A few days have passed since we found where Slifer and Obelisk were, and Twilight, Chrysalis, and I were at their location, a cave that contained the vault which contained the two of them. How and why the two were together, I don't know, but I'll take it, I guess. "Clever," I said. "No one would think to look here in an old cave for one of them."

"Still, V said two order members are on their way here," Chrysalis said. "We may wish to hurry."

"You two go on ahead," I said. "No telling what may happen if there's three there when there's only two of them. Plus, someone needs to make sure they can't get in."

"I will accompany them," Ra said as his card floated out of my deck, and placed itself into Twilight's. "My presence will be needed if my brothers are to know they stand with us."

I nodded. "Right," I said. "In which case, Demise, you and the others are up."

"Of course," the monster spirit said before a glow emanated from the deck before it faded, indicating the new deck was in place. "If I may ask, why me?"

"Don't know," I said. "Just a feeling." I then looked at my changeling and alicorn companions. "You guys going to be all right in there?"

Twilight nodded. "With Ra, I'm sure we'll be okay," she said. "Just make sure you don't get killed," she added with a slight, joking tone.

I scoffed. "You know who you're talking to, right?" I replied with a small laugh. "Now come on and get in there guys. No telling who's coming and how long I'll be able to hold them off."

"We'll be back as soon as we can," Chrysalis said before they entered the cave, and I turned around, facing the direction the Order members would coming. To pass the time, I sat down, and tried to think up different ways to use my current deck, but none would be fully done until tested in a duel.

After a few minutes, I heard hoofsteps, and a voice say, "What? He should be dead!"

I cracked an eye open, and saw Red and Nightmare, both wearing Order colored cloaks looking at me, snarls on their faces. "Well, look who's here," I said as I got up and opened my other eye. "So, Ruin, you mind telling me why you fused with Luna, or whatever you call yourself now?"

Nightmare hissed. "How do you know that name?"

I simply smiled as the King of Armageddon appeared behind me, his dual handed war ax in hand as his face looked like a gleaming, skinless skull. "A friend," I said as my duel disk activated. "Now, we all know why we're here, and I'm here to say you want in there, you'll have to get through me and my deck. I don't care if it's two to one."

Red scoffed. "If you want to die, then so be it," he said as his and Nightmare's disks activated. "Just so it'll be fair, you get double th ebasic life points and double zones with two summons a turn."

"Big mistake," I said as I drew my first six cards, and looked at them before smiling at two. "For my first move, I summon Armageddon Knight and Dark Crusader to my field face up, then I activate Armageddon Knight's effect, which allows me to put one dark monster in my deck to the graveyard, and I choose another Knight." I took the card out from my deck and placed it in the graveyard, causing the disk to auto shuffle afterwards. "I then activate Dark Crusader's effect, and send a Doomsday horror to the graveyard to boost his attack to 2000, then I send Patrician of Darkness to do the same, giving him another four hundred. I then lay one card face down before activating the effect of Dark Nephthys, which makes me banish two dark monsters in my graveyard if there's three to put it there," I said as I did so, emptying my hand. "With that, I end my turn."

Red scoffed. "You emtied your hand, and for what?" he asked. "I summon to my field Dark Blade-"

"Which I counter with the trap card Adhesion Trap Hole, which halves his attack," I countered as the card revealed it's face.

Red growled. "I end my turn with a face down then."

As he put a card down, Nightmare drew. Unlike Red, she didn't place a card down, but looked at her hand, and I caught the occasional glance towards my field. Eventually, "I lay one monster face down along with three cards and end my turn."

"Then it's my turn," I said as I drew. "And that brings me to my next move. You see, the other part of Dark Nephthys is that when she's sent to the graveyard by her effect," I began as a column of dark flame arose behind me, "she returns the next time my turn rolls around. So, Nephthys, how about you show 'em some dark flame revival?"

There was a screech before a figure appeared in the flames, and black wings with purple flames erupted from the column before it dissipated, revealing the wings to be located at the dragon's hips. "In short, I now have two monsters with over 2000 attack. More accurately, they are at 2400 attack. Add in Knight's, and hello 6200 attack points total. And now, Knight, attack Dark Blade."

Red, for some reason, only smirked as his warrior was destroyed by mine.

Red

7500

"Now, Nephthys, engulf him in flame."

"I don't think so," he said just as the dark dragon released it's flames. "Activate mirror force." Shit.

Just as the flames reached him, they seemed to be gather in an orb before being released back at Nephthys, who was melted in the flames before vanishing. "I still have Crusader," I said. "Crusader, darkness slice."

He nodded before taking his sword, leaped to just in front of Red, and sliced at him.

Red

5100

"Still took out one of your monsters," he said.

"Yeah, you did," I say. "So I end my turn."

"Then my draw," he said before looking at the card and smiling. "Hey, babe, what do you say we show him why we're working together here?"

I saw Nightmare grin before she replied. "I think we should," she replied.

"Then I activate the field spell Malefic World!" With that, he put the card he had just drawn onto the field card slot on his disk, and the environment around us changed to that of a green and blue city, the buildings being see through. "I then lay down two cards to the field, and end my turn."

"Which lets me draw," Nightmare said as she added a card to her hand.

"Which let's me activate my face down Raigeki Break," Red said as the purple bordered card showed it's face. "So I discard my Celtic guardian to destroy your Knight." He put the designated card into his graveyard, which caused a bolt of thunder to lace out from it and strike at the Knight, causing an explosion, one for which nothing was behind as the cloud caused by it faded.

"And with that done," Nightmare continued, I send a Blue-eyes white dragon in my deck out of play-" Oh shit, I know what she's planning- "to summon Malefic Blue Eyes white dragon!" With that, Blue eyes appeared behind her before tendrils of shadow erupted from the ground, and enveloped it. I heard what I can only guess are screams of pain before the orb  vanished, and in its place was a Blue eyes, only now it's head seemed to have half of it covered by a black mask, and the wings seemed to be metallic. "I then activate the ritual spell card End of the world, and send from my hand another Malefic Blue eyes to summon-"

"-Me," she said, only with a different voice, one that was more of a gentle ruler than a corrupted one as the card that had been designated burst apart in her hand before the fragments flew over her portion of the field and came together, creating a small portal that struck at the ground around it. As the lightning intensified, the portal expanded, and she spoke again. "Ruin, Queen of Oblivion." Bright side: only Blue eyes can attack. For now, anyways. "And now, Blue eyes, attack his Crusader!" The dragon roared as it unleashed a blue stream of energy-one which now had some black in it-, and destroyed Crusader.

Josh

15400

"Damn it," Mutter, him being the only card I can summon with out a tribute that was capable of taking down Blue eyes with this deck at that point.

"And with that, I end my turn."

"I'll admit, well played," I said as I drew. "I guess the time I've been gone let you practice." I then looked at my card, a small, hopeful smile lit my face. "I now play the card I just drew, Cup of Ace, which allows me to draw two cards if I call a toss right. Given the circumstances, if you win, it's one for each of you." I then reached into one of my pockets, and pulled out a coin I had on me just in case this happened. "I choose heads." With that, I tossed the coin up, and caught it."

"Whatever card it is, it will not help you now," Red said.

"You forget one," I said as I looked at my hand, and saw the coin was heads up, and another smile was on my face as I drew two cards, and looked at them, the smile turning into a grin.

"I activate my spell card End of the World and tribute the Dark Horus in my hand to summon the bringer of the end, Demise, King of Armageddon!" The same happened as the Monster card in my hand shattered, only this portal, when it opened, the area around it was ablaze with blue fire as the king stepped through, his two handed ax in hand and ready, and I saw Ruin snarl.

"You," she growled. "What are you doing here?"

"Stopping Hamon," Demise replied, his voice in physical a metallic echo that, in my opinion, added to his scare factor. "Even with him wiping your memory, I am surprised you and Luna became Nightmare again. You swore that would never happen again!"

Ruin and Nightmare laughed. "Yes, but that was a different time," Nightmare said. "And even if that were not the case, my sister has fully embraced Celestia's- the Lightsworn one- power, and took up the mantle of Solar Flare. Do you honestly think I would let that stand without me being at full power as well?"

"No, simply surprised you are arrogant as ever," he said. "Josh?"

"I sacrifice two thousand of my life points to destroy every card on the field but Demise, and thus clear the way for his attack."

Josh

13400

"What?!" Ruin shouted before blue flames enveloped her and exploded followed by Blue eyes, and then all of the spells and traps. As the flames that had enveloped Ruin faded, Nightmare fainted before reverting to Luna.

"Mooney!" Red yelled, and suddenly I'm less terrified of what may happen to me should I lose.

"Demise?"

"Must you ask," he replied before walking over to Red, who glared at him with a snarl, before bringing his ax down.

Red

2700

"Shit!" he yelled as Demise walked back over to my side of the field.

"With that, I end my turn," I said. "You know, if you surrendered now, you'd be able to see if she was alright."

"Yeah," he said, "but she'd rather die than let you free Ra's brothers to defeat Lord Hamon! I draw!" he yelled before looking at his cards. "I lay one monster face down and lay down two face downs to end my turn."

"So, then, what are we going to do about Luna?" I asked.

"For now, nothing," he said coldly. Yeesh, that spell sure is fucking his mind up. "As for you, though, you can only do basics now, so half your life points and summon amount.

"Fair," I said.

Josh

6700

"Not that it'll help you at this point," I said as I drew a card. "Though you do realize just the life point reduction wasn't the smartest move, right?" I asked. "Because I activate Demise's effect again, clearing the field and letting him attack you without risk," I said as Demise did just that.

Josh

4700

Red

300

"Next time, have something planned for that ability, or you'll be screwed over," I said. "Turn end."

Red growled as he drew a card, looked at it, and snarled. "It seems as if I ma not fated to win this," he said. "I end."

Give 'em credit, he doesn't to say he surrendered. If the honor system here is as screwed as the Elite one from Halo, then they would see it better to lose than surrender and be able to fight another day. Still, right now, I'll take the win. i drew a card before saying, "Demise, finish him."

"On it," he said before lifting his right hand, the one holding the bottom of the ax, up, and unleashed a torrent of blue flames, which engulfed Red.

Red

0000

Luna/Nightmare

Unconscious

Winner: Josh

"I hope you die painfully," Red said as the flames dissipated, and he fell to the ground, or at least was going to before I ran over and caught him. I checked his pulse, and he was still alive. Though the cloak was burnt to hell.

"Couldn't show a little restraint?" I asked Demise.

"Not now," he replied. "Let's just say that what Hamon did to Ruin makes me want to make the ritual spell card a reality."

"Ah," I said as I laid Red down on the ground, and went to check on Luna. I checked her pulse and found it was still there, but, surprisingly, her horn was not. "Looks like Luna's not an alicorn anymore," I commented.

"Well, that was unexpected," Demise said. "Then again, if it has happened before, it was not notable enough for Ra and the others to know of it.

"Speaking of, he's the only one who can make sure they're free from Hamon's control," I noted. "I just wonder how well he and the others are doing."

"Considering we're out here now, I'd say very," I heard Chrysalis say before looking up to see he two walking out. "No thanks to you."

"I was out here making sure these two didn't shank us in the ass, figuratively speaking," I replied, though it was in good nature. "So, they here?"

"Indeed they are," Ra said as his card came out of Twilight's deck and to mine. "Currently, they are in a sort of trance. Thousands of years of inactivity means they need to recover energy, and us returning home will hasten it. So, was she here?"

"Ruin?" I asked as I picked up a card next to Luna, and saw that it was Ruin's card. "Yeah."

"Then I am sorry, Demise," Ra said.

"No need, old friend," the skull faced king replied. "She was under the Order's control, and it was the only way to stop her. We also learned-"

"That if the link between a monster and the one they are joined with is shattered or something," I added, standing up, "then the benefits are lost. In this case, Luna's a pegasus again."

"Really?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah," I said. "I'll tell you guys my thoughts as to why when we get back, but only if you tell me what happened in there."

"Deal," the two mares said before we teleported away, thanks to Ra, and back to the spirit realm, this time with Red and Luna in tow, along with their deck.