Chapter 40- Bloody Conflict

"What are we going to do about Keith?" Drake asked. He seemed to have a talent for asking the critical questions. Matt slowly turned.

"Hm… I didn't expect any of us to get caught like this. So, I guess we'll have to take him with us. We can't leave him here, otherwise the fiends might repossess him." Matt said.

"And, by the way, what are you going to do about a weapon?"

Matt smiled, reached to his right, nearly fell over, but managed to stay upright and grab his old shotgun from a rack on the wall. His bandoleer was lying next to it, for some reason it was now full. "I can still use this."

"Hey! That's my shotgun!" Brooklyn said. Matt gave him the same look he had when Brooklyn had said that the first time Brooklyn had said this, snapped the barrels open, and shut them again. "B-but you can keep using it."

"I seem to recall telling you not to touch that laser."

"S.C.A.N. told me to take it!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, you can ask him when we get back."

"I will. But no more time for arguing; we need to get out of here." Matt limped out of the room, shotgun steady. "Come on, or are you going to wait for more fiends to come?" Flynn threw Keith's body over his shoulder and followed Matt out the door, closely followed by Drake, Brooklyn and Julie. Before long they heard two blasts and there were three fiends dead before Matt. He reloaded the shotgun and turned toward the others.

"A little slow, aren't you?" He said.

"Uh, Matt, maybe you should take it easy for a while?" Julie suggested. "You're still hurt…"

"I know, but it doesn't matter. We need to keep going, and I can't afford to not pull my own weight around here. It only gets harder from here on out. This way…" He lead them down a series of very dark hallways that, for some reason, had no fiends at all.

"Where is everyone?" Drake asked.

"They can't come here." Matt said. "I created these corridors just in case something like this happened. No one but Brooklyn and me knows about them. Remember, because I possess a Millennium Item, I can warp the reality of the Shadow Realm. I made these about a year ago. At least, I think no one should know about them…" A single rifle shot echoed over their heads. "I stand corrected." Matt dropped to the ground. Drake leveled his rifle. He could just barely see the head of a fiend up ahead. He aimed a little lower and pulled the trigger. The fiend's weapon dropped to the ground with a clatter as its owner died.

"Nice shot." Flynn said. "I couldn't even see him."

"I saw a little hump up ahead. So I shot a little lower." Drake said.

"Good. Let's get moving again." Matt said, getting up from the prone position.

"You're not going anywhere!" came a fiend's voice. He moved closer to them. "You survived?!?"

"Yes." Matt said.

"And you escaped?!?"

"Obviously. Do you plan on doing something about it?"

"Yes! I challenge you! You're so weak, you can hardly duel!"

Matt's eyes (both of them) narrowed. "Is that so?"

"Of course it is! Look at yourself, you're wrapped in bandages!"

"Let's go then."

The fiend was suddenly struck with indecision. "Uh, maybe not."

Matt snorted. "All bark, no bite."

"I am not!"

"You seem to be to me. Prove that you're not."

"Fine!"

"Let's duel!"

Matt: 4000

Fiend: 4000

"I'll go second." Matt said. "Since you seem unable to make a decision for yourself."

"Grr… fine! I draw…" The fiend stared at his hand. He seemed unable to decide which card to use. Matt rolled his eyes. "I play, er… uh, a monster in defense mode!"

"Legendary Jujitsu Master." Matt said, bored. "Earth, Rock, Effect, 1300, 1800, any monster attacking with less attack than his defense is destroyed. Correct?"

"How did you…?"

Evil Matt appeared next to Matt. He was smiling evilly. "He told me. Usually I play fair, but sometimes he chooses not to listen to me. I can't stop him from telling me stuff. And, I must say, it is very useful. Now, my turn." Matt drew a card. "I summon Mpirian Knight (Light/Warrior. 1900/1600) in attack mode!" Matt groaned as the Shadow Game kicked in. "Damn. Oh well."

"I've never seen Matt affected by a Shadow Game, is that strange?" Julie asked. "He must be weaker than he let on."

"Of course he is! Look at him." Flynn said. "He's bleeding through the bandages."

"Oh! That's not good!" Julie said.

"No, really?!?" Brooklyn said.

"No, I mean really bad! If he can bleed through those bandages, then he is very close to death by blood loss! Those are very thick bandages. He should be pretty short of breath right now. Why would he get into this duel? He probably knew that something like this was happening." Sure enough, Matt looked like he was breathing a lot faster than normal due to lack of oxygen, and sweat was starting to bead on his forehead.

"Mpirian Knight, attack his monster!"

"Oh, well. No damage to me." The fiend said. "And you're getting weaker by the second."

Matt took a deep breath. "I set one card facedown and end my turn."

"Fine then!" The fiend drew a card. "I set one card facedown, and another monster in defense mode. Your turn!"

"Hmm… what to do." Matt said, and drew a card. "I didn't expect you to attack, oh no, but I didn't expect such inactivity."

"Ha! You just think its inactivity."

"Actually, I would argue that you are just waiting to see if my strength will give… if I had the strength to." Matt frowned and moved his hand slowly to his heart. "But I don't, so I'll let my moves speak for me. I play Old Guy Named Jeb (Light/Spellcaster/Effect, 1900/1600) in attack mode. I attack your monster!"

"That was my Magical Merchant! Now I pick up cards from the top of my deck until I pick up a magic or trap card from the top of my deck. So, let's see…" He picked up one card. "Ha! Smashing Ground!"

"Doesn't matter yet. I attack you directly!"

Matt: 4000

Fiend: 2100

"With that, I think I'll end my turn."

"It will be your last!" The fiend drew a card. "I activate Smashing Ground! This allows me to destroy your knight!"

Matt groaned. Several drops of his blood hit the ground. Julie turned and threw up. Despite the fact that she was the designated medic, she seemed to lose her lunch (what was left of it) at the sight of any kind of carnage.

"Next, I remove Legendary Jujitsu Master from the graveyard to special summon Gigantes (Earth/Rock/Effect, 1900/1000) in attack mode! Then, I'll normal summon Sand Moth (Earth/Rock/Effect, 1000/2000) in attack mode!"

"What, do you expect me to spike that with an effect?" Matt said. "I know the effect."

"I don't care what you know! The thing is, I'm about to smash through your defenses! Gigantes, destroy the Old Man!"

"Ow…"

"And when Gigantes is destroyed, all facedown cards on the field are destroyed."

"No!"

"Ha! I managed to fool you! Now Sand Moth, attack him directly!"

Matt: 3000

Fiend: 2100

"I'll end my turn."

"Ugh… that hurt. Strange." Matt said.

"We need to pull him out of there!" Julie said.

"You know we can't." Brooklyn said. "I'm sure Matt told you that."

"Well, actually, she was dueling when Matt told us about that." Drake said. "And she was getting killed, I doubt she heard him."

"Yeah, the only ones who know that are me and Drake… and you and Matt, of course." Flynn said.

"Oh, well." Brooklyn turned back to Julie. "Okay, quick lesson. You cannot interrupt a Shadow Game. Simple as that. You'll probably die if you try."

"Oh… but he's going to die."

"No he's not."

"LOOK AT HIM!!!"

"I am. I've seen him in a lot worse condition."

"A LOT WORSE?!? HE'S BLEEDING THROUGH BANDAGES THAT ARE NEARLY A QUARTER INCH THICK!!!"

"Julie, keep your cool." Flynn said. "Yelling like this does not help." She opened her mouth, as if to start yelling at Flynn, but then closed it and broke down sobbing. "What did I do?"

"Oh, it's not you… I can't take this any more. I can't stand the constant death and stuff… it's painful. I can't stand seeing you all almost dying all around me…" She sobbed. Drake crouched down next to her.

"Julie." He said. "I know how you feel. I've had the same problem watching you duel, and you've been nearly killed much more than us. But, come on, when has Matt ever lost?"

"Uh, never…"

"All we have to do is trust that he will keep winning. Don't worry, I think that Matt is the kind of person who won't die until he's won this game."

"A motivating thought." Flynn said.

"Heh. An accurate assessment." Matt said. He had heard the whole thing. He turned back to the fiend. "I won't lose this. Are you done?"

"No, I think I'll stand here for another hour and let you die."

"Cheat."

"Ha! I don't have to cheat to beat you, you fool. I'm done. I think I'll kill you next turn, and then I will destroy your little friends!"

"No… you won't." Matt drew a card. "Even if you manage to beat me, you won't beat all of them. They will destroy you, and I'll laugh from wherever I am."

"You'll be locked up in the Vault of Souls, where you will suffer for eternity!"

"Not yet I'm not…" Matt's voice was getting fainter. "I'm going to win this turn."

"How?!? You have so little it's hilarious."

"You only think that." Matt removed a card from his graveyard. "This is called The Mpirian Spell of Return. If you destroy this card while it is still facedown, then all the monsters that you destroyed that turn are special summoned on my next turn. So, welcome back Mpirian Knight and Old Guy Named Jeb. So, I have nothing?"

"What?!?"

"Old Guy Named Jeb, attack and destroy his Sand Moth!"

Matt: 3000

Fiend: 1200

"Now, Mpirian Knight, finish him!"

Matt: 3000

Fiend: 0

"Fatality." Matt said, and the fiend exploded.

"He did it." Julie said, relieved. Then Matt, exhausted from all his injuries and the Shadow Game, collapsed into a small pool of blood.