Disclaimer: As of yet, I still don't own Yugioh GX.
The Infinity Chronicles
Chapter 2: Sweltering Cruise
DATA PROMPT ONLINE, CONNECTING TO HOME SERVER…
WAITING…
…
…
…
CONNECTION ESTABLISHED…
The computer beeped loudly and the speakers crackled. Blue light from the featureless screen was the only thing in the room, but it was too dark to make out who was sitting at the computer.
Once more the speakers crackled, and a garbled voice came out of them. "This message meant for all field agents. Your reports on the defense capabilities of this planet are expected within the next few weeks, this world's time of course."
The hands of whoever was sitting in front of the computer started to type rapidly, the clicking of the keys the only noise in the apparently cramped little room.
This is Agent Four of group sixty-three reporting in.
WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO REPORT, AGENT FOUR? IS THE FIRST BLOOD CONTROLLER READY FOR ITS TEST RUN YET?
Of course it is. With this test run, we'll see just how powerful the species of this planet become when directly injected with our synthetic version of the darkness energy we sampled. If it works correctly, we'll have a method to create soldiers who will be able to face the strange magical creatures of this planet on their own terms.
MAKE SURE THAT THIS DOES NOT RESULT IN OUR EXISTENCE BEING UNCOVERED. WE DO NOT HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO YOU WHAT THE REPRECUSSIONS WOULD BE IF BECAUSE OF YOUR FOLLY WE HAD TO DIRECTLY BATTLE AGAINST THE CREATURES OF THIS PLANET.
Do not be worried. My choice of targets is a ship at sea that will be delivering a large number of the passing students to Duelist Academy. With their removal, I will be able to move around more freely on the island and continue my research.
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Who is Starlight Savior?
Ever since the beginning of the summer season there has been reports all over Japan of the mysterious young man who calls himself Starlight Savior. A modern day superhero in these times, to this date he had single-handedly stopped over thirty different major robberies. Every time police arrived on the scene, the already apprehended criminals would describe the same person perfectly. As of so far there is only picture of Starlight Savior, shown below.
The picture at the bottom of the article was a rather touched up shot showing a young man of about twenty or so in mid-leap into the air away the camera. He was wearing a bodysuit of a shiny light-blue material which was covered over by segments of dark-blue armoring, and his shoulder-length brown hair was swept up and flying out in as many directions as it could.
Ichigo Pilkington shifted slightly on the rather uncomfortable wooden bench beneath him. He had been waiting for Eri and Adriel to show up for the last hour, and out of boredom had purchased something to read while he waited. Dressed in his old Osiris Red uniform, he felt slightly on the edge. When he had been part of Osiris Red everyone and their father wanted to duel him, and it was a rarity that they didn't wish him ill in the process.
"What's this, actually doing something academic?" A slim hand reached past Ichigo's head with nearly lightning speed and snatched the tabloid from his hands.
"Hey!" Leaping off of the bench that was the cause of his hindquarters currently being completely numb, Ichigo glared while Eri just bemusedly skimmed the article he had been reading. "It's rude to just take something out of someone else's hand, you know?"
"Keh!" She tossed it back to him halfheartedly. "You part of the Starlight Savior fan club too or something?"
Catching the paper and folding it under his arm, Ichigo scoffed. "Of course I'm not. It's just when a guy runs around and calls himself a hero then other heroes notice."
Readjusting the skirt to her Obelisk Blue uniform, the demoness brushed her long hair back and snickered. "You're a fool, you know that right? What do you think makes either you or him heroes?"
"You're a hero if it's in your heart to be one and you wish to protect something hard enough." Thumbing at himself, Ichigo puffed up his chest. "I swore that I would protect that planet earth with all my being, and until the day I die that oath won't disappear."
"You've done a great job so far." Someone said sarcastically and slapped him in the back of head roughly, nearly forcing him to bite on his tongue.
Snapping his head back up, Ichigo grimaced angrily at Adriel. "You don't believe me either, huh?"
The other Obelisk Blue student readjusted his blue jumper and laughed mockingly. "You're the farthest thing from a hero there is, Ichigo. Even the self-proclaimed heroes of your deck are just a bunch of thieves."
All three of them seemed old friends even if you were watching from a distance. After all, they had been through dozens of dangerous adventures with each other.
Eri picked up her suitcase and pointed over at the dock that was just about a minute or so away. "Well, shall we get on the boat already? It's already two in the afternoon and they leave in half an hour, right?"
Both boys nodded and followed her.
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Erian wandered about the deck of the boat excitedly. He'd never seen the sea before, and something about it was absolutely captivating. ("How could this week get any better? I've already become a student of the Duelist Academy, which means I'll get to hang out with Ichigo more! Now I get to see the ocean?") "It's official! This is the best week ever!" he yelled out towards the soft waves.
"You said that about last week when you finally got to try some western food." Ichigo sighed and sat down on the railing next to his friend.
Adriel walked over to the other side of Erian and looked out at the sea for a few seconds before looking away. "What's so special about it? It's water with a bunch of fish in it."
Erian just kept staring over the side at the crystal clear waters. "It's because it's all part of this miracle world. How can you not see this kind of natural beauty as anything but breath-taking?"
Adriel sighed and continued to keep his back to the ocean. "You and this 'miracle world' stuff. What's so miraculous about this world that you have to keep referring to that term?"
Looking up at Adriel like he had just asked the silliest question in the world, Erian grinned. "Because it has guys like you and Ichigo on it."
Adriel just stared at him for a few seconds, and then walked away as quickly as he could. "This just turned too sappy for my tastes. Pilkington, I expect to get a chance to challenge you while we head to Duelist Academy."
Ichigo just mock-saluted his self-proclaimed rival. "Sir yes sir."
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A few hours later and the boat was out at sea, on its way to Duelist Academy to deliver the students. The ship had originally been a cargo liner, and as such the downstairs cargo hold had been cleared out to install a pair of dueling rings to help keep the new students busy. And they did well to keep themselves busy. Both rings were in constant use, with lines of red, yellow, and blue-uniformed students waiting for their turn to come up.
Ichigo hated waiting in lines so he had decided to rest his back against the hull and watch as people dueled, much to Adriel's displeasure. Even though the duels themselves weren't anything spectacular, it was better than nothing. ("Man, I'm bored…") His eyes started to droop closed.
A clang and a quiet gasp of pain brought both of his wolf ears to attention immediately. Eyes opening slowly, he yawned and sat up to look at the source of the noise. It had come from an overturned metal box which had its lid down on the deck and was currently shuddering quietly. From the dent on its frame, it looked at if the box had hit a metal crate.
Ichigo had to bite his tongue to stop himself from laughing. "Excuse me?" The box stopped shuddering and went perfectly still. "What exactly are you doing, mister box?"
The box suddenly rushed away from him, moving along the side of one of the dueling rings at the speed of someone sprinting.
Ichigo stood up and grinned playfully. "You want to play, eh? Sure, let's play!" And with that said he gave chase.
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Eri watched as Ichigo chased the 'box' out of the main hold. Sighing, she wasn't surprised at all. ("The person under it is stupid for thinking they wouldn't be noticed, and he's stupid for chasing it.") She supposed she could have gone after him to make sure he would have been alright, but honestly she didn't care enough to.
"Um…excuse me?" From across the dueling field her opponent, a blond-haired girl with very tan skin, looked at the demoness confusedly. "I said it's your turn." On her field there was a giant brown-scaled dragon with a green jewel in the middle of its forehead. (Tyrant Dragon/2900/2500/)
Girl- 4000
Eri- 2600
"Oh sorry, I'm not on the ball today." Eri drew, which brought her hand to five cards, and looked at her clear field. "I play the magic card Book of Life! By selecting one monster from your graveyard and removing it from the game, I can special summon one zombie type monster from my graveyard to the field!" A card slid out of the girl's graveyard slot. "I remove one of your Masked Dragons to special summon my Pyramid Turtle you destroyed at the start of the duel!" A turtle with a stone pyramid for a shell appeared on her field. (1200/1400)
Taking another card from her hand, Eri inserted it into her disk. "Also, I activate the equipment magic card Dead Booster, raising the attack of my zombie type Pyramid Turtle by 1000 points!" (2200/1400) "Finally I play the equipment magic card Death's Grip." Her turtle started to glow. "Pyramid Turtle, attack her Tyrant Dragon now!"
The girl blinked in surprise as the undead creature waddled towards her mighty dragon. "Fight back, Tyrant Dragon!" Her monster roared and sprayed the turtle with fire, burning it to ash. "I don't know what you intended to accomplish with that, but I guess it didn't work."
Girl- 3300
Eri- 1900
Eri tapped the side of her head with a nail. "You think too little of me already? That's your mistake, fool. I am Erika Amero, and I do not lose to amateurs!"
The girl, as well as most of the other new students that were waiting in line for use of the duel ring, gasped at the declaration made by the demoness. "You're THE Erika Amero?"
Sticking out her chest proudly, Eri smirked. "When Pyramid Turtle is sent from the field to the graveyard as a result of battle, I may special summon one zombie type monster from my deck to the field that has 2000 or less defense points." The ground behind her shook and cracked open, a giant snake made of bone slithering out of the broken earth and hissing at the girl. "I special summon Ryu Kokki in attack mode." (2400/2000)
Taking a couple of steps away from the terrifying undead monster, the girl steeled her nerve as she remembered that she had one of her best monsters in play. "It still isn't strong enough to beat my Tyrant Dragon."
The demoness pointed at Tyrant Dragon. "Disappear from my sight, weakling!" In response the dragon exploded.
The crowd gasped again, this time in confusion as they couldn't figure out how she had managed to destroy her opponent's monster with just a few words. The dragon's owner couldn't understand it either. "H…How did you do that?"
"How did I do that?" Holding up her Death's Grip equipment magic card, Eri snickered and inserted it into her graveyard. "When the monster equipped with Death's Grip battles with a monster and is destroyed, the other monster goes as well, at which time you take 300 points of damage."
Girl- 300
Eri- 1900
"One more thing…" Discarding a card from her hand, Eri continued to snicker. "Dead Booster, once per turn, can be equipped to one undead monster in play from my graveyard if I offer a card from my hand." Her Ryu Kokki hissed loudly and grew larger. (3400/2000) "Death's Poison!"
The girl yelled out in surprise as the bone snake bit down on her shoulder roughly, the force of the strike dropping her to her knees.
Girl- 0
Eri- 1900
As the field faded away, Eri heard gasps behind her from the other duelists waiting to use the dueling ring. Shuffling her deck up, she prepared for the next duel. ("After all, when you make a declaration that no one on this boat can beat you, you've got to be ready to back it up.") Turning her head to look at the girl she had beaten, she snarled. "Get lost already, loser! I've already proved that you and your deck are no match for me."
The girl, eyes slightly red and puffy, stumbled to her feet. "You didn't have to be so mean about it!" Sliding back down to her knees again, she started bawling.
Eri snarled in anger and stomped towards the girl. "You're more than welcome to cry yourself to death for all I care, but at least get off the damned field!"
"But…but…" The girl tried to form words, and when she was unable to, kept crying.
Balling her hands into fists, Eri growled darkly and stomped right up in front of the girl. "Listen up! If you can't handle a single loss then why did you apply to Duelist Academy in the first…" Her eyes widened as she realized that the girl's tan skin looked incredibly heated. ("Something about this is strange…")
"I..." The girl looked like she was trying to get control of herself. "…can't…stop…crying…"
The demoness reached for her, and yelped in pain, withdrawing her hand reflexively and brushing something scorching hot off of her arm. It had been an ember. The girl's cries grew louder, and the air around her started to grow very hazy. ("I sense it clearly. It feels like some kind of darkness energy, but something about it is…") The heat coming from the girl's body was becoming too much for her to handle, and she was forced to take a few steps back.
The heated haze around the girl's body grew stronger and stronger until she could no longer be seen. Then, like water from a fountain, fire exploded upwards around where she had been standing.
Leaping backwards, Eri hissed and looked back at the utterly confused students who had been waiting in line. "Get some fire extinguishers!" As they scattered to comply, she turned back to face the burning tempest. ("Something's coming…I can sense it!")
With one loud whoosh, the fire extinguished itself. The plumes of smoke were so thick that no one could see past them. Suddenly a pair of glowing red eyes pierced the cover. "I'll get back at you for insults, Erika Amero."
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Ichigo made a diving leap for the scuttling metal box, which darted out of the way right before he reached it. This had been the thirtieth time his attempt to capture it had failed, but he wasn't bored with this game yet. "Get back here, you slippery little bugger!"
His chase had taken him back to the main deck, and he was slowly working the box into a corner. In just a few more leaps he'd have it where he wanted it.
"There's a fire in the cargo hold!" Someone screamed.
"A fire?" Distracted, Ichigo's leap attempt took him over the box and face-first into the guard railing around the deck.
Panic erupted amongst the students, and they started to head to the end of the ship farthest from the cargo hold. Ichigo, who was currently nursing his very sore face, simply sat there.
Forgotten by its pursuer, the box edged over to the guard railing and flipped up into the air. When it crashed to the ground, whoever had been under it was already gone.
"Ichigo? Ichigo where are you?" Erian's voice was near the edge of panic. "Ichigo?"
"I heard you the first time!" Trying to ignore the large red bar-shaped mark that was stinging his face, the half-demon ran over to his friend. "What's the matter?"
"It's Eri!"
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It burned. It burned like a red-hot poker burned when applied to skin. But no matter what she did, Eri couldn't break that grip that was toasting her flesh.
The creature that had its hand wrapped around her throat was a tall red-skinned female humanoid with orange eyes and wild orange hair, wearing a green-grass skirt and a green bikini top. Sneering, the skin around the arm that was choking the life out of Eri seemed to start to glow a brighter shade of red. "What's the matter? Is it not so funny when you're the one being looked down upon? Don't worry; I'll make sure that when I'm done you'll have a nice tan. How does a nice lobster red sound to you?"
Another pained gasp for air left the demoness' mouth as she tried to get air circulating through throat, but it was useless. Any air she was getting was burning hot, and was sending a throbbing pain through her lungs. ("I can't stay conscious at this rate. I…I…")
The humanoid snickered and tightened its grip. "You'll pay for making me look like a fool."
"Knock it off!" A blur of red flew into Eri's darkening field of vision as a fist crashed into the creature's cheek.
"Ic...hi...go…" Eri saw the determined look in Ichigo's hazel eyes, but that look quickly turned to one of pain as smoke started rising from the spot where his fist was still connected with the creature's cheek.
Other than its head being tilted slightly because of the blow, the creature was unaffected. "What kind of sad punch was that?" Snapping her free hand up, the creature back-handed Ichigo across the hold and into the steel wall with a clang.
Though he was unaffected by the collision with the hold's wall, Ichigo sucked in his breath painfully and shoved his right hand under his armpit, trying to extinguish the smoldering feeling that was going through his skin in that area. ("It felt like I was punching the inner wall of a volcano…") "Who are you? And what do you want with Eri?"
"I am Volcania!" The creature declared, raising one open hand to point in Ichigo's direction. "And I intend to kill her for making a fool of me, along with everyone else on this boat!" A jet of fire shot from her palm and engulfed the half-demon.
"Ichigo!" Eri kicked and squirmed as hard as she could now.
"OHMYGODIMONFIREAHHHHHHH!" Ichigo screamed insanely and ran about the hold like a chicken with its head cut off, mainly for the reason he just said.
Prying Volcania's fingers apart slightly, the demoness managed to get some air into her lungs. "The ocean's right outside, you moron!" Then her air was stolen again as that molten hot hand closed tightly around her throat.
"ILLBEBACKTOSAVEYOUERIISWEAR!" The ball of fire with legs that was Ichigo ran right back out the way he had come in.
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Adriel yawned and wandered about the empty open side of the ship, idly wondering where everyone went.
"…GANGWAYGANGWAYGANGWAYGANGWAY!" Ichigo came running past him, screaming his lungs off and on fire.
Adriel sighed. ("I really wish I had brought my camera with me.") As he thought this a loud splash could be heard in the background, followed by the sound of Erian panicking and throwing a life preserver to Ichigo.
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A couple of minutes later, Ichigo was back on board. Most of the ash from the fire had been washed off in the ocean, but the edges of his normally rather puffy hairdo were blackened and overall he looked miserable. "We have to hurry, Eri's needs our help!"
"What?" Adriel, who had enjoyed every second of watching Ichigo getting pulled out of the ocean like a drowned rat, suddenly grabbed the other boy by his collar and forced him to his feet. "If Eri is in trouble then why didn't you help her?"
"Sorry, I was a little preoccupied considering I was on fire!" The half-demon slapped Adriel's hands away. "Anyway, let's go!" They all ran for the cargo hold, except that as soon as Adriel was out of his immediate line of sight Ichigo stopped in his tracks. Giving Erian a knowing little nod, he ran in the opposite direction.
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Eri couldn't move anymore, two bars of metal welded around her body as a pair of restraints. Her throat was horribly red, and she was having too much trouble drawing in air to do much more than simply lie on her side and groan.
Volcania laughed crazily and paced the inside of the hold. "Now how should I destroy you all, eh? Maybe I should just cut the hull open and let you all drown. Or perhaps you'd like to die in a big fiery explosion?" She clapped her hands together. "There are just too many choices!"
Suddenly the sound of running footsteps could be heard as Adriel and Erian came running into the hold at full speed. "Eri!"
Volcania looked at the two boys and a smile crossed her face. "What's this? Two more boys have come to play with me?" Snapping her hands up, she sneered as two jets of flame fired from her palms at them. Adriel threw himself to the side, while Erian yelped and hurled himself behind a stack of steel crates. "What's the matter, boys? I thought you had come down here to play with me? Why are you both running?" With Erian out of sight, she turned her attention specifically to Adriel. "Light my fire, cutie!"
Adriel would have groaned at that horrid joke, but his attention was focused on dodging as he flipped and rolled to avoid the blasts of fire coming from Volcania's hands. ("I can't get close enough to fight back, damn it!")
From behind his hiding place, Erian sat in deep thought. ("Ichigo said that I shouldn't use my powers in front of anyone unless it was an emergency.") He blinked as he realized something. ("Wait…what's 'emergency' mean?") Without that knowledge in mind, he decided it would be best to leave it to Adriel for now.
Volcania walked through the patches of flame her attacks left behind without any reaction, while she slowly forced Adriel into a corner of the hold through use of her flames. Finally, he was forced to press his back against the wall of the hold to avoid the little tongues of fire from the walls. "There's nowhere to run." She licked her lips. "But for keeping me entertained I'll make sure to finish you quickly."
A spray of white foam from the ceiling suddenly engulfed the patches of fire and Adriel, immediately putting out the flames.
Volcania snapped her head up towards the shadowed steel beams above. "Who did that?"
"That would be me." There was a loud click noise and a bright source-less circle of light lit up an area of the rafters where there stood a young man of about twenty years of age or so. He had brown hair that went to the top of his shoulder, and a pair of deep blue eyes. He also wore a light blue bodysuit with segments of dark blue armor attached to it. In his right hand there was a fire extinguisher.
Volcania's left eye started to twitch angrily. "That doesn't answer my question!"
The young man smiled and pointed up at the ceiling. "I am the hero of the heavens!" His hand snapped down and he thumbed at his chest. "In the name of love and justice, I will be the one to right the wrongs you have committed!" Leaping from the rafters, he landed the rather far drop without a scratch on him. Standing up tall, he pointed right at the creature. "I am Starlight Savior!"
"Starlight Savior?" Volcania suddenly smiled. "Interesting, so you did show up…"
He tilted his head to the side quizzically. "You…were expecting me?"
"We have quite a bit of interest in you, Starlight Savior." She pointed at him. "My masters wish to speak with you personally."
"I'll have to decline." Placing the fire extinguisher off to his side, he cracked his knuckles. "And I'll also have to request that you get lost."
"Really?" She snapped one palm up so it was aimed at Eri's unmoving body. "Then would a hostage convince you otherwise."
He aimed one of his own palms up towards the ceiling. "No." Light blue energy exploded around them, and a bubble of the same color appeared that sealed them both in the same area. "Awaken Libra, Soul of Balance! I summon your power and bring forth the Infinity Trial!"
Volcania glanced around her nervously. "What is this?"
"It is an Infinity Trial." Lifting up his right arm, Starlight Savior closed his eyes and a duel disk made of the same dark blue metal that covered his armor appeared on that limb. "It is a method of judgment. Now then, I assume you know what this is?"
She scoffed and fire washed over her arm. When it cleared, there was a red-armored duel disk attached to that same arm. "Of course I know what that is. So, you want to determine the winner of this through a Darkness Game? That's fine." Her deck was already in place and she was ready. This would be her first Darkness Game, and that meant the perfect test for her abilities.
His deck also already in place, Starlight Savior nodded to her. "You may determine who goes first then, if you wish."
"I'll heat things up for the start then!" Even as she drew her opening six cards, she heard Adriel groan at how bad that joke was from under the fire extinguisher foam. Glancing at all of her cards, she smirked to herself. ("This is an excellent starting hand and one that will allow me to destroy this interloper".) "First I summon Foxfire in defense mode!" A small red fox with a flaming tail appeared in play. (300/200) "End turn."
"Heat things up, eh?" Drawing, Starlight Savior played the drawn card onto his disk. "If you want to talk about heat, then allow me to introduce you to Planetary Aspect Mars!" A pillar of fire exploded out of his field and formed into a male humanoid wearing bright red power armor. (1600/1500) "Mars, attack her Foxfire with Flames of War!" His monster let out a battle cry and threw a fireball across the field that swallowed up the little creature and destroyed it. "When Mars destroys a monster as a result of battle, you take 300 points of damage!"
Volcania let out a cry of pain as a flash of fire exploded out of the ground and seared her.
Volcania- 3700
Starlight Savior- 4000
Fanning out the other five cards in his hand, the hero nodded at them and then inserted a card into his disk. "I also place one card face-down on my field and end my turn."
Volcania snickered at him. "During the end phase of a turn that my face-up Foxfire was destroyed as a result of battle, it returns." A little ball of fire appeared on her field and formed into the little fox once more. "Now I begin my turn!" She drew. "I summon another Foxfire in defense mode!" A duplicate of her first little fox appeared in play alongside its brother. "Also, I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn!"
Starlight Savior drew. "I'm not a hundred percent sure what you're up to, but I can already tell you're building up for some kind of special strategy."
Throwing her back her hair and laughing loudly, she tilted her head back down to his eye level and sneered. "So what if you think you get it? What will you do about it? Every time you destroy my Foxfire monster, it returns. And your piddling little 300 damage effect won't take me down alone!"
"You're right." He smiled right back at her. "Then let me add to the power! I summon Planetary Aspect Jupiter!" A bolt of green lightning crashed down onto his field and a male humanoid in green power armor appeared in play. (1700/1600) "Jupiter and Mars, attack with Celestial Lightning and Flames of War!"
"Reverse card open!" Volcania snickered as her face-down revealed a trap with a picture of a monster destroying a flaming monster and getting hit by a backlash of fire that came from the monster's body. "My card is the continuous trap card Backfire, which while face-up in play means that whenever a fire attribute on my field is destroyed you take 500 points of damage!"
"What?" Starlight Savior's eyes widened as his two monsters released blasts of lightning and fire that instantly vaporized the two Foxfires. "That might be so, but when Jupiter destroys a monster as a result of battle you take 400 points of damage!" Right as he said that he was swallowed up in an explosion of fire at the same time his opponent was engulfed in lightning and flame.
Volcania- 3000
Starlight Savior- 3000
As the smoke cleared, the hero smiled slightly. "You're pretty good, Volcania. Now our life points are even." He inserted two cards into his duel disk alongside his other set card. "I place two cards face-down in play and end my turn."
Volcania just smiled darkly at his folly. "Thank you for making my next turn all the more fulfilling, fool!" Her two Foxfires reappeared in play, and she drew while he gasped in surprise. "Did you really think I was simply defending? If so then you are stupid."
Holding up one of the cards in her hand, she licked her lips in anticipation for what was coming next. "The power of Foolish Burial lets me send one monster from my deck to the graveyard." Removing a card from her deck, she slid it into her graveyard. "The card I selected was Lava Doll. When it is sent from my deck to the graveyard, you take 200 points of damage!" A glob of molten lava shot out of her graveyard slot and struck Starlight Savior in the chest.
Volcania- 3000
Starlight Savior- 2800
Biting back a scream from the pain caused by the burning heat of the damage, the hero didn't back down. "I won't lose to you, not while everyone needs my protection!"
"Ha! Say that while you can weakling!" She snapped up another magic card from her hand. "I activate the magic card Flute of Hamelin! This magic card allows me to select one monster that has been sent to my graveyard during this turn. After I select the monster, you and I both send all copies of that card from our hands and decks to the graveyard. My choice is Lava Doll!" Removing two more cards from her deck, she discarded them. "Take your 400 damage, hero!" Two more balls of molten lava shot out of her graveyard and slammed into his body.
Volcania- 3000
Starlight Savior- 2400
Dropping to one knee, Starlight Savior just tried to relax his breathing so the damage didn't hurt quite as much as it did. ("I can't feel my chest…")
"I hope you aren't tired, because I'm not done yet!" Volcania inserted a card into her disk. "My next magic card is Brutal Sacrifice. During this turn, all monsters that are sacrificed are treated as if they were destroyed as a result of battle." She pointed at her two Foxfires. "And with that, I summon my ultimate monster!" Her two Foxfires exploded into a giant conflagration that tore high into the air. It slowly took the shape of a giant centaur-like monster made entirely of fire. "I tribute my two Foxfires to summon my Infernal Flame Emperor!" (2700/1600)
"Infernal Flame Emperor?" Starlight Savior stumbled to his feet, hands hovering over his disk. "You know better than to attack, correct? These face-down cards aren't bluffs."
"Of course they aren't, but so what?" Volcania pointed at her giant Flame Emperor. "When Infernal Flame Emperor is tribute summoned I may remove up to five fire attribute monsters from my graveyard! For each one removed, one magic or trap card in play will be destroyed!" The three Lava Doll cards she had discarded were ejected from her graveyard. "Therefore, your defenses are cleared!"
Three fireballs exploded from the Flame Emperor's body and melted the hero's three set cards into nothing. "Also, because my two Foxfires were treated as though they were destroyed in battle that triggers the effect of Backfire!" Her laughter grew louder as he screamed from the fact that he was on fire once more.
Volcania- 3000
Starlight Savior- 1400
"And then…" Volcania pointed at Planetary Aspect Jupiter. "Go Emperor, Inferno of Lords!" The giant flame monster hurled a massive fireball that instantly destroyed the hero's monster, and also added to the flames that were already burning him alive. "I end my turn with the continuous magic card Lava Core."
The card that appeared on her field had a picture of an active volcano belching its molten contents high into the air. "At the beginning of a player's end phase, for every fire attribute monster they have in play, their opponent takes 300 points of damage! End turn!" Her card let off a red glow and added its fire to the inferno that was consuming her enemy. Right after that her two Foxfires reappeared in play in defense mode.
Volcania- 3000
Starlight Savior- 200
Finally the fire died down to reveal Starlight Savior somehow still standing. His eyes, unlike his body, reflected a focused determination that surpassed physical pain. "I'll only say this once, Volcania! I…will…win!" He drew two cards from his deck. "During my next standby phase after Jupiter is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I may draw one card."
Flipping one of the drawn cards over, he drew two more cards. "I activate the magic card Pot of Greed, drawing two cards from my deck." Fanning out his five card hand, he suddenly grinned widely. "Here I go! First I summon Planetary Aspect Venus in attack mode!" A golden glow fell over his field as a female humanoid in bright yellow power armor appeared on his field. (1400/1200)
"So you have another weakling monster?" She just shook her head sadly. "You won't win and you know it!"
"Keep telling yourself that." Flipping one of the cards in his hand over, it revealed a magic card with a picture of a floating ball of fire with the planetary symbol for Mars on it. "I activate the magic card Fire Soul, special summoning two Fire Soul Tokens if Mars is in play!" (500/500x2) A pair of fireballs appeared on his field. "When these tokens are destroyed, you take 500 points of damage!"
"Also, I activate the magic card Love Chain!" A golden chain exploded out of the ground and wrapped around Volcania's Backfire trap card, pulling it to his field. "If Venus is in play I may take control of one card from your field! Now I've got your Backfire trap card, which means that whenever I lose a fire monster you'll be the one to take 500 life points of damage."
"Are you stupid or something? What does that accomplish?" A single bulging vein could be seen on her bright red forehead. "The damage is useless considering my life point total!"
Holding up another card, Starlight Savior smiled widely. "I activate the magic card Miracle Summon! If Planetary Aspect Earth is in my hand, I may special summon it!" A large male humanoid wearing green and blue armor appeared on his field. (3000/2900) "During the turn that Miracle Summon is activated, all battle damage I take is zero."
The body of his Venus started to glow. "When I activate a card that has Planetary Aspect in its text, a counter is given to Venus! When she has three counters I may remove them all to add one magic card that has the name of a specific Planetary Aspect monster in its text from my deck to my hand!"
Volcania's eyes widened as she looked at her opponent's field. "Wait…that means…" She suddenly smirked. "I just did the math. It won't be enough by just a little bit and that means during the next turn my Lava Core will finish you off!"
"That little bit…" He removed a card from his deck and flipped it over. "Is right here, Volcania! I activate the magic card Burning Mandala!" His Planetary Aspect Mars started to chant. "During this turn Mars may attack a number of times equal to the number of monsters I have in play, but also during this turn I cannot attack you directly! Fire Soul Tokens, attack Infernal Flame Emperor now!" Both of his little fireballs snuffed themselves out as they tackled the mighty monster and were instantly obliterated. "When my tokens are destroyed, you take 500 points of damage per each one destroyed. Plus Backfire triggers now and you take 500 more points of damage per destroyed token!"
Volcania's eyes widened and she screamed in pain as she was swallowed up by an explosive fire similar to the one she had hit him with.
Volcania- 1000
Starlight Savior- 200
"Earth, attack Infernal Flame Emperor with Planet Crusher!" Starlight Savior snickered as his strongest monster drop-kicked the living bonfire and blew it apart.
Volcania- 700
Starlight Savior- 200
"Burning Mandala's effect lets Mars attack three times now!" The hero pointed at the two Foxfires. "I can't attack directly, but that doesn't matter! Burning Mandala!" His bright red monster threw a pair of rings made of fire across the field which slashed the little foxes apart. "When Mars destroys a monster a result of battle you take 300 points of damage!" The flame around Volcania's body grew brighter for a moment, and then snuffed out.
Volcania- 100
Starlight Savior- 200
Even though she was now charred and injured, Volcania still had the strength to laugh. "You…you didn't defeat me. You can't attack directly, so in the end I win!"
Closing his eyes and crossing his arms across his chest, Starlight Savior just kept smirking to himself. "At the beginning of my end phase the effect of your Lava Core deals you 300 points of damage for every fire attribute monster I have in play. If you haven't figured it out by now, Mars' attribute is fire! End turn!"
Volcania opened her mouth to protest, but she already knew that was the truth. She had lost…
Volcania- 0
Starlight Savior- 200
Volcania stood up weakly, her legs trembling beneath her. "For…my master, I will not be defeated!"
Holding out his right hand, Starlight Savior looked serious now. "Awaken Aquarius, Soul of Purification!" A dark blue crystal flute appeared on his hands. Lifting it to his lips, he started to play a song that seemed to transcend the mere concept of sound, creating a peaceful aura around the hold. Finishing his song, he aimed the flute at the weakened Volcania. "Infinite Darkness Purge!"
Clutching at her throat, the creature seemed to be gagging on something…and then she spat out a steam of black slime that condensed into a sphere shape right in front of her. "That…that can't be…"
Holding the flute tightly, Starlight Savior had his eyes locked on that sphere. "Awaken Aries, Soul of Assertion!" The flute shifted, flowing into the shape of a blade. "Let the dark blood be cleansed from this Miracle World!" Light exploded from the blade as it grew in length, transforming into an ornate weapon will multiple kinds of jewels installed in it. "That sphere is your dark existence, monster. You will leave the body you inhabit right this moment!"
The blade and his arms fell to his side. All around them the light seemed to fade, leaving only him and sphere in plain view. And then he was moving, the crystal blade slashing upwards in a rising crescent that left a dark blue afterimage in the air. "Infinite Starlight Slash!" Darkness turned to blinding light, and within that light the shape of the sphere could be seen splitting in half and then dissipating like mist.
Collapsing face-first to the ground, Volcania's body slowly faded to reveal the girl she had possessed.
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"Where were you?" Eri threw a punch that Ichigo easily dodged. Frustrated that it didn't connect, she chased after him punching rapidly.
"I was trying to find a fire extinguisher!" Ducking, the half-demon didn't see her knee coming until it had already connected with his chin.
Adriel sighed and brushed some more of the foam from his hair. ("That Starlight Savior character…") He glanced over at Ichigo, who was currently bleeding profusely from the nose, and narrowed his eyes. ("I wonder…")
To be continued…
Author's Notes: Thank you, all of you who sent me reviews. To the rest of you, I'm assuming you're enjoying the story so far, but it would be nice to get your feedback and all.
As before, I'm still accepting character submissions but I would like them in the forum under my account name, if at all possible.
And yes, this chapter was longer than the last one, despite what I said. I wanted to get all this out of the way in one shot.