Chapter 4: And You're Out
"Ladies and gentlemen!" a female employee called from the small stage of the duel arena. "Welcome to the Second Strike Duel between our recent employee, Miss Barbara," a chorus of boos followed this as the disgurntled employee set up her own Duel Revolver and deck, "and the owner of this fine establishment, Miss Kyona!"
A roar of cheers, whistles, and laughter followed after Kyona screamed out to the girl on stage, "No discount for you either, Marisol!"
Finishing her laughter Marisol continued, "For those of you who are visiting with us the Strike Duels are very simple. Miss Kyona and Miss Barbara must duel in order to settle any... misunderstandings between them. If Miss Kyona wins, Barbara must clean and pay up for her damages and this will be counted as a strike against her. If she gets three strikes it will be counted as a violation of her probation.
"However, Miss Kyona were to lose against Barbara she will clear her of all strikes and she will be free to leave Martha's Place without going back to the Women's Facility."
"WHAT?" Crow cried from the railing above. "Are you serious?"
"Unfortunatly she is," West answered. "It was part of the deal that Barbara made with the D.A. But don't worry, Miss Kyona hasn't lost to that hussy and this will be just one step closer to getting rid of Babsy once and for all.
"Here to officiate the duel is our very own Marshall Kalin Kessler!" Marisol declared, pointing to an approaching Kalin as he made his way to the second microphone.
"Duelists ready?" he asked, all of the televisions in the eatery tuned on to the duel.
"Ready!" both of the dark-haired females answered.
"Then proceed to the middle of the floor, Revolvers at ready, and shake hands."
The women did as they were told, but Barbara's glance at her employer was anything but friendly when their eyes and hands met.
"Now take your places at your respective ends. The first person to draw and load their disk first gets the first turn."
Positions taken and backs turned the women got ready.
"On the count of three. One!" Kalin began, holding up his index finger.
"Two!" the staff shouted, holding up two fingers.
"THREE!" everybody shouted together, holding up three fingers.
In a whirl of of dark hair the duelists turned, placed their disks on their left forearms, and drew five cards.
To determine who drew first the video was played in slow-motion on the screens.
"The first turn goes to," Kalin said, "Barbara!"
A loud cry of boos and protests came from the crowd as the Strike Duel began...
Kyona: 4000 Life Points
Barbara: 4000 Life Points
"Looks like I go first," she smirked triumphantly as she drew a card from her deck. "First, I Summon Gun-Shy Gal in Attack Mode," a blue woman with old-fashioned Western clothes and blushing cheeks appeared on the field, pistols at her sides. "Then I place one card face down and end my turn!"
Gun-Shy Gal: 1900 Atk/800 Def
"My turn then," Kyona said as she drew a card. "I Summon Cactus Blossom in Defense Mode and end my turn," a smiling Indian girl sat down on the field, sewing a beaded quilt in her hands.
Cactus Blossom: 700 Atk/2000 Def
Smiling Barbara declared, "I activate my face down: the Stop Defence Magic Card! Whenever this card is played it switches your little girl from Defence to Attack mode! Now my Gun-Shy Gal can attack your Cactus Blossom and reduce your Life Points by 1200!"
Just as the Magic Card had activated and Barbara's Monster was about to fire her pistols Kyona gave her opponent a grin, and so did her Cactus Blossom as her quilt whipped in front of her, rebounded the attack and destroyed Gun-Shy Gal in the process.
Kyona: 4000 Life Points
Barbara: 2800 Life Points
A gaping Barbara stuttered, "H-h-how is that possible? Y-y-you were the one that was supposed to have your field empty and lose 1200 Life Points!"
"It's because of my Cactus Blossom's Special Ability," Kyona said with a giggle. "Whenever she is forced from Defence to Attack Mode she swaps her Attack and Defence points, and swaps your Monster's Attack and Defence. So your Gun-Shy Gal was the one with 800 Attack points and my Cactus Blossom was the one with 2000 Attack points."
Then she pointed toward a full-grown woman who had a beaded quilt draped over her shoulders, a pink flower at her left temple, and at her side were two pistols shaped like cactus branches. The quilt had a picture of some sort of desert animal on the back.
Snarling at her employer Barbara mumbled, "I set one card face down and end my turn."
"Great! Now let's have some fun... with Bronco Buster in Attack Mode and one card face down. Your turn Babsy!"
A young male horse, dressed in cowboy duds, standing with human legs and its hands twirling a lasso appeared next to the woman. Its jean shirt had the same dessert animal on the back as well.
Bronco Buster: 900 Atk/2500 Def
"Stop calling me 'Babsy'!" a frustrated Barbara yelled as she drew a card. Then she smiled, "Don't think I don't what your strategy is, Kyona! You want me to do something that will allow you swap your pony's Attack and Defence points. Well guess what? That isn't going to happen!"
At this Kyona looked scared and shocked, "You mean you figured out my plan already, Bab- I mean Barbara? You really have been practicing since the last time we dueled."
"Don't give her any more compliments, Miss Kyona!" a customer shouted.
"You can still beat her, even she did figure out your strategy!" another shouted.
"Show that overconfident hussy who's boss, and I mean that literally!" Nico shouted from where the guests were gathered.
Laughing cruelly Barbara exclaimed, "Well I'm glad you finally realized that I've been more something more productive than slopping these pigs at your special sty. Now then, I Summon Cattle Rustler in Attack Mode, and activate the Magic Card Melnevolent Nuzzler to increase his Attack points by 800!"
A burly cowboy in black duds appeared on the field and it grew bigger, meaner looking and bulkier with the additional power boost.
Cattle Rustler: 1700 + 800= 2500 Atk/1300 Def
"Now rope in and skin that freak show pony!" Barbara declared and her Monster twirled its own lasso and was about to wrap the noose around the horse's neck when...
The noose was held tight by a woman similar to Cactus Blossom riding on the back of a very muscular Mustang.
Two cards were flipped over on Kyona's side as she elaborated, "Sorry Babsy, but I activated the Magic Card Stop Attack when your Rustler's lasso came near my Bronco and it switched him from Attack to Defence Mode. Then I acitvated the Trap Card Emergency Merger and combined my Cactus Blossom with Bronco Buster to create Sand Storm Rider.
"Sand Storm here has a Special Ability of her own. When she is Summoned she can take away any power boost that my opponent's Monster received during the same turn, take it away and use it for her own. Which means my Rider gets the additional 800 points your Rustler received and he's back to 1700 Attack Points."
Sand-Storm Rider: 2500 + 800= 3300 Atk/2000 Def
Cattle Rustler: 1700 Atk/1300 Def
With that Barbara's Rustler lost his extra bulk and was pulled off his feet by Kyona's Rider. When he fell onto the ground his hologram shattered into bits.
Kyona: 4000 Life Points
Barbara: 1200 Life Points
"Awww, and here was me thinking you practiced Babsy," Kyona smirked as Barbara ended her turn in a stiff manner.
Drawing a card from her deck again Kyona stated in a softened voice, "You know Barb, you do have a choice. You can surrender now and clean up your mess without this being a strike against you, or you can let this play out and try your luck at winning."
"A choice? You've got to be kidding me!" Barbara said, tears of pure hatred in her eyes. "Either way I'm at a dead end! If I lose this will be a second strike against me, with only one more to go before I'm doomed to live in that Hell hole for the rest of my life being ganged up on both of the gang's girlfriends. Even if I did win I would have nowhere else to go because my reputation is compromised because of what I helped those two basterds do to the people in this town.
"But you know something? I really don't care! My life was always like this so what difference would it make if you gave me another chance!" she cried out in manical laughter.
"If that's what you wish. I'm sorry Barbara," the other woman shook her head and continued the duel. "I activate the Magic Card Diffusion, separating Sand-Storm Rider from her merged form to bring back Cactus Blossom and Bronco Buster. Next I use Cactus Blossom to attack you directly!"
But before the Monster's attack could connect Barbara activated a card from her hand.
"You fool! I activate the Quick Play Magic Card Betraying Soul! Now I have full control of your precious Cactus Blossom!" she said with malice. "Cactus Blossom attack Bronco Buster, now!"
With a shaky hand, as though trying to resist the effect of the card, Cactus Blossom aimed her cactus branch pistol at her comrade and fired, destroying him and depleting Kyona's Life Points.
Kyona: 2900 Life Points
Barbara: 1200 Life Points
Laughing like a mad jackal Barbara gloated, "How does it feel to be out-tricked by a meaningless employee, SkanKyona?"
"I wouldn't know, because I don't think any of my employees are meaningless. Not even you, Barbara," Kyona replied, then she smiled. "As for being out-tricked, I think that question should be directed to you, because I activate from my hand the Magic Card Desert Storm!"
A card that featured a dark gray tornado in the back with many pairs of red eyes all round it showed up behind Cactus Blossom as she removed her beaded quilt and started spinning with it above her head.
Suddenly bits of gray dust came out of both sides of the field as the remaining Monster spun faster, each pillar taking the shape of Gun-Shy Gal, Cattle Rustler, and Bronco Buster, and mergered with the one in the eye of the storm.
Yelling over the wind in a clear voice Kyona announced, "When three Monsters and three Magic Cards have been destroyed this card allows me to Summon a Level 8 or higher Monster from my hand or deck. The Monster I choose to Summon is..."
The tornado shrunk down to a whirling shape until it resembled the full grown Cactus Blossom, and then the dust cleared away from the form.
The new Monster had a woman's body and was dressed in mocassins, short deer skin pants, a beaded belt that held to iron revolvers, a short-sleeved deer skin shirt, and a turquoise necklace. The only thing that made it not human was that, under all of the clothing, was a sleek, female, plains-type of wolf that was standing erect on its hind legs and had its tail was sticking out of the seat of the shorts.
"The Whirlwind Trickster!" Kyona concluded while many of the male customers tried to get a better look at the appealing Monster.
The Whirlwind Trickster: 3000 Atk/2550 Def
"Woah! Woah! Now wait a minute!" Barbara called, trying to back out of the arena. "Can't we talk this over! How about I make a public apology? Give you two month's worth of my paycheck? Huh? How's that, Madam Kyona? Deal?"
The Trickster shook her head as her human partner replied, "Sorry Barbara, but you already missed out on your chance. Trickster attack her directly with Howling Gale."
The wolf-like creature howled at the trembling woman and the force of it blew her onto her seat and into the mess that was still on the ground.
"And that is Strike Two!" Marisol announced. "Winner and still champion, Enforcer Town own Trick Star, Miss Kyona the Coyote!"
"COYOTE! COYOTE! COYOTE! COYOTE!" the crowd cheered as the Duel Revolvers were deactivated and their champion waved and smiled at all of them.
Grudgedly Barbara began cleaning up the mess as Kyona turned around and unwrapped Crow's headband from her forearm.
Barbara looked up from her work to see the smile on her employer's face and thought, "That smug little bitch!" Then she pulled out a long, sharp shard from a broken plate and threw it at her like a knife.
Before Kyona could take another step forward a scream came from Crow, who had seen the shard.
"KYONA BEHIND YOU!"
Actting quickly Kyona turned back around and used his headband like a whip to catch the shard before it made contact.
At the same time Barbara was struggling with three of the waiters, who were trying to restrain her from getting another shard or escaping out of the courtyard.
Jumping down from the second floor and landing beside Kyona, both Crow and Kyona walked toward the struggling ex-employee. Kalin had got there a few seconds ago and was trying to place a pair of handcuffs on her, but she was still trying to get free from the well-built waiters while kicking and demanding to be set free.
"LET ME GO YOU FILTHY HYPOCRIT! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!"
"Do you even know what a hypocrit is?" Crow asked through clentched teeth while Kyona was trying to keep him from doing any unnecessary damage. "A hypocrit is somebody who apologizes for what they did wrong in the past but does nothing to make up for it, and keeps making the same mistake over and over again while playing the 'pity me please' card! You don't deserve the pity Kyona showed you or the second chance to make things right, and you definitly don't deserve to be released again any time soon!"
With one final shriek and a death-glare Barbara managed to get her right arm free and struck her on the left cheek, yelling mockingly "Strike three!" as she was finally put into the handcuffs and towed away.
"You're out," Kyona mumbled as she tried to cover the spot where she was hit.
Taking her hand gently from her face Crow was infuriated to see what Barbara meant.
On the left side of her face Kyona's cheek had three deep cuts on it and they were bleeding freely.