This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:
Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel
The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry
Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami
WARNING: These stories are rated either T (13-plus) or M for moments of violence, bloody moments, frightening moments, and some suggestive themes. Viewer discretion may be (or strongly is) advised.
Title: Enter the Shadows, Part 2
The blimp continued to fly across the city of Knapford… but there was a red barrier of sorts on top of the dueling area. That was from the newly activated Spell Card called 'Dark Sanctuary'. Inside the arena, Montague was busy gloating over trapping Thomas in his…well, trap.
"Thomas…" giggled Montague fiendishly (LP: 150), "I'm going to let you enjoy my 'Dark Sanctuary' to the fullest. You sealed your fate when you destroyed 'Dark Necrofear'."
"Destroying 'Dark Necrofear' unleashed this devastating card," thought Thomas (LP: 4000), "What does Montague aim to do with it?"
"The moment 'Dark Sanctuary' is activated, the hateful spirit, known as the Onryou, is automatically Special Summoned," thought Montague, "That vengeful soul, knowing only hatred, will wander your field in search of its next host… But Thomas…" As his words continued, a ghostly spirit appeared on the field—which no one but him could see, "You won't see which monster is possessed until it's too late…"
The ghost soon entered the body of the unexpecting 'Queen's Knight'.
"Something's up, but I don't know what it is," thought Thomas, as he looked at his field, "Montague controls no monsters, and I control both 'Dark Magician Girl' and 'Queen's Knight'. The former has already attacked, but the latter still has yet to battle. If I attack now, I'll win," He narrowed his eyes, "That's what I should do."
Below the platform, no one knew what to make of the card that Montague played—other than claiming how scary it was.
"I don't like this," shivered Molly in fright, "It's so creepy."
Suddenly, a ghost of a sort swooped past poor Molly, making her let out a frightened shriek.
"This is nuts!" exclaimed Matt, "Why in the world would Montague play a card like that?"
"Since it's a rare card, he must have done it for a reason," replied Zack, "Otherwise, why, indeed. 'Dark Sanctuary' is one of the few cards I have absolutely no info on…"
Back on the platform…
"Your Field Spell makes little difference to me in this duel, Montague," said Thomas, not looking frightened, "You have only 150 LP left, and no monsters to protect you! One final direct attack by my 'Queen's Knight', and this duel is over!"
"Then what are you waiting for?" dared Montague, "Attack me and win the duel!"
"Very well!" Thomas accepted, before resuming his Battle Phase, "'Queen's Knight', direct attack, now!"
'Queen's Knight' obeyed and raised her sword to strike—however, Montague started laughing around there.
"Spirit Burn!" roared Montague.
Suddenly, 'Queen's Knight' stopped attacking and screamed of pain before something emerged from her body from the backside—which happened to also be in the very direction of where Thomas was standing.
"What?!" panicked Thomas
"Meet the ghost of Dark Sanctuary!" laughed Montague, "Attack my opponent, now!"
The ghost entered Thomas's own body, and the blue-haired boy screamed in pain.
"Something came out of 'Queen's Knight' and attacked me!" recovered Thomas, losing LP (LP: 4000 → 3250).
"Surprised?" taunted Montague, "She's been possessed by the hateful spirit of 'Dark Sanctuary', Onryou!"
"Onryou?" repeated Thomas.
"The Onryou becomes an Equip Card," explained Montague, "Attaching itself to one of the opponent's monsters. When the opponent uses the monster to attack, the player's attack is negated, and they take damage equal to half of the equipped monster's ATK."
"Oh man!" cried Gordon.
"Thomas!" Emily called out.
"It means 'Queen's Knight' can't attack without hurting Thomas!" added Carlie.
"That's a really broken card!" Ryan threw in.
Back on the platform…
"That isn't all the ghost of 'Dark Sanctuary' can do, Thomas," warned Montague, regaining some lost LP (LP: 150 → 900), "The damage you take will also be added to my LP!"
Below the platform, Marik was more pleased than normal and decided to pay his partner a little visit.
(elsewhere…)
Inside the darkness of Montague's mind, the image of Marik suddenly reappeared.
"You're doing well, Montague," The Rare Hunter leader said pleasantly, "Keep it up, and win me that 'God' Card!"
"It will be my pleasure," smirked Montague.
(elsewhere…)
Outside Montague's mind…
"Thomas, thanks to your attack backfiring, your Battle Phase has come to an early end!" declared Montague, "Either enter your Main Phase 2 or end your turn!"
"The damage from that attack felt too real to be a hologram," thought Thomas, "That must mean…this is a Shadow Game!" Finally he spoke aloud, "I end my turn."
"It's too early to be surprised, Thomas," Montague pointed out, "This is but the start of my Occult Deck's terror!"
Below the platform…
"Great, thanks to that ghost, Thomas's whole Deck could turn against him!" groaned Percy.
"If only Thomas could find a way to counter that thing," added Toby unhappily.
"If you have a suggestion," began James, "I'm all ears."
The brown-haired boy did not have an answer. Back on the duel stage…
"It's my turn!" announced Montague, drawing a card, "Draw card!"
Turn Nine: Montague (LP: 900)
Deck: 51
Current Hand (4): "Earthbound Spirit", "Dark Spirit of the Silent", "Sangan", and "The Dark Door"
His drawn card was the 'The Dark Door' Spell Card.
"And now it's time to activate the Trap Card that will seal your fate!" As Montague said that, his first face-down card flipped face-up and revealed itself, "Continuous Trap, open! 'Destiny Board'!"
Out of the face-up 'Destiny Board' Trap Card came a large Ouija board with a ghostly hand over it.
"What is that thing?" asked Mavis, "It looks like one of those Ouija Boards you'd see at a seance."
"Oh, Mavis, you really should not have asked that question," Gordon groaned, knowing that this was going to be bad indeed.
"Heh heh heh… I'm very glad the young lady asked…" chuckled Montague, overhearing the audience, "This is what we call an Ouija board, which is a tool used to communicate with spirits… The planchette will point to letters on the board, and spell out the spirit's wishes..." As focus went towards the floating board, he went over his card's first effect, "Once per turn, during my opponent's End Phase: I must place 1 'Spirit Message' card from my hand or Deck in my Spell & Trap Zone face-up, in the proper order of 'I', 'N', 'A', and 'L'!"
"But what's the point of it?" pressed Thomas, because he never heard of the 'Destiny Board' Trap Card.
"Simple, when the message is all spelled out… I will automatically claim victory!" answered Montague.
"What?!"
"He'll claim an automatic win?!" came from James, "Can he really do that?"
"Yes," Edward nodded, who knew all about the 'Destiny Board' Trap Card, "Along with the five 'Exodia' cards, 'Destiny Board' is one of the very few automatic win-type cards."
"Now, let's see what the first letter is, shall we…?" snickered Montague.
The arrow on the Ouija board moved around until it stopped on the letter 'F', creating a ghostly version above the board itself.
"An F?" quizzed Ben, "What do you guys think the full word is?"
"Well, considering he said that the other 'Spirit Message' cards were 'I', 'N', 'A', and 'L'," replied Zack, "It obviously spells out the word 'Final'."
"Thomas has only four turns to beat Montague," acknowledged Michael.
"That guy really did have a strategy," scowled James R., "Now Montague has locked Thomas into a combo that's nearly impossible to break out of!"
"Using the Onryou to possess Thomas's monsters… stealing his LP… and using 'Destiny Board' to put a time limit on this match with a message of death," added Carlie.
Back on the platform…
"Thomas, the countdown to your doom has begun!" raged Montague, "You only have four turns left to live!" He took another card from his hand, "But there's much more to the Occult Combo!"
Thomas braced himself for what was to come next.
"I activate the Continuous Spell, 'The Dark Door'," continued Montague, slotting his card ('The Dark Door') into a Spell & Trap Zone on his Duel Disk, "from my hand!"
The mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field. Thomas recognized it in an instant.
"That card…!" mumbled Thomas unhappily.
"Only 1 monster can attack during each Battle Phase," explained Montague, before placing another card onto his Duel Disk, "And speaking of monster, I'll Summon 'Earthbound Spirit'!"
An EARTH-based Fiend monster appeared on the field…from under the ground (Level: 4/ATK: 500/DEF: 2000).
"But it won't be here for long," Montague went on, removing the card from his Duel Disk, "I Tribute 'Earthbound Spirit'!"
'Earthbound Spirit' was swallowed by the ground and disappeared.
"In order to keep 'Dark Sanctuary' on the field, I have to Tribute a monster during each of my turns," explained Montague
Thomas watched on nervously. Although the blue-haired boy tried to remain brave, this all was a bit scary for him.
"What's the matter?" taunted Montage, "Are you scared to make a move?"
"It's my turn!" growled Thomas, angrily drawing his card, "Draw!"
Turn Ten: Thomas Billinton (LP: 3250)
Deck: 50
Current Hand (6): "Card Destruction", "Berfomet", "De-Fusion", "Kuriboh", "Collected Power", and "Magician's Valkyria"
He added the card to his hand.
"I've got four turns left to turn this duel around," Thomas thought to himself, "Thanks to his 'The Dark Door', I can only attack with one monster per turn, yet Montague controls no monsters," He looked at 'Queen's Knight' with concern, "But I can't use my 'Queen's Knight' since she's still possessed by the ghost of 'Dark Sanctuary', meaning I'll take 750 damage and make Montague recover that many LP! So…" His focus then went to 'Dark Magician Girl' "…I'll have to use Dark Magician Girl instead! If successful, Montague's 900 LP will be depleted, and I'll be the winner."
"I know you'll attack with 'Dark Magician Girl'," thought Montague, before smiling fiendishly, "But when you do…"
Thomas began his Battle Phase…
"Dark Magician Girl, attack Montague directly!" commanded Thomas.
'Dark Magician Girl' started to obey… but then felt a ghastly presence inside of her body.
"Spirit Burn!" called Montague.
Suddenly, 'Dark Magician Girl' screamed in pain as the ghost of 'Dark Sanctuary' left her body from the backside and struck Thomas, causing him to yell in pain again (LP: 3250 → 2000).
"What?!" cried Thomas, gasping and panting, "T-This time Dark Magician Girl was possessed?!"
'Dark Magician Girl' stared at her master and friend with concern, knowing that it was her fault Thomas got hurt.
"Oh dear, did I forget to mention that I can choose which monster that can be possessed?" asked Montague sadistically, regaining more LP (LP: 900 → 2150), "Silly me! Anyway, 'Dark Magician Girl' has 2500 ATK, meaning you lost 1250 LP, and I regained that many LP."
Thomas grimaced in response. Below the platform, much of the audience was dismayed by this realization.
"This is so not fair!" complained Henry.
"Dammit! So that Montague can possess whatever monster he wants, and neither Thomas nor we can't see?" accused James angrily.
"Can Thomas still win?" Skiff asked Spencer.
"At this point, things aren't looking good for him," The silver-haired boy stated bluntly. In his mind, "The only solution would be to Summon his 'God', 'Slifer the Sky Dragon'."
Back on the platform, Thomas took a card from his hand and placed it onto his Duel Disk (sideways).
"I Summon 'Kuriboh' in Defense Position!" declared Thomas.
The brown, furball-like monster appeared with a gentle coo (Level: 1/ATK: 300/DEF: 200).
"I end my turn," Thomas concluded, scowling.
"Like that hairball, or any of your monsters, will make a difference to me!" mocked Montague, before raising his right hand into the air, "Now for the next letter for the 'Spirit Message'!"
The arrow on the floating Ouija board moved and stopped on the letter 'I', causing a ghostly version to appear next to the letter 'F'. A card suddenly materialized in one of the remaining empty Spell & Trap Zones on Montague's Duel Disk.
"So, the next letter is an 'I'," The spirit of the Millennium Ring chuckled evilly, drawing his card, "And that means it's now my turn! I draw a card!"
Turn Eleven: Montague (LP: 2150)
Deck: 49
Current Hand (3): "Dark Spirit of the Silent", "Sangan", and "The Earl of Demise"
Looking at his drawn card ('The Earl of Demise'), Montague added it to his hand and selected another card to play.
"I Summon 'Sangan'!" declared Montague.
The larger brown creature appeared on the field (Level: 3/ATK: 1000/DEF: 600).
"Then I'll Tribute this monster for the cost of 'Dark Sanctuary'!" said Montague snidely.
'Sangan' vanished in a blue streak.
"Now my monster's effect activates…" As Montague spoke, he took his Deck out of the Duel Disk to look through it, "If this card is sent from the field to the GY: I must add 1 monster with 1500 or less ATK from my Deck to my hand, but I cannot activate cards, or the effects of cards, with that name for the rest of this turn."
He selected a Monster Card ('Souls of the Forgotten'), shuffled his Deck, and put it back into his Duel Disk when he finished.
"In three more turns," continued Montague coolly, "I will have all five spirit letters and win!"
Suddenly, Thomas noticed something about the Ouija board and Montague's field and smirked.
"Are you sure about that?" Thomas pressed bluntly, "It looks to me like your combo has a serious flaw."
"What?" frowned Montague.
"Montague, you only need three more letters," explained Thomas, "but you only have two free Spell & Trap Zones available. So you won't be able to play the final letter."
"Hehehe… Thanks for the warning," snickered Montague, "However, you might want to get a new rule book, because my strategy will work whether you like it or not."
Thomas frowned again, but said nothing. He was wondering what exactly his opponent was talking about.
"'Dark Sanctuary' does more than create ghosts while in play," admitted Montague, "It also allows me to use my empty Monster Zones as additional Spell & Trap Zones. That means I can play up to ten Spells or Traps!" He laughed wickedly, "There's no way I can run out of room!"
Now Thomas was left more worried than before. Below the platform…
"Thomas!" called Percy.
"Damn! How much more broken can you get?!" ranted James, "That Deck of his is pretty much invincible, if you ask me!"
"There has to be something Thomas can do about that 'Destiny Board'," protested Henry.
"As long as 'Dark Sanctuary' is on the field, Onryou will possess one of Thomas's monsters," recalled Lady, "Worst of all, we can't see which monster that will get possessed, and…" She eyed the face-up 'The Dark Door' on Montague's field, "…'The Dark Door' makes it so Thomas and Montague can only attack with a single monster."
"If Thomas attacks with the wrong monster, he'll take damage and cause Montague to recover further," added Matt.
"And if he does nothing for three turns, he'll lose the duel automatically," finished Zack.
"Oh…" worried Liz.
"Thomas…" came from Ryan.
Back on the platform…
"Finally, I'll Set one card face-down and end my turn," finished Montague, holding up and slotting a card into a Spell & Trap Zone on his Duel Disk. A face-down card materialized on the field, "Thomas, you will lose in three turns! You can't escape this fate!"
"It's my turn!" declared Thomas, drawing a card, "Draw!"
Turn Twelve: Thomas Billinton (LP: 2000)
Deck: 49
Current Hand (6): "Card Destruction", "Berfomet", "De-Fusion", "Collected Power", "Magician's Valkyria", and "Monster Reborn"
The ghost of 'Dark Sanctuary' left 'Dark Magician Girl' and began circling around all three monsters while Montague watched.
"Now then," Montague thought to himself, "Who shall my ghost possess this time?" He grinned evilly as he made a choice, "I think I'll go for his precious 'Dark Magician Girl' once again."
The ghost went back inside the female Spellcaster monster.
"Montague's definitely possessed another of my monsters," thought Thomas, "It can't be 'Kuriboh'. He wouldn't want to waste the time on a monster that's in Defense Position. So who could it be?" He eyed both 'Queen's Knight' and 'Dark Magician Girl', "Is it 'Queen's Knight' or 'Dark Magician Girl'? And thanks to 'The Dark Door', I can only attack with one monster," However, he smiled at the card ('Magician's Valkyria') he had drawn on his previous turn (his hand also contained 'Card Destruction', 'Berfomet', 'De-Fusion', 'Collected Power', and the drawn 'Monster Reborn'), "But I know this card isn't possessed, and so I'll use it at once," Taking the card he wanted to play, he placed it on an empty Monster Zone on his Duel Disk, "I Summon 'Magician's Valkyria' in Attack Position!"
A slightly older looking version of 'Dark Magician Girl' with brownish blonde hair, different clothing, and a scepter for a weapon materialized on the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1800).
"A good strategy, Billinton," thought Spencer.
"Since you've already chosen what monster to possess," Thomas pointed out, "I have no worries attacking with this one! 'Magician's Valkyria', attack Montague directly! Magic Illusion!"
'Magician's Valkyria' twirled her scepter, aimed it, and fired off a blast of magic. The audience cheered.
"Nice thinking, Thomas!" called James.
The direct attack was about to work—had it not been for one minor detail… As soon as Thomas declared an attack, Montague gave a very evil smile while speaking some short but deadly words.
"Is it?"
Thomas looked confused… and so Montague decided to just show everyone his secret weapon.
"I activate a Trap Card!" announced Montague, pressing a button on his Duel Disk, "'Dark Spirit of the Silent'!"
His face-down card flipped face-up and revealed itself, causing a ghostly spirit to appear from the face-up card and absorb Magic Illusion.
"What?!" cried Thomas.
"When an opponent's monster declares an attack: I must…" explained Montague, "…target 1 face-up Attack Position monster my opponent controls; I must…" The ghostly spirit from the 'Dark Spirit of the Silent' Trap Card went through 'Magician's Valkyria's' body, causing her to groan in agony as she felt numb, "…negate the attack, then conduct a battle using the targeted monster instead!"
"'Magician's Valkyria'!" cried Thomas. He wasn't just surprised at what the Trap Card had done (stopping the attack), he was actually worried about the well-being of his own monster, "Since she tried attacking, it failed!"
"And the monster I choose to attack is…your 'Dark Magician Girl', who is also still possessed by the spirit of 'Dark Sanctuary'!" cackled Montague, just as he pointed at 'Dark Magician Girl', "Go on, 'Dark Magician Girl'! Commence your attack on me!"
Poor 'Dark Magician Girl', with tears in her eyes, was forced to attack Montague instead of her companion.
"Spirit Burn!" The voice of Montage screeched.
'Dark Magician Girl' screamed in pain as the ghost of 'Dark Sanctuary' left her body from the backside to attack Thomas instead, causing him to cry out in agony as he lost more LP and dropped to his hands and knees (LP: 2000 → 750).
"Thomas!" Emily and the likes all cried out in horror.
"That's 1250 more LP for me," jeered Montague, as his LP increased further (LP: 2150 → 3400), "You'll never break my Occult Deck's combo!"
Below the platform…
"This is bad," grumbled Gordon, "That damn combo of Montague's can't be broken! Thomas has no real chance of winning!"
"Thomas," muttered Matt, with his arms folded.
"Oh no… Thomas…" fretted Liz.
On the nearby platform, Skiff's fists were shaking over how terrifying Montague's Deck was.
"Spencer, is Thomas really going to lose?" stammered Skiff.
"Montague's combo has locked Billinton out of the Battle Phase," thought Spencer, before eyeing the floating Ouija board, "Will he let the turns go by and accept his death?" He smiled to himself, "No. He will find a way to fight back. Even this isn't enough to break his dueling spirit."
Back on the main platform, Thomas's three female monsters, plus 'Kuriboh', immediately turned around and looked at their master with worried looks for his well-being.
"I'll…be okay," The blue-haired boy coughed weakly, struggling to stand.
"That might be the case for now, but it won't be that way for much longer!" Montague laughed some more, "One more attack by my ghost, and this duel and your 'Egyptian God' Card will become mine!"
Thomas was in his thoughts over the situation at hand.
"He's right," Thomas thought to himself, "How can I defeat something I can't see?" Looking at his hand, he spotted something worth Setting, "Wait a minute… Maybe these cards can help me!" He looked back up and spoke aloud, taking two cards in the process, "I think I've found a way to counter your ghost, Montague. I Set two cards face-down and end my turn!"
Two face-down cards materialized on the field behind 'Kuriboh', 'Dark Magician Girl', 'Queen's Knight', and 'Magician's Valkyria'.
"You claim to know how to beat my Occult Deck?" scoffed Montague, "How pitiful! My combo has no weaknesses! And with 'The Dark Door' still in play, your 'Queen's Knight' couldn't attack me this turn," With that said, focus went towards the floating Ouija board, as the arrow started moving again, "The next letter will be revealed!"
The arrow stopped on the letter 'N', causing a ghostly version to appear next to the letter 'I'. A card suddenly materialized in one of the remaining empty Spell & Trap Zones on Montague's Duel Disk.
"The letter 'N'! In two turns, I'll claim instant victory!" bragged Montague, as he drew his card, "It's my turn! Draw!"
Turn Thirteen: Montague (LP: 3400)
Deck: 46
Current Hand (3): "The Earl of Demise", "Souls of the Forgotten", and "Dark Spirit of the Silent"
On cue, a Monster Card called 'Souls of the Forgotten' appeared face-up on the field.
"I Summon 'Souls of the Forgotten'!" The voice of Montague announced.
A cluster of purple souls appeared on the field (Level: 2/ATK: 900/DEF: 200)—before collapsing onto the ground and disappearing.
"And I'll offer it as a Tribute to keep 'Dark Sanctuary' in place!" The voice of Montague said, as the above scenario played out. He then eased up, "I end my turn! Even though you're going to lose in two turns, you'll keep fighting me in vain?"
"Yeah," replied Thomas, "No matter how bad the situation, I try to survive each turn. Because the next turn may have potential!"
"You make me laugh!" snorted Montague, "There is no potential, only fear and despair!" he pointed at his opponent scornfully, "If you claim your turn will have potential, then draw your card!"
Thomas drew his card as he was told to.
Turn Fourteen: Thomas Billinton (LP: 750)
Deck: 48
Current Hand (4): "Card Destruction", "Berfomet", "De-Fusion", and "Exile of the Wicked"
Suddenly, after looking at his card, the blue-haired boy was now smiling.
"And why are you so happy?" Montague asked harshly.
"You sure have gotten full of yourself," taunted Thomas, "But don't you think you'd be safer keeping that superego of yours in check?"
"What'd you just say?!" fumed Montague.
"Montague… In my next two turns, I will crush your Occult Deck's combo!" promised Thomas.
Below the platform…
"Judging from his confidence, Thomas must have found a way to strike Montague's combo!" rejoiced Lady.
"Awesome! I can't wait to see what it will be!" added Percy.
"Billinton, I want to witness how you manage to get out of this with my own two eyes!" thought Spencer.
Back on the platform, the ghost emerged from 'Dark Magician Girl', soared around the field for a few seconds, then went back into her body, having taken a sick liking to it. Montague, meanwhile, was entirely dismissive of what Thomas was thinking of.
"You're gonna crush my combo in just two turns, you said?" spat Montague, "Just give the tough-guy act up already. Aren't you the one who's getting full of himself, Thomas?!"
"Every card has potential," retorted Thomas, "And this is one of them!" He pointed forth dramatically, "Trap Card, 'Collected Power'!" The Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself, "I move all Equip Cards on the field to my 'Kuriboh'!"
The textbook that 'Dark Magician Girl' used to grow more powerful left her and went over to 'Kuriboh', who started reading it while getting dizzy.
"Hmm… 'Collected Power'," grinned Spencer, as Skiff, Mr. Gresley (Boxford), and Mrs. Gresley (Boxford) looked towards him, "Target 1 face-up monster on the field; equip it with all Equip Cards on the field. If any of those Equip Cards is now equipped to an incorrect target, destroy that Equip Card."
"So by doing that, the Equip Card attached to 'Dark Magician Girl', 'Magic Formula', is transferred to 'Kuriboh'…" commented Skiff.
"But that's not all!" cried Mrs. Gresley (Boxford).
Back on the main platform…
"What good will that do you?" Montague quizzed, not seeing the point.
"You said this yourself, right?" retorted Thomas, "That when the Onryou possesses a monster, it becomes an Equip Card. Although I myself cannot see the form of this hateful spirit, the effect of 'Collected Power' forces the Onryou to possess 'Kuriboh'!"
Thomas was right on the button… Suddenly, the ghost was forced out of 'Dark Magician Girl's' body and absorbed into 'Kuriboh's' little body.
"Ugh! I didn't think of that!" grunted Montague in anger.
"That's not all!" Thomas held out a fresh Spell Card ('Exile of the Wicked'), "I'll now activate 'Exile of the Wicked'! I must destroy all Fiend monsters on the field!"
"Oh no!" Montague panicked, "My Onryou is equipped to your 'Kuriboh'!"
The ghost tried to break free, but Kuriboh grabbed onto it with its green hands as if to say "If I'm going down, I'm taking you down with me.", as they both vanished in blue streaks.
"My ghost!" cried Montague, but tried to smile anyway, "I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you, Thomas! It's not as if you've completely broken my Occult Deck's combo or anything!"
"Be patient, Montague!" said Thomas cheekily, "My turn isn't over yet, and I'm going to destroy 'Dark Sanctuary' by reviving the very monster I destroyed earlier!"
The evil spirit of the Millennium Ring knew exactly what Thomas was talking about.
"Face-down card, open! 'Monster Reborn', activate!" boomed Thomas, just as his last face-down card flipped face-up and revealed itself as focus went entirely to it, "I must target 1 monster in either GY; I must Special Summon it!"
Below the platform, Marik chuckled with amusement over his partner's losing battle and decided to visit him again. On the platform, Montague sweated fearfully over what was coming when he heard Marik's voice talking to him.
"It seems Thomas found the weakness of your Deck's combo, Montague," The voice of Marik remarked remorselessly.
"Weakness?" The voice of Montague responded.
"I know what monster Thomas aims to bring back, and you should, too," The voice of Marik warned.
"Get lost, or I'll kill you!" The voice of Montague snarled.
"You wouldn't dare," The voice of Marik dismissed, "It's true your Occult Combo is close to flawless, and you've done quite well covering up 'Dark Sanctuary's' major drawback. But the problem at hand is the activation conditions of 'Dark Sanctuary' itself."
Montague scowled, "What did you say?"
"In order to activate 'Dark Sanctuary', 'Dark Necrofear' must be in the GY at all costs," The voice of Marik reminded, "So, if 'Dark Necrofear' were to suddenly return to the field, 'Dark Sanctuary' would disappear!"
Montague's fists shook. Meanwhile…
"Resurrect, 'Dark Necrofear'!" commanded Thomas.
In an instant, 'Dark Necrofear' reappeared on the field (Level: 8/ATK: 2200/DEF: 2800). With that done, the whole field of darkness and eyes vanished.
"Hey! With 'Dark Necrofear' being back, that creepy field is now gone!" realized Ben.
"That's much better," sighed Emily, completely relieved.
"Things are so much better without countless eyes staring at you," added Carlie.
"Couldn't agree more," nodded Molly.
Back on the field…
"Dammit!" swore Montague.
"Now you're only allowed to use your five Spell & Trap Zones by default," remembered Thomas, "You no longer have the space to complete 'Destiny Board' and declare an automatic win, Montague!"
Outside the duel, Spencer watched on in his personal thoughts…
"Montague needed 'Dark Necrofear' in the GY to keep 'Dark Sanctuary' around," he thought to himself, "That was the biggest flaw in his combo. A very smart play, Billinton."
Back on the platform…
"I only have a single Spell & Trap Zone left," thought Montague, "I can't complete 'Destiny Board' with it!"
"Prepare to be struck down by your own monster!" shouted Thomas, entering the Battle Phase, "Dark Necrofear, attack Montague directly!" As he announced the attack name, 'Dark Necrofear's' eyes widened with power, "Pray-for-Death Gaze!"
Dark Necrofear obeyed, firing a concentrated blast of dark energy from her eyes. The blast formed a blade of a sort, which slashed Montague and made him shout in pain (LP: 3400 → 1200).
"One more attack and it's over," said Thomas firmly, "Unfortunately, due to 'The Dark Door', I have to end my turn."
Below the platform…
"That Thomas kid sure is impressive," commented Ryan, "I almost wish I was dueling him instead."
Back on the platform…
"With your turn over, I call forth another message for 'Destiny Board'!" bellowed Montague.
The floating Ouija board marked another letter… which was 'A'. A ghostly version of the letter appeared beside 'F', 'I', and 'N', while Montague slotted a card taken from his Deck into the final Spell & Trap Zone on his Duel Disk.
"'F', 'I', 'N', and 'A'… You have four letters for the word 'Final'," The voice of Thomas observed, before grinning to mock Montague further, "However, you'll never get to play the last letter unless you get rid of 'The Dark Door'," As he (Thomas) egged on the opponent, Montague was sweating fearfully, "but you can't even do that since your Spell & Trap Zones are already filled up!" He clenched his right hand into a fist, "On my next turn, your Occult Deck will be wiped out!"
"He's right," thought Montague, looking at his Duel Disk, "I control no monster, and Thomas controls four of them," While thinking about what was going to happen to him, he saw 'Queen's Knight', 'Magician's Valkyria', and 'Dark Magician Girl' each glaring hatefully at him, "All four of them are capable of finishing me off with a single attack!" He then spoke aloud to say something about his situation, "Goddammit!"
Below the platform…
"Judging from the swearing, Montague knows he's cooked," remarked Gordon.
"He sure is," agreed Toby.
"Thomas-boy certainly is impressive, isn't he?" smiled Discord.
"Absolutely," agreed Emily.
"I'll second that," added Lady.
"Darn right!" grinned James.
Nearby…
"Montague, you fought well, but Billinton was simply better than you," chortled Spencer.
On the platform…
"You're trapped," berated Thomas, "No matter what you do, you'll lose at the end of your next turn!"
Montague scowled, "No!" he exclaimed stubbornly, "I can't lose! I've come too far to do so!"
It was then the spirit of the Millennium Ring felt the presence of Marik talking to him.
(elsewhere…)
Within the darkness of Montague's mind…
"That was quick," teased Marik.
"Be quiet," grunted Montague.
"Well, I may have a trick or two left up my sleeves," Marik offered.
"I said silence!" yelled Montague, "I don't need your advice! Get the hell away and let me duel!"
(elsewhere…)
Back on the blimp…
"There's no way I'm gonna lose!" rebutted Montague, "I'll just have to draw a card that'll turn this situation around!" He drew a card, "Draw!"
Turn Fifteen: Montague (LP: 1200)
Deck: 44
Current Hand (3): "The Earl of Demise", "Dark Spirit of the Silent", and "Jowgen the Spiritualist"
Upon taking a look at the card he drew, Montague's angry scowl turned into a smile of evil glee. He snickered quietly before erupting into more psychotic laughter.
"He's lost it," Gordon mumbled, bemused.
"Hasn't he already?" cracked James.
"Thomas!" cackled Montague, "I can't lose so long as I have this card!"
"What card did he just draw?" thought Thomas, becoming worried, "I must win, otherwise Marik could possibly cause more chaos and destruction than ever—and I will never find the answers I seek."
Everyone below the duel platform watched Thomas with concern.
"Thomas…" said Emily quietly.
"If what that guy says is true, then our friend might be in trouble again," sighed Lady.
"Lady, are you sure about that?" pressed Liz.
"I can't be too sure… But it looks that way."
"No!" argued Percy, "Thomas is not going to lose!" He then turned to his friend in his thoughts, "Come on, Thomas. Keep showing us the will of a True Duelist!"
Back on the platform, Thomas didn't seem to be doing so. He was far too busy staring at the card Montague had drawn, all while Montague continued to laugh madly. Was Thomas going to win this duel, or was he all but done for?
And this here is part 2 of Thomas' duel with Montague. Part 3 of the duel will come either later tonight or early tomorrow.