Chapter 7

"I play Mystic Box!" came a sinister voice from behind the three boys, who spun, to see a man holding up the spell card he had mentioned. He had messy black hair, and was wearing a ninja's costume, with a sword at his side.

"This card traps Damien inside."

Rory and Richard looked back at their friend to hear him yelp as a green and black box covered in question marks appeared around him.

"If you want him back, you'll have to duel for him!" the man smiled "And you'll wager your souls!"

"I'm sorry. Who are you?" Rory asked, the quick chain of events confusing him. "You don't just appear, put someone in a card and then request a duel!"

"Of course. I am Reconnaissance. I work for the Syndicate, who you have undoubtedly heard of. I am the leader of covert spying operations, and my duty is to assimilate knowledge of you decks."

"I have no idea what he just said." Rory muttered to his friend.

"He's a spy who works for the syndicate. He wants info on our decks."

"Good enough for me." Rory smirked, cracking his duel disk in to action.

"No!" Reconnaissance laughed. "I have seen you duel. I wish to duel him."

His finger stopped on Richard, who looked around nervously.

"What? Me? No way. I had enough of this last year. I mean, I just got a-" he paused "New card. I don't want to lose my soul."

"Oh, then how about we see how the swords do with Damien then." The spy sniggered, gesturing as hundreds of swords slowly entered the box, and Damien let out a horrific scream.

"Ok, Ok!" Richard shouted "I'll duel."

"I knew you would." Reconnaissance murmured, smiling slightly "I'll go first."

The pair lifted duel disks, though the spy's looked different. He was wearing a long silver gauntlet with duel disk panels along it, though it had a large cannon part in the end, like a machine gun.

"What's that?" Richard queried in fear, as both player's life shot to 4000.

"Oh, you'll see as the game goes on." The villainous syndicate member muttered, his teeth shining white in the moonlight.

"I start by setting one card face down, and then I set a monster in defence position. That will do."

Richard looked at his cards. "Whoa!" He shouted aloud, without realising. But he had good reason. In his hand he had two rock bombardments, Battle ox, astral barrier, spirit barrier and sabre beetle. If his plan worked, this game would be a breeze. However, he could not risk playing the cards immediately, as his outburst would give his enemy an idea of what he was planning.

"I summon battle ox in attack position." He said, trying to mask his outburst. "And attack your face-down monster."

The brown, armoured ox flew forwards, swinging its axe from side to side as it prepared to dive on the face-down card. (1700/1000).

"Wrong move." The ninja-clothed man sniggered. "My monster was cyber jar. So every monster on the field is destroyed, and we each draw five new cards."

Richard frowned, but shrugged it off, drawing five new cards, and gaping at these cards, as they too were powerful.

"I summon destroyer golem in attack position, and set two monster cards face-down." He smiled, trying not to, but failing.

"I set a single monster." Reconnaissance muttered, but Richard couldn't help seeing him smile, as two blank cards, and a large, brown golem appeared (1500/1000).

"I end my turn without attacking." Richard frowned, discarding once, disturbed by his opponent's pleasure, despite having such a bad field.

"Good." The villain laughed. "I activate my facedown card, the eye of truth. It allows me to see every card in your hand, so I can see why you're so happy."

The card flipped. It had a large glowing eye on it, and the spy walked over and snatched Richard's hand, looking at each card, before returning to his field.

"Those cards are very good. We can't be having that! I activate card destruction!" he yelled, throwing every card in his hand in to the graveyard slot. "Now we lose every card in our hands, and draw new cards equal to the discarded number."

Richard growled, placing his best cards in his graveyard. He reached to his deck, and drew six new cards, which he wasn't quite as impressed with. His opponent drew 8 more, and grinned at them.

"I tribute my face-down whirlwind prodigy, which counts as two tributes for a wind monster, to summon my storm shooter."

The face-down card disappeared, and was quickly replaced by a large feathered man, with brightly coloured wings. (2300/500).

"Now I play D.D. designator! I get to think of any card, and if you have it in your hand, it is removed from play. So, since I can see your hand with eye of truth, I remove from play your judge man! And I have another, so I name your golem sentry."

Richard scowled as a large grey statue and a tall, armoured man with a club appeared in front of him, and then disappeared in to thin air. He placed the cards in his pocket, and glared at his opponent.

"Now, my storm shooter activates its effect. I select one card on the field, in the same column as him, and he sends it back to your hand, where I can see it. So I choose your first face-down monster!"

The feathered man flapped its wings hard, lifting in to the air, and blasting the card in to Richard's hand.

"Ah, guardian statue. Now that would have been a problem."

"This is unfair!" Rory yelled. "Richard doesn't have a chance if you can see all the cards in his hand!"

"Silence!" The man roared, Rory's lips fastening together. "Next I play senet switch and play a face-down card. And my switch card lets my monster move one space per turn. So he moves in line with your destroyer golem, one space from your other hidden monster, and attacks your golem."

The winged creature flew in to the air, and dive-bombed the rock warrior, who exploded upon impact. The bird continued to smash in to Richard, who howled, suddenly remembering the pain of shadow games. However, this time, there was an added pain. Reconnaissance had lifted the cannon shape on his arm, and was draining an essence from Richard. His soul. Richard glared with pure hatred at the man as his life points fell to 3200.

"That ends my move." The evil spy sniggered "But you gain 1000 life points because of my eye of truth card, as you have a spell in your hand."

Richard drew a card, relieved to gain back 100 points, placing him at 4200. He looked at his face-down card, which was now the only card that his opponent had not seen, and thus his only hope.

"I start by setting this monster-"

"Guardian statue." Reconnaissance laughed

"-way over there on that side of the field. Then I play shifting shadows, to switch my two face-down cards, so that my unknown monster is safe from your effect."

A blank card appeared, under which Richard's stone warrior (800/1400) sat. The two cards then flew in to the air, and swapped places, each moving to the opposite side of the field.

"Unfortunately, I have to pay 300 life points to use that card. Now I end my move."

Richard's life fell to 3900 again, and the Syndicate member's tool kicked in, sucking out more soul.

"Good, good." Reconnaissance smirked "I play my storm shooter's second effect, allowing him to move one space towards your monster, and then senet switch, to move him another space closer, so that he is only one away. I must know what that card is!"

The bird-man flew towards Richard's face-down card, and stopped not far off.

"Now I attack your face-down guardian statue."

The bird turned around, and let out a burst of wind, which vaporised the small stone statue.

"I end my turn."

Richard grinned, his strategy in full effect. He gained back another 1000 life points, sending him all the way to 4900.

"Now then." Richard smiled. "I set this card in defence on the other side of the field again."

"You mean your second guardian statue?"

"Indeed. Now I call upon the effect of my shifting shadows to switch the two cards again."

Reconnaissance opened his eyes wide as he realised his opponent's trick, and Richard lowered to 4600 points. His eyes stopped on the shifting shadows spell card, then his eye of truth, then the pot of greed in Richard's hand, that was being purposefully unused. He looked back and forth between the cards, and shuddered.

"Yes, that's right!" Richard grinned. "You can't win."

"Oh yes I can!" Reconnaissance yelled "I strike the mystery monster!"

The Bird flew back, preparing to dive-bomb again, when Richard's card flipped. The creature that appeared was made of rock, and looked like a human, but it had four arms, and a large sword. (0/?)

"You just activated the effect of my Stone titanus!" Richard grinned. "He has a total of 500 Defence points for each turn he was face-down, which was 5, giving him a grand total of 2500 defence points."

The winged creature bounced off the stone man, landing at Reconnaissance's feet.

"And his second effect means that by paying 500 life points, the defence of your monster, it is destroyed, and my monster's defence gets fired at your life points!"

The stone warrior Leapt in to the air, smashing the storm shooter in to dust, before spinning, and chopping its enemy with the sword. It landed in front of Richard again, and held its sword up in defence. (0/2500)

Reconnaissance groaned, collapsing and clutching his bleeding side. His arm device stuttered, and sucked life force from him away, stopping only when he arrived at 1300 life points.

Richard grinned, barely paying attention as he fell to 4100 life points.

"I set one monster face-down and end my turn!" Reconnaissance growled.

"Good." Richard giggled. "I play my pot of greed at last, and draw 2 cards."

Richard drew, nodding appreciating at his new cards. "I tribute my face-down Guardian statue, to summon a second sabre beetle, but not before flipping my monster, and returning your face-down card to your hand."

"Stop! No! That leaves me defenceless!"

"And now, it's time for my turn to guess! Your monster is morphing jar!"

"How did you know that?" Reconnaissance yelled in total fear.

"I'm magic." Chuckled Richard "Now attack him sabre beetle, finish this duel!"

Reconnaissance screamed as the beetle flew forwards, its shining horn digging in to him, knocking his life points to zero. (2400/600).

The man continued to scream even as the holograms faded, and the tool on his arm sucked in the rest of his soul. He stood up, but his eyes were completely blank.

"Fine. Open the box. It is too late anyway!" the man muttered, his voice cold, and devoid of emotion.

Richard ran over to the box, and reached to swing the door open. However, before he got there, the swords dug in, and there was an ear-splitting scream from inside.

The two boys pulled the door open immediately, to find that not Damien, but Reconnaissance was inside.

"Hey wait!" Rory muttered. "In the card game, the mystic box switches the monster put in the first box to the second box. So where is the other box?"

"I don't know." Richard rubbed his head. "But we should head back to the dorm quickly!"

Meanwhile, Michael was lying in the water, floating on his back. The fall from the academy after Rory's last attack had damaged him beyond all comprehension, but his monster spirits had protected him. The gadjiltron armour was still attached to him, blown apart to reveal blood underneath. He had no power to rise from the water and go back to shore, but he could feel an evil energy stirring as he lay there, motionless in the water.

His mind instantly flickered to a glimpse of a man through a dust cloud, silver hair barely visible. The face grinned, its features still indistinguishable. He could still hear the man laughing, and sensed him flinch in the darkness, waiting to return.

Michael lifted himself to the shore, the adrenalin from the foe's return pushing him on. When he arrived on the beach, he clambered up the cliff in to the forest, where he collapsed in to a pile of shrubbery, unable to go on.

And while this all happened, a large boat was sailing towards the island, carrying with it soldiers ready to take control. One of them stepped to the edge, his blonde hair shining in the moon for a second, before he took one last look at Reconnaissance's report, and leapt in to the water, grinning eagerly at the chance to start the battle.

NEW MONSTERS FROM THIS DUEL

STONE TITANUS

ATK/0 DEF?

LEVEL 4

EARTH

ROCK / EFFECT

In each player's end phase after this card is set, add 1 to the boulder count. When this card is attacked, its original DEF becomes the boulder count X 500. Also, by paying life points equal to the defence of the attacking monster, destroy it, and your opponent loses life points equal to the boulder count X 500.