"You're not getting away from me, Hamon!" Arlene yelled at the man in the distance, who paid no attention to her. Drawing upon reserves of energy she didn't even know she had, Arlene was slowly getting closer to Hamon. A tremor shook the earth beneath the pair, causing both to stumble slightly. Arlene was able to recover slightly quicker and drastically closed the gap between herself and Hamon, who glanced over his shoulder with an emotionless expression. The ground shook once again, causing him to fall over a second time. Arlene lunged at him, grabbing his legs and halting his progress. Hamon snarled and kicked her off, though he now made no attempts to run, instead turning to face her.

"I've had just about enough of you!" He snapped, readying his duel disk. Arlene did the same. "This is going to end now!"

Hamon: 4000
Arlene: 4000

"I'll activate the field magic card, Elemental Plains!" The area around the pair shook, as a result of both the island and the new card being played. The field was transformed into grassy plains that were constantly changing textures, from oceans of fire to fields with intense winds running through them. "While this card is on the field, we can only summon to the field monsters of a fire, water, wind or earth attribute, and we may only have one monster of each attribute on our fields at any time! Now I'll summon to the field my Wind Statue (0000/0000)!" A green statue appeared on Hamon's field. "To finish, I'll set two cards face down." Arlene picked up a card.

"I'll summon my Balance Savior (1500/1000) to the field!" She paused after summoning her monster to look at Hamon's. "Now I'll get it to attack your Wind Statue!" Her monster charged at the statue.

"Do you happen to remember the effects of my statues?" Hamon asked with a smirk. "If a monster with the same attribute as one of my statues attacks it, both monsters are destroyed, I gain life points equal to the attacking monster's attack points, and I can then summon another "Statue" monster of the same name from my deck or hand!"

"So? Your monster is wind attribute and my monster's earth." Hamon's smirk widened as he revealed his two face down cards.

"My two face down cards will change that! The first one that will be activating is a card called Opposing Elements! This can be activated when I have a "Statue" monster on the field, and lets me special summon from my deck a monster with a conflicting element to the one on my field. The opposing element to wind is earth, so I'll summon my Earth Statue (0000/0000)!" A clay statue of a human face appeared next to Hamon's other monster.

"That still doesn't change anything!" Hamon held up a hand.

"Now, now! I'm not finished yet! My second face down card is a continuous trap card known as Elemental Instability!" Beams of energy shot out of both statues and into Arlene's monster, who began to glow green. Balance Saviour fired a spell at Wind Statue, causing both monsters to explode and a second Wind Statue to appear.

Hamon: 5500
Arlene: 4000

"Elemental Instability can be activated when I have two or more "Statue" monsters on my field. Whenever one of your monsters attacks, I can change the attribute of the monster to one that matches one of my "Statue" monsters, so I choose wind! And because your monster was the same attribute as mine, both monsters are destroyed, I gain some life points and get to summon another Wind Statue!" Arlene looked nonplussed.

"Well my monster has an effect as well! Whenever Balance Saviour is removed from the field, I can special summon a "Balance Warrior" from my deck, as well as giving it a Light or Dark Aura, so I choose my Balance Warrior Vimetu (0900/2100) in defense mode, and I'll give it a Dark Aura!" Arlene's monster appeared behind a large shield, with a small orb of darkness circling it. "I'll finish by setting a card face down."

"I'll summon my Fire Statue (0000/0000) to the field and end my turn." A charred statue appeared next to Hamon's other two statues, causing all of them to glow slightly. Arlene picked up her card, which caused Vimetu's Dark Aura to disappear.

During my standby phases Vimetu gets a Light Aura if there's an even number of monsters on the field, or a Dark Aura if there's an odd number of monsters, but if it has an opposing Aura on it then it vanishes...why does Vimeut have to be so tricky? Arlene gazed at Vimetu for a few more seconds before setting a card and finishing her turn. Hamon looked at the card that he had just drawn and gave a booming laugh.

"Laugh all you want, Hamon. I'm going to beat you, and then your precious Fate is going to give you the punishment you deserve!" Hamon shook his head, still laughing.

"Patience, Arlene! I haven't even played those cards yet! I might be tempted to by the end of this turn though! I summon my Water Statue (0000/0000), finishing my set!" A see through statue filled with swirling water appeared, causing the field to start changing its appearences far more rapidly. "These statues have a connection with my field magic card, and by removing all my monsters as well as Elemental Plains you'll see something special!" Beams of light burst from the four statues and the field to merge in the sky. This resulted in a massive pulse of energy and the creation of a monster that looked humanoid in shape, but shared the properties of Elemental Plains in that one minute it was coated in a rocky material, the next it was made of water. "Arlene, say hello to my Guardian of the Elemental Plains (0000/0000)! This card has a few effects, the first of which being that for every fire, water, wind and earth monster in both of our graveyards, my monster gains 300 attack and defense points, and I count six (0000/0000 - 1800/1800)! Its second effect allows it to take no battle damage from fighting monsters of fire, water, wind or earth attributes, and also destroys them at the end of the battle! So my Guardian, destroy that Balance Warrior!" Hamon's monster charged up a sphere of fire and fired it in the direction of Arlene's monster.

"Not so fast! I activate Artificial Aura! This allows me to add one Light or Dark Aura to a monster for every 1000 life points I pay, so I'll give up 3000 life points to give Vimetu three Dark Auras!" Three orbs of darkness began circling Vimetu as Arlene's life points went down.

Hamon: 5500
Arlene: 1000

The orb of fire smashed into Vimetu, evaporating as soon as it made contact. Hamon waited for a few seconds, waiting for Vimetu to be destroyed by his monster's effect, however nothing happened.

"When Vimetu has three Dark Auras, he can only be destroyed as a result of battle," Arlene explained. Hamon remained motionless for a few seconds before laughing.

"Hah! Oh well, now that you've reduced your life points so much, my monster's final effect is going to be quite fatal! You see, once per turn, I can send a monster to my graveyard from my deck - as long as it's not a monster of the light or dark variety - and inflict 500 points of damage to you! So I'll send my Water Statue to the graveyard with this effect!" Guardian of the Elemental Plains launched an orb of water at Arlene.

Hamon: 5500
Arlene: 0500

"And also, in case you'd forgotten, my monster gains another 300 attack and defense thanks to it's effect (1800/1800 - 2100/2100)! And to finish my turn, I'll activate Fate's Dice! This causes a six sided die, and depending on the result I can remove from play a varying degree of Fate cards!" A holographic die was rolled in the middle of the field, landing on a six. "Well, well! Look at that, a six! That means that I can remove from play ALL of my Fate cards!" As Hamon did so, the same dark green substance that had covered the duel tent minutes earlier surrounded the two duelists.

"What the...what's going on?" Arlene looked around, confused at her new surroundings. Even Hamon seemed a little bit surprised, though he quickly recovered.

"If I'm not mistaken, it looks as though Bryon's Fate Soul has unlocked the power of my Fate cards! Do you know what this means, Arlene? No more coming back from the dead! Any Fate chosen in this match will be absolute!"

"Hmm, two against one?" Ethan pondered as he looked at Erick and Michael. "I think it's only fair that you two share your field and that we all get some more life points. You can use each other's monsters and face down cards as you see fit, just be sure to play nice!"

Erick & Michael: 8000
Ethan: 8000

No other way around this, Michael thought to himself, glancing at Erick. I'll have to work with Erick. I'll have to put my reservations about him aside...like the fact that he didn't tell me that he knows this psychopath...

"I'll go first," Erick announced. "I'll set one monster in face down defense position and end my turn." Ethan picked up a card.

"I'll summon my Insect Knight (1900/1500) to the field to attack your face down card!" Ethan's sword wielding insect swung at Erick's face down card only to be thrown back.

Erick & Michael: 8000
Ethan: 7900

"You attacked my Gravekeeper's Spy (1200/2000) who lets me summon another Gravekeeper monster from my deck with an attack of 1500 or less when it's flipped face up, so I'll bring out another spy!" Ethan shrugged.

"I'll set one card face down and end my turn."

"Which makes it my turn," Michael muttered to himself as he drew. "I'll summon Emissary of Rituals (1900/1000) to the field!" A hooded figure holding a stone tablet materialised on the field. "And now my monster will attack your Insect Knight!" Erick looked over at Michael, clearly shocked.

"What are you doing?" Erick snapped. Michael ignored him.

I know what I'm doing. When Emissary of Rituals is destroyed by battle I can half the requirements of my next ritual summon, so I'll be able to bring out something special next turn!

This is ridiculous! Erick thought to himself. Sure, his monster's effect requires it to be destroyed by battle, but that's assuming Ethan lets him! Sure enough, Ethan activated his face down card as Michael declared his attack.

"Sorry, Michael, but I activate my face down card Unlocked Powers! To activate this card I can pay between 1000 and 3000 life points to have a normal monster on my field gain some effects while it remains in play, and I choose to pay 3000!"

Erick & Michael: 8000
Ethan: 4900

"The first effect it gains is the ability to cancel an attack once per turn, so I'll stop your Emissary of Rituals from attacking." Michael's monster stopped inches from Insect Knight. "The second effect allows me to destroy the monster whose attack was negated." Emissary of Rituals shattered into thousands of pieces. "Finally I can either summon a normal monster to my field from my hand with an attack lower than the monster I destroyed, or inflict damage to your life points equal to said monster's original attack." Ethan thought for a moment. "I'll choose the latter effect!" Michael and Erick winced as their life points were reduced.

Erick & Michael: 6100
Ethan: 4900

Michael scowled before setting two cards face down and ending his turn.

"Not being much of a team player are you, Michael?" Ethan noted, his green eyes glowing more intensely as he spoke. "Charging recklessly at the enemy is almost guaranteed to get you killed."

"I know what I'm doing!" Michael snapped. Ethan smirked.

"Well that's just the problem, isn't it?" Ethan tapped his head as he spoke. "I know what you're doing too."

"Don't listen to him, Michael! He's just trying to mess with your head!" Michael said nothing, simply staring ahead of him.

How do I know you're not messing with me, Erick? I think it'll be safer not trusting either of you.

"Well, it's something to think about while I make my next turn." Ethan picked up his card, his smile widening as he did so. "Something interesting happened not too long ago on Duel Academy Island. You two remember Bryon, don't you?" Michael and Erick looked uneasy as Ethan's facial expression became more twisted. "He was given a Fate Soul, and not just any Fate Soul." He paused as he considered something. "Rather than talk about it, maybe I should show you. I activate Preparations for the End, which allows me to remove from play all "Fate" cards from my hand, deck or graveyard at the cost of half of my life points."

Erick & Michael: 6100
Ethan: 2450

A dark green substance started to emerge from the ground and completely covered the area where the duel was taking place. Michael and Erick recoiled as Ethan's skin began to glow more intensely.

"As you can see, activating Fate cards has a slightly more significant effect now that there's a Fate Soul running around. All I can say is, look forward to the coming turns."

New cards...

Elemental Plains
Field Magic
Image: A field covered with a combination of lava, strong winds, cracks in the earth and lashing rain.
Effect: While this card is face up on the field, only monsters of FIRE, WATER, WIND or EARTH attributes can be normal summoned or special summoned. Players may not have more than one monster on their side of the field with the same attribute. By sending this card as well as one Fire Statue, one Water Statue, one Wind Statue and one Earth Statue, you can special summon one "Guardian of the Elemental Plains" from your hand or deck.

Wind Statue
ATK: 0000 DEF: 0000
Attribute: Wind
Level: 2
Type: Rock
Image: A luminous green statue of a human face.
Effect: When this card battles a monster with an Wind Attribute, Wind Statue and the opponent's monster are destroyed and you can increase your life points equal to the original attack of your opponent's destroyed monster. Then you may special summon from your hand or deck one "Wind Statue".

Opposing Elements
Trap Card
Image: A clear orb with fire and water swirling inside it.
Effect: You can activate this card when you have one or more "Statue" monsters face up on your side of the field. Depending on the name of the card selected, activate the appropriate effect:
Fire Statue - Special summon one "Water Statue" from your hand or deck.
Water Statue - Special summon one "Fire Statue" from your hand or deck.
Wind Statue - Special summon one "Earth Statue" from your hand or deck.
Earth Statue - Special summon one "Wind Statue" from your hand or deck.

Elemental Instability
Continuous Trap
Image: An Earth Statue and Wind Statue with beams of energy connecting them.
Effect: This card can be activated when you have two or more "Statue" monsters on your side of the field. When an opponent's monster attacks, you can change the attribute of the monster to one that matches one of your face up "Statue" monsters.

Fire Statue
ATK: 0000 DEF: 0000
Attribute: Fire
Level: 2
Type: Rock
Image: A charred statue of a human face.
Effect: When this card battles a monster with an Fire Attribute, Fire Statue and the opponent's monster are destroyed and you can increase your life points equal to the original attack of your opponent's destroyed monster. Then you may special summon from your hand or deck one "Fire Statue".

Water Statue
ATK: 0000 DEF: 0000
Attribute: Water
Level: 2
Type: Rock
Image: A see through statue with swirling water in the shape of a human face.
Effect: When this card battles a monster with an Water Attribute, Water Statue and the opponent's monster are destroyed and you can increase your life points equal to the original attack of your opponent's destroyed monster. Then you may special summon from your hand or deck one "Water Statue".

Guardian of the Elemental Plains
ATK: 0000 DEF: 0000
Attribute: Light
Level: 8
Type: Rock
Image: A rocky warrior with parts of Fire Statue, Water Statue, Wind Statue and Earth Statue. It shares a similar appearance with the Elemental Plains.
Effect: This card cannot be normal summoned or set. This card cannot be special summoned except with the effect of "Elemental Plains". This card gains 300 attack and defense for every FIRE, WATER, WIND and EARTH monster in either player's graveyards. This card takes no battle damage from monsters of FIRE, WATER, WIND or EARTH attributes and destroys them at the end of the damage step. Once per turn you can send one FIRE, WATER, WIND or EARTH monster from your deck to the graveyard and inflict 500 points of damage to your opponent.

Emissary of Rituals
ATK: 1900 DEF: 1000
Attribute: Wind
Level: 4
Type: Thunder
Image: A hooded figure holding a stone tablet.
Effect: If this card is in your graveyard as a result of battle when you perform a ritual summon, you can remove this card from play to half the stars of a ritual monster in your hand until the end phase of this turn.

Unlocked Powers
Continuous Trap
Image: Elemental Hero Sparkman surrounded by an aura of lightning.
Effect: Select one normal monster on your side of the field. By paying life points in multiples of 1000, the selected normal monster gains the following effect(s):
1000 - The selected monster can negate your opponent's monster from attacking once per turn.
2000 - If the selected normal monster negates an attack, you can destroy the monster whose attack was negated.
3000 - When a monster is destroyed through the effect of this card you may either special summon one normal monster from your hand with an attack less than the destroyed monster's, or inflict damage to your opponent equal to the original attack of the destroyed monster.