The Doomship

Jayden, her adopted sister Emma, her boyfriend Michael, and their friends Jay, Hailey, Boze, Rain, and Delilah arrived at Level Four.

They looked around and saw nothing but a vast, scorching desert.

"We've got to find the location of the secret chamber or intercept Mustissac," Jayden said.

"And we're running out of time," Michael added, his face filled with concern.

"With what we've got to work with, this is completely hopeless," Boze muttered, kicking up a cloud of desert sand.

A strange feeling suddenly came over Delilah. She reached into her pocket, pulled out two glowing green stones, and tapped them together. Instantly, a pair of magical binoculars appeared in her hands.

Looking through them, she spotted a massive aircraft—nearly the size of two battleships—with the head of a bird of prey built into its bow.

"Altus Kael's doomship," Delilah whispered.

At that moment, Hailey's bracelet began to glow.

"What's left of Mustissac is aboard that doomship," she said. "It's only thirty minutes away from reaching teleportation range of the Ancient Chamber."

Jay thought for a moment.

"What we need to do is take control of the doomship, alter its course, and once it's far enough away, we teleport aboard and duel Mustissac."

"Great plan," Boze replied, "except for one problem."

"What?" Jay asked.

"None of us has ever flown a plane... let alone a doomship."

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances.

"My paw-paw was a pilot before he passed away," Hailey said quietly. "He took me flying with him a couple of times."

Jay's face lit up.

"That's it! Delilah and Hailey will sneak aboard the doomship, take control of it, and turn it around. Once it's far enough away, the rest of us will teleport aboard and deal with Mustissac."

Hailey and Delilah teleported aboard Altus Kael's doomship.

Using their shadow powers, they moved through the corridors completely unseen.

"Mustissac has turned almost everyone into mind-controlled Card Hunters," Delilah whispered as they silently passed crew members.

Eventually, they reached the flight deck.

To their surprise, the pilot and co-pilot were still normal.

"Well... at least they haven't been transformed yet," Hailey whispered.

"You ready?" Delilah asked.

Hailey nodded.

Delilah closed her eyes and focused.

The pilot's chair, still bolted to the floor, suddenly slid backward a few inches.

The pilot glanced down in confusion before returning his attention to the controls.

Delilah concentrated even harder.

The cockpit door suddenly burst open.

Both chairs shot backward, carrying the startled pilot and co-pilot through the doorway before they could react.

The door slammed shut behind them.

The handles melted away into smooth metal, sealing the cockpit completely.

With the crew locked outside, Delilah and Hailey dropped their shadow cloaks.

Hailey stared at the control panel.

Her heart sank.

Nothing looked familiar.

Rows of glowing crystals, floating symbols, and strange levers stretched across the cockpit.

She froze.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Hailey... what's wrong?" Delilah asked gently.

"I've never seen controls like these," Hailey whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Everyone expects me to fly this thing... but I don't know if I can. What if I let everyone down?"

Delilah stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her.

"Hailey," she said softly, "you can do this. Believe in yourself the same way you believe in your Duel Magic cards."

Hailey stood silently, Delilah's words echoing in her mind.

Then everything around her faded.

A vision appeared.

Jay smiled proudly at her.

"I love you, Hailey. You can do this."

Beside him stood her grandfather.

His warm smile brought tears to her eyes.

"You can do it, sweetheart," he said. "Make your paw-paw proud."

The vision slowly faded away.

At that moment, Hailey's bracelet shone brighter than ever before, bathing the cockpit in golden light.

Hailey wiped away her tears.

A confident smile spread across her face.

"I can do this."

She placed her hands on the controls.

As soon as she touched them, her magic flowed through the doomship.

The glowing symbols suddenly made perfect sense.

Every lever, crystal, and control responded to her instincts as though she had spent years piloting the vessel.

The massive doomship slowly banked to the left before making a graceful turn away from its original course.

Suddenly, Hailey and Delilah heard loud banging echo through the cockpit, followed by the screech of metal and the clanging of tools against the sealed door.

"They're trying to get in," Hailey said, her face filled with concern as she tightened her grip on the controls.

Delilah remained calm.

"Don't worry," she said with a confident smile. "I'll take care of them."

Dark shadows gathered around her as she activated her shadow powers once again. Within seconds, her body faded from sight until she was completely invisible.

She stepped toward the cockpit door.

Instead of opening it, Delilah simply walked through the solid metal as though it were made of mist. 

Delilah remained cloaked, invisible to the Card Hunters as she hurried down the corridor.

But Mustissac's dark powers pierced her concealment.

"There she is!" he shouted. "Get that girl!"

The Card Hunters charged after her, and a frantic chase erupted through the corridors of the doomship.

"Come on..." Delilah whispered to herself as she darted around corners, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Mustissac and his followers were still pursuing her.

She reached an emergency hatch and threw it open.

A blast of wind rushed into the corridor.

Without hesitation, Delilah stepped outside onto the exterior of the floating doomship, using her shadow magic to cling to its hull.

The Card Hunters, blinded by their mindless pursuit, rushed through the hatch after her.

The moment they crossed the threshold, they found nothing beneath their feet.

One after another, they plummeted thousands of feet toward the desert below, their screams fading into the distance.

The chase had exhausted Delilah.

Feeling her strength fading, she climbed onto the top of the doomship and dropped to one knee, breathing heavily as the rushing wind whipped through her hair.

As she struggled to catch her breath, a familiar voice echoed behind her.

"Thought you could get away, didn't you?"

Delilah turned.

Mustissac stood only a few yards away, his dark aura swirling around him.

"There is nowhere left to run," he said with an evil laugh.

He slowly raised one hand.

"Now... should I make you my slave... or send your soul to the Umbral Realm forever?"

His laughter echoed across the top of the flying warship.

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared beside Delilah.

Rain materialized, standing between her and Mustissac.

Rain's keychain began to glow brightly.

"It's over, Mustissac," she declared.

A deck of Duel Magic cards appeared in her hand.

Mustissac grinned.

"Aww... you're the one who's going to challenge me?" he mocked. "How unfortunate. You'll lose your soul to the Umbral Realm forever."

Before Rain could answer, the two glowing green stones in Delilah's pocket began to shine.

They floated into the air, circling one another before transforming into a second deck of Duel Magic cards.

Delilah caught the deck and stood beside Rain.

"You won't be facing her alone," she said.

A pair of bright flashes erupted nearby.

Jayden and Emma appeared on the top of the doomship, each holding a glowing Duel Magic deck.

"That's right," Jayden said confidently.

"We're in this together," Emma added.

Mustissac's smile widened as his eyes glowed with dark energy.

"Very well," he said, spreading his arms as black shadows swirled around the group.

"Then we shall settle this... in the Umbral Realm."

Darkness exploded outward, engulfing all five duelists as the Shadow Game began.

Dark clouds swirled over the Umbral Realm as Mustissac stepped onto the dueling field, surrounded by a chilling aura.

"You have no chance against the darkness," Mustissac said.

Jayden smiled confidently. "We're stronger together.”

Life Points

Jayden, Emma, Rain & Hailey: 8000

Mustissac: 8000

Mustissac opened with powerful shadow monsters and a wall of trap cards, quickly taking control of the duel. Their attacks reduced the team's Life Points to 4200.

Emma refused to give up. She activated a support spell that restored their defenses and protected their monsters from destruction.

Rain followed by destroying Mustissac's strongest trap cards, clearing the field for a counterattack.

Hailey then summoned a mighty dragon whose blazing attack forced Mustissac's most powerful monster off the field.

"It's your turn, Jayden!" Hailey called.

Jayden drew her next card and smiled.

"This is the card we needed!"

Her Fusion Summoned a legendary warrior whose attack grew stronger with every teammate's monster on the field.

It's your turn, Jayden!" Hailey called.

Jayden drew his next card and smiled.

"This is the card we needed!"

Her Fusion Summoned a legendary warrior whose attack grew stronger with every teammate's monster on the field.

Mustissac laughed. "You'll never defeat my Shadow Emperor!"

"Watch us!" Jayden shouted.

Emma, Rain, and Hailey combined their support cards to double the Fusion Monster's power.

"Everyone... attack together!"

The four monsters charged across the battlefield in a brilliant burst of light, overwhelming the Shadow Emperor and striking Mustissac directly.

Mustissac's Life Points: 8000 → 0

Mustissac grabbed his chest and began gasping for breath. A hole opened in his chest as the Gildebane—the magic staff that had transformed itself into his heart—burst free. It then transformed into a magnificent golden bird and soared into the sky.

Mustissac's soul was banished to the Umbral Realm, and his lifeless body tumbled from the top of the doomship, crashing to the ground below.

The eight heroes were teleported back to the old barn that had served as their command center.

"Congratulations on a job well done," said Guardian 20276-7. "Unfortunately, the evil magic of the Gildebane was not destroyed. Even now, it is searching for a new host.”

"Then let's go find it and destroy it," said Michael.

"Michael, your part in this journey is over. As are the parts of Jayden, Emma, Jay, and Hailey," said Guardian 20276-7. "Delilah, Rain, and Boze will continue the search. One day they will banish the evil power of the Gildebane to the Umbral Realm forever."

A bright light engulfed the old barn.

Back on Earth, Jayden, Emma, and Michael sat in an ice cream shop after spending the afternoon at the park.

"Quit staring," Jayden said, scolding Emma, who was watching a couple seated a few tables away.

Emma picked up her stuffed unicorn, skipped happily over to them, and immediately began telling strange stories about unicorns.

Jayden sighed and walked over to retrieve her.

"I'm sorry my little sister bothered you," Jayden said, gently taking Emma's arm.

"She wasn't bothering us," the young woman replied with a smile. "I'm Hailey, and this is my fiancé, Jay."

"Why don't you join us?" Hailey offered.

"Please!" Emma said excitedly.

Jayden sighed once more and motioned for Michael to come over.

The five of them sat together, laughing. Sometimes they talked about ordinary teenage life, and other times they listened to Emma's imaginative tales about unicorns. None of them remembered the battle they had fought together, yet an unexplainable friendship seemed to come naturally.

In a distant realm, Data-G-01 and Guardian 20276-7 watched the five friends through a viewscreen.

Data-G-01 began running an analysis.

"What are you trying to determine, Mr. Data?" asked Guardian 20276-7.

"I am calculating the probabilities," Data-G-01 replied, "to determine whether it was the Shadow Game or fate that brought Jayden, Emma, Michael, Jay, and Hailey back together. Though they have forgotten fighting alongside one another to defeat Mustissac, something still drew them together."

Guardian 20276-7 smiled as the five friends laughed together on the screen.

"Perhaps," the Guardian said quietly, "some bonds are stronger than memory."

Far above, unseen by anyone, a golden bird disappeared beyond the horizon, still searching for its next host.