What Dragon did Zane have in his original deck? If you said "Kaiser Glider", you were successfully able to Name that Card!
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
In his heyday, Atticus Rhodes, the older of the two Rhodes siblings, had many admirable qualities. He was charming, knowledgeable, popular with the ladies, and above all, a pretty good duelist. In his class at the original Duel Academy, he was likely right behind his close friend Zane Truesdale in terms of skill.
Unfortunately, this was what drew the attention of the demonic being known as Nightshroud. Using trickery, this being abducted Atticus, and buried his consciousness in a remote part of his mind. Then Nightshroud used his body as a vessel to extend his will in the mortal world, as he wasn't yet strong enough to manifest his true form.
Fortunately, when Nightshroud first decided to strike as one of the Shadow Riders, he made a mistake that many who faced Jaden Yuki did at that point – underestimating him. Jaden defeated him, and Atticus was freed from his control.
Nightshroud returned, twice possessing Atticus again, once in another, more willing vessel, and eventually in his true form. The last time, his defeat was apparently final, and he has not been seen since.
And what of Atticus? He went on to become a great duelist in the Pro League, until the tragic accident where he and many of Jaden's other allies vanished and were presumed dead.
I know all this, because I'm a copy of the duelist who bore Nightshroud on his shoulders. His memories are programmed into my head, as are his skills and personality. Joan knew the potential he had, and gave Atticus a new life in Xanadu. My purpose is to oppose Daala and her minions…
One of them just showed up… So what am I waiting for?
0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Special of the Day
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
"Is it much farther, Atticus?" asked Erik.
"Not much," replied their guide. "We should be able to see it in about an hour.
"Although, the Realm Lord's fortress is not unguarded. Several Fire Monsters patrol the outskirts. But getting past them isn't usually a problem…"
"So, Atticus," said Yumi, "you actually have three Red-Eyes in your deck?"
Atticus nodded.
"I know the story behind the card," he said. "Pegasus originally designed Red-Eyes as a symbolic rival of the more powerful Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Originally, both cards were going to be given a limited release.
"But for some reason, that was only the case with Red-Eyes. It was given a limited release, making it a very rare card, while only four copies total of its rival, the prototypes, were ever made.
"Heck, according to some stories, Red-Eyes didn't get along very well with Dark Magician either, the more prominent rival of the Blue-Eyes, making it a three-way rivalry…"
"And making the situation between my two grandfathers and Seto Kaiba even stranger than it already was," replied Yumi.
"Exactly," continued Atticus. "Now, when you look at it, Red-Eyes isn't all that special as far as cards go. It's Level Seven, no effect, and many Level Six Monsters are stronger. Even Blue-Eyes is outclassed nowadays. Seems that Monsters with 3,000 Attack Points or more are turning up all over the place.
"But since Red-Eyes was more common than its rival, it got some help. Accessory cards began to be made, more special edition and limited release cards for anyone lucky enough to own one."
"Like Lord of the Red," said Yugi.
"That's only one example," replied Atticus. "There are many more. And pretty soon…"
"Ergh!" shouted Erik.
He clutched his head.
"What?" shouted Sam. "What is it baby?"
"He's having one of his visions!" answered Yumi. "It's been so long since he's had one."
Erik concentrated.
"No…" he whispered.
"What was it baby?" asked Sam.
Erik looked at Sam.
"It was too foggy, Sam…" he said. "I… I couldn't see it clearly…"
He looked at Sam sadly.
He was lying. He had seen Sam dueling, and saw her taking a very powerful direct attack. But he couldn't see just what the Monster or her opponent was.
"I think…" he said.
He paused. He sniffed the air.
"That's funny… I could swear that the smell of brimstone that we've been taking in suddenly changed to grilled shrimp."
Everyone sniffed the air.
"I smell it too, Erik," said Yumi. "Someone is grilling jumbo shrimp around here…"
"There!" shouted Ren.
He pointed down a side pathway, towards a rocky depression. Jean-Claude was standing by a hibachi grill, casually grilling food.
Atticus carefully led them down the pathway.
"Bonjour, Monsieurs," he said. "A nice day, is it not?"
"Hardly," replied Sam. "And this really isn't the place for a barbecue. Who the heck are you?"
"I am Jean-Claude Rousseau!" he exclaimed.
He placed his spatula on the grill table, and then picked up a Duel Disk.
"And I am a duelist of a different taste entirely. One vith abilities you could not imagine!"
"Give me a break," sighed Erik. "What are you, Daala's chef?"
Jean-Claude glared at him.
"Think you know everything, smarty pants?" asked Jean-Claude. "Vy don't you duel me, and zen maybe you'll believe?"
"Oh, I just think I will," chuckled Erik.
"Stand aside, Erik," said Atticus. "Save your energy for the big guy. I'll handle this Emeril Lagasse wannabe."
He placed his deck in his Disk, and it activated.
"Very well, Monsieur Rhodes," said Jean-Claude, rolling the grill to the side. "Today, I serve up a multi-course banquet of pain on a silver platter!"
"Bring it on!" laughed Atticus. "I was feeling a little hungry for some action anyway!"
He tossed the Cold Wave card to Yumi.
"Use that before the heat starts getting to you again."
"Not necessary, Atticus," said Sam. "I have it covered…"
She concentrated, and an aura of cold energy started to radiate from her body. Everyone moved closer to her.
"Refreshing," said Erik. "Keep it up, baby."
(Atticus: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Jean-Claude: 8,000)
"Here goes," said Atticus, drawing a card.
He looked at it. He smirked slightly, and then chose another one.
"I summon… This! The Red-Eyes Wyvern!"
In a burst of shadow, a black-scaled Dragon appeared in front of him. It looked much like a smaller version of the more famous Dragon, only with no front legs. (1,800/1,600)
Sam noticed that Yumi was writing something down in a notebook.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Taking notes," said Yumi, "in case I ever want to make a deck using my grandpa Joey's Red-Eyes. If I know how Atticus's cards work, they'll help.
"Of course, the hard part will be getting two more copies of Red-Eyes itself…"
"There'll be harder parts than that," said Atticus. "Some of the cards in this deck are even rarer than Red-Eyes.
"I'll set two facedown cards, and that will be all."
Two facedown cards appeared.
"Oui, oui," said Jean-Claude, making a draw. "Time for an appetizer…
"I summon Mad Lobster."
It a burst of watery bubbles, a very large lobster appeared. It had huge pincers, and a skull for a head. (1,700/1,000)
"You like lobster, monsieur?"
"I prefer steak," replied Atticus.
"Zen perhaps I'll make you one out of zat Dragon!" laughed Jean-Claude, playing a card. "I play Banner of Courage. Now, for my Battle Phase only, my Monsters gain 200 Attack Points.
"Mad Lobster, attack his Monster at once!"
Mad Lobster lifted its pincers, and clapped them together. Its Attack Score rose to 1,900. It scuttled towards Red-Eyes Wyvern.
"Did you actually think these facedown cards didn't do anything?" asked Atticus, as one facedown card lifted. "I activate Dragon's Heart!"
He took his deck from its holder.
"By choosing three Dragons from my deck, and sending them to the Graveyard, this Spell Card gives one of my Dragons on the field a power surge."
He discarded a Cave Dragon, Attachment Dragon, and a Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Red-Eyes Wyvern glowed with energy, and rose to an Attack Score of 2,800.
It blasted a stream of scorching fire from its jaws, and Mad Lobster shrieked before exploding into pixels.
"That lobster just got boiled," chuckled Ren.
"Curses…" growled Jean-Claude. "I'll set a facedown card of my own, and end my turn."
A facedown card appeared in front of him.
(A: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 7,100)
"My move…" said Atticus, drawing a card.
"And I summon Hunter Dragon!"
He played the card, and a smallish dragon with blades on its wings, tail, and chin appeared. (1,700/100)
"Now I've got something for you to sample," he said. "Two direct attacks!
"Hunter Dragon, you first!"
Hunter Dragon leapt into the air and did a somersault, lashing its bladed tail at the chef. It slammed into him.
"Sacré bleu!" exclaimed Jean-Claude, clutching his chest.
"Wyvern, you're up!" shouted Atticus.
Red-Eyes Wyvern exhaled a stream of flames, and Jean-Claude grunted as he shielded himself.
(A: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 3,600)
"Look, Frenchie," chuckled Atticus, "I think I know what's happening here… You're some wannabe duelist who wants to get Daala's favor by trying to win this duel. Well, in my opinion, you're doing lousy. Why don't you just give up now, and keep what little pride you have?"
"You know nothing about me, Monsieur Rhodes," growled Jean-Claude. "If you did, you'd know zat I lost all ze pride I had a long time ago. Zis duel is my only way to get it back.
"I'm an AI program like you, modeled after ze chef that Daala's father used to have. I didn't exist in Xanadu for an hour before she told me to make her a roast beef sandwich. And zen she complained zat I had used regular mustard instead of ze spicy kind.
"I work and slave all day over a hot stove for her and ze members of her inner circle. Zey make demands over and over again, running me to exhaustion. For creatures who don't need to eat, zey eat too much!
"I've burned all my bridges by coming here, and zis is my only chance. I'm not about to give up.
"It's my move!"
He drew a card.
"I summon Ze Bistro Butcher!"
In an aura of darkness, the fiendish chef that Sam commonly used appeared, holding his well-used cleaver. (1,800/1,000)
"Zat's not all," he said, as his facedown card activated. "I also activate Pineapple Blast. Zis Trap Card destroys your Monsters until you have ze same number zat I have. But on ze bright side, you get to choose which one stays and which one goes."
Atticus looked at him.
"I choose to keep Hunter Dragon!" he shouted.
A large bomb that looked like a pineapple made of metal rolled onto the field, towards Red-Eyes Wyvern. Atticus braced himself as the Wyvern was blown to pieces.
"Huh?" said Ren. "Why did Atticus choose to spare his weaker Monster?"
"You got me," said Yumi.
"You know," chuckled Jean-Claude, "in ze army, 'pineapple' is a slang term for a grenade. Guess you found zat out.
"Butcher, frappe his Hunter Dragon!"
The Bistro Butcher raised his cleaver, and his Attack Score rose to 2,000. He made a slash, and Hunter Dragon burst into metal shards.
"You apparently forgot about your Monster's effect," said Atticus. "I get to draw two cards now."
He made two draws.
"Vatever," replied Jean-Claude. "I set two facedown cards, and zen play Mirage of Nightmare."
Two more facedown cards appeared, and then the familiar Mirage card appeared.
(A: 7,700) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 5,600)
"My draw," said Atticus, drawing a card.
"Mine as well, thanks to my Mirage card," said Jean-Claude.
He made four draws.
"And now, I play Emergency Provisions. Ask any soldier, K-Rations aren't too pleasant, but zey are good for energy."
His facedown card lifted up, and both Mirage of Nightmare and Banner of Courage dissolved into light.
Atticus closed his eyes and grinned.
"Not gonna do much this turn," he said. "I'm going to skip all the way to my End Phase…
"You see, on a turn where I don't summon a Monster, and Red-Eyes Wyvern is in my Graveyard, I can remove it from play to summon something better from my Graveyard…"
An explosion of fire erupted on the field, and a dark form loomed over him…
Red-Eyes Black Dragon had arrived. (2,400/2,000)
"I'm finished…" he said.
Jean-Claude cursed in French, and drew a card.
Then he chuckled.
"First, I play a second Banner of Courage," he said, as the Spell Card appeared again.
"I seem to recall you saying you preferred steak. Vell, give ze customer vat he wants, I always say. I summon Great Angus!"
In a burst of fire, a new Monster appeared. It looked like a savage, humanoid, tusked bull, with no horns and red skin. It roared with rage. (1,800/600)
"I kind of like it a little more well done than that," muttered Atticus.
"Afraid you won't be eating this," said Jean-Claude. "It vill more likely be eating you. I play ze Spell Card Riyoku.
"Now, I can take half of ze Attack Score of your Monster, and give it to my Butcher."
Everyone gasped as Red-Eyes fell to an Attack Score of 1,200, while The Bistro Butcher rose to 3,000.
"And before I attack, I'll activate my facedown card," he said, as his Trap Card lifted. "It's called Greed. Sure, my Monster lets you draw extra cards, but vith zis card on ze field, doing so vill hurt you, costing you 500 Life Points for each extra card drawn.
"Butcher, attack his Red-Eyes!"
The Bistro Butcher faced Red-Eyes, and his Attack Score rose even further, to 3,200. He leapt at the huge Dragon, and slashed with his cleaver. Yumi looked away as the Dragon shattered.
Atticus cringed.
He slowly drew two cards.
"I'm not done vith you," continued Jean-Claude. "Great Angus, attack him directly!"
Great Angus roared again, and its Attack Score rose to 2,000. It lunged at Atticus.
"I don't think so," said Atticus, as his facedown card lifted. "I activate Red-Eyes Spirits! I can activate this card when a Monster with the words 'Red-Eyes' in its name is destroyed, and bring it right back to the field."
In an explosion of energy, Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared again.
"So your Angus is gonna have to back off…"
Great Angus whimpered in fear, and backed away from the huge Dragon.
"Very well, Monsieur," replied Jean-Claude. "I end my turn, vich means ze effect of my Trap Card activates."
Atticus groaned as a fiery aura surrounded him.
(A: 4,700) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 5,600)
"Am I imagining things?" asked Erik. "Or did this clown just take the lead?"
"You aren't imagining things," replied Sam. "But don't worry… This guy is using Red-Eyes. You know, Joey Wheeler's best Monster? The same guy who stood up to Marik in Battle City and survived Ra's Phoenix Mode?
"I often wonder how he managed that…"
"I asked him once," replied Yumi. "He said he had no idea. Heck, no-one had any idea! That attack was powerful enough to destroy the other two God Cards!"
"Yeah, well," said Sam, "if Atticus has his Monster, he must have enough of his dumb luck to beat this idiot."
Atticus sighed.
"You're confidence in me is so reassuring…" he muttered.
He drew a card.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Meanwhile, Joan was looking through a large tome in her library.
"Whoever this Testament is," she muttered, "there's no record of it in the history of the Higher Plane… But it might be native to another of the Dimensions… If I look long enough, I'm pretty sure I can find a reference here somewhere…"
As she perused the pages, a Mokey Mokey floated over her shoulder and curiously looked at what she was reading. Joan didn't take notice for about a minute.
She grimaced.
"Look little guy," she said, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't read over my shoulder. It's distracting."
The Mokey Mokey didn't say anything. It just floated away.
Joan went back to the book.
Then she looked up in surprise.
"READ over my shoulder?" she said. "Mokey Mokeys can read?"
She looked behind her, but it was gone.
Then Sheena walked in.
"No luck, Ms. Arachne?" asked Joan.
"None," replied Sheena. "Gaining control of my own computer was one thing… Gaining control of Daala's communication network is quite another. She's pretty adamant about making sure no messages go out of Xanadu that she doesn't approve of."
"Tell me about it," replied Joan. "I've only communicated with Dr. Ting via e-mail three times since I got to Xanadu. Each time, I had to find an opening in Daala's system that was caused by some glitch. And each time I had finished, the opening was fixed, and subsequently closed, forcing me to wait for another opening.
"Perhaps the only way to get a proper message out would be to sabotage Daala's system somehow, creating a big opening… A window that would create a large blind spot in her defenses.
"Unfortunately, I have no idea how we're gonna do that."
"Hey, Joan!" shouted Jesse's voice.
He came running into the room.
"The book you asked Doriado to send you came."
He handed her a tome.
"Finally!" muttered Joan, taking it. "Hopefully, this may shed some light on our Testament…"
She opened the old book and skimmed a few pages.
"Oh… Thank you so much, Doriado!" she said with a hint of frustration. "I just know she does this because I always beat her at chess…"
"What?" asked Sheena.
"It's written in Ancient Draconic," muttered Joan.
"Do you know it?" asked Sheena.
"This language is incredibly ancient, Ms. Arachne," muttered Joan. "It's older than Hebrew. The only creatures today that actually speak this language are Dragons who are at least five-thousand years old who were born on the Isle of the Elders, and they're in short supply. This book likely came from the libraries of the Isle itself…"
"Where's that?" asked Sheena.
"It's the ancestral home of dragonkind," replied Joan. "No living beings other than Dragons have ever seen it. They don't allow visitors. But who can blame them? The place supposedly contains the source of the race's power, records of their entire history, and hordes of wealth that would put Fort Knox to shame. They can't risk interlopers going there to try to steal their heritage. I have no idea how this book ever left their archives.
"But anyway, Modern Draconic evolved from this language, so maybe I can translate it to the more modern version first, and from there translate it to the common language.
"Maybe, that is. But it may take some time…"
She looked at one page.
"Say… I already recognize something here…"
She pointed to a symbol, one that resembled an eye on a pedestal, inside a pentagon.
"Hmm… That's pretty universal… The symbol of Boccob…"
"Boccob?" asked Sheena.
"An incredibly powerful entity worshipped as the god of magic," replied Joan. "He's known as The Uncaring, The Lord of All Magic, and The Archmage of the Deities…"
"The Uncaring?" asked Sheena.
"Boccob is incredibly powerful," replied Sheena. "But he is known for taking a completely neutral stance in almost every struggle. Good and Evil, Law and Chaos… Things like that don't concern him. He's a very aloof deity. He only cares about the accumulation and distribution of knowledge and magical power."
"A god of magic…" muttered Sheena. "And Yumi uses Spellcaster Monsters…"
"We'll keep that in mind…" replied Joan. "I'll get to work translating this, and we'll see what we can find out…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Atticus looked at the card he had drawn.
Polymerization.
That's the ticket, he thought, as a grin appeared on his face.
He chose another card.
"I play this!" he said. "The Spell Card, Inferno Fire Blast! Now, if my Red-Eyes doesn't actually attack this round, he can really do some damage, burning you for an amount equal to his Attack Score!"
"Say what?" said Jean-Claude.
"Red-Eyes," ordered Atticus, "give him a taste of his own cooking!"
Red-Eyes's eyes glowed like pools of molten lava, and his jaws opened. A blast of burning flame shot out of his jaws, honing in on Jean-Claude. The chef screamed as the flames covered him and started to burn.
"Whoa…" said Ren.
"And double-whoa…" added Chelsea.
(A: 4,700) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 3,200)
"I'm not done with you," said Atticus. "Since my Red-Eyes can't attack this round, I'm trading him in for someone better…
"I play Polymerization, fusing Red-Eyes Black Dragon with Meteor Dragon…"
Another Dragon appeared on the field, this one with a spherical body that suggested a large boulder, with small wings and a beaklike snout.
The two Dragons turned to orbs of fire, and then combined into a flaming pinwheel of energy…
"I summon Meteor Black Dragon!"
The pinwheel exploded, and a much bigger Dragon was hovering in the air. It was not lithe, like most Dragons, but hulking, with violet skin covered with red veins that glowed like fire. (3,500/2,000)
"Sacré nom d'un chien!" exclaimed Jean-Claude.
"Yeah, that's what they all say," said Atticus with a frown. "Attack The Bistro Butcher! Burning Dark Meteor!"
It was hard to describe what happened next, at least in the way a Monster's attack is described. It was more like a natural disaster than any attack that a living creature could manage. Meteor Black Dragon inhaled, and formed a great ball of flame in its massive jowls. Without warning, the ball of flame shot at the Fiend like an actual meteorite crashing to earth, obliterating him and throwing Jean-Claude off his feet.
(A: 4,700) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 1,500)
"Care to throw in the towel, Frenchie?" asked Atticus. "I really doubt right now that you can manage to summon a Monster that's more powerful than this one."
"NO!" screamed Jean-Claude. "I'm not finished yet!"
He drew a card.
"I play ze Spell Card Blasting Vein! Now, I merely have to destroy one of my Spell or Trap Cards, and I get to draw twice."
Flaming cracks appeared on the Greed card, and it burst in a shower of embers. Jean-Claude made two draws.
He chuckled.
"I first summon Sangan," he said.
He played the card, and the cute, three-eyed Fiend appeared. (1,000/600)
"And just what are you going to do him?" asked Atticus.
"I'm a chef," said Jean-Claude. "What do you think?"
He reached over and pulled the hibachi grill in front of him.
"I'm going to cook it. Using ze Ritual Spell, Hamburger Recipe."
The Spell Card appeared, and both Sangan and Great Angus vanished. The grill fired up, and Jean-Claude started to prepare something, as the sound of sizzling meat started to come from it.
"What do you think he's making?" asked Ren.
"Dunno…" replied Chelsea. "But it smells pretty good."
Jean-Claude reached for a set of spice shakers on the grill stand.
"Black pepper, onions, coriander, paprika, and just one touch of salt," he said, sprinkling the ingredients. "And as ve French are so fond of saying…
"Voila!"
He flipped his spatula forward, and a very unlikely Monster appeared. It was a giant hamburger, with its two buns forming a fanged mouth. (2,000/1,850)
"Say bonjour to my Hungry Burger!"
"And say au revoir to my appetite…" groaned Sam.
"And just how is that Monster gonna beat mine?" laughed Atticus. "It may be a Big Mac, by my Monster is bigger still."
"I'll show you how in a minute," replied Jean-Claude. "But first, since I sent Sangan to ze Graveyard, its effect activates."
A card slipped out of his deck, and he took it. He looked at it.
"Next, I'm giving my Burger some special sauce vith kick. Since zis Monster is a Ritual Monster and Level Six, I can Equip it with Ritual Weapon. Zis card raises both of its scores by 1,500 points."
He played the card, and Hungry Burger glowed with energy. It rose to (3,500/3,350).
"Their Attack Points are exactly the same!" shouted Erik. "They'll kill each other!"
"Not quite," said Jean-Claude with an evil grin. "You forget, I still have Banner of Courage on ze field.
"Hungry Burger, attack his Dragon!"
Hungry Burger rose to an Attack Score of 3,700. It grew to three times its normal size, and then swallowed Meteor Black Dragon in one gulp.
(A: 4,500) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 1,500)
"So, Monsieur Rhodes…" laughed Jean-Claude. "What do you say now?"
Atticus didn't answer.
"Speechless, eh?" laughed Jean-Claude. "Maybe you finally realize zat I am not ze fool you thought I was."
"Actually, no," replied Atticus, quietly. "I think you're a bigger fool now than I previously thought…"
He looked at Jean-Claude with rage in his eyes.
"You humiliated one of my best Monsters by feeding it to an oversized hamburger… That, my friend, was a mistake…
"I offered you a chance to surrender… That offer no longer stands. You made me angry, pal…
"You want to duel like a member of Joan's army? Fine! From this point on, I'll duel you as if you were any other member of Joan's army…
"…without mercy!
"It's my move!"
He drew a card.
"I set a Monster in Defense Mode, then play a facedown, and that will be all."
A facedown Monster and a facedown card appeared.
"I draw…" chuckled Jean-Claude.
"And I play Pot of Greed."
He played the card, and drew twice.
"Now I summon Battle Ox!"
With a roar, the familiar bull-like Beast-Warrior in armor, a helmet, carrying an axe appeared. (1,700/1,000)
"Hungry Burger, destroy his last Monster!"
The huge Burger lunged. The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave appeared on the card, and was swallowed whole.
"Battle Ox, attack him directly!"
Battle Ox lifted his weapon, and his Attack Score rose to 1,900. He charged at Atticus.
"Look out!" shouted Yumi.
"I'm fine!" replied Atticus. "Thanks to this…"
His facedown card lifted.
"Offensive Guard! This cuts the attack power of your Battle Ox in half!"
Battle Ox's Attack Score fell to 850. It still made a slash at Atticus, and he grunted a little.
"Offensive Guard also allows me to draw one card."
He made a draw.
"But of course…" replied Jean-Claude. "I wouldn't want this duel to end before dessert was served.
"I set one card facedown, and end my turn."
A facedown card appeared.
(A: 3,650) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 1,500)
"Dessert?" said Erik. "I really don't like the sound of that…"
"Me neither," replied Sam. "French desserts are known for being the type that people eat when they really don't give a damn how many calories they're taking in. I mean, this is the country that invented the chocolate éclair."
"That's on the list of foods my mom has forbidden in our house," muttered Chelsea. "And she's French herself."
"I don't like it either," said Yumi. "He's clearly up to something…"
Atticus drew a card.
Finally, he thought.
"The Spell Card I'm about to play is something that was sort of a family heirloom to the real Rhodes siblings," he said. "And it works just fine with my deck…
"I play Swing of Memories!"
The Spell Card appeared.
"This card lets me Special Summon a Normal Monster from my Graveyard, but it only stays around for one turn.
"So Red-Eyes… Welcome back…"
Red-Eyes Black Dragon loomed over the field again. (2,400/2,000)
"Fool," chuckled Jean-Claude. "It can't defeat my Burger, so he'll be here long after it has to leave, and you'll be wide open."
"Actually," said Atticus. "My Dragon is leaving right now… I'm going to sacrifice it…"
Red-Eyes vanished. Then the pools of lava around them started to boil and bubble.
"What is he summoning?" shouted Ren.
"Wait…" said Yumi, opening her eyes wide. "Grandpa told me about this… He was never able to find the card, but someone told him about it… An evolved version of Red-Eyes…"
"That's right!" shouted Atticus, as a dark shape started to form above him. "The ultimate form of the Red-Eyes! The Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!"
Slowly, the dark form took shape. It was twice as big as Red-Eyes, with a wingspan that reached a hundred feet. Its hide was pure black, with red highlights, and had a metallic texture. (2,400/2,000)
"Wait a minute…" muttered Chelsea. "It's no stronger than the normal Red-Eyes…"
"Only to start," said Atticus. "It has a special ability… The ability to draw power from the angry souls of every defeated Dragon! So for every Dragon I have in my Graveyard, it gains 300 more Attack Points!"
The phantoms of Red-Eyes, Hunter Dragon, Attachment Dragon, Cave Dragon, Meteor Dragon, Meteor Black Dragon, and The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave appeared around the huge Dragon. They turned to energy, and it absorbed them with a mighty roar. (4,500/2,000)
"It's over, Frenchie!" shouted Atticus. "Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, attack his Battle Ox with Infernal Darkfire!"
Red-Eyes opened its jaws, and a ball of flaming energy appeared in them.
"You haven't beaten me yet, Monsieur!" shouted Jean-Claude. "I'll activate Mystik Wok!"
His facedown card lifted. A huge wok with a fire underneath it appeared behind him, and Battle Ox disappeared.
"Now my weaker Monster has left the field, so your Dragon is forced to change targets. Plus, I gain 1,700 Life Points to buffer your attack!"
"So you managed to survive," said Atticus. "Red-Eyes, avenge Meteor Black Dragon! Destroy his Hungry Burger!"
The huge Dragon roared, and let out a blast of searing, burning energy. An explosion ripped through Jean-Claude's side of the field, and Hungry Burger was no more.
(A: 3,650) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 2,200)
Atticus looked hard at Jean-Claude.
"I'll set a facedown, and end my turn," he said.
A facedown card appeared.
He may have lasted that round, thought Atticus, but I'm ending this on my next round. With my Dragon's Rage set, he'll have nowhere to hide…
Jean-Claude drew a card.
And then he laughed. He laughed out loud.
"What's so funny?" asked Atticus.
"I just drew my most powerful card!" laughed Jean-Claude. "My mightiest Monster! Once I unleash its power, no more will Jean-Claude Rousseau be taken for granted!
"It's another Ritual Monster, but it's far more powerful than that feeble Burger could ever hope to be…"
He played a card.
"I summon Manju of the Ten-Thousand Hands," he said.
He played the card, and an ugly, silvery-skinned creature that was completely covered with hands appeared. (1,400/1,000)
"And you're gonna use that to get the right Ritual Spell, right?" asked Atticus. "Well how will you summon it once you do? You won't have any Monsters to sacrifice except Manju itself. Clearly, it must be higher than Level Four."
"Au contraire, Monsieur," said Jean-Claude, as he took a card from his Disk. "I don't even have the correct Ritual Spell. I had to improvise…
"I play Advanced Ritual Art! Now, I simply have to send Normal Monsters from my deck to ze Graveyard whose combined Levels equal ze Level of zis Ritual Monster, and zey can be ze sacrifices."
He slipped a second Great Angus and a second Battle Ox into his discard slot.
The two Monsters appeared behind him, and erupted in black flames. The sky began to darken.
"Uh oh…" muttered Ren.
"I think this is the dessert he promised…" said Erik.
"Indeed it is," laughed Jean-Claude. "And you can choke on it! I summon Eurynomus the Gluttonous!"
The creature appeared in a dark shadow. It was clearly a Fiend – all the stereotypical features of Fiends were there, wings, horns, cloven feet… However, the eight-foot-tall Monster was incredibly fat, almost as wide as it was tall, and it had an incredibly hideous feature – it had a second mouth, a huge one, placed on its giant stomach. (2,600/2,000)
"GA-ROSS!" shouted Sam.
"I'm starting to miss the Burger!" yelled Chelsea.
Even Jean-Claude was a little nervous. He really didn't expect it to be this hideous.
"Okay, Jean-Claude, fine," said Atticus. "You proved your point… You summoned some hideous thing, and a Monster that I must admit, I've never heard of. But it still can't beat my Dragon."
"Oh no?" said Jean-Claude, with an evil grin. "Guess again. Eurynomus has a potent ability. Whenever it battles a Monster, the Monster it battles is assumed to have its base Attack Score."
Atticus gave a look of shock.
"Base Attack Score?" he shouted.
"Yes," said Jean-Claude. "As in, the Attack Score written on its card, before any modifications and bonuses.
"And your Dragon's base Attack Score is 2,400…"
"No…" gasped Atticus.
"Eurynomus…" ordered Jean-Claude, "attack his Dragon with gastro acid!"
The beast's second mouth opened, and its Attack Score rose to 2,800. A cloud of putrid, stinking, corrosive gas blasted from its maw, and Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon screamed, right before it melted into sludge.
Atticus looked at his opponent in disbelief… He practically forgot about Jean-Claude's other Monster.
"Manju, attack him directly!" ordered Jean Claude.
Manju blasted a beam of pure light at Atticus, and he cringed from the impact.
"Zat will be all…" said Jean-Claude.
(A: 1,850) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 2,200)
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
In Daala's throne room, the Otohime was looking at the bound Vita with a sinister smirk. Vita avoided looking her in the face.
"You don't look so tough…" chuckled Otohime. "Why do you wear that mask, anyway? Are you all gross and disgusting under there?
"Maybe I should take a look…"
Vita didn't move as she reached for the mask…
Then a blast of dark energy shot at the Otohime, throwing her on the floor and well away from Vita.
She looked up, and saw Daala standing at the door.
"I can't even step out to powder my nose without trouble happening," she growled.
"What? What?" asked Otohime.
"Want to know why Vita wears the mask, Watanabe?" asked Daala.
She grabbed the Duel Spirit by the neck.
"Why don't I do to you what I did to her, and then maybe you'll find out!"
"You're choking me…" gasped the Otohime.
"And if you go near Vita again, I'll snap your neck!" threatened Daala. "Do not talk to her, do not touch her, do not even take notice of her. And don't ask questions that might get you in trouble. No-one deals with her in any way but me! Is that clear?"
She dropped her.
"Clear…" she squeaked. "Crystal clear…"
"My queen!" shouted a voice.
Daala turned to the screen, and saw Hiroki on it.
"What is it Hiroki?" asked Daala.
"Uhm, milady…" muttered Hiroki. "I was waiting for them… I was kind of wondering why they hadn't gotten here yet… So I left my post and did a looksee…
"And… Well, uhm…
"Maybe you'd better see for yourself…"
Daala and the Otohime went to the screen, as it switched to show a wide view of Atticus dueling Jean-Claude.
The flames around Daala's head started to burn fiercer.
"I never did get my BLT…" growled the Otohime.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"Atticus is in trouble!" shouted Chelsea.
"Tell me about it," said Sam. "A direct attack from that thing will finish him off… And probably give him indigestion on top of it…"
Atticus paused before he drew.
You can do this Atticus… he thought. There are two ways to beat this thing…
One, summon a Monster with a higher base Attack Score than 2,600. Unfortunately, the only two Monsters I have that fit the bill are Meteor Black Dragon and Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon.
The other way is to destroy that thing in some way that doesn't involve attacking.
He drew a card.
He slowly took it and another card in his hand, and set them in his Disk. Two facedown cards appeared.
"That's all for me…" he said.
Jean-Claude laughed as he drew a card.
"Pathetic," he chuckled. "I regret to inform our customers zat ze kitchen is now closed. Eurynomus, attack him directly!"
The Fiend's terrible second mouth opened again.
"Trap activate!" shouted Atticus. "Birthright!"
One of his two facedown cards lifted.
"Now I get to Special Summon a Normal Monster from my Graveyard. Guess who it is…"
Red-Eyes Black Dragon reappeared. (2,400/2,000)
"Fine!" shouted Jean-Claude, angrily. "I'll kill him again! Eurynomus, attack…"
"Not a chance!" yelled Atticus. "Go, Burst Breath!"
His second facedown card shot up.
"Now, by sacrificing my Red-Eyes, all Monsters on the field with Defense Scores lower than his Attack Score are wiped out!"
Red-Eyes roared, and a ferocious wave of flame covered Jean-Claude's side of the field. The two-mouthed Fiend howled as it was burned alive.
"Eurynomus the Gluttonous is no more!" shouted Atticus.
Jean-Claude fell on his behind and his two Monsters turned to ashes.
"My strongest Monster…" he sobbed. "Baked like a Crêpe Suzette…"
"And you're next, pal," said Atticus.
Jean-Claude started to sweat. He placed his card on his Disk, and a facedown Monster appeared.
"It's my move!" shouted Atticus.
He drew a card. He looked at it, and nodded.
"I play Dark Factory of Mass Production," he said, as the Spell Card appeared on the field. "Now, two Normal Monsters go from my Graveyard to my hand."
His Red-Eyes and his Hunter Dragon slipped out of his discard slot. Then he played another Spell Card.
"And now I'm summoning one of them. I play the Spell Card, Ancient Rules. Like the outdated rules of Duelist Kingdom, this lets me Special Summon a high-Level Monster with no sacrifice, so long as it's a Normal Monster.
"So, I'll summon my Red-Eyes once again."
With a roar, Red-Eyes appeared once again. (2,400/2,000)
"I'll Normal Summon Hunter Dragon as well."
He played the card, and Hunter Dragon appeared again. (1,700/100)
"This meal is over," he said. "But since your service was so lousy, you're definitely not getting a tip."
Hunter Dragon leapt up, and lashed with its tail. Jerry Beans Man appeared crouching on the card, and shattered into shards.
"Figures," said Atticus. "Red-Eyes… Attack him directly! Inferno fire blast!"
Red-Eyes blasted his deadly flame in a focused stream. And Jean-Claude Rousseau, the errant chef turned thief, screamed one last time.
(A: 1,850) - - - - - - - - - - (JC: 0)
He fell to his knees.
Then he noticed that the Eurynomus card had fallen in front of him.
"My card!" he shouted.
He reached for it.
Then he cried out in pain as a foot came down, stepping on his hand.
Everyone was shocked, Jean-Claude most of all, when they saw who it was.
Daala looked down at the chef, incredibly angry. Then she bent down and picked up the card herself.
"Correction…" she hissed. "MY card."
"Daala!" yelled Yumi.
Everyone activated their Disks, but Daala paid them no heed. She seized Jean-Claude by the throat, and then both of them vanished in a dark shadow.
"Uh…" muttered Sam. "Can someone tell us what just happened?"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Both Skull Knight and Otohime had not seen Daala this angry in a long time. Jean-Claude was kneeling on the floor in front of her, with both his arms and legs chained by heavy shackles.
"Jean-Claude Rousseau…" said Daala. "Such a grandiose name for such a blooming idiot.
"I know that there wasn't enough room on that door to write the message in French, but you surely knew what the word 'forbidden' meant, right?
"And why did you steal from me? Because you felt you were being taken for granted, and hated your job. Jean-Claude, do you have any idea how many of my slaves would love to be promoted to favored status and get your job?"
"Several?" asked Jean-Claude, in fear.
"All of the ones who know how to cook who aren't already at favored status," replied Daala. "And after the heartburn I got from that poor excuse for Mandarin chicken you served last night, I was almost ready to promote one of them!
"I might have forgiven you if you had simply pilfered a normal card… But this…"
She held up the Eurynomus card.
"Do you have any idea what it was that you stole? Why I had a Monster as powerful as a Draconic Knight guarding that vault when he could have been taking a more active role in my army?"
"It's a card…" muttered Jean-Claude.
Daala got up.
"No, Jean, it's more than a card," she said with a scowl. "You see, in my experiments combining magic and technology, the fusion that created Xanadu, I have constructed many magical items. Among them, several magical cards. Whenever such projects are done, mistakes and failures often happen. It's part of the way magic works, unfortunately. Like any form of experimentation, a lot of wrong things happen before you find the right ones.
"The vault you broke into was a storage place for a very special type of magical cards…
"Cursed magical cards! This card you used in that duel is cursed!
"You see, Jean-Claude, most Monster Cards are reflections of Duel Spirits. But Eurynomus the Gluttonous is no Duel Spirit. He's a true demon, and a resident of the Abyss. One of its most infamous residents I might add. In a place where souls are the most sought-after commodity, Eurynomus craves something else… Flesh.
"He has a voracious appetite. Nothing gives him more pleasure than chewing the meat off the bones of a freshly killed victim, a sentiment that is shared by the packs of ghouls that tend to follow him as his minions. Not even other demons are safe from his hunger. When he was first spawned, he didn't have that second mouth on his gut. Legend states that it grew there so he could eat faster.
"He does whatever he can to feed this addiction. He sometimes hires himself out to Blood War generals, but he makes a poor mercenary. He's been known to travel to mortal worlds to feed, especially ones ravaged by war. Battlefields filled with the wounded and dying are like invitations to dinner for him. And as soon as the mortal inhabitants learn of his coming, funerary customs change quickly, with the dead being cremated instead of buried to spare them from being desecrated.
"By playing this card, you actually summoned him to Xanadu. Most of the time when a master of the dark arts summons a demon, he erects pentagrams and magical circles, wards to protect himself and keep the demon at bay. You had nothing except the duel itself.
"The only thing that prevented a disaster was Atticus's Burst Breath card, which sent him fleeing back to the Abyss. If you had won that duel, he'd have turned on you and everything he perceived as edible, which to him would have been practically everything that moved!"
Jean-Claude was listening to this whole conversation, and he was now trembling in fear. Daala waved her hand, and a screen came up in front of her.
"What are you doing?" gasped Jean-Claude.
"I was tired of you even before this happened, Jean-Claude," muttered Daala. "Tired of your complaining, and tired of your rudeness. I realize now why my father fired your counterpart.
"Well, guess what, Jean-Claude? I have an easier way to deal with certain employees. You're an AI program. I made you… And I can unmake you…"
"Milady, no!" screamed Jean-Claude. "You can't!"
"Want a bet?" growled Daala, hitting a button.
Jean-Claude burst into an explosion of digital ones and zeroes, and the chains restraining him fell to the floor.
Daala sat back on her couch. She let out a long sigh.
"Skull Knight…" she said. "Since Atticus kinda did us a favor, we'll do him a little favor, and make his sister happier… Go tell Alexis she's being promoted. She can have Jean-Claude's job."
"As you wish," said Skull Knight.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Joan was writing something down on a scroll carefully, as she looked at a page in the large tome…
Then she gripped her head in frustration, and tore the scroll in half.
"Joan?" asked Sheena. "What's wrong?"
"Have you perchance ever heard an angel scream?" asked Joan.
"Having trouble with the translation?" asked Sheena.
"That's an understatement," muttered Joan. "Even working with Modern Draconic is hard. Their alphabet is over twice as long as the English one, with nine vowels. And their whole syntax is confusing. Do you realize that they have ten different words for water?"
"Ten different words for water?" asked Sheena. "I heard that the Inuit had four different words for snow, but…"
"That's a myth," said Joan. "They don't. But apparently, Dragons have ten different words for ten different ways water can be presented…
"Translating this thing could take years…"
She leaned her head on her hands.
"There has to be some linguist you know who could help," suggested Sheena. "Someone who might…"
"Wait…" said Joan, raising her hand.
"That's it! Linguist! Why didn't I think of it!"
She picked up a blank scroll and a pen. She started to write.
"The greatest linguist in the Higher Plane is Meltiel, Sage of the Sky. He's a researcher and a record keeper among the Fairies. He can read, speak, and understand over three-thousand forms of communication. And he can learn a new one by listening to it for only five minutes.
"If somewhere in his immortal life he heard a conversation spoken in Ancient Draconic, he can translate this book in an hour."
"Can he come here?" asked Sheena.
"My superiors forbade any other resident of the Higher Plane from coming to Xanadu," replied Joan, "but I'll send him a message, he'll get back to me in a few hours, and if he says he can translate this, I'll go to him."
She finished writing.
"There! Once I send this through the portal, it will be like a wireless telegram. How soon we get a response will depend on where he is and how busy he is right now…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
The Realm Lord's castle loomed over the group.
It was situated on a large plateau, and the building itself resembled an old Shinto temple, shaped like a shiro.
The group was in front of a cave opening in the plateau itself.
Atticus looked nervously around.
"This passageway leads to the fortress proper," he said. "But this place is usually crawling with guards… Not a single one this time?"
"I sent them home," said a voice from inside the cave.
Sam opened her eyes in surprise.
"That voice…" she whispered. "It can't be…"
A young man walked out of the cave entrance. He looked somewhat younger than anyone he was facing, with raven hair cut neatly into bangs. His outfit was a style that everyone recognized… They all had seen someone who was known for wearing it.
"HIROKI?" shouted Sam.
The youth looked at Sam.
"Well, what's the matter Sam?" he asked. "No hug? I thought you'd be glad to see me!"
Everyone looked at Sam, as she nervously looked at him…
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DRAGON'S HEART (Spell Card)
Quickplay Spell
Image: A classic-looking dragon with a glowing ruby where its heart would be.
Card Description: You cannot Normal Summon a Monster during the turn you use this card. Select three Dragon-Type Monsters from your deck, and send them to the Graveyard. Then, shuffle your deck. Increase the ATK of one Dragon-Type Monster on the field by 1,000 points until the End Phase of the turn.
Note: "Dragon's Heart" was first used by Atticus (as Nightshroud) in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode "The Darkness Within". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
RED-EYES WYVERN (Monster Card)
Card Specs
Type: Dragon/Effect
Attribute: Wind
Level: 4
ATK: 1,800
DEF: 1,600
Card Description: Remove this card in your Graveyard from play during the End Phase of a turn you did not Normal Summon a Monster to Special Summon one "Red Eyes B. Dragon" from your Graveyard.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OFFENSIVE GUARD (Trap Card)
Normal Trap
Image: A warrior with a shield and sword deflecting a spell cast from a wizard.
Card Description: You may activate this card when you are attacked directly. Reduce the battle damage by half, and then draw one card.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
RED-EYES SPIRITS (Trap Card)
Normal Trap
Image: Red-Eyes B. Dragon in flight, in a majestic pose.
Card Description: Activate only when a "Red-Eyes" Monster that you control is destroyed. Special summon that Monster from your Graveyard, disregarding its summoning requirements.
Note: "Red-Eyes Wyvern", "Offensive Guard", and "Red-Eyes Spirits" were all first used by Atticus in a multi-part fourth season episode of "Yu-Gi-Oh GX". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode. ("Red-Eyes Wyvern" has since been made into a real card that will be released as a promo in "Tag Force 3".)
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
EURYNOMUS THE GLUTTONOUS (Monster Card)
Card Specs
Type: Fiend/Ritual/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 8
ATK: 2,600
DEF: 2,000
Card Description: This card may only be Ritual Summoned by means of the Ritual Spell Card "Unleashing of the Ravenous One". When this card battles a Monster, the opposing Monster is assumed to have its base ATK.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
BLASTING VEIN (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: A Duel Monsters card in the middle of a fire.
Card Description: Destroy one Spell or Trap Card you control. Draw two cards from your deck.
Note: "Blasting Vein" was first used by Axel in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode "Hanging With Axel (Part Two)". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coming up next:
Who is Hiroki? How does Sam know him? And wait a minute… Wasn't the plan involving him supposed to be aimed at Erik?
It's all confusing, but Daala's plan starts to take shape next chapter. A duel of desperation begins, and what happens may surprise you. The heroes are getting closer to their goal, and Daala knows that the time for subtlety is past.
"Legacy" is next.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Name that Card!
Yusei Fudo's ace card is the powerful Synchro Monster "Stardust Dragon", and as far as we know, he doesn't have any other Dragons in his regular deck. However, in his Deck Zero Deck that he used in the detention center, he had one Dragon that, while not used much nowadays, can truly be called a classic. Can you name it?