"Sometimes its nice to have a 'little' distraction, especially to hear a nice story at this time of year… my young master…"
"But remember, all stories… have an air of truth to them."
=Halloween Chapter Prologue=
"Hey… are you sure we should be out here?" a Slifer Red asked his friend.
"Come on, it's just a stupid rumor… besides we were dared by the Ra Yellow in our class to come out here!" He snapped. "Look, if we go here, take a picture, sit for like ten minutes and then go back to our dorm, nobody will care! This is an easy rare card if we do this!"
"Man, this is so stupid… like what if the rumors are true, and there's a spooky ghost out here haunting this area!"
He and his friend had been dared by a Ra Yellow student to come out here late at night near the Duel Academy Power Station. There had been rumors going around that there was a ghost haunting this place, appearing before duelists who shouldn't be out at night, and scaring them senseless as she slowly approached them with a dead stare.
The dare was simple, go to the area where the ghost was, take a picture of them being there to prove they were there, come back and prove the story, receive a rare card each in exchange.
But now the one Slifer who felt he had the more sense to see this whole thing was a prank was just wanting to go back to his bed and sleep, tomorrow was a Saturday after all, this was supposed to be his and his friend's favorite day to sleep in.
"Stop being a coward… look we go there, stand for a few minutes, take a picture and then go back, plain and simple!" He countered back.
After ten minutes of walking through the woods they finally reached the fenced off power station near the clearing. The building was gated off and no student could enter without the key card and access code, so essentially, they couldn't get any closer to the building.
"Okay, we're here, can we take the stupid picture and go back now!"
"Not yet, just a few minutes, to prove we didn't just do that… one picture with the time…" He said as he pulled out his phone and took a picture of his watch with the power station in it. "Aaaaand there… now we just wait like… five minutes and bam, free rare cards!"
He was quiet as he looked at the power station and smirked. "See, I told you it was nothing but a rumor, that Ra probably just made that story up to spook us! Just wait until tomorrow when we show him and his friends up and get those rare cards!"
That was when he realized his friend was being too quiet, 'too' quiet.
"Hey Todd, come on, back me up here man… we're about to get some…"
He turned around and looked at his buddy to see he was staring at something with shock in his eyes, and then he looked and saw…
A young girl, wearing a dark uniform akin to that of someone who was part of a religious order, her robes being black with a white under shirt. She wore a simple black and white headdress that covered her silver-grey hair, and though she stared at them with eyes that looked through a pair of spectacles, they were completely empty and devoid of life it seemed. She had this eerie glow to her, and she was completely barefoot as she slowly started walking toward them, completely ignoring the rocks and dirt that she was stepping on.
She walked toward them, soulless and lifeless, quietly and with a dead stare as she slowly lifted her hand and began extending it toward them, reveali-
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" They both screamed and high tailed it out of there, running as fast as they could away from the station and back to the Slifer Red dorm.
The ghost girl watched them run, looked down at her hand and frowned.
Before vanishing into the night.
=Halloween Chapter=
=Duel with the Ghost Girl=
"Are you serious, a Ghost Girl?" Joseph asked Syrus and Chumley as they were having a practice duel in the Slifer Mess Hall.
It was close to ten and they were having a bit of fun telling horror stories to spook each other.
"Yea, totally, Todd and Mike from five rooms down said they saw a real ghost at the Power Station in the woods. Supposedly they went there on a dare and got scared crazy bad." Chumley said.
"Oh geez, a ghost, like that's real… they probably got spooked or pranked by the Ras, it would add up considering a Ra told them to go there in the first place." Syrus said.
"Yea, ghosts aren't real…" Joseph said as he took the deck of cards and started shuffling. "Alright I think it's my turn to draw."
They were using a deck of cards from Joseph's collection of 'Cards that suck but I have anyway because they were the only ones I could get growing up'. It was mostly normal monsters of weak levels, so to add some challenge to the scary stories they were supposed to tell, he threw in his Dragon Maids to the deck. The level of the monster determined how 'scary' the story was supposed to be.
So, one shuffled deck later, and he drew the card, [Laundry Dragonmaid Lvl 2].
"Man, why do you girls 'always' show up for me even when there's like 60 cards in a deck and I only draw 1 card?" He asked Laundry as he placed her down on the table and thought about his story.
'Because you're just so handsome we can't get enough being around you~!' Nudyarl giggled as she appeared next to him.
'Like we'd ever stay away from you master~!' Tinkech said with a chuckle.
'I wouldn't mind spending a few hours sleeping in your lap if you asked~!' Lorpar whispered with a smirk.
'We're just happy to be with you master even when not in a duel~!' Ernus said as she flopped onto his head with a smile.
He ignored their silliness as he thought about his story, "Alright I think I have one… it isn't necessarily 'scary' but the story I have comes from one of my dreams."
"Alright well let's hear it." Syrus said with a sigh of relief, happy to not have to hear a 'scary' dream.
"Well, it all starts with me in this dark and empty place, I think it looks a lot like my room when I was growing up." He said as he began remembering it.
'Oooooh this is ganna be good, I can tell!' Tinkech said as she and the others sidled up to him, looking at him with eager faces for him to tell the story.
"There I am, sitting in my room, all I have are a few duel monsters cards, pretty bland and generic ones but… hey they were mine. Anyway, I'm sitting there playing with them and then I hear this voice… I look up and see this golden light coming from the door. I get up, I go to the door and open it, and all I can see is this strange… golden glow coming from somewhere in front of me, it looks like a mirror, I see something lying on the floor in front of the mirror that looks like a card. I reach out toward it, and its like something causes me to stumble, I fall and land face forward, I lift my head up and then I see this… face… like that of a dragon… staring at me from the mirror… it stares at me and I stare at it… then…"
"And then?" Chumley asked.
"And then…"
"And then?" Syrus asked quietly.
"And then…"
'And theeeeen?' Lorpar asked eagerly.
"And then… I wake up…"
All of his Dragonmaids groaned as they fell to the floor in a heap.
'That's it? That wasn't scary at all!' Tinkech yelled indignantly.
"Talk about a letdown…" Syrus said.
"Well, it's a level 2 card, low-level scare is what you get for the low-level card you draw." Chumley said. "Which is good for me, you know, I didn't want to accidentally barf from… ya know, shock or surprise!"
"Yea I know… not the scariest but… well I thought it was kinda scary, I woke up immediately after seeing that face." He muttered as he looked at the ceiling, lost in his imaginations as he thought about that dream. "What's weird is… why did I see that weird dragon face in the mirror? And why would I only see it 'after' looking in the mirror after I fell… and why would it be at eye level with me?"
"Uuuuuh probably best you don't know… after all, it 'was' a dream right!" Chumley chuckled nervously.
"Hahahha, I want to join in on the fright fest you are having~!" A sudden spooky voice called out from the candle lit room, which turned out to be none other than Professor Banner.
"Buaaaaaahah! Joseph and Chumley hollered as they jumped out of their seats in fear, with Syrus more stunned that their headmaster could be so quiet.
"I'm sorry, was I too sudden in my appearance?"
"It's alright… well since you're here, the rules are simple… you draw a card and check the levels. The higher it is, the scarier the story you have to tell!"
"Hmm, sounds simple enough, let's see what I get." Professor Banner said as he picked up the next card in the deck and turned it over to reveal, [Tri Horned Dragon, Lvl 8].
"Woa that's a level 8 monster…" Joseph muttered.
"You know I'm starting to feel tired, so I think I'll just be going now hehehe…" Chumley chuckled nervously as he tried to get up.
"Oh, but then you won't get to hear the story of the Forgotten Duelists." Professor Banner said ominously with a smile.
"The forgotten duelists?" Syrus asked quietly.
"Yes… duelists who have never been able to duel in their life, and as such passed on, with an unfulfilled wish to duel." He said as he sat down, petting his cat as he did. "These poor souls passed from life, unable to duel, yet with the heart and soul of a duelist and a desire to duel someone… anyone. They haunt the world near places where duelists gather, in the hopes that if they could find them, they could duel at long last. But because they are ghosts, spirits, souls that haunt the world, normal people run and fear them, and so their desire to duel and wish to duel goes unanswered, unheeded, and left alone with only their sorrow and anger. If their wish to duel is left unanswered for too long, sadness of being unable to duel will turn to rage, and their anger at those who refuse to duel will grow with time. Until at long last their rage can no longer be contained, and they'll force themselves onto a duelist, and force them into a duel so terrible that they will damage the will and spirit of the duelist they wished they had been in life, driving them away from the very thing they only wished to enjoy in life, and thus the spirit of the Forgotten Duelist, will become the soul of the Duelist who only wishes to be Forgotten… while the poor duelist who was tormented, loses themselves and never again duels for the rest of their lives…"
"Wow…" Joseph said, more captivated than scared by the story.
"Yes… one should not let such a soul brew for long, because then they ensure whoever they duel will suffer for rejecting them…" Professor Banner said as he pet his cat.
'Now why can't you tell a story like that?' Lorpar asked quietly as she and the other dragonmaids began vanishing.
"Mmmreoow!" The Cat of Slifer Red meowed tiredly.
"And with that I think it's time to take Pharoah to bed, good night children!" Banner said.
With that Banner walked out the door while he, Chumley and Syrus resumed their story telling game, after a few minutes Sheou walked in with their refreshment drinks on a tray.
"Enjoying your game young Master Joseph?" Sheou asked politely.
"Yea, why are you feeling tired Sheou?" He asked her.
Sheou smiled warmly and shook her head, handing them their drinks before politely taking the tray and sitting with them at the table. "I am not tired young master, do not worry, play as long as you like until you are ready to leave."
"Alright… hey why don't you play?" He asked her.
"Me, why I would never think to impose myself in your fun time."
"Oh, it's alright Sheou, our stories aren't exactly 'scary' from what we've been telling… I mean the closest we got was Syrus and his hidden spring drowning story. Besides you always told the best stories when I was growing up with you."
"Well, if my master insists…" Sheou said politely as she took a card and flipped it over to reveal, [Kitchen Dragonmaid, Lvl 3]
"Mid low-level card… alright that's not too scary right?" Chumley asked.
Sheou however looked thoughtful as she put the card down and closed her eyes. "Very well, I have a tale to tell you my young masters, a tale to be told, by the light of a candle lit table." She told them, placing her hand over the nearby candle and waving her fingers over it to cast shadows for their entertainment. "This tale I tell you is one of sorrow and regret, filled with hope for the future yet knows only bitterness and resent. Listen now ye Slifers to the story I weave, of six beautiful dragons and the masters they leave."
They watched the shadows on the wall, fascinated that she could do that with only one hand.
"Long ago when the games of shadows rampantly ran, spirits of power rose to the surface to inhabit the bodies and hearts of man. Some with evil and wicked intent, did they steer the people they drove to lament. Yet among those spirits were some that were gentle, filled with worry and fear as they huddled in their temple."
On the wall shadowy figures of monsters and spirits took over humans, causing them to commit evil deeds like thievery and murder. Yet in a small cave with small statues huddled five dragons, some with worry and fear, while a sixth watched over them from the sidelines.
"These gentle spirits knew they had not the power to tempt man with their will, and without such strength they were doomed to the void and this caused them great ill. It wasn't until the strongest of them had something she suggested, it was a plan of hope that till now has never been attempted. 'We'll find a human with a soul that is pure', said the keeper of these dragons, 'He will be our master, and his energy will be our cure!' So it was, they all discussed and then they agreed, they would use their power to hide like the plants and their seeds. Taking human form, the dragons would be concealed, and among the souls of man, would their true identity not be revealed."
The shadows showed five of the dragons looking at the sixth as it spoke to them of their plan, and then seconds later she made the shadows change and look like humans, but each had a tail hidden and attached.
"They hid within plain sight as they wandered the land, but for every man they met his worth to them was equal to sand. In their desire to look friendly and inviting, their appearance left men wanting and desiring. Every time this happened their leader felt dread, so instead of staying they'd leave their masters instead. Throughout the ages did they hide in plain sight, serving master after master hoping their decision was right. But time and time again the strongest of the spirits did find, they grew ever wearier in heart and of mind."
The shadows changed to that of the dragons leaving people over and over again, but the one who took charge and convinced them of their plan seemed to grow more frustrated with each one they left, and their expression though covered by a clawed hand showed tears and a frown.
"Within her heart and mind a battle continued to rage, as the years go by it felt like she was trapped in a cage. Time and again she would try and try, searching for a master to serve but only be left to silently cry. Though they could live they never seemed to thrive, all she wanted for them was to not just simply survive. Though to those whom she'd serve would she smile and be humble, in recesses of her heart and mind there did stir a rumble. Only a master who could quell that suppressed fury, would awaken her true power and whom she would call worthy."
With that she ended her shadow puppet show, and all three of them simply applauded her as she finished telling her story.
"Wow you were right, she is good at telling stories." Syrus said.
"I'll say." Chumley agreed.
"Yea, Sheou always tells the best stories whenever I asked her to." Joseph told them in agreement.
"I do my best with whatever my master requests." Sheou replied with a short bow.
"Alright guys, I know I hate to ruin the fun but it 'is' getting late, we should head to bed." Joseph said while stretching his arms.
"As you wish master." Sheou said politely.
They got up and left the Slifer Mess Hall, Sheou taking the candle with her as she followed behind them. However, they paused as they saw in the distance a student walking near the tree line, heading toward the woods with a flashlight. What surprised them was that it was a Ra Yellow student, specifically someone they recognized as Bastion Misawa.
"What's Bastion doing up this late?" Joseph asked.
"I don't know." Syrus said.
"Me neither." Chumley said as well.
"Alright we got two choices, we can go to sleep like reasonable students and let Bastion do his thing… oooor we can follow him and see what he's up to, and I'm not just saying that as an excuse to avoid going to bed." Joseph said quietly. "I say we follow him since it's a Saturday!"
"I don't like that plan very much…" Syrus muttered.
"Me neither… but Joseph 'does' have a point Syrus… besides its Bastion, not like he's going to do something bad."
"Sweet, it's unanimous, let's go follow Bastion and find out what he's up to!" Joseph cheered as he ran forward.
"Oooh… wait uuuup!" Syrus called as he and Sheou followed him.
"Man, why couldn't he suggest a plan where we walk, I hate running…" Chumley said as he chased after them.
They ran after Bastion as he walked through the woods, and after several minutes of running they finally caught up with him.
"Hey Bastion!" Joseph called as they got close.
Bastion turned around in surprise before smiling and waving at them. "Hi Joseph, surprised to see you running around out this late!"
"You're surprised to see 'us' running around, what about you, aren't Ra Yellow's dorms like… on the other side of the island?"
"Yes, and I suppose your wondering why I'm out here alone with a flashlight?" Bastion asked as Syrus, Sheou and Chumley caught up with them. "The truth is Joseph, I'm out here to save Ra Yellow's image. With all of the frights being caused by rumors a few Ra Yellow students are spreading, all the other students think that Ra Yellow is the one behind all these midnight scares. So, I figured if I came out here and looked for the real perpetrator, I could bring them to the staff and end these ridiculous rumors."
"Well, if you want, we can tag along to act as voices to prove your innocence, not that you probably need it, but it doesn't hurt to help."
"I appreciate the company, well let's get this show on the road." Bastion said as he began walking again.
"Ugh, more walking?" Chumley complained as they followed behind, Sheou still carrying the candle in her hand.
They walked along the path to the Power Station, Bastion leading the way with the Flashlight with Joseph and company behind him. It was very quiet at night with the only real sound being the occasional cricket or random bug making itself known. After ten minutes of walking, they finally reached the power station which was built on the edge of a clearing. The building itself was quartered off and fenced off, and even had a metal gate preventing any student from entering it. They looked around really quick to see if there were any potential hiding spots, but other than the trees at the edge of the clearing, and of course the power station which was gated off, there wasn't anywhere a student could really hide.
Which Bastion pointed out.
"Well, unless my inductive reasoning skills are lacking, scientifically speaking there is no way any student out here could be hiding waiting to spook any student wandering around here." Bastion said as he smirked. "Nothing out here but the power station, trees and empty clearing."
"Wow, what a brilliant deduction by the incredible Sherlock Bastion!" Joseph laughed.
"Laugh it up Joseph, at least I'm…" Bastion started saying as he looked at him, before his eyes went wide.
He and everyone else turned around to see he was looking at a young girl who just so happened to be standing behind them in the middle of the clearing, looking at them with very clouded eyes.
"W-what is she doing there… and how did she get there to begin with?" Syrus asked in fear.
"I was looking behind us, nobody was behind us, how did she sneak up behind us?" Chumley said as well in fear.
"Oh my… what a surprise to see someone else this late!"
They were quiet as they stared at her and she looked at them, before she started walking slowly toward them, glowing ever so slightly in the moonlight. She slowly got closer, her eyes still clouded and seemingly devoid of life, as she raised her hand toward them.
"GYAAAAAAAH SHE'S A GHOST!" Syrus started screaming.
"GHOOOOOOOOOST!" Chumley yelled.
"N-n-no there's a l-l-logical explanation for this!" Bastion started stammering as they started backing away.
Joseph was about to join them, she was just so 'deathly' in appearance and with how suddenly she appeared before them, as well as how she just slowly walked toward them. Until he glanced at her hand that she was stretching out toward her, that was when he spotted that her other hand was holding something.
A deck of cards.
"Hold it…" He said as he approached her. "She's no ghost… she's just a kid."
"A kid, she looks more like a ghost than a kid!" Syrus said in shock.
"Please Syrus, she's just a student like the rest of us… else why would she be here to begin with? Ghosts don't exist… besides, she's got a deck in her hands." He said as he approached her, and she stopped walking. "Hey there… are you a student here at Duel Academy as well?"
She looked at her cards before looking at him and nodding.
"Knew it… so why are you out this late, did you start that rumor about a ghost haunting this place to scare people?"
She looked thoughtful before slowly shaking her head.
"Not the talkative type huh… so why 'are' you out this late?"
She looked at him before glancing at her deck of cards, and then held them up to him before pointing at herself, as if asking him if he wanted to duel her.
"Oh… you just wanted to duel at night huh? I'm guessing your just shy and don't like dueling in front of people I bet?" He asked to which she nodded. "Well, I'm not one to say no when someone asks, alright I'll duel you… but I don't see a duel disk on hand for either of us. Soooo are you okay with just your traditional playmat duel?"
She smiled and jumped ever so slightly on the spot, before turning around and pointing behind her.
"What's uuuuUUUuuuUUUUUUUUP?!"
The ground started shaking and in front of them a rip appeared, and then as if by magic, a huge platform seemed to rise from the ground. As it rose Joseph stared in awe as he saw that it was an old Duel Arena, an arena that he used to watch people duel on like in Duelist Kingdom, the few arenas he saw that were televised. It had extremely faded red and blue paint, with the stadium turning on to reveal an empty field as it lit up, revealing two sets of life points at 0000.
"Wooooah… when did the school have 'that'?" Chumley asked.
"I don't remember that being on the list of things this academy was known to have…" Bastion muttered.
"Now that's an entrance…" Syrus said.
"It's a good thing I don't have to clean that… it will take me days, that's if I don't assist Master Joseph at all or manage the café!"
"Wow… you really had this all planned to a 'T' didn't you? Well, it beats the playmat duel idea I had… man I always wanted to duel on one of these!" Joseph yelled excitedly as he ran to the Blue corner while the girl skipped and headed to the Red one.
As he got into position, he quickly placed his Dragonmaids into the proper dueling deck, separating his 'random cards' that he had and put them into his actual dueling deck. The platform rose and stood over the massive arena field, and for a moment he felt like he was Yugi Motto facing off against Joey Wheeler in the Duelist Kingdom Finals as he stared down the girl who waved at him from across the field.
He placed his deck on the field, with House Dragonmaid in the Extra Deck zone, and watched as the dusty screen turned on to reveal their life points.
"Alright, it's time to duel!" He yelled.
The girl smiled and nodded in response.
[Joseph Takara – 4000 / ? Girl – 4000]
"Ladies first!" He yelled as he drew his first cards.
[Dragonmaid Welcome, Dragonmaid Sendoff, Monster Reborn, Nurse Dragonmaid, Dragonmaid Tidying]
The little girl nodded as she drew her first card, and then played one on the field which appeared.
[Heart of the Underdog]
She then placed another card on the field.
[Wasteland]
The field began glowing and then the holograms changed the field's look, so instead of them being on a standard field they now were dueling in what looked like a barren… 'Wasteland', with dead trees, dried dirt and filled with rocks and boulders.
She then held up another card, and placed it on the field, this time a Monster Card, [Ancient Jar]
On the field a giant brown jar appeared, and inside of a single eye with a menacingly toothy grin appeared.
[Ancient Jar, Lvl 1, Earth Attribute, Rock Type, Normal Monster, 400 Atk / 200 Def]
She then pointed at the field, and then pointed at the jar, and on his screen he saw its points change.
[Ancient Jar 400 Atk / 200 Def – 520 Atk / 260 Def]
"What?" He muttered in confusion, "Is this thing's math broken… the field spell increases by two hundred not… 220 and 60… hey is this thing broken by any chance, I think the math is wrong?"
The girl shook her head with a smile and then nodded, before beckoning him to take his turn.
"Well, if you insist… my turn!" Joseph hollered as he picked up his next card, [Laundry Dragonmaid].
"I summon Laundry Dragonmaid, in attack mode!"
On the field Laundry's card was played and she rose, her maid's outfit shining in the wasteland field and trying to look menacing, but slightly failing because she still looked more 'cute' to him.
'Raawr… just let me at that jar, I'll smash it to pieces!' Laundry said to him as she bared her sharp teeth.
[Laundry Dragonmaid, Lvl 2, Water Attribute, Dragon Type, Effect Monster, 500 Atk / 1600 Def]
"Well before we go jar smashing, I activate from my hand Dragonmaid Welcome, this card gives all of my monsters an extra 100 point boost for each Dragonmaid monster I have on the field, and Laundry counts as one so her points go up!" He said as he played the card, choosing not to activate her effect.
With the magic card in play, Laundry's points rose, [Laundry Dragonmaid 500 Atk / 1600 Def – 600 Atk / 1700 Def]
"Next, I'll play one card face down, and have Laundry attack your Ancient Jar!" He said as the face down Dragonmaid Tidying card appeared on the field.
Laundry jumped into the air and then launched from her finger a burst of draconic energy, sending it at Ancient Jar. Ancient Jar emerged from it's jar as this shadowy 'thing' with only an eye and mouth going "Haaaaaaaar!" as it attacked back. Laundry smirked as her attack was dead on but went wide eyed as the monster twisted out of the way, snaked around her attack, and then opened wide to swallow her hole, destroying her in one large 'chomp'.
The creature returned to its jar with a big grin.
"What the… how is that possible?" He asked in shock as his maid was defeated.
Down on the ground Joseph's friends were just in equal shock, that matchup should have been a win for his Dragonmaid, even if it had a field bonus, the Ancient Jar's attack points were only 80 points weaker than his maid's.
"Something's not right, that should have been a win for Joseph, his Laundry Dragonmaid was stronger in every sense of the word, field bonus or no field bonus, Ancient Jar can't win a straight up fight with 'any' of his monsters, let alone the weakest of them." Bastion said with a stern expression. "She may not be his strongest maid, but against Ancient Jar Laundry should have won that exchange hands down."
"Yea, you're telling me… did the cards that girl play somehow change things?" Syrus asked.
"No way, I may not be the smartest cookie in the kingdom, but all Wasteland does is power up Rock, Zombie and Dinosaur monsters." Chumley replied. "What about that other card, that Heart of the Underdog card, what does it do?"
"Nothing special, it just makes it so that if you draw a normal monster during your draw phase, you can reveal it and draw another card, and if you draw another normal monster, you can repeat the process until you choose not to reveal a normal monster, or you draw a non-normal monster card." Bastion said as he watched the duel. "Based on all the data I can see that exchange should have been in favor of Joseph's monster… but she lost it, and that's what confuses me."
"Hmmm…" Sheou said with a smile as she watched the exchanges.
Up with Joseph he was deeply confused, but the girl seemed to be jumping with joy as she cheered on her Ancient Jar, and by how she was jumping and smiling, she didn't have this air of someone who was cheating. She just seemed very happy that she had won that battle.
"Well, that was surprising… but as I have nothing else that I can do, I end my turn!"
She nodded and picked up her next card, before revealing it to him as [Dancing Elf], then she drew again and revealed [Lightning Conger], and then she drew again, shook her head and played another monster.
On the field an elf monster with wings danced and glared at him wearing a green dress.
[Dancing Elf, lvl 1, Wind Attribute, Fairy Type, Normal Monster, 300 Atk / 200 Def]
'Another normal monster… okay so she is light on the effect cards, but heavy on monsters, they aren't that strong at least…' Joseph thought as she looked at the field before pointing at him.
Dancing Elf prepared to jump and attack at her silent command, and then the Ancient Jar was commanded to attack. Both monsters obeyed and Dancing Elf twirled and launched sharp leaves from nowhere at him, as Ancient Jar grinned and launched itself at him to bite at his life points. Both attacks connected and he took the damage.
[Joseph Takara – 3700 / ? Girl – 4000]
[Joseph Takara – 3180 / ? Girl – 4000]
She applauded her monsters and then pointed at him and nodded. "Keep smiling girl, cause now it's MY turn!" He said as he drew his next card, [Pot of Greed]. "I play the magic card, Pot of Greed, so I draw two cards thanks to it!"
[Dragonmaid Nudyarl, Numinous Healer.]
"I play one card on the field, and then I play Nurse Dragonmaid!"
[Nurse Dragonmaid, Lvl 2, Earth Attribute, Dragon Type, Effect Monster, 500 Atk / 1600 Def]
Nurse rose from her card as it was played on the field with a gentle smile. 'Master, I'm at your service, what do you need help with?'
"Activate your ability girl, bring back Laundry for me!" He said with a smile.
She nodded and pointed at his stand, sent a pink beam of draconic energy, and activated her effect. He then pulled out Laundry and summoned her out in attack mode.
"Thanks to Nurse Dragonmaid's effect I can special summon a lvl 4 or below Dragonmaid monster from my graveyard to the field, so come back to my field Laundry Dragonmaid!"
She appeared in a cascade of pink draconic light and grinned.
"Laundry since you're on the field girl, I activate your effect, so send the top 3 cards of my deck to the grave."
Laundry nodded and sent her own beam of draconic energy at him, but the second it ended she suddenly gasped and screamed in pain as she was suddenly surrounded by a red ring, and from that ring a ghostly white rabbit jumped and grappled her.
"What the… Laundry!" He shouted in shock as his opponent waved at him, before pointing at her card, playing it on the field.
[Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit]
[When a monster, or a magic/trap card that is already active, on the field activates its effect, you can discard Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit from the hand or field to the graveyard, to destroy that card.]
A ghost girl appeared on the field, one with horns and wielding a sword, clad in a kimono. She unleashed her sword and then slashed at Laundry, destroying her in one swing, before vanishing herself along with her ghostly rabbit.
"What just happened to my Laundry Dragonmaid?" He asked.
Down on the ground Bastion suddenly gained a look of surprise as he recognized what just happened, and it was 'not' good for Joseph. His opponent's threat level increased to ten on the scale because of that one card she played.
"Joseph, whatever you do be careful from here on out, whoever that girl is, she uses Hand Traps in her deck!" Bastion yelled.
"Hand Trap, what's a hand trap?" He yelled back.
"A Hand Trap is a card that activates its effect by discarding it from the hand, in response to a condition on the field! Be careful, she can activate a hand trap in response to 'any' kind of condition if you make it possible!"
"Thanks… wish I'd known that before… Hand Traps huh?" He muttered as he still took the top 3 cards of his deck and discarded them.
[Dragonmaid Ernus, Dragonmaid Downtime, Numinous Healer]
"Alright, now I initiate the battle phase, I still have one Dragonmaid on my field, so now that I'm entering the battle phase, Nurse Dragonmaid transforms into her dragon form, Dragonmaid Ernus!"
Nurse stared determinately as she glowed, grew, and transformed into her true dragon form of Dragonmaid Ernus, which he drew and played on the field in attack mode after taking Nurse back into his hand.
[Dragonmaid Ernus, Lvl 7, Earth Attribute, Dragon Type, Effect Monster, 2600 Atk / 1600 Def]
"And don't forget, Dragonmaid Welcome is still in play, so she gets a power boost!"
[Dragonmaid Ernus, 2600 Atk / 1600 Def – 2700 Atk / 1700 Def]
"Now, Dragonmaid Ernus, take down Dancing Elf, with Draconic Pastel Flame!"
'This is for LAUNDRY!' Ernus roared as she launched her pinkish flame, and Dancing Elf launched a hurricane of sharpened leaves in response.
It should have been an easy destroy, but just as with Laundry, Ernus' flames did not break through their opponent's monsters, instead the whirlwind of leaves burst through the flames, and struck Ernus dead center, destroying her in one fell swoop.
"Again… how is that possible?" He asked in confusion as this time it was his Dragonmaid's Dragon Form that was destroyed by the weak monster. "That makes no sense…"
Down on the field again, his friends were confused.
"What just happened, Dragonmaid Ernus more than outnumbered Dancing Elf's attack points by like seven times?" Chumley asked.
"Yea that should have been even 'easier' to win than Laundry against Ancient Jar." Syrus muttered.
"Something isn't right here, this is completely unfair to Joseph, his opponent must have rigged the duel somehow and is cheating." Bastion agreed.
Sheou however just smiled as she watched the duel taking place. "Master seems to be in quite the pickle, doesn't he?"
Up on the arena Joseph was thoroughly confused, how were his maids being destroyed? Nothing on the field suggested that he was getting cheated, her monsters were just plain ordinary normal monsters. The field was Wasteland and other than a weird… power boosting effect.
"Wait a second…" He muttered as he stared at the Ancient Jar specifically. "Is it possible?"
He didn't have much time to think as the girl started her turn, and shook her head as she drew her card, before summoning out another monster.
[Lightning Conger, lvl 3, Water Attribute, Thunder Type, Normal Monster, 350 Atk / 750 Def]
The monster looked like a green snake or eel with yellow lightning bolt fins and horns, it snapped and snarled at him as she sent her monsters on a 3 pronged attack. First Dancing Elf with her leaves, Ancient Jar grinning as it flung itself toward him, and then Lightning Conger launching a lightning bolt at him.
[Joseph Takara – 2880 / ? Girl – 4000]
[Joseph Takara – 2360 / ? Girl – 4000]
[Joseph Takara – 2010 / ? Girl – 4000]
"Grr… I activate my trap card, Numinous Healer!" He yelled as he activated his trap card. "When this card is activated when I lose life points, I gain a thousand back, plus five hundred if I happen to have any other cards with the same name… and I have '1' in there."
[Joseph Takara – 3510 / ? Girl – 4000]
She looked surprised at that but smiled and beckoned him to take his turn now.
He drew his next card, [Dragonmaid Hospitality].
"Okay… that's nice but… I still need to think about what is going on here." He muttered as he examined the field. "I'm getting my butt roasted by this girl's monsters, and they aren't even that threatening… Still, I think I can do something here…"
He looked at his hand consisting of Nudyarl, Hospitality, Nurse, and Sendoff.
"Okay I have an idea here… I activate Dragonmaid Nudyarl's effect, by discarding her I can send a monster from either graveyard back to the deck, since yours is empty that means mine is the one I have to use, so Laundry goes back and Nudyarl goes into the graveyard." He said and did as he said he would.
Laundry was taken out and sent to the deck while Nudyarl was sent to the grave.
"Now I activate the magic card 'Dragonmaid Hospitality! This magic card lets me special summon a Dragonmaid monster in my hand or graveyard into defense mode, and also lets me send a Dragonmaid of the same attribute but different level from the deck to the grave. So Nudyarl comes out and Laundry goes from the deck into the graveyard"
On the field his magic card activated, and was then swiftly surrounded by cherry blossoms, and in front of the card another girl in a kimono appeared, smiling as she giggled and waved a finger at him.
"Not agaaaain!" He hollered in disbelief as he looked across the field and saw the little girl nodding with a joyous smile as she played another card, a 'Hand Trap' as Bastion called it.
[Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring]
[When a card or effect is activated that includes one of these effects, 1) Adding a card from the deck to the hand, 2) Special summoning from the deck, 3) Sending a card from the deck to the graveyard, you can discard this card to negate the effect.]
The kimono girl smiled as she pointed at the card, and all of the cherry blossoms swarmed the card, smothered it, and then she lowered her hand to make it go down, and both it and her vanished from the field. He grimaced as he sent his card to the grave, he had really underestimated this girl. Not only had he wasted his Dragonmaid's effect and lost his Hospitality card, but now Nurse had no other card she could call upon with her effect. But as he looked at the field and knew that if he played Nurse again, she'd lose to Dancing Elf again, he had an idea.
"I wonder… I summon Nurse Dragonmaid in attack mode again!"
[Nurse Dragonmaid, Lvl 2, Earth Attribute, Dragon Type, Effect Monster, 500 Atk / 1600 Def]
Nurse appeared and held her stance as she stared the three monsters in front of her, but Joseph had a plan.
"I initiate the battle phase, Nurse transform into Ernus!"
Nurse nodded and activated her effect, summoning out her true form and becoming Dragonmaid Ernus, allowing him to take Nurse into his hand.
[Dragonmaid Ernus, Lvl 7, Earth Attribute, Dragon Type, Effect Monster, 2600 Atk / 1600 Def]
"Now I activate my trap card, Dragonmaid Tidying, with this card I can target one Dragon type monster on my field and one monster on your field or in the grave and send them both to the hand! So, take Dancing Elf back!"
The little girl frowned slightly as she nodded and took Dancing Elf back into her hand, and he took Ernus back to his hand.
"Now I activate her effect, I discard her and send her to the grave to special summon a lvl 4 or below Dragonmaid monster to the field, and Nurse is ready to go so come on out girl~!"
[Nurse Dragonmaid, Lvl 2, Earth Attribute, Dragon Type, Effect Monster, 500 Atk / 1600 Def]
'Master… I'm really getting tired from these constant summons…' Nurse muttered tiredly.
"Sorry girl but you're all I've got until I can draw out another maid, so attack that Lightning Conger with Pastel Energy!"
'As you wish…' She said before launching her attack at the electrical serpent.
"She still gets a boost, so here's 600 attack points from my maid!"
Lightning Conger couldn't survive the attack and was obliterated, and finally the girl took her first bit of damage.
[Joseph Takara – 3510 / ? Girl – 3750]
"I'm on the board at last… I end my turn!"
She nodded and drew her next card, smiled and then revealed it to be [Gogiga Gagagigo], she then drew again and shook her head, before playing her next card, [Dancing Elf]. She then played another card, [Pot of Greed] and drew two more cards. She looked at her cards then smiled, before having her Dancing Elf attack.
"I activate my maid's special ability, transform into your dragon form girl, attack mode!"
Nurse vanished as she appeared in her dragon form, snarling and launching a counter attack as he pulled her maid form back, but once again Dancing Elf destroyed Ernus, though how he didn't understand. She then ordered Ancient Jar to attack him directly.
"Not this time, I activate my trap card from the grave, I remove Dragonmaid Tidying to special summon Dragonmaid Ernus into defense mode, but she has to return to my hand at the end of the turn!" He yelled as he took Ernus and Tidying out of the grave, putting Tidying on the side and placing Ernus into defense mode.
The girl looked surprised but smiled, as she took another card from her hand and showed him it.
"Not another one…" He yelled in disbelief as she nodded.
[Ghost Mourner & Moonlit Chill]
[You probably don't know this, but this is the digital voice that explains the cards and effects seen in 5Ds. Anyway, back to explaining Ghost Mourner & Moonlit Chill… If your opponent special summons a monster face up outside of the damage step, you can discard this card and target it and negate it's effects until the end of the turn. Also, if that monster leaves the field this turn, the controller of that card takes damage equal to its original attack points.]
On the field another girl with a mournful expression appeared and sat next to Ernus with a sad expression, an expression Ernus looked nervous about as the opponent called her monster's attack off, and smiled, nodding at him that she was ending her turn.
With the end of the turn, he took Ernus back to his hand as the effects of Tidying were over, and the mourner looked at him, pointed at him, and sent a blast of light blue energy at him, causing damage to his life points.
[Joseph Takara – 910 / ? Girl – 3750]
"Ugh… she's crushing me, I've barely touched her while she's blowing me up with every move… those hand traps are devastating me!" He muttered as he stared at her smiling expression. "I'm starting to think she is cheating… but there's just something about her that says she isn't… let me think…"
He looked at Ancient Jar again and looked at its attack points and then thought about the field spell… and then looked at the attack points again.
"That's got to be it… but first I draw!" he said as he drew his next card, [Kitchen Dragonmaid], "I play the magic card, Monster Reborn, this magic card lets me special summon a monster from either Graveyard, so I choose to special summon Dragonmaid Nudyarl in attack mode!"
He played the magic card, but before it could activate its effect on the field, it was bathed in moonlight… and another little girl cloaked in a white glow appeared wearing an elegant ballroom dress and smiling at the card.
"Don't tell me…" He muttered as the girl smiled and revealed 'another' of her hand traps.
[Ghost Belle & Haunted Mansion]
[When a card or effect is activated that includes any of these effects, 1) Adds a card from the grave to the hand/deck and/or extra deck, 2) Special summons a Monster Card from the Grave, 3) Banishes a card from the Grave, you can discard this card and negate its activation…]
"Oh, come oooooon." He hollered in disbelief as the ghost girl pointed at the card, and then smiled as she made it fade into nothingness, before vanishing herself. "That girl is really getting under my skin with those Hand Traps… I summon Kitchen Dragonmaid in attack mode!"
Kitchen appeared on the field in her usual maid attire, smirking as she looked at the competition.
'This duel's about to get 'spicy' master…'
[Kitchen Dragonmaid, Lvl 3, Fire Attribute, Dragon Type, Effect Monster, 500 Atk / 1700 Def]
Down on the ground his friends were starting to feel Joseph's pain as every move was being countered.
"Joseph is really struggling up there." Syrus commented.
"It's no wonder, that girl duelist is using Hand Traps almost every turn. Hand Traps are among the hardest cards in the game to counter because you can never predict when they're going to be played. At any moment, for any effect, with any action you take, you might find yourself triggering the conditions needed to activate those Hand Traps, and then whatever your doing will be negated." Bastion said in agreement.
"So how is Joseph going to win?" Chumley asked.
"Well first he has to choose his moves carefully, the weakness of Hand Traps is that they only work once, you can't bring them back after activated most times. The second is that he needs to get her to 'use' her remaining hand traps so that whatever plans he has won't be interrupted. The one benefit is that he has hand traps of his own… to an extent…"
"Hand traps of his own?" Syrus asked.
"You see master Syrus, Joseph's Dragonmaids can act like Hand Traps under specific conditions." Sheou said with a smile, causing them to look at him. "If I remember… each of the Dragonmaids Dragon forms can activate their effects from the hand as well, and two of them can activate during the opponent's turn."
"Your right, not only that but because of how the maids work, he can use them and recycle them over and over." Bastion agreed. "That's going to be his key to win this duel, using the maid's dragon form's abilities and recycling them. But still… how is she able to overcome his maid's power with those normal monsters… I still don't understand."
"Hmhmhmmm." Sheou chuckled as she returned to watching the duel.
"Alright, since Kitchen Dragonmaid has successfully been summoned, I can bring a Dragonmaid Monster from my deck to my hand, and I pick Laundry Dragonmaid!"
He extracted Laundry from his deck and then turned to the field.
"Now I need Parlor from my deck, then I can really be ready for anything… but first, I activate Dragonmaid Sendoff, now I return one Dragonmaid on the field to special summon another Dragonmaid but with a different name from my hand in defense mode, so for now Kitchen return to my hand and Laundry take her place."
Kitchen nodded as she vanished from the field to be replaced by Laundry who hopped out of her card and growled at the opposing monsters.
"Now I initiate the battle phase, so Laundry transform into Nudyarl girl!"
'You got it master~!" She said proudly, vanishing from the field and replacing herself with her more powerful Dragon form. 'Now let's get serious!'
"Yea, Nudyarl target that Dancing Elf and take it down!"
Nudyarl smirked as she unleashed a torrent of Azure Draconic flame at Dancing Elf, who cried in pain as it was destroyed, taking a massive chunk out of the opponent's life points who grimaced as her monster was destroyed.
[Joseph Takara – 910 / ? Girl – 1350]
"That evens us up…"
The little girl nodded with a smile as she drew her next card and then smiled before revealing it to him, [Queen of Autumn Leaves] and drew again, she smiled and revealed another card, [Nightmare Scorpion] then drew again, shook her head and played a monster on the field.
On the field a terrifying red scorpion with multiple sharp stingers, eyes on both its head and body, sharpened claws and legs with menacing pincers appeared on the field, snapping and clacking at his Dragonmaid.
[Nightmare Scorpion, lvl 3, Earth Attribute, Insect Type, Normal Monster, 900 Atk / 800 Def]
She then did a little hop and pointed at his Dragonmaid, sending her Ancient Jar in to attack, which left its jar and went at her Dragonmaid with its toothy grin and menacing smile as it opened wide to swallow his Dragonmaid whole.
'Eyaaaaaaaaaah!' Nudyarl screamed in horror as she was chomped down, vanishing as the monster returned to its jar.
She then ordered the scorpion to attack, and it scuttled forward to deliver a sting to his life points, devastating what little he had and leaving him barely alive.
[Joseph Takara – 10 / ? Girl – 1350]
"Ten life points… how is he going to turn this duel around with just 'ten' life points?" Syrus asked.
"I don't know, but he better do it fast, one more strike and that's it. A gentle breeze could end this duel." Bastion said, though he paused as he saw Joseph laughing in amusement.
"Man… this is crazy, down to ten life points, staring down these creepy crawlers in the middle of the night, Hand Traps… man I am learning so much here!" Joseph shouted. "You sure know how to duel all things considered!"
The girl nodded happily at his praise, holding her cards to her cheek with joy as she showed how much she treasured them.
"Of course, now that I know how it works, I think I can figure out how to win this duel more easily. My draw first though!" He said as he drew, [Parlor Dragonmaid] "Welcome to the party girl, now I summon Parlor Dragonmaid in attack mode!"
In a burst of Emerald Green draconic flame Parlor Dragonmaid appeared on the field, twirling as she glanced at the opposing monster, before grimacing in disgust. 'Ugh… master… I know your cute but, eyeeech… those things are disgusting… why did you call me out to greet them?'
"Just activate your ability for me girl and send Dragonmaid Lorpar to the grave." He asked apologetically.
She nodded and blast his tower with a burst of draconic energy, allowing him to send Lorpar to the grave.
'Now what, we go into the battle phase, I transform, and I go to kick some butt right?' She asked sweetly.
"We go into the battle phase, and then I have you go attack that giant scorpion over there!" He shouted.
'Wait wha?'
"What, he's not transforming her, but she's going to get crushed against that Scorpion!" Chumley shouted.
"Has he lost his mind; he'll lose the duel!" Bastion asked in shock.
"Joseph has made questionable decisions before, but this makes no sense!" Syrus agreed.
"Looks like he's figured it out~!" Sheou said cheerfully.
'Master, are you sure… I can transform still and then I'd have way more attack power…' Parlor asked nervously.
"Just trust me girl, you can take that scorpion over there." He said with a smile.
'Okay…' She muttered sheepishly, but still turned and jumped at the Nightmare Scorpion, sending a burst of Draconic Energy at it.
The scorpion tried to sting back, but the emerald energy of his maid stopped it in its tracks, set it aflame and it screamed in agony, before disappearing from the field. On the ground floor, everyone else just looked confused.
"Now… I'm lost." Syrus said.
"You're telling me, I don't think even Eisenstein could solve this duel's equation… this makes no logical sense. He just destroyed a monster with higher attack points without any spells traps or monster effects." Bastion said.
On the field though Parlor was looking relieved as Joseph smirked. "Took me a few turns but looks like my hunch was right, so you're an Old School duelist aren't you?"
The girl looked at him with surprise before smiling and nodding in confirmation.
"Old School, Joseph can you explain what you mean by that?" Bastion asked.
"It's simple, she's not cheating or messing with the duel, she just uses another ruleset that we aren't used to… heck even I'm not used to it, and I just figured it out!" He explained to them. "These are rules similar to those used in Duelist Kingdom, but they work differently, I think the rules we're playing by are the Original Prototype Duel Rules, implemented before the first generation rules were created."
He looked at Ancient Jar on the field, as that was his big key in figuring it out.
"The original rules played in Duelist Kingdom used a similar ruleset to these prototype rules, when a field is in play monsters that benefit from it received a 30% increase to their attack and defense. Also, the monsters played a more 'Rock Paper Scissors' format, with monsters relying on their attributes as much as their points, even mighty monsters could be destroyed by little bugs like that Scorpion over there. If a monster with an attribute superior to the opponent's battled it, the defending monster would lose regardless of point difference, same thing would happen if a monster with an inferior attribute battled a superior attribute monster, but the attacking monster would lose. According to those rules, Earth attribute beats Water, Water attribute beats Fire, Fire attribute beats Wind, and Wind beats Earth." He looked up at the little girl who smiled in acknowledgement. "You sure are an old school player to know those rules, you barely look older than eight or nine, but those rules were only used for a year, like 'way' before your time."
She just shrugged her shoulder as she nodded at him before pointing at herself.
"Yea I end my turn; I've got nothing else."
She nodded and drew her next card, before frowning and looking at the field. She then shook her head as she switched her card's position, putting Ancient Jar into defense mode. His turn came and he drew, [Graceful Charity]
"I play Graceful Charity, now I discard two cards after I draw three!"
[Dragonmaid Hospitality, Numinous Healer, Dragonmaid Downtime]
"I send Laundry and Downtime to the graveyard, and Iactivate Dragonmaid Hospitality, so I special summon Kitchen Dragonmaid in defense mode, and due to Dragonmaid Hospitality's effect, I send Dragonmaid Tinkech to the grave. Next, I summon Nurse Dragonmaid to the field in attack mode, and thanks to her effect I special summon Laundry into attack mode!"
On the field both Laundry and Kitchen appeared, one with arms crossed and kneeling to indicate defense mode, and the other growling and baring her teeth menacingly.
'I feel like I'm sixty dueling by these rules…' Kitchen said quietly.
'You're only as old as you feel Kitchen, I for one feel like I'm fifteen!'
'You two…' Parlor muttered.
'I feel like I need a nap after tonight…' Nurse agreed.
"No effects to activate this turn, but I initiate the battle phase!" He said, before once again… another little girl wrapped in ghostly light appeared on the field. "Don't tell me…"
The little girl smiled as she waved yet 'another' Hand Trap from her hand, playing it on the field.
[Ghost Sister & Spooky Dogwood]
[During either player's turn, except during the end phase, you can discard this card to apply the effect, that each time your opponent special summons an Effect Monster during either the Main or Battle Phase, you gain Life Points equal that monster's attack points, but if you do not gain life points by this effect, your life points are halved during the end phase.]
Joseph looked at the ghost girl on the filed before noticing an earie resemblance it shared with the owner, as both wore a similar outfit to one another. It just sat there on her side of the field though, just staring, waiting expectantly. He looked at the field and nothing else happened, none of his monsters were destroyed, none of them were being affected, and nothing had been summoned, sent to the grave, or removed from play.
"Hand Traps… Bastion said hand traps activate their effects when the conditions for them are activated, so if she didn't activate this until 'after' I tried to begin the battle phase… then this one might be waiting for me to special summon my Dragonmaid's dragon forms. Then… if that happens whatever that card does, it's effect will activate." He muttered as she stared at him. "She 'wants' me to special summon my dragon forms… well I'm not falling for THAT Hand Trap, girls attack, Parlor you're up first!"
Parlor nodded as she leapt and launched her assault, wiping out Ancient Jar from the field and causing the ghost girl on the field to look surprised, a look matched by the opponent.
"Now you're exposed, and I've got two girls who are still raring to, Laundry, Nurse, attack!"
Both Laundry and Nurse leapt up and aimed their attacks at the opponent.
"And don't forget, Dragonmaid Welcome is 'still' in play, so all of my monsters gain a hundred-point boost to attack and defense for 'each' Dragonmaid monster, and I count 'four'.
[Laundry/Nurse Dragonmaid – 500 Atk / 1600 Def x2 – 900 Atk / 2000 Def x2]
Both attacks launched, spiraled together, and finally connected with the opponent's life points.
[Joseph Takara – 10 / ? Girl – 0]
The opponent looked surprised and slightly disappointed that she lost, but she smiled and nodded gratefully to him and his monsters. In response all four of his maids bowed respectfully, before vanishing as the holographic systems of the Duel Arena shut down.
"Great Duel, that was 'fun'! Hand Traps and all!" He shouted with a laugh as he lowered down. "Hey guys, did you see how that went, tell me that was 'not' crazy!"
"I'll say, I never expected you to know rules that old, all things considered. I've done a lot of research into dueling and even 'I' never knew about that prototype ruleset." Bastion said.
"Eh… it was something I knew about but never really played after I found an official ruleset, when I was younger, I found a really old rule book for dueling, but nobody played those rules so I just kind of ignored them." He said with a chuckle. "Anyway that was a-"
He stopped talking when he turned around to thank his opponent for the duel and congratulate her for nearly beating him, but there was just one slight problem.
The duel arena was gone… as was the girl.
"Guys where did the giant duel stadium that was literally five feet in front of us go?"
"You mean you didn't notice it just vanish without a trace?" Syrus asked quietly.
"Nor did you see the girl who 'also' just mysteriously vanish without a trace?" Chumley asked quietly too.
"So, while we were all talking to Joseph none of us noticed a giant hunk of rusted metal, dried paint and outdated holographic systems disappear into thin air, along with the duelist who brought it up without us even knowing it was there to begin with?" Bastion questioned.
There was silence as everyone just watched the wind blow the leaves, rustling the trees in the distance and causing a twig to fly past them.
"Spooky…" Sheou said with a smile.
"Let's just go to bed and… pretend this 'never' happened." Syrus muttered.
"Agreed." Chumley.
"Ditto." Joseph said.
"I concur." Bastion stated, and they all began leaving.
Sheou smiled as she followed behind, before pausing as she watched a card floating toward them, the wind carrying it, allowing her to grab it out of the air with her fingers. She turned it over and saw [Ghost Sister & Spooky Dogwood], as the name of the card… she smiled and put the card over the candle she'd been carrying all this time, allowing it to catch fire. She held it in the palm of her hand until it turned to ashes, then blew the ashes away, to let them be carried by the wind.
"I'll tell him thank you for you…" She whispered elegantly. "You can rest now… happily."
With that she turned and followed after her master so that she could use her candlelight to light the ground before him, ever the faithful, loyal, and loving Maid to her Young Master.
Following in his shadow, while lighting the path, that 'he' chooses to walk.
.
.
.
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For those of you wondering, yes I know the Ghost Girl, or Yokai Girl series are tuner monsters, since this is a spooky ghost story (sorta XD) I figured she used her powers to use cards that don't exist yet for her duel, and the Ghost Girl Duelist is sort of the 'precursor' to the Yokai Series. They have to have been given inspiration somehow~!
Plus since she never actually played them in attack/defense mode and only ever revealed their names and what effects they had, I figured it was fair.
Thoughts on the duel? I decided to use an 'old school' format to catch everyone off guard, using similar ruleset seen in the anime season 1 while using an ruleset idea from Yugioh the Sacred Cards. Figured it would make for an interesting exchange for this special~!
Happy Halloween~!