4 Fear

"Damn it," Daniel said. "And I just got rid of that thing!"
"I activate the effect of Wild Retribution!" Briant announced. "By paying 800 life points, I can increase my monster's attack power by 1500 until the end phase!"Briant's life points were reduced to 2250, and the Rake's power increased to 4000.
"Now, finish off his Giant Soldier Of Stone!" Briant demanded.
The Rake crawled forward and attacked Daniel's monster.
"I activate the trap card Negate Attack!" Daniel said. "Now, I can negate your attack and end the battle phase!"
"Damn it!" Briant said. "I should have seen that one coming. I end my turn."

"I draw!" Daniel said. "Then I summon Shining Abyss!"
A strange looking fairy appeared on Daniel's field. It was level 4 with 1600 attack points.
"Then, I use Buten's effect!" Daniel continued. "By banishing it from my graveyard, Shining Abyss becomes a tuner monster! Now, I tune level 4 Shining Abyss to level 3 Giant Soldier Of Stone!"
Both of Daniel's monsters dissappeared and were replaced by a large mechanical dragon with tools attached to its arms.
"I summon Power Tool Dragon!" Daniel said.
His new monster was level 7, with  2300 attack and 2500 defense.
"Now, I use Power Tool's effect" Daniel said. "I choose 3 equip spells from my deck, and you pick one at random."
Daniel selected three cards from his deck and held them up.
"I pick the one on the left," Briant said.
"Okay," Daniel said. "Now, I add it to my hand, and the other two return to my deck. Then I activate Malevolent Nuzzler!"
The equip card Daniel played increased Power Tool Dragon's attack points to 3000.
"Then I use my face down card, Scroll Of Bewitchment!" Daniel said. "This card will now equip to Power Tool Dragon and change its attribute to dark."
"Not too useful in this situation," Briant said. "Although, since Power Tool Dragon can survive battle by sacrificing equip spells, it may help you a bit after all."
"That's the plan!" Daniel said. "Now, attack!"
Power Tool Dragon drew back one its arms and rammed one of its tools into the Rake, reducing Briant's life points to 1750. The Rake managed to survive, thank's to its nature as a Fear.
"And with that, I end my turn," Daniel said.

Meanwhile, Hiroshi continued to follow Malkator as he walked through the Board.
"Why are you following me?" Malkator said.
"I was hoping we could team up?" Hiroshi replied.
"Why?" Malkator replied. "There can only be one winner, so any alliances will eventually fall apart. Besides, I'm no good at this game."
"You managed to ass the prelim, didn't you?" Hiroshi asked.
"I only managed to do that by copying that xyz thing that I saw the girl do earlier," Malkator said. "I know next to nothing about this game."
"All the more reason for you to team up with someone," Hiroshi said. "You might be able to learn a thing or two."
"And what happens when we have to face each other later?" Malkator asked.
"We can cross that bridge when we come to it," Hiroshi said.
Malkator set out a sighe. "Fine, have it your way."

Back where Daniel was dueling, a man appeared at the top of the bishop building and looked down at the duel. He was dressed in a long coat and a fedora, which was pulled down so that it cast a shadow over his features.
"I use the Board's effect!" Briant said, as his life points dropped to 1450. "I guess monster!"
He drew, revealing a monster card.
"I use the effect again!" he said, dropping down to 1150. "I guess spell card this time!"
He drew a spell card.
"Again!" he said, going down to 850. "I guess monster!"
The card he drew was another spell.
"Oh well, can't guess them all right," he saighed. "I summon Bad Rabbit!"
A level 4 black rabbit appeared on his field, with 1400 attack points.
"Now, by tributing him, I can allow an earth monster I control to attack an additional time this turn!" he said.
"Crap," Daniel said.
"But that's not all!" Briant said. "I use another effect of Wild Retribution! By sending the top 5 cards on my deck to the graveyard, the Rake gains yt another attack!"
"But that means he can attack three times this turn!" Daniel said.
"That's right," Briant said. "Next, I play the spell card Wild Doom! Since I control a beast-type monster, all cards sent to the grave this turn will be removed from play instead!"
"Shit!" Daniel said. "But that means-"
"That you can't use Malevolent Nuzzler's effect," he said. "Normally, you'd be able to pay 500 life points to return it to the top of your deck when it's destroyed, then you could use it with the Board's effect to help you draw. But if it's removed from the game instead of going to the graveyard, that won't work."
"Damn it all to hell!" Daniel said.
"Next I play the spell card Feast Of Souls, and equip it to the Rake!"
"What does that do?" Daniel asked.
"Once per turn, I can banish a monster from your graveyard and add attack power to the Rake equal to its level times 100 until the end phase," Briant said. "I think I'll chose that pesky Dark End Dragon!"
Dark End Dragon was banished from Daniel's graveyard. The Rake devoured its soul, increasing its power.
"Dark End Dragon was evel 8, so the Rake gains 800 attack," Briant said. "Now, attack Power Tool Dragon!"
"I sacrifice Scroll Of Bewitchment to protect my monster!" Daniel said.
Scroll Of Bewitchment was banished, and Power Tool Dragon survived. Daniel's life points were reduced to 1850.
"I'll have Rake attack again!" Briant declared.
"I sacrifice Malevolent Nuzzler!" Daniel said.
Daniel's life dropped to 1550, and Malevolent Nuzzler was banished. Power Tool Dragon's attack power was reduced to 2300.
"One more time!" Briant said.
The Rake attacked a third time, this time destroying Power Tool Dragon and reducing Daniel to 550 life points. Daniel fell over onto his back. His body ached from the damage he had taken.
"And with that, I'll end my turn," Briant said. "What's the matter? To close to death to do anything?"
Daniel raised himself up onto his elbows.
"You're about to lose your first life," Briant taunted. "Then you'll be that much closer to dying in this tournament."
Daniel heave himself up so that he was sitting.
"You scared?" Briant mocked.
The image of the Archangel popped up again in Daniel's head. The image of the afterlife itself. Daniel angrily got back to his feet, facing Briant.
"I'm not afraid to die," Daniel said. "What I'm afraid of is what comes next!"

Daniel was suddenly immersed in an aura of blackness, and Briant took a step back, frightened.
"So it's finally awakened, has it?" the man on the roof of the building said. "Good. Let's see how this plans out.
"I activate the Board's effect!" Daniel said, as his life dropped to 250. "I guess monster!"
Daniel drew, and glanced at his card. It was a new one. A card he had never had in his deck before. The card he was now holding was the Archangel.
"Very good," the man watching them said softly. The duelists had still not noticed his presence. "But you still need the means to summon it. I suppose I can lend a hand."
The man snapped his fingers.
"Since I guessed right, I can draw again!" Daniel said.
Daniel drew another card. It was new, just like the Archangel, but it was exactly what he needed.
"I play the spell card Revive Shift!" Daniel said. "This card allows me to revive a monster from either graveyard, as long as there's an attribute mentioned in its effect!"
"What?" Briant asked.
"Since Trojan Horse has the earth attribute in its effect, I'll bring it back to my field!" Daniel said.
The Trojan Horse in Briant's graveyard was special summoned to Daniel's field.
"What the hell?" Briant asked
"That was the revive part!" Daniel said. "Now comes the shift! Do to Revive Shift's effect, I can change any attribute in Trojan Horse's card text to a different attribute! I'll change the earth attribute in its effect to dark!"
"But that means...," Briant said.
"That if I summon a dark attribute monster, Trojan Horse will be used as two tributes instead of one," Daniel finished for him. "Now,  I tribute Trojan Horse to summon Archangel! Lord Of The Fallen!"
A new being appeared on Daniel's field. It resembled a tall man, with dark clothing and a gas mask concealing his face. A pair of deep black angel winds sprouted from his back. He was level 8 with 2500 attack points, the same as the Rake.
"I activate the Archangel's effect!" Daniel said. "When it's summoned to the field, I can equip it with a monster from my graveyard! I choose Light End Dragon!"
An aura of light surrounded the Archangel as Daniel equipped his dragon to it.
"Now, attack!" Daniel ordered.
"But their attack points are the same!"Briant said.
"For now," Daniel said. "But Archangel gains the effects of the monster equipped to him. So by reducing his attack power by 500, I can reduce the Rake's attack power by 1500!"
The Archangel's attack power became 2000, and the Rake was reduced to 1000. The Archangel conjured a black scythe from nothingness, and cleaved the Rake in to. The scythe continued moving, hitting Briant and reducing his life points to 0. Suddenly, on of the wounds on his chest vanished.

"You son of a itch!" Briant said, as his body began fading. "I'll get you for this! This isn't over!"
He disappeared, leaving Daniel alone. He glanced at the Archangel's card.
"Where the hell did you come from?" he asked.

3 Animals

Malkator stopped and leaned against a nearby building.
"So, is that all?" he asked the talking bat, while rubbing the new, glowing wounds on his chest.
"Yes, pretty much," the bat said.
"God, next to France, this is probably the most bizarre thing that's ever happened to me," he said.
"I believe it," the bat said. "I'll be going now."
The bat flew off, leaving Malkator alone. He stayed leaning against the building for a while, trying to piece together everything that had just happened.
"Hey, Malkator!" a voice called, breaking him away from his thoughts.
He turned his head to see a man approaching him. He was a Japanese man in his late twenties, and was carrying a long samurai sword.
"Oh, great," Malkator said. "What do you want, Hiroshi?"
"I want to know what in hell is going on here," the man replied.
"Same here," Malkator said. "But I doubt I'll figure it out sticking around here."
Malkator got up, and began walking.

Meanwhile, on a different part of the Board, Daniel stood across from the bearded man, watching the Rake card.
"Well, this sucks," Daniel said, looking back at his dueldisk and the enlarged image of the card. In addition to its invulnerability, the Rake could also deal piercing damage. And if it went a turn without attacking, it could destroy a non-Fear monster easily.
"So are you gonna do anything else, or can I take my turn now?" the man asked.
"Hold on," Daniel said, setting a card on his field. "I set one card and end my turn."
As Daniel's turn ended, Light End Dragon's attack became 2100 and Rake's attack returned to 2500.

"Great!" the man said. "Time to teach you a lesson! I summon Beast King Barbaros!"
A large centaur like creature, with the head of a lion, and wielding a lance and a buckler. It was level 8.
"I can summon this monster without tributes, but if I do, its attack power becomes 1900," the man said. "Next, I activate the trap card Metalmorph! This card will now become an equip card for the Rake, increasing its attack power by 300!"
The Rake was coated in a layer of steel, and its attack power rose to 2800.
"Now, I attack Light End Dragon with the Rake!" the man said. "And do to Metalmorph's effect, the Rake will gain half of Light End Dragon's attack during damage calculation!"
The Rake's attack power rose to 3550, and it savagely ripped apart Daniel's Dragon. Daniel's life points were reduced to 6050.
"Now, I attack directly with Barbaros!" the man said. His beast prepared to strike Daniel with its spear.
"Not so fast!" Daniel said. "I activate the trap card A Rival Appears! Now, I can target one monster you control, then bring out a monster from my hand with the same level. Rake is a level 7, so I can bring out my level 7 Dark Magician!"
Daniel's Dark Magician appeared on the field.
"Since a new monster was brought out, I can cancel my attack," the man said. "Then I set a card face down and end my turn!"

"Alright," Daniel said, drawing. "So who are you, anyway?"
"My name is Briant," the man said. "Why do you care?"
"Because I'd like to know who's ass I'm kicking before I stomp them in to the ground," Daniel said, grinning.
"Ha!" the man laughed. "You think you have a chance against my Fear card?"
"Let me let you in on a little something," Daniel said. "This deck I'm using? It was customized to hold its own against a Five Headed Dragon."
"What!?" Briant exclaimed.
"You're Fear card was a bit intimidating at first, but I've gotten over it," Daniel said. "I can beat that thing. No sweat."
"Oh yeah," Briant growled. "Prove it!"
"I will!" Daniel said. "I summon Buten!"
A small, pig like fairy creature appeared on Daniel's field. It was level 1 with 200 attack points.
"Now, I tune my level 1 Buten to my level 7 Dark Magician!" Daniel said. "Come forth, Dark End Dragon!"
Daniel's monsters were replaced by a terrifying black dragon, with an extra face on its torso. It was level 8, with 2600 attack points.
"I attack Beast King Barbaros with Dark End Dragon!" Daniel said.
"I activate the trap card Half Unbreak!" Briant said. "This card prevents Barbaros from being destroyed in battle, and halves any damage I take."
Briant's life points were reduced to 6050, the same as Daniel.
"Oh well," Daniel said. "I activate Dark End Dragon's effect. Now, by permanently reducing its attack power by 500, I can destroy any monster you control. I'll chose Night Whisperer, Rake!"
Dark End Dragon opened its second mouth, and fired a bolt of energy that destroyed the Rake.
"Damn it!" Briant exclaimed.
"I end my turn with that," Daniel said.

"I draw!" Briant said. "Then, I activate the trap card Wild Return! This card revives a level 4 beast-type monster from my graveyard! I bring back Trojan Horse!"
The Trojan Horse reappeared on Briant's field.
"Now, I tribute my Beast King Barbaros, and my Trojan Horse treated as 2 tributes!" Briant said.
"Three tributes?" Daniel said. "Uh-oh..."
"I tribute summon another Beast King Barbaros!" Briant said. "And since he was summoned with three tributes, I can destroy every card you control!"
A second Barbaros appeared, with 3000 attack points. It swung its lance, destroying Daniel's Dark End Dragon.
"Now, attack him directly!" Briant demanded.
Beast King Barbaros stabbed forward with its lance, hitting Daniel. Daniel collapsed, clutching the area where it had hit. The was no wound, but the pain was still there. His life points dropped to 3050.
"I end my turn," Briant said.

Daniel looked at his hand. All he had was a Giant Soldier Of Stone. He could go on the defensive, but Briant's power deck could just break through it. He needed another plan. Some kind of Deus Ex Machina that could save him. He looked at the screen of his duel disk, trying to figure something out. That's when it occurred to him. He tapped the screen, and an image of a spell card appeared. He read its effect, and began chuckling.
"What's so funny?" Briant Demanded.
"Nothing much," Daniel said. "Just that I figured out how I might be able to make a comeback.
"What?" Briant asked.
"I activate the effect of The Board!" Daniel said.
The checkered tiles surrounding them began glowing.
"I pay 300 life points to guess what type of card I'm gonna draw!" Daniel said. "Then, if I guess right, I can draw again!"
Daniel's life dropped to 2750.
"I guess my next card will be a spell card!" Daniel said. He drew. "Looks like I lucked out and drew a spell! Which means I can draw again! And I think I'll use the Board's effect another time!"
Daniel's life was reduced to 2450.
"I guess trap card!" Daniel said, drawing again. "And it looks like that's exactly what I got! I use the Board's effect one more time!"
Daniel's life went down to 2150.
"This time, I guess monster!" He said. He drew another card, and looked at it. "Damn. Got a spell this time. Oh well. I summon Giant Soldier Of Stone!"
A warrior made of stone appeared on Daniel's field. It was level 3 with 1300 attack points.
"Next, I play the spell card Riryoku!" Daniel said. "Now, I can cut your monster's attack in half, and add it to my Soldier!"
Barbaros's attack was reduced to 1500, while Giant Soldier Of Stone rose to 2800.
"Now, I'll have my monster attack!" Daniel said.
Giant Soldier Of Stone attacked, destroying Beast King Barbaros and reducing Briant's life points to 4550.
"I set 2 cards face down and end my turn," Daniel said. "Looks like those dumb beast cards of yours aren't paying off too well, are they?"

Briant burst into laughter.
"You think they're dumb?" he chuckled. "Animals are far smarter than human's give them credit for. They are absolutely brilliant. A fact that scares the hell out of me."
Something wasn't right. There was a dark aura surrounding Briant now. Something Daniel had felt before, when in the presence of the Archangel. He gulped and tried to shove that memory to the back of his head while Briant drew his next card.
"I pay 1500 life points to activate the equip spell Wild Retribution!" Briant said. "This card allows me to revive a beast-type monster and equip it with this card! Return, Night Whisperer! Rake!"
The Rake reappeared on Briant's field. But it wasn't the same as before. It was more feral, and destructive looking. Daniel took a step back. For the first time since this duel had started, Daniel was legitimately terrified.