0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DUEL TWO
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nerves of Steel
The Disposable Monsters
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
As far back as Dugan's family line had been recorded, his family had been soldiers. Starting at the American Revolution, every male member of his family – except his great uncle Clyde who broke his leg playing football as a teenager, giving him a bum leg that kept him out of the service – and quite a few female members had served in the U.S. Armed Forces. So it was no surprise to anyone that he himself enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after undergoing OCS training, and later worked up the ranks to Major.
Dugan had been an Aware for a long time, but never let it concern him. The fact that he could see the weird side of the world that others could not was just a part of life to him. He saw Shadows, and simply avoided them. But he never imagined that his greatest challenge in the Marines would come from a Shadow-related threat.
A lot of people are confused as to what the Marines' specialty is. Some find it hard to tell them and the Army apart. Actually, they work more closely with the Navy. Marines specialize in amphibious combat situations, where both sea and land forces are employed.
And with the threat of piracy growing in the modern world, they were employed to combat such brutal highwaymen. And Dugan led a unit that put an end to one of the most dreaded pirates of all... The Flying Dutchman.
Many legends were told of this infamous ghost ship. (The name "Flying Dutchman" has been alternatively used both as the name of the ship and of its cursed captain.) The most common legend states that the captain of the vessel was cursed to sail until Judgment Day after wagering his soul on a game of dice with the Devil and losing. Some legends put it in the Cape of Good Hope, others in the North Sea. Wherever it was, it was said that even seeing the ship was an evil omen, or a portent of doom.
The truth, as the Shadowchasers knew, was that the captain was never human to begin with. He was a disgraced member of the Court of Stars, banished from the Feywild for some past atrocity. As punishment, he was banished from the Feywild with most of his divine powers were taken away. His presence caused plants to wither and animals to run in fear; the natural world that he was once such an important part of was now repulsed by him. Eventually, he used an unholy ritual to create a ghostly frigate out of the shadow-stuff of the Darkfell. He found the sea more bearable, as the tides and currents didn't reject him, but even here his presence caused storms and unnatural fog.
Even a disgraced fey lord had to eat, and so did his crew, which consisted mostly of other dark fey. While the crews of most ghost ships could not set foot on land, this was not true for the crew of the Flying Dutchman. Like any pirates, they raided coastal settlements, stealing whatever – and whoever – they desired. Kidnap victims were never seen again.
For the first few centuries, he did it discreetly, and only at poor coastal towns, so as not to arouse the ire of whole nations, and after looting a small town, would quickly set sail for one hundreds of miles away. But in recent years, the Dutchman grew bold, and started hitting bigger targets. Dugan's unit was in the town in Chile the night when he struck there, and Dugan was not about to retreat from any enemy, not even the dark fey who had invaded from the ghostly frigate.
Dugan told his men to hold their fire, knowing that Mundane weapons would likely do little. He walked right up to the Flying Dutchman and asked him to leave. Naturally, the pirate laughed, and would have run Dugan through with his saber if Dugan had not learned a few things about fey – he had studied a little since being able to see them for what they were.
He quickly unfolded a jackknife from his pocket, and cut the bandit lord with it. Everyone thought he was nuts to use such a small weapon, until the Flying Dutchman screamed in pain. The knife was a keepsake that Dugan's great-grandfather had owned, made of cold iron.
Cold iron is a deadly substance to both fey and demons. Nowadays, weapons made from it are very rare, for two reasons. One, they dull and rust easily; a good steel blade is much better. Two, most folks think they're primitive. (Dugan once said that a likely third reason is, fey and demons tell everyone about the first two reasons.)
The Flying Dutchman was angry, of course... It had been years since anyone had dared hurt him. But while he still clearly had an advantage – one cold iron jackknife is of little use against a boatload of dark fey – he saw an opportunity, and realized that killing Dugan outright might not profit him the most. He could sense the honor and valor exuding from the Marine... This mortal was worth more alive than as a corpse.
Dugan asked him if he was willing to resolve this as gentlemen. The pirate was curious, and asked what he had in mind. Dugan proposed a game of chess, saying that if the Dutchman won, he could take anything he wanted from this place.
The Dutchman obviously saw an opportunity. Anything? He accepted.
Dugan was no slouch at chess, and the game went on rather long. Still, the exiled fey was better, and he won the game. However, before he or his crew could take anything, he realized, to his horror, what Dugan's true plan had been. The sun was rising. Dugan had been trying to delay him.
Dugan had hoped that the disgraced fey lord couldn't survive the light of the sun, seeing as he and his ship only appeared at night. Technically, he could, but his ship couldn't. Made of the shadow-stuff of the Darkfell, the sunlight quickly caused it to rot and fall apart. And since the captain had put part of his soul into its infernal engines, he was critically injured by its destruction. He collapsed, powerless.
His crew surrendered, as they lost most of their power from the morning light as well. A group of Shadowchasers arrived soon afterwards. Dugan and his unit knew enough not to tell their superiors about the whole deal (no-one would ever have believed it anyway). When Dugan retired from the Marines after two terms of service, he was approached by Jalal personally with an invitation to join the Shadowchasers. It would be different than his old job, for sure, but he had never turned down a challenge...
And somehow, he knew that this strange Shadowkind who couldn't remember himself was going to be a challenge too. At the Sunny Side Up diner, which had an all-you-can-eat buffet at this time of day, Dugan watched the strange man whom he had called Ben as he listened into his cell phone. Clearly the poor guy had been very hungry. He was hungry enough to eat the spinach, a vegetable that Dugan didn't think anyone liked.
"No Karl, he's not an eldarin," he said into the phone. "He's sort of a green elf... Yeah, and he's more muscular than the typical elf too... I dunno, I've never seen anyone like it...
"Okay, sure... See you tonight..."
He hung up.
"Who was that?" asked Ben.
"Karl," replied Dugan, putting the phone away. "You'll probably see him soon."
"So..." said Ben.
He paused for a minute to finish a glass of orange juice.
"You like eating here?"
"Oh, yeah..." said Dugan. "Of course, I ate in a military mess hall for eight years... After that, pretty much everything tastes good..."
"The food in the service is that bad?" asked Ben.
"Well, not as bad as they say," said Dugan. "I guess you can't really blame the mess officers. They're in charge of feeding hundreds, sometimes even a couple thousand soldiers, three times a day. So more often than not, they have to sacrifice taste in favor of nutrition..."
Then they both heard a gruff voice at the buffet line.
"You call this spaghetti?" it shouted. "I've had Chef Boyardee stuff that tasted better!"
Dugan sighed.
"But some people take everything for granted..." he said.
At the buffet line, arguing with the chef, was someone who looked like a heavily-muscled African-American man, wearing jeans and a Gold's Gym t-shirt. He looked mean enough to the Mundane viewer, but Dugan and Ben saw someone even meaner-looking. They saw an orog.
Orcs seemed to have a very unstable genetic code, and were able to crossbreed with almost any other race. An orog was the result of a union between a male orc and a female ogre. (Reversing the genders, which was rarer, resulted in an ogrillon, an entirely different creature.) Orogs resembled orcs in general outline, but were bigger, tougher, and often smarter. They sometimes acted as leaders for small groups of orcs, but more often than not had the same nasty temper that their fathers had.
"Do you actually expect me to eat this?" he asked, rudely.
"Yes," said the chef, with a sigh.
He pointed to the food on the buffet.
"And this, and this, and that, and that... And seconds, and thirds... And then come back here tomorrow and do the same thing while complaining about how bad it is again."
The orog glared at him.
"You know something, Pete?" he growled. "You are the one thing I can't stomach..."
"You'd best calm down before you do something you regret, Scully," said Dugan.
Scully turned and looked at Dugan.
"Eh..." he said. "Well if it ain't the Admiral..."
Dugan looked him in the eye.
"I was in the Marines, genius," he replied. "Admirals are part of the Navy. And I was only a Major."
"Huh..." said Scully. "Just as bad..."
"Look, Scully," said Dugan, now sounding annoyed, "I come in here two or three times a week during the buffet time, and you're always here, either stuffing your face or complaining about the food. Not to mention the fact that you always leave a big mess for the busboy to clean up. If it's so bad, why do you eat it?"
"Cause it's all you can eat," replied Scully.
Dugan held his forehead.
"I'd offer you an antacid," he said, "but that only cures heartburn, not stupidity."
"You take that back!" shouted Scully.
Dugan glared at him. Scully took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.
"Scully!" shouted Pete. "The No Smoking sign is right there... I swear, if you light up in here one more time, I'm going to throw you out."
Scully looked at Pete, and then looked at Dugan with a scowl. Pete wouldn't have dared say that to him if Dugan hadn't stepped in.
"I'm not scared of you, Scully," said Dugan.
"Care to prove it?" asked Scully.
Dugan turned to Pete.
"Pete, do you accept Diner's Club?" he asked.
"Uh, I guess so..." said Pete.
Dugan took a deck of cards out of the inner pocket of his trenchcoat, and loaded it into his own Duel Disk.
"How about a deal, Scully?" he said. "We duel. You beat me, you and three friends can eat here for a month on my Diner's Club card. Assuming you even have three friends. But you lose, Pete gets to make use of his reluctant right to refuse service, and you stay out of here from now on."
"You're on!" shouted Scully. "We'll take this outside!"
He head out the door.
"Ben..." said Dugan. "You come watch this... Maybe seeing official Shadowchaser business will bring something back."
Ben looked at Dugan.
A month? he thought. He must be pretty confident…
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"Step right up, sucker," laughed Scully, who had already produced a Duel Disk of his own. "I've wanted to throw down with you ever since you humiliated me at Hyde Park."
"You mean the time you were stinking drunk and I arrested you for public indecency?" asked Dugan. "Gee, Scully, I think by the time I got there, you had done a pretty good job of humiliating yourself."
"Is he always like this?" asked Ben.
"Uh huh," replied Dugan. "Word on the street says he was kicked off his varsity football team for unnecessary roughness."
"Don't go there!" snapped Scully. "Just duel!"
Ben held his head again.
Everything so foggy… he thought.
He looked at the Duel Disk on his arm. He took the deck out of the holster, and looked at all the Psychic Monsters… Psychic Snail, Doctor Cranium, even Master Gig…
He had never seen these cards before… He had never recalled dueling until he had run into that parking lot… But when that thug had challenged him to a duel, he suddenly knew how all the cards worked, and it had all come as natural as riding a bike…
Even stranger… He had no idea how he had knocked the other one down with one punch. Clearly he knew how to fight from somewhere…
He held his head again. Just thinking of all this was giving him a migraine…
Dugan and Scully both activated their Duel Disks.
"Duel!" they both shouted.
(Dugan: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Scully: 8,000)
"Seniority rules, Scully," said Dugan.
He drew a card.
"I'll make the first move."
He looked over his six cards.
"I'll summon Scrap Goblin."
There was a sound like the clattering of tin cans and metal shingles, and a small Monster appeared in front of Dugan. It was a creature that seemed to be pieced together out of junk and scrap metal. Its torso looked like an old camera, its head was a faucet head with goggles and a mixing bowl on top, it had a fork for a left hand and an awl for the right, and its feet were made from staplers. (0 ATK)
"Eh?" said Scully. "Kinda expected more than that..."
"I'll throw this facedown for later..." said Dugan, fitting a card into his Disk.
A reversed card materialized behind Scrap Goblin.
"...and my turn is over."
"All right, I draw!" shouted Scully, drawing a card.
He added it to the other five cards in his hand.
"And... That will do it for now..."
Both Ben and Dugan were very surprised.
No Monsters, no facedown cards? thought Dugan. This likely means one thing... Gorz.
He made a draw.
But... I'm not without a few surprises of my own...
"I summon Scrap Beast!" he shouted.
With another clanking, clattering sound, a dog ran onto the field, which like the Goblin, seemed to be made of cobbled-together junk. (1,600 ATK)
"I'm not scared of a bunch of Machines," said Scully.
"For your information, the Scrap Monsters only look like Machines," said Dugan. "Almost none of them truly are.
"And now Scrap Beast attacks directly! Junkyard frenzy!"
Scrap Beast snarled, and leapt at Scully.
"Hold it right there!" shouted Scully. "Since you ordered a direct attack, I can Special Summon Battle Fader from my hand!"
In a dark aura, a sinister-looking pendulum appeared in front of him. (0 ATK) Scrap Beast was halted dead in its tracks.
"And this Battle Phase is over now. So sorry, bub."
Dugan frowned. He turned a card on his Disk, and Scrap Goblin knelt in Defense Mode. (500 DEF)
"It's your move," he said.
"Gladly..." said Scully, with a grin.
He drew a card.
"I'll get rid of Battle Fader..."
Battle Fader turned into an orb of dark energy. Then a chilling wind wafted across the street.
"...to summon Mobius the Frost Monarch!"
In an explosion and an icy chill of winder wind, the infamous Frost Monarch towered over the field, casting a cold glare on Dugan and his two Scraps. (2,400 ATK)
A Monarch Deck? thought Ben. This guy doesn't fool around...
Dugan smirked a little. This was not the first time he had dueled against a Monarch Deck…
"Now I use its effect," said Scully with a laugh. "Say bye-bye to that Trap Card!"
"It isn't a Trap, it's a Spell," said Dugan, "and I'm activating it now!"
It shot up.
"Scrapstorm! Step one, I choose one Scrap Monster on the field, like Scrap Beast. Step two, I take one Monster with the word 'Scrap' in its name from my deck, like Scrap Chimera, and send it to the Graveyard..."
The card slipped out of his deck, and he quickly discarded it.
"Step three, I destroy the Monster I chose in step one."
Scrap Beast shattered into pixels.
"You destroyed your own Monster?" asked Scully, in disbelief.
"With Scrap Monsters, that's the whole idea," said Dugan. "They're made of recycled parts, and they can be destroyed, only to be recycled again and again.
"Case in point, since Scrap Beast was destroyed via the effect of a card with the word 'Scrap' in its name, I get to take another Scrap from my Graveyard."
Scrap Chimera slipped out of the discard slot, and he took it.
Scully chuckled and closed his eyes.
"Pretty neat combo..." he said. "But it's still my turn..."
He played a Spell Card.
"I play Shield Crush, to destroy your Goblin!"
A bolt of energy shot out of the card, blowing Scrap Goblin to shards.
"All right Mobius! Put the chill on the Admiral! Icicle spear!"
Mobius formed a sharp spire of ice, and hurled it at Dugan like a javelin. He grunted a little, but it didn't seem to hurt him as much as it would most duelists.
(D: 5,600) - - - - - - - - - - (S: 8,000)
"Dugan!" shouted Ben.
"Don't worry about me..." said Dugan. "I'm used to a little pain..."
"I'll set this, and end my turn," said Scully. "Let's see what else you've got."
A facedown card appeared behind Mobius.
"Uh, Dugan?" said Ben.
Dugan turned to Ben, and smirked slightly. Then he drew.
"I summon Scrap Chimera!" he shouted.
With a roar, a new Scrap Monster appeared in front of him. It looked like a lion made of metal plating over a wooden frame, with metallic wings. (1,700 ATK)
"And simply by summoning it, I'm able to Special Summon a Tuner Monster with the word 'Scrap' in its name from my Graveyard."
Scrap Beast appeared again. (1,600 ATK)
"Tuner?" said Scully. "Now wait just a minute..."
Scrap Beast flew into the sky with Scrap Chimera following. Both Monsters faded into eight glowing stars. Dugan chanted...
"A spark of life ignites among trash and debris thrown on a pile of a dismal junkyard, a spark that grows into a white-hot flame! Rise from the refuse and show your might..."
(*4 + *4 = *8)
"Synchro Summon... Scrap Dragon!"
With a roar, an even bigger Scrap Monster appeared, casting a shadow over the whole field. Like the previous Scraps, it was made of junk and scrap metal, but seemed of a much better design, and built in the shape of a dragon. Its eyes glowed with fiery light, and steam poured from pipes on its sides. (2,800 ATK)
"Ho boy..." said Scully.
Dugan took a card from his hand, and fit it into his Disk. A facedown card appeared in front of him.
"I could simply attack your Frost Monarch," said Dugan, "but I don't have to, given my Dragon's effect. By destroying one of my cards, I can destroy one of yours."
"Hold on!" said Scully.
The Spell that Dugan had just set shattered, and Scrap Dragon exhaled a cloud of green fire, vaporizing Mobius the Frost Monarch.
"Scrap Dragon," ordered Dugan, "attack that lug directly! Toxic blaze!"
Scrap Dragon shot a more concentrated blast of the same green fire, and Scully screamed as he was knocked over.
(D: 5,600) - - - - - - - - - - (S: 5,200)
"Ooh, you'll pay for that..." he grunted.
"Yeah, well..." said Dugan, "I end my turn..."
"Not before I use this," said Scully.
His Trap Card lifted up, and he stood up.
"It's called Shock Draw, and it lets me draw one card for every thousand points of damage I took this turn."
He made two draws.
"Now, I'll take my turn..."
He drew a third card.
"So, you like Dragons, huh?" he asked. "Here's a Dragon for you... I Special Summon Vice Dragon."
With a growl, an average-sized and incredibly ugly Dragon materialized on Scully's side of the field. It stood upright on its hind legs, had large muscles under pebbly skin, and a rounded snout. (2,000 ATK)
"Of course, since I Special Summoned it like that, I gotta cut its scores in half..."
(1,000 ATK)
"But... I only summoned it to sacrifice it..."
Vice Dragon turned into an orb of darkness that gave way to an orb of crackling energy.
"...for Zaborg the Thunder Monarch!"
Lightning flashed, and another of the infamous emperors towered over the field, this one the more sinister side of the Light Attribute. (2,400 ATK)
No! thought Ben. Dugan's Dragon is a goner!
Indeed it was. Zaborg blasted a lightning bolt at Scrap Dragon, and it exploded into particles.
"I use Scrap Dragon's other effect!" shouted Dugan. "When it's destroyed by battle or by my opponent's card effect, I get to Special Summon another Scrap from my Graveyard!"
Scrap Goblin appeared again, shielding itself in Defense Mode. (500 DEF)
"Then I'll just have to get rid of it the old fashioned way," said Scully, "Zaborg, roast that Goblin with lightning strike!"
Zaborg shot a bolt of burning lightning at Scrap Goblin...
...only to have it glance off the small creature's metal body.
"Huh?" said Scully.
"Scrap Goblin can't be destroyed by battle," said Dugan. "However, since it was in Defense Mode, when you end your Battle Phase, its own effect will cause it to destroy itself."
"Fine," said Scully. "I'm done attacking."
Scrap Goblin shattered into shards.
"Forgot to mention," said Dugan. "When Scrap Goblin is destroyed by the effect of a Scrap Monster, including its own effect, I get to take another Scrap Monster from my Graveyard."
A card slipped out of his discard slot, and he took it.
"Reuse, recover, recycle," said Dugan. "That's how Scraps work."
"Fine!" shouted Scully, getting angry.
He fit a card into his Disk, and a facedown card materialized.
"It's your move!"
Dugan drew a card.
"While you're thinking about what to do," said Scully, "I'm gonna use this number..."
His facedown card flipped up.
"Mind Crush?" asked Dugan.
"That's right," said Scully. "I get to say the name of any card I can think of, and if you've got it now, you have to toss it.
"I say... Scrap Chimera!"
Dugan frowned. He took the card from his hand and discarded it.
"That was what you got with that shrimp's effect, right?" laughed Scully. "Just how dumb do you think I am?"
Pretty dumb, thought Dugan.
"I summon Scrap Hunter," he said.
Another Scrap appeared. This one was semi-humanoid, covered with bent pipes, tank treads instead of legs, a large metal claw for a right arm, a drill bit for the left, and a head made from the propeller of an outboard motor. (1,600 ATK)
"Now, a Spell Card," continued Dugan, playing another card. "Shrink."
Zaborg groaned, and a dark aura surrounded it. (1,200 ATK)
"That cut him down to size," said Dugan. "All right Scrap Hunter! Topple that Monarch! Predatory rush!"
Scrap Hunter's drill began to spin, and it rushed towards the Thunder Monarch. Zaborg let out a howl as the weapon struck home, and then the giant exploded into motes of light.
"Ugh..." said Scully.
"I set one card and end my turn," said Dugan.
A facedown card appeared, and Scrap Hunter returned to a score of 1,600.
(D: 5,600) - - - - - - - - - - (S: 4,800)
Scully grunted as he made a draw.
He glared at Dugan, and then threw a card on his Disk. A reversed Monster appeared.
"My move..." said Dugan.
He made a draw.
He played a card, and another Scrap Goblin appeared next to Scrap Hunter. (0 ATK)
"Another one?" asked Scully.
"That's right," said Dugan. "Now, I'm using Scrap Hunter's effect. I can destroy one Scrap Monster, except for Scrap Hunter..."
Scrap Goblin shattered.
"That means I get to use Scrap Goblin's effect. You remember, don't you?"
He took a card from his discard slot.
"Seems I was able to hold onto Scrap Chimera after all," he said. "And due to Scrap Hunter's effect, I get to send one Tuner Monster from my deck to my Graveyard."
A card slipped out of his deck, and he discarded it.
Next round, I'll have a big surprise for him, he thought. In the meantime...
"Scrap Hunter, attack!"
Scrap Hunter rushed at the facedown Monster...
...but it was halted by what looked like a pink gumdrop with eyes, and an upside-down smile on the top of what passed for its face. (500 DEF)
"Marshmallon?" exclaimed Dugan.
He grunted as an aura of red energy sapped at his Life Points. Marshmallon only grinned at him.
(D: 4,600) - - - - - - - - - - (S: 4,800)
Dugan looked at Ben.
"Lovely..." he said. "I was trained on bivouac where we handled mosquitoes the size of canned hams, ten-mile hikes in the rain, and more push-ups than you want to know about... But I got through it and graduated OCS with flying colors. Times like this when a little cream puff gets in my way..."
"Yeah, that is ironic..." said Ben.
"Are you done?" asked Scully.
"Mmm," said Dugan, nodding.
Scully frowned. He drew a card.
He looked at it. It was Sakuretsu Armor.
Hmm, he thought.
"I'm beginning to see that destroying your Monsters is only helping you, pal," he said. "So... I'm gonna get rid of that guy another way...
"I sacrifice Marshmallon..."
The small Fairy turned into an orb of dark energy.
"...for Caius the Shadow Monarch!"
With a sinister chuckle, the most dreaded of the Monarchs loomed over the field: A fifteen-foot-tall Fiend in dark armor, with a bat-like head. (2,400 ATK)
"And by summoning him, I get to remove one card on the field from play."
Dugan looked in shock as Scrap Hunter vanished into nothing.
"Attack him directly!" shouted Scully. "Nihilistic purge!"
Caius formed a sphere of absolute blackness in its hands – a Dark Core. He hurled it at Dugan, who grunted a little as it hit him.
"Oh, did that hurt?" asked Scully.
"Tell me..." said Dugan, "exactly where did someone like you learn a word like 'nihilistic'? Can you even define it?"
Scully started to say something, but he stopped. Truthfully, he couldn't. He had heard the word on an old episode of a science fiction television showand thought it had sounded cool.
He growled a little again. He fit Sakuretsu Armor into his Disk, and it appeared facedown.
Even if he has two copies of that Dragon, he thought, I'll be prepared.
"Move," he said.
(D: 2,200) - - - - - - - - - - (S: 4,800)
Dugan made a draw. He looked at it.
"Once again, I summon Scrap Chimera," he said.
Chimera appeared once again. (1,700 ATK)
"And once again, I use its effect to Special Summon a Tuner from my Graveyard...
"But this time, I'm summoning the one I sent there with Scrap Hunter's effect... Meet Scrap Soldier!"
A bigger, bulkier Scrap appeared. Again, it looked vaguely humanoid, with a torso made from pipes and wires, a head with one glowing optic sensor with a helmet on top, skinny legs, a metal spear for a right hand, and a rotary spiked maul for the left. (2,100 ATK)
"Hold on!" shouted Scully. "That's Level 5! That means you can only summon..."
He stopped short.
"...a Level 9 Synchro?"
"I hoped it wouldn't have to come to this Scully," said Dugan.
Scrap Soldier and Scrap Chimera flew into the sky.
"...but you've made me angry enough to do it."
The two Scraps faded into nine glowing stars. Dugan chanted again.
"Mighty engines rebuilt out of refuse and recycled material, form a being that can rule as king over the junkyard that spawned it!"
(*5 + *4 = *9)
"Synchro Summon... Scrap Twin Dragon!"
With a bellowing roar, a Monster that was twice as big as Scrap Dragon rose above the field. It had two heads, each one resembling that of Scrap Dragon, connected to a body that was hard to define with any accuracy. Again, it seemed to be cobbled together out of junk and jury-rigged parts, but it was clearly a deadly and smoothly-running machine. (3,000 ATK)
"Now I use its effect," said Dugan. "I choose one of my cards, and two of yours. Mine is destroyed..."
Dugan's set card shattered.
"...while yours are sent back to your hand."
Scrap Twin Dragon roared, and Caius and Scully's Trap Card were blown off the field.
"Next," said Dugan, as he played a Spell Card, "I play Battle Tuned. I'll remove a Tuner in my Graveyard from play..."
He took Scrap Solider from his discard slot, and pocketed it.
"...and my Monster gains Attack Points equal to its Attack Points."
(5,100 ATK)
"Well, ain't that just ducky..." chuckled Scully.
Dugan glared at him. So did Ben.
Something is wrong here... thought Ben. Dugan has him dead to rights... But Scully doesn't seem the least bit worried...
Dugan looked at Scully suspiciously. Then he looked at Scully's hand of cards, which consisted of four cards. Two of them were the cards he had just sent back to his hand, but...
He's got another Battle Fader... thought Dugan. I'm sure of it. Maybe he isn't as dumb as I thought.
If I make a direct attack, that thing will stop it cold... Then on his turn, he'll summon Caius again, and it will be all over!
"Well?" asked Scully. "What are you waiting for?"
Dugan looked at the three cards in his hand. He chose one of them.
He fit it into his Disk.
"Before I attack, Scully," he said, "I'm playing this..."
A Spell Card appeared.
"Guts of Steel. This is kind of complicated, so listen closely. I select three Scraps in my Graveyard... Then, of the three, you choose one. I get to Special Summon the one you choose, and I have to remove from play the ones you don't."
"Sounds like fun," chuckled Scully.
"Right," said Dugan. "Here are your choices..."
Three cards appeared in front of him. They were Scrap Dragon, Scrap Chimera, and Scrap Goblin.
"This some sort of joke?" laughed Scully. "I choose Scrap Goblin, of course!"
"Okay, you're the boss..." said Dugan, quietly. "So I get rid of these..."
He placed the Dragon and Chimera in his overcoat.
"...and I summon Scrap Goblin."
The small Beast-Warrior appeared... But it was in front of Scully. (0 ATK)
"WHAT?" shouted Scully. "What's it doing there?"
"I didn't say I had to Special Summon it to my side of the field, Scully," said Dugan. "And since I'm not attacking directly, I can end this.
"Attack Scrap Goblin! Toxic hurricane!"
Scrap Twin Dragon exhaled a blast even more intense than the one exhibited by the regular Scrap Dragon, and Scully let out a bloodcurdling scream...
(D: 2,200) - - - - - - - - - - (S: 0)
Scully fell to his knees.
"All right, tough guy, you don't look so tough now," said Dugan. "Now get lost, and if I see you at this place again, I'm going to decide that running you in for making a public nuisance will actually be worth it."
Scully got up, and was gone in a second.
"Not bad, Dugan..." said Ben. "I wish I could say it jogged my memory, but... Nothing..."
Dugan looked at him.
"Well..." he said. "Maybe we can delve a little deeper... You ever ride shotgun on a D-Wheel?"
"Uh..." said Ben.
"Oh, that's right..." said Dugan, "you don't remember... Well... Let's go home..."
"Home?" said Ben.
"My home..." said Dugan. "Or rather, our headquarters..."
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lake Shore Drive is an upscale community situated along a highway of the same name, which was, in turn, situated along the shore of Lake Michigan.
It was four PM as they arrived at the large apartment building in this neighborhood, specifically at the penthouse at the top.
"Wow..." said Ben, as they walked in. "You folks must be pretty well-off to have a place like this..."
"The boss is pretty generous," replied Dugan. "Having more money than some European countries helps."
They walked into a living room, where a fire was burning in the fireplace. This fire was always going in every Shadowchasers base. It was a focus for the head of the organization to meet with them should the need arise.
On one side of the room was a couch in front of a deluxe entertainment system. On the other side was a desk with a high-tech computer and a cage holding two Guinea pigs. In between, in front of the fireplace, were several soft chairs.
Dugan went to a closet and took down a device that looked like an Etch-a-Sketch with a black screen.
"Here, Ben," he said. "Put your hand on this, and hold it there for five seconds."
'This is to take my fingerprints, right?" asked Ben.
"Yep," said Dugan. "Hopefully, we'll find out who you are by the end of the day."
Ben pressed his hand against the screen of the device, and after five seconds, it beeped.
"Make yourself comfortable while I make some calls," said Dugan.
Ben reclined on the couch.
"Mind if I watch TV?" he asked, picking up the remote.
Dugan didn't object, but he looked rather puzzled as Ben clicked on the television. Clearly, Ben wasn't a new arrival. He knew at least a little about terrestrial technology.
Still, Ben didn't see anything he recognized when he flipped the channels. As Dugan went into another room to look for something, he sighed and turned it off.
Wonder if he's got anything to drink? he thought.
He walked into the moderately-sized kitchen. He looked around. Modern, quaint, a few appliances that he didn't know the purpose of...
He opened the door to the refrigerator.
Let's see... he thought. Soda... Purple stuff... Milk...
"Word of advice," said a voice. "Don't touch the Ben & Jerry's. Nicole will skin you."
"Who's there?" asked Ben.
He looked around.
"Down here," said the voice.
He looked down, and saw a little man, only three feet tall. He had pointed ears and a long nose, and was wearing an apron.
"Pleased to meet you," he said. "I'm Bartholomew. That's the name of one of the Twelve Apostles that no-one knows anything about."
"Uh, yeah..." said Ben. "Uhm... You're some sort of fey, right?"
"Yep," replied Bartholomew. "I'm a brownie. I'm the housekeeper here. I cook, clean up, feed Karl's pet Guinea pigs when he forgets to do it..."
"Must be awfully hard for you..." said Ben. "Having such a job when you're so small..."
"Naw, brownies are used to it..." said Bartholomew.
He hopped on a stool.
"There was once a time when brownies would... glean, as we called it. We snuck into farmhouses late at night, and we'd clean up the place... Mop the floors, chase away the mice, milk the cows, churn the butter... Brownies could even nurse sick farm animals back to health when farmers were too poor to get treatment.
"In return, we'd take a little food, and maybe some beer if they had it. We never ate much, so they didn't mind."
"So why did you stop?" asked Ben.
Bartholomew sighed.
"Modern technology," he replied. "As the years went by, modern conveniences made life easier for humans, and brownies weren't needed any more. Vacuum cleaners and sponge mops made cleaning easier. Butter churns became obsolete, and cows weren't milked by hand any more.
"But, if an Aware human wants to hire us, like good old Dugan did, we'll happily oblige! You might say I'm a short-order cook…
"Heh, heh… That was a little humor there…"
He looked at Ben, who was still taking this in.
"Oh, I'm sorry, am I boring you?" asked the brownie.
"No, this is... Very interesting..." said Ben. "Seems so... familiar..."
"Huh..." said Bartholomew. "You got a name pal?"
"I seem to have amnesia," said Ben.
Bartholomew rubbed his chin.
"Hmm..." he said. "Maybe you're cursed..."
He hoped onto the counter.
"Look me in the eye," he said.
"Huh?" said Ben.
"Fey magic, you know?" explained Bartholomew. "I think I might be able to tell if you're cursed."
He looked Ben in the eye. He and Ben stared eye to eye for a few seconds.
"Hmm…" said Bartholomew. "Seems there's a little sign in there that says 'Space for Rent'…"
"Huh?" said Ben.
"Heh, heh, just kidding," said the brownie. "Seriously, I don't see any curse... Of course, that may only mean that you're under a curse so powerful that I can't detect it.
"Anyway... What exactly were you looking for in the fridge? Like I said, don't touch the ice cream, it belongs to Nicole."
"Who's Nichole?" asked Ben.
Then they heard a female voice talking in the living room.
"Think she just came in," said Bartholomew.
Ben walked back into the living room at the same time Dugan did. Standing there was a young woman who had just walked in. She was nineteen years old or so, African-American, with a curvaceous figure and long, curly, chestnut hair. She wore jeans and a white tank top, which did a very good job of showing off her muscular arms. Ben might have considered her incredibly beautiful if she didn't look so intimidating.
She was speaking on a cell phone when she saw Ben.
"I'll call you back, Phil," she said.
She hung up.
"Who's this, Dugan?"
"We aren't sure," replied Dugan. "He's someone I found at the South Side. He can't remember himself."
Nichole gave Ben a long look.
"Well, we may have to go back there soon," she said. "Phil says someone suspicious is hanging out around Kenwood. Some tiefling dressed like a stage magician."
"The Mean Emcee?" asked Ben.
They both looked at him.
"Uh… You recognize a tiefling dressed that way?" asked Dugan.
Ben clutched his head, as if it was hurting again. Then Nichole's phone beeped again. She answered and listened.
"Yeah Phil..." she said. "Yeah... I'll get there as soon as possible..."
She hung up.
"The green elf was right, Dugan," she said. "This guy calls himself the Mean Emcee... And he just held up a drug store. I'd better find him."
"Nichole, take Ben with you," said Dugan.
Nichole looked at Ben again.
"If he recognizes the guy, maybe seeing him will help bring his memory back," continued Ben.
Nichole sighed.
"I won't get in the way," promised Ben.
"I hope not," said Nichole. "You're gonna have to ride shotgun on my D-Wheel...
"Watch your hands when you do..."
Ben looked closely at a pendant she was wearing. It looked sort of like a Celtic cross, surrounded by a circle.
"What?" she asked.
"That's the symbol of St. Cuthbert, isn't it?" he asked.
Nichole glared at him.
Then, her lips formed a slight smile. She nodded.
"I think I might like you," she said. "Come on!"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SHOCK DRAW (Trap Card)
Normal Trap
Image: A duelist being struck by lightning as he holds up two cards.
Card Description: Activate only during an End Phase. For each increment of 1,000 points of damage you took during this turn, draw one card.
Note: "Shock Draw" was first used by Yusei in the "Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's" manga, Ride 3. Creative credit goes to the writers.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Next:
Ben: The group that has taken me in is growing. But what of Nichole? What can I expect from her? And what will I find out from this tiefling robber whose name seems ring a bell somewhere in my mind?
My quest for answers continues. "Strong Will; Strong Resolve" is next.
I will know the truth.
