It's always best to begin at the beginning, as some say. It's hard to say where it began…
How many mortals are involved? The answer is both simple and complicated at the same time: as many as there are stars in the sky. All mortals are involved.
That's not to say all mortals are unwitting pawns, but potentially, all are fuel for the motivation behind the powerful dark force which could hide in the most innocent of things.
How innocent? Well, I mentioned the assassination of John F. Kennedy, which was a serious matter, but many of these conspiracy theories, as they are called, are not nearly as serious. Some are lighthearted and fanciful things that are the subject of whimsical comedy.
The ones about famous people are rather common examples of this, especially ones that involve their deaths. Often when a popular celebrity dies, people are unwilling to let go, and they claim he isn't dead, or at least that he didn't die the way people claim.
The classic example of this is probably American singer and media personality Elvis Presley. The man was a legend in his time and a groundbreaking artist. His tragic death at a relatively young age caused the whole country to mourn, and some refused to believe it, claiming he had faked his death because he wanted to retire.
As the years passed, some people thought up some rather weird explanations to this. I don't mean unusual, I mean weird. Like that he had been abducted by aliens, or even that he was an alien, or some sort of Shadowkind who could shapeshift.
Now, seeing as Elvis was born in 1935, he'd likely have died of old age long before the tall tales stopped, even if he had fooled everyone. (Unless he was a Shadowkind with a longer lifespan than humans, but that's really pushing it.) Still, no-one really takes this one seriously anymore. It sort of exists as a parody of conspiracy theories now.
So how could a rumor that causes folks to laugh now hide a sinister motive? It doesn't now… But that doesn't mean it never did…
0-0-0-0-0
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
CHAPTER ONE
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Walking in Memphis
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
0-0-0-0-0-0
Our story begins about five years after the defeat of the Doomdreamers and the destruction of the Temple of All-Consumption. It was early October, a Sunday, at around one in the afternoon.
About a mile outside of Memphis, five or so miles north of the Mississippi border, a rider on a D-Wheel dressed in jeans, a leather jacket, a green tube top underneath, leather boots, and black gloves, drove down the public highway as fast as she was able.
One might say she was rather anxious to reach her destination.
Her name was Sofia Witt, a woman who usually counted herself a member of the organization known to Shadowkind and some humans as Shadowchasers…
But not now. She didn't need or want to be a Shadowchaser today. She had something else in mind.
She was driving slightly above the speed limit, had run about three yellow lights so far, and likely had committed a few other traffic violations, but the risk of getting a ticket would be worth it.
She pulled to a stop. Her goal was in front of her. Graceland. The place where Elvis Presley called home.
When Elvis actually lived here, the views of this large mansion were mixed. Many critics thought the décor was loud and tacky, and that most of Elvis' modifications had been done to flaunt his wealth to the public. One unflattering description compared the place to a brothel, saying that "nothing in the house is worth a dime", and that the "gaudy," "garish," and "phony" renovations were "of an intensity that makes you gag".
Still, ever since the King's death, the further renovated museum was sort of a shrine, being one of the biggest tourist destinations in the music business, and still getting hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Visits to the place often took on a quasi-religious tone.
But the reason she had for being here was different… As big a fan of Elvis as she was, she was more concerned right now of another fan who had taken her here so many times…
She took off her helmet, her long, flowing blonde locks falling free as she shook her head. Then she nervously took a photograph that she had been keeping tucked in the left pocket of her jacket and looked at it.
It was a picture of her wearing a rather revealing swimsuit, with a handsome young man, with pointed ears, fair skin, flaxen hair almost as long as hers, and hazel eyes. They were at a beach, both of the smiling broadly.
She couldn't help but chuckle a little now… What had ever possessed her to let him convince her to wear that in public?
This was the last photo anyone had taken of him before he just… Disappeared, about five years ago… Vanished without a trace. There had been no evidence of foul play, but no note or message from him as to where he went. His co-workers, sisters, and even his parents were all clueless… Until this morning.
That's when he finally called, and told her to meet him here, at the place where the King of Rock and Roll had once called home. A place where the two of them used to come all the time.
She slowly pushed her cowboy hat held onto her back by a cord into place to replace the helmet. Looking around, she dismounted, then strode up to the front gates. She walked past the brick walls covered with graffiti art, into the yard in front of Graceland proper…
And then she realized something.
It's quiet… she thought.
Seriously, that was bizarre. Usually, this place would have dozens of tourists around. Graceland never had a slow day. Its events tended to draw capacity crowds even in pouring rain.
Then she heard an ominous clicking noise behind her.
"Turn around…" said a voice. "Slowly…"
She froze. That voice.
"Sofia?" it said.
She turned around. It was him. He was still wearing the same old-fashioned elven jerkin that he usually wore, and it stood out in stark contrast to the very modern Glock revolver he was pointing at her.
"Philip, I…" she said.
She froze as he lifted the weapon, aiming it at the spot between her eyes.
"Did you tell anyone you came here?" he asked, sternly.
Sofia was speechless for a minute. She had no idea why Philip was threatening her. Still… she did know enough to always answer "yes" to that question; she had seen enough movies to know that answering in the negative would usually get you killed.
She swallowed hard.
"Uh, yeah," she said, "I mentioned it to a few people…"
"Did you tell Franklin?" he asked.
"Uh…" she said. Then she looked at him funny.
"Who the hell is Franklin?" she asked. "Philip, what is going on? Why did you ask to meet me at Graceland?"
"You don't remember?" asked Philip. "We met here on spring break."
"We did not, we met at your parents' Independence Day barbecue!" she said, now with an annoyed tone. "Your cousin introduced us!"
He looked at her for a few seconds.
"Actually, my brother did…" he said.
"You don't have a brother!" she replied, the annoyed tone turning to an angry one. "You only have two sisters, Philip, what…"
He sighed. Then he un-cocked the hammer and put the gun in a holster in his jerkin.
"You… You were testing me…" she said. "What? Did you think I was someone else?"
Philip didn't answer. He bent over to a duffle bag at his feet and unzipped it. Sofia watched as he pulled out a familiar object.
"Wha… A Duel Disk?" she asked. "Why…"
"Why?" he asked. He fastened the device on his left arm. "I thought you liked this. You never needed a reason before."
"Well, yeah," she replied, "that was before you were acting like something out of The Twilight Zone… Philip…"
"I'll tell you later, So-So," he said. "Duel me now…"
She stopped. The nickname… She had almost forgotten about that.
She looked at him square in the face.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
At that moment, it was half past six in Great Britain. At Shadowchaser Headquarters, the second shift for most every job had gone home…
The one in charge had forgone his lunch break earlier in order to take an extra-long one now. He had something important to do.
In his manor house on the grounds, the founder of the organization sat at another contrast between old-fashioned and modern: an old French bureau Mazarin, with a laptop computer mounted atop it.
Jalal Stormbringer sat at the old desk in the proper way (which was in a sideways position, with one knee below the work surface, as it was designed for military officers who wore a sword by their sides) and lifted the screen. He paused and did nothing for a minute or two.
Sighing, he leaned back in the chair and rubbed his eyes. As surprised as many people might have been to realize, he was as just as likely as anyone was, if not more so, to get writer's block. How many languages had he mastered, how many philosophers, poets and muses had he read the works of?
Picking up a paperback off the floor (one of a number of small but growing piles he had begun to construct as a more constructive means to pass the time between meetings and various tasks than alcohol) he thumbed through to his spot, marked by a Duel Monsters card.
Removing it, he flicked it over with his thumb and pointer finger, finding it to be, of all things, a humble Skull Servant. Looking at it with furrowed brows for a moment, he suddenly smiled and replaced it gently back into the book, a memory surfacing that seemed to re-inspire him.
Soon the air was filled with the clatter of keys once more.
"A wise man once said, well, perhaps more eccentric then wise, that it is not so much Death itself we fear, as the uncertainty of what comes after. While hardly the only thing he had to say (in fact I believe his biggest problem was he was seemingly incapable of ceasing to make such musings aloud) this one still rings quite close to the truth. Namely the reason why, despite all the warnings and gruesome examples of those who have tried and failed before in its pursuit, people still find the romance of eternal life appealing.
"Self-preservation. It's perhaps one of the strongest aspects of sentient beings, the need to persevere, and to survive at all costs. In contrast, the lack of information of what goes on after the body has ceased to function presents the ultimate unknown, and the clash of these two concepts is perhaps one of the deepest fears among all life. The idea of all that we are, all that we have come to be and may yet become simply... ending.
"Now, by this logic one would think that of those who still seek to attain it, the majority would be either Mundane or recently turned Awares who have yet to gain any insight into the fact that a complex and incredibly intricate network of so called 'afterlives' do in fact exist.
"But then, unless they had prior knowledge of precisely which of these fates awaited them in death and saw them as undesired, shouldn't those who are knowledgeable take enough comfort in knowing life does not in fact, end with the final beat of one's heart to not seek to prolong it by unnatural means?
"Yes and no. After all, not everyone has pursued it for the same reasons…
Here he paused briefly, as if unsure whether to continue, before he sighed heavily and continued typing.
"An example of an entirely different motivation would be my own father, Jamor Stormbringer…
"I've waited to put this to paper for a long time, and if my wishes were obeyed, it is being published posthumously, by someone who I trust. I don't claim this to be a defense of my family's nor anyone else's actions, but an explanation.
"And hopefully a way to understand why anyone would spend years of hard work and a practical fortune doing what they'd eventually gladly spend tenfold as much to rid themselves of."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Sofia stood in front of Philip, holding her Duel Disk in front of her chest.
Both of them were wearing a device over the left eye, a green lens framed win silvery metal. Sofa tapped the side, and binary symbols surrounded them, accompanied by a computerized voice.
"Duel interface set, augmented reality vision link established."
"So you've decided to face me…" he said.
"Only because I want to find out what's going on," she said.
(Sofia: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Philip: 8,000)
"And once this is over, we can discuss the thousand or so other things I want answered…
"GAME ON!"
She spread her five cards out.
Seems okay… she thought.
"By all means…" she said, looking up.
Philip drew his first card.
"I'll bring Toy Soldier out first," he said.
There was an upward draft of light, and a small, wooden, painted soldier in a uniform typical of Victorian-era France stepped in front of him, aiming a musket at Sofia. She looked at it in surprise. (800 ATK)
Okay… she thought. That's a… card you don't see all too often…
"I'll set one card, then play my Shard of Greed Spell Card," continued Philip.
A facedown card appeared behind the Soldier, then a Spell Card with an odd picture on it of what looked like a fragment of the broken Pot of Greed.
"And it's your turn…" he said.
"Mmm…" said Sofia, looking at the Soldier as she drew.
If he manages to keep that guy around until his next turn, he'll have three of them, she thought. That might be trouble… And he didn't do anything like this last time…
A lot can change a man in five years, but still…
"I activate Extra Gate," she said.
"Eh…" he said.
A Quickplay Spell formed as she played it, and a steel door with a green electric sign rose behind her.
"I have a few new tricks too, Philip," she said. "When I play this, I name a number, and then I look at what you have in your Extra Deck. If there's a monster there with a Level that matches that number, I get to banish it."
She gave a sly smirk as he looked at her. Then she held up her index finger.
"I name… one…"
He gave a look of surprise, then there were several flashes in front of him as images of the cards in his Extra Deck were displayed. There weren't any Level 1's, however, and then the sign above the door buzzed as an X appeared on it.
The only Level 1 monster that could conceivably go in the Extra Deck would be Thousand Eyes Restrict, and it's not even legal, he thought. What is she up to?
"Well, seems you don't have one…" she said.
She shook her head as the card images disappeared.
"That means I have to discard one of my cards…"
She took an odd-looking Winged Beast from her hand, and chucked it into her Graveyard Zone.
"That card…" said Philip.
"Yup, Mist Valley Baby Roc," she replied, "and it may be in the Graveyard, but because I discarded it, it won't stay there long..."
There was a small shriek, and a small, hawk-like bird with a head like a bird's skull hovered over the air in front of Sonja, flapping its wings. (400 ATK)
"Next, I'll use the Field Spell, Divine Wind of Mist Valley."
She fed the card into her Field Zone, and an eerie, foggy mist blew over the yard, covering it with a fine mist. A soft wind blew as sparkling, colored motes glittered in the mist.
She held up another Monster Card, another Winged Beast.
"Mist Condor?" asked Philip.
"You got it," she replied. "I can Special Summon this by returning a Mist Valley monster to my hand."
The Baby Roc let out another cry, then spread its wings, flew upward, and then turned to mist itself, then its card flew back to Sofia. As she caught it, a new bird flew forward to take its place, an ugly buzzard with blue feathers and an amulet shaped like a skull. (1,400 ATK)
"First of all, because I summoned it that way, it gains a small boost…"
(1,700 ATK)
"Plus, with my Field Spell, returning a Wind Monster to my hand lets me summon another one from my deck… I'll summon Mist Valley Shaman!"
The wind started to blow slightly more, and a whirlwind formed from it. A woman in a low-cut, black leotard and black hip-boots with a cowl that has an eye on the forehead formed out of the mist. She had elf-ears and long strands of blonde hair down her back. (1,200 ATK)
Philip looked at the two monsters closely as they looked back at him.
"Get that Toy Soldier!" shouted Sofia. "Buzzard bait!"
The condor flew higher, and dive-bombed the wooden Warrior, crushing it in its talons and reducing it to small, broken pieces.
"Eh…" said Philip.
(S: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (P: 7,100)
"Your turn!" said Sofia to the Shaman. "Direct attack!"
The Shaman spread her arms, and hawk-like wings formed on them. She leapt, propelled by the wings, and aimed a kick at Philip…
"I use Pinpoint Guard!" he exclaimed, as his set card lifted up, revealing a Trap. "Since you attacked, I can summon my Toy Soldier back from the Graveyard in Defense Mode, and make it invulnerable for the rest of this turn."
The Soldier appeared again, kneeling and holding its musket on its lap. (300 DEF) Sofia sighed as Shaman backed down.
I should have guessed it wouldn't be so easy, she thought. However…
"I sacrifice my Condor and my Shaman…"
The two Winged Beasts turned to vapor, and the Divine Wind started to blow in earnest, turning into a bona fide storm. There was a much louder shriek, and a bird over twice as big as even Sofia was alighted on the field, casting a shadow over Philip.
Simorgh, Bird of Divinity looked at him with its large, piercing eyes. (2,700 ATK)
"Same old Sofia…" he said. "Always trying to make an impression…"
"Maybe I haven't changed much…" she said.
A set card fit into her Disk, and appeared behind Simorgh.
"You, on the other hand? I have no idea what your story is… I'm ending my turn… Divine Gale!"
The huge Winged Beast lifted its wings, and a furious storm tore over the field. Philip grunted as the winds buffeted him.
(S: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (P: 6,600)
"At least I had one Spell Card to protect me from that…" he muttered.
"But you need at least two to shield yourself from all of it," replied Sofia, "in case you forgot…"
"Oh, I haven't…" replied Philip.
He drew, and Toy Solder stood up, producing a bugle. It blew a rallying tune from it, and some marching music started.
"I use Toy Soldier's effect to summon a couple of his friends," he said.
He slapped two duplicate cards on his Disk, and two identical monsters appeared. (800 ATK x2)
"Okay, I only need to set one card to be safe from him, but…"
He played three cards, and they appeared in his Spell Zone, one behind each Soldier.
"Better safe than sorry, huh? Your move…"
Simorgh looked at the set cards, then shook its head. Sofia drew. Then she noticed Philip. He had made a sideways glance at his watch for some reason.
What? she thought.
Her hand now consisted of only Mist Valley Baby Roc and After the Storm.
Still… she thought.
"Uh, So-So?" said Philip.
Sofia looked up, and as she did so, one of his cards lifted up.
"Toy Cannon?" she said. "That…"
A French Revolution-era cannon appeared in front of the three Soldiers as their muskets vanished. A ramming pole appeared in the left hand of the one on the right side as the one on the left hefted a cannonball, and then loaded it into the muzzle…
Sofia realized what was happening, but it was too late. The one with the pole rammed the projectile in, then dropped it and stood aside, and the one behind it lit a fuse…
All three of them covered their ears as it fired, and the cannonball hit Simorgh as the great bird let out a cry of shock, stumbling over on its knees and knocking Sofia over on the way. (1,000 DEF)
"Ow…" she groaned. "Pretty nasty toy…"
(S: 7,600) - - - - - - - - - - (P: 6,600)
"Not recommended for children under eight, batteries not included," said Philip. "But anyway…"
Another Trap lifted up.
"I use Gulliver Chain!"
As he said that, long lengths of chain sprouted from the card, and Simorgh screamed again…
"HEY!" shouted Sofia.
She got up as the chains looped around the Bird of Divinity, tying it down. It tried to struggle, but they only tightened.
"I wouldn't try switching it back to Attack Mode," said Philip, with a stern tone. "It will kill itself in the process if it tries."
"You, know, Philip," growled Sofia, "the Lilliputians used ropes, not chains!"
"Apparently, no-one at I2 read that book," said Philip, with a shrug. "But I have another card to use…"
A weird Trap lifted up, one depicting an odd-looking elven magician chanting and dancing.
"It's called Wonderworker," he explained. "Because you have a Field Spell, I can banish one from my deck… Then your Field Spell changes to the effect of the one I've banished."
"Wait a…" said Sofia.
"Thus…" said Philip.
He tapped his deck, and a card snapped out.
"…I banish City of Eternity!"
He threw the card skyward, and lightning flashed… The mist blew away…
Then, Graceland itself seemed to crumble into burning wreckage, followed by the rest of Memphis, only to be replaced by a larger, darker… more terrible city. They were on the main street of a metropolis that was in ruins, burning skyscrapers under a blood-red sky.
Behind Philip was a ruined bridge spanning a bay which she couldn't look down into, but it led to a large, dark fortress in the distance, an ominous tower that seemed out of place.
"Uh… You know…" she said.
Then she let out a small scream as an out of control traffic helicopter plummeted from the sky, crashing into the bay behind Philip.
"Uh… City of Eternity? For a place with a name like that… I don't think it has much chance of lasting very long…"
"The word 'eternity' can have several meanings, Sofia," he said, sadly.
So, this is all perfectly normal to him? she thought.
She looked at her two cards, and then at the side of her Disk that held the Graveyard.
I have Baby Roc here, and it's a Tuner… she thought, and I have Call of the Haunted set… But… Damn, with Condor the only non-Tuner I have access to, I don't have all too many options…
She placed the Roc's card on her Monster Zone, and it appeared flat on the field in front of her.
"I'll end my turn then…" she said, cautiously.
Philip silently made a draw. He looked at it closely.
"It's been two turns since I used Shard of Greed," he said.
The Continuous Spell shattered to pieces, then the pieces stuck together, fitting into a Pot of Greed. It let out a low chuckle.
"I'll get rid of it to draw twice…"
Okay, this is where he pulls out some big, nasty, scary thing… she thought, as she watched him make the draws.
Then he looked at Sofia for a minute before playing the card.
God, I didn't want to be THAT right! she thought.
The Spell Card he played was one of notorious reputation… As it appeared, the three Toy Soldiers turned into pulsating white orbs, and flew skywards, spiraling around each other…
Lighting flashed twice, as a flurry of metallic squares flew into the sky and assembled together, forming a giant aircraft, roughly pyramidal in shape. Turrets and cannons sprouted from the terrible Machine in all directions, a hum of motors filling the air.
The eyes – yes, eyes – on the center of a robotic face on the thing opened, casting an ominous light on the dark street. The huge beast grumbled, and the city shook… (2,500 ATK)
"Air Fortress Ziggurat?" screamed Sofia.
"Is that a problem?" asked Philip.
"Philip, where the sam-hill did you get this card?" she asked. "That's not something you can just walk into the Dragon's Den Toy and Hobby Shop and buy, you know?"
"Let's just say it's a long story," he replied. "And I'm not done yet. I use that Equip Spell, Break Draw."
Crud… thought Sofia. With a Machine armed with that, he'll be able draw once every time it battles a monster and wins… Which in Ziggurat's case, means almost all the time…
Indeed, the huge mecha was already extending its frontal cannons… Then the streets shook again as burning, fiery stuck the set card in front of her, atomizing the Winged Beast and leaving a small crater.
Philip drew once, and then paused for a minute.
"Okay, this should do it…" he said.
"Do what?" she asked.
"I'll tell you later," he said. "But I'll let you in on the effect of City of Eternity now… Strictly speaking, it doesn't force you to attack, but not doing so has consequences. If you don't do so in any given round, then the strongest monster you have gets a Blighted Counter…"
"Wait a minute…" said Sofia.
She looked at Simorgh.
"…and each Blighted Counter deals 800 points of damage during your Standby Phase. My turn is done now…"
The eyes of the huge thing glowed again, and a hatch opened at the bottom. A robot that looked like a man-sized action figure leapt onto the city street below, then knelt, defending. (0 DEF)
"…which means I get this Toy Robot Token."
"And the Tokens protect the big guy from attacks…" sighed Sofia. "Swell…"
She made a draw, and then grunted as a horrid, burning feeling struck her in the chest.
(S: 6,800) - - - - - - - - - - (P: 6,600)
Okay, let's retrace my steps here… she thought. Got up, showered, had breakfast, got a call from Philip saying to meet at Graceland, came here, found Philip with a gun, dueled him, found him with cards that would be hard for a Rare Hunter to find…
Yeah, it's something all right…
"I banish my Mist Condor to Special Summon Silpheed in Defense Mode," she said.
There was a cold, chilling wind, and a gaunt man in a white suit with stringy, white hair, holding a long wand, appeared from the mist, kneeling down. (700 DEF)
That thing is impervious to Spell and Trap Cards, but not monster effects, she thought. Mist Wurm could blow it off the field, but it needs a minimum of three monsters to Synchro Summon… I have to try to stall until I can get them.
I hate to use Simorgh as a sacrificial lamb, but hopefully, Philip will aim for him… I think he knows about Silpheed's effect.
She nodded to Philip, then nervously looked at Simorgh as it groaned a little.
"Since I sacrificed my three Toy Soldiers to use Sky Union last turn…" he said, "that means there are three of them in my Graveyard, so I can use Symbol of Heritage to summon one of them."
He played the card, and a weird looking symbol appeared, and the Soldier rose out of the ground.
"Then," he said, as the Warrior and Equip Spell vanished together, "I'll sacrifice him, to summon Vala the Chaser."
Sofia was very shocked as the female monster appeared. It almost looked like her. The biggest difference was the sci-fi style visor, and the clothing was much different – a green crop-top with tattered edges, green camouflage pants, army boots, and leather gloves, with the hair in a ponytail, but otherwise…
The duplicate smiled at her sweetly. (0 ATK)
"Uh…" she said, looking at her.
"Go ahead," said Philip to the odd Warrior.
"Vala", as he called her, made a great leap, somersaulting as she did, up towards the huge mecha, and a tractor beam from its "eyes" rippled forward, pulling her towards it in mid-leap. Sofia watched as she landed on the apex of the huge craft.
"A Union Monster?" she asked.
"Exactly," he said, "Now for the final part of my strategy… I'll toss one card to play Toy Robot Box…"
He played one of his two cards as he discarded the other, Card Trader. As he did so, three more of the large action figures appeared next to the other one. (0 DEF x3)
"Ugh…" she muttered. "I was kind of hoping you didn't have that card…"
"Well, I do," he said. "But I'm getting rid of two of them right now. You see, with Vala at the controls up there, my Ziggurat can launch a direct attack…"
"What the…" said Sofia, looking up.
She had to strain to see, but Vala did indeed seem to be at the control panel of an open-air cockpit. And as she moved some dials, the weaponry of the huge craft started to move and change.
"I just have to sacrifice two other monsters first."
Two of the Toy Robot Tokens disappeared, and two yellow crosshairs appeared in midair to Sofia's left and right, both of them coming together, centering on her, and turning red…
Right now, she was weighing the pros and cons of finishing the duel, finding the answers she wanted, and maybe reconciliation, against her other option, which was running the other way, screaming…
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Green Bay, Wisconsin. Unlike the warm weather that Nashville usually had this time of year, it was rather cold in this city.
In a dirty locker room of an equally dirty gymnasium, two brutes landed with a thud against the wall, a revolver, a switchblade knife, and a Bowie knife falling to the concrete floor with a clatter as they did.
The man – seemingly – who had thrown him turned to the side, and saw about four more of the thugs, including an important-looking one in a three-piece suit (off the rack, most likely) with a shotgun.
"Put the gun down before you embarrass yourself, Clem," said the man who had just dealt with the two other thugs.
"Yeah, when you pry it from my cold, dead, lifeless fingers, buster," said the thug. He quickly pumped the chamber and pointed it. "You…"
The next word was a well-known expletive synonym for a male reproductive organ combined with one that might describe the act of eating a lollypop might. He was about to say something else too, but it was cut off. Unfortunately, brief second he needed to set the gun and point it was a little too long. Before he could pull the trigger, a muscular arm from the man he was pointing it at reached forward much quicker than anyone expected, grabbing him by the throat.
Everyone else in the room watched with an expression that combined horror and disbelief as he was effortlessly lifted off the ground… Then there was a very loud snap.
The attacker dropped Clem's body, and then looked at him. He picked up the shotgun.
"You know…" he said, "the way some people are so fond of saying that… You'd think it was actually hard to do…"
He looked at the other thugs. A few of them were armed too, but the hands that were holding the guns were trembling. The much larger man took the shotgun in both of his hands, and bent it into a horseshoe.
"Well?" he asked.
They made up their minds quickly, running the other way, towards the exit.
"Ah, suit yourself…" he said. "No skin off my nose… So let's see what you have in here, Clem…"
He walked to the other side of the locker room, where the door to the office was.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Sofia was lying flat on her back. In a smoldering crater that had been made from the impact of the dozen or so missiles that had hit her.
(S: 4,300) - - - - - - - - - - (P: 6,600)
She lifted her arm and felt her torso. She quickly did a mental and manual check. She was in one piece. She sat up, and rubbed the back of her neck.
Having survived a few Shadow Duels, it was obvious now that Philip was just using the plain old Solid Vision system and not any sort of black magic, at least none she was familiar with. If he was, that direct attack would have torn her apart…
Only question is, why? he thought. What's he up to?
The eyes from the thing glowed again, and yet another Toy Robot Token appeared, next to the one he already had.
"You're up, So-So," he said.
She got up, looked at him.
Okay, let me think… she thought. This is… bad… With that Field Spell, if it attacks again, I'll be down to… What am I saying, I'll lose.
I can't attack it unless I get rid of those Tokens… And even if I could, it would survive one attack because it has a Union Monster… Philip may have changed his deck, but he hasn't lost his touch…
She drew once, groaning again as even worse burning struck her in the chest.
(S: 2,700) - - - - - - - - - - (P: 6,600)
Hey… This might work…
"I summon Mist Valley Falcon!"
As she played the card, there was a loud eagle's cry, and two very large feathered brown wings appeared behind her, followed by a tall human-like… Well, in regards to gender, the word "androgynous" might have fit best, maybe with a slight edge towards female. Still, like Vala, she looked a little like Sofia, but with much shorter hair. The clothing suggested Native American, with a black crop-top, leather trousers, and fur armbands. A decorated wooded buckler was on her left arm, and a sword that crackled with strange light was in the other. (2,000 ATK)
"Ah, heh…" said Philip. "Still have it, I see…"
"I've kept it all this time…" she said. "And I suppose you of all people remember how it works…"
Silpheed stood up, lifting its wand. (1,700 ATK) Then Falcon lifted the sword high, and lightning fell to it.
"Falcon can only attack if I return one of my cards to my hand first. So she'll attack one of those Robots, and return my Field Spell as she does so. Of course, by doing so, Wonderworker is destroyed, which means she's tearing this city down."
Falcon spread her wings and flew straight at one of the small Tokens, the Trap Card shattering as Sofia grabbed the Spell Card. At once, the buildings around them cracked and shattered, falling apart around them like pieces of broken glass. The sword cleaved the Toy Robot down the middle.
Then Silpheed struck next, a potent ray of green light flashing from his wand and smashing a second Token into little pieces.
"Not a bad strategy…" he said. "You eliminated two problems… For now. Still… The biggest one remains…"
"I'll work on that," replied Sofia. "I'll replay my Field Spell, and then you go…"
She played the card again, and the Divine Wind of Mist Valley, again in its pure, unspoiled state, blew gently across Graceland.
Philip drew a card. His hand trembled a minute, as if he was a little afraid of this one...
"Attack Silpheed!" he shouted. "Armageddon artillery!"
It wasn't as bad as last time, but it was bad enough. At least Sofia managed to keep standing as the barrage of missiles exploded around her and her three monster, blowing Silpheed into particles.
(S: 1,900) - - - - - - - - - - (P: 6,600)
"Silpheed's effect activates," said Sofia, "it sends the card in your hand to the Graveyard."
"You're the boss…" he muttered.
He discarded it slowly, then breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at his watch again.
"You have an appointment later, Philip?" asked Sofia, her voice sounding a little bitter. "Or are you doing this with someone else later?"
"It's complicated," he said, sadly. "Just move… I'll tell you as much as I can… soon…"
The eyes of the thing glowed again, and another Token fell from the craft, making the total two.
Sofia turned to her deck, then drew.
Oh yeah… she thought.
"I'm activating Call of the Haunted!" she shouted.
The Trap lifted, then shimmered, and Baby Roc flew upwards onto the field again. (400 ATK)
"Then, I'll sacrifice it…"
The small bird turned into a small, cloud-like wisp… There was the low rumble of rolling thunder…
A hulking, muscular man standing over seven feet tall with violet skin, jet black hair and feathers on his huge wings, along with a violet tunic covered with odd symbols. (2,100 ATK)
"Mist Valley Executor?" exclaimed Philip. "He… Oh boy…"
The creature's eyes flashed with pure power… Powerful bolts stuck the field, and the chains holding Simorgh turned to dust. Two cards – Vala and Gulliver Chain – appeared in Philip's hand…
"That's right…" said Sofia, with a small chuckle. "His effect blows every Spell and Trap off the field… I'll just reset mine…"
She fit Call of the Haunted and Divine Wind of Mist Valley back into her Disk, alone with After the Storm too. Then Simorgh spread its wings again. (2,700 ATK)
"…and I can clean up! Falcon, Executor…"
The Spell Card she had set slipped back to her hand as Falcon flew towards one robot, making a clean cut with a flyby that cut it in twain. It collapsed into two pieces before disappearing. Then Executor lifted his arm, and lightning fell to his hand from the sky. He threw the bolt forward, blowing the second one to even smaller pieces.
Then Simorgh flew skyward…
"You're all clear!" shouted Sofia. "Take to the air and deliver your Divine Storm of Fury! That thing is going down, Philip!"
Philip sighed sadly…
"So-So, I can't take back all the years I've been gone, but I can see this duel through to the end. That at least can still get a proper conclusion."
His smile was almost bittersweet. Sofia paused. Simorgh did too, it looked down at its master.
"Philip…" she said.
Philip thrust his hand forward, and the ground in front of them started to crack.
"From my Graveyard," he exclaimed, "I use the effect of Divine Barrier Shu!"
The ground burst open, and a huge man, eight feet tall, muscular, with bronze skin, wearing the traditional raiment of a Pharaoh and an ankh around his neck, flew from it. He soared into the sky, positioning himself between Simorgh and Ziggurat.
"I can use the effect of this monster – which I discarded due to Silpheed's effect – because both our monsters are at least Level 6 and the same Attribute. By banishing Shu, both monsters are destroyed, and both players are hit with damage equal to the Attack Score of the monster with the lower Score."
Before Sofia could even question this, Shu lifted a long, wooded scepter to the heavens… The wind around them rose to hurricane strength…
Simorgh let out a screech as lightning struck it, blowing it into green feathers and dust, while it seemed like the Ziggurat's main core generator ruptured, an explosion blasting from its center. Sparks flew from the huge airship as flames spouted from its hull…
Sofia screamed and Philip covered his head as hot, burning slag rained down on both of them and the giant thing plummeted, appearing to crash behind Highway 51.
(S: 0) - - - - - - - - - - (P: 3,900)
Sofia looked at him in silence for a tense minute or two. Her face and clothing was covered with what looked like ash and dirt, and they was only slightly worse off than his.
He just led out a sad sigh. He deactivated his Disk, and took his deck from it.
"Philip?" asked Sofia. "You… You… Aren't you going to…"
He walked up to her.
"You're as strong as ever…" he said. "You can still fight… I had to make sure…"
"Make sure?" she asked. "Philip…"
He slowly put his arms around her waist, then he held her close.
"Sofia…" he said. "I left because… Because I had found something out… I didn't want them to try to use you to get to me. But… Things are heating up. I can't be certain that won't happen anymore."
"Philip, are you in trouble?" she asked. "I'm with the Shadowchasers, they can…"
"Sofia, here's the thing…" he said. "There's one thing that keeps the world from plunging into chaos and anarchy. One thing that preserves peace and keeps civilization from falling into ruin. It's a very fragile thing that would be very easy to destroy if the wrong people found it.
"It's best you didn't know more than that. But… I'll try to stay one step ahead of them. I can't promise we can ever achieve anything close to victory, but…"
Then he kissed her. Sofia closed her eyes. For a moment, she felt the same passionate rush she felt when they kissed the first time… But it was tainted this time… It was as if he was kissing her in a way to express his love and kissing her goodbye at the same time…
It took her a few minutes to open them. By the time she did, the feeling was gone…
…and so was he.
She stood there for a long time, thinking about what had happened… She had no idea what to do. She took her mobile phone from her jean pocket, and stared at it for a minute or two.
She had already tried using star-six-nine when he called the first time, but as she had expected, his number was a private line.
She was with the Shadowchasers, and Philip was a Shadowkind, but with no proof that he had done anything illegal, she couldn't use her authority to track him down. She doubted she could convince anyone that he was a threat to himself or anyone else, or that he needed treatment.
Still… She wanted to know what was going on…
Finally, she looked a number up on the speed dial and punched it.
After a few rings, a voice with a British accent answered: "Yes, Ms. Witt?"
"Martin?" she asked. "Remember that favor you said you owe me?"
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
SKY UNION (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: The silhouette of Air Fortress Ziggurat flying amid the clouds.
Card Description: Tribute three Monsters you control. Special Summon one "Air Fortress Ziggurat" from your hand, deck, or Graveyard.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
AIR FORTRESS ZIGGURAT (Monster Card)
Machine/Wind/Effect/Lvl8/2,500ATK/2,000DEF
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except via the effect of "Sky Union". This card is not affected by your opponent's Spell or Trap Cards. During each of your End Phases, Special Summon 1 "Toy Robot Token" (Machine-Type/Earth/Level 1/0 ATK/0 DEF) in Defense Position. "Toy Robot Tokens" cannot attack. If you control any "Toy Robot Tokens", your opponent cannot select any Monsters you control as attack targets except "Toy Robot Tokens".
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
TOY ROBOT BOX (Spell Card)
Quickplay Spell
Image: Three Sentai-style toy action figures.
Card Description: Discard 1 card from your hand. Special Summon 3 "Toy Robot Tokens" (Machine-Type/Earth/Level 1/0 ATK/0 DEF) in Defense Position. "Toy Robot Tokens" cannot attack.
Note: "Sky Union", "Air Fortress Ziggurat", and "Toy Robot Box" were first used by Amelda in the original anime.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
TOY SOLDIER (Monster Card)
Warrior/Earth/Effect/Lvl3/800ATK/300DEF
Effect: During your Standby Phase that you control this card, you may Special Summon up to 1 "Toy Soldier" from your hand or deck.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
TOY CANNON (Trap Card)
Normal Trap
Image: Two Toy Soldiers manning a 19th Century-style cannon.
Effect: Activate when your opponent Normal Summons a Monster. Switch that Monster to face-up Defense Position and inflict 400 points of damage to your opponent.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
GULLIVER CHAIN (Trap Card)
Continuous Trap
Image: Three Toy Soldiers amid a tangle of chains.
Effect: Activate when an opposing Monster switches to face-up Defense Position. Equip this card to that Monster as an Equip Spell. If the Equipped Monster switches to Attack Position, destroy it.
Note: "Toy Soldier", "Toy Cannon", and "Gulliver Chain" were first used by Napolean in "Yu-Gi-Oh GX".
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
WONDERWORKER (Trap Card)
Continuous Trap
Image: A female elf sorceress in exotic clothing, casting an eldritch spell.
Card Description: You can activate this card when your opponent has a Field Spell Card face-up on the field. Select 1 Field Spell Card in your deck that does not have the same name as the Field Spell Card currently on the field and banish it; So long as this card remains on the field, the effect of the currently active Field Spell Card is changed to that of the banished card. If that Field Spell leaves the field, destroy this card.
Note: "Wonderworker" first appeared in "Yu-Gi-Oh: Soul of Silicon".
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
VALA THE CHASER (Monster Card)
Warrior/Union/Wind/Effect/Lvl5/0ATK/0DEF
Effect: Once per turn you can either: Target 1 Machine-Type Monster you control; equip this card to that target, OR: Unequip this card and Special Summon it in face-up Attack Position While equipped by this effect the equipped monster can attack directly if you Tribute two other Monsters during your Main Phase 1. (A monster can only be equipped with 1 Union Monster a time. If the equipped monster would be destroyed, destroy this card instead.)
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
CITY OF ETERNITY (Spell Card)
Field Spell
Image: A city in ruins under a dark, ominous sky. In the background, and evil-looking temple looms on a rocky peak.
Card Description: During the End Phase of the turn players' turn, if that player any face-up monsters that were summoned on a previous turn, and that player made no attacks that turn, place on "Blighted Counter" on that player's face-up monster with the highest Level. During each End Phase, the turn player takes 800 points of damage for each "Blighted Counter" on his or her Monsters, so long as this card remains on the field. If this card is destroyed, you may add 1 "Eternity" Field Spell from your deck to your hand except a "City of Eternity".
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
DIVINE BARRIER SHU (Monster Card)
Fairy/Wind/Effect/Lvl9/0ATK/0DEF
Effect: If this card is in your Graveyard, you may activate its effect by banishing it when your Lvl 6 or higher monster is attacked by a Lvl 6 or higher opposing monster that is the same Attribute. Destroy both monsters; both players take damage equal to the ATK of the monster with the higher ATK.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Falagar: When Philip had disappeared five years previous, without a trace, without an explanation, and without even saying goodbye, it left Sofia with questions, and with a pining that wouldn't go away. Long nights were spent wondering where he was, and whether foul play was involved. There were times when she entertained the possibility that he was dead, or that wherever he was, he was there against his will.
She had at first thought the phone call and his wanting to see her again was a miracle, and a sign that she'd get answers. Instead, their brief meeting only presented more questions.
Most people would dismiss what he had said as the words spoken by a paranoid "kook" who was suspicious of everything, but… Most people didn't know him the way she did.
Her pining and confusion was gone now. She still wanted answers, but would work harder to find them. Still, there was one problem: They say "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", but when you don't know what direction to take the first step, how does one start?
Unfortunately, we have to leave Sofia for now, and go westward, as more familiar faces appear next chapter, and an even bumpier ride is ahead. "We Didn't Start the Fire" is next.