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?

38. Great Balls of Fire

Indeed, Sofia was tired, and night would soon start to creep over Raleigh as it was already doing over London. Not that she looked forward to sleep, or enjoyed the night much. At times, she, like many other Shadowchasers, shivered when alone in the dark, wondering what was out there.

Some thought fearing the night would be a liability for a Shadowchaser. It was actually more of a benefit in many ways. It was actually encouraged, if not demanded, for those who would fight the supernatural terrors from other worlds.

For one thing, knowing that many of the "things that go bump in the night" are not as imaginary as your parents once told you means less of a chance one of them might take you by surprise when you're helpless. And when you are not helpless, such a mindset helps you remember to check every place an attacker might hide. Fear of the dark might prompt you to hang up your cellphone and actually look in the interior of your car at night before you enter.

Say what you will, those who fear – and respect – the things in the dark tend to survive longer than those who look into darkness and laugh.

For this reason and others, Sofia was always the cautious type, as was Mr. Z. Even when he wasn't helpless, and the supposedly dangerous Shadowkind was.

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Chapter Thirty-Seven

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Great Balls of Fire

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"You sure he's sedated?" asked Z.

"Sedated is a relative term sir," said the sentry. He opened the door to the maximum security wing for the three Shadowchasers. "From what we can tell, given the experience we have from the usual methods of pacifying inmates, this one seems to have built up a tolerance for them from recreational use."

"So aside from the usual magical wards, we had to resort to some rather...antiquated methods," the other sentry added. "After the trouble he gave us during the initial processing though? Not too many of us regretted it."

As they approached the increasingly fortified cells containing some of the more dangerous criminals under Shadowchaser custody, the sound of someone singing began to emanate from one of the cells.

"Happy-happy joy-joy, happy-happy joy-joy, happy-happy joy-joy, happy-happy joy-joy, happy-happy joy-joy, happy-happy joy-joy, happy-happy joy-joy-joy!"

Karl and Francis exchanged puzzled looks before the latter spoke up. "Uhm. Is that what I think it is?"

"He seems to have memorized every single melody from 'Ren and Stimpy' ever written," the first sentry sighed. "He's been working through a loop and from the sound of it just started over. Next up is probably 'The Royal Anthem of the Canadian Kilted Yaksmen'."

"How long has he been doing this?" Z asked peering through a slit in the door the singing was coming from.

"Three... hours..." the second sentry said, his expression of a man who envied the dead, or at least the deaf.

Inside the cell, Joka had been lashed to the back wall with an extraordinary number of chains, straps and numerous other restraints, looking like the world's biggest, ugliest fly stuck in a web. Yet despite his predicament he continued to sing with every sign of enjoying it.

"Joka? JOKA!" Z shouted banging on the door before he could launch into the next verse. "Quiet down and try and pay attention, we both know neither of us want to be in the same room with one another any longer then we need to."

"Is that you Z?" came the reply. "Hey great timing, you think you can come in here and take care of an itch I've got? Been bugging the hell out of me since they strung me up in here. Gotta say I'm surprised you guys still have this stuff lying around, didja borrow it from Jalal's private stash?"

"Are you sure his cybernetics have been disabled?" Karl asked. Something about the way Joka seemed completely unfazed by being stuck in there was bothering him.

"Actually, from what the initial analysis says, we aren't sure if 'cybernetics' is the right word for how Joka's body seems to function," the first sentry explained, and it was clear something other then Joka's behavior had rattled him.

"It seems his body operates using a mish-mash of human organs – presumably his – and machinery that was developed during the first Industrial Revolution. His entire digestive tract and stomach have been converted into something that almost looks like it acts as a boiler."

"Sheesh pal, isn't that crap supposed to be part of patient doctor confidentiality?" Joka grunted wiggling a little amidst the chains. "Though I have to say it was pretty funny seeing the medical officer's assistant blow chunks once they started poking around in there."

"Best guess," continued the sentry, ignoring him, "some form of necromantic spell in conjunction with some basic but very durable enchantments woven into the mechanical parts. We wouldn't know where to start to find a way to disable it completely so as you can see –" He trailed off gesturing to the means they had resorted to keep Joka confined.

"In other words," added Z, "this is as secure as we can get him without running the risk of pulling his plug before we can get anything useful out of him, lovely." He sighed mulling it over. "Alright let us in."

The two sentries exchanged a look but nodded undoing the locks on the door and swinging it open before closing it behind the three Shadowchasers as they entered.

"So here's my question boys," Joka said giving a lopsided grin at them. "If there's three of you here to interrogate me, does that mean two of you are good cops and one's the bad cop? Or is it one good cop and two bad cops? Or maybe one good cop, one bad cop and one morally conflicted cop?"

"Don't get smart, Joka," snapped Z.

"Uh, Z, are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Francis.

"I can handle it, Francis," said Z, sounding just as upset. "I have seniority, remember?"

The grin on Joka's face was fixed in place, but his burning eyes seemed to narrow in a far less jovial manner. "Cut the shit Z, the only reason you guys are here is because you think I can tell you something useful, which means that without me you guys are up shit creek without a paddle."

Z looked him straight in the eye, then spoke in a scolding tone. "A young girl, Joka, one who looks about fourteen years old. She has grey skin and long, black, thick hair, probably a Shadow. The guy you work for wants her for some reason, and seeing as you kill for a living, I assume you know who I mean."

Joka turned his head a little. "A girl, huh?" he said. "Well, I hope you protect her better than you did your daughter. I mean –"

In the next second there was the slam of metal against stone as Z grabbed his face and slammed it against the wall in a rage.

"Z!" shouted Karl. "Z, it's not worth it!"

Even as he and Francis tried to pry him away, his grip on the criminal tightened. "Let's see if you bleed motor oil," he hissed.

"With due respect, Mr. Seniority," yelled Francis, the sarcasm still clear above his grunting, "get ahold of yourself!"

With him pulling Z's right arm and Karl pulling the other, they wrenched him away from Joka, causing all of them to fall in a heap.

"Are you out of your mind?" shouted Karl.

"You have a better way to get answers?" asked Z, with a scowl. "I'm not playing along with him this time, I know better."

"Okay, okay, I-I'll talk!" screamed Joka. "It all goes back to when I was a kid, my dad, he couldn't get enough of the sauce, and when he got shit faced, h-he'd make me dress up like Shirley Temple and hit me with a hockey stick..."

"That's Weird Al Yankovic, wiseass," snapped Francis.

"...Shit, really thought none of you would pick up on that." Joka muttered looking a little disappointed. "Okay, okay I've had my fun. The journal girl, right?"

Karl and Francis slowly let go of Z, and they all looked at the criminal as he held his head and stood up "Start talking," he ordered.

"I've only met the girl once, but it would be pretty hard to forget her anytime soon. Chick's got a real Wednesday Adam's vibe going on."

"Lovely, this from the guy with a metal skull for a face," said Karl.

"Anyway I don't know all the details, but she's tangled up in some sort of underground Duel Monsters contest. I couldn't tell you where she is, but I do have something she wants pretty badly, a badge about the size of a quarter which these guys use to identify each other."

"Where is this contest?" demanded Z.

"No idea!" protested Joka. "I can't just draw a map here. Know how the old game of 'Serial Killer' works?"

Z was about to raise his voice again, but Francis lifted his arm. "Wait, wait, I have heard of that," he interrupted. "It's an old parlor game you play with a large group."

He thought for a minute. "Right, first you all draw lots, designating one of the group as the 'killer' and the others as 'victims'. Then there's a time limit where all players have free range of the house or playground or whatever. Nobody knows who the killer is, but he can 'kill' a 'victim' by winking at him, and that means the 'victim' is 'dead' and has to fall over, unable to talk or do anything else. The objective if you're a victim is either to ID the killer somehow, or just avoid him until the time limit is up, but f you're the killer you win by 'killing' the other players first. Which becomes harder as the number of 'victims' grow."

"You got it," said Joka. "In this case, the 'victims' know she's the 'killer' but they have to find her first and collect a reward. She can either track them down or let them come to her. She doesn't wink, or course. She duels. She wins a duel, she gets the victim's badge, and she has to win a hundred of them by the New Year."

He smiled evilly. "Know what prize she gets if she wins? Ever watch The Running Man?"

"If she wins, she gets to live," answered Francis. "Which means, if she fails, she dies. Swell. I suppose this would make someone like you one of the Stalkers."

"Only part time," said Joka. "Like I said, they want her in one piece, at least at first, and that ain't my thing. Neither is Duel Monsters, really. But, like I said, I'm a little different, and since she wants the badge, I could give her a ring and tell her to come and get it."

"Go on," prompted Z.

"My Duel Disk has some gizmo in it I can use to call her and make a challenge. It's voice activated, and I gotta be in the States to do it. Limited range, ya know?"

"If you think for one minute we'd –" replied Z.

"Uh, gentleman, a word?" said SAL

They looked at her, then backed away from Joka, out of the cell. The sentry closed the door again as SAL's voice lowered.

"He wasn't actually telling the truth, was he?" asked Karl.

"I registered his statements as varying from 70% to 78% likely of being true," answered the AI. "He may actually think what he claims is true, but I doubt he's telling us the whole story."

"Does he have any memory chips in his brain you can scan?" asked Karl.

"I honestly wouldn't know where to begin trying to 'hack' Joka Karl. Like the man said, his system seems to be built around some extremely antiquated machinery. It's going to take some time to figure out a point of attack, whoever modified Joka, well I hate to say it but they really knew what they were doing."

"Any idea who that would be?"

"All I can find is an insignia they found on the inside of Joka's carapace when they first examined him. There was just one name, Daedalus."

For a second all the color seemed to leave Z's face, before he recovered and swore under his breath. "Oh that's just what we need right now...fine, fine, one problem at a time. If we let Joka out of his cell he'd be very dangerous. Especially if he's that far away."

"Want my opinion?" said Francis. "Let's try this." He started rolling up his right sleeve. "Joka wants to play, rough, I can handle him."

"Mind telling me who or what 'Daedalus' means Z? That's two mood swings I've seen from you in under an hour, and at least I understood that first one." Karl whispered to Z as they left the cellblock.

Z seemed to hesitate before he sighed. "It's probably nothing, but the only person I can think of on record who's used that alias is not someone we want to run into on top of everything else right now."

"How come?"

"Because it was a moniker used by someone who came the closest to actually killing Jalal."

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An hour later, about fifty miles outside of Columbus, Ohio was a very large, somewhat old, boarded-up building with the familiar Hess logo, a sign that had previously held the Shell logo and the Exxon one before that. This old gas station and truck stop had gone through several owners before the current owner had pulled the plug on it. Bad location and too much competition had made the place unprofitable.

As such, this out of the way location was ideal for when you needed to do something with somebody you didn't trust, to lessen the chance of civilian casualties.

A shimmering, silver portal appeared in the parking lot, and Karl and Francis exited first, Karl holding his stomach slightly as he did.

Serves me right for eating that tuna melt from the commissary before using a portal, he thought.

How could a man drive a motorcycle and compete in motocross derbies so fast that spectators were known to get sick watching, yet still get queasy using portals? Even Francis himself had no idea. Still, times like this, he often wished he still carried the Dramamine.

"Come on," he said. He waved with his hand, and Karl and Z, the latter leading Joka with his hands cuffed in front of him.

"No sudden moves, buddy," said Karl, watching him. Joka didn't reply, but just sat down on the curb as Z pointed down.

"I had the hardware delivered," said SAL. "Over there."

In the driveway in front of the old pumps, two D-Wheels were parked, Francis' and a shiny, streamlined, custom altered one, Karl's renovated Kawasaki Shogun Mach V.

"Good work, SAL," he replied.

"Okay, Joka, here!" shouted Z. He shoved the impounded Duel Disk at him as he said "here". "Do whatever you have to and nothing funny."

"All right, all right," said the cyborg. "This might take a few minutes, what time is it?"

"Seven o clock local, why?" answered Z.

"Perfect," said Joka. As best he could with his hands cuffed, he tapped flicked a couple of switches on the console.

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The reason he had wanted to know was because that meant Eden was off work; four o clock Los Angeles time was the end of her shift.

She hadn't actually left the Pandora's Box for the day yet. She was in the dining room, having just clocked out and collected her paycheck, trying to use her knee as a makeshift desk as she wrote on a piece of paper. A two-week notice didn't have to be complicated, after all. And she was quitting in two weeks, one way or another. It could be soon enough.

It wasn't that the supervisor was demanding (well, okay, he was, but she had dealt with her share of slave drivers, both literal and figurative), or that it was hard to live on minimum wage (before this, she tended to get food and clothing by stealing it), or that she didn't like reeking of French fries at the end of every day (as bad as that was, it had been an improvement). But she couldn't stay here forever. She had to get started again.

She wiped her brow, and picked the deck of cards from inside her jacket pocket. She flipped the top card.

It was Damned Magician Girl's card, the image of the same whorish imposter Fanciullo had met, with the same devious look in her eye.

Not that it was a face she was likely to forget. They had last spoken a little over eight months ago, December 31st of the previous year, a conversation she had remembered only too well.

Eden was being held, restrained, in a windowless room with mortared brick walls, the creature holding her up being a tall, gaunt demon with a goat-like head and legs. She was bruised with a black eye and fat lip.

"Where is it, Eden?" demanded the Damned Magician Girl. "Where did you put it?"

"I hid it," replied Eden, quietly.

"WHERE did you hide it?" screamed the Duel Spirit, her anger obviously full of frustration.

"Where you can't find it," came the answer.

In the next second, the felt DMG's boot slam into her teeth. She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again, blood dribbling from her mouth.

"Tired?" asked Eden. "I barely felt that. Come on."

That earned her a kick in the mid-section. Still, she barely reacted.

"Tell me, you little slut," she ordered, "or I'll –"

"What, kill me?" asked Eden. "I'm not afraid of death, you know. Sometimes I think I'd welcome it."

DMG was about to hit her again, when Eden said, "How afraid are you of it?"

The Duel Spirit lowered her hand. There was silence for a minute.

Then she held Eden by the chin. "You think this is all a game, do you?"

"Games have rules," said Eden, "and rules are something you only pretend to respect. You study and follow them so you can learn how to break them."

DMG released her chin, the look on her face turning to one of surprise, then a far more pleasant – but crafty – smile. Eden remembered that look. She used to use it far more often when the two had talked.

"You want rules, huh?" she asked. "Okay, lets try something with rules."

She pointed, and the demon let go of Eden's arms.

That was when the final deal had been made, and she had almost fulfilled her side of it. Six more victories, and she'd be done with her.

She flipped the card around. A message was scrawled on the back, as if written with an old fashioned.

"My gift can grant a victory with threefold reward, or a loss of everything you have.

As she shuffled it into her deck, she heard a soft beeping sound.

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Joka looked up at Karl, who was looking at him, then at SAL, then at him again.

"Heh, let me guess, your little tinker toy's still trying to poke around up in here?" Joka said tapping the side of his head. "Good luck sweetheart, even I can't figure out what's going on in my head half the time."

"I noticed. I've seen less shoddy mechanics in a Virtual Boy," snapped SAL.

Joka's eyes nearly popped out before they came back at twice the usual intensity. "What the fuck did you just say?!" he roared straining against his cuffs

"Jesus, Sal, that's not exactly high grade to say to anything even remotely mechanical." Karl winced as just the mention of that system made the back of his eyes ache at the memories it brought back.

Joka cleared his throat and spoke a little calmer, even thought anger was clearly raging inside him. "Well listen toots, at least I'm more then a glorified GPS. I'd bet good money half the circuitry you've got running in there was made in some Korean sweatshop!"

"You want to start something, rust-bucket?" she dared

"Uhm, SAL?" said Karl.

"No but I'll gladly end it," threatened Joka. "Let's see if your warranty's up bitch!"

"BOTH of you SHUT IT!" Francis roared with enough force to set off a car alarm in the distance.

Joka glowered at SAL but aside from making an 'I've got my eyes on you' gesture he kept silent. He was quiet for a few minutes, then he turned to Francis, who again, was looking at one of his tattoos. The darker one.

"What, don't like it?" he asked. "Probably should have thought of that before you got it, chump."

"Mind your own business," he said. "Where is she?"

"How should I know?" asked Joka. "For all I know, she's in the john."

"That's not really a joke," said a voice.

Everyone turned around. She was there, near the two bikes. "I always take care of that before I leave. You can't ask your opponent for a bathroom break during what may be a brutal Shadow Duel, now can you?

She held her left arm out, brandishing her Duel Disk. "So who called me this time? Or is there a line now?"

"Look, listen, Eden," said Karl. He took a step forward, she didn't move, keeping the stern glance on him.

"That journal of yours has caused a lot of trouble. If you simply must duel, I will, but we need answers. We –"

"That wasn't part of the –" she started, interrupting. Then she stopped, looking at him closely and noticing the mark on his face.

"What?" he said.

"I give up," she said quietly. She lifted her hands. "You want me, I surrender."

Neither Karl nor Francis could believe it. "Wait, you don't –" started Francis.

"Arrest me, stupid, I give up!" she shouted. "What, do I have to go rob a bank first?"

"Whatever you say," said Francis, "just keep them where I can see them."

Eden bowed her head and lifted her arms. Never thought I'd see the day, thought Z, as Karl and Francis approached her.

"Aw, that's no fun," said a male voice.

Karl recognized that voice. Indeed, it was hard to forget it. There was a quick series of beeps from SAL, and he grabbed hold of Eden, twisting aside as Francis ducked, both of them avoiding the spiraling cascade of shooting stars that soared past them.

"Lee Harvey Oswald?" gasped Karl. "Where'd he come from?"

It was indeed the criminal duelist they had met on the roof of Ghislane's house, but he had changed, not for the better. His one-time thin and frailness had been replaced by finely toned muscle, his unbuttoned shirt revealing rather strong abs and pectorals, and his face was not just handsome, it was beaming, literally. Unfortunately, the now-pointed ears and feral, catlike eyes sort of spoiled it.

"What on earth did you do to yourself?" shouted Karl.

"It's fey glamour," answered SAL. "Guess I was right about him being that kind of warlock. And that may be how he was able to sneak up on us."

"Oh YEAH!" laughed Oswald. "Think this is a good look for me?"

"Yeah, you'd be the most popular guy in the loony house!" answered Francis.

"MWU-HA-HA-HA!" laughed Oswald, his laugh sounding as loud as it sounded fake, clearly very drunk on the fey magic he was using. "Come on, take your best shot!" As he stood, slightly hunched over, he lifted a Duel Disk and violently threw a deck into it, hard. As he activated it, it buzzed and stammered before the tray swung into position. "I'll take both of you twerps on at once!"

"Twerps, huh," said Francis. "That's original. You sure about this, Oswald?"

"Bring it on!" laughed the criminal.

"He's out of his mind," said Eden.

"Yeah, we established that last time," replied Karl.

His and Francis' Duel Disks came on.

(Francis: 8,000) - - - - - - (Karl: 8,000) - - - - - (Oswald: 8,000)

Well, this will certainly be an interesting duel, thought Joka. But probably a very short one.

Normally Joka would have been having a field day with Oswald's little 'makeover', but right now the last thing he needed was to draw any attention to himself. Concentrating, he started to feel the boiler in his gut bubble and churn, as the heat built inside it boiling the alcohol he had binged on before his duel with Z almost eighteen hours previous.

He didn't make a habit of resorting to this, as he tended to feel sick later, but with most of his built in weapons in disrepair and his back up weapons confiscated, he really didn't have any other choice. Slowly steam began to leak from the seams in his armor, his eyes glowing brighter as he began to give a low growl...

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"Philip?" said Sofia.

She sat up in her bed, looking around. She had almost forgotten she had fallen asleep. She sighed, then lay back down.

Damn you, Orchid, she thought. The story about Black Dalia was better.

It was only about eight o clock. When you're used to going to bed late, it's hard to go to sleep earlier, even when you're exhausted

She started thinking of Philip again. For some reason she couldn't get him out of her head.

She opened her eyes again, with a frustrated breath. I should get up, she thought. Silly to just lie here doing –"

In the next second, she was snoring.

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Four minutes into the three-man duel at the old gas station.

(Francis: 7,000) - - - - - - (Karl: 6,800) - - - - - (Oswald: 0)

As his monster bit the dust, Oswald fell backwards, falling to the pavement with a large slam.

"Talk about stupid," said Francis. His and Karl's monsters disappeared. "You really thought you could crash in here and beat both of us?"

"Now that you mention it," said Oswald. He sat up, his eyes even more feral than before. "Nope. Still, that was the best duel I ever lost…"

There was a shrill whistling screech like a teakettle boiling over, and Joka held up his arms and snapped the restraints as if they were made of kindling, steam squirting out of vents in his carapace as the machinery inside him was now working at three times it's normal speed.

"Watch out! He's loose!" yelled Francis.

Z turned drawing his sword, but Joka was moving too quickly to have time to react. Snapping back his right arm, Joka's entire arm began to telescope out as built in springs stretched out until his arm was almost seven feet long. Then, snapping it back towards Z like he was cracking a whip, his fist came hurtling forward like a bullet and hit him in the sternum with the full force of the momentum it had built up.

Blood flew from the veteran Shadowchaser's mouth as he felt three ribs snap on impact, falling to his knees and coughing violently as he clutched his chest.

"WHOOO! MONKEY D. LUFFY EAT YOUR HEART OUT!" Joka crowed, kicking Z in the side of the head against for good measure before making a break for it.

Francis only had a second to realize that Joka was but half the problem. Oswald sprang up and pounced at him. Again, SAL beeped a warning and the reflex-enhancing bionics built into the glove where she was housed did the rest. Karl grabbed hold of Eden again, dodged, and pulled them both out of the way.

Francis, while taken by surprise, threw Oswald off of him, then kicked him in the stomach. "GO!" he shouted. "Go, go, GO!"

"I'm gonna hit you so fucking hard your grandchildren will feel it!" threatened Oswald. "I'm gonna rip out your intestines and strangle you with 'em! I'm gonna –"

He was cut off as the Shadowchaser's fist smashed his nose, and for the second time, his back met pavement.

Francis heard the sound of Karl's D-Wheel starting, and looked around, hoping to grab Joka. He didn't see the assassin at first, but as Karl hit the gas, he spied him, mounting the other D-Wheel.

"HEY!" he shouted.

"Time to give this thing some higher octane," grumbled Joka "He hit the dashboard with a violent slap of his palm, and it lit up, green. Then, the engine hummed, then sputtered and coughed, and started making a sound like an a little like an old dial up modem. "Come on, you piece of –"

Karl was about to run after him, but then he turned and caught Oswald by the shoulders, the henchman now growling with near-bestial anger. Still, Karl could see Joka out of the corner of his eye, and could see the odd magical sigils that branded on the bike's frame as Joke saw smaller ones flashed across every control. The dashboard turned maroon as the D-Wheel started. His scowl changed to a big grin.

"Later, chump-boy!" he laughed. He kicked the accelerator, and sped in the direction Karl had went, leaving skid marks and the smell of burnt rubber behind.

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Ironically, as much as Dunstan would complain that Oswald didn't do much work, he was the only employee of Copek actually working now. At their office building, where it was much later, both Emily and Ferdinand were asleep on the couch in the rec room where they had searched through the books and videos, Emily on his shoulder, both snoring heavily. Dunstan was asleep on the other couch, and several empty containers of what had formerly held take-out food were on the floor. The first thing on Dunstan's to-do list for the next work day – whenever that would be – was to call the cleaning service.

Addams was in his office alone, and even he was asleep at his desk now, the nearly empty pot of coffee having reached the limits of stimulation efficiency. The efreet were tougher than humans, and could go days without sleep if they had to, but eventually fatigue caught up.

The cubical communication device on the desk started to buzz. "Addams, you there?" asked Cervis' voice.

"Five more minutes, mom," Addams mumbled groggily as he slowly started to wake up.

"Sly," called the voice. "Sly! Wake up!"

Addams opened his eyes and tapped the device, or rather, missed it twice before hitting it on the third. "I'm here!" he answered, still sounding cranky. "What's the problem?" He rubbed his eyes.

"Sly, did Oswald leave yet?" asked the voice.

Addams looked at his watch. "I think an hour ago," he answered Addams. He sipped from a coffee cup next to his hand, making a face – it had gone cold.

"Damn," said Cervis. "Look, when you get ahold of him, he needs a change of instruction. I just got a message from someone at Torch. They advise against going there right now."

Now Addams was wide awake, and very upset. "Okay, what's the problem that requires me to find Oswald and tell him to change the instructions you told me to give him?" he demanded.

Cervis did sound rather embarrassed as he answered. "Okay, the armies of the Demon Lord Orcus hired a group of yugoloth guides to help them sneak into a place about fifty miles from Torch and ambush Archduke Dispater's forces. However, said yugoloths were actually working for Demogorgon, and led Orcus' forces into an ambush. Then it gets worse. Beelzebul thought this would be a good chance to humiliate Dispater and sent his army, and –"

"Spit it out!" ordered Addams.

"The official buzz is, fighting in that area of Gehenna is worse than it usually is, and traveling there is unsafe and inadvisable, until an all clear is given," answered Cervis. "Off the record, I'd say it would be more accurate to say that crossing a piranha-invested river in the Amazon while carrying a pack full of hamburger is safer. Tell you what, use Last Stop as an alternative, and we'll take it from there."

Addams lifted his head suddenly. Actually, that wasn't much of an inconvenience at all. "Fine, fine, by the way, the Device works." He looked over at the Pan Dimensional Homing Device. "At least it works as well as it did before. Seeing as you guys are going to Last Stop anyway –"

"Okay, okay, send whoever you summoned there," said Cervis. "Might as well –"

"Oh, I should warn you," added Addams. He leaned back in his chair with a smug grin on his face as he cupped his hands together. "This girl is rather, uhm, aggressive. I'd be careful if I were you. She might take a liking to you and then take the rest of you, too."

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Karl sped down the highway, going west towards Cincinnati, the smaller female figure clinging to his back, her hair flying behind in the wind. They had planned this maneuver in case Joka had tried something, but Oswald they hadn't counted on.

"Uh, Karl, he's following," said SAL.

"Don't worry," he assured her, "no way Francis' bike can go as fast as this one."

Then he was startled to see Joka rearview mirror. Joka was closing, fast.

"That's impossible," gasped SAL. "The torque in that D-Wheel's engine is moving at nearly double its normal RPM."

Joka pulled up to a tailgating position behind them. Eden turned slightly, with a very dirty look. "Jealous?" he asked. He shifted the handle-gear, then pulled up to the left of them. "I have a kind of uh, repartee with machines."

"Yeah? Repartee this!" answered Karl. He gave the punk a swift kick, then shot ahead as Joka wobbled. Eden turned around, extending her right hand in a rather significant gesture.

Unfortunately, Joka's only reply was a guffaw with a cough. He pulled up, to even more surprise, without holding onto the handlebars.

"You think I'm drivin' this hawg?" he laughed. "I am this hawg! My own system is driving it now."

"Oh, you're a hog alright," said SAL.

"Insult me all you want, but unlike you, I got hands!" To prove it, he made a grab at Karl's handlebar; they struggled for a moment, until a surge of electricity from SAL ripped through Joka's arm. Karl slugged the outlaw in the face; he let go, but –

Ow, thought Karl, his hand bruised by striking Joka's metal face. Ow, ow, ow…

"Come to think of it, you are the hand," added Joka. "That has possibilities."

Before she could answer, Karl hit a switch, and the bike sped forward with powerful burning exhaust. "Obviously, the CPU of that bike has been pirated by the same weird magic powering him," SAL told him. "Clearly he's being fueled by some outside source now, and so is the D-Wheel."

Karl looked up at the billboard, which indicated the Cincinnati city limits in ten miles.

"Keep working on trying to figure it out," he said, "I'll –"

"BEEP, BEEP!" laughed Joka, giving him a return kick as he pulled up. "Now this is more like it! Ah, the thrill of the wind at my back and in my face, with the harsh smell of motor oil. I like it even more when you combine it with other fluids!" He kicked his foe again, cackling.

"You crazy," cursed Karl. "You're gonna kill us!"

"All the better!" laughed Joka, again. "Vehicular is my third favorite form of homicide!"

Oh, that does it, thought Karl. "You want to fight, fellah." He threw a switch on the dashboard, and then punched in a code, ASZ-008.

"Wait, what's happening?" shouted Joka.

"Duel Mode engaged," said an AI voice on the dashboard of his bike.

"Wait, I didn't," he started, before a large red X flashed on the console with a warning buzzer.

"Deck not present," said the voice.

"I added a few optional extras on my D-Wheel," said Karl, smiling at him while looking at him aside. "Like a Duel Chaser system. I'm bringing you down one way or another."

"Deck not present," repeated the voice.

"All right, all right, hold your horses," he said. He fit the deck into the holder, and the flashing X disappeared.

"Stupid gimmicky shit," he grumbled, Duel System lit up and turned green on Francis' bike. "Half of my favorite cards don't even work in Riding Duels."

Looks like he's more serious than I thought, Karl said to himself. Eden must be more important than we imagined. Well, fine, I could use the practice.

"Plotting course for crosstown racetrack. Awaiting approval from central grid," whirred the AL, as the map of the highway lit up. "Approval granted."

As always, the sides of Interstate 275 started to lift up as the special lane opened. "Turbo Duel underway, all traffic must vacate dueling lane."

"Ah, it was more fun before the suits thought that up," said Joka. "Ah, well."

The two Turbo Duelists sped through the opening, and the counters set. "Hold on folks," said Karl, "gonna be a bumpy ride!"

(Karl: 8,000, SPC 0) - - - - - - - - - - (Joka: 8,000, SPC 0)

Karl drew his sixth card, and set half of them on the holder next to his left glove, using the other three quickly. As he fit a Monster Card sideways across the dash, Solar Wind Jammer appeared, its metallic sales unfurrowing. (1,200 DEF)

"And because that's a Special Summoning, I'll summon Nanobreaker too." He used another card, this one placed widthwise, and a young raven-haired woman leapt from above. She had silvery, cybernetic armor with bladed shoulders, and had a sword made of odd, metal that seemed to shimmer and ripple. (1,600 ATK)

A facedown card was placed behind and between the two, turned transparent, then concealed. "Your move, Joka."

As Joka drew a card, edging away as he drew, he looked over at Eden. She looked back, but didn't seem as upset now. Eh, he thought.

"I summon Gaia Soul the Combustible Collective! Time to feel the burn!"

As the card appeared, Karl did feel the heat coming from the monster that bolted in front of his bike. While he had long gotten over his fear of fire, the thing that card summoned had always made him nervous. A large sphere of throbbing, pulsating flesh with one eye, emitting burning plasma wasn't a very calming sight. (2,000 ATK)

"Nice outfit she has, sorry if this wrinkles it a little. Attack!"

A surge of flames shot from the Pyro, hitting the cyborg with a blast that shook Karl's bike.

"Ugh," he said. "Ten dollars says you never looked half as good in armor like that, Joka. I activate Revenge Return." He waved his arm, using his Trap. "That means I draw once. By the way, when you end your turn, that monster goes boom."

"Not if I get rid of it first," replied Joka. He flipped a card in his hand around. "See this guy? By banishing Magma Mage and a Pyro, I can take a Flip Effect monster from my deck and set it."

First the card he was holding and then Gaia Soul were eradicated, and a flat card appeared in front of his bike. "Your move, douchebag."

"I don't know what your game is," said Karl. He whipped the top card off his deck.

(K: 7,600, SPC 2) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 8,000, SPC 2)

"But I'm not biting, yet. It's my Standby Phase now, so Solar Wind Jammer gains one Level. Then I'll bring out Rocket Jumper!"

He fit the card on his Disk, and a shimmering diamond appeared next to his D-Wheel; a statue of a prone old man on his stomach with his fists clenched and a red and white missile mounted above emerged from the diamond. (1,000 ATK)

"Since the only monster you have is defending, Rocket Jumper can launch itself past and attack directly. Blast off!"

His fist hit his dashboard and the rocket ignited, launching ahead of him. Joka looked back and forth, then up, watching the monster do an upside overhead loop.

Uh oh, he thought. He stepped on the gas pedal but Rocket Jumper made the full loop, and darted towards him from behind…

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

Every night I hope and pray
A dream lover will come my way
A girl to hold in my arms
And know the magic of her charms

'Cause I want a girl
To call my own
I wanna dream lover
So I don't have to dream alone

Sofia sat up. Suddenly.

"Philip?" she said, for the second time, looking into the darkness.

She could swear she had heard the old tune, that one Philip used to play on a CD so often. Actually, the last time he had was the last time she had seen him before he disappeared.

She looked at the window. No, it wasn't open.

In truth, that "last time she had seen him" was the last romantic night they had spent together before he disappeared. He had spared no expense, with Dom Pérignon, tomato pumpkin bisque, and stuffed caper with some sort of French glaze she couldn't even pronounce.

She closed her eyes and laid her head back on the pillow. It was hard to believe she could remember the food and music from that day so well now from memory…

Then her eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly again.

Come to think of it, I don't believe I can remember it that well.

She looked at the window again, and stood up. Since when did a closed window ever stop an elf? she asked herself. She stood up and walked quickly to the door, opening it.

Now she knew she wasn't just reminiscing. She could literally hear that soft music and smell the food she remembered, the recipe for stuffed caper that took ninety minutes to prepare.

"Philip?" she said, to the empty hallway.

She carefully looked down the hall to a room that combined the purposes of a guest room and a VIP suite…

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

"My move, squirt," said Joka. He drew, bringing the Counters to 3. "Time to show you what I got under here."

As the set Monster Card flipped up, a small, metallic beetle-like creature flew out of it in front of Joka's bike, and Karl's bike started to wobble. From the left side of the road, a television and stereo speaker flew towards the small monster, a DVD player and computer keyboard coming from the right. They crashed together, and dozens of video cards, motherboards, and ports flew into it, turning into a jumble of junked computer parts. (200 ATK) Then, one final piece of machinery was drawn to the Bagworm – Solar Wind Jammer!

"I'll take that!" laughed Joka. "And now I'll use it to summon one of my stars."

"You can't use Speed Fusion with only three counters, you know," said Karl.

"I may not be able to properly build a Fusion Monster, but if I cut a few costs, I can make a more temporary one. I only need two counters to use Speed Spell – Jury Rig! So I fuse Solar Wind Jammer there and my Volcanic Blaster here –"

As he used the Spell Card, the four little guys from the A-Team Trap Disposal Unit emerged from it, two of them carrying Volcanic Blaster. They produced some hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, and pliers, and started to shoddily dismantle to the two monsters.

"Of course, since this is a rush job, it won't last long," he continued. The little guys started to hammer, bolt, and weld the parts into one whole. "But it doesn't need to be. Ta-da!"

There was a blazing flash, and Ignition Beast Volcannon flew over his D-Wheel. (2,300 ATK)

Crap, thought Karl. "Hold on everyone!" Then he took his own advice as the Fusion Monster exploded and Rocket Jumper crashed into the pavement. His bike shoot as he swerved, pulling around with a wide skid.

(K: 6,600, SPC 3) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 7,000, SPC 3)

"You like that?" said Joka, a wide grin on his metal faceplate. "I'll summon Flare Resonator!"

There was a small wisp of fire, and one of Jack Atlas' nasty Fiend-Type Tuners flew from the card. (300 ATK)

"So let's give Electromagnetic Bagworm a Tune up!" he laughed.

Flare Resonator struck its fork with its mallet and flew towards the sky with the big cluster of junk following and debris crumbling from it, falling on the road. They soared through the Synchro Rings, as Karl kept his eyes on the rearview mirror.

(* 3 + * 3 = * 6)

Karl watched the rearview as two burning, evil eyes peered at him from it… Then he turned his head as the Dragon flew from behind them, a big, fiery red one with a long wingspan but no forelegs. (2,400 ATK)

"And thanks to Flare Resonator, Red Wyvern gives gets a few more points," said Joka. (2,700 ATK) "Give him a taste of your Burning Prominence!"

As the fiery attack hit him and his D-Wheel, Karl nearly lost control of the vehicle, skidding in a complete spin as he pulled to the side and stopped.

(K: 3,900, SPC 3) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 7,000, SPC 3)

"It tastes terrible…" he grunted.

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

"Surprise" couldn't begin to describe what Sofia felt when she threw the door open. Neither could "shock" or "astonishment".

The whole room was full of flowers. Not simple daisies or dandelions, but tulips, roses and marigolds, placed and assorted with incredible care. There was even a vase holding a bouquet of incredibly rare Karasuthrian hydrangea, lovely flowers that only bloomed under the eternal twilight of the Feywild, dying if the sun ever touched them, placed in front of a mirror with a fancy frame.

He did so much, she thought. She walked up to the vase, looking at the flowers, the sweet scent almost intoxicating. Went through so much trouble. Everything is here from that night. She looked around. Everything. Her hands clasped over her mouth. Dear God, I want to hate him so much but – it's so hard. I've waited for him five years. How long can I hate someone?

Then she turned around. He was there. At the doorway.

He said nothing, but his look was enough to tell her what he wanted to say. She breathed hard, and turned away.

One side of her wanted to lambast him for being so materialistic, and wanted even more to do so and then punch him in the face again. But for some reason, another side was pressuring her to reconsider.

As for Philip, there was conflict in his head too as he looked at her, then looked at the floor. I shouldn't have come here, he thought. Maybe I should just leave. No point in dragging her through it even more.

"Philip?" she finally said, breaking the silence. She stopped.

So many words spoken in anger, he thought. How can I ask for forgiveness? I wouldn't blame her if she –

Then she held her arms to him. There was a tear in her eye.

Yes, Yes…

They ran to each other.

Dear God YES!

Whether she was casting aside more Reason or more foolish Pride, Sofia didn't know. She didn't care. For those minutes as they embraced, his arms around her, the lips on hers something she had longed for five long years, nothing mattered. Nothing but Philip.

"I love you," she whispered. "Don't go away again…"

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

"That thing is trouble, Karl," said SAL. "We summon a monster that's stronger, he can use an effect that destroys it."

"Better listen to her," said Joka, "she's more on the ball than you are."

"And you're nothing but a trash can with sparks," replied SAL.

"Ah, deal with these," said Joka. Two facedown cards appeared to either side of him before vanishing from view. It's your move, twerp."

Guy's getting on my nerves now, thought Karl. He drew, and threw a Speed Spell Card on his console; as the Angel Baton appeared, Graceful Charity's gentle light flowed on his D-Wheel. He made two draws, then slipped one card into the slot underneath it along with the Spell.

"You have a monster with at least 2,000 points, ergo, I can Special Summoning my Schwarzschild Limit Dragon!"

A starry vortex opened, and the long draconic serpent flew out, twisting itself into a ring, then twisting sideways into an infinity symbol. (2,000 ATK)

"Parsec the Interstellar Dragon is pretty special too, because now that I have a Level 8 monster, I can bring him out."

Another Dragon flew from the still-open vortex, sort of. It looked like a spindly, gangly creature with very long legs tipped with scythes, its head vaguely resembling a Dragon, and the whole monster made of violet crystal. (800 ATK)

"That thing just ain't right," said Joka. "Don't you have any normal cards?"

"It's one thing to follow a trend," said Karl. His two Dragons flew skyward as the Overlay Network opened. "It's another to start one! I Xyz Summon the Blackjammer!"

This time, the vortex widened, and turned midnight blue, and just as it did when he dueled Ghislane, the huge galleon flew out, spreading its long, winged sails. (3,000 ATK)

"Cool ship," said Joka. "Almost sorry I have to junk it. Red Wyvern, use your effect now!"

He stabbed his thumb down and the Synchro spread its wings in mid-flap, sending flares shooting and honing in on the Blackjammer. Its wings and hull caught fire, and it started to plummet in front of them.

"I'd abandon ship if I were you," he chortled. He – and Karl – struggled to hang on as the giant craft crashed, sending a shockwave across the highway and lit up the night sky.

"Laugh while you can, psycho," said Karl. "Remember that Revenge Return Trap Card I used. Well, here's the return part." The same card appeared behind him, rotating face forward. Then it crumbled into motes. "Because you sank my ship with a card effect, I can salvage it by banishing the Trap Card."

Again, the craft flew from the portal, a little dented and its sails slightly frayed, but still afloat. (3,000 ATK) "Its Overlay Units may be gone, but I can make due. Attack Red Wyvern! Raging Eldritch Storm!"

"I use the Liquid Courage Trap Card!" yelled Joka. "This card protects my monster by turning your attack on him into a direct attack against me."

He can't be serious, thought Karl.

Clearly, he was. The mystical cannons on the Blackjammer readjusted their aim, and the burning, blazing, fiery death rained on Joka and his bike.

(K: 3,900, SPC 4) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 4,000, SPC 4)

"So, the idea of that card is using liquor to induce bravery," said Karl, in disbelief. "Brave enough to take a hit like that on purpose."

"Wha, you think I'm worried bout DUI?" he asked, his speech sounding a little slurred. "I've been in demolition derbies worst then this!"

"You are insane," answered Karl.

"Took you this long to figure that out?" said Joka. He cleared his throat. "I'm not stupid though." He waved his hand, indicating his other Trap Card. "Enchanted Javelin let me gain 3,000 Life Points right before I lost them. And now that you're done attacking, I can use the second effect of Liquid Courage, and draw once for every thousand points I lost."

"Want me to do the math for you?" asked SAL, annoyed. "I'm pretty sure division isn't your strong point."

"Shut up," said Joka. He made three draws, and Karl, ignoring both of them, checked what he had left. He stabbed his thumb down, indicating his turn was over.

"Okay, that's better," said Joka. "Nothing like a shock to the system to get it running. DRAW!"

(K: 3,900, SPC 5) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 7,000, SPC 5)

"I activate Speed Spell – Half Seize!" he shouted. The Spell Card appeared, creating a suction that started to pull on the Blackjammer; it held, but bits of energy started to flow from it and into Joka's frame. (1,500 ATK)

"And those lost Attack Points go into my Life Points," he said. "So let's see ya dodge this!"

Red Wyvern's assault blasted ahead again, the flames ripping through the ship's hull, sending it plummeting a second time.

(K: 3,900, SPC 5) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 8,500, SPC 5)

"You sank my battleship," snapped Karl. "Still that isn't really a bad thing, because now I can Special Summon Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon from my hand and its counterpart, Interplanetarypurplythorny Beast from my Graveyard!"

The strange Dragon covered with spurs and briars he had used against Ghislane appeared first (2,200 ATK) then a large alien predator with eight small eyes, a mane of quills, and long, sharp claws on its forelegs, its skin the same shade of purple. (2,200 DEF)

"Ugh, and they call me ugly," said Joka. "I'll set one more card, and I'm done."

Karl drew, the counters upping to 6. He flipped the drawn card around – Cosmo Queen. That's the stuff, he thought.

"Again, I build the Overlay Network!" he shouted. Lightning crashed seemingly vaporizing the two monsters, causing a large, silvery cube to appear, revolving in midair. It was covered with flickering (0 ATK)

"What the hell is that?" asked Joka.

"The TAG-MAX-3500," said Karl, "as in, Tactical Armored Gear, Maximum."

"Eh, acronyms suck," he growled.

"Well, watch," he said, "I take one monster from my hand, like so, and –"

The TAG-MAX-3500 started to unfold, twist, and change shape in midair, changing from cube-shaped to crest-shaped. With whirs and hums, two thick legs extended from the bottom. Cosmo Queen appeared, the device folding over her torso like an armored shirt; she extended her arms, and two large gauntlets appeared, slipping over and fastening to the rest of the armor with thick cables. Finally, a helmet with a glass visor replaced the headdress. (2,900 ATK)

"Now its previous Attack Score of zero becomes the same as its wearer." A jet engine on the back of the armor ignited, and Cosmo Queen rocketed in front of the two D-Wheels, turning to face Joka and his Dragon. She pointed, and her gauntlet unfolded into a large blaster. "But you figured that out, right?

"Pulverize Red Wyvern with Purging Salvo!"

She started to fly backwards, a shocking beam of plasma firing from the canon. Joka slammed his hand on his console. "I use Intrigue Shield!" he yelled.

His Trap Card, lifted up, and a fancy, violet coat of arms branded to Wyvern's chest; the blast glanced off it.

"Sorry, no go," he said. "And that'll happen every turn you make the first attack against him."

Okay, now we're in trouble, thought Karl.

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

Sofia was awake.

Actually, she was more than that. She and Philip were making love.

Still, as he held her, tightly in an embrace that was still sweet and soft, she felt a euphoria that she had only felt in dreams before.

He hadn't spoken a word since that one kiss. Nor had she. His kisses had interrupted every attempt, even to say "I love you."

If she wanted to wake up, would she? Did she want to?

Maybe it didn't matter. Dream or not, it was her dream. A dream she had wanted for so long…

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

Karl looked in his rearview again. His turn was coming up again, and Cosmo Queen was now facing Cyber Phoenix (1,200 ATK) and two new set cards. He knew what the monster's effect was – it was common enough – and it was likely Joka expected him to attack it and not try again with Wyvern, but right now, he couldn't take anything for granted.

He drew, and made a quick analysis of what he had.

(K: 3,900, SPC 8) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 8,500, SPC 8)

A Tuner and two Trap Cards, he thought. Going to need more than that.

"I'm using the effect of Speed World 2," he announced, "cutting my Counters to 2 in order to draw once."

He drew a card, his bike decelerating quickly. He flipped the drawn card around. Speed Spell – Shift Down.

This is just not my day, he thought. He jammed it into place with the other three, and turned his attention back to Wyvern. "Okay, Joka, you lucked out, but your monsters didn't." Again, the jetpack engines ignited, and Cosmo rocketed overhead, in front of the Dragon. Karl slipped Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon into the chute under his dashboard as she aimed, the weapon absorbing a mote that came from the chest-plate.

"By using an Overlay Unit, she can use the armor to destroy a monster, so long as its Score or its Level are less than hers." The weapon fired again, a larger, brighter ray hitting Red Wyvern, resulting in an explosion of electromagnetic sparks and a brief x-ray of a Dragon's skeleton before it turned to dust.

"I oughta," said Joka.

The Cosmo Queen aimed again. "And seeing as her Score and Level were both higher," added Karl, "she still gets her normal attack. Purging Salvo!"

Joka didn't say anything, even if his eyes almost popped out as the voltage ripped through Cyber Phoenix and hit him. "S'okay!" he said. He drew a card. "Feelin' no pain!"

(K: 3,900, SPC 1) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 6,800, SPC 8)

I'd bring up the obvious, thought Karl. He set two more cards in his Spell Zone. But it would go in one ear and out the other. "I'm done."

Joka drew, and then grinned ear to ear. "Now we're cookin'," he said. "I use the good old Speed Spell – Speed Fusion! I'll fuse together my Volcanic Hammerer and my Sergeant Electro…"

"Here it comes," said SAL.

"I know!" Karl shot back. He accelerated and turned his head to face the Fusion Monster as it appeared, Blaze Fenix the Burning Bombardment Bird. (2,800 ATK)

"Now that I've done that," continued Joka, "think I'm gonna use Speed World 2."

His counters fell to 2, and he decelerated back beside Karl's bike as he drew, and Fenix made a 180 turn in midair to face them. Joka quickly set that card and another.

"So, got a calculator on that thing?" asked Joka. "Eight cards on the field, and this next blast is gonna burn away 300 points for –"

"It's 2,400 total," said SAL, clearly angry.

"You got it!" laughed Joka. "Blast him!"

"I activate the Trap Card, Elastic Space!" shouted Karl.

"Eh, Elastic Space?" said Joka.

As Blaze Fenix's fire shot towards Karl, a rippling disk of force appeared in front of him; the fire bounced off, and shot at an angle towards Joka. "Afraid your 'blast off' is rerouted!" he laughed, pointing.

Joka was caught off guard, screaming as the flames hit him solidly.

(K: 3,900, SPC 2) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 4,300, SPC 2)

"Well, at least it blasted," he growled. "Blast it. I end my turn!"

Karl didn't say anything this time as he drew. But again, Cosmo Queen aimed. She fired, Fenix burst into a cloud of fire, and Karl shielded himself with his hand driving right through it. Joka focused his eyes on him, and again, Eden looked back, briefly.

"Destruction Reward!" shouted Karl. His last set card opened and revealed itself. "Thanks to this Trap, destroying your monster lets me draw once. But because your monster was at least Level 7, I can draw twice."

Just keep lappin' it up, kid, thought Joka, cause you ain't juts goin' down, you're goin' down in flames.

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

"Hard to imagine," said Sofia. She was still in bed with Philip, holding him close, hugging him. "It's as if you brought everything we had here that one night."

"I know, I wanted to start exactly where we left off," he answered. "It took weeks and the shopping was the hardest. It wasn't easy, but I wanted it to be perfect."

"So how did you get past Opal?" she asked.

"I saw her, but she didn't object, other than to give me 'the look'. Maybe she hoped you'd belt me across the face again. I've never trusted genies."

"I'm starting to see a downside to them too," she answered. "Well, you did seem to remember everything but the cheese fondue." She looked him in the face and noted his look of exasperation with a smile. "Gotcha!" she added.

He only hugged her closer as he leaned his head back. "They say absence makes the heart grow fond," she said, "but I think it's all bunk. So, does this mean you're staying put this time?"

"Positive," he said. "Secret is out anyway. Just please, stay here for now."

"What about you?" she asked. "You're risking your life out there!"

He didn't answer for a minute or two. Then he looked her in the face. "Antisthenes knows what we've been keeping secret too," he said, "and that means he's going to make his big move sooner or later, possibly within a few days. One way or another, this whole thing will be over soon."

"Which means everyone is at risk," she added. "Swell. I'm with you on this, buster, whether you like it or not."

"Guess I asked for this by coming back," he said.

Again, they kissed. Deeply.

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

Joka drew his next card and surveyed the road ahead of him, with Cosmo Queen watching through that visor. Karl had set those two cards he drew, and as of right now, he only had his set card –

(K: 3,900, SPC 4) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 4,200, SPC 4)

- which he would activate now. As he did, two box-shaped turrets about the size of milk crates appeared to either side of his bike, barrels extending upwards as it aimed.

"How do ya like this upgrade?" he asked. "Blaze Accelerator Reload is a Trap I can use once per turn to send a Volcanic monster to the Graveyard and draw once. And before you ask, yes, this is a Scattershot."

"WATCH OUT!" warned SAL. Joka fed the card into the Graveyard slot, followed by two other identical ones, and the twin turrets fired, blasting at Cosmo Queen. Even as they hit, however, Karl tapped the card on his Monster Zone, and as the TAG-MAX 3,500 was blown to little bits, Cosmo Queen levitated above, safely. Her eyes looked at Joka, glowing with anger. (2,900 ATK)

"Nice shot," he said, "but because it had at least one Overlay Unit left, Cosmo Queen was able to summon herself to the field."

"But you still take 1,500 points of damage," laughed Joka.

The guns fired again, Karl's bike skidded and swerved, seemingly throwing Eden from the seat behind her. Joka was about to laugh even harder, but then almost choked in mid-laugh.

"Where'd she go?" he demanded.

Eden had vanished. It looked like she had just disappeared halfway from the bike to the pavement.

"Where'd who go?" asked Karl.

"He must mean the girl who was riding passenger, Karl," replied SAL. "Or rather, the hologram of one I was projecting. Sorry about that, I can multitask, but I have limits."

"Wait," said Joka. "Hologram? Then where…"

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

Almost eighty miles from where the duel was happening, riding in the opposite direction on a D-Wheel moving just as fast, the actual Eden held on tight to Francis' back, occasionally looking over her shoulder.

"Calm down," he said. "Karl should be able to take care of Robo-Crap in his sleep, and even if he can't, we'll be in Columbus before he realizes you aren't with him."

"Good thing your friend had his D-Wheel hidden," added Eden. "Think he'll be alright?"

A light started to flash on the console. "Speak of the devil," said Francis. "Z, you okay? you aren't hurt, are you?"

"Aside from a few bruises and my ribs, just my pride," said Z's voice. "Look, Oswald just ran off after you."

"He's chasing us on foot?" replied Francis.

"You're surprised?" asked Z. "You should have seen him clear the overpass when he started. He didn't seem nearly as fast as your D-Wheel, but you never know."

"Roger, over," said Francis. "Hold on, Eden, I'm flooring this thing."

Eden did hold on, watching anxiously over his shoulder and waiting for something to show itself…

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

"You think you're so smart?" shouted the now-infuriated and now-sober sounding Joka.

"Well, we certainly outsmarted you, didn't we?" asked SAL.

"SHUT UP!" he screamed. "I'm gonna kick your ass back to the second-hand store you came from!"

"I don't have an ass, stupid," she replied.

As much as Karl was often annoyed by her snarky wit, he couldn't help but laugh a little at that one.

(K: 2,400, SPC 4) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 4,200, SPC 4)

Joka started up his D-Wheel as the duel resumed, snatching his last card from its holder and setting it. "There!" he threatened. "Attack me! I dare you!"

"My pleasure," said Karl. He drew a card, chasing after him with Cosmo Queen by his side. "Attack directly with Cosmic Nova!"

The Spellcaster began to power up her dark spell, but Joka only turned his head and smirked. "Gotcha," he said. "I activate Volcanic Force!"

Aw, nuts, thought Karl.

As the Trap Card spun around and the two turrets shattered, there was a roar as columns of fire broke through the pavement around Joka. Cosmo Queen gave a look of panic as Volcanic Doomfire erupted in front of her to block her path. (3,000 ATK) She stopped and tried to turn, but its powerful breath weapon overtook her, and she screamed…

(K: 1,800, SPC 5) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 4,200, SPC 5)

Karl felt it too. The flames licked at his feet and the frame of his D-Wheel.

"Karl, we're in trouble," said SAL. "Don't forget what these Volcanic monsters are capable of."

"I'll end by setting a card and summoning Steam Synchron," said Karl. As he played the card, there was a soft hissing and wheezing as a small, fat, squat droid made of black metal with blocky hands and feet floated beside his bike. (600 ATK)

"You think that's gonna protect you?" asked Joka. He drew a card, and the two bikes stared to speed up again. "I'll start by summoning Royal Firestorm Guards."

As he played the card, a large, serpentine humanoid with a reptilian face, a muscular torso, sharp wings on its forearms, and a long tail in place of legs, all covered by red scales, flew out of the card, crouched on its coils. (1,700 ATK)

"So I can send four Pyros back to my deck, reshuffle, then draw twice." The four cards, Blaze Fenix, and the three Scattershots, all appeared behind him, turned to fire, and flew into the front of his bike's frame. He drew two cards, and looked at them quickly, then used one.

"Check this out! I'll banish Cyber Phoenix to summon Inferno." More fire blasted from the street, creating the blazing bonfire with eyes. (1,100 ATK)

"Now, I think I'll use the Overlay Network. I'll Overlay my Level 4 Inferno and Royal Firestorm Guards to summon Infernal Flame Vixen!"

The Network opened, and more flames shot from the sky, the two monsters spouting up and combining, coalescing into a ten-foot-tall demonic lady made of fire. She had long, wing-shaped horns sprouting from her forehead, and carried a large, blazing scythe. (2,200 ATK)

"Hot as hell, I assume?" said Karl.

"You bet!" laughed Joka, "and by tossing an Overlay Unit, she gets even hotter!"

(2,700 ATK)

"But I'm gonna make it even hotter still for ya with my Volcanic Mine Trap Card!"

The Trap lifted up and four spheres of metal, each red-hot and burning, flew from the card, towards his bike, and hovered around him, two to each side. (1,000 DEF x4)

"What the?" he said. "Get away!"

He lifted his arm as if to swat at them, but SAL interjected. "Uh, Karl, those Mine Tokens may not be our biggest concern."

"Right," said Karl. One of his Traps lifted, then turned round ."I may have to thank you, Joka. I use Steam Synchron's effect, which lets me Synchro Summon now!"

"No, way," gasped the punk.

"Yes way," said Karl, mimicking his voice, badly.

Steam shot from the sides of the Synchron's head, and it soared into the air, two of the Tokens blazing across the sky after it, leaving flaming streaks.

"Moribund souls flee to the higher plane and return, ascended, with the memories of a thousand lifetimes!"

(*3 + *1 + *1 = *5)

"I synchro Summon Samsara, Dragon or Rebirth!"

Shooting stars fell, and shimmered, radiating outward, an ankh forming in mid-air right before a Dragon made of heavenly blue fire descended, delivering a noble-sounding roar and then shielding itself with its wings. (2,600 ATK)

"All right!" shouted Joka. "Won't be as fancy, but, let him have it!"

Volcanic Doomfire's scorching geyser of lava hurtled towards the Dragon, and Karl braced himself again as the embers and little pieces of his monster and the two remaining Mine Tokens showered over his D-Wheel.

"Thanks again!" he said. "You see, that guy isn't named Samsara Dragon of Rebirth for nothing. When he gets sent to the Graveyard, I get to bring someone else back from it."

Cosmo Queen appeared again, levitating while flying backwards behind Karl and watching Joka while crossing her arms over her chest. (2,900 ATK)

"Well that's a surprise," he said. "I'll set one more card, and it's your move…"

Finally, thought Karl. He watched the gauge as he drew, as the Counters had finally gotten to where he needed them.

(K: 300, SPC 8) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 4,200, SPC 8)

Karl, I hate to state the obvious, said SAL, but right now, we're past the 'safe zone'.

"I know," he said. "Joka could use Speed World 2 to finish us quickly, but –"

"If his deck has the typical number of Speed Spells in a Turbo Duelist's deck," said SAL, butting it, "then his chances of winning next turn, given a forty-card deck, the number he's drawn, and the two he's already used, are – better than average."

"Yeah, no pressure, right? OKAY! Now that my Counters are finally back up, I can use Speed Spell Shift Down!"

"Yeah, but they're about to go down," said Joka, "and I mean really down." Karl's Speed plummeted to only 2 again, and his foe passed him easily. Still, he drew twice.

"I know," he said. "I'm setting two more cards facedown and ending my turn, so your Vixen loses that 500-point bonus."

"Ah, big deal," said Joka, "I can just juice her up again. I got plenty of time"

However, as he made a draw, his expression changed. Seriously. The card wasn't a Speed Spell, but it was Pyrorex the Elemental Lord, and incredibly powerful monster.

He did a fast count in his head. Seven. He had seven Fire-Attribute monsters in his Graveyard, which was too much. And if he used the other Overlay Unit, that would make eight.

But, he thought, if I can use Vixen's effect I can banish three of them. Yeah, that would work. I can end this right now! He stashed it on his gauntlet. Now let's get busy!

He took Inferno's card and tossed it. "Lord almighty, I hear the temperature rising!" he laughed. (2,700 ATK) "Attack Cosmo Queen now!"

Flame Vixen obeyed, lifting her scythe and flying at the sorceress in a clearly suicidal strike. Cosmo Queen prepared to cast a new hex to oblige, but then two of Karl Traps lifted.

"I use Trap Reborn!" he shouted. "I have to pay half my Life Points, but this Trap duplicates a Trap in your Graveyard, banishing it in the process. I think I'll have it duplicate… Liquid Courage!"

"WHAT?" shouted Joka. "That means…" Cosmo Queen darted aside and Infernal Flame flew towards Karl instead. "Heh, well fine by me, I mean, not my fault if –"

He was interrupted by a harsh ringing noise. "What? Whazzat?"

(K: 150, SPC 3) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 4,200, SPC 9)

"The sound of your monster's scythe hitting this," answered Karl. "The Trap Card, Honor of the King's Soul!"

Three golden spheres flew out of the Trap Card, flying towards the night sky as they grey and changed shape into Steam Synchron, Solar Wind Jammer, and Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon.

"Wait, those monsters were destroyed," said Joka.

"They were," said Karl, "but thanks to my Trap, I can Synchro Summon with them now."

"The roar of dying stars is your voice, the explosion your banner! Devour and plunge the world into darkness! Synchro Summon! Descend, Star Eater!"

Light flared above Karl, a roiling ball of flame that grew and grew before exploding so violently it dimmed out the sun for a brief moment. A thunderous roar echoed as the light cleared to reveal a titanic dragon coiling itself endless around the Turbo Duel Lane, the golden-red scales glittering like a sunset. Titanic wings spread, casting the duelist's playing field into shade and Star Eater roared again, revealing a mouth that could devour a Turbo Duelist, bike and all, whole. (3200/2800)

Joka said nothing as he looked up at the titanic Dragon, but Karl could see his fingers, grasping tightly on the steering bars, start to tremble. He almost forgot his monsters were there. Almost.

Wh-what am I worried about? he thought. All I gotta do is attack Cosmo Queen with Doomfire, and this duel will end with the biggest explosion in Riding Duel history.

"Go! Attack!" Doomfire started to take a deep breath –

"I use Interdimensional Matter Transporter!" announced Karl. His third Trap shot open, and the weird transporter machine opened and whisked Cosmo Queen through it.

"I end my turn," said Joka, softly.

I've got thirteen times more Life Points than he has," he thought. I'll have ten Counters next turn. I can still clobber him next turn.

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

"My mother wanted me to be a dentist," muttered Francis. "I didn't listen…"

"What are we going to do if that guy catches up?" asked Eden, not sounding very hopefully.

"Relax," replied Francis, "we're almost there, and if he does catch up to us, I'll just kick his ass even harder. So who did you steal that weird book from in order to have all these bozos come after you?"

"It's – complicated," she replied.

"Okay, I won't pry," he said. "But don't worry, you'll be fine."

"Not if you don't watch were you're driving!" exclaimed Eden.

Francis turned his head quickly. He didn't respond.

He had seen a lot in his brief sojourn as a Shadowchaser. Like Terra, few things would surprise him.

But some things… Some thing defied description. What looked like an incredibly tall, oblong stone statue of a face with six long spindly arms was down the highway front of him, growing huge as his bike continued to accelerate, far quicker than point of view usually made such a thing appear. He jammed on the brakes, skidding the bike sideways. Sparks flew from where the wheels touched the pavement.

He didn't see Eden's eyes turn green and her pupils disappear as the statue's eyes did the same, and she clutched him, holding on tighter as they skidded closer to the thing…

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"There!" shouted Karl.

(K: 150, SPC 4) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 4,200, SPC 9)

"I'm using my copy of Speed Fusion. Time for you to meet the true ace of my deck."

"Get real," said Joka. "So what now? What's left from Gen Con for you to throw out?"

"Well, lots of things," said Karl, "but, here's a question – the Blackjammer isn't really black. Know how it got its name?"

"I don't care!" shouted Joka, still not daring to take his eyes off the huge Dragon.

"It was named after its owner," continued Karl. "By fusing Cosmo Queen and Moisture Creature, I summon the powerful Captain Blackjammer!"

The weird alien and the Queen rocketed towards the sky, clashing their wrist together at the peak as a galaxy of stars formed around them. Shooting stars fell from the heavens and a comet broke through the clouds, turning into a tall, female figure as it nearly touched down.

The woman – sort of – was a female alien in a skintight, silver dress that did very little to conceal her voluptuous figure. Her skin was pale blue, her eyes sparkling, and her ears had points that would put an elf's to shame. Her long, platinum hair was almost floor-length, worn loose under a helmet that looked like a smaller, metallic version of Cosmo Queen's headdress. (2,800 ATK)

"Nice rack, but her points are less than either of those monsters you used," noted Joka.

"Maybe so," said Karl, "but when she's summoned, I can summon an Xyz monster from my Graveyard."

Captain Blackjammer's eyes flickered again, and her huge craft rose from behind, imposing itself behind her and below the titanic Dragon. (2,300 DEF)

"In Defense Mode, of course. Next I use the Trap Card, Paradox Synthesis." His final Trap activated. "By using this, I can sacrifice my Xyz, and one of your monsters that is not an Xyz."

"Wait, hold it," said Joka. He turned towards Volcanic Doomfire, who roared again as it vanished, turning to motes of ash. The Blackjammer followed suit, breaking up into little bits and scattering.

"Then I can increase the Attack Score of another Xyz by the combined Score of those two monsters."

Infernal Flame Vixen shrieked and held her chest, her eyes started to burn like miniature suns. (8,700 ATK)

"What are you doing?" screamed Joka, in panic. "What's happening? She's gonna blow!"

"No, you are," replied SAL. "Due to Speed Spell – Dual Vortex."

"I'll make the decisions, SAL," said Karl, "but then, I think that is a good one. Duel Vortex forces you to swap one of your monsters for one of mine. You only have one, so I'm swapping my Captain Blackjammer for your Infernal Flame Vixen!"

He hurled the Spell Card on his console, and two portals opened up, one next to his bike, and the other next to Joka's, pulling Captain Blackjammer and Vixen through them, then spitting them out the opposite ones. Blackjammer turned towards Joka with a smug and evil smile.

"Oh man, this is gonna hurt," he groaned.

"Oh, trust me," said SAL. "It will."

"Attack now!" ordered Karl. "Attack Captain Blackjammer! Infernal Rage!"

Vixen flew skyward, a maelstrom of flame forming around her and turning into a blazing firebird that soared towards her foe, a giant ball of scorching flame. Joka slammed his palm on the console, missing the trigger switch twice, but hitting it on the third try, activating his Trap.

"Shock Reborn!" he yelled, closing his eyes in panic. "Now I only take half-damage!"

Captain Blackjammer was incinerated, and Joka truly screamed, swerving his ride to a halt. Joka spun his own bike around and looked at him straight.

(K: 150, SPC 4) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 1,950, SPC 9)

The criminal took some deep, gasping, grunting breaths, then coughed twice. "Nice try kid," he sneered. "But it's over. You lose. Shock Reborn also lets me summon a monster from my Graveyard. So guess who's back?"

Red Wyvern appeared, crossing its arms in Defense Mode. (2,000 ATK)

"So next turn I'll –"

"Shut it," said Karl. "You know Joka, a few hours ago, when Z told me how obnoxious you were, I thought he was exaggerating."

Captain Blackjammer appeared again, still with the sinister smile on her face as she hovered in mid-air. (2,300 ATK)

"I'm starting to think he was actually being too nice."

"HOW?" yelled Joka.

"When Blackjammer is taken down by the attack or effect of a Synchro, Xyz, or another Fusion monster, she gets up quickly. As you can see, she loses a few Attack Points, but she has more than enough left."

Blackjammer winked at Wyvern, and lethal energy beams shot from her eyes, cutting through its chest and carving it up like a quick-moving laser torch. The remains burst."

"No, no," gasped Joka, looking up as Star Eater looked down at him.

"NOVA FURY BLAZE!" came the order from Karl.

The behemoth roared, the highway shook, there was a loud scream from Joka, a meteors crashing to earth among the great beast's breath.

(K: 150, SPC 4) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 0, SPC 0)

Karl took off his helmet and dismounted. Joka was sprawled on the ground, out cold on his face, in the center of a crater.

"Someone call Neo Domino," said SAL. "That may be the first time a Duel Chaser system did its job."

"A regular comedian," said Karl.

SAL started to beep again as Karl dismounted "Okay, good news, bad news, Karl."

"Bad news first," he replied.

"He's still alive," she said, "unfortunately. Good news is, I think I may have actually gotten into his memory chips with all the distractions happening."

"Hold that thought," said Karl. He tapped the communication device on his Disk. "Francis, come in."

No answer. He tapped it again.

"Francis, where are you? SAL, get a bead on his D-Wheel."

"Uh, he seems to have somehow gotten a lot further north than he intended," answered SAL. She started scanning again as the communication channel opened. "He wound up near Flat Rock."

"How," started Karl.

"Wait," said SAL. "His approximate location is outside the city – about a two-hundred and fifty feet below ground. He's in Seneca Caverns!"

"Calm down, Sal!" he urged.

"Karl, if he's at that depth, he's in trouble. The lower level of those caves are inaccessible and unexplored.

"I have no idea how he got there, but Francis and Eden have been moved to a proverbial place where mortal man fears to tread."

"Well then," said Karl, "let's hope Dugan's judgement in picking apprentices hasn't waned."

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VOLCANIC FORCE (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: A bubble of lava issuing up from a magma pool

Effect: Destroy 1 "Tri Blaze Accelerator" you control. Special Summon 1 "Volcanic Doomfire" from your hand or deck, disregarding its summoning conditions."

"Volcanic Force" was first used in Yu-Gi-Oh GX episode 109.

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

VOLCANIC MINE (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: A blazing forest clearing with two ghostly faces inside it.

Effect: Special Summon as many "Bomb Tokens" (Pyro-Type/FIRE/Level 1/ATK 1000/DEF 1000) as possible to your opponent's side of the field in Defense Position. Until the End Phase, your opponent's monsters cannot change their battle positions. During the End Phase, destroy all "Bomb Tokens".

"Volcanic Mine" was first used in Yu-Gi-Oh GX episode 142.

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

PARADOX SYNTHESIS (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: A bare-chested, tattooed warrior with "anime hair" holding the Fiend Sword and Millennium Shield.

Effect: Tribute 1 Level 5 or higher monster your opponent controls and 1 face-up Xyz Monster you control; 1 face-up monster your opponent controls gains ATK equal to the combined ATK of the Tributed monsters on the field. During the End Phase of the turn in which that monster battled: Destroy it, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's ATK on the field.

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

SPEED SPELL HALF SEIZE (Spell Card)

Normal Speed Spell

Image: A pulsating orb of green and yellow light.

Effect: Activate while you have 3 or more Speed Counters. Select 1 face-up monster on the field. Halve that monster's ATK, and gain an equal amount of Life Points.

"Speed Spell Half Seize" was first used in Yu-Gi-OH 5Ds, episode 058.

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

SPEED SPELL SHIFT DOWN (Spell Card)

Normal Speed Spell

Image: The image was unclear.

Effect: Activate while you have 6 or more Speed Counters. Reduce your Speed Counters by 6, then draw 2 cards.

"Speed Spell Shift Down" was first used in Yu-Gi-OH 5Ds, episode 017.

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

ELASTIC SPACE (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: An artistic depiction of a light echo, a powerful laser bouncing off a nebula

Effect: When you would take damage from your opponent's card effect: Your opponent takes that damage instead, then any effect damage you take for the rest of this turn becomes 0.

"Paradox Synthesis" and "Elastic Space" were first used in Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal episode 117.

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

REVENGE RETURN (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: Gem-Knight Garnet standing in a half-kneeling position, holding its fist, shining with light, upward.

Effect: Activate only if a monster you control is destroyed by battle. Draw 1 card. You can banish this card from your Graveyard to select 1 monster in your Graveyard that was destroyed by a card effect this turn, and Special Summon it.

"Revenge Return" was first used in Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds episode 145.

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

DESTRUCTION REWARD (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: One Ra's Disciple punching another in the chest, a blast of fire and a card flying from the point of impact

Effect: When exactly 1 monster your opponent controls is destroyed: You can activate the following effect.
● If the destroyed monster is Level 5 or 6: Draw 1 card.
● If the destroyed monster is Level 7 or higher: Draw 2 cards.

"Destruction Reward" was first used in Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal episode 106.

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

SHOCK REBORN (Trap Card)

Normal Trap

Image: A beam of orange energy blasting towards a duelist who is standing in front of glowing green four-winged dragon. (The duelist bears a more-than-passing resemblance to Yusei Fudo.)

Effect: Activate only when you would take Battle Damage. Halve the Battle Damage, then Special Summon 1 monster from your Graveyard whose ATK is equal to or less than the Battle Damage you took.

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

SPEED SPELL DUAL VORTEX (Spell Card)

Normal Speed Spell

Image Similar to "Creature Swap", with Speed Warrior in place of the warrior, and the energy of "Speed World" in the background.

Card Description: Activate when you have 4 or more Speed Counters. Each player selects 1 monster they control and switches control of those monsters with each other. Those monsters cannot change their battle positions for the rest of this turn except with a card effect.

"Speed Spell Dual Vortex" first appeared in the original "Shadowchasers".

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

SPEED SPELL JURY RIG (Spell Card)

Normal Speed Spell

Image: The A-Team Trap disposal unit in a junkyard, trying to fix a Steam Gyroid with rather absurd difficulty. (Aitsu is looking at a blueprint, upside down, Koitsu is scratching his head while looking at a long pipe, and Doitsu is squirted in the face with grease from part of it that Soitsu is working on.

Effect: Activate when you control 2 or more Speed Counters. Send Fusion Material Monsters from your hand or field listed on a Machine-Type Fusion Monster to the Graveyard to Fusion Summon that Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck. At the End Phase of the turn, destroy the Fusion Summoned monster.

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

T.A.G. MAX 3500 (Monster Card)

Machine/Light/Xyz/Effect/Rank5/0ATK/2,200DEF

2 Level 5 monsters

Effect: Once per turn, you may detach an Xyz material from this card to Equip a Fiend, Fairy, Warrior, or Spellcaster monster (from your hand) to this card as an Equip Spell. This card may not have more than 1 monster equipped to it at one time. Once per turn, you may detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, and select a face-up monster with lower ATK and/or lower Level than the equipped monster; destroy the selected monster. If the selected monster's ATK and Level are not both lower than those of the equipped monster, this card may not attack during the same turn.

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

CAPTAIN BLACKJAMMER (Monster Card)

Spellcaster/Light/Fusion/Effect/Lvl10/2,800ATK/2,900DEF

"Cosmo Queen" plus "Moisture Creature"

Effect: When this card is Fusion Summoned, select 1 Xyz, Synchro, or Fusion monster from your Graveyard and Special Summon it in face-up Defense Position; a card Special Summoned via this method cannot use its effect. Once per turn, when this card is destroyed – via battle or effect – by an Xyz, Fusion, or Synchro Monster, you may Special Summon it from your Graveyard. If you do, reduce its ATK and DEF by 500, plus any amount reduced via previous activations of this effect.

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

MAGMA MAGE (Monster Card)

Spellcaster/Earth/Effect/Lvl8/1,550ATK/0DEF

Effect: Banish 1 Pyro Type monster you control and this card from your hand; select 1 Flip Effect monster from your hand or deck and set it. The selected monster may not be Flip Summoned this turn.

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

Jemorille: Francis and Eden had somehow been rerouted way off course, and like Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher before them, had ended up in an unexplored part of a cave system. Presumably, magical teleportation had been involved, but most wizards would tell you that teleporting into places you had never been to was a dangerous endeavor. When caves are involved, they'd consider it suicidal.

Clearly, whoever had sent them there knew more about the place than any information SAL had at the moment. And the 'whoever' may have been someone other than who they thought.

"The House of Stone and Light" is coming soon.

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Shadowchaser Files: Personalities

Cole Blood

Since its very beginning, the Shadowchasers organization has relied on Awares in many ways. Most obviously, as agents for its cause, but many others have helped in lesser ways—keeping the police out of Shadowchaser business, for example.

This is not the case for Cole Blood.

It's rare that Awareness manifests at an age older than adolescence and rarer still that a human manages to retain sanity if it happens. Years ago, Doctor Tyler Cole became Aware at one of the oldest documented ages for humans, at a venerable sixty-two. Working as a surgeon in Dublin, he found his life at a turning point when he discovered the existence of other species. Most Awares are at least offered – or in some cases, conscripted – positions in the Shadowchasers, but being too old to act as a field agent for the organization, he rejected the offers of research positions from them in favor of continuing his current one. What he didn't tell them, however, was his plans for side projects.

From the moment Dr. Cole discovered his newfound abilities, he became fascinated with other species—surprisingly, not the most fantastic of them, such as beholders or aboleths, but the more humanoid, such as elves and dwarves. His fascination came from one dark place: His fear of his own mortality. Being long past middle-aged and from a family with, shall we say, unimpressive life expectancies, Dr. Cole became obsessed with how such creatures, so similar to humans, could live so much longer. Very soon, he began to study them, leading to the greatest puzzle of his life.

Many individuals asked (Shadows and Awares alike) would answer his question of why elves live so much longer than humans with a shrug and a version of the same statement (usually with a tone as if they were speaking to a child): "They live longer because they're elves, just like trees live longer because they're trees." Dr. Cole would not accept this answer. It was easy for him to see why a tree lived longer—you could easily study its biology and see just why it does so, it being built for just such a task. Elves, on the other hand, have all the same organs as humans, as well as the same blood types, the same range of heart rates, and the same overall diet, yet, much to Dr. Cole's frustration, they can live over five times as long. His eternal fascination, (and eventually obsession) is exactly how this is done, in a desperate bid to combat his own mortality. His studies have had him examining the blood, tissue, and DNA of various humanoid Shadows. Unfortunately, such specimens could be hard to come by, leading Dr. Cole to shadier practices.

While neither strong enough nor mad enough for outright murder, but he began to make other deals. Countless murderers are eager to dispose of bodies, and Dr. Cole began to take the corpses off of their hands. Soon he had a surplus of fresh bodies, which he began to store and study. Well aware of the risks of such acts, he has found legal loopholes to allow his actions, such as the fact that he does not pay for said bodies or ask where they came from. "What use is a corpse to the average man?" he has often asked.

In addition to his studies, Dr. Cole has begun more disturbing experiments, namely transfusions and transplants. He pays Mundanes to allow him to place body parts of humanoid Shadows within them and monitor the results, wondering if the magic is within blood and tissue. Results have been highly mixed, with lives slightly lengthened or even greatly shortened. A few have become Aware or Sensitive, but no pattern to the results has been detected. He has also valued half-Shadow subjects, which he believes may be the key, but still has yielded no significant results.

Over time, the transfusions caused Shadows to begin calling him "Cole Blood", a nickname which he found amusing. Some have asked why he doesn't extend his life with magic, or even lichdom, but the answer seems clear: He has remarkably little talent and faith in magic. (Possibly the biggest flaw in his experiments, as the species he studies tends be very adapt at it.) Furthermore, he will respond, lichdom will not keep him alive, but undead, which is counterintuitive to his desires. He will also firmly insist that his research is not merely for himself, but for the good of the human race.

Shadowchasers are aware of and outright disgusted by Dr. Cole's practices, and he is being closely monitored, but with the help of the shadier Shadows (including Red Shroud, it is rumored), he has evaded them when committing the worst of his acts. For the most part, though, what he does is technically legal, seeing as he has never experimented on living subjects against their wills, and those that accept money to take part in his experiments do so at their own risk.

Dr. Cole has even experimented on himself, giving himself transfusions of elf and nymph blood, as well as an elf's kidney. To his anger, he has observed no notable change other than, to his great frustration, a lower tolerance for alcohol. He continues his likely fruitless experiments in a desperate bid to stave off the inevitable, but progress is impossibly slow. What he can't seem to accept, though, is that even lengthening his lifespan will not let him live forever, and one day he will have to accept fate.

Many of his detractors now claim Awareness did drive him mad – it just doesn't show.

Story Ideas

Cole Blood seems an unlikely choice for a main antagonist, but his work may well drive a plot. It's unlikely he'd go so far as to practice necromancy, building flesh golems, or indulge in organ harvesting or vivisection, but it's plausible for him to be a henchman of a villain who does commit such acts.

He'd also be very much in-character working as a crime doctor for some villain to fund his own research, possibly. Discoveries on his end could change life as we know it, not just by lengthening human lives, but by the danger to the Veil if his work becomes public. As stated, several of his experimental subjects have had their sight partially or fully awakened, and a sudden explosion of Awares could prove disastrous.

On the other hand, as Dr. Cole continues to age, he may begin even shadier methods of obtaining specimens and subjects, such as kidnapping. His experiments, too, could grow wilder and more insane, perhaps even escaping into the world with plans of their own.

If nothing else, Dr. Cole could be a good informant for mafia activity, seeing as they are his main suppliers of fresh corpses. His ethics have already lapsed, and ratting on his clients is not beneath him if he has a good enough incentive.

When scripting him, take care not to portray him as the cackling, demented, "mad scientist" type. Whatever the state of his sanity, he acts perfectly lucid – for now.

Deck Suggestions

Tyler Cole has never been a big fan of Duel Monsters, but in this world, it's hard to be someone important without knowing the game. Nonetheless, Dr. Cole decided on a simple and straightforward style to make it easier for him: Vanilla Beatdown. In all honesty, he considers dueling a waste of time, and will only do it if pushed into a corner, but as anyone facing a deck like his will tell you, it's straightforward, but difficult

Dr. Cole Blood is a creation of Multiple Personas.

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One final note.

You are likely wondering who this Daedalus fellow is who nearly killed the leader of the Shadowchasers. Well, before anyone asks, when he is mentioned again, details will certainly be a surprise to you because it will be a surprise to ME.

Keep watching the fics of Metal Overlord 2.0 (who I would like to thank again for helping with Joka) for more details.

I'd also like to thank 7th Librarian and Mei1105 for their help with this incredibly difficult chapter. If you haven't checked out Mei's "Shadowchasers Sweet Sixteen" yet, look it up!