Chapter 18- Quality over Quantity

Flynn scratched his chin. He couldn't understand how he had been separated from the others. If the trip had knocked him unconscious, they would have waited for him to come around, or at least have hauled him along until he had come to. And if there was a problem with the gate, wouldn't Matt have known?

This is troubling, Flynn thought. If we're getting into the realm of the unknown, where even Matt doesn't have any prior knowledge of anything, then we're in trouble. We only survived last year on his knowledge. Without it, there'll be more than just bloodshed this year, there'll be deaths. And with the way things are going, Julie will be the first to go.

And if that happens, Drake is likely to break down. I know that he's… very attached to Julie, and if she dies, he'll be worse than useless. He'll be a burden.

Flynn stood up and looked in front of him. There was a long stony passage before him. It wasn't lit, and Flynn could barely see a foot in front of him.

They don't seem to like well-lit corridors in this place, Flynn thought. He smiled in spite of his situation. Well, no where else to go. He took a step forward and entered the passage.

It became quite clear as he walked (and ran into a lot of walls) that the passage wasn't quite straight. In fact, it was almost like a labyrinth. With every step Flynn grew more and more uneasy. Flynn turned a corner. He felt the prickle of the hairs on the back of his neck standing up and spun around.

He could barely make it out, but he thought he saw the dark shape of a fiend dart back around the corner. Flynn peeked out around the corner and quickly withdrew as a bullet hit the wall near his hand.

So there's fiends in this labyrinth, Flynn thought, and readied his rifle. Well, that's not too bad. I would be more worried about a shadow… there would be no way to see it! Flynn whipped out from behind the wall and fired at random down the hall. The muzzle flashes from his rifle lit up the corridor. He saw the fiend go down in a hail of bullets. Behind the first he saw a second take cover around a corner. Flynn ducked back around the corner as the second began to fire from his cover.

This isn't good. Flynn said. I'll bet he can see perfectly in this darkness, but I can't see a thing! Bullets continued to fly down the hall. Flynn pushed up against the wall with his back. He pointed his gun around the corner and fired blindly. The fiend's gunshots stopped. Flynn pulled back and reloaded his gun. If I keep this up, that guy will call in some reinforcements, and I'll be overrun! At this point, it's easier to run… but that might be the only way to the exit. Oh well. Flynn stood up and ran down the hall, away from the fiend. It didn't take long for him to run into a wall.

SHIT!!! He thought. I'M SCREWED!!! He turned as he heard the sounds of footsteps. The fiends had him cornered now, and he had no cover this time. Flynn dropped to the ground as the fiends opened fire, rolled off to the side, and returned fire.

Fortunately for him, Matt hadn't called them unintelligent fiends for no reason. The one fiend that had remained had been too stupid to call in reinforcements, and Flynn cut him down without much trouble. Flynn stood when the bullets stopped flying.

I need to get moving, he thought. If I don't I'll be Swiss cheese in a very short time. But without any light or any idea of where I'm going, I'm at an extreme disadvantage. Hmm… Flynn thought for a moment, then hit the wall next to him in frustration. The wall fell over and light flooded into the passage. Flynn blinked, temporarily blinded by the sudden flash of light, then stepped out into the light.

There were two fiends standing back to back and looking at Flynn in a way that Flynn didn't like. They were smiling evilly.

"So, you have made it out of our maze." Said one.

"You are good, but you won't walk away unfazed!" said the other.

Flynn frowned. Hmm… where have I seen this before? I don't like it. "What do you want?"

"You must be a fool!" said one of the fiends.

"Of course, we want a duel!" said the other.

"Fine then." Said Flynn. "I'll start with you!" He pointed at the first fiend.

"No no no. You are smart, but that is not right." Said the first.

"You will be against us both, in this fight!" said the second.

"Very well then! I'll crush you both." Flynn said

"Let's duel!"

Flynn: 4000

First Fiend: 4000

Second Fiend: 4000

"Ha! You are without a team…" said the first.

"In this duel, you will be creamed!" said the second. "I will go first!" He drew a card. "With this card in the fold, you will be destroyed! I will start with a strong android."

This rhyming is going to drive me up a wall…

"I play the Polymerization card! And with it, I can fuse these two to form a greater beast than any! I fuse my Giga-Tech Wolf and Cannon Soldier to form the mighty Labyrinth Tank (Dark/Machine/Fusion, 2400/2400)! With him in the fold, your future looks dank!"

"Just shut up and let me go. You done?" Flynn said. The fiend nodded. "My turn then." Flynn drew a card. "Perfect. I summon the Luster Dragon (Wind/Dragon, 1900/1600) in attack mode and set a card. That's all."

"Ha! We will not fall into your trap." Said the first fiend.

"We are much too intelligent for that!" said the second.

The first fiend drew a card. "Ha! Your future grows grim! For the Kaiser Sea Horse (Light/Sea Serpent/Effect, 1700/1600), I summon him! Then, I set one!" He turned to the other fiend. "Crushing this fool will be fun!"

"That it will be!" The first fiend drew a card. He smiled and looked up at Flynn. "And this card will destroy thee! I sacrifice my partner's Kaiser Sea Horse to summon the Sanga of the Thunder (Light/Thunder/Effect, 2600/2200)! His awesome might will tear your life points asunder! Now, Sanga of the Thunder, tear apart his pathetic monster!"

"I activate my trap card, Negate Attack! This turn, you are not allowed to attack!" Flynn said.

"Your delay is in vain! The next turn will be your bain!" The fiend said.

"You done? Good." Flynn drew a card. Hmm… he's left his friend wide open, but I have no doubt that the other will defend him. Sure, I can summon a monster that's stronger than Sanga, but then he'll just use his special ability to deflect the attack. So, I'll have to aim for destroying it with an effect. "Okay, I summon my Lord of Dragons (Dark/Spellcaster/Effect, 1200/1100) in attack mode! Then I activate my Flute of Summoning Dragon! With this, I'll summon two Blue-Eyes White Dragons (Light/Dragon, 3000/2500) in attack mode!"

"Even with your mighty dragons, you will not win!" The first fiend said.

"We will toss you pathetic cards into the bin!" The second fiend said.

"Oh, shut up with your pathetic rhyming. Now, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack his Labyrinth Tank!"

Flynn: 4000

First Fiend: 3400

Second Fiend: 4000

"And now, I'll set a card facedown and end my turn."

"What, too scared that we will block your attack?" said the first.

"You will not win the duel like that!" said the second. "And now it is my turn." He drew a card. "Aha! The end is near! This card will increase your fear! I summon my Whirlwind Prodigy (Wind/Fairy/Effect, 1500/1600) in attack mode! But he will not be around for long, for I activate Tribute Doll! With this, you will fall! I can summon a level 7 monster with one tribute. And the one I summon, he will contribute! I summon Kazejin (Wind/Spellcaster/Effect, 2400/2200) in attack mode! For you, well this does not bode!"

"So, are you going to attack or not?" Flynn said.

"What do you think I am a fool? Attacking right now would not be cool! I will end my turn, and soon end your life!" the second fiend said.

"You are a fool. It doesn't matter if you attack! I don't have anything anyway." Flynn said.

"Ha! You twit! It was my turn, I'll put you at your last wit!" said the first fiend, and drew his card. He grinned evilly. "This is it! The game is up! With this card, you will be stuck! I summon my Unshaven Angler (Water/Fish/Effect, 1500/1600) in attack mode! And after that, I will activate my own Tribute Doll, and sacrifice him to special summon the almighty Suijin (Water/Aqua/Effect, 2500/2400)!"

Oh no! Flynn thought. That makes the Gate Guardian!

"And now!" said both of the fiends. "Element of Thunder, Water and Wind, Suijin, Sanga, Kazejin, begin! Meld your powers in eternal light, show this fool your unstoppable might! GATE GUARDIAN (DARK/WARRIOR/EFFECT, 3750/3400)!"

"Oh no!" Flynn said. "That thing is going to run roughshod over my monsters!"

"That's right!" said the first fiend. "He will destroy you! Gate Guardian, attack his Lord of Dragons now!"

"Ha! You fell right into my trap!" Flynn said.

"What are you talking about?" said the second fiend.

"You said that surviving this attack was in doubt!!!" said the first.

"Oh come on, do you think I would have actually said that if it was true?" said Flynn. "And now, I'll activate Sakuretsu Armor! This card destroys the monster that just attacked is taking a one-way trip to the graveyard. I guess your Gate Guardian isn't going to last for long."

"No!" said the first fiend. "You destroyed our Guardian!"

"Yes I did." Flynn said.

"But it was foolish!" said the second.

"For now I activate the Spell Card Dark Element! I can activate this whenever the Gate Guardian is in the graveyard! This allows me to summon a monster that cannot be beat in battle! For now I pay half my life points!" said the first fiend.

Flynn: 4000

First Fiend: 1700

Second Fiend: 4000

"And now I can summon the DARK GUARDIAN (Dark/Warrior/Effect, 3800/3400) in attack mode! You will be destroyed; you have no hope! For challenging us, you should be called a dope!"

"Not quite." Said Flynn. "You can't attack this turn with him, and now it's my turn." Flynn drew a card. "Ah, a card I haven't seen this card in quite a while. It's the Card of Sanctity! Obviously, you'll also get cards, as this card allows us all to draw up to six cards, but you'll be gone long before then. For now I activate Polymerization! With it, I can fuse all the two Blue-Eyes White Dragons on my field with the one in my hand to form the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (Light/Dragon/Fusion, 4500/3800) in attack mode! Though your Guardian is invincible in battle, he can't save your life points- especially when I activate the spell card Axe of Despair! This gives my monster an extra 1000 attack points (5500)."

"Next, I'll summon another Luster Dragon (Wind/Dragon, 1900/1600) in attack mode! And now, Blue-Eyes, attack the Guardian and break the first fiend!"

Flynn: 4000

First Fiend: 0

Second Fiend: 4000

"No! My partner is gone!" said the second fiend.

"And you will be soon, as well. Because the Dark Guardian was your partner's monster, he's no longer around to defend you! And now, my other monsters will finish you off!"

Flynn: 4000

First Fiend: 0

Second Fiend: 0

Both of the fiends fell to the ground and exploded. Flynn shuffled his deck back together, stored it in his duel disk, shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked away. He didn't have time to lose, he needed to hurry if he wanted to find the others.