Yu-Gi-Oh! Burning Red
Game Four: Prove Your Worth, Rookie! Wandering Hero vs. Vengeance Hellrider!
Her home was probably one of the classiest in New York City.
Allison Schuyler had spared no expense when furnishing the place- it wasn't exactly posh, that wouldn't suit her, but it was certainly well-decorated. The walls were painted a bright shade of red- bright enough to be cheerful but subdued enough to be warm and comforting. The appliances were new and top of the line. Newspaper clippings in glass cases hung on the walls. The house was designed to be a comfortable place to come home to after a long day's work.
Allison Schuyler hated coming home.
She glared at the light switch that was positioned just out of her reach. She had made no effort to relocate switches on the walls when she had lost the use of her legs, and didn't intend to. She had compromised once she got tired of bumping into things by buying several lamps that were closer to a comfortable level, but those damn switches always frustrated her. She wanted to just stand up and flick one. She wanted to be a whole person again.
Two small metal dishes sat on the floor- one filled with water, one empty. Wheels sighed and opened the refrigerator. She grabbed a can of cat food- already opened- and scooped the contents into the empty dish. "Mitts, dinner!" she called.
No response. That was odd. Normally that cat would come running to the promise of food.
"Mittens?"
That was when she heard it- a purring coming from the living room. The woman's eyes narrowed as she wheeled towards the source of the noise and clapped twice, activating the light.
In the middle of the living room, sitting on a footstool, was a young woman with a red hairband with a striped cat curled up in her lap, perfectly content.
"Welcome home, Miss Schuyler," Rachel said as she looked up from petting the cat. "I wondered when you'd be back."
To say that Wheels was startled would have been a gross understatement. Her mouth opened and closed several times, no words escaping. Finally, she managed to piece her thoughts together and form a coherent sentence. "…What in the hell are you doing in my house with my cat?"
"I'm sitting on a footstool petting your cat and waiting for you to get home," Rachel replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "Does it look like I'm doing something else?"
"No. Doesn't explain why the f*ck you're in my house." Wheels glared at the girl for a moment, and then sighed. "Mitts, dinner's ready. C'mon, girl."
The cat mewed and leaped from Rachel's lap, trotting into the kitchen. Rachel giggled. "You named it Mittens?"
"…You got a problem with that name?" Wheels growled.
"Not at all. Just unusual," Rachel replied. "I wouldn't have expected it."
"Why? Because I'm a bitter, angry bitch who hates life and spends all her time dueling kids in a bar?" Wheels spat the question out. "Go on, admit it. That's what you're thinking, isn't it? That's what everyone thinks I am- the damn crazy wheelchair lady who hangs out in the f*cking bar. Good for a drink and a laugh but not much else. Go on, admit it, be honest, I can't stand liars."
Rachel pursed her lips. "…Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of the woman famous for winning her duels with the most aggressive fire deck in the pro leagues."
Wheels stared at the girl on the stool. "What… who are you?"
"Rachel Dorothy Wayne. I'm a freelance photographer." Rachel's eyes seemed to glint in the lamplight. "Seven years ago, you entered the professional dueling circuit. Your original deck was a straight archetype build, focused on Flamvells. You won several duels, but your record was actually about average. Your ace tuner was Flamvell Guard, if I'm correct?"
Wheels stared. "…I only had that card in my deck for my first season of pro dueling…" she mumbled. "It was there for sentimental reasons… first card I ever got…"
"When Flamvell Firedog was released, it immediately became your signature monster. You defeated several pro duelists by utilizing its ability to quickly set up synchro summons. During this time period you made a shift towards a general fire strategy, using synergy between Flamvell Pawn, Flamvell Firedog, and Rekindling." Rachel continued reciting the history of the duelist in front of her. "Your most famous victory was the one-turn kill you scored against then-favorite German champion Wolfgang Zweitmann."
Rachel paused and looked at Wheels calmly. "…I don't think I need to remind you of what happened after that."
Wheels shook her head slowly. "…You don't… you don't." She laughed bitterly. "You know a lot about me, girl. Care to explain why you're really here?"
Rachel smiled. "I'm here because a certain pro duelist who saw you in action today has his heart set on getting you for his Kaiser Cup team, and he was willing to pay me to convince you."
Wheels glared at her. "If you're talking about McFadden, that stuffed pig can go stick his invitation up his ass. I'm not coming back to the pro leagues after what they did to me, and I'm sure as hell not coming back for that son of a-"
"I was talking about Kaito Shishio, actually."
Wheels paused mid-rant. "Shishio…"
The name was familiar. Images of the young man who'd stopped her from leaving the arena flashed through her head. "Hmmm… tell him I'm not interested either. If you know about me already, you know what happened. I'm not going back to the pro leagues after that. Stay for dinner if you'd like, but you can tell Shishio's he's out of luck." Satisfied that her denial was final, the woman motored her chair back towards the kitchen.
"Perhaps I don't know the full story," Rachel said, a note of disappointment in her voice as she rose from her seat. "The Allison Schuyler I've always admired loved dueling. I'm surprised she's turning down an invitation to return to it."
The wheelchair paused. "It's too little, too late, kid," Wheels sighed. "I love this game. Don't get me wrong- that's why I stay at that damn bar, teaching those damn stupid kids trying to make it big how not to trip over themselves. But I'm done now. The bastards in the pros used me until I had nothing left and kicked me out on the streets. I'm not going back to that world."
"Not even to get revenge on them?" There was a slight lilt in Rachel's voice.
The sing-song tone in the girl's voice made Wheels pause again. "…Explain what you mean by that."
"Richard Donovan. Zachary Engle. Gregory Macarthur." Rachel listed off the names quickly without missing a beat. "All three of them will be involved in this year's Kaiser Cup… and Donovan has already announced he'll be attempting to revive the experimental format you were involved with when the incident occurred with his prize winnings."
Silence descended. Wheels rotated her chair around to look Rachel in the eyes. "Donovan?"
"Two months ago his team formation was announced. Looks like your old manager's working with him now. As for Macarthur, he's funding the whole thing. They're still pinning the blame on you." The sing-song tone was totally gone from Rachel's voice.
"…That Shishio kid knew all that?" Wheels asked, bewildered.
"No, but I thought you'd like to know all the same." Rachel stood up and tossed a ring of keys to the wheelchair-bound woman in front of her. "By the by, you might want to fire your housekeeper. You have no clue how easy it was to get my hands on these."
Slowly, a crooked grin spread across Schuyler's face. "…So that's how you did it."
"Getting into places is my specialty." Rachel giggled as she walked calmly towards the door. "So… does your answer for Shishio still stand?"
Wheels sat still for a moment and then grinned again. "Tell him to meet me at the bar at noon tomorrow, and bring the rest of his damn team too."
"Somehow I thought you'd say that." Rachel winked again. "See you then."
Wheels stared as the girl left. Mittens leaped onto her lap and mewed piteously, prompting a few strokes from the ex-pro. "…Donovan…"
She moved from the living room to the next room over- the trophy room. A large, glass case contained several awards from various tournaments, major and minor. Framed newspaper clippings adorned the walls. These things were obviously not the focus of the room, however. They were positioned off to the sides. The centerpiece was a desk with three photographs on it. Wheels moved over to the desk and picked one up.
In the photograph, a smiling man dressed in biker chic, complete with fingerless gloves, shook hands with a much younger Allison Schuyler. The woman in the photo seemed energetic, vibrant, and larger than life. "…Damn it you bastard…" Wheels growled. "Damn it. Why the hell are you doing this, huh? You promised you'd leave it be- why the hell did you need to go and break it?"
Mittens mewed again, a note of concern somehow weaving its way into the feline's voice. Slightly startled, Wheels set the photo down and realized she had been clenching it hard enough that the knuckles on her hand had turned white. As she released the frame, she caught sight of the mark on her right palm- the planet earth, in miniature, burning. "Damn it…"
"You're certain she'll come?"
Kaito, Cole, Achan and Rachel sat around the circle-shaped coffee table of Babylon International's conference room. It was Cole who had asked the question as he impatiently drummed his fingers against the arm of the office chair he sat in.
Rachel nodded. "If you knew this woman like I know her, you'd know she'd rather die than go back on something like this. She'll definitely show up- what's a gamble is whether she'll play along and join the team."
Achan raised his hand. "…Um… excuse me. Can I ask a question?"
"…This isn't class, you know, Smith," Kaito said lazily as he leaned back on the miniature sofa he'd claimed as his seat. "You don't have to wait to be called on."
Achan's face turned red with embarrassment for a moment. "…Um… well, anyway, I was just wondering… what did you do to get this meeting set up?"
"I seduced her." Rachel's tone was completely deadpan. All three males started at her for a full minute before she began giggling. "No, not like that. I just offered her some information that I knew she wouldn't be able to resist checking out. Namely… the three people responsible for her current condition are currently entered in the Kaiser Cup."
"…The people responsible? Then… someone deliberately injured her?" Achan seemed slightly confused.
"Achan…" Kaito sat up on the couch. "Does it really matter? The point is that we've got our third hotblood."
Cole shook his head. "No, it's too early to say that. We have a meeting to negotiate with our potential candidate for the final hotblood. As Miss Wayne put it, that is in itself a gamble- she might simply look at the team and turn us down."
Rachel nodded solemnly, sipping at her tea. "Allison Schuyler's just as stubborn as you, Shishio. If she decides you aren't worth it, she'll find another team to join or form her own rather than team up with you… and that'll be that."
"So?" Kaito's response was completely nonchalant, and his confidence absolute. "If that's the case, all we have to do is make sure that she likes the team."
"…As usual, Shishio, you're acting like a child…" Cole muttered.
"…Um…" Achan waved his hand again. "Hey, you guys? I think I'm going to go on ahead to the bar. I want to get some things done first."
Cole nodded. "Be there by meeting time, Smith, and don't get lost. I've heard stories about your sense of direction from Lawrence."
A blush spread across Achan's face until it reached the roots of his hair. "Um… right." He hurried out of the room.
Kaito watched him go. "...He'd be a better duelist if he wasn't so nervous. So… anything else on the agenda?"
Rachel smirked. "My payment would be nice."
Kaito and Cole glanced at each other. The manager's expression was stoic as he slowly removed his checkbook from his pocket, scrawled a figure on it, and placed it in Rachel's hands. "Miss Wayne, you've missed your calling. You have a phenomenal head for business."
"What I have is a head for people." Rachel's smirk turned into the shark grin that Kaito had learned to fear. "You'd be surprised how well you can get to know someone if you do some digging. You know who Achan Smith's father is?"
Kaito was almost afraid to ask. Almost. "Who?"
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Rachel replied, her shark's grin subsiding slowly back into the usual devil grin. "Have a conversation that doesn't revolve around dueling sometime, Shishio, it'd do you some good."
In retrospect, Kaito realized, he probably should have seen that answer coming.
"Achan, when are you going to tell him?"
Achan leaned by the entrance to the El Dorado, drinking in the crazed atmosphere of the city. "Tell who what?" he asked the floating puffball hovering above his head.
"Aren't you going to tell Shishio that what you saw in there yesterday wasn't just a solid vision trick?" Devi bounced up and down in the air, agitated. "I mean, she actually-"
"I can't tell Kaito," Achan interrupted with a sigh. "I could try, but every time I try to explain something like that both of us just end up confusing each other. He doesn't even know what duel energy is, not really." Achan glanced at the throngs of people moving by, the yellow-orange coronas that represented their energy flowing like a transparent cloud throughout the streets with the occasional off-color burst of light mixed in. "Besides, it's not really any of our business."
Devi's entire body shook in surprise. "You can't be serious! Achan, you're talking about teaming up with a woman who can cause physical damage through duel monsters. What if she's made a pact? Have you thought about that?"
Achan shook his head slowly. "I don't think so. If she made a pact, it was a long time ago. Her energy isn't being bled off at all." He chuckled slightly. "Besides, it's the same color as mine and Shishio's. Maybe the abilities we've got are linked?"
Devi's wings drooped as the imp swung his body from side to side- the closest gesture he could come up with to approximate shaking his head. "You're willing to trust her unconditionally just because she has the same type of energy you do? Oh COME ON."
"I don't know. What I do know is that she's the only other person I've ever seen with energy this color, and the only thing Kaito and I have in common is that we got marks from Creed." Achan glanced at the bar thoughtfully. "If I'm right, there's a good chance that her abilities could come from the same thing."
"And you propose to find this out… how?"
"I'll…" Achan's voice trailed off as he was lost in thought. "…I don't think I thought things out that far. I figured I'd just duel her and see what happened."
Devi stared. "…You're willingly challenging someone… with the ability to physically harm people with solid vision. You're a freaking idiot."
"Yeah, but I'm a hot-blooded idiot, right?" Achan grinned.
Devi said nothing.
"…RIGHT?"
"…A barrier. If she attacks, I'll protect you with a barrier. That's all I can guarantee." Devi glared at the duelist, still upset. "I'm telling you though, confronting her directly about this is suicide. The last time we ran into somebody with this type of ability-"
"We survived, right?" Achan finished the kuriboh's sentence. "Thanks, partner."
"Can you find a way to say that without making me feel camp?"
Achan pointedly ignored this comment and opened the door to the bar, leaving the streets behind.
"'Excuse me, Miss, would you like a duel?' Mmm… not assertive enough. 'Allison Schuyler, I challenge you!' Um… too assertive. 'Hey, would you like a duel?' Um… too formal. Um…" Achan scratched his head as he sat at the far end of the bar from where Wheels was currently starting into a glass of beer and muttered to himself. "Damn it, this should NOT be this hard. I just need to challenge her to a duel. How hard can that be. Um… I… goddammit, what the hell would Cloud do…"
Devi sighed in exasperation. "She's heading for the arena."
Achan glanced across the bar. It was true- Schuyler was already halfway to the elevator. His mouth moved before he quite thought things out. "H-Hey! Stop a moment!"
The woman whirled around and caught his eyes. "…Oh. I see. You're with that Shishio guy, aren't you?"
Achan numbly realized that the moment his eyes had met Schuyler's, he'd lost any and all desire to look away. There was fire in those eyes- fire buried somewhere deep inside her, smoldering, waiting to erupt again. The red-orange aura of her duel energy seemed to pulse and contract with each breath she took. He had the distinct feeling that he was being scrutinized- broken down to a base level, with each part of him being looked over separately, like the pieces of an engine. He shut his eyes and shook his head frantically. Where the hell were these thoughts coming from?
"You're not much of a duelist. No self-confidence." Wheels glared at Achan. Her tones were even, containing neither malice nor sympathy. "You're not worth it."
Achan felt his palms shaking. "W-worth what?" he managed to stammer.
"You came here to impress that Shishio guy, didn't you?" Wheels downed the remainder of her beer and wiped the foam from her lip. "That's why you came here alone, without the rest of your team. That's why you're here looking for me. You wanted to duel me before Shishio got here, so you could prove to him that you're a real man- not just some kid. Or maybe you just want to prove to yourself that you're not a total weakling. Whatever the reason is… you're here because you want to challenge me but you were too scared to face me head-on. Why else were you sitting on the other side of the bar without so much as a goddam drink and staring at me?"
Achan stared in horror. "…Um… no, that's not it!" he protested weakly. "I… I… I did want to duel you I just couldn't figure out how to ask because you're-"
"Scary? Admit it, kid, I scare the hell out of you." Wheels smirked. "Hope that Shishio kid's more interesting than you, or this team won't be worth a-"
"I'm NOT scared!" Achan practically shouted. The remark had stung, and his face burned hot and red. "I-I just have trouble thinking things like this out! That's all!"
"For someone who's not scared you're doing one hell of a job of keeping your cool, kid," Wheels remarked.
Achan took a deep breath. "I challenge you to a duel," he said after a moment. "I am NOT scared of you!"
"Liar, liar."
Achan subtly swatted Devi. "I've… I've been preparing for this match since yesterday!"
"…You had to prepare yourself specifically to fight me? You've still got no confidence, kid, and no class, either." Wheels placed a roll of cash on the bar- presumably a tip and payment for her beer. "I accept your challenge. See you in the arena."
She wheeled to the elevator and descended.
Achan breathed a sigh of relief as she left. "...She's… really, really strong. Even if I hadn't seen her duel yesterday, I could have told that about her just from this conversation…" he muttered. "…Another side effect of that mark?"
"Last chance to back out, Achan. We can always say we had to wait for Kaito to show up."
The teenager shook his head. "No… no, we have to take her on. We need answers-"
"And you're sore because she said you weren't manly."
"I'll kill you someday."
"Sure you will."
There was no fanfare this time- no speech to warm up the crowd, and no exchange of banter. Achan simply lifted the duel disk he had been wearing since entering the bar and activated it. Wheels lifted her own in response. The two stared for a moment, sizing each other up, and then…
"Duel."
Achan drew. "Challenger's play first! I activate…" He glanced through the contents of his hand, "Um… I play Soul Absorbtion!" The green-framed card appeared in front of him, the image of a human being slowly being reduced to rotted meat emblazoned on it. "From now on, every time either of us removes a card from play, I'll gain five hundred life points! And… summon, Wandering Shinobi!"
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, in a rush of wind, a figure appeared on Achan's field- a young girl with short, black hair dressed in the garb traditionally ascribed to ninja. She didn't appear concerned with hiding her face, however, and neither did her weapon appear to be the most subtle- a gigantic four-pronged metal star. (1500/1300)
Wheels coldly regarded the monster. "...Can you do anything else besides flashy tricks?"
Achan managed to refrain from flinching at his opponent's dismissal of his move. "Um… End turn!"
"No set cards? What's the matter, no traps?" Wheels drew almost lazily as she asked the question. It was clear that she didn't take the current duel nearly as seriously as her match against McFadden.
To her surprise, Achan chuckled. "…You'll find out."
"Good answer. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter what the case is- no traps or baiting an attack, I'll run you down all the same. I set one monster and three cards before ending my turn." Four reversed cards, one horizontal and three vertical, appeared in front of the wheelchair-bound duelist. "Your move."
Achan stared at the set cards. Couldn't be… did she draw the same cards she had last time? If that's the case, one of them will be Curse of Darkness… in my spell-based deck, that thing is a pain. I should get rid of it as quickly as possible… His eyes wandered to a card he had moved to the far right of his hand immediately after drawing it. Fortunately, I've got this thing.
"Kid. Your move." Wheels glared at him. "If you take this long to think your plays out you'll put the whole damn audience to sleep when the Kaiser Cup starts."
"Um, uh… right, right!" Achan felt his cheeks burning again, and quickly drew his card. "Um… I activate the spell card Limit Break-All Creation!"
Suddenly, a red aura erupted around Achan's shinobi. She released the oversized shuriken she had been clutching since being summoned and allowed it to remain suspended in mid-air as she closed her eyes in concentration. Slowly, the star began to rotate on its own. "Limit Break-All Creation requires me to control a Wandering Shinobi to activate, and if she isn't the only monster on my field I pay half my life points," Achan explained. "In exchange… I destroy up to three cards on the field, and the controllers of those cards draw one card for each card that was destroyed! I target all three of your set cards!"
The shuriken began to glow, and in a moment it had transformed into a sphere of light. Several rays lanced outward from it, striking at the three set cards.
"…Gotcha."
The grin on Wheels's face made even Rachel's shark-grin pale in comparison. It was an expression of complete self-satisfaction mixed with contempt. "I activate my trap card, Judgment of Anubis. By discarding a card from my hand, I can negate any spell that would destroy one of my spell or trap cards."
Achan stared in horror as the bolts of light from his Shinobi's attack were deflected by the enormous spectral image of a jackal-headed man wielding a spear. The jackal-man was obviously not content with simply defending the targeted cards- he stabbed once, impaling the shinobi, who had just enough time to utter one frantic scream before she burst into pixels. "Oh, and one of your monsters is destroyed and you take damage equal to its attack points," Wheels commented in an off-hand manner, as if this information didn't matter.
Achan flinched as several bolts of holographic lightning struck him. (4000-1500= 2500)
Wheels glared across the dueling field at her opponent. "I knew it… you're playing like a complete coward."
"Come again?" Achan stared in disbelief. "C-Coward? What the hell do you mean by that?"
"You were scared of my Curse of Darkness. That's why you were so quick to go after my set cards, even if all it meant was thinning my deck a little in the end." Wheels curled her lips in amusement. "If you had decided to go ahead and attack, this duel might have ended differently."
"I can still attack," Achan retorted. "I remove Wandering Shinobi from play to add another Limit Break-All Creation to my hand! Limit Charging!" As the familiar green aura bathed Achan, the card he had activated at the start of the duel pulsed, replenishing his life points. (2500+500=3000)
"Next, I can make my summon for the turn!" Achan rifled through the cards in his hand before selecting one that suited him. "I summon Wandering Fighter in attack position!"
A burst of light appeared in front of Achan before pooling into the shape of a young woman wearing light armor and leather gloves and armguards. The woman tossed her brown hair back defiantly as she looked at Achan's opponent, cracking her knuckles. (1500/1000)
Achan pointed to the set card. "Wandering Fighter, battle! Destroy that set monster! Beat Rush!"
The fighter moved with blinding speed, her body visible only as a blur as she dashed towards the set card. The card flipped up, revealing a purple, demonic locomotive, which was promptly sent hurtling through the air as Achan's monster suplexed it. (1400/1000)
"Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive, kid. I get to draw a card from my deck to replace the one I lost for Judgment of Anubis. Thanks a bunch." Wheels added the card to her hand without another word.
"Wandering Fighter's monster effect activates as well- since it destroyed an opponent's monster as a result of battle, I draw one card from my deck," Achan countered. "Looting!"
"You gonna set anything else, kid, or are you ending your turn?" Wheels growled as Achan drew.
"I've got nothing to set," Achan replied. "I end my turn."
The moment Wheels drew, Achan was convinced that she and Rachel had to be related. He'd only seen the reporter's shark grin once, but it had left a distinct impression on him, and seeing a grin so close to it made him shudder. "I activate my set Blasting Vein- I destroy my other set card in order to draw two cards from my deck."
Achan was taken aback. "Blasting Vein? Then-" He choked slightly before he could finish his sentence. Then that whole thing was a trap. She set a monster and three cards just to mirror her opening during her duel yesterday… so she could bait me into trying to wipe them all out. She totally read my move before I even made it…
"Figured it out, didn't you, rookie?" Wheels laughed mirthlessly. "You fell for that trap… now it's time to pay the penalty. Spell card, Brain Control! I pay eight hundred life points to take control of your monster until the end phase." (4000-800= 3200)
Achan could only watch in horror as a pair of green hands grabbed his fighter, pulling the monster to his opponent's side of the field. Wheels selected another card from her hand and placed it on her duel disk. "Ally of Justice- Cyclone Creator in attack position!"
With a loud, mechanical squawk, a robotic bird of some sort appeared next to Achan's stolen Fighter. The automaton screeched as a whirlwind built up around its claws, propelling it into the air. (1400/1000)
Achan recognized the monster. "A level three tuner…"
Wheels snapped her fingers. "Ally of Justice- Cyclone Creator, level three, Wandering Fighter, level four, tuning!"
The metal bird screeched loudly, a tornado picking up around its body. Wandering Fighter, despite her best efforts to resist the wind, was drawn into it. Three green rings shone through the barrier of wind, and the fighter exploded into four stars, which slowly aligned themselves. A column of flames began to form as Wheels chanted. "All my bitterness… all my rage… all my hatred! The pain I've suffered, transform and take revenge! Synchro summon… Ride them all down, Vengeance Hellrider!"
With the sound of revving engines the demonic biker gunned its way out of the column of flames, which erupted into a pyroclasm in its wake. It screeched to a halt just in front of Achan, grinning sadistically as it revved the engines of the bike. (1700/1000)
Achan stared in horror and fascination as he watched the cloud of red-orange fog that surrounded Wheels drift over the monster- only in a very limited amount, but still enough to coat it. "So that's it…" he muttered.
"Vengeance Hellrider gains attack points each turn equal to the life points I lose. That's from costs OR effects." Wheels gestured to the monster. "Since I paid eight hundred life points to activate Brain Control, Hellrider currently has two thousand five hundred attack points… and his effect allows me to damage my own life points by one thousand to ride you down. End of the line, kid…" An expression of twisted pity appeared on her face. "If you weren't such a chicken, maybe you'd have survived longer. Vengeance Hellrider, direct attack. Devil Exhaust! Highway to Hell!" (3200-1000= 2200)
The demonic biker screamed triumphant as it revved its engines. Achan stood paralyzed as the creature charged towards him. (3500/1000)
Don't just stand there like an idiot, Smith. You're still in control of this duel, aren't you? Or did you forget the effects of your own cards?
Achan felt his heart skip a beat. That voice… who was that voice? It was familiar- not Devi, though. The voice was female. His own cards… what did it…?
"Achan, hurry up and use me!"
That voice, on the other hand, was unmistakable. Jarred back to reality, Achan slipped a monster into his duel disk's graveyard slot. "Monster effect activate! Devil Shield!"
Hellrider's attack suddenly rebounded as a barrier of red lightning appeared in the hellish biker's path. Its wheels scraped uselessly against the barrier for a moment, and then the monster hurtled backwards towards its owner's field, crashing into Wheels as it moved. The wheelchair-bound duelist gasped in surprise as the impact sent her chair rolling backward to the far end of the arena. "Wh… What the hell was that?" she gasped. (2200-1750= 450)
Achan panted heavily, as if the strain of negating the attack had put a drain on his system. The ghostly image of a devilish Kuriboh appeared over his shoulder, mocking his opponent. "…Devil Kuriboh's monster effect… I can discard it to halve the damage I'd take from one direct attack. Then you take damage to your life points equal to damage I take…" (3000-1750= 1250)
There you go, Smith. You've got a winning hand already. Do I need to spell it out for you?
Achan shook his head, trying to clear it. What was that voice? It was so… so familiar.
"Kid. You're up."
"Oh, um, sorry," Achan stammered as Wheels frowned at him. "I was just… er…"
"You're funny."
The words took Achan by surprise. "Come again?"
"I said you're funny. You look like a timid kid, but you haven't played a single set card this duel. Usually players who get that nervous turtle up. Got an explanation for that?"
Achan chuckled softly. "Well, the truth is… I can't turtle up. I don't have any trap cards."
Wheels nodded with satisfaction. "Figured as much. Your opening hand must not have had any."
Go on, Smith. Surprise her.
Achan chuckled. "No, I mean I literally have no traps." He removed his deck from his duel disk and fanned it out quickly before returning it.
Wheels frowned. "…What?"
"I don't run a single trap card in this deck. I never have and I never will," Achan declared proudly as he drew. "I only run monsters or spell cards, period, and I only have two monsters with defensive effects."
Achan wasn't sure what kind of a reaction he'd been expecting, but Wheels bursting into uncontrollable laughter certainly wasn't it. "So you have got some kind of guts down in there, kid," the duelist laughed. "Alright, then, let's see you come at me!"
Achan frowned. "I activate the effect of Wandering Fighter, removing it from play to add Limit Break-Raging Fist to my hand. In addition, I gain five hundred life points from the effect of Soul Absorption. Limit Charging!" Energy crackled as Achan's duel disk ejected the card. (1250 + 500 = 1750)
He revealed the next card in his hand. "I summon Wandering Hero in attack position!"
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with all the dramatic fanfare suited to his image, Achan's signature monster dropped from the ceiling into the center of the arena before throwing back his green cape. The Hero and Hellrider stared at each other for a moment, as if testing each other's strength. (1700/1200)
Achan pointed dramatically at the demon biker. "And since you ended your turn, Hellrider's attack points have dropped to their original score!"
It was true. Hellrider itself didn't seem concerned, however, as it revved its engines all the more menacingly. (1700/1000)
"Now… Wandering Hero's effect activates. Equip Selection! I discard a monster card to search my deck for any equip spell card and play it… so I'll discard Wandering Mage in order to search for Mage Power!" Achan pointed upwards dramatically as a sword formed from sparking green energy appeared in the hero's hands. "By this spell's effect, my Hero will gain five hundred attack points for every spell or trap card I control! (2700/1200)
Smith, I keep underestimating just how much of an idiot you really are.
Achan frowned, attempting to ignore the voice as a card popped out of his graveyard slot. "I'll also remove Wandering Mage from play to add Limit Break- Beast Shift to my hand. Soul Absorption increases my life points further as a result!" (1750 + 500 = 2250)
Wheels chuckled. "Looks like you know how to make a reversal play, at least."
Three set cards appeared on the field behind the Hero- all three of the Limit Break spells Achan had drawn earlier. "Wandering Hero's attack points have hit their maximum!" he shouted, obviously enjoying himself.(4200/1200)
"Hmph." Wheels glared at the monster. "Come at me if you're so damn cock-sure of victory, then."
Something in the tone of her voice caused Achan to hesitate- but only for a moment. "Wandering Hero, attack Vengeance Hellrider! Braver!"
The hero gripped his sword with both hands and leaped into the air, high above the opposing monster to deliver a fatal blow with his massive blade.
Or rather, attempted. The moment the blade crashed down a barrier of green energy crackled into being between the monsters. The hero was forced back, skidding to Achan's field as the barrier dissipated into a green aura that surrounded Wheels. Her demon-grin, Achan noted, had returned, and wasn't any less intimidating than it had been the first time he'd seen it. "Draining Shield, kid. I gain life points equal to your monster's attack points, and your attack is cancelled." (450 + 4200 = 4650)
"That's…" Achan gasped.
That's why you're an idiot, Smith.
Achan glanced at the cards remaining in his hand and immediately saw what the voice was talking about. Chiron the Sage… if he had summoned that monster instead of Hero, he could have destroyed that set card before it was used and left Wheels without a life point buffer, and with no defense for her Hellrider. Now her life points were higher than they'd been at any other point in the duel, and she had control of her best monster. Whoever had been helping him was right- he was an idiot.
Idiot.
"You don't have to rub it in…" he muttered under his breath, conscious of exactly how whiny the remark sounded.
Wheels drew. "Game over, kid. I summon Twin-Barrel Dragon in attack position."
The monster was strange-looking to say the least- a mechanical, armless dinosaur of some sort with a gigantic revolver in place of a head. (1700/200)
Achan frowned. "…What do you mean 'game over'?"
"Let's test your luck," Wheels replied. "When I summon Twin-Barrel Dragon I get to pick any one of your cards, then toss two coins. If both are heads, that card is destroyed." The creature suddenly began to charge both revolvers, as Wheels pointed at Achan's Mage Power. "My target… is that card!"
"But… there's only a one-in-four chance that'll work!" Achan argued. "I can still win!"
"…You don't get it, kid. You lost the moment I flipped that trap card," Wheels replied calmly. Behind her, a pair of gigantic holographic coins flipped into the air and hung suspended in space for a moment before displaying two heads. She grinned viciously as she pointed at Achan's card again. "Twin-Barrel Dragon, blow it away. Trigger Full Burst!"
"No way…" Achan muttered as the hammer of Twin-Barrel's revolver moved back slowly and then fired two rounds of green energy. The Wandering Hero had just enough time to bring up his blade as a defense before both shots hit, annihilating the sword. (1700/1200)
Wheels pointed to her Hellrider. "Now I'll attack with my monster, and activate its initial effect. I take one thousand points of damage to seal your spells and traps until the end of the battle phase, which will also increase my monster's attack points. Devil Exhaust!" (4650-1000=3650)
The devil biker's tires screeched as a jet of flames washed over Wheels. The grinning demon gripped the accelerator and revved the bike to its maximum speed as it bore down on Achan's monster, its owner's command ringing in the background. "Highway to Hell!" (2700/1000)
The bike struck Achan's monster at full speed, flinging it away like a rag doll. Achan flinched again, expecting the physical impact to come any moment. (2200- 1000= 1200)
The biker, however, slowed to a halt. He leered at Wheels expectantly, as if waiting for an order, but the duelist shook her head. The biker slowly wheeled back to his position on her field, apparently slightly disappointed. Instead, Wheels pointed to her other monster. "Twin-Barrel Dragon, finish him. Double Magnum!"
Twin bolts of green energy struck Achan, and his life points flatlined. (1200 – 1700 = 0)
Achan stared at his opponent as the holograms faded. "…You didn't attack me like you did McFadden…"
"That asshole? You don't deserve that kind of pain…" Wheels replied, practically spitting out the sentence. "You aren't a pig, not like him. What you are is a disappointment. I haven't taken damage from my opponent's attacks in a long time, and you manage to block my kill… and then you fall flat on your face? Zero sense, idiot." She began to wheel out of the arena. "If you're the best that Shishio kid's got to offer as a team mate, tell him I'm looking somewhere else for partners."
Achan could only stare at her back. "…B-but you only won because you got lucky! If you hadn't won that coin toss…"
Wheels whirled and flashed a card to Achan. "Recognize this? I've had this damn thing in my hand since the first turn."
Achan gulped. "L-limiter removal?"
"Yes, Limiter Removal. What the hell does it look like?" Wheels growled. "If I'd missed that shot all I had to do was suicide my dragon into your damn spiky-haired hero and then play this thing. I'd have run your life points down in one shot. Now kid, you want my advice? Get some damn lessons before you head into the pro leagues. I'm through."
Achan stood in place, gasping for air. The stupidity of his loss hit him like a brick. If he had been thinking clearly, he could have won. No, he would have won. The voice had told him he had a winning hand…
…Who the hell was that voice?
"Hey, give the kid a break. He did better against me."
Wheels and Achan both turned. Kaito leaned next to the elevator, grinning wildly. Cole and Rachel stood off to the side, along with Lawrence, both managers holding a glass of scotch. "Shishio," Wheels growled. "Don't make excuses for him. If he did better against you, maybe that says something about the difference in our skill levels, doesn't it? I'm not teaming with a bunch of weaklings, and that's final."
"Well, I'm not letting you team with anyone else," Kaito replied stubbornly. "If beating you is what it takes to convince you to join, I'll take you on myself and-"
"…Nobody's asking you to join up with weaklings, Miss Schuyler." Rachel's voice cut across the arena.
Wheels took a closer look at her. "…You're from last night…"
Rachel nodded. "I understand you not wanting to join because of your dissatisfaction with Smith… but I think I have a settlement that'll please everybody. I talked it over with Mr. Matthews earlier by phone, and he agreed with me."
Kaito and Achan both whirled to look at Rachel. "I didn't hear anything about a settlement…" Kaito muttered, growing noticeably more apprehensive.
"Talk," Wheels said.
"The settlement is this… you join Team Hotbloods for the Kaiser Cup. In exchange…" Kaito shuddered as Rachel's shark grin spread across the young woman's face, "We make you the team's official leader."
"W-what? Hold on, why do you get to decide that!" Kaito protested.
"Kaito, I thought you said you wanted Miss Schuyler for the team… and besides, you did agree that you would go with whoever I chose for team leader as long as you were allowed to duel to your heart's content," Cole replied. "For once I found Miss Wayne's solution quite… intriguing."
Kaito bit his lip for a moment and pouted like a child denied his favorite toy. "…Someday I'll kill you for this, Matthews," he muttered. "Alright, fine, I'm on board for this scheme too. Just wish people would talk to me before they decide things like this."
Rachel, meanwhile, kept steady eye contact with Wheels. "…What do you say, Miss Schuyler? I'd appreciate it if you agreed…"
Wheels smirked as she looked at the younger girl. "I'm in. If I'm going to have to set sail on a ship of fools, I'd like to at least be the damn captain."
"They finally met up, Creed. The team is formed."
Creed nodded his thanks to his companion- a tall, well-built man dressed in a muscle shirt who sported an outrageously long black ponytail. "Thank you for the report, Bernard."
Bernard cracked his knuckles. "So what now? Do we test them further, or offer our assistance?"
Creed grinned. "I rather like the idea of doing both, don't you?"
"So you're going in as an alternate?"
"Of course," Creed chuckled. "And you're welcome to come along too, if you want."
The man with the ponytail laughed. "…This will be fun."
FAKE CARD REPORT
Wandering Fighter
Monster/Earth/Warrior/Effect/4*
Atk 1500/Def 1000
When this card destroys an opponent's monster as a result of battle, draw one card. You can remove this card in your graveyard from play to add one "Limit Break-Raging Fist" from your deck to your hand.
Wandering Shinobi
Monster/Wind/Warrior/Effect/4*
Atk 1500/Def 1200
Once per turn, you can send a spell card from your hand to the graveyard to add a non-tuner "Wandering" monster from your deck to your hand. You can remove this card in your graveyard from play to add one "Limit Break-All Creation" from your deck to your hand.
Limit Break-All Creation
Normal Spell
You can only activate this card if you control a face-up "Wandering Shinobi". If "Wandering Shinobi" is not the only monster you control, pay half your life points. Destroy up to three cards on the field. The controller(s) of the destroyed card(s) draw one card for each of their cards destroyed in this way.
Devil Kuriboh
Monster/Dark/Fiend/Effect/1*
Atk 300/Def 200
When you would take damage from a direct attack, you can discard this card to halve that damage and inflict damage to your opponent's life points equal to the damage you took.
(Thanks to Comedy of Circumstances for the fixed Devil Kuriboh).
