careful Matt! Strings is a dangerous opponent, he's the one who nearly beat me with Slifer the Sky Dragon!" Yugi called out from the sidelines before being hushed up by a goon.

Matt stared down his silent opponent until finally he nodded and brandished his Duel Disk again. Strings followed suit, triggering his own Duel Disk in preparation for the oncoming fight.

"LET'S DUEL!"


The warriors continued to lead Andrew, Kari, and Izzy deeper into the volcanic tunnel, the heat continuing to increase as the trio tried fanning themselves to stay cool.

"Geez, how do you guys stand this heat?" Andrew asked. "I'm practically burning up!"

His question was responded with silence as the warriors continued to lead them down further. Andrew huffed at this; he'd already taken off his jacket and wrapped it around his waist, he wasn't planning on taking his shirt off too. Likewise, Izzy and Kari were trying to stay cool, but they too found it difficult in the overbearing tunnel air.

The group marched down until finally they reached what appeared to be a dead end until the leader tapped upon certain points of the wall, triggering a hidden door to open up and once more blast a wave of air at the group. Surprisingly, this air was cooler than the air in the tunnel; it was actually quite tolerable by comparison.

"It's cooler in the mountain?" Izzy wondered. "That doesn't make sense."

"Maybe it's another Trinity-based invention," Andrew said.

"So what, the Trinity invented air conditioning?" Kari asked sarcastically.

"You never know."

The warriors continued their march through the newly opened door, forcing the trio along inside. Beyond the door was a large cavernous room, nearly twice as tall as it was wide and with various paths leading to parts of the wall, no doubt leading to other hidden passages strewn throughout the mountain. The trio looked around as they were led down their own path to the center platform of the room, a solid rock cradled upon precarious rock ties that settled beneath it and clung to the walls for support.

Upon arriving atop this platform, the leader stepped forward ahead of the mass and called out, "Admiral Marshall! We have captured these three outside the mountain, and we await your orders on how to punish them accordingly."

At first nothing seemed to happen. Then suddenly a burst of flames arose in front of the leader and the group, spawning a gallant and handsome man dressed in black regal tunic similar to his fellow Trinity advisors and wearing a fashionable gaucho. He looked up at the leader and then over towards the trio being guarded by the warriors. He walked over to them and inspected them.

"Well well, what have we here?" he said. "Innocent travelers, or impertinent thieves?"

"You're one to talk about impertinence," Kari scowled. "Having your minions intrude on our bathing time!"

"I don't think you needed to tell him that," Izzy murmured, blushing a deeper shade of pink than she already was.

"Did they really?" the man asked. Suddenly he knelt down and lifted Kari's hand up, bowing and saying, "My deepest and most sincere apologies, madame. My men have not quite grasped the concept of patience and privacy."

"Oh…well…" Kari seemed to be at a loss for words; this man's sudden change in behavior was…unexpected.

"Please, no need to talk," the man continued, gently kissing her hand. "I will most certainly be swift in executing proper punishment for their callousness, lest their ungracious approach to securing prisoners - especially such feminine ones - persist in these modern times."

"I think I should be offended," Andrew murmured.

"You are dismissed, then," the man said, now addressing the warriors and their leader. "Return to your post and keep an eye out for further intruders. And next time, take more care with your timing!"

"Y-yessir!"

With that, the warriors hustled out through the same passageway they had come from, sealing the exit behind them as the last one disappeared. The man then turned his attention back to the trio.

"Perhaps introductions are in order," he said, taking a bow. "Admiral Zorro Marshall, at your service."

"Pleasure is ours then," Andrew replied. "Now might be a good time to tell us where you're keeping our friend."

"Oh, but it would be rude of me to not ask you your names after having just told you mine," Zorro said. "Surely my generosity deserves that much."

The trio looked at each other, Kari shrugging her shoulders and Izzy nodding her head. Andrew sighed, took a moment to himself, then said, "Andrew Iroas."

"Kari Asaila."

"Isabella Gershwin."

"A fine pleasure to all of you then," Zorro nodded. "Now, as to the matter of your friend."

Zorro snapped his fingers, and a loud rattling was heard as a cage descended from the ceiling. The trio looked up to find that sure enough, Creighton was hanging inside, clad only in his underwear.

"Hey! Bout time you guys showed up!" he yelled out. "Maybe you'd care to get me out of here then, huh?"

"My apologies again, since my warriors did not bring his clothes with him," Zorro said. "He's been nothing but a burden since he was captured."

"Get me down from here, and I'll show you how much of a burden I can be!" Creighton yelled out as he rocked the cage.

"Perhaps that's incentive enough to release him then, eh?" Andrew suggested, ignoring Creighton's commentary.

Zorro chuckled. "Actually, seeing as he is in my possession currently," he said, "I think it's only appropriate that you fight for him."

"Is that a challenge?" Andrew smiled, raring to get a duel going.

"Oh most certainly," Zorro replied. "But it would seem there's a numbers disadvantage. I couldn't in good conscience duel unless it was fair for both sides."

"I can duel you alone if that's what you're getting at," Andrew said.

Zorro chuckled. "You misunderstand," he said. "I could take on a single man easily. You wouldn't stand a chance."

"Say what?!"

"I'll step in," Izzy said. "We'll duel together."

"As will I," Kari said. "Can't let you two have all the fun."

"Ahhhh, a three-to-one brawl? Now that gets my blood boiling," Zorro smiled. "Very well, the three of you will fight against me. Of course, I'll have to borrow some extra Life Points if I'm to stand a chance."

"What, you think we'll wipe you out too fast?" Andrew taunted.

"If I were at your level, certainly," Zorro replied. "Here's how we'll proceed: I'll start with 12000 Life Points while the three of you each have 4000 Life Points. That should provide enough of a challenge, don't you think?"

"Whatever floats your boat," Andrew answered.

"Indeed," Zorro nodded. "Now then, shall we get started?"

With that, Zorro turned and walked back a few paces before turning back to the party. He extended his left arm out to the side, and in a moment it was engulfed in flames. With a flourish, Zorro whipped his arm in front of him, dissipating the flames and revealing a crimson Duel Disk etched with amethyst crystals.

"Show off," Andrew murmured, bringing out his own Duel Disk alongside Kari and Izzy.

"LET'S DUEL!"


Strings: 4000
Matt: 4000

Strings drew the top card of his deck and perused his hand. Matt waited patiently for him until finally Strings picked a card and set it on his Duel Disk. A monster appeared in front of him, a small crab with steam billowing from his brown piped back.

"Strings just summoned Muka Muka (2/600/300)," Keith explained. "It's a monster that starts out weak but gets stronger for every card in his hand. That's an extra 300 Atk/Def for every card Strings is holding, so that means-"

"I got it," Matt interrupted. "His monster's now stronger."

Indeed the crab inhaled and fumed, growing larger in size until it was the size of a minivan.

Muka Muka (2/600/300 - 2/2100/1800)

Strings then looked over to Bandit Keith and nodded. "Looks like that's the end of his turn," Keith said. "Now it's your move."

"A strong opening move, to be sure," Matt said as he drew his next card. "But I've got something better. I activate Dracolympus!"

Once again the familiar draconic ruins arose from behind Matt, emanating its elemental aura.

"I'm sure you remember how my card works, Keith," Matt said, "cause now I've got a Dragon to work with it: Spear Dragon (4/1900/0)!"

The spear-nosed blue dragon arose on Matt's field, roaring at the crab opposing it as the aura of Dracolympus gathered around it and strengthened it further.

Spear Dragon (4/1900/0 - 4/2300/400)

"Now go, Spear Dragon! Destroy Muka Muka!" Matt declared, sending his dragon forth to deal a crippling blow to the crab, annihilating it with a single breath.

Strings: 3800
Matt: 4000

"Not bad," Keith commended, "but now your Spear Dragon has to switch to Defense Mode."

True enough, the dragon quickly folded its wings and knelt down to shield itself.

Spear Dragon (4/2300/400 - 4/2300/400)

"Now I'll Set one card face-down and end my turn," Matt said, finishing off his move.

Strings nodded and drew his next card. He then played three cards from his hand onto his Duel Disk, revealing each to be a magic card.

"Well well, looks like Strings has been holding back a bit," Keith remarked with a laugh. "He was holding onto all of these cards while waiting for you to destroy Muka Muka!"

"Just tell me what they are!" Matt demanded.

"Easy there, I wouldn't want to ruin your fun so soon," Keith said. "The first magic card there is Hieroglyph Lithograph, and it involves Strings paying 1000 Life Points for the benefit of having his hand size increased to 7 for the duration of the duel."

Strings: 2800
Matt: 4000

"Then he's got The Forceful Sentry," Keith continued, "and with that, he's allowed to look at your hand and return a card to your deck from there. So let's see what you've got."

Matt was stunned as a large guard appeared in front of him, perusing his hand and the cards in it: Des Volstgalph, Cost Down, and Lord of D. The guard looked back over to Strings who pointed towards Lord of D., and the guard then withdrew the card from Matt's hand and returned it to his deck. Afterwards, Matt shuffled his deck with chagrin.

"Alright, what about the third card-"

Just as Matt was finishing his question, a devious pair of devils appeared, snatching his last two cards and discarding them to his graveyard.

Strings: 1800
Matt: 4000

"That was Delinquent Duo, and it involves Strings paying another 1000 Life Points," Keith explained. "Course, that's enough to discard 2 cards from your hand. And since all you had were those two, he got to discard them both!"

"He just discarded his entire hand in one move!" Joey said.

"And that's going to put Matt in a bind," Yugi noted. "With no cards in his hand, he'll have to rely on the top card of his deck to be just what he needs."

Strings continued his turn, placing two more cards on the board, both of them face-down; one of them lay horizontally in front of the other, a monster card. He nodded over to Keith after he finished.

"Strings just Set a monster and a card face-down," Keith said. "And that's his turn."

In a single move, my entire hand is gone, Matt thought to himself. I'll have to draw the right card to keep going.

"My move!"

Matt drew his next card and looked at it. Not this one.

"I'll switch Spear Dragon to Attack Mode and have him strike at your monster!" Matt said.

Spear Dragon (4/2300/400 - 4/2300/400)

The dragon roared once again as Matt let it loose upon Strings' monster. The card revealed itself to be a strange slime-like creature, one of its arms forming a whip-like shape while the other appeared to extend into a three-fingered hand.

"You've attacked Strings' Humanoid Slime (4/800/2000)," Keith announced.

"Shame that it won't matter what it is or what mode it's in," Matt said. "Spear Dragon can inflict damage equal to the difference regardless of your monster's position!"

The dragon spewed forth a great twister towards the gelatinous being, preparing to run it through with its nose! Just then, another twister appeared, wrapping itself around the ruins of Dracolympus and destroying it!

"What's this?" Matt asked.

"Sorry to disappoint, but Strings had a face-down card, remember?" Keith said. "It's called Mystical Space Typhoon, and it lets him destroy any Spell or Trap on the field. And now that Dracolympus is gone, so are those extra Atk points your Spear Dragon had."

Spear Dragon (4/2300/400 - 4/1900/0)

Sure enough, the dragon lost just enough power for the slime creature to counterattack with a whiplash to its face, deflecting the attack and hitting Matt's Life Points.

Strings: 1800
Matt: 3900

"And again, Spear Dragon's effect switches it back to Defense Mode," Keith continued just as the dragon knelt down and shielded itself with its wings once again.

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

Matt scowled at this turn of events and said, "I end my turn."

Strings nodded again and drew his next card. He immediately Set this new card, turned his Humanoid Slime vertically, and pointed at Matt's Spear Dragon.

Humanoid Slime (4/800/2000 - 4/800/2000)

"I don't even think I need to tell you what's about to happen now," Keith said as the slime creature charged at the dragon, slicing it with a sickly slick blade formed from its arm. With the dragon vanquished, Strings nodded his head, indicating Matt's turn had begun again.

"Alright then," Matt said, ready to draw-

But then Strings activated his new face-down card, which wrapped chains around Matt's Duel Disk and placed an ancient paper marked with kanji upon Matt's deck, preventing the next card from being drawn!

"Sorry, but Strings just used Time Seal, which forces you to skip your Draw Phase," Keith explained. "And no Draw Phase means no new cards for you. So I hope that card in your hand was useful!"

What kind of deck is this?! Matt thought. I've never encountered such control even against Montalban!

"I end my turn."

"As we figured you would," Keith said as Strings drew his next card. He then played down a new monster, which brought forth a great spectral being made entirely of magical energy. Elaborately drawn lines connected its body together as it rose up above the field.

"Strings just summoned a monster called Protector of the Sanctuary (4/1100/1900)," Keith explained as Strings pointed at Matt. "And now he's attacking you directly with both of his monsters!"

The gelatinous humanoid and ethereal creature each launched their own attack at Matt directly, hitting him with a combination of slime-based whipping and magical energy!

Strings: 1800
Matt: 2000

"Now I activate Damage Card Barrier!" Matt declared. "Since I just took 1900 points of damage, I'm allowed to draw 3 cards from my deck!"

Yet just as he was about to draw, a pair of hands locked themselves over the top of Matt's deck, stopping him from drawing.

"What?!"

"Did I forget to mention that Protector of the Sanctuary has a special ability?" Keith mused tauntingly. "It's got this hidden ability that prevents you from drawing anytime it's not your Draw Phase. That means your only chance to draw cards is at the beginning of your turn."

Matt gasped as Keith chuckled. "I take it you're impressed by Strings' strategy," he said. "I should know, I designed it myself. I figured out from your last couple of duels what your strategy is, and part of its core is keeping a healthy hand. You draw cards in order to give yourself options, and that makes you dangerous. But if you can't keep a good hand, then you've got no options, and that puts you in a corner. The Hand Lock Strategy!"

Hand Lock?!

"Face it," Keith declared with an accusatory point. "This is the end of the line for you."

Zorro: 12000
Izzy: 4000
Kari: 4000
Andrew: 4000

"Shall I start then?" Zorro asked drawing his card. "I'll summon my Inferno Beast (4/1500/1200) in Attack Mode!"

A fiery pillar emerged, forming itself into a four-legged lion composed entirely of flames. It roared mightily as it prepared itself for the attack.

"And since we can't attack on the first turn, I'll prepare myself for later with this card," Zorro finished, Setting a card on the field. "That leaves the next turn to you."

"My turn then," Izzy said. "I draw!"

Suddenly the flames surrounding the Inferno Beast burst forth, hitting Izzy square in the chest and knocking her back!

Zorro: 12000
Izzy: 3300
Kari: 4000
Andrew: 4000

"What the heck?!"

"Nasty effect, isn't it?" Zorro commented. "My Inferno Beast inflicts 700 points of damage to each of us during our Standby Phases. It knows neither remorse nor mercy."

"Well then, guess I won't need to show restraint either," Izzy said. "I activate my Series Summon spell, and I'll follow that up with summoning Series 3-FIRE (3/800/800)!"

A curious mechanical creation appeared, armed with torches and a pillar of fire spewing forth from its head. It fired off a couple of heated blasts from its hands before resetting its position to face against the infernal beast.

"Now Series Summon activates, letting me Special Summon Series 6-BRIGHT from my hand," Izzy continued, bringing forth a radiant machination with a sun-shaped head to her field. It came out arms alight with a pair of light bulbs as a number of chords wrapped around its body, glowing in a fresh neon light.

"Each of my Series monsters gains power based on the number of monsters on the field with the same Attribute as them," Izzy explained. "And since Series 3-FIRE is a FIRE monster, your Inferno Beast gives it power as well!"

Series 3-FIRE (3/800/800 - 3/1400/1400)
Series 6-BRIGHT (6/1700/1700 - 6/1900/1900)

"Next, I play Series Circuit," Izzy continued. "With it, each of my Series monsters gains 500 Atk and Def for each other Series monster in play. Since I've got Series 3-FIRE and Series 6-BRIGHT on my field, I'll be giving each of them 500 extra Atk/Def points each!"

Series 3-FIRE (3/1400/1400 - 3/1900/1900)
Series 6-BRIGHT (6/1900/1900 - 6/2400/2400)

"Don't forget that you won't be able to make an attack on your first turn," Zorro reminded Izzy. "I'd hate for you to waste a move trying to declare an attack."

"I'm well aware of the rules," Izzy said. "That's why I'm using Series 3-FIRE's other special ability! With it, I can inflict 300 damage to you for each of my Series monsters in play!"

The heated robot charged up its torches and prepared to blow down a fiery wind upon Zorro directly!

"Is that so?" Zorro mused. "Then perhaps I should protect myself. I activate my face-down Burn-Protection Seal!"

Just as the flames spewed forth from Izzy's robot, a mystical seal surrounded Zorro, shielding him from the scorching heat that blazed down upon him.

"Now as long as I've got a FIRE monster on my field, I can't be hurt by any card effects," Zorro explained. "Battle damage will still go through, but since you can't attack, it's all for not."

Izzy grimaced before proceeding onward, "I activate Series 6-BRIGHT's effect, which lets me draw one card from my deck."

Perusing her new card with the rest of her hand, she declared, "I'll Set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Kari nodded and said, "It's my turn."

Drawing her next card, the fiery beast rampaged from Zorro's field over to her, sinking a fiery fang into her Duel Disk and burning away at some of her Life Points as well.

Zorro: 12000
Izzy: 3300
Kari: 3300
Andrew: 4000

Kari shook off the blow and continued, "I'll summon the Shining Lord Gaudium (4/1400/1400) to my field!"

An angelic nobleman appeared on Kari's field, clothed in white and with his cape flowing behind him. A distinct set of blue lines formed around the seams of his clothes, glowing faintly in the light as he drew out his sword.

"My Shining Lord Gaudium has the ability to Special Summon another Shining Lord from my hand," Kari explained. "So now I summon the Shining Lord Caritas (4/1400/1400) to my field!"

Another nobleman not unlike the first one appeared on Kari's field, unsheathing his blade and raising it high up in the air; his seams glowed of a crimson red color as the light flowed upwards towards his sword. At the same time, Izzy's monster began to glow with the power of light, increasing its strength thanks to the addition of Kari's monsters.

Series 6-BRIGHT (6/2400/2400 - 6/2800/2800)

"Then my Shining Lord Caritas brings forth another Shining Lord from my deck and adds it to my hand," Kari explained, proceeding to pick out a card and placing it in her hand. "Next I play the Shining Gift of Counsel!"

The noblemen now gathered around Kari perusing over her hand, debating to themselves over the cards in it.

"My Shining Gift of Counsel allows me to draw two cards from my deck, one for each of my Shining Lords," Kari explained. "The only catch is that I have to return an equal number of cards to the bottom of my deck."

Kari then proceeded to draw her next two cards, showing them to the others gathered around her and debating over it herself.

To think she'd end up with a strategy like this, Andrew thought to himself as he watched her play out her turn. I guess she picked out a whole new deck after the Battle of the Titans tournament.

Eventually Kari settled on two of the cards, leaving her noblemen to return to her field. "Now I Set one card and end my turn," she concluded.

"Alright, my move," Andrew said drawing his next card and preparing himself to be pelted by a spray of fiery bullets from the fiery beast.

Zorro: 12000
Izzy: 3300
Kari: 3300
Andrew: 3300

"I'll summon Ancient Hero Nomader (4/1000/1000) in Attack mode!" he declared, bringing forth the ragged and war-torn soldier to his field once again. "And I'll use his effect to reduce Inferno Beast's Atk by 500 until my next turn comes up."

Bringing out a small dagger, the soldier hurled it off towards the hungry lion-flame, damaging its paw and causing it to yelp in pain as its strength decreased.

Inferno Beast (4/1500/1200 - 4/1000/1200)

"And I'll finish my turn with a face-down card," Andrew said, Setting his next card. "Looks like it's your turn again."

"Glad to hear it," Zorro said, drawing his next card. "As I said before, Inferno Beast is partial to spewing flames at everyone during their turn, but my Burn-Protection Seal will keep me safe for the duration of the turn."

Indeed just as he said it, a burst of heat radiated from his creature, only to be deflected by the magic circle protecting him.

"Now I'll summon Warrior of the Inferno (4/1900/1100) to my field!" Zorro declared, bringing forth a warrior clothed in flames, his eyes ablaze as his beard swirled about him in a fiery flourish. "And with his summoning, I can inflict 500 damage to each of your Life Points."

The warrior's flames suddenly burst forth from its body, hitting Izzy, Kari, and Andrew roughly square in the chest and reducing their Life Points!

Zorro: 12000
Izzy: 2800
Kari: 2800
Andrew: 2800

"And since I inflicted 1000 or more points of damage in a single blow from a card effect," Zorro explained, "I can draw a card thanks to my Warrior of the Inferno's effect. And now that that's out of the way, I attack Shining Lord Caritas with Warrior of the Inferno!"

The pyro warrior charged up a fireball in his hands and hurled it out towards one of the noblemen, punching it with a heated burst that annihilated him in an instant!

"You've activated my Trap card, Reward for Faith!" Kari intervened. "With this card, I negate the damage I would take from that battle and Special Summon the monster destroyed back to my field, and since I'm summoning back the Shining Lord Caritas, I can add another Shining Lord from my deck to my hand."

Just as she said that, the impact of the surpassing flames bounced away from her, her nobleman returned to the field once more, and then she added a new card to her hand.

"Clever girl," Zorro complimented as he played two more cards. "But with these two face-down cards, that cleverness won't keep you in this battle for long."

"Come on, guys!" Creighton shouted out from the cage. "You can do this! Sure he hasn't taken a scratch, but you can knock him down!"

Against a burn deck, there's not much we can do, Andrew thought to himself. We'll have to hope for a massive attack to wipe him out, cause if not, we might end up getting wiped out ourselves!

"Now then, Strings just Set his card, and so he ends his turn."

Matt looked down at the one card in his hand. He was in a very tough spot right at the moment; though his opponent's monsters were not particularly strong, he did not as of yet have a monster that could stand up to even Strings' weakest card. In fact, he didn't have any monsters to stand up against them! Already having to rely on his luck, he drew his next card and looked at it.

"I Set one card face-down and end my turn," he said.

"I suppose that's about all you can do," Keith commented as Strings drew his next card. A shared look between the two told Keith everything he needed to know: their strategy was nearly complete.

Heh, looks like Strings finally got the monster we've been waiting for, Keith thought to himself as Strings Set the card from his hand onto the field. That's Morphing Jar, and in tandem with Protector of the Sanctuary, we're about to go up huge and leave Matt in the dust. He won't know what hit em!

Strings then pointed towards Matt again, declaring his attack!

"Alright, time to pulverize some more of your Life Points!" Keith said. "Strings' monsters attack you directly!"

"Not if I can help it!" Matt countered. "I activate Threatening Roar, which stops you from declaring an attack this turn!"

"Tch, lucky break," Keith scoffed as Strings lowered his arm. "You're still in no position to fight back. Your move then!"

"My draw!" Matt declared. He looked at his new card and simply Set it face-down as well.

"Another card face-down," he said solemnly. "Your move."

"Now don't be so glum," Keith said as Strings drew another card. "You're gonna love what happens next. Now Strings, do your stuff!"

Strings nodded, flipping over the face-down monster, revealing a jar with a ghoulish one-eyed specter: Morphing Jar!

"Oh no!" Yugi gasped from the sidelines.

"It's Morphing Jar!" Joey pointed out.

"That's right," Keith chuckled, "and this monster's about to lay waste to you! See normally Morphing Jar discards the cards in both players' hands and gives them five new ones, but since Protector of the Sanctuary's on the field, you won't be able to draw any new cards, wiping out your hand and securing our victory!"

"Is that so?"

"Huh?"

Matt smiled a sly grin. "Sorry Keith, but that's just the move I was waiting for! Go, Torrential Tribute!"

Just as the jar appeared, a great tidal surge burst forth from Matt's card, annihilating all of Strings' monsters!

"You can't be serious!" Keith gasped.

"Torrential Tribute activates upon a monster's summoning, wiping the field clean for both sides," Matt explained. "And now that Protector of the Sanctuary is no longer on board, the effect of Morphing Jar resolves, and I draw five new cards the same as you!"

Keith growled as Strings wordlessly drew a new hand alongside Matt. The captives cheered up for Matt's comeback!

"Way to outplay them, Matt!" Shannon called out.

"Yeah, good on ya!" Willaby shouted as well.

Regardless of their cries, Strings proceeded with his turn, triggering his face-down card and causing a mist to rise up and surround Matt. For a moment, the others weren't sure what was happening, then Keith realized what it was and began to laugh again.

"I almost forgot you had that card in your deck, Strings!" Keith said. Then he turned back to Matt and explained, "Strings just activated Enervating Mist, which puts your hand limit down to five instead of six."

"But that means…"

"That means you'll have to discard during your End Phase if you've got more than five cards by then," Keith said. "Of course, I doubt that'll be a problem for you."

Strings continued by activating a new spell card, one that indicated two monsters swirling around a vortex and meeting in the center.

"Looks like Strings is gonna fuse a few monsters together with Polymerization," Keith noted. Strings then showed him the cards, and he continued, "He's fusing together Zone Eater, Amazon of the Seas, and Fairy Dragon all in his hand in order to play Aqua Dragon (6/2250/1900) to the field."

Sure enough, a sea cucumber, mermaid, and little dragon joined together in the spiraling rift, and from its center emerged an aquamarine dragon that roared fiercely. It spread its small wings as it breathed out a frosty blast of air!

"Look at that," Keith smiled. "He's got enough Atk points to wipe you out. Alright, Strings, hit em with everything you've got!"

Strings did as he was told and pointed at Matt, sending his dragon to attack him directly! Just then, a shining light burst forth from Matt's hand, bringing with it a powerful stalwart dragon!

"What?! No!"

"I'm activating the effect of my Dragon of Hope (1/0/0) in my hand," Matt said. "With it, I can summon forth a Dragon-type monster from my Deck, and the monster I've chosen is Saving Drake (8/2600/1900)!"

Matt's new dragon roared back at Strings' dragon, the two facing off in a stalemate. Strings pulled back his hand and shook his head, cuing his dragon to retreat for the time being. Keith began fuming as the others cheered for Matt.

"Unbelievable," Keith muttered. "You just don't stay down."

In the meantime, Strings played his last card from his hand, bringing out a electrified two-pronged gauntlet. The aquamarine dragon equipped this new weapon to its arm, and its strength proceeded to rise dramatically.

Aqua Dragon (6/2250/1900 - 6/3750/3400)

"Now what?!" Matt asked.

Keith looked on and chuckled. "You never heard of Fusion Weapon?" he asked. "It's an Equip Spell that boosts the power of a Fusion Monster by 1500 points. And Strings just played it on his monster, boosting its power beyond yours!"

Keith laughed harder as Matt looked up at this new adversary. What kind of luck does he have? This is insane! he thought to himself. With that kind of firepower on his side, I may not be able to beat him!


AUTHOR'S NOTES

Man, what burning passion! What heated action! What punny commentary! What a bunch of cards!

Matt vs Strings

Muka Muka (Effect Monster)
Level 2, 600 Atk, 300 Def, Rock, EARTH
Effect: Gains 300 ATK/DEF for every card in your hand.

Dracolympus (Field Spell)
Effect: All Dragon monsters you control gain 400 ATK/DEF and gain the following effects based on their Attribute:
● WATER: When this monster destroys a monster in battle: you gain Life Points equal to that monster's ATK.
● EARTH: Once per turn: you can destroy 1 Spell/Trap card on the field.
● FIRE: When this monster destroys a monster in battle, inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's ATK.
● WIND: When this monster destroys a monster in battle, it can attack once again.
● LIGHT: Once per turn: you can target 1 monster your opponent controls; it loses 500 ATK/DEF.
● DARK: Once per turn: you can destroy 1 monster your opponent controls.

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

Hieroglyph Lithograph (Normal Spell)
Effect: Pay 1000 Life Points. Your maximum hand size becomes 7 for the rest of the Duel.

The Forceful Sentry (Normal Spell)
Effect: Look at your opponent's hand and select 1 card. Shuffle that card into the opponent's Deck.

Delinquent Duo (Normal Spell)
Effect: Pay 1000 Life Points. Your opponent randomly selects 1 card from their hand and discards it, then they select and discard another card from their hand.

Humanoid Slime (Normal Monster)
Level 4, 800 Atk, 2000 Def, Aqua, WATER

Time Seal (Normal Trap)
Effect: Skip the Draw Phase of your opponent's next turn.
NOTE: This card is perhaps more infamous for its usage in the show versus its ruling in the real world. The show has it such that Time Seal affects the current Draw Phase, aka the first moment you'd be able to activate Time Seal normally, allowing you to lock out that very next draw. Obviously pretty busted, right? Well in the real life card game, if you activate Time Seal during the Draw Phase, because it's already your opponent's turn currently (since you can't activate it sooner, barring Temple of the Kings or Makyura), they still get to draw that next card, and then their NEXT Draw Phase on their NEXT turn is skipped. You can see which version I went with.

Protector of the Sanctuary (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1100 Atk, 1900 Def, Fiend, DARK
Effect: Your opponent cannot draw cards except during Draw Phases.

Threatening Roar (Normal Trap)
Effect: Your opponent cannot declare an attack this turn.

Morphing Jar (Effect Monster)
Level 2, 700 Atk, 600 Def, Rock, EARTH
Effect: Both players discard as many as cards as possible from their hands, then each player draws 5 cards.

Torrential Tribute (Normal Trap)
Effect: When a monster(s) is Summoned: Destroy all monsters on the field.

Enervating Mist (Continuous Trap)
Effect: Your opponent's hand size limit becomes 5.

Polymerization (Normal Spell)
Effect: Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck using monsters from your hand or your side of the field as Fusion Materials.

Zone Eater (Effect Monster)
Level 1, 250 Atk, 200 Def, Aqua, WATER
Effect: A monster attacked by this card will be destroyed during the 5th End Phase after the attack.

Amazon of the Seas (Normal Monster)
Level 4, 1300 Atk, 1400 Def, Fish, WATER

Fairy Dragon (Normal Monster)
Level 4, 1100 Atk, 1200 Def, Dragon, LIGHT

Aqua Dragon (Fusion Monster)
Level 6, 2250 Atk, 1900 Def, Sea Serpent, WATER
"Fairy Dragon" + "Amazon of the Seas" + "Zone Eater"

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.

Fusion Weapon (Equip Spell)
Effect: Equip only to a Fusion Monster. It gains 1500 ATK/DEF.

Andrew, Kari, Izzy vs. Zorro

Inferno Beast (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1500 Atk, 1200 Def, Pyro, FIRE
Effect: During the Standby Phase: inflict 700 damage to the turn player.

Series Summon (Continuous Spell)
Effect: Once per turn, when you Normal Summon a "Series" monster: Special Summon 1 "Series" monster from your hand.

Series 3-FIRE (Effect Monster)
Level 3, 800 Atk, 800 Def, Machine, FIRE
Effect: Gains 300 ATK/DEF for every FIRE monster on the field. Once per turn: you can inflict 300 damage to your opponent for every "Series" monster you control.

Series 6-BRIGHT (Effect Monster)
Level 6, 1700 Atk, 1700 Def, Machine, LIGHT
Effect: Gains 200 Atk/Def for every LIGHT monster on the field. Once per turn: you can draw 1 card.

Series Circuit (Continuous Spell)
Effect: All "Series" monsters you control gain 500 ATK for each other "Series" monster on your field.

Burn-Protection Seal (Continuous Trap)
Effect: While you control a FIRE monster, reduce all effect damage you take to 0.

Shining Lord Gaudium (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1400 Atk, 1400 Def, Warrior, LIGHT
Effect: If this card is Summoned: you can Special Summon 1 "Shining Lord" from your hand.

Shining Lord Caritas (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1400 Atk, 1400 Def, Warrior, LIGHT
Effect: If this card is Summoned: you can add 1 "Shining Lord" from your Deck to your hand.

Shining Gift of Counsel (Normal Spell)
Effect: Draw 1 card for each of your "Shining Lord" and "Shining King" monsters on the field, then shuffle the same number of cards back into your Deck.

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.

Warrior of the Inferno (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 1900 Atk, 1100 Def, Warrior, FIRE
Effect: If this card is Summoned: inflict 500 damage to your opponent's Life Points. Each time you inflict 1000 or more damage, draw 1 card.
NOTE: Due to the nature of this three-way duel, card effects like Warrior of the Inferno's target all the opponents rather than just one; this is why Zorro is able to draw a card due to its effect, as he inflicted 1500 damage overall, 500 to each opponent.

Reward for Faith (Normal Trap)
Effect: If a card or effect would inflict damage to you: negate the damage you would take, then if a monster was destroyed by that effect, Special Summon it from the GY.

Will Matt and the others be able to escape from Keith's deadly trap? And will Andrew, Izzy, and Kari be able to beat Zorro and save Creighton from the fiery depths of the volcano? Keep a watchful eye out for the next chapter!