Like I said, in the world of Shadow, there are a lot of conspiracy theories and urban legends relating to Shadows alone, and plenty relating to Shadowchasers. Here's one that comes to mind, one which might be funny if it didn't make such serious accusations.
It's already been stated the trouble Baltimore used to be. Leading the fight against evil in that city during the 1940's there were two Shadowchasers who worked as partners in Baltimore, named Barry and Yolanda Gravis. They were a married couple, in case you didn't notice.
Now, they had a pretty stellar reputation at the time. Like I said, unlike Sunnydale, the Shadowchasers were able to save the town, and Barry and Yolanda played the biggest role in that.
I'll save the stories of their exploits for another time, and go straight to the conspiracy theory. You see, as you might expect, they made a lot of enemies. It was said that a changeling, a type of fey shapeshifter who could assume human form, got a clever idea, thinking she could seduce Barry by disguising herself as Yolanda, hopefully to embarrass him and ruin his reputation.
Shapeshifters like to call this sort of thing a "bed trick". The Shadowchasers call it "rape by deception", and that's the legal term, by the way, so don't laugh.
Anyway, the plan seemed to work perfectly. But halfway through her attempted seduction, the real Yolanda came home, and contrary to what you might think about this sort of thing, it was easy for Barry to tell who was who.
What started was an argument that eventually led to Barry slugging the changeling on the back of the head, then restraining her, then Yolanda drawing a pistol and shooting her in the forehead.
You heard me right. Not arrested, sucker-punched, held in a grapple, and killed in cold blood, a vigilante execution that would have resulted in both Shadowchasers arrested and tried for murder… Assuming the story was true.
Was it true? Well, for one thing, when anyone who tells this story is actually asked to give the name of this changeling, the story falls apart. There weren't even any other changelings who could honestly admit they knew her. (Although a few did say they "knew someone who knew someone" who did). Nor was anyone ever able to provide a date or a time, and the three other Shadowchasers who worked with the couple are completely absent from the story. (Those two factors may be related, for while members of the team left town often, the accusers likely didn't know of any dates that the Barry and Yolanda specifically were the only ones there.)
In any event, this accusation went nowhere. (As Jalal told Shadows who believed it, "an investigation requires a crime.") In all likelihood, the true attempt to humiliate them by an enemy was fabricating the whole story. And the folks who believed it were mostly the ones who wanted to.
Much like any conspiracy theory.
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Chapter Thirteen
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Born to be Wild
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Well, that was different, thought Karl.
The fact that he had to restrain a suspect who was in danger of hurting someone – or herself – wasn't different. He had done it lots of times. Nor was it unusual for it to be a female suspect (he could handle that) or for such a suspect to fight back. (He was used to that.) He didn't mind it if the suspect did things like cussing and scratching or kicking. He could deal with that and still keep calm like he was supposed.
But biting? Now that was what made him come close this time to crossing the line.
Right now she was fast asleep as he held onto her, thanks to a sedative that Jabels was able to forcibly give her. Of course, Jabels was pretty upset too, having been kicked in the stomach when he tried.
"Times like this, Mr. Hudson," he groaned, "a permanent desk job looks very appealing…"
"Why did you come yourself?" asked Karl.
"My doctor wanted me to get more exercise," replied the older man.
Then SAL, who had been quiet since Ghislane had threatened to jump, started to beep and whir. Gibberish started to pour from her "mouth"…
"SAL, snap out of it!" shouted Karl.
She let out something that may have been a cough, then spoke clearly. "Be our guest, be our guest, put our service to the test…"
"SAL, this is not time for…" started Karl.
"Ugh, sorry Karl…" she said, sounding exasperated. "My… My anti-viral program forced an emergency scan, and I had to shut down…"
Karl looked at her in disbelief.
"You were attacked by a virus capable of breeching your firewall?" he exclaimed. "You weren't logged onto any high-risk sites, and it certainly couldn't have just floated through the air!"
Ghislane groaned.
"Indeed it couldn't have," replied Jabels. "And seeing as the magical ward I mentioned is still in place, we can't use magic to transport her or ourselves from this roof. And she needs medical attention fast. I may not be an actual doctor, but she may have had a mild stroke."
"Lovely," said Karl. "Well, you're gonna have to help me, she's heavy…"
As they tried to lift her, an eerie wind blew over the roof, accompanied by a cold chill. Jabels looked up, and saw that the sky was turning dark, despite the fact that it was early in the afternoon.
"Karl, Jabels, we aren't alone," warned SAL. "Someone is coming up the stairs…"
Karl tried to let go of Ghislane, but she groaned again, and he had to keep holding onto her. Jabels held up his hand, and stood facing the door.
"He's human, Jabels," continued SAL, "but other than that, I don't know what to expect."
"Well, it's been a while," said Jabels. He rolled up his sleeves, "but I'd be a sorry excuse for a Shadowchaser, a Hand of Pelor, and a former member of the British Army if I didn't stand up to him…"
He stood facing the door.
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Several states and a time zone to the east, Sofia soared after Ferdinand on Interstate 95 through the center of Baltimore, with one thought on her mind – she really hoped this would be worth it.
"Speed World 2, activate!" she shouted, as the familiar card appeared on her dashboard and turned right-side up.
"Duel mode," announced a voice on her dash, as the controls changed color and shifted. A map of the city with the freeways highlighted appeared in place of the card. "Plotting course for crosstown racetrack. Awaiting approval from central grid."
A status bar formed and went from 0% upwards as parts of the highlighted sections lit up. Then it rose to 100% as the voice said, "Approval granted."
Interstate 95 transformed quickly, flashing lights appearing as walls rose to form a whole new lane, drivers quickly moving to avoid them. "Turbo Duel underway," said the voice on the loudspeaker now, "all traffic must vacate dueling lane."
The two bikers stepped on the gas pedal as an opening in the walls opened ahead, and they swerved through it, into the special lane.
(Sofia: 8,000 SPC: 0) - - - - - - - - - - (Ferdinand: 8,000 SPC: 0)
"Catch me if you can, princess!" laughed Ferd.
"You don't even know anything about the type of monsters I use, do you?" she said, as she made her first draw.
And given what I have, I might be able to end this quickly… she thought.
Indeed, the cards she had were almost all she needed for a very potent combo. Usually she hesitated to use it… But not now.
"I summon Mist Valley Spirit Magician!" she shouted.
As she threw the card on the console, there was a blast of air as a young man flew in front of her, one with his platinum-blonde hair in a long ponytail and odd tattoos on his cheeks and muscular, bare chest. He wore leather gloves, trousers, and moccasins that resembled Native American design (although his skin color appeared Caucasian) and held a wooden staff carved with odd runes. As he stopped in front of her bike, he seemed to float, as if hovering on an updraft. (1,500 ATK)
She set another card behind her card, and then nodded towards the side of the console, indicating the end of her turn. Ferd was watching, of course, keeping his eye on a holographic diagram of a game mat on his own console that now turned 180.
He made a draw, and two SPC indicators on the same screen – one for both of them – went up from zero to one. Both felt it as their rides accelerated slightly.
"Nice monster," he said, "but this guy doesn't do 'nice'. I summon Mist Archfiend!"
Steam blasted from the exhaust pipes from his side, and then erupted behind him, as a mist-shrouded demon with a bony exoskeleton, wings, and smoking hair rose above and behind his bike. (2,400 ATK)
He's not fooling around, thought Sofia.
"Get him!" ordered Ferd. "Scalding Scourge!"
The super-heated Fiend blew a blast of hot steam at Spirit Magician, and Sofia swerved, feeling the heated air as he shattered.
"Spirit Magician huh?" asked Ferd.
Three set cards, one in front of him and one to either side of his bike, appeared before fading.
"Well, now he's lucky… He gets to study them up close. I'm ending my turn, which means, because I summoned this guy with no sacrifice, he goes away and I take 1,000 points of damage."
Mist Archfiend groaned, and then dissipated.
(S: 7,100 SPC: 1) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 7,000 SPC: 1)
"That cost you more than it did me," replied Sofia.
"True, but those are the breaks sometimes if you wanna win…" he said. "The best things in life may be free, cupcake, but everything else costs money!"
"You don't say…" said Sofia, as she made a draw.
It was hard for her to keep from crying out in delight. That was the final card in her combo.
"By the way, it's a good thing you did that," she said, "because now I can use Gale of Samsara!"
Her set card lifted up, and the wind turned brisk and invigorating. Spirit Magician appeared as a hazy, translucent vision. (1,700 DEF)
"Because you destroyed him last turn, I can use this Trap to summon him this turn. In Defense Mode, of course. Next I can use Speed Spell – Angel Baton."
A card appeared, backside forward, and slowly turned around. Sofia drew once, then made a discard quickly.
Okay, she obviously already knew what card she wanted to ditch… thought Ferd.
"Because I sent Mist Valley Baby Roc to the Graveyard," continued Sofia, he'll be flying in as we speak."
Indeed, the odd bird of prey with a skull-like head swooped down from above. (400 ATK) Ferdinand shifted gears on his bike, and drove up past her, one of his Trap Cards lifting up as he did.
"Before this goes any further," he said, "I'm using Archfiend's Roar! I'll pay 500 Life Points, and…"
There was another blast of steam, and Mist Archfiend appeared again. (2,400 ATK)
"You didn't really think I'd leave myself wide-open?"
"No," she replied. "But there's always a bigger fish…"
Spirit Magician and Baby Rock turned to swirls of mist and flew into the front of her bike to the sound of a deafening screech. A shadow moved over the two of them. Ferd slowly turned his head…
"Or in this case, bird. I summon Mist Valley Apex Avian!"
Truthfully, Ferd had a hard time believing her now. After all, it was hard to believe there could be a bird bigger than this one. It was the size of a house! It you could compare it to anything, it would be a golden eagle with a stout torso, larger than average wings, and a large, orange plume on its head. As it flapped its mighty wings, the gale around them started to turn into a bona fide storm. (2,700 ATK)
"That's… big…" said Ferd.
"There's more to it than size," replied Sofia, "but there's more where this came from. You see, because I summoned this guy by sacrificing Spirit Magician I can now summon either of those two monsters."
Spirit Magician appeared again, looking almost transparent now, like a ghost. (0 ATK)
"The catch is, he has no Attack Points and no Defense Points. But because I chose to summon Spirit Magician himself, he can use another effect, which lets me banish him…"
The Spellcaster dissolved into nothing.
"To summon this guy, Mist Valley Thunderbird!"
She played a new card, and a much smaller bird with the same basic body shape as Apex Avian (in fact it might well have been one of the larger Winged Beast's hatchlings) flew underneath the giant raptor. (1,100 ATK)
"Oh… great…" said Ferd, looking at the two Winged Beasts.
"You've heard of this setup, I assume?" asked Sofia. "Apex Avian has the power to negate any card effect, and it doesn't matter if that effect comes from a Spell, Trap, or monster.
"But like you said, very little is free in this world. I have to return a Mist Body monster from my hand to do it. Fortunately, Thunderbird returns to the field every time that happens."
"Every time?" shouted Ferd.
"Yup, every… single… time," replied Sofia, "which means there's really no limit to the number of times the big guy can counter the effect of your cards.
"Who needs Great Shogun Shien or Angel 07 when you have these two guys?"
Ferd looked a little embarrassed. He remembered mentioning those two cards when he told Ray how lame his deck was, but he couldn't tell Sofia that.
Sofia pulled ahead, then swerved her D-Wheel around so it was facing her opponent, then pointed.
"Attack his monster with Divine Lightning!" she shouted, as Apex Avian took to the air and soared high.
Ferd swerved too, but it was more to control his bike as lightning crashed from the heavens, blowing Mist Archfiend to little pieces. He barely had time to react before Thunderbird flew into his face and aimed a peck at his eyes – he was wearing his visored helmet, fortunately, but even so, the vicious direct attack seemed a little too real.
(S: 7,100 SPC: 2) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 5,100 SPC: 2)
Well, I'm convinced, he thought. She's just the type of girl Philip would fall for…
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Florence.
As you might expect, Tranello was still studying that odd writing on the cover of the journal, while typing on a laptop and looking up various code-breaking guides. He yawned, and his head started to droop.
"Tranello," said a voice.
The accountant woke up with a start, unaware that he had even fallen asleep. The guy who had woken him up was a short, stout-looking man wearing black trousers, a sweater, sunglasses, and a British flat cap.
"I wasn't asleep!" shouted the accountant.
The short man looked at the screen.
"Is that why you just typed a whole page of ampersands?" he asked.
"What's it to you, Nitro?" asked Tranello.
"Nothing, I came in because I lost the coin toss," the short man replied. "Believe it or not, Vince is worried about you, fella, which surprises me seeing how much you're treating him like dirt. Here, look at yourself!"
He held a hand mirror up to Tranello's face, which he had apparently brought in with him.
"When was the last time you ate or had a good night's sleep?" he asked. "You have bags under your eyes and you're even more gaunt than usual! Not to mention you're getting one bad attitude from it all, and…"
He recoiled a little.
"You don't smell too good either, I might add. Maybe you should shower?"
"If I don't translate this, the boss will be mad at me," muttered Tranello, leaning on his hand.
"He's gonna be madder if you starve to death and we have to fumigate this place after getting rid of your rotting corpse," snapped Nitro.
"You have a way with words," said Tranello, sarcastically.
"Thank you," snarked Nitro back. "Look, I know linguistics isn't technically my major…"
"It isn't mine either," moaned Tranello. "I'm an accountant, I handle finances and money. I do math. Linguistics is just a hobby I'm sort of good at, but I'm not a master of it…"
"Look, let me show you something," said Nitro. He turned the laptop towards himself. "When I was in college, my frat buddies and I put this little film project together. It was sort of a horror spoof… Kind of like Revenge of the Nerds, but in this case, 'revenge' means becoming an incompetent serial killer. Can you imagine that?"
"No," said Tranello.
"Well, this was one gag we used in it," said Nitro. He quickly typed a line of zeroes and ones on the screen. "But it assumes you can understand binary code…"
Tranello looked at the screen, on which Nitro had written: 0101100101. He rubbed his chin as he looked at it.
"It doesn't mean anything unless you remove the first zero," he said, "and even then it's… 357?"
"Okay…" said Nitro. He picked up the mirror and held it up to the screen. "Look at it now…"
"Uh…" said Tranello. He looked at the same numbers in the mirror: 1010011010
"Oh, right. I'm so scared," he said.
"It was a lampoon, it wasn't supposed to be scary," said Nitro.
"Well, it wasn't all-too funny either," replied Tranello.
"The point I'm making, fellah," said Nitro, "is maybe you're trying too hard. Maybe the answer has been in front of you the whole time, and you just keep overlooking it."
"It's not backwards writing, Nitro," said Tranello.
"Of course, not," replied Nitro. "Look, you've heard of J.R.R. Tolkien's stuff, right?"
Tranello slowly swiveled around and gave him a deadpan look. "Uh, no…" he said, sarcastically. "Was he any good?"
"Here's an example," continued Nitro. "The part in one of his books where the group has to get into Moria. Gandalf rattles off a dozen complicated spells that open sealed doors, but he doesn't get anywhere.
"Then he figures out that he's doing it wrong. He just says the word 'friend' in dwarven, and the doors open.
"See, Tranello, maybe the problem is that. The answer might be easier than you think, but you're just trying too hard. Maybe…"
"Nitro, hold on!" said Tranello.
He picked up the book again.
Why would that girl give the boss a book he couldn't open? he thought. Maybe Nitro has something… Maybe that kid wants us to read what's inside, and this is simpler than it looks…
"Got the juices flowing, eh?" said Nitro. "I'm gonna go run to the pub, you want a sandwich or something?"
"Roast beef and Swiss," said Tranello, not looking up, "just make sure it doesn't have mayo, you know how I feel about mayo."
Nitro nodded and left as Tranello logged onto a different website. A photograph of an unsmiling, mean-looking orc appeared on the screen.
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"One small problem, cutie," said Ferd. "Just how to you intend to keep me from attacking Thunderbird and throwing a big wrench into your whole plan?"
Sofia gave him a small smirk from her rearview mirror. Then a set card appeared next to her bike.
"Your move, tough guy," she said.
Ferd made a draw, as the Counters on Speed World 2 inched up to 3. Then he smirked back.
"Maybe I don't have to do that at all," he said. "And it's a good thing you used that Gale of Samsara card…"
"Huh?" said Sofia. Then she shouted in surprise and made a sharp turn to avoid a thing with a huge, toothy mouth lunging at her. But it wasn't interested in her it seemed; it chomped down on the Gale of Samsara card and devoured it. (1,900 ATK)
"Trap Eater?" she shouted.
"You got it," said the muscleman, "and next I'm bringing out Shackled Archfiend."
There was a jangle and rattle of chains, and a human-like Fiend dressed entirely in steel chains dangling from its limbs, ending in barbs, spikes, and spurs, with more of them wrapped around most of its face, emerged from a dark hole in the street. (300 ATK)
"Now I can Tune my Level 4 Trap Eater with my Level 3 Shackled Archfiend…" he said, as the two demons flew into the air, the concentric, glowing circles appeared in front of them.
"With a pulse of darkness flowed through light, a heart of chaos beats with pride!"
(*4 + *3 = *7)
"Show yourself, Chaos King Archfiend!"
There the a sound of the flashing of blades against each other, and an impossibly thin demon with a skull-like face and a mane of smoky fire, dressed in a blue shirt with grey sleeves on spindly, clawed arms wreathed in flames, dropped from the sky. (2,600 ATK)
What's he up to? thought Sofia.
"When Chaos King attacks a monster," said Ferdinand, "the Attack and Defense Scores of every monster on the field switch. And because his defense is also 2,600 and your big bird's Defense is 2,000, this is a no-brainer."
The Archfiend flew at Apex Avian as the flames burned fiercely, the giant Winged Beast roaring…
"You're kidding, right?" asked Sofia. "I send Thunderbird back to my hand to negate your monster's effect!"
But as Thunderbird spread its wings and flew backwards, disappearing as it did, another of Ferdinand's set cards lifted up.
"I think not," he said. "You see, I've got a little something called Skill Prisoner."
Two glowing chains looped out of the Trap Card, and looped around Apex Avian's torso.
"See, since you activated a Monster Effect that targeted my monster, this Trap negates the effect."
"WHAT?" shouted Sofia.
Thunderbird appeared on the field again, folding its wings in Defense Mode. (700 DEF)
Damn, she thought. He realized the one opening where I couldn't use its effect in this lock – it can't do it twice in the same chain…
"At least you didn't keep me from summoning Thunderbird back," she said.
"Not, a problem," he said. "Chaos King, continue your attack! Destroy Apex Avian with Searing Flames of Erebos!"
"I use the Trap Card, Staunch Defender!" shouted Sofia, as one of her set cards flipped up. "It forces your monster to attack Thunderbird instead!"
I was planning to use this in case he tried to attack Thunderbird, she thought, but now I have to use it to protect Apex Avian!
Her bike shook as the smaller bird went up in flames, but at least it was in Defense Mode. Sofia was a little worried now. She looked at her gauntlet that held her hand of one card; it wasn't a Mist Valley monster, and without one, the only way Apex Avian could use its negation effect was to send itself back to her hand.
"Before I end my turn," said Ferd, "I'm activating this Trap, seeing as I might not be able to do it later."
His third set card appeared in full view next to his bike. Sofia didn't even know if she could fully pronounce this…
Sinister Yorishiro? she thought.
"Now I end my turn," he said, as the chains on Apex Avian disappeared.
Sofia drew, as the two SPC markers went up again.
(S: 7,100 SPC: 4) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 5,100 SPC: 4)
"First I'm setting a card," she said, "then I'm summoning Kujakujaku."
The card appeared flat on the road beside her bike, then a strange-looking blue peacock with nine snakes in its plume-like tail, but still no-less beautiful, flew out in front of her. (1,200 ATK)
"Okay," said Ferd, turning his head as he pulled his bike away from it. "That one just ain't right."
"I'll show you," said Sofia. Then Apex Avian flapped its wings again, the storm growing fiercer. Lightning crashed again, and the Archfiend screamed a little…
But…
"He survived?" she gasped.
She looked at the Fiend, who seemed wounded, but not hurt. And chains similar to the ones created by Ferdinand's Trap last turn were around its torso. (1,300 ATK)
"Remember my Shackled Archfiend?" said Ferd, with a voice that seemed to be accompanied by a little sweat. "If I banish him, I can protect a high-Level Archfiend from being destroyed, once. Course, I had to cut his Score in half…"
(S: 7,100 SPC: 4) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 3,700 SPC: 4)
But unfortunately, 1,300 Attack Points still beats Kujakujaku's 1,200, thought Sofia.
"My turn is over…" she said.
"And my big surprise is about to come…" replied Ferd.
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Karl and Jabels watched as the door slowly opened, but the man who walked out of it wasn't quite what they expected. He was younger than even Karl – though not by much – with chestnut hair bleached blonde at the temples. The most expensive thing he probably wore were his sunglasses; other than that, he was wearing a dirty tank shirt, torn jeans, battered sneakers – and a Duel Disk of a style about eight years old.
Jabels' hand tensed on the hilt of his sword as as the odd youth walked up to him, extending his hand.
"Hey," he said. "Name's Lee… Lee Harvey Oswald."
Jabels looked at him strangely. He didn't return the gesture, but he did relax his grip on his weapon.
"Uh, and I'm John Wilkes Booth," he said, sarcastically. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Oswald."
"No, no, seriously," said the man with a chuckle.
He dug into his pocket, reaching for a wallet.
"Actually, I get that a lot," he said.
He opened it, holding it in front of him, showing a driver's license. To the surprise of both Jabels and Karl, the Oklahoma DMV-issued license did indeed have the name of the infamous assassin.
"Call me Harvey," he said.
"Your parents named you after a murderer?" asked Karl.
"Naw," replied the man. "Legally changed it myself."
Jabels and Karl looked at each other with incredible disbelief.
"A judge let you do that?" asked Jabels.
"Yeah, and you know…" said the strange man, "he had that exact same look you two are giving me…"
"I don't know what's crazier," muttered Karl, "that, or the fact that you're allowed to drive."
"Not only that, Mr. Hudson," replied Jabels, "he's even marked as an organ donor."
"Well, hey, not like I'll need them if I croak," said the strange man with a shrug.
"Your have anything against President Kennedy?" asked Karl.
"Mmm, not really," replied Harvey. "Truth be told, I never had anything against the guy personally… In fact, I gotta admire someone with the guts to tell the suits to shove it…"
He folded the wallet and replaced it in his pocket. Karl rolled his eyes.
"But see, that's the thing…" he continued. "I always thought Oswald got a raw deal.
"You think the government set him up," said Karl, who at this point, was regretting getting out of bed today.
"Come on!" exclaimed Harvey. "There were a lot of folks who hated him way up in their ivory towers… Do you really think some 'bigoted redneck with a gun', as they described him, could have done it by himself?"
"The KKK is made up mostly of 'deranged rednecks' these days," said Karl, "who are too drunk most of the time to aim a gun as well as he did. They've had a history of doing worse."
"And indeed, if there was some evil mastermind behind the assassination, he was a sorry excuse for one," added Jabels. "Kennedy's death only strengthened the Civil Rights movement. As such blatantly public acts often do.
"Now, if you don't like the government, the lucid thing to do is vote for the candidate who opposes the policies you want to change. That's the idea of a democracy. Naming yourself after an assassin to express your disproval – and you yourself just called that man a 'bigoted redneck' – is what a lunatic does."
"Look fellah," said Harvey, "I think…"
"My boy," said Jabels, interrupting, "I realize that many believe listening to people like you spout nonsense is a good way to pass the time. I myself think it's a waste of time."
The younger man frowned.
"All right, fine," he said. "All I really came for is her."
He pointed to Ghislane. Jabels turned his head.
"Not that I intend to ever let you near her," he said, "but why?"
"None of your damn business Jeeves," said Harvey. "Suffice to say, it's a personal matter."
Jabels crossed his arms. He had known this guy all of five minutes, and already he didn't like him.
"Mind if I look at that driver's license of yours again?" asked Jabels.
Harvey frowned, then pulled the wallet out again, then opened it again.
"Mmm-hmm," said Jabels, looking at it. "First time I have ever seen a driver's license photo that looked handsomer than the actual person."
Jim's expression turned to one of utter shock.
"Now listen here, my friendless friend," snapped Jabels. "This woman needs a doctor, I doubt you qualify, and you've already wasted much of our time so unless you actually have important matters I should be concerned about, I must insist…"
"Step aside, old man!" demanded Harvey.
"You'll have to get to her over my dead body!" shouted Jabels, having just used the last bit of politeness he was willing to show to this youth.
Harvey's response was unexpected. It was a laugh. It wasn't a laugh that suggested he was amused by something, it was more… Demented…
"Very well, I can arrange that," he laughed.
Then he made a sudden spike downward with his fist, hitting the pavement, and flames burned from both directions, turning into a ring of fire, surrounding him and Jabels.
"Jabels!" shouted Karl.
"Karl, don't touch it!" screamed Sal. "Don't even get up! Those are NOT normal flames!"
"Who the devil are you?" asked Jabels.
"So, Jeeves," chuckled Harvey. "You think you're so smart? Well, I don't like wise guys… We saved your ass in World War II, and you never even appreciate it…"
"You insolent brat…" growled Jabels.
Lee lifted his left arm, and a Duel Disk unfolded on it.
"You'd better say you're sorry right now… Or I'll make you say you're sorry…"
"Never…" growled Jabels.
His Disk activated as he lifted his arm.
"I am neither intimidated nor scared of insolent youths like yourself," he replied. "And if you insist on insulting both Kennedy and Churchill with your nonsensical rhetoric, I'll dedicate this duel to both of them and still beat you!"
"Easier said than done, old man!" chuckled Lee, "because both of them would faint at the sight of the guy I work for!"
"He works for a guy who would scare Churchill?"mumbled Karl. "That's hard to believe…"
"Uhm, Karl?" said SAL, lowering her voice, a very obvious tone of worry in it. "The probability of truth in that last statement of his was 89%."
"Come on…" said Karl.
"Well, see," replied SAL, "while I have thousands of pages of information on both Kennedy and Churchill downloaded and find it hard to believe either of them would be frightened by much, I know nothing about his employer, so it's impossible for me to accurately deduce whether it's true.
"But… It's clear he believes, in his own mind, that what he's saying is true."
"Terrific…" said Karl.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"My move!" shouted Ferd, as he whipped the top card off his deck. "And I'm on fire!"
Indeed, he meant that in more ways than one, because flames rocketed out of his exhaust pipes as his Counters reached the five-point.
"With Sinister Yorishiro activated, I can Normal Summon one high-Level Fiend per turn without any sacrifices at all!"
Then the entire highway trembled…
Footsteps… thought Sofia.
That was exactly what they sounded like, and the thought was confirmed as Archfiend Emperor the First Lord of Horror strode towards them from behind, its footsteps causing the road to shake. And Sofia really didn't want to know the sort of tremors its sword would make if it connected. (3,000 ATK)
"Not very subtle, but it works," said Ferd.
The Mist Archfiend card flipped out of the bottom of his dashboard.
"And by banishing this card with the word Archfiend in it…"
"Don't know, don't want to know!" yelled Sofia, holding her hand out as her Trap Card lifted up. "I use Spiritual Wind Art – Miyabi!"
Wynn the Wind Charmer flew out of the card, holding her wand in front of her and chanting. A golden aura started to surround Kujakujaku.
"I don't know what you're planning, cutie," said Ferd, "but I should warn you, since Emperor was Normal Summoned, I can protect him from being destroyed by getting rid of the Yorishiro."
"Thanks for the warning, but I'm not destroying him," said Sofia.
Then both Kujakujaku and Emperor simply vanished like mist melting in sunlight.
"Wha…" said Ferd. Sofia smirked slyly.
"I was even able to beat Philip once with this combo," she said. "Miyabi gets rid of one of your cards by sending it to the bottom of your deck. So you probably won't be using that guy for a while.
"But there's more. When Kujakujaku is sacrificed, I get to take a Level 4 or lower Wind monster from my deck."
I just hope it's enough, she thought, as a new card appeared on her left gauntlet.
"Okay, so that one was a bust," said Ferd. "But I still have the Chaos King."
The flames shrouded the gaunt demon again, and again, it flew at Apex Avian, with nothing standing in its way. The huge bird's Attack Score turned to 2,000, and its feathers caught fire…
The highway shook again, as the giant plummeted.
(S: 6,500 SPC: 5) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 3,700 SPC: 5)
Man… thought Sofia.
"That's all for now, princess," said Ferd.
"The name is Sofia, buster!" she replied, as she drew her next card. "Here, play Reborn Tengu."
She used both her cards, and a set card appeared as a winged man in a loose-fitting, grey robe and a hat with stringy hair and an ugly, crow-like face flew in front of her, holding paired katana. (1,700 ATK)
"Try getting past him."
"Think I can't?" asked Ferd. He drew, and then smiled broadly. "Oh, this is rich…"
He shifted again, and pulled up ahead of her, turning his bike ninety degrees.
"First thing I'm doing," he said, "is using the effect of Speed World 2. I've got 7 Counters, so I'll drop them to 3, and because I've got this one Speed Spell, I can knock off 800 of your Life Points."
Then he turned so he was briefly facing her, and flames spouted from the D-Wheel's headlight. Sofia groaned a little.
(S: 5,700 SPC: 7) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 3,700 SPC: 3)
Ferd turned 180 and sped down the lane again, but Sofia was quickly gaining. Still, Ferd played another card.
"I've still got Sinister Yorishiro," he said, "and it works for Archfiend Empress too."
There was a cackling female laugh, one that reminded Sofia of certain female Disney villains… Not modern ones like Ursula or the one in Tangled (Sofia couldn't recall the name right now) but ones from the days where Walt Disney was still alive, like Maleficent and Snow White's evil stepmother – back when Disney villains were evil enough to scare people. The point was driven home when the powerful Demon Queen appeared in a cloud of black smoke. (2,900 ATK)
Ferd drove up beside Sofia and looked towards her briefly.
"What are you waiting for?" she asked.
"Hey, I have nowhere to go," he said. "Before I attack, I think I should explain this setup. See, not only can I protect Empress from an attack by getting rid of the Trap Card, but Empress has an effect of her own that can protect Chaos King or any other Dark Fiend, if I simply banish one from my Graveyard."
Not the best situation to be in… thought Sofia, as Chaos King started to burn again. Then Ferd sped up again, and the Synchro flew at Reborn Tengu like a missile, causing its Score to switch to 600 right before the impact reduced it to a blizzard of burning, black feathers. Sofia struggled as her bike wobbled.
(S: 3,700 SPC: 7) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 3,700 SPC: 3)
"And with that, the score is tied," he said.
"No kidding," she responded. "I activate the effect of my Tengu!"
A second Reborn Tengu appeared, again brandishing its blades. (1,700 DEF)
"What?" said Ferd. "Didn't you know that you could have summoned it in Defense Mode?"
Archfiend Empress thrust her staff forward, and a hex of evil, arcane symbols spun towards the Winged Beast. But while the Yokai grunted a little, it blocked the assault with its swords, and with a double downward thrust, knocked it aside.
"Rejuvenating Breeze," said Sofia, pointing to her now-activated Trap. "Not only does it protect my Wind monster, but it lets me summon another from my deck, so long as it has less Attack Points than the damage I just took.
"Of course, because of your Chaos King, I only took 400 points, but…"
A little bird about the size of a robin flittered out next to the Tengu. (100 ATK)
"My Mist Valley Tiny Wren works. Got anything else?"
(S: 3,300 SPC: 7) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 3,700 SPC: 3)
"Actually, yes," said Ferd. "I may have reduced my Counters to two with this Speed Spell, but I still have enough left to use it."
Ho, me and my big mouth, thought Sofia.
The Spell Card appeared, and chains rattled out of it, wrapping around Archfiend Empress.
"Not the best bling," he said, "but Curse of Fate is a great card, because once per turn for the next two turns, I can deal damage equal to half of Empress' Attack Score.
"That's it for me, darlin', so now what?"
Sofia didn't answer as she drew a card. Then she put it aside and spoke out loud.
"I Tune my Reborn Tengu and my Tiny Wren…" she exclaimed, as loud as she could, because the storm was now becoming even fiercer. The Winged Beasts flew into the gale, the Synchro rings appearing in the heart of the storm.
(*1 + *4 = *5)
"I Synchro Summon… Vortex the Whirlwind!"
The Synchro Monster seemed to be the center of the storm itself. It seemed to be a strange mishmash of several bird-like Duel Monsters, including Blackwings, Gusta, and naturally, Mist Valley. Still, the cyclone coming from it was almost overwhelming. (2,100 ATK)
"You think you're Fiends are such hot stuff Ferdinand," dared Sofia, "but all they are to this monster are dust in the wind. Let's see them try to blow him away!"
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
As Jabels shuffled his deck, Ghislane was starting to wake up. She groaned, and tried to say something.
"Ghislane, please, try not to talk," said Karl. "You'll just hurt yourself more."
"Yeah, Ghissy," laughed Harvey. "For the first time since I've known you you're quiet. Don't spoil it."
Karl looked at him with disgust. Then Ghislane let out a scream.
"Karl…" she whimpered.
"Ghislane, everything will be fine," he said.
"Karl, do you ever think of guys like Bloody Mary?" she asked. "The Hook-Handed Killer? The Slenderman?"
"Yes…" replied Karl.
"STOP THINKING ABOUT THEM!" she cried.
It was sudden, but Ghislane went on, tears falling down her cheeks.
"These things crave attention… The more you give them, the more powerful they become. People don't know it but… If they'd just ignore these nightmares and stop giving them what they want, they'd lose their power… They'd die…"
"A likely story," chuckled Harvey. "So Madonna might have died if people stopped paying attention to her? Donald Trump was such an egotist because he needed to survive? Trust me, if getting rid of an attention whore was that easy, guys like you would be able to take longer vacations."
"To think that guy can use magic while serious practitioners spend thousands of dollars on scholarships at Europe's best schools of wizardry," growled Karl. "It turns my stomach. I doubt this guy would be accepted by Rary's Academy of the Dark Arts."
"Actually, I'm not sure he's a 'wizard', quote-unquote," said SAL. "In fact…"
"Can you two shut up already?" shouted Harvey.
His Disk activated.
"Gramps and I have business…"
Yeah, well, if Jabels can't beat you, then I'm gonna kick your ass, thought Karl. And if he does, I might just kick it a second time anyway.
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"I don't know what you're planning princess, but…"
"I'll show you," said Sofia.
She grabbed her last card from her gauntlet, and used it, causing a Speed Spell to appear in front of her and the howling wind to blow furiously.
"Thanks to my Silver Contrail, Vortex gains 1,000 points!"
(3,100 ATK)
"And your combo might trouble me most of the time, but… thanks to my Tiny Wren, this isn't one of those times. Because of Wren, Vortex won't destroy your monster when he attacks it, he'll send it back to your hand."
"What the…" said Ferd. Then he looked at Chaos King.
"Shit…" he said, then the storm blew so hard that he had to struggle just to hold on, and so did his two Fiends. Empress was successful, the Synchro, not so much. The violent cyclone whipped him up like a rag doll, throwing him up way into the sky.
He never came down.
(S: 3,300 SPC: 8) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 3,700 SPC: 4)
"Of course, he won't go to your hand because he's a Synchro; that little plan of yours will actually make him harder to summon again."
"Tell me about it," grumbled Ferd.
"Now, with eight Speed Counters," she continued, "I can spend seven to draw once."
The winds started to quell, and her D-Wheel fell behind his as she made a draw. She set the card, and then Vortex's Score fell back to 2,100.
"That means it's my turn, I take it," said Ferd.
He drew a card, causing his Counters to rise to 5 and hers to 2. The card was another Speed Spell, and the other card he had was Trance Archfiend.
Ah, I was hoping for another monster… he thought, looking at it. Oh well… Let's see here…Road of Fire… That's pretty risky… Hmm… I could win the duel with it, but if I mess up…
He put it aside.
Ah, I can win without it…
He played Trance Archfiend's card, and a sneaky-looking imp with a large cranium and wings. (1,500 ATK)
"First off, here comes the first use of Curse of Fate's effect," as Empress' eyes burned like hot coals. One of the two chains turned to dust as she turned to glare at Sofia, aiming a beam of burning light hitting her directly in the eyes. Sofia didn't scream… As much as she wanted to.
"Now let's see how hard it really is to blow that guy away!" he shouted, as Empress twirled the staff above her head. "Attack with Diabolic Vortex!"
The magic cast from the she-devil's staff was wave-like and fiery at the same time. Vortex the Whirlwind burst, and the storm went dead calm…
(S: 1,050 SPC: 2) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 3,700 SPC: 5)
"Thank you…" said Sofia, "because when Vortex is defeated, I get to summon a Level 4 Winged Beast from my deck. But before I do that…"
Her Trap Card flipped up and around.
"…Option Hunter grants me 2,100 Life Points. Now then… I summon Mist Valley Falcon!"
Her lookalike card appeared, flying forward beating her wings and holding her glowing sword. (2,000 ATK)
You can never prepare for everything, he thought. This is gonna be a risk, but…
"I activate Speed Spell – Road of Fire!" he shouted.
The card – which seemed to be well-named – appeared, and before Sofia knew it, the whole highway seemed to be awash in flames. Strangely, however, they weren't hurting her or her monster at all.
Ferdinand, on the other hand… The flames completely covered him and his bike in a powerful flaming inferno.
"Ferd?" she gasped.
"I'm fine!" he shouted, as they receded, his face and clothes covered with ask. "FINE!
"Okay, so I'm not fine. That Spell reduced my own Life Points to half of what I had. But with my Counters over four, I get to take any Fiend from my deck I want…"
He groaned as the hot fires seemed to reach towards him as a card appeared in front of him.
"I can't summon it now," he said, "but I can discard it to use Trance Archfiend's effect, increasing his Score by 500 until the end of the turn."
(2,000 ATK)
What? thought Sofia. His turn will be over in a few seconds.
"Okay, turn over…" said Ferd quickly, as Trance Archfiend went back to 1,500.
Sofia drew, then thought… Then smiled.
(S: 3,150 SPC: 3) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 1,850 SPC: 6)
"I summon Mist Valley Cassowary," she said.
The card appeared, and a large flightless bird with sharp beak on its mean-looking face and long talons leapt out if. It started to run swiftly beside her bike. (300 ATK)
"When I Normal Summon Cassowary when I have another Mist Valley monster," she said, "I can make its Level the same as that other Mist Valley monster.
"And I can summon another Wind monster of that Level too from my deck, but it has to be a Normal Monster."
Another male figure in Native American-style garments covered with feathers alighted next to Falcon, crossing his arms. (1,900 DEF)
"And they said I'd never find a use for Watcher," she said.
"I certainly don't see any use for him," replied Ferd.
"You big oaf," she said with a small laugh. "Don't you realize by now that I have three monsters that are Level 4?"
"Oh…" said Ferd, as the Overlay Network appeared above the highway over them. The winds picked up again, as Falcon, Cassowary, and Watcher flew through it…
Then a woman descended, a statuesque and beautiful female in a bikini top and loincloth, long, platinum blonde hair, and beautiful, grey wings on her back. Painted symbols decorated her cheeks and torso, and she held a long wooden staff carved with totemic symbols. (0 ATK)
"Say hello to Mist Valley High Priestess!"
Ferdinand looked over his shoulder at Sofia's monster, and while it was hard to tell beneath his helmet, she got the impression he was giving her an odd look.
"So, uh," he said, "exactly at what point in popular culture did the position of 'High Priestess' require dressing like a stripper?"
Unfortunately for him, the Spellcaster Sofia had summoned took offense at that,given the dirty look she gave him.
"Mist Valley High Priestess may start at zero points," said Sofia, not bothering to answer, "but she automatically gains 400 times the Level of the most powerful opposing monster."
"Wait a minute…" said Ferd, looking down at Archfiend Empress' card. Then he looked up at High Priestess. (3,200 ATK)
"AND," said Sofia, "I can use her effect once per turn, if I get rid of one Overlay Unit. For each time 4 goes into the Level of your strongest monster, she blows one Spell or Trap off the field."
A wispy orb flew into High Priestess' staff, and she aimed it, throwing bright, emerald-green bolts of burning lightning that blew Sinister Yorishiro away.
"Technicolor lightning bolts," chuckled Ferd. "Now this is getting interesting."
"Here's something more interesting," snarked Sofia. "I know I can do more damage by attacking Trance Archfiend, but I also know that if I did that, you could recover Mist Archfiend, seeing as you banished him earlier.
The kid's good… thought Ferd.
Again, the burning green lightning flashed, and the wicked Archfiend Empress let out a scream as sounds of violent sparks burned her skin. Finally, she burst.
"Empress has one trick left," said Ferd. "When she's destroyed, I get to Special Summon a Level 6 or higher Dark Fiend from my Graveyard… And thanks to Road of Fire and Trance Archfiend, I've got a good one…
"I summon Archfiend Duke Titivilus!"
There was the smell of sulfur and brimstone, and the flames shot up from the road again. A very stereotypical devil leapt in front of Ferd's D-Wheel, one with all the standard features: horns, wings, and goat-like legs on an otherwise human body, wearing an old fashioned black suit and vest. (2,400 ATK)
"That monster is Level 10, you know," said Sofia, as High Priestess rose to 4,000 Attack Points. "And only 2,400 points? He doesn't…"
She was interrupted as Titivilus kicked Trance Archfiend in the chest hard, sending it tumbling to the side of the road where it smashed to bits. She gave a little cry of surprise.
"Why did THAT happen?" she asked.
"When this guy appears, all my other monsters are destroyed," replied Ferd, "except Archfiends that don't also have certain other words in their names. Unfortunate, yes, but they aren't worthy to be in his presence."
"I… end my turn…" said Sofia.
"Good," said Ferd, drawing a card.
(S: 3,150 SPC: 4) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 1,550 SPC: 7)
"Now while it's true that Titivilus here isn't all too big in the offensive department on his own, he gains two nifty effects if he's summoned his own effect or that of another Archfiend.
"First off, I get to take one monster from your Graveyard and equip it to him, and while mine is short on high-Level monsters, you've got a good one…"
A beam of light struck the front of Sofia's D-Wheel, and like some magical tractor beam, Apex Avian's card was pulled out of it towards the Archfiend.
"HEY!" she shouted.
"Don't worry, he'll give it back," snickered Ferd. "Maybe. See, the downside of this effect is, when my turn ends, Apex Avian is summoned to your side of the field, but until then, its Attack Score is added to his."
(5,100 ATK)
Don't panic Sofia, she thought, as the devil lifted the razor-sharp scimitar. Just brace yourself, and if you can get through this…
"Attack with Diable Jambe!" shouted Ferd.
She was broken off in mid-thought as the demon started spinning his right hoof at high speed, faster and faster, until finally, it caught fire. He leapt and kicked High Priestess in the torso. Pain went through her entire body as the Spellcaster cried loudly and bike shuddered. Then her monster shattered.
(S: 2,050 SPC: 4) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 1,550 SPC: 7)
"You're tough kid," said Ferd, "and you've got spunk. That's why I hate to do this… See, I may have to give you back Apex Avian at the end of the turn, but since Titivilus destroyed one of your monsters, I can use his second effect, which means if I pay a thousand Life Points and reduce his Score to its base, he can attack a second time first."
You gotta be kidding… thought Sofia. No…
He was not, because the Archfiend crouched and started spinning Attack Score fell back to 2,400.
Philip… thought Sofia sadly.
The demon leapt again with a windmill-style kick. Time seemed to stop completely as he hit her…
(S: 0 SPC: 0) - - - - - - - - - - (F: 550 SPC: 7)
Her D-Wheel came to a slow stop. Steam poured from the engine, and she said nothing, she merely hung her head. Ferdinand looked at her with a grin.
"You got spunk, kid," he said. "Easy to see why you and Philip are an item. Catch."
Sofia looked up quickly as he tossed an index card. She fumbled to catch it.
"Listen, I won't tell you exactly where he'll be in two days, but given what you already know and that name, well, I'm sure someone like you can figure it out."
He started up his D-Wheel again.
"You ever want a rematch… I'm looking forward to it."
Sofia watched as he drove in the direction of New Jersey until he was out of sight.
Then she glanced at the card.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
As Ferd drove down the highway, his dashboard mobile phone – which he was now certain to always keep on – started humming.
"What's up, Dunstan?" he asked.
"Ferdinand, get back to Copek now," ordered Dunstan. "Mr. Addams is calling an emergency meeting."
"Uh-oh…" said Ferd. "Is he angry?"
"Let's just say now wouldn't be a good time to ask for a raise," replied Dunstan.
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SPEED SPELL – ANGEL BATON (Spell Card)
Normal Speed Spell
Image: The "Graceful Charity" angel holding a glowing bead between her hands.
Card Description: Activate when you have 2 or more Speed Counters. Draw 1 card, then discard 1 card from your hand.
Note: "Angel Baton" was used by several duelists in "Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds'', originally by Crow in "A Whale of a Ride (Part 2)" (although it was seen in his hand about twenty episodes earlier).
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
SPEED SPELL – CURSE OF FATE (Spell Card)
Normal Speed Spell
Image: Several lit candles among thick, metal chains.
Card Description: Activate when you have 2 or more Speed Counters. Select 1 monster you control and place 2 Cursed Counters on it. Starting the turn after you use this card, you may, once per turn, remove a Cursed Counter from that monster to inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the monster's ATK.
Note: "Curse of Fate" was first used by Carly in the multi-part "Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds'' episode "Shadow of Doubt".
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
SPEED SPELL – SILVER CONTRAIL (Spell Card)
Normal Speed Spell
Image: A pilot watching planes fly by in the sky, with a hanger in the background.
Card Description: Activate when you have 5 or more Speed Counters. Increase the ATK of 1 WIND monster you control by 1000 until the End Phase of the turn.
Note: "Silver Contrail" was first used by Yusei in "Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds'' episode "A Blast from the Past (Part 2)".
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
MIST VALLEY SPIRIT MAGICIAN
Spellcaster/Wind/Effect/Lvl4/1,500ATK/1,700DEF
Effect: If this card is Tributed for the Tribute Summon of a WIND monster, Special Summon 1 of the monsters used in the Tribute Summon from your Graveyard in Attack Position with 0 ATK. This turn, a monster Special Summoned from the Graveyard this way cannot be Tributed again or used for a Synchro or Xyz Summon. If this effect is used to summon "Mist Valley Spirit Magician", you may banish it to Special Summon a Level 3 or lower "Mist Valley" monster from your hand.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
MIST VALLEY CASSOWARY
Winged Beast/Wind/Effect/Lvl1/300ATK/600DEF
Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned, you may select 1 non-Synchro "Mist Body" monster you control except a "Mist Valley Cassowary". The Level of this card becomes equal to the Level of the selected monster. You may then select a Normal WIND monster from your deck of the same Level and Special Summon it in face-up Defense Mode. This card cannot be used for an Xyz Summon except for the Xyz Summon of a WIND monster.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
MIST VALLEY TINY WREN
Winged Beast/Wind/Tuner/Effect/Lvl1/100ATK/100DEF
Effect: If this card is used in the Synchro Summon of a Synchro Monster, the Synchro Monster gains the following effect: If this card would destroy an opposing monster by battle, send it to the owner's hand instead after damage calculation.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
MIST VALLEY HIGH PRIESTESS
Spellcaster/Wind/Xyz/Effect/Rank4/0ATK/0DEF
3 Level 4 Wind monsters
Effect: The ATK of this card becomes equal to 400x the Level of the highest Level opposing monster. Once per turn, you may detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; return 1 Spell or Trap Card to the owner's hand for each multiple of 4 in the Level of the highest-Level opposing monster.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
GALE OF SAMSARA (Trap Card)
Continuous Trap
Image: Wynn the Wind Charmer on a cloudy mountain top watching the sky as two Monstrous Birds fly from the clouds.
Effect: Activate only during your turn. Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster from your Graveyard that was destroyed during the previous turn in face-up Defense Position. The Special Summoned monster cannot be Tributed except to Tribute Summon a WIND monster, and cannot be used for a Synchro or Xyz Summon.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
REJUVENATING BREEZE (Trap Card)
Normal Trap
Image: Wynn the Wind Charmer standing calmly with her eyes closed as breezes coast around her, as the Goblin Attack Force futility tries to clobber her with their clubs, the soft breeze blocking their blows.
Effect: Activate when a WIND monster you control is attacked. That WIND monster is not destroyed, and if you take battle damage, Special Summon a WIND monster from your deck with an ATK equal or less than the amount of damage taken.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
SHACKLED ARCHFIEND
Fiend/Dark/Effect/Lvl3/300ATK/1,400DEF
Effect: If your opponent declares an attack against an Archfiend monster you control that is in Attack Position, you may banish this card from your Graveyard and reduce the ATK of the attack target by half; foe the rest of the turn, the attack target cannot be destroyed by battle.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
SPEED SPELL – ROAD OF FIRE (Spell Card)
Normal Speed Spell
Image: Stygian Sergeants barreling down a highway past a fiery landscape with two Stygian Security following with sirens blazing.
Card Description: Activate when you have 6 or more Speed Counters. Reduce your Life Points to half their current amount and take 1 Fiend-Type monster from your deck. You cannot summon it this turn.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
ARCHFIEND DUKE TITIVILUS
Fiend/Dark/Effect/Lvl10/2,400ATK/2,800DEF
Effect: You may summon this card from your Graveyard by Tributing 2 Archfiend monsters you control. When this card is summoned, destroy all monsters you control except Archfiend monsters who have the word "Duke", "Duchess", "Emperor", or "Empress" in their names. If this card is summoned via its own effect or the effect of another Archfiend card, it gains the following effects: Once per turn, you may select 1 monster that may be Normal Summoned in your opponent's Graveyard and equip it to this card as an equip spell; this card gains ATK equal to the base ATK of the equipped monster. If this card destroys an opposing monster by battle while equipped with a monster, you may spend 1,000 Life Points; it may attack one more time during the same Battle Phase using its base ATK. If this card is equipped with an opposing monster during your End Phase, Special Summon the equipped monster to your opponent's side of the field. (Your opponent chooses the Battle Position.)
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Jemorille: How can you tame the raging tempest? Answer: you can't. But you can win its respect. Sofia didn't know what to make of this strange man… Ferdinand was a criminal and a hired gun, and while she knew none of that, it seemed there hidden depths to him that she couldn't discern.
She knew they would meet again. She was as certain of it was she was the winds would change.
But for now, the biggest opportunity she had yet to finding Philip again was close. It would take research and possibly timing, but she wasn't about to give up.
Of course, elsewhere, things were about to get uglier, as another Shadowchaser faced an enemy just as mysterious, but far less nice.
Can Jabels make a "Shot in the Dark"? Find out, as the Conspiracy gets darker…
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Shadowchaser Files: Races
Cloakers
Mobsters, gangsters, and even common thieves are often fond of telling the story of Sticky Fingers Finny. As you could tell from his nickname, Finny was a thief who could filch almost anything and get away unnoticed. He once attended a fancy gathering where he danced with no less than seven rich noblewomen, and it wasn't until he was long gone that they discovered he had swiped their earrings, necklaces, and several other pieces of jewelry worth a small fortune.
But Finny's problem was, he didn't know when to stop. He worked with other crooks a lot, and always managed to filch more than his fair share of the take, going so far as to pick their pockets when they weren't looking. They suspected him, of course, but never caught him in the act. This made him pretty well-off, but didn't earn him a lot of friends. But hey, who needs friends? That's what he'd say.
So it was then, when his gang went for the "big score" and snuck into a house in the "old money district" of one city where a wealthy old widower was rumored to be keeping a stash of antique gold coins. As one of them stood lookout and another disabled the security system, Finny saw a nice, expensive-looking cloak draped over a chair, one so nice that he snatched it and put it on. His greed was his undoing… The strange cloak came to life, wrapped around him, and smothered him.
Now, some who tell this story say it's no more than an urban legend, maybe one with a moral to it that criminals should follow. (Maybe suggesting honor should be shown among thieves, or criminals should have limits to their greed.) Shadowkind, however, recognize what happened to Sticky Fingers as the attack of a predatory Shadow called a cloaker. Not that it makes the story any less scary. Sadly, however, most victims of cloakers aren't the rotten folk that Sticky Fingers was portrayed as.
Cloakers are weird beings, their minds and thoughts completely alien to humans. It's almost impossible to comprehend their motivations, as they do seem to be intelligent, and prey on anything weaker than themselves. Usually, only wizards can communicate with them. Most Shadowkind biologists believe they are natives of the Far Realm, much like illithids. (Illithids will not comment on this.) As the name implies, a cloaker looks like a cloak with a face underneath, the face having horrid eyes and a toothy mouth. They have small claws on top, often resembling clasps when disguising themselves as cloaks.
Which they often do, as the story illustrates, but not always. They often hunt at night ambushing prey from behind. In any case, they kill prey by wrapping around the victim to crush or smother him to death.
But they have other abilities, which they often use to unnerve or frighten prey. They can manipulate shadows in dark places (and being strictly nocturnal, this is usually anywhere you'd find one) creating horrific phantasms out of darkness. Then there's the moan.
A cloaker's moan is a chilling sound causes a supernatural fear in its prey, and the most nefarious part is, the cloaker can project the moan so the victim believes it is coming from anywhere in the general area, not just where the cloaker is. Often the victim will flee in panic from where the moan is coming from, when the cloaker is actually in the opposite direction from there; the hapless victim then flees directly into its clutches.
The best way to fight a cloaker (they rarely hunt in groups) is simply not to do so alone. Like many creatures who can cause fear in prey, numbers can bolster courage. Also, magical light pains them and might drive them away. Still, some powerful specimens can use their shadow manipulation to blot out such light, so there's no guarantee.
Of course, their biggest weakness is revealed when they confront groups of Shadowkind who can actually see in the dark, such as dark elves or duergar. A cloaker can ambush and smother one such creature by ambush, but against a group, it proves a hopeless fighter and a coward. Night-vision goggles or spells that simulate the effect can put someone on equal terms with a cloaker, something they don't like, and it usually tries to flee such a situation.
Story Ideas: Like the story of Sticky Fingers suggests, a cloaker is a nasty living booby trap, sort of like the "man-eating treasure chest" but, but one that can actually hunt you down. A monster like this can form a story like Predator, where the hero knows he's being hunted and has to get it before it gets him, but with a dark cemetery as the setting rather than a jungle.
Of course, this hardly accommodates a full-length fanfic, but it might fit as a small part of one. Cloakers might fit in well if other beings associated with the Far Realms are involved; while beings from that realm of madness rarely cooperate, they have a knack for showing up together.