--
Chapter
7
--
While Ritsuko was coping with the terrible aftermath of her victory against Amy, frightened onlookers could only stare at the black dome that hid the two girls within a shroud of solid darkness. Ian and Mitch were no different. Out of everyone present in the Duel Arena, they alone dared to venture the closet towards the enshrouded Duel Field, their expressions mirroring each other's worry and uneasiness. While they could see nothing through the dome's surface, they were able to faintly hear the sounds of the duel taking place inside. Needless to say, it didn't fill the two boys with much confidence.
"They've been in there a while," Mitch deadpanned. "What do you think is happening? You think Victor is doing to them what he did to Milly?" The questions seem to hang in the air and haunt them. As much as Ian wanted to, he knew he couldn't answer those questions. Not right now, anyway. The only response he gave to Mitch was a half-hearted grunt and a shrug of his shoulders. This was one thing he hadn't foreseen when he chose to come to Duel Academy. Homework, snide teachers, and practice duels was one thing. But, battling the supernatural was quite another. He was about to offer a sarcastic comment about that when he noticed something strange happening to the dome.
One by one, a myriad of cracks began to spread all over the structure's surface, each one of them shining with a white light like an egg about to hatch. But then, the entire thing suddenly shattered into a million black pieces that evaporated into nothingness before touching the ground. Both of the boys lifted their arms to their faces to shield themselves from the dark shrapnel, before rushing onto the Duel Field, their faces relieved yet also grim. They could only think of one reason why the dome would suddenly disappear like that and neither of them liked to think about it. As soon as they neared the two girls, Ian knelt by Amy's side, who had her head cradled in Ritsuko's lap, and deftly placed two fingers on her neck to check for a pulse. Like Milly, it was there but definitely faint. "Yep." Ian noted grimly. "She's comatose, isn't she? Just like all the others he…"
"Yes. " Ritsuko mumbled, sharply cutting off Ian before he could say anymore. "She… She…" The way her voice was trembling hinted at magnitude of the ordeal both her and Amy had gone through. She was trying so hard, but she just couldn't stop her voice shaking or her body trembling. "No, we can't give in now!" the girl thought while mustering the last of her steely resolve. "We have to say strong… We promised we would." The thought passed through Ritsuko's head so suddenly, she almost missed. Just the fact that it sounded so odd, not really the way she normally…thought. But the thought was right. It was then that the girl finally stopped quaking where she knelt and gently placed Amy's head on the floor. Her eyes burned with a fiery resolve that others had others had never seen them, one that was both inspiring and yet disconcerting at the same time. "I have to go after Victor." she said firmly before standing up to leave, her fists clenched at her sides.
Mitch, who had been standing near Ian with his arms folded in front of him, could only regard Ritsuko curiously. Granted, he hadn't known the girl long, but he knew a shy one when he saw it. The way she was acting now was completely different from the way she used to. She had confidence and a lot more determination. But even so, Mitch wasn't sure if he liked this change yet. Stuff like this often leads to trouble. His brow furrowed at the girl in warning before he spoke. "Don't be reckless. You shouldn't go alone." Mitch warned. "That's how he's been getting his victims. One by one and all of them going off half-cocked."
But Ritsuko only looked at him as if he hadn't said anything at all. "No, he won't get me. I won't let him." And just like that, before either Mitch or anyone else could stop her, Ritsuko was off and running through the main doors and into who knew what else.
An irritated growl passed through the older boy's lips as he watched her leave. "Damn it! Doesn't anyone listen to reason around here!?" he growled again before moving to follow after her.
Ian, on the other hand, was trying his darndest to hoist the unconscious Amy from the floor and loop an arm around his shoulder. Although, he wasn't having much success being as scrawny as he was. "Hey, hold on!" Ian shouted at Mitch before he could move too far. "Someone's got to get Amy to the infirmary. I can't carry her by myself, you bozo!"
Hearing the retort from Ian, Mitch turned around and blinked at the sight of Ian trying to hoist someone else over his shoulder. If the situation wasn't so bizarre, Mitch would've probably chuckled. But at the moment, the best he could manage was a half-smug smirk and a shrug of his shoulders. "Yeah, I suppose. A shrimp like you isn't gonna get her there. I'll take her. You go after Ritsuko and try to prevent this mess from getting any bigger."
"I don't know what good it'll do." Ian argued after handing the taller boy Amy and taking a welcome puff of air. "But I'll think about it."
"There's nothing to think about. Strength in numbers. That's all that needs to be said."
"Not if I'm just gonna stand around uselessly." Before waiting for Mitch's response, Ian took off running through the same doors Ritsuko had left through as fast as his legs could carry him.
Mitch only sighed, shook his head, and hoisted Amy onto his back piggyback style. "And I thought that Aaron guy had issues…" With that, he and Amy were headed for the infirmary as quickly and quietly as he could carry her.
--
Meanwhile, Victor was keeping himself hidden in the shadows of the bleachers, the only part of him visible being the light reflecting off his rounded spectacles. He stroked his chin as if he were weighing his options carefully, but the large grin on his face revealed just how much fun he was having with this little game. "Hmm, not who I had expected to win. But never-the-less… This should still get me what I want." The man's grin grew wider when he thought about everything else he still had in store. But there would be plenty of time for that. "Can't rush genius after all."
Knowing that, Victor turned to leave and was certain he would know where to intercept the wayward Ritsuko. The hand stroking his chin made its way into the front pocket of his black long coat while he quietly whistled a jolly little tune. But as made his move, a sole and very diminutive figure stepped in his way. "Well well… And what might we have here?" the man inquired as he leaned forward to get a better look at the mysterious figure. As he did so, his other hand rose up to fiddle with the side of his glasses before a bemused expression came over his face. "I certainly wasn't expecting to find one of your kind this quickly."
Ann just crossed her arms and glared.
--
At that moment, Ian was confronting his own demons, mainly his self- doubt. "I still don't see what I could do,." Ian deadpanned to himself. "This Victor guy is too much. He's just overwhelming. He's taken down so many duelist and we still have no clue what he's planning." Ian hadn't felt this hopeless since he had first started to learn about Duel Monsters and was dueling his first tough opponent. But even, that guy had nothing over Victor.
He wandered about the halls for several minutes, grumbling to himself about the situation. Surprisingly, he found himself at the edge of campus, facing the very forests where Ritsuko and Milly first met Victor. "That's probably where she's gone. It's where I'd go." The scene of the crime, as it was. Still, Ian was hesitant to head out along the path. He still remembered his brief encounter with Victor before. That and the frightful presence the person exuded. Ian couldn't quite stifle a shiver from racing up his spine. "There's just something…unnatural about that guy. Besides the fact that he's putting people in comas, and making impenetrable barriers…I mean, what are we supposed to do against a guy like that?"
"Who are trying to fool?" came a sudden and very familiarly irritated voice from behind.
"Nyah? Ann?!" Ian gasped, whirling around only to find his little duel spirit glaring at him with her stubby arms crossed in front of her. "What are you doing here?"
"That's not important. The big question is what are you doing here? You should be out helping Ritsuko with Victor." she replied irritably, much like how an older sister would chastise a younger sibling. Although, in this case, it was a pretty bizarre comparison.
Ian couldn't stop himself from hanging his head a little at the question. Truth be told, he didn't really know why he was out here in the first place. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that it was pretty pointless to just stand around while Ritsuko dueled against that monster Victor. But, he just couldn't think of anything else he could do. Nothing at all. Lifting his face towards Ann, Ian gave a half-hearted shrug. "What could I do, though? Me being there seems pretty pointless if I can't be useful."
For a moment, it looked like Ann was about to snap at the boy. The way her ragdoll body trembled, one would think she was clenching her nonexistent fists as tight as she could. "Grrr… It doesn't matter! You just need to go!" She shouted the last word with emphasis, taking a determined stance. "You need to go and face Victor."
Ian was startled by her attitude. "She's never gotten this angry. She gets upset, but why is she so adamant about facing that guy?" The words echoed within Ian's mind as he knelt down in front of the little duel spirit. "Ann, what's up? Why are you so-"
However, Ann cut him before he could say another word. "I…I just want you to take care of this guy. I know you can. Just…just trust me." The last part came out almost like a sigh, as if it was tiring for Ann to continue. "I know you have it in you to face down Victor. Besides, you'll have us with you. We'll help you."
"Still…" Ian hesitated.
"JUST GO!" Ann shouted. "There isn't time! Ritsuko and Victor are already dueling, so you need to go NOW!"
Well, that certainly got his attention. So much so that Ian just about fell onto his butt in surprise. "Alright!" Ian gasped before standing up and running off into the forest. The only thing he could do now was find as friend, and with that, his foe.
--
Turns out, the
path was more confusing than Ian had originally thought, and it took
him much longer than anticipated. "If I keep going like this,
they'll be done and gone by the time I get there." he
thought as he stumbled over some stray branches. "Still…
Maybe that's a good thing." But then, either by fortune or
sheer rotten luck, Ian stumbled into a wide clearing in the middle of
the forest. He could also that Ritsuko and Victor had already their
duel, and from the looks of things, it was pretty intense. Too bad he
was too late to do anything about it. As the saying went, Victor held
the cards and they were all in his favor.
"Now, my minion…" the bespectacled man began with a dismissive wave of his hand at Ritsuko. "Crush her Life Points so we can end this farce of a duel." With that, another one of Victor's zombified and stitched-together monsters gave a tremendous roar before it went stampeding straight for where the girl stood. The Turtle Tiger that stood in its way never stood a chance and was crushed by the stampeding monstrosity, which then lifted a single massive and twisted limb and sent it crashing right into Ritsuko's small form. The force of the blow was so fast and hard it sent Ritsuko flying back through the air, a tortured scream ripping itself from her lips until she landed harshly right at Ian's feet.
"Ritsuko!" Ian gasped, immediately falling to his knees to gather the girl close to him. "Are you…"
"Ian?" she managed to croak out, a look of surprise mixed with the obvious pain she was feeling. "I said that I…"
"And it looks like you were wrong." he replied dryly. "But don't worry. I'm ending this now." At that moment, all of the anxiety and worry welling within Ian felt like it had quickly evaporated from being. Seeing someone treated like this, treated like this by Victor, seemed to awaken something deep within the boy that he normally never felt. Determination blazed in his eyes as he looked up at the one who had done this to Ritsuko, even as he was gently placing the girl's head back on the ground so that she may finally rest.
"Watch out." Ritsuko croaked again. "I thought I knew what to expect, but…he's just so…there's just…he's scary." Unfortunately, saying those last few words took up the last remaining traces of energy she had. She tried to keep her eyes open. She really did. But in the end, the best she could do was watch Ian stride towards Victor through heavy eyes that slowly closed. And then… All she knew was darkness and silence.
"As if I didn't know that already." Ian whispered to himself as he mulled over the girl's final words. There was no doubt in his mind that Victor was everything Ian thought he was, and probably more. But even so… Well, as the saying went, people can only be pushed too far. Whatever doubts he had were gone now. He'd seen too many people fall to this guy. He knew what needed to be done. "I know you're powerful, Victor, but it doesn't matter. I have to stop you."
Meanwhile, Victor was watching the drama unfolding before him with a bemused grin. Oh, he'd seen this type of thing so many times before. The "hero" arrives just in time to vanquish "Evil". Well, only time would tell if the short kid he saw now would live up to that valorous title. As he gathered his cards from his Duel Disk and shuffled them into his desk, Victor lifted a hand to his mouth to stifle a bored yawn. "Well, took you long enough." He said to Ian towards the end of the yawn. "I was beginning to think you'd chickened out. Ann took longer than expected to persuade you."
That caught Ian's attention. Ian could already feel his eyes go wide at the mention of his duel spirit's name. "Ann?" he asked in disbelief, one hand reaching into his belt case to feel for his deck. Normally, the feel of his fingers running of the cards' edges was a soothing feeling for him, but now it only made his worry grow bigger. Something wasn't right here. Really not right. "Is that why she was so adamant about me coming here? But then… She did it because he wanted to?" Now, this did more than just confuse the heck out of Ian. It also pissed him off. "Ann, what's the meaning of this?" he growled, more at Victor than at the little duel spirit.
Her voice echoed to him from inside the deck slot and was sounding just as proud and defiant as ever. "I won't explain myself. Just know that you have to duel him. It's the only way things can start to get better."
"Hmph," Ian grumbled. "Soon as this is over you and I are going to have a little talk. But until then, I'm going to fix this guy once and for all."
At the same time, Victor couldn't help but begin to laugh merrily at what he was seeing. Seeing Ian and Ann bicker back and forth was like watching an old married couple, but a hundred times more funny. In fact, it was so funny that he couldn't but place a hand on his forehead and crane his neck back until he seemed to be laughing at the clouds. "I can't believe this." he said in between laughs. "A duelist and his spirit bickering like you two. Now I've seen everything." After that, the hand fell away from the strange man's face as the last of his laughter finally died, and he turned his gaze away from the sky to look at Ian. The way he looked at Ian was like the way a wolf would look at an injured deer, an easy kill and lots of sustenance. "Now then…if you two are done arguing…let's get started." Victor continued, his arm already reaching towards his deck to draw his opening hand. "I've been meaning to get around to you in particular, but I needed to…test…some others first."
"Test! Is that what you call this?!" Ian exploded. "You've been putting people in comas!"
"What's your point?" Victor retorted with a snide shrug of his shoulders. "Bad things usually happen when you fail a test. Hasn't school taught you that? It's a basic fundamental of education." With that, Victor nonchalantly turned sideways and stretched his arms over his head like someone trying to shake boredom. Yet, the predatory look in his eyes flickered back to Ian as soon as he was done. "Now are you prepared?" he challenged as he brought up his duel disk, his lenses of his glasses shining ominously in the shadows from where he stood.
"You're going down!" Ian shouted, raising his own duel disk in response.
Ian
Victor
4000 4000
Victor could only smile at the boy's enthusiasm. "Very well. But since I've waited so long for you to get here, I'll take the lead." He smirked dismissively at Ian. Then, after checking his cards, he selected a few and promptly them set upon his twisted-looking duel disk, which then caused three large holographic copies to materialize onto his field. This was the first time Ian had really gotten a look at it. While it certainly had no fleshy parts to obviously reflect the nature of the deck which inhabited it, it certainly provided a good home none-the-less. The shape was much angular than any normal duel disk, with sharp corners reflecting a Spartan craftsmanship. Several nodes and wires that would otherwise have been concealed under excess casing stood out from the case, glowing in sequence as it processed information.
"I set one monster and two face-down cards, and then I'll call it a turn." One would've thought he had already won based on the smug look he wore.
Needless to say,
it didn't do anything to improve Ian's mood. "Alright, my turn.
I draw," Ian called out as he drew his card and looked at it.
"I'll also set one monster. But then I activate the Spell Card:
Thrown Away!" Zombie/Spirit Machine/Effect
Thrown Away
Normal
Spell
Discard 2 "Forgotten Toy" monsters from your Deck
to the Graveyard.
At that moment, a larger copy of the
spell Ian had played materialized in the air hovering in Ian's Spell
and Trap Zone, only to suddenly disintegrate and reform into what
looked look an old and very worn toy chest. Most of the paint that
once decorated it had long been since chipped away by time and dust,
leaving only a wooden coffin for toys in its place. But then, almost
as if it were possessed, the lid suddenly flew open with a loud creak
of its rusty hinges and strange childish laughter began to quietly
rise up from within. "This'll let me toss my Forgotten Toy -
Puppet and Forgotten Toy - Soldier to the Graveyard." the boy
declared with a sweep of his arm at Victor. As soon as the words were
given, two quick shadows crawled out from the chest and leapt into
the air before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Ian watched the Spell
unfold with a satisfied smirk before watching the chest fade from
existence. "My next step is to discard my Forgotten Toy - Reaper
to the Graveyard by his own effect. He'll be coming back with a
friend during my next Standby Phase." Right on cue, as soon as
Ian discarded the card, the image of miniature wind-up grim reaper
materialized briefly in front of Ian before it also vanished in a
puff of smoke just like its two comrades. "I'll end my turn by
placing a face-down card."
Forgotten Toy –
Reaper
DARK
This card cannot be
Special Summoned. This card returns to the owner's hand during the
End Phase of the turn that this card was Normal Summoned or flipped
face-up. This card can attack your opponent directly. Also, during
your Main Phase, you can discard this card from your hand to the
Graveyard. During your next Standby Phase, add this card and 1
"Forgotten Toy" monster from your Graveyard to your
hand.
1000/1000
As soon as the card was played, Victor
regarded Ian with a hint of curiosity mixed in with his ever-present
smug attitude. It seemed that Ian hadn't conducted his turn in a way
that Victor had been expecting, much to the bespectacled man's mild
surprise. But even, he also knew it would do very little to change
the outcome of this duel. The outcome where he wins, of course.
Victor Jsmiled at that before placing his hand on top of his
deck, his eyes carefully scanning Ian's field with all the skill and
thoroughness of a surgeon. "Heh, you're being careful." he
commented as he drew. "The sign of a coward. But at any rate,
it's my turn. I start by flipping over my face-down monster. My
Cadaver Collector. Let's see who can fill up our graveyards faster,
hm?"
Cadaver Collector
DARK
FLIP:
Search your Deck for any 2 Zombie-type monsters and send them to your
Graveyard. Shuffle your Deck afterwards.
1000/1300
Just as it had been done with poor Milly, the sound of creaking and rusted metal shattered the relative silence permeating Victor's and Ian's chosen dueling ground when the card was flipped over. A flash of eldritch light burst from the card soon after, followed by the appearance of Victor's all too familiar Cadaver Collector. Just as before, it appeared as a mechanical monster, like a golem, but covered in bits and pieces of rusted brown armor and dozens of long spikes jutting out from its hunched back and shoulders, pieces of rotten corpses impaled on them and some of them even still writhing. Two red eyes burned in the sunken holes of its eye-sockets that stared at Ian with a kind of hollow rage. It was a sight that chilled the niece of Pegasus to the very soul, yet Victor looked upon it like it was nothing more than a favorite pet. Or a tool. "It works like your own "Thrown Away" Spell Card, but this allows me to send any two of my Zombie-type monsters in my deck to the Graveyard. And for that… I choose to send both of my Stitched Menageries!"
Stitched
Menagerie Zombie/Effect
DARK
This monster counts as
2 Tributes for the purpose of Tribute Summoning a Zombie-type
monster. It is also treated as 2 Zombie-type monsters while it is in
the Graveyard.
1200/1000
With a shriek of its rusted
limbs, Victor's Cadaver Collected lifted its arms and reached towards
a pair of corpses still writhing on the spikes of its shoulders. But,
once Ian got a closer look at them, he would find out they were from
normal corpses. Instead, what the twisted construct now held in its
two creaking hands were nothing more than a set of two jumbled
collections of random human limbs stitched to a headless and still
quivering torso. It was the kind of thing one would've probably found
in a game of Silent Hill, but terrifyingly real. But then, each of
the Stitched Menageries suddenly ceased to squirm in the Collector's
clawed grip, then just as suddenly vanished in a burst of dark light
as they sent to the Graveyard. "I also use my Spell Card:
Foolish Burial, which lets me select one more of my monsters from my
deck and send it to the Graveyard. I select Stitched Centaur."
What followed was the brief appearance of yet another of Victor's
twisted Stitched creations. Zombie
Stitched
Centaur
DARK
1900/1500
But even then, it seemed that Victor
still wasn't done. As he drew one last card away from his hand, he
pointed at the lone Cadaver Collector occupying his side of the
field, his glasses gleaming triumphantly for what he was about to do.
"Now I Tribute my Cadaver Collector to summon my Stitched
Juggernaut!" Zombie/Effect
Stitched
Juggernaut
DARK
Once per turn, you
may remove 1 Zombie-type monster form your Graveyard to increase the
ATK of this card by 300 points. Return any monsters that were removed
from play by this effect to your Graveyard when this card is
destroyed.
2000/1700
As if on command, the rusted golem
on Victor's field suddenly came apart and fell to the ground in a
pile of rusted junk before fading away like a ghost. But then, the
ground where the Cadaver Collector had once stood began to shake and
tremble as if the forest itself had become afraid, and a single
monstrous and twisted hand jutted from the ground and gripped it to
pull the rest of itself back up. Standing there now was the rotting
hulk known only as the Stitched Juggernaut, another one of Victor's
all too familiar sights. A misshapen giant carcass with an arm twice
as large as the other and an extra set of two blinking heads attached
to the lump of its shoulder. A thunderous roar blasted out from all
three of its mouths, just before it set its larger fist upon the
ground and got into a stance like it was about to charge.
Which
is exactly what Victor had in mind. "Now! Stitched Juggernaut!
Smash his face-down and send it to the Grave!" Victor shouted
triumphantly. All that was left for the undead behemoth to do was
carry out its master's order. Without a second thought, it charged
forward and brought its giant fist up over Ian's single face-down
monster and brought it crashing down upon it. An explosion of earthen
dust and holographic smoke erupted from the spot where the two
monsters clashed, but the end result wasn't what either Victor or his
monster were expecting. When the smoke and dust cleared, a raggedy
stuffed toy snake would be seen squirming beneath the Juggernaut's
larger fist, but not in pain. In moments, the binding that kept the
serpentine toy together split down the middle and the two resulting
halves emerged out from underneath the rotting fist of the Juggernaut
completely unharmed. "Hmph," Ian chuckled, "you killed
my Serpent, but it's not a big deal. He's all set to take whatever
you throw at him and stick around. Granted, he won't be in one piece.
Not yet, anyway." Reptile/Effect
Forgotten Toy -
Serpent
EARTH
If this monster is
destroyed and sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, Special
Summon 2 "Serpent Part Tokens" (Reptile-type/Earth/2
star/500 ATK/500 DEF). By Tributing 2 "Serpent Part Tokens"
during your Standby Phase, you can Special Summon this monster form
the Graveyard. Also, during your Main Phase, you can discard this
card from your hand to the Graveyard. During your next Standby Phase,
add this card and 1 "Forgotten Toy" monster from your
Graveyard to your hand.
1000/1000
Yet,
the only thing Victor did was roll his eyes at Ian and lift his hand
to cover yet another yawn. "You're stalling again." he said
with a "Tsk" trailing his words. He even had the audacity
to waggle a finger at Ian's tactics. But there was little point in
dwelling on such a small thing. After checking his hand and deciding
there was nothing more he could do, he simply glanced at Ian out of
the corner of his eye and shrugged. "Oh well, I end my
turn."
Ian was starting to get really annoyed with this guy's attitude. It was almost like Victor was trying to get him angry, and was doing a very good job of it. Ian was about to open his mouth and send a scathing retort at his opponent when Ann's voice came shouting from his deck. "What do you think you're doing!? You're falling right into his trap if you let him get under your skin."
Once again, Ian found himself blinking in surprise at the sudden display of emotion from his own duel spirit. As much as he hated to admit it, he could the point she made. Things would only go from bad to worse in this duel if he let himself make stupid mistakes just because he lost his cool at Victor. But even so, no one said it was going to be easy doing that. Glancing at Victor again, Ian managed to force back his anger with a tremendous force of will. However, he still managed to glare at the other duelist like he was about to set him on fire with his eyes. "Good…" Ian said calmly. "Then I draw… And now I can use Reaper's effect to return him and my Puppet to my hand. Also, since it is still my Standby Phase, I activate my Serpent's effect to fuse its parts back together."
As soon as the command was given, the two halves of Ian's stuffed Serpent suddenly started to twitch as if they were coming to life for the very first time, then half-quivered and half-rolled towards each other as if drawn by together by a magnet. The closer they came, the more animated they seemed to be, right up until the two halves finally met. The stitching that once held it them together now moved on its own as if guided by invisible hands, weaving through the two parts' stuffing and cloth skin until they were restored. Now whole once again, Forgotten Toy - Serpent reared up triumphantly and gave a wheezing yet intimidating hiss at Victor before settling down into its own coils. At the same time, the image of Ian's toy reaper holding the puppet by its cut strings reappeared in another puff of gray smoke, only to vanish once more in the same way. A moment later, two more cards had appeared in Ian's hand, one belonging to the reaper and the other belonging to the puppet.
Now it would be time to see if Victor could still keep up that attitude after this. "And now that all that's finished… I return my Reaper to the Graveyard, since he's not quite done getting me my friends." Ian couldn't help smirk a bit as he watched one of his favorite toys reappear and vanish from the field in yet another trademarked smoke puff. Although he didn't see much of the little thing's face underneath its hood, Ian thought he was could sense it was displeased.
"Next I play my Field Spell: Broken Toy
Chest. And following that, I play the Continuous Spell: Cascade of
Toys." As soon as the first card was played, a huge and decrepit
toy chest rose in the background behind Ian and loomed over the field
like a great wooden monolith . Although it was obviously worn, there
was still something about it that made it seem alive. Like it was
about to pop open and unleash all sorts of chaos. One would've
thought they could've heard children laughing inside the chest,
though it wasn't exactly a heart-warming sound. Following that, a
larger version of the second of Ian's Spells materialized into view
in his back field. A Spell Card with the image of a toy chest being
turned upside down and dumping out all of the toys held inside
it. Cascade of Toys
Broken Toy Chest
Field Spell
If a monster
with "Forgotten Toy" in its name is the target of an
attack, increase the ATK of the attacked monster by 1000 during
damage calculations only.
Continuous
Spell
During each of your Standby Phases, you can draw cards equal
to the number of "Forgotten Toy" monsters on the field. Pay
500 Life Points during each of your Standby Phases. If you do not,
this card is destroyed.
Satisfied at the appearance of his two Spells, Ian gave a confident and even relieved sigh before checking his hand again. He already knew what he was going to do, though. As he took one card, he looked at Victor with a smug smile of his own and a mocking lift of his eyebrow. "And now I summon my Forgotten Toy - Puppet to the field."
As the card materialized on the field, several white string burst from the card's surface and pulled up the creature held within. Soon enough, the same puppet that was once held by Ian's toy reaper had pulled itself up from the depths of its own card and stood there as if its strings were still attached to an unseen puppeteer's hand. But then, the strings once again appeared to be cut and the toy fell to the ground in a jumbled heap, its wooden limbs twisted all about its body. But even then, with that wide grin still formed into its misshapen wooden head, it almost seemed to be leering at Victor with a hidden intelligence.
Forgotten Toy - Puppet Spellcaster/Effect
DARK
Once per turn, you can discard 1 card from
your hand to destroy 1 Monster on the field. This monster cannot
declare an attack on a turn this effect is used. Also, during your
Main Phase, you can discard this card from your hand to the
Graveyard. During your next Standby Phase, add this card and 1
"Forgotten Toy" monster from your Graveyard to your
hand.
1000/1500
"This pal of mine may be smaller than your Juggernaut, but what he lacks in power he'll more than makes up for with appetite. If I discard one card from my hand first, my Puppet can devour whatever monster you have." So with that, Ian pulled one more card from his hand slid it into the Graveyard. But while the card he chose seemed to perish, his Puppet was granted new life. Each of the twisted marionette's slender wooden limbs rattled as it pulled itself back to its feet, it's head tilted to the side as it stared forward at the other duelist's Juggernaut. "It's dinnertime." Ian finished.
All of a sudden, the puppet let loose a wild chuckle as it lifted its arms and held them out as if reaching for the undead abomination directly across from it, and each and every one of the puppet's strings suddenly shot forward and snagged around each of its victim's arms, legs, and necks. The Juggernaut appeared to struggle, but its own might was no match for the strings pulling it forward. With a final chuckle, Ian's toy puppet yanked its arms back and pulled Victor's Stitched Juggernaut right off its misshapen feet and into the puppet's waiting and impossibly wide wooden jaws. Victor's monster was swallowed whole in a single gulp and the puppet merely let out a small belch before settling down into its own square, another child-like yet sinister chuckle coming through its clacking jaws.
You're going down, Victor, just like your Juggernaut."
Next Chapter: Bigger is better!
