Hey everyone! Well, I must say, it is good to be home after a nice, long, relaxing vacation down at the beach. My mate and I had a great time there. We met up with my mom, sister, and her boyfriend, and we all had a good time throughout the week. This past Monday was mine and my mate's 2nd wedding anniversary, which we celebrated by having a day alone together. What we did, well, I can't say, lol. But we had a great time together, that much was certain. The rest of the week was pretty good, although my mate got a light sunburn on Tuesday, and then a worse one on Wednesday, so she didn't go out the rest of the week. We arrived back Saturday at home in the early evening, so we got to rest up since then. Really, I didn't buy much at the beach. I only ended up buying some work shirts, a pumpkin spice candle (smells like pumpkin pie, lol), some Sharpie markers, a set of dry erase markers (for work), a few DVDs that I wanted (which were old movies, so cheap, lol), and a few other minor things. My mate did better on the shopping end, without a doubt, lol. Anyways, it's great to be home in a lot of ways, although home is so dry (we're in a really dry spell at the moment). Other than that, life is normal.

First off, I must apologize for not posting any last week. I originally thought I would have wireless internet in our room, but quickly found out I was mistaken the day I arrived. I found out I could go down to our realtor's office and get onto their wireless network, but I declined. It was a mile away, so I wasn't interested in doing that. My second option for getting on the net was my dial up connection. I cringed at doing that, but I did it to alert everyone that I wouldn't be posting. Again, it is my fault, so I'm sorry.

At any rate, to make up for it, I am posting twice this week, so yay! And now, moving on, time for reviews!

Metal Overlord 2.0: Heh, yes, you'd think Zane would have got a break after saving Syrus, but no, he has to battle a possessed Jesse and idiot named Darren, lol. I guess I am pretty cruel to my characters, hehe. Glad you liked seeing the two decks of Jesse and Zane, plus Darren's. Hmm, Jaden destined to defeat Yubel, eh? Never know, it may happen. Good question about the darker Illidan. He's been busy and not shown himself yet, but trust me, when he does, it will be interesting. Thanks for the review!

philosopher-kaiser: Actually, the card isn't mine, but it's the coauthor's, ardee. He created it in his story, but I borrowed it for mine. I changed how it was summoned and all, but overall, it's nearly the same. True, it was a bit over the top, but so worth it in the end, hehe. Hmm, I don't remember if I forgot to have Topaz attack or not. I think he was gone actually, to be honest. Heh, glad you liked the finishing spell that Jesse used against Darren. True, Rainbow Dark Dragon is using anime effects, so it's kind of different. I think the show's effects were a bit better than the OCG was. Thanks for the review!"

Thank you both for your reviews! I appreciate both of you for leaving them. Also, thank you to the person who added this story to their favorites. Your name escapes me at the moment, sadly, so I can't really say who you are.

At any rate, I'm done for this round. I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 33

Glaring harshly at Zane, Jesse drew his card without a second thought. Examining the card, Jesse evilly smirked and pointed at the weaker machine dragon, saying "You're going to pay for last turn! Obliterate Zane's creature with Dark Rainbow Refraction!"

Releasing a mighty roar, the large black scaled dragon released a stream of rainbow colored energy from it's jaws at the weaker machine dragon.

"Did you really think I'd leave myself open?" Zane questioned, making Jesse frown. "Go Dimension Explosion! This spell now returns one Fusion monster to my deck, and then we may special summon as many removed from play monsters as we can."

Eyes widening, Jesse yelled in shock "That means for the price of one dragon, you can have up to five!"

"That's right!" Zane stated while his large machine dragon vanished in a field of golden dust. A moment passed before above the field, a rift opened. Flying out of the rift instantly were five machine snake creatures, with three being the same and the other two looking different from one another.

Smirking, Zane pointed at his new creatures, saying "Thanks to my spell, I just returned all three of my Cyber Dragons (2100/1600), Cyber Valley (0/0), and Cyber Ouroboros (100/600). And next, since you're still attacking, I play my Cybernetic Hidden Technology and sacrifice one of my Cyber Dragons to it!"

Growling loudly while one of the machine dragon's vanished and the black dragon on his own field was glowing with a red aura, Jesse snarled out "I play Rainbow Dark Dragon's ability. I send my last crystal to my Grave, meaning my dragon survives."

The remaining crystal faded away in a golden light, causing the red aura around the black dragon to vanish. Still glaring at Zane, Jesse spat out "Just take your turn." (Jesse 700, Zane 5000)

Nodding lightly, Zane drew his next card, but felt his chest tighten as pain coursed through his heart once more. Clutching his chest tightly, he panted lightly while softly smirking.

"It's over for you Yubel. Get ready to leave that body, because I'm about to evict you." Zane confidently remarked. "I first play Cyber Valley's second effect, effectively removing it from play along with Cyber Ouroboros so I can draw two new cards. And since I just got rid of Ouroboros, I discard a card from my hand and draw another new one."

Tossing the card he held into his Graveyard Slot, Zane picked up three new cards and examined them for a moment. Selecting one, he showed it to Jesse, saying "I activate this spell next, Fusion Recovery! With this, I can return a Fusion Material monster from my Graveyard, along with Polymerization, to my hand. My pick is Cyber Dragon (2100/1600)."

One by one, the two cards slowly slid out of Zane's Graveyard Slot. Picking them up, he placed one of the two back into his hand and picked another one. Turning them towards Jesse, he confidently said "It's over Yubel! I activate the spell Power Bond, allowing me to fuse my two Cyber Dragons on the field with the one in my hand! Now come together and form Cyber End Dragon (4000/2800)!"

Rematerializing onto the field beside of the other two machine dragons was a third snake like machine dragon. The three swirled together and formed a brilliant white blinding light. Jesse saw the blinding light and had no choice but to cover his eyes. After a moment, the light died down, revealing a large silver three headed machine dragon with a large set of wings on it's back and single tail. Each head let out a massive roar which shook the ground.

"And thanks to the effect of my Power Bond, my dragon's attack points are doubled (4000 2 8000/2800)!"

Letting out a massive roar, the three headed dragon's body began glowing with a white glow as it's power doubled.

Staring at the dragon with wide eyes, Jesse growled lowly and yelled out "That beast has so much power!"

"You're finished Yubel! Surrender, or I'll get rid of you once and for all." Zane stated.

Chuckling darkly in her feminine voice, Yubel smugly replied "The only way you'll get me out of Jesse is if you defeat me."

"Very well then, it's time I get you out of Jesse's body, once and for all! Cyber End Dragon, blast that dragon with Super Strident Blaze!"

Raising each head, the three headed mechanical dragon opened each of it's three head's jaws and took aim at the black dragon. Light blue energy slowly began to form in the jaws of each dragon while their power continued to build.

"Not so fast there Zane!" Jesse declared while pointing his face down card, which quickly rose up. "I play my Crystal Counter trap! With this, I can revive up to five Advanced Crystal Beasts from my Graveyard and place them into my Spell/Trap Zones."

Glowing to life, five beams of rainbow colored energy shot out of Jesse's Graveyard Slot and shot out onto the field. Appearing from each light was a different colored crystal, each emitting a dark aura.

"And if that wasn't troublesome enough for you, I activate Rainbow Dark Dragon's special ability, allowing me to send all five crystals back to my Graveyard and increase my dragon's attack points by a 1000 for each crystal. I count five, meaning my dragon gains 5000 more attack points (6000 + 1000 5 11000/0)!"

Immediately, the five crystals glowed to life and shot a beam of energy back at Jesse's Graveyard Slot. The crystals all vanished while the large black dragon glowed to life with a rainbow aura and softly growled out as it's power increased greatly.

Staring with wide eyes at the more powerful black dragon, Zane gripped his chest tightly as more sweat poured down his face and pain coursed through his body. Gritting his teeth, he began chuckling lightly.

"Laughing!? What could possibly be so funny!?" Jesse demanded angrily. "Your dragon is outmatched! You can't beat me no matter what you do!"

Bursting out loud laughing in her feminine voice, Yubel smugly asked "How does it feel knowing that you failed to protect your little brother? You're not going to defeat me or save Jesse."

"Maybe…" Zane smartly remarked, but grimaced in pain. "But I'm not done with this duel yet! I activate my spell, Cybernetic Zone! This forces me to remove from play my Cyber End Dragon!"

"You're what!?" Jesse howled in surprise while the large machine dragon vanished bit by bit, leaving nothing behind Zane. "You stand no chance at winning now!"

"Possibly, but I'm not about to quit. I set this card and move to my End Phase." Zane remarked while pain flashed through his face. "Now I must pay for using my Power Bond. Although it granted my dragon double it's original attack points, I take damage to my life points equal to my dragon's original attack points. That's 4000 unfortunately."

Glowing with a dark red aura, Zane screamed out in pain as his body was racked with pain from losing more of his points.

Gradually waking to the sound of his brother's screaming, Syrus slowly sat up and shook his head a bit. Finally clearing the fuzziness from his mind, he glanced before him and saw his brother glowing with a dark red aura with someone else across the field from him with a large black dragon. Eyes widening, Syrus stood quickly and began making his way towards his brother weakly.

"ZANE!" Syrus cried out with worry.

The dark red aura slowly faded away, leaving a weakly standing Zane. Sweat was pouring down his face while his breathing was in heavy pants. Hearing his approaching brother, he glanced over his shoulder and meekly smiled. "Syrus…" he whispered in a raspy voice.

"Ah, so the little brother has awoken." Jesse smartly said. "I'll enjoy tearing him apart once I'm done with you."

Casting a weak glare at Jesse, Zane clutched his chest tightly as pain racked his body. Slowly turning back towards Syrus, Zane weakly said "Syrus, you must run."

"Zane… No, I won't leave you!" Syrus argued back with tears in his eyes.

Grimacing in pain, Zane raised his voice slightly, firing back "Syrus, you have to run! I don't want you to watch what's about to happen!"

Eyes widening, Syrus glanced at the pair of duelists and saw that his brother was trying to tell him to leave. Tears flowed plentifully down his cheeks and he shook his head and said "Zane, no…"

"Just go Syrus." Zane weakly mumbled. "I don't know what's about to happen, so I don't want you to watch. Just run, and don't stop till you find Illidan, Marie, Jaden, Yugi, Seto, Chazz, or Alexis. Tell them that Zell is gone now, and that you're free. And tell them I'm sorry that I failed to save Jesse."

Pausing for a moment when pain flared up within his body, Zane clenched his eyes tightly while clutching his chest tightly. Opening them once more, he meekly said "One more thing before you go Syrus."

In a tender voice, Zane smiled and added "I'm proud of you Syrus, and will always be. Don't forget, I love you little brother."

Turning back towards Jesse, Zane yelled over his shoulder "Now run Syrus!"

With tears flowing down his face, Syrus weakly nodded and softly said "Thank you brother… Please, return to me!"

"I will, if I can." Zane meekly said. "Now go!"

Turning away from the duel, Syrus took off running. Sneering at the retreating figure, Jesse smugly said "Having your little brother run away so he doesn't have to watch him die, how dramatic."

Smirking, Zane smartly replied "I wouldn't be too sure of yourself. After all, I'm not done yet!"

"Really? What do you plan on doing to me?" Jesse arrogantly asked with a cocked eyebrow. "It doesn't matter what you play now. You're finished, and it's my move!"

"Not quite!" Zane declared. "I have to end my turn, and besides, my End Phase isn't over!"

The ground suddenly began to quake while dust and dirt was kicked up around the field behind Zane. Without warning, a brilliant golden glow filled the air as the large mechanical three headed snake like dragon reappeared onto the field with a massive roar from each head (16000/2800).

"WHAT!? WHY IS THAT DRAGON BACK, AND WHY DOES IT HAVE 16000 ATTACK POINTS!?" Yubel's voice cut through the air.

Lightly chuckling, Zane smoothly said "Because of my Cybernetic Zone spell. You see, on the turn I activate it, my dragon returns during that End Phase with double it's attack points (8000 2 16000/2800)."

Eyes widening in surprise, Jesse clenched his jaw and harshly spat out "There must be a catch!"

"You'll see." Zane smartly remarked. Grimacing from pain, he weakly added "I end my turn." (Jesse 700, Zane 1000)

Glaring at Zane, Jesse drew his card and examined it. A large smirk appeared on his face. "It's time for you to disappear at long last. I activate the final spell that will crush you! I play the equip spell Megamorph to my dragon, doubling it's attack points (11000 2 22000/0)!"

Letting out a tremendous roar, the black dragon spread it's wings and snarled loudly at the three headed machine dragon.

"And now, be gone and let the Shadows feed on your soul!" Yubel's angry voice declared through Jesse. Pointing a finger at Zane, the combination of Jesse and Yubel's voices shouted out "Send him and his dragon to the Shadows with Dark Rainbow Refraction!"

Releasing another tremendous roar, the large black dragon opened it's jaws, causing rainbow colored energy to spill from it. With a thunderous force, the dragon fired a beam straight at the three headed machine dragon, which stood it's ground.

Weakly, Zane pointed at his face down card and said "I think not Yubel. I activate my trap Roll Out! With this, I can now take a Union Type monster from my Graveyard and equip it to it's correct target. My choice is Armored Cybern (0/2000), and I equip it to my Cyber End Dragon!"

Instantly materializing onto the field was a blue and gold colored jet like machine that had two long cannon barrels protruding from it. Without warning, the creature glowed golden and transformed into a blinding golden light. The light shot straight at the machine dragon and surrounded it's chest area. After a moment, the light faded, revealing the jet like machine had become a chest plate for the dragon with the twin cannon barrels pointed out.

"This monster doesn't raise my dragon's points at all, but you'll see what happens now. Cyber End Dragon, counter with Super Strident Blaze!"

Letting out a massive roar, the machine dragon opened all three sets of it's jaws and released a stream of white energy from each mouth. The three blasts combined into one stream and struck the darkened rainbow colored stream. For a moment, the two streams ground against one another, with each seemingly equal in strength. After a moment though, the beam of white energy was shoved roughly back all the way to the machine dragon and blasted it.

A large explosion ensued that covered all of the area Zane had been standing in. In the distance, Syrus glanced back and stopped running. Turning towards the explosion, he felt hot tears running down his face as he fell to his knees.

"BIG BROTHER!" he screamed out while tears fell plentifully.

Back at the battle, Jesse sneered at the glowing explosion. The glowing slowly faded away, revealing nothing but smoke and dust. "So much for beating me, eh Zane?" he smartly remarked with Yubel's voice mixed into his own.

Suddenly, there was a mechanical roar and the dust parted, revealing the large mechanical three headed dragon. Below it, panting heavily and on his knees with his eyes shadowed by his bangs sat Zane.

Eyes widening with shock and surprise, Yubel's feminine voice cut through the air, yelling "HOW DID YOUR DRAGON SURIVIVE!"

Still panting heavily, Zane managed to barely chuckle and replied in a raspy voice "Remember Roll Out equipped one of my Union monsters. When a monster with a Union Type monster is attacked, the Union Type monster is sent to the Graveyard instead of the monster it's equipped to."

"Why you…" Yubel ground out with Jesse's teeth clenched.

Coughing weakly, Zane slightly smirked and mumbled "Unfortunately, that doesn't save me from the Battle Damage associated with the attack… But at least my dragon survived…"

With his final words said, Zane fell face forward onto the ground with a small thud. The mighty three headed dragon let out a remorseful roar while staring down at it's master. Slowly, the dragon faded away while Zane's body was covered by a black aura. Bit by bit, he vanished into the darkness, in the end leaving nothing behind but a smirking Jesse.

"It's finished." Jesse declared to himself. With a small smirk, he turned in the direction Syrus had run off in and sneered. "Now to find that brat and have a little fun with him."

In the distance, Syrus slowly stood while wiping the tears away from his face. He slightly sniffled once more and saw that the large machine dragon was indeed gone.

"Big brother…" he whimpered.

In his mind, Syrus heard the final words that his older brother had spoken to him, which had completely surprised him. "I'm proud of you Syrus, and will always be. Don't forget, I love you little brother."

Gathering his courage, Syrus turned away from the former battlefield and began running as hard as his legs could carry him. "I won't let you down Zane. I'll find the others, and together, we'll take down Jesse!"

--

Trudging along through the sandy wasteland, Marie raised a hand up to cover her eyes from the gloomy sunlight and glanced ahead. Finding nothing but wasteland still, she heavily sighed.

"Damn, still no sign of anyone…" she grumbled aloud. "Maybe I shouldn't have let Illidan run off after all a few days ago. I was just so angry and frustrated. Instead of trying to understand him, I pushed him away and let him leave on his own."

Feeling hot tears beginning to well up in her eyes, she brought her hands up to her face and wept into them. "I'm a horrible wife for not thinking of him. He was hurting inside just as much, if not more than I was, and I just pushed him away when I should have drawn him closer. Will I ever find him again I wonder? And if I do, will he forgive me for acting like I did?"

Weakly smiling, she used her sleeves to wipe her eyes and glanced ahead once more. "I know he'll take me back. He understands that I'm under a lot of strain as well, and that I'm just really worried about Arya."

--

Continuing to move along, Marie let out a sigh of relief when she saw a small forest coming up in the distance. Reaching it, she took a drink of water from the bottle that she had. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she moved deeper into the forest, finding a stream that had fresh water.

Filling her bottle back up, she decided to clean up since she had water to do so and began searching the area for a suitable bathing area. Her search was interrupted suddenly when she heard a mighty roar echoing throughout the forest.

"What the hell was that?" Marie asked aloud while glancing around the forest.

Finding the source of what she had heard, she saw a large towering black dragon with rainbow colored gems on it's sides near the edge of the forest. Near it stood a large combination robot with it's body seemingly showing it's readiness to attack.

Running to the area where the two creatures were, Marie soon came to the edge of the forest and saw two figures squaring off in a duel. The first she instantly recognized as Syrus, who seemed to have a look of anger. Eyeing the second one, it took her a moment, but slowly, Marie recognized the young man as Jesse.

Unsure of what to do, she began moving towards the pair and calmly said "Jesse, Syrus."

"Stay back Professor Marie!" Syrus coldly called out.

"Syrus, is that really you?" she asked with curiosity.

Throwing her a quick glance, Syrus replied "Yes, it's me. Zane managed to get rid of Zell, who was controlling me apparently. But not too long after freeing me, he got into another duel, and lost. It was a duel with this guy, Jesse, but this isn't really Jesse, I have to guess. He's being controlled by someone called Yubel."

"Yubel…" Marie murmured while glancing at the young man that she had come to know during the tournament. "You mean Yubel is within him, controlling him?"

"Not exactly." a feminine voice spoke up from Jesse's body. With a smirk and dark purple glow, Jesse, with Yubel's voice, added "I am controlling this boy's body, but I am not within him. I merely control him, that's all. The real me is elsewhere."

"I see…" Marie dryly remarked. "Why are you battling Syrus then?"

Sneering, Jesse's voice mixed with Yubel's replied "I'm going to crush this brat on a whim. He was Zell's vessel, but that doesn't matter. Zell is dead thanks to Zane, but now I wish to sever all ties with that body. So, if you excuse me, I'm going to finish the job."

"Not likely since I have my Super Vehicroid – Stealth Union (3600/3000) on the field. And don't forget, I formed it using my Power Bond, doubling it's attack points (3600 2 7200/3000)." Syrus explained.

Smirking, Jesse smugly replied "That maybe so, but your little toy loses half it's attack points when it attacks, meaning you're completely outmatched."

Chuckling lightly, Syrus shook his head and showed a remaining card in his hand. "Not quite, because a duel isn't over till the last card is played, and the one I'm playing will win me this duel! I activate the spell Limiter Removal, doubling my Stealth Union's attack points (7200 2 14400/3000)!"

Glowing with a white energy aura, the machine monster took up an offensive stance and drew back both it's arms. Raising them into the air, the machine creature let out a small groan and then brought it's arms back down into an attack position.

"Good game Jesse, but it's over. Now to avenge my brother! Super Vehicroid – Stealth Union, pound his dragon and end this duel (14400 / 2 7200/3000)!"

Racing forward, the machine creature pulled back a mighty hand, which began glowing with white energy. Nearing the black towering dragon, the machine creature sent the fist flying forward straight for the dragon's face.

"As much fun as this is, little Syrus, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut your fun short." Jesse smugly remarked. "I play my trap, Crystal Counter, allowing me to fill my Spell/Trap Zones full of my Advanced Crystal Beasts from my Graveyard."

Glowing to life with a rainbow colored light, Jesse's Graveyard Slot shot out five beams of light, which landed onto the field and created five different colored crystals.

"I wouldn't get too cozy with them, for I play my dragon's ability, sending all five back to the Graveyard to increase my dragon's strength by a 1000 for each crystal (4000 + 1000 5 9000/0)."

With a mighty roar thundering onto the field, each of the five crystals glowed to life and shot a beam out of themselves at Jesse's Graveyard Slot. The five crystals soon enough vanished while the large black dragon glowed with a rainbow colored aura.

Staring in shock and surprise, Syrus whispered "No, it's not possible…"

"But it is little Syrus." Jesse mockingly replied. "Counter that scrap heap now Rainbow Dark Dragon with Dark Rainbow Refraction!"

Roaring loudly, the large black dragon opened it's jaws and fired a beam of rainbow colored energy straight at the attacking machine creature. The beam shot straight through the machine's right fist and completely through it's body. Instantly, the machine creature stopped it's movement and exploded, sending debris and smoke throughout the field.

Coughing weakly, Syrus stared over at Jesse and then fell to his knees. "I've lost…" he muttered in defeat. "Power Bond takes the last of my life points."

"And good ridden, you little pest." Jesse smartly remarked.

"SYRUS!" Marie cried out and rushed to the small young man. Reaching him, she pulled him to her chest and kissed the top of his head while his body began to glow with a dark aura.

In a meek whisper, he said "I'm sorry Professor Marie for this whole mess. I wasn't strong enough to stop Zell, and it cost my brother in the end. I'm so sorry…"

"Shush now, it's alright." Marie quietly said while running her fingers through his hair. "You did the best you could, and I'm proud of you Syrus. Don't worry, I'll get you and your brother back, I promise."

Syrus was about to answer when his body completely vanished, leaving Marie and Jesse alone as the image of the black dragon faded away. Turning away, Jesse began walking away till Marie called out after him.

"Coward, why do you leave when you have another fight?" she demanded furiously.

Stopping in his tracks, Jesse slowly turned around and cracked a sinister smirk. "So, you're going to avenge that boy, eh? How noble of you!" he sarcastically remarked.

Glaring harshly at Jesse, Marie tightly said "You should be ashamed of yourself Yubel. Going after Jaden was one thing, but taking out Syrus and Zane was another. You'll pay for both of them, I swear it!"

"Unlikely. You don't have what it takes to defeat me." Jesse commented with Yubel's voice mixed in. "However though, I do wish to fight you."

"You do, eh? That's a surprise." Marie sharply remarked.

Chuckling darkly, Jesse nodded and replied in his mixed voice "I wish to possess the power you have Marie, and to do that, I need to take control of you. Your power even exceeds Illidan's, meaning you'll make a perfect vessel."

"I've heard that before. If you want my body, then you'll have to beat me in a duel, but I have a set of high stakes for you." Marie smartly said. "If you win, you may possess me, but if I win, you will free Zane and Syrus, and release your control of Jesse."

Cocking an eyebrow, Jesse asked "And I should agree to that because?"

"You need me." Marie flatly said. "You said it yourself, my power is what you need, and I have a feeling that if you're going to beat the Fallen Angels, you're going to need all the power you can get. That's why you'll take up this bet. You can't afford not to."

Growling lowly, Jesse frowned heavily till finally he smirked. "Very well, I accept your terms. It is true, I need you far too much to let you escape once more, so we shall do things your way, this time. Once I win though, you will be mine forever."

"I understand the consequences of losing a duel with stakes this high." Marie remarked in a clipped tone. "Just make sure to pay up when you lose."

Sneering, Jesse smugly remarked "Such insolence. I'll enjoy destroying you."

"We'll see." Marie smartly replied while backing away till the two were separated by a small distance.

With the two separated, each pulled their decks out and began shuffling. Upon finishing, each placed them into their Duel Disks. Jesse's Duel Disk instantly came to life, with the three blades sliding out while Marie's pushed out and slid the single blade out. Drawing their first five cards, the two shouted out "Duel!"

"As a show of good faith, I'll let you lead off." Jesse calmly said.

Slightly smirking, Marie drew her new card and said "Why thank you! I'll begin by activating a field spell, Sanctuary of the Sky!"

Holding her Duel Disk vertical, Marie tapped it, causing a slot to shoot out. Slapping the card in her hand into the slot, the slot instantly closed and glowed to life. Instantly the scenery around the pair changed, with a blue sky appearing that had white fluffy clouds and a large ancient building forming behind Marie.

"With this field spell, whenever one of my Fairy Type monsters happens to lose a battle, I take zero Battle Damage. And next, I'll summon up my Shining Angel (1400/800)."

Materializing onto the field was a blonde haired man with bronzed skin, two large golden wings on his back, and a white tunic.

"I'll end with a face down. Now let's see what you can do." (Marie 8000, Jesse 8000)

Sneering, Jesse drew a card and smartly said "Careful what you ask for Marie. I'll kick things off with this, the spell Terraforming! This spell allows me to transfer a field spell from my deck to my hand."

Pulling his deck out and sifting through it, he smirked once more and selected the card and showed it to Marie. "The one I've picked is known as Advanced Dark. And now, I activate it, meaning your precious field spell is gone, while mine replaces it!"

Tapping the third blade on his Duel Disk, a new blade shot out with an empty slot. Setting the card into the slot, the blade sucked back into the third blade. Immediately, the ancient building behind Marie shattered, along with the blue sky, revealing the original terrain. Forming around Jesse a moment later was a blue circle with strange runic symbols on the outside of it. Spreading across the field, the circle surrounded both duelists completely while a small wall of blue flames rose from the circle's edge.

Glancing at the field spell, a gasp of surprise escaped Marie's mouth as her brow furrowed. "It can't be. This field spell resembles the Seal of Orichalcos, but the Seal was destroyed almost ten years ago, so it can't be the same."

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Marie reopened them slowly. "I can't let trivial things like that bother me. The Seal is gone, so I shouldn't worry so much about stupid things like that, especially since I have a hard road ahead of me without my field spell."

"Something the matter?" Jesse's voice called out, making Marie stare at him.

Shaking her head, Marie softly replied "No, not at all. So, what does this little circle do?"

Sneering in response, Jesse smugly said "You'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, I summon Advanced Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger (1600/1000)."

Forming on the field immediately was a yellow round stone. After a moment, it glowed black and exploded, revealing a white tiger with black stripes, black fur on all four of it's feet, a black blade on it's tail, and a white horn jutting out of it's forehead. The tiger let out a low growl while glaring at the bronze skinned angel.

"Topaz, attack with Incisor Slash!"

Letting out a low growl, the tiger quickly began bounding across the field and suddenly leapt up into the air with it's paws stretched out and claws ready to strike.

"By the way Marie, when Topaz attacks, his special ability is triggered. He gains 400 attack points during my Battle Phase (1600 + 400 2000/1000)."

Cocking an eyebrow while smirking, Marie smugly replied "That maybe so, but I play a trap, one that will stop me from taking any damage! Go Spirit Barrier, which reduces all Battle Damage to zero so long as it was a battle between monsters."

Pouncing on the bronze skinned angel, the tiger smashed the creature, who let out a cry of pain before shattering. The tiger moved onwards towards Marie and attempted to slash her, but a golden barrier formed around her body, stopping the tiger from causing her any harm.

"That maybe so Marie, but you lost a monster nonetheless." Jesse pointed out.

Chuckling lightly, Marie nodded and replied "True, but his special ability was just triggered! Whenever Shining Angel goes to my Graveyard, I get to special summon a new Light Attribute monster from my deck to the field, so long as it has 1500 or less attack points."

Pulling her deck out, she fanned it out till she finally found the card she was looking for. She quickly slapped the card to her Duel Disk and said "I choose this, my second Shining Angel (1400/800)!"

Rising onto the field was a new bronzed skin angel with golden wings and wearing a white tunic.

Replacing her deck, Marie smartly asked "Are you finished?"

"That weakling won't slow me down for long. I set a card and end." (Marie 8000, Jesse 8000)

Drawing her new card, Marie examined it for a moment before slapping it onto her Duel Disk, saying "I sacrifice Shining Angel for Airknight Parshath (1900/1400)!"

Instantly, the blonde haired angel vanished in a glow of golden light, only to be replaced by a new half angel, half horse creature. The angel half wore blue and gold armor, and had wings draping across it's body in different places. In his right hand was a sword, while his left held a shield. The horse half was white, and had wings on it's back.

"Airknight, go cut his kitty down with Angel Slash!"

Racing forward across the field, the half horse, half angel drew his sword up and slashed the white tiger across the chest. The tiger instantly roared out in pain and shattered, causing a cloud of smoke to fill the field.

"Whenever Topaz Tiger is destroyed in battle, he's placed into my Spell/Trap Zone as a continuous spell card." Jesse declared while the smoke cleared and revealed a yellow crystal before him.

Eyeing Jesse's life points, Marie gasped and asked "Why didn't your life points change? You should have lost some."

"True, but thanks to my Advanced Dark card, I can send an Advanced Crystal Beast from my deck to my Grave to negate the Battle Damage I'd take when an Advanced Crystal Beast is destroyed in battle." Jesse explained while pulling his deck out. Sifting through it for a moment, he finally found the card he wanted and shuffled his deck and replaced it. Showing the card, he calmly said "I send Advanced Crystal Beast Emerald Turtle (600/2000) to the Graveyard."

Slightly growling, Marie glared at the crystal on his field. "Great, with that field spell, he's negated Airknight's ability to allow me to draw a card."

Glancing at her hand, Marie selected a card from it and placed it into a Spell/Trap Slot, and proceeded to huff out "I end." (Marie 8000, Jesse 8000)

"Good, then my move!" Jesse declared while drawing his card. Turning the card towards Marie, he said "I activate the spell E-Force, allowing me to special summon a crystal back to my field, so rise up once more Topaz Tiger (1600/1000)!"

Glowing with a dark aura, the yellow crystal shattered and reformed into the white tiger with black stripes.

"But I'm not done, for I summon Advanced Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth (1700/1600)!"

Materializing onto the field was a round amber colored stone with a dark aura surrounding it. A moment later, the aura flared to life and the stone shattered, revealing a large dark grey mammoth with white tusks, an amber round stone on it's forehead, and a white mane.

"Topaz, crush her angel with Incisor Slash!"

Letting out a roar, the white tiger bound across the field and leapt up into the air. Coming down fast, the tiger sank it's claws into the half angel, half horse creature, destroying it instantly.

Shielding herself from the small explosion, Marie smartly said "Don't forget, my trap negates the Battle Damage."

"Maybe so, but what's shielding you from Amber Mammoth? Allow me to answer that: NOTHING!" Jesse declared. "Direct attack her Amber Mammoth!"

Charging forward, the mammoth creature let out a bugle like sound and slammed a large foot into Marie, making her cry out in pain.

"I think that's enough punishment for now. I end my turn." (Marie 6300, Jesse 8000)