Chapter X: Light and Shadow turn the tables

Midna and Link glared at Zant while the usurper king made his move. Alright, so they've saved themselves right now thought the usurper king. "I draw" said Zant as he drew a card. He then declared "I activate Card of Sanctity! Now all players draw from their decks until they're each holding 6 cards." Link, Midna, and Zant then drew cards corresponding to the amount in their hand. Zant then said "I activate De-Fusion. Now my dragon goes back to my fusion deck and I can special summon my Summoned Skull and my Red-Eyes."

"Great, now he's got 2 powerful monsters on the field again" grumbled Link. "As if we didn't have enough to worry about."

Zant smirked as he continued "Next I activate the magic card, Inferno Fire Blast! By giving up my Dragon's ability to attack, I can inflict damage to an opponent equal to my dragon's attack points. But whom should I target this time?" Zant's eyes settled on the hero and said "I think it's about high time I paid Link back for blocking my attack on Midna." Link gasped and braced himself for impact.

It was then that Midna said "Not so fast, Zant. I reveal my face down card: Magic Jammer."

"Why you…little..."Zant angrily growled. I've been thwarted AGAIN!

Midna smirked and spoke "That's right; by discarding one card from my hand, I can negate your magic card and destroy it." Midna then took one card form her hand and continued "So I'll discard Peten the Dark Clown!" As Zant seethed, she then declared "Also, by removing Peten from play, I can select another one from my deck and special summon it to the field." As Zant's card exploded, Midna's Peten appeared on the field and playfully stuck its tongue out at Zant. "I can then shuffle my deck" Midna continued as she skillfully shuffled her deck like a bar patron would pour wine.

"I place one card face down and end my turn" growled the Usurper King. I'm becoming annoyed…

"Alright, now it's my turn" declared Link. "First I activate Cost Down!" Link then discarded a card and continued "Next I sacrifice my Vorse Raider to summon my Elemental Hero Neos!" Zant stared in awe as a white dolphinish-looking human appeared from the skies. Link then continued "Next I activate Monster Reborn!"

"Monster Reborn? What are you scheming?" seethed Zant.

Link smirked as he continued "I use Monster Reborn to revive the card I discarded, BLACK LUSTER SOLDIER!"

Zant stared in fear as a warrior covered in black armor appeared from the ground. What a comeback thought the Twilight Princess. Link, I admire you!

Link then continued "Then I activate Mystical Space Typhoon and I destroy your face-down card!"

Zant shielded himself as a blast of wind destroyed his face-down card. "No, my defense!" exclaimed the king.

Link then continued "Now, Black Luster Soldier, attack the Summoned Skull!"

Zant stared in great fear as his skull screeched and then disintegrated. "No, my skull!"

Still smirking, Link continued "Now, Neos attack his dragon!" Neos then destroyed Red-Eyes with a punch, his fist aglow with white energy.

Midna watched as Zant's life point meter decreased to 7400. "Great job, Link!" she cheered. "You took down two of his most powerful monsters in one turn!"

Link gave her another thumbs-up, now becoming his trademark gesture. "Thanks, Midna!" They then turned their gaze to the usurper king, his body trembling with anger and rage. Link finished "I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."

Midna smiled at Link; here was her hero, matching intellects with Zant himself! She then turned to Zant and said "Alright Zant, my turn." After drawing her card, she declared "I sacrifice my face-down monster so I can summon my Chaos Command Magician!" A monster then appeared similar in appearance to her Dark Magician, but with a cape and a different scepter. "Now, my magician, attack Zant directly!"

Zant smirked and discarded a card from his hand. In response, a monster that looked like a tiny ball of brown hair appeared to intercept the attack. "Allow me to explain, Midna. The monster you see before you is Kuriboh, and by discarding it from my hand, I can negate the battle damage from one attack, so your blast doesn't do squat." The Kuriboh then exploded in a small blast.

Midna then clenched her fists and murmured "Blast." She felt Link's comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Alright Zant, you may have saved yourself, but this duel's far from over. In fact, you're on the losing end and have no monsters to defend you. One more round and we'll be the victors!"

Zant growled and thought I…will NOT be OUTDONE…by a PRINCESS and her pet HERO… Zant raised his head and replied "Alright Princess, enough fooling around. From now on, it's all-out WAR! You and your hero will lose, and your souls will belong to ME!" Zant then laughed maniacally as his opponents glared at him.

"Be careful, Link…I don't know what he's up to, but I don't like it" Midna warned. Link nodded and the both of them thought I won't lose; both the realms and the love of my life are counting on me.