Shadowchasers: Conspiracy

by 0ccam's Razor

A fanfic of the Shadowchasers by Cyber Commander. Odd things are happening, and Shadowchasers all over the world are encountering criminals with strange and peculiar goals. Is a conspiracy afoot, or is some deeper plot in the works?

33. Universal Appeal

Those who were paying attention over the last few chapters noticed that it was Halloween, a holiday known on your world for, ahem, "ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the night". (At least in a festive way.) And I'm sure you also know, in modern years, what was once a holiday for children has become an activity for adults too, with some spending large sums on costumes they likely would never consider wearing the rest of the year. (Indeed, wearing a mask helps.)

Those who were paying attention may have also taken note that the reason Red Feather wasn't involved in the operation at the mall was because Maskent needed her talents for something neither Jalal nor Jabels was supposed to talk about

What do these events have to do with each other? I assure you plenty.

I know all the readers are hungry for answers, but hold tight. Unlike the fifty-page passage in Les Misérables that Mr. Belmont mentioned, this will be very important later.

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Chapter Thirty-One

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Universal Appeal

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Red Feather was the type who felt most comfortable in places untouched by human influence, unspoiled, unpolluted woodlands, where the wildlife had little to fear from the encroaching technology and development of the modern world, something that often disgusted her.

One would think that the isolated area of Bitterroot National Forest she was hiking through, about fifty miles from the Idaho/Montana border would be her idea of paradise. After all, this was one of the park's three designated wilderness areas, a place set aside by the government where any development by humans at all was illegal. While most conservationists concurred that it was impossible to keep a place completely untouched by humanity, the law restricted it to scientific study and non-mechanized recreation; hunting, fishing, use of fire, and any type of motorized vehicles were forbidden here, period.

And it was beautiful. Most of the times she came to Bitterroot, Red Feather couldn't help but gaze lovingly at the scenery and breathe the untainted mountain air.

But she had never been here, to this particular part of the forest. As beautiful as it was, there was something that…

HONK!

For what must have been the twelfth time, she lifted her foot, startled. She had stepped in an odd patch of moss that gave off a loud cry like some goose whenever it was touched. Maskent had dubbed it "honkmoss", probably for lack of a better term, but the worst part was, that was the least weird of the weird things she had seen on this hike.

Then she heard another sound that startled her, but this one she recognized.

Speak of the devil, she thought.

She set her medicine bag on the ground, then carefully rooted through it, lifting her Duel Disk out from one of the bag's interior compartments. (The bag had been a gift from someone Ophelia knew, who called it a "custom made Heward's Handy Haversack".)

How do you turn this dumb thing on, she thought. Crazy machine.

She started fiddling with the buttons for the new communication system until finally, it switched on with a click.

"There."

"Red Feather?" said Maskent's voice. "I see you managed to get this past the checkpoints."

"Didn't like it much," she said. She fumbled a little, affixing it to her wrist. "But there is something wrong here."

"What have you seen so far?" asked the Incantifer.

"Well, let's see," she answered. She continued walking, pushing her way past some brush. "Aside from the moss and the pink trees, I've seen a lot of Shadowkind fauna that don't belong here."

"Such as?"

"An owlbear for one thing," she answered. "A few cockatrice too. And if I didn't know better, I'd swear that fellow I saw a while ago was a wolf with antlers. And it was grazing."

"I could have sworn we got all of them," said Maskent, with an annoyed grunt.

"And I'm having a strange tingling feeling in my head, too," continued Red Feather, "it's almost as if –"

She stopped. She looked down. A small, shiny stone caught her eye.

As she bent down to pick it up, she saw more of the small, shiny pebbles. Like little, jagged shards of silver. She quickly grabbed a handful of soil.

The soil was full of it, small, twinkling slivers of metal, like tiny little stars. She'd be a sorry excuse for an elf if she didn't recognize it.

"Mithril," she said. "Maskent, we're on a rich mithril deposit!"

"It isn't just a deposit, Red," replied the wizard, "you're standing on a solid mithril vein, one of the richest in the world. Sorry I kept that part a secret until now, but the last thing anyone needed was prospectors heading out there with dreams of getting rich.

"Not just because they'd be breaking about a dozen federal laws, but because they'd be putting their lives in danger, which is the very reason why there's such unusual supernatural activity, and why I had to send you specifically. You see, the elven warlock who set up shop here was a wild mage."

"Keep going,"said kept walking, even though she was even more nervous now, and more than a little afraid.

"Well, this wizard wasn't completely sane," continued Maskent, "and his experiments weren't exactly legal. So in order to solve three problems at once, he made his home here. He'd have privacy, and could use the vein as a power source for his experiments, not to mention his rather elaborate – and deadly – security system.

"Which is why I needed you for this. Someone with elven blood has some immunity to the less powerful traps."

"Wait a minute here," she started.

"Red, if you were human, that owlbear you mentioned would likely be chowing on your corpse right now," he said, answering that question before she asked it.

"You have a way with words," she said. "What exactly is here that's so important? Uhm, by the way, I think I'm here."

She pushed some branches aside, and indeed, saw her goal in a small, secluded clearing. A foreboding portal hovering slightly in midair was in the center, surrounded by a steel frame with metal horns on the upper right and left. The portal itself was a vibrant panel of red, well, redness was the best way to put it.

"Something incredibly dangerous that we either have to destroy or lock away where nobody can get to it," he replied. "Ironically, of all the crazy things this guy did with wild magic, this thing had nothing to do with that school of wizardry. Powers know what he was doing with it."

Red put the medicine bag down again, opening it as she did. Then she suddenly looked up at the odd portal again. As it hummed, the red turned to green.

"Uh, Maskent?"

"It changed color, right?" he asked. Sensing that the answer was "yes", he went on. "Perfect, you have that wand?"

Red Feather quickly took the Wand of Magic Missiles he had given her from the pouch. He claimed it only had five charges left, not that it was the best of wands.

"What am I supposed to do with this, blast my way in?"

"In a manner of speaking," he replied. "This entrance changes color randomly every five minutes, to one of seven different colors of the spectrum. Touching any of them would discharge a dangerous blast of magic, the type dependent on the color. Red is fire, orange is acid, and so on. But each color can be temporarily nullified and the portal entered safely with a specific type of counter magic.

"When it turns to blue, a simple Magic Missile can do the trick. That's how the owner would usually get in. Just wait for it to change."

Red Feather aimed the wand.

"By the way, try not to use the last charge. Not that it would be a big loss, but if I want to recharge it, it needs at least one left."

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"Coffee, Mr. Stormbringer?" said a secretary.

"Please," replied Jalal. "Black."

She poured the cup as Jabels sat down across from him with another folder, adding more files to the ones they had already pulled on Tormento Amare. Jalal and Jabels couldn't make heads or tails of the situation. Amare was a suspect in serious mob-related and Shadow-related crimes that dated back a decade and a half, but before yesterday, they had been no closer to catching him than they ever were.

"Why in bloody hell would he ever turn himself in?" asked Jabels. He looked at a fifteen-year-old mugshot, the only one they had, taken when he was brought in for aggravated assault. "Johnny Cochran himself would likely have a hard time defending him in court."

"With or without the Chewbacca defense?" asked Jalal.

The secretary turned to him quickly, but he just lifted his hand as he sipped the coffee. "I'll tell you later," he continued. "Anyway, convincing a jury, maybe, if it ever comes to that. My only guess is that there's a contract out on him for some reason, and if, indeed, he's here to talk, I'm very anxious to listen."

A buzzing sound came from the door. "Enter," said Jalal.

Delores and another assistant came in, the assistant with something in an envelope. "Chief," she said, "uhm, we've run into a, well, unique situation while processing Mr. Amare."

"Unique?" asked Jalal. "Did he give you trouble?"

"No, of course not," replied Dolores, "but after he was given the more thorough search required for such prisoners, well, uhm…"

She turned to the assistant, who held the envelope forward.

"He wasn't armed, but had something rather unorthodox on him," he said. "And when we asked him about it, he said you'd know how to use it. We sure don't know what it does."

Jalal looked at the envelope oddly before picking it up. "If it was where I assume it was, I trust it was sanitized first?" he asked.

The assistant nodded, so he ventured to open it. Inside was a cellophane evidence bag holding a small blue rock the general size and shape of a cashew, with a sigil imprinted on it in gold.

He nodded again, then opened it. "It's been six centuries since I last used one of these," he said. He set it down on the table. "Not the kind of thing you forget."

There was a flash of gold light…

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Red Feather couldn't very easily understand how this house she was in could exist, whether it was somehow standing unseen in Bitterroot Forest, or rather, in some other place, in juxtaposition with the real world.

It looked like a townhouse with fancy, old fashioned, and in some places, gaudy décor. She was standing in front of a stairway to the second floor, made of brick with a bronze railing. To her left was a dining room with a china cabinet and a well-made painting of Paris and the three goddesses.

She looked right, towards a den, where there was a fireplace with an old blunderbuss displayed above, a bearskin rug, and a wall trophy of the head of a peryton.

Usually, she was upset when she saw things like this (she hated people who hunted animals for any reason, but held especial rage for ones who did so to display them) but she had other things to worry about. As she entered, the lights came on, by themselves, and the fire lit in the fireplace, much like a gas-jet powered fireplace does. All of this would normally be impossible, as there were no electrical lines leading to this area of the forest.

Of course, whether she was in the forest or not was hard to say, but she could see two windows, one in the dining room and one in the den, and that's when the house really stopped making sense. Despite being on opposite sides of the house, they seemed to show the exact same view looking out.

"Red, are you there?" asked Maskent's voice, his tone sounding slightly concerned. "Don't move from that spot!"

"I'm here, I'm here," she said, assuring. She didn't move, but tried to study one of the windows. It seemed to show the outside of the portal she had…

She turned around, and saw that there was no portal where she had come in, but there was a front door.

"Be careful, Red, I have to help you here, because according to my notes, this guy took steps to make sure a would-be burglar didn't escape with his life. Almost everything in there is booby trapped, cursed, or both. I don't want to end up having to clean up what's left of you with a sponge."

Red slowly looked from side to side. "Thanks for helping me calm down," she said.

"Sorry, but better you be warned," he replied. "I can walk you through this, but you have to be careful. What you need is in a special room above the third floor, where thankfully, a switch to turn the security system off can be found.

"When you go up the stairs, do NOT touch the handrail, okay? I know it's hard not to, but don't touch it."

Red cautiously approached the stairs, watching the floor as she did.

"That's it, Red, take it slow," he said. "The fifth step should have a discolored part near the left. Make sure you step on that, but only once."

As Red stepped on it, there was a click. She froze, and heard several other clicks move through several other parts of the house.

"Wizards," she sighed, continuing upward.

And a sly smirk appeared on the face of the one following her as she nodded approval.

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As before, we have to move forward in time several hours, given the time difference between Liverpool and Idaho.

It was six AM, the morning after Dunstan had cast the Stasis Sigil on the Pan Dimensional Homing Device.

In the showroom, Oswald was asleep, his chair leaning against the display case that held the grim-looking robot. At his feet was a cookie bag, a donut box, a spilled soda bottle, and what was left of their contents. (Which wasn't much except some crumbs.)

As he snored, he mumbled a little, occasionally laughing softly or groaning in pain, weeping a little, then snickering a few seconds later.

Dark things plagued his dreams, or rather, dreams that most humans would consider night terrors. Of course, that was far from the only strange thing about him.

Now, he may have been a heavy sleeper, but he would have had to be comatose not to wake up at the sound of wood splintering and glass breaking as the door was not just kicked open, but clear off its frame and landing at his feet.

"Ugh, what the?" he said.

"Where're the gears?" demanded a husky female voice.

Oswald looked up and saw Terra Ironhoof standing in front of a pile of shattered glass – the remains of the door – her spandex outfit having been swapped for leather trousers and a sleeveless shirt, with her overcoat still covering them.

She looked at Oswald and cracked her knuckles.

"Uh, if you're looking for the china shop, it's four blocks over," he said.

The look on her face clearly indicated she did not find it funny…

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Red Feather started to realize why the owner of this place was so possessive. He was clearly a collector of expensive and exotic artwork and curiosities, but wasn't all-too savvy at interior decorating.

Most of the stuff here looked museum-quality, but it had been arranged without any thought or planning. In one room Red walked through, a four-armed statue of Shiva was in one corner, and by the widow by the wall (again, showing the same scene as the ones in the entrance hall) was a large, grim-looking painting that seemed to have been inspired by Botticelli's Birth of Venus. (To describe it, the woman was brunette, had darker skin, and her head was bowed, the clam shell had the dull texture of stone, and there were no cherubs or any other figures against what was a dark backdrop on placid water.)

Still, she didn't need an Incantifer to tell her they were dangerous. The evil magic in this house was thick, and it was getting thicker with each careful step she made towards the top floor.

"Maskent, are you absolutely sure there's nothing living in this place?" she asked.

"As far as I know, there are no living guardians," he said, "I don't think – Red Feather, run, run to the hallway in front of you!"

Red turned around quickly by instinct, and saw that the woman in the painting and the statue of Shiva had both moved and gained diabolic-looking pupils, and even worse, had produced bows with sharp, metal arrows, aimed at her. She didn't need a second warning, but fled and ducked as they fired repeatedly, the quarrels whizzing past her, one of them nicking her ear.

As she cleared the door, however, an unseen hand with a cane in it swung, smashing the statue, and then muttered something in elven, causing a small fireball to shoot at the painting and incinerate it.

"Talk about art initiating life," said the strange assailant.

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"Calm down, Jabels," said Jalal, "I'm pretty sure this is just a hologram."

Indeed, the odd pebble seemed to have conjured a translucent image of Fanciullo Cattivo himself, sitting in an armchair. Jabels nodded, but he didn't relax his grip on his weapon yet.

"Hello," said the notorious mobster. "Since this recording is being played, and the Emblem Bead was only set to function for someone with gold dragon blood, I assume I'm speaking to Jalal Stormbringer. Unless, that is, there's another half-dragon with a gold parent somewhere I don't know about. Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if there was. If the last two weeks has taught me anything, it's that no matter how prepared you are for the worst case scenario, it's always possible to come across something even worse."

He cleared his throat loudly. "I can also assume, since you found the Emblem, that your security is still top-notch. Regular cops who search a suspect don't like looking there unless they have to.

"Let's get one thing out of the way quickly, I am not here to make a challenge to Ms. Schafer for her deck. It's neither the time nor the place.

"Now, you might be wondering why in the Nine Hells someone like Tormento would turn himself in. After all, you have enough on him to put him away for the rest of his life, and given the lifespan of his species, that's a very long time."

"I'd say this was neither the time nor the place for jokes too," said Delores.

"Quiet!" ordered Jalal.

"You see, Mr. Stormbringer," continued the mobster, "for a man like me, money is rarely a problem, but using it can be. Oh, I have no problem going to the barber shop or going to the deli to get a cheese sandwich if I want. Some of the merchants around here know who I am, sure, but some actually distrust the police more than they do me, and others are only too happy to just give me what I want, even when I offer to pay for it.

"But… Going to some businesses presents a problem. Post offices, not a good idea. Forget about hospitals; I can't trust a doctor in a place so public. And in large shopping centers where ID is required to use a credit card, I always have to make sure I use the same one for each.

"What, you think I use any with my real name on them?

"So, when I have a crisis on my hands that requires something I can't get on my own, I have to find a way to negotiate with someone I'd rather not, and I prefer to do that on my own terms. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that the old 'offer you can't refuse' is a request, Stormbringer, we all know the term is a 'nice' way to say 'blackmail'. Even when I do agree to meet someone on equal terms I… I try to find some loophole to use that to my advantage."

Jalal winced a little as he said the word "loophole". He had said it sort of, well, suggestively, pausing at what seemed like just the right time.

"But can you blame me? If I were to just ask, you'd think I was up to something. You'd say, 'He's a crook, he's got blood on his hands, he's likely to turn on us if we trust him'.

"Sounds fair, I can live with that. Of course, I wouldn't exactly be helping my case if I kidnapped one of your men to demand your help."

He leaned forward in his chair, and his tone turned deathly serious.

"Two of my men are dead, Stormbringer, I've made an enemy who I believe is getting in your hair too, and this is one time I can't risk a refusal, which is why I'm resorting to a risky and very unusual method. Tormento surrendered to act as a 'collateral'."

He sat back down again.

"As in, keep him as an assurance this is not a set-up."

"Is he serious?" asked Jabels.

"I'm deadly serious here," continued Fanciullo, as if to answer. "He volunteered, and he knows, as I do, that by being in your custody, he may well be the safest member of my organization right now. That is how dangerous this crisis is."

"Let's hear the rest," said Jalal.

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Red Feather was tough. Nobody would deny that. There were only three times in her whole life she could remember having screamed in fear.

After running from that painting and statue, into the hallway with the access to the top of the house, she had done so a fourth time. Of course, triggering a trap that causes the hallway doors to seal shut and dozens of knives to shoot from the wall ahead of you tends to do that.

Still, she dropped, as quick as she could, falling to the floor as the knives flew over her, embedding in the wall behind her. As the second phase of the trap started and metal spires started to shoot up from the floor, she was already making a fast barrel-roll ahead of them, towards a porcelain idol at the far end.

Naturally, it started to breathe fire, aiming downwards, but she leapt to her feet, and with a powerful roundhouse kick, smashed it into little pieces.

"Red, the switch!" screamed Maskent.

Red looked and saw her first goal, a red lever that looked like a fire alarm switch on the wall about six feet off the floor.

Even as the hallway system was starting something new, she leapt for it, grabbed it, and gave a yank.

A hiss of deflating air and a low whir signaled the security system shutting off. As a compartment in the ceiling opened and a ladder slowly descended, Red slumped to the floor and held her chest, her heart pounding.

"Red, are you okay?" asked Maskent.

"I am never going to do that again," she responded. She looked upward, and then stood up. "Well, we might as well get what I came for."

She slowly climbed the ladder, up into a small niche that looked like the interior of a chimney. She looked around, then put her hand on one of the walls.

"Two feet to the right and half a foot up," said Maskent.

Red followed those instructions, and felt a loose brick, giving it a push, and a secret door opened with a loud scraping noise.

The room inside was almost empty. There was a spotlight in the middle, where something was floating. It looked like a staff or spear or something of the sort, with a shaft like bamboo, with two prongs on the tip shaped like curved horns.

This sure is a lot to protect just one magic staff, she thought. She carefully started to reach for it. Ah well, the sooner this is done, the sooner I can leave this –

"Trick or treat," said someone behind her.

Red spun around, grabbing the hilt of the knife on her belt as she did and drawing it, holding it high threateningly at what she assumed was a new enemy. Still, the young woman, who was an elf much like her, certainly didn't seem threatening.

Emily – because it was indeed her – had gotten rid of the spelunking ensemble and was back to her rather risqué wardrobe, and then some. She wore what may have been construed as a black vest or corset, straps holding the two sides together and covering a dangerous amount of cleavage, with matching short-shorts, gloves, knee-high books, and a domino mask. She had gone brunette too, somehow, topping off the ensemble with an odd black Tricorn hat with a white feather in it.

As Red Feather looked at the strange – to her – visitor with shock, wonder, and disbelief, Emily looked her over. "Who are – " she started.

"Emily," came the reply quickly. "Best not touch that, Red, if you had, you might not have lived to regret it… Or you may have lived anywhere from a few years to the end of time regretting it."

Red looked at the staff, then at Emily. "Do I know you?" she asked.

"We have a friend in common," replied Emily. "Move, move. The guy on the radio there was a little misinformed. There's one more booby trap, and it could potentially be a biggie."

"Biggie?" asked Red. Still, she backed up a little, and Emily moved forward, looking closely at the odd staff in the spotlight.

"Mmm-hmm," she said. "Yup. Rigged with a Nahal's Reckless Dweomer,a Wild Mage's favorite 'screw you' towards anyone who thinks they got the better of him. Touching this would set it off and trigger a Wild Surge on purpose, hitting you right in the face with it."

"Maskent, you getting this?" asked Red.

"Loud and clear," replied the Incantifer. "I can't verify that, but it does make sense."

"Better back up and let me do this," said Emily.

"Won't it hit you?" asked Red.

Emily tapped a choker she was wearing. "See this?" she asked. "It's got an Improved Hornung's Surge Selector cast on it. Gives me a better chance of getting a Surge I can handle."

"Possibly," said Maskent's voice. "Hornung's Surge Selector does present two possibilities and let the intended victim choose one."

"Three," replied Emily. "This is the improved version, remember?"

"I still don't trust Wild Magic, even to avoid other Wild Magic," answered Maskent. "It's still playing with the laws of probability and chance. I seem to remember it didn't help Hornung himself much when he perished in the Wildwind."

"Guy's quite a pessimist, isn't he?" asked Emily, with a giggle. "Uh, Red you might want to stand back a little."

Red didn't know what to make of this strange woman, but she did take a few steps back as Emily slowly reached for it.

"Easy, careful," said Emily. She closed one eye and measured with her hands.

Finally, she grabbed it. There was a flash of light, and Red heard a scream come from her.

"No, please no! The pain!" howled Emily.

"Oh my God," gasped Red.

There was more giggling. "Kidding!" said Emily. She appeared out of the light, no worse for wear, holding the staff. "Still in one piece, I haven't been turned to stone, into a pig, or a feral reptile girl, or catapulted into another dimension."

She coughed a little, and some purple smoke came from her mouth as she did. Then again three times, green, pink, and red. She cleared her throat, and breathed deeply.

"Think I'm okay. Not bad, huh?"

"Well thank you, I –" started Red. She reached for the staff.

"Whoa, whoa," said Emily. "Hold on there, Red. Back off."

Red looked her in the eye, squarely.

"Afraid I need this," continued Emily, "but because you –"

"I see," said Red, "you followed me up here so you could avoid all the traps."

"Well, I was pretty glad you disarmed that last one," said Emily, with a nod, "even if it was the same way you use a stick to disarm a bear trap. Nice moves, by the way, worthy of Indiana Jones."

Red went to draw her knife again, clearly not getting the reference, as Emily lifted her other hand. "Red, you know that painting and sculpture you had to run from? The owner of this house bought a lot of stuff from the same art dealer, and the rest of his collection would probably have ambushed you once you set foot in that hall again. Good thing for you, I took care of them first."

Red lowered the knife, and started to speak in a far-more formal tone. "Thank you for the help, but that is only more proof that the artifact in question is very dangerous, and as Shadowchaser, I must insist it be handed over for examination and containment."

Her voice lowered. "And just to make sure we're on the same page, what I meant was, you'd best hand it over, now."

"I've got as much right to it as you do kid," said Emily. "Just who's property is this? Aren't you trespassing by coming here?"

"Are you threatening me?" asked Red. Of course, Emily did have a point. She was trespassing, which is why Maskent was handling this as a covert mission that had been called a "favor".

"So are you, I notice."

"True, and I'm no stool pigeon," said Emily. Then her voice turned serious quickly. "Red, I'd really rather not fight you, and no offense to your boss, but my boss wants this thing disposed of too, and he can do a better job. He's mastered Axiomatic Magic, and can dispose of things like this quickly."

Red relaxed her stance a little, but she knew that wasn't her decision to make, nor was it Maskent's.

"It's okay," said Emily, softly. "Can't you trust a kinsman in these parts? I know what you're thinking. Tell you what, since we if you're so adamant about it, I'll duel you for it, with the winner taking the staff, and both of us just forgetting this meeting ever occurred. Whoever goes back empty-handed can just say it wasn't here."

"Well, I," replied Red.

"I can live with that," said Maskent's voice. "I'd like to avoid any more violence. After all, I'm not certain the area is safe yet."

Red shrugged. "I can duel you," she said. "No skin off my nose."

"A little stuffy in here," said Emily, with a smile. She sauntered past Red, slowly. "Let's go outside." She stopped and turned. "What? Oh, like the outfit?" She turned around to show Red the whole view. "Got it half price at Crom's House of Cosplay."

"Then go get the other half of it," mumbled Red, as she followed her out.

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Dunstan was himself dozing in the office where the Device was, only to be woken up with a start by a scream and a loud crash from outside it.

"Oswald?" he shouted. "What the fuck is going –"

Before he could say "on" he had to duck as the water bubbler was thrown through the door, breaking it down.

Dunstan backed away as Terra entered. Dear God, he thought.

"I want the gears," she demanded.

"What gears?" he asked.

"Those," she said, pointing to the pine box on the desk that had the Device's four cogs.

"Uhm," said Dunstan said to himself. Think, Jacob, think, he thought.

"Listen," she said, "I don't know what they do, I don't particularly care. I being paid five-thousand clams for this job and I don't want any trouble. So just hand them over."

Then he grabbed the pine box, and to Terra's shock, shoved it inside the safe under the desk, and slammed the door shut.

"THERE," he said. "That safe has a time lock on it, and it activates when the door is shut. Do whatever you want, lady, the boss is the only one who can open it for the next twenty-four hours."

Terra looked at him. Then she looked at the safe. She said nothing, but walked towards him. He started to sweat a little.

But she just shoved him over, moved the desk a little, and then lifted the safe up, hefting it on her shoulder.

"Uh, good call," he said.

"Bye," said Terra. She started to walk out.

Dunstan groaned as he got up. He looked at the clock on the table. Okay, he thought. It's six-ten in morning, I've been awake about five minutes. I fell asleep at the office, and my clothes are a mess... I have the worst headache, I haven't had my coffee, haven't eaten anything, haven't showered, and haven't even gone to the bathroom.

And yet, I'm already back to handling the worst crisis Copek has ever had. They don't tell you this sort of thing in engineering school.

As he pulled himself up, Oswald stumbled in, half his face bruised.

"Ugh, what happened?" he groaned. "What hit me?"

"Terra Ironhoof's fist, most likely," answered Dunstan. "What the hell did you say to her?"

He didn't wait for an answer, but started searching the desk, and by search, that meant pushing everything off of it.

"What are you doing?" moaned Oswald.

"What I should have done last night," said Dunstan, "calling Addams." He found the cellphone and hit the speed dial number. "Let's just hope I can reach him wherever this secret place he went to is."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"I've always loved Halloween, Red," chuckled Emily. "Something about a holiday that humans have where they combine ancient Pagan traditions with bite-size Snickers and York Peppermint Patties."

Right now, the two of them were in front of the portal with the prismatic barrier, Duel Disks and D-Gazers activated. The sun was starting to set, and long shadows were getting longer still.

(Red Feather: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - (Emily: 8,000)

"Why do I always get the weirdoes?" asked Red. She made her first draw, and looked over her hand of six, one by one.

"I'll start with the Trade-In Spell Card," she said. "I'll discard a Level 8 monster, and draw twice."

Not all-too many Level 8 Elemental Heroes, thought Emily. At least non-Fusions. Wonder what she has now?

Red studied the new options carefully, and again, took three of her cards. "I'll summon Botanical Girl."

There was a girlish giggle as fairy dust sprinkled from above, and a familiar floral sylph with a leaf-covered torso and a carnation in place of hair, a pitcher plant serving as a ponytail, hopped in front of the duelist. (1,300 ATK)

Emily said nothing, but smiled back at the young plant spirt. Red placed the other two cards in her Disk, and they appeared reversed.

"Done," she said.

"So soon?" asked Emily.

"Are you going to duel, or are you going to talk all night?" asked Red. "It's getting late."

"Red," said Emily, "You're too serious. You gotta get rid of that stick up your ass and live a little."

As she drew her sixth card, Red Feather hadn't changed her stern expression. So Emily turned her expression even less serious.

"Listen close, and I'll elucidate, about what goes on when it gets late. When ghosts and goblins, ghouls and trolls, creep from their lairs and crawl from their holes."

Rhyming? thought Red Feather What does she think I am, a first grader?

But Emily continued. "Some are fat, and some are thin, some don't even wear their skin! But I'm telling you sister, it's a fateful sight, to see what happens on Halloween night!"

She dramatically lifted one of her cards, and then shoved it into her Disk's Graveyard pile. "I'll send one Fiend-Type monster to the bier baron, and in return, I'll Special Summon Malicevorous Fork!"

As she discarded the card, there was a far-less pleasant giggle, and an ugly imp with metallic skin, horns on its temples, and mandibles, holding a long, fancy golden fork (as in an eating utensil) as long as he was, appeared. (400 ATK)

"Then I'll sacrifice him," she said, as Malicevorous Fork disappeared into dark haze. "To summon the first star of my Monster Bash… Universal Monster – Frankenstein!"

Lightning crashed behind her, and from out of the darkness lurched a seven-foot-tall, lumbering, hulking brute. He had green skin, a pug face with a strong chin, a flat-topped cranium covered with greasy, unkempt hair, and strange bolts in his neck. He wore a ragged pair of trousers, shirt, and jacket. (2,300 ATK)

Of course, most folks would recognize him right away; Red Feather wasn't most folks. She and her monster just stood firm as he looked at them and grunted.

"Get 'er, Frankie," said Emily, pointing at Botanical Girl. The Monster grunted and trudged towards the Plant maiden with his muscular arms outstretched.

"I use two Trap Cards," said Red Feather. She waved her right hand, and both of her set cards lifted up on end. "The first one is Plant Food Chain, which gives my Plant monster a growth spurt of 500 Attack Points."

Botanical Girl closed her eyes and strained as she grew slightly, and her Score went up to 1,800.

"That doesn't make her strong enough to defeat your monster, but my other Trap is Generation Shift."

Another, far less cute Plant monster that looked like a huge, toothy mouth on a pod with legs appeared behind Botanical Girl, and to Emily's shock, grabbed her with a long, lolling, prehensile tongue, then swallowed her.

"You destroyed your own monster?" she asked.

"It had to be done," replied Red, "because when a monster is destroyed when empowered with Plant Food Chain, a Plant even higher on the Food Chain sprouts. From my Graveyard, I summon Mariña, Princess of Sunflowers!"

The carnivorous plant was, in turn, seized by an even larger vine, which constricted it, and then pulled it under the ground. Then, the vine sprouted up, growing, blossoming, and then turning into a huge sunflower.

From the flower's giant blossom, a lady's upper torso sprouted, her body oddly bonded to the huge plant in a centaurian fashion. She was blonde with richly-tanned skin, wore a dress made of overlapping violet petals, and a crown of made of sunflower petals and leaves arranged in a sunburst shape. (2,800 ATK)

"Hold on, Frankie," said Emily, as the brute grunted again and slowed down.

"But that's not all," continued Red Feather. "Because I destroyed her using Generation Shift, I get to take a second Botanical Girl from my deck, and I can use Botanical Girl's effect to get another Plant monster from there with 1,000 Defense Points or less."

"Sneaky move, sis," said Emily. "I'm calling the attack off."

Red Feather got what she had wanted from her deck and rearranged her hand cards. "I'm not your sister!" she snapped.

Aye-yi-yi, does she even know what a figure of speech is? thought Emily. Ah, well, time to use my absolute favorite card.

She slipped the card – whose shiny-looking texture indicated its Secret Rare status – and a second one into her Spell Zone, and their images appeared hidden in front of her, behind her monster.

"Go ahead, Red."

Gee I made a rhyme, she thought, watching her opponent.

Red Feather drew a card, then played a Spell Card, a very familiar one. "By using Cost Down, I too can make the summon of a high-Level monster easier, and discard a card to bring the Level of another Level 8 monster to 6."

"Uh, Red?" asked Emily. "You still need to swap a monster for it. Are you seriously going to give her up?."

"No," replied Red. She chose a specific card and discarded it. "I don't have to, seeing as the card I discarded was an Amarylease."

She lifted her hand, and a large, purple lily sprouted out of the ground under her palm.

"Which means, because my monster is Level 6, it can be the sacrifice," she said, as it vanished, "to I summon Chirubimé, Princess of Autumn Leaves!"

There was a brisk, invigorating wind as red and orange maple leaves blew through the forest, and another huge flower appeared, with a brighter, more vividly-colored blossom. Again, it opened to reveal a beautiful young woman from the waist-up, but with darker skin and a green, floral dress, her brunette hair arranged in a violet, red, and orange headdress. (1,800 ATK)

She turned to Mariña, who gave her a sweet smile.

"With Chirubimé here, you can't attack any of my Plant monsters except her," said Red Feather.

"Maybe, but I'm still glad to see her," said Emily. "I pay 2,000 Life Points to use my Trap Card."

"Two-thousand?" gasped Red.

One of her set cards sprung. "You got it," replied Emily. "It's called Befuddled Burglar, and because, as you said, she's Level 6, I can use it six times. Well, five times safely.

"See, Befuddled Burglar gets a Spell Token for each Level of your monster, and I can get rid of one once per turn, if you defeat one of my monster with one of the same Type."

"And if you use all the Counters?" asked Red.

"Let's just say it's not something I'm anxious to try," said Emily, with a shrug.

She must want that thing pretty badly, thought Red. But it's not like we can cut it in half.

"Mariña, destroy her Frankenstein Monster with Solar Energy Flux!"

"Err?" said the brute, as the Plant Princess smiled at him.

Then she lifted her right hand as her eyes turned blazing and feral, and a scorching beam of concentrated sunlight knocked the Monster backwards. He fell on his behind with a loud crash, and then faded away.

(RF: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - (E: 5,750)

Red Feather was about to turn to Chirubimé and order a direct attack, when she noticed something.

"Hold it," she said. She looked at the data in the D-Gazer's screen, something that a technophobe like her was very reluctant to do. "Stupid thing, where is it?" Then she found the score, and looked at it, then did the math.

"You should be at 5,500," she finally said.

"Noticed, did you?" said Emily, who seemed to have been waiting for that. "Well here's the four-one-one on my Universal Monsters.

"You see, I only take half-damage when one of them loses a battle, unless both my monster and yours are the same Attribute, OR…"

She stopped, emphasizing the "or".

"OR, the attacking monster's Attribute is the right one. you see, each Universal Monster has a specific weakness, and for Frankie, well, it wasn't Fire.

"And one more thing. Because Mariña has the wrong Attribute, well, I think she may need to be watered about now, don't you think?"

Red Feather looked quickly, and indeed, Mariña looked a little wilted, not to mention sick, clutching her stomach and groaning a little. (0 ATK)

"You see, destroying one using a monster's attack or effect lets him use a special effect, unless you use the right Attribute," said Emily, in a more assuring tone. "Oh and I get to draw a card because of my Befuddled Burglar, remember?"

She drew, paying no mind to the dirty looks from Red and Chirubimé. "But don't worry about her, she'll feel better at the end of my turn, assuming she lasts that long."

Of course, Red didn't find it funny, and neither did Chirubimé. The Princess of Autumn Leaves pointed her two palms, and a spray of razor-sharp colored fragments shot from them, plowing into Emily and knocking her on her back.

(RF: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - (E: 3,950)

"Heh," she groaned. "Good move…"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Axiomatic magic?" exclaimed Jabels. "That makes no sense!" He stopped and rubbed his chin. "Actually, come to think of it, with all the clockwork creatures and robots we've been seeing lately in this whole mess, it makes perfect sense. I'm not sure whether to be relieved or scared out of my mind."

"Again, I know trust is hard to earn," continued Fanciullo, "and that gaining it must be done not just in words, but in deeds. I've spent my whole career trusting nobody, and being used to nobody trusting me. But I have no choice now.

"So here's how I'd like this to go down." He cleared his throat again. "I want one of your men to meet with one of mine in Rotterdam at 2 PM tomorrow, Central European Time, waiting on the ERU campus, on a bench under the statue of Erasmus. My representative will be Picchiare Uomo, someone I have no doubt you have an extensive file on."

Jalal turned to Dolores, and she nodded.

"Now, usually I would promise he'd be unarmed, but use some loophole to make sure he could get a gun quickly, like say, hide one in a trash can nearby. Or if I was some cheesy James Bond villain I could have him use some retractable wrist-knife gadget or something. It's amazing how you can use loopholes to your advantage.

"But it's not the time for that. I can't promise that Uomo won't be armed. He'd rather be without his pants than without his guns, and as I said before, my whole organization seems to be marked. But like I said, that's why Tormento turned himself in. Should this be a set-up on my part, he's yours.

"I hope to see you soon."

He smirked again as his image flickered, and then disappeared, and the room returned to normal.

"Delores," said Jalal.

"Already on it, chief," she said. She opened a laptop at the table and started typing quickly. "Oh yeah, we have a file on Picchiare Uomo all right…"

She turned the screen towards Jalal and Jabels. "We don't know much about him though. Unknown species, unknown age, unknown place of birth, although his name – assuming it's his real name – suggests Italy. But what we do know is, he's a very dangerous man."

"Are we really going to send one meet him alone?" asked Jabels.

"Ordinary, Jabels, I would say not a chance in hell," said Jalal. "We just have to send someone who graduated from apprenticeship three or less years ago."

He sat down and rubbed his chin again.

Maybe I can use this to my advantage, he thought. Something about the way he said "loophole", was that a hint? A hidden message?

"Delores?" he asked. "See if you can find something out about Uomo's dueling deck. I want to check something."

"On it chief," she said, starting to type again.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Ugh," said Emily. She sat up, and her other set card lifted with her. "Damage Condenser! She shouted. She stood and discarded an odd Spell from her hand, and there was a silly giggling.

"I'll deep six this card to summon the Giggling Snitch from my deck."

The monster that appeared was actually familiar, a gremlin with a huge smile and a green, pointed hat covering his eyes, with matching overalls and long, pointed shoes. He was holding a shovel, and carried a pickaxe and a tombstone on his back. (800 ATK)

"That's the Graverobber!" exclaimed Red Feather. "It's a monster?"

"Mmm-hmm," replied Emily.

"I end my turn then," said Red, looking at the creature. "Don't forget, you can only attack Chirubimé."

"Maybe, maybe not," said Emily. "She drew once, and as she did, the Snitch lifted his shovel. "Let's see what this guy can dig up, eh? You see, by banishing him, I can bring a Universal Monster back from the Great Beyond."

The Snitch spaded into the ground with the tool and dug deeply, then struggled with something that seemed struck.

"But why repeat myself? I'll use his effect to summon Universal Monster – The Mummy!"

Snitch gave a heave, and the ground burst as he tumbled backwards and disappeared, disgorging a tall, gaunt man, almost a living corpse, with white, chalky skin, clothed mostly in burial linens that hung loosely from him and dangled from his arms. (2,300 ATK)

"So what makes these monsters of yours 'universal'?" asked Red Feather.

"Huh?" asked Emily. The Mummy grunted a little. "Calm down big guy, she doesn't get out to movies much.

"Here's the short version, Red. WAY back in 1923, when 'talkies' were considered new, Universal Studios was also considered new, and they needed something new to make them stand out from the other new studios.

"So one bigwig at the place told a bigger wig, to paraphrase, 'I know, why don't we make movies about monsters?' So they did. And it worked. Boy, did it work.

"The Universal Monsters not only got the studio's name recognized, it turned names into legends. Lugosi, Karloff, and Cheney all became the frontrunners of modern horror actors, while the movies themselves were the ones that defined the genre.

"Of course, this only lasted until around the 50's, and then they started making science fiction. Still, they laid the foundation for how it's done, so to speak.

"Okay, boring stuff is over, back to the fun stuff!"

She straightened her shorts, and the Mummy growled again. "Now, if I did attack Chirubimé, you'd use Mariña's effect to destroy my monster…"

How'd she know that? thought Red.

"I use the Book of Moon Spell Card!" shouted Emily. She played one of her cards, and a lunar crescent spun out of the card, striking Chirubimé in the heart. She swooned, and then disappeared, turning into a set card.

"And with her upside-down, she can't protect our other monster. Attack with Grip of Despair!"

The Mummy grunted again, then lunged, and Mariña screamed. It grabbed her by the neck and started to squeeze.

"That's it," said Emily. "Real tight…"

"You're sick," remarked Red.

What was left of Mariña turned to dust, and the Mummy trod back to Emily's side, looking anxiously at Red.

(RF: 5,800) - - - - - - - - - (E: 3,950)

"Seriously, Red?" asked Emily. She took a card from her hand and set it in her Disk. "Wait until I clear the path to what he really wants. It's your move."

Really not hard to figure out what she means, thought Red, and I don't want to be on the receiving end of THAT. She made a draw, then took hold of the card on her Disk, flipping it upright and causing Chirubimé to reappear. (1,800 ATK)

"I activate Miracle Fertilizer!" she exclaimed. A new Spell Card appeared, and Mariña rose out of the ground again. She held her chest again, and then slowly turned and looked at herself with worry for a few seconds, then looked at the Mummy with fury. (2,800 ATK)

"Her again?" asked Emily. "I activate Howl of the Night."

The activated Trap couldn't be more well-named. A giant, phantom wolf appeared behind Emily, letting out a howl. Mariña screamed in panic, holding her head as her blossom bent and she cowered, shivering.

"What happened?" gasped Red.

"What does it look like?" asked Emily. "Mariña is too frightened to attack; too frightened to do anything so long as I have a Universal Monster on the field. But don't feel bad, they have that effect on people."

Red gave her a snide look. "Chirubimé can still attack," she said, "and because of your Trap Card, I have the perfect reason to use this."

She used one of her cards, and Gift of the Martyr appeared between her two Princesses. Mariña disappeared and Chirubimé strained, flexing her muscles. (4,600 ATK)

"Well that's bad news," said Emily.

Chirubimé pointed her hands, and the flashing storm of leaves flew again. The Mummy howled again, and burst into little, dark pieces.

(RF: 5,700) - - - - - - - - - (E: 3,300)

Emily started clapping, closing her eyes and smiling broadly.

"Not bad," she said. "Buffy Summers would approve."

"Who?" asked Red.

"Never mind," sighed Emily. "Unfortunately, the Earth Attribute wasn't the Mummy's kryptonite either, so the damage was halved again. I get to draw again from my Befuddled Burglar."

She drew a card, and kept speaking. "Still your turn, and just between you and me, well –" She looked up, and saw how Red was nervously looking at Chirubimé. "Maybe you should Normal Summon something, just to be safe."

"I think you know I can't," replied Red. "It's your move."

Indeed, she couldn't, due to her Miracle Fertilizer, and it seemed obvious that Emily knew that. As she made her normal draw, her smile turned into a shit-eating smirk.

"Because your monster was the wrong Attribute when she attacked last turn," said Emily. "I get to sacrifice her this turn. So Chirubimé, bye-bye!"

The Queen of Autumn Leaves looked dumbstruck, and then faded away into mist. An evil twinkle appeared in Emily's eye as a foggy mist started to surround them and she used another of her cards.

"I summon Universal Monster – The Wolfman!"

Fog started to lift, and growling and panting turned into a snarl. A feral, savage werewolf wearing a pair of torn trousers leapt out of the fog. Lightning flashed as he lifted his head and made a blood-chilling howl. (2,200 ATK)

"Sic 'er, boy," said Emily.

Red didn't say anything, but just looked it in the eye as it charged her. She did clench her teeth and her eyes but she was not going to scream. Under no condition. Even as he landed a kick to her chest, knocking her over.

What happened next was horrid. He viciously and violently mounted the prone Shadowchaser with a flurry of clawing and biting at her torso.

"That's right, big fellah, chow down!" laughed Emily. "Just save some of her for the others."

Red wanted to scream, but she wasn't going to, looking the Fiend in the face and snarling back at it.

The Wolfman got up, a little more docile now. He looked at Red Feather, who brushed the dirt off her outfit. He cautiously backed away.

(RF: 3,500) - - - - - - - - - (E: 3,300)

"This is your idea of fun?" asked Red.

"Well, uh, gee, isn't that what Pegasus intended when he invented this game?" asked Emily. "Kaiba too when he invented the Duel Disk, believe it or not."

Red stopped as she got up. She thought for a minute. Oddly enough, it was hard to think of a reply.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

About six blocks from Copek, Terra was beginning to see the weak point of her plan. She had been intending to grab the four gears, stuff them in her coat pocket (she planned to throw the box away) run about ten blocks to the Merseyrail (which would have taken five minutes, at most) leave on the 6:30 AM commuter train.

Which she had already missed. Right now, she wasn't sure if she could make the 7 AM one, the safe's weight slowing her down so much.

Finally, she set it down to catch her breath. What is in this thing? she thought. No way I'm going to –

She was startled as a sports car can barreling down the road at her and the horn blared. She dived aside as it swerved and turned 180.

Terra looked up. Suddenly, that last comment about "not wanting any trouble" had changed.

"You dumb fuck!" she yelled. With a shove, she pushed herself to a standing positon and marched towards the car. "What are you trying to do, asshole, get me killed? You –"

The front door swung open quickly and suddenly, hitting her as it did, and knocking her over again.

Addams stepped out of his car – for it was indeed his – looking the she-minotaur up and down.

"Terra Ironhoof I presume?" he said. "I believe you have my property with you."

Terra scooted back, then stood up, and looked at him. "You want the safe, old man?" she dared. "Come and get it."

"By all means," he replied.

He tapped his belt buckle. Suddenly, the chilly autumn air started to get much, much warmer.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Honestly, Red, you need to get out more," said Emily, in a much calmer vice. "Don't you have a day off?"

"Thursdays," replied the Shadowchaser.

"Well, maybe you wouldn't be such a grouch if you got out more," continued Emily. "Go to some karaoke bar, or book club, or play bingo or something. Might help with the stress."

She smirked again, and went back to her more frivolous personality. "I use the Field Spell, Überwald!"

As she used the card, the whole forest dimmed, the very color fading, everything – and everyone – turning black and white. Lightning flashed again, and a dark, foreboding castle appeared on the hill behind Emily. Not that there had even been a hill there before.

Red Feather was startled as she looked at her arms and her clothes.

"Ah, the classics," said Emily. "Black and white, simplicity at its finest. Now it's going to make it even harder for you to hurt them and me, because this Field Spell makes my Universal Monsters able to resist being destroyed once per turn, unless it's via battle with the right Attribute. And, if you attack with the wrong Attribute at any time, I take no damage.

"There is one catch, however. If you do attack with the right Attribute that turn, the damage is doubled."

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Red Feather.

"Just keep that in mind, kay?" said Emily. "So, I'll set one more card face-down, and then it's your move again."

"You know, Emily," said Red, as she drew. "Maybe simple is good. Maybe I do take things too seriously."

She played two cards, and a set monster, and a set card behind it appeared.

"I was so naïve, way back when, and saw the world in such well-defined terms. I didn't realize at the time, the world isn't always so Black and White. I mean, I've seen beings of light just as cruel and sadistic as things of pure darkness. And vice versa.

"I didn't find out until it was too late that sometimes things can and do come in shades of grey. And it's your move."

"Intriguing concept," said Emily. She drew once. "Still, with some creatures it's easy to tell.

"I use the Spell Card, Dual Gate. By banishing the other copy of Dual Gate, which I discarded back when I summoned Giggling Snitch, I get to draw twice." She made two draws. "So now I'm about to, uh…"

She looked at Red. A moment ago it looked as if she had been about to use her set card, only to stop quickly when that Spell Card was used. Now her expression had changed. For the first time all night, she was smiling.

"I use my Trap," said Red Feather, as her card flipped up. "Judgement Scales!"

"Judgement Scales?" asked Emily. "What does that do?"

The powerful figure of the Solemn Judgement deity looked behind Red Feather, holding a large, golden balance.

"It's a new card, and a powerful one," answered Red. "First we add up the number of cards you have in your hand, and on the field. Then we do the same for mine. Then we subtract my total from yours. I get to draw one card times the difference."

Emily froze. She quickly started to count, but Red answered her. "You have seven cards, I have only three."

She drew four times, as Emily's expression changed too, but not for the better.

"Damn." she said. "Tricky. Still, new and powerful cards are all well and good, but still, you can't beat the old ones!"

Her face-down card lifted, revealing Call of the Haunted. An old, pine coffin rose out of the soil, and it creaked open, a hand reaching out. Frankenstein's Monster stood out of it again. (2,300 ATK)

"Now for some real subtraction!" she laughed, as the Wolfman pounced towards the set monster.

A slimy, ugly thing made of algae with clawed arms, a bump that may have passed for a head, and thorn-like spires jutting out of it appeared on the card before the lycanthropes claws connected, and it burst into green goo.

"Aw, shit," said Emily.

"I use the effect of Lord Poison to summon Chirubimé back from the Graveyard in Defense Mode," said Red.

The slime started to move and coagulated, running together and growing, until the Princess of Autumn Leaves formed, smiling again. (3,000 DEF)

"Your move…" she sighed.

Emily turned her head and watched her opponent as she drew a card. Red Feather took one of the four new ones, which had given her plenty of ideas.

"First, I'll summon Rose Lover," she said. The black and while backdrop brightened as a lovely woman with long, flowing hair, a tiara, and a fancy dress, with a sad, demure look appeared. Rose petals started to rain gently from above. (800 ATK)

As Rose Lover lifter her head, Emily looked into her large, sad eyes – then she was shocked as she shattered into pixels.

"What?" shouted Emily. Then she saw Red holding a new Spell Card. "Fragrance Storm? You destroyed your own monster?"

"It had to be done," replied Red. "But she may prove useful later. Meanwhile, Fragrance Storm's effect also lets me draw once, and if the card I draw is a Plant, I get a second draw."

"Okay now you're getting somewhere!" laughed Emily.

Red drew a card and turned it forward. It was Rose Witch – which was indeed a Plant – she drew a second time.

"I won't be using that one just yet," she continued. Rose Lover appeared again, ghostly and translucent, clasping her hands together and closing her eyes. "Instead, I'm going to banish Rose Lover from my Graveyard to Special Summon another of the sisters. The daughter of the North Wind, Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms!"

Rose Lover's phantom vanished, and a cold sun pierced through the fog of Überwald, the falling roses turned to cherry blossoms as a new giant flower sprouted, this one a lotus. The blossom opened, revealing her human half, a coldly beautiful woman with raven hair and pale skin, wearing a kimono with a violet floral pattern.

She looked at Emily and her monsters, then spread her arms. Two sharp Japanese war fans appeared in her hands.

Okay, now this is gonna suck, thought Emily.

"Attack the Wolfman with Cold Edge Blades!" ordered Red.

Talaya threw the weapons, and there was a bitter chill, and a howl from the Wolfman with two flashes of knives – that was all Emily saw. Then the Wolfman, bisected into two pieces, collapsed backwards, the pieces disappearing halfway to the ground.

(RF: 3,500) - - - - - - - - - (E: 2,100)

"Seems I got the right Attribute there," said Red Feather.

"Yes," said Emily. "Lucky guess."

"Mostly," said Red. "Although I am learning more about your monsters via process of elimination."

She placed a card in her Disk, and a set card appeared behind Talaya.

"Frankenstein's weakness wasn't Fire. Earth isn't the Mummy's weakness, but you seemed anxious to protect him from Mariña, so more than likely, Fire is his weakness. So I know not to use Fire on any other Universal Monster.

"And now that I know your Wolfman's weakness is Water, I know that won't work on any except him."

Damn, she's getting good at this, thought Emily. Maybe there is something to taking this game seriously.

"I await your next move," said Red.

She crossed her arms and tapped her foot as Emily drew.

Stuck up, aren't you? thought Emily. She giggled a little. She would have been a natural for the old sorority.

"I summon Igor," she said, playing a new card.

With a sniveling, nasal-sounding laugh, a man with a hunched back and a twisted, deformed face, rotted teeth, and ragged clothing appeared. (1,000 ATK)

"Now, due to Igor's effect, I can make a second Normal Summon this turn, but only for a Universal Monster. So I'll sacrifice this guy to summon Universal Monster – The Creature!"

The hunchback grinned again, disappeared. A puddle of water spread upon the ground, followed by a guttural, gurgling, throaty grunt as a new monster crawled out of it, a fish-like man about six-foot-eight, covered with wet a wet, slimy scaly hide. It's fish-like, bald head had beady eyes, fangs, and fins on the cheeks, and it had clawed, webbed hands. (2,100 ATK)

"Also known as the Gill-Man. I set three cards face-down on the field, and then it's your turn."

Three more cards formed in her Spell Zone as the three movie monsters looked hungrily at Red.

"Soon, that old monster mash is gonna start again, and I think it's gonna be a graveyard smash!"

"And I'm sure you'll catch on in a flash," said Red, drawing a card.

She smiled again when she saw the look of shock on Emily's face. Obviously, she was not expecting her to make a reference that Red had actually heard of.

"I'm using Magical Stone Excavation," said Red.

As she played the card, she discarded two of her monsters, Botanical Girl and Rose Witch, then took Miracle Fertilizer back from the same slot. She used it right away, and again, Mariña rose from the ground. (2,800 ATK)

The three Plant Princess and the three Universal Monsters looked at each other, eye to eye…

"First, Chirubimé moves to Attack Mode," said Red, as the Autumn Princess unfolded her arms. (1,800 ATK)

"With three Plants on my field now, Talaya's Score is 3,100. Now she can just attack your Wolfman again!"

The winter maiden spread her fans gracefully, and the chilling wind started to blow again…

"I use my Trap Cards!" shouted Emily. All three of her set cards lifted up.

Red recognized one of them, Staunch Defender, but she had never seen the other two, Wicked Curse of the Voodan and Borcian Briar Patch.

"By using Staunch Defender, I'll make all of your monsters attack the Creature," started Emily. "Wicked Curse of the Voodan lets me pay only 500 Life Points to casts a hex that, for this turn only, makes all of your monsters the Attribute of my choice, and I think I'll choose Earth."

"Let me guess," asked Red, "the Creature's weakness isn't Earth."

"No, just the opposite, in fact," said Emily.

"What?" said Red, more confused now than ever. Emily's smile was one that conveyed a single word: "Gotcha".

"Borcian Briar Patch nullifies the effects of all my Universal Monsters this turn except one," said Emily, "in this case, the Creature. But, it also renders the Creature unable to be destroyed by battle. And, while Battle Damage taken from this battle is doubled due to the Field Spell, I'm not the one who takes it. You will!"

As the razor sharp fans slashed across the Creature's scaly chest, Red finally screamed as she felt cold, steel blades cut across her breasts.

(RF: 1,500) - - - - - - - - - (E: 1,600)

Think fast, she thought, through the pain. Her other two Princesses were preparing to attack the Creature too, as they had no choice, and if they did, she'd lose…

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"Okay, Rebecca, I heard you the first time," said Mr. Z. "I know, I know."

The well-dressed Shadowchaser was engaged in a private call with the head Shadowchaser in Munich – and likely Germany – whose requests for favors were getting rather insistent. He was sitting at a bench at the aforementioned Merseyrail, waiting for the Northern Line train.

"That's not really my forte," he said. "No, not right now. Well, true. I see… You sure?"

He stroked his goatee, and then a loud beep came from his Duel Disk, followed by the sound of static.

"Hold on, Rebecca," he said. "Oh, Jabels has this new system wired to the police frequency now. Sometimes I think they get too many good ideas."

He stood up as he read the notice. "What in…" he said. All of a sudden, he had a feeling his appointment at Cheshire was going to have to wait.

"Rebecca, fine, fine, tell her to come, but I need her here yesterday."

He hung up quickly and pocketed the phone, then started for the exit. Apparently, a brawl involving two Shadowkind had started a few blocks away.

He really hated times like this when he was the closest one.

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"Chirubimé, attack the Creature!" ordered Red.

The Princess closed her eyes, and her colorful, flashy leaves flew from her hands. The Creature from the Black Lagoon grunted, and with one backhand slap, swatted them away, causing them to fall back on Chirubimé, who burst into pixels.

(RF: 1,100) - - - - - - - - - (E: 1,600)

"Perfect," she said. "Now I can use Mariña's effect, and destroy one of your cards."

"She's welcome to try," said Emily, still smiling.

"I know, your Field Spell would protect each of your Universal Monsters from that effect once per turn," said Red. "So that's the card she's going to use that effect on!"

Mariña lifted her hand, and it glowed, sending a bolt of solar energy upwards. The black and white backdrop cracked, then shattered, and the pieces shattered in a clatter on the floor.

"Wait…" said Emily. Mariña started powering up another blast.

"Which means," said Red, "though Mariña still must attack, and I still take the damage, it won't be doubled this time."

The blast hit the Creature, and Red groaned and sweat a little, holding her chest again. But she caught her breath as she checked the Score.

(RF: 400) - - - - - - - - - (E: 1,600)

"It's your move," she said.

Emily growled a little as she drew a card. She was getting tired. The duel was going on a little too long. She hadn't had dinner yet, and she was supposed to meet with Ferdinand in forty-five minutes.

Still, she knew she had to finish this.

"I use… Offering to the Doomed!"

The dreaded Quickplay Spell appeared, and a dark beam of energy fired from it. The look on Talaya's face turned from annoyed to horrified before it hit her and she was vaporized.

"I use the Mariña's effect to destroy…" started Red.

She stopped. She remembered Frankenstein's Monster's effect. "The Creature!" she said, pointing to the Gillman.

The Creature burst as it was hit by the solar beam, but Emily closed her eyes, her expression turning mellow.

"Not the best," she said, "but not the worst either. Because now, I can use the Creature's effect to summon the Mummy from the Graveyard in Defense Mode."

The bandaged Corpse rose from the ground, kneeling and resting its hands on one knee. (2,400 DEF)

"Don't worry, he has to stay in Defense Mode. Not that he's staying, period. I'm sacrificing him and Frankie…"

The two monsters disappeared, and some ominous, spooky, very familiar music started to play. The proper name of the piece was "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor", but horror fan buffs simply called it "Haunted Organ" or "Scary Organ", and since the early days of the silver screen, it had set the mood for creepy ghost stories. Even Red Feather felt a chill.

"I summon the greatest of the Universal Monsters!" shouted Emily. A swarm of bats flew from the forest behind her with a cacophony of squawks and squeaks.

"Universal Monster – Dracula!"

He came from the darkness, a tall man of sinister elegance. Few could have mistook the iconic costume, with its long, dark cloak, along with Bela Lugosi's cold, piercing stare. Red trembled a little, looking at him, as did Mariña. (3,000 ATK)

If that was Dracula's predecessor, she thought, I can see why she opted for a makeover…

The next minute, the vampire monarch hissed, and a demonic shadow with sharp claws reached for Mariña. Red truly screamed this time, then fell on her back.

She clutched her chest, and it felt cold as ice.

(RF: 200) - - - - - - - - - (E: 1,600)

She looked up. Emily's face looked grim now, and her monster – Dracula – he calmly stood, waiting. Emily slipped one more card into her Disk, and it appeared set.

She stood up. "I guess you're done talking?" she asked.

Emily nodded, so Red simply drew. She said nothing. She set two cards, one on her Monster Zone, one behind it. Then she nodded back.

"Draw…" said Emily, slowly. "Well, it was a good duel, Red, but – " her set card, Shield Crush, lifted up, and a crackling bolt of energy thundered towards Red's card. A green sphere covered with tentacles and a red, central eye appeared and was smashed to bits.

"So much for your Lekunga," said Emily.

Red Feather said nothing, but lowered her head sadly.

"Cheer up, Red," chuckled Emily. Dracula's eyes turned blood red. "If you gotta go, go with style, I always say!"

Dracula hissed again, looking hungrily at Red Feather. She didn't bother looking at him – she knew enough not to.

Can't be distracted for this, she thought. I'm really going to have to concentrate.

Her Trap Card lifted. "I use Danger Draw!" she yelled.

"What? A Trap?" said Emily, as the vampire skidded to a halt.

"Danger Draw is a card I can only use when I'm attacked directly by an attack that would reduce me to zero Life Points," said Red Feather. "It gives me one draw. If it's a Trap Card, your attack is stopped, and I get to activate the Trap right away."

"Huh," said Emily. "Well do it already!"

Red's hand slowly moved for her deck. Sweat beaded on her forehead. She glanced at Dracula. She did not want to take a direct attack from him.

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Rotterdam.

"Tortured Skull, destroy Magical Android!"

The disheveled Fiend's bolt of lightning crashed towards the robed Psychic vaporizing her and knocker her master over, reducing his Life Points to zero.

Eden didn't waste any time. She walked over to him and snatched her prize from his cloak, quickly adding it to her own collection.

Seven more to go, she thought. Just seven more. And when I return this deck, I can tell her where she can shove it.

She walked away as her opponent groaned in pain.

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Red Feather drew a card, and carefully turned it around.

"Miracle's Wake!" she exclaimed, in a tone that was half-excitement, half-relief. She plugged it into her Disk. "So I'm still in this Duel, and Lekunga comes back."

The Trap appeared, and an odd, spherical Plant with one red central eye and six writhing tentacles appeared in a shining halo of light. (1,700 ATK)

"Not bad," said Emily. "I'll end my turn then. But before you take yours, I should remind you, Dracula, like the others, is resistant to all but one Attribute. And should you attack with the wrong one, well, he'll survive. Your monster won't.

"He can only do that once per turn, but you'd have to summon two monsters that could beat him."

"Or one with the right Attribute," added Red. She drew again. "And vampires I know plenty about."

"You've fought them?" asked Emily.

"I've worked with one as a partner," said Red. "I use Lekunga's effect. By banishing two Water monsters from my Graveyard, I can summon a Lekunga Token."

One Botanical Girl and Lord Poison appeared behind her, then disappeared, and a duplicate of Lekunga, half its size, appeared next to it. (700 ATK)

"Then I use, Super Solar Nutrient!"

She played a Continuous Spell, and sunlight flooded the forest grove. Dracula hissed loudly and covered himself with his cape.

"Thought so," said Red. "He doesn't like sunlight, does he? Well, he won't like the effect either. By sacrificing a Level 2 Plant, like the Token, I can summon a Plant from my deck, so long as its Level is less than the Token's Level plus 3."

The Token disappeared, and a nasty looking patch of crabgrass with a face and small limbs appeared, snickering at Emily and her monster. (1,200 ATK)

"Nettles is just an old weed by itself, but as a Tuner," continued Red.

Nettles and Lekunga leapt into the night sky as stars started to encircle them.

"…it can give Lekunga a serious Tune-up!"

(*2 + * 4 = *6)

"I'll Synchro Summon, her Royal Majesty, the Queen of Thorns!"

There was dead calm for a minute, and then thorny, jagged vines with serrated leaves sprouted from the ground. A plant spirit – not a flower spirit this time – sprouted from the ground, one covered with brambles and thorns, who didn't seem as jovial as the Princesses. Her left arm ended in a pod-like mouth, and cold, soulless eyes. She was surrounded by an aura of light, but it gave off no warmth. (2,200 ATK)

"Okay, you managed to summon a Light monster," said Emily. "Unless that last card you have can make her gain at least 900 Attack Points pretty damn quick – "

"It can let her gain far more than that," said Red. She flipped the card around. "Rampaging Mad Plants.

Suddenly, the clearing behind her became very, very crowded. The phantoms of all three of the Plant Princesses, both Botanical Girls, Lekunga, Lord Poison, Rose Witch, and Nettles all appeared, and all of them looked angry as they looked at Emily and Dracula.

Meanwhile, Queen of Thorns was certainly showing emotion now. Pure, unbridled, fiery rage.

"This Spell Card focuses the anger of all my defeated Plants into the ones I have on the field, and the result?"

(4,900 ATK)

"Not good…" said Emily.

"Attack with Savage Furious Wrath!" shouted Red, as Queen of Thorns lifted her pod arm, and a bolt of overwhelming light turned the twilight into brightest day. She heard Emily scream as Dracula's was reduced to dust…

(RF: 200) - - - - - - - - - (E: 0)

Red Feather looked around.

Her opponent was gone, but the staff, the artifact she had come to get, and ultimately fought to get, was in front of her, stuck in the ground, standing upright. And a note was impaled on one of the prongs.

She sighed and plucked the paper from it, and read as follows:

Red,

Thanks for the great duel, let's do it again sometime. Say hi to Penelope for me.

Love,

Emily

Red scratched her chin. She knows Penelope? she thought.

She let out a yawn, then picked up the staff. She didn't know how she and Penelope knew each other, didn't really want to know, nor did she have any idea where she had gone, and was too tired to look for her. She had to get back, find Maskent, and –

"Nice work. But, think you can warn me the next time you pull a finishing move like that?"

Red Feather spun around. The new voice, a male voice, had come from behind her.

"Great duel, by the way," said Philip. He lifted his hands to show they were empty, even as Red started to go for her knife again.

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DUAL GATE (Spell Card)

Normal Spell

Image: A man in armor and a red cloak, standing in a fog bank, between two rectangular portals.

Card Description: Upon activation, banish this card and 1 "Dual Gate" in your Graveyard. Draw 2 cards.

Note: "Dual Gate" first appeared in the "Yu-G-Oh GX" episode "The Ultimate Face-Off, Part 1".

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DANGER DRAW (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: A duelist making a draw on a plank over a fiery river of lava.

Card Description: Activate when you are attacked directly by an opposing monster with a current ATK greater than your current Life Point total. Draw 1 card and reveal it. If the drawn card is a Trap Card, negate the attack. You may then activate the drawn Trap Card.

Note: "Danger Draw" first appeared in the "Yu-G-Oh Zexal" episode "Forever ZEXAL".

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

GIGGLING SNITCH (Monster Card)

Fiend/Dark/Effect/Lvl2/800/200

Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned, you may banish it to Special Summon 1 "Universal" monster from your Graveyard. You may not Special Summon any other monsters this turn.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

IGOR (Monster Card)

Spellcaster/Dark/Effect/Lvl3/1,000/600

Effect: On the turn this card is Normal Summoned, you may make a second Normal Summon; this second Normal Summon can only be used to summon a "Universal" monster.

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UNIVERSAL MONSTER FRANKENSTEIN (Monster Card)

Fiend/Dark/Effect/Lvl6/2,200/1,700

Effect: When this card battles an opposing monster, the total Battle Damage you take is halved, unless this card and the opposing monster are different Attributes and the opposing monster is WIND. Once per turn, if this card is destroyed by your opponent (by battle or by card effect) unless by battle by an WIND monster, select 1 face-up non-WIND monster; reduce the selected monster's ATK to zero until your next End Phase; the effect of a "Universal" monster may only be used once per turn per player.

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UNIVERSAL MONSTER THE MUMMY (Monster Card)

Fiend/Dark/Effect/Lvl6/2,300/2,100

Effect: When this card battles an opposing monster, the total Battle Damage you take is halved, unless this card and the opposing monster are different Attributes and the opposing monster is FIRE Once per turn, if this card is destroyed by your opponent (by battle or by card effect) unless by battle by a FIRE monster, select 1 face-up non-FIRE monster; on your next Main Phase, if you would Tribute a monster, you may Tribute the selected monster as if you controlled it; the effect of a "Universal" monster may only be used once per turn per player.

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UNIVERSAL MONSTER THE WOLFMAN (Monster Card)

Fiend/Dark/Effect/Lvl6/2,400/1,800

Effect: When this card battles an opposing monster, the total Battle Damage you take is halved, unless this card and the opposing monster are different Attributes and the opposing monster is WATER. Once per turn, if this card is destroyed by your opponent (by battle or by card effect) unless by battle by a WATER monster, select 1 face-up non-WATER monster; destroy the selected monster the effect of a "Universal" monster may only be used once per turn per player.

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UNIVERSAL MONSTER THE CREATURE (Monster Card)

Fiend/Dark/Effect/Lvl6/2,100/2,400

Effect: When this card battles an opposing monster, the total Battle Damage you take is halved, unless this card and the opposing monster are different Attributes and the opposing monster is WIND. Once per turn, if this card is destroyed by your opponent (by battle or by card effect) select 1 face-up non-WIND monster; you may Special Summon a "Universal" monster from your hand or Graveyard in Defense Mode, except for a "Universal Monster The Creature". A monster Special Summoned this way cannot change its Battle Position the effect of a "Universal" monster may only be used once per turn per player.

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UNIVERSAL MONSTER DRACULA (Monster Card)

Fiend/Dark/Effect/Lvl8/3,000/2,600

Effect: When this card battles an opposing monster, the total Battle Damage you take is halved, unless this card and the opposing monster are different Attributes and the opposing monster is LIGHT. Once per turn, during your opponent's Battle Phase, if this card is attacked by a non-LIGHT monster, negate the attack and destroy the attacking monster the effect of a "Universal" monster may only be used once per turn per player.

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ÜBERWALD (Spell Card)

Field Spell

Image: Stonehenge, seen at night, with lightning striking from above. Several cloaked figures approach, holding torches. (The scene looks very much like one in the fanfic's trailer.)

Card Description: When a "Universal" monster battles and its effect would half the battle damage to its controller, the battle damage is instead reduced to zero. If a "Universal" monster battles and its effect would NOT half the battle damage to its controller, Battle Damage to the controller is instead doubled.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

BORCIAN BRIAR PATCH (Spell Card)

Quickplay Spell

Image: A thorny briar on a hillside below two people walking overhead; a skull is intertwined in the briars.

Card Description: Select 1 "Universal" monster you control. Until the End Phase of the turn, the selected monster cannot be destroyed by battle, and Battle Damage you would receive from battles involving the selected monster is instead taken by your opponent. The effects of all "Universal" monsters you control except the selected monster are negated this turn.

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WICKED CURSE OF THE VOODAN (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: A dark-skinned old man in a gaudy, brightly-colored robe holding a staff covered with small bones (possibly meant to represent the Voodan sage Chicken Bone) pointing with his free hand as eldritch symbols surround it.

Card Description: State 1 Attribute and pay 500 Life Points. All face-up monsters your opponent controls becomes the stated Attribute until the End Phase of the turn.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

BEFUDDLED BURGLAR (Trap Card)

Continuous Trap

Image: The Goblin of Greed lifting a purse from Dark Magician Girl's belt at night on a village street as she speaks to Magician Valkyria, who seemingly has just noticed him behind DMG.

Card Description: Activate when your opponent Normal Summons a monster. Pay 2,000 Life Points and place a number of Spell Counters on this card equal to the Level of that monster. Whenever a monster you control is destroyed by battle by a monster of the Type as the Normal Summoned monster, draw 1 card, and then remove 1 Spell Counter from this card. If you remove all Spell Counters from this card, or it is destroyed when it has less than half the total amount of Spell Counters gained via its effect, destroy all cards you control. If this card is destroyed by your opponent's card effect when it has more than half the total number of Spell Counters gained remaining, you gain 2,000 Life Points. Only 1 copy of "Befuddled Burglar" may be activated per player per duel.

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Jemorille: So the stage had been set.

As Jalal considered Fanciullo's offer and Philip approached Red Feather more directly, another conflict was occurring, one which Mr. Z would try to intervene in. One thing was for sure, the nature of this conflict had changed, and everyone involved, on every level wasn't happy about it.

What's more, revelations were about to come to light. And for anyone who wanted to know more about Joka, well, they may get their wish sooner than they think.

"Wipe Out" is coming up next.

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Sorry for having no Shadowchaser Files this time, but don't worry, it will be back next time, which will hopefully come sooner, rather than later.