What Monster was based on a video game character named Jake? If you said "Nanobreaker", you were successfully able to Name that Card!
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Okay, let's go over it again…
Daala challenges me to duel. With some help from Joan, I win. Daala escapes, but not before telling us that we're sentenced to die.
Aster leads us into Darkspire. On the way, Bandit Keith ambushes us. Erik duels him. Even though he wins, we learn from Keith that the whole duel's purpose was to stall – while we were out in the open. No sooner does Keith leave, than two Winged Beasts ambush us and grab Ren and Chelsea, paying no heed to the law that Joan uses to limit Daala's power. Aster tells us that this is what happens when Daala wants an enemy dead, and that whoever the executioner is isn't bound by any of Xanadu's laws, because it isn't bound by any law at all.
Then Aster is attacked by an egotistical and loudmouthed assassin. He duels the guy, and he's so certain that he can beat Aster, he gloats, and tells us where Ren and Chelsea are, confident that we'll never find it. But Aster beats him anyway.
Now, if this gloating wasn't a lie, Ren and Chelsea are in this cathedral that was dedicated to a god of machines. Yep, you heard me right.
And now, in order to get past the front door, I'm dueling one of Daala's enforcers, a weirdo who claims to not only be an expert duelist, but to hold a doctorate in the field.
So…
There's gotta be a pattern here somewhere…
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CHAPTER THIRTY
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The Rock and the Hard Place
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Sheena looked around. The hills and ruins of Nexus were around her.
I didn't exactly expect a parade, she thought, but you'd think someone would be here…
Her hand touched the pouch at her side.
Then she realized that she hadn't checked the viral program yet to make sure her plan had worked. She opened up the pouch and took out the fifteen cards.
She was very surprised when she saw what the top card was.
The diskette had transformed into a card, all right. But it was not Parasite Paraside.
She looked at the card. It was an incredibly powerful card that had obtained legendary status after the one time it had been used. It was incredibly rare in the real world. It may have even been unique.
The important part was, it was worthless to her. An Insect Deck didn't have the right cards to use it.
It seemed she had to change her plans.
She had to find Yumi and give the card to her. Then Yumi would have to duel Daala.
AND… They'd have to pray like crazy, because unlike Parasite Paraside, this card was not so easily searchable.
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The Cathedral of Mechanicles was a landmark, to say the least. If you could picture Notre Dame, or a church of similar architecture, then replace the stone with concrete and sheet metal, change the stained glass images and gargoyles to depictions of robots, and then replace the buttresses with giant gears and cogs, you'd have an accurate description of what this building looked like. The whole thing may have once been a working machine itself, as well as a building, but apparently its motors had stopped running when Daala had forced the congregation to shut their doors.
"Ren! Chelsea!" shouted Yumi, as their cycles skidded to a halt. "We're coming!"
"This place can hide itself from all Spirits except Machines?" asked Sam. "That would be like trying to hide an aircraft carrier!"
"I said the same thing when a Nanobreaker guided me here the first time," replied Aster. "I have no idea how the magic works. Emes the Infinity was in charge of a lot of the enchantments that went into the structure, and folks say that he may not be the typical Machine. He may have even been built by some god of the forge. At least that's what he claims."
Then they stopped short.
A huge Machine was crouched in front of the doors to the Cathedral. It was about thirty feet tall, humanoid, and broad, made of chrome metal. It was blocking the way, forming a barrier. (0/2,000)
"Stronghold the Moving Fortress?" said Erik. "I thought that was a Trap Card."
"In your world it is," replied Aster. "It's a Duel Spirit here."
"Hey, buddy!" shouted Yumi, walking up to the colossal robot. "Beat it!"
No answer.
"I mean it, fellah!" ordered Yumi. "Move it or lose it!"
Still no answer.
"Uh, Yumi…" muttered Erik. "Maybe it isn't too wise to yell at a thirty-foot-tall robot…"
"It has no Gadgets," said Yumi. "That means it has zero Attack Points. And we don't have time for this…"
She activated her Disk and drew a card.
"Sam, summon something!"
"You got it," said Sam, as her own Disk activated.
The Bistro Butcher materialized. (1,800/1,000)
Yumi played a card, and the Butcher vanished. Chaos Command Magician appeared. (2,400/1,900)
"Knock down!" ordered Yumi.
Chaos Command Magician fired a blast at the huge Machine.
Unfortunately, the blast just bounced off. The Moving Fortress didn't move an inch.
"Huh?" said Yumi. "Since when could that thing resist being destroyed by attacks?"
"You got me," said Aster, playing a card.
Destiny Hero Devilguy appeared in a burst of darkness. (600/800)
The Hero flew up to the huge Machine and gripped it with his claw.
Stronghold still stood. Devilguy's grip did nothing.
"This doesn't make sense!" gasped Aster.
"It makes perfect sense!" laughed a voice.
"I know that laugh…" said Aster, ominously.
They turned around, as a plume of purple smoke appeared on the street…
Appearing out of it was a strange, fiendish creature. Yumi hadn't seen too many American movies, but she was immediately reminded of one she had seen called The Mask.
This creature had green skin, and diabolically pointed ears. He was dressed in a purple formal tuxedo, an orange vest, a black tie, and a top hat. He had a big grin that suggested he had a dental cleaning every week.
"Doresain…" growled Aster, angrily.
"Uh, uh, uh!" scolded the creature, waving a finger. "You will address me by my full title, Aster. Dr. Doresain, MD."
"MD?" mused Sam.
"Monster Doctor!" laughed the figure. "I'm not only an expert in dueling, I have a doctorate!"
"You expect us to believe that?" asked Sam.
"What, do you want to see my sheepskin?" asked the figure.
"Guys, be careful!" warned Aster. "This is one of Daala's enforcers. He isn't an AI program. Most folks believe he's a Pro League duelist from Earth that Daala recruited somehow.
"And he's never lost. This guy has taken out a lot of my friends in Joan's army."
"Yes, but I do other things too," said Doresain. "Emes designed the most of the special features of the Cathedral when the Machines were building it, but I put in a few as well, in exchange for some favors to be done later.
"Mechanicles may or may not exist. I have no idea. But you can't deny the divine power that places like this are able to channel, so long as enough creatures believe, even if they are Machines. Divinity is another of my skills, and I was able to use it to do some good work with the completed structure.
"My best work was with the Protection Counters. This whole church works like a Field Spell for Machine Spirits, like good old Stronghold here. For every ten minutes that an actual Machine Spirit that isn't involved in an actual duel stays in or near the Cathedral, it gains one. And it can resist one card effect or one attack for each Counter it has."
Yumi's eyes opened wide. She looked at Stronghold.
"How long has that been there?" she asked.
"Since Daala proclaimed her sentence of death on you guys yesterday," replied Doresain. "She plans ahead. She isn't stupid."
"Do you realize how many 'ten minutes' that adds up to?" gasped Erik. "We'll be here for hours! We won't get in until it's too late…"
"Unless you use this…" replied Doresain.
He held up a card.
It was a Spell Card called Counter Cleaner.
"I know that card!" gasped Aster. "It removes all Counters from all cards on the field!"
"Hand it over, Doresain!" demanded Yumi. "Or you'll make history as the first doctor to mend four broken limbs at once, all of which are your own!"
"Make one move towards me and I'll tear it in half," threatened Doresain. "And no-one else in Darkspire has one, I promise you that. This card is far too situational for any duelist to use regularly."
Yumi stopped.
"But…" he said, waving it in the air. "I am willing to duel for it…"
"What's the catch?" asked Yumi.
"Well," said Doresain. "You know how Sam wasn't impressed by my degree?"
"I'm not really impressed by it either," muttered Yumi. "A diploma alone doesn't make you a better duelist. You can claim to be educated, but that only gives you knowledge. You need to temper knowledge with other things as a duelist… Wisdom, inborn ability, instinct… In other words, knowing how a card works is one thing, but actually using it is another thing entirely."
"That's what Daala said!" snarled Doresain. "She isn't impressed by my degree either! And no matter what I do for her, I'm passed over time and again for promotions! I don't even have a Deck Lord yet for Pete's sake."
"What do you expect, Doresain?" said Aster. "You can't commit to one strategy. You must have twenty different decks, and all of them are completely different. A Deck Lord can't accommodate multiple strategies."
"Regardless," said Doresain. "Once I defeat the Queen of Games, Daala will recognize my talent at last!"
And I'll be a shoe-in for the position in her inner circle that just opened, he thought.
"Fine!" yelled Yumi, activating her Disk. "I don't like doctors myself… Every time I have my physical, it's always lie down, say ah, breathe in… Drives me crazy."
"You're lucky," muttered Erik. "You don't have to deal with the 'turn your head and cough' part."
"Seems now I'm on the right side of the old needle!" exclaimed Yumi.
A Disk appeared on Doresain's, arm, and it activated.
"Game on!" they shouted.
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Sheena wandered over one of the hills of Nexus.
This place looks like Euro Disney on a slow day, she thought.
Then she noticed something.
At the bottom of the hill, someone seemed to be working on a device of some sort.
Sheena knew she had to be cautious. She didn't know whether this was a friend or an enemy.
She slowly walked down the hill, towards the figure, who was bent over. The figure was dressed in black, and had two pairs of wings growing out of its back, two feathered, and two bat-like. Clearly, it wasn't human, but Sheena didn't know what it was.
"Ahem," said Sheena.
The figure got up and turned around. Sheena flinched.
The figure was a woman – apparently – with pale skin, and glowing red eyes. Her clothing was armor of some sort, with a helmet and a skirt. The shoulder guards were designed to look like two bloodshot eyes. She held a long staff with a crescent blade on the end – apparently, she had picked it up when Sheena had made herself known.
The Duel Spirit simply stared at Sheena.
"Wait, now I know the face…" said Sheena. "Doma the Angel of Silence, right?"
The Dark Fairy simply stared at Sheena for a few seconds. Then her lips slowly changed into a slight smile. It was a smile that made Sheena's blood run cold.
So now what? thought Sheena. Isn't she going to say anything?
Or maybe she can't… She is the Angel of Silence, after all…
Doma held her staff out in front of her, and it turned into dark energy. The energy surrounded her left arm, and formed into a Duel Disk.
"Oh, you want to duel, huh?" asked Sheena.
Doma nodded.
"Okay," said Sheena, as her Disk activated, "this I can handle!"
Both Life Point counters set to 8,000…
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Ren, Chelsea, thought Yumi, please, just hold on a little longer…
(Yumi: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Doresain: 8,000)
"My draw!" laughed Doresain, drawing a card.
He held the card up.
"North is up…
"South is down…
"Here's a card to change the town!"
He quickly threw the card into his Field Slot, and suddenly, the whole city started to change. The buildings of Darkspire all turned into clockwork constructs, made of gears, cogs, and sprockets. Spotlights shot into the dark sky, all with gear designs inside of them. It now looked like the whole city had been designed by whatever mad architect had designed the Ancient Gear Castle.
"What's going on Doresain?" asked Yumi.
"I've taken us to Gear Town," said Doresain. "I'd love to tell you what it does, but we'll get to it later.
"For now, I'll set a Monster, and end my turn."
A facedown Monster appeared in front of him.
Yumi drew a card quickly.
He's clearly using Machines, she thought. And Machines tend to be physically powerful. I'll have to strike hard on my own.
"Go, Skilled Dark Magician!" she shouted.
The dark-robed Spellcaster appeared in a flash of light. (1,900/1,700)
"Destroy his Monster!" she ordered.
The dark mage nodded. He fired his spell of black magic, and Ancient Gear Soldier appeared on the facedown card. It was blown to scrap.
"I'll set this facedown," she said, as a facedown card appeared in a flash of light, "and then you go."
Doresain drew.
He grinned.
Heh, heh, he thought. Just what the doctor ordered…
He placed it in his Disk.
"I'll set a facedown of my own," he said, as it appeared. "Then I'll summon my Ancient Gear Engineer."
In a cloud of dust and dirt, a new Machine appeared in front of him. It looked similar to Ancient Gear Soldier, but rather than having a machine gun for a right hand, it had a drill for the right hand and a clamp for the left. (1,500/1,500)
"Hey, wait just a second!" snapped Sam. "You can't just summon a Level Five Monster directly to the field! You'd need a special card or something…"
"But I do, Samantha!" laughed Doresain. "That's one of the powers that Gear Town bestows. In this berg, Ancient Gear Monsters require one less sacrifice than they normally do. Since my Engineer normally requires one, here, it requires none.
"Next, I'll make it stronger. With Ancient Gear Tank."
He fit a card into his Disk, and a large vehicle resembling a cross between a tank, motorcycle, and go-cart appeared. Ancient Gear Engineer mounted it, and a blast shield covered its face.
"This gives the driver some extra firepower."
(2,100/1,500)
"Now, pulverize her Skilled Dark Magician!" he commanded.
The Tank's engine started up.
"I activate…" started Yumi.
Then she stopped short. She looked at her facedown card.
Oh, that's right… she thought. Since he's attacking with an Ancient Gear Monster, my Trap Card is worthless…
The Tank fired a blast from its cannon, and Skilled Dark Magician was blown to pieces. Yumi shielded herself.
(Y: 7,800) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 8,000)
"Now I can use my Engineer's effect," said Doresain, "to destroy your facedown card!"
Another blast fired from the cannon, and Yumi's Mirror Force was blown to bits.
"My diagnosis is, you're toast!"
"I want a second opinion!" answered Yumi.
She drew a card.
"Come on out, Magician's Valkyria!"
In a burst of light, the attractive, brunette mage appeared. (1,600/1,800)
"Next, I play Rush Recklessly!"
She played another card, and Valkyria's Attack Score shot up to 2,300.
"Smash his Ancient Gear Engineer! Magic Illusion!"
Valkyria cast her spell, and both Ancient Gear Engineer and its Tank exploded into scrap metal.
Then Yumi screamed as shrapnel from the explosion flew at her, stabbing into her flesh.
"I didn't mention," said Doresain, "when my Tank is destroyed, you lose 600 Life Points.
"And I'm taking out your Valkyria too. Activate Trap!"
His facedown card lifted. A large object that looked like a box covered with circuitry appeared on his side of the field. Valkyria gave an odd look…
Then the box opened, creating a powerful suction force. Valkyria screamed as it started to pull at her. Then she was transformed into energy, and drawn into the box, which quickly slammed shut.
"What happened?" demanded Yumi.
"It's a Trap called Unfinished Time Box," said Doresain. "It creates an extradimensional jail which puts your Valkyria out of commission for as long as the Trap Card remains on the field.
"And it has another effect. It lets me draw one card."
He made one draw.
"So, anything else?"
Yumi looked at her hand.
"I…" she muttered. "I have to end my turn…"
Yumi looked with worry as he drew another card.
Clearly this guy is much more serious than he looks, she thought. And if I can't beat him, not only will Ren and Chelsea be finished, I'll be in the same situation!
(Y: 7,200) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 7,800)
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Sheena watched as her opponent drew her first card.
The Angel of Silence looked at the six cards in her hand.
Then she looked at Sheena, and nodded.
"What?" said Sheena. "You mean you're ending your turn?"
Doma nodded again
I've heard of bad opening hands before, thought Sheena, but not even a card that she could use to bluff with?
She drew her first card.
I really don't like this, but I can't do nothing…
"I summon Insect Knight!" she shouted.
The tall mantis warrior appeared, holding its sword and shield. (1,900/1,500)
"Attack her directly!" commanded Sheena.
Doma didn't move in the slightest as Insect Knight flew at her. She fell over as its sword slammed into her, but she didn't make a sound, so it was impossible to tell whether the blow had hurt her or not.
She quickly got up, her Life Points falling to 6,100.
Okay… thought Sheena. I'm in the lead…
But somehow, I still don't like it… She practically let me attack her. I have the feeling she's leading me into something bad…
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Doresain placed a card on his Disk.
"I summon my Ancient Gear Knight," he said.
Another Ancient Gear Machine appeared. This one looked like Ancient Gear Soldier again, but held a long, metal lance in one hand, and a metal shield shaped like a big gear in the other. (1,800/500)
"Oo-kay…" said Yumi. "This one I haven't seen before…"
"This is a Gemini Monster," explained Doresain. "Until I Second Summon it next turn, it can't use its effect, which is the same as that of Ancient Gear Soldier. But until then…
"Attack her directly!"
The Knight rushed at Yumi. She screamed as it stabbed its lance directly into her navel.
She fell on her behind.
(Y: 5,400) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 7,800)
"Ouch…" said Erik.
Yumi got up, holding her stomach in pain.
"I'm guessing you never took the Hippocratic Oath, Doresain," she growled.
She drew a card.
"Go, Monster Reborn!" she shouted, as the Spell Card appeared. "Now, my Skilled Dark Magician is coming back!"
Skilled Dark Magician appeared again. (1,900/1,700)
"But he's leaving again," she said, as he vanished, "so I can summon Dark Magician Girl!"
Dark Magician Girl appeared in a burst of hearts and colors. (2,000/1,700)
"All right!" cheered Erik.
"Send his Knight to the recovery room!" shouted Yumi. "Dark burning attack!"
Dark Magician Girl cast her spell, and Ancient Gear Knight exploded into metal shards.
(Y: 5,400) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 7,600)
Hmm, Yumi's ace Monster? thought Doresain. Seems a shame to wipe out something so lovely…
Especially since most of the Spirits I work with aren't nearly as beautiful… It seems that Spellcasters always get the good looks…
And some other creatures…
He sighed. He paused for a minute to look up at the belfry of the Cathedral.
He knew who the executioner was. The truth was, he didn't want to help her. Few sane creatures would. His real goal here was to defeat Yumi, and he didn't care one way or the other whether anyone rescued Ren and Chelsea. Not that he even thought that was possible.
The executioner was someone who was… very hard to like, to say the least. She was beautiful… incredibly beautiful. More beautiful than most mortal women. But her beauty hid incredible evil that was obvious to anyone who looked at her. Most would agree that it was a tragedy that such beauty was wasted on such a cruel creature.
"It's your move," said Yumi.
Doresain drew a card.
He simply placed it on his Disk, and a defensive Monster appeared.
"Why'd he put that in Defense Mode?" asked Erik.
"Cause he's afraid of Dark Magician Girl, that's why!" laughed Sam.
"Don't be so sure," said Aster. "This guy is full of surprises."
Yumi drew a card.
"I activate Pot of Greed," she said.
The jar appeared, and she drew two cards. She quickly looked at them.
"I set a Monster of my own in Defense Mode," she said, as a Monster appeared facedown.
"Then I attack with Dark Magician Girl!"
Dark Magician Girl aimed her scepter. The Monster appeared on the card. It looked like a two-legged robot with a turret on top, with two small guns. Her blast blew it to particles.
"You activated the Flip-Effect of my DUCKER Mobile Cannon," said Doresain. "That means I get to recover a Level Four Monster from my Graveyard."
Ancient Gear Knight slipped out of his discard slot, and he took it.
"Fine," said Yumi, with a scowl. "It's your move…"
Doresain drew a card. He grinned again.
"I summon Ancient Gear Beast!" he said with a laugh.
In a burst of energy, one of the more powerful Ancient Gear Machines appeared. The robotic wolf with sharp claws and teeth. (2,000/2,000)
"Aw, nuts!" shouted Erik. "He summoned another high-Level Machine with no sacrifice!"
"Attack her facedown Monster!" commanded Doresain. "Piston pounce!"
Ancient Gear Beast leapt at the facedown card. Magician of Faith appeared right before she was squashed flat.
"Bad news people," said Aster. "That thing negates Monster effects, so Yumi's Magician of Faith was just wasted."
"I'm more concerned about something else," muttered Sam. "If he can summon a high-Level Ancient Gear Monster with no sacrifice…"
"He can summon a very high-Level Ancient Gear Monster with one," replied Aster.
Yumi started to sweat.
She knew about Ancient Gear Golem only too well. She had faced it in Duelatopia when she and Sam had formed a team against Tucker and Marlon.
She didn't want to face it again…
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Sheena watched as her opponent drew a card.
Doma added it to her hand, and then looked at Sheena.
"Again?!" shouted Sheena. "You're just going to end your turn again?!"
Then, to her surprise, a voice came from her opponent. A soft whisper, almost as if it hurt her to talk.
"Yes, Ms. Arachne," whispered Doma, "I end my turn."
"So, you can talk," said Sheena.
"Yes, I just didn't have anything to say until now," whispered Doma. "And since I am ending my turn with a hand that consists of seven cards, I must now discard one to the Graveyard."
She discarded a card.
"It is your move."
"Fine!" said Sheena, drawing a card. "It's your funeral!"
"Before this goes any further," whispered Doma, "you should know that the card I just discarded was a Spell Card called Silent Pain. When this card is the only card in my Graveyard, then during your Standby Phase, all of your Monsters are destroyed, and you lose 1,000 Life Points."
"Huh?" said Sheena.
Then Insect Knight exploded into shards, and she cringed as a dark aura surrounded her. Her Life Points fell to 7,000.
"I knew you were up to something!" she snarled.
She threw a card on her Disk.
"I summon Neo Bug!"
In a burst of energy, the large, winged, clawed Insect appeared. (1,800/1,700)
"And I play this," whispered Doma, holding up a card. "It's called Silent Space. When Silent Pain is the only card in my Graveyard, I can remove this card in my hand from play, to destroy one of your Monsters."
Sheena stepped back in shock, as Neo Bug exploded into shards.
"All right, buddy…" said Sheena, angrily. "I end my turn…"
"Then I draw," said Doma, drawing. "And once again, I end my turn."
Sheena grit her teeth as she drew.
"Don't forget," whispered Doma, "the effect of Silent Pain now activates.
"And that means I can activate this."
She held up another card.
"Silent Torment. When Silent Pain's effect activates, I can remove this card in my hand from play, and you lose an additional 1,000 Life Points."
Sheena screamed as an even more intense aura of darkness surrounded her, and her Life Points fell to 5,000.
"You know…" she gasped. "I kind of liked it better when you weren't talking!"
"I am the Angel of Silence, Ms. Arachne," whispered Doma. "And soon, I will silence you forever."
Sheena looked at the card she had just drawn.
"Pot of Greed!" she shouted, playing it.
She quickly drew two cards.
She looked at the seven cards in her hand.
Clearly a straightforward attack is not gonna work here, she thought. But… Maybe I can use her own strategy against her….
"I throw two cards facedown, and a Monster in Defense Mode," she said.
Three facedown cards appeared, two vertical and one horizontal.
Doma made a slight smile.
"Trap Cards and Monsters in Defense Mode?" she whispered. "Don't your realize by now that my strategy doesn't involve attacking?"
"Make your move," said Sheena. "Not that I don't already know what you're gonna do…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Okay… thought Yumi, drawing a card. Dark Magician Girl and Ancient Gear Beast have equal Attack Scores… Attacking wouldn't be wise.
She looked at the card she had drawn.
But this might help.
"I play… Graceful Charity!"
The Angel of Charity appeared, and her feathers fell on her deck. She quickly drew three cards.
She smirked. She discarded Draining Shield and Goddess with the Third Eye.
"I play Heavy Storm!" she shouted, throwing it into her Disk.
A storm akin to a hurricane tore through Gear Town, and the results were dramatic. The Buildings started to erode, and then crumble, turning to dust. Then the Unfinished Time Box exploded, and Valkyria appeared next to Dark Magician Girl, looking very angry. (1,600/1,800)
"I destroyed your Trap Card," said Yumi. "So Valkyria is freed."
"True," said Doresain, with a smirk, "but to do that, you also destroyed Gear Town, and when Gear Town is broken down, its second effect is activated. I get to Special Summon an Ancient Gear Monster from my hand, deck, or Graveyard."
Ancient Gear Soldier appeared, crouching in Defense Mode. (1,300/1,300)
"Valkyria," said Yumi. "Destroy his Soldier."
Magician's Valkyria fired her blast, and the Soldier was blown to scrap.
"Why did he Special Summon it?" asked Erik. "He knew that Yumi would trash it."
"Having Ancient Gear Monsters in your Graveyard can often be a benefit," explained Aster.
"See, a lot of Ancient Gear accessory cards are designed to make summoning the high-Level ones easier. If he has enough in his Graveyard, he could use Ancient Gear Factory, and Normal Summon a high-Level one without a sacrifice.
"But according to my count, he doesn't have enough in there to do it with the Golem yet."
"It's your move, Doresain," said Yumi.
Doresain drew.
"I activate my own Pot of Greed," he said.
He played the card, and then drew twice.
He chuckled when he saw the two cards.
"Your friend is right," he said. "My deck has a lot of cards that I could use to get around needing two sacrifices to summon Ancient Gear Golem…
"And here's another way no-one mentioned yet. It's old-fashioned, but still very effective. I play Cost Down."
A Spell Card appeared on his side of the field.
"So I toss one card," he continued, discarding Ancient Gear Knight, "and the Levels of all Monsters in my hand are downgraded by two.
"That means I can sacrifice my Beast…"
Ancient Gear Beast vanished.
"To summon… Ancient Gear Golem!"
In an even bigger explosion of dirt and dust, the most infamous of the Ancient Gear Machines rose up, looming over the field, over Yumi's two Spellcasters. Both they and she stepped back in fright. (3,000/3,000)
"Attack her Valkyria!" he ordered. "Mechanized melee!"
The giant threw its fist forward, and Valkyria was squashed flat. Yumi was thrown back from the impact.
(Y: 4,000) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 7,600)
"Guess who's next?" he chuckled, looking at Dark Magician Girl.
"Still my turn, I believe…" he continued, as a Spell Card appeared. "I play The Shallow Grave. Now we each must Special Summon a Monster from our Graveyards in facedown Defense Mode."
Yumi gave him a strange look. A facedown Monster appeared on both sides of the field.
"And that's all," he said.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"Once again," whispered Doma, "I draw…"
She drew a card.
"And once again, it is your move."
Sheena drew a card, and looked at it.
"Silent Pain activates again," said Doma.
Sheena cringed, as her facedown Monster shattered, and her Life Points fell to 4,000.
"Thank you…" she said, with a grin. "The Monster that was just destroyed was a Pinch Hopper. That means I get to Special Summon any Insect from my hand.
"I summon Metal Armored Bug!"
The ground burst open, and a giant beetle the size of a mach truck with a metal exoskeleton appeared. (2,800/1,500)
"Once again, I activate Silent Space," whispered Doma, holding a card up.
"Not this time!" shouted Sheena, as one of her facedown cards lifted up. "I activate Magic Drain!
"Now you can't use your Spell Card unless you discard another Spell Card."
"Fool," said Doma. "I can easily discard a Spell Card."
She went to do so. Then she paused.
"Wait a minute…" she said.
"Yeah, it isn't that simple, is it?" said Sheena, with a sinister grin. "See, Silent Space can only work if Silent Pain is the only card in your Graveyard. If you discard anything, it won't work, and your whole strategy will be ruined. If you choose not to, my Trap Card will negate Silent Space and send it to the Graveyard, and your strategy will be ruined anyway.
"No matter what you do, your Spell Card won't succeed! You're in a no-win situation!"
"Or so you think," whispered Doma. "I choose to discard a Spell Card."
She discarded a card.
"Like you said, Silent Space cannot function now, so your Bug is safe. But your victory will be short lived. The Spell Card I discarded was called Silent Vengeance."
"Huh?" said Sheena.
"When Silent Vengeance and Silent Pain are both in my Graveyard," said Doma, "then when your turn ends, I can remove all cards except Silent Pain in my Graveyard from play, and inflict damage to you equal to whatever is inflicted on me this turn. I wouldn't attack if I were you."
"Well…" said Sheena. "My turn is far from done…
"I remove Insect Knight and Neo Bug from play, to summon Doom Dozer!"
The two cards slipped out of her discard slot, and she pocketed them. In an explosion of dirt and rock, the huge, rust-red millipede with giant mandibles burst out of the ground. (2,800/2,600)
"Now I activate… Wrath of the Spider Queen!"
The sinister altar appeared again, and Metal Armored Bug was surrounded by flames.
"I'll sacrifice my Bug, to summon The Spider Queen!"
Metal Armored Bug vanished, and the fiendish Queen appeared. (2,600/2,800)
"Next," continued Sheena, as her other facedown card lifted, "Call of the Haunted!"
Metal Armored Bug dug its way to the surface again. (2,800/1,500)
"Uh oh…" said Doma.
"Metal Armored Bug, you first," said Sheena.
The huge beetle charged at the Angel of Silence, and chomped at her waist with its huge mandibles. Doma staggered backwards as her Life Points fell to 3,300.
"Doom Dozer, your turn."
Doom Dozer roared, and made a savage bite at the Angel with its jaws. Doma screamed, the first time she had raised her voice. Her Life Points fell to 500.
Sheena pointed, and The Spider Queen pointed her scepter at Metal Armored Bug. It was reduced to a mass of energy, and she consumed it. Then she fired a blast of energy at the Angel of Silence. Doma's Life Points fell to zero, and she vanished in an explosion of black smoke.
Sheena took some deep breaths as her two remaining Monsters vanished.
Then she saw the thing that Doma had been working on before she got here.
She raised an eyebrow.
It looked like a football-sized mass of purple crystals…
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"So, Yumi…" chuckled Doresain. "Still think that my degree didn't do me any good?
"You'd be surprised at how much it benefits someone to take their education as far as I did.
"Take astronomers, for instance."
"Huh?" said Yumi. "Astronomers?"
"Astronomers make six-figure salaries," he said. "In American dollars, that is. They're among the highest paid professionals in the world. Did you know that? The reason is, they all have doctorates in their fields, and men who specialize in their areas are incredibly rare.
"Any profession that requires a doctorate tends to be respected… Chemists, physicians, psychiatrists…"
"Yes, yes, that's all well and good," interrupted Yumi, rolling her eyes. "The probable reason why you don't get the same level of respect is because you use your education the wrong way. You're an enforcer for Daala. That's nuts if you ask me. An assassin does not need a doctorate! What you should have done was teach."
"That's what all doctors do!" snarled Doresain. "Excuse me for trying to be original!"
It's pointless trying to reason with him, thought Yumi. I gotta win this duel fast…
She drew a card.
"I Flip-Summon my Magician of Faith!" she exclaimed.
Her facedown card flipped up, and Magician of Faith appeared. (300/400)
"Now, I get back my Monster Reborn," she said, as the card appeared in her hand. "And now I'll play it."
In a flash of light, Magician's Valkyria appeared. (1,600/1,800)
"Next, I sacrifice both her and Magician of Faith…"
Both of the lesser Spellcasters vanished into grains of light.
Dark Magician appeared, making a dramatic pose. (2,500/2,100)
"Ah, so what?" yawned Doresain. "That guy is overrated. Like caviar. He's something everyone wants, but something that you wouldn't want once you had."
Yumi closed her eyes.
Must not fly into rage… she thought.
She opened her eyes.
"I'm not done," said Yumi, playing another Spell Card. "Next, Pot of Avarice."
She took Magician's Valkyria, Magician of Faith, Skilled Dark Magician, Valkyria, and Goddess with the Third Eye from her discard slot, and quickly reshuffled. She drew two cards.
"Next up, Magical Stone Excavation," she said, as another Spell Card appeared. "So I'll toss these…"
She discarded her Polymerization and Kycoo.
"…and I get another Spell Card back…"
She took another card from her discard slot.
"This one," she said, holding it up.
"Rush Recklessly?!" gasped Doresain.
"That's right!" exclaimed Yumi, playing it.
Dark Magician glowed with energy, as his Attack Score rose to 3,200.
"Destroy his Golem!" she ordered. "Dark Magic Attack!"
Dark Magician fired a mighty blast that shot right through the giant construct, sending gears, cogs, and other broken pieces of machinery flying out its back. Ancient Gear Golem teetered for a minute. Its right arm fell off, followed by its left, then its head. What remained crashed to the ground.
"Curse you, Yumi!" shouted Doresain, shaking his fist, as the debris disintegrated.
"Dark Magician Girl," commanded Yumi, "attack his other Monster!"
Dark Magician Girl fired a blast at the facedown card. Ancient Gear Engineer appeared on it, and was blown into scrap.
(Y: 4,000) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 7,200)
"Well, Doresain has more Life Points," said Sam, "but Yumi is the one with field advantage now. She may have turned it around."
Doresain drew a card.
"You haven't won yet," he said. "I'm playing my own Pot of Avarice."
He played the card, and the Golem, Beast, Knight, and both Soldiers fell out of his discard slot. He shuffled them into his deck and drew twice.
He chuckled.
"Well…" he said. "Time to write the prescription for utter destruction!
"I set one card facedown on the field…"
A facedown card appeared.
"Then I play… Future Fusion!"
A Spell Card appeared, and he took his deck out of the holder.
"I simply have to send Fusion Material Monsters to the Graveyard, and in two short turns, the matching Fusion Monster appears."
"He's going to summon the Chimeratech Overdragon!" gasped Erik.
Doresain laughed out loud.
"Oh, I wish!" he laughed. "That fool Bandit Keith was an idiot to think that Daala would ever give him that card. Its Spirit is so dangerous, and so hard to control, Daala would only allow someone who could channel the power of the Core to use it. So I don't have that card. I'm summoning something quite different."
He held up three cards.
"So, I'm sending my Ancient Gear Golem, and two Ancient Gears."
He tossed them into his discard slot.
"And that will end my turn."
"Ancient Gear Golem and two Ancient Gears?" said Erik. "What the Hell kind of Fusion Monster do they summon?"
"Wait…" muttered Sam.
She paused.
"I heard stories about this… Stories about the Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem…
"It was designed to be a Fusion of Ancient Gear Golem and any two other Ancient Gear Monsters. Pegasus designed this card personally. But only five copies of the card, the prototypes, were ever made.
"I know that Dr. Vellian Crowler, likely the most famous duelist to use Ancient Gears, owned one of them. Exactly how he got it, I have no idea.
"As for the other four, they eventually fell into the hands of rich collectors, and were never used in duels."
Doresain chuckled.
"One of those 'rich collectors' was Rasputin, I'll have you know," he said. "He gave it to Tucker, hoping he'd use it in that duel where you teamed up with Yumi. Sadly, Tucker never drew his Polymerization card.
"As for how I got this, I convinced Daala to download the information off of the I2 website to construct a virtual duplicate. It wasn't easy…"
"Wasn't easy to duplicate it," said Aster, "or wasn't easy to convince her?"
"Both!" growled Doresain, with a frown.
He turned to Yumi.
"But it will all be worth it once I use it to smash you to pieces!"
"Don't count on it!" snarled Yumi, drawing a card. "You have no Monsters, and I have two powerful ones!
"Time for Magician's Valkyria to make her reappearance!"
She played a card, and Valkyria appeared again. (1,600/1,800)
"Surprise," said Doresain, "I have a Trap…"
His facedown card lifted.
"Wall of Revealing Light! This requires me to spend my Life Points, and I'm gonna spend a whopping 3,000 of them!
"Sure it's expensive, but now, you can't attack with any Monster that has less Attack Points than the amount of Life Points I just spent."
Yumi looked at him hard.
(Y: 4,000) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 4,200)
"Your Trap Card isn't indestructible…" muttered Yumi.
"True," said Doresain. "But you've already used your Heavy Storm. Any other card you have that can destroy Spells or Traps can only destroy one of them."
There was a long pause.
"Wait…" said Aster. "I see what he means…"
"What?" asked Sam.
"That Fusion Monster he's going to summon has all the powers of Ancient Gear Golem, meaning it's resistant to Traps," explained Aster, "and it likely has more Attack Points than anything Yumi can summon. The best way Yumi could defeat it would be by destroying the Future Fusion card.
"But if she does that, she won't be able to destroy Wall of Revealing Light until she draws something else that's capable of doing it, and her attacks will be sealed off!"
"The Rock and the Hard Place," muttered Yumi. "I hate to say it, but this guy Iis/I pretty smart…
"I have to end my turn…"
Doresain quickly drew a card.
"My Ultimate beast won't show up until next turn," he chuckled. "In the meantime, I'll chip away at your Life Points some more…
"I summon Ancient Gear Cannon."
A squat Machine, resembling a mass of gears with a turret and a cannon barrel, appeared in front of him. (500/500)
"Then," he said, taking his last card, "the Spell Card, Machine Duplication. Since my Cannon only has 500 points, this lets me Special Summon two more."
Two more of the squat Machines appeared.
"Now, by sacrificing them, each one blasts off 500 of your Life Points!
"FIRE!"
All three cannons fired hot shells from their barrels. Yumi screamed and staggered back as explosions ripped around her. She fell over.
(Y: 2,500) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 4,200)
She picked herself up, panting for breath.
"What are you made of?" asked Doresain.
"Flesh, blood, bone, nerve," replied Yumi, "and apparently, a driving force who's been waiting to fight Shogarr for millennia."
"Eh?" said Doresain. "Who's Shogarr?"
Yumi looked at him. She paused for a minute.
The first possibility is, she thought, Daala has nothing to do with Shogarr, and I'm being paranoid. The other one is, she doesn't tell most members of her army about him.
But I'll figure that out later…
She reached for her deck.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sheena bent down and looked at the odd cluster of crystals.
"What is this?" she said out loud. "A geode?"
She picked it up.
"If it is, I've never seen one this big…"
"Hey!" said a voice.
Sheena leapt up, ready to confront the new enemy.
Her face met with Jesse's.
"Whoa, too much caffeine, Ms. Arachne!" he laughed.
"Uh, yeah…" she muttered.
"Hey, look," said Jesse, "I was watching your duel with Doma… Thanks for getting rid of her, she was a real pain…
"I was going to duel her myself… I recognized her cards only too well…"
"Uhm…" muttered Sheena. "I take it you're part of the resistance in Xanadu?"
"That's right," he replied. "If you came looking for your daughter, the Duel Spirits who have joined us since she and the others got here think very highly of her."
"That's my girl…" sighed Sheena. "Look… I have a lot of information… If you could just show me to whoever the rebel leader is, I guarantee it would be for your benefit…
"Oh, and do you know what this thing is?"
She pointed to the cluster of crystals.
"Hmm…" pondered Jesse. "No idea… That's what Doma was working on, right? This is certainly new…
"Whenever Daala tries something new, it's bad news…
"We'd best get to the safe area before any more of her goons show up. This way. And bring it with you."
Sheena followed him, carrying the odd gemstone. Things certainly were looking up…
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Yumi looked at the card she had drawn.
"I'll set this facedown," she said, as a facedown card appeared. "Then I'll set a Monster in Defense Mode, and move Valkyria to Defense Mode."
A facedown Monster appeared. Then Valkyria knelt and crossed her arms.
"Please," laughed Doresain. "It will hardly matter what Mode she's in."
He drew a card.
"This is it!" he shouted, as the Future Fusion card started to glow with energy. "Arise, Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem!"
Yumi had expected a big Monster, but not this big. The Monster that appeared was fully twice the size of the regular Ancient Gear Golem, looking almost too big to be real. It resembled a clockwork, iron centaur, with four legs and oversized arms. Generally, it appeared somewhat unbalanced and unwieldy, with far too many blades and other cutting implements. Clearly, whatever blend of magic and technology had created such a device was designed in the mind of a madman. (4,400/3,400)
"This duel is over!" laughed Doresain.
"Not yet it isn't," said Yumi. "Go, Threatening Roar!"
Her facedown card shot up, and a bellowing roar echoed across the field.
"That's impossible!" he gasped. "How could you have drawn that just when you needed it?"
"Like I said, Doresain," said Yumi. "I have inborn ability, something that all duelists need, which a diploma can't give you.
"Not even tenure can give it to you!"
"SHUT UP!" yelled Doresain. "We'll see who laughs last. I end my turn!"
"I draw!" shouted Yumi, drawing.
She looked at the card.
Her facedown Monster flipped up.
"Go, Morphing Jar!" she shouted.
The ceramic jar with its laughing occupant appeared. (700/600)
Both duelists discarded the one card in their hands, and drew five times.
Yumi's eyes opened wide when she saw what one of the cards was.
The card that Joan gave me… she thought. Just when it would be most useful…
She chose another card.
"I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior!" she shouted.
In a burst of dark energy, Breaker appeared. (1,600/1,000) –) (1,900/1,000)
"Destroy Future Fusion!" he ordered. "Take down his Golem!"
Breaker's shield glowed, as his Attack Points fell to 1,600. The Future Fusion card shattered, and Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem groaned. Then it exploded into shards of metal.
Doresain laughed out loud.
"You fell for it hook, line and sinker!" he laughed. "I gave you a choice, Yumi, but both of them led to dead ends!
"Since you destroyed Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, another effect activates. I get to break the rules, and Special Summon a normal Ancient Gear Golem from my Graveyard!"
In another burst of dirt and dust, the regular Ancient Gear Golem rose above the field. (3,000/3,000)
"Indeed?" said Yumi, with a grin. "Well, I'm gonna wipe that silly smile off your face, Mr. MD. It's time I called in a specialist.
"I sacrifice Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl…"
The two Spellcasters held hands, as an aura of eldritch energy surrounded them. They rose into the air, and slowly vanished as the aura started to intensify…
Huh? thought Doresain. Sacrificing two of her strongest Monsters?
"By giving my two Dark Magicians as sacrifice," continued Yumi, "I can Special Summon a magician who's darker still. Come forth… Sorcerer of Dark Magic!"
He emerged from the aura… A magician garbed in raiment similar to that of Dark Magician, but even more pronounced and exotic, with a long cape and an even fancier staff. His eyes glowed with great magical power. (3,200/2,800)
"Thirty-two hundred Attack Points?" gasped Doresain.
"And that's strong enough to bust through your Wall of Revealing Light," said Yumi.
"Attack his Golem! Celestial blast!"
Sorcerer of Dark Magic fired a beam of burning darkness at the Machine, and it exploded in a burst of metal shards. Doresain covered his head as shrapnel rained down on him.
(Y: 2,500) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 4,000)
"My turn is over…" said Yumi.
Doresain growled as he drew a card.
"I'm not done yet," he snarled. "Time for my backup plan.
"First, I'll conjure up my Ancient Gear Castle."
He placed a card in his Disk, and with a loud rumble, a huge castle, also made out of gears, cogs, and camshafts, with a battering ram coming out of its front gate, and gun turrets on it towers, appeared behind him.
"Now, any Monster with the word 'Ancient' in its name gains 300 Attack Points.
"Next, I'll summon Ancient Gear Soldier again."
The Soldier appeared again, this time in Attack Mode. (1,300/1,300) –) (1,600/1,300)
A torch lit in one of the castle's windows.
"Attack her Morphing Jar!" he shouted. "Rapid-fire shot!"
The Soldier aimed its gun, and fired a burst of hot lead at the vase. Yumi cringed again as it exploded.
(Y: 1,600) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 4,000)
"Now, I play Ancient Gear Drill."
He played a card, and then discarded another.
A large drilling Machine appeared on the field. It bored into the ground, as a card slipped out of his deck.
"This card lets me search for any Spell Card I desire and set it on the field, even though I can't use it this turn."
He chuckled, and flipped the card around.
"Limiter Removal?" gasped Sam.
Doresain fit it in his Disk, and it appeared facedown.
"Finally," he said, "I play Ancient Gear Workshop. Now, I get an Ancient Gear Monster from my Graveyard."
Ancient Gear Golem slipped out of his discard slot, and he took it.
"And it's your move…"
"This is bad, people," said Sam. "If Yumi attacks, he'll obviously trigger that Spell Card, and Ancient Gear Soldier and Sorcerer of Dark Magic will kill each other. Yumi will lose the only Monster she has that's able to attack."
"Even worse," said Erik, "she can't play another Monster. If she does, that Castle will gain enough power for him to use it to summon the Golem again. And if he uses Limiter Removal when that's on the field."
Yumi closed her eyes and drew a card.
She looked at it.
"I summon… Apprentice Magician!" she exclaimed.
A new Spellcaster appeared. It wasn't often that this one was summoned in Attack Mode, so not many of Yumi's opponents ever saw her clearly. She was a short (somewhat petite) female mage, clothed in a purple tunic, with blonde hair, holding a long staff with a triangle design on the front. (400/800)
A second torch lit in the castle.
"Huh?" said Doresain.
"When Apprentice Magician is summoned," explained Yumi, "she can put a Spell Counter on any card that can take one. Like Breaker!"
Apprentice Magician's staff glowed, and she pointed at Breaker. The gem in his shield started to shine again, and he rose to 1,900 Attack Points again.
Then he fell to 1,600 again, and the Wall of Revealing Light shattered.
"Bah!" shouted Doresain. "Big deal! I still have Limiter Removal, and next turn, I'll summon my Golem and finish you off!
"If you had any sense you would have destroyed the Castle. Then you might have kept me from summoning the Golem for at least two turns."
"But you aren't getting even one more turn, Doresain," said Yumi. "Your Limiter Removal will be worthless in a minute.
"I play Magical Dimension!"
The Spell Card appeared in front of her.
"I sacrifice Apprentice Magician…"
The female mage vanished into grains of light.
"To summon Dark Magician of Chaos!"
In a burst of dark energy the mighty Chaos Mage appeared, brandishing his scepter. (2,800/2,600)
"And as per the second effect of Magical Dimension, I can destroy one Monster. Guess which one…"
Ancient Gear Soldier shattered into pixels.
"Urk!" gasped Doresain.
Sorcerer of Dark Magic and Dark Magician of Chaos pointed their staffs at him.
"This isn't fair!" gasped Doresain. "My strategy was perfect… I went over everything a thousand times… I had the more logical strategy, dammit!"
"Yeah, well," said Yumi, "you didn't take one thing into account.
"I'm a teenager. I'm not a very logical person.
"Put the doctor in intensive care."
Dr. Doresain screamed as two powerful bolts of black magic honed in on him. The Ancient Gear Castle was blown to pieces by the impact, and rubble rained down on him, a big piece falling on his head and crushing his hat. He collapsed on his face.
(Y: 1,600) - - - - - - - - - - (D: 0)
"Hand it over, NOW!" demanded Yumi.
Doresain took some deep breaths, and sat up.
"Take it!" he shouted, tossing her the card. "By all means, go up into the belfry and confront the executioner. Try to save your friends, if you think you can...
"Because you can't. Even if you don't arrive too late, she'll dispose of them, and then do the same to you! She can't be beaten!"
"She?" said Aster.
Doresain chuckled.
"She is a force of Chaos whose very name causes Duel Spirits to tremble with fear…" he said. "They see her in nightmares where they also see ruined cities under burning skies… She is a name associated with cataclysms and dooms, for such are things she wishes to cause.
"She is one of two… She is the fallen angel who can see the Apocalypse in her dreams…
"Daala's executioner is Ruin, Queen of Oblivion!"
He laughed an evil laugh as he vanished, leaving behind three teenagers and one AI program, all four of them terrified.
Yumi turned to Stronghold the Moving Fortress.
"I play Counter Cleaner!" she exclaimed.
A weird machine appeared in front of her. It looked like a large, industrial-strength vacuum cleaner shaped like the Pot of Greed.
The on switch turned on, and the vacuum cleaner started sucking through its nose, sucking minute specs off of the huge robot. It took all of ten seconds before it turned off, and then vanished.
"Destroy it!" shouted Yumi to Sorcerer of Dark Magic.
The Spellcaster aimed his staff, and Stronghold exploded.
"Uh, Yumi?" said Erik, as they ran into the Cathedral. "Ruin is a goddess of destruction. Exactly what are we gonna do once we get up there?"
"We'll figure that out when we get there," said Yumi.
Hopefully… she thought.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
GEAR TOWN (Spell Card)
Field Spell
Image: A city, the buildings made of metal gears and cogs,
Card Description: "Ancient Gear" Monsters require one less Tribute to Normal Summon. When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, its controller may Special Summon an "Ancient Gear" Monster from his hand, deck, or Graveyard.
Note: "Gear Town" was released in Japan in "The Duelist Genesis", available for the TCG in August.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
UNFINISHED TIME BOX (Trap Card)
Continuous Trap
Image: A circuit box on a computer motherboard being fixed with soldiering irons.
Card Description: Activate this card when a Monster you control is destroyed as a result of battle. Remove from play the Monster that attacked, and draw one card from your deck. If this card is destroyed, Special Summon the Monster that was removed from play to its owner's side of the field in Attack Position.
Note: "Unfinished Time Box" was first used by Crowler in a fourth season episode of "Yu-Gi-Oh GX". Creative credit goes to the creators of that episode.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SILENT PAIN (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: Malice Doll of Demise with an evil smile on its face.
Card Description: You can activate the effect of this card when it is the only card in your Graveyard. During your opponent's Standby Phase, destroy all Monsters on your opponent's side of the field, and inflict 1,000 points of direct damage to your opponent.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SILENT SPACE (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: Malice Doll of Demise standing in a void of swirling colors, holding the Doll Hammer.
Card Description: You may only activate this card during your opponent's turn, when "Silent Pain" is the only card in your Graveyard. Remove this card in your hand from play to destroy one Monster on your opponent's side of the field.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SILENT TORMENT (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: Malice Doll of Demise lurking behind a nervous-looking man.
Card Description: You may only activate this card during your opponent's Standby Phase when the effect of "Silent Pain" activates. Remove this card in your hand from play to inflict an additional 1,000 points of direct damage to your opponent's Life Points.
Note: "Silent Pain", "Silent Space", and "Silent Torment" were first used by Masked Knight of Impassivityin the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode "Triple Play (Part Two)". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SILENT VENGEANCE (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: Malice Doll of Demise, partially hidden by shadow, holding a dagger.
Card Description: You can activate the effect of this card during your opponent's End Phase when both this card and "Silent Pain" are in your Graveyard and you have no Monsters in your Graveyard. Remove from play all Spell Cards in your Graveyard except for one "Silent Pain". Inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the amount of damage you took during the turn due to attacks and card effects controlled by your opponent.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coming up next:
You all have likely been worried sick about Ren and Chelsea, since I left their fate ambiguous. Well, you finally know the identity of their abductor, and next chapter, you'll learn what was happening as Yumi was struggling to win her way into the Cathedral. In a duel against one of the most dreaded Spirits in existence, one draw can mean the difference between survival or doom. It's a chapter called "Parasite of Light", coming up next.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Name that Card!
Careful examination of the artwork for this Beast-Type Monster's card reveals that its name is actually "Beth". Can you name it?