Hello everyone!
I want to give some special thanks to my betas for this chapter, as it was very, very, VERY hard to capture the personality of this, uhm, unique character properly.
Now, before we start, a bit of a warning. To preserve plot, I had omit a lot of the common expository usually found in dialogue in this type of fic. I can explain that better via PMs.
So, on with the chapter.
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Jemorille: Usually, this is the part of my exposition where I summarize my intentions and motivations.
But for this particular chapter, I believe there is no need for it here. You will see why soon. Onward.
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Chapter 52
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Snakecharmer
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"Kinda scary when you think of it," said Oswald.
Dunstan was nervous, as he often was when he came here. Something about Antisthenes' laboratories rubbed him the wrong way. He doubted he could concentrate enough to read while waiting for him, though Oswald seemed to suffer no such anxiety, sitting on a crate and reading an old Fantastic Four comic.
"So," he mused, "when guys like Jack Kirby and Stan Lee wrote this junk and so many folks became fans, he was creating entire worlds that exist somewhere? Kinda sounds like that old B-movie, what was it? The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl."
"Not 'created'," corrected Dunstan, "he found them. He was just able to write down what belief caused him to find."
The confused look from him Oswald made it clear he should run that by him again. After all, he barely understood it himself. "Okay, it's like this. The multiverse is infinite, so in theory, so are possibilities. Kirby's writing 'found' realities and made them more 'perceivable'. That means… Holy Mary, Mother of God, it's exactly like that dumb movie!"
"Huh, so if I wrote some nutty screenplay and had enough bread to make it -" started Oswald.
"Don't get ideas," replied Dunstan. "You'd need far more talent, writing skills, business sense -"
"Actually, Mr. Dunstan, I believe the beings who designed this device had similar ideas."
Now Oswald was nervous. As Antisthenes floated into the room, Dunstan swore he had never seen their benefactor this clearly before.
"Had they succeeded, they might have been able to 'find' worlds that only they could conceive, and exploit them for any reason they desired. Much like how the Keepers were 'discovered'. But their device was not as potent as they planned, and could only draw from places 'found' by large groups."
"So then," started Dunstan.
He was interrupted by screaming. Antisthenes turned to a computer monitor, as three of those odd droids half-dragged-half-carried Beatrice into the room.
"What the," asked Oswald.
"Antisthenes, PLEASE!" begged Beatrice. She was sobbing and clearly terrified. "It wasn't my fault! PLEASE don't kill me!"
"I believe you," he remarked, not turning around.
"I can do better!" she screamed. "Don't… Huh?"
"The reason you lost was due to something I failed to anticipate," added Antisthenes. "But one I recognized."
The robots dropped her next to the device, and Antisthenes went on. "Now that it has, we must change tactics considerably."
A very thick book, a DVD case, and a clipboard appeared next to her as she rubbed her behind. "I believe the Device's true potential can now be unleashed, and subtlety must be abandoned in favor of success. The clipboard contains what must be done to start the first wave."
"Don't suppose you're gonna tell us what this unanticipated buttinski is?" asked Oswald.
Clearly the answer was "no", as he simply started to fade away. "I will return once the first wave has started," he added, disappearing in sparkly globules of plasma.
"Yeah, sure," grumbled Oswald. "Five bucks says he went to some bomb shelter in case he made a mistake trying to fix it."
"Don't tempt fate you two," said Beatrice. "Platonics are supposed to be perfect, and if they do something that proves otherwise, they usually eliminate the witnesses. That either means he's in a generous mood now, or -"
After waiting for her to continue, Oswald asked, "Or what?"
Dunstan answered for him, "Or this 'buttinski' might still be witnessing and he knows it!"
She started skimming through the large tome, then turned the device on. "So, try not to distract me here."
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In the deepest sub-basement of the Shadowchasers correction facility, Yolanda was, for the first time in over a year, sleeping peacefully and without horrid nightmares. Despite the leather straps holding her down on the institution-issued hospital bed, she exuded a sense of calmness.
Surrounding her were five Duel Monsters, Fire Princess at the foot of the bed, an Aroma Jar and a Spirit of the Breeze to her right and left, and Injection Fairy Lily and Zolga watching from either side of them. Behind Princess, Tony was watching a laptop and holding the Disk controlling the monsters.
"It's working, Jabels," he said, speaking into a headset phone. "The nanos inside Yolanda are just dissolving."
"Good, use them on the other patients there," replied Jabels.
"You realize we have to give it to the Angels and to Antoine too," added Tony. "And possibly check everyone else in Shadowchasers HQ."
"I know," sighed Jabels. "This might take a while."
"I think there might be a way to spread a cure faster, but we'd need the Seal of Orichalcos to do it with cards."
"Uh, come again?" asked Jabels.
"Well, it's just another theory here," added Tony, "but this process might be best described as a Balance of Elements." The five monsters appeared in card form on his screen. "The central monster is a 'fulcrum' representing the infected victim, who siphons power from the two monsters to either side, while they siphon power from the ones on the outer sides of them. It's a balanced arrangement, but not a perfect one."
As he typed, the setup added two more spaces to each side of the Monster Zone, and placed four other monsters there. Cure Mermaid and Silent Wobby flanking Lily and Zolga's cards, then Red Resonator and Fushi-no-Tori appeared flanking them.
"An additional two monsters with the same Attribute as the fulcrum would result in a Perfect Balance of Elements. This could, in theory, expand the 'fulcrum's' power tenfold. Maybe even a hundredfold. Unfortunately, I can't think of any way to do it in a duel other than the Seal. Or… maybe Cursed Twin Dolls."
"Well, I certainly don't know of any safe way for one duelist to summon that many monsters," replied Jabels. "Jalal might know more."
"Where'd he go anyway?" asked Tony.
"No idea," replied Jabels. And it worries me."
And it did. It was rather unusual for the boss to go somewhere without telling his number two. At least Jabels' predecessor had told him that before retiring, that he could count on one hand the number of times it had happened. That guy was a dwarf, and had held the job 176 years. This was the first time it had happened on Jabels' watch.
Something was clearly wrong…
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New York, New York. They say it's a helluva town.
At a souvenir stand at Bryant Park…
"Hey, you looking for something in particular?" asked the vendor. The odd man had been thumbing through the newspapers and magazines, mostly studying the covers before tossing them back. His hands were ghost-white, and resembled giant spiders more than anything else.
"I seek broader knowledge," answered the man. His voice was high, cold, and raspy, with a lisp that caused the hair on the back of the vendor's neck to stand on end. "Knowledge that can unravel the darkest secrets of reality."
He turned to face the vendor, who would likely have nightmares for weeks from this one glace. Most of the man's face was hidden by a dark hood, but what could be seen was cold and unsettling.
"Uh… You tried the Public Library?" he stammered.
The odd man turned in the direction the vender pointed. The large, cathedral-like building across the street.
"Yes," he hissed, rolling the last letter of that word slightly longer than necessary.
The relief the vendor felt watching him leave was like a vice around his neck being loosened.
He remembered a customer telling him the other day that a job like this looked boring. He liked boring. Boring was safe and reliable. Still, now he figured maybe taking one of those correspondence night courses wasn't a bad idea…
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Where does one go to find books of magic? Easy question: You find them at bookstores and libraries, the same places you find any books.
Of course, Mundanes would find that a little difficult. If they went to the New York Public Library and typed "books of spells" into the card catalogue, it would lead to texts written by charlatans, New Age gurus, and cult leaders, including many by the controversial early 20th Century occultist Aleister Crowley. Most of these books described the concepts or history of magic and spiritualism, and didn't provide much in the way of putting them into practice.
However, institutions as large and as old as this one did indeed carry actual books of magic, and if you were a Shadow yourself or a human trained in such skills, the doors to the sanctums containing these books were rather easy to find.
The librarian overseeing this sanctum didn't see anything that unusual in the odd man who had come in who was now perusing the shelves; she had seen odder. Indeed, most mundanes would not notice her violet skin and short antlers pointing backwards.
Meh, thought the odd man. He thumbed through the tomes, casting them aside as he did. Remedial at best.
He concentrated, looking around the large chamber, until he finally noticed what he was looking for, a plain-looking, but solidly built door near the librarian's desk. Even most wizards wouldn't see the runes, but he did. It was the entry to a private repository containing just the type of books he wanted.
"Sir, if you mind," snapped the librarian, as she finally noticed how haphazardly he was treating the books.
"I'd like to go in there," he said, pointing to the door.
She stood up and gave a slight laugh. "I'm afraid that is out of the question," she said. "Now if you don't mind -"
"You misunderstand," he interrupted. "I'm not asking permission."
Before she could react, a wand appeared in his hand, a gnarled thing, thirteen and a half inches long and made of yew. "Imperio."
The poor librarian barely knew what was happening. Her attempt to scream did nothing, as her mouth didn't obey her. Through complete fog, she vaguely realized it was more than her mouth. She took a special key from her belt, one she was never supposed to use.
No, no, please, she pleaded, I can't…
Ignoring any efforts of self-preservation and common sense, she fit the key in the lock. The room beyond the door was one she - and most wizards in general - dared never enter, both from fear of what the information inside could do, and fear of the temptation to use that information. She had been instructed to give the key to one of four specific wizards, but only if at least two of them were present. The tomes stored within contained dark magic that had been confiscated from demonic entities, necromancers, and liches.
"The Archives of Evil", it was called, almost frivolously.
The intruder didn't care, pushing her aside as the door opened, not-coincidentally triggering several alarms.
"Bah," he said, even as the runes that made up the room's security systems started to burn with magical fire. Two hulking, scary beasts with rams' horns' and snaggle-toothed clubs appeared, roaring at the intruder.
"Peh," he said. He pointed the wand and spoke, "Crucio." The roars of the two guardian djinns turned to screams of utter agony, and they collapsed, writhing in pain.
He stepped over them, then waved both his hands backwards, causing the door to slam shut, breaking it but jamming it closed. That should give me some privacy, he thought.
He snatched the first book on the shelves. With no card catalogue for this room, it would take time to find what he needed, but that was something he felt he had. Opening the first tome, he spoke a quick incantation, consuming the dark glyphs and forbidden spells at uncanny speed…
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The Shadowchasers didn't get a true salary, but they still got plenty of benefits. For Francis, one of the best was free gym membership.
Sure, that included membership to the Gold's Gym in Chicago, but he never missed out on the chance to use the one at HQ, which would likely make Charles Atlas himself jealous. And in times of crisis like this, he had the place all to himself.
"One-fifty-two," he grunted, lifting his chin to his knees in a sit-up. "One-fifty-three…"
Finally, he collapsed, lay flat on his back, and wiped his brow.
He slowly stood up, eyeing the vending machine in the corner. He rifled through his pocket hoping he had the change needed for Gatorade. He had enough, but the change wasn't the only thing there. The note Sheeva had given him was there too, which he kept meaning to throw away.
He started to read the complete note again, feeding the coins into the machine as he did so:
Human,
This piece of slime was recording us, but I believe I caught him in the act before he sent it anywhere. Do with him as you will.
If you want to finish what we started, I'm willing to comply. Find the means in the archives of Salcrup's QuarterEater.
The beverage fell with a loud CA-CHUNK and he sat down, reading the note over and over. "QuarterEater"? He figured that she may have meant a reference to arcade games, but he doubted she wanted to meet him at such a place.
He drank it with large gulps, still reading it. Why am I even considering this? he thought.
He stormed out of the room, throwing the empty bottle in a trash can. Not the note, however, and was this was not the first time he'd had the opportunity to do so.
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In the control room, where even more alarms were ringing, Jabels had just finished a rather hasty explanation to a Shadowchaser who was now in Manhattan. Prospero was watching.
"So, what exactly is in that room?" asked Prospero.
"Books and scrolls of magic that fall into three categories," answered Jabels. "They contain very powerful magic, said magic is the type used by dark wizards, and the works themselves are too unstable to try to destroy. Dangerous in the wrong hands. There's even a few slarecian texts."
"Please tell me you're kidding," said Prospero. A well-known safety tip about slarecian text was, stay away from it. Not only was their writing of an alien script that defied all known attempts at translation, all of it had some odd curse on it that altered the reader's perceptions of reality in odd ways. Unfortunately, that led some wizards to believe the slarecians were hiding something powerful, resulting in many attempts to decipher it.
Jabels sadly nodded. "It goes without saying, our uninvited 'researcher' counts as 'the wrong hands'."
"You sure this guy can do the job?"
"His methods are… unorthodox, but effective."
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The cloaked man tossed another tome in the growing pile, then moved to another shelf. Hmm, this one is promising, he thought.
"Muh-GAH!" yelled a gruff voice from behind the door, right before a rather strong kick knocked it in. Fortunately for Douglas, it wasn't as firmly attached now as it usually was.
"Hey, Spooky!" he announced. "Fraid I'm gonna have to check yer library card!"
"Eh, more distractions," sighed the man, not turning around. He pointed his wand. "Avada Ka...."
Fortunately for Douglas, the spell he was about to cast had as much notoriety in this world as it did in the one it was conceived, and a strong backhand smack knocked the wand away before it was complete. It fell with a clatter on the other side of the room.
"Yer gettin' predictable, Tommy!" laughed Douglas. "Kinda strange nobody ever tried doin' that before."
He aimed a punch at the foe, but Voldemort - for that was, indeed, who it was - drifted away, oddly floating like he was hovering slightly above the ground. It seemed Edgar had, at very least, gained the dark wizard's attention.
Slowly, he lowered the hood, and even Douglas shivered a little. He had read descriptions of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in Rowling's books and seen him portrayed on film, but clearly, no written text or actor with makeup could truly do this… creature (calling him a "man" would be wrong) justice. The gaunt flesh pulled tight over his bones, with a waxy, scaly texture, the two slits in place of any protrusion of a nose, and horrific slitted red eyes; the horrific sight made him straddle two borders, the one between life and death and the one between man and snake. And the combination of human and reptile wasn't combined the same way a snake-blooded was either - not a chance the face of such a fiend could ever have been produced from mere heredity.
Unfortunately for Douglas, he had been startled by this, far less than Voldemort had been, not to mention that his assumption - that he'd be ill-equipped for such an assault - proved wrong, proven by a powerful blow to his chin that knocked him backwards.
"I am the Heir of Slytherin," hissed the dark wizard, "and will not debase myself by trading blows with a common Muggle thug." Then came the major surprise, to Douglas, that is. Holding out both hands, Voldemort somehow caused a giant Duel Monsters card to appear, then caused it to spin around. A snake-man with a sword and shield leapt from it, hissing menacingly.
"Deal with this oaf and retrieve my wand," he commanded.
"Yesss, massster," hissed Cobraman Sakuzy. (800 ATK)
"HEY, watch it!" yelled Douglas, the sword slashing over his head as he ducked. "HEY!" Again, he dodged then leapt backwards, activating his Disk in the process.
"Bah!" cursed Voldemort. He threw his hand forward and downward, causing three more large cards to appear then fall between him and Sakuzy. Then he again turned to the bookshelf.
"Okay, ya wanna rumble, do ya?" His own Disk snapped into position, and he grabbed six cards. "Let's go, Paladin of Felgrand!"
He used the card, calling a Warrior to face the Reptile, a young man with blonde hair, and a boyish face, with a sword and metallic-blue armor. (1,700 ATK)
He took a card from his deck, placing it in the Spell Zone spot behind the Warrior. "Here, this'll give ya more of a boost," he added.
Well, maybe it did, and maybe not. Paladin's armor turned gold with tabard, and the shoulders became sharp and flared, but it didn't seem to affect him otherwise.
Sakuzy hissed in defiance, only to be cut clean in half by the knight's powerful sword.
(Douglas: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Voldemort: 7,100)
"Bah! Pathetic," growled the wizard. He didn't turn around, waving his hand as he continued to read, causing two of the cards he had set to lift.
"Damage = Reptile?" quizzed Douglas. "That ain't good…" The card caused a large, nasty-looking turtle with sharp, rough scales and the Jar of Greed on its back to crawl out, blocking the Shadowchaser's path. (2,100 DEF)
"Humph," growled the wizard. As he waved his hand, another of the cards lifted, and an Embodiment of Apophis slithered out, hissing at Douglas. (1,600 ATK)
"Kinda disappointing, Tommy," chuckled Douglas. "Ah never saw you as playin' second fiddle to some glitchy android - or anyone else, really."
"Well informed for a Muggle," grumbled Voldemort, still not bothering to turn around. "Rare are those who know I once went by that name." Again, he gestured, causing the Embodiment to dissolve into dark, shadowy granules. "Rarer are the ones who have the audacity to address me by it." He slammed the book he was holding shut, and snake about twice the size of the Embodiment with dark, black scales rose to guard him. (2,000 ATK)
Ugh, that's Urubonus the Avatar of Malice, thought Douglas.
Still, as unsettling as it was for him, it was ever worse for his monster. Paladin of Felgrand shivered at the sight of it. (1,400 ATK)
"Rarer still are those who I allow to live with such knowledge," continued the sorcerer. "I know of one, and he has no tongue."
As he reached for a new book, Urubonus lurched forward, grabbing Paladin with its mouth. "HEY!" yelled Douglas.
Douglas prided himself on never showing fear even when he felt it, and he rarely did. As scary as some duel monsters were, it was rarely enough to unnerve someone in his business. Still, seeing his monster swallowed was a little much.
(D: 7,400) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 7,100)
"And as for your previous statement, I know nothing of any 'glitchy android', nor do I care. Such things bore me. Still, this repository provides a wealth of knowledge in arcane techniques, and that, my thickheaded friend, is something I am very interested in obtaining."
"Yeah, well I got a technique for ya, Tommy boy!" replied Douglas. He whipped a new card from his deck. "I'll summon the Ascendant of Thunder!"
The monster was clearly well-named, causing thunder and lightning to flash even inside the library. The result of the violent show was a larger, more muscular, angrier version of The Immortal of Thunder, even larger than Urubonus. (2,700 ATK)
(D: 4,400) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 7,100)
Finally, Voldemort took notice, clearly seeing the sudden dramatic dip in Douglas' Score. "That was a 3,000-point payment," he hissed.
"Worth every one to turn that snake a'yours into roadkill!" laughed Douglas.
Urubonus hissed loudly again, and while the Ascendant's score did fall slightly like Paladin's did, but the burning forks of lightning still crashed into the giant snake and incinerated it.
"Ugh," grunted Voldemort.
(D: 4,400) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 6,700)
Douglas set two more cards, and crossed his arms, smirking at the dark wizard. "Well?" he asked.
Finally, Voldemort put the book aside, turning to Douglas as he lowered the hood entirely. "Well then, Mr. Bowmaker, if I must resort to violence, it seems I simply must."
"Wait, how'd you know my name?" asked Douglas.
"The Dark Lord knows many things," hissed the wizard. "I may actually enjoy this."
Well, Douglas, you've really done it this time, thought the Shadowchaser.
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In a library of a different sort, with far easier access, a browser was taking notes while reading from a list.
Mariña, Princess of Sunflowers. Chirubimé, Princess of Autumn Leaves. Gigaplant. Violet Witch... He scrawled down the card names while reading them.
"Heh, what a gip," chuckled Nitro. "Easy as…"
"WHAT are you doing?" said a voice behind him, almost causing him to hit the ceiling.
Nitro nearly made a dive for the power button, only for Francis to grab his hand first.
"Leggo!" he yelled.
Francis looked at what he was viewing, which was obviously Red Feather's deck list. "Huh," he said. "You do know this is a restricted file, right. Pretty sure you didn't actually get the authorization and password needing to view it."
"C'mon, c'mon fellah, I'm just looking at her cards here!"
Francis noticed the flash drive hooked to the port. "No, no, don't do that!" yelled Nitro.
He tried to hit Francis, only to be slammed to the ground by the much stronger man. Francis shoved him away, taking the mouse as he did. Nitro tried to stop him, but he was far too outclassed physically to do so effectively. The Shadowchaser was easily able to right-click the icon and see what he had downloaded.
It was not pretty, and far less innocent than Red's card list, it was her record. Details of her arrest, conviction, and terms of probation and parole, all stemming from eco-terrorist charges from when she was still called White Feather.
"You want to explain to me why this is so important to you, Nitro?" he asked.
"Look, uh, what was your name again?" he asked. "I'm sure we can uh… Can't we work something out here?"
Francis looked at him closely. Clearly Nitro was trying to bribe him, but he had an idea. He yanked the flash drive from the slot and pocketed it, then hit the command to restart the system.
"You seem to be a computer nerd, right?" he asked.
"Oh yeah!" said Nitro, almost sounding proud. "You want an advance copy of a movie or video game? I'm your man! Course, for a guy like you, I'd do a freebie here!"
"You ever hear of something called Sacrup's QuarterEater?" asked Francis.
Nitro seemed a little stumped at that. "Uh," he said. "Well, is an old fansite for fans of old coin-op games. You know, from the 80s. But - What? Yeah, I've... browsed it a few times."
The sudden change of expression meant that Francis now thought he had something. As the computer reloaded, he logged onto the net.
"So, uh, does this mean you won't narc?" he asked.
"I'll think about it," replied Francis. "Don't go far."
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The Damage = Reptile card was glowing again, causing a second Jar Turtle to appear. Voldemort lifted his left hand, and three blobs of green, sickly residue appeared from his fingertips, slowly changing shape until they resembled cards. Then his Trap opened, which was, as Douglas had guessed, Jar of Greed. Three more blobs of venom appeared with the others, giving him a hand of six.
"Time to reconfigure this venue to one more of my liking," he said. "I use Temple of the Guardian." One of the cards enlarged, and melted, causing the library walls around them to do the same, with new walls rising to replace them.
This sounds familiar, noted Douglas.
The room replacing the archives was larger with far more open space, and was far more ancient, with marble pillars and columns. At the far end was a giant stone statue of the Gate Guardian.
Now Douglas remembered this Field Spell. He had wanted to use it in his own deck, but the recommended 40 cards often required a choice.
"Nisi-parknent-vindovth," he chanted. (Well, he chanted something like that. It was very hard to convert what Douglas heard to writing.) A Spell Card floated behind Voldemort - the name was Card Advance - as he extended his palms, five smaller cards appearing and moving in a circular path around his hands.
"Kay, this is kinda weird," said Douglas.
Voldemort didn't respond and went on, continuing to chant. "Garsha, shamai, Chilam Sebak!"
The last two words sounded sort of familiar to Douglas, but before he could question it, a huge, purple snake burst out of the floor. Then a second one joined it, then a third and a fourth.
"Oh, come on!" he protested, as more and more slithered from below. The snakes started to coil around each other until, to his utter shock, a muscular, violet-skinned djinn rose atop the giant mass of snakes. Or rather, the upper body of such a creature, whom the snakes acted as legs for. (2,500 ATK)
"It seems, at least, power is something your feeble mind can comprehend," commented Voldemort. He pointed to the Jar Turtles, causing smaller snakes that seemed to be made of fluid to rise from below, constricting and biting them, then dragging them under. "Arise," chanted the dark wizard, and a huge, colorful serpent with rainbow scales loomed over the other two monsters. (2,200 ATK)
"The power of this temple grants me an additional card for summoning a high-Level monster," he continued. Lifting his hand, a new glob of poison formed into a fourth card.
"Crush that fool," commanded the wizard.
The huge snake darted towards The Ascendant of Thunder with its jaw wide open. "Ya daft old man, my monster is stronger!"
And he was right. The Thunder god pointed at the huge snake, a bolt of lightning ripping through it, blasting a hole through the center. It collapsed with a crash.
"Not the fool I had in mind," replied Voldemort. "Rainbow Snake Eingana was slain as a result, but via its effect, so is your monster."
The Ascendant made a loud groan, freezing in place, and turning into bleached stone, which then crumbled into ash.
"So now, as I was saying…"
The writhing serpents that made up Wicked Acolyte Chilam Sebak writhed and slithered towards the Shadowchaser...
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Been a long time since I've been here, thought Jalal.
In fact, he half-expected the Bugman's Mug - the same quaint tavern in Cincinnati where Ferdinand had met Ray weeks ago - to be gone, but it was still here. He hiked the hood of his cloak over his head, covering his face in its shade, and opened the door. The common room was one he had not entered for six decades, but mostly the same; he even remembered the prevalent smell of dwarven pipe tobacco.
Still, the buxom serving maid was a new to him, as she winked to him as he entered. "New here?" she purred.
"Not really," he replied. "I'm looking for Squint Olson."
She smiled again, and nodded towards the hearth, where a man was sitting alone at a table, reclining his feet with his back to them. He barely moved as Jalal approached.
"Didn't take you long to find me, Jalal," he said. "You're getting better."
Jalal flipped the card upon the table, a Rainbow Kuriboh. "You weren't very subtle, Jemorille," he said, sternly. "And 'Squint Olson' was the pseudonym you used last time."
"I have my reasons," said the rilmani. "I figured you wanted answers, but if you're here to arrest me…"
Of course, Jalal wanted to arrest Jemorille, given all he'd done. The rilmani's brief tenure as a Shadowchaser decades ago had led to a terrorist bombing and dozens of civilian deaths. Of course, it also led to a ceasefire between warring tribes of rukova and pech and the destruction of several terrorist cells, but the concept of "acceptable losses" was not one that Jalal had encouraged.
Problem was, a rilmani was difficult to catch and much harder to hold. Because they considered their own deaths or capture the gravest threat to the Balance of the Universe (made sense, as their self-appointed goal was to preserve it) magic that could summon, restrain, or harm them was almost unheard of, their tie to the Spire making research on the matter difficult. Unlike sadistic and destructive demons and pompous hubris-filled celestials, they tended to simply retreat when threatened with violence, and almost always succeeded.
"Wish I could," he replied, "but yes, I did want answers, which I wouldn't get if you disappeared. So, spill it, you were the one who switched Jennifer's card, weren't you?"
Jemorille didn't answer right away.
"I'll wager you helped Philip and Sofia escape Ribcage too," replied Jalal. "And you sent that Chaos Necromancer to distract Joka, and altered the cards in the deck Pux gave Francis."
"I saved lives each time, many of them your men," replied Jemorille. "You don't sound thankful."
"I'm thankful, but concerned," answered the leader of the Shadowchasers. "Each time a rilmani helps one side of the Balance, as you describe it, it's because he thinks the world is 'off-balance', and has to be fixed. Thing is, you tend to throw things even more off-balance."
"My record on this world is pretty good, considering," replied Jemorille.
"Pardon my skepticism," said Jalal.
Jemorille didn't say anything for a few minutes. "Question, Jalal," he started, "how much praise did you receive for recovering the Aegis of Nazzim?"
"I didn't do that personally," protested Jalal.
"But it did convince the goblins and xvarts to renegotiate, likely preventing more open fighting in Seattle. What about the Wendigo of Ecuador? Maybe a few stories and essays in newspaper articles, but I'm sure only the family members of the victims still remember it.
"Both incidents happened within three months of that unfortunate incident in Los Angeles, and to this day, your critics never seem to get tired of telling you about that.
"Mortals are like that, Jalal, their memories aren't too deep. They remember the bad things someone does longer than the good things. Woody Allen was an actor, director, musician, screenwriter, playwright and comedian, whose career spanned six decades, with four Academy Awards to his name. Everyone remembers him as a pedophile. Which he wasn't."
"So, you're saying that the disasters you've caused by accident should be forgiven because of the good parts of your record?" asked Jalal. "Because of what you assume to have prevented?"
"When an action prevents something, it's hard to prove it," answered the rilmani. "It's easier to view what actually happened than it is to perceive the alternatives.
"...usually."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"What?"
"Heh, heh, nice one, Tommy," chuckled Douglas. "But ya know what they say, what doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger.
(D: 6,900) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 6,700)
"The Life Points I paid to summon the Ascendant of Thunder was more like a loan, Tommy, and cause ya destroyed him, I get is all back with 2,000 points of interest."
The dark wizard frowned again, gesturing and setting another card.
"Not much to say, eh?" asked Douglas. "Well, now let me show ya a thing or two." He drew a card, and as he played one, a low whistle and chugging noise. The Temple darkened, and a glowing set of railway tracks built itself from behind Douglas, past him, to the center. As he moved aside, his monster, a robot knight with armor, a sword, and full helmet, skidded past with his boots making bright sparks on the rails. (0 ATK)
"Quite a grandiose entry for a powerless monster," said Voldemort.
"Not completely," he quipped. "See, summoning with no sacrifice reduced its Attack Score to zero, but not the Defense Score." One of his Traps activated. "So, I can use Inverse Universe to swap those Scores. Yours too!"
The change was drastic. Night Express Knight lifted its weapon, creating a sheath of burning lightning around it. (3,000 ATK) Wicked Acolyte Chilam Sebak wasn't as lucky, falling in a heap and using one hand to stay upright. (0 ATK)
"Attack with Midnight Ride!"
The android's blade fell as it swung with, both hands, carving through the snake lord with a screeching, sparking diagonal cut. The remains of it was blasted to triangles.
(D: 6,900) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 3,700)
To his utter disbelief, Voldemort didn't even seem to notice. In fact, he was again preoccupied with one of the tomes on the shelf.
I've had rude opponents before, but this guy takes the pastry, he though. "Hey, think you can pay attention here?"
"For one so dependent on gadgets and machines, you certainly seem sure of your abilities, Mr. Bowmaker," said the wizard, not making eye contact, but sounding more annoyed than anything else. "What would become of you if your technology failed in a crisis. How would you survive?"
"Through wit and charm, Moldy, two things you could use yourself."
Voldemort slammed the book shut again. "I am above such concerns, especially since the tomes of dark arts in this library have finally yielded results.
"The effect of Damage = Reptile brings Masked Naga to the field."
There was an eerie, creepy hiss and a monster rose in front of him, a fiendish-looking snake-man with a faceless mask, talons, and long tendrils on its scalp that suggested hair. (500 ATK)
"Doesn't look so tough," said Douglas.
"Rssassa, shansass, chssam," chanted Voldemort, his palm outstretched.
Crap, more magic words, Douglas thought.
The Wicked Acolyte appeared again, shielding itself defensively. Its master produced another card with a wave, then another with a double-wave.
Then, he chanted in a voice shriller and chilling than before, causing the hair on the back of the Shadowchaser's neck to stand on end. The ground started to crack and shake.
Then a beast burrowed through, seizing Masked Naga in its jaws and devouring it.
By all that's holy, thought Douglas.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Seems average, thought Francis.
The website seemed a typical forum and blog, even if the target audience was rather specialized, and it had been online for a while, since way back when these forums first became popular.
He scrolled down to the archive section and clicked on it. It only seemed to have four articles, total.
"Uh, the settings, kid," said Nitro, speaking up, "you're only viewing the past month."
"Thanks," said Francis. He clicked on the setting, changing the viewing to "Full History". Unfortunately, now he had the opposite problem, with hundreds of entries. Nitro was about to say something else, but Francis saw it first. The Search Forum option.
He typed it in: "Salcrup".
Hitting enter gave him one entry, but it seemed an important one, a whole archived thread. He clicked on it.
"Huh, seems an archived review thread," he said. He clicked on one of the entries. "Only lasted ten entries. And he didn't seem to be a popular critic."
"No wonder, he only reviewed junk," said Nitro. "Look at this, Time Killers, Tattoo Assassins, Way of the Warrior… Crap, this guy actually like Blood Storm? These are nothing but Mortal Kombat rip-offs!"
"Really?" asked Francis.
"Well, except this one," added Nitro. The one he pointed to was Rampage: Destruction.
Francis clicked on it and started reading the text. True, this was not a clone of the notoriously violent fighting game. But something felt… off about this.
Then he noticed it. A small message in italics indicating there had been a recent edit to that post. Decades after it had been posted originally.
Is it even possible to edit an archive? he thought.
There was a link below that on the poster's signature. He pointed the mouse, and clicked it.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Douglas wasn't sure whether this thing was a giant snake, demon-snake, or undead demon snake. All he knew was, it was a snake, it was big, and it was hideous. The skull-like face had fangs dripping with venom potent enough for him to smell the acrid odor from where he was. Still, as bad as that was, the eyes… The eyes were a nightmare in solid form. Douglas could barely look away, the glare from those eyes both mesmerizing and nauseating, literally. (2,800 ATK)
"You're rather durable," commented Voldemort. "In a way, you'd be more fortunate if this were the true Serpent of Slytherin, as you wouldn't be alive now. This aspect causes a death that is far less quick."
"Bring it on, chump!" dared Douglas.
"I'll gladly oblige, he answered. He turned the page of the book and started chanting again. "Malass, cathanass..."
As he chanted, five cards - Wicked Acolyte, both Jar Turtles, Urubonus, and Cobraman Sakuzy - appeared to either side of him, then dissolved into the same venomous ichor that spilled onto the floor.
"I use these moribund souls to call a greater power, I summon you forth, Evil Dragon Ananta!"
"Well that's a surprise," snarked Douglas, clearly expecting the six-headed giant snake, which was rarely not found in a Reptile deck.
"Wait," he started. "Why didn't…"
The Basilisk was still there, somehow having resisted Ananta's summoning condition.
"As you said, your cantrip switched the properties of your monster, meaning Black Mamba can handle it rather easily."
He waved his hand, causing an average snake to appear this time. (1,300 ATK) However, its loud hiss startled Night Express Knight, who cowered behind the shield. Not that it did much. (0 DEF)
Black Mamba darted at it, breaking through the shield and the rest of it with ease.
"Option Hunter!" yelled Douglas, opening his other Trap.
While the energy surged into him, it was hard to think of anything except the other two nasty, hungry, and very angry snakes…
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Unbelievable, thought Francis.
Clicking on the link had taken him to a private blog with something that had nothing to do with any coin-op he knew. This was a duel puzzle. The very same duel puzzle he and Karl had found in that monitor at Last Stop.
"Uh, what," started Nitro.
Francis held his hand out as an unsubtle way to say, "Quiet!"
This was the same sequence he remembered. The grid appeared first, a square flying onto the screen and lying flat like a tabletop mat would, Naturia Cherries was placed on the opponent's side in Attack Mode (200 ATK) with Fabled Leviathan appearing on the player's side, also in Attack Mode. (2,800 ATK) Dark Hole, Fabled Lurrie, and Beiige, Scout of Dark World appeared to represent the player's hand, then, three more – Dark World Lightning, Big Bang Shot, and Solidarity – appeared, then flipped over as they shrank, setting themselves face down on the players' field.
Again, Fabled, Krus, Raven, and Grimro stacked to form the Graveyard pile, with a second Krus, a second Grimro, and Fabled Miztoji composing the deck, and finally, Stygian Sergeants and Fabled Vaklyrus making up an Extra Deck.
The opponent's Life Points were set at 13,600, and the player's to 2,000.
"WIN THIS TURN!" shouted a caption, in big letters, and a timer set to five minutes.
Time to find out what the deal is, he thought.
He slowly moved the mouse to the Big Bang Shot card.
"Uh wrong, wrong," said Nitro, interrupting. "You gotta use that one first."
Francis stopped. Nitro was pointing at Dark Hole.
"Right, you can't use Lightning during the Battle Phase, you know."
Francis didn't answer verbally, but a slight smile and a nod confirmed it. "But…" he said.
He used the Spell Card, causing Cherries and Leviathan on the grid to shatter. Two cards flipped from the opponent's deck and were placed on the field, set in Defense Mode.
"Select 1, 2, or 3 'Fabled' monsters from Graveyard," said the caption. That was an easy choice, seeing as the entire Graveyard consisted of three Fabled monsters.
Francis continued, using the second Spell Card, blowing one of them to little pieces.
"Discard 1 Card from Hand" said the caption.
"Okay, let's see here," he said to nobody in particular. Gotta summon Raven after this, so…
"That one, kid," said Nitro. He was pointing to Lurrie's card.
"Wait, that," said Francis.
"Trust me here, you'll need the others."
Francis sighed, and clicked on that card. It wasn't time to argue. Doing so caused Lurrie to appear on the field. (200 ATK)
He was about to click on that one, but stopped, and moved to Grimro's card, clicking to discard it.
"Select 1 'Fabled' monster from deck," said the caption.
The deck cards appeared, and he took the other Krus. The animation shuffled it, despite only having two left. He clicked on Fabled Raven next, the command causing it to be normal summoned. (1,300 ATK)
Gotta do this carefully here, he thought. He clicked on Raven next, then on Beiige and Krus' cards, discarding them and raising Raven's level to 4 and its ATK to 2,100. Beiige was summoned to the field as a result. (1,600 ATK)
"Select 1 'Fabled' monster from Graveyard," said the caption.
Again, an easy choice, as only Grimro and Krus was there. He clicked on Grimro, causing the card to appear next to Raven. (1,600 ATK)
It was starting to piece together. He clicked on the Extra Deck, and selected Valkyrius. Then he clicked on Grimro and Raven, causing a small lightshow on the screen as the Synchro appeared.
He moved the mouse to that card, discarding the other Krus.
"Draw 1 card," it said.
He clicked the deck, producing the other Grimro's card. The caption flashed again to use Krus' effect, and the first Grimro was summoned. (1,600 ATK)
Then he discarded the second Grimro, taking the last card in the deck, Miztoji. You're the last one, I suppose, he thought. He clicked on it to discard it, then pointed to Lurrie, making it a Tuner.
A second click on the Extra Deck tuned Lurrie with Beiige, and summoned Stygian Sergeants. (2,200 ATK)
"Bingo," he said. He activated the other two Spell Cards, indicating Sergeants for Big Bang Shot.
(Stygian Sergeants: 3,400 ATK, Fabled Valkyrus: 3,700 ATK, Fabled Grimro: 2,500 ATK)
"You're all clear kid!" laughed Nitro. Francis clicked the command for the Battle Phase, then pointed to Stygian Sergeants. It darted across the grid towards the set card, smashing it.
"Attack with 'Stygian Sergeants again?" asked the caption.
He clicked "yes" quickly, and Sergeants was boosted to 4,200 ATK, hitting the unseen opponent directly. (Computer: 6,200 LP) He repeated it with Valkyrus in a second attack. (Computer: 2,500 LP) Finally, he did the same with Grimro.
"YOU WIN!" said the caption.
"High-five!" said Nitro.
Francis was about to comply, but to Nitro's shock, Francis dissolved just like those Duel Monsters had.
"What the -?"
He looked on the screen, where the grid had turned to a throbbing, pixelated sphere.
"Okay, that's not supposed to happen.
Of course, he really didn't know what happened. Other than one thing: Francis was gone.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Douglas had certainly had better days. His head was swimming, and he felt sick. Not just sick, it was like someone was reaching down his throat and pulling his stomach inside out and out of his body at the same time.
(D: 4,100) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 3,700)
Worst of all, Voldemort was back to rudely ignoring him again, browsing through the forbidden tomes of the archive and tossing them aside as if he owned the place.
"That all you got, ya pansy?" he shouted.
"You don't give up, do you?" asked the wizard.
"ME?" shouted Douglas. He stood up, a second wind coming. "This from a guy who'd rather be a living corpse and drink blood for ten years out of some crazy revenge scheme! Sure, who needs social skills when you can live forever and be some ugly monster!"
"Petty insults only add to your debt, Bowmaker. Use them to prop up your feeble courage if you want, it changes nothing. I am still Lord Voldemort. And you're simply another Muggle, unfit to even stand in my presence."
Fortunately for Douglas, when Black Mamba shattered - which he recognized as the cost for keeping Evil Dragon Ananta - he knew it was his turn now.
"Well excuuuuse me, ugly," said Douglas. He stood up and drew a card, despite the pain from every slight movement. "Think I'll do just that. Let's go, Dragon Knight of Creation!"
What appeared this time was like Paladin, but with a full-head helmet with wings, very long hair, and a cloak. (1,700 ATK)
"I'll toss one card and sacrifice this guy to summon another Dragon from my Graveyard. And by the way, it's the same one that was equipped to the guy yer Urubonus chowed on. Get ready..."
He discarded, and Dragon Knight crossed his arms, vanishing in a golden aura.
"...here comes… Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand!"
If it were possible for Felgrand Dragon to become even more radiant and intimidating, this was the one, its golden aura of blinding light illuminating the whole dark temple. (2,800 ATK)
His Disk beeped, and he drew a card as the glow got brighter and brighter.
"Since I brought this guy out from my Graveyard, I can choose one of yer monsters and send it packin'." He pointed to Evil Dragon Ananta, and it vanished into rippling light. "Bye, don't let the door hit ya where the dog would've bit ya. And my monster gains 100 points for each level that one had."
(4,400 ATK)
"Guess who's next?" he said, looking squarely at Guardian Basilisk. "Attack that thing with Radiant Roar!"
As defiant as its master was, the Fiend stood firm as a bellow from the great Dragon channeled holy light crumbling under the impact as it shook the entire temple…
(D: 4,100) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 3,400)
It was gone… But… something felt very bad.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Double, double, toil and trouble," chanted Emily. "Fire burn and cauldron bubble…"
She giggled a little. She got a kick out of saying that.
Indeed, she had been so excited to try this new recipe using the Baatoran violet orchids Ferd had brought that she hadn't even changed out of the pirate wench costume, and it was a mess, stained with residue from the other chemicals she was using. She'd likely have to throw it away - and it hadn't been a cheap outfit - but she barely cared now.
She started chopping the orchids on a cutting board, and felt a sudden rush simply from the strong odor as she did so. She cut faster, barely avoiding her fingers as she did.
As she added the chopped stems to the bubbling mixture, she giggled again, then inhaled deeply as it boiled faster. Then she cackled…
That's the stuff, she thought.
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Where the hell are we? thought Douglas.
It was like a void. A void of blood-red clouds and a potent smell of brimstone.
"Fool," said Voldemort. "The information from these tomes has given me something even I never expected. Consider yourself fortunate to be the first to experience it."
Guessing this isn't a good thing, huh? He thought.
The entire landscape behind Voldemort, if you could call it such, was violently churning like a huge, unearthly maelstrom. A gap in it opened and grew wider, like a hole in reality itself.
He saw the eyes first, eyes of a gargantuan abomination, which was an evil of a very different sort than the basilisk.
Evil tainted by pure, concentrated Chaos.
Which was exactly what the beast was, although it still had the general shape of a snake. A snake clearly larger than the whole city block the museum was built on.
"I give you a serpent the likes of which the great Salazar Slytherin could even conceive of, the Divine Serpent Geh!"
"That's trouble," replied Douglas.
(D: 4,100) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 1,700)
"More than you could ever imagine," replied the sorcerer. "This entity is impervious to your primitive attempts at magic and duplicates the offensive power of the strongest monster in play."
"Well, I ain't done yet, ugly," replied Douglas, "seein' as this guy has another trick. Since he still waxed yer monster, I get to summon this guy, the original Felgrand Dragon."
Despite being a head shorter and slightly younger, the one appearing next to its sire was just as fierce. (2,800 ATK)
Divine Serpent Geh shifted a little, its Score changing accordingly. (2,800 ATK)
"Good trick, but can you do this one? I can up Felgrand's Score by 200 times the Level of a monster in my Graveyard, like say, my Level 10 Night Express Knight!" (4,800 ATK)
To his relief, this didn't make the colossal serpent even stronger.
"Ever hear the story of David and Goliath fellah?" he asked, as Felgrand Dragon prepared to use its breath weapon.
Voldemort didn't answer, but his Quickplay Spell did. "Aw, shit," replied Douglas.
The Rebellion card sprouted two more hissing, glowing snakes, grabbing Felgrand and pulling it over to Voldemort's side.
Better use this for now, he thought. He set a card quickly. An' hope it works.
The Dark Lord produced a new card as Felgrand appeared back on Douglas' side. "You are amusing," he said. "But I grow tired of this farce. Behold the First Monarch."
His Trap Card opened, one Douglas easily recognized; it was in his own deck, after all. Slowly, a dark, cloaked figure, bulky and muscular, and vaguely shaped like the Elemental Monarchs, rose from the card. (2,400 DEF)
A card spun around and then shattered (Douglas saw it briefly, Serpentine Princess) and the First Monarch changed from a shadow to a burning, fiery form as it turned from Dark to Fire. Then it dissolved, and thick, iron chains burst out of the floor. Or rather, arbitrary floor.
Of course, what the chains were anchored to was his bigger concern, a flaming, muscular, horned, hoofed devil with dagger-sized claws and teeth. (3,500 ATK)
"Ultimate Obedient Fiend?" he said, nearly laughing. "Who uses that old thing?"
Of course, it quickly became obvious why Voldemort had summoned it; Geh's Attack Score was now also 3,500, and unlike the Fiend, Douglas doubted it had any prohibition from attacking.
"Now Geh can unleash its true power," stated the Dark Lord. "Your Dragon loses both its effect and half its power.
"Armageddon Rage!"
What happened next was hard to describe as an attack. It was like a storm. A storm that seemed to undo reality itself and turn it inside-out and upside down, all of it plowing into Felgrand Dragon and obliterating it.
(D: 2,000) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 1,700)
The Shadowchaser watched as his foe two more cards. This really bites, he thought.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
In the laboratory where the Device stood, Oswald was snoring. Beatrice too, only softer.
Damned Magician Girl, said Antisthenes' commanding voice.
She woke up, and shrieked a little, not at the order, but because Oswald was in her lap. "Move!" she yelled, shoving him off.
He reacted of course, mostly with a groan. "What did I do?"
"The first run seems a success," continued the voice. "Proceed with the others."
As the image faded again, Beatrice beamed a little. She started going through the ample collection of DVDs and literature.
"This could actually be kinda fun," she mused. "What do you think, Oswald, this or this?"
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Okay, let's work this out, thought Douglas.
He looked up at the abomination, doing the math in his head. It assumes the base Score of the strongest monster, and then cuts the Score of the monster it fights in half."
He drew a new card, not willing - or able - to take his eyes off it. He gave an offside glance at Ultimate Obedient Fiend.
So, if then, if I got rid of that thing, a Kuriboh with an Axe of Despair or something like that could bring it down. But then…
His view turned slightly past his foe.
He's ugly, he's egotistical, and he's a conceited, bigoted bastard, but one thing he ain't is stupid. So then…
He finally looked at the card. This one works.
"Alright, Moldy-Wart, here's rage for you, I'll drop 1,000 Life Points for the Spell Card, Portal Grapple!"
(D: 1,000) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 1,700)
Using the card caused Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand to confront the Fiend in a way Dragons usually didn't. It was like a pounce that turned into a tackle. As the two behemoths scuffled, Douglas discarded a card, causing a shimmering portal to the Different Dimension to open, which Felgrand promptly barged through, taking his foe with him.
"What?" said Voldemort, with a look of confusion.
"They'll be back in a minute or two," explained Douglas. "For now, let's bring out Guardian of Felgrand."
The Warrior that stepped out was older than Paladin was, somewhat heavy-set, and had green hair and elf-ears. His armor and sword were silver rather than gold. (500 ATK)
"His Score ain't too great for now, but if I take my Arkbrave Dragon here and equip it to him, he gains 1,200 more!"
Laying the card on his Spell Zone caused Guardian's armor to change into a sharper, fancier set as it did with Paladin, runes appearing on the sword. (1,700 ATK)
But his base Score is still 500, he thought, and that means so is Divine Serpent Geh, so let's see if my hunch here is right.
Guardian lifted the sword, then made a great leap at the gigantic snake, holding the weapon above his head with both hands. Voldemort himself seemed to shift his stance and move backwards, triggering an odd space distortion effect.
Bingo, thought Douglas. Both the Trap Cards had been triggered, Astral Barrier and Spirit Barrier. The Warrior's strike was now aimed at Voldemort himself, but did nothing, his sword caught by the villain's claw in mid-swing.
"Is that all?" he said.
Douglas didn't answer this time, setting his last two cards in front of him.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Jalal, let me give you a hypothetical situation," started the rilmani. "You're at home, on a Sunday, finally have a night off, and you thumb through the TV listings. You see that there's this new made-for-TV movie on Discovery. It's about some ditzy genius who invents a time machine, travels a few centuries into the past, and does something wrong. Maybe he leaves his notebook behind, or nudges into someone, or steps on a bug. He returns to his own time, and finds to his horror, the White House now has swastikas hanging from it! It seems his jaunt has altered World War II and caused a Nazi victory! How would you react?"
"Probably see what else was on," replied Jalal.
Jemorille replied with a nod. "Yes, I would too. Been there, done that, one of the biggest clichés in science fiction. Oddly enough.
"Hard to believe writers keep trying to make this old plot novel and new. Now, I don't make a habit of analyzing fiction, but one strange similarity in this… scenario is that they always include two factors, A) it only takes a small nudge in history for such a large event to be changed, and B) it's usually the only way the timeline seems to be changed.
"Even stranger, literature about heroic time travelers trying to assassinate Hitler or otherwise stop World War II, they tend to fail miserably. You'd think folks believe that Fate had decreed Hitler was meant to win, and the true altering of history had been done by some enigmatic entity who saw a good chance of it happening, and wanted to make sure he didn't. Maybe by making him depressed and convincing him to do dumb things like try invading a country known for long, cold, brutal winters, the same mistake Napoleon did…"
Jalal knew what Jemorille was getting at, and he did not like it. "Are you saying…"
"Maybe not directly," answered Jemorille, "but Hitler's incompetence alone wasn't what convinced him to cancel projects that nearly invented the assault rifle and jet-powered aircraft, and do things a sane ruler would consider absurd, like bring Germany into a two-front war. For the second time."
"So, what you're telling me is, this uhm, 'enigmatic entity' was able to sabotage his efforts during the war, but was helpless to prevent it?" Jalal almost said "you" rather than "enigmatic entity", but wanted to hear the explanation.
"Maybe, maybe not," said Jemorille, his tone slightly lower. "Maybe someone figured there would be… benefits to waiting that long."
Jalal was clearly angry, but Jemorille, held his hand up in protest. "Jalal, remember what Qath the Inquisitor said before Steading killed him?" He stopped, waiting for Jalal to remember the illithid's last words. "He was right in a way. An idea can't be killed. But an idea can be starved, neglected, and abandoned. Hitler didn't found the Nazi party, nor did he invent fascism. He just brought them to the forefront and caused them to be noticed. Bigotry and anti-Semitism existed long before his birth, but leaders tolerated and at times accepted them. Today? Leaders look upon him with as the prognosticator of both concepts, seeing him as the Fascist with a capital F, and as a reviled, hateful, evil madman and murderer. The idea he spread still exists, but only hate groups and neo-Nazis consider this idea benign or proper.
"Actions speak louder than words, Jalal. Consider this: If Churchill's words turned out to be just words, and there had been no World War II, would there have been a Civil Rights Movement? The best way to show how an idea can lead to an atrocity is by pointing to a time it actually happened. The idea still lives as a warning of what can happen to your world should another powerful leader have the same idea."
"So, what you're saying now is," said Jalal, his rage subsiding, "that you allowed the Holocaust as a necessary evil to show how potentially dangerous an idea is? Did you ever stop to consider that it might have gone too far?"
Then a thought came to him, one he liked even less. "Or did it go too far? Were your efforts during the war an effort to correct another mistake and prevent another cataclysm? Or was the entire war the cataclysm that you were told to fix?"
Jemorille got up, and threw a twenty on the table. "You see, Jalal, the rilmani aren't a populous folk. I'm the only one on this world, and most have no more than three or four. Fiends and Celestials number in the millions, and they continuously fight over the souls of mortals in their attempts to tip the Balance. It's hard for so few to sway the efforts of so many, and as you know, I've made mistakes. When I do, I can only try to correct them."
"That didn't answer the question," demanded Jalal. "Come back here!"
His hand was on his sword now. He was about to charge after the rilmani, but stopped himself. He watched as Jemorille the Exile simply faded away.
Another thought had popped into his head.
This whole conversation wasn't supposed to be a history lesson, he mused. Was he using it as an excuse or an analogy?
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand and Ultimate Obedient Fiend reappeared, thrown out of two horizontal portals, but the Fiend was dizzy and disoriented. (1,750 ATK) Still, its powerful might of 3,500 was again applied to Divine Serpent Geh.
"I grow weary of this farce, Muggle," said Voldemort. He produced a new card, the Fiend kneeling in Defense Mode. "You know quite well that my serpent, like myself, is untouchable. Death is a weakness we have cast off!"
"Die," he commanded.
Divine Serpent Geh's potent storm started to intensify again, homing in on Guardian of Felgrand. Now or never, thought Douglas.
"I activate Spiritual Light Art - Hijiri!"
Douglas' powerful utterance of the name caused Guardian of Felgrand to thrust his arms forward, the Kanji symbol for "Light" appearing in a blinding flash, overwhelming and consuming him. Voldemort covered his eyes with a painful grunt and the great beast paused…
When the light subsided, Guardian had been replaced by…
"You summoned my monster to your side?" the Dark Lord ranted.
A bewildered and rather angry Wicked Acolyte Chilam Sebak was standing next to Douglas' Dragon. (2,500 ATK)
"Believe me, this ain't a bowl of cherries on my end either," remarked Douglas, "but with two Level 8 monsters, I can use Wonder Xyz!"
The activation of the Trap caused the Overlay Network to open, consuming Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand and Wicked Acolyte Chilam Sebak, creating a powerfully built knight in adamantine armor and a cloak. (1,800 DEF)
"A pitiful waste of time and resources," sighed Voldemort. The serpent god's powerful blast hit Divine Dragon Knight Felgrand and blew it to little shard.
"So, what now, Bowmaker? Do I need to crush every monster in your arsenal before you yield?"
"Ta tell ya the truth, yeah," replied Douglas. He smirked, and drew. "Cause that's the only way I'm gonna yield, ya hear! Ya use the world 'Muggle' as if it's some cuss-word, and rant on about the 'Pureblood Supremacy' crap, but ya know, I think it's all a sham."
"A sham?" said the Dark Lord, a clear scowl there now.
"All you are ta me is an insecure, power-hungry, paranoid control freak," accused Douglas, "throwing red meat to folks who see a problem that ain't there. We have folks like that here, y'know, lots of them. Might I add, you claim to be so high and mighty, but three kids hand you yer ass every damn time ya show yer ugly face. You'd think you'd get the point."
"I'll grind you to," he stated.
He was cut off by a loud roar as a new Dragon appeared in front of Douglas. Some other Shadowchasers had often referred to this Dragon as a "lost offspring" of Felgrand Dragon and Insect Queen. (Out of earshot, of course.) The body structure did sort of suggest a grasshopper or cricket, with oddly hinged legs and antennae. Still, it had gold-plated armor and four large, beautiful wings in place of arms. (2,400 ATK)
"Ye think yer so special, Tommy? Yeah, yer a powerful dark wizard where you come from, but here? Ye can take a number and get in line with the other black sorcerers we deal with, cause I'm not impressed.
"Case in point, since I sent Arkbrave Dragon here to the Graveyard last turn, he comes back this turn, and yer Trap and Spell Cards -" Both Spirit Barrier, Astral Barrier, and the Field Spell were blown to particles as the new Dragon roared. "- are kaput.
"Now for that. This is kinda ironic, ya know..." He turned his one card around. A Quickplay Spell, Forbidden Scripture. "Yeah, I know yer so fond of the whole 'things wizards are forbidden to use' stuff, and here's my take on it."
Arkbrave Dragon spread his multiple wings and dove upwards the demon snake. The loud roar from it now, however, was tinged with a wail.
"All monsters on the field have to fight with their base Scores, and that big snake's effect isn't gonna work this time."
(Arkbrave Dragon: 2,400 ATK, Divine Serpent Geh: 0 ATK)
"You wretched little," started Voldemort
"Oh, shaddup Tommy," replied Douglas. "Bring it down with Roar of Rebirth!"
The potent bellow from the Dragon was like a blazing comet, piercing through the mighty serpent and bathing the whole void in celestial brilliance. Douglas himself nearly passed out from the effort, even as the abomination discorporated…
(D: 1,000) - - - - - - - - - - (V: 0)
He collapsed on one knee, taking deep, gasping grunting breaths.
Then he looked around. He was in the library again.
Voldemort was gone. Through some trick of magic the dark wizard had fled…
His Duel Disk started to buzz.
"Douglas!" shouted Jabels' voice. "What happened, we lost track of you for about fifteen minutes!"
"Uh, kind of a long story there, chief," he asked.
"Well, tell me on the way back," ordered Jabels. "Seems this wasn't an isolated incident."
The map in front of him that had first brought Voldemort to his attention had several dimensional abnormalities registering.
"For a being of Ultimate Law, this guy sure seems intent on tearing the fabric of reality apart. And I'm starting to wonder if that's the point…"
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Rainbow Snake Eingana (Effect Monster)
Sea Serpent/Water/Lvl7/2,200ATK/2,500DEF
Effect: When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, destroy all monsters your opponent controls.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
First appeared in Yu-Gi-Oh episode 101
Urubonus the Avatar of Malice (Effect Monster)
Reptile/Earth/Lvl5/2,000ATK/800DEF
Effect: An opponent's monster that battles with this monster loses 300 ATK and DEF during the damage step only.
First appeared in the Yu-Gi-Oh GX manga, episode 020.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Masked Naga (Effect Monster)
Reptile/Dark/Lvl3/500ATK/700DEF
Effect: If you control this Attack Position card during your Standby Phase, you can Tribute it to Special Summon 1 "Basilisk Guardian of the Sanctum" from your hand, deck, or Graveyard.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Basilisk Guardian of the Sanctum (Effect Monster)
Reptile/Dark/Lvl7/2,800/1,800
Effect: Cannot be Special Summoned, except via the effect of "Masked Naga". This card is considered a Fiend-Type monster while face-up on the field. Control of this card cannot switch.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Temple of the Guardian (Field Spell)
Image: A dark, ancient temple made of stone, dominated by a huge statue of Gate Guardian against the far wall.
Effect: Once per turn, when a player Normal Summons or Special Summons a Level 7 or higher monster, he or she may draw 1 card.
(Note: This card was created by MultiplePersonas. Creative credit goes to him.)
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Portal Grapple (Quickplay Spell Card)
Image: D.D. Warrior Lady grappling Warrior Dai Grepher from behind, while emerging from the portal in "Different Dimension Ground".
Effect: Pay 1,000 Life Points and select 1 face-up monster you control and 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; banish both monsters. On the End Phase of the turn, Special Summon both monsters to their owners' sides of the field, disregarding any summoning conditions. Monsters Special Summoned by this effect have their ATK halved.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Jemorille: Douglas Bowmaker was not the most educated Shadowchaser, nor the most skilled, nor the most experienced, although I believe he would likely have made a good leader of a small group should the opportunity ever have come up. Regardless, he had caught onto something, a clue to handling these beings from other realities.
The Dark Lord Voldemort, as he called himself, was the embodiment of EVIL in his own reality, where the mention of his name was enough to frighten grown men, even during the decade where he was believed dead.
And for good reason. He survived by using magic that made him a human parasite, had beliefs combining social Darwinism and Machiavellianism, and he liberally used lethal and forbidden magical techniques the way one used a pen and paper. Before his defeat, he came close to ruling the Wizarding World through a puppet government.
But as Douglas quickly discovered, that changes considerably when he moved from one reality to another.
And he was not the only Shadowchaser to discover this.
"One Way or Another" is next. As Yusei Fudo would say, "Riding Duel, Acceleration!"