Yugioh Card Maker Forum

Six o’clock...an outdated alarm clock began to play. The sound was so muffled that you could barely make out the song. Ann’s hand came from under the blankets and hit the snooze button. Again, another day in Dunaco. She opened her eyes and sat up straight, and observed the room she was in with half-opened eyes.
The room wasn’t too big nor too small. The walls were a boring shade of grey, and the only furniture in it were a bed, an oversized Desk covered with paperwork, a metal chair, a wooden IKEA closet and several bookshelves attached to the walls. On her nightstand, there were only three things; the alarm clock, a lamp and an old picture showing a red-haired woman an a tall blonde man, with a little girl about six years old standing in between them.
She turned the alarm of, and stood up. She was dressed in an oversized white night gown, and rubbed her eyes while walking into a small bathroom. She turned on the light and was blinded by the light; the bathroom was entirely white. Shiny tiles, a toilet, a shower and a sink attached to the wall, with a classic mirror cabinet hanging above it: everything that had to be in a bathroom was present in Ann’s, but it still seemed so empty. The entire house always seemed empty, she thought while brushing her teeth. She quickly combed her long, reddish hair. It wasn’t really red; it was very light, almost blonde. It was obvious she had inherited her hair colour from both her parents.

When she left the house, dressed in a blue jeans, greyish T-shirt, white sport shoes and a long black raincoat, she felt the chilly Octobre wind running through her hair. Her neighbour, Herman McPhinnigan was just leaving too, like always clad in a boring black costume, his grey hair neatly combed.
“Hi Herman.”
“Hey, Ann. Off to work?” He was always friendly towards her, unlike some of the other older citizens of Dunaco.
“Yeah...today’s gonna be awesome...” she replied sarcastically. “Always fun to work at Colmart’s...”
“Could you bring me some eggs? I’ll repay you tonight.”
“Okay, no problem. See you!”
She walked on, and Mr McPhinnigan left in the other direction.

She spent the rest of the day scanning products behind the cash register. It was dull, but at least it was a job. She talked with some of the customers before they inserted some kind of credit card into a light blue device. Even tough she had been working at Colmart’s for only two months, she knew most of the regular customers.
At six PM, she hung her apron back where she had picked it up this morning; on the chair where she had been sitting all day. She quickly took two boxes of eggs from a shelf in the back of the store and inserted her own card. She said bye to her colleagues, all of them several years older than her, and left the store.

It didn’t take her long to get home; after a few minutes, she had put the eggs in the fridge and was getting ready to leave for the nearby game club. All she did was re-combing her hair in the depressing bathroom and strapping on her Duel Disk. It wasn’t one of the newest models, but at least it was equipped with Solid Vision, which meant it was useable. Unlike the rest of the house, it was coloured vivid purple.

Her usual gamestore was further away than the supermarket, but it was usually worth the trip. By Dueling, people would earn Duel Points, DP for short. DP was the local current in Dunaco, and that’s what people used to pay. She usually won about 500 DP per evening, which wasn’t too bad for someone her level. She was thinking about what packs she’d buy tonight, but it didn’t really matter. She was never lucky when it came to opening packs. Lost in thought, she didn’t even notice being followed, untill she was going through a deserted street. As far as Ann knew, the houses here hadn’t been a home to anyone for years, for she never saw lights burning in them.

A handcuff-like device suddenly found it’s way around her wrist, and she turned around in surprise. The other end of the wire was attached to the wrist of a boy who seemed to be in his mid-twenties, clad in a greenish costume not unlike the snatchers wore.
“Whoopsie. Seems like my Dueling Cuff got a hold of you.”
He smiled as Ann tried to undo it.
“What’s the deal with this?”
“Nothing at all, miss.” he said with a curt nod. “But I’m a bit short of money lately, and it seems you’ve some on your credit card. Just put it in your Duel Disk and fork it all over.”
“No.” she replied fiercely. “Go get yourself a job, you punk.”
“Fine. Have it your way.”
Her Duel Disk unfolded, and the screen lit up.
“What? You can’t force me into a Duel unless I accept!”
He snickered. “With ordinary Disks, I can’t. But with this baby, things like that are possible.”
His Disk was coloured in shades of grey and green. Ann recognized it, and then recognized the man.
“Aren’t you Sy Macend, the one who got in second in the Inovatech competition a few weeks ago?”
“Yup. That’s me. I was second. Even tough technologies like these are way more usefull than way-too-advanced computer programs?”
“So now you’re pickpocketing people like a tramp, just because you lost?”
“Shut up!” he suddenly yelled. “Prove what you can do, because I’m one of the best Duelists in town, and I’ll show you right away! Draw!” He Drew six cards from his Duel Disk, and Ann Drew five.
“I’ll Summon Morphtronic Cameran to my side of the field, in attack mode!”
As he placed one of his cards on his Disk, a big red camera appeared. It folded open and revealed to be a little human-like robot. (800/600)
“That was it for this Turn.”
“Then I Draw!” Ann replied. “And I’ll Summon something a bit stronger than your Monster! Go, Dunames Dark Witch!”
An angel with black armor and big silvery wings fell out of the sky. (1800/1850)
“Dunames Dark Witch, attack his Cameran!”
The fairy destroyed the machine with a single strike, and Sy took the blow. (LP 7000)
“Thanks, missy. Now I can summon Morphtronic Celfon from my hand!"
He laughed upon seeing a yellow phone-shaped robot appearing onto his side of the field. (100/100)
“Well, that concludes my Turn I guess...” Sy’s smile grew wider.
“Draw! I’ll activate my Celfon’s effect. Let’s make a quick call!”
The numbers one through six of Celfon began to flash at random. Eventually, the number four was indicated.
“Good! Now I’ll pick up the top four cards from my Deck and Special Summon one Morphtronic Monster from them!” he looked at the cards, and placed one of them on the monster card zone next to Celfon, and put the rest back in his Deck for re-shuffling. A slightly bigger robot appeared, this one in the shape of a radio. (1000/900).
“Allright.” Ann said, slightly puzzled by the second weak-looking machine. “What’s it’s trick?”
“His trick, ma’am, consists of powering up all my Morphtronics by 800 points!”
“What?”
Something that looked like a lightning strike connected the radio and the phone. (1800/900 900/100)
“And now, I’ll Summon a third monster! Go, Morphtronic Boarden!”
A third machine, looking like one of those D-Boards kids played with appeared in between the others, immeadiately being powered up too. (500/1800 >>> 1300/1800)
“Now, Morphtronics, attack her directly!”
The three machines jumped over the witch in a triangular formation, hitting Ann with an electrical charge. She got knocked over, causing Sy to have to take a step forward if he didn’t want to topple. (8000 – (1800 + 900 + 1300) = 4000)
“How did you do that?” she asked on a frustrated tone as the Monsters flew back to their master. “I still controlled a Monster!” She got up again, and and Sy laughed out loud.
“Due to my Boarden, all Morphtronic Monsters can attack directly. What’d you think of that? Now I set two, and end my Turn.”
Two holograms of face-down cards appeared behind his Monsters. Ann was in a tough situation, but she’d get out of it soon.
“Draw!” she said confidentially. “I Summon Shining Abyss in attack mode!”
A second fairy appeared next to her Witch. It looked as if it was built out of several blue balls, decorated with big golden wings and other golden pieces. (1600/1800)
“I attack Boarden with my Dunames Dark Witch!”
The witch flew forwards to attack the skateboard, but a blue, shiny net appeared between the two of them.
“Trap Card activate! Morphtronic Bind! While I control a Morphtronic Monster, monsters with a level equal to or higher than four cannot attack.” He seemed to enjoy this Duel in a sadistic way. “You’re blocked, and I’ll finish you next Turn.”
“We’ll see about that. I set a card, and end my Turn!”
A hologram appeared on her side too, and Sy drew a card.
“You’ll hit zero, whatever you’ve got there. Morphtronics, attack!”
The robots jumped at her again, and were blocked by a shiny silvery shield.
“My own Trap Card! Mirror Force destroys all of your monsters when they attack!”
Sy flipped up his own card, and the silver barrier was destroyed.
“Morphtronic Forcefield negates a card that would destroy a Morphtronic and destroys it. Nice try tough.”
The machines’ attack went through, and Ann took the blow once again. The handcuff loosed and flew back to Sy. The holograms faded away, but Ann didn’t see it happen. her eyes closed as she lay on the sidewalk. Sy walked over to her, and put the credit card from Ann’s Disk into his. He tapped the touch screen a few times, and then put it back.
He walked away without looking back, extremely satisfied with himself.

A few hours passed, and everything started to get dark. Nobody seemed to have gone through the street, for Ann was still lying there quite motionless. The streetlights went on, and her eyes opened for a second, and then closed again. The only thing she had seen was a tall figure a few metres away from her. She heard his footsteps getting closer, and then became unconcious again...

Everything seemed kind of blurry to Ann when she woke up the next day. She was awake, but had not yet opened her eyes. Had everything that happened the day before really happen? Hadn’t it just been a weird dream? It might have, for she felt she was lying on her own mattress instead of on the corner of Druid Lane. Strangely enough, she felt as if she was still dressed in her T-shirt and her jeans, and she saw that what she had thought was true when she finally opened her eyes. She saw her coat was hanging over the chair next to her desk, and that her shoes had been neatly put under it. What had happened? Had she found her way home without really realizing it? Or had someone taken her?
There had been footsteps. Footsteps that had been nearing her. It was the last thing she could still remember. She sat up straight, and tried to think of whether she had seen a face, or heard a name.

Six o’clock. Her alarm clock went off. An old song which she recognized as being one from Tom Jones.

It’s not unusual to be loved by anyone.
It’s not unusual to have fun with anyone.
But when I see you hanging about with anyone,
it’s not unusual to-

She turned the radio off. Even tough she did not dislike Tom, she wasn’t in the mood. What had happened? She had lost consciousness the night before, and was now at home. Someone had brought her for sure.

Then suddenly, the silence was broken. Footsteps. She listened carefully, and noticed they were coming out of her own living room. She quickly got up, jumped into her shoes and ran into the living room herself, just in time to see the front door closing. What should she do? She noticed two pillows lying at the end of her sofa. The person that had just left must’ve spent the night here. Without thinking, she ran back into her bedroom and put on her coat. She then dashed through the front door, and looked left and right. She saw a man disappearing behind the corner, and she ran behind him.
“Wait!” she yelled, just before he could pass another corner.
He turned around, looking at her in a puzzled expression.
“I...- Did you...- Why...?” She was breathing very fast due to the short run. He put a hand onto her shoulder, and looked her in the eyes.
He had great green eyes, and a sharp but friendly look on his face. His short brown hair had obviously not been combed for a few days. He was wearing a black jeans, and a dark T-shirt of which the text was barely readable. In his other hand, he was carrying a long black coat and a grey backpack.
“I thought it was only logical to do. Who knows what would’ve happened to you?”
He turned around and walked away, but she didn’t want him to leave so soon.
“Don’t leave yet! How did you know where I live!”
She was now walking next to him, and it took him several seconds to answer.
“You were carrying a Duel Disk. I inserted the card lying next to it in it, and I managed to find your ID. I then carried you home.”
“But why? I mean, you could’ve just left.”
“That would’ve been rude.”
“I never would’ve known.”
“It’s the principle that counts.”
“Oh...”
The continued walking together, in silence. It didn’t seem as if they were going somewhere.
“Sorry for having stayed at your place tonight.”
“It’s nothing...I mean, it was allready late and stuff...Where do you live?”
“I don’t know. I’m not even sure whether I live in this town.”
“Then how did you get here?”
“I don’t know. I woke up yesterday morning, in the middle of a market place. It was still early, so I don’t think anyone saw me. I don’t know what happened or where I had been the day before, so I just started walking. I tought I was lucky when I found a street with some deserted houses, hoping one of their doors was open. But then I saw you, and decided I should help.”
Ann saw everything in front of her. He must’ve awoken on St.-Edward’s Place.
“So, where are you going to sleep tonight?” She had asked it before having thought of what he might answer. He took his time to answer her question again.
“Dunno. Think I’ll try to find that street again, Druid Lane or however it was called.
“You can stay with me if you want.”
Whoops. Had she really said that? He stopped walking, and looked at her again.
“Are you serious?”
“Otherwise I wouldn’t have asked.”

A few minutes later, they had arrived at Ann’s place again. She saw she had to leave for work, but then realized the man hadn’t eaten the past day.
“Is it okay if I make you some scrambled eggs?” she asked.
She wasn’t one of the best cooks around, but she managed to prepare a decent breakfast for two persons. She made a quick call, and managed to get half a day off. She had said she was feeling a bit ill.
“So, what’s your name?”
“My name? No idea?” He was obviously hungry, but he ate slowly, as if he was truly enjoying the five-minute meal.
“But on the Duel Disk I was wearing, I found a name, that’s probably mine.”
He opened his backpack, which was empty except for an old-looking Duel Disk without a Deck in it. Ann took it, and read the name ‘Saitu Kaiba’.
“How old is this thing? It’s got a touch screen, but it doesn’t look as if it has Solid Vision installed on it.”
“What’s Solid Vision?”, he asked, mildly interested.
“It’s a program that makes your holograms have a physical impact.”
“Sweet.”

They kept talking for a few more hours. Saitu knew what Dueling was, but didn’t know whether he had ever done it, or what kind of Deck he had had. He seemed to be surprised about the existence of Solid Vision. Ann thought he had amnesia, for he couldn’t remember anything about his past. Eventually, she was asked what had happened the night before.
“Morphtronics...the Machine Archetype whith effects depending on their Battle Position?”
“Yeah.”
Twelve o’clock came sooner than expected, and Ann left for work. She had promised to bring a new set of clothes, a toothbrush and pajamas for Saitu, for he didn’t have any of those things with him. She kept thinking about him during work. He seemed like a nice guy; someone she could trust. Would she finally have a friend in this village? She’d been stuck here for over a year now, but hadn’t really got into contact with many people, except some people from the card club. But this seemed different somehow...

After work, she inserted her credit card into the machine the customers paid with, and was surprised to see she had finally got the raise she had been asking about. She quickly got a new jeans, a shirt, two T-shirts, two sets of underwear, pajamas, a comb and a toothbrush; everything in vivid blue. Some pizza’s for dinner, and she was of to go with two full plastic bags. She was surprised to see Saitu was waiting for her outside, with his backpack.
“Hey. Should I help carrying?”
They walked on, and Saitu told her he’d been bored, and after having met the man next door, had decided to go wait for her. Ann noticed they weren’t going in the right direction, but when she told him, he just laughed.
“I want something to show you. Just come with me, no need to panic.”
Ann did as she was told, and when they finally came to a stop, they found themselves back in Druid Lane. Saitu whistled loudly between his teeth.
“Oi! Where are you? Come out’n play, won’t you?”
“Saitu!” she hissed. “What are you-“
She fell silent as Sy Macend came from around the corner, but Saitu only smiled.
“Good...” Sy said. “Looks like our Fairy Princess is back. Brought a little friend for a rematch?”
“No.” Saitu replied curtly. “I brought her here to show you you’re not so big as you appear to be. I’ll challenge you, and if I win, you’ll give her her money back.”
“What’s in it for me?” he asked, a wicked smile appearing on his scarred face. Saitu took a Duel Disk out of his backpack, but it wasn’t the white one he had shown Ann earlier, but a purple one. And there was a Deck in it. Ann’s Deck.
“I’m willing to bet this Deck, if you bet yours too.”
Sy didn’t have to think about that for long.
“Saitu, don’t!” she asked him in silence. “It’s the only Deck I’ve got.”
He didn’t answer.
“I accept your offer. This won’t take long.” He unfolded his Duel Disk, and Saitu did the same with Ann’s.
“I’ve got to win this. If I don’t, I’ll never forgive myself...” Saitu thought.
“Draw!” he said. “I set a monster and end my Turn. Give me all you got!”
A hologram appeared, and Sy Drew a card.
“I Summon Morphtronic Celfon, and I activate it’s effect!”
A yellow phone-shaped robot appeared. (100/100) It’s numbers flashed, and then indicated ‘2’. Sy picked up the top two Cards of his Deck, and put one of them on his Duel Disk.
A brown machine machine resembling a radio emerged from it. (1000/900) Immediatly, it powered up Celfon too. (1800/900 900/100)
“My Morphtronic Radion powers up my Morphtronic while in attack position.”, he explained. “Radion, attack his monster!”
The radio struck the hologram with a sound wave, and it flipped over. It revealed to be an elf with blue-ish skin clad in a long green dress. (800/2000) Radion’s attack backfired, and Sy took damage. (LP 7800)
“Too bad for you my Mystical Elf has a mighty Defence.”
Ann smiled, but knew it was still too early to do so. It wouldn’t take long before Sy Drew into his Boarden, and then it would be over.

Field Overview Wrote:Sy (LP 7800)
*Morphtronic Celfon, attack mode
*Morphtronic Radion, attack mode

Saitu (8000)
*Mystical Elf, defence mode

“You can’t stall for long!”, Sy sneered. “I set a card. Turn End.”
“I wasn’t planning to do so.” Saitu replied while Drawing a card. “Excellent. I Summon Dunames Dark With in attack position!”
He placed the card next to the other one, and the hologram of the winged witch appeared next to the elf. (1800/1850)
“Dunames, attack his Celfon!”
The witch struck the celphone by casting a dark spell upon it, causing Sy to lose 900 Life Points. (6900)
“Good job Saitu!”
“Nothing at all. but I don’t believe this is allready over. I set two cards and end my Turn!”
Sy Drew, and by the looks of it, it was a good draw.
“I Activate Junk Box; so I can Special Summon Morphtronic Celfon from my Graveyard!”
A big toolbox appeared, and then opened, allowing Morphtronic Celfon to hit the field again. (900/100)
“Celfon, do your thing!” The cellphone indicated the number 5, so Sy could basically choose which monster to summon.
“I Summon Morphtronic Boarden from my Deck!”
“Damn!” Ann said softly, but Saitu didn’t react to the appearance of the D-Board-like creature. (500/1800 > 1300/1800) If he attacked now, he could deal 4,000 points of damage.
“To finish things off, I Summon a second Radion! Looks like that Deck is going to be mine!”
Ann knew it too. His second Radion had 1800 attack points, and powered up the other Monsters by 2,400 points.
“Morphtronics!” he yelled, raising his left arm, like a commander controlling an army might’ve done. “Finish him off!”
The two radios, the cellphone and the skateboard-like device all came at Saitu, but a silver barrier burst from nowhere to protect him.
“Mirror Force destroys all your monsters upon attacking!” Saitu explained. An explosion suddenly blast a hole in the silver barrier, allowing the Morphtronics to pass through.
“Not again!” Sy screamed furiously. “Morphtronic Forcefield negates any Trap Cards that would destroy one or more Morphtronic!”
Then, the hole that his Trap Card had blasted through the barrier began to shrink. Eventually, it closed.
“Nope.” Saitu said casually. “Seven Tools of the bandit negates your Trap at the cost of thousand Life Points.”
His Life Points decreased to 7,000 as all Sy’s Monsters exploded; bolts and screws shattered in every direction before disappearing.
Ann was still watching in total awe. Who was this man? He was handling her Deck better than she had ever managed to do. Was he just being lucky or did he really know what he was doing?
“I Draw!” Saitu declared. He looked at the card he had just picked up, and then looked at Ann. She knew what was going to happen. With this one card, he would gain a huge advantage over Sy.
“I release both of my Monsters!” he announced. Both the elf and the witch dissapeared, but their energy remained visible in the forms of two bolts of light. “To Summon this! Guardian Angel Joan!”
Both the lights soared upwards, and then an angel clad in a bright white dress descended from the sky. Slowly, the orange-haired angel flapped her golden wings. (2800/2000)
“Joan, attack him directly!”
The angel attacked by unleashing a strong beam of light onto Sy, who screamed out in pain. For a moment, Saitu was worried. Could Solid Vision really hurt people when they took direct hits? (Sy 4100) To his surprise, Sy started laughing.
“I’m not giving up yet...I can still come back.”
“Surprise me.” Saitu said in a cool tone. He was in control.
“I Draw...I set a Monster and a card, and end my Turn!”
“What a surprise...Draw...”
Ann was hoping he could finish this fast.
“I Summon Agido in attack mode!”
A big red orb-like creature appeared. Its eye and most of its body were decorated with pure gold. (1500/1300)
“Agido, attack his face-down card!”
Agido shred the monster to pieces, revealing it to be Morphtronic Videon; an odd machine shaped like a video camera. It’s hologram flickered, and the shattered. (1000/1000)
“Joan, attack him directly!”
This time, Sy laughed in a different way.
“Ha! You fell for it! Reveal, Sakuretsu Armor!”
His face-down card flipped over, and heavy armor flung itself around Joan. Saitu reacted by activating a Quick-Play Spell Card.
“I activate My Body as a Shield! At the cost of 1,500 Life Points, it prevents the destruction of a Monster!” (LP 5500)
The armor released Joan, and reattached itself to Sy, who really seemed to be stuck in it. The armor exploded, and Saitu flinched as Sy yelped in pain again. (1300)
Saitu ended his Turn, curious about whether Sy could really make a comeback.
“I draw...” he said, his voice slightly weaker than before the attack. “And I’ll activate Brain Control!”
His Life Points dropped to a mere 500. Agido’s expression became blank, and she slowly walked towards Sy’s side of the field.
“Now the tables are turned, I’m afraid.”
“How do you mean? You chose the weaker of my Monsters! And besides, I’ll get him back next Turn!”
“Not if I activate another Spell! Enemy Controler!”
“Damn.” Saitu exclaimed.
A giant controler appeared between them, and Sy could operate it with his voice.
“Up, up, down, down, left, righ, left, right, A, B, start!” he yelled. The buttons lit up when their name was called. After that, the cord wrapped itself around Guardian Angel Joan.
“Now, Joan, attack your master!”
The angel strook Saitu with the same attack it had hit Sy several times, but now Saitu felt the pain. The attack went right through him, but he managed to remain standing. He felt the short pain which luckily lasted only a few seconds. So this was what Solid Vision felt like? (Saitu's LP: 2700)
“I end my Turn!” Sy said. “You’ve won this.” (Sy's LP: 500)
Joan walked back to Saitu, and whiped out the last of Sy’s Life Points when Saitu ordered her to. He got blown back several meters, and fell over on the ground, writhing in pain.
“Saitu!”
Ann ran towards him as soon as the white-clad angel had disappeared.
“You were amazing!”
Without speaking, he put all the Cards back in the Deck slot, and handed her the Duel Disk. She put it around her wrist again, and a second after, a metal cuff caught her arm. Saitu looked up, and saw that Sy had gotten back up. He glanced at Ann’s Duel Disk, and saw that her Duel Points were increasing. The cuff loosened again after a few seconds, and flew back to its owner. Sy took a Deck box from his belt and offered it to Saitu.
“My Deck.” he said in a hollow voice. “Take it. It’s the best one I’ve got. You earned it.”
But Saitu didn’t take it. His eye fell on several other Deck boxes he was wearing.
“Then give me your worst one.”
“What?” A surprised expression appeared on the scarred face.
“The Deck you like least. But I want you to do me another favor in return.”
Sy unclipped one of the Deck boxes and handed it over. Saitu took a quick look at its content. “Good. I’m going to ask you something else, but you’re not obliged to do it.”
Ann was amazed by this, but didn’t speak. Sy nodded.
“What do you want me to do?”
“I’ll be needing a Duel Disk.” Saitu told him. “One with the same features as yours.”

One two three four
Un dos tres cuatro
I know you want me
Y’know I want’cha
I know you want meee-

The funky tune stayed stuck in Ann’s head as she got out of bed with great effort. Several days had passed since Saitu had emerged as a victor from his Duel with Sy, and Ann had learnt a lot since then. Saitu had been trying to improve her playing style, and he had found a job fairly quickly. He delivered packages for a post order company. He had told her it wasn’t too bad: he’d earn some money and get to know the neighborhood better. It had been his own idea, for he had felt really bored during the day he had been home alone, and thus he had sought a job the day after.
She looked at the clock when she came out of the bathroom, which seemed even smaller now that she had to share it, and saw it was already half past six. Saitu had left about one hour ago. That was the bad thing about the job; he had to go to another district of Dunaco, which was more than an hour’s drive.
“Everything’s worth it.” He had told her the night before. “The boss said it’ll be payday tomorrow. I don’t want to seem unthankful.”
Ann wouldn’t have minded had he stayed without paying; it was nice to talk to someone in the evening. She put her hair into a ponytail, put on her coat and left for work.

“Morning, Ann.”
“Hi, Herman. Need anything?”
“Nothing from the supermarket, no. But we need to talk for a moment.”
Now, that was strange. Mr. McPhinnigan never asked to have a word with her. She noticed how serious he was.
“Yeah.”
“I noticed you’re not alone anymore?”
Dang. Well, he was bound to find out some day.
“I hope he’s not a refugee. Or an undercover Snatcher.”
“Wha-? No, Mr. McPhinnigan. He’s clean. Nothing fishy about him. Except maybe the fact that he’s a great Duelist.”
His thick mustache curled a bit. “Then how did he get here?”
“Sorry, I don’t know either. And neither does he. He’s got some sort of amnesia, I reckon.”
“Well, just don’t trust him too much.”
“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.” She gave him a little smile and then was off.

Meanwhile, Saitu had arrived at his job, and to his surprise, he found he had to deliver something to himself. He immediately opened the big cardboard box wrapped in brown paper.
“SAITU KAIBA!”
A loud voice boomed out of Jackson’s office. Mr Jackson was his grumpy, 50-years old boss, who had only hired him because there weren’t many people who wanted the job. Saitu hadn’t actually wanted it either, but couldn’t find another one. He hurried into the tiny, messy office where a large-ish man sat behind a desk full of papers and at least a dozen of pens.
“You’re late again!” he barked.
“Actually, sir, I am not.” He cast a glance at his watch. “I should start working in exactly twenty-three seconds. If you hadn’t called me, I would’ve been on the road already.”
Jackson reddened a bit and then pointed one of his fat fingers out of the office. Saitu followed the finger, and saw it was pointing towards the package of which he had been wrapping off the paper.
“It’s mine. Don’t worry.”
“Yes I will!” he yelled once more. Yelling seemed to be his normal speaking tone. “Because, mister wise guy, whoever sent it to you must’ve thought he was smarter than me! You see, the stamps that are on it make a total of 42 Dröste, and how much would it normally cost to send such a package, huh?”
“Looks like a 48-er to me, boss. I’ll repay-”
“Y’know what, Kaiba? I’m getting so bloody sick of you I’d better fire you right away!” He banged his fist onto his Desk. “Always late every day, hanging around with customers!”
“You know what happened at Ms Goodman’s place. She’s just not fit to carry those boxes into her backyard!”
“Time is money!” he yelled furiously, spraying his desk with spit. His bushy black eyebrows seemed particularly restless today.
“Good service is priceless, boss.”
That seemed to have done it. Jackson got up, and pointed towards the door. This time, he wanted Saitu to get out. One last glance at him, and Saitu had indeedly left the office. He heard Jackson take his silver-trimmed Duel Disk from his desk. Saitu knew he spent over an hour polishing it every day, but had never seen him Duel before. Suddenly, he had an idea which was very normal to him, but would’ve seemed brilliant to others.
“Mr. Jackson?” he asked, still in a polite tone.
“Ain’t you gone already, little rat?”
“What’d you say about a Duel?”
Jackson cast a dark look at him, stood up from his desk and attempted to shut the door, but he failed due to a handcuff on a chain that flew through the door in order to catch his wrist.
“What in tarnation-?”
“This, is one of the newest technologies available nowadays.” Saitu explained, attaching the Duel Disk he had just unpacked to his left wrist, connecting himself to Jackson. “It forces anyone with who I want to Duel to do so.”
He raised his right eyebrow, and then one of the mouth corners twitched.
“Me? Don’t be such a fool! I’d smash you in three turns! Now get this thing of me!”
He continued to wrestle with the handcuff, but soon realized it was impossible to get it off.
“RIGHT!” he yelled. “But on one, and only one condition! If I win, you’ll work for free for the rest of your life, you scum!”
“And what is to happen would you not manage to do so?”
“Then you can stay here forever and I’ll pay you double. Like that’ll happen.”
Saitu thought he was a bit too self-assured, but knew he was to end that. He shuffled his never-used Deck and put it into his Duel Disk.
“I’ll go first, Draw!” he said, and then smiled widely, showing his ugly yellow teeth. “This couldn’t be any better! I set one monster, and two cards!” Three face-down holograms appeared.
“My Turn! Draw!”
“Heh. Trad Card activate! Greed!”
One of Jackson’s face-down cards flipped open, revealing a picture of a man dazzled by the sight of gold falling out of the air.
“Now, as long as my Trap Card’s on the field, you take 500 points of damage during each of your End Phases per extra card you Drew during that turn.”
“Then that means I’ll have to play fast. I activate the Field Spell, Mystic Plasma Zone!”
His Field Spell Slot flipped open, and Saitu placed his Spell Card in it. The slot closed, and they found themselves engulfed in darkness, as if the light of the building had all been turned off at the same moment.
“Next, I summon a Monster, Dark Blade!”
A fierce warrior appeared, in black armor with silver spikes, brandishing a matching sword. (1800/1500 -> 2300/1100)
“Dark Blade, attack his monster!”
The warrior stuck his sword through the hologram, and a second warrior resembling a rugby player made out of stone appeared. (100/2700 -> 600/2300)
“What a waste!” Jackson said to this. “Even tough my Destiny Hero - Defender has been weakened by your Field Spell, he’s still plenty of defense!”
Saitu played another card, and the sword of Dark Blade began to glow. (ATK 2700)
“Forbidden Chalice negates a Monster’s Effect, if it has one. And, its attack is increased by 400 points!”
The warrior’s sword then turned to a bright gold colour, and shattered.
“Dark Bribe negates any Spell or Trap Cards, and utterly destroys them, but it has also got a secondary effect; you Draw 1 Card, and you know what that means!”
“Fine.” Saitu Drew a card, and set two of them. Then, a heavy chunk of gold fell out of the air and hit him on the head.
“Argh!”
“Yes, it feels realistic, don’t you think so?”
Saitu saw his Life Points drop to 7500 as his opponent Drew a card.
“Things’re going to get nasty now. I activate Card Destruction, which means you’ll draw four new cards!”
Saitu did as he was told, and Drew a new hand. Jackson had been right. He would finish Saitu of in a mere three turns.
“I set a monster and end my Turn!”
He knew what was going to happen, and held his hands above his head to protect himself from the four blocks of gold hitting him. He checked his hands, and saw to his amazement that they were scratched. His amazement was even bigger when he saw that Jackson himself had also been hit. ‘Greed’ affected both players, and that could help him to win. (Saitu LP 5500 / Jackson LP 6000)
“I Draw!” Saitu declared. “And due to Defender’s effect, I draw a second card!”
As soon as he had seen what this card had been, he knew it was already over.
“Seems like things you enjoy are always over fast,” he said.
“Nyeh, giving up already? Knew scum like you could never defeat me!”
“We’ll see about that. If you want to get somewhere in life, it is important not to underestimate anyone or anything.”
“Then prove it!” Jackson yelled. “Never have I been defeated before, and today’s not going to be the first time!”
“I guess this is a lesson that ought to be taught the hard way.”, Saitu replied. Contrary to Jackson, he had stayed calm during the entire Duel. “I activate Nobleman of Crossout to remove your face-down Monster from play.”
A young knight in shiny armor appeared, and slashed the hologram of a laughing jar in half.
“Gah! My Morphing Jar!”
“Next, I’ll play Fissure to destroy your Defender. Next, I Summon Marauding Captain.”
A knight who differed a lot from Nobleman of Crossout jumped out of Saitu’s Duel Disk. He had fought many battles, and had won most of them. His suit of armor was old, but still effective, and his sword had slain many enemies before. (1200/400)
“That won’t pay your debts yet! I’ve got six thousand Life Points, and the combined attack of your monsters is only three thousand five hundred! You can’t win this Turn, and I’ll finish you next Turn. Your pathetic warriors can’t hurt me!”
“Normally, I wouldn’t’ve been able to win this this Turn, but due to Marauding Captain’s effect, I Special Summon Rare Metal Dragon from my hand!”
“What?!”
A huge shiny black dragon appeared out of nowhere, ready to slash any enemy with his mighty horns. (2400/1200  2900/800)
“Monsters, attack!”
Both the knights hit Jackson with their swords, making scars appear, even tough blood was nowhere to be seen. The Dragon ran into him, causing to topple over. (Jackson LP 0)
All the holograms disappeared. Saitu stepped towards him, but he couldn’t get up yet.
“One more question before I start delivering.”, he spoke to the old man in a cool voice. Jackson replied by moaning softly. Saitu placed his foot an inch above Jackson’s hand.
“Answer me truthfully, and I will do no harm to you. You see a little girl falling into a deep pit, but her golden necklace is lying a meter away from it. You’re the only one who has seen this. What would you do?”
Jackson hesitated for a few seconds, not yet recovered from Rare Metal Dragon’s attack. He gazed through the office, and finally his eye fell on Saitu’s foot.
“...I’d steal the necklace...”
As soon as he had answered, Saitu turned around and walked out of the office.
“At least you’re honest. See you tonight.”

“Morning!”
A ray of sunlight found his way through Ann’s half-opened eyelids as Saitu opened her curtains. She mumbled something back and sat up straight.
“Nine o’clock, like I’ve promised you. I already made some breakfast. It looks edible. Kinda.”
They walked into the kitchen, the one more awoken than the other, and ate the scrambled eggs and toast that Saitu had put there several minutes ago.
“Looking forward to today?”
Ann was still too tired to answer properly, and therefore nodded while yawning.
“C’mon. It wasn’t that late.”
“We’ve worked till one!” she replied. “But I’m not blaming you. Hope my Deck’s a bit better than it was before.”
The day before, Saitu had bought some booster packs on his way home; he had won some extra money by winning the Duel against Jackson, and it was well spent. Even tough Ann’s Deck wasn’t yet what he had wanted it to be, it should be better. He had been given some commons he still needed of Sy Macend, for he had passed by him to thank him properly. Saitu’s first impression was that Sy was now trying to better his life.
“We’ll find out today, won’t we?”
“Hope so.” she answered as she helped herself to some orange juice.
Today was going to be a good day. They’d go to the Duel Arena together for the first time. Ann was also excited about the changes that Saitu had made to her Deck.

Less than half an hour later, they found themselves on the train. Except for a man in a green uniform, it was empty.
“Ann?”
“Hmm...”
“Can you explain who those men are? I mean, they seem to be keeping an eye on everyone around here.” Saitu had seen men like him before, but had never really bothered to ask Ann.
Ann cast a dark look at the man in kakkhi. His hat was emblazoned with two silver S’s, in such a composition that they looked like fighting snakes..
“Those are Snatchers. They claim to keep order, but in fact they check that no one tries to fight Tönisteiner’s regime.”
“And who’s that again?” Saitu whispered.
Ann sighed, but decided that she should tell him the truth.
“Only a few years ago, I led a happy life. Everyone did. But due to the crisis in 2008, the entire country of Insopia turned their hopes to one man: Ludwig. He had managed to solve the crisis by 2009, but after that, he had become a dictator. All those who weren’t good at dueling got locked away in villages like Dunacon. But he’s afraid. Afraid that one day, someone will stand up to fight him. That’s why he’s keeping an eye on us. On everybody.”
“Then why doesn’t the rest of the world do anything about it?”
“They can’t. They can’t even legally prove what’s going on here. It’s just like China is the Communist period. Press from abroad isn’t allowed in our country. Anyone trying to cross the natural borders is...eliminated.”
“Then what are those natural borders?”
“Insopia is an island. Haven’t I told you that?”
“Might have. Please do remember I’m not from around here.”
“Then it’d be best for you to study some world history and geography.”
The man in green left the compartment, after grabbing his walkie-talkie and having turned it on.
“C’mon, this is our stop.”

They found themselves in a dirty-looking station, and walked on towards a big, but ugly-looking building. They entered, the waiting room, which was completely empty. The only person to be seen was a man in green behind the counter.
“Nothing to be seen here.” he muttered. “No one’s here today.”
“Don’t worry. I came to get a Duel Pass anyways.” Saitu answered.
The man sighed. Saitu had to fill out a document; basically three simple questions:

Duel Pass Entry Form Wrote:Name:
Date of Birth:
Address:

After having entered the answers in his prehistorical computer, he handed Saitu a card just like Ann’s.
“Y’know how it works. Your current Duel Rank is zero. After you’ve dueled, you gain experience and some money; the card works like a credit card too. Got it?”
“Kay. We’ll go back home then?” he asked her.
“Guess so.”
They were about to leave when a guy in rags came in. His Duel Disk, which he carried on his right arm, was grey, and decorated with tiny skulls.
“I’m here to Duel. Looks like the competition’s easy today.” He said to the green-clad guy.
“Pick one of them and both hand in your card. You’re lucky, Fred. A level three and a level zero. Wouldn’t be surprised if either of them was too afraid to Duel a level eight like you.”
“I’ll take him on, thanks.” Ann said to Saitu’s surprise. They both entered their cards into one of the machines, and one of the screens that were hung up in the waiting room displayed:

DUEL ARENA 2
ANN ESPIRO (***) – FRED SCLOPEIN (********)
8000-8000

“You’ve seen it. Number two. Now go.”
As soon as he was alone again, he grabbed his walkie-talkie.
“The two you just spoke about are both here. I’ll observe their Duel. Over.”
“Okay. Over.”

“I’ll start things up!” Fred declared after they had taken their positions in the ancient-looking duel arena. Almost everything was grey, and the lines indicating the borders of the playing field could almost not be seen anymore.
“I set a monster and end my Turn!”
“Then I’ll go second. Draw!”, Ann spoke. “And I’ll Summon my Mystic Tomato!”
A huge red tomato, baring a wicked smile, appeared out of the ground. (1400/1100)
“Tomato, attack his set Monster!”
The vegetable sprung towards the hologram. It flipped around and revealed to be an old witch, covered in webs. (0/2200)
“Nyeh-ha! You’ve attacked my Lady in Wight! That’ll cost you some points!”
Ann’s Life points dropped to 7200.
“Doesn’t matter. I set two cards and end my Turn.”
Two face-down holograms appeared, and Fred drew a card.
“I activate One for One!”, he smiled, slightly waving his long grey hair. “So I ditch a Skull Servant and Special Summon another one!”
A skeleton in a purple cape arose from the ground. Ann could read its stats on her Duel Disk. (300/200)
“As for my Normal Summon, I will Tribute my Skull Servant to Summon Ryu Kokki!”
The little skeleton crumbled, and made place for a huge beast-like creature covered in all kinds of skulls, of which some seemed to be human. (2400/2000)
“Kokki, destroy her Tomato!”
The beast jumped towards the plant, and shred it to pieces. (Ann 6200)
“Huh. This is going way too easy.”
“Don’t laugh yet!” Ann interrupted him. “With Mystic Tomato’s effect, I can Special Summon Nurse Reficule the Fallen One!”
A blue-haired fairy, with great wings and clad in white bandages emerged from the place where the Tomato had died. (1400/600)
“With Nurse Reficule out, any healing effect becomes a burning effect. That’s why I will open my Trap Card, Dark Cure!”
One of her holograms flipped face-up, and revealed a picture of a manticore flying towards a shiny ball.
“As long as this remains on the field, you’ll gain life points equal to half the attack points of any monster you summon.”
Fred only laughed at the sight of her combo. “Do you honestly think you’ll live long enough to do such burning damage? I set a card and end my Turn.”
“Before you end, I activate Gift Card. This will increase-or rather decrease, your life points by 3000!”
An envelope with the image of Winged Kuriboh on it appeared, and flew towards Fred. It burst open, and several tentacles slashed him in the face. He yelled out in pain as his life points dropped to 5000. The envelope disappeared, and both Saitu and Ann were shocked by the fact that Gift Card had left red stripes on Fred’s face.
“Moving on.” she said, despite the shock. Fred had poked fun of her capacities as a Duelist, and she’d prove her strength, which meant no holding back. “I activate Rain of Mercy, healing both our life points by a thousand.”
Heavy drops of rain fell down upon both of them. However, the drops that fell on Freddy’s side of the field seemed to be acidic, for they left red spots on his face.
“Argh... Wait till next turn...I’ll get my revenge...” (Fred 4000, Ann 7200)
“I’ll set a monster, two cards, and end my turn.”
Three holograms hovered a few inches above the ground. The light indicating the turn on Ann’s Duel Disk went out, and Fred’s began to shine.
“Hmmm...I draw, and activate another One for One! I discard Lady in Wight, and Special Summon King of the Skull Servants!”
A huge skeletal figure, clad in nothing but darkness arose from the ground. (3000/0) As soon as the monster had appeared, Fred’s Life Points dropped to 2500.
“Now, King! Attack her Nurse Reficule!”
“Activate Defense Draw!” A hologram of a man that got struck by lightning while drawing a card appeared.
“The Battle Damage becomes zero, and I draw a card.”
“But your monster is destroyed...” Fred smiled. “Ryu Kokki, attack her monster!”
The zombie shred a blue-faced, green clad fairy to pieces. (800/2000)
“Now that your pesky little nurse is out of the way, let’s heal a bit! I Summon Plaguespreader Zombie!”
A small beast appeared, but it looked as if it was being devoured from the inside. (400/200).
“Heh. Just as I expected! Trap Card open, Bad Reaction to Simochi!”
“What!?”
A new Trap Card flipped open, revealing a picture of a kneeling woman being plagued by several spirits made out of thin smoke. Fred’s Life Points decreased by 200, half the Zombie’s attack points. (Fred 2,300)
“Congratulations...” he smiled, revealing his ugly teeth. “You have tricked me once more, and if I want to use my Plaguespreader’s full potential, I’ll have to take a second blow. Now, let’s Synchro Summon! I activate Synchro boost to increase my Plaguespreader’s level to three!”
He activated the Spell card, and the zombie grew a bit. (900/200) “By tuning my level three Plaguespreader Zombie to my level three Lady in Wight, I Synchro Summon the level six Doomkaiser Dragon!”
Both of the monsters jumped into the air and became transperant. Three Level Starts appeared on each of them, and then the stars joined together, making the monsters disappeared. A flash of light, and a giant zombie dragon had appeared. Large black wings attached to a grey body, and a skull as head were the most prominent features of it. (2400/1500)
“Then you’ll take twelve hundred points of damage.”
“I know.” Fred answered as his Life points dropped to 1100. “And therefore, I end my Turn.”
Ann’s Turn Light ignited again, and she Drew a Card.
“I activate Upstart Goblin! I Draw a card and you take thousand points of damage due to Simochi’s effect!”
Fred’s Life Points were at a hundred now; if Ann could heal him a little bit more, she’d win the Duel.
“I’m afraid it’s over then...” he said.
“Not yet...” she replied.
“How do you mean?”
“I can’t inflict any more damage this turn. I set a Monster and I end.”
Fred Drew a card. “Then I think I can Turn the tables again. I attack with Ryu Kokki!”
The zombified beast jumped at the face-down card. It flipped over, and a small creature resembling a big, pink marshmallow appeared. (300/500)
“Gah! Marshmallon!”
“Yeah. And I think you know what it does?”
The holograms faded: Fred’s Life Points had decreased by thousand due to Marshmallon’s effect. The light on Ann’s Duel Disk became red, and she checked her Touch Screen.
“Sweet! Level up!”
Saitu jumped onto the platform, but hadn’t expected Ann to run towards him and give him a hug.
“Thank you so much! This Deck’s awesome!”
“Yeah...” He immediately started to blush. “You just wait till it’s finished.”
“Good job.” The voice had come from the door, next to which Fred was standing. “But next time, I won’t lose that easily. Till then.”
He walked away without looking back a second time.

***

“Seen the Duel? Over.”
“Yes. The girl seems to be using a half-finished Simochi Deck. She’s now a level four. Over.”
“Tsss...If she can beat level eight Duelists that easy, we might have troubles with them in the future. Over.”
The guy behind the counter had taken his walkie-talkie out again.
“Nah. You know Fred loses half the time nowadays. Over.”
“I’ll keep an eye on them anyways. Inform the boss about them. Over.”

“Are you sure of what you’ve heard?”
“Otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered you, sir!”
One of the higher ranked Snatchers stood on one side of the Desk. On the other side, seated in a throne-like chair, sat a man with white hair. It matched the color of his skin, for he was as white as a skeleton. His hair was tied into a ponytail, so that his forehead was clearly visible. He had big eyes, in a shade somewhere between blue and grey.
His pale appearance was even more highlighted by the excellent dark blue costume he was wearing. The desk was made out of fine teak, and looked as if it had been polished several times the past few hours. Bookshelves reached to the ceiling, and they were all filled with heavy books, most of them were on the subject of history, science and literature, but several books on languages and other subjects could also be found.
He took a small piece of paper out of his top drawer, took one of the many fountain-pens, and wrote down a single word on the paper, in curly letters.
“Eliminate.”
He then pushed the paper towards the second man, who read it, nodded and immediately left the room, while Ludwig von Tönisteiner put away his pen in its holder.
Wasn’t this what he had solemnly been hoping for? That somebody would fight back?
He rested his chin on his hands. Of course, there had been attempts to stop him. The ADP, All Duelists’ Party, had been the most successful one. But they were all weak. All of his men were excellent Duelists, all of them with a win ratio of 95% or higher.
He closed his eyes again, and hoped for someone strong. Someone with whom he’d have to deal himself. He then looked up, and observed the three paintings he had once painted himself. The first one depicted a knight in black armor. On the second one, there was an enormous dragon, and on the third one there was a sorcerer juggling a black and a white energy ball.
If, and only if the girl and boy of whom he had just heard about managed to survive a Duel, he’d take them out himself.

***

Meanwhile, somewhere far away, Saitu and Ann were on their way to the St. Edwards church, which Saitu had been wanting to visit for a while. According to Ann, it was a small church, and it had been abandoned years ago, but Saitu had managed to convince her.
They heard the roaring of an engine, somewhere far away. And it kept getting louder. A few minutes later, the source of the sound passed them; a green motorcycle, with several extra features such as a Duel Disk attached to the_street, and hologram simulators on the side.
After it had disappeared around the corner, Saitu found himself to be able to speak again.
“Whoa! What was that?”
“That, was a Duel Runner. Advanced Duelists use them for Riding Duels, but they’re very rare here in Dunaco, because there aren’t many advanced Duelists here.”
“And what’s a Riding Duel?”
Ann smiled. “As the name suggests, it’s a Duel that takes place while riding a motorbike.”
“Ain’t that dangerous?” He asked, while they passed a corner. The sound of the Duel Runner started to fade away.
“There’s an Auto-Pilot function, but I’ll explain that another time. We’re at the church.”
And indeed, Saitu recognized the small, filthy church building. And it didn’t look any better on the inside. The glass-in-lead windows were so dirty that they didn’t let any sunlight through, and the pews looked as if they were rotten. The whole place seemed as if nobody had been in it for years. They walked several meters through the church, and their footsteps echoed loudly, but didn’t break the silence. In fact, it sounded as if the footsteps had already been there before they entered.
“C’mon, let’s go.” Ann whispered.
But Saitu had proceeded towards the altar. An old man, clad in a priest’s robe was kneeling in front of it, praying in silence.

Neither of them knew whether to talk to him or to remain in silence. They didn’t want to disturb him, and therefore they sat down just to watch him. The man didn’t move, or even seemed to have noticed that two youngsters had entered the building.
After a few minutes, he stood up, and turned around to face them. His face was partly hidden in the shadow his hood cast upon it, but from what they could see, Saitu thought he must’ve been very old.
“I knew you would come.” His voice was weak, and seemed to fill the whole church, though it was not unpleasant. “Come with me.”
Both of them followed the man in silence, even though Ann had hesitated for a second, but came with Saitu as soon as he had taken her hand. They went down a long spiraling stairway, lit by several candles, and eventually they found themselves in a large, dark room. Nothing could be seen there, except for themselves.
“Saitu...” she whispered. “Why are we here?”
“Because He wanted you to!” the man spoke again. This time, his voice was loud and clear. He took a candle from under his cloak, which started burning immediately. He took of his cap, and his long black hair was revealed. Saitu remained in silence.
“He? Who’s He?”
The man held up a thick black book. The silver letters were clearly visible in the light of the candle; they spelled out the words ‘Holy Bible’.
“Then I’ll have to disappoint you, sir. I don’t Believe.”
The man raised an eyebrow.
“Even if you don’t, I’m sure you know of the book Apocalypse?”
“Of course I do.” she replied. “But please explain what we have to do with it. Who are you, anyways? Why did you bring us here?” Her voice showed dislike, even some impatience.
He shook his head, and then continued. “In ancient writings, the legend of the Apocalypse does not end in a victory for the Lord. In fact, He does not have anything to do with it. The alternate Apocalypse tells the tale of a man who wants to destroy everyone whom he considers weak, in order to create a perfect human race. Many thought this legend refered to the Holocaust in the early forties, but there are differences.”
Ann was unimpressed. She obviously didn’t want to be wherever they were.
“The prophecy foretold your arrival, however skeptical you may be, young lady. The prophecy predicted that a young man and woman would stand up to the cruel ruler by opening an ancient gate, thereby being able to shelter those who would otherwise be murdered.”
“There aren’t any reasons to believe you yet.”
Saitu spoke for the first time. “I’m afraid she is right sir. You might’ve made everything up.”
He turned his back to them, and faced the wall opposite of the stairs. The light of the candle revealed an archway made out of stone, with eight holes around it, of which two shaped in the form of a hand. The six others were square-shaped.
“Please place your hands in the holes. Trust me.”
Ann hesitated once more, but followed Saitu. To her surprise, the opening fitted her hand perfectly. As soon as Saitu had placed his hand into the opening, the arch began to glow with a feeble light, which disappeared almost immediately.
“This is the gate of which the prophecy speaks. As you might’ve noticed, only your hands can fit into them. The six other holes...”
He thought for a few seconds, as if he didn’t know whether to finish his sentence or not. Ann started to believe him, but wasn’t sure yet.
“They shall be filled by six objects. I don’t know what kind of objects, or where they are hidden. The prophecy foretells that they are somewhere on this earth, and for centuries, people tried to discover them, but no one succeeded so far.”
“And why would we succeed?”
A smile appeared on the old man’s face.
“I never said you would.”

Neither of them knew what had happened. They suddenly found themselves in front of the altar again. The man was nowhere to be seen.
“Let’s get out of here. This place is starting to freak me out.”
Saitu threw a last glance at the altar.
“Do you believe him?” he asked her.
She didn’t answer him. She walked towards the exit of the church slowly.
“I don’t know yet. Do you?”
Silence fell over the little church once more. Saitu cast a look at the glass-in-lead window. A dark figure, surrounded by several creatures opposed the duo that should represent Ann and Saitu, each with a huge dragon-like creature behind them. Was the legend the man had told them of true?

“Saitu!” A scream filled the building. Saitu turned around quickly, and saw that Ann was almost being strangled by a man in a long green coat, and the matching SS hat. A chain flung around his arm, thereby forcing him to release her.
“Saitu Kaiba!” he said. “You are under arrest for an attempted coup d’ etat!”
“What?” He was struck with amazement. It was true that he wanted to put an end to Tönisteiner's regime, and had discussed ways to do so with Ann, but neither of them had taken any action.
“According to the law book, chapter 7, paragraph 3, you are allowed to request an escape duel. If you do, any penalty that would be given to you is doubled, but if you win you cannot be arrested for the following twenty-four hours. Do you accept or not?”
“Depends.” Saitu replied. “What if I lose?”
The man smiled, showing his pointy front teeth. “Then I, officer Jeff Roosevelt, will personally hand you over to Ludwig von Tönisteiner, for that was his wish.”
He looked for Ann, who had fainted due to the strangling. He had no other choice than to accept. He unlocked the chain by entering a code on his Duel Disk, and it flew back to him.
“I accept.” he said, while drawing five cards.
Roosevelt drew six cards. “Then I’ll start with Goblin Elite Attack Force, in attack mode!”
Several goblins wearing superb white armor took form in front of them. (2200/1500)
“Next, the Field Spell Gaia Power will boost them by another five hundred points!”
He slid open the Field Spell slot of his dark brown Duel Disk, and placed a card with a giant tree on it in it. Immediately, the giant tree had appeared in the middle of the church, and powered up the Goblins. (2700/1100)
“I set two more cards and end my turn.” A third and a fourth hologram appeared and Saitu drew a card.
“Looks like I’m in trouble. I activate my own Field Spell, Mystic Plasma Zone, to destroy yours!”
The tree faded away. The building became even darker than it already was. (Goblin Elite Attack Force 2200/1500)
“Next, I activate Bait Doll! I choose your left face-down card.” A hologram of a card depicting a scythe and a voodoo doll appeared. Roosevelt's face-down card flipped open, and appeared to be Final Attack Orders.
“Looks like the timing is appropriate, and will therefore be activated.”
“Like I care. I was going to activate it on my next turn anyways...”
“I think you wouldn’t. I Summon Marauding Captain!”
A scarred knight in greenish armor appeared, and was immediately followed by a second knight in blue armor, with a matching Mask. (1200/400 – 1200/1400 => 1700/900)
“With Captain’s Effect, I Special Summon Familiar Knight. Knight, attack his Goblins!”
Familiar Knight attacked the Goblins, but they counterattack, shredding him to pieces with their swords. (Saitu LP 7500)
“Now we can both Special Summon a level four Monster, so I choose Rare Metal Dragon!”
“Heh.” Roosevelt laughed. “I Special Summon Goblin King from my hand...”
Two Monsters appeared. Saitu’s Monster was a big black dragon (2400/1200 => 2900/800), while Jeff’s was a small green goblin sitting on a golden throne. (1000/1000 => 1500/500)
“I activate my other face-down card, Inferno Reckless Summon!”
A hologram of a Quick-Play Spell Card flipped over, and two more Goblin Kings came out of the ground. (2x 3000/3000 => 3500/2500)
“Now that I’ve got three Goblin Kings on the field,” Roosevelt started explaining, ”you cannot attack any of my Fiend-Type Monsters. The get a thousand points for each Fiend I control, plus another five hundred because of your Spell Card!” He smiled in a self-confident way. “Try to escape now.”
“I will.” Saitu replied in a calm voice. “I set two cards and end my Turn.”
“Very well. I draw. I Summon another Goblin Elite Attack Force!”
Another set of Goblins clad in white armor appeared. (2200/1500 - Goblin Kings: 3x 4500/3500)
“Goblin King, attack his Dragon!”
The Goblin jumped out of his throne, and attacked the Dragon by hitting it in one of its great eyes. The dragon replied to this by simply biting of the goblin’s head. (Roosevelt LP 5600)
“How the f*ck did you do that?” he yelled.
Saitu pointed towards the hologram that had just flipped face-up; it depicted Dark Ruler Ha Des, who was in a weak condition. (Saitu LP 6500)
“Skill Drain negates all Effects, and therefore your Goblin King’s Attack increasing Effect was negated.”
“That won’t stop my Elite Attack Forces from doing damage. Attack his Marauding Captain!”
The two swordsmen lunged at the captain at the same time, making him scatter. (Saitu LP 5500)
“Nice try, but the Duel is almost over.”
“It isn’t yet. I end my Turn.”
Saitu drew a card, and as soon as he saw it, he knew that the duel would last.
“I activate Trap Stun, so that I can use Monster Effects. I Summon Summoner Monk in defense mode with its own effect, and discard Allure of Darkness to Special Summon Rose Warrior of Revenge from my Deck!”
Two Monsters appeared at the same time: the first was an ancient monk in a dark blue kimono, with long white hair and a matching mustache, the second one was a young girl in a black suit, with her long red hair tied in a ponytail. (800/1600 => 1300/1200 – 1600/600)
“A Tuner Monster...”
“Yes. A Tuner Monster.” he repeated. “I’ll tune my Monk to my Rose, to Synchro Summon Colossal Fighter!”
Twe two monsters jumped into the air and became transparent. Four level stars appeared out of each of them, which joined together to form a level eight monster. A giant white figure arose from the ground. (2800/1000 => 3300/500)
“Colossal Fighter increases its attack points by 100 for each Warrior in our Graveyards. Marauding Captain, Familiar Knight and Rose; together they boost this Fighter’s attack as long as this turn lasts.”
The warrior’s attack increased to 3600.
“I’m not done yet.” Saitu continued. “By removing Allure of Darkness from play, I Special Summon Spell Striker!” He put Allure of Darkness in his pocket, and put another monster on his Duel Disk. A little warrior clad in blue armor popped out of the card. (600/200)
“Spell Striker, direct attack!”
The monster cast a spell which flew in between Roosevelt’s army of goblins, and hit him in the chest. (Roosevelt LP 5000)
“Next, I’ll attack your Elite Attack Forces with Colossal Fighter and Rare Metal Dragon!”
Both Saitu’s Monsters attacked at the same time; the first one using his fists, the other with his mighty black horn. (Roosevelt LP 3400)
“There. I’ll end my Turn by setting a last card.”
Roosevelt had not said a word, or even showed pain upon being attacked by Saitu’s Monsters. Instead, he just drew a card, which might’ve been his last.
“I activate Twister to destroy Skill Drain!” he declared, and immediately Saitu’s Trap Card was shred to pieces by a typhoon. (Roosevelt LP 2900)
“Next, I’ll Activate Double Summon, so that I can Summon Goblin Attack Force and Tribute him for Great Maju Garzett!”
A spell card depicting a battle between a beast and a magician appeared, and then a bunch of goblins came out of his Duel Disk. (2300/0) They turned into a wisp of black smoke, which took the form of a giant hairy fiend, wearing red armor and a matching mask. (4600/0 => 5100/0)
“Great Maju Garzett, attack his Colossal Fighter!”
“Trap Card Activate, Staunch Defender!”
Roosevelt’s Monster was aiming a dark energy beam towards Collossal Fighter, but Spell Striker came to stand in between them and took the hit.
“Spell Striker takes no battle damage. Therefore, I am safe.”
“You are now, but next Turn I will destroy you.” He smiled once more. “Did you really think a low-ranked Duelist like you could defeat me, a level nine Duelist?”
“Yes I did, and I will prove it. Draw!”
Saitu had been overconfident. He knew he couldn’t possible defeat Great Maju Garzett. He looked at the card he had drawn: Enemy Controller. He could try to shift Roosevelt's Monster to Defense Mode, but Final Attack Orders would shift him to Attack Position again. And there were still his two Goblin Kings, each with 2500 attack points. But then he saw it: everything he needed was right there.
“I release my Rare Metal Dragon to activate Enemy Controller!”
A giant game controller appeared between them. Rare Metal Dragon scattered to tiny fragments, and Saitu recited the code that was required to activate the second effect.
“Up, lefty, down, right, B, A, B, A!” The buttons pressed themselves, and Maju Garzett was pulled towards Saitu’s side of the field by the controller’s cord.
“You may have seized control of my Monster, but my Kings still protect each other!”
“Not if I activate Fissure first. This will destroy one of your Kings!"
One of the two Goblin Kings vanished.
"Great Maju Garzett, attack his Goblin King!”
The fiend blast a beam of energy towards the remaining Goblin King, who had only 500 attack points left, causing 4600 points of damage. This was more than enough to take away his remaining 2900 Life Points, and this time he really seemed to feel the attack. He felt on his knees, clutching his heart, breathing heavily as if he had just ran several miles. Saitu turned his attention to Ann, who was still lying next to the back row of pews.
“C’mon, wake up. Please wake up.”
She did not. Therefore, he picked her up and decided to carry her home.
“Twenty-four hours. Then I’ll come and get you.”
“Looking forward to it.” Saitu replied, stepping on Roosevelt's right hand when passing by. He wouldn’t’ve been surprised had he broken one or more fingers...