Chapter 12: The All Hallow's Eve Heist

Haru's eyes shot open as he heard the sound of his alarm clock going off. His eyes lingered on the ceiling of his bed, before turning to get up. He let out a rather loud yawn and raised his right arm upward beginning to stretch. "RAAAARRR" something yelled as a large solid object made impact with Haru's back, causing him to fall over onto the floor.

"There better be a good reason for this" Haru grumbled as he attempted to see his attacker. He noticed the orange tinge of what seemed to be a pumpkin mask heave itself off of him.

"Come on Haru you could have acted a little scared" Syrus pouted as he lifted up his pumpkin mask.

"I don't think you want that" Chumley said leaning down from the top bunk. "If I know Haru he would punch first ask questions later."

"You're not wrong" Haru said pushing himself up to a sitting position. He pointed towards the opposite wall. "More than likely you would have went through that wall." Syrus gulped as he imagined this possibility before sitting down on Haru's bed. "So what's with the mask?"

"Don't you remember what today is?" Syrus asked.

"Dress like a Jackass day? Oh wait that's every day for Dr. Crowler" Haru joked.

"No Muscle Brain, it's Halloween" Syrus said walking over to the window and throwing open the curtains letting in the light. Haru flinched and covered his eyes as the light washed over him. Slifer students passed by the windows covered in makeup and multicolored costumes as they prepared for the day ahead.

"I always assumed that we didn't celebrate holidays" Haru said moving towards their closet. Opening the right door he ruffled through the contents, before pulling out a red cloak, tricorne hat and a red mask. "I suppose it's a good thing that I always come prepared".

"Why do you have… you know what, on second thought I don't want to know" Syrus began to ask before catching himself.

"So what's on the agenda today boys?" Haru asked throwing on his cloak and tricorne hat.

Syrus pulled out a piece of paper. "According to the schedule each of the dorms is having a halloween party tonight in their respective dining halls."

"Well then let's go see how the setup is going then" Haru headed for the door.

"Hold up, I'm coming along" Chumley lept down from the top bunk. On closer inspection the older boys face was painted black and white in a way resembling a panda. Haru smirked and gave the boy a thumbs up.

"Looking good Chum."

"Yeah thanks" Chumley smiled "It's the best I could do with what I have"

"What about mine?" Syrus asked throwing on an orange and green pair of suspenders.

"Come on puffball, a pumpkin?" Haru shook his head. "I still can't believe you tried to scare me with that mask"

"You do look pretty ridiculous" Chumley added.

"Shut up Chumley, you two just don't appreciate how scary I really am" Syrus grumbled.


Across the island the yellow dorm was abuzz with activity getting ready for the party later that night. Professor Satyr the head of the Ra dorm and a few of his students had set up a small room off to the side for the playing of classical monster movies. There were about four rows of uninhabited seats, save for one in the second row. The middle seat was inhabited by a brown haired youth sipping something out of a wine glass. His hair was short and spiky with a tinge of red highlights and he wore a black bandana tied around his neck. His name was William Raines but to most he went by Will. The doorway to the room darkened as a new presence made itself known in the room.

"Ah Will I figured I would find you in here" Bastion said as he moved down the row to sit beside his fellow Ra.

"Hello Bastion" Will said giving him a half hearted smile. "There isn't any place I'd rather be on such a day like this"

"Cooped up in a dark room watching monster movies?" Bastion asked sitting back in his chair.

"Monster movies doesn't begin to describe it" Will shook his head. "These are pieces of art made back in the days when writers and directors actual knew what they were doing." He motioned towards the screen. "For example this is considered the one true great vampire movie, Dracula. Bela Lugosi will always be remembered as the man who immortalized the king of the dead.

Bastion nodded "I meant no offense from my comment, I only mean that you could be more social with your fellow students".

"Why? If I go out there I will only be met by the bastardizations of the true horrors of the old days. Vampires sparkle in the sunlight instead of burning, werewolves are just men who can turn into wolves now, not the lycanthropy that was a curse in my memory. Our generation will never see the true beauty of horror nowadays."

"You truly have an old soul William" Bastion shook his head. "Perhaps with your point of view you can follow in your father's footsteps and inform the world of the greatness of the old classics in cinema."

"That is indeed my goal" Will nodded.

"I'm sorry but I must return to setting up the party for tonight. Please enjoy yourself, and if you should decide to join us tonight, perhaps you could show our classmates the power of an old classic." With that Bastion left the room.

Bastions words seemed to strike something within Will as he could not return his attention to the movie playing in front of him. He placed his head in his hands and began to think, 'Perhaps he's right, maybe I should show my expertise to my fellow students. But the question is how?" His eyes moved to a white halloween mask he had gotten while the dorm was handing out costumes. A small smirk appeared on his face as he looked at it closely. "Perhaps there is a way, but in order to pull it off I must have a grander venue" he mused.


"Um what?" Haru asked as he looked around the red mess hall "This is all we could afford for a halloween party?" The room was decorated in pumpkin streamers and rubber bats hanging from the ceiling. The kaiju duelist grabbed one of the bats and squeezed it, causing it to let out a short squeak.

"Hello gentlemen" Damian said from the far side of the room. The green haired boy was balancing on top of a small step ladder as he hung up the end of another streamer.

"Hey dorm rep" Syrus greeted as the group made their way over to him.

"You like what I've done with the place?" Damian asked looking around, proud with his work.

"Hate to say it Damian, but doesn't this place seem a little bare?" Haru asked.

"We have a lower budget than the other dorms" Damian shrugged.. "So I'm doing what I can without tapping into the dinner funds".

"Wait how big of a difference in budgets are we talking?" Haru asked.

"Well to put it in simple terms, for every dollar we get Ra gets ten, and Obelisk gets twenty" Damian said off the top of his head. "But don't worry we have enough money to get us three chickens, a pot of potatoes and some mac and cheese for tonight".

Haru's eyes narrowed, while Chumley counted on his fingers. "Three chickens? How many members are there in this dorm?" the Koala duelist asked.

"About 45" Damian answered.

"If I'm doing my math right, that would leave us with very little to work with for each person." Chumley said moving his fingers up and down.

"And Chumley and I chow down hard" Haru said moving back towards the door. "I may have to do something about this." He pulled out his duel pilot and typed in a number on the phone function before putting it up to his ear.

"What do you want?" The voice on the other end asked.

"Well it's good to talk to you too Eiji" Haru said sarcastically. "Blue dorm making you too big for your britches?"

"Alright, allright what can I help you with" Eiji sighed.

"I was wondering what your dorm is doing for their Halloween party tonight."

There was a pause as Eiji clearly was thinking about what was happening right now. "Why?"

"Syrus and I made a bet that Crowler would throw a masquerade ball. I told him that even Crowler wouldn't resort to something so average on Halloween" Haru said.

"Wait what?" Syrus asked, but he was quickly hushed by Chumley.

"Well you're right in one respect, our party tonight is a sort of ball. Crowler and Ms. Fontaine decided that now would be a perfect time for their respective dorms to intermingle. They even hired a French chef from off the island for the event." Haru smiled deviously at this news "Ok thanks Eiji I hope you and your girlfriend have a wonderful time tonight"

"She's not my girlfriend" Eiji growled, getting irritated.

"You keep saying that buddy" Haru said before clicking off the phone.

"What was that?" Syrus asked

"The beginnings of a beautiful plan my small puffy-haired friend. Did you know that Crowler and hired a French chef from off the island to cater their party tonight?" Haru asked.

"How would I have known that" Syrus asked

Chumley began to nod his head as if realizing what his friend was up to. "If they hired a chef from off the island, then they must be planning something extremely extravagant for the Obelisk party tonight. Taking into account the amount of people in the dorm, there has to be a decent amount of food being made."

"And you're going to steal some of it" Syrus sighed finally catching on.

"About time you caught up Shortstuff," Haru nodded.

"I'm not sure they would be to happy about something going missing from their party" Damian pointed out as he climbed down from the ladder.

"Who's going to miss a few things from the smorgasbord that those stuck up idiots will be getting tonight, as I think of it I'm stealing from the rich to give to the poor" Haru pointed out.

"Well it would be nice to get a full meal for once" Damian admitted as his stomach growled.

"But how are you going to get in?" Syrus asked

"Good question. Bastion and I found an old book on the topic of Duel Academy before it was owned by Kaiba. As a matter of fact it was owned by another rich man at one point, and the Obelisk dorm used to be his mansion." Haru informed him.

"Is there a point?" Syrus asked rolling his eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, I was just about to get to that before you so rudely interrupted me." Haru lightly slapped the smaller boy over the head. "Anyway, we discovered a series of hidden passageways going beneath the island and into the Blue dorm. The old owner of the island was apparently rather creative with his building ideas"

"Alright so the plan is for us to gain access to the blue dorm through one of these passages, make our way to the kitchen, abscond with some of the food, then disappear before anyone notices we were there" Chumley said as he laid out the plan.

"Precisely" Haru smiled. "But first we have to find one of those passageways, luckily for us I believe I found one relatively nearby".

"Then let's get going then" Chumley said heading towards the door "I can't let my Halloween dinner be nothing but scraps".

"Well said Chum" Haru laughed as he followed.

"Yay I'm being dragged into another adventure again" Syrus sighed "Hopefully it doesn't end up like the last time." He thought back to the abandoned dorm fiasco and shuddered, before following the two other boys.

"Good luck" Damian called after them.


Will was still deep in thought as he made his way back from the makeshift theater near the mess hall. As he walked he noticed a group of slifer students walking up the path towards the dorm, talking amongst themselves. Will moved off the path and under one of the trees pulling a book from his jacket and acting as if he was reading it. The group passed and Will let out a sigh of relief, the thought of large groups still rather petrified him. He slumped down the base of the tree and placed the open book in between his knees.

"Are you sure it's this way?" he heard a voice say, coming from the direction the group had just came from.

"Yes for the third time Syrus, I'm sure this is the right way" another voice said. Will noticed that this voice was closer and returned to reading his book as he noticed three figures approach.

"So we're looking for something called the mother tree" a third voice said. Will recognized one of the three Slifers off the bat. He had been in the stands for the boys duels against Chazz Princeton and the Paradox Brothers. What was his name again? Will shook his head as he flashed back to the expulsion duel. He remembered this boy held the power of monsters of giant proportions, Haru? Yeah it must have been Haru. Haru was flanked by a small blue haired boy with glasses and a rounder boy with a bulbous nose and hair that almost seemed like koala ears.

"Yes, so I wager we are looking for a larger tree than the others on the island, and that's where our passageway will be," Haru said looking at the larger boy.

'Passageway?Mother Tree?' The tree they spoke of reminded him of the giant one he had passed on his way to class every so often. The trio seemed to be moving in the wrong direction though as they moved past him. Will moved to the opposite side of the tree as Haru stopped and looked back at where Will had once sat.

"Something wrong Haru?" the smaller boy asked following his gaze.

"I felt like I was being watched." The boy looked around behind him before shrugging his shoulders and moving on. "It was probably nothing."

Will waited until they were out of view before heading around the the opposite side of the dorm. Moving towards the gazebo on the other end he checked both ways for signs of life before heading into the trees. It took him a few minutes but he managed to find the tree he thought they were talking about. He moved around it looking for some kind of unusual protrusion that may act as an opening mechanism. Finding a small bump on the front, underneath a branch, he gave a hard push. The sound of stone scraping against stone was heard as the base of the trunk moved to the side. Will's eyes widened and a smile formed on his face. He looked around to make sure the coast was clear one last time before entering the opening, as his feet met stone he heard the same noise has he heard when the door opened as the opening closed behind him.

"Looks like there's no going back now." He shrugged. "Let's see where this takes me."


"Alright Haru it's been an hour, where the hell is this tree?" Syrus asked clearly not amused anymore. The boys had spent the last 30 minutes trekking through the wilderness that surrounded the abandoned dorm. Chumley was starting to look a little worse for wear as he walked along behind them trying to catch his breath.

"Well it wasn't anywhere I thought it was" Haru frowned. "Meaning that it's in one of two places." they moved passed the yellow dorm gazebo and the taller boy stopped. "There's the one behind the yellow dorm, and the one in front of the Obelisk boys dorm."

"But that's clear across the island" Chumley panted. "I would prefer if we go to the the one thats closer".

"You alright Chumley? You look like you might have a heart attack at any moment" Syrus asked.

"Perhaps you should take it easy on the grilled cheese there buddy" Haru commented, a bit of concern in his voice.

"Yeah, Yeah I'm fat we all know that" Chumley fixed his companions with a frown. "But damn it I'm going to see this journey through till the end."

Haru smiled at the older boy's determination. "Well said Chum, let's go find this passageway." After a few minutes of walking the trio found themselves in front of the tree Will had discovered earlier. "Looks like we finally found it boys" Haru smiled a he made his way towards it.

"Looks pretty normal to me" Syrus said moving around the tree.

"That's the genius of it," Haru told him. "It's supposed to look like a normal piece of foliage, but with enough pressure on the right spot it reveals a hidden secret" He moved his right hand across the base of the tree before stopping on the button like appendage. He pushed and the hatch opened once again "Bingo".

"Well what do you know? You're not completely full of shit after all" Syrus said peering into the corridor beyond.

"Ow! It hurts that you don't believe in me Syrus" Haru said acting as if the comment had hurt.

"Uh guys there's something odd about this passageway" Chumley said motioning to the floor of the passageway "I think someone has been here recently".

Haru moved to the older boys side and looked, "Interesting, were not the first ones to discover this passage" he gestured towards another set of footprints. "It stands to reason since these are fresh tracks, that the person who discovered this first has come and gone before we got here. Hell it may have been a couple days for all we know"

"So what now?" Chumley asked.

"We go back to the dorm and prepare" Haru smiled. "Tonight we pull off the greatest heist this academy has ever seen."


Later that night Haru and his two compatriots met at the passageway each dressed in their halloween costumes. Chumley now had a full body black and white fur suit to match his makeup, while Syrus had his suspenders and an orange shirt to compliment his mask. Haru had his cloak wrapped around him along with the tricorne hat and mask resting on his head. The kaiju duelist ruffled through his pockets and produced three black wireless walkie talkies that he then proceeded to hand out to his companions.

"You really pulled out all the stops" Syrus whistled as he took the communication device.

"Did you expect anything else?" Chumley deadpanned.

"Alright gentlemen here's the plan" Haru said clapping his hands together."I'll go infiltrate the party, the two of you hold up here until I give you the signal, then we will make our escape with our new prizes."

"Aw man I didn't eat before we left" Syrus grumbled.

"Dont worry I brought some extra grilled cheese" Chumley said pulling out two sandwiches wrapped in foil.

"Of course you did" Syrus deadpanned.

"Hey if you're going to act like that, maybe I'll just eat them both" Chumley said stubbornly turning away from the blue haired boy.

"Alright, I'm sorry Chumley. I'll never question your grilled cheese habits again" Syrus said grabbing at one of the sandwiches.

"See that you don't" Chumley said with a smirk.

"Now children you better behave while I'm gone" Haru said sarcastically.

"Just get a move on Haru, we do want to have dinner sometime today" Syrus said.

Haru nodded and took off down the tunnel, the door closing after he entered. Haru whistled at how dark it was and he heard the sound echo across the walls in front of him. Pulling out a pen sized flashlight the slifer began making his way down the corridor. The passage must have been about 100 years old, Haru thought as he walked. Moss riddled the upper bricks of the passage confirming his suspicions. He walked for what seemed like ten minutes before light began to shine from up ahead. As he neared, he noticed that the light came from what seemed to be the outline of a door. He placed his hand against the top of the door and felt a cool breeze wafting from within "Jackpot!". He shoved against the door and with a little effort the door opened just enough for him to squeeze through. Placing the red mask over his face Haru inched his way through the crack. He found himself in a tan colored hallway complete with suits of armor and paintings. He looked around to see if he was being watched, before closing the passageway just enough to conceal it from view. The sound of a bass could be heard coming from his left as he walked in that direction.

"Hold up!" A familiar screechy voice said from behind him, as Haru turned to see Crowler walking towards him decked out in a more frilly version of his original outfit, along with a blue masquerade mask .

'Shit' Haru thought as his mind raced for an excuse. "Hello Doctor Crowler" He said in his best British impression.

"Alastair? What are you doing hiding behind that suit of armor?" Crowler asked.

"I'm sorry professor, I just thought I heard something in the walls" Haru told him almost gagging from how nice he had to be to his mortal nemesis.

"Preposterous my boy there's nothing in the walls. As the best dorm on the island we can afford the best pest prevention. That slifer dorm on the other hand it's probably infested with vermin, and I don't mean the students for once" Crowler patted Haru on the back "Now come on child we are missing the party Ms. Fontaine and I worked so hard to put together."

"Yes professor" Haru said.

The two made their way to the room at the end of the hall, and Haru noticed as they grew closer the bass grew louder. Crowler pushed open the door and Haru was met with the the multi colored lights of a rave. "Go have fun child" Crowler said before pushing him inside. Haru looked around at the crowd of Obelisk students, who were intermingling in their little cliques. He watched Crowler move past him towards the end of the room, where a woman he assumed was Ms. Fontaine in a full ballgown.

"Calling Short stack and Grilled Cheese, this is T-Bone do you copy?" Haru asked as he moved his walkie talkie up to his mouth.

"Really food codenames?" Syrus' voice said from the other end.

Haru looked around to see if he was being watched before heading towards the beverage table. "It was either that, or I called the two of you Puffball and Chubby Panda."

"Hey!" Chumley said from the other end "I resemble that comment."

"I think you mean resent" Syrus told him.

"That's not the point" Haru growled. "I have gained access to the party, it was surprisingly easier than I thought, Stand by for the signal" he clicked the walkie talkie off and placed it in his cloak. When he got to the beverage table he poured himself a cup of punch before observing his surroundings. The first thing that caught his eye was the Obelisk dressed as Frankenstein making his way down the table, his eyes fixated on Haru.

"What are you doing here?" Eiji asked stopping across from him.

"I don't know what your talking about" Haru said doing his british impression again.

"Cut the crap Haru you wore that costume to one of Pegasus' costume balls before we entered the academy" Eiji growled.

"Oh hi Eiji what a surprise to see you here" Haru said taking a sip of his drink.

"This is my dorm Haru, I'm supposed to be here. Unlike you"

"I'm feeling attacked for no reason" Haru said acting hurt.

"Why are you here Haru" Eiji ignored him.

"Well sparky" he motioned to the electrodes on Eiji's neck. "Nice touch by the way, I'm here to relieve your dorm of some of the excess food you obviously have."

"Wait how do you…." Suddenly the phone call from earlier dawned on him "Oh for the love of, I gave you that information didn't I?"

"You sure did" Haru laughed. "So you could say in a way you're my accomplice."

"I should really stop answering your phone calls" Eiji rubbed his eyes in frustration.

"Probably shouldn't do that, you'll smear your makeup"

Eiji turned away from him and looked out across the dance floor. Haru followed his gaze and was met by a sight that made him rather amused. Across the dancefloor in a black and white wig and white dress was Sarah dressed as the Bride of Frankenstein. "So are you sure the two of you aren't dating?" Haru smirked. "Because the colab on the costumes kinda implies that you are"

"We are not da….dating" Eiji said clearly embarrassed

"Oh I caught you red handed now" Haru snorted. "Tell you what Franky, forget you saw me today and go dance with your bride. I'll do what I came to do and you can act none the wiser that way we both win."

"Fine" Eiji sighed "but if you get caught I'm not a part of this in any way."

"I'm not sure what I'm more insulted by, the fact you think I would get caught, or that I would rat out my cohorts if I did." Haru responded.

"Whatever" Eiji rolled his eyes before returning to the dance floor.

Haru smiled at the boy's reaction before turning towards the wall behind him. Thinking back to his excursion to the blue dorm during the promotion duels he began to map out his entrance and escape routes. He moved towards a pair of double doors that he remembered led to the kitchen, stopped to make sure he wasn't being watched before ducking inside. The kitchen was just as he remembered it from all those weeks ago, save for the large amount of food that currently occupied the counters. He whistled impressed by the effort the teachers went through for the halloween party. Moving past a large platter of pumpkin pies Haru acquired two and placed them on a nearby cart. He began to whistle to himself as he went from table to table acquiring numerous culinary dishes. His eyes began to wander until they came across one of two suckling pigs sitting on top of the main table. Haru's devious grin returned as he made his way towards what seemed to him to be the grand prize of his excursion. As he neared the pigs he heard a snaping hiss causing him to stop. Above him a thick fog rolled in from the air conditioning vents "What the hell?" The fog seemed to get thicker and thicker until he could only see the pigs in front of him ever so slightly. A shadow moved across the room and Haru blinked to make out who or what it was. All of the sudden one of the pigs was gone, causing Haru to blink in disbelief. The sound of organ music cut short the booming base in the party outside, followed shortly by screams.

"Haru pushed his cart through the kitchen towards the door and pushed his head out to look. The ballroom had been shrouded in the same dense fog as the kitchen, throwing the party into panic.

"Mwa-ha-ha-ha!" The boom of laughter could be heard over the speakers as a spotlight fell upon the stage at the front of the room. A young man wearing a black tuxedo, cape, and a white mask that covered his face appeared in the middle of the spotlight.

"Greetings Obelisk students!" The young man said as he took a bow. "It is quite an Honor to make my debut to the top students of this fine academy."

"Who are you?" The voice of Crowler called from off to the side. "You know this a violation of school rules!"

"Rules are meant to be broken my dear doctor" the masked man laughed. "Just like unsecured items are meant to be stolen." He motioned behind him as the second suckling pig appeared on a cart.

"That son of a bitch!" Haru grit his teeth. "He's trying to get away with my prize."

"You may call me The Phantom of Duel Academy" The masked man said "because it will be as if i wasn't here" He motioned to the floor and a loud bang sounded along with a bright flash of light warranting more screams. The light turned off and the masked individual was gone.

"Well I'll give him this, he did give me an easier escape route than the original plan." Haru pushed the cart out the door and back towards the hallway. He swerved every so often as he noticed costumed individuals enter is line of sight, until he successfully made his way into the hall. The fog had not yet engulfed this part of the building so finding the passage was relatively easy. As he neared the secret door he noticed that the passage was slightly open, giving him pause. 'Someone followed me or came in before I did, they seem to have taken the same passage I did back' he mused.

"HE WENT THAT WAY" Someone yelled from behind him, as heard the thunder of footsteps coming his way.

"And that's where I take my leave" Haru whispered as he pushed open the door and slid himself and the cart inside. Closing the door behind him he heard the sound of perplexed grunting from the opposite side of the door.

"HE WENT TOWARDS THE ROOMS" another voice said as the sound of feet moved away from the passage door.

"Short Stack and Grilled Cheese this is T-Bone do you read" Haru said into his walkie talkie as he took off down the hallway.

"Did you get the goods Haru?" Chumley's voice said

"Partially" Haru told him "Some masked jackass took the suckling pig before I could get to it."

"But aren't you the masked jackass?" Syrus asked.

"No, there's another one Shortstack" Haru replied. "He's heading down the passage ahead of me. Try to head him off".

"Can do boss" Chumley said.


After a bit of running Haru neared the end of the hallway. The first thing he noticed was the trees hatch was still open as he neared. Pushing the cart out of the passageway and into the grass the Kaiju duelist looked around. "Syrus! Chumley! did you get him?"

"I'm afraid not my friend" A familiar voice said from above him. "Your friends are tied up at the moment you could say." He jumped down from the branches of an overhanging tree and motioned to the base of the same tree. Syrus and Chumley were currently tied up rather tightly, neither seemed to be conscious.

"Alright you Lon Chaney wanna be" Haru growled "Let the two of them go and give me that suckling pig"

"You're aware of the classics of horror? How marvelous." The masked man smiled " I thought I was the only one"

"I fancy myself a fan of the master of horror Vincent Price. As you can see from my costume I'm the red death from one of his best movies. But that's beside the point, you took my prize".

"You and I seem to have very similar tastes" he smiled "Though I don't think the red death had a tricorne hat. As for the pig and your friends I say we make a wager."

"Well the tricorne hat is to keep my hair in tow." Haru explained pulling it off and releasing his long mane of hair. He then removed his mask. "As for your deal I'm listening".

"Ah so it is you Haru." The masked man said taking off his mask as well. "The name's William Raines, I fancy myself a monster expert"

"Oh?"

"As a matter of fact my deck is filled with them. I suggest your Kaiju vs my monsters in a duel for both of our prizes. If you win then I'll give you the suckling pig and your friends but if I win I get the stuff you managed to take, sound fair?"

"Now you're speaking my language" Haru grinned. "Let's get this duel on the road." He threw his coat to the side revealing his duel disk as Will did the same.

DUEL!

H:4000

W:4000

"I'll go first then" Haru drew his first card. "I'll start by playing the spell card Cost Down, now by discarding a card I can reduce the levels of all monsters in my hand by two" He placed a card in the graveyard zone. "Now I call forth Kaiju Legend Anguirus from my hand in attack mode." There was a rumbling sound as a giant spiked ball rolled onto Haru's field before transforming into the quadruped Kaiju.

Kaiju Legend Anguirus level 4 (1700/2800)

"I'll set a card and pass my turn to you. Show me these monsters you speak so highly of" Haru said as the hologram of a reversed card appeared on his field.

Kaiju Legend Anguirus level (4-6)

"Oh I wouldn't want to disappoint you" Will smiled as he drew for his first turn. "I'll start by activating the continuous spell card, Gothic Horror Mansion." The hologram of an old rundown mansion covered in vines appeared behind him. "While this card is on the field, monsters that that are at level 1 are destroyed automatically."

"So you intend to manipulate the level of my monsters?" Haru asked "Interesting."

"You're right my deck is rather interesting" Will nodded. "I normal summon Gothic Horror Voodoo Necromancer in attack position." Out of the mansion walked a man in white robes and a demon mask.

Gothic Horror Voodoo Necromancer level 4 (1000/1200)

"Gothic Horror Mansions second effect activates! Once per turn I can target one monster you control and a Gothic Horror monster I control. Your monster loses two levels and mine gains the same you lost." Anguirus was shrouded in an aura of red as it began to shrink.

Kaiju Legend Anguirus: level 6-4

Gothic Horror Voodoo Necromancer: level 4-6

"Voodoo Necromancer's effect activates, I can special summon up to three Gothic Horror Revenants from my deck or graveyard by reducing his level by one for each special summoned. Arise denizens of the undead and sow terror upon the living." The man in the white robes withdrew a doll and began to chant as he was surrounded by the same red aura.

Gothic Horror Voodoo Necromancer: level 6-4

Two graves appeared beside necromancer as they began to crumble away. Two zombies appeared beside him letting out a groan.

Gothic Horror Revenant level 3 (1200/1500) x2

"Revenant attacks Anguirus with Plague of the Undead!" Will declared, as his monster stumbled across the field and bit into Anguirus leg before shattering into pixels.

"Why did you do that you'll just take the damage?" Haru asked a bit confused.

"Because I take no battle damage from battles involving Gothic Horror Revenant, plus a monster that did battle with a Revenant has its' level reduced by one for every Gothic Horror I control" Will explained.

"But that means!" Haru gasped.

"Your monster's level hits one, and is now destroyed via the effect of Gothic Horror Mansion" Will finished for him. Anguirus began to shrink again before being engulfed in the light of the rundown mansion disintegrating it instantly. "Now you're open to a direct attack from my other monsters, My second Revenant attacks you directly!" The second Zombie stumbled across the field towards Haru.

"Yeah you would think that wouldn't you" Haru smiled "I activate the effect of Miki Saegusa's Bond in my graveyard. I can banish it when you would declare a direct attack, and special summon a token equal in attack to the monster you declared a direct attack with." An army man carrying a shield appeared in front of the zombie and they both disappeared as they were destroyed.

"You managed to save yourself from my Revenant, but my Voodoo necromancer can still attack you directly" Will declared "Go Voodoo blast!" the man in the white robes chanted a few words before letting loose a blast of concussive force that hit Haru causing him to stagger backwards.

H:4000-3000

"And I'll follow your lead with one facedown. My turn's done." William concluded.

"Gothic Horrors" Haru mused. "Looks like it's a battle of American Monsters and Japanese, sounds like something I can get behind" He looked at his hand. "First I activate the continuous spell Kaiju Sighting: Frankenstein's Heart."

"Ah the one you used against Chazz, I was rather amused that you have a monster that shares the same theme as one of mine" Will nodded.

"So you know that next end phase Frankenstein is joining us center stage then" Haru smiled "Good I can continue then, with my trap card Allure of the Moon!" while I control no monsters I can special summon a Wolfman token, then I can add a level 7 or lower Kaiju legend monster from my deck to my hand." in a flash a small humanoid appeared and began to change as the moon appeared overhead. Long black fur appeared all over its body and it grew a wolf like muzzle.

Werewolf token level 2 (1200/1200)

Haru added the card to hand "Now I Tribute my token to summon Kaiju legend Wolfman in attack position!" There was a loud pop as the small werewolf was imbued with energy and began to grow. It's fur turned white and its paws grew larger, a fiendish smile plastered across its face.

Kaiju Legend Wolfman level 6 (2200/2000)

"Battle! Wolfman attacks Voodoo Necromancer" The white furred behemoth growled before slashing at the man in the white robes destroying him instantly.

W:4000-2800

"I activate my facedown, Gothic Horror's Allure! When a Gothic Horror monster is destroyed by battle during my opponent's turn I can special summon a Gothic Horror monster from my Hand. Since you brought out a Lycanthrope i believe I'll do the same. Arise Gothic Horror Lycanthrope!" Appearing on the field was a dapper young gentlemen in a suit. The moon that transformed Haru's monster appeared above him, and his expression turned to that of fear. He hunched over as his hands turned hairy and he began to twitch all over. There was a howl as he stretched his limbs outward revealing a sharp row of canine teeth and furry face..

Gothic Horror Lycanthrope level 5 (2000/1700)

"Wolfman vs wolfman? This duel gets better and better every turn" Haru admitted.

"Just what I was thinking" Will nodded. "My turn. I activate the continuous spell Gothic Horror Graveyard from my hand" Appearing beside the haunted mansion was that of a classic graveyard from the olden horror movies. "While this card is on the field all Gothic Horror monsters gain a level, and in addition I can reduce the level of one of my monsters by one to special summon a Gothic Horror from my grave."

Gothic Horror Lycanthrope level (5-6)

"Gothic Horror Graveyard activates, stealing two levels from your wolfman and giving it to mine"

Kaiju Legend Wolfman level (6 -4)

Gothic Horror Lycanthrope level (6-8)

Haru's monster began to shrink as its power was being weakened, while Lycanthrope swelled with a new power gained from its opponent.

"I activate Graveyard's effect! By reducing my monsters level I can target a Gothic Horror in my graveyard and special summon it, I choose one of my Revenants!" Out of the graveyard shambled one of the zombies from the previous turn .

Gothic Horror lycanthrope level (8-7)

Gothic Horror Revenant level 3 (1200/1500)

"Now I tribute Revenant to call forth Gothic Horror Prince of Darkness." A bat flew downward onto the field before changing into the form of a man. The new monster had slicked back hair and wore a black and white tuxedo with a long black and red cape.

Gothic Horror Prince of Darkness level 6 (2000/2000)

"Prince of Darkness han reduce your monster's attack by 200 equal to the difference between the two monsters levels" Will declared. "So your Wolfman is about to get drained." With a flourish of its' cape the vampire appeared in front of the Kaiju and sunk its fangs into its leg.

Gothic Horror Prince of Darkness level (6-7)

Kaiju Legend Wolfman level 4 (2200-1600)

"Battle! Lycanthrope attacks your monster. When Lycanthrope does battle with a monster with a lower level than itself, it gains 200 attack for each level in difference. Your monster is currently level 4 and mine is level 7 so he gains 600 attack. Go blood moon slash!"

Gothic Horror Lycanthrope level 7 (2000-2600)

The wolfman howled as it took to all fours and slashed the kaiju into bits, destroying it.

H:3000-2600

"Prince of Darkness will follow up his companion's attack with Eternal Death!" The vampire appeared in front of Haru and sunk its teeth into his duel disk, causing the Kaiju duelist to flinch.

H:2600-600

'Damn' Haru thought. 'I had the stronger monsters but his deck found a way to get around that fact. It didn't help that Anguirus was weakened when he was summoned either.'

"And with that my turn's over" Will smiled "I look forward to what you have in store for me next turn."

"I don't aim to disappoint" Haru told him. "I activate the spell card, Anti Kaiju Mech Schematics. You see when I activate this spell I can banish a Kaiju monster from my graveyard and special summon an Anti Kaiju Mech Token with the same stats. I banish Anguirus from my graveyard to bring out a new token."

Anti Kaiju Mech token (1700/2800)

"Now comes the fun part, Wolfman's effect activates from graveyard! Once per duel, by tributing a token I control he gets to resurrect himself with 300 more attack. Say goodbye to my token and another hello to my Wolfman." There was a howling noise as from the ground the legendary Wolfman burrowed upward onto Haru's field.

Kaiju Legend Wolfman level 6 (2200/2000)

Kaiju Legend Wolfman level 6 (2200-2500)

"Now comes the fun part, I activate the spell Kaiju Combat! When I declare battle with a kaiju monster this turn all other Kaiju gain 500 attack until the end phase. Without further ado lets battle! Wolfman attacks your Lycanthrope!"

Kaiju Legend Wolfman level 6 (2500-3000)

"Remember Lycanthropes effect?" Will reminded him "When it does battle with a monster with a lower level it gains 200 attack for each level."

Gothic Horror Lycanthrope level 7 (2000-2200)

"Oh I remembered all right" Haru smiled. "Your monster is still going to the graveyard though." As the two monsters slashed at each other the smaller creature was destroyed.

W:2800-2000

"Now I go to my end phase" Haru declared "And Frankenstein makes its appearance on my field, Arise!" His spell card began to glow as a beating heart emerged from within and a human body began to form around it. Standing next to Wolfman was the giant creature known as Frankenstein.

Kaiju Legend Frankenstein level 7 (2800/2300)

"And then I'll set a card and call that my turn" Haru concluded as the reverse card appeared in front of him.

"Alright then this duel is in the bag for me" Will said cockily. "Graveyard's effect activates! By reducing the level of my Prince of Darkness by one I can special summon Lycanthrope back from my graveyard." The vampire on his field gestured to the ground beside him as Lycanthrope appeared again in a flash of light.

Gothic Horror Prince of Darkness level (7-6)

Gothic Horror lycanthrope level 5 (2000/1700)

"Then Graveyard's effect activates giving him an additional level"

Gothic Horror lycanthrope level (5-6)

"Now comes Mansion's effect! I Target your Wolfman and give his levels to my Lycanthrope"

Kaiju Legend Wolfman level (6-4)

Gothic Horror lycanthrope level (6-8)

"I activate Gothic Horror Scare from my hand! When this card is activated all monsters my opponent controls lose two levels till the end of the turn."

Kaiju Legend Wolfman level (4-2)

Kaiju Legend Frankenstein level (7-5)

"Now your Frankenstein is open to my Prince of Darkness's effect! Go blood drain!"

"Frankenstein's effect activates, when he's targeted by an opponent's effect, once per turn I can special summon a token with his same stats and change the target to it" Haru said as the monster's arm was sliced off. As the hand fell to the ground it grew into another copy of the Kaiju.

Frankenstein token level 5 (2800/2300)

Frankenstein token (2800-2600)

"Lycanthrope attacks your Wolfman! Blood moon slash!"

Gothic Horror Lycanthrope level 5 (2000-3200)

"Now you think that would end me wouldn't you?" Haru stated. "But my set card says otherwise! It's a trap card called Kaiju Howling. When you declare a battle against a Kaiju monster this card negates the effect of that monster until the end phase."

"But that means" Will gasped.

"Your lycanthrope is going back to his normal attack" Haru confirmed.

Gothic Horror Lycanthrope level 5 (3200-2000)

The wolfman sprang at the larger creature to attack but was soon batted away by the monster's humongous paw shattering it into nothingness.

W: 2000-1500

"Well damn you got me" Will smirked. "I thought i had you there."

"Normally you probably would have been right, but in this case I came prepared" Haru shrugged.

"Alright I guess my turn is over then, so your monsters return to their original levels" Will smiled.

"You know what that means right?" Haru asked "You're done for this turn"

"Yeah but I'm not sure I really mind it all that much" Will shrugged. "You gave me a duel that I could never have dreamed of, and besides I don't mind losing to another student of the classic horror genre."

"Now don't get soft on me" Haru grinned. "I still plan on finishing you off this turn."

"So be it" Will said.

"Alright battle phase! My token attacks your Prince of Darkness" The copy frankenstein picked up a boulder out of nowhere and flung it at the vampire destroying it instantly.

W:1500-900

"And now Wolfman declares a direct attack to end this duel" Haru declared as his monster growled and slashed at the air letting loose a wave of air that sent will sliding backwards.

W:900-0

"Well looks like you managed to win this fair and square" Will sighed as he pushed the cart with the suckling pig on it towards Haru before walking over to his two captives.

"It was probably the most fun I've had in a duel since I arrived on this island" Haru admitted as he watched will cut the restraints on Syrus and Chumley.

"Thanks, I enjoyed it too" Will nodded. "I guess since I lost, I'm not worthy of this mask". He looked down at the phantom mask with a sad look on his face.

"Oh come on Will, we both know that you nailed your role as the phantom during that heist. I was amazed and you left most of the Obelisk students speechless which is a feat even I haven't mastered yet."

"I suppose you're right" Will nodded. There was a groaning sound as the two Slifers began to awake from their comatose state.

"Y'know it probably wouldn't be for the best if a vigilante's secret identity was known by the common folk." Haru pointed out. "Perhaps you should leave before these two chuckleheads wake up."

"Right" Will nodded turning away from his with a flourish of his cape. He began to walk back to the dorm before stopping for a moment "Haru?."

"Yeah?"

"Why do you care about the phantom alias?"

"Well to be honest, I do a little bit of vigilante work myself" Haru laughed "So I know how it works"

Will frowned but shook his head. "Promise you'll tell me more next time we meet?"

"Only if you promise this won't be our last duel" Haru nodded.

"It's a deal" Will said. As the Ra boy vanished within the yellow dorm Syrus and Chumley opened their eyes.

"What the heck happened?" Syrus asked rubbing his head.

"Oh my aching head" Chumley moaned.

"You two must have been slacking off in your surveillance duties" Haru said. "The phantom got away"

"I distinctly remember being hit over the head " Syrus pointed out.

'You probably knocked your head on a rock when you fell asleep" Haru told him. "Now if you two chuckleheads are done sleeping we have some food to deliver."

Chumley sat up and looked at the two carts of food, his mouth watered as he reached for the pig, only to get it slapped away by Haru. "Wait until we get to the dorm Chumley"

"Fine" Chumley grumbled.


As they entered the Slifer mess hall they were met with a standing ovation led by Damian who was standing in the front of the crowd.

"I wasn't sure you were going to be able to pull it off," Damian smiled. "Color me surprised."

"Please, it was so much easier than it should have been" Haru told him. The three boys pushed the carts of food up to the front of the room, as the rest of the slifer students moved towards the plates in anticipation.

"Now remember people, nobody can hear of this outside of the dorm or there might be trouble" Damian announced as the red students gathered around.

"And what would that be?" Banner asked as he walked in the mess hall door.

"Um…" Damian gulped "I can explain Professor".

"Explain how you got all this food with the small budget that we were given?" Banner asked as he moved past the red students to the front of the room. "Without telling me about it?"

"Wait what?" The students asked.

"I don't know how you did it but you managed to scrounge up a feast, I'm rather amazed at your resourcefulness my students." He moved to the front of the line and cut himself a piece of the pig and gave Haru a wink.

The red students cheered and surged towards the food. Haru smiled as he watched this. "Look's like today was a day well spent."

And that's the Halloween special guys. I really enjoyed writing a whole original chapter. The Gothic Horror archetype is a deck that Silver and I dreamed up while we were hanging out one day. Using the old classic Universal monsters and Hammer monsters as an archetype was rather fun. Next chapter might come a little later than usual since the three of us are heading up to a convention this weekend. But if you want to contact us you know what to do. As always keep it showy and i'll see you next chapter

-Red