Kitten Knight: Just to let some readers know, the legal drinking age is Australia is 18.
The more you know…
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Shadowchasers: Muru
Round 03: Snake Whistle
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The line between hero and villain is often quite blurred, in real life as much as fiction. Even in disputes with the law, it's sometimes hard to tell who's right and who's wrong.
One such figure is Australian folk hero Edward "Ned" Kelly and his disputes with the Victorian Police. Depending on who you ask, Ned was either an Australian Robin Hood, who stood up against the corrupt, incompetent and power-abusing Victorian Police and Government or a murderous villain who doesn't deserve the immortal folk hero status he has today.
Ned's story begins firmly on the hero side, at age eleven he saved another young boy from drowning in a creek. He was rewarded with a green says by the boy's family, Ned seemed to cherish the sash - it becoming one of his prized possessions.
Over the next few years, Ned had many run-ins with the law, his charges ranging from assault, theft to assaulting multiple officers. He gained a reputation for being a troublemaker This came to a head when Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick was called in to assist with the overwhelming levels of crime in the area. Unfortunately, Fitzpatrick was corrupt, stupid and rather lecherous, as well as a stinking drunk on top of all that.
Fitzpatrick arrived at the Kelly residence, with intentions of arresting Ned's younger brother, Dan, for horse stealing. However, neither Dan or Ned were currently home so Fitzpatrick stayed with the family for a few hours. Upon Dan's return, Fitzpatrick arrested the boy, but Dan requested to at least have dinner with his family before leaving, something that Fitzpatrick agreed to.
Over dinner, Dan's mother asked if Fitzpatrick if he had a warrant to arrest Dan when the officer replied that he only had a telegram, she refused to let Fitzpatrick take away her son. The Constable then drew his weapon, threatening to blow her brains if she interfered. Ned then appeared, and with assistance from his brother disarmed Fitzpatrick and forcibly kicked him from the home, injuring him.
Fitzpatrick trudged his way to the police station, claiming the Kelly family had assaulted him. Claiming that Ned shot him in the wrist and his mother bashing him over the head with a shovel.
Upon the police returning to the Kelly residence, Ned and Dan were nowhere to be found. Their mother, Ellen, and two of Dan's associates were arrested for the "assault" and Ned had a hundred-pound reward offered for his arrest. Years later, Ned claimed that this injustice escaped him, and what drove him to do what did.
Remembering this story, it's chilling to know that people who had agreed to uphold the law would bend and break it to their own desires.
But they don't do that anymore, right?
Right?
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"Miss! Miss" called a voice.
The mother kobold's reptilian eyes flickered. She was lying flat on the grass behind the park bench she'd been sitting minutes earlier.
She groggily looked at the source of the voice above her. "She's coming to," it said.
The image of a human came into focus in the kobold's vision.
Her eyes snapped fully open, as the memories of what had occurred returned to her.
She and her daughter were happily sipping their beverages when they were confronted by a black-feathered kenku. He pulled out a small knife and ordered her to hand over all her jewellery. And when she refused, shoved her to the ground, which knocked her out.
She looked over herself, noticing that every piece of jewellery she had been wearing was missing… Then she noticed something else…
"Where's my daughter?" she cried, her yipping voice cracking in despair.
"Daughter," some members the small crowd gasped.
"I didn't see anybody else," said one of them.
The kobold mother looked around frantically and leapt up, visibly shaking. "My baby," she cried, running off from the bewildered crowd.
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Arika was now riding southbound on the Pacific Highway, she was driving at a rather casual pace - unusual for her.
"Now where was I going next?" Arika wondered, glancing over her controls.
Arika was descendent from the Murri groups of Queensland, at least on one side of her family. She had learnt a fair bit of aboriginal mythology from her family though she wasn't quite as knowledgeable on certain subjects as Matari.
Right now, she was conducting an investigation on a few attacks on people throughout the city. Two things were known about the attacks: they were always lightning based, with victims and the surrounding area having electrical burns, and the victims had so far all been tourists…
These signs pointed to one culprit, Wambeen.
Wambeen was an evil God from Aboriginal lore. He hated travellers and often hurled lightning at them, and with Sydney attracting over three million tourists a year - that was a lot of potential targets.
The Shadowchasers knew very little about Wambeen, just old folklore and tales from several Aboriginal groups (which was rather inconstant and often conflicted between groups). Interestingly, one fact that remained consistent was that he was known to smell like evil…
Though it was rather hard to pin a smell on evil, not every cackling, highly destructive maniac had the same hygiene practises.
Arika looked in her rear view mirror, as she was about change lanes. But noticed that another D-Wheel was approaching her rather quickly.
The D-Wheel was an older model - one that looked as if it hadn't been taken care of, with the black paint job peeling off and the metal underneath rusting.
Arika fully expected the rider to pass by her and was surprised when he pulled up alongside her, and stayed there.
After a minute or so Arika glanced over at the other rider. "Hey, buddy! You got a problem?"
"Hello honey," he said, giving a fanged smile to Arika.
Arika gasped, instantly recognising the man. "Jirra? I… I… I haven't seen you in like a month! Your sister said you went on a road trip…
"Which was kinda weird since you don't have a car or a…
"Wait! When did you get a D-Wheel?"
"Oh Arika," Jirra affectionally replied, "I've went on a journey to find myself, to discover my true potential, to…"
"You got you D-Wheel licence," said Arika.
A large bead of sweat roll down Jirra's forehead. "Yeah," he admitted, "and I wanted to keep it secret from you, so I stayed at my aunt's place in Penrith. So… how about a duel?"
"A duel?" said Arika, "sorry Jirra, but I'm busy right now."
"Oh come on!" Jirra complained.
"Sorry," Arika replied, "I told you I'm busy."
"Aww," Jirra moaned, "but we haven't duelled each other in ages."
"Couldn't you have just waited until I was at the bar?" Arika asked.
"I wanted to try something different, so why not have a Turbo Duel?"
"You mean Riding Duel?" corrected Arika.
"Whatever you call it," waved Jirra, "all I know is that I'm not gonna lose this time!"
Arika and Jirra had known each other (and duelled each other) for years, dating back to well before Arika became an Aware. Once her abilities unlocked, it was strange sight seeing one of her close friends with slimy, green skin, bright yellow eyes. a long forked tongue and fangs, but Arika rather quickly adjusted to it.
And Jirra had never won a single one of those duel, much to his displeasure.
"I'm sorry Jirra, but if I skipped out on my work one more time, Wendy will make me sleep in Zephyr's shed."
"Oh come on!" Jirra complained, "what happened to the Arika who'd shirk work and hang down at the bar, who'd blow off a patrol and shout us all a round of drinks. Who didn't give a damn what "stuck up, overgrown spice rack" thought."
"She's had to mop the floors, wash the dishes, clean out the fridge, dust the garage and change Zephyr's bedding far too many times," Arika answered. "And then there's that little talk I had with Jalal…
"You'd be surprised how quickly a person can change Jirra."
"Well change back!" pleaded Jirra, "This isn't the Arika I used to know!"
Other than the hum of D-Wheel engines, there was silence between the two.
Then Arika burst out laughing . "I'm sorry Jirra, but I couldn't resist. I can't believe you fell for that. Wendy's been trying to change my ways since I was an apprentice, you'd really think she'd succeed in a month?"
"Y… you've gotta be kidding me right?" Jirra stammered, "who…"
"Ratted you out," Arika smiled, "take a guess."
"Merinda," growled Jirra, slamming his fist down on his handlebars. "Stupid loudmouth sister!"
Veins pulsed on Jirra's forehead. "Okay, I'll kill my sister later. But right now I want a Turbo… I mean Riding Duel!"
"Damn it Jirra," said Arika, hitting a button on her console, "you're a bad influence on me."
"Duel mode engaged," her computer beeped, "requesting access from city grid."
Like many large cities across the world, Sydney had followed the ideas of Neo Domino City and incorporated lanes dedicated to Riding Duels in freeways, highways and major roads throughout the city.
"You're welcome," Jirra smiled, blushing. He hit a button on his D-Wheel as well.
"But if anyone asks," said Arika, "you've been firing lightning at tourists."
"Okay," Jirra replied, not having a problem with that.
"Access granted," Arika's computer beeped.
Lights lit up the highway lane ahead of the two. Cars then vacated the lane, giving the two a clear space to duel.
"But just because it's your first time doesn't mean I'll go easy on you!" said Arika.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," responded Jirra, blushing ever so slightly.
"Duel!" shouted Arika and Jirra, as their D-Wheels sped down the highway. (Arika:8000/Jirra:8000)
"Ladies first," Jirra said in a gentlemanly manner, as he drew five cards and stashed them onto his gauntlet.
"Okay, I will," Arika replied in a rather unladylike tone, also drawing five cards and stashing them on her gauntlet.
"Hmm," she mused, looking over the cards. "An adequate hand," she grabbed one of the cards and played, "let's get this duel on track with Ruffian Railcar!"
A large blue portal opened up beside Arika, and a set of train tracks stretched out. Then, a large, red, heavily armoured freight train pushed forward out of the portal and along the tracks.
"Aren't you a little old to be playing with trains?" giggled Jirra, as he sped up ahead of Arika.
"Oh please," Arika replied, "these trains aren't for little kids, as you're about to find out. With Railcar's effect, I can inflict five hundred points of damage to you!"
Ruffian Railcar fired a beam from its headlights, hitting the back of Jirra's D-Wheel and causing it to shake. (JLP:8000-7500)
"And all the the moot cost of my battle phase this turn," Arika added.
"Hey! Watch it!" cried Jirra, as he straightened his wobbling D-Wheel.
"That's the risk of riding duels, Jirra," said Arika, taking another card from gauntlet and setting it. "I'll end my turn with this card face down."
A facedown card appeared momentarily on the road, before disappearing.
"My turn," said Jirra, drawing a card. Then gripped his handlebars as his D-Wheel revved and sped up.
"What the hell was that?" Jirra shouted in panic, clinging to his ride for dear life.
"We gained a speed counter," explained Arika, "this happens every standby phase you know."
"That's going to happen every turn?" gasped Jirra, looking at his D-Wheel's computer, seeing that his Speed Counters had increased to one. "It is…" he moaned.
"Better get used to it snakeface," smiled Arika.
"I will," Jirra grunted, taking two cards from his gauntlet, "I'll end my turn with these two cards."
A reversed Monster and card appeared between the two D-Wheels.
"That all?" Arika asked, drawing a card as their Speed Counters rose to two. Jirra cringed and clung to his D-Wheel as it sped up again.
The Shadowchaser looked over the four cards stashed on her gauntlet, none of them were offence orientated cards. "Looks like this might drag out a while," Arika thought, "the question right now is should I attack with Railcar or use it's effect…"
"Oh, I'm overthinking it…"
"Railcar attack!" Arika ordered.
Ruffian Railcar blew its whistle, as the tracks ahead of it shifted so that they passed underneath Jirra's Monster. The train them pushed forward, quickly closing the gap between the two Monsters.
Jirra's face down Monster flipped up, revealing a large, green mantis; with orange compounded eyes and paper-thin wings. (1400/900)
The insect splattered on contact with the train, covering it in sickly green goo.
"That was a little more… realistic than I thought it would be," Jirra dully noted.
"Ew…" winced Arika, as Ruffian Railcar scraped the goo off its windows with a pair of wipers.
"Aww, well," Jirra shrugged, "since my Flying Kamakiri #1 was destroyed in battle, I get to summon a Wind Monster from my deck!"
In a flash of light, a new Monster appeared. It was a dragon clad in thick yellow armour, which came to a sharp point at the dragon's head. A set of wings stuck out the creature's back, while a long tail trailed behind the reptile. (1200/800)
"I think Dragunity Javelin will do just fine," said Jirra.
"Still using on Dragunity Monsters?"
"Why not?" Jirra replied, "dragons are awesome! Plus, there's nothing I'd love more than to soar through the sky like a dragon! Or at least on the back of one."
"You've never seen an actual dragon," said Arika, "and considering how rare they are…"
"Well, have you seen one?" Jirra asked, sounding desperate.
"No, but I've seen a few half-dragons," Arika replied, counting on her fingers, "those count, right?"
"Those don't count!" shouted Jirra, slamming his fist on the console, "they're not real dragons!"
It was a known fact that most reptilian Shadowkind and Shadowtouched had a great deal of respect for dragons, and often desired their great power, but some - like Jirra - took it a little too far…
"I'm going to end this conversation before this turns into yet another over the bar argument," said Arika, grabbing a card and setting it. "And while I'm ending things, I'll end my turn with this facedown Monster."
A hidden Monster flashed into existence next to Railcar.
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Matari and Waylon were sitting on a bench that overlooked Jackson Bay, the two men were discussing the events that had happened in the café.
Matari had offered Waylon a ride away from the scene, (he always kept a spare helmet in the compartment under the seat of his D-Wheel).
"So you don't remember anything?" asked Matari.
"Everything is one big blur," Waylon replied, "the last thing I remember is that I was drinking coffee.
"I'm switching to decaf."
"You do that," said Matari, taking out his broken sword and inspecting the break.
"Sorry about that," apologised Waylon.
"It's okay, it's only a sword. If it has been one of my limbs on the other hand…"
"Gaol for life," said Waylon.
The was an awkward silence between the two.
"Impressive jaw strength though," noted Matari, "if I remember the facts correctly, a saltwater crocodile's bite is estimated to exert over twenty thousand newtons of force."
"That is something I pride myself on," Waylon smiled.
Matari slid the broken blade back into the sheath. The two men sat in silence for a minute.
"I think I'm going to go home," said Waylon, standing up, "and stay there for a while. Get some rest."
"Do you want a lift?" asked Matari, standing up as well.
"No," Waylon replied. "I think I'll walk, I find it relaxing. But, thank you for everything you've done for me today, if there is anything I can do to repay you, don't be afraid to ask."
"You're welcome," Matari replied,
Matari watched as the lycanthrope walked off, eventually disappearing behind a wall.
He sighed and grabbed his shoulder, he was still very sore from the fight and the duel.
"I might just sit here for a while," he mumbled, resting against the seat.
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Kimba muttered swears under his breath, still rather pissed that his partner had abandoned him.
He was now wandering through the Harbourside Centre, a large shopping centre located on the other side of Cockle bay from the city from the city centre (and probably wasn't the best place to be with a kidnap victim, but Kimba clearly wasn't the brightest crayon in the box).
"Gotta get to the safe house before the Shadowchasers get onto me," he muttered, "or Tarni will kill me…"
Fortunately, for Kimba at least, kobolds were on the shorter end of Shadowkind, so he could pass off the young girl as his daughter, at least to mundanes. So passerby never suspected who they passed was a kidnapper.
But he silently prayed he didn't come across any Shadowkind, or at least any who cared for those outside their own race.
Though unbeknownst to Kimba, the young kobold girl eyes slowly flicked open…
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"My move," said Jirra, drawing a card, ignoring the jolt in speed each D-Wheel received as their Speed Counters rose to three. "I send Javelin to the graveyard to summon Dragunity Arma Mystletainn!"
Javelin disappeared and its place appeared a new dragon. It was much more humanoid than Javelin, and wielded a sharp sword. Its scales glistened in the sun, the dragon flapped its two sets of wings (one pair bird-like the other bat-like) and roared. At the tip of its tail was a barbed crest. (2100/1500)
"And since Mystletainn was summoned from my hand," Jirra gleefully added, "he can equip a Dragunity Dragon from my graveyard to himself."
Mystletainn's sword disappeared, being replaced by a long spear seconds later.
"Twenty-one hundred," Arikathought, "if he attacks Railcar, I can spring my Trap Card and destroy his Monster. The look on his face will be priceless…"
"Sorry Jirra, but out here is where the big kids play…"
"Are you that naïve to think that I haven't learnt from all the other times you've beaten me," said Jirra, taking another card from his gauntlet. "Since I summoned Mystletainn using its own effect, I still have my Normal Summon…"
A portal opened up above Jirra, and a new Monster flew out. A woman with long, chestnut hair, she wore a toga and a green helmet, a pair of insect-like wings were attached to her back. (1700/1200)
"Not her…" muttered Arika.
"Dragunity Militum," said Jirra, "and I'm not done yet!"
"I know that!" shouted Arika, "just use Militum's effect already!"
"Fine then, I will!"
The javelin in Mystletainn's claws glowed bright yellow and transformed into energy. The energy then shot away and took the shape of Dragunity Javelin. With a small roar, the yellow dragon reappeared on the field and Mystletainn's sword reappeared in its claws.
"Now," said Jirra, "Javelin, Militum, time for a tune up! Synchro Summon!"
Javelin and Militum flew high into the air, turning into six shining stars. The stars shined bright and brighter.
"Rider and mount work together as one!" Jirra chanted, "descend the beasts of true unity! Dragunity Knight - Gae Dearg!"
"That's new," noted Arika, "so you use summon chants now? They're kinda silly aren't they?"
"That's your opinion," Jirra replied with a self-satisfied smirk.
Then a massive roar screeched through the air. As a new beast descended from the sky. As a serpentine dragon flew down from above, with dark blue scales and red armour. The dragon's head resembled a shape blade A rider sat atop the dragon, his armour reflected the dragon in colour, with a sword in hand. (2400/800)
"Sweet isn't he?" Jirra grinned.
Arika nodded and gritted her teeth. Admittedly she had been against worse Monsters, but Gae Dearg was definitely far more threatening now than it ever was on top the bar.
"You remember his effect right?" Jirra continued, as the Synchro Dragon glowed and a card stuck out of his deck.
"Yeah, yeah," said Arika, "once a turn, you can add a low level Dragon or Winged-Beast from your deck to your hand."
"I see you've been paying attention," Jirra replied, taking the protruding card and showing it to Arika.
"Dragunity Phalanx," she said flatly, having known what Jirra was planning from the start.
Jirra then discarded the card. "But after that I have to discard a Dragon or Winged-Beast from my hand. Gae Dearg may not be Dragon Ravine, but he's definitely the next best thing."
"Don't panic Arika," the Shadowchaser thought, "it's Jirra, he could still mess this up."
"Battle phase!" Jirra cheerily announced, "Gae Dearg will attack your Ruffian Railcar."
Gae Dearg roared and flew at Railcar, crashing into the train headfirst, the blades cutting through metal like butter. The dragon the pushed itself off the train and flew back to Jirra's field.
Sparks fizzled from the train, it lurched and groaned before imploding into pixels. (ALP:8000-7400)
"Ruffian Railcar," Jirra laughed, "more like Ruffian Failcar!"
"Ugh," Arika groaned, "I think that pun was so bad I think a part of me just died."
"Well let's kill a little more of you!" shouted Jirra, as his facedown card flipped up, "I activate Dragon Rage, nothing can hide from a dragon's rage!"
"Mystletainn, attack!"
The yellow Dragunity roared, and slashed at Arika's set Monster. Revealing a pitch black engine with a fiendish face, black smoke poured out stack. The engine groaned, and shattered. (1400/1000)
Arika's grunted as her D-Wheel shook from the damage. (ALP:7400-6300)
"That was my Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive!" Arika announced, "and since it was flipped up, I can draw a card."
Arika drew a card and slowly added it to her gauntlet.
"If out of things to do this turn," Jirra smugly stated, "so you're up."
"Not yet I'm not," Arika declared, as a card stuck out of her deck. "Since its the end of a turn where Ruffian Railcar was sent to the graveyard, I can add a level ten Earth-Machine from my deck to my hand."
Jirra's reptilian eyes opened wide. "Snow Plow Hustle Rustle," he said in realisation.
"That's right fang-face," Arika replied, showing him the card it was indeed Snow Plow Hustle Rustle. Arika's deck auto-shuffled.
"Now, I'll make my move," said Arika, making a draw. Both rider's Speed Counter increased to four.
Jirra looked down at his speedometer as the gauge climbed higher, it read a hundred and twenty kilometres per hour. Sure D-Wheel's were built to handle well at speeds higher than this, but going at this speed still made him nervous, and the longer this duel dragged on the faster he would go…
Jirra's focus was dragged away from his console by Arika's voice. "I summon Lionhearted Locomotive!"
Another portal appeared along the road, and another set of tracks stretched out. The screech of another train whistle sounded, as a green steam engine chugged along the tracks. (2400/2100)
"Twenty four hundred attack on a level four!" Jirra gasped, having never seen this card before, "Alexandrite Dragon, Gene-Warped Warwolf and… some third monster are rolling in their graves."
"Relax," Arika replied, "Lionhearted Locomotive has a huge downside, if I attack with her, it costs me half her attack…"
"So I'll end my turn with face down card."
Another facedown card flashed into existence before fading.
"This could get rough…" Arika thought, biting her lip as she looked up at Jirra's two dragons.
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Ezekiel sat on one of the many buses that escorted the vehicle licence-less throughout Sydney. (he did have his Learners Licence, but that meant he could only drive with a fully licensed driver in the passenger seat).
He watched as a D-Wheel sped by and disappeared ahead into the traffic. He wondered if he'd ever work up the courage to ride a D-Wheel, let alone participate in a Riding Duel.
He then took out his deck and thumbed through it, the idea getting more and more ridiculous to him with each card. His deck was reliant on Spell Cards, it'd never survive in a Riding Duel, where playing a non-Speed Spell Spell Card would cost you two thousand life points. And what kind of insane moron would do that?
The another D-Wheel, moving much faster then the previous one, sped past the window. Followed by a train, another D-Wheel and two Dragons.
The Dragons caused Ezekiel to jump to the (thankfully empty) seat next to him in fright, dropping his cards onto the floor.
"Sorry," he apologised to the inanimate pieces of cardboard, as he one-by-one picked up the cards.
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Back at the base, Wendy had tidied up the mess of newspapers that Matari had left out, and cleaned the space where he sat her saddle and equipment (she had moved the saddle to a different location).
The female Shadowchaser had spread her deck across the table, including the Extra and Side decks. Notably, bar one notable exception, all the Monsters were of the same attribute.
She plucked one card from the table, a Normal Monster Card, a level four with two-thousand attack and zero defence.
"If I take this card out Zephyr will kill me," she said, putting the card back.
Then came a knock from the front door.
Wendy quickly scooped the cards into a neat pile then made her way to the door.
As Wendy neared closed to the door, the knocking increase in force and pace, scratching sounds eventually joined in.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Wendy loudly grumbled, "just calm down before you scratch the paint."
Wendy opened the door, to find a red-scaled kobold gasping for air, she looked red in the face (well, mores than usual).
"Please, please," the kobold pleaded, dropping to her scaly knees on the welcome mat. She looked to be exhausted, both physically and mentally. "My daughter's been kidnapped."
"Kidnapped!" Wendy exclaimed, helping the distressed mother to her feet, "please come inside."
Wendy helped the distressed kobold inside, taking her into the living room and sitting her down on the sofa. Wendy grabbed a pen and paper off the coffee table in front of the couch.
"Please, tell me what happened," said Wendy, clicking the pen, "give me every detail you can remember."
"Okay," the mother sniffed, fidgeting with her claws. She was clearly very uncomfortable recounting the events,"we were in Tumbalong Park…"
"Tumbalong Park," parroted Wendy, jotting it down.
"Then," she sniffed, fighting off tears, "we were attacked by a kenku…"
Wendy tensed up at the mention of that particular species of Shadowkind, she jotted something else down on the paper and underlined it.
"He demanded that I give him all my jewellery, and threatened us if we didn't."
"And did you give him all your jewellery?"
"Yes," she sniffed and paused. "Then… then…"
"Then?" prompted Wendy.
"He demanded that I hand my daughter over to him," she answered.
"And did you?" Wendy innocently asked.
"NO!" the kobold yelled, leaping to her feet, "how dare you even think I'd treat my daughter like that!"
Wendy was bewildered, she help up the pen and paper between her and the angry mother. "I'm sorry," she replied, "I didn't mean it like that."
"Just like you humans," the seething mother spat, "every other race is little more than livestock to you! Well even a cow loves it calf!"
Wendy felt uneasy, the pen in her hand shook, she took a deep breath. "Look, I'm trying to help you, and I need your cooperation right now, so please calm down.
The kobold sighed and sat down, she began to twist her robe. "I'm sorry, it's just she's my baby. I remember the day she hatched."
Wendy simply nod. "I know, it's truly a magical moment to see the first crack," she added.
The kobold gave Wendy as strange look. "Humans hatch from eggs?" she asked.
"No," Wendy answered, "we're getting off topic. What happen after he tried to take your daughter?"
The mother sighed once more, it was clearly very difficult to recount the events, but she knew it was for the best. "I told him no, he had enough. But he wouldn't have that, so he shoved me over. It knocked me right out."
Wendy nodded and noted something else down on the paper.
"I don't think I can remember anything else."
"Do you remember what this kenku looked like?" Wendy asked.
The mother sighed. "He had black feathers and a large black beak. That's all I can remember."
The kobold sighed, and nervously played with her claws. Her information on the criminal's appearance wasn't particularly helpful, kenku with black feathers were much more common than other colours and patterns.
Wendy bit her lip. "Right," she said, "I'll head out, the sooner the search starts the better. I'll call the rest of my team, and see if they can help."
The Shadowchaser got up and grabbed her deck from the table and placed it the box on her belt, making sure the clip that kept it shut was secure.
"Would it be possible to ride with you?" the mother asked, "I can help search. I have a brilliant sense of smell, plus a mother's instinct."
Wendy sighed and turned around. "I'm sorry, I know you've ran all the way here from Tumbalong park. But my method of transportation is rather strictly single person only."
"Please," she pleaded.
"I'm sorry but no."
"I promise not to scratch the paint job, or squeeze too tight, or…
"It's not a D-Wheel," said Wendy, beckoning for the kobold to follow her out the door, "Follow me, and if you still want a lift in a minute I'd be delighted to give you one."
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"My move!" Jirra announced. Making his draw as the Speed Counters flicked up to five apiece.
"Gotta remember," thought Jirra, "she has Snow Plow Hustle Rustle in her hand, no direct attacks for a while."
"What are you waiting for?" taunted Arika. "Christmas?"
"Hold you horses," said Jirra as Gae Dearg flashed again. "I'll use the big guy's effect to add Dragunity Dux to my hand."
A card stuck out of the snake blood's deck, and he added it to his hand. Then grabbed another card, "and I'll discard Dragunity Primus Pilus."
"Phalanx in his graveyard, Dux in his hand," thought Arika, "no guessing what he'll do next."
"I summon Dragunity Dux!" announced Jirra.
Another portal opened up over the road, and another Monster flew out. It was a man in a white toga, with metallic wings attached to his back. (1500/1000)
"And since Dux was Normal Summoned," Jirra explained, as a blue gauntlet appeared on Dux's arm, "I can…"
"I know, I know," said Arika, "equip him with a low level Dragunity from your graveyard. You use this strategy all the time, why do you keep explaining it?
"Common courtesy," Jirra grinned, "so I'll also let you know that Dux gains two-hundred extra attack for every Dragunity card I control."
Dux flexed his muscles as he glowed with energy. (ATK:1500-2300)
"Now I'll use…"
"Phalanx's effect," Arika cut in, "Special Summoning it from the Spell and Trap card Zone."
As Arika stated, Dux's gauntlet flashed and transformed into blue energy. The energy took the form of blue bipedal dragon, with large wings and a pair of large horns. (500/1200)
"Am I really that predictable?" Jirra asked.
"Considering that your using the signature move of pretty much every Dragunity deck," Arika replied, "I'd say yes."
"Whatever!" snapped Jirra, "who cares if you predict my strategy. I'll still beat you one day!"
"Ever hear what Einstein said?" Arika asked.
"That it's become appalling obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity?" Jirra answered, knowingly pressing Arika's buttons.
"Not that!" snapped Arika, "that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again. So you're never gonna beat me if you keep using the same strategies, Jirra."
"I can still try!" Jirra shouted, raising his hand, "I'll tune Dragunity Phalanx with Dragunity Dux!"
The Dragon and Winged-Beast flew into the air and turned into six shining stars.
"Rider and mount work together as one!" Jirra chanted, "descend the beasts of true unity! Dragunity Knight - Gae Bulg!"
"You reuse your chants too!" laughed Arika.
A loud roar filled the air, as a new dragon descended onto the field. It was large and serpentine with dark blue scales. Silver armour covered the beast. A rider with a similar colour scheme who wield a lance rode on the creature's back. (2000/1100)
"I know its effect," Arika said in a bored tone. "Whenever Gae Bulg battles you can banish a Winged-Beast from your graveyard and gain its attack power."
"You know," said Jirra, "just because you know my Monster's abilities doesn't mean I can't beat you! Gae Bulg attack!"
Gae Bulg roared, and charged at Lionhearted Locomotive.
"You know," Arika said smugly, her Trap Card flipping up, "I disagree."
"Breakthrough Skill!" Jirra shouted, "Shit!"
"This Trap robs your Monster of its effect until the end of this turn," Arika explained, "but he's not going to live that long."
Electricity flowed through Gae Bulg, paralysing both rider and mount. Lionhearted Locomotive blew its whistle and sped toward the helpless dragon, effortlessly shattering it to pieces.
"Looks like Lionhearted Locomotive really was the little engine that could... Crush you like a bug!" laughed Arika.
Jirra grumbled as shards of his Monster rained down on him. (JLP:7500-7100)
The snakeblood took a card from his gauntlet and set it on his disk. It flashed onto the field then faded. "Turn end," he muttered.
"My turn," Arika announced, as her and Jirra's Speed Counters went up to six.
"Damn, Night Express Knight," she though, looking at her draw card as she stashed it with the rest of her cards, "and Jirra knows I have Hustle Rustle in my hand, so I probably won't be summoning that for a while. Looks my plans to summon Gustav Max have been derailed. Time to change tactics."
"I set a Monster and end my turn."
A facedown Monster appeared beside Lionhearted Locomotive.
Jirra perked up and smiled. "So it looks like you're running out of options," he said, "maybe you shouldn't have so many high level Monsters in your deck."
"Just make your move," grumbled Arika.
"I will," said Jirra, drawing. His eyes opened wide as he saw what it was.
"Sweet Mirror Force."
Arika narrowed her eyes. "He just drew something good," she thought.
The Speed Counters climbed to seven.
"I use Gae Dearg's effect," Jirra announced, "adding another Dux to my hand."
"Here we go again," groaned Arika, as Jirra grabbed the Winged-Beast from his deck, and discarded Dragunity Angusticlavii.
"Now I'll summon him," said Jirra, "and use his effect."
A second copy of Dux appeared, and a blue gauntlet formed around his arm. (ATK:1500-2300)
"Ring, ring," said Arika, giggling.
"What?" Jirra asked, slightly irritated.
"It's an astronaut," Arika answered, "he can see your strategy from space!"
Jirra narrowed his gaze. "That's it, it's time to take you down! I use Phalanx's effect."
The blue gauntlet glowed and disappeared. While Dragunity Phalanx appeared on the field.
"Now I tune them together!"
Phalanx and Dux flew up into the air, once again transforming into six shining stars.
"Synchro Summon, Dragunity Knight - Vajrayana!"
The stars aligned and let out a bright glow. When the light faded, a new Monster flew down, an orange-scaled serpentine dragon, with two sets of bat-like wings and a long tail. A heavily armoured rider stood on the creature's back. (1900/1200)
"No fancy summoning chant this time?" Arika asked.
"Now you're complaining about me not making a summon chant," sighed Jirra, "jeez, there's just no pleasing you."
Vajrayana roared, as the riders weapon disappeared and was replaced by a yellow javelin.
"Oh yeah," said Jirra, "when Vajrayana is Synchro Summoned, I can equip him with a Dragunity from my graveyard, like Javelin.
"But by sending a card that's equipped to him to the graveyard, Vajrayana can double it's attack for the turn!"
The javelin in Vajrayana's hands disappeared and was replace by his normal weapon. Then the rider and mount glowed with energy. (ATK:1900-3800)
Arika grit her teeth, admittedly she knew Vajrayana's effect, but there was nothing she could do about it at this point. She was going to have to take the full force of Jirra's attacks.
"Vajrayana, let's go train spotting!" ordered Jirra.
The red dragon roared and flew forward. The rider stabbing its spear deep into Lionhearted Locomotive's front plate. The failing machinery of the train let out a metallic, soulless groan before it shattered. (ALP:6300-4900)
"Now Gae Dearg attack her face down Monster!"
Gae Dearg tackled Arika's set Monster, bashing it with its head several times. The reversed flipped up to reveal a small robot with gears attached to either side of it, holding two large shields in a futile attempt to protect itself from the dragon's onslaught. (1100/1900)
Seconds later, it shattered like to was made from glass. (ALP:4900-4400)
"That was my Geargiarmor," Arika explained, as a card stuck out from her deck, "and when he's flipped, I can add a Geargia Monster from my deck to my hand, like Geargiaccelerator."
She flipped the card around and flashed it at Jirra.
"It's not much help there," said Jirra.
Arika readied herself for Jirra's next attack, her hand inched closer and closer to Snow Plow Hustle Rustle…
"Mystletainn…" Jirra ordered, "Mystletainn, you wait right there."
"What?" Arika gasped.
"I'm not stupid, Arika," said Jirra, pointing to the space where Arika's invisible Trap Card was. "You still have that card, which means if I attack you'll just destroy it and Special Summon Hustle Rustle."
"Damn," Arika cursed, she was this close to catching him off guard.
"And you call me predictable," Jirra smugly stated.
"I'll say that's an improvement," admitted Arika, "last time you would've charged straight through, and you can see the cards on the table."
"I am pretty awesome, aren't I?" Jirra smirked. "I'll just set this card face down and end my turn."
"That's the card he drew," thought Arika, watching as the card disappeared above the road.
"Your move, sweetie," smiled Jirra.
0 - 0 KK 0 - 0
Wendy and the mother kobold stepped out the back door and into the back yard. It was extremely tidy and well cared for, with plenty of blooming flowers and plants, a birdbath and a tiled patio with a at table and chairs. A large garden shed in the corner, which looked to contain much more than gardening tools.
Wendy placed her fingers in her mouth and whistled.
After a few seconds, the loud cry of an eagle replied. As a large beast flew over the house and landed in front of them.
The beast had the head of an eagle, with a sharp, pointed beak and two beady eyes and two large, pointed ears sticking straight up of its head. Two taloned legs propped up the creature's front half, which was covered in soft, golden-brown feathers. The hindquarters of the creature were that of the lion, with fuzzy brown fur, two powerful legs and a tail than sail back and forth behind the beast (which ended in a small plume of feathers). A large set of golden, feathery wings extended away from the beast, which were quickly folded against its back.
The mother kobold's mouth hung open, her worries about her daughter momentarily disappearing being replaced by a fear for her life. She quickly leapt and cowered behind Wendy's legs.
The creature in front of the human and kobold was a gryphon, the not-so-mythical combination of an eagle and a lion. Prized as aerial steeds, known for their grace and precision in flight and their valour and power in battle. Gryphons were also rather intelligent, being able to understand language (though not speak it) along with a few more complex commands than sit, stay and roll over. There were also very good at guarding treasures and priceless possessions.
"Do you still want a lift?" Wendy asked, certain the answer would be no.
The kobold mother cowered behind Wendy. "I… I… I think I'll pass," she replied, still cowering behind Wendy and not taking an eye off the gryphon in front of her.
"Don't worry she won't hurt you," said Wendy, "she's been trained."
Zephyr cocked her head to one side and gave the terrified kobold a curios glance, who continued to cower behind Wendy.
"Come on," said Wendy, guiding the terrified reptilian back into the house. She craned her head around to speak to Zephyr. "Wait here, I'll be back in a minute."
A minute later, Wendy emerged from the doorway, caring the large leather saddle and a thick scarf.
Zephyr stretched her wings as Wendy quickly unbuckled some straps and wrapped them around her wings, neck, front legs, head and underbelly, quickly buckling them back together and making sure they were tight.
Less than a minute later Wendy stood back up, with a satisfied smile on her face, that had probably been the fastest she'd ever put on Zephyr's saddle, it definitely helped that for once Zephyr remained still.
Wendy climbed on her steed's back and strapped herself to the saddle (extra precautions were with aerial mounts - falling off a horse would hurt and could kill, but falling off a gryphon mid-flight was certain death). She pulled her goggles over her eyes, then checked the straps again, gently tugging at them.
She then put on her aviator goggles over eyes and put on the scarf, pulling it up over the lower half of her face to protect her face from the wind.
"We're good to go," said Wendy, nodding to Zephyr, who had her head turned to the side, her eyes locked on her rider.
Zephyr nodded back to her rider and extended her large, feathery wings. Then, with a small leap and a powerful beat of the wings, took off into the air.
Wendy clung to the saddle's straps as Zephyr climbed higher and higher. Her heart beat faster and faster, she and her family had always had an affinity with the wind, so she felt right at home almost a hundred metres in the air.
Which was at that height that Zephyr stopped climbing and straightened out, she occasionally glanced either side of her or back at her rider, but like any good driver (or in this case flyer) she kept a close eye on the road (or air) ahead.
Wendy smiled, it always felt great to have the wind in her face. Arika, Matari, Rowan and almost every other Shadowchaser had their D-Wheels, but she and Zephyr alone ruled the skies. It was something that made her feel special… unique… extraordinary…
"Alright girl," said Wendy, "Tumblalong park, we'll start searching there."
Zephyr gave a glance to Wendy and nodded, and made a gentle turn.
As stated, gryphons were intelligent creatures, and both Zephyr and Wendy had been Shadowchasers for six years now, so Zephyr knew were many of the places in the city that the duo would visit.
The would be there in no time.
0 - 0 KK 0 - 0
Kimba continued his trek to the undisclosed destination to meet his boss. The young kobold he had kidnapped still unconscious over his shoulder.
Well, at least he could have swore she was unconscious. Her reptilian eyes flicked open and fixated on the figure that was carrying her, it wasn't her mother…
At that moment, instincts took over, she opened her mouth and snapped it shut over the kenku's arm, plunging her small, sharp teeth deep into his flesh.
Kimba screamed and released his grip on the young kobold, accidentally flinging her out of his reach.
She quickly got to her feet, took one quick look at her kidnapper and ran away, as fast as her short legs could take her.
Kimba tried to keep an eye on the girl, but was distracted by the wound she inflicted on him. It was bleeding rather badly.
Here tore the sleeve off his shirt, and began binding it tightly around his bleeding arm, muttering swears the whole time.
"What are you looking at?" he yelled at a couple who were staring at him.
The couple awkwardly turned away and left.
"Where did you go?" Kimba grumbled, angrily looking through the mall.
0 - 0 KK 0 - 0
"Come on deck," said Arika, placing her hand over it, "give me something good!"
The Shadowchaser drew a card, feeling a surge of energy flow through her.
Arika and Jirra's Speed Counters climbed to eight. Both D-Wheel's were travelling at two-hundred KPM, but Jirra had long forgotten his worries about that.
"I activate Speed Spell - Angel Baton, since I have way more than two Speed Counters, lets me draw two cards."
Arika drew two cards, her expression lighting up as she looked at them.
"So long as I discard one afterward."
She held the card she was about to discard forward, it was Snow Plow Hustle Rustle.
"You're giving up your best defence!" Jirra gasped, as Arika slid the card into her graveyard.
"Oh well," Arika replied, "you know what they say; that the best defence is a good offence! I summon Night Express Knight!"
Another set of tracks appeared out of portal as the sound of whistle sounded. Sure enough, pushing forward along the track was a new Monster that was, oddly enough, a white knight in shining gold armour, armed with a lance and a shield, which was bolted at the waist to the engine. (3000/3000)
"Oh crap," Jirra thought, "there only one reason she's do that."
"I can summon this girl here without tributing any Monsters," explained Arika, "but I do have to give up all of her attack in exchange."
Night Express Knight hit its brakes, sending sparks flying out either side of the tracks. (ATK:3000-0)
"She's gonna summon Gustav Max," thought Jirra, "but the question is how? She usually uses that Monster with Hustle Rustle - which is in the graveyard, or Resonance Device or Southern Cross, but she would have those in her deck right now, would she?"
"You know," said Arika, "I got this card a few days ago, but I've never been able to use it until now.
"So congratulations on being victim number one."
"New card?" Jirra gulped, he'd already seen Lionhearted Locomotive, just what else had Arika managed to get her hands on in the last month?
"Since I summoned an Earth Machine, I can Special Summon Heavy Freight Train Derricrane from my hand!"
An brown-tinged portal opened up next to Arika, and another set of tracks stretched out. Thick black smoke poured through the portal, as a loud horn screeched through the air. The a large, powerful yellow engine remerged from the portal, pulling large crane behind it. (2800/2000)
"But like Night Express Knight," Arika added, "summoning Derricrane like this comes at a cost… Half of her attack and defence scores."
Derricrane's breaks screeched as the train's engine coughed and spluttered. (2800-1400/2000-1000)
"Let me guess…" Jirra started.
But then Arika cut in. "Yep, Derricrane is level ten. So let's roll! I use Night Express Knight and Heavy Freight Train Derricrane to construct the overlay network!"
A huge portal opened up behind Arika, swallowing the slow moving two trains.
"Xyz Summon, Superdreadnought Rail Cannon Gustav Max!"
Three sets of rails shot out of the portal, as the screech of metal grinding against metal offended nearby eardrums. Three separate engines slowly chugged out of the portal, sharing the weight of massive dark-green, metallic cube.
Jirra gritted his teeth. "This is gonna hurt," he thought, then looked at his set Mirror Force, "but then it'll be my turn to dish out some damage."
The cube the began to unfold, revealing that it was concealing a massive cannon. With its barrel pointed directly at Jirra. Two glowing spheres with trailing lights orbited the Xyz.
Jirra gulped, certain of what was about to happen. He remember all the times Arika had summoned this card over the table, and she'd "simulate" the damage by flicking him the nose, which hurt a fair bit more than it should have…
But that was nothing compared to what he was about to take.
"I activate Gustav Max's effect, using one of her Xyz Materials to inflict two thousand points of damage to you!" She took Derricrane out from underneath Gustav Max and slid it in the graveyard.
An Xyz Material floated into Gustav Max's barrel. Gears shifted within the Machine as it set it pointed its cannon barrel at Jirra, who could only swear in panic as particles of light gathered
Then Gustav Max fired, catching Jirra and his three Dragons in a powerful explosion. A massive cloud of soot and dust kicked up around the immediate area.
"Ouchie," Jirra groggily groaned, as his D-Wheel rolled out of the dust cloud. (JLP:7100-5100)
"And that's not all snake boy."
"What?" Jirra screamed, the stopped himself. "Oh right, the attack."
"Heh," he thought, "The look on her face…"
"Oh, I almost Derricrane has another effect," Arika added, "When she's detached to activate a Xyz Monster's effect, I can destroy one card on the field!"
"What?" Jirra gasped, "no fair!"
A black, smoky aura appeared around his face down Mirror Force and moments later it shattered like glass.
"I told you I wasn't going easy on you," Arika smiled, "and just to add injury to more injuries. I activate Skill Successor, giving Gustav Max an extra four hundred attack this turn.
The Trap that Arika had set on the first turn finally flipped up, as a red aura appeared around Gustav Max. (ATK:3000-3400)
"Attack Gae Dearg!" Gustav Hammer."
More gears turned inside Gustav Max as the Xyz readjusted its aim for Gae Dearg.
Jirra nervously glanced at his the spot where his other face down card was sitting, silently wishing Arika had destroyed that one instead of Mirror Force.
Gustav Max fired another shot, effortlessly destroying Gae Dearg in a powerful explosion. (JLP:5100-4100)
"I'll end my turn with one card face down," said Arika.
Another face down appeared above the road, then disappeared.
Jirra shook himself before he drew a card. "Please be something good," he gulped, then looked at the card. He ignored the jolt of speed his D-Wheel received as both he and Arika gathered another Speed Counter.
"I set a Monster face down," he said dejectedly, slipping his drawn card onto his duel disk. "Then switch both my Monsters to defence position."
An unknown Monster joined his ranks, as Mystletainn and Vajrayana switched to defensive stances.
"That's my turn."
Arika rode up alongside Jirra. "Aw, does Jirra not have any good cards to play?" she taunted.
"NO!" Jirra sulked, "just, gathering what I need."
"That's what they all say," said Arika, drawing a card as the Speed Counters reached ten apiece.
Jirra sighed and looked at the two cards in his hand: Dragunity Brandistock and Dragunity Tribus. He kind of wish he had at least one more card to work with…
"Damn it!" he quietly swore, realising that he could've used Speed World 2's effect to draw.
"Don't be too hard on yourself, Jirra," said Arika, "it's only your first Riding Duel.
Jirra's frown turned into a smile. "Thanks Arika, I…"
Only to be hit by another shell from Gustav Max. He let out a pained groan, as the ensuing explosion kicked up another cloud of dust. (JLP:4100-2100)
Jirra's D-Wheel sped out of the dust cloud, the snakeblood had a even larger frown on his face. "I hope someone shoots you with a giant cannon one day, just so you know how it feels."
"That'll be the day," said Arika, taking a card from her gauntlet. "Let's get back to the action. I summon Geargiarsenal!"
In a flash, a large colourful tank appeared beside Arika. The tank was piloted by a small gear-shaped robot and was equipped with four claw-like arms and four cannons. It seemed to struggle to keep up the fast pace of the D-Wheels. (1500/500)
"Which gains two hundred attack for each Geargia Monster you control," said Jirra, "including itself."
The claws on Geargiarsenal grabbed at the air. (ATK:1500-1700)
"And since I control a Geargia Monster, I can Special Summon Geargiaccelerator from my hand in defence position."
A portal opened up behind Arika and a new Monster sped out. A blue and yellow race car that was piloted by a gear-shaped robot. The race car sped alongside Arika's D-Wheel. (1400/800)
"Yep, Geargiaccelerator," Jirra flatly noted, "coming up next, an Xyz Summon."
"Not quite yet," Arika replied, "first I activate the effect of Geargiarsenal, tributing itself to summon a different Geargia Monster from my deck, like the original model Geargiano."
Geargiarsenal disappeared into a golden light, and another portal open up above Arika. After a few seconds, a small robot flew from the portal, it looked to be one of the gear-shaped robots that operated the larger machines in Geargiarmor, Geargiarsenal and Geargiaccelerator. (500/1000)
"But he can't stay for long," Arika continued, "because by tributing himself, Geargiano can revive a low level Machine from my graveyard, but with its effects negated."
Geargiano saluted to Arika, as it disappeared. A black portal then opened up and Geargiarsenal rose out of it.
"Now I contract another Overlay Network, using the level four Geargiarsenal and Geargiaccelerator."
Another portal opened up, and the two Machines drove inside. Then a large mechanical hand grasped the side of the portal.
"Let's roll! Gear Gigant X!"
A large mechanical humanoid marched through the portal. It was three metres tall, heavily armoured with plenty of gears throughout its body, including a large gear attached to its back. (2300/1500)
Its eyes glowed red from underneath its vizor.
Jirra gulped. "Damn it," his mind grumbled, "She's go her ace card on the field. At this rate I'll lose in no time.
"But if I'm going down, I'm going down fighting."
Arika pulled up alongside Jirra once again. "Ready to throw in the towel?" she taunted.
"Not in your life!" Jirra replied.
"Suit yourself. Gustav Max, blow Mystletainn to smithereens!"
Gustav Max locked onto Mystletainn, firing another shot that destroyed the Dragon.
"Aww," Arika said in a mocking tone, "is Jirra-wirra sick of his monsters being destroyed?"
"Just attack with the Optimus Prime wannabe," Jirra pouted, his fangs sticking out above his lower lip.
Both Arika and Gear Gigant X glared at Jirra. "Fine. And for the record, Gear Gigant X looks much more like the Gurren Laggan," said Arika, pointing out the particular shape of Gear Gigant X's breastplate.
Gear Gigant X punched Vajrayana, the dragon roared as it thrown into the air by the blow and the rider screamed as he was flung was mount. Both shattered moments later.
"Next turn Jirra," Arika said playfully, punching her open hand. "But before then, I'll activate Gear Gigant X's effect, by using one of his Xyz Material, I can take any level four or lower Machine from my deck…"
"I know what it does!" Jirra yelled, "you use it every duel! It's your ace card!"
Arika blushed, Gear Gigant X was a birthday gift from her father and the reason she was using the cards she used today. But her father wasn't the only reason she still had this card…
Arika train of though was derailed by a card poking out from her deck, she picked it up and stashed it on her gauntlet. "I add Geargiano MK-II," she said, "and that wraps up my turn."
"It's about time. My move!" Jirra announced, drawing a card as both rider's Speed Counters climbed to eleven, just one below the maximum amount.
"Here goes nothing," Jirra thought, turning around the card.
He gasped at he saw the card, it was Dragunity Arma Leyvaten, his favourite card.
"Alright," he said to no one in particular, "let's do this."
Jirra took a deep breath as his reversed Monster flipped up, a skeletal angel holding a bow. (900/400)
"I Flip Summon Skelengel," he announced, grinning, "and thanks to its effect I can draw a card!"
The snakeblood drew, his grin growing wider and wider.
"Getting the hang of things are we?" said Arika, "you're a pretty fast learner."
"Well, I learned from the best."
Arika perked up. "Well thank you Jirra," she said, "I'm…"
"I wasn't talking about you," Jirra cut in, "I was talking about my riding instructor. Do you really think I've learnt anything from you? Anything at all? In my entire life?"
A bead of sweat rolled down Arika's face. "I guess not," she replied.
"But let's get back to the duel," said Jirra, "first I activate Speed Spell - Angel Baton, letting me draw two cards, as long as I discard one afterwards."
Jirra drew two cards.
"Woah," he thought looking at the two cards, "I can't believe my luck, I can take out both her Monsters with this combo, and a lot of her life points." He slipped Dragunity Brandistock into his graveyard.
"You know," said Arika, noticing the broad smile plastered across her friend's face, "you have a really bad poker face."
"Not that I need it," Jirra replied, "I activate my facedown card, Descending Lost Star! I revive Gae Dearg in defence!"
Jirra's Trap Card flipped up, and Gae Dearg reappeared on the field in a flash (LV:6-5/DEF:800-0)
"Now I sacrifice both my Monsters!" shouted Jirra, "to summon Dragunity Arma Leyvaten!"
Skelengel and Gae Dearg disappeared, as a thunderous roar echoed over the field. A portal opened up, and a large dragon flew out. It was humanoid, with thick orange scales and a pair of large feathered wings and a very . The mighty beast held a large sword in a backhanded grip. (2600/1200)
"It's stronger than Gear Gigant X!" shouted Arika, expressing surprise.
But that was just a ruse. She looked at her facedown card, it was Widespread Ruin, a card that she could spring whenever one of Jirra's Monsters attacked. It would destroy the Monster he controlled with the highest attack, and since Leyvaten was the only Monster Jirra controlled…
"And since Leyvaten was summoned," Jirra added, "I can equip a Dragon Monster from my graveyard to it!"
In a flash, a pole arm appeared in Leyvaten's free hand.
"And what better Monster to pick than Dragunity Brandistock," said Jirra, "which allows Leyvaten to attack twice each battle phase!"
"Jirra," Arika chuckled, "it doesn't matter how many times a Monster can attack, it can't destroy a Monster with a higher attack."
"Oh honey," Jirra replied, "that's where you are wrong. Because with the Speed Spell - Silver Contrails, I can boost his attack by one thousand points!"
A tornado formed around Leyvaten, who extended his wings and roared. (ATK:2600-3600)
"Wait!" Arika choked, "that's one of Yusei Fudo's cards. Where you get it?"
"From the card store!" Jirra replied, "it's not like he has the only copy in the world!
And if you think that face down can protect think again. I activate the effect of Speed World 2, removing ten Speed Counters to blow up your facedown card!"
Jirra's D-Wheel lost a good portion of its speed, falling a good distance behind Arika.
Arika's facedown Widespread Ruin shattered.
"Damn it," she swore
"Kinda glad I didn't waste my Speed Counters last turn. Now Leyvaten let's destroy that oversized pitching machine!"
Leyvaten nodded to Jirra and gripped its sword. The powerful dragon then flew at the cannon, and sliced through it with a single diagonal slash of its blade.
Sparks flew from Gustav Max as the large cannon groaned, the top half of the cannon slid off the bottom, emitting a eardrum bursting screech of scraping metal as it did. It shattered moments later. (ALP:4400-3800)
"And don't think Laggan-boy is safe!"
Leyvaten turned toward Gear Gigant X, and thrusted the pole arm at it. A blade extended out of the end of the pole arm, and locked into the place. Just in time to embed itself in Gear Gigant X's torso.
Gear Gigant X's gears stopped turning, being jammed by the blade. Sparks flew from the Machine, as Leyvaten pushed the weapon further into its torso.
Gear Gigant X dropped to its knees and shattered. (ALP:3800-2500)
"I activate the effect of Gear Gigant X," Arika announced, "letting me revive a level three or lower Geargia Monster from the graveyard."
Geargiano appeared in a flash, defensively crossing its arms over itself.
"I end my turn, with one card face down," said Jirra
The face down card flashed onto the field and disappeared.
"My turn," Arika announced, drawing a card as Jirra's Speed Counter increased to two and hers to twelve - the maximum amount.
She gripped the accelerator, speeding up, increasing the distance between her and Jirra.
"I summon Geargiano MK-II!" Arika announced.
In a flash another small gear themed robot appeared. It looked strikingly similar to Geargiano, but with a different colour scheme. (1000/500)
"And when Geargiano MK-II is summoned, I can Special Summon a Geargia Monster from my hand or graveyard."
A portal opened up and Geargiarsenal floated out of it.
"Next I tribute Geargiarsenal to Special Summon the missing Geargiano brother…"
Geargiarsenal disappeared, and was replaced by a new Geargiano, with blue outer gears and red inners. (1000/1000)
"Oh look," said Jirra, it's the three stooges."
The three Geargia brothers then hunched together and began to a game of play rock, paper, scissors. Mk-III played paper, Mk-II played scissors and the original Geargiano played rock. All three of them then stared blankly at each other, confused about how to decided the outcome.
"Hey!" called Arika, "no slacking off on the job! You guys have an Overlay Network to build!"
The three Geargiano's scrambled into a salute, as a portal opened up in front of them, and one by one they jumped inside.
"I overlay my three level threes!" announced Arika, dramatically raising her arm, "Xyz Summon Geargiagear Gigant XG!"
Then a huge humanoid Machine rose from the portal. Fourteen metres tall, weighing in at fifty tons and constructed from Geartite alloy. It looked like Gear Gigant X with plenty of heavy armour, and was now armed with a large rifle, shield a pair of boomerangs. (2500/1300)
"And this is the point where you power it up," said Jirra, who was now a good five-hundred metres behind Arika.
"Yep," Arika replied, playing another card, "the Speed Spell - Speed Energy, which gives the big guy here two hundred extra attack…
"For each and every Speed Counter I have."
Energy flowed into Geargiagear Gigant XG. (ATK:2500-4900)
"Damn it," Jirra cursed, "beaten again."
Arika pulled the brakes on her D-Wheel, quickly slowing down. And as she did she snapped her D-Wheel around a hundred and eighty degrees, leaving a visible black mark on the road. She then gripped to accelerator, and sped toward Jirra.
"Geargiagear Gigant XG!" she ordered, "attack! Giga Cross Spin."
The giant Xyz drew its rifle and took aim at Leyvaten, energy gathered in the barrel.
"And I'll banish Skill Successor from my graveyard to boost his attack by eight-hundred!"
The Trap Card fell out of Arika's graveyard slot, and her Xyz gained a red aura. (ATK:4900-5700)
"Oh, come one!" exclaimed Jirra, "now it just overkill!"
"No, this is overkill!" Arika replied, playing yet another card, "I activate Limiter Removal!"
"You what?" Jirra yelled. "But that's not a Speed Spell! You'll take damage!"
A portal opened up in front of Arika, and small bombs rained down on her and her D-Wheel, exploding on contact. (ALP:2500-500)
Normally, it was considered insane for anybody to use a non-Speed Spell in a Riding Duel, as Speed World 2 would take out a large chunk of life points should one be activated. But Limiter Removal was still a very powerful Spell, so to Arika, the two-thousand points of damage was a fair tradeoff.
Geargigear X Gigant's rifle glowed with energy. (ATK:5700-11400)
"Eleven thousand four hundred attack!" Jirra cried, "that's ridiculous!"
"Duh!" Arika replied, "it's like we've never even duelled before is it."
Jirra gulped and nodded, inflicting more than enough damage to finish off an opponent was Arika's specialty.
Geargiagear Gigant X locked on to Leyvaten. Its rifle began charging, gathering a powerful ball of energy at the gun.
The two Riding Duellists passed each other, both of them were grinning, they couldn't help it.
But Jirra's grin disappeared as Geargiagear XG fired its rifle into Leyvaten's chest. The dragon roared in pain as electrify crackled across its body, causing it convulse. The dragon shattered moments later.
Smoke poured out of Jirra's D-Wheel as he skidded to a complete stop, almost being thrown over the handlebars. "Damn it!" he swore, kicking the machine, "stupid piece of crap!" (JLP:2100-0)
The remaining cards on the field faded as the AR-Field disappeared.
Arika pulled the same stunt again, so that she was now following the flow of traffic again.
"Seeya, snakeface," Arika giggled, passing Jirra's broken down D-Wheel, "I'd stop and help, but I've got to get ready for my date tonight."
"Wait! Date?" Jiraa yelled, his voice breaking like glass. The snakeblood flopped over his smoking D-Wheel, unsure what was more crushing; the defeat or learning that his crush had her eyes on someone else…
Arika's D-Wheel sped down the highway and out of sight.
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Matari slowly walked toward his D-Wheel, his body still ached from the damage it had taken before. Every step the two halves of his sword clinked together inside the sheath. He slipped his equipment into the storage compartment and prepared to but something caught his attention.
There was a message displayed on his monitor, he pressed his finger on the monitor and opened the message.
"Stolen D-Wheel reported," he read, "the rider is believed to be a kenku. Tracking equipment has been deployed. Have fun doing our job."
A wide grin come across Matari's face as he rubbed his hands together. "And I was just starting to get bored again."
The Shadowchaser grabbed his helmet and hopped on his D-Wheel, started it up, then sped off. All the while keeping the enthusiastic grin on his face.
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"Mummy! Mummy! Mummy!" the young kobold called over and over, each more desperate than the last.
But every call for her mother only gathered awkward from passerby. Eventually she gave up calling and sat against the wall, sobbing into her knees.
What seemed like an eternity had passed to the poor child, a voice spoke out to her.
"Um… Hello," asked the voice, it was male and sounded rather nervous, "do you… do you need any help?"
She looked up at the person who had spoke to her, a young man with bright blue eyes and a warm, welcoming smile on his face. He held his hand down to her, offering to help her up.
Kobolds were rather xenophobic race, refusing to trust members of other races (though other reptilian races were sometimes an exception). Her mother had warned her many times that humans were untrustworthy creatures.
But there something about this human that made her trust at him, at the very least
She took Ezekiel's hand, and he helped her to feet.
"Don't worry, everything will be alright," he smiled.
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Heavy Freight Train Derricrane
Type: Machine/Effect
Attribute: Earth
Level: 10
ATK: 2800
DEF: 2000
Effect: If an Earth Machine-Type monster(s) is Normal or Special Summoned to your side of the field (except during the Damage Step): You can Special Summon this card from your hand, but its original ATK and DEF are halved. You can only use this effect of Heavy Freight Train Derricrane once per turn. If this card is detached from an Xyz Monster and sent to the Graveyard to activate that monster's effect: You can target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy it.
Note: Heavy Freight Train Derricrane appeared in the Japanese release of Secrets of Eternity. Strangely, it was not in the English release.
Speed Spell - Angel Baton
Image: The angel from Graceful Charity holding a small, glowing emerald in her hands.
Effect: Activate only while you have 2 or more Speed Counters. Draw 2 cards. Then, send 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard.
Speed Spell - Speed Energy
Image: A Monster flying through a tube of energy, as electricity flows around it.
Effect: Activate only if you have 2 or more Speed Counters. Select one face-up monster on the field. It gains 200 ATK for each Speed Counter you have until the End Phase.
Note: Speed Spell - Angel Baton and Speed Spell - Speed Energy were first used in the Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's OVA "Evolving Duel! Stardust VS Red Demons". Creative Credit goes to the writers of that episode.
Speed Spell - Silver Contrails
Image: A pilot looking up at the sky, with the sun shining brightly as three jets pass above him.
Effect: Activate only if you have 5 or more Speed Counters. Select 1 WIND monster you control. It gains 1000 ATK until the End Phase.
Note: Speed Spell - Silver Contrails was first used by Yusei Fudo in episode 005 of Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's "A Blast from the Past (Part 2)". Creative Credit goes to the writers of that episode.
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Aboriginal/Indigenous Australian Dictionary
Arika - a name that means "water lily".
Jirra - a name that means "Kangaroo". Both a boy's and girl's name.
Wambeen - an Aboriginal Mythological figure. An evil God known to hurl lightning at travellers. The origins of Wambeen are unknown, but its believed to be used to discourage children from wandering too far from home.
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Kitten Knight: And so the snakeblood Jirra wasn't all that much of a threat to Arika, at all.
Next time, Matari finds the runaway kenku and begins a Riding Duel, but might find himself pushed into a corner by a powerful foe.
Meanwhile, the young kobold may be in the safe hands of Ezekiel, but can he keep her safe from the not-so-brilliant Kimba?
Find out in the next chapter, Overwhelm!
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Feb 28 2015 - Minor editing, added opening about Ned Kelly.
March 3 2015 - Minor editing.