Patty - The McKnight Family Estate/Paradiso Prima, Aquarius

Tel. XXII - Year 18 4AOS

The alarm on her phone buzzed, announcing that it was midnight.

"Another night alone," Patty said glumly and she lit a candle. As usual, Patty's father and stepmother had gone out after a long day's work, no doubt to drink their troubles away in the towers of Phobos Island with their friends. But she wasn't too troubled. Being alone was something she had grown very used to and she was growing fond of having time alone. That just meant she could spend more time with her beloved card, Zera the Mant.

And she had a special activity planned for tonight. Painting. But she would be using her body to create her masterpiece instead.

"Well, Zera, let's see if I can do this," she said to her Ace monster, Zera the Mant, the closest thing she had to a best friend. She mounted the card on a black easel and put black candles around it forming some sort of shrine. Paintings that she made of the beast were hung all around it. One painting depicted Zera holding the severed heads of her father and stepmother.

She went to her laptop and started blasting her favorite song. Ich Tur Dir Weh by Rammstein. She laid out a large white canvas on the floor after moving her furniture around. Then she brought out her paints. She turned her head to look at Zera and smiled, then she stripped down to her purple panties. She blew the card a kiss and then dumped dark blue paint all over her body.

She got on the floor and started rolling herself all over the canvas. The heavy metal blasting on her laptop filled her with adrenaline and she grinned feeling the paint cool her. She felt her skin get dotted with goose prickles while rubbing herself on the canvas and mixing the colors to just the right shade of blue that matched the armored flesh of Zera the Mant.

She let herself loose this night. Nothing could stop her. It was just her and Zera alone. When she had the color she wanted, she danced to a large canvas on the wall and started to create her masterpiece.

As she was painting Zera the Mant with her body as she twirled and shook her hips to her favorite song all the while looking back at Zera and sending it kisses. She went back to the canvas on the floor to mix colors again.

She was on her back dancing to the music, shaking her shoulders, and kicking her legs up and down. Patty peeled her underwear off and flung it across the room so that it landed in front of Zera. Was the girl insane? Indeed, she was. Nick often said that Patty was one Trap Card short of a Dueling deck.

But succumbing to her insanity was the only way for her to feel alive, especially being confined to such a family. Though Yuri and her friends meant the world to her, it was not enough to keep her sane from the madness of her life. So much heartache. So much pain.

It took three hours and constant replays of the song for her to finally finish her piece. To celebrate she snorted a powder she bought from one of her shady friends at school. As her head became light and the colors of the world turned bright and hot, she looked back at her work. "Ooooh, yeah!"

Patty finally fell asleep. She was still on the floor, her naked body covered in paint. Little did she know, Bakura entered her room, clad in his long black cloak. He appeared through the curtains as though they were doorways to whatever realm he came from, hands in his pockets. He smiled at her state and coughed when he smelled the drugs she poisoned herself with lingering in the air.

"Poor girl," he said. He stepped over her and placed a blanket over her body.

Bakura then walked to her dresser and set a card down on top of her deck. "So, little Serenity thinks she can sneak around and give cards, eh? Well, two can play at that game. If this world goes crazy for one rare card, imagine if there was another."

He turned and covered Patty with a towel, then he walked back into the curtains, disappearing into the night.

The next morning cool ocean breeze flew through her open window, causing the white curtains to flap and making them look like two mischievous ghosts. Patty raised her head up to let the breeze flow to her chin and neck. She was laying in bed with her guitar, repeatedly playing the opening riffs to Marilyn Manson's rendition of Sweet Dreams. But she played it slowly and softly so as not to drown out the sounds of the waves smacking against the artificial cliff where the compound was built on. Aquarius was standing still today due to its tri-monthly maintenance, and it would be that way for another two weeks. She enjoyed these moments because the waves outside her window seemed stronger and much more elegant. Her phone suddenly vibrated on the bedside table, alerting her that she had received a message. She reached over to see if the one sending her the message was Yuri, which, sure enough, it was.

Yuri M.: I'm outside

Patty: K, I'll b right out :)

"Here we go," Yuri thought standing outside the door to Patty's mansion, although, by the architecture, it looked like a compound of glass, steel, and concrete. The aquatic garden, though a lovely sight, did not do much to deter the dullness of the building. He took a deep breath, hoping Patty's father would not answer the door. He was 'nice' when the Prince of Aquarius visited, but he smelled of alcohol and marijuana. He rang the doorbell this time. He heard Max barking from down the hall and footsteps coming towards the door.

The chains rattled and the locks clicked. The door opened, thankfully it was neither one of Patty's parents just Patty herself. However, her attire made Yuri very uneasy. She wore a long black sweater with the letters NSFW written in pink plastic letters on the front. And - save for some pink thigh-high socks with black stripes - that was it.

Patty chewed sweet-smelling bubble gum as she gave Yuri an awkward look. "So, you gonna come in or what?" she asked, obnoxiously chewing her gum.

Yuri cleared his throat. "You got nothing under that sweater, do you?" he asked.

Patty blew a bubble with her gum. She popped it and brought it back into her mouth with her tongue. "Just panties, what else do I need?"

"Is this a bad time? I can always come back later."

"Oh, stop being so ridiculous," Patty said, grabbing Yuri by his wrist and dragging him in. He yelped as he was brought inside. Patty shut the door behind him, and locked it tight, as though she had taken Yuri as his prisoner. The mansion smelled so dull and clean, with a hint of mothballs from the closet, mixed with a fruity scent of pink champagne coming from a diffuser on the table by the door.

"I like your braids," Yuri said, complimenting the pigtail braids flowing over her chest as Patty closed the door.

"Thanks. Shoes off, please," said Patty.

Yuri did as he was told, and left his shoes on a white towel by the door. Max ran down the hall from the gigantic-sized living room and scampered around at their feet, barking to get attention.

"Hey, Max," Yuri said, kneeling down to pet him. "How you been buddy?"

Max whined and licked Yuri's hands, wagging his little tail like crazy. "Come on, you silly goose," Patty said picking up her puppy. She kissed him loudly and repeatedly. "Yuri and I have work to do. We can play later, okay?"

Max barked and licked her neck and the bottom of her chin.

"Hey, Yuri," Patty called as she went down another hall. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable in the kitchen. I'm going to take Max outside so he can pee. Speaking of which I gotta go, too. Oh, yeah. We got soda and chips in the pantry closet. And there's a plate full of cheeseburger sliders from the Ruby Dragon I ordered last night. Help yourself."

"Uh, thanks," Yuri said, heading for the kitchen. The walls were made of glass, offering a view of the central island's skyline and Phobos Tower. And the pool as well, with its waters in a crisp and cool shade of light blue. A fountain was in the center, as well as a jacuzzi that overlooked the bay behind her home. Yuri took off his backpack and sat down on the kitchen table with a very modern design. A lantern with a sphered chandelier of capiz crystal hung over it, reflecting perfectly on the glossy black surface.

Patty came back moments later with her things to work on their project about Macbeth. "I don't understand Shakespeare at all, man. He has to make his characters speak in such long and complex sentences just to express their feelings. Lady Macbeth went on and on just to say: Give me courage."

"It's not hard to understand," Yuri said, opening his textbook. The reflections of the water in the pool outside danced on the ceiling.

Patty ruffled his hair. "Yeah, well, you're a literature nerd, I'm not. Do you want anything, Yuri?"

"I'm good for now," he replied, searching his backpack for a pencil.

"Well, I'm parched," Patty said. She went for a cabinet high up over the counter to get a glass. As she went on the tips of her toes, her sweater lifted. Yuri pulled on the collar of his shirt as her black panties came into view. There was a crude message on them written in bold white letters that said: No Free Rides.

He coughed and looked away.

"Is everything all right, Yuri?" Patty asked, feeling around for a cup.

"It's fine," he coughed. I knew I should have brought Nick and the others. "So, uh, we're not going to be expecting your parents any time soon, are we?"

"Nah," Patty said, opening the closet to find herself a can of orange soda. She opened it and chugged down a little before going to the table and pouring it into her cup. "They just finished their business, if you know what I mean. So, they'll be out for a few hours."

"I see," Yuri said.

When their paper was done, the sun had finally set behind the horizon, and the lights of the city began to twinkle across the water. The two friends breathed in relief and leaned back on their chairs.

"I'd thought we'd never get that done," Patty groaned.

"Me neither," Yuri said, examining his pencil, now smaller than his thumb from all the sharpening he did. "This should keep your grades up in class."

"Great!" Patty said. "So wanna go somewhere?"

"It's getting kind of late, don't you think?"

"It's only six o 'clock," said Patty. She leaned forward vexingly. "Or does little Yuri have a bedtime?" She playfully tapped on his nose.

Yuri stared at the girl, narrowing his eyes. "You really like to push people's buttons, don't you? Besides, I know what you mean by going somewhere. You want to go Dueling again. Well, I don't think we can. Nick and the others are really busy tonight and Sergei's new ARC Room is under maintenance. So all that's left is the Duel Dome or Paradise Gaming, and you know how I feel about the latter."

"So all that's left is the Duel Dome?" Patty asked. "Man, I'd prefer that than running around town and looking for opponents with Duel Disks. What if they're Rare Hunters? Damn, Duel Dome, it is then."

"Like I said, forget it. It's going to cost us a lot of money to use their machines. A hundred and eighty gold coins per person, plus the fee we have to pay to get to the central island."

Patty laughed and leaned back in her chair. "The Prince of Aquarius worrying about too much money." She put her head down on the table and pounded it with her fist. "I love this guy."

"You know I run on a very strict allowance," said Yuri. "But if you want to go so bad, I guess we can do something. Let me check my bank account real quick."

"You go do that," Patty said, getting up from her chair. She stretched. "So, what's the damage?"

Yuri ignored her while going through his passwords and key codes to unlock the information on his account. Meanwhile, Patty picked up their trash from the table and went to the sink to throw them down the garbage chute underneath. Finally, Yuri was able to log in. He clicked on the link to his checking account, and what he saw astonished him. His eyes went wide like saucers; his mouth went dry, and his heart was beating like a war drum. The sound he made when he saw the sum in his account caused Patty to worry. She dropped the trash on the floor, gasping.

"Yuri? You okay? What happened? Are you choking?"

Yuri tried to speak, but the back of his throat was dry. "Nothing," he managed to croak.

Patty was not very pleased with that response. Yuri heard her hands slapping her thighs out of frustration. "Nothing!" she repeated. "Oh my God, asshole! Are you serious? I could have been killed!"

Yuri turned to look at her, finding her remark very dramatic. "Killed? How?"

"I don't know," Patty said, throwing the trash down the chute. "I could have slipped or something. What is it? Are you that broke?"

Broke? No, no, no. Yuri was far from it. His eyes were still glued to the sum.

Hello Yuri. Your account balance is: 535,000 gold coins

"So are we good to go out, or what?" Patty asked.

"We...we are good," said Yuri. "Just uh...do me a favor and don't keep us out too late. You're in trouble enough as it is at school for sleeping in class."

Patty rolled her eyes. "Yuri," she said opening the lower cabinet door and pulling out the trash can. "I'm not in any trouble."

"Are you kidding?" Yuri said, growing rather impatient with her obliviousness to her situation with the teachers. "Mrs. Perizow forced you to stay after school because you fell asleep in class."

"Yeah, I still feel it," Patty said, rubbing her bottom. "She got me good."

Yuri slammed his fist on the table. "Patty, this is serious!"

"Will you calm your ass down?" Patty almost shouted. "Fine, we won't stay out too late if you're that worried. For God's sake. We'll stay out in town until ten."

"Eight," said Yuri. "After that, we head home."

"Eight?" Patty whined. "But that only leaves us two hours, Yuri. Be a man. Have some fun for once in your life."

"We're staying out until eight," said Yuri. "And that's final."

Patty, again, gave a roll of her eyes. "Fine. Fine. We'll stay out until eight."

"Good," said Yuri. "I don't want any problems at school tomorrow."

The two friends put their things back in their bags and cleaned the kitchen before it was time to head out. Yuri waited at the entrance as Patty went upstairs to change. It sure did take her a long time to come down. By the time she eventually did leave her room and come down the glass steps, the sky was already darkening. "Ready?" Patty asked, clad in a leather hoodie and black frilly skirt. "Hey, check these out," she said lifting her leg and planting her foot on the wall to show off her star-patterned stockings. "Aren't they cute?" she asked. "Just got 'em yesterday when I went shopping with grandma."

"Yeah, yeah! They fit you really great," Yuri said. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Patty said, disappointed with Yuri's lame reaction. She sat down on the ground to put on her long stiletto boots. I was sure those would impress him. "So, did you get any good cards lately?"

"Just a few, but I want them to be a surprise. I guess that's kind of why I agreed to head out tonight. I think I found something that may be even stronger than Black Tyranno."

Patty stopped as her boot was midway up her leg and looked up at him. "You're bullshitting me. Something stronger than your Ace? That can't be."

"Just wait and see," Yuri said with a wink.

"Oh ho," Patty said putting on the boot and zipping it up. "Now I definitely can't wait to see what you've got in store."

"But in the meantime, I thought I'd get you something."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Well, actually, my dad got them for you. I told him your grades were going up and school and he told me to present you with these."

"Ah, here it is," Yuri said, taking out the present. "But you've got to promise you'll use them right away."

"Okay," Patty said, ripping open the black wrapping paper and pink bow to reveal a black velvet box. "Oooo," hooted Patty. She opened it. "Oh wow! Oh wow! Oh wow!" she cried out and leaped with joy. "Yuri you have no idea how long I was looking for this!"

She hugged him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Yuri cringed, feeling his windpipe get clogged. He could smell the sweet scent of the fruity shampoo in her hair.

She let him go and looked back at her cards.

"Dark Ruler Ha Des!" Patty shrieked."He's almost impossible to find! And he's Gold Rare to boot! Oh, Yuri!" Patty opened her arms and wrapped them around Yuri, again, crushing him. "This is great! He'll go along great with the other rare card I got last night."

"Rare card?" Yuri asked. "What rare card?"

"Oh, I have my own little surprises, too," she said with a wink. "So, let's get this show on the road," she said, putting her cards back into her pocket.

Patty picked up Max as they exited the house. They took a bus to the central park of Phobos Island where they hoped to buy a few more packs at the Ruby Dragon before going to the Duel Dome to play. As they began to pass the Gates of Peace, they spotted Nick sitting by a table with Sam. He was drinking a cup of tea that Sabrina had served him.

"Here you go, Nick. Extra sweet, just as you asked."

"Thanks, Sabrina," Nick said. He looked rather different. His clothes were brand new, fresh off the rack in fact, for the shopping bags from the stores he visited were sitting by his ankles underneath the table. He had a silver bangle on his wrist with what appeared to be a glowing gem and his new beanie was the same as the old one he used to wear, black with the symbol of Earth monsters on the center, except it was made of fine material and the symbol was emblazoned in gold.

"Nick?" Patty asked. "Is that you?"

"Don't get him started," whined Sam. "Hey, Yuri."

Nick took a sip of his tea before answering her. "Hey, Yuri. Hey, Patty. What's up?"

"We were on our way to the Duel Dome for a few matches," said Yuri. "But first we're going to the Ruby Dragon to pick up some new packs. You look different, Nick. Nice clothes. Did you just get them?"

"Yup," Nick replied. He leaned back on his chair to show off his new dark denim jacket with a hood and his new dark denim jeans and brown boots. Around his waist was a carbon fiber belt to hold two card cases, one for his deck and the other for his special cards.

"How in the hell could you afford all that?" Patty asked, struggling to keep Max still in her arms. "That jacket alone costs more than a full day at Consuelo's restaurant."

"He's been spending money all day," said Sam. "Say, Patty, what's with all the paint on your neck?"

"Huh," Patty asked. She checked herself with the camera on her phone. "Oh, yeah, I was painting a mural of Zera last night."

"Must have been messy," said Yuri, still trying to find the present.

Patty giggled. "It was, baby, I was using my body."

"Hurk!" Yuri went as he froze.

Sam bobbed his head up and down. "With your body, huh? Now that's lit!"

"Where have you been all my life?" growled Nick. "You are so awesome, Patty."

"Ew," said Patty, taking a step back from the rapist stare he was giving her. "So, you've gotten cash to spend on new duds, huh? How did you manage that?"

Nick scoffed. "I ran into some money in some tournaments down in Los Angeles Rojas. Thanks to this, of course." He showed off the Duel Disk he won from Penelope.

"Looks like you've been busy," said Yuri. "Do you want to join us at the Duel Dome?"

"Aw, that would be sweet!" said Sam. "I wanna see some Duel Monsters action right about now." He glared at Nick with disgust and placed his right hand over his mouth. "Uh...preferably one that doesn't involve Nick. I'm tired of watching him Duel."

"You game, Nick?" Patty asked.

"Sure," said Nick. "You can count me in. I think it's time I faced a challenge worthy of my talents. Heh, I was kinda getting bored with those chicos down there."

"That doesn't sound like the Nick I know," said Patty. "Normally, you'd be getting your ass kicked left and right."

"I wish he would go back to that," Sam grumbled.

"I'm not that Nick anymore, toots," Nick boasted, jerking his thumb at himself. "You're looking at the new and improved Nick Rogers. Hey, soon they'll be giving me a cool nickname too."

"Don't bet on it," Patty said with a conniving grin. "Just because you beat some scrubs from below the city, it doesn't mean you have what it takes to stand with me and Zera the Mant. You've gotten better, Nick. But not you're not that good."

"I guess the only way we can settle this is at the Duel Dome, then. Right, Yuri?"

"Sure," said Yuri. "Just don't go at each other's throats again, please. I want a calm night. I'm already on edge as we speak."

"No kidding," Patty said, now looking around cautiously. "Those bastards could be watching us right now."

"Bring 'em on," said Nick. "I'm not afraid of those assholes. If any of them showed up, I bet we could easily take them."

The three friends were being watched but not by Rare Hunters. Instead, three odd-looking friends surveyed the group from a hill overlooking the sitting area by the Gates of Peace. Termnnians named Sid, Zygor, and their short leader Bonz. They cackled as they peered at Yuri, Patty, and Nick with high-tech binoculars displaying graphs of data and the profiles of the friends, which included their names, genders, win/loss record, and rarest cards.

"Heh, heh, heh," Bonz chuckled, setting down his binoculars. "The one with the glowing eye. I want that one!"

"Why am I not surprised you'd be goin' for the little prince, boss?" Sid chuckled. His view was focused on Patty's legs. He whistled. "Oi, she's a fine one, lads."

"If anything, you should be going against her, boss," said Zygor, the muscle of the group. "She's the one with the deck of zombies and dark monsters. Why don't you show her who's the real master of the undead?"

"Yes, Patty McKnight," said Bonz. "They call her the Reaper. Ha! Wait until she faces my undead horde. But we're here for one man and one man only, and that's Prince Yuri. I can't believe this is the one everyone back home has been talking about. Hah! He doesn't look so tough."

"All right, all right," said Sid. "We take on Yuri first and then we can see Bonz take down his pretty little friend."

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Bonz. "And we better do it fast. I heard the Rare Hunters are also here in the city."

"No joke?" said Sid. "Rare Hunters? I thought Yugi Muto wiped them all out in the Battle City Tournament years ago."

"They're not the Rare Hunters from then," said Bonz. "They call themselves Neo Rare Hunters. And they're being led by a dangerous new leader. I want to get my shot at Yuri before they do, so we've got to make this quick."

"Right-O, boss," said Zygor. "Let's let them have their little matches at that Duel Dome place. And then we can get the drop on them. Yuri won't know what hit him."

Later

When they stepped into the Duel Dome, their ears were bombarded with all sorts of noises. Children were screaming and laughing. Monsters roared on the giant screens displaying various Duels going on in the arenas. An arcade was recently built in the main atrium, which was lit up with fluorescent lights and a fountain that could glow in different colors. Sam quickly ran to the nearest booth about a tactical shooter while Yuri and the others registered themselves to confirm their reservations for an arena all to themselves.

Arf! Arf! Max barked with excitement.

"What about Carter and Tyson?" Patty asked. "It's not going to be fun without them."

"I just texted them," Nick said, looking at his phone. "Tyson is doing something with his family in town and Carter has his own birthday celebration to attend right now.

"Yuri!" someone shouted. "Yuri Montgomery!"

Rrrrr! Max growled.

"Well, well, well," Patty chuckled cruelly upon seeing Randal Lawson. "How's the pro-leagues going little man? I'd imagine they're difficult without Brett managing you."

"Well, that's why I'm here!" shouted Randall. "My life has been hell because of you, Yuri. Ever since I lost to you I've been nothing but a joke."

Patty laughed. "You were nothing but a joke even before Yuri beat you, Randall."

"I wasn't talking to you whore!"

Arf! Arf! Arf! Grrrrrr! Max snarled at Randall as if he understood the foul world that came out of his lips.

"What did he say!?" Sam shouted. Nick grabbed him by the arms to keep him from starting any trouble with Randall. "Don't talk about my girl like that, you big jerk! Lemme go, Nick! Lemme go! He can't say that! He can't say that!"

"Now just wait a minute!" shouted Yuri. "First off, I don't have my deck right now. Secondly, I'm not going to Duel you even if I did. You're a loser! How dare you call my friend such a nasty word?"

"Did I strike a nerve, Yuri?" Randall sneered. He looked at Patty, examining her from head to toe. "She is one, Yuri. I expected your taste in girls was poor, but never did I think anything like this. Beautiful platinum blonde hair ruined by those ridiculous pink highlights. Your eyes are masked behind some stupid anime-blue contacts and darkened by lord knows how much mascara."

It took everything in her being to keep from slapping him, but Patty figured she'd let her Fiends teach him a lesson. "Shut up! I'll Duel you. No one calls me a harlot and gets away with it!"

Randall hooted. "And what do you got, princess? Fairies and cute little warriors?"

"You'll be surprised what I've got in store for you, Randall," Patty retorted confidently. "Now, are we going to play or what?"

"I think not. Brett said he'd give me a second chance if I faced Yuri and beat him!"

"I'm just as good," said Patty.

"Maybe even better," Yuri added.

Arf! Arf! Max barked in agreement.

"Fine, but Yuri's next in line, no ifs, and, or buts! Why don't we go out for some fun after I beat you?"

"Don't even think about it," said Patty. "I wouldn't bet to sleep with you even if you were the last man on this fucking island. Yuri, I believe you just rented us an arena for the evening. Let's go, please."

"Sure," Yuri said. "Teach him a lesson, Patty."

As they walked, Nick said: "Whoa, Yuri, wait a minute. How did you manage to get an entire arena booked for us? That's a lot of cash and you said you were broke yesterday."

Yuri's eyes darted from left the right as he tried to come up with a way to explain the money that was in his account. "I uh...I found some money."

They entered the arena Yuri reserved for them to play upstairs on the second floor. Patty and Randall shuffled each other's decks and then choose which platform to use for the match. Randall chose the blue one, so Patty was going to use the red. They hopped aboard. The platforms rose ten feet high over the stadium. The scoreboard above them displayed their Life Points.

"Why don't you save yourself the humiliation!?" Randall called from his side of the field. "Yuri got lucky because his daddy got him that super-rare card. But I don't think you've got such luck, do you?"

"Probably not," Patty. "You going to stand there boasting? Or are we going to play?"

"I'm going first!" Randall declared. "And we'll play by Master Rule 1."

Patty smirked. "Hmph. What's the matter? Can't play by the new rules, Randall? Fine, that just makes beating you much easier."

T1

"I'm going to destroy you, Patty McKnight!" Randall shouted. "It doesn't matter what rules we play by. You'll never be better than me."

Patty shrugged her shoulders to show she didn't care for his words.

Randall then pointed at Yuri in the stands. "Watch closely, Yuri, I'm about to give your friend an ass whooping she's never going to forget. Which is exactly what I'm going to do to you."

"I'm willing to take you on again, Randall," Yuri yelled. "All you have to do is beat my friend."

"I won't lose! I've beefed up my deck with lots of strong cards. I've grown far more powerful since we last met, Yuri. It's very sad you're going to let your little girlfriend over there take such a beating. Patty, it's not too late to back out. Just step down from there like a good little girl, and let the men play."

"Blah, blah, blah!" Patty said, fanning her face with her cards. "Are you going to make a move or are you going to bore us with your rhetoric all night?"

Sam stood up from his seat. "Yeah! Shut up and just play!"

Patty smirked and put on her fingerless gloves. "While we're young, loser," she said, stretching her fingers until they got used to being confined in the leather.

"Watch it, girlie!" Randall snarled. "I summon Judge Man with a powerful force of twenty-two hundred!"

"Is that all?" Patty asked, drawing her card.

Yuri looked at her in disbelief. She sure is confident. If I saw a monster like that get played on the first move of the game, I'd be terrified. But Patty's got this look on her face. Confidence? What could she be up to?

Randall slammed his fist on the board. "And you fools complained that I take too long. What's going on over there? Make your move or forfeit the match!"

Patty scowled at her arrogant opponent, eyes flashing purple. "Put your tampons on and relax, will you? I'm thinking here. Your Judge Man is a pretty formidable monster. Hmm. I summon the Thirteenth Grave in defense mode!"

A skeleton wearing teal-colored rags and carrying a large, heavily rusted claymore rose out of the ground from a veil of purple mist. It let out a hideous laugh as it stared at Randall's Judge Man.

With a DEF of only a mere 900 points, the 13th Grave was not a capable monster to play. Randall knew this all too well and laughed at Patty.

"Really? I heard you were better than Yuri. You've proven me wrong if you think your puny skeleton stands a chance against my Judge Man."

"Hmm, I guess not," Patty replied uncaringly. "I set a card face-down. That ends my turn."

"I draw!" Randall said. "I play the Ritual Spell known as Novox's Prayer. This lets me sacrifice these two weaker monsters in my hand as a sacrifice to summon the all-powerful, Skull Guardian!"

The warrior rose out of the ground after a ritualistic circle appeared. He had bladed arms and dark brown armor.

Skull Guardian

ATK/2050 DEF/2500

LV 7

Sam started jumping up and down in his seat. He balled both his fists anxiously and whined. "Come on! That just isn't fair. What's she doing?"

Patty meanwhile braced herself as Judge Man was ordered to attack the 13th Grave. He gave a mighty battle cry and ran toward the skeleton monster. He brandished his heavy steel maces in the light and lifted the right one, slamming it down on the 13th Grave's skull. Or he tried to at least. The mace seemed to freeze a mere inch from the 13th Grave.

"Your attack activated my Trap Card. Spellbinding Circle! It freezes your Judge Man and prevents him from attacking."

The golden magical circle spun under Judge Man's feet. It rose up to his chest and bound him tightly. Judge Man growled, writhing; moving his shoulders from left to right in frustration. He spat as the 13th Grave laughed at him.

BWAH! Ha! Ha! Ha! The skeleton hollered.

Randall looked at the field in disbelief. "No!" he cried, placing both hands on the sides of the board and leaning forward to get a better look at the card on his help screen.

Yup. There was no getting out of Patty's trap.

"Your Spellbinding Circle may have stopped my Judge Man, but I've still got my Skull Guardian to finish the job. Attack and silence The Thirteenth Grave!"

Skull Guardian raised his bladed arms, crossing them over his chest ceremoniously. Then he sprinted towards the 13th Grave and sliced him up with a powerful cross-slash attack.

It almost laughed at the blow. Bwah! Ha! Ha! Ha! GYAH! He exploded.

Bones flew in all directions and the rusty claymore fell to the ground with a loud clank. Randall laughed, relieved that he no longer had to listen to the 13th Grave's infernal laughter anymore.

"Nice try, Patty. But not good enough. Come on, now. I expected so much more from you. Especially with all that praise Yuri just gave you. I bet it was just a bluff to get you from Dueling against me tonight, wasn't it, Yuri? I knew that defeat was nothing more than sheer dumb luck. Why, if you hadn't drawn that beast, I would have been the victor that night. You're pathetic. Just like this little whore you've sent to play against me."

Nick stood up at once. "One more word, Lawson, and I'm going to break my foot up your ass."

"Nick forget it!" Patty cried, trying to calm him. "He's not worth it."

"Not worth it?" Randall slammed his fist on the board and laughed. "It's you who is not worthy. It should be a privilege for local players like yourselves to even be playing against a champion like me. Go on, Patty. Play your next pathetic card so I can end this Duel and take down the kid who ruined my life!"

T2

"If you say so," Patty said. She drew her card. "I summon Reaper of the Cards!"

She laid the card on the board and summoned the wraith said to be lurking in the Card Graveyard, taking the souls of fallen monsters. The phantom was hovering over the board, howling and moaning.

It wore a dark brown tattered cloak with a hood keeping its face concealed in darkness. Glowing blue eyes and a mouth could be seen glowing in the shadows of the hood. From torn sleeves came out long, bony hands with flesh stretched and brown with decay. The long fingers with black nails wrapped themselves around the wooden handle of a crude but horrifying scythe, which the reaper used to take the souls of thousands of fallen monsters. A necklace of Duel Monster cards flapped around the neck, or what little it had.

Reaper of the Cards

ATK/1380 DEF/1930

Patty then equipped the Reaper of the Cards with Axe of Despair, increasing its attack to 2380. But Randall was too clever for her, activating his Magi Jammer card to cancel out the effect. Patty played Book of the Moon during Randall's battle phase, flipping the Reaper face down. His DEF was too weak to withstand an attack from Skull Guardian, but it still defended her Life Points.

"You're starting to annoy me," Randall sniggered. "Now, let's remove my Judge Man from your trap with the spell card Remove Trap!"

Judge Man released himself from the magic bindings of Patty's circle. He thumped his chest and grunted.

"You can't do anything to stop me, Patty. You've lost — I won! You don't have a hope of defeating my two monsters. Surrender now. Whore!"

T3

"Never!" Patty drew. She smiled and held up her card. "From your darkest fears, the angel of death emerges to fill the battle with dread! I summon Lich Lord King of the Underworld!"

ATK/2400 DEF/1200

The ghastly creature was a skeleton whose bones were blackened to the color of ash. It was draped in a torn red hood cloak and carried a gold staff. Black wings spanning sixteen feet opened behind him. Patty ordered the attack and the monster used its staff to conjure a spell of death that choked Judge Man, destroying him.

Randall gulped in horror, his Life Points dropping to 1800.

"That card," he wailed, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. "It's so evil. But I will destroy him. I place a card face down and summon a monster in defense mode and switch Skull Guardian to defense mode, too!"

Just try attacking me, Patty. The card I set face-down is a Nobleman-Eater Bug which can destroy two monsters when you attack me. So it doesn't matter what you play next; my bug will render them useless.

Patty drew her card and began her turn. She smiled when she saw the card and looked at Yuri. "Yuri, thanks again for this awesome gift. Time for my newest card to make his debut."

"Gift?" said Randall.

"Oh yes," said Patty. "It's one of the benefits of having friends who love you." She looked down at Yuri, beaming at him. "Friendship. It's something I don't expect a snob like you would understand. I first activate a rare spell known as Tribute to the Doomed. I discard a card and I get to destroy one of your monsters. So say goodbye to your Skull Guardian!"

Bandages slithered out of the ground and wrapped themselves around Skull Guardian. Then, a giant hand came out of the depths of the underworld, grabbed Skull Guardian, and dragged him down to the Graveyard.

Randall was shaken. Not only was his monster destroyed, but he was haunted by the sight of the hand coming out of hell and dragging Skull Guardian down. He grew scared almost as though he had walked into some horrible nightmare. And it was far from over, for it was still Patty's turn.

She gave a diabolical grin as she held her card. "From the dreaded depths of hell comes for the lord of all Fiends. The master and ruler of the dark planes of the Shadow Realm. I summon…" She slapped the card on the mat. "Dark Ruler Ha Des! In attack mode."

A fissure opened in the ground next to Lich Lord. Flames came out, followed by the moans and groans of a billion souls consumed by the Shadow Realm. Sam shivered and held his brother close when the vile demon rose from a pool of shadows that manifested on the fissure.

Dark Ruler Ha Des

ATK/2450 DEF/1600

LV 6

"Bro, how can someone so cute summon something so vile?" Sam whimpered.

"And she likes it, too," said Nick.

Mmmmmm, Max whined in fright as he shrunk into Yuri's arms.

Patty's face was glowing red from the eerie red radiance irradiating from the ground beath Ha Des' feet. Ha Des cackled loudly. His humor echoed across the arena and sent chills down their spines. A creepy organ was playing a wicked song as the entire arena was bathed in darkness, save for the red fiery glow that illuminated the monsters on the field and Patty, who was grinning horribly from her platform.

Dark Ruler Ha Des turned to look at Patty. "What's going on?" Yuri thought as he watched Dark Ruler Ha Des lightly touched Patty's face. She smiled at him, breathing heavily, enjoying the sight of the horrible Fiend she just summoned.

Sam held Nick even tighter. "Remind me never to Duel her, bro, that deck is wicked scary."

Patty continued to her battle phase. "And now, Ha Des, attack his face-down monster!"

Dark Ruler Ha Des laughed manically while conjuring an evil spell from the eyes of his skull costume.

"You fell for it!" said Randall. "I activate my Nobleman-Eater Bug's effect. When attacked he can…"

"Yeah, I don't think so," Patty said, blowing in her nails and rubbing them on her shirt for a quick polish.

"Wha?"

Ha Des' spell coiled around the Nobleman-Eater Bug. The giant insect screeched and wriggled as it gasped for air. Doom fell upon it and it shattered. Randall was expecting the bug to work its magic. Dark Ruler Ha Des and Lich Lord, King of the Underworld were still on the field. Nobleman-Eater Bug's effect did not work, much to Randall's horror.

"What's going on?" he babbled. "My Nobleman-Eater Bug's effect was supposed to destroy your two monsters!"

Dark Ruler Ha Des let out a thunderous laugh which sliced Randall's ego like a hot sword through butter. Thunder boomed in the arena and the lights dimmed. Patty, meanwhile, let out a delightful giggle. It sounded so cute, which was odd; for it came from behind the two demons on the field. "I guess we 'whores' aren't as stupid as you think we are. Dark Ruler Ha Des negates the effects of monsters when they battle with Fiend-Type monsters."

"But-but!" stammered Lawson.

"Yeah, yours is about to be kicked," said Patty. "I play a card face down. Make your move. I've got more fiends on the way, and the two I have on the field are thirsty for more carnage."

Randall gulped as he drew his next card. "I play Pot of Greed and draw two cards. Now I summon Rude Kaiser in defense mode (DEF/1600 ATK/1800 LV 5)! Then I play the Ritual Spell, Garma Sword Oath. Arise my ultimate monster!"

"That's the monster Randall almost beat Yuri with," Sam shouted over the howling winds blowing around them as the ritual was being processed.

"You remember, don't you!" sneered Randall. "Now, my beast returns to wreak his vengeance on you, my dear!" (ATK/2550 DEF/2150 LV 7) "Yes, now the first fiend to be slain will be your Dark Ruler…what?"

A vortex of decayed rose petals spun on the monster zone next to Dark Ruler Ha Des. The powerful crack of a whip caused them to disperse to reveal a woman dressed in a blood-red armored gown. The mask she wore over her face was in the same style as her dress and a veil of white hair flowed down her back.

"What is that?"

Patty explained. "When you special summoned your Garma Sword, I discarded a card from my hand to do a special summon of my own. Say hello to the beautiful Chaos Hunter!" (ATK/2500 DEF/1600 LV 7)

"More monsters!" cried Randall.

"Yup," said Patty sending a kiss his way as she fanned her face with her cards.

"It still won't save your Ha Des!"

"No," said Patty, flipping her trap, "but this will. I activate my trap card!"

"Negate Attack!" cried Lawson. "No! Now my attack is nullified!"

"You're damn right, and now it's my turn, kiddo. I summon Diabolos King of the Abyss!"

Another of Patty's newest monsters gave a thunderous roar that caused all the monsters on her field to bow. Except for Ha Des, for he had some rough dealings with the beast in card lore. The red glow went out and the arena darkened, only to be lit up by a dull dark blue glow coming from the patterns on the beast whose armored body was black as night. His arms and legs were bound by chains which he released himself from upon being summoned by his master.

Diabolos King of the Abyss

ATK/2800 DEF/1000

LV 7

Patty clutched her butterfly pendant and said: "From the lowest and darkest depths of Yami emerges the king of darkness and master of all its spoils. Open your malevolent wings and unleash thy fury upon my foolish foe!"

Diabolos gave a low, metallic shout, causing the arena to rumble. "Patty, that's one sweet dragon!" Sam shouted. "Trade for it?"

Patty held up her middle finger in response to his question. He and Nick were having fun watching Patty summon those fell creatures. But Yuri was growing rather cold.

"Diabolos?" he whispered. "I didn't give her that card."

"Wow, Yuri," Nick shivered, his teeth chattering in fright. "I don't think Black Tyranno is the strongest card on the island anymore."

Yuri had no choice but to agree with that. Once Diabolos destroyed Garma Sword, Randall could take it no more, and he ran out of the arena.

Patty tossed her hair over her shoulder once the monsters disappeared and walked out of the pod.

"Hold on a sec!" said Nick. He bolted out of his seat and ran in front of her to keep her from advancing any farther from the Duel Pod. "Hold on, where do you think you're going, Patty?"

"I've already had my Duel. It's someone else's turn."

"No, not until we've had a little one-on-one! You and me right now, Patty."

Sam laughed. "Dude, did you see what he just did to that Randall moron? What makes you think you've got any chance against her?"

"I have a new deck now, Sam."

"Look, just because you beat some talentless scrubs in the park doesn't mean you're ready to tango with her just yet."

"He's right," said Patty. "You don't want to Duel me."

"I do! And if you lose, you have to agree to go out on a date with me!" Nick pointed his thumb at his chest.

Patty scoffed and looked away. "You can't be serious. I told you the other day I'm not into you. You're not my type."

"I don't care if you're my type or not," Nick laughed. "I want you to put a date with me on the line right now. Unless..." He grinned. "Unless you're afraid that I've gotten better than you. You don't want to see me wipe the floor with Zera the Mant, do you?"

Patty's eyes flashed with anger and her hands balled up into quivering fists. "All right, Nick. If that's what you want."

"And they're at it again," Yuri grumbled, sitting on the rafter by the Dueling Arena as he held onto Max. The little puppy wagged his little tail in anticipation of the match. He seemed to have grown a liking to Duel Monsters judging by how he was panting excitedly. "Heh, I wonder if you actually know what's going on in these Duels," Yuri said.

"You ready, Patty?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, are you?"

"Oh, I've been waiting to trounce you ass for a long time now. And tonight's my time to prove it."

LP 4000

Rules: Master Rule 2

"Duel!" They shouted at once.

"I'm going to be a gentleman and let you start things off," said Nick.

"Ugh, forget it. You can go first. And don't you dare argue with me. I'm not about to take courtesy from an overconfident prick like you."

"What's that?"

"So you got some new cards and some new threads. Big fucking whoop. It doesn't mean anything - not to me anyway. So stop acting like such a big shot because it's fucking annoying. Now hurry up and make your move."

"Oh, wow. Picky, picky. Someone oughtta give you a spanking to adjust that attitude of yours."

"Geeze, Nick," Yuri called from the rafters. "Take it easy, will you?"

"Don't worry about it, Yuri," said Patty. "If anyone is getting an attitude adjustment, it's him. Now make your move, Nick."

T1

"With pleasure, Patty. First off, I summon Kojikocy in attack mode!" Nick slid his card on the platform and summoned an elderly warrior with a long curved blade and 1500 ATK points. "And then, I'll set one card face-down and end my turn."

T2

"Why am I not surprised?" Patty said drawing her card. "You summon a monster just as lame as you are. I summon Double Coston in attack mode." She summoned two black little ghosts with red glowing patterns on their bellies. "But they're not going to stick around for long. I activate the spell, Double Summon, which lets me perform one more Normal Summon this turn. And I'll Release Double Coston in order to Advance Summon Darkness Destroyer in attack mode!"

Her little ghosts turned into dark energy to be used to manifest her newest monster, a fearsome beast from the darkest darkness. The creature snarled while making the sound of an angry lion as it glared at Nick

"Hey wait a minute!" Nick said. "He's a Level 7 monster. Don't you have to Release two monsters to bring out a monster that powerful?"

"Normally, yes I would. But thanks to Double Coston's special ability, I could treat them as 2 monsters needed for the Advance Summon of my monster. Now, Darkness Destroyer, attack and destroy Kojikocy!"

Her monster's red eyes flashed and steam blew out from between its teeth before it charged to take down Nick's monster.

"I activate my trap!" Nick declared. "Ready for Intercepting. This card will flip Kojikocy face-down into defense position so my Life Points are safe."

"Sorry, but no they're not. Darkness Destroyer can inflict damage to your Life Points even if they're in defense mode."

"WHAT!?"

Darkness Destroyer used its huge claws to slash Kojikocy in half and deal 1100 points of damage to Nick's Life Points, dropping him to 2900.

"No way!" Nick mumbled in disbelief. "She took out my monster and a good chunk of my Life Points with one strike."

"I set one card face-down and end my turn. What's the matter, Nicky?" Patty heckled him and vexingly leaned over the game mat of her pod. "I thought you said we were new and improved."

T3

"Keep your panties on, Patty! That was just me testing you. I've got something better up my sleeve."

"Oh, is that so? Well, then. Let's see what you've got. Can anything in your hand beat my Darkness Destroyer?"

"We'll just see, won't we?" Nick said. "Draw! Ha! Check it out. Graceful Charity. I managed to nab this little card from some punk who thought he could take me on. Now as you know, I can draw three cards and discard two. Now I summon the mighty Giltia the Dark Knight - Soul Spear."

Nick summoned a retrained version of the fusion monster Giltia the D. Knight. He spun his bladed spear around and posed to show off his 1850 ATK points.

"And next, I activate the spell, The Shallow Grave. This lets us summon a monster from our Graveyards in defense mode. And I choose the Millennium Shield! With a defensive power of 3000!"

"Millennium Shield?" Patty said. "Heh. If you think hiding behind shields is going to protect you from me, Nick, you're sadly mistaken. I summon Double Coston in defense mode."

I don't know if that move was wise on Nick's part, Yuri thought to himself. Sure, he may have gotten a monster with an impressive defense to his side of the field, but allowing Patty to bring back that Double Coston seemed like a pretty foolish mistake. What if she has an even stronger monster in her hand? She could use Double Coston's special ability to make it easier to summon it. Man, Nick truly hasn't learned anything, has he?

"Don't think you'll be safe from me, Patty!" Nick boasted. "Cuz when Giltia is summoned —"

"Hold on, you can't summon him! He needs one monster to be Advanced Summon."

"Ha! Just like your monsters, mine have special abilities, too! Before I summoned him, I had no monsters on the field. Well, thanks to Giltia's special ability, I can Normal summon him because I have no monsters out. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Not really? Your defensive capabilities are high but your offence...yeah...no. Giltia is much too weak to take on my Darkness Destroyer."

"Well, that's where you're wrong, baby. When Giltia Soulspear is summoned, I can banish a monster you control with ATK equal to or higher than his."

"What? No way!"

"Believe it, Patty! Giltia, banish her Darkness Destroyer!"

"Hyyah!" Giltia shouted, raising his spear over his head and spinning it around. The triple-bladed point of the ornate spear created a ball of light, which he then fired. The ball flew across the field and smashed against Darkness Destroyer, banishing him from the game.

"And now, I will attack your Double Coston with his regular attack! Go, Giltia!" His knight smashed his spear through both the ghosts, destroying them at once with a ball of bright light.

T4

"What was that you were saying, Patty?" Nick said, this time he was the one teasing her. "That my monsters were lame? Care to take that back?"

"Never! You may have won that round but it's going to be different this time. First, I'm going to activate a Graceful Charity of my own. You know the drill. Draw three and discard two. Then, I'm going to flip up my face-down card. Double Hooking!"

"Double hooking? What the hell is that?"

"Think of it as Call of the Haunted 2.0," Patty laughed. "Except instead of Special Summoning one monster from my Graveyard, I can summon two!"

"Two monsters! Oh no!"

Patty held up her hand and shouted: "Rise up! Belial, Marquis of Darkness and Invader of Darkness!"

"Well, he's screwed," Yuri said. Two turns later, Nick's Life Points dropped to 0.

"How? How could I lose? I thought..."

"Yeah, well, you thought wrong," said Patty. She took Max away from Yuri. "Like I said, fancy clothes and a Duel Disk don't make you a pro, so quit acting like such a big shot. Hey, Yuri, it's been fun, but I think I need to get going. See you guys at school tomorrow." Her monsters vanished as she turned around and stepped out of the pod.

"You can bet we'll go at it again, Patty!" Nick assured her. "I'll beat you. You just wait."

"Heh. I look forward to another game, Nicky." She winked and walked off leaving the Duel Dome and her friends behind.

Declan Akaba - Leo Corp HQ, Paradise City/Termnnia

"I congratulate you for getting that bill passed," Declan said to Seto Kaiba. They both sat on a long black table in a giant office with tall glass windows offering panoramic views of Paradise City, the second-greatest metropolis in Eredas. Declan dug his fork into a crunchy leaf of lettuce and put it in his mouth. "Now that we have a way to transport Black Luster Soldiers to the frontlines in those underdeveloped countries, we can have some breathing room here."

"I could definitely use a break from the war," said Seto, helping himself to a steak. He wore an all-black suit and tie with a bright sheen to it. "You have no idea how many tournaments I had to put on hold because of this damned war. I refused to get involved but having the Covenant of Yeyu conquering the West and invoking their anti-Dueling politics would have been very bad for business."

"I agree," said Declan. "I've poured billions into this war because of that bill you just passed. Let's just hope it does us some good. Those Alliance Princes are getting tired. It would be unfortunate if anything were to happen to them now that we've managed to put ourselves in the offensive."

"I wouldn't count on us being on the offensive for long," said Seto. "I don't know how Forrest is able to manufacture so many battleships or robotic knights so quickly, but I can tell he's going to launch another offensive when he completes another army. I'm going to find out how he does it. And I'm going to get to the bottom of who is funding such endeavors."

"Yes. Once we get a choke on his funding, that should arrest any further developments of those robots he keeps making. By the way, I heard your daughter was at the Battle of Gate 0087. She performed quite well from what I heard."

Seto narrowed his eyes and cut his steak fiercely as though he were murdering someone. "Cora is NOT my daughter. She's only a tool for me to unlock the full power of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. I admire her skills, and her mastery of the new Blue-Eyes White Dragons has persuaded me to allow her to use the surname of my House, but that doesn't mean I truly accept her as family."

"Hmm. I understand," Declan said with a nod. "I won't speak of her ties to your family since it is not my place. But I can vouch for her skills. I Dueled her once. Shortly before the war broke out. She failed to defeat me but her aptitude with her deck was truly something to be admired. I was most impressed."

"Were you?"

"Yes. You know, I petitioned to have her be the one to lead the Lancers in the Conservator Project to watch over Yuri. Unfortunately, Master Yugi had other plans and insisted we send that kid Andre instead."

"Hmph. Andre. What's the situation with him?"

"Difficult," Declan replied, sliding his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "The Lancers say he's been helping in the battle against the Rare Hunters, but his... obsession with being recognized by Yuri's group has proven to be problematic. He got too emotionally involved with them. Not good considering that I specifically instructed him to keep his distance from the group."

Kaiba grumbled and leaned back in his seat. "I suppose given the choice between my licentious advocate and Andre, Cora truly is the greater of the two evils. Then again, I'm not surprised Yugi would be so persistent in sending him in. He's quite fond of weak Duelists."

"It surprises me greatly that he'd send Andre in after everything he did."

"What did he do exactly?" said Seto. "I've been meaning to ask what his sins were for quite some time but with the war and the operation to keep Yuri safe keeping my mind quite occupied, I failed to find the right opportunity to ask. I suppose now that we have some breathing room, we can discuss this matter and you can shine some light on it for me."

"Of course," said Declan. "Though I find it odd you have no recollection of the event considering how much you favored Belladonna."

"My only interest in her was her destiny to summon the King of all Dragons, Bahamut. The son of the Dragon Goddess. But now that she's gone, I shan't be seeing that miracle anytime soon. What exactly did Andre do to force Belladonna to just vanish off the face of the earth?"

"From what I've been told from my top-ranked Lancer, Axel Brodie, she overheard the plan from a young knight named Ser Colton Cole who served in the House of Martin. Ser Colton and Andre were friends from what I understand, which makes the matter even more distressing."

"Interesting. And what did Belladonna do when she heard the news?"

"She was distressed. So she told her friends about the plan. Being a girl with no magical capabilities, she needed their help. But...they had their hands full preparing for battle because the Naralian Invasion of Bretonnia was taking place. So they had to stay and defend the academy. So Belladonna had to make the hard decision of leaving her home away from home to go to Serania and awaken Bahamut because by then, she discovered the know-how to do it. But, according to Alexis, when Belladonna got there, it was too late. House Martin had already overtaken the kingdom and hung her mother and her sisters on the branches of the tree they used to play under. Then Andorex Martin, Andre's father, declared that until Belladonna agrees to marry his godson, Godwin Martin, the newly crowned King of Serania, she would be exiled under pain of death. And to make matters worse, he put a bounty on her head forcing every lowlife in Serania to look for her. 10,000,000 gold Star Chips."

"That's a huge bounty indeed," said Seto. "But seeing how they've taken control of House Wyvernheart's diamond mines, I'm not at all surprised they have that much money to throw out. And I suppose Belladonna didn't accept."

"Of course, she didn't. She fled into the wild and nobody ever saw her again."

"And just how does Andre come into play?"

"He could have stopped it. He could have stopped everything. Aside from being someone gifted with the power of Dimensional Traveling, he has a powerful Eidolon called Arcana Knight Joker, who could transform into a more powerful warrior called Arcana Extra Joker. Andre was able to defend his father's land from that monster. He once repelled an army of 1000 goblins and trolls that tried to take the castle where he lived."

"And that monster could have defeated his father?"

"It could have helped slow down his advancement into Serania," said Declan. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and set it on his plate. "But the boy was...arrogant. And I mean arrogant. Though, who could blame him? Rich, gifted with Dimensional Traveling, a capable Duelist with rare and powerful dragon cards, and a group of knights in beautiful armor following him everywhere. He was no Duel Academia student but Axel told me Andre and his friends sure proved to be a thorn in their side in those yearly GX tournaments."

"I know about that," said Kaiba. "Get to the point. What did he do to cause Belladonna to vanish?"

Declan merely glared at him, the dull light from the moons peeking through the cloudy sky caused the lenses of his red glasses to flash. "I was getting to that. As I told you before, Belladonna uncovered the plot against her House. Hoping Andre could help stop them with his Eidolon, she reached out to him for help. But...the boy was too proud of his House to acknowledge they could commit such a thing. He didn't believe her. In fact, he used that time to berate her and challenge her for the Bahamut card she wielded."

"That imbecile!" Seto said, seething with fury. "Had the kingdom not been conquered, Belladonna could have awakened Bahamut. That monster could have helped us defend Termnnia until Yuri came back."

"Yes, then all hope went to Lady Avi and her Dragons. And look how that turned out. Something tells me Summoning Dragons is a curse more than it is a gift. Something terrible seems to happen to those who are blessed with such a skill."

"This is even worse than I thought," said Seto. "Now I know why Chazz Princeton led his friends to hunt that bastard down. Had Yugi not intervened, that traitor's head would be rotting on a spike right now."

"How I wish that were the outcome," said Declan. "Master Yugi only confided in him because he believes his Dimensional Jumping abilities could prove useful to the Conservator Project. And his ability to summon Arkana Knight Joker could be valuable, so he says. Andre told me he tried to retake the throne, but his father hired powerful warriors and Summoners that overpowered him and forced him to flee the kingdom. He thinks that bit of theatre should be enough to get me to trust him, but I cannot. His choice to take action came far too late."

He finished his glass of water. "I keep telling Master Yugi that I don't care how much a person wishes to change. It does little to erase the damage many of us have suffered because of what he did. Even after all that training in the Monastery of the Conqueror, I didn't trust him. I still don't trust him. In fact, I wanted him as far away from the Prince as possible. Now it seems my suspicions have been justified."

"How so?"

"It's just as I feared, Seto. He has learned nothing. His mission has turned into a glory quest to be Yuri's best friend. He denies it, but he's been trying way too hard to be a part of the Crown Prince's life for me to believe that. Although, I can't help but feel sorry for him. After being hunted down and losing his home and family, I can't blame him for trying to find new friends."

"Then I suppose it's a good thing you sent in the Lancers," said Seto. "With the Rare Hunters now in the Standard Dimension, we sure could use their help. Especially now that we know Andre is merely there to fulfill his own agenda. But how did the Rare Hunters get there?"

"I don't know," said Declan. "I've been trying to figure that out since they put themselves on the board. Either there's someone out there with a really advanced knowledge of teleportation magic, or someone gave them Interdimensional Traveling Technology. And I feel it's the latter."

"You're right," said Seto. "I received the reports from Adrian Gecko. The Rare Hunters are using Solid Vision Duel Disks with technology from the Fusion Dimension. And they have the tech to send people to and from dimensions as they please. You don't think they could be against trying to take the throne from Yuri, too, do you?"

Declan stood up and walked to the window to look out into the glimmering city below. "I wouldn't put it past them. My Lancers stopped them from doing such a thing years ago when they came looking for the God Cards. If someone from the Fusion Dimension is behind this, then we have to tread carefully. We're still under the rules of the Codex of Dimensions after all. Anyone steps out of line, and we could be at war with each other again. And that's the last thing we need right now. The Fusion Dimension could side with King Forrest and help him conquer Termnnia."

"So we do nothing?"

"I suggest tasking the Lancers with investigating who gave them such technology. For all I know, it could be just a few people. Interdimensional smugglers, mercenaries, crime lords, who knows? We can't just assume the entire Fusion Dimension is trying to oust Yuri from the throne. We're going to need some skilled players from your own institutions, Seto."

"I'll select the very best," said Seto.

"Thank you, Seto. In the meantime, I need to build my case against Master Yugi. I want Andre out of the Conservator Project immediately. I would have done so earlier but he's Master Yugi's boy. And behind the High Chancellor, Yugi Muto is one of the most powerful people in Termnnia, so what he says goes." He paused when he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. "Yes, Claude, what is it?"

"Sir, the Duel is about to begin. Luke is on his way to Duel Pamela McKnight."

"I see. Meet me in the control room in ten minutes. I wish to oversee the Duel myself."

"Yes, sir. Immediately sir."

"Did I hear him right?" Seto asked. "Pamela McKnight? The girl with the Dark Deck that hangs around with Yuri?"

"You heard right," said Declan.

"Why the sudden interest in her?"

"Come with me," Declan said, slowly walking to the entrance of the office. Seto wiped his chin with his napkin and tossed it over his half-eaten steak. He got up from his chair and followed Declan out of the office to an elevator that would take them 100 feet beneath the Leo Corp building.

"It seems there's something amiss with her," said Declan. The elevator doors closed and took them down. "There is a lot of darkness radiating off of that girl. One of my Lancers, Sukari, used to go to school with Pamela when they were very little before moving back to Paradise City to attend the Leo Institute of Dueling. She is very close to the girl and noticed unusual readings coming off her person every time she was near to her." He searched through Patty's profile on his phone until he found what he was looking for. "Look at this."

He showed him graphs that seemed to be reaching right out of the top of the screen.

"Are those energy readings?"

"Dark energy readings," said Declan. "My Lancers usually detect energy spikes like this when a monster from the Shadow Realm appears to cause trouble."

"The Shadow Realm? How is that possible?"

"No realm is safe from the horrors of the Shadow Realm," said Declan. "They may not be as strong when they're in the Standard Dimension, but they still cause trouble, taking the form of poltergeists or mimics. The Standard Dimension may be a plain world but it has its share of paranormal activity and it's all linked to the Shadow Realm."

"And just why are readings like this coming off that girl? It looks like a monster is about ready to pounce right out of her."

"That's what Luke intends to find out," said Declan. "He specializes in getting rid of entities from the Shadow Realm. He rid this world of their evil by any means necessary."

Patty - The Duel Dome/Standard Dimension

Once the Duel Dome was nothing more than a huge silver dome in the distance, Patty found herself in the park that surrounded the Gates of Peace where she and Yuri met up with Nick earlier. Her chest felt stone cold with guilt as the memory of their Duel earlier played in her mind. Perhaps, she thought, maybe she was a little too rough on him in that match. It was good that he found some confidence and his skills had improved. But with those improvements came a rise in his ego, and she hated that. The way he dressed, the way he moved, to the very way he played his cards just annoyed her. She wished there was some way she could have she could have made her case without the need to berate him, but with that newfound attitude of his, that was a hard thing to do. And saying things like 'keep your panties on' and calling her 'toots' and 'baby' soured her mood. "Stupid Nick," she muttered. She dug her hands into her pockets as she slowly approached the fifty-story-high fountain and paused to gather her thoughts.

Arf! Arf! Max barked. Someone was here with Patty.

"Beautiful sight, isn't it?" a stranger asked her from behind. Patty turned around and saw a blonde boy wearing an oversized white hooded jacket standing right behind her with a Duel Disk mounted on his arm. "The Gates of Peace they're called."

"No, shit," said Patty. "Everyone knows what this fountain is called. You new around here or something?"

"You can say that," said the boy. "My name's Luke. And I've been looking all over for you, Pamela McKnight."

Patty stepped back until she pressed against the railing of the fountain. "You're not a Rare Hunter are you?"

"No, not at all," said Luke. "I got rid of a few of them who were trialing you." He stuck his hand into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out ten torn hoods with the Eye of Wdjat stitched in silver on the top.

"No way," said Patty. "You took all those guys out? You must be really good."

Luke smiled from within the darkness of his hood. "Let's just say they know better than to mess with me. Now that I've taken care of them, perhaps we can get down to some business."

Patty frowned at the stranger impatiently and placed her hands on her hips. "Business? I don't even know you. What business are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the dark spirit that resides in your soul, Patty."

Patty gasped and heard Zera growling in her head. "What...I...I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't play coy with me, Pamela McKnight." Luke held up his fist and then pointed at her furiously. "You know you've been influenced by a foul spirit. A spirit that forces you to behave the way you do and Duel the way you do. You play with aggression. And anger. And vengeance. You Duel as if you take your frustrations out against the world, even against your own friends. If you let that spirit control you any longer, you could pose a threat."

"A threat?"

"Yes. A threat to everyone around you. Especially Yuri."

"What do you know about Yuri?"

"More than you know, Pamela McKnight. But that is not your affair. I am here to make sure that the darkness in your heart is expelled. No matter what the cost."

"Just what's that supposed to mean?" Patty shouted. "Start making sense, asshole! Otherwise, I'll call RAPTOR. Don't test me! My father is commander of their military forces."

"Your father is the reason why you let that creature take control of you."

"You don't know anything about my father, so shut up!"

"Oh no? I've been watching you for many weeks now. Every time you come into the Ruby Dragon, you come in limping or have some sort of bruise on your arms or legs. Admit it. You get abused at home, don't you?"

Patty wanted to lie but she already knew this person knew more about her than she cared to know. And she found herself curious as to where this confrontation would lead to. "Yes," she replied.

She took off her backpack, unzipped her hoodie, and stripped the sweater off her tank top to show off dark bruises on her shoulders, her neck, and a cut on her forearm that was hidden underneath her bangles from when her stepmother chased her away with a knife.

Max whined sadly when he saw the wounds covering her arms.

"Beautiful aren't they?" Patty asked sarcastically. "I've had to live with this for a long time."

"How come they do this to you?"

"My dad blames me for my mom leaving us so he takes his frustrations out on me by beating me when he has his moods. Heh. Then again, he blamed me for every bad thing that's happened since the day I was born. And my stepmom, pfft, she's a bitch and hates me for the sake of hating me. But I don't care. Fuck her."

"Why have you not taken any action?"

"You don't think I've tried!" Patty shouted. "My father is a very powerful man with friends in the Aquarian mafia. I'm afraid to think of what will happen to me if I say anything that will threaten his position. There's nothing I can do. And even if I did, where would that leave me? I'd lose everything. I'd lose my home, my friends, everything! I'll risk getting punched and kicked every once in a while to keep living in that nice home and remain here in Aquarius."

"What of your grandmother? Doesn't she own a place here? I'm sure she would gladly take care of you."

"It's not the same," said Pamela. "She isn't as rich as my father is. Heh, if I'm lucky, he'll be nice and give me a handful of coins which allows me to get some nice things."

"So you'd risk your well-being for a few material goods?"

"You wouldn't understand. The blows...they don't hurt as much anymore. Makes living with the bastards bearable."

"And I know why," said Luke. "That thing lurking in your soul. I know it helps you endure their abuse."

Patty smiled. "Yeah...and what do you expect to do about it?"

"What?"

"Yeah. I have a special friend living inside of me. Telling me what to do and how to dress." She raised her arms over her sides and examined her clothes. "I like his style for me."

"He makes you look like a whore is what he does!" shouted Luke.

"Doesn't that turn you on?" Patty asked, her eyes turning purple. She lifted her skirt. "Is this what you hunted me down for, big boy?"

"She's gone!" said Luke. "Knowing the dark spirit had taken over. Let her go, creature! I command you to be gone!"

A shadow loomed over Patty's body and snarled at him. "Let her go?" said the spirit. "No. I have no control over her. She lives on her own free will. I merely tag along to protect her from those who would harm her. And that means you, fool!"

"He's a fool indeed, Zera," Patty said, her tongue hanging out in excitement. "I can't wait to tear him apart."

"Do so, my dear. Show him what happens to those who cross our path."

"Zera?" said Luke. "So, Zera the Mant has taken control of you."

"He doesn't take control of me," said Patty. "He takes care of me. He helps me make the choices that keep me by the side of those I love. If Zera the Mant hadn't found me, I don't know where I'd be right now. He's not my master and I'm not his slave. Hee, hee. Of course, some nights, in my dreams, I like to pretend to be."

"Goddesses, it's worse than I thought," muttered Luke. "Patty! You can't be by Yuri's side with that thing living inside your heart. It's not your friend! It's a parasite using you to get what it wants and fulfill its sick fantasies!"

"Yeah, so? You act like I don't know that."

"You can't be serious! You have to let me get rid of that thing."

"Get rid of him? Never! I need him!"

"Then you leave me no choice!" he powered on his Duel Disk. "Patty, this is for Yuri's own good."

Patty opened her backpack to get the Duel Disk and put it on. "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, Luke. You're going to regret challenging me."

"I will expel the darkness from your soul and make you see the light!" said Luke. "Even if that means getting rid of you. You have until the end of this Duel to make up your mind, Patty. Or you'll force me to take drastic measures."

LP 4000 - Luke

VS

Patty - LP 4000

A camera mounted on a tree came to life and focused on the Duel taking place. "They have begun," said Claude. He stood behind Declan's chair in the control room where they stared at a giant screen giving them a 4K resolution feed of the match.

"That poor girl," said a young man named Shay Obsidian, a Duelist from the Xyz Dimension who came to help with the war with his deck of Raidraptors. "Instead of seeking help for all the hell she's going through at home, that creature living inside her heart convinces her to stay and remain quiet."

"It gives her the strength to fight through the abuse," said Seto. "That's not right. In fact, that was one of the most disturbing things I've ever heard in my life. Those Shadow Realm monsters are sick."

"I sure hope Luke can figure out a way to get rid of that thing and free Patty. Otherwise, he might have to end her."

"Is there truly no other way?" Seto asked. "That girl means a lot to Yuri."

"You saw how she defended him," said Declan. "Patty is beyond help now. If she continues down this path, she will prove a danger to Yuri. The creatures of the Shadow Realm hate the High King of Termnnia, you know this. Who knows how far Zera the Mant could influence her? No, anyone who is that far gone with a spirit from the Shadow Realm is a threat so she has to be destroyed."

"I do hope that's not the case," said Shay. "Maybe with this Duel, Luke can get through to her and give her the strength finally free herself from its bonds."

"Duel!" Patty and Luke shouted.

T1

"I'll start first!" Patty declared. She touched her pink RGB headphones on and started blasting heavy metal music from around her neck. "Awww, yeah! This shit always puts me in the mood. Watch me, Zera. I'm gonna make you so proud."

"Destroy him, my pet!" the shadow hovering above her growled.

"Yes, daddy," Patty giggled licentiously. Her eyes were glowing purple and dark bags shadowed them underneath giving her a sleepy look. She pouted when she saw her starting hand. "Oh, such a shame. Looks like the fun's about to end already. I sure hope there weren't any good cards in that hand of yours, Luke. Because I'm about to get rid of them all with this. I play Card Destruction. Now we discard our entire hands and draw the same number of cards we had before." She dumped her hand into the Graveyard and drew five new cards. "And that's not all. I'm activating the spell Allure of Darkness. By banishing a Dark Attribute monster from my hand, I can draw two more cards. Next, I activate the spell Fires of Doomsday, allowing me to summon two Doomfire Tokens to the field."

A vortex of green flames erupted before Patty's feet, spinning faster and faster until it manifested two one-eyed ghosts made of blackish-green flames

"Since I can't summon any monsters because of this card's effect, I end my turn by setting two cards face-down."

T2

Luke drew. "I will set a card face-down and I will end my turn by activating Swords of Revealing Light. This will prevent you from attacking for three full turns!"

A rain of glowing swords rained down from the sky, piercing the ground around Patty and locking her in a cage.

T3

"Ha! Lame!"

"So you say," said Luke. "But the Swords of Revealing Light will not only prevent you from attacking, but they will also allow me to see within your very soul. And I see precious memories getting dimmer and dimmer as they are blanketed by a cloud of darkness. Your friends. Yes, I see it now. Your friends are your light. So far they are what have kept you from going off the deep end. That light is precious to you. But sadly, the more time you spend with that thing leeching off your life, the dimmer that light grows. Soon, your friends will fade away, just like that light. And then you'll be all alone as you're consumed by the darkness. Let me help you, Pamela. You don't have to throw your life away to appease that thing! I know you have hopes and dreams of being a painter designing your own cards at Phobos Corp. Don't let that dream die."

"That dream gets farther and farther with each day," said Patty. "My father's anger and hatred towards me make going to school a pain in the ass. And you're wrong about my friends. My friends will never abandon me."

"No they won't," said Luke. "It's you who's going to abandon them. When that creature fully consumes you and eradicates the light from the spark that's flickering in your heart, you will care for no one but yourself. Patty, close your eyes."

"Uh, why?"

"Just do it. Trust me. Allow the light from the swords to come inside you."

"I don't know where you're going with this but all right."

Patty sighed in irritation and close her eyes. The Swords of Revealing Light were so bright, their light peered through her eyelids. She saw nothing but the back of them for a moment but then she saw memories of her and Yuri playing together as children at the park. Then she saw images of her tenth birthday with Tyson and Yuri. Then her first time meeting Sabrina at the ice cream shop sharing vanilla cones.

"What is this?" she asked. "My friends?"

"They're special to you," said Luke. "Don't let the connection you have with them die. Don't let that fiend take you away from them."

Patty opened her eyes, now flashing dark purple. "Oh, blah, blah, blah! Stop talking and let me finish my turn! Now I'll sacrifice one of my tokens to summon the mighty Puppet Master!"

Purple mist formed around Patty's ankles. The trees around the field began to shiver as if they knew of the horrors lurking in Patty's deck that would soon be arriving to haunt the night. Out from the mist emerged a ghoulish puppeteer in a blue and yellow jester's costume complete with a conical cap and bells that jingled with an eerie tune on his head. "Eh-hahahahahaha!" Puppet Master laughed ghoulishly wriggling his fingers around. They were long and bony and covered with silver rings.

"What?" said Luke. "Her Puppet Master has only zero attack points!"

"Hold on," said Declan. "Patty wouldn't have summoned something so weak without reason."

"Now, I'm going to pay 2000 of my Life Points to activate his effect. I can target two Fiend monsters in my Graveyard and special summon them to my side of the field."

"Two fiends!" Luke cried out.

"Hell yeah! And I know just the ones to bring out and party. Say hello to Belial - Marquis of Darkness and Summoned Skull!"

Puppet Master held up his fingers. Purple glowing strings formed out the rings on his fingers. He wiggled them around until he brought up the two monsters Patty chose from the Graveyard.

"You're lucky your Swords of Revealing Light are in play, Luke. My monsters would have wiped you out this turn."

"Even if I didn't have my Swords of Revealing Light out on the field, your monsters still can't attack. My Duel Disk says Puppet Master prevents your monsters from attacking the turn they are summoned with his effect. And it's not like your puppet can do any damage. He has zero attack points.'

Patty giggled. "True, true. I guess I'll end my turn."

"Gooood, Patty! Gooood!" Zera cheered her on.

T4

"Such evil!" Luke said with a shiver. "The darkness! Her deck is rank with it. And she loves it, too! Dispelling it from her heart is not going to be a simple task. If I cannot get through to her, then I must do what I have to do."

"What do you mean by that?" Andre Martin said, standing right behind him. He removed his hood and glared at Patty, standing there with a sick look on her face.

"Oh no!" Declan cried out. "It's him!"

"What do we do, sir?" asked Claude.

Back in the Standard Dimension, Andre took a few slow steps toward Luke. "What do you mean you must do what you have to do?"

"Stay out of this Martin!" Luke declared. "This is between me and the girl. Axel and Sukari already explained the situation with Patty so do us all a favor and don't get involved."

"I didn't plan to," said Andre. "But when I heard you had to kill her if you couldn't get through to her, I had to come by."

"Yes, I have to kill her if she shows she's beyond help," said Luke. "The Fiend that's living in her heart is very powerful. It could one day consume her whole and then it will pose a threat to the king."

"I get that. But killing her seems to be a little too radical. Come on, I know she dresses a bit funky and her cards are something out of your darkest nightmares, but somewhere under that skimpy skirt and black mesh is a heart of gold. Trust me, I've been here for weeks and I've gotten to know Yuri and his friends really well."

"Just what's the connection between you two?" Patty asked. "Bah, not that I give a shit. Let's just get this Duel underway."

"Luke! Don't hurt her!" Andre pleaded. "I heard your Light monsters can do wonders when it comes to dispelling dark beings in Termnnia. Trust in them with all your heart and soul to give them the strength they need to help Patty conquer her own demons."

"Don't lecture me on how to use my monsters, Andre! I've got this."

"And if you don't?"

"I will do what I must. And if you stand in my way, I swear I'll report you to the highest authority. He's watching us right now, Andre."

"Indeed I am," Declan said through a communicator on Andre's Duel Disk. "Do not interfere, Andre."

"I can't let Luke hurt Patty, sir. She's important to Yuri."

"You got emotionally involved, you fool!" shouted Seto.

"Seto Kaiba?" Andre asked. "Is he there, too?"

"I am! And you better listen to what Declan says! This Duel could determine the safety of Prince Yuri. The girl may be his friend but she's locked in a symbiotic relationship with a monster from the Shadow Realm. You do know monsters from the Shadow Realm hate the High Kings of Termnnia, don't you?"

"Yes but..."

"But nothing!" Kaiba shouted. "This is exactly why we gave you specific orders to stay as far away from Yuri's group. You get emotionally attached to the targets and the mission turns complicated. You've already done enough to jeopardize the safety of our homeland. We lost Belladonna Wyvernheart because of you. And if you risk the life of the Crown Prince of Termnnia, I swear I will crush you with the full weight of the entire Kaiba Corporation! Now stand down!"

"Stand down, Andre," said Declan. "Let Luke do what he must do."

"Damn!" said Andre. "Always have to bring up Belladonna each time I try to help." He cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted: "Patty! Come on, you've got to snap out of it. Can't you see you're being used by a dark entity? You have to break free. You just have to."

"Shut up!" shouted Patty. "You've messed with our Duel long enough. Hurry up, Luke."

"I will do what I must," said Luke. "First, I use Pot of Greed. That's two more draws for me. Now, I will activate the spell Unexpected Dai! This allows me to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster from my deck to the field if I control no monsters. And I choose a monster that I'm sure will be a big surprise! I summon Warrior of Zera!"

"Warrior of Zera?" Patty asked. "What is that?"

"Look at his sword," said Luke. "Does it look familiar?"

"Augh! It looks like Zera the Mant."

"Correct. Now allow me to read the lore inscribed on the card. It says: 'A wandering warrior who seeks the sanctuary where he can gain the power of the Archlords. To escape the temptation of evil fiends, he fights solo day by day'. Did you hear that?"

"So what?" said Patty.

"The Zera the Mant monster you hold so dearly was once the warrior you see before you, Patty. Like you, he fights alone most time to try and escape the temptation of evil. But somewhere down the road, he succumbed to the fiends and began to side with evil monsters in search of power. And he became the very creature called Zera the Mant. It is a sad story, but Duel Monsters took it a little further by adding its own little twist to the lore. What if Warrior of Zera had been a little stronger and not succumbed to the darkness like the bitch that he is."

"Watch it, boy!" Zera hissed. "I made the right choice! That card represents me from a time when I was weak. But now...now I'm all-powerful!"

"Some all-powerful being you are, Zera. Let me show you what would have happened if you had gone down the right path! I activate the field spell, Sanctuary in the Sky!"

Out of the dark night sky, a giant floating city slowly descended from the clouds and hovered over the Gates of Peace. Torches shined brightly on the walls of the city and the windows of the buildings were lit with a warm golden glow.

"No! Not the sanctuary!" Zera cried out.

"Now, I will show the power you could have unlocked had you chosen to side with justice and honor! Witness your true power, Zera! I sacrifice Warrior of Zera to summon Archlord Zerato!"

Warrior of Zera transformed into a mighty angel with brilliant white feathered wings wearing a red cape and a purple and gold regal skirt. He sported a cowl to hide his face and carried a long curved sword.

"No!" Zera cried out, his shadowy form cowered behind Patty's shoulder. "The light! It burns! It freezes! I cannot bear it!"

ATK/2800

"Behold the power you could have achieved, Zera!" declared Luke. "This is what you could have become had you chosen the path of righteousness! You think you found power with the fiends, well witness REAL power! I will activate my Archlord Zerato's effect! By discarding a Light monster card from my hand, I can destroy all monsters you control!"

"Ugh! What!? No!"

"Sorry, Patty, this is for your own good," said Andre.

Light from the sky shined down on Patty's fiends, burning their skin and causing them excruciating pain. They all gave out one last

"Oh no!" Patty stepped backward. "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Whatever will I do?"

Andre narrowed his eyes. Patty was merely acting like she was in trouble. She snickered a few times, meaning she wasn't nervous at all. "Tread carefully, Luke. Patty doesn't..."

Patty started to laugh at him. She set her hands on her hips and leaned forward. "You idiot!" shouted Patty. "You've activated my face-down card! A Deal With Dark Ruler!"

"That's not good," said Andre.

"Oh, you bet it's not good," giggled Patty. "Well, not for Luke anyway. Whenever a Level 8 or higher monster in my control is sent to the Graveyard, I can summon Berserk Dragon from my deck!"

"Berserk Dragon?!" Andre yelled.

Black flames burst from the ground in front of Patty and swirled around to form a tornado that grew bigger and bigger. The leaves on the trees flashed black and red and they rustled from the wind being created by the artificial wind created by the Solid Vision Technology. The tornado dispersed and revealed a skeletal black dragon with a mane of long silvery hair and burning red eyes glowing deep in the darkness of its skull. With an ATK of 3500, he was truly a frightening beast to behold.

"Thought it was going to be easy bringing me down, Luke?"

"Indeed I do. For so long as Sanctuary in the Sky is in play, I can continue discarding Light monsters to destroy every monster you control!"

"No way!"

Archlord Zerato raised his sword to the sky and summoned the beam of holy light from the sky once more to evaporate Patty's dragon. Berserk Dragon screeched and exploded, blasting Patty with a violent gust of dust and bits of dragon bone.

"Now you have nothing to defend your Life Points! So I will attack you directly! Archlord Zerato, attack Pamela's Life Points! Let her see the light with your Sword of the Sanctuary!"

Archlord Zerato spread his wings, which seemed to glow radiantly with their own light. He raised his sword and then flew to Patty to strike her Life Points, his wings created a streak of glimmering light as he soared through the park.

"You see, Pamela!" said Luke. "That fiend of yours is nothing but a failure who uses you to make himself feel powerful. Now that you have witnessed the might he could have achieved had he sided with the light, will you change your ways and release it from your soul?"

"Don't go bragging just yet! "I activate my face-down card, Zoma the Spirit!"

Patty's trap card lifted up. From it, a monster with the appearance of a gargoyle came out. It had 1800 ATK and 500 DEF. It laughed at Zerato even as his sword cut it in half. BOOM! A blast enveloped the field. Patty's hair and skirt flapped from the gust of the blast.

"Did you just turn your trap card into a monster?" said Luke.

"I sure did. And one with a very nasty effect, too. When he gets destroyed you take damage equal to the ATK of the monster that destroyed it."

"Augh!" Luke grunted as his Life Points went down to 1200.

"No way!" said Andre. "Patty took him down to less than half his Life Points."

T5

Patty viciously smiled and laughed. "So much for the power of light! Your little wingman there doesn't scare me! The only real power lies in darkness. That's why my deck is full of the most terrifying creatures of the night. I have many more Fiends lurking in my deck and they're itching to take you down!"

"Patty, come on!" Andre urged her. "You've got to understand that thing is taking control of you. Look at the things you've done. You got arrested six times, Yuri told me all about it. You got caught doing drugs and are starting to take those crude pictures of yourself. Come on, you're just a kid. You can't really be delving into a provocative lifestyle now. Think about Yuri. What would he think."

"Now I know why Nick hates you so much!" She laughed and drew her card with her teeth. "You're so annoying. You think because you Dueled with us a few times that we're friends?" Her eyes flashed with an evil shade of purple. "You think you're a part of our lives or something?"

"You said we were..." Andre said, recalling the time they had that Duel where lunch was on the line.

"And Zera the Mant will attack and destroy Valkyrion," Patty said the day when they first started getting to know each other.

"You're unreal..." Andre said nervously. "He had 3500 ATK points, the strongest card in the database. How?"

"Attack points don't mean shit if you don't have the means to protect them," Patty said, picking up her deck and placing them in her deck box. "You rely on raw power too much."

"You can say that again," Andre said. "I guess I have a lot to learn."

"We all do," said Patty. "Tyson beat me a couple of times, and I'm considered the strongest player in the group. Now, a deal's a deal, dude. Where's my lunch?"

"Oh, right."

Andre bought her a plate of fifty cheeseburger sliders and a mountain of fries.

"Say, Patty," Andre said watching her eat. "You're not so bad."

"I guess I can say the same about you."

"So...friends?"

Patty burped and shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, you're cool and all, but I don't make friends. Friends don't last forever. And most times they always find ways to stab you in the back. No, I have something better than friendship. And that's family. Yuri, Tyson, Nick, and Carter are my brothers. Sabrina and Natalya, my sisters. And Sergei...he's the father I never had."

A look of hurt creased Andre's face. "I'll never stab you in the back, Patty."

"I don't know you well enough to believe that. Sorry, but I only need them. They're my whole world. And I want to keep it that way." She felt guilty as she saw Andre's sad expression. "But hey, that doesn't mean you can't hang around with us every once in a while."

Andre smiled. "Really? Well, I guess that's a start. But I warn you, I'm someone with a lot of determination. One way or another, you're going to view me the way you view them."

"We'll see about that," Patty chuckled. "I'm looking forward to seeing what miracle you can pull off to make that happen."

"I may just surprise you."

"Heh. It was nice meeting you, Andre. Welcome to Aquarius."

"You didn't think I was serious, did you?" Patty snarled. "It will be a cold day in the sun before I consider you a part of my life. I don't need you. We don't need you. Not so long as we have Zera the Mant watching over us."

"Patty, that thing is a monster! It's not going to protect you! It's going to hurt you!"

Zera chuckled. "What's the matter? Jealous that someone better has grown to be a part of our family, boy?"

"You shut up! I don't know how a monster like you is able to function in the Standard Dimension but..."

"SHUT UP!" Luke yelled. "It's your turn, Patty."

"I know. Now no more drama or soppy visits down memory lane. I just wanted lunch! I had no interest in being your friend. Get it through your thick skull. We don't want you!"

"I know that's just Zera talking. Even if I can't be a part of your family, you said I could be a part of your lives."

"You moron," said Luke. "This is what happens when you get involved. I'm going to tell you one last time. Don't get in my way!"

"Yes, don't get in the way, Andre!" laughed Patty. "Time to summon the second wave of fiends for this little party. But first, I'm going to activate a little spell called The Beginning of the End!"

An arcane circle of complex design formed underneath Patty, lighting up the night with its eerie glow. "When I have seven or more DARK monsters in my Graveyard, I can banish five of them to draw three cards. One. Two. Three. You know, how fitting that the spell I just played was called The Beginning of the End. Because that's exactly what's about to transpire. First, I activate the Zera Ritual card. Now I sacrifice two monsters in my hand to call on Zera the Mant! RISE!"

Zera laughed and his shadow soon manifested into the very monster that ruled Patty's deck.

"So there he is!" said Luke.

"Fool!" Zera hissed. "You talk about that pathetic creature being the result of me choosing the path of light? You speak of him being me if I acquired ultimate power! Well, you're wrong. Why settle with being an Archlord when I could become something far stronger? Zerato's powers are only strong so long as he is near the holy light of the Sanctuary in the Sky. Power is nothing if its limited! And if I did become an Archlord, I wouldn't settle for the power of the sanctuary. I would seek something more. Much more. And what Patty has in her hands is another form of myself."

"Another form?" gasped Andre.

"Yes. And its strength is not confined to that city! Patty! transform me now!"

Zera's eyes flashed red as he roared, shaking the park like a quake.

"Behold real power! This is Zera breaking the limit of his power to become something far greater than the Archlords. Since I have four Dark monsters in my Graveyard with different names, I'm allowed to summon this mighty creature with just one tribute! Zera the Mant, I release you now to turn you into your most supreme form!"

RAAAAARRRRR! Zera roared, shouting into the night.

"What's happening?" Andre shouted.

"Patty, no!" Luke yelled. "Don't summon that creature! He will be the end of you! Stop! Please!"

Zera was soon engulfed by reddish-black flames. "What's the matter, Luke?" Patty teased him. "Scared? Well, you should be. I summon Darklord Zerato!"

"NOOOOOO!" Andre yelled over the violent gusts of wind.

Something horrible flew out of the flames and hovered directly over the full moon.

"I don't believe it," Claude said, watching the two monsters on the screen in amazement. "Darklord versus Archlord."

"Not bad!" said Declan.

"So..." Seto said quietly. "It's a battle between light and darkness. This oughtta be good."

Patty now looked like a savage as dark purple flames enveloped her. "Behold Zera in his supreme form!" she announced.

"This!" said Darklord Zerato. He examined his jagged steel sword. "Yes! This is true power! The power of darkness, which has helped Patty survive the hell she's had to live with for many years!"

"Patty...no," Andre whispered sadly.

"Now. I'm going to activate Darklord Zerato's effect!" Patty declared loud, tossing the last card in her hand into the Graveyard to activate her monster's special ability. "I send a Dark monster from my hand to the Graveyard and Archlord Zerato can destroy all monsters on your side of the field!"

"Ack!" Luke grimaced.

"Rrrrrraaaaarrr!" Darklord Zerato lifted his sword up over his head and powered it up, creating an aura of black flames over the blade. Archlord Zerato lifted his blade as well, infusing his sword with light. The two lords of light and darkness flew toward each other and clashed. Their blades smashed against one another causing sparks to rain down all around them. Archlord Zerato flew in front of the moon, Darklord followed and they continued their clash there directly in front of the moon for all to see. Andre hated the ARC systems so much. It looked like Archlord Zerato was putting up a fighting chance but deep down, he knew there was no saving him.

"I activate my face-down card!" shouted Luke. "Forbidden Lance! This will increase Darklord Zerato's attack by 400 points, however, there's a catch. His effects are negated, so your special ability is canceled."

"Rrrraah!" Archlord Zerato spread his wings and pushed Darklord back with all his might.

"And don't forget!" said Luke. "Swords of Revealing Light is still in play, so you can't attack me for another turn. I'll find some way to defeat your Darklord."

Patty pouted. "Hmph. I end my turn."

T6

"Oh, man!" gasped Andre. "That was close. Nice moves, Luke."

"Yeah..." Luke panted. "Thanks. Now, it's my turn! Draw! Damn, I have no light monsters to use to activate Zerato's effect. But that doesn't mean I still can't take him out one on one. All right, Pamela, I activate the spell card - Winged Trumpeter! This spell card will increase Archlord Zerato's attack by 500 points!"

"Now, Archlord Zerato, attack and destroy Darklord Zerato!"

The Archlord raised his sword and Patty just laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"You remember that Dark monster I scrapped to the Graveyard to activate Darklord's effect? Well, it was a little cutie called Archfiend of Gilfer."

"OH NO!"

"Oooh," Seto, Declan, and Claude gasped at once.

Suddenly, a red-winged fiend emerged from the shadows behind Archlord Zerato and grabbed onto him as he soared to Darklord.

"When Archfiend of Gilfer is sent to the Graveyard, I can equip him to one of your monsters and it loses 500 ATK points."

Darklord Zerato and Archlord Zerato's swords clashed, creating a massive burst of light and dark energy. Sparks flew all around them, the ground rumbled and started to crack and some trees began to fall. A few lamps could not take the burst of energy anymore and burst.

"THEY'LL DESTROY EACH OTHER!" Andre shouted.

BOOM!

Luke and Patty were shrouded by a cloud of black smoke. The explosion still reverberated in the night, causing a few car alarms to set off and some of the street lights flickered in distress after being blasted by such a violent explosion. The sound of the explosion finally faded into memory and the cloud of smoke cleared, leaving an empty field. There was a massive crater on the ground where Archlord and Darklord Zerato once fought. Now they were gone.

Patty and Luke were both puffing with exhaustion, sweat dotted their reddened faces. Luke seemed to have taken off his white hooded jacket when he was in the smoke cloud, for he was now standing there in his spot wearing his tank top.

Patty looked at Luke and smiled. "It seems...huff, puff...it seems we're evenly matched."

"So it would seem," panted Luke. "You're very strong, Pamela. Why don't you abandon that creature once and for all and let's finish this Duel with honor?"

"I can't let him go!" said Patty. "He's my best friend. I only managed to survive because of him."

"No...that's what he wants you to think. Pamela, you've got people who can gift you with love. Your friends. Yuri. You call him your brother. Think, would he want to see you like this."

"No..." Patty looked away sadly. "No...he...he wouldn't. To be honest...summoning that Darklord kind of scared me."

"Of course it did," said Luke. "Pamela, please. What you became a few turns ago. That wasn't you. What if you Dueled Yuri the way you Dueled me tonight? What would he have done? What would he have said?"

"He wouldn't have approved of this," said Andre. "Tossing your monsters out like they were trash. Acting so mean. Come on, Patty. Where's that girl who played for the love of the game?"

"No, he wouldn't have approved of this," Patty sniffed. "But he won't approve of me getting beaten by my dad either. I don't want him to get involved because of what might happen to him. I told you, my dad has ties to the Mafia. Those guys don't play around, believe me. I saw him order his squad to shoot a family of Stowaways hiding in the sewers execution style. Not exactly what I call a good career for Bring Your Daughter to Work Day. He said if I ever got in his way or made trouble for him, I would suffer the same fate. And knowing Yuri, he wouldn't take kindly to what Troy does to me. He would try to get involved. And if he gets involved, it means he'll get hurt."

"Wait," said Andre. "I thought nobody was allowed to hurt Yuri. I heard that if he lays a finger on Yuri, it's the slammer for him."

"That's Brett, Andre. This is my father we're talking about. Quite arguably one of the top three most powerful figures on Aquarius. If he ever got a chip on his shoulder about Yuri, I'm scared to think of what'll happen."

"Man, this Mafia really has Aquarius with its hands behind its back," said Luke. "How?"

"I don't know the politics involved with this whole thing," said Patty. "And quite frankly, I don't care. All I know is they had a hand in building this city and that gave them some kind of leverage to call their own shots around here." She looked at the Phobos Tri-Towers. "And I heard even Jacob Montgomery is afraid of them. Kinda makes you wonder who's really in charge around here, huh?"

"What if we can take them out," said Andre.

"You really are a fool," said Luke. "These guys aren't Duel Gangs or Rare Hunters. They're mafia. Professional criminals. They don't exactly Duel to solve their problems, you know. And somehow...somehow our government wants Yuri to take care of them." He said this with a whisper so Patty couldn't hear him.

"We'll figure out some way to help him take care of that," said Axel.

"That's out of our jurisdiction," said Axel. He spoke to Andre through his earpiece. He was watching the Duel from atop the roof with Sukari, Jim, and Adrian. "I hate the Three Points Plan as much as all of you, but we have to follow it. It's the law."

"He's right," said Sukari. "And the law says Yuri has to be the one and only one to achieve those goals. Face his fears. Destroy the corruption in his city. And then become the Standard Dimension's best Duelist."

"Poor blokes' got his work cut out for him, eh?" said Jim.

"Hey, are you guys okay?" Patty asked. "You just went blank on me for a second."

"We're fine," said Luke. "Let us continue our Duel. "Would that I could. I only have one card in my hand and it's of no use to me at the moment. So I'll end my turn and leave it at that."

T7

Patty grinned, her eyes turning purple again. "So...are we done?" she snickered.

"No...she's been possessed again!" Seto cried out.

"Come on, girl, fight it," Sukari said. She saw the entire match from the very start and seeing Patty summoning such dark and awful creatures disturbed her, forcing her core to go cold. "Please, Patty, don't let that thing take over. Otherwise, Luke will have no choice but to destroy the source of the Fiend's power. And that's you."

Axel grabbed her hand and held it tightly. "She'll fight it," he confided in her. "From what I've seen, Patty's strong. And if there's anyone around here who can help her break free of that thing, it's Luke. He's done this before."

"So what is he exactly?" Jim asked.

"He's a Spiritualist," said Adrian. "A mage of light from the Temple of Entuli who specializes in dispelling dark spirits from people's homes or, in Patty's case, their very hearts and souls. They use the power of their Light decks to help scare out the shadow creatures. Normally, this would have worked by now, but it appears Patty has something far stronger taking hold of her."

"That's some crazy stuff," said Jim. "Bloody hell, I hate Fiends. They always manage to find a way to cause trouble no matter where they go. Even when their powers are limited here in the Standard Dimension."

"Patty fight!" shouted Luke.

"I don't need to fight," said Patty. "Nobody is controlling me. I am doing this of my own free will. Zera will help me achieve what I want. And what I want is to be by Yuri's side no matter what. Nobody will take him away from me. And if I have to endure my father's abuse to remain here in Aquarius, then so be it. Not that it matters because Zera helps me not only fight the pain but embrace it! I use it to make me stronger! And when I get stronger, I'll eventually overthrow my father and me and my friends can be together forever!"

"Not this way, Patty," said Andre. "Not this way."

"SHUT UP! I draw! And it's just the card I needed. I activate the spell card Fulfillment of the Contract. Now, by paying 800 of my Life Points, I can bring back a Ritual monster from my Graveyard. Arise, Zera the Mant!"

BANG! The ground of Patty exploded and Zera the Mant arose from the Grave to inflict the final blow.

"You have no monsters to protect you! No back row to stop my attack. It's over! So much for all your light mumbo-jumbo! See ya, Luke. It's been real!"

Zera dashed past Patty and jumped over the crater, raising his claws to strike Luke down. But Luke would not allow that to happen. He drew his golden dagger and rolled out of the way, dodging Zera's attack, his massive claws caused the ground to quake and made the rest of the cobbled path crumble.

"I'm sorry, Pamela, but I have to do this!" Luke said, getting back on his feet and running towards her with his dagger brandished.

"So he must do what he must," said Declan. "The darkness inside Patty was too strong."

"What a waste," said Kaiba. "She was so talented."

"NO!" Sukari wailed. She covered her eyes and looked away.

"LUKE, NO!" shouted Andre. He sprinted toward him and grabbed him by the strap of his tank top. "No, Luke! I'm not going to let you kill her!"

"Andre, stop!" roared Axel.

"Release him!" Declan commanded furiously. He stood up in his chair, propping himself up with his hands. "Let him go, Andre! That's an order!"

Luke punched Andre hard on the nose. "Ooof!" Andre fell backward, landing hard on the pavement. Luke then pounced on top of Patty and pinned her arms down with his knees. Patty snarled at him and gnashed at him with her teeth like a ravenous wolverine.

"Stop! Stop!" cried Zera. "No! Don't kill her!"

"Then let her go!" Luke commanded.

"You don't understand, boy! I need her!"

"You're not going to torment this girl any longer. By blood, I release her from your bondage!"

"NOOOOO!" Zera roared.

Luke's arm was about to drop, but it was grabbed by Yuri's wrist.

"YURI!" Axel, Sukari, Adrian, and Jim shouted at once.

"Yuri?" Patty asked. "Is that you?"

"Are you okay, Patty?" Yuri cried out.

"Yuri..." Patty whispered, tears falling from her eyes. "I'm sorry..."

"Accck! Let go! You don't know what she's capable of! You!" he shouted, pointing at Andre. "Were you watching this Duel the whole time?"

"I was..." Andre said, wiping blood off his nose. "Yuri. I can explain."

"You'd better," said Yuri. He looked over his shoulder at Patty. The he gazed into Luke's eyes. The look of familiarity told him everything he needed to know about him. "Starting with you. What's wrong with her? Talk, or I swear the full weight of RAPTOR will come crashing down upon you."

"Yuri, sir," Luke said. He dropped the dagger and kicked it away, then bowed apologetically. "Yuri. Have you ever noticed Patty was a bit off since you entered high school? Anything strange with her behavior?"

"Yes..."

"It's her Zera the Mant card. I know this is hard to explain but..."

"Then don't explain it!" Yuri slowly walked towards Patty, snarling like a beast and foaming at the mouth. "I think I know what's going on. I'm starting to understand everything." He walked to Patty and suddenly she began to calm down.

"Nooo! NOOO!" Zera started to roar. He was looking more and more like a puff of smoke hovering over Patty. "Stay away! Stay away!"

"Yuri..." Patty whispered. She saw him coming towards him haloed by a bright light. "What...what's going on...you look...you look so beautiful."

Yuri's hair started waving as though it were being blasted by hurricane-force winds. The crest that usually appeared when he summoned Black Tyranno was now flashing behind him. It unleashed a great and beautiful power that turned his whole body gold.

"Yuri!" Andre said, trying to reach out to him.

"NO!" Luke said, grabbing Andre's wrist. "No! Don't touch him!"

Back in Declan's control room, the analysts sitting below were standing up in shock at the massive amounts of energy readings spiking on their computers. "Sir," a woman said, typing away at her keyboard. "Look at this! It's unbelievable."

"What's going on?" Claude demanded. "Report!"

"We're getting high readings of light energy coming from Yuri!" said a male analysis. "It's unlike anything I've ever seen before."

"They're going off the charts!" shouted another woman.

"Yuri..." Declan whispered. "There's so much light in you."

"It appears to be so strong that it's ignoring the limitations of the Standard Dimension," said Seto. "What's going on? What is he?"

"I don't know," said Declan. "But I'm beginning to understand how he was able to kill Anubis as an infant."

Back in the Standard Dimension, Sukari, Axel, Adrian, and Jim watched in amazement as they witnessed the power of The Song from the Divines.

"We've been through a lot since coming here," said Sukari, a tear slowly rolling down her cheek. "But man...is he worth it."

"He sure is," Axel said with a smile.

Yuri touched Patty's forehead and released Zera into the night. He screamed as he became a cloud of smoke and vanished into nothing. Suddenly, a column of light erupted over both of them. The incredible amount of energy started shredding their clothes to pieces. Yuri then wrapped his arms around Patty and held her tightly. "Patty..." he whispered.

"Yuri..." she moaned. "You...saved...me."

Luke grabbed Andre by the wrist and led him away with a sprint.

"Wait!" Andre cried. "Yuri..."

"Trust me! We need to go now!" The leaves all over the park shivered and trembled, and lights flickered on and off within a mile radius of where he and Patty embraced.

A white van drove to the entrance of the park driven by Saxton. Clover opened the door yelling at them to hurry. Andre and Luke jumped into the van. Clover shut the door with all her might and told Saxton to hit the gas. He smashed the pedal with his foot and the van sped away from the park. The column of light could still be seen in the sky behind them.

"Good job, Luke," Clover said, handing him a bottle of water.

"Thanks," said Luke. He unscrewed the top and gulped half of it down.

"Doesn't look like we really needed your services," said Saxton. "Seems like Yuri's beginning to understand what he really is. He truly is ready to come home."

"Don't get too excited," said Luke. He finished the rest of the water. "Yuri still has a long way to go."

"What's going to happen to Yuri and Patty?" Andre asked.

"Axel and the others will send them home," said Clover.

"What a relief," said Andre. "Do you think they'll remember any of this?"

"Adrian Gecko is good at erasing memories," said Clover. "Let him take care of that. Right now, let's head back to base. Drinks are on me guys."