Yuanfen
By 7th Librarian and Mei1105

Day 2: Meetings, Meetings, Meetings.

There was strength in carrying a secret.

The weight and darkness of her imprisonment over the last two months suddenly felt distant and even Castiel's shackles of command in her being felt lighter. The barrette, tucked out of direct sight by giving herself a ponytail, felt like it was tingling against her scalp. Though Serenity knew that was impossible - Castiel had given it a looking over when he'd seen it, asking where she'd gotten it. And had accepted it when she told him she had got it from one of her meals (technically true - Andy had been there when Lyrissa had given it to her). He and his crummy little teal rock couldn't sense the magic in it.

Serenity resisted the urge to touch it, to make sure it was still there or even look at it. She had an ally. She had hope. People willing to stop her from sliding any further down the slope Castiel was dragging her down.

But it was just a small warmth now. Not even a spark, just a tiny glow hovering on the edge between winking out or becoming a flame. She had to hide, bury it and keep it safe. Letting it build in intensity. Serenity stared at herself in the mirror she'd been provided, imagining the little light tucked away in the very center of her unbeaten heart. Hidden behind bone and flesh, shrouded under the revealing clothing she was forced to wear. No one could see it, but she knew it was there, warm and building and bubbling up inside.

Which meant it could be seen on her face and that wouldn't do at all. Not here. Serenity raised both hands to her face, covering them as if she were playing peek-a-boo and drew them back towards her ears. Under fingertips and palms, her power became manifest. A draconic plague-doctor mask that left only her mouth visible, formed out of nothing but the shadow-stuff that was the Shadow Queen's magic.

It still fit, this old mask. One she'd worn as a younger woman, playing as an Eliminator and acting the part of the villain, the cruel one, the ruthless one. Now...it was no longer an act. That ruthlessness was going to keep her alive here. Serenity Wheeler couldn't walk among monsters and keep herself together. But Doctor Death could.

She hoped.

And the little secret was warm in her chest.

The moment was ruined by banging on the door and then Castiel's voice. "Serenity! What are you doing there?! I know the clothes Chance gave you! You can't take this long putting them on because there's not anything to put on!"

The brotherly annoyance in his tone rankled her ire. "My clothes are my business! Get over yourself! If anyone tries to hit on me dressed like this, you'll just steal them from me - that's what you did with all my boyfriends!"

"It is not my fault I was the attractive one and you were the adorable one!"

"Offering to suck off any guy who will pay you five minutes of attention isn't attractive!" Serenity savored his look of irritation as she stomped out of the changing room. "And why are you riding my ass - don't you have a coffin to crawl into?"

"We're vampires. Sleep is optional, not a necessity." Castiel huffed. "But yes, I'd rather we both be sleeping. Unfortunately, our boss, the ever busy Chance, says he wants you at the lab so his pet scientist can get a baseline on you or something. And if he's not happy, I have to listen to Fushioh bitch about how now he can't get any supplies."

Serenity couldn't help but give him a smirk. "Awww, stuck playing suck-up? All that practice on my boyfriends paid off!"

"Oh, shut up and let's just go." Castiel growled, pulling her along by the arm. "It'll be sunrise soon."

"I don't need an escort." Serenity yanked her arm free, but kept pace as he led her out of the cabin. "I thought vampires were supposed to be able to take care of themselves."

"We can, but only if we're not stupid. And it'd be very stupid to underestimate demons." Castiel said, casting a wary glance around. "Even if they're supposed to be 'professionals.'

Serenity really couldn't blame him. One member of the Company of Malice would have been intimidating on their own, but the Fahr Outpost had at least thirty of them filling it. They had to be at least be seven feet tall at their minimum, covered head-to-toe in burnished armor with dark, green eyes peering out from the depths of the helms. Their skin when it was rarely visible was mottled amber scales. All of them were armed with sword, cludgel, daggers and slings or bows and arrows - moving with ease and grace that suggested all the weight of weapon and armor was nothing to them.

And they were so silent. The only noises that filled the snowy logging village was the hammer of the forges, the crackle of fires and the wind. Their armor made no noise and they spoke little if at all, their voices more like the deep rumble of slowly moving stones. Serenity watched as they passed five of them working at splitting logs and stacking them into a wagon. They did as if they'd done it all their lives, with nary a glance between them.

"Got to hand it to Chance - I'd never have thought to just take over this place and then keep up the charade by still exporting the logs the rest of the country needs. I'd have just said there was plague or something." Castiel was saying, but Serenity knew that he was talking to fill the silence rather than engage her. Back when he'd been human, her step-brother had often sang, hummed or made noise while waiting for anything. It was reassuring to her, even just a little, that even his supposed vampiric superiority didn't completely remove his little weakness.

They passed by the mine - an angled pit covered by a wood-lean to that emitted the rhythmic clanging of mining equipment and the occasional flare of light from its depths. Serenity had never been down in it, but she hoped that they dug into a Balrog or mutant zombies or something that would blast outwards and destroy this whole damn operation. Put an end to the churning pot of evil before it could boil.

But it seemed like her suffering was going to have to continue. As she and Castiel slid into the lab, it was already occupied. Over in the corner were two figures that Serenity was always surprised by when she saw them together. Crump, his baggy body shoved into purple gym clothes, grunting and straining on a bench press as Weevil stood over him, spotting for him.

"C'mon, tubby, you did ten already! What's five more?" The bug duelist barked, his voice surprisingly intimidating for a small man wearing beetle-themed gym wear. "You could do twenty last week!"

"It - was - lighter- " Crump wheezed as he shoved the bar up again and it shook a bit. "Weevil - I - can't -"

"You can, Crumbs and you're gonna!" Weevil hooked his arms on the bar with him, helping him guide it back down and then up again. "I got you - now give me those last four!"

"-Heavy-"

"This is lighter than that tub you call a belly and you carry that all day, every day! Now lift!"

Serenity snorted, drawing the attention of both men. "Oh don't mind me boys - I'm just astonished that Weevil knows more than just exercising his right hand."

"Wheeler-lite don't bother a man when he's working out - it's rude." Weevil said and then looked down at Crump. "Don't look at her, look at the weights!"

"Yes Crump - look at the weights," Castiel's voice was brittle. "Or the next rep will end on your throat."

"Oh just suck him off and have done with it!" Serenity snapped at her step-brother.

"Nobody is sucking anything in my lab!" a new voice appeared from the other corner. "It's hard enough to sterilise wooden walls as it is!"

Serenity twisted to look at her, unsurprised that Chance's 'pet scientist' was an attractive woman. But what was surprising was the woman had red eyes and skin darker than coal, her silver hair in a professional shortcut. Her outfit was also revealing, but over it was a labcoat and she was wielding her tablet like it was a weapon.

"You're not a human!" Serenity blurted out without realizing - outside of the Company, everyone related to Chance she'd met so far had been an ordinary person.

"She's a drow." Castiel said, looking at her with only slight interest. "Dark elf. Your stereotypical, angsty, matriarchal man-hater worshipper of the spider goddess. Dangerous, lethal and yet every man wants to fix her."

He ducked as a pen hissed through the air like a javelin. "Okay - you! Out!" When Castiel just glowered at her, the drow armed herself with a syringe. "Out! My lab, my rules! Or you lose the other eye!"

Castiel glowered, but when he looked to Serenity for back-up, she just gave him an arm fold. Grunting in annoyance, he stomped for the door. "Serenity, use your best professional judgement. Don't let her do anything you don't trust in the slightest."

The door slammed shut as he left and Serenity glared at it venomously as she felt the chains of command tighten on her being.

"He's got more sense than most vampires I've met - bit of a pity that I can't show off how well my dart game is." The woman said she came up to Serenity and extended her hand. "I'm Saslae. I'm not an official doctor, but I'm still glad to meet another professional here. Your career has been amazing, Doctor Wheeler."

Hearing the proper, unmocking, unironic use of her title for the first time in months mollified Serenity somewhat, and she took the hand. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'd love to hear your stories when we have the time later. I've been doing medicine for over a hundred years and it's amazing how much there still is to learn." She released Serenity's hand and held up her tablet. "Which is why I asked to borrow you for the morning. Modern Shadowkind medicine might as well be in the Dark Ages for all we know about how magic and medicine interact, so we need as much information as we possibly can get."

Serenity found herself curious despite herself. "I'm new to this whole magic thing, but I kind of assumed that with things like healing potions and so on, magical medicine wasn't very deep because it didn't need to be."

"But they're not well-researched or given formulas that makes them accessible to the Shadowkind population at large. And there are things we can learn from magic that we can apply to modern medicine." Saslae said, slowly filling with the energy Serenity recognized as someone who truly enjoyed what she did for a living. "For example, did you know that a vampire's body is the perfect environment to culture antibodies for any disease? And that all vampires are universal donors?"

"No, I didn't." Serenity looked over her hand, as if seeing herself for the first time since her transformation. "Any diseases? Like Ebola?"

"I haven't gotten that far in testing yet and it'd be unprofessional of me to test it on live subjects. But for now, I want to get a baseline measure of your new body - vampires may be undead, but you'd be surprised how many newborns don't really think about all the changes they undergo and what's happened to them. They just want blood and to show off how strong they are. So if you hop on the arm lift, we can start taking your stats." Saslae eyed Serenity up and down, her frown apologetic. "Chance's dress code is a bit...uncooperative with my work sometimes. Would you like me to get you a sports bra? It will be a little small, though…"

"No complaints over here," came Weevil's utterly predictable input. Serenity tried to recall if there was anything in Castiel's commands about not killing the little roach, particularly as Crump snorted, and then groaned as he nearly dropped the barbell on his chest.

"Sports bra please."

"Of course." Saslae said briskly and turned, vanishing into a walk-in closet that had been wedged into space just a smidge too small for it. Serenity had to wonder if that stack of clothes was going to eat the drow whole, and she questioned what had prompted Chance to ship his pet scientist and her temporary lab half way across the ocean with him. Suppose he likes to keep an eye on her - make sure she's doing what she's supposed to be, and not coming up with some kind of poison that can kill vampires. Which begged the question, what did he use Saslae for?

"Aaaaaand fifteen!" Weevil whooped as with a crash Crump finally dropped the bar back into the rack. "See! Whoever said you were fat is a moron!" He slapped the other man in the pec. "Good work Crumbs!"

Serenity had been in the camp for two months now. She'd seen Weevil milling about, getting in the way and being chased out of where he wasn't supposed to be. She'd also seen Crump, less often, but still occasionally stomping around doing whatever it was he did when he wasn't busy summoning hordes of demons into the living world. But they really were an unlikely pair, and she wondered just what had prompted them to get so chummy over the last two months.

"What makes you an expert on body building all of a sudden, Weevil?" Folding her arms, she leaned against the desk, looking the bug duelist up and down. Magic might have given him a boost, but he was still small and scrawny enough that Joey could have lived up to his lifelong pledge to snap the little roach in two. Crump was another matter though - whoever had called him fat wasn't entirely wrong, but some of that immense bulk was definitely muscle, and Serenity wasn't sure she fancied finding out how much.

"Being an expert makes me an expert, Wheeler. I've been hitting the gym for decades." Weevil scoffed at her disbelief. Then, he grabbed the weights Crump had been struggling with and lifted it up and over his head. With one hand. He snickered at Serenity's gawk, then lowered the weight back to the rack with nary a wobble or struggle. "See that, Crumbs? Work out like me and all the ladies stare!"

Serenity didn't have a response, but she had to give Weevil this one. He was short, buggy and petty, but you didn't get that kind of strength and muscle control except through hard work. If he put all that effort into dueling fair, he'd have been as good as Joey. You think he'd have seen that.

Crump hadn't missed Weevil's trick, either, his expression focused as he wiped his face and chugged some water. He drained the bottle, then tossed it and the towel back into the bench. "What's next? I can keep going."

"Take a breather. Walk it off. You pushed yourself hard today."

Crump looked disappointed, but started to walk around the perimeter of Saslae's makeshift lab. He had only made it halfway when he jerked to a halt and stared at Serenity openly. "That necklace…!"

Serenity's hand flew to the choker, clutching the teardrop ruby. "What about it?"

"That was the Shadow Queen's." Crump said slowly - he looked uncertain, as if he was debating with himself. "I used to work for her."

"You did?" Weevil asked in surprise. "As what? Water boy?"

"I was her right-hand man!" Crump protested, puffing out his chest...then he deflated. "Well, maybe her right thumb, at least...I was...kind of bad. She just kept me around because I'm a conduit."

"So you were a flunky. I've been there, done that, too. But you moved up." Weevil pointed out and gestured to the longhouse they were in. "You're the governor of this joint, aren't you?"

Crump gave a hollow laugh. "Governor of a 'city' whose population wasn't more than fifty and ran itself logging and carving wood! The Shadow Spawn gave it to me as a pity job - thinking it'd make me happy." His fists clenched. "Fat and content...like I was some kind of pig…"

He gave the necklace another look, a ugly one. "I'll show her. I'll show her brats, too. I'll show them all...Lord Crump is worth their respect and if I can't get that…" His face drew grim, dark. "Fear will do, too."

"Big words, big guy. But you're not quite big enough to get there yet." Weevil said as he came up alongside him and pulled him towards the door. "Let's get some grub and then Chance will probably want you back in the summoning circle. And then after that, you can beat the pants off Fushioh. Always makes me feel better."

"He doesn't wear pants."

A sigh from Weevil. "It's an expression…"

Serenity watched them go, uncertain of how to take it. It was almost comical to see Crump and Weevil declare themselves dangerous...but Weevil had magic now. Powers from a god and a Reaping Tree and his weird Fusion Parasite monsters. And Crump….she'd seen enough angry, desperate men in her life to know that once he set a course to a goal like this, he'd see it through. No matter the cost.

She touched her mask. I can't let myself waste away, either. If I don't improve, then there's no way I'm ever going to be out of my step-brother's shadow. And I have to do that. I have to see Lyrius again.

Her heart ached at the thought of him. He'd been her guide to this world of magic and had shaken twenty years of dust, bad dreams and tedious living off her. She'd just gotten her second lease on life and she wasn't just about to sign it away.

"Here you are, Doctor." Saslae had returned, holding up a purple-and-blue sports bra. "You'll have to use the closet to change - I don't exactly have room for privacy or a shower in here."

"Thank you. It'll be fine." Serenity took the bra and started for the closet, the little flicker of hope hidden in her heart solidifying her resolve. I have to see him again. And to do that, I have to learn everything I can about myself now.

And, hopefully, make a new friend in the process.

TTTTTTT

Andy felt uncomfortable. Like he'd shown up for a job interview, with a fake resume, without any qualifications, and without even reading the job description.

But it wasn't a board of directors that sat before him, with glasses of pristine water and suits that cost more than he made in a month. It was the Shadow Spawn, drinking from mugs or energy drink cans, and dressed like college students at their early morning lecture.

It wasn't an image that inspired confidence.

Only one of them had physically turned up - they were in Maria's office in Rougeport. The only thing that gave the room any personality was the tank of tropical fish in the corner. The owner sat behind her desk, looking for all the world like a disapproving headteacher. Andy didn't understand how Lyrissa could look so unaffected, tucked away in the corner by the fish tank, only breaking her calm facade to roll her eyes occasionally.

Four of the other five Shadow Spawn were present only as holograms. Melissa was absent for reasons known only to herself, and Vladimir was clearly annoyed by this for he had been snippy ever since the call had begun. That snippiness had turned to quiet concern as Andy had explained the theft of his sword and the discovery of Serenity. Andy could almost see the wheels turning calmly in Vladimir's head as he considered the implications of the information. A real leader. A good king...

At least until he delved into what he knew of Serenity's history. Andy felt the shift in the air the second Lyrius's name left his lips. Vladimir's calm composure tensed. His hologram rose slowly out of its seat, his stance braced like a fighter about to go in the ring.

"You left that man's wife - a vampire - to roam this island?"

Whatever confidence that Andy had gleaned during the retelling now evaporated - suddenly he was sixteen, and facing down the Shadow Spawn for the first time in the tournament. "Yes."

"Let her go back to her sire - a man who you already knew to be dangerous, has powerful soul magic at his disposal and who was involved in a high speed hijacking of a full bus in broad daylight which ended in an entire block in downtown Las Vegas going up in flames."

"...technically, the bus wasn't full-" Andy saw Maria shoot him a look and he shut his mouth again. Even through a hologram, he could feel the anger rising through each word that came from Vladimir's lips, like a demon climbing a set of steps.

"Left both of them and who knows how many other vampires they might have brought with them to roam our home, drinking from whoever they want, turning whoever they wish-"

"Okay Vlad, he gets it," Leopold seemed to take pity on Andy, and interrupted with a firm tone that would not be spoken over, even by his older brother. "And he's already explained his reasons - instead of having one newly turned vampire in our custody, we now have a means to get both of them, and any more that may be here into our custody. I think that sounds like a sensible decision-"

"Putting our civilians at risk in any way is not a sensible decision, Leo!" Not for the first time that meeting, Andy wondered if auras of fear worked through hologram. He certainly felt himself taking an involuntary step back from Vladimir's rage. "Do you have any idea how the people would react if they found out that we allowed vampires to roam the island for even a single day? That we let them feed, or turn or worse? We'd be right back to the dark ages, with everyone hating us - accusing us of being tyrants! All the trust we've worked to gain in the last five years - gone! - all because Andy here felt a moment of empathy!"

He spat the word like poison. Andy could feel himself growing smaller with every passing second. He hadn't even considered the bigger picture in the alley - how fragile Arcadia still was. At the time he had tried to argue that it wasn't safe, that Serenity could attack anyone, but he hadn't been thinking about the stability of the island - only the moral implications of someone else being hurt. So he had let himself be convinced by both women - allowed Lyrissa to use her moth, and taken Serenity's promise that she wouldn't hurt anyone at face value. Paltry. Token. Flimsy. He felt like a fool.

"He's right," Maria was glaring at him with a hard blue gaze. "You let her play you. If nothing else you failed to consider how much of a danger that woman could be on her own. If she truly has one of mother's necklaces as you say, the damage she could unleash with that should have been more than enough reason to apprehend her."

"She doesn't know what the necklace can do," desperate to salvage the situation, Andy jumped back in. "And even if she did, the Orichaclos seemed to be blocking it-"

"Oh so her sire has control of it instead?" Kurtis interjected, with a roll of his eyes. "Well that makes everything better!"

"What is the big deal?" In direct contrast to his three brothers, Tyson was clearly wired. As he spoke he tossed another empty can of energy drink over his shoulder - Andy really hoped that they were all winding up in the bin. "The island hasn't blown up yet, has it? Leo's right - this way we get two vamps instead of one. Nobody's died yet. Just work out a plan. Grab them both. That doesn't work, we grab the woman - we have ways of getting what we need from her."

Andy felt his stomach turn unpleasantly. "What ways?"

"Nothing as sinister as your imagination is cooking up, Mister Markova," Leopold's calming voice put in. "Truth spells are utterly painless."

"That won't work," Andy felt himself arguing, and not really sure why. "A sire's command is unbreakable. Serenity's been commanded not to give any information up. I don't think some flimsy truth spell is going to overcome that."

Vladimir's gaze, even through the sunglasses, was cold. "You'd be surprised what our 'flimsy' spells can do."

He remembered the panic in Serenity's eyes - the way her familiar had screamed wordlessly in frustration at her inability to just say the damn words when she needed to. She'd go mad first. The spell would kill her.

"Regardless of whether it was the right move or not, we should begin coming up with a strategy," Leopold leaned forward in his seat. "If my reading is correct, vampires must feed from a live source at least every few days. If your tracker will not work against whatever wards they have in place around their hideout, we can be sure that she will be lured out soon at your promise of free blood."

"And you think it'll be that simple to just catch her?" Andy pointed out. "I know you guys are tough, but I've seen vampires before - including her sire. I've seen them fight. They're machines. The whole reason we decided against catching her last night was because they are stupid tough, and she's probably been commanded to fight to the death to avoid capture."

Maybe there was a glitch in the holograms, but he was sure for a second, he saw all of the Shadow Spawn exchange a look. It was only for a second, but when it passed, Vladimir's face was pinched.

"One vampire, no matter how 'stupid tough' won't be able to take down six Shadow Spawn," Maria lifted her chin just a fraction.

"Still it probably wouldn't hurt to give ourselves every advantage," Leopold put in thoughtfully. "Come up with a fully formed plan, and make everything as low risk as possible."

"Agreed. She is a victim in all this, both of our mother and her sire. And even if she wasn't a vampire, her presence here means Lyrius will follow. And that man brings trouble with him." Vladimir said with finality. "Andy, we will come up with a plan to help her and protect our people and get back to you. Meeting over."

And with that curt dismissal, the holograms began to snap out, one by one, until it was just him and Maria left. The Shadow Spawn of water unfolded her arms, and walked briskly to the door, leaving without even a farewell. Andy couldn't help but wonder if she was already calling Vladimir as she walked, ready to continue the discussion by themselves - the two oldest siblings were by far the closest.

A scoff caught his attention, and he turned to face it. Ripples from the fishtank danced across Lyrissa's smirk.

"What?" he demanded.

"It's astonishing, really." Her amusement had crept into her eyes, the corners crinkling in pleasure. "How one mention of father's name can cause so many people to lose their minds."

Andy didn't have to be looking at her to know she wasn't talking about the Spawn. He looked at her, and the satisfaction that permeated her entire being, and felt his back go up. "You shouldn't be proud of that - the panic he can induce."

She gave him a look that made it perfectly clear that she couldn't give the faintest of a damn what he thought of her or her father. "Haven't you ever heard that the greatest respect comes not from one's allies, but their enemies?"

"The Shadow Spawn aren't our enemies," Andy scowled at her.

"You're right - they'd have to be competent for that," Lyrissa informed him, as they left the office and entered the sun drenched corridor of the governor's hall. "My point still stands though. I would rather have the fear of the greatest villain than the love of a thousand sycophants."

Andy rolled his eyes. "What would you know about competent ruling? Your mother kept this entire island in line with demons and an iron fist. Everyone lived their lives in fear."

"Really? You asked all one hundred and forty five thousand citizens during the four week's you were here for the tournament, did you?" Lyrissa gave him a pointed look. "Mother wasn't perfect, but at least the economy was stable. The towns weren't decaying. And the monsters kept to the forests, not wandering into the settlements to attack random citizens, or crashing fundraisers."

Andy wanted to argue, but he couldn't deny the grain of truth in her statements. He wasn't blind - in the two months he'd been here half of the fights he'd been in could trace their roots back to the slow creeping poverty of the population, and the other half were indeed monster attacks. And while the oppressive terror that had blanketed the population during the tournament was long gone, the shine had disappeared from the streets instead, like age and neglect were no longer being held at the door.

"They're doing the best they can," he said, eventually. Lyrissa shook her head, like a disappointed teacher.

"They're papering over cracks, Dragon Master. You heard Vladimir - all that matters to him is making sure that the people don't have a reason to hate them. That's why they've let you help. Because if everyone is looking at you, and patting you on the back for saving them from monsters, no one is asking the important questions, like how did Ohio Jones get into the Palace in the first place?'."

She picked up her step, leaving Andy to watch her go with her question ringing in his ears. Between racing to the party and then meeting Serenity he hadn't given the duel or his opponent last night much thought. How did he get into the Palace? He knew that the Shadow Spawn had sealed all the entrances after the Tournament, and Vladimir had confirmed it when he had first arrived two months ago. I wonder how often they're checking them? He made a mental note to bring it up the next time he spoke to them - maybe offer to go check them himself if he was passing by. Who knows what else might still be in there - could be a lot more sinister than a cursed key...

OOO

Keelhaul Key was mostly as Fran remembered it. Cobblestone streets, medieval-style stone buildings and the ever-present smell of raw fish.

But it was at least warm and sunny and gorgeous to look at.

To her mild surprise and her annoyance, the plan for finding Serenity was to have Dracula perform divination to find her by way using a set of Duel Monsters cards Lyrius, Dracula and Serenity all shared. They hadn't used it before because the spell couldn't reasonably search the Earth itself, but Arcadia was much smaller. So Dracula had kicked them all out of the hotel room they'd rented to explore the city while she worked and to gather what clues they could, if any.

This was almost too easy last time. Go to a new city, meet some member of the resistance or get attacked by a Shadow Spawn. Might as well have been giant neon signs saying 'This way to the plot!'. Fran slid down a sidealley, emerging on a street filled with people shopping at a famer's market. Sliding into the crowd, she meandered about, checking out wares and listening in where she could. Five years of bounty hunting had given her sharp ears and a low profile - and had taught her not to be disappointed when all she learned was who was sleeping with who, whose cat had been shitting in the neighbor's flowerbed again and why precisely cod was better than salmon. All argued with a passion usually reserved for politics. Or sports.

Bounty hunting had also taught her to appreciate not standing out in a crowd. And to notice when you were. At first, she'd felt a few glances here and there as she made her way through the stalls but had attributed it to the eyepatch and scar. Most people couldn't help but stare or offer looks of sympathy.

Fran preferred that to being recognized, if she was honest. She'd attended Arcadian Independence Day a year after the tournament and hadn't been able to set foot outside her room without being mobbed by grateful people and challengers. Andy had lapped it up and she was surprised about his cavalier, easygoing attitudes towards it all and with the people. She was reluctant to admit it, but he was born to play the hero role. He had that special something that let him connect to the people while remaining distant, to speak and get people to listen even if he wasn't saying much of anything. Well, better a hero than a politician with skills like that…

Stan had been somewhere in the middle, really. Never bothered by their status, but never shying away from it either. He'd seemed to be handling their life after the tournament with grace, which was why it had been such a shock when he had been the first to spiral out of control. Two years of holding it together calmly crumbled in weeks. Even now, three years later, she was always watching him during their brief, intermittent video chats, carefully searching for any sign that he wasn't okay again.

This island fucked us up, Fran cast a bitter eye around the busy street of shops. So why am I here again?

She hadn't lied - she did want to help Serenity. It sounded bizzare to an outsider, worrying so much about someone she had only known and hung out with for half a day, but as the last two months had gone on, she had realised she owed the woman a lot. Not just for teaching her to gamble, or taking her to her first strip club, but for showing her what real fun was like. Until that moment, she hadn't even realised that she hadn't been truly happy in a long time. She had just accepted that her life was bounty hunting, hotel rooms across the country, and Andy. She had told herself that she was happy, without even really knowing what it felt like. It might have taken Andy almost killing them with stupidity to make that break, but Serenity had knocked those first cracks into the wall.

Maybe that's why I'm here. She realised, looking at her reflection in the window display. Closure. I need to put the tournament and everything that it did to all of us behind me. Then I can finally put Andy and that part of my life behind me too.

"Pretty aren't they?"

She jumped, surprised to see that someone had sidled up to her and was admiring the jewellery that she had been giving the thousand yard stare to display in the store window. She felt flustered that she hadn't even noticed him approaching. "I guess. I always thought they were just rocks at the end of the day…"

"Oh I wasn't talking about the necklace," the young man turned deliberately to look her up and down, his eyes lingering on her chest with a smirk on his face. He had fuzzy goat legs under his pants, a broad chest and horns curling back out of his head and pointed ears.

A satyr, Fran realised, and she scowled, resisting the urge to cross her arms over her chest. I so do not need this right now…"Really? You think that's classy or something?" With a scoff of disgust, she turned on her heel and made to leave.

"Hey, hey, no harm meant!" The satyr protested, holding his palms out. "Jace just felt like he recognized you from somewhere and didn't want to insult the lady by just assuming I had!"

Fran ignored him, pushing back through the crowd. But the tromp-tromp-tromp of hoofbeats on cobblestone trailed after her."Quit perpetuating the stereotype all satyrs are horny frat boys and buzz off!"

"Hey, no!" To her surprise, Jace scurried around in front of her, blocking her way and he looked irritated. "Why don't you stop perpetuating the human stereotype of assuming all us Shadowkind have to buy into your morality and date someone outside your species?"

Are you kidding me? Fran wanted to clean her ears out to make sure she was hearing correctly. She was also uncomfortably aware that some people had started to stare. "I'm not! I'm just not interested. Period. You could be human, satyr or a freaking dragon and I still wouldn't be interested."

"Tch - sounds like a human excuse." Jace huffed at her, folding his arms. "You're not interested in anything that can challenge you."

Fran had heard this sort of response before. It was the standard response to any guy being shot down. Call them frigid. Call them easy. Or in this case apparently, call them racist. It was beyond pathetic - the sad attempt of a man who couldn't handle being rejected and had to resort to insults to shore up his self esteem. "Listen Jace, or whatever the hell your name is - I have no problem with a challenge. What I do have a problem with is a guy who thinks that staring at a woman's rack is a great way of introducing himself!"

Jace didn't so much as blink. "Funny. I heard the Unicorn Maiden likes to hand out kisses to guys she barely knows."

The crowd around them erupted into murmurs and whispers, most of them, to Fran's annoyance, were in agreement with Jace's statement and how they'd heard the stories about her first duel in the Thousand-Year-Door Tournament. God dammit, you put one asshole in his place and people take exactly the wrong thing out of it!

Worse yet, her cover was effectively blown. And Jace was grinning at her, sure in his victory. And it was a smile Andy had worn so many times when he'd won their arguments and suddenly, Fran was angry. And the phrase, 'in for a penny, in for a pound', made so much sense right now. "Alright, mister god's gift to women, if you want something from me, put your deck where your mouth is. Or am I about to find out what all your girlfriends did and that it's all just talk?"

More whispers and murmurs, along with a few 'ooohs!' and Jace growled. "Fine. We'll do this. Five minutes. In front of the new fountain. I win, you let me buy you lunch. You win-"

"I win, you still buy me lunch, but you give me the money and get lost." Fran finished for him.

"Deal."

Five minutes later, they were standing in front of the fountain. It was a gaudy thing, a giant angled skeleton key mounted in the center, with a ship sailing through the ring. Water gushed out of the end, splashing into the pool below. It was done up in marble, gold and the water was ridiculously clear. And for some reason, being near it made Fran more irritated than before and she had a sudden urge to kick it down.

Or maybe it was because she couldn't kick Jace's teeth down his throat from twenty feet away. She shuffled her deck and slid it into her Duel Disk. The device was one of the new models Dracula had provided - lightweight, barely the size of a cellphone and unfolded into a sleek, rounded design. "You better have my money when I win."

"I do. And it'll be better spent on you when I win." Jace retorted.

"LET'S DUEL!" (FLP: 80000 JLP: 8000)

"The saying's 'age before beauty', Jace, so I guess that leaves a little brat like you coming in third!" Fran unfolded her hand and then grabbed a sixth card from her deck. "My draw!"

Her good eye flicked over the cards and a strategy began to coalesce. "I activate the continuous spell card Art Attack!" The card shimmered into existence, its image depicting the Dark Magician Girl posing for a Mona Lisa style art piece. "That's for later and this is for now - Cat's Invitation! This spell lets me add one 'Cat' monster from my deck to my hand!"

The Duel Disk shuffled her deck and then spat out the card she wanted, prompting her to slap it down onto the tray. "I summon Cat's Ear Tribe in attack mode!"

Her new monster was actually three in one. Three cats, all bipedal and barely up to her knees and dressed in camo shorts, vests and helmets. They all saluted her, then caught sight of each other and promptly began to playfully pounce and wrestle with one another. (200/100)

"Hey I read about your deck!" Jace jabbed an accusing finger across the field. "That's not what you used in the Tournament!"

"Uhh...no, because the Tournament was five years ago, and I've evolved since then." Fran said dryly as she grabbed a card from her hand and slid it into her disk. "But if these guys are too much for you, then feel free to back out. I set this card and end my turn."

"They look like something I scrape off my hooves," Jace sneered and drew for his turn. "Let me show you some real monsters, blondie! I activate Feasts of the Wild LV5! This card lets me take two level five warriors in my hand or graveyard and summon them!" Twin fires erupted in front of him as he grabbed his two chosen cards. "Come out, Swamp Battleguard Max and Lava Battleguard Max!"

The fires died away, revealing his monsters. Fran recognized the burly, shorts-wearing, horned humanoids - the one in green was Swamp Battleguard and the one in red was Lava Battleguard. But these were clearly upgrades, as both looked a lot more savage with extra muscle, battlescars and tribal warpaint apparently seared into their skin. (2000/1800) (1800/2000)

"Look good, right? But my spell leaves them a bit more like beta males than an alpha - no effects and they can't attack. 'Sokay, though, cause I've got a real champ right here!" Jace slapped down a third card with a wild grin. "I tribute both of my monsters to summon Battleguard Champ!"

His current monsters faded away into sparkles as a figure leapt out of the background and crashed down in front of Jace in a classic, three-point superhero landing. It was another Battleguard monster, but bigger and burlier than the last two. His shorts were tattered spandex and the war paint on his face reminded Fran of a luchador mask. And his weapon was a club that had a rock atop that looked awkward until he raised it to his mouth and jabbed a finger at her, growling in unintelligible gibberish at her. You've got to be kidding me - he's calling me out for a wrestling match? (0/0)

Jace was still smiling as cards slid out of his graveyard. "What good is a champion without an audience, though? My monster's first effect means when I summon, all the monsters I used to do it are brought back to cheer him on!"

In twin flashes, his Swamp and Lava Battleguards both reappeared. Catching sight of Champ, they both began to growl excitedly and wave their clubs in the air. "And this time, they still have their effects still so they both give each other five hundred extra attack points!" (2000- 2500) (1800-2300)

Champ revelled in the apparent praise, urging them for more and then jabbing his finger at Cat's Ear Tribe, who were still busy play-wrestling. With a roar and beating of his chest, Batleguard Champ charged forwards and wound up his microphone-club for a crushing blow. "And here's the best part - my other guys can't hit you, but when Champ does, he gets all of their attack points! So your little kittens are going to be a lot dead!" (0 - 4800)

"Trap card open - Forest Veil!" Fran snapped her fingers and the trap lifted, one of her hand cards vanishing in a burst of light. "I banish one beast monster from my hand and the beasts on the field can't be destroyed in battle!"

Jace gawked as Champ's swing just whiffed through the suddenly translucent cats. His monster took a few more desperate swings, but the cats barely noticed. Then the satyr got his mouth working again. "So what? You still take over four thousand points of damage!"

Fran just smiled sweetly at him. "About that - did you know when you attack Cat's Ear Tribe, your monster's ATK automatically becomes two hundred? And I just made them immune to destruction in battle…" (4800-200)

The three cats all suddenly got up and glared at Battleguard Champ. In the next instant, they had all produced ludicrous over-sized guns with multiple barrels and chainfed belts from their tiny pockets. They all opened fire at once, dozens of little suction cup darts with flags saying 'BANG! BANG!' on them landed all over the Champ. He blinked dumbly, then raised his club again with a building roar - and promptly exploded.

The crowd cheered and laughed a bit, Jace's expression going from stunned to annoyed. "Yeah, so you won one fight! Since Champ is gone, my other monsters can attack and Lava Battleguard Max is going to smash your cats to pieces!"

Lava Battleguard, enraged at the loss of his hero, charged across the field on all fours like an ape and jumped so he could bring down his spiked club in a two-handed smash. Only for another barrage of suction darts to pincushion him and turn him into pixels. (2300-200)

"Whoops - I forgot to mention Forest Veil lasts for the whole turn. And that my monster's effect always happens?" Fran said with an innocent expression as Jace fumed. "Well, maybe blundering in like that will teach you a lesson, but I doubt it."

"You'll be the one learning a lesson!" Jace snapped and swept cards into his disk. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

"And I draw for mine." Fran did so. "Hey, Jace."

"Hey, what."

"You know, you're supposed to take me out to lunch if I win - but acting like an arrogant, pissy sleazeball isn't really selling yourself to me." Fran noted as she looked at her, then smirked. "Oh wait- I'm sorry. I was assuming this was an act and not the one-track mind you call a personality!"

Before Jace could respond, she continued with her turn. "During my Standby Phase, Art Attack gains one counter." A light appeared above her card.

"Then I'm summoning my Key Mouse in attack mode." Her monster was even smaller than her Cat's Ear Tribe; a soft fluffing looking monse with a key at the tip of its tail. It squeaked cutely and then again in startlement as the cat's all took notice of it at the same time. (100/100)

Fran ignored the little drama. "You wanted unicorns, right? So how about I give you one? I tune my level one Cat's Ear Tribe and my level one Key Mouse together!" The monsters both vanished into rings of light that spun about on her field and then began to overlap. "The quiet of the forest is your voice, the storm your might and the beauty of nature your soul! Synchro Summon! Level 2! The Unicorn Maiden!"

The new monster was young, dressed in plain white clothing with long flowing blonde hair and her hands and feet showing clear signs of heavy use. But she shared the same facial structure as Fran herself and her eyes held an unconquerable will in them. (400/400)

Fran knew all of her cards - she had played them so many times she knew every inch of their appearance. But as the image resolved, she found herself staring at the Unicorn Maiden with new eyes, tracking every detail of her face for something she could recognise. Who are you? Are you the woman who met Lyrius, Vivan and Jaller that night? Or are you just me?

But there wasn't any answer to the questions and she could already see Jace's mouth opening to comment on the new monster, so she cut him up with a sharp sweep of her hand. "I activate my monster's effect! Once per turn, I can revive one of my level four or lower beasts from my graveyard or my banished pile! Come out, Different Dimension Unicorn!"

The Maiden put two fingers into her mouth and whistled sharply. Almost instantly in response was the sound of hoofbeats and a unicorn bolted out of a nearby alleyway. Unlike the standard white-bodied, blue-maned type, this one was a punk take on the design. Dark gray coat, heavy eyeliner, neon green and bubblegum pink mane and tail. "And when this monster is summoned from the banished pile, I draw one card!" (1200/1200)

Snapping it up, Fran pointed and the Maiden deftly leapt onto her Unicorn's back. "Now I turn my two monsters together!"

"Wait - what!? Since when can a Synchro Monster be a Tuner, too!?" Jace demanded, but there was no answer as the Maiden kicked her heels and Different Dimension Unicorn bolted off, both of them vanishing into a trail of light that wafted over Fran's field.

"The rise of dawn, the breath of life and the light of tomorrow - you are their herald and ruler in one! Grace the despairing past with hope and joy as you descend! Level Six! Synchro Summon! Dawnwave Unicorn!" Fran watched as a new unicorn galloped into existence amidst the wafting light. Her coat was pure as new fallen snow, her mane and tail a striation of red, yellow, orange and even pink - the color of the sunrise. (1500/1000)

"Now that's more like what I was expecting," Jace said in condescending approval as he folded his arms. "But isn't it a little on the weak side for a woman who is renowned for furious beasts?"

"There's a thing called 'strategy', but I suppose it won't have any meaning for you since it's more than two syllables." Fran drawled, savoring how Jace's eye twitched in annoyance. "I activate Dawnwave Unicorn's effect! I banish the top card of my deck and what type it is triggers Dawnwave's effect!"

She pulled up the top card, revealing a spell that dissolved into light. "A spell card means Dawnwave's ATK score is doubled!" The unicorn snorted, her mane and tail flowing more sharply as the colors began to flicker with flames. (1500-3000)

"Battle! Destroy Swamp Battleguard Max! Sunlight Charge!" Dawnwave obeyed, dirt flying under hooves as the synchro monster bolted towards the burly barbarian with her horn lowered.

"Not happening, sister - I got a trap card! Battleguard Howling!" Jace laughed as his card lifted and his Battleguard roared incredibly loud, the noise actually sending Dawnwave skidding back across the field. "Now that you attacked my monster, you take damage equal to your monster's base attack score and then it's bounced off the field right back into your Extra Deck!"

"Dammit!" Fran grit her teeth as the soundwaves crashed over her, almost rattling her bones as Dawnwave began to evaporate into wisps. "When Dawnwave would leave the field for any reason, she's banished instead!" The unicorn faded away completely. (FLP: 8000 -1500-6500)

"Eh? Fine, doesn't matter-" Jace shrugged. "She's still out of your reach!"

"You said you studied my deck, dumbass, but you clearly weren't paying attention or you'd know that's exactly where I want her! Spell card! Unicorn Beacon!" Fran held up the card and a tear in reality opened in front of her. "I banish a card from my hand and then summon my level five or higher Beast from the banished pile!"

The tear split open wider as Dawnwave Unicorn jumped out. She snorted in irritation, but didn't charge again as the colors in her mane lit up and Fran reached for her deck. "I banish the top card of my deck again!" She picked it up, then it faded away. "That one is a monster, but the battle phase is over so that effect will have to wait."

A card appeared behind her monster. "I set this card and end my turn."

"My move." Jace drew. "You know, maybe I was wrong about you being the Unicorn Maiden. I mean, anyone can just use Beast monsters and pretty ponies. The Unicorn Maiden is one who defeated the Shadow Queen and all the other nasties she had on the island - but you seem like you're not even keeping up with me!"

"I try and make a habit of leaving trash in the dust." Fran snapped in reply.

"Uh-huh, sure, sure," Jace flipped around a card in his hand. "Anyway, I activate Battleguard Meeting. I discard a card and then get to add two Battleguard Monsters from my deck to my hand. The catch is, I can't summon anything that isn't a Battleguard this turn. But, ya know, I don't think that's going to be a problem!"

He shoved a card into his graveyard and fished out his two chosen monsters from his deck. "So I'll start my turn off by summon Forest Battleguard in attack mode!" The monster was of a lighter hue than Swamp Battleguard, a bit shorter and stockier and wielding a stone hatchet instead of a club. (1000/1200)

"Now, in case you hadn't noticed, Battleguards form battle pairs and Forest's effect lets me summon another level five Battleguard from my hand! Like Jungle Battleguard!" Jace slapped down the card and the new monster appeared. He was bigger than Swamp or Forest, his skin so dark a green it was almost black and dripping in jungle vines. He also had a stone hatchet. "And with his big brother around, Forest gets a bit of a boost - now his level is five and his scores double!" (2400/1000)

Forest Battleguard caught sight of Jungle and flexed, suddenly bulking up to twice his size and the two monster's fistbumped. (1000/1200-2000/2400)

Jace lifted his hand, clearly getting ready to order his monsters to attack her - and then lowered it, chuckling. "Naw, better plan, that's more fun! I tribute all three of my monsters to summon the leader of the Battleguard Tribe! Shaman Battleguard in defense mode!"

The warriors vanished in unison, replaced by a monster who wasn't nearly as intimidating. Still having the ragged hair, horns and beastial mouth of his brethren, his leaner body was shrouded in wrappings, strips of leather and chains. (2000/3000)

"Why would I do that, you ask? Because let's be honest, blondie, you insulted my race, me and are a humano-centric jerk. And I want to teach you a lesson. So Shaman Battleguard's effect activates! Wild Lullaby!" Jace snapped his fingers and the Shaman lifted his hands, a deep, rhythmic drumbeat echoing out around them.

"You openly admitted to staring at my rack and -" Fran was cut off as Dawnwave Unicorn vanished and reappeared alongside the Shaman. "What the hell? Give me back my monster!"

"Shaman gives me permanent control of your monster and now I'm going to use it! First, I banish the top card of my deck -" Jace looked at it and shrugged. "Not a spell, so I don't care. Attack her anyway!"

Fran swore as Dawnwave Unicorn charged across the field, horn slashing through her like a sword strike would. It was only holograms, but it still hurt and left her staggering. That bastard! He turned my partner against me! I'll kill him! (FLP:6500-1500-5000)

She started, as if waking from a dream. What? What was that? This is a duel and I was ready to throw punches at him for playing the game? Dawnwave isn't even my favorite monster!

A glance at her graveyard where the woman looked like her rested in card form and Vuyo's words about the ancestors and how they could influence them echoed in her mind. That vision I saw - did it connect us? Or am I becoming more like you because I'm your reincarnation?

Those were thoughts for later, the crowd's jeering and mocking of Jace snapped her back to the duel. They didn't like his methods anymore than she did and having a sudden home field advantage made her feel better. "I activate my trap card! Damage Relay! The damage I take is sent to the different dimension and then I summon a monster from there whose attack is equal to or less than that damage! Come out, Tribulldog!"

Like Cat's Ear Tribe before it, the monster that appeared in a flash of light was in fact three smaller dogs. Three armored bulldogs, all of whom were immediately more interested in sniffing each other and rolling around in the dirt than being serious Duel Monsters. (1200/1100)

"Geeze, you can't be the Maiden now - all your cards are cutesy and silly. And she's a big, serious hero. Still, I admit I could like a girl like you. One with a softer side." Jace drawled, his eyes flicking pointedly back down to her chest. "I end my turn."

"You know, I heard satyrs only really breed with nymphs and dryads and you have to catch them first - I'm starting to see why you can't have any luck elsewise! Draw!" Fran snapped up her card and a second mote of light appeared above her Art Attack card. "Not only does my spell get a second counter, but the card I banished last turn activates! A Card From A Different Dimension! It returns to my hand and then we both draw two more cards!"

She added the three new cards to her hand and held up her Duel Disk. "Now for Unicorn Maiden's effect! Since there's a Synchro monster on the field, once per turn, I can revive her!" Light shot out of the graveyard slot and hit the field, resolving into her distant relative in card form. (400/400)

"Next up, another spell card!" Fran flipped it around. "Dark Core! I discard my Card From A Different Dimension and banish Dawnwave Unicorn!"

Jace blinked as a portal opened up and sucked the glowy unicorn inside. "You realize my Battleguard is still in defense mode, right, with three thousand defense points?"

"Like I said, strategy." Fran watched as the Maiden whistled and the three dogs of Tribulldog all gathered around her obediently. "I tune my monsters together! The embrace of shadows, the music in the dark breeze, the breathing of cloudy moonlight - as they beget you, you beget them! Ride through the full darkness and carry us into dreamland! Synchro Summon! Level Six! Dusktide Unicorn!"

Her new monster was utterly silent - in her hooves on the ground, the quiet curl of lips to reveal fangs at Jace, every noise swallowed by the black coat and flowing purple-blue mane and tail. (1000/2000)

"Here's where it gets fun - Dusktide Unicorn can activate three different abilities, but only if the number of monsters, spells or traps in my banished pile are in the majority. And since I have mostly monsters in there, Dusktide Unicorn can now summon a banished monster!" Fran smirked as Dusktide just lifted her head and her eyes glowed. A moment later and Dawnwave Unicorn was standing beside her as if the sun-themed monster had always been there.

"Dawnwave's effect!" Fran held up the top card of her deck, a trap card and it faded away. "Then the spell Soul Release! I banish A Card From A Different Dimension, Cat's Invitation, Dark Core, The Unicorn Maiden and Different Dimension Unicorn from the graveyard!"

"Big deal, that's not -" Jace broke off as he recalled what she'd just said. "Wait, now there's more spell cards in your banished pile than monsters or traps!"

"Oh, now you get a clue." Fran mocked as Dusktide's eyes began to glow again. "Under the spell effect, Dusktide can now copy the effect of a banished beast Synchro monster - and I select Unicorn Maiden. Meaning Dusktide can now summon Unicorn Maiden from the banished pile as her level is less than four!"

For the third time, the blonde woman stepped out onto the playing field. She stroked both unicorns, smiling at them and they in turn nuzzled her affectionately. Fran smiled at the sight, feeling a rush of nostalgia and then shook it off. Focus on the duel! "I tune The Unicorn Maiden and Dawnwave together! With a furious hunger matched only by your roar, you dominate all that dwell in the jungle! Devour, feast and consume even the bones! Level eight! Synchro Summon! Howlstalker Apex!"

The new monster was big, bigger than the unicorns and almost as big as the statue backgrounding the duel. Thick fur, blades jutting out of all its limbs as it stalked about on all fours and a long, tunnel-like mouth that irised open to reveal an array of fangs. Seven mishappenly arrayed eyes, burning red with hunger, glowered out as the creature reared up and shrieked. (2600/1900)

"What the!? What in god's name is that freak!?" Jace yelled - he was covering his ears against the shrieking and so were most of the crowd. "That's not a unicorn!"

"But Howlstalker Apex is a Beast-type monster." Fran said with a slight smile. "And like his name says, he hunts everything. But first, he has to stun it with his sonic screech! So get ready to have all our monster effects negated! Deafening Howl!"

The creature shrieked again, this time so loud that both Battleguard Shaman and Dusktide Unicorn balked. Their colors grayed out and as they sagged, Apex just began to thrust a long, spined tongue in and out like it was tasting their weakness. "And now he gains six hundred attack for each monster he negated! Meaning he's going to snack on your Battleguard Shaman!" (2600- 3800)

Jace stared in disgust as Apex's tongue snared his mount and dragged the screaming shaman into its funnel-like mouth. There were cries of pain and the sound of teeth tearing through things as he realized Apex couldn't chew, the tongue dragging Shaman down through the rows of teeth to make him small enough to eat. "Yeah, no, I'm not going out like that bull! I have a trap card - Level Resist Wall! My Shaman was level ten, so I can summon monsters who equal that level from my deck!"

He slapped down two cards and in flashes of light, Swamp Battleguard Max and Lava Batleguard Max both appeared kneeling and crouching behind their clubs. "In the words of MC Hammer, you can't touch this!" (2000-2500/1800) (1800-2300/2000)

"In the words of Francesca Benedict, 'not with a ten-foot-pole!'" Fran finished and folded her arms. "I end my turn!"

"Draw!" Jace drew the card and grimaced as he looked up at Howstalker Apex. "I am not dealing with fugly thing any longer than I have to! Card Destruction! We discard our hands and draw the same amount!"

Both players shoved their cards into the graveyard and drew again, the satyr looking a bit more relieved. "I activate Monster Reborn and then another Feasts of the Wild LV5! I revive Battleguard Champ and then the Swamp and Lava Battleguard in my graveyard!"

The monsters all reappeared in flashes of light. The two smaller Battleguards saw Howlstalker and instantly joined their doppelgangers in defensive stances. Champ, however, thumped his chest and began yelling into his 'mic'. "Two of my guys may have had their effects negated, but I've got four of'em! So now he's got enough of an attack score to flatten not only your unicorn, but your life points, too! Battleguard Champ attacks!" (0 - 8600)

Roaring in eagerness, the wrestler Battleguard charged across the field and shoulder-tacked Dusktide Unicorn, hurling the monster back past Fran before it blew apart into a million pixels. Fran just held up a trap card as it slid out from her disk. "I can banish Forest Veil from my graveyard to negate all damage I take from battling beasts this turn."

Jace started, then laughed. "Alright, I admit, that move was worthy of someone like the Maiden! But I'm still better! I play the spell Monster Reincarnation, ditching a card and picking up my Shaman Battleguard!" He held up the monster, his grin getting wicked. "Guess what happens next!"

Both of his Swamp Battleguards and a Laval vanished to let the gangly barbian magic user reappear. He lifted his hands and the drums sounded from the deep once more, Howlstalker Apex vanishing and reappearing alongside him. "And don't get any cute ideas attacking Battleguard Champ! He'll gain his attack boost when you do it!"

"I wasn't planning on fighting him," Fran said with a shrug. "So it doesn't matter."

Jace scowled at that. "Alright, let's see what you can do with nothing on your field! I end my turn!"

"And I draw." Fran did so. "It's the Standby Phase, so now my A Card From A Different Dimension returns and we draw again." Snapping up the two new cards, she pointed at Art Attack which now had three counters above. "Now I can use my card's effect! When it has three counters, I banish it and pay two thousand life points to summon four level four or lower monsters from my deck! They can't attack or use their effects but you know, it's four monsters!" (FLP: 5000-3000)

She spread the cards across her disk one after the other. "I summon Lock Cat, Tribulldog, Stray Cat and Nimble Monmonga!" The first one was a large snow-white card with a thick, old-school lock on her collar. The second was copy of the original three armored pitbulls, the third was a battered cardboard box with a gruff-looking cat sitting inside and the third was a sugar glider. (1200/1000) (1200/1100) (100/300) (1000/100)

"More cutesy play pals." Jace sneered. "What're they going to do?"

"I like cute. I also like kicking the self-satisfied ass of guys like you. So that's what they're going to do! With a little help from my magic cards! First up! Earth Tremor!" Fran held up the card and Lock Cat began to sprint towards Jace's field. "I tribute my Lock Cat, then you take five hundred points of damage times the level of the highest level monster you have!"

Jace' confident expression dropped. "Shaman Battlegaurd is level ten!" His eyes widened as Lock Cat jumped and clawed at the shaman's face before disappearing. The shaman bellowed in pain and staggered backwards, tripping over his own straps of clothing and crashing backwards. The impact made the ground ripple like water, Jace himself dropping to both knees. "Oh no! My life points!" (JLP:8000-3000)

"I'm going to take them all away and you're going to take it like a little bitch, Jace!" Fran held up another card. "I activate Showstopper! I tribute my last three monsters and destroy three cards on your field!"

"You what!?" Jace started with a shocked expression as Tribulldog, Stray Cat and Nimble Monmonga vanished. The air around them darkened and spotlights snapped to highlight Battleguard Champ, Howstalker Apex and the remaining Lava Battleguard. The monsters all looked a bit bewildered and then suddenly snapped to life, taking on dynamic, silly poses. "No - wait - wait -!"

Fran watched as all three of the spotlit monsters exploded comically into confetti, streams and glitter. "And for each one I nuke, you take one thousand points of damage!"

Whatever reaction Jace had to that was lost as the crowd cheered in celebration and the satyr was lost to streamers raining down on his body. (JLP: 3000 - 0)

Fran herself let out a quiet sigh of satisfaction. She had been tense and funny-feeling all day; no surprise since she'd nearly died to a billion snake bites last night. But the duel helped her feel more centered now. If she was honest, it reminded her of her first win at the Thousand-Year Door Tournament. Knocking the smug smirk off of Jackson's face had a new kind of fun and it was good to know the same still applied. Though I doubt I'm going to meet some random stranger today who'll radically change the course of my life...

Jace stared at the open space where the dueling field had been, then his loss seemed to click in when his life point counter dinged to zero. Anger replaced confusion and he stomped towards her. "I want a rematch! You used those magic cards you got during the tournament! That's not fair!"

"Life's not fair. If it was, you'd be descended from slime instead of a jackass." Fran barked, not flinching as he growled and the fur on his body bristled. "Now pay up and go. Or just go. I don't know where your money has been and I don't want to know."

"You speciest little-" Jace looked ready to bite her head off, nostrils flaring and one of his hooves dug at the pavement. "You can't talk to me like that!"

"I just did!"

"You don't know who you're messing with!" He huffed. "It's not just me, my herd lives here too and we don't take kindly to people who cheat us and renege on deals! It's bad enough that you humans treat us like barnyard animals everywhere else! It won't happen here! You'll see!"

Fran tensed, but didn't take a step back. She'd seen animal-based Shadowkind get like this, so worked up their brains went to instinct. Jace was looking like he was about ready to challenge her to a headbutting contest. "You need to calm down. It was just a game. And like you kept saying. I'm the Unicorn Maiden. What do you think is going to happen when the crowd sees you assault a national hero?"

Jace snorted again in derision. "What do you think they'll do?"

I don't like how he said that. Fran checked the crowd out of the corner of her eye. There weren't many people, maybe twenty, but they were firing angry looks at Jace. No...only some of them were. The rest looked frustrated and upset, but in a way that suggested they had experience with this kind of behavior. Bad experiences. Like a kid about to get hit by an angry parent…

Her gaze fell back on Jace and her hand dropped down to her belt, reaching under her shirt for the taser she carried since her bounty hunting career. She'd never tested it on a satyr, but there had to be enough voltage to at least stall him.

"You see! They'll just do nothing - that's all Arcadians are! Sheeple who want to graze on luxury and boredom and are too afraid to lift their heads and see how big the world is! But I know how big it is and I also know it has too many humans like you in it!" Jace moved to grab her, so fast Fran knew even her skip backwards wasn't going to give her time to free the taser-

And then Jace was up, up in the air, dangling by the scruff of his shirt. Held aloft by a woman who had to be almost seven feet tall. Her skin was so dark it was almost unnatural and the clothes she was wearing were too tight, but all that meant was that all the muscle packed onto that frame was clearly evident. "That is enough out of you."

"What? Who said that? Put me down!" Jace squirmed against the grip, legs lashing out. But his hooves hit her abs and he was the one who flinched. "What the hell are you made out of? Metal!?"

"I am made out of considerably more than that. Like manners, mindfulness and good hygiene. Even with this weak human nose, I can tell you reek of breeding season, satyr. Being in a heat is no reason to be stupid." The woman casually tossed Jace aside, the satyr splashing into the fountain.

He emerged, spluttering and glaring. But looking like a soggy hairball wasn't helping his intimidation factor. "You- Who are you? Are you friends with that so-called Maiden!?"

"She is a member of my herd and under my protection. If you wish to harm her, you will have to go through me." The woman smiled, baring too-white teeth as Jace stood up and clenched his fists. She folded her arms and the shirt she was wearing split along the sleeves as her muscles flexed. "Please. Go ahead. Do nature a favor and remove yourself from the gene pool."

"This…" Jace unclenched his fists. "This isn't over! My herd won't stand for it! We'll show you both what it means-" He was cut off as the woman took one step forward, reached out and lifted him by his face with one hand. He tried to talk, but she squeezed and Fran winced as she heard something like a tooth crack.

"Satyr. Look into my eyes." The order was unnecessary, given Jace's confidence had become consuming fear and he probably couldn't look anywhere else. The woman drew him up so they were face-to-face anyway. "Do you see how empty and sad I find your attempts at threatening me to be?"

Jace stared uncomprehendingly, then gave a squeak of fearful affirmation.

"Then accept your defeat, leave us be and come back to us only if you desire for me to rip your empty head from your body." The woman squeezed tighter and Jace whimpered in panic. "Now go. I have spoken."

She dropped him and Jace scrambled away on all fours until he was sure he was out of his reach. Then he was on his hooves, running as fast as his legs could carry him down the street, wailing about a broken tooth.

The crowd broke out into cheers and clapping, but the woman didn't even seem to notice. She strode towards Fran, towering over the blonde. "Are you hurt in any way?"

Fran gaped at Resonae - for there was nobody else it could possibly be. She was immense, imposing and intimidating with her burning gaze still coming through the smaller, differently shaped eyes. But that wasn't the weirdest thing about seeing her like this. The thing that made Fran's head reel, was hearing her speak. She knew Resonae's voice of course, but always in her head, and while it sounded the same, there was something...bizarre about hearing it from the horse's mouth, as it were. "No, I'm fine - Resonae, since when have you been able to take human form?!"

"Good. I am glad you are not hurt." Resonae ignored the question, simpy picking Fran up by the waist and carrying her off towards an alleyway. Fran was so stunned by the move she didn't even click it until it was over and the Nightmare was dumping her to the ground. "You have been very foolish today. Explain yourself."

"Foolish- what?" Fran got to her feet, her surprise gone at the abrupt tone the Nightmare had. "Don't lecture me!"

"I will, Unicorn Maiden, because you have done us all a great disservice today. You have revealed, prematurely, that you are on the island. Which means it will be more difficult to move around unobserved and word will get back to the Shadow Spawn. And you have angered someone without just cause - and satyrs are even more unruly than normal when it is breeding season and I do not doubt that someone will come looking for revenge."

"But I-"

Resonae's blunt tone cut her off. "Moreover, you fought him for a stupid reason when you should have simply just left. Master was right to send me to watch over you - no, do not complain." She said warningly when Fran opened her mouth. "I did what I did for your benefit. Who do you think that crowd and that satyr will remember more? The blonde human? Or the magnificence that is me?"

"-Magni...you're ripping out of your clothes!" Fran blinked, the shape and form of the ripped garments suddenly clear. "Those are my clothes!"

"Maiden." Resonae said her voice thick with warning. "My patience is thin today - these clothes do not fit and they irritate me almost as much as you do right now. I will apologize and take back what I said if you can explain yourself satisfactorily." There was a long pause and Resonae lifted an eyebrow. "Is there an explanation?"

Fran wanted to argue, felt the anger boil...but it evaporated just as quick as shame flushed her cheeks and the weight of her actions hit her. I'm not alone here - the whole plan depends on being lowkey and I went and blew up fireworks.

"I see there is not." Resonae's tone softened slightly and she put a heavy hand on Fran's shoulder. "And I see you know what you have done. Then let us speak no more of it. Learn, grow and do not seek this lesson a second time."

"Yes, Resonae." Fran squirmed, unable to meet her gaze. In some ways, she was appreciative that Resonae was treating her like an adult. But being forced to work through her own mistakes and guilt was so much worse than getting a lecture. No wonder she's Herd Matron.

Not lifting her head gave her a spectacular view of Resonae's abs and the bounty above them that was threatening to split her shirt open right down the middle. That part of her is certainly magnificent. "Um, about the clothes-"

"They were all we had." Resonae's control had dropped and she shifted uncomfortably from heel to heel. "They are painful and riding up in places they should not be and I would rip them off if Master would not be angry with me for my magnificence blowing your feeble mortal minds."

Fran doubted that Resonae had the ability to blow minds, but she did know that her point about keeping a low profile was a good one, and there was no way they could do that if the Nightmare continued to follow her around dressed like that. "Come with me."

Digging her phone out of her pocket, she quickly found the number she wanted and dialled. "Mai, come meet me at the clothing shop we saw on our way in. The one next to that horrible fountain? We need to find clothes for Resonae!"

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, followed by something Fran had never heard from the other woman before - a short bark of laughter.

"Dressing that old mare? Finally, something I'll be good at!"

OOO

A/N: Faaanservice...get your fanservice heeeeere!

Yes! Look at all the new, flashy Duel Monsters cards I created for Fran and Jace! Though most of them did not get all of their effects revealed, so they won't be listed here.

Husband is proud of himself. Leave a review and tell him that you liked the duel, so he can prance around like a smug kitty all evening.

We can both be smug - we're on holiday and we did an amazing job with this chapter!