Yuanfen
By 7th Librarian and Mei1105

Day 2: The Gearville Grind

In the depths of Gearville, the furnace belched out a cascade of sharply-colored flames in the same cadence as a heartbeat. The flames, in turn, made the vat containing the Reaping Tree glow with heat until it sizzled and inside, the clear, syrup contents began to rise to a simmer. The wafts of steam the Reaping Tree was absorbing now became clouds and the fruit it was producing had gained the same thick, syrupy clearness as the liquid it sat in even as the waterline rose higher and higher.

And the furnace belched and the liquid rose and Tree produced fruit, Domino stood atop one of the catwalks looking down into it. He held Smithy's crown, which was a jagged, ornate monster that would served better as some kind of championship belt on Domino rather than headwear. But he treated it with reverence all the same.

At least until he chucked it over the railing.

The crown did not splash into the vat, instead merely settled on the syrupy liquid's surface. It bobbed a few times and then its weight overcame the surface tension, a sickly sweet blorp heralding the crown's sink towards the bottom.

As it fell agonisingly slowly towards the bottom of the vat, lights glimmered underneath it. Lights that may well have been eyes.

TTTTTT

"Alright, you walking talking excuse for a toaster, let's duel!" Fran regarded the robot with irritation when he just drew his opening hand and waited for her. "Don't tell me that those two dunces Cloaker and Domino forgot to program your personality?"

"If they didn't, I'm not about to learn one from the likes of you." Axem Black's metallic voice still managed to convey an impressive amount of snark. "According to the files, the only notable traits about you are that you don't like men who hit on women like they're objects and you use Beast-type monsters to prove some mysterious point about being a strong woman."

Embarrassment crept up Fran's face, and she answered through clenched teeth. "Just draw your damn cards." God this is mortifying…the toaster has more personality than I did and better comebacks…

"Sure thing." Axem Black drew his hand, but didn't look at it. "I'll let you take the first turn, just so you can at least feel like you're doing something in character."

Not for the first time, Fran was really starting to lament all the interviews, speeches and meetings she and the other Heroes had given in the wake of defeating the Shadow Queen. "Draw!"

Snapping the card up, she slapped it down. "I summon Cat'n'Mouse in attack mode!" Her new monster was a large grey housecat, perpetually chasing a tiny brown mouse. "Then I set two cards face-down and end my turn!" (2000/0)

"Cool. Now watch me run over your monster." Axem Black drew. "I normal summon Infinitrack Harvester in attack mode." With a familiar deep thrum of a tractor motor, his new monster trundled into play. It was a yellow combine harvester, but it's rear wheels had been replaced by powerful treats and the head of the machine had cleaning, razor-sharp points instead of the dull ones used to harvest corn. (0/2100)

"Oh god, someone made heavy duty farming equipment, didn't they?" Fran groaned. "I always get the weird decks…"

"Maybe you shouldn't judge other people's deck choices when your deck is rather bland and basic. Like you." Axem Black said bluntly and then pointed at his new monster. "When I summon Harvester, I can add another 'Infinitrack' monster from my deck to my hand. I choose BrutalDozer, which I can summon by sacrificing Harvester."

His new monster was big, purple and lived up to its name given the fact the dozer blade was ringed in more blades and looked more like a gaping, hungry mouth than anything else. (1900/2100)

"When Brutal Dozer is summoned, I can call out Infinitrack Trencher from my deck in defense mode without any effects." Black slid the card onto his disk, the new motor drowning out his Dozer as the new machine rolled into play. It's trenching blade was bigger than it's own body and riddled with serrated teeth. (500/2400)

"Geezus, who knew some gnarly paintjobs and a few extra inches would make construction equipment so nasty-looking?" Fran drawled. "Didn't think robots had to compensate for anything…"

"You are aware that robots do not possess your silly human constructs of gender, aren't you?" Axem Black drawled. "Or does labelling me as male make it easier for you to see me as the enemy?"

"I didn't come here to get psychotherapy from a toaster," Fran shot back, her face flushed with embarrassment. "I don't need labels to make you my enemy. The fact that you're trying to bring back your grumpy old kettle of a master, your condescending attitude and the fact you had a god-damned entrance song complete with superhero landing is all the reason I need."

"How very small. Let me give you a real reason by overlaying my two level five machine-type monsters into the rank five xyz monster Infinitrack Log Mauler!" Unlike his last two monsters, which had been reasonable enough, this one was completely over the top. It filled up the space behind Axem Black with several heavy arms with buzzsaws that were primed to feed an entire forest into the chomping maw at the front. (2500/500)

"I activate Log Mauler's effect, detaching an overlay unit to send another Infinitrack to the graveyard." Black shoved the card into his graveyard. "Now Log Mauler, attack her monster! Deforestation Rampage!"

The giant machine whirred forwards, buzzsaws swiping for her monster. Fran swore under her breath and pointed at it. "When you attack Cat'n'Mouse, it goes to defense mode and swaps its stats!" (2000/0-0/2000)

The cat and mouse switched places, the tiny kitten now running away from a rather buff cartoon mouse. But the new roles didn't save them as the buzzsaw sheared them into pieces and fed them into the mulcher. Fur and bones came spewing out of the eject valve.

"When Log Mauler kills a monster in a fight, it adds that monster to it as an overlay unit." Black explained, watching his machine suddenly rattle and grind for a moment. "Hope they didn't clog its gears with their fleshiness…"

"No, but they did activate my trap card - Cat Herding!" Fran snapped her fingers and the card flipped up. "When you kill a 'Cat' monster, I can summon a 'Cat' monster from my hand or deck! I choose Rescue Cat!" In a soft flash of light, the trap spat out a large cat who had a rescue hat on and a whistle around his neck. (300/500)

"He can't save you or himself. I'm going to mulch him on my next turn. I set one card face-down." Axem Black slid the card into his disk. "Now start your turn and tell me off about my monster is big, dumb or I forgot some kind of weakness to it."

"Okay, that was not how my duels went!" Fran huffed as she yanked her next card free. "I don't know what files you have, but they're clearly missing some key bits of information!"

"I don't see how they could be. They were less than a kilobyte each. Everything was pretty much the same with your duels. You take on someone, exchange some banter, then win and talk about how much of a challenge that was. Or how the Shadow Queen was a loser and evil." Axem Black folded his arms. "You apparently got it on with the Dragon Master after that tournament, but you were being spied on constantly and I don't recall a single private moment you two shared."

Fran grit her teeth. Don't let him get to you. He's just trying to rattle you by digging at you with your past. He's not being a jerk, he's just a machine, he doesn't care about any of it. He just cares about what YOU think of it.

Which was a lot of things at the moment, none of them complimentary, but she pushed those thoughts aside. "Fine, you want to act like you know me, toasterbot, then you know I'm always up for something new and exciting! Like my strategy! Rescue Cat's effect! I tribute him and summon two level three or lower Beast-type monsters from my deck! Rescue Summon!"

The cat lifted his whistle and blew it loudly, fading away as he did so. In his place appeared a blocky, happy-looking toy dog with a large key in his back and a unicorn draped in leafy vines. "I summon Wind-Up Dog and Uniflora, the Mystical Beast of the Forest!" (1200/600) (700/400)

Uniflora looked up from munching on the leaves on their body and their eyes and horn began to shine. "And since I only have Beasts in my graveyard, Uniflora can go to the graveyard to summon one from there! So Rescue Cat returns!" The unicorn winked out, replaced by the adorable cat. He was already blowing on his whistle and fading away. "Rescue Summons!"

This time, the monsters were a snowy white cat with a lock on its collar and a smaller white mouse with a key dangling off its tail. "Lock Cat and Key Mouse!" (1200/1000) (100/100)

She slammed a card onto her disk, a sugar glider appearing alongside the other three monsters. "I normal summon Nimble Momonga and then tune all of my monsters together! Myth, legend and fable - to face you is to face all three dangers! Roar with three mouths and rend with six fangs! Synchro Summon! Level 9! Chimera Tyrant!"

A lion's head with a fiery mane, a goat's with antlers more like jagged horns and a lashing serpent tail that dripped venom, the burly monster matched the mythical description to a T. "Battle! Chimera Fire Stream!" (2800/2800)

The lion and goat head spewed out a thick wall of flame that struck Log Mauler. The giant machine didn't melt, but a decidedly unhealthy whine built up from its engine and then it exploded violently. (ABLP:8000-7700)

The shrapnel didn't bother Axem Black as he pointed at his set card and it lifted up. "I activate the continuous trap card Crusher Run - you just destroyed an earth machine, so now one of your cards is also destroyed!" The trap glowed and fired a sharp beam of energy at Fran's monster.

"Chimera's got a special ability, too! It gained counters when I summoned it, so now I can remove one to save it!" Fran still winced as the beam sliced off the monster's snake head, the tail jerking and thrashing as it spewed blood while the two remaining heads roared in agony. "I end my turn!"

"I draw." Black snapped up the card and another one fell out of his graveyard. In a rumble, his Brutal Dozer was back in play. "I can banish Trencher from the graveyard to summon my Dozer again and then its effect summons Infinitrack Tunneler!"

The ground exploded upwards, letting a gigantic drill machine rip free. Like the others, it was brightly painted and littered with a lot more sharp edges than necessary. (2200/500)

"Then I activate the continuous spell card Outrigger Extension." Black watched the card appear in front of him. "And then I overlay my monsters!"

Fran watched in confusion as another Infinitrack Log Mauler appeared in front of him. "I don't know what's more surprising, the fact you actually have more than one of every monster in your deck or you summoned a monster that I've already beaten."

"Do you hear yourself, human?"

"Yes. Sometimes it's the only intelligent conversation I can have."

"I activate the effect of Outrigger Extension - I can rank up my monster by two and get a new one atop it! I rank-up xyz summon Infinite Track Canyon Ripper!" Log Mauler faded, replaced by a massive machine. It was nothing but a giant spinning blade in the front, a crane arm and treads and easily dwarfed the other Infinitracks before it. (2100/3100)

"Then I play Heavy Forward! This spell card's first effect lets me add another Infinitrack to my hand and then equips itself to Canyon Ripper as an overlay unit! Then I activate the card I got!" Axem Black held it up and his monster began to shake, its engine growing louder and heavier as smog bleached from a smokestack. "Infinitrack Triple-Shift! This equip spell lets me activate my monster's effect twice at the cost of one xyz material! So I detach Heavy Forward to give it two thousand extra attack!" (2100-4100)

Fran couldn't hear the order to attack as the giant machine moved forwards or even her monster's challenging roar. All she saw was that massive spinning blade come down, sparks flying out of the contact point as it hit her Chimera. Then the sparks became red and fleshy before the lion head disappeared - not fell off, disappeared. It had been shredded so thoroughly, there wasn't anything left.

Pain exploded through her body and she hugged herself, watching as the pulsing black-net thing around them seemed to suck up the energy leaving her body. Under her feet, she could feel faint vibrations building. Gotta end this without taking anymore hits - or Smithy's gonna crawl out of the pit we threw him in! (FLP:8000-6800)

"My move!" She yanked the card free and smirked as she flipped it around. "Heavy Storm! All of our set cards are destroyed!"

Her remaining set card blew apart as a cyclone of wind picked up. It also destroyed Crusher Run and then, to her surprise, Canyon Ripper began to shred. Bits and flecks, nuts and bolts and then whole hunks of metal and blades before the giant machine exploded. "Not sure what just happened, but that's a plus in my book."

"You really like to take things at face-value, don't you? Yes, my Infinitrack Triple-Shift may have destroyed my Canyon Ripper, but that just means its other effect activates!" Axem Black caught cards out of his card and slid them one by one over his Duel Disk. "I summon all of the monsters it had as material! So Brutal Dozer, Tunneler and Log Mauler all return."

"Dammit!" Fran winced as the three machines appeared, all of them looking clean and fresh with new paint jobs and blades glinting with audible sharpness. "Fine, onto plan B!"

She held up a spell card. "I activate the continuous spell card Synchronic Resonance and then play De-Synchro, turning my Chimera Tyrant back into the four monsters I used to summon it!" Her Chimera exploded with light, separating itself out into four orbs that resolved into the four smaller beasts. "Then I synchro summon him right back!"

Chimera Tyrant returned with another triple roar, all of its heads whole and healthy but clearly remembering what happened before. Synchronic Resonae began to glow, pouring white light into the monster while Fran smirked. "And now that I summoned him, my continuous spell gives him four hundred more attack for each monster I used! Not only that, he has three counters again! Which means he gets three attacks! Attack! Chimera Flame Burst Triple!" (2800-4400)

Her monster flames billowed out of all its mouths this time, the flames becoming an ever-expanding wave that made Axem Black's machines all smoke and char. Then they all blew up at once, the explosion actually shoving the robot duelist back a few steps even as his life points plummeted. "Hoo-ah! Take that, toasterbot!" (ABLP:7700-1100)

"This is to be expected from you," Axem Black said as he wiped some bits of his monsters away. "Always celebrating without considering the greater consequences. You think I matter? I'm a robot. If I die, I can be rebuilt. You can't even physically hurt me. This victory is pyrrhic for you and yet you celebrate like it's a birthday party."

"I take joy where I can get it, no matter how small it might seem to you," Fran snapped. "God knows I haven't had much of it lately!" she set one card, and waved to indicate the end of her turn.

"I draw." Black did so and grabbed another card in his hand. "I activate another copy of Heavy Forward, letting me add Anchor Drill to my hand." His new monster was bright blue and yellow, a scorpion-like crane with a broad drill attachment at the end. (1800/1500)

The crane whirled and then began to drill a hole into the ground. When it had made one big enough, a similar green crane stomped out of it as it somehow used treaded wheels as legs. "Anchor Drill's effect lets me summon Crab Crane from my hand. And Crab Crane's effect takes their levels, adds them together and gives them both the level of the result." (2100/500)

Fran watched with growing unease as four stars appeared above Drill, five above Crane and then suddenly both were sporting nine stars each. "You've got a rank nine monster…"

"I've got bigger monsters than that, but we'll start with the small things - I overlay my two monsters to summon Infinitrack Land Shaper!" Black's new machine was big, it was dangerous and it had so many arms and mouths that Fran was certain it could just eat a mountain and still have room for a dessert. (3100/2100)

Axem Black wasn't finished as he held up a card that fell out of his graveyard. "I banish the trap Crusher Run from play to set an Outrigger Extension from my deck. Which I will then activate - and then use to rank up my Land Shaper into the rank eleven monstrosity known as Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Juggernaut Liebe!"

The ground rumbled under Fran's feet and then her eye widened as the surroundings of Gearville began to shift and fold in on themselves. Whole buildings, statues, all of it just moved and shuffled around like it was made of paper. They were making a gap and out of that gap rose a cannon. One big enough to be a building itself. And it was aimed squarely at her. (4000/4000)

"You humans thought up this kind of weaponry for one of your wars - giant cannons mounted on trains. It's a pop gun compared to what Master Smithy can produce, but it's good enough for you, isn't it?" Axem Black pointed at his Heavy Forward card and it became a sphere of light that flew up and joined the other four circling the cannon's mouth. "Now that it has five xyz material, I'll equip it with Xyz Unit and give it two hundred more attacks for every rank it has." (4000-6200)

One of the spheres of light was suddenly pulled into the cannon and Fran heard a heavy clang noise, the ground shuddered under her feet and she realised that was the sound of a round being chambered. "And I'll expend one of its xyz material to increase its attack by a further two thousand." (8200)

Fran's eyes widened at the number and she pointed at her Synchronic Resonance card. "I activate my card's effect! When I Synchro Summon, it gains counters and I can remove one of those counters to prevent all damage to my life points while I have a Synchro monster in play!"

"Oh? Is that right? Well, then I'll have to get rid of your monster, then. It has three lives, right? Well, my Liebe has one attack, plus one more for every overlay unit it has." Axem Black held up five fingers. "Looks my number is bigger where it counts! Attack!"

Fran saw the cannon aim, felt the ground lurch under her feet as it fired. Heard Chimera Tyrant roar in pain as the shell- as big as her monster was - exploded in its face. The lion head was pulp, ash and blood flying out in equal measure.

"Again!"

Clang. Lurch. Roar. The snake tail was gone, taking the back hunk of her monster with it and leaving a crater big enough for her to hide in. If she dared to move.

"Again!"

Clang. Lurch. Roar. Chimera Tyrant was staggering, bleeding everywhere, the goat head just a mangled mess as it fought to stay up right.

"Again!"

Clang. Lurch. But no roar - just the shell's detonation and then an empty, smoking hole where her monster had been. Fran stared at the space, then up at the giant cannon aimed at her. …shit…

Axem Black stared at her with that expressionless robot face. "This happened a lot in your duels last time - you'd get pushed to the edge and then some stroke of fortune would save you and you'd come back with a win on the next turn. Like, for example, the fact my Liebe can only attack monsters multiple times, not you."

Fran felt her fingers clench into a fist, worry gnawing at her.

"I see you can get what's coming -" Axem Black held up a spell card. "I activate the quick-play spell card Foolish Reborn! I summon one monster from my graveyard to your field! I chose the Infinitrack Harvester!"

Fran stared in horror as the machine appeared in front of her, it's intimidating presence suddenly so shallow in the face of what Axem Black had on his side of the field. (500)

"Fire!"

Clang. Lurch. Infinitrack Harvester didn't explode - the shell's explosion disintegrated it. It seemed to explode the world right in Fran's face, smashing her against the barrier surrounding them with enough force to knock the wind out of her. The world was fuzzy, her head throbbed with a monstrous headache and she could feel her strength being sucked away.

But she was still alive. (FLP:2950)

Axem Black stared at her. His expression wasn't readable at all, but she got the feeling he was incredulous. Or maybe upset. His flat, atonal voice wasn't a clue, either. "Explain."

"Remember my Heavy Storm?" Fran picked herself up, chuckling despite the pain she was in. "The set card I destroyed was a trap card called 'Cat's Lucky Nine'. I can banish it from my graveyard to halve all battle damage I take this turn. Then, I can summon a Beast monster from my deck whose attack is less than that damage." There was a flash of light and an adorable blue elephant head appeared in front of her, giggling and bobbing up and down. "I choose Elephun." (500/300)

"And I'm out of attacks." Black said. "I end my turn."

Fran drew. "I activate A Feather of a Phoenix, discarding a card to put Uniflora atop my deck." She did so and then tapped a button on her disk. "My set card is Synchro Call, which lets me Synchro Summon using Elephun and one monster in my graveyard! I tune Elephun with Rescue Cat!" In an explosion of sunrise, a white alicorn stood in front her, mane and tail shining with the dawn. "Dawnwave Unicorn!"

Dawnwave lifted her head, horn glowing and Fran reached for her deck. "I banish the top card of my deck to activate her effect!" Her monster glowed orange as she held up Uniflora's card. "Now when Dawnwave battles, you take the damage, Black! So suck it!"

Dawnwave neighed and charged, Liebe firing one last time. The blast obliterated the Synchro monster, but that didn't stop a fiery version of Dawnwave charging out of the remains to slam into Axem Black and smash him against the cage so hard Fran saw several things dent. (ABLP: 0)

The cage dropped and Fran did as well, suddenly feeling like she'd run a mile. Black was standing up, only for a shadow to ripple behind him. There was a metallic slashing noise and then his head was falling from his neck. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." Fran grunted, but accepted the helping hand up. "Where's yours?"

"In pieces." Dracula said, shaking a few bits of Axem Black off her claws. She kicked the head lightly, watching it roll away. "You would really think that a machine would design its robots to not die when they have their heads removed."

"I think most things die when you do that."

"Oh, you'd be surprised what you can live through."

TTTTTTT

"Let's do this, human! In the name of Master Smithy, I'm going to claim your energy!" Axem Red jabbed a finger at Lyrius. "You made a big mistake coming here!"

Lyrius stared at him.

"Don't try to pull the tough guy act with me - you've got no way out of this cage except dying! And it terrifies you! I can tell!"

Lyrius stared at him.

"It's already underway down below our feet - the forge is working on rebuilding our Master better than ever! And when it does, you and your friends will become the first witnesses and victims of his awesome power!"

Lyrius stared at him.

Axem Red fingers curled into a fist. "Say something, human!"

Lyrius stared at him.

Metal clanged as the robot slammed his foot into the ground. "What is with you!?"

"I was waiting to see if you were anything more than a puppet, but I see it was in vain. If you are Smithy's Elite, Axem Red, then your master will be no trouble at all." Lyrius said curtly.

Axem Red's eyes flashed. "What was that? You wanna come over here and say that to my face?!"

"It's my turn. I draw." Lyrius ignored the robot's noises of consternation. "From my hand, I normal summon Burst Sphere." In a flurry of feathers, his new monster was a hawk-like bird clutching a shimmering sphere of translucent power in its claws. "When this monster is summoned, I can add another Sphere monster from my deck to my hand." (800/1400)

He made his choice and then swept two cards into his disk. "I set these face-down and end my turn."

"Let me show you a real turn! I draw!" Axem Red ripped the card free and then his field slot popped open. "I activate the field spell card B.E.F. Zelos!" The air around them twisted, depositing them in a futuristic version of Gearville while catchy, aggressive 8-bit music began to sound from nowhere. "And when I activate this card, I can add a Boss Rush from my deck to my hand!"

Catching the card his deck spat out, he held up two different ones. "And check it! I can special summon B.E.S. Big Core MK-3 from my hand since I have no monsters and then my field spell lets me do the same to B.E.S. Blaster Cannon Core!"

Both monsters were clearly large spaceships, but their design aesthetic wasn't something Lyrius could appreciate. They were bulky and made of over-lage wings and cannons with smaller parts filling them out and metal tendrils dangling from them. The only real differentiation between the two was that one was larger than the other. (2700/1900) (2500/3000)

"That's not all - first, my monsters both gain three shields when I summon them and then Zelos gives them one more!" Axem Red pumped a fist as glowing energy barriers popped into existence around his monsters. "And then Zelos says you can't hurt them with card effects and they gain five hundred more points!" (3200/2400) (3000/3500)

He pointed at Burst Sphere. "So say bye-bye to the birdie! Attack, MK-3! Ultimate Laser Barrage!"

The monster's weapons glowed and then opened up, blowing through Lyrius' monster and leaving only a few feathers behind. (LLP:8000-5600)

Lyrius grit his teeth as he felt his body burn, energy being sucked away and into the net surrounding them. The attacks themselves didn't hurt beyond normal Solid Vision, but the energy drain was efficient; he could feel tiredness creeping on him already.

"Let's see how you like this! Blaster Cannon Core! Direct assault on his life points! Ultimate Phaser Barrage!" Axem Red watched as Lyrius was pummelled by heavier, but fewer shots than his monster had been, shoving the human back across the playing field. "Not feeling so cocky now, are you?" (LLP:5600-2600)

"Cocky? Never. Annoyed at the buzzing of a robotic fly? Definitely." Lyrius mocked cooly, lips twisting in a smirk as Axem Red gave off an electronic snarl.

"I set two cards face-down!" The robot plugged them into his disk. One was the Boss Rush card he'd searched and the other was Master Magician's Invocation, which would let him activate that card during Lyrius' turn and avoid the card's downsides. Even if Lyrius somehow got through all the shields his monsters had, he was set. "Your move!"

"I draw." Lyrius pointed at his field. "I activate the spell card Sphere Return, summoning Burst Sphere from my graveyard." The bird-thing fluttered back down from out of nowhere. "As before, I search for another 'Sphere' monster."

One of his set cards flipped. "And since I special summoned a Sphere monster, the trap Atmospheric Transference summons Synthesize Sphere front deck." The trap glowed and spat out a turtle-like bird. (1000/1000)

"Summon up a flock of those featherbrains, see if I care! They can't hold a candle to my Bacterion Elimination Squad!"

"We shall see. Since you have a level five or higher monster in play, I can special summon Breeze Sphere from my hand." Lyrius' latest monster was much tinier than the others, carrying an sphere so large it struggled to stay aloft. (700/1000)

"Then I shall activate the spell card Precious Cards from Beyond. Then, my monsters will become sacrifices!" Wind kicked up around his monsters, evolving into tornadoes that hide them from view. Then the tornados fused together, scattering as six broad, elegant wings flapped their way free. Their owner was an otherwise limbless, majestic bird. "And now The Stratosphere descends." (1000/1000)

Lyrius pulled two more cards free of his deck. "My Precious Cards from Beyond lets me draw two cards everytime I make a tribute summon that takes two or more monsters. Then - I activate The Stratosphere's effect. By sending one Sphere monster from my hand to the graveyard, I can deal you damage equal to the number of monsters I tributed to summon it times five hundred! Atmospheric Lightning!"

Axem Red laughed, a warbling noise sounding like a radio tuning, as the winged monster glowed with energy and lightning shot out from its core, slamming into him and leaving his chest singed. "That doesn't hurt one bit! I'm not programmed to feel pain!" (ARLP:8000-6500)

"It looks like your machines are." Lyrius pointed at them - the lightning was now leaping between the two large spaceships. Bits of them were exploding or leaking smoke as the electricity overloaded their power grids. "The second part of my monster's ability - your monsters lose attack points equal to those life points and mine gains them." (3200-1700) (3000-1500) (1000-2500)

"Uh…uh…" Axem Red took an unsure step back. "It doesn't matter, my monsters still have their shields! You'll have to beat them four times each in battle to get past them!"

"But you have no shields, Axem Red. Reverse card open - Call of the Haunted." Lyrius waved his hand and his set card lifted. "This trap revives one of the Synthesize Spheres in my graveyard." The turtle-like bird reappeared, then glowed and a duplicate appeared alongside. "And when Synthesize Sphere is summoned, I can call out another Sphere in the graveyard."

He snapped his fingers and the new Synthesize Sphere glowed, Burst Sphere returning to the field as well. "With Burst Sphere's summon, I add another Breeze Sphere from my deck to my hand and then summon it because you have high level monsters in play." For a second time, the tiny bird and its oversized sphere reappeared.

Lyrius held up one of his remaining cards. "The last piece - the spell card Power Connection! As all my monsters are Winged-Beasts, they now all gain five hundred attack points for everyone of their kin in play - that means they all gain two thousand attack!" Wind and lightning surged around his monsters, all their eyes glowing as power began to crackle and leap between them in the build-up to a storm. (1000-3000x2) (800-2800) (700-2700) (2500-4500)

"That's..no way! I'm a Smithy Elite! I can't lose to you like this!" Axem Red seemed to rally himself. "I'm a machine! I'm superior to you!"

"Only in the matters of ego, Axem Red and that is hardly a contest anyone should want to win." Lyrius lifted his hand, his expression dark. "My monsters attack you at once! Death Hurricane!"

All five monsters shot forwards, swirling and weaving around each other nimbly. The act built up larger and larger bolts of lightning and heavier gusts of wind until they were a glowing nova of thunderous energy. It slammed into Blaster Cannon Core and detonated. Axem Red was thrown back into the net from the sheer concussive force, Lyrius' hair and clothing billowing as he watched the robot struggle back to his feet. The storm subsided and the playing field faded away with the noise, leaving only the 'ding' of his life points hitting zero to fill the silence. (ARLP: 0)

"You - you - you-" Axem Red grabbed his Duel Disk and it turned back into his battleaxe. "I'll cut you open and pour blood and soul into the forge the hard way!"

He charged, Lyrius watching as he came. Then, the moment he was in axe range, the Axem Ranger swung, blade whistling at inhumane speeds - to cut nothing but air. "But-!"

Lyrius stepped out of Axem Red's shadow and caught the axe by the handle as the robot finished his swing. One tug ripped it out of his hands and then sparks were flying as Lyrius buried the axe in Axem Red's torso like he was cutting a piece of fruit in half. The robot's limbs twitched and jerked, then he toppled over and went still.

"You know, considering these were supposed to be war machines from another world, they were really kind of lack-luster." Fran said as she and the others walked over to him. "They were dangerous, don't get me wrong, but not as much as they should have been."

"Cloaker and Domino aren't craftsmen like Smithy and Gearville was inactive, so they didn't have access to all the resources he would. It's likely they found the blueprints for these Axem Rangers and built them out of inferior materials." Lyrius explained, eyes flicking around the area. "The question is - where are Cloaker and Domino?"

"The forge is below us - they're probably there." Fran suggested.

"Even for idiots like them, it seems kind of bad form to wait until we're right atop their secret hideout to do anything about it." Dracula pointed out.

"Which is why we're going to scout it out first - myself and then Dracula. But not through the trapdoor. That is just asking to be shot or hit with a trap." Lyrius pointed down at the ground. "We'll make our own way down. Dracula and Resonae will be strong enough to rip apart this metal once I make a cut in it."

"First an immortal meat-shield and now demolition?" Dracula huffed, but was smiling a bit. "I feel like my many talents are being wasted, my songbird."

Lyrius opened his mouth to respond, but Mai beat him to it with a startled scream. He whirled, watching as the blonde scrambled backwards away from where she'd been standing. Fran was moving, too and he saw why. A thick, syrup liquid was oozing up out of the seams in the metal plating under their feet. Unnaturally clear, it was schlorping its way for Mai with a few feeble tendrils. "Everyone off the ground - now!"

Dracula reacted the fastest, wings erupting from her back in a single step as she seized Mai and Fran by the waist and shot off towards a nearby tower. Lyrius grabbed Resonae and fell into his shadow. He emerged from the tower's own shadow and then did it two more times up its length to join the others.

The ground where they had been was now foaming with the syrup-like liquid, the metal sheeting buckling loose and toppling into the space underneath as it was forced out of shape. The liquid ate away the metal, absorbing it like nothing at all. Fran cursed under her breath as the large puddle began to expand, pseudopods emerging from the leading edge to drag its mass in all directions. "What the fuck is that!? Nanites? Smithy didn't have any shit like that last time!"

"Whatever it is, it has to deal with the Reaping Tree - I can see part of it through the hole." Lyrius' lips twisted in a frown as he caught sight of the telltale glimmer in the dark. "The tree is much bigger than we expected."

"More the pity you couldn't get those high-grade explosives-" Dracula stopped as the tower suddenly began to wobble. She grabbed the two nearest people - Mai and Resonae - and jumped back into the air.

Lyrius hooked his arm around Fran's waist and fell into his shadow again. He reappeared on a nearby rooftop, scanning for Dracula so he had a direction to go in. The crimson dot of the vampire queen was easily visible against the blue sky and he stepped into his shadow a second time.

Only this time he didn't sink into it, instead wrenching his foot free from the metal. It acted like it was water, rippling and shifting fluidly. And then a booming laugh echoed from the depths underneath them.

"This is my city you're in! Every part of it is a part of me!"

Lyrius jumped, Fran screaming as the roof just burbled and spat out tentacles of metal to snare them both. He struggled, straining for leverage or magic but neither came fast enough as the building just caved in on itself. It melted away as if someone was burning aluminium, revealing a gaping darkness underneath and a face. A face of clear crystal metal, jagged spiked beard at the bottom and a familiar golden crown on top.

"Just the two humans I wanted to see most! It's something new to me, being hungry, but I can't wait to see if you two taste as good as you look! Ah-haw-haw-haw!"

Then the metal yanked them down into the depths below, darkness drowning out the light above.

OOO

"...Go Fish."

"...Fushioh, we're playing poker."

"Oh - cheat!"

"Did you get a concussion when no one was looking?!"

Serenity wished she could be in another building. Or even that they would all just be quiet. But it was the middle of the day - going outside would be suicide right now, and Castiel had forbade her to leave the safety of their cabin until sunset anyway. So for seven more hours she was confined to this space with her step-brother, Fushioh, and Weevil for company. Kill me now…

No imminent death was forthcoming, so she put her head down and tried to concentrate on her work. Ever since her physical with Saslae she had been burning with the urge to do something - anything - to give her a sense of autonomy. She couldn't escape right now, so she had given herself a new task. Saslae had said that there was no formal source of information for treating Shadowkind. And Serenity was a skilled physician with decades of experience, and nothing else to do. So she had borrowed a handful of notes from Saslae, raided Fushioh's own supply of research material, and was sitting in the corner, beginning to compile the outline of a Shadowkind diagnostic manual.

Her activities were not unnoticed. Fushioh had expressed intense curiosity when she had asked to borrow his books, and even made several suggestions himself. Castiel had asked her several times to join them, only for her to snub the offer, and he kept glaring across the room, clearly offended that she found books more interesting than him. Weevil had not said anything, but Serenity could tell he was dying to scream "NEEEEEERD!" across the room at her. She didn't care - she'd been called worse.

"I do not believe liches can have concussion," Fushioh said, thoughtfully scratching his chin with a bony finger - it sounded like nails on a chalkboard. "Concussion by definition is...well, I'm sure Doctor Wheeler could provide an accurate description?"

Mentally sighing, Serenity did not look up from her book. "Concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury is defined as a head injury that temporarily affects brain function, typically caused by violent movement of the brain inside the skull cavity."

"Thank you," Fushioh beamed. "As you can see, concussion requires a brain, and as I do not possess one any longer the condition is impossible for me."

"...huh. So if I call you brainless, it's actually not an insult - it's the truth. Good to know," Weevil nodded in a pleased fashion to himself, pulled a few chips from his stack and tossed them into the centre. "I'll see you and raise. Your go, Vampire of the Opera."

Castiel scowled at his hand, and Serenity tore her eyes away for a moment to quietly scoff at him. Her brother had no poker face, and it was obvious to all and sundry what his cards were like.

"I...take two…" He shoved two cards at Fushioh, who slid them into the discard pile and then dealt him two more cards. The vampire studied them, then matched Weevil's bet and tossed in a few more. "How's that?"

"You suck at this," Weevil snorted. "I dunno why you even suggested we play."

"I was hoping to pass the day with intelligent conversation," the vampire said with a pointed look at Serenity. "Instead I'm stuck indoors with the mad and the ugly."

"Which one is which?" Serenity quipped, not looking up from her chapter on metabolic rates.

"Would you please put the books away and come and join the table?" Castiel turned in his seat to look at her. "This research is pointless. You're a vampire now - why would you want to heal anybody?"

"Interesting. When someone finally manages to push a stake through the empty hole where your heart used to be, I'll remember that you said that." Serenity promised, jotting down some ideas to follow up on into her notebook.

"Are you insane, Phantom?!" Weevil put in, drawing Castiel's attention back to the table. "She's Serenity fucking Wheeler! She was trained by Joey Wheeler and Mai Valentine! She's a gambling machine! She used to clean out everyone in Rex's dive bar when we were all still on Satellite!"

"Maybe you just suck at this game too?" Castiel retorted with a snort of disbelief that made Serenity finally put her book down.

"You all suck at this game," she declared. "Any idiot can tell that Weevil is bluffing!" She gave Castiel a pointed look. "So I suppose it's not surprising that you haven't figured it out yet."

Fushioh laughed, while Weevil rolled his eyes. "See! Don't bring her to the table - she'll take all the fun out of it!"

"You're exaggerating, Weevil," Castiel huffed. "Joey was only good for teaching how to be second best."

Serenity felt her fists clench around her notebook. Part of her knew Castiel was goading her, but she didn't care. She knew Joey's worth, and nothing would tarnish it in her eyes, but she would be damned if she let Castiel of all people talk smack about him. Snapping her book closed, she got up from her cosy nest, and marched to the table. "Fushioh, deal me in."

"Of course, Doctor."

Castiel smirked, the fact half his face was hidden behind his mask making it all the more smug. "Just remember - you asked for it."

Serenity had asked for it. And fifteen minutes later, they were all wishing she hadn't. Fushioh was completely out of chips, seeming content just to watch and deal. Castiel was fuming, his expression taking on that petulant scowl that she knew meant he was beaten, but he was not going to give her the satisfaction of admitting it. Weevil was her only real competition, but he was still missing a hunk of his chips.

"If we were playing for real," Serenity noted with satisfaction as she sat back, arms behind her head. "You'd all owe me about thirty grand."

"Gah, figures. Goddamn Wheeler luck…" Weevil huffed in annoyance and slapped his hand on the table. "I'm out. Castiel?"

"I'm good." Castiel replied tersely.

"No, you're not. You don't have enough chips to match my bet. And given what's in the deck and the discard pile, you don't have anything stronger than two pair." Serenity drawled. "And let me tell you, two pair is something I can beat."

"You're bluffing."

"That's what you say every round." Serenity rolled her eyes.

Castiel matched gazes with her and then reached for his hand...then with a sigh, he folded it shut and slid it on the table. "I admit it - you surprised me, Serenity."

"Of course I surprised you - you don't know anything about me. You just assumed I hadn't changed since I was a teenager." Collecting her chips Serenity glared at him, determined to drive the point home. "I'll bet you didn't even bother to google once you found out I was alive on Duelist Kingdom. Did you know that I was on the front line with the Red Cross? Or that I worked the last Ebola crisis with Doctors Without Borders? Or that I had a career dueling on live TV in my underwear?"

"Now that, I would pay to see."

The table turned to look as bloody mist coalesced in the doorway into the form of Chance. Behind him, Saslae was closing the door, and her coat from where he had been hiding beneath it from the sun's rays.

"Ah, he emerges from the belly of the earth," Fushioh declared, happily. "Good morning Chance...well, actually, it's good afternoon now."

Chance inclined his head to the group. Serenity hadn't seen much of the other vampire since they had arrived, and not up close since the night she had been turned, but his very presence was enough to make her skin crawl. What she had been able to worm out of Saslae would have been enough to unnerve her, but worse was knowing what he had done to Mai.

This is the guy who owned my best friend.

Were it not for Castiel's command holding her in check, she would have happily broken off a piece of Fushioh's arm and stabbed the vampire with the pointy end.

"The Company of Malice are effective but do not make for stimulating company," Chance admitted, eyes flicking over the table. Serenity was conscious that this was a man who saw everything and would not hesitate to use any of it to his advantage. "I thought I would have more luck here."

"Where's Crumbs?" Weevil asked, peering over his shoulder as though hoping his large friend would pop out from behind the twiggy form of Saslae at any second.

"Busy summoning," Chance waved dismissively, taking a chair next to Fushioh. "He will be there for a while. May I join?"

Fushioh shrugged, and began to deal him in. Serenity saw Castiel's face tighten. While so far her step-brother had done nothing to indicate a dislike for the other vampire, that didn't necessarily mean anything. She wondered if he had grief with him, or if her brother was just being his usual petty self - Chance was certainly successful and powerful enough to give him cause to be jealous. He had money and a thriving criminal empire at his fingertips. Castiel had a few Orichalcos stones and was missing half of his face.

"Please! It's getting boring watching Vampire of the Opera getting his ass kicked by his kid sister."

"Shut up, Weevil!" Castiel ground out, taking his new hand with a scowl that lifted slightly as he saw his cards.

"Hold on -" Chance held up a hand as they reached for chips and cards. "Why don't we make this more interesting than just playing games?" He smiled gently. "We play for secrets."

"And why would we do that?" Castiel asked, retracting his hand from his cards and folding his arms.

"It adds some spice to the game. I mean, you can bet chips worth nothing at all, but really, where's the challenge? The risk? The reward?" Chance said mildly, glancing around the table.

"Psh - no thanks." Weevil passed his hand back to Fushioh. "I don't want to learn what you lot got as skeletons in your closets. There's a thing called 'plausible deniability' my lawyers keep warning me about."

"I will also pass. My research is my biggest secret and I am not keen on sharing - hard to copyright blood rituals and death spells as it is." Fushioh added as he shuffled Weevil's cards into the deck again.

"I'm game." Serenity said and just folded her arms as Castiel made a noise. "You keep telling me to embrace being a vampire. If this is how vampires play poker, I'll play poker."

"Not without me, you're not." Castiel grunted and grabbed his hand again. "I can already see Chance eyeing you for lingerie and a price tag for his 'goods'..."

"Tsk, tsk, that's just rude to do at the table." Chance waggled a finger and then picked up his own cards. "And Doctor Wheeler is worth more for her brains than her body, anyway."

Serenity could see Castiel's blood pressure rising from here, and she gave Chance her most radiant smile. "Thank you for noticing, Chance." She glanced at her hand as she spoke, making sure not to give anything away. "So far the only people who seem to acknowledge my brains are you and Saslae. I think I should switch sides."

Castiel glowered. "Not happening. It's one thing to let you date my exes, it's another to work for Chance and his little...organization."

Chance seemed to ignore the implication that there was something wrong with working for him, instead tilting his head curiously. "I'm sorry...let her date your exes?"

"Oh yes - this was his idea of dating." Serenity launched into her tale with relish. "I would fancy someone. He would then steal them for himself, and when he was done with them, I was allowed to have his sloppy seconds. Apparently he only wants things when someone else wants them first."

She saw Castiel's face warp into fury, and she knew she was going to be in trouble later for divulging a potential weakness to a rival. It was worth it though. Chance chuckled.

"Oh this is going to be fun." Chance studied his hand as they all tossed in the ante. Then he grabbed a single card from it and pushed it towards Fushioh. "One card, please."

He accepted the new card and then pulled off a chip. "Yes - I think this hand is worth risking one of my secrets."

Serenity was sure hers would be too, and she was determined to make her step-brother suffer, even if it was only a fraction of what she had suffered so far. So she tossed in a chip. "Risk? I've got secrets to spare."

Castiel grunted, then tossed a chip in himself. "It's been fifty years, little sister. Telling us where you hid your piggy bank doesn't matter."

"Oh, now I just have to play. There's quite a history there." Chance said and tossed another chip into the pile. "I am quite curious."

Serenity studied her hand, then tossed another two chips in. "Can't be that curious if you're betting small."

Chance stared at the cards, then matched Serenity's bet silently.

"Mmm." Chance looked thoughtful, then matched the bet. "I believe I'll call." That gentle smile again. "I would not want to have us tell everything all at once."

He spread his cards on the table. "Three of a kind - fives."

Castiel put his down, revealing cards numbered two through six. "Straight."

Serenity put hers down, unable to hide her relish at both vampires' sighs. "Flush - hearts." She pulled the chips towards her. "You both owe me three secrets."

"Tch." Castiel grunted in annoyance. "Let's see - when we were thirteen, I was the one who caused you to get that 'F' on your art diorama. I was playing ball in the house and made a diving save right on top of it."

"I spent all night doing that thing, you jackass!" Serenity growled at him. "And you don't get to volunteer things - I get to ask! Otherwise, what's the point?"

She folded her arms. "How did you escape me killing you fifty years ago?"

"Wait - what?!" Weevil interrupted, glancing between the two. "You killed him? You?"

"He challenged me to a Shadow Game after torturing a homeless man to death and I beat him to a pulp with my Duel Disk after I won." Serenity said sharply, then lifted her eyebrow at Castiel.

Castiel didn't look away. "Homunculus. Paid for after I killed my sire and looted his stuff."

"You killed your sire?" Chance leaned in curiously. "And how did you manage to do that?"

"You didn't win, so I don't have to tell you, Chance."

"But I did. So I want to know." Serenity demanded.

Castiel bared his fang in a smile. "It won't help you any - my sire was in love with me. He didn't think he needed to control me. So he never ordered me not to, oh, not put a mirror down the hall and leave the blinds and door to the bedroom open."

"Clever." Fushioh said approvingly. "I take it he wasn't smart enough to even order you not to do anything to hurt him?"

"He just begged me not to break his heart." Castiel said with a shrug. "And I didn't."

The careless way that he said it made Serenity's stomach turn. And he was right - it didn't help her. His orders had been to 'not to take any action that might or will hurt me', so she wasn't going to be able to pull a trick like he had. But she had gone into this game knowing this might be her only chance to win secrets that could help. Information was power and she didn't have nearly enough. "Fine. Then tell me-"

"Nope." Castiel shook his head. "That's my three, little sister. The first one still counts."

"Fine." Serenity looked towards Chance. "You never turned Mai Valentine into a vampire despite her being with you for twenty years. Considering who she is and how beautiful she is, that seems like a dumb move."

"Not hearing a question, Doctor."

"Why didn't you turn her?"

Chance folded his hands on the table. "That was Mai's decision, believe it or not. Vampires get diminishing returns from their drug highs, you see and she felt more comfortable in bed with Glory than in the arms of undeath."

Serenity frowned at him. "Then why keep her around at all? She wasn't famous any more, she was destroying herself with drugs and age and everything else."

"Mmm….that was my dear Saslae's request." Chance's gaze flicked over to the drow, who was hiding in the corner sipping a drink and playing on her phone. "Mai had a very developed case of Awareness Madness and Saslae wanted to study her, to help her. And see if being around a 'known' Shadowkind like vampires could help her come out of it."

Serenity stared at him, hard. Chance did not seem like the kind of man who would tolerate a screaming, paranoid wreck of a woman babbling about monsters in the streets for very long. Especially since he was one of those monsters. "For twenty years?"

"She was also good with numbers. And to be frank, I really detest wasting useful people. When she was lucid, her brain was useful. When she wasn't….well...she still was useful." Chance said politely and his smile grew as Serenity seethed. "Did this line of inquiry touch a nerve? Just who is she to you?"

"If you want to know, play another hand." Serenity snapped and jerked her head at Fushioh. "Now deal."

It was a mistake playing angry and she paid for it. She tried to bluff with only two pair and had managed to beat Castiel's hand of nothing, but Chance had come away with three of a kind again.

"Fun, fun, fun." Chance played with the four chips, walking one over the back of his hand. "You both owe me two. Now - where to start?"

"With me," Castiel growled. Serenity rolled her eyes.

"What good does that do? He's still getting questions from both of us."

"Don't be too hard on him, my dear. He cannot help his instincts," Chance said. "And speaking of instincts-" his eyes narrowed on the other vampire. "I heard a disgusting rumour about you, Castiel. Something about drinking from your own sister?"

Serenity couldn't take any satisfaction in the way Castiel seemed to freeze - she was suddenly feeling her own skin crawl at the memory. "How did you hear that?"

"I have my sources," Chance shook his head. "I mean, I thrive in deviancy, but even I have my limits. So is it true?"

"I was starving." Castiel said through gritted teeth. "And not in my right mind."

"Yes, because you were addicted to magical space rocks!" Serenity snapped. "And you never had a right mind to be in, anyway!"

"Don't you say that to me!" Castiel fixed his gaze on her, words both hurt and angry. "Not after what we've been through, what they told us! That we were wrong, that we were sick! They abandoned you to the darkness of your eye disease! But I stayed with you!"

"We were wrong, we were sick and you still are!" Serenity glared back.

"Now, now, I believe I have lead in the conversation, yes? And sibling squabble is only amusing to a point." Chance interrupted. "Now, enlighten the rest of us who aren't part of your curious family - what do you mean 'what you've been through'?"

Castiel scowled darkly in his direction. "It's personal. All you need to know is they refused to let us be who were because they didn't think it was normal for humans."

Weevil was glancing between the two half-siblings, clearly wanting to ask exactly what that was but knowing attempting to do would probably get his head ripped off. Chance for his part, just nodded. "Fair enough. That kind of thinking is common among those who become vampires."

He turned away from Castiel. "Doctor Wheeler, just how do you know Mai Valentine?"

Serenity was surprised - she had expected him to continue the line of questioning with her, betting that she would be more open and at peace with her past. She collected herself quickly, wondering why he had gone back to Mai. "Another person who isn't familiar with my career. Mai was my best friend - we were both Eliminators on the professional circuit."

"Ah, hence the mention of dueling on live TV in your underwear earlier," Chance nodded in understanding. "Just how did a doctor engage that titillating career choice?"

"Mai got me into it when I needed help de-stressing from my college life. Dressing up and putting on a mask helped me separate from the exhausted med student I was." Serenity said. "I was Doctor Death, of course."

She could see Castiel seething next to her, and she wondered if he was picturing Mai as some sort of older girl being a bad influence on his precious younger sister. If he knew I lost my virginity to one of his ex-boyfriends an hour after he broke up with him, he'd probably lose his mind.

"I'd like to see that one day." There was none of the usual seediness or innuendo that Serenity usually heard with those words. Rather Chance sounded genuinely intrigued at the prospect. Serenity studied his gaze, wondering just what he saw when he looked at her. Does he just see another commodity to trade in like Mai or Saslae? Someone to put up with like Castiel? Or something to contend with like Dracula?

She secured her poker face again and shrugged. "You'd regret it." She nodded to Fushioh, who began dealing again.

People lauded poker as a game of skill, but the only skill you had to master was bluffing. And bluffing, no matter how unfailable you might be, could be beaten by luck. Serenity's hand was crap and somehow, Castiel knew it. He'd gotten them into two secrets apiece before Chance had called it and her hand of a pair had lost.

"You didn't use your vampire powers and read my mind, did you?" She groused at him as she grudgingly shoved her chips at him.

"They don't work like that, so no." Castiel remarked. His good eye shifted between the two. "First question, little sis - how do you really feel about being a vampire?"

Serenity grit her teeth, but the weight of her sire's command was in the question and she knew she could not lie. "I love it. I like being this strong and this fast and needing nothing but a little blood to sustain me. And it makes me shiver when I think about all the things I haven't discovered about being a vampire yet."

"Eww!" Weevil made himself known in the background. "Someone buy this girl some porn!"

"I think it's a fine statement, Weevil." Fushioh interjected. "Humans are soft, frail and fall apart as they age. To be both young and vampiric must be quite the enjoyable experience - not to mention the realization the world is so much bigger than she knew before."

"And there is nothing she cannot overcome." Castiel finished with satisfaction. His lips lifted, revealing his fang. "Except my curiosity. Now tell me, Serenity Stormcloud, about this 'Shadow King' you managed to marry."

Serenity stiffened and her shock must have shown on her face because Castiel's smile had grown. She had known Castiel knew Lyrius was important because they'd chased Oblivion in Vegas and Fushioh had known it had belonged to the Shadow Queen, but the fact he'd divined more than that was frightening. He'd only had a few pieces, yet he'd put them together without trying.

But she had a response ready. "Tell you what? I could tell you anything or nothing. You didn't ask a question."

"Touche." The smile grew again. "Tell me how you feel about him?"

The pressure of the command was back - he wanted the truth, pure and honest from the depths of her heart. She screamed inside at the blatant and disgusting invasion of her privacy as the declaration spilled from her lips. "I love him."

It stole the rest of her words from her lungs. Everyone was looking at her, but she wasn't really aware. She could only feel the knowledge beat away in her chest where her heart used to. I...don't believe it…

"Oh dear…" Chance gave her what she supposed was a sympathetic look. "You had no idea, did you? You poor thing…"

Weevil scoffed. "Oh please! You should have seen her in Satellite - undressing him with her eyes, even when her body was all wrinkled and saggy!"

"Your romantic side is much appreciated, Weevil," Fushioh drawled. "Not that I feel you know what that is without having to pay for it."

"Hey!"

Castiel remained silent, staring at her. But there were signs - the heat in his eyes, the little twitch at the corner of his lips. He looked like he wanted to ask her something, but there wasn't a point - he had commanded her to speak the truth and so she had. As far as Serenity herself believed it.

And as heat in his eye cooled to ice and his twitch became a ruthless frown, Serenity realized she knew that face. It was the face Castiel had worn whenever he had met Joey, whenever Serenity had bailed on things because she had a date planned.

He was jealous.

Some superior vampire who gets jealous of his sister loving someone who isn't him! She banished her shock revelation to the back of her head for examination later. She was in a game, and she still had to play.

Chance, too, seemed to dislike the sudden tension that had filled the air as he drummed his fingers on the table. "Ah, Castiel. If you're done being stunned over the fact your sister actually has a life, you still have two chips to cash in for me and I assure you, my secrets are a bit more...rewarding...than-"

"Just a minute." Castiel snapped at him before looking back at Serenity. "You've fought me tooth and nail ever since I turned you to save your life, taught you how to be a vampire." His voice dropped darkly. "If Lyrius had been the one to turn you, would you have fought him like you do me?"

The idea made Serenity's jaw clench and she squared up to him. "That's the difference between you and Lyrius. He wouldn't just turn me. He wouldn't steal my choice from me! Because he's not a sad little psychopath who develops unhealthy obsessions because nobody's ever loved him! So no, I wouldn't fight him. I don't need to fight him, because he doesn't force me to fight him!"

"You were dying." Castiel hissed. "Don't you dare tell me that if he hadn't been where I was, watching someone he loves die, that he wouldn't have done what I did! And if he had, you'd have thanked him for it, told him you understood and would have forgiven him!" His anger was palpable, but there was an undercurrent of raw hurt there, too. "No - don't say anything! I can see it in your face! You never accepted me as your brother! Even though I did everything to help my little sister in the worst time of her life!"

"My brothers are dead!" Serenity snarled back. "Joey died in Zero Reverse! And I buried Ryan fifty years ago! You're nothing, Castiel! Nothing to me, to yourself and to anyone else!"

Castiel slammed his palms on the table, shooting to his feet and Serenity was on hers, fingers curled into claws, just waiting for him to take a swing at her. She was going to break him and it was going to feel so good -

"If you two start throwing swings, I am going to break all of your limbs and leave you in separate corners while the rest of us carry on like the adults we are." Chance's voice was even, but ruthlessly cold. Enough so that it doused Serenity's immediate desire to lunge at Castiel. "In fact, that's a good idea. You both have had enough of each other for today. Go - find a corner that isn't occupied and stay out of each other's way."

"You aren't our parent, Chance." Castiel snapped back, but the fight had gone out of him for the moment. He stared hard at Serenity a moment more, then turned and stalked his way towards the bar, leaping over it and ripping a bottle off the back. He yanked the cork out and didn't bother with a glass.

"You can't get drunk, remember? Vampire superiority." Serenity taunted, but Chance's sharp look cut off the rest of her words.

"We are done, Doctor Wheeler." He stressed politely, eyes narrowing. "Go back to your work. In fact, Saslae will help you."

"Yes, sir." The drow grabbed Serenity's arm, pulling her towards the abandoned notebook. "Show me what you've got - I can help with elves. They're closest physiologically to humans, but there's some key differences you might have not thought of."

Serenity let herself be dragged back towards her corner, opening her texts again and talking over her notes. But it was mechanical, an ability trained into her from years of carrying on with work while inside she struggled to sort out her feelings.

I'm in love with Lyrius…

It should have brought her so much joy. Instead all she felt was despair.

I'm in love with him, and I can't tell him. I let a vampire, a lich, Weevil and my step-brother know before he did. What if I never get to tell him?

Her will steeled itself. She would tell him. She would see him again. She would escape. She might not have gained much information from the day's gamble, but she knew she had gained something far more precious.

Resolve.

OOO

A/N: There you go, fair readers - an early Christmas present from me and the husband. I hope those of you who were chomping at the bit for more children's card games are satisfied - 7th Librarian has been working his cute tiny butt off, stressing over card effects, themes and "what deck do I give my protagonist? He still doesn't have a personality I can iterate off!"

Also, apologies - neither 7th Librarian or myself actually play poker really, so we only have the vaguest idea of how the damn game works. I'm better at Yahtzee.

Hey, I have actually played poker! Not actually won at poker because I can't bluff. Everytime I try, I just look like a psychopath….

Strip poker doesn't count, love.

On that note, everyone enjoy Christmas!