Coracavus:
The group that journeyed to the Still Ruins went over the bridge that went over the Sulphur plains in order to travel to Griffin Wing Keep to meet with the rest of the gang and come up with a plan on what to do next.
"I have a question everyone." Chazz stated "What happens if Dorian and his group failed in their objective?"
"Don't talk like that Chazz." Alexis scolded.
"I'm just saying that there is always a possibility." Chazz defended "What do we do if they failed?"
Cassandra was walking in front with Zane and they could see the Keep ahead. "I don't think we need to worry about that Chazz." Zane stated
"Yeah, it looks like the army succeeded in their objective." Cassandra finished
"How do you know?" Jaden asked
"Because we can see the Keep from here Jaden." Zane replied and pointed to the keep which had the Banners of the Warriors and Spellcasters on "And the walls wouldn't have those banners on if we lost."
"So what now?" Kallian asked
"Well, we'll meet with Dorian and the leaders and we can form a team to search the last location here that the Venatori hold." Cassandra stated.
…
As they walked through the Gates of Griffin Wing Keep, they all saw the Warriors and Spellcasters all clearing out the remains of the Venatori and their demon army. The Gravekeepers monsters were also involved in helping. They were then directed to head to the top of the cliff that the Keep was built around as that was where they would find the rest of the group and the faction leaders.
They soon found the others just where they were told to look. Dorian, Cullen, Fiona and Anders were standing around a map while Zevran, Theorn and Daylen were sitting on some benches.
Daylen was the first to spot them "Guys, you made it."
"You should be glad that you went for the Still Ruins." Theorn stated "The fight here was hard but Zevran here managed to take out one of the Venatori leaders."
"It wasn't easy for us either." Alexis replied
"Aye, Zane had to face off against a senior Venatori member as well." Chazz stated
"Aye, it was a sweet duel in the end thanks to the new monsters we managed to acquire in those ruins." Jaden smiled
"Hey, focus Jaden!" Aedan scolded "This is not fun and games anymore."
Kallian looked at them "So how's the situation here?" she asked Daylen.
"Not as great as it looks I'm afraid." Daylen sighed "True we defeated the Venatori but we might not be able to hold this place. The leaders are thinking of abandoning this place but we might need it if we have to attack the Fortress of Adament where there is a massive group of Venatori gathered. Intelligence gathered here seems to say that Adamant is an important stronghold for the Venatori but we're still not in a great position to take it right now. Cullen and Fiona are making plans but we have a major supply problem here."
"What kind of problem?" Sereda asked
"It's getting supplies out here." Zevran replied "We're in the middle of a desert and one of the major issues is our supply lines. We're limited by water here and what's worse the Venatori decided to prevent us from using the old well here. One of the survivors from the battle was caught dumping bodies down it contaminating the water. Now we have to gather water from the Oasis down south which takes time so we can't have a major garrison here. If we didn't need this place to take Adamant then Cullen suggested we destroy it to prevent the Venatori using it."
"So what do we do now?" Alexis asked
Zane looked at them along with Cassandra and Dorian who had finished his talks with the faction leaders "Well we may be able to get some information from the manuscript we found in the Still Ruins." Cassandra said
"But there is still one more place we can search here in the Western Approach." Dorian finished. "The Factions have finished constructing a second bridge towards the hill that houses the lookout tower to the ruins of Coracavus."
"What is that?" Jaden asked
Fiona was the one who spoke up. "Coracavus is an abandoned Prison from the days of the Dragon Faction. Writings describe it as the dark pit, a place worse than death which was seen as a mercy. They sent everyone there for treason to small crimes. Bribes and names meant nothing there but it's been abandoned since the Demon and Fiends ruined this place. Now the place is haunted."
"But it is still a haven for ancient relics." Cullen added. "Reports we found suggest the Venatori have strong hold there. If we're going to take Adamant Fortress then we need to take out the Venatori there otherwise they could attack us from behind."
"Alright so who's going then?" Jaden asked
"These ruins are bigger than the Still Ruins but we have no idea what's there." Zane stated
"There's no point in all of us going." Cassandra stated
"Yeah but I'm still going." Jaden stated
Alexis sighed in frustration with Jaden's goofy behaviour when he should be more serious, "I'm going too then."
"Same here" Chazz added
"I'll come along as well." Aedan replied
"Same here." Kallian stated
Theorn sighed "I'm afraid we are still recovering from the battle." He said "Daylen, Zevran and I need to take it easy."
"Same with Dorian." Zane said "I'll take the group to Coracavus, the rest of you head back to Cumberland, get that manuscript translated and it may contain a clue to the location of the final Old God card."
"Alright, we'll all meet back at Cumberland once this is over." Dorian said "Good luck to all of you and don't take any unnecessary risks."
…
At the Elder One's hideout, Corypehus was using a communication crystal in order to talk with Servis, his last major operative in the Western Approach.
"I'm afraid it's true my lord." Servis stated "Both Lucanius and Macrinus have fallen and we found no evidence of the final Old God spirit here. There was talk of a manuscript but I'm afraid the Spellcasters have found it."
"Those fools!" Corypheus growled
"My lord." The voice of Camula the vampire called "With luck maybe they can lead us to the spirit themselves. After all my minions can spy on them." One of her bats landed on her shoulder just like they had done when she used them to spy on her potential opponents when she was a Shadow Rider.
Corypheus sighed "Do it then." He ordered "And Servis, evacuate the area. If there is nothing else there, no point in wasting resources now."
"Understood master." Servis replied and ended the call.
High ranking Venatori member Gordian looked at his Master "Master Elder One, are you sure we should trust Servis with this. I mean he's only one of us because Livius and I mind controlled him and he's come several times to breaking free. One duel may be all that's needed to finish him."
"Servis has outlived his usefulness anyway now." Corypheus ordered "As has Calpernia. Once she returns from her scouting mission, take care of her."
"As you command master." Gordian replied.
…
Coracavus was indeed hard to reach without having to go through the main entrance. They had not even been able to enter through a side entrance but actually through what looked like a rooftop access. The old prison had been built in a mountainous area and over time, sandstorms had covered most of it up. Getting up to the roof had been difficult as well. The gang had to use some wooden bridges recently built by the militia and then use some ladders to climb up the cliffs to reach a hatch partially covered in sand and then they climbed down into the old prison into what seemed to be some kind of old prison cells.
The room was so eyrie and had a dark feel to it. The badly decomposed bodies did not make it any better.
"Looks like someone just left them in their cells to be forgotten." Aedan stated
Alexis and Kallian struggled to hold the urge to hurl and tried to look away from the gruesome sight. Even Jaden couldn't think of a way to brighten the situation. Chazz remained stoic but had a hard time looking at the bodies. Even the Still Ruins weren't this bad.
"Let's just try and find our way out of here and to the main entrance where we can defeat the Venatori held up there and we can be finished here." Zane stated
"Indeed." Alexis replied and they all quickly left the room to search for a way out.
Just as they entered a large corridor, they came across a horde of monsters. Like actual monsters that seemed to be Fiend and Zombie type. They were just walking around like nothing was going on but when they saw the gang, they suddenly charged towards them forcing everyone to activate their duel disks."
"Elemental Hero Heat!" Jaden called out
"Cyber Dragon!" Zane shouted
"Templar Knight!" Aedan added
"Etoile Cyber!" Alexis added
"X head Cannon!" Chazz shouted
"Dark Blade." Kallian finished as they called out their monsters.
Templar Knight, Dark Blade and Etoile Cyber began battling the monsters with weapons while Heat and Cyber Dragon blasted them. X Head Cannon fired his blasters to destroy them. When the battle of over, they all looked around.
"I don't see any duellists here other than us." Jaden commented
"They might not be simple duel monsters." Alexis stated "Remember that Fiona mentioned this place was haunted, maybe it has real life duel monsters left over from the Fiend and Zombie war. The Venatori may not have summoned these."
"Alexis may be right." Kallian added "Look over there." She pointed to a corpse which had the familiar robes worn by Venatori agents "Looks like they were searching here but ran into the monsters and got overwhelmed."
"And more monsters may have come from these tunnels." Zane called as he stood at a large tunnel where Cyber Dragon was blasting more monsters coming up "Someone's been digging here. We'll have to seal all these up."
"I've got it." Chazz called "X Head, do your thing." X Head cannon fired his blasters at the roof above the cave causing it to collapse "They won't be coming from there anymore."
"There may be more tunnels ahead, we'll need to be careful." Zane added.
They all soon went through the ruins more battling more monsters as they went and sealing more tunnels. They soon arrived in what seemed to be the old records room as after clearing it out, they found documents talking about the prison and some prisoners that had stayed here. They also found some more duel monster cards just like they did at the Still Ruins but these ones weren't useful to them but they could be useful for their friends.
After they left the records room, they saw Venatori members scattered everywhere already dead. "Looks like they were excavating here but then they unleashed those creatures we encountered before." Zane stated
"They then rushed out, if they did find something, it's gone now." Aedan finished
"We should get to the entrance." Alexis stated "Find the Venatori and deal with them."
It took a while but they soon made it to the exit which came out to the surface which in some kind of ruined building with roof which had long since fallen. The walls seemed to have been recently uncovered from the sands and the building may have had a balcony since the top level seemed to have a walkway. They quickly found who they were looking for, standing on the walkway was Servis who smirked at them.
"Well, well, well." He laughed "Look what we have here. Duel Academy's top pupil and some of his followers."
"Crassius Servis." Zane replied "So you've joined the Venatori, you were never the best duellist but you had some talent though I guess that was never enough for you."
"Everyone always talked about you Zane." Servis hissed "Everyone always spoke about how you would go on to the pro-leagues and become as legendary as Yugi Moto and Seto Kaiba. I worked hard through Duel Academy but did I get any recondition, no I did not."
"That does not excuse joining the Venatori!" Aedan shouted
"Whatever." Servis snorted "I have a job to do here now. I cannot let you undo our progress here. You may have defeated Lucanus and Macrinus but I am stronger after all, I defeated Doctor Crowler twice I might add."
"You'll pay for what you did to him." Jaden shouted "Get your game on!"
"No kid." Servis laughed "I get to decide who I duel here and I already have something in mind." He looked at Kallian "I watched your duel with that Legendary Planet Monster, I want to see how well you can really use it."
Alexis gasped 'Out of all of us she's probably the weakest of us. She can duel but I'm worried about her.' She thought in her head.
"Hey leave her alone!" Jaden shouted
Kallian sighed and stepped forward. "No you guys, it's alright, and I'll be fine." she said. "If you want a duel, then let's go. I can test out some new cards I recently got."
"Let's see how well you can duel." Servis laughed and jumped down from the platform to the ground and the two activated their Duel Disks.
"Duel!"
Kallian: 8000
Servis: 8000
Both duellists drew 5 cards until Kallian spoke. "Ladies first." But as she drew her sixth card she looked at her hand and noticed something odd. 'I have a few equip spells here but I only have 1 monster in my hand and it's a Level 5 so I can't even summon him. I can't do anything with this!' she thought.
"I can't do anything, I end my turn." She said sadly
"So she ended her turn without playing anything?" Chazz questioned.
"That's not good," sighed Jaden.
"You're pathetic!" Servis laughed. "A weak duellists and an even weaker deck. This should be the easiest duel I've ever had, it's my turn." As Servis drew his sixth card, he too looked in disappointment. 'What's this? I've got some fusion cards but no monsters to fuse. This hand is a disaster!'
"I'll end my turn."
"What's going on here?" asked Aedan. "Why aren't they playing any cards?"
"The both of them must have really bad hands. Or what pro-duellists call bricks." Zane added. "Hands that contain cards that can't be played because the situation isn't right."
"So in Kallian's case, she probably has a bunch of equip spells for her warriors but she has no warriors to equip them to," replied Alexis. "As for Servis, we know he heavily relies on fusion summoning but it won't matter if he has no monsters to fuse."
"So, I guess your hand wasn't any better?" Kallian asked as she drew a seventh card. 'I should count myself lucky he had no cards to play but I might not be so lucky this time. Maybe, if I put a couple of cards face-down, he might think I have powerful Traps waiting to be triggered so he wouldn't risk attacking me.' She thought.
"I place 2 cards face-down and end my turn." She said.
"It's my move," Servis spoke as he drew a new card. 'This should help unbrick my hand,' he thought
"I activate the Spell Card, Hand Destruction. With this we each discard 2 cards and then draw 2 cards. I guess we can both do with this to fix our hands," Servis said sarcastically. Both duellists discarded 2 cards and drew 2 more cards.
"Thank you for doing that," Kallian replied. "One of the cards you made me discard was the Equip Spell, Cursed Bamboo Sword. When this card is sent to my graveyard, I can add another "Bamboo Sword" card from my deck to my hand. I'll choose Golden Bamboo Sword." Kallian showed the card to Servis.
"Like that'll help you!" Servis laughed. "I'll set a monster face-down along with 1 other card facedown to end my turn,"
"I don't get why you're laughing, you failed to do anything to me when you had the chance," Kallian spoke.
"Just make your move!" growled Servis.
"If you say so," Kallian replied as she drew a new card. 'Finally, something I can use!' she thought.
"I summon Field Commander Rahz in attack mode." A grey haired, silver cloaked warrior swung its sword as he walked onto the field. (Level 4: 1600 ATK, 1200 DEF)
"Finally, Kallian can make her move," cheered Jaden.
"I activate his special ability. When he's summoned, I can choose a level 4 or below warrior-type monster from my deck and then I place that card on the top of it. I'll choose Spell Striker," Kallian spoke. "Then I'll reveal one of my face-downs, the Equip Spell Broken Bamboo Sword." Rahz gained a cracked sword on one hand as the other already had a sword.
"What does it do?" asked Alexis.
"That's the thing, Broken Bamboo Sword doesn't increase his attack or defence points, it basically doesn't do anything," Kallian replied.
"What was the point of that!?" Servis laughed hysterically.
"The point is that it then allows me to activate the Spell Card, Golden Bamboo Sword. This card activates if I have a monster equipped with a "Bamboo Sword" Equip Spell. Now I'm allowed to draw 2 more cards." Kallian spoke as she drew 2 cards.
"Oh so that's why she did that, she used it as opportunity to draw 2 cards," Aedan said.
"Clever thinking," said Zane.
"Now I'll equip Rahz with the Equip Spell, Black Pendant." A black necklace formed around Rahz's neck. "Now he gains an extra 500 attack points." (FCR: 1600 - 2100 ATK)
"But that's not all, since Golden Bamboo Sword was a Normal Spell card, I can now remove it from my graveyard to special summon from my hand, Spell Striker!" she declared as a small blue armoured monster appeared on her field with a small stick. (Level 3: 600 ATK, 200 DEF)
"Now Rahz, attack his face-down monster!" she commanded as Rahz swung its sword at Servis' face-down monster. As it flipped face up, the sword collided with a light rock of armour. (Level 4: 0 ATK, 2100 DEF)
"You attacked Gem-Knight Sapphire, as you can see he has the same defence points as your Rahz's attack points so he's not destroyed." Servis spoke.
"That's fine," replied Kallian. "Because my Spell Striker can pounce past your monster and attack you directly. So Spell Striker, attack him directly!" Kallian's small warrior jumped into the air and kicked Servis in the face.
Kallian: 8000
Servis: 7400
"Alright, first shot goes to Kallian!" Jaden cheered.
"Don't get overexcited Jaden," replied Chazz. "Neither duellist has really got going yet."
"During my Main Phase 2, I activate the Spell card, Foolish Burial. This will allow me to send one monster card from my deck to my graveyard. And I'll choose The Immortal Bushi." Kallian explained as she sent a monster to her graveyard. "That's it from me," Kallian spoke.
"Then I'm up then," Servis spoke as he drew a new card. "I activate the Continuous Spell Card, Scatter Fusion! With this since you have a monster on your field, I can Fusion Summon a Gem-Knight Monster using monsters from my deck."
"From his deck!?" asked Chazz.
"Do you not remember my Future Fusion?" asked Zane sarcastically. "I fused 3 Cyber Dragons from my deck in order to make Cyber End Dragon in the graduation duel with Jaden."
"And it's not the only card that does that, I think Fiona used it during the Battle of Redcliffe against Karras," Alexis replied as she remembered Fiona's last turn against Karras where she used Shaddoll Fusion to fuse monsters in her deck to summon El Shaddoll Apkallone. Chazz sighed at these explanations.
"Now, there are a couple of conditions with Scatter Fusion, the monster that I summon in this way must not be a rock-type monster and I can't summon anymore monsters from my Extra Deck this turn. I fuse together Gem-Knight Garnet and Gem-Knight Lazuli!" Servis called out as a fiery monster and a small white rock merged into a whirlpool. "Two gems sparkle together, illuminating a new precious stone! I Fusion Summon, Gem-Knight Ruby!" He chanted as a red armoured monster with a blue cape swung its staff around as it joined the field. (Level 6: 2500 ATK, 1300 DEF)
"Since my Gem-Knight Lazuli was sent to my graveyard by an effect, I can now add a Normal monster from my graveyard back to my hand. Since Gem-Knight Garnet just happens to be a Normal monster, I can add it right back to my hand." He declared as he got Garnet back. "And I won't waste any time in summoning him." An orange monsters with a fiery flame appeared on the field. (Level 4: 1900 ATK, 0 DEF)
"Now Gem-Knight Ruby, attack Field Commander Rahz!" Ruby swung its staff at the field-commander, causing him to groan before disintegrating. Kallian put an arm over her face to brace for the damage.
Kallian: 7600
Servis: 7400
"Since Rahz was destroyed, Broken Bamboo Sword and Black Pendant are destroyed too," Kallian spoke. "But that's OK, because when Black Pendant is destroyed, you automatically take 500 points of damage." The destroyed necklace let out a black plume of smoke which surrounded Servis.
Kallian: 7600
Servis: 6900
"Fine then but I still have another monster to attack with, Gem-Knight Garnet attack Spell Striker!" Garnet threw a fireball at Spell Striker causing him to get burned alive. Servis expected Kallian to feel hurt from the attack but as the smoke cleared, she stood strong.
Kallian: 7600
Servis: 6900
"Why didn't your life points decrease!" shouted Servis.
"Hate to disappoint you but when Spell Striker is attacked, I don't take any damage from any battle involving him."
"Drat you!" spat Servis. "I end my turn."
"Then I draw," said Kallian as she drew a new card. "During my Stand-By Phase, The Immortal Bushi's special ability activates from my graveyard. If I have only warrior-type monsters in my graveyard, and I have no monsters on the field, I can automatically summon him back to my field." A warrior with two swords and a bronze cloak rose from a hole in the ground onto the field. (Level 3: 1200 ATK, 600 DEF)
"But he won't be staying for very long as now I'll sacrifice him to summon Freed, The Matchless General!" Kallian spoke as Bushi was replaced by a blond-haired man with a silver cloak. (Level 5: 2300 ATK, 1700 DEF)
"Now Freed, attack his Gem Knight Garnet!" she called as freed slashed at the orange monster and destroyed him.
Kallian: 7600
Servis: 6500
"Why thanks, you've set off my Trap card, Brilliant Spark." Servis called as his face-down card flipped up. "Since you destroyed a Gem-Knight by an attack, you automatically take damage equal to that monster's attack points. Garnet had 1900 attack points so you take 1900 points of damage!" Servis' trap fired an orange flame from the destroyed Garnet which exploded close to Kallian, sending her flying.
Kallian: 5700
Servis: 6500
"Kallian!" yelled Jaden. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah I'm fine Jay," Kallian replied as she got up. "I'll place 2 cards face-down and end my turn."
"Then I'm up then," Servis called as he drew a new card.
"After you draw, I reveal one of my face-downs, the Trap card, Rivalry of Warlords!" Kallian spoke. "Now we both declare a type of a monster, and as long as this card is on the field, the both of us can only control monsters with the type we declare. Any monsters with a different type than the one we declare for each field gets destroyed. I only have warrior-type monsters on my field so I'm good to go. But I'm afraid you have to choose between aqua (Gem-Knight Sapphire) or pyro (Gem-Knight Ruby). What will it be?"
"In that case, I'll choose pyro," Servis sighed in disappointment as Sapphire got destroyed as it was an aqua-type monster.
"So let me get this straight. Thanks to that Trap, Kallian can only summon warriors while Servis can only use pyros?" asked Jaden.
"Exactly right, for once," Aedan said.
"That severely limits what Servis can do," said Alexis. "Remember, he said when he used Scatter Fusion, it summons a non-rock-type Gem-Knight. Most of the Gem-Knights must be rock type if that's true."
"They are," replied Zane.
"No matter, I'll just make do with Ruby for now. Ruby, attack Freed the Matchless General!" Servis called as Ruby swung its staff again.
"No you don't!" called Kallian. "I activate the Trap card Waboku! So now I don't take any damage and my monster is perfectly safe."
"Whatever, I'll place a card face down and end my turn." Servis spoke.
"I'm up then," Kallian spoke. "I activate Freed, The Matchless General's special ability. Once a turn, instead of conducting my normal Draw Phase, I can add 1 level 4 or below warrior-type monster from my deck straight to my hand. And I'll choose Command Knight!" she showed the card to Servis. "I won't waste any time in summoning him." A female warrior walked onto the field. (Level 4: 1200 ATK, 1900 DEF)
"And she's not all cracked up to be, she gives all my warriors an extra 400 attack points." Both of Kallian's monsters closed their eyes as they felt the extra power.
(FTMG: 2300 - 2700 ATK)
(CK: 1200 - 1600 ATK)
"That Freed is now more powerful than my Ruby!" gasped Servis.
"You can say that again, Freed, attack his Gem-Knight Ruby!" called out Kallian as Freed slashed at Gem-Knight Ruby, destroying him.
Kallian: 5700
Servis: 6300
"Your field is empty now Servis, so get ready for my Command Knight's direct attack!" Command knight leaped forward and slashed at Servis' face. He bore the brunt of the attack.
Kallian: 5700
Servis: 4700
"I thought you were stronger than this!" Kallian shot.
"You want strong eh? I'm just getting warmed up." Servis replied.
"You were a very skilled duellist at Duel Academy, there's a reason you was an Obelisk Blue. Why throw it all away for some mass murderer?" asked Alexis. Servis gave no reply
"Not going to answer? Very well, I end my turn." Kallian said.
"Then I'm up then," Servis replied. 'I've got to get rid of that Rivalry of Warlords. As long as it remains face-up, I can only summon pyro-type monsters but most of my Gem-Knights are rock-type.' He thought as he looked at what he had in his hand. "I activate Pot of Greed, this lets me draw two more cards from my deck." As Servis drew 2 cards, he smiled as he found something that can help him. "I activate the Spell Card, Dark Factory of Mass Production. This allows me to add 2 Normal Monsters from my graveyard back to my hand. So I'll add Gem Knight Garnet and Gem Knight Sapphire back to my hand." He announced as he got two monsters back from his graveyard.
"Next I activate Gem-Knight Fusion. I fuse together Gem Knight Garnet and Gem-Knight Sapphire." He shouted as the two gems merged together. "I Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Citrane!" A new monster with two hands filled with fire and a sword that was ablaze scorched the field. (Level 7: 2200 ATK, 1950 DEF)
"And guess what, since it's a pyro-type monster, your Rivalry of Warlords doesn't affect him," he smirked.
"True but he still doesn't have enough attack points to beat my Freed," Kallian replied.
"Maybe not, but I can still destroy your other monster."
"It can't," replied Kallian. "Due to Command Knight's ability, if I have another monster alongside her on my field, she can't be attacked. In other words, my Freed protects my Command Knight." Servis then remembered how Command Knight couldn't be attacked during Kallian's duel with Torimaki in Duel Academy and sighed in annoyance with himself.
"In that case, I'll activate the Continuous Spell Card, Branch!" Servis called.
"What does that do?" asked Kallian.
"That's for me to know and for you to find out, much like how you'll have to wait to find out my master's plans for your friend."
"You mean the Elder One's plans? You mean about Solona don't you!" yelled Aedan.
"Your fellow Venatori, Lucanus claimed that a great power within her that when unleashed she wouldn't be our friend anymore," Alexis called out. "What did he mean by that?"
"Tell us!" roared Jaden.
"As I said, you'll have to wait and find out because I'm telling you nothing," giggled Servis.
"Fine, if you won't tell us, I'll force it out of you in this duel!" growled Kallian.
"You can try," laughed Servis. "I end my turn."
"Then it's my move then," Kallian spoke. "I'm not going to use Freed's ability this time so I draw a card. First I activate Pot of Greed. This lets me draw 2 cards from my deck." Kallian drew 2 cards. As she looked at them, she saw her ace monster. 'Grand Jupiter, I'm in a good position with my Rivalry still on the field but I may need you when the time is right.' She thought
"I use my face-down card, the Equip Spell, Big Bang Shot. This card increases my Command Knight's attack points by 400. In addition, if she attacks a monster in defence mode with less defence points than her attack points, you take the difference as damage." The knight's boots turned blue, giving her kicks more power. (CK: 1600-2000 ATK)
"Next, I activate the Spell Card, Vylon Matter. This will allow me to select 3 Equip Spells that are in my graveyard and put them back into my deck which then gets shuffled." Kallian chose Black Pendant, Broken Bamboo Sword and Cursed Bamboo Sword to put back into her deck. "After that, I can draw 1 card from my deck." Kallian looked at the card she drew. "Next I activate the Spell card, Tremendous Fire. By paying 500 points, you take 1000 points of damage." Kallian spell shot a fireball at Servis, which set his clothes on fire. He desperately fanned them out.
Kallian: 5200
Servis: 3700
"Now, Freed, attack Gem-Knight Citrane!" Kallian called as her Freed redirected Citrane's flamed towards itself, causing Citrane to burn himself out as he got destroyed.
Kallian: 5200
Servis: 3200
"Now I activate the effect of Branch!" Servis declared. "You see, if a Fusion monster is destroyed by battle or by card effect, I can bring back one of its fusion material monsters back to the field. So welcome back Gem Knight Garnet in attack mode!" the orange knight fired its way onto the field. (Level 4: 1900 ATK, 0 DEF)
"Not bad, but my Command Knight can still put his fire out, Command Knight, attack Gem Knight Garnet!" Kallian called as her knight kicked the Garnet off the field using her Big Bang Shot.
Kallian: 5200
Servis: 3100
"I activate my Trap card, Jar of Greed so I draw 1 card," Servis spoke as a he drew a new card and Command Knight retreated back to Kallian.
"I'll place 2 cards face-down and end my turn." Kallian finished.
"Now I draw," Servis spoke. "First, I'll activate the Spell card, Twin Twisters. By discarding 1 card, I can destroy 2 Spell or Trap cards on the field so say goodbye to your Rivalry of Warlords and Big Bang Shot!" Two tornados blew away Kallian's Trap and Command Knight's Big Bang Shot.
"Oh no, since Big Bang Shot was destroyed, Command Knight is removed from the game," said Kallian sadly as her Command Knight disappeared. Consequently, her Freed also lost some power. (FTMG: 2700 – 2300 ATK)
"Oh man, now with Rivalry of Warlords gone, Servis can summon whatever monsters he wants," Jaden sighed.
"Next I'll activate the effect of Gem-Knight Fusion from my graveyard, by removing a Gem-Knight Monster from my graveyard from play, I can add this card from my graveyard, back to my hand so see you later Gem Knight Sapphire," Servis spoke as he got his fusion card back.
"Next, I summon Rescue Rabbit," he called as a white and grey rabbit with goggles appeared on the field. (Level 4: 300 ATK, 100 DEF)
"I activate its special ability, by removing itself from my field, I can summon 2 Normal monsters from my deck as long as they both have the exact same name. So I'm bringing out 2 copies of Gem Knight Tormaline!" Servis boomed as 2 yellow armoured crystals appeared. (2 x Level: 1600 ATK, 1800 DEF)
"The only thing is, both monsters that I summon from this effect will get destroyed in my End Phase. But that's OK because now with these two Tourmalines, I can now overlay them to build the overlay network!" Both Tourmalines jumped into a whirlpool in the ground. "Two gems glisten over one another to make a pearl fit for a legend! I Xyz Summon Gem Knight Pearl!" Servis chanted as a white solid monster descended onto his field. (Rank 4: 2600 ATK, 1900 DEF)
"Uh oh, it's more powerful than Kallian's Freed!" Jaden yelped.
"And that's just for starters, because now by removing Gem Knight Citrane, Gem Knight Garnet and Gem Knight Lazuli from my graveyard, I can now summon from my hand, Block Dragon!" A robotic draconic looking monster appeared on Servis' field. (Level 8: 2500 ATK, 3000 DEF)
"For a robot, that doesn't look very friendly," Jaden exclaimed.
"Block Dragon can be summoned from my hand or graveyard by simply removing 3 EARTH attribute monsters from my graveyard. Now, Gem Knight Pearl, attack Freed the Matchless General!" The pearl punched Kallian's Freed to the ground in a knockout blow.
Kallian: 4900
Servis: 3100
"Oh no, she's wide open!" Aedan yelled.
"Now Block Dragon, attack the weakling directly!" Servis called as his draconic robot marched towards Kallian.
"I activate my Trap card, Damage Diet. Now the damage I would take from this attack is cut in half," Kallian spoke as she still took damage, enough to send her flying.
Kallian: 3650
Servis: 3100
"You think reducing the damage you'll take will be enough. Your friend Leliana was it, she found out that it wasn't enough." Servis sniggered
"Oh yeah, well that was because she didn't know what she was in for. She never knew how dangerous it would be out here. But you can't catch us off guard again like when you and your fiends ambushed us at the warehouse!" said Jaden angrily.
"Think what you like but for the time being, that ends my turn," Servis spoke.
"During your End Phase, I activate my other Trap card, Call of the Haunted. You should know what this does, now I can bring back a monster from my Graveyard, so welcome back my Freed, The Matchless General!" Kallian called as the blond-haired warrior rose again. (Level 5: 2300 ATK, 1700 DEF)
"Then I'll just destroy it again before you know it," Servis sniggered.
"You'll have to wait until my next turn finishes, which begins now," Kallian spoke. "I'm going to use Freed's ability again. So I skip my Draw Phase to add a level 4 or below warrior-type monster from my deck to my hand. I'll choose Tune Warrior." Kallian showed a vanilla card to Servis. "Then I'll summon out Tune Warrior." A red monster equipped with a drill and an antenna on its head appeared on Kallian's field. (Level 3: 1600 ATK, 100 DEF)
"As its name suggests, my Tune Warrior is a Tuner monster," Kallian revealed.
"That can only mean one thing," Zane added.
"She's going to Synchro Summon," replied Aedan.
"I tune my level 3 Tune Warrior with my Level 5 Freed the Matchless General!" Kallian called as her two warriors jumped into the air. As they tuned together, a mighty beam shone through the air. "Powerful warriors will clash in combat, but none will topple the greatest one among them! I Synchro Summon Colossal Fighter!" she chanted as a gigantic muscular pale coloured warrior emerged onto the field. (Level 8: 2800 ATK, 1000 DEF)
"Hey, that's the card she got from the Still Ruins," Jaden exclaimed. "Now put it to good use!"
Servis stared up at Kallian's Synchro Monster. "If you think he's impressive now, just you watch. You see, Colossal Fighter gains 100 attack points for every warrior-type monster in my graveyard. Right now, there's a total of 7," Kallian announced as her fighter felt the power of its fallen warriors. (CF: 2800 – 3500 ATK)
'Now which one should I attack,' Kallian asked herself. 'Block Dragon has 100 less attack points so slightly more damage could be dealt if I attack him. But curiously, he hasn't used any of Gem-Knight Pearl's overlay units. And most Xyz monsters abilities require the use of overlay units. I think I should take Pearl out before he has the chance to use its overlay units.'
"Colossal Fighter, attack Gem-Knight Pearl with Colossal Force Punch!" Kallian declared as her fighter punched Gem-Knight Pearl in the chest, causing it to disintegrate and Servis to be thrown to the ground by the force of the attack.
Kallian: 3650
Servis: 2200
The gang cheered as Kallian's new monster got her the upper hand. Servis got up growling in annoyance. "You'll pay for this!"
"To do that you'll need to find a way to get past my new weapon. I end my turn." Kallian spoke.
"It's my turn," Servis shouted as he drew a new card. "I'll switch my Block Dragon to Defence Mode and call it a turn."
"Then I'm up then," Kallian spoke as she drew another card. "Colossal Fighter, destroy his Block Dragon." Her fighter swung again and smashed Servis robotic monster into pieces.
"You've just set off Block Dragon's special ability!" Servis laughed. "When it's sent from my field to my graveyard; I can add up to 3 rock-type monsters from my deck straight to my hand, as long as their combined levels equal 8 or less. So I'm going to add Gem Knight Lapis, Gem Knight Obsidian and a second Gem Knight Lazuli." (3+4+1=8)
"What? 3 monsters off of just one card?" Chazz asked.
"Not good because we know he got his Gem Knight Fusion back to his hand earlier so he has what he needs to set up another powerful Fusion Summon," Zane added.
"In that case, I'll lay a face-down and end my turn," Kallian said.
"Then I'm up then," Servis cheered as he drew a new card. "Now I'll activate the Spell card, Gem-Knight Fusion. I fuse together Gem-Knight Lazuli, Gem-Knight Lapis and Gem-Knight Obsidian!" The three gem-knights held hands in the air before spinning around into the whirlpool.
"Here it comes," sighed Zane.
"Magical rock of dark and light! Neutral knight of good fortune! Lavender gem of wisdom! Combine your brilliance to forge a blinding new brightness! I Fusion Summon the mighty Gem-Knight Master Diamond!" Servis chanted as a glistening silver monster with a huge sword wielded onto the field. (Level 9: 2900 ATK, 2500 DEF)
"Now Obsidian's ability activates, since it was sent from my hand to the graveyard, I can choose a level 4 or below Normal Monster from my Graveyard and bring it back to the field. Welcome back Gem-Knight Tourmaline!" A yellow rock knight appeared next to Master Diamond. (Level 4: 1600 ATK, 1800 DEF)
"Plus my Lazuli can get another Normal monster from my graveyard to my hand so I'll get the other Tourmaline back to my hand." Servis said as he showed the second copy of the yellow knight. "My Master Diamond has a special ability, similar to your Colossal Fighter as a matter of fact. He gains 100 attack points for every "Gem-"monster in my graveyard. Since I currently have 5, it gains 500 attack points." Master Diamond's sword shone 5 lights to signify 5 gems. (GKMD: 2900 – 3400 ATK)
"Looks like you miscalculated Servis, your Master Diamond is 100 attack points short of my Colossal Fighter," replied Kallian.
"She's right, if he hadn't had used Lazuli and Obsidian's abilities, both Tourmalines would have been in his graveyard so Master Diamond could have been stronger than Colossal Fighter," Aedan said.
"Looks like he made a little error in judgement," Chazz exclaimed.
But Jaden had a worried look on his face, "Hold up."
"Hold up is right," said Servis. "My Master Diamond has another ability, by removing a level 7 or below Gem-Knight Fusion monster from my graveyard from play, Master Diamond gains that monster's special abilities. If you recall, I have Gem-Knight Ruby still in my graveyard so now Master Diamond gains Ruby's abilities." Master Diamond's armour changed from silver to red to signify its new effects. "Of course, by removing Ruby from my Graveyard, he loses 100 attack points but it's worth it." (GKMD: 3400-3300 ATK)
"Because now he can use Ruby's ability, by sacrificing 1 Gem-Knight on my field, Master Diamond gains attack points equal to that monster's attack points. So by sacrificing my Tourmaline, I can give its 1600 attack points to my Master Diamond." Servis explained as Tourmaline disappeared, fuelling Master Diamond's strength. Plus since another Gem-Knight went to his graveyard, Master Diamond's attack points increased further. (GKMD: 3300-5000 ATK)
"5000 attack points!?" cried out Kallian.
"Master Diamond, attack Colossal Fighter. Diamond Swordplay!" ordered Servis as his Master Diamond swung at the fighter, stabbing him in the heart, causing his destruction. An almighty explosion erupted following the battle.
Kallian: 2150
Servis: 2200
As the smoke faded out, Kallian spoke up. "An impressive move but I told you that my monsters aren't all cracked up to me."
"What do you mean," asked Servis.
"Like your Master Diamond, my Colossal Fighter also has a second special ability. If he's destroyed by battle and sent to my graveyard, I can bring back any warrior type monster from my graveyard. And guess what, my Colossal Fighter happens to be a warrior-type monster so now he can resurrect himself back to the field."
"Say what!?" Servis shouted as Kallian's fighter returned to the field just as strong as before. (Level 8: 3500 ATK, 1000 DEF)
"So if that thing gets destroyed in battle, he can bring himself back over and over again?" asked Jaden.
"Yep. So even if Servis can bring out an incredibly powerful monster to destroy him, he can just resurrect himself," Aedan said.
"So the only way to get rid of him is by a card effect so he can't summon himself back," clarified Chazz.
"That is one impressive special power," added Zane.
"In that case I'll place a facedown card and end my turn, Ruby's effect ends so Master Diamond's attack points return to normal and his ability to copy Ruby's ability also wears off." (GKMD: 5000 – 3400 ATK)
"Then it's my move then." Kallian spoke as she drew another card. "I summon Dark Blade in attack mode." A black masked soldier with 2 blades jumped onto Kallian's field. (Level 4: 1800 ATK, 1500 DEF)
"Colossal Fighter, attack his Gem-Knight Master Diamond! Colossal Force Punch!" the Fighter got his own back against Master diamond. His punch caused the diamond armour to shatter to bits.
Kallian: 2150
Servis: 2100
"But the effect of my Branch! Spell card activates again. Since you destroyed Master Diamond, I can bring back one of its Fusion-material monsters back to the field. So I'm bringing back Gem-Knight Obsidian in defence mode!" Servis called as a black armoured monster appeared on his field. (Level 4: 1500 ATK, 1200 DEF)
"No problem, Dark Blade, take out Gem-Knight Obsidian!" The black cloaked warrior stabbed Servis' monster, destroying him. "I end my turn." Kallian said.
"Then I'm up then," Servis said as he drew a new card. "I'll activate the effect of Scatter Fusion again, so now I can send Gem-Knight Quartz and Gem-Knight Emerald from my deck to my graveyard to perform a Fusion Summon." A green rock and a yellow rock held hands as they spiralled together. "Gleaming green knight of good fortune! Yellow gem of the light, become one to crown your majesty! I Fusion Summon, Gem-Knight Lady Rose Diamond in Defence Mode." A purple cloacked monster with a sword knelt down to defend herself. (Level 8: 2700 ATK, 2400 DEF)
"Since Gem-Knight Quartz was sent to my graveyard as a fusion material, I can now add a "Gem-Knight" monster from my graveyard back to my hand, so I'm getting back Gem-Knight Lapis. With that, I end my turn."
"It's my move then," Kallian spoke as she drew a new card. "Colossal Fighter, attack his Lady Rose Diamond!" she called as her Fighter destroyed the Lady Rose.
"The effect of Branch! activates once again, so now I can bring back Gem-Knight Emerald from my Graveyard." A green knight reappeared onto Servis' field. (Level 8: 1800 ATK, 800 DEF)
"Then I'll reveal my face-down Trap card, Michizure. Since you destroyed my Lady Rose Diamond, I can destroy one of your monsters so say goodbye to Dark Blade." Kallian's dark cloaked monster fell into a hole and self-destructed.
"That was an odd choice," Chazz said.
"Yeah, I would have thought he'd use it to get rid of Colossal Fighter so it wouldn't activate his ability to resurrect himself," Jaden added.
"The only reason I can think of is he must be really needing his Emerald to be on the field during his next turn," replied Zane. "Maybe he didn't want Dark Blade and Emerald to destroy each other as they have the same attack points."
"By destroying my Dark Blade, you allowed my Colossal Fighter to get another 100 attack points," added Kallian. (CF: 3500 – 3600 ATK)
"I place 1 card face-down and end my turn," she finished.
"Then it's my move," Servis spoke as he drew a card and looked at it. 'Perfect, this duel is mine!' He thought.
"First I summon Gem-Knight Lapis in attack mode." The neutral gem monster appeared on the field. (Level 3: 1200 ATK, 100 DEF)
"Then, I'll activate Gem-Knight Emerald's special ability, by removing it and a Normal monster; like my Gem-Knight Lapis, from my field, I can bring back a "Gem-Knight" Fusion monster back from my graveyard. Now farewell Emerald and Lapis and make way for the return of Gem-Knight Master Diamond!" the two gems disappeared and the large silver sword wielding monster reappeared. (Level 9: 2900 ATK, 2500 DEF)
"And since I now have 6 Gem-Knights in my graveyard, his attack points rises by 600," (GKMD: 2900 – 3500 ATK)
"It's still not as powerful as my Colossal Fighter," pointed out Kallian
"I'm not done though, next I activate the Spell card, Double Summon. This allows me to normal summon again this turn. So say hello to Gem-Knight Tourmaline!" A yellow knight appeared on the field. (Level 4: 1600 ATK, 1800 DEF)
"And now it's time for my trump card," Servis giggled.
"What's he on about?" asked Zane.
"I activate the Spell card Particle Fusion!" cheered Servis.
"Not that card!" Jaden yelled.
"That's the card that defeated Crowler," Alexis cried.
"That's right, now I fuse my Gem-Knight Tourmaline and my Gem-Knight Master Diamond together!" As the two monsters merged together, golden storm clouds formed overhead, giving out lightning strikes. "Knight of the electrical storm and master of precious stone, now become one to shine a pathway to our golden goal! I Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Topaz!" A golden monster descended from the clouds with a golden axe. (Level 6: 1800 ATK, 1800 DEF)
"Now due to Particle Fusion's effect, Topaz's attack points increase by the attack points of a Fusion monster used to summon him. Since Master Diamond had 3500 attack points, Topaz's attack points increases by that same amount," Servis laughed as his Topaz shine very brightly, blinding Kallian. (GKT: 1800 - 5300 ATK)
"Say what!?" Kallian cried out as she caught a glimpse of Topaz's attack points.
"Topaz, attack Colossal Fighter now! Golden Axe Slash!" Servis commanded as his monster swung its axe at Colossal Fighter's head and be-headed him. The explosion sent Kallian flying.
Kallian: 450
Servis: 2100
"Kallian!" yelled Jaden. He ran over to try to help her up.
"You're already too late!" sniggered Servis which made Jaden stop in his tracks. "When Topaz successfully destroys a monster in battle; you take damage equal to your monsters attack points, and that's 3600. Way more than you can spare," Topaz shone a golden light towards Kallian to knock her out for good.
"I don't think so! I activate my Trap card, Trap of Board Eraser! This trap activates if I'm about to take damage from an effect. Now the damage I would take is reduced to 0." Kallian called as her trap shielded her from Topaz. "You also have to discard a card from your hand. Since you only have 1 left, I guess you have no option but to discard it."
"A lucky move!" muttered Servis as he discarded the last card in his hand which happened to be Gem-Knight Crystal.
"But that's not all, since you destroyed Colossal Fighter in battle, I can bring back 1 warrior type monster from my graveyard," spoke Kallian as she got up onto her feet.
"Kallian! You aren't out of danger yet! Topaz is able to attack twice during each Battle Phase," Zane called to her as he remembered when Servis duelled Crowler for the first time.
"But all the monsters in her graveyard have more than 450 attack points," Chazz pointed out.
"So no matter which monster she can bring back out, Kallian's done for!" cried Jaden.
"I'll choose to bring back Spell Striker in defence mode," Kallian said as the small striker crawled back onto the field. (Level 3: 600 ATK, 200 DEF)
"As your friend said, Topaz can attack twice so destroy Spell Striker!" Topaz fired another light, destroying Spell Striker. "Your Trap of Board Eraser can only prevent effect damage one time. So it can't save you this time. Topaz, end this duel!" Servis ordered as Topaz shone blindingly at Kallian, causing her to crouch to the ground.
Servis laughed at the sight of Kallian crouching down and the look of Chazz, Zane and Alexis looking on in despair made it all the funnier for him. But as the light faded, his wicked smile turned to a frown at what he saw.
Kallian: 150
Servis: 2100
"Impossible! How could you survive!?" Servis questioned.
"Did you really think I didn't know what I was doing?" said Kallian. "I used the effect of Damage Diet from my graveyard. By removing this card from play, I can halve the damage I would take from a card effect. So the damage I took from Spell Striker's destruction was halved to 300."
"Alright! She's still in it," cheered Jaden.
"But only just as she's barely hanging on," Alexis replied.
"But's its better having just 150 life points than no points at all," Zane said.
Servis growled in frustration. "I end my turn! Particle Fusion's effect wears off so Topaz's attack points return to normal." (GKT: 5300 – 1800 ATK)
"Then it's my move," Kallian spoke as she drew. "Since I have no monsters on the field and only warrior-type monsters in my graveyard, come on back Immortal Bushi!" the small warrior with two swords and a bronze cloak rose from a hole in the ground onto the field again. (Level 3: 1200 ATK, 600 DEF)
"Next, I activate the Spell card, One Day of Peace. With this we each draw 1 card but then neither of us takes any damage until the end of your next turn." Both players drew a card. "With that I lay a face-down and end my turn."
"Then it's my move," Servis said as he drew a new card. "Topaz, destroy Immortal Bushi." His golden monster shone another light which engulfed Kallian's monster.
"I don't see the reason you'd attack my Bushi. You knew that I wouldn't take any damage from your Topaz's effect because of One Day of Peace. And you know that it's just going to come right back next turn so I feel that attack was completely wasteful." Commented Kallian
"You'll see," replied Servis. "But to gain some defence, I activate the special ability of Block Dragon from my graveyard. By removing 3 EARTH attribute monsters from my graveyard, I can bring him back to the field. I remove Gem-Knight Pearl, Gem-Knight Lady Rose Diamond and Gem-Knight Lazuli!" Servis robotic dragon re-emerged. (Level 8: 2500 ATK, 3000 DEF)
"You've triggered my Trap card, Bottomless Trap Hole!" countered Kallian. "Since you special summoned a monster with 1500 or more attack points, your dragon is destroyed and then removed from play." Servis' robotic dragon fell into a hole with no end in sight.
"Alright! Since Block Dragon was removed from the game, Servis can't reinforce his hand with more rock-type monsters," Aedan added.
"I'll place 1 card face-down and end my turn," Servis finished.
"Then it's my move then," Kallian said as she drew a new card. "As before, my Immortal Bushi rises again." (Level 3: 1200 ATK, 600 DEF)
"Next I activate the Spell card, Reinforcement of the Squadron. By sacrificing a level 3 or below warrior-type monster on my field, I can draw a card equal to its levels. However, I can't special summon any monsters for the rest of this turn," Kallian's monster disappeared as she drew 3 new cards.
"Next, I activate the Spell card, Tribute Burial. First, I have to remove 1 monster card from both of our graveyards. So I'll remove Freed the Matchless General from my graveyard as well as Gem-Knight Obsidian from yours." The two monsters left their corresponding graveyards. "Then, I'm able to normal summon a level 7 or above monster without having to make any sacrifices."
"What are you planning," asked Servis.
"You wanted to see this didn't you?" Kallian asked as she showed Servis a card. The gang gasped as they caught a glimpse of what the card was. "And now, you will get him up close and personal, I summon to the field, my all-powerful Grand Jupitar!" she shouted. The gang gasped at what was happening as a huge green warrior with an orb around its chest emerged onto the field. (Level 8: 2500 ATK, 2000 DEF)
"It's her Legendary Planet monster!" called Aedan.
"Excellent," sneered Servis. "This is what I wanted to see."
"You won't be too pleased when I use its special ability!" Kallian boldly claimed. "By discarding 2 cards from my hand, I can seize your Gem-Knight Topaz and equip it to Grand Jupitar!" The Legendary Planet monster's orb let out a large magical beam towards Servis' monster.
"Is that all you got?" asked Servis. "I reveal my face-down Quick-Play Spell Card, De-Fusion. Now I can split my Gem-Knight Topaz back into the two monsters that were used to summon him. So come back Gem-Knight Tourmaline in Defence Mode and Gem-Knight Master Diamond in Attack Mode." Topaz split itself in half as the beam sailed past. He was replaced by a yellow rock monster (Level 4: 1600 ATK, 1800 DEF) and the silver monster with a sword. (Level 9: 2900 ATK, 2500 DEF)
"And since I still have 3 Gem-Knights left in my graveyard, he gains 300 attack points," he said. (GKMD: 2900 – 3200 ATK)
Kallian groaned angrily that her plan had failed while Servis laughed. "Did you really think I wouldn't be prepared for your not-so-Legendary Planet monster's ability? I knew full well you'd try to steal one of my monsters."
"You may have dodged that bullet." replied Kallian. "Though since I discarded Cursed Bamboo Sword again, I can now use its effect to add another "Bamboo Sword" card from my deck to my hand so I'll choose Original Bamboo Sword." She showed the card to him. "Grand Jupitar, attack Gem-Knight Tourmaline!" she called as her monster slashed its claws into Tourmaline, disintegrating him. Since one more Gem-Knight was sent to his graveyard, Master Diamond gained 100 attack points.
(GKMD: 3200 – 3300 ATK)
"I'll place 1 card face-down and end my turn," Kallian sighed.
"Then it's the beginning of your end!" Servis sneered as he drew a new card. "First, I'll activate the effect of Gem-Knight Fusion from my graveyard. By removing Gem-Knight Tourmaline from my graveyard, I can add Gem-Knight Fusion back to my hand." His Gem-Knight left his graveyard and he got his fusion card back. But by doing so, Master Diamond lost 100 points. (GKMD: 3300-3200 ATK)
"Then I'll activate the Spell card Pot of Acquisitiveness, this lets me shuffle 3 monsters that are removed from the game back into my deck. So I'll send Gem-Knights Emerald, Tourmaline and Lapis back to my deck. After that, I shuffle my deck up and draw 1 card." Servis shuffled his deck thoroughly and drew a new card.
"Next, since Scatter Fusion is still on my field, I can send Gem-Knights Lapis and Tourmaline right back to the graveyard to fuse them together." The two monsters fused together in yet another whirlpool. "Gemstone of the light, and glistening crystal of neutrality, glisten together for a prismatic power! I Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Prismaura!" A new silver monster equipped with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other hand marched onto Servis' field. (Level 7: 2450 ATK, 1400 DEF)
(GKMD: 3200 – 3400 ATK)
"He fuses more cards than me," exclaimed Jaden.
"Focus Jaden!" snapped Chazz.
"I activate Prismaura's special ability, by discarding a Gem-Knight card; like my Gem-Knight Fusion, I can destroy 1 card on the field. So farewell to your precious Legendary Planet Monster," Servis sneered. His Prismaura threw its shield like a Frisbee towards Kallian's Grand Jupitar. "Looks like it isn't so grand after all!"
"I won't let him go down like this, I activate my Trap Card, Fiendish Chain!" yelled Kallian. A set of green chains shot from the ground and tied Gem-Knight Prismaura to the ground.
"What's all this?" asked Servis.
"Just the effect of Fiendish Chain. You see, when this card is activated, it equips onto your Prismaura. Not only are his special abilities negated, it also can't attack," Kallian explained. Prismaura's shield returned back to him.
"So what, you're still going to die right here! With no face-downs left to protect you, Gem-Knight Master Diamond, attack Grand Jupitar!" His Master swung its sword right at Grand Jupitar. "This duel is OVER!" he screamed in delight.
"Are you sure about that?" asked Kallian.
"What do you mean?" Servis questioned.
"You think I'm finished do you? Not by a long shot, remember when I discarded 2 cards for Grand Jupitar's ability last turn?" Servis pondered about that.
"You discarded Cursed Bamboo Sword which is why you got Original Bamboo Sword to your hand. But what about the other card?"
"Well, the other card that I discarded was the monster card, Necro Gardna. Now by removing this card from my Graveyard from play, your attack is negated!" Kallian explained as Master Diamond missed Grand Jupitar completely and returned to Servis who crutched his fist in fury.
"You little pest! You've mocked me for the last time!"
"Not my fault you can't get rid of my last 150 life points," smirked Kallian.
"Silence! I'll make you suffer for all of this!" Servis spat as he slammed a card into his duel disk. "I activate the Spell card, Confiscation. Now by paying 1000 of my own life points, I can take a peek at your hand. Then I choose one of them and you have to discard it."
Kallian: 150
Servis: 1100
The only card in Kallian's hand was Original Bamboo Sword so it was discarded. "He knew that was the only card in her hand so why would he bother using Confiscation to discard it?" asked Jaden. "He's only hurting himself." Chazz looked at him crossly.
"To protect his Master Diamond," replied Aedan without looking at him.
"Remember Jaden; in order to use Grand Jupitar's ability, Kallian needs to discard 2 cards from her hand. So if that Original Bamboo Sword was left in her hand, when it becomes her turn again, she would draw another card which would have meant she'd have two in her hand. That would have allowed her to use Grand Jupitar's ability," explained Zane.
"But by getting rid of Original Bamboo Sword, when it's Kallian's turn again, she would only have 1 card in her hand after she draws so she wouldn't be able to use Grand Jupitar's ability," clarified Alexis. "Remember how she used it to beat Torimaki?"
"Oh yeah," sighed Jaden.
"This is why you shouldn't sleep through class!" said Chazz sarcastically. Jaden looked on embarrassed that he couldn't remember his own dormmate's moves.
"Now make your last pathetic move," Servis called.
"Very well then, I draw!" Kallian shouted as she drew a new card. Upon seeing what she drew, a look of disappointment came on her face as the card she drew was Gilford the Lightning which she couldn't use.
"It seems like you didn't get the card that you were hoping for," sniggered Servis. "What will you do now? After all, there are no second chances in a duel."
"Actually Servis, I won't need a second chance. I've already got what I need to end this duel, courtesy of my Grand Jupitar," replied Kallian.
"But you only have 1 card in your hand, and you need 2 to use its ability."
"You thought that by using Confiscation to get rid of Original Bamboo Sword would leave me with just 1 card this turn, didn't you?" Kallian asked. Servis gave no reply. "Well guess what, you thought wrong."
"How?"
"Remember when you used Hand Destruction at the beginning of our duel?" asked Kallian. Servis then flashbacked back to his second turn when he used Hand Destruction when both he and Kallian discarded 2 cards. "You know that I discarded Cursed Bamboo Sword at the time. Well, the other card that I discarded was another Equip Spell. Divine Sword Phoenix Blade."
"How would that help you?" asked Servis.
"I'll show you. I activate Divine Sword Phoenix Blade's effect from my graveyard. Now I can remove 2 warrior-type monsters from my graveyard from the game, like my Colossal Fighter and Tune Warrior. Then, I can add Divine Sword Phoenix Blade back to my hand!" called Kallian as she put the equip spell to her hand while the 2 warriors got removed.
"Oh no!" yelled Servis.
"Oh yes!" called back Kallian. "And now I activate Grand Jupitar's special ability! By discarding 2 cards, I can equip one of your monsters to him and then he'll gain all of that monster's attack points. So now your Gem-Knight Master Diamond is mine!"
"No, this can't be!"
"Yes it can, Go Grand Jupitar!" Kallian yelled as a powerful beam radiated from her monster's orb which drew in Servis' Master Diamond. Grand Jupitar increased in size from taking such a powerful monster. (TGJ: 2500 - 5900 ATK)
"You know, it's funny that this duel should end this way. The monster you so badly wanted to see is the same one that will wipe you out," Kalian pointed at him. "While I admit, I and the rest of my Slifer Reds didn't like Crowler's teaching, he didn't deserve to be turned into a crystal! Grand Jupitar, attack Gem-Knight Prismaura and end this duel!" Servis could only gasp as Grand Jupitar jumped into the air and slashed its claws into his Prismaura, rapidly cracking its armour. Eventually the cracks then expanded before breaking Prismaura apart. The resulting explosion sent Servis flying, hitting the ground with a hard thud.
Kallian: 150 (winner)
Servis: 0000
"All right!" Jaden cheered "He did it."
"Yes, despite all odds, she managed to pull through." Zane responded while Chazz said nothing.
Sereda looked at the fallen Servis "Do you think he's okay?" she asked
"After what he did to Crowler, I don't think we should really care." Chazz snorted
"But I don't want to see something bad happen like it did with Lucanius." Alexis shuddered at the memory of seeing Lucanius turn to dust right in front of them.
Aedan then saw Servis beginning moving "Keep back everyone." He ordered
Chazz looked confused "How come he didn't suffer a terrible fate like the others did after losing?" he questioned
Zane and Aedan carefully approached Servis who slowly sat up and rubbed his head. "What." He said to himself and looked around "Wait, where am I? Are these the island ruins, what's with all the sand." He then saw Zane "Wait, Zane Truesdale? What's going on here."
Zane carefully looked at him with his duel disk ready "Servis, do you remember anything?" he asked
"Well." Servis sighed "I remember being jealous of you for your skills and always wanting to be like you but never managing to gain the recognition. Then last year just before we returned, I met with a man who saw me duel in a small friendly game at a gaming shop but then everything went blank."
Zane looked at him and gave a simple question "Hey, what year do you think this is?" he asked
Servis laughed "Come on really, what a dumb question, I mean it's 2004."
Jaden looked at this "Wait, I thought it's 2005."
"It is Jaden." Zane replied "And this has confirmed my suspicions. Servis is not actually a member of the Venatori."
"What do you mean Zane?" Alexis asked.
"Remember your brother?" Zane asked Alexis in particular "He was brainwashed until he became the Shadow Rider Nightshroud. Servis here was brainwashed by a member of the Venatori and then used as a spy in Duel Academy."
"So why now then?" Aedan asked "If Servis has been brainwashed since the start of our first year, why reveal him now?"
"So they wouldn't reveal their mole." Kallian realised "Servis must have been the one who's been informing the Venatori of our movements but only used him directly when they became desperate or when they thought they were ready to make their move."
Servis just looked confused "What are you all talking about and also, who are you all?" he asked
Zane sighed "I guess I'll just explain everything on the way." He replied "We head back to Griffin Wing Keep and then back to base to find out our next plan of operation."
…
"That's it!" Corypheus growled upon watching Servis break free of the brainwashing "That's my entire force sent to the Western Approach that's gone now."
Gordian cowered at bit at his master's anger "My lord, they were some of the weakest of us, we will not fail you."
"You better hope not!" Corypheus growled "From now on failure will have consequences and since I seem to be surrounded by fools, I'm going to the Arbor Wilds myself."
"Master wait, we still don't know for certain that Lusacan' spirit is there." Gordian quickly said.
"Even so, there is something just as good there." Corypheus smiled "Calpernia has reported that she has come across texts that talk about something called the Well of Sorrows located in an undisturbed temple. I'm ordering General Samson to gathered our forces to attack there. I'm heading too, this Well of Sorrows's power rightfully belongs to me and I will take it myself."
"And what of Calpernia?" Gordian asked "You said she's outlived her usefulness."
"I will be in need for a vessel to contain the power." Corypehus sneered "I've called her back to report but you'll be waiting for her. Defeat her and bring her to me at the Well, then I will bind her to my will."
"And what of our…" Gordian began before coughing "New asset?"
Corypheus smiled and looked behind him to see a female figure dressed in a blood red robe "She is ready, aren't you my dear." The figure nodded and lifted her head to reveal the face of Solona Amell only with blank eyes.
Chapter end:
Notes: Merry Christmas and here is my Christmas gift to you all. The Western Approach arc is now over and we're moving on to the next arc set in the Arbor wilds but we have one filler chapter next. I am working on a chapter of Mortal Kombat next and I intend to upload it around New Year. The 2004/5 joke is a reference to the year that seasons 1 and 2 of GX was released.