A/N: I know I don't really need to say it, but sorry for taking over two year to update. I'm now done with college, so I'm hoping it won't take as long in the future (but unfortunately it might, I like to take my time to get the story right the first time, and like my writing professor says "writing is about the journey"). Anyway, before we start I have something to say. In the hopes of trying to break through the severe writer's block I had with this and other works, I started watching the original Yu-Gi-Oh! but; it only lead me into an idea for a rewrite of the whole start to the Yu-Gi-Oh! series with the modern rules (as in what we played with in reality while they used Duelist Kingdom rules in the anime). I started a poll on my profile to get other's opinions on where I should start this rewrite in the Yugi timeline. Feel free to give me your answer in that poll. Now that that's out of the way:
Shadowchasers: The Glass City Saga
Chapter 6: Alchemical Experiments
Erick: I have a bit of an odd habit that I started back when I was fifteen.
See, when I first started dueling, my first deck was one my dad gave me.
With that deck, I was undefeated. I thought of it as the perfect deck.
Once I got older, though, I gave that deck up to try and make my own way.
To try and prove to myself I could build a deck that was better than what I thought of as perfection, I managed to find a variation to the software program they used on Deadliest Warrior that allows me to test my new deck against the old one.
Some of my latest tests have yielded a success rate of over 50% and rising, but to truly prove to myself the new one is better than the old one, I need to blow it out of the water.
Maybe my new cards can help.
-GCS-
It was 8:15 in the morning, and Zolton was going through the same struggle he always went through in the morning, trying to get out of bed and into his wheelchair. It could kind of be considered as his daily workout. Luckily the owner of the casino/hotel they used as their base in Toledo had a bar installed over Zolton's bed that made it a little easier.
After he finally got in his chair, he took his vest off the back of it and slipped it on. He then checked to see if his sword, standard issue equipment for a Shadowchaser, was still in its scabbard on the back of his wheelchair, which was designed to make it look like a decoration on a custom-made wheelchair.
Zolton wheeled himself out of his room and past Erick's room. He turned around and went back when he saw the light was still on in Erick's room. Looking in, he saw Erick sitting at his deck, facedown, fast asleep. His boards were covered in numbers and figures in sequences he couldn't understand. All he did know was that this meant one of two things. Zolton turned off Erick's room light and went on his way towards the elevator that went between the two floors of the penthouse. He met up with Keith, who was just coming out of his room, dressed in a light blue polo shirt and khaki pants.
"Slept in your clothes again, eh, Zolton?" Keith asked.
"It's just easier this way," Zolton told him.
"You know, I'm just down the hall," Keith told the wheelchair-bound Shadowchaser. "I can help ya out if you want."
"Nah, I think it's better if I just get used to doing things on my own this way. Since I'm gonna be like this for a long time."
"Zolton, you heard what the doc said. There's still a 10% chance you will be able to walk."
"But it is highly unlikely." Zolton finished for him. "What's the point if your doctor even thinks you'll never walk again?"
"Oh, stop feeling sorry for yourself, Zolton."
"I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I'm just accepting my fate."
"Don't start that again," Keith scowled. "It was just an accident. Nothing about it was meant to be."
Before Zolton could even breathe a rebuttal, the Keith had walked past him and down the spiral staircase that led into the living room. Zolton, meanwhile, wheeled himself down the hall in the other direction to the penthouse elevator. Once he got there, and the door opened, he backed in, pressed the necessary button, and rode it down to the lower level of the suite. When the door opened and he rolled out, Zolton saw Keith standing there giving him the signals to be quiet and to follow him. They went quietly down the hall until they stood outside the kitchen. Delilah was leaning against a counter talking with Maria, who was busy cooking the team breakfast. Neither one of them noticed the two guys watching the scene unfold.
"Maria, all I'm asking for is your personal, professional opinion. Is that so wrong?" Delilah asked, as Maria handed her two plates of waffles.
"Coming from you about Shaw? Yes." Maria told her. "Delilah, I have a feeling that if I give you the answer I have, you're just going to get angry."
She then ladled out two more helpings into a waffle iron and turned it on.
"I will not," Delilah told her, after setting the plates on the table behind her. "I had a good night's sleep, and put that duel out of my mind. I guarantee that what ever you tell me will not faze me in the slightest way." She poured herself a glass of orange juice.
Maria knew better, but she also knew Delilah would just keep asking until one of them caved. That was a part of the puzzle that was Delilah Oakridge. When around those who accepted her, Delilah could almost be thought of as a happy-go-lucky, preppy goth; but when she's on the job, or going against people like Shaw, that shuts off and she's like a stereotypical emo goth who hates the world. To quote Erick, she's Abby Sciuto one minute and Raven of the Teen Titans the next. And how she was able to keep that switch going was anyone's guess. Maria sighed as she added half a bag of chocolate chips to what remained of the batter, and started to stir.
"Ok," Maria caved, "Based on what you told me, Shaw's file, and the law books I have and that Jalal loaned me, unless the prosecution is tired of Shaw's antics, if he can present a piece of information as a sign of good faith, Shaw will likely have house arrest again."
Maria, and the still unnoticed Keith and Zolton, watched as Delilah strained to keep a happy face, shown by her twitching eyebrows. Keith saw her glass of orange juice vibrate violently in her hand. Silently, the TPD officer counted down on his fingers.
3 … 2… 1…
Delilah crushed the glass with her hand, sending shards of it and the rest of the juice to the floor, splashing onto the combat boots she chose to wear today. She then yelled out some words that ain't exactly fit to print here.
"Ay, Delilah," Maria yelled, over lapping Delilah's swearing. "Te dije que no le iba a gusta lo que te dije. Ahora mira lo que hiciste. Ese era un buen vaso."
It was at this point Keith loudly cleared his throat, catching the ladies' attention and making them blush at the fact they didn't notice them before.
"Had to deal with Shaw again, huh?" he asked.
"Unfortunately," Delilah muttered.
Maria then heard the sound of the waffle iron buzzing, letting her know that time was up on the two she put in. She wrangled Keith into helping her while Delilah grabbed the broom and dustpan sitting by the counter and went to work sweeping up the glass shards. Zolton rolled up and held the dustpan for her, since it was one of those with a long upright handle.
"Just guessing here," Zolton said to his gothic friend, "but, based on your earlier reaction, I'm guessing Shaw got to you again."
Delilah blushed a little bit.
"That obvious, huh?" she asked sarcastically.
"Just a touch," Zolton told her. "You've got to learn to control your temper around him."
"Hey," Delilah said, "if Shaw insults me, I'm fine with it; if he insults you guys, I slightly tolerate it; but if he insults the Sisters of St. Bernadette's orphanage, he risks his life against my wrath."
"And that is understandable," Zolton agreed, "but you need to control your emotions if you want scum like him to stay behind bars."
"I know," she said sadly. She looked at her left hand as it was covered in filth. "I guess that it's part of who I am, my dark heritage."
Zolton took hold of her hand.
"A heritage that you can and will overcome, Delilah. We all believe in you and we will help you when you need it."
Delilah gave a small smile.
"Thanks, Zolton."
In the kitchen, Maria had just finished pouring the last remains of the batter into the waffle maker.
"Are you telling me he was up past midnight, again?" Maria asked the detective.
"Unfortunately," Keith answered, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"I thought he was going to take his classes more seriously," Maria said.
"All I can say is, 'he's probably starting to lose interest,'" Keith told her. "It was like that for me sophomore and junior years."
"Well, that doesn't make it right."
"I don't disagree," Keith said. "It's just a part of experiencing the freedom he now has. Plus, I think he may be smarter than most of the professors at UT."
"Again, that doesn't make it right. He made a commitment to that school. Plus, he shouldn't be wasting Jalal's money."
"Actually, he's paying tuition with his own money," Keith told her.
"Well, that makes it even worse," Maria went on. "This is his commitment, and he should honor it."
Keith just shrugged because he knew it was out of his hands.
"Wake him up," Maria told the cop.
While Maria went back to finishing breakfast, Keith went over to the computer and typed in a few commands. A window opened on the screen and displayed a text box similar to what is used on Facebook. On it was one sentence so far from one other user.
K.I.D.D.O.: Good Morning Keith.
Keith typed a response.
Keith: Mornin' K.I.D.D.O. He's still asleep.
K.I.D.D.O.: So I noticed. Shall we wake him up?
Keith: Let's.
Up in Erick's room, his laptop started to act on its own. You see K.I.D.D.O. stands for Killing Instincts Designs Desktop Operator, an artificial intelligence program that Erick had been working on for a long time. Currently the program was on his laptop and right now it was logging into an internet browser; and once it was on-line, it went to the website of a local radio station and clicked on tab labeled "Listen Live". It then muted the sound and turned up the speaker volume to max as the show came on. Back downstairs, Keith watched the screen as K.I.D.D.O. wrote back.
K.I.D.D.O.: All set. They just went into a song after announcing the winner of a call-in contest.
That was Keith's cue to pull his cell phone out of his pocket and dial a number. He heard two rings before a voice came on the line.
"Star 105. Tim and Jeff in the Morning."
"Morning, guys. This is Detective Drusped."
"Hey, what can we do for you, Detective?" said another voice on the other end of the line.
"Well, I have a friend who needs one of your special wake-up calls."
"You got it," the first person said. "We'll do it after this commercial break. We'll put you on hold until we're ready. Can you hang on?"
"I'll be here," Keith told them.
"Great, we'll be back."
Keith was then put on hold. He typed a quick 'all set coming up' in the chat box with K.I.D.D.O. and started towards the stairs.
"Why do you do this to him, Keith?" Maria asked.
"He's go to learn sometime that when you have a schedule, you have to keep it," Keith told her as he went up to Erick's room.
"Plus," Delilah added, "it's not like he doesn't ask for it sometimes."
"You're not helping," Maria said to her, shooting her a look.
Upstairs, Keith had just positioned himself outside the still sleeping Erick's room. Then the two radio personalities came back on the line.
"Ok, we're ready here. We're about to go on, are you ready?"
"Yep," Keith whispered into the phone, "I'm in position."
"Ok, here we go."
There was silence again, but only for a few seconds.
"Star 105 Toledo. He's Tim. I'm Jeff. And we got something big right now, don't we."
"Sure do, we have our friend Detective Keith Drusped on the line and he asked us to help give a friend of his a wake-up call."
"Alright, Keith is on the line right now. Keith, are you ready?"
"Yeah," Keith whispered. "I'm right outside his room."
"Ok, we'll keep things quiet on this end; you tell us when to hit it."
"Fair warning, Toledo, this, could be a little loud, so we suggest you turn down the radio just for about a minute. Ok, Keith, go ahead."
"Ok, I'm gong in," the TPD Detective whispered into the phone as he slowly sneaked into Erick's room. "3…2…1…" Keith was now right next to Erick's laptop, his finger on the mute button. Then, at the exact same time he pressed the button, he added. "Now."
Suddenly, blaring out of the speaker of the laptop was an air horn, a car alarm, a trumpet, and a scream all at once. All the noise jolted Erick awake and caused him to fall backwards, sending him and his chair to the floor. Keith tried his best to keep from laughing.
"Did it work?"
"Yep, Thanks guys," Keith told them at his normal volume as he muted the laptop again, to try and prevent any feedback. He started to chuckle, but just a little. "That was priceless."
"Not a problem, call again anytime."
"Will do. Bye."
With that, Keith hung up his cell and helped Erick to his feet as the computer closed out of the radio station's website itself.
"That was not funny," Erick told the police detective.
"You got to admit, it kinda was," said Keith. "Maybe this will teach you to go to bed at decent hours."
Erick yawned, "Ok, I admit I pulled another all-nighter when I didn't need to, but it was worth it."
He then went about changing his clothes while Keith took Erick's seat.
"Worth it how?" the detective asked.
"I figured out how to put those new cards into my deck. Guess I finally zonked out while the sim was running," Erick answered, yawning again. "Oh, K.I.D.D.O."
A black screen automatically popped up on Erick's laptop; but as a voice spoke through the speakers, the screen was filled by red bars of varying height that moved with the spoken words.
"Yes, Erick," the voice said.
"What were the results of the sim?" the young duelist asked.
"Well, with the cards added in," the program explained, "the percentage of victories went from 53.5% to 54.2%."
"Only a slight increase, huh," Erick said as he smelled the armpit of a shirt he had laying on the floor.
"Afraid so," the computer told him.
"Well," he went on as he put the shirt on, "a little more is better than less or nothing."
"Heh, heh, typical you, Erick," Keith told his fellow Shadow Chaser. "Why are you trying so hard to make this deck ready for all situations?"
"Do I really have to explain it again?" Erick asked as he hopped about, trying to get his right leg through the leg of the pants he was now holding.
"Just once more," Keith told him, "for the sake of a middle-aged man's memory."
Hoping for a better angle to win this battle, Erick got on his back; yet the pants still seemed to be winning.
"It might be easier to do if you take your shoes off," Keith suggested, causing Erick to stop and think.
With a slight look of sheepish embarrassment, Erick slipped his shoes off and then slid his pants on with ease.
"Well," Erick began; as he slid his shoes back on and stood up, "I'm designing this deck so I can defeat the one deck I thought was perfect. It was a deck that exploited any opening that a deck could give, and completely destroyed the duelist. It had the most powerful monsters any duelist could use and used them in the best possible ways for the win."
Erick went to his desk and picked up the deck he used and worked.
"This deck is designed to close any openings, turn weakness into strength, and turn that power against the duelist. In other words, I …"
"You're making it better than perfect, I know," Keith finished for him. "The big question is why? In reality, perfection is just an illusion."
"Yeah, I know, like beauty, pain, and fear," Erick said. "Still, this is just something I have to do."
"Anything else you need, Erick," K.I.D.D.O. asked.
"No, you can shut down, K.I.D.D.O.," Erick told the program.
At that command, all the screens on the laptop closed and the computer lost power. Erick walked over to his laptop, closed it, and put it in his bag.
"That's one heck of a piece of software you have there," the detective commented.
"Oh, K.I.D.D.O. is more than just software," Erick explained as he and Keith made their way out of the room and downstairs. "He's alive. He's like the cards we play with or the character he's based on."
"That's another thing," Keith said. "If you're going to make something based off of a TV show character, why not go all out and give him the character's voice?"
"And be accused of completely ripping off Knight Rider and not showing any personal work?" Erick asked. "No way. He's got KITT's abilities, Michael Kight's voice and his own personality. He isn't the Knight Industries 2000. He is the Killer Instinct Developments Desktop Operator."
"Ok, ok," the TPD detective said. "Message received."
"Gave you the whole speech on K.I.D.D.O., huh?" Delilah asked as the two approached the table while she placed two more glasses and a pitcher of orange juice on to it.
"Yep," Keith said, giving Erick a light slap on the shoulder. "He's beaming about him like a proud papa."
"Well, what do you expect?" Maria asked, as she plated the last waffle and brought it to the table. "He's been working on K.I.D.D.O. since he was 13."
"'The ultimate in computer tech and security' as he'd say," Delilah said jokingly.
"I wouldn't say that necessarily," Erick said with a laugh, but then his face changed as an idea came to him. "Although…"
He went over to the computer, which came with the penthouse suite, and connected his laptop it. As he booted up both computers, K.I.D.D.O. popped up on the laptop screen.
"Something I can do for you, Erick?" the program asked.
"Actually, yeah, K.I.D.D.O.," Erick answered. "Can you download a copy of yourself onto the penthouse computer?"
"I suppose," the program said. "May I ask why?"
"Well, the guys gave me a pretty good idea," Erick explained, as the rest of the team listened to the conversation. "You can help keep an eye on our security systems; and keep track of our Shadow Chaser business, forwarding calls to the closest one of us."
"I see," K.I.D.D.O. realized. "This is in case no one else is at the helm."
"Yeah, pretty much," Erick said.
"Download in progress," K.I.D.D.O. told his creator. "I'll let you know once it's done."
"Great, thanks K.I.D.D.O."
Erick went back to the rest of the team and sat with them at the table. With everything set at the table, Zolton said grace and they started to eat.
"So why are you really uploading K.I.D.D.O. to the desktop?" Delilah asked.
"Just like I said," Erick explained, as he swallowed a mouthful of chocolate-chip waffle and OJ. "There's going to be that rare moment when no one's here to take calls and direct those of us in the field. With K.I.D.D.O. running quote-unquote 'ops', there'll always be someone here. Plus, K.I.D.D.O. can route calls right to us."
"I guess that could be helpful," Keith said as he sipped his coffee.
"Not to mention, with some of the codes I put into his programming, K.I.D.D.O. can access security cameras all across the 419 area and use them to spot perps and various situations and tell us about them."
"Isn't that illegal?" Maria asked.
"Depends on how you use it," Erick explained as he cut off another hunk of his waffle. "I know a couple of guys in federal law enforcement who have access to all a city's cameras and use it to find whoever they're looking for."
"Sometimes in the war against crime, the hero needs any edge he can get," Keith added.
"Maybe so, but . . . "
A dinging sound, like an electronic bell cut Maria off.
"What was that?" she asked.
"Just K.I.D.D.O.. Guess the download is done."
"That was fast," Delilah commented.
"Well . . . "
"I hate to interrupt, Erick," K.I.D.D.O. called out over the room computer speakers "but there's a call coming in over the net. A video chat request from a SmprFiCOC."
The Shadowchasers all looked at each other.
"Guess Gunny wants a report," Zolton said.
"Put it on the flatscreen, K.I.D.D.O.," Erick called out to his A.I. program.
They moved from the kitchen to the sitting area around the fireplace set at the far end of their suite. Delilah and Erick took opposite ends of a black plush couch. Maria sat down in a small blue La-Z-Boy on the other side. Keith helped Zolton down the small step into the sitting room and moved near Maria while Zolton rolled himself to the center. Maria picked up a TV remote from a nearby end table, turned on the TV, and set it to display the right channel. Once she was done; the screen showed 4 figures, 2 female and 2 male, situated in a room similar to the one the five Shadowchasers were in. On a red leather couch sat the females. One was an African-American with her hair in a small afro wearing a tie-dyed dress. To her left was a young Hispanic girl, whose dark pigtails were held back by a red and yellow stripped bandanna, wearing a spaghetti-strap tanktop with a flame motif and ripped blue jeans. The other a woman whose platinum blonde hair contrasted nicely with her deeply tanned skin. She was wearing a pink t-shirt with a teddy bear and gray sweatpants. Sitting on a wooden barstool behind them was a teenage boy whose brown hair was peeking out from under a Cleveland Indians baseball cap. He had on a light green and white stripped polo shirt and cargo shorts. In a blue cloth recliner on the right-hand side of the screen was a man about a little older than Keith with salt and pepper hair with a clean crew cut. He wore a blue dress shirt with dark blue stripes and black slacks. They were the other members of the Ohio Shadowchasers; Ranisha White, Pilar Mendoza, Felicity Scarborough, 'Dodger' Prescott, and Emilo 'Gunny' Savino respectively. See, the five in Toledo are a part of a group of ten (really eleven since Erick joined). The reason these five a separate from the rest is because they are on a special assignment, but they don't know what that assignment is.
"Mornin' Gunny," Erick said. "How's things in Columbus?"
"Oh, fine. Nothing real noteworthy happening." The older man on the screen replied. "What about you lot? Anything to report from the 419?"
"Nothing too big on this end either, this week," Keith explained. "Pretty much just small time stuff."
"Except for one incident," Delilah said sheepishly.
"Uh-oh," Pilar commented. "If Delilah is acting like that, it can only be one thing."
"Yep, she dueled Shaw," Dodger continued for the Hispanic girl.
Emilio raised an eyebrow as he stared through the screen.
"They're right, Gunny," Delilah said, hanging her head in embarrassment. "Shaw made me lose control again."
"How bad?" Emilio asked with a sigh.
"A few nicks in the street. Some singed bricks, and he did almost have his windpipe crushed," Maria explained.
"Gee, Maria thanks for being so honest," Delilah said sarcastically, hiding her face in her hands.
"Calm down, Delilah," Emilio told her. "It's better we know about this now rather than later. I'm guessing he egged you into losing control again."
"Yeah, but that's no excuse."
"I never said it was, Delilah. What I am saying is that perhaps now that he's caused it for the sixth time, the prosecuting attorney will reconsider giving him any more deals. He's too dangerous despite what he knows."
"Ain't that the truth," Keith commented. "In any case, I take it this isn't a social call."
"You're right, Keith," said Emilio. "We got an interesting call on the hotline from Madam Chloe."
"The radio psychic?" Maria asked.
"Yep," Felicity said. "Seems she's in Toledo and had a vision involving, as she said, 'something big.'."
"Ok, someone want to fill in the new guy?" Erick asked.
"Yeah, I'm a little lost too," Dodger admitted.
"I figured one of you might ask," Emilio said and then pressed a button on a remote near his chair. A small video screen appeared on the monitor showing a room that was nearly covered floor to ceiling in computer monitors with a strange figure looking straight "through" the screen. It looked like some kind of small, reptilian creature. In fact, it was a Gremlin; and it looked more or less like the kind found in the Gremlin movies, with bat-like ears, long fingers, and sharp teeth.
"Whatcha need, Gunny?" the gremlin asked, slurping on what looked like a Mountain Dew slush.
"Bring up the data on Madam Chloe, Biffy," Emilio told him.
The gremlin set his frozen drink aside and started typing on a key board in front of him. Another small screen appeared showing the image of a fairly beautiful woman with what seemed like paragraphs of information quickly scrolling across it.
"Alright, Madam Chloe," he read. "Real name: Deborah Klovaks. Daughter of an elf mother and human father. Claims she started seeing into the future once she reached puberty. Well, she must have some knack for it, because it says here her predictions are always right."
"Of course it's gonna say that," Erick commented. "No shyster's gonna admit to being wrong. Bet she's undefeated in duels too."
"Actually, her record is perfectly even. She's won the same number of times as she's lost."
"Talk about lucky."
"So, what's the scoop, Gunny?" Maria asked.
"Madam Chloe apparently came to Toledo to record a show. The moment she reached the city limits, she was struck with a vision," Emilio explained.
"What kind of vision?" Zolton asked.
"She didn't say," Biffy said. "Said her visions only come in brief flashes and only a duel can reveal what they all mean."
"Really?" Erick asked in non-belief. "She tells the future by dueling?"
"I guess it's not impossible," Dodger said. "I've seen people use a person's deck to tell their future. This seems like an extension of that."
"I still don't buy it," Erick said. "Shuffling a deck is pretty much pure chance. It's not like the ball and cups game."
"You're a Shadowchaser, Quatrojos," Pilar told the rookie. "You don't exactly deal with logic all that often."
"Maybe so, but . . . "
"May we continue?"
"Eheh, sorry Gunny," Pilar said sheepishly.
"Anyway, she said in order for the vision to come clearer, she'll have to duel one of our own in the area. So one of you guys will have to see what she had to say."
"I'll go," said Keith. "I have a break I can use. Plus, I know this city. If she gives me specifics, I'd be the best one to recognize it."
"Alright then," Emilio said. "That's about it. If there is anything else that comes in, we'll let you know."
Keith and Zolton both nodded in acceptance as Gunny ended the call on his end. Soon as the screen turned black, Maria turned it off. As she, Zolton, and Keith returned to breakfast; Erick looked across the couch at Delilah. He could tell she was still depressed after what happened last night.
"Hey, Delilah," he said; "after breakfast, how about you and me have a little duel down in the stadium? Might be just the thing to lift your spirits."
"I don't think so, Erick," Delilah sighed, standing up. "We got work to do."
"Don't worry," Erick laughed. "If anything big happens, K.I.D.D.O. will let us know. Besides, I think I might be finally able to beat you with this new addition I made to my Deck."
"Forget it, Erick," she said, sounding very annoyed. "I'm not in the mood."
She stood up and started back to the breakfast table.
"What's the matter, D?" he asked with a cocky smirk. "You scared?"
Delilah stopped.
"That's it, isn't it? You're afraid you might lose control and hurt me, maybe even severely. You're afraid you really are like your species. Evil!"
"Erick, that's…"
"Let him go, Maria," said Keith. "This could be just what she needs."
"Come on, D," Erick taunted. "Prove to me I'm wrong. Show me you're nothing like the demonic blood coursing through you. That you really are one of the good guys and not the next one we throw into this clink."
The other three Shadowchasers held their breath, waiting to see how Delilah would answer Erick.
"If you really want to do this," Delilah said in a tone that hinted that she was both disappointed and impressed that Erick went that far, "then you better be ready. You know I never hold back."
"Wouldn't want you to," Erick said with a chuckle. "It wouldn't be a fair test if one side was going easy."
The other three Shadowchasers breathed a sigh of relief. Despite her usual cheery exterior, Delilah is not someone you want to get mad. Last night was just a taste of what would happen if you pushed her too far.
-GCS-
After finishing breakfast, calling management to see if the Duel Arena was in use, and putting K.I.D.D.O. on 'full alert' (as Erick called it); the five Shadowchasers exited the penthouse and made their way down the hall to the regular hotel elevators. After a couple of minutes, the team arrived at the ground floor of the hotel/casino. Even this early, Pot o' Gold was pretty full with the typical patrons and guests looking for good times and big money and ending up with heartbreak and light wallets. The team maneuvered themselves through a maze of slot machines and early birds, heading towards a neon sign at the other end of the building that read "Duel Stadium". They approached a rather burly looking guy in a suit who was sitting outside of the door. He had big, bulbous-ish nose, pointed ears, yellow eyes, and green skin. His lower canine teeth points out from between his lips. He was a goblin.
"Hey, Jaleel," Erick said, catching the man's attention.
"Sup, Erick?" Jaleel asked. "Boss said you guys are using the field?"
"That's right," Erick told him with a slight smile. "Just wanted to get a little training in before patrol."
"Oh? And just where does your Deck stand, at the moment?" the goblin asked him.
"Haven't quite broken 60% yet, but I'm getting there."
"Good luck to ya," Jaleel said. "Alroy's already warming up the system. He's waitin' for yas."
"Thanks, Jaleel."
With that, the team walked right past him and through the doors leading to a large arena just under the ground floor. It was just a typical arena with stadium seating and a duel field with Pot O' Gold's logo right in the center. Their footsteps echoed through the empty arena as their descended the steps towards the field. As they neared the arena's center, they saw a small man standing near the battlefield. He had balding red hair and a small green cap which barely went with his gray overalls.
"What's the word, Alroy?" Erick asked.
"Well, the poor dear was acting a little finicky when I started her up," the mechanic said in a thick Irish accent. "Last people who used her tweren't exactly the cleanest nor the soberest, but I believe I got her up and about to her usual chipper self."
"Good to hear," the rookie Shadowchaser said.
"Iffin ya don't mind," Alroy continued, "Oisin asked me to stick around and watch the levels. Makin' sure she's in top form for the duel comin next week."
"One more spectator shouldn't be a problem," Keith said, as he finally reached the bottom of the arena with Zolton. "Especially since this should be a quick duel. Right you two?"
Delilah just rolled her eyes while Erick gave the senior Shadowchaser a "yeah, yeah" brush-off. In no time, both of them were on the arena floor and facing each other; shuffling their Decks and making their plans. Keith, Maria, and Alroy took front row seats while Zolton and his wheelchair stayed on the arena floor.
'This is pointless,' Delilah thought. 'Every time we duel, Erick always loses to me. So why was he so insistent this time?'
She slid her deck into her Disk as it activated.
'It doesn't matter. I've got to keep my emotions in check. So, I've gotta make this quick and try not to get to into it. I don't want to hurt the rookie.'
'Delilah's been in a funk ever sense she and Maria got back from patrol last night,' Erick told himself, as he mimicked what Delilah had done. 'If I play this right, I just might be able to snap her out of it.'
"Let's go, D!" He shouted.
"Bring it on." Delilah said flatly, as if almost pretending to be bored.
(Delilah: 8000) – (Erick: 8000)
"I'm going first," Erick told her as he drew.
'She's already trying to suppress her emotions,' Erick mentally noted. 'I better try and get her fired up.'
"I summon Morphtronic Clocken in Attack Mode."
In a burst of light, a normal looking digital alarm clock appeared on Erick's field with its time readout set at 0:00. Then suddenly, sections of the clock pulled back to reveal arms and legs as it took on a robotic form. (ATK: 600)
"Then I set one card facedown and turn it over to you."
The back of a card appeared on Erick's field, and, soon after, Delilah silently drew her sixth card.
"I play Polymerization," she said, sliding the card into her Duel Disk, "to fuse The Earl of Demise and Headless Knight in my hand into…"
As the spell appeared on her field, so did a seemingly empty suit of armor without a helmet and a blue skinned, decaying ghoul in gentlemanly clothes holding a rapier. The spell began to glow as the two monsters slid closer to each other, and swirled together in a vortex before everyone was blinded by a bright flash.
"The Duke of Demise."
When the flash subsided, the monster left on Delilah's field looked like a rotting corpse with blue-violet skin, a bald skull-like head, and empty eye sockets. It wore rotting clothes that almost looked like the kind one of noble blood would have wore a long time ago (including a dark colored cape that was an almost red-violet color on the inside). In its right hand, it held a rapier, which it swung around with the skill of a true fencer. (ATK: 2000)
"You really could at least try, Erick," Delilah sighed. "Duke of Demise attacks Morphtronic Clocken."
The gentlemanly ghoul, with amazing swiftness for its appearance, leapt high into the air. It readied its rapier to stab the clock robot.
"Guess you thought this was a bluff," Erick said with a slightly cocky tone.
In the next instance his Trap Card revealed itself.
"But thanks to Rising Energy, I can give my Clocken an additional 1500 ATK until the End Phase for the price of only 1 discard."
As Erick slid a card from his hand to his Graveyard, the Trap and the robot glowed with a golden aura. (ATK: 2100)
The robot then jumped towards the descending fiend, and punched it right in the gut, sending the small shockwave that only just caused Delilah's hair to move as if caught in a light breeze (Delilah: 7900)
"Not bad, Erick," said Delilah, "but you know that The Duke of Demise can't be destroyed in battle."
Both monsters landed on the ground and the fiend leapt back to Delilah's field with the same ease and agility it attacked with.
"Maybe so, but it still keeps you from destroyed my monster," Erick retorted. "For the moment, at least."
Delilah didn't say anything else as she set 2 cards facedown in her Spell and Trap area and signaled the end of her turn.
"Don't go silent on me now, D." Erick said as he drew. "We're just getting started."
'Ok,' he thought, 'if I know Delilah like I do, one of her facedowns must be Hate Buster. If my plan is going to work, I'm gonna need to put her in the worst situation possible for her.' He looked right at his half-demon friend. 'And to do that, I'm just gonna have to be me.'
"I tribute Clocken to summon B.E.S. Crystal Core."
The robot dissolved into particles of light, which created a rainbow colored portal. From it, the crystalline spaceship Erick used in his duel last night appeared on his field. (ATK: 2100)
"Then, I'll have it attack your Duke of Demise."
One of the crystal ship's tentacles moved and aimed for the Fiend. Delilah just sighed as she activated a one of her facedowns, revealing De-Fusion. Duke of Demise began to glow and then change into 2 orbs of light that then transformed into the headless knight (ATK: 1450) and blue-skinned gentleghoul (ATK: 2000) that had formed it.
'Figured as much,' Erick thought.
"Trying to save up for something big, eh D? Well, I won't stop ya, but I will go for the bigger hit. Crystal Core, re-target. Aim for Headless Knight."
The Machine-Type seemed to have understood the command, as it moved to aim its attack at the knight.
"Really, Erick?" Delilah asked, highly unamused. "You're attacking with such an obvious Trap in play?"
Erick simply shrugged, causing Delilah to sigh.
"Your loss. Hate Buster, activate."
Delilah's Trap flipped, and a small, stereotypically spherical bomb with a fuse appeared over the knight before falling through its open, empty neck hole. The knight then came alive, leaping into the air, barely missing the laser shot fired by Erick's spaceship. The knight flipped around in the air before landing on the monster's crystalline structure. After a few moments, the knight exploded in a fiery burst, unleashing enough force to rock the ship's hull and cause it to explode as well. The wreckage then crashed out on Erick's field in a burning mass. When the fire and smoke cleared, all that was left was Erick, who was slowly standing back up. (Erick: 5900)
Delilah kept cool, but in her head, she was starting to worry,
'Oh, no,' she thought. 'Did I over do it? Did he just get hit with a little of my power?'
"Whew," Erick commented, now back on his feet. "You'd think I'd be use to it by now, but sometimes that Solid Vision still scares the crap outta me."
Delilah sweatdropped upon hearing that.
'Seriously? I was worried because he scared himself? Whatever. I just have to stay focused and make sure he doesn't push me too far."
"Anyway, I set 2 cards, and call it," Erick finished as two facedowns appeared.
'Ok, I better just play along and voice my moves,' Delilah decided; 'otherwise he'll just keep nitpicking at me. Who knows what'll happen then.'
"I play Instant Fusion," she then said, as the card appeared on her field, "paying 1000 Life Points to Special Summon Barox from my Extra Deck."
The card glowed and from it jumped the yellow-furred, blue-skin fiend she had summoned in her duel the night before (ATK: 1380) (LP: 6900)
"Finally talking again, huh?" Erick commented.
"Just shut up," Delilah told me with a cold stare. "Now, I tribute Barox to summon Great Maju Garzett."
In a replay of her last duel, the newly summoned fiend once more transformed into the wicked demon with dark-blue skin, straw colored hair, and red "bone" armor. (ATK: 0 – 2760)
"Earl of Demise, attack him directly."
The blue ghoul readied his rapier and lunged at Erick with its blade aimed for his heart.
"I activate my facedown, Defense Draw," Erick declared as his Trap flipped over.
The tip of the fiend's sword glanced off of an energy barrier that had appeared the moment the Trap flipped, forcing the fiend to stop in its tracks.
"Thanks to this, I can not only reduce the damage to 0, but I can draw for my troubles."
Erick did so, and when he saw what he drew, he smirked.
'Perfect timing,' he thought.
"You should have saved that for the bigger hit," Delilah told him. "Great Maju Garzett, attack."
With one leap, the newly summoned fiend charged and raked its claws through Erick. The rookie Shadowchaser yelped as he felt the attack, and was forced to take a knee. (Erick: 3140)
Erick took a few deep breaths as Great Maju Garzett returned to Delilah's field. In the stands, the other Shadowchasers and their guest were a little on edge.
"What's with Erick?" Alroy asked. "He be doin' his worse in a bad way in this Duel. As if he wasn't tryin'"
"He's trying, Alroy," Maria told the leprechaun, "just not for what you're thinking."
Alroy stared at her, confused.
"Delilah's been a little down since a little incident last night," Keith explained.
"So Erick tried to get her back to her usual standards," Zolton finished.
"Oh, I be gettin ya, boyo," Alroy said, lowering his voice. "Erick be tryin to throw the Duel, is he?"
"Sort of," Maria said. "It's more like he's trying to get Delilah's old spirit back. With last night's course of events combined with the blow-up at Texas Roadhouse last week and the incident at Dorr and Burne 2 weeks before that, she's stated to lose confidence in herself."
"If I know Erick like I do," Keith added; "he's going to try and push enough of her buttons to get her to realize that, even if she loses control, it's not her fault. And that she doesn't have to go through it alone."
Back on the field, Delilah just gave Erick a bored look as slowly stood back up. But underneath her stoic face, she was sweating a little.
'Why is he doing this?' she thought. 'I mean, what kind of point is he trying to make by taking hits like that with little to stop them?'
"Nice hit, Delilah," Erick grunted, as his Trap activated. "Thing is, it also helps me. By discarding one card, Damage Condenser can now let me Special Summon a monster with up to 2750 ATK; but I only need one with 2200, like my Armored Axon Kicker."
As Erick slid one of his last two cards into his Graveyard, a new monster appeared on his field. This one looked like a large, well-built android made of purple, green, and gray armor. A single orange visor served as its eyes. Tubing and wires ran off from the top and back of its head, and various points on its arms and shoulders; seemingly running to nowhere as they lay limp on the arena floor. Still, it seemed to operate under its own power, as it took up a fighting pose (ATK: 2200)
"A lot of good that will do you, kid," Delilah scoffed. "I end my turn."
Erick drew his next card from his Deck without a word.
'Ok,' he thought, 'now that I have that in my Graveyard, I just need to get myself to that point in my Life Points. Time to turn up the reckless.'
"First, I'll set 1 card facedown," he announced as a card back appeared on his fiend. "Then, I'll have Axon Kicker take out your Earl."
Kicker held up its fist as it charged with energy, opening it to create an orb of violet and green light. It wound up and pitched the orb right at the blue-skinned fiend, who did little to block the attack. The orb exploded on contact and obliterated Earl of Demise. Delilah grunted as she stood against the force of the attack (Delilah: 7700)
"Now, I'll take on Kicker's effect," Erick said.
With that, Kicker seemed to build up electrical energy, and discharged it through the tubes, a couple of which were aimed at Erick, as he was shocked by the released build-up. (Erick: 2140)
"If Kicker destroys one of your monsters," Erick explained, "I take half of that monster's ATK as damage, and then I can summon a monster whose points are equal or less than that damage."
A card slid out of his Deck, and Erick played it on a Monster Card Zones, allowing a strangely designed clay pot with tentacles at its base and two small yellow eyes staring out of a crack in its center to appear. (ATK: 700)
"And now that Cursed Item Jar's on my field, I can attack your Great Maju Garzett with it."
"You'll WHAT?!" everyone said in shock.
Before anyone could react, the living pot sprung up and came down to attack the large fiend, but it was just swatted away, and it slammed right into Erick. Sending him to the floor while the monster exploded into pixels (Erick: 80)
Everyone was shocked by the carelessness of Erick's move.
"I understand what he's goin'," Alroy said to his fellow spectators, "but does he need to be so wild with his moves."
"I'm starting to wonder if he isn't in over his head," Zolton said.
"No," Keith said, confusing the others, "he's fine. He wouldn't have done that if he didn't have a plan. I know just what he's up to."
"Care to fill the rest of us in?" Maria asked.
"Just watch," Keith told her.
Slowly, Erick got back to his feet.
"When Cursed Item Jar is destroyed," he explained, "we each roll a six-sided die. Then, we can draw cards up to our individual results."
A large pair of dice fell from the arena ceiling and bounced on the ground before one die stopped in front of each duelist. The die in front of Erick showed a result of 4, and Delilah's showed a 5. They then drew that many cards.
"I end my turn there."
Delilah sighed as she drew her card.
"I feel sorry for you Erick," she said. "You asked for this duel, and your Deck was completely against you. Nothing else I can do I suppose."
She then pointed at his last monster.
"Great Maju Garzett, attack his Armored Axon Kicker."
Once more, the fiend charged down field, ready to swipe at the purple android.
"Not this time!" Erick exclaimed as his Trap lifted.
When the others saw what it was, everyone was shocked.
"Interdimensional Matter Transporter?!" they all exclaimed.
"That's right," said Erick. "Until the end of this turn, I'm banishing Axon Kicker."
A strange machine appeared behind the android and fired a beam of like, making it disappear.
"STOP QUICK!" yelled Delilah, and her monster did just that.
Everyone in the "audience" was on the edge of their seats, trying to figure out what was going to happen next.
"Why'd I stop?' she asked herself. 'This is a no-brainer, I should be going for the win. But what if my power goes out of control and hurt Erick? Grr, I can't think like that. I am in control. I'm not a monster. But can I take that chance with Erick? I mean with Shaw…he got what he deserved. No! No, it wasn't right. I could have jeopardized the arrest. But he was asking for it. It doesn't matter. I…'
"It's not that hard of a decision, Delilah," Erick called out, snapping her back to reality. "I mean in the amount of time you're taking to figure out what to do, a perp could easily have snuck away. There's no honor among duelists when it comes to criminal acts, right? So, come on, take a chance. I promise I won't feel a thing."
Delilah took a breath.
'He's right. There's a difference between trying to play it safe and cowardly hesitation; and I wasn't made a Shadowchaser because of the latter.'
"Alright, Garzett," he commanded her monster, "attack Erick directly."
The fiend once again charged down the field; and once it was close enough, it slashed at Erick with its claws. True to his word, Erick didn't feel a thing; and for that matter, neither did his Life Points. (Erick: 80)
The fiend slashed at Erick again, several times in fact, but nothing happened at all. Not one point was lost.
"How?" Delilah asked with Alroy, Zolton, and Maria wondering the same thing.
"A cheat code," Keith stated.
"Cheat code?" Alroy asked.
A Spell & Trap Card Zone lit up on Erick's field as a Spell Card appeared in that Zone.
"Cheat Code – Invincibility," Erick explained. "When my Life Points are under 2000 and at most half of yours, and my entire field is empty; I take no damage at all while this card's in my Graveyard, which got there when I used Damage Condenser. Thankfully, I drew it with Defense Draw; otherwise I'd really be in trouble."
"You mean you set yourself in the red on purpose only just last turn?" Delilah asked, surprised.
"Oh, I had planned to force myself to low Life Points," Erick said, as the card disappeared from the field, "just not this low this soon, honestly; but I guess that's just how the Deck gets shuffled. In any case, I hope you're starting to feel better now, Delilah."
"I..I don't know what you mean," the cambion said, flustered.
"Come on, D," said Erick, "we all can see it, you know. You're still second guessing yourself after you lost some control against Shaw. We know it wasn't you fault, and he's not going to get out of his sentencing because of it. He musta forgot you two weren't alone in that alley."
"Technically, he could claim I'm helping to cover up the truth," Maria chimed in.
"Not helping, Maria," Erick told her. He then turned back to Delilah. "Look, I may be the rookie here, but that still mean I've know you long enough to know you're not the kind to purposely use your demonic abilities to hurt people. So, you can't keep second guessing yourself in a Duel or in the field. We all make mistakes, but how we recover from them that make us who we are."
Delilah smiled and sighed.
"Anyone ever tell you you're too smart for your own good, Erick?" she asked.
"Several times," he said, "but I take it as a complement. Anyway, I still need to test out the new cards I got last night. Shall we continue?"
"Let's. I set one card facedown and 1 monster on defense," Delilah told him as the backs of the cards appeared. "And I'll end there.
"Looks like he got to her," said Zolton to the others in the stands. "She's really starting to perk up out there."
"Yeah," Maria agreed. "He really is a smart guy."
"Don't tell him that," Keith joked. "I don't think we could live with him is ego got bigger."
The audience of four shared a laugh as Erick drew his next card. When he saw what it was, he got excited.
"Yes, I got half and a way to get the other half," he said. "Time to get my game on!"
Everyone else groaned when he said that. Erick ignored them as he added his drawn card to his hand and grabbed another one.
"I'll start by playing Lifeforce Draining Data Program."
The Continuous Spell appeared on his field. It showed Gilford the Lightning, seemingly weak and in pain hooked up to a computer operated by Kozaky.
"This card lets me target one non-Machine monster you control, like your Great Maju Garzett!"
Coils similar to the ones hanging off of Axon Kicker flew out of the Spell and attached themselves to Garzett's knees, chest, the backs of its claws and the base of its neck; connecting the fiend to the Spell Card. One more coil came out of the back of the Spell and attached to Erick's Duel Disk.
"Now, not only can your monster not move at all; but, once per turn, I can discard one card to siphon Life Points from you equal to half its ATK. Like so."
Erick slid a card into his Graveyard, and Great Maju Garzett was suddenly electrocuted. The electricity then arced off of the fiend and hit Delilah squarely on the chest. She grunted as she was forced to take a knee. (Delilah: 6320)
While that electricity traveled up the coils and into the Spell Card. The coil connecting Erick's Duel Disk to the Spell began to glow gold, and fed that new energy from the Spell to his Disk. (Erick: 1460)
"And now that I have some LP to spend, I play one of my favorite cards. Item Shop."
The merchant's stand and its owner from last night appeared on Erick's field.
"Now, I'll pay 1000 Life Point," he said as his points dipped, "to add the other half of the equation to my hand." (Erick: 460)
A card popped out of his Deck. He grabbed and immediately played it.
"I play the Ritual Spell, Mankind's Plea!"
Rock music began to fill the arena as a large, blue horseshoe magnet appeared next to Armored Axon Kicker.
"I now tribute Morphtronic Magnen from my hand with Axon Kicker of my field to fulfill the ritual!" Erick screamed over the loud music, which was drowned out by a new sound: the revving of a motorcycle.
Both of
"Get ready to meet the ultimate fiend killer! Descend from above Jukebox Hero Painkiller!"
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a large, flaming meteor crashed down behind Erick, and a strange shadow flew out of the crash zone and onto his field. When the flames died down, all could see the new monster Erick had summoned. For lack of better words, it was a winged metal soldier riding a motorcycle. The bike itself was something to behold with a chassis shaped like a dragon and large circular saws for wheels, all made of chrome. (ATK: ?)
At that point the music finally ended.
"Phew, guess I gotta get use to that ear-bleeding moment if I want to keep him in the Deck," Erick joked, speaking normally again. "Anyway, if you're wondering about this monster's points, it's equal to the total ATK of its tributes. So 2200 for Axon plus 800 from Magnen equals 3000." (ATK: ?-3000)
"Now, Painkiller, attack Great Maju Garzett! Demon Slayer!"
Painkiller revved its engine, causing flames to shot from the tailpipes; and drove off towards the fiend that was still caught in Erick's Spell. At the last moment, it popped a wheelie and cut the fiend in two, destroying it and the Spell it was connected to. (Delilah: 6080)
"And now, Painkiller's effect kicks in. When he destroys a monster through battle, you take damage equal to half that monster's ATK."
The motorcycle-riding monster started to do a skidding turn near Delilah. She managed to jump back far enough for the rear-wheel blade to miss her, but she still took a face-full of the bike's flaming exhaust as it went past her before returning to Erick's side of the field. (Delilah: 4700)
"Now, I'll just set two cards and end my turn."
"I gotta say, I like your new card, Erick," said Delilah as she ran her hand through her hand in a vain attempt to get it back how it was before the duel. "But I wouldn't exactly call it a 'fiend killer.'"
"Just wait," Erick told her. "You haven't seen all it can do yet."
"True enough," she said as she drew her card; "but then I might not be able to see all it can do at all."
She added her new card to her hand and grabbed a different one.
"I tribute my facedown monster to summon Dark Ruler Ha Des."
The sideways card on her field burst into pixels that reformed into a tall, imposing form. It was a green-skinned fiend wearing very elaborate robbing. In its left hand it held a wine glass filled with a strange green liquid. (ATK: 2450)
Delilah then grabbed the draw she just drew.
"Next, I play Synchro of Kindred Spirits."
The Spell appeared on her field. Its artwork showed spiritual forms Jutte Fighter and Twin-Sword Marauder being used to Synchro Summon Goyo Guardian.
"With this, I can banish 1 Tuner and 1 non-Tuner of the same Type to Synchro Summon a same Typed Synchro Monster. So, I'll banish the Flare Resonator I just tributed and Headless Knight."
See-through, spectral versions of the knight from earlier and a new monster that looked similar to the Dark Resonator Delilah summoned last night save for a different style hood and flames coming out of its back appeared on her field. The new Resonator hit its tuning fork with it hammer, and turned into three Synchro Rings white surrounded Headless Knight's ghost, turning it into an orange frame and revealing 4 Level stars.
"From the darkest point of the heavens, a king comes forth to deal punishment to the world and seal the stars."
A beam of light shot through the stars and created a large pillar of light behind her.
"I Synchro Summon Dark Highlander!"
The pillar disappeared to show a new fiend on her field. It was a massive fiend whose entire body appeared to be black armor with white bone-like armor overtop of it, its head resembling a red-eyed skull. Layered overtop its body was more regal-looking armor, colored black with gold trim that covered its shoulders, lined its legs, and clad its feet (leaving its large silver thighs untouched), part of the armor making half a hood behind its head. A dark blue cape flowed behind it as it formed a massive scythe with a bandaged handle from dark energy, an adornment that resembled a large skeletal finger attached to the back of the scythe blade. (ATK: 2800)
"Thanks to Flare Resonator, Highlander now gains an additional 300 ATK."
A fiery aura began to cover the scythe-wielding fiend, and it tightened its grip on its weapon. (ATK: 3100)
"Dark Highlander, attack Painkiller with your King's Burning Scythe Strike!"
The blade of the fiend's scythe instantly caught fire and Highlander then leapt right at the metallic motorcycle rider. Painkiller, meanwhile, revved its engines again and took off, racing to meet the fiend head-on. As the monsters neared each other, Highlander swung its scythe while Painkiller popped another wheelie as his glowed a somewhat purpley color. When the blades met, an explosion occurred, and smoke covered the field for a few moments. When the smoke settles, Painkiller was the one left standing as Highlander was nowhere to be seen. (Erick: 360)
"Wha…" Delilah stammered. "What happened?"
"That's why Painkiller's a Fiend killer," Erick explained. "When it battles a Fiend-Type monster, it destroys them at the end of the Damage Step. And as you know, Painkiller dealt damage to you equal to half your monsters."
Once again, Painkiller revved his engine and turned around to head back to Erick's field, pointing its cycle's tailpipes at Delilah and hitting her with the flaming exhaust. (Delilah: 3300)
"That still doesn't explain how your monster, which was 100 point weaker, is still standing," said Delilah, as she brushed ash from the effect animation off her arms.
"That was thanks to my Superior Protector Trap," Erick explained. "When it activates, it equips to a monster on my field. Then, I can set it to the Graveyard to save the equipped monster from being destroyed. Course there's more to it, but that's what mattered in the moment."
Delilah just grinned and signaled the end of her turn, letting Erick draw his next card.
"I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior," he then said.
Appearing next on Erick's field was a rather small, yellow figure with beady black eyes. Its joints looked like dull bronze springs and its ball-like hands and head had half a horseshoe magnet on either side making "claws" and horns. (ATK: 1700)
"With this, I'll have the win," Erick declared. "Painkiller, attack Ha Des!"
Painkiller drove off, aiming its cycle at the regal looking fiend only to run into a purple energy barrier. Despite its efforts, the monster could not drive through it. Erick glanced at Delilah's field and saw the card she had set a couple turns ago was now face-up, revealing Spirit Shield. Erick just grinned.
"I guess you got the win," he said, signaling the end of his turn.
"That I do," Delilah said, drawing her card. "Ha Des, attack Beta the Magnet Warrior."
Ha Des merely pointed a finger at the magnet monster with his free hand and a beam of violet energy shot out from it. The beam struck the yellow monster and caused it to explode, the force of which knocked Erick off his feet and tumbling off the duel field. (Erick: 0)
The four spectators rushed from their seats to see if Erick was alright; as did Delilah; who ran across the duel field as the monsters faded away. They surround Erick as he laid motionless on the ground.
"Is he…" Delilah started, sounding worried.
At that moment, Erick busted out laughing, catching everyone.
"Man, what a rush!" He exclaimed as he sat up. "That was great!"
Delilah almost immediately gave him a Gibbs-slap.
"Ow! What was that for?" he asked her, rubbing the back of his head.
"Are you kidding?" Delilah asked. "What were you thinking? You could have gotten really hurt pulling the stunt you just did."
"Nah, I had it under control," Erick said. "I know you, Delilah. I may have only been here a year, but I can read you. I know the moment one of your friends would have gotten hurt; you'd try and rein it in."
Delilah looked away, blushing a little.
"And that's what separates you from Shaw," Erick continued, making Delilah look at him again. "Shaw doesn't care who he hurts, not even himself, so long as his gamble gets him the payout. You? Despite your rare outbursts of demonic power, you know when to use your darkness for the light."
"Yeah, but…" Delilah started before Erick cut her off.
"You're a great Shadowchaser, and an even better person. Don't let a few slip-ups get you down."
"He's right, Delilah," Keith said, catching both of the duelists' attention. "If anything ever happens, we've got your back no matter what."
Delilah gave a soft smile.
"Thanks guys."
"This is quite a touching moment," Alroy suddenly said, "but I'm afraid it be time I get back to work. I noticed a bit of a lag in the hologram response, so I'm going to hafta close the arena again."
"Fine by us, Alroy," Keith took him. "We gotta be getting on patrol, anyway; and some of us have classes to get to."
Keith stared right at Erick when he said that, causing the rookie Shadowchaser to sheepishly chuckle.
-GCS-
Minutes later, the elevator doors opened and the five Shadowchasers were back in the penthouse.
"K.I.D.D.O., any calls?" Erick asked his computer A.I.
"None of Shadowchaser importance," the computer program stated; "however, a Doogie Krapinski called with a message for you, Erick. He said, 'it's in."
"It's in?!" Erick asked excitedly. "It's in! Oh, yeah, I've been waiting for this for a year and a half, and Doogie pulls through again!"
"What's in?" Delilah asked, kinda annoyed by Erick's childish scene.
"Oh-ho, you'll have to wait and see, D," Erick told her, grabbing his bag. "I can't wait, I gotta go."
"Hold it!" Keith exclaimed, causing Erick to stop. "Long as you're going down to the garage, you can wait for the rest of us."
Erick rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall between the express elevator and the door to the hotel hallway, waiting.
"Now then, Zolton, I want you to cover the North Toledo area, and be on guard. Reports are saying a new gang may be moving in up there."
Zolton just nodded.
"Delilah, I want you to cover East Toledo and into Oregon and Rossford. Since that burglar I apprehended last night was heading that way, I can only assume that that area might be where the Red Dragons set up shop.
"We still thinking they're connected with the Yakuza?" Delilah asked.
"That's the assumption going around the channels, so be on guard. Erick, soon as you're done with classes, give West Toledo a breeze through."
"You got it, Keith," Erick said with a salute. "A little on duty action could make for a good stress relief session."
"I'd prefer it if you'd call one of us for back-up first. Technically, since you're still in classes, you on reserve; but if nothing else, do what you can."
Erick again saluted the police detective.
"I'll be on regular patrol in the city with TPD, and once I'm off-duty I'll cover Downtown. Maria will be on standby here to help route calls to the one of us closest, and if needed cover for us in our zones or outside them. Let's just hope today's as slow as the others have been. Let's move them out!"
With that, Erick, called the elevator, and he, Keith, Delilah and Zolton entered it, riding it down to their private parking lot. Once there, they approached their vehicles. Zolton attached his Runner chassis to his wheelchair while Keith and Delilah mounted their own Duel Runners (Keith's personal Runner being a generic model, blue in color). Erick, meanwhile, climbed into a black Jeep Wrangle (a modernized and remodeled Call of Duty: MW3 Special Edition, minus a few of it bells and whistles). All four Shadowchasers started their vehicles, and drove off, exiting their private lot, the casino's parking garage, and towards their appropriate locations.
-GCS-
Delilah: I admit, sometimes, because I'm a cambion, I feel like I'm all alone because no one else knows what it's like being part-demon.
But the one thing I'm glad about is my teammates don't care about that.
They respect and care for me like I'm really one of them.
For a girl with no real family, it's nice to know I have something close.
That's all anyone can ask for, right?
Duke of Demise
Attribute: DARK
Level: 6
(Fiend/Fusion/Effect)
This card cannot be destroyed by battle. During each of your Standby Phases, pay 500 Life Points or destroy this card.
ATK: 2000 DEF: 1700
(Used by Yami Bakura in episode 200 of the original Yu-Gi-Oh!)
Superior Protector
Normal Trap
Image: Celtic Guardian covered in an orange aura as arrows and lightning fly at him.
Equip this card to a monster you control. You take no Battle Damage from battles other than those that involve the equipped monster. During battle between an opponent's attacking monster and the equipped Defense Position monster whose DEF is lower than the ATK of the attacking monster, take Battle Damage equal to the difference. If the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, you can destroy this card instead.
(First used by Yusei in episode 55 of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's)
Mankind's Plea
Ritual
Tribute Monsters with Level added to 8 or higher to Ritual Summon "Jukebox Hero Painkiller" This is treated as a Special Summon.
Picture: An image of Jukebox Hero Painkiller entering Earth's orbit in a burning meteor.
Jukebox Hero Painkiller
Attribute: FIRE
Level: 8
(Machine/Ritual/Effect)
Must first be Special Summoned with "Mankind's Plea". This card's original ATK and DEF are equal to the total ATK of the monsters Tributed to Ritual Summon this card. If this monster battles a Fiend-Type monster: Destroy that monster at the end of the Damage Step. When this card destroys a monster in battle: Inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the destroyed monster's ATK.
ATK: ? DEF: ?
(The two above cards were created by The Duelist of Dawn. Used with his permission)
Cursed Item Jar
Attribute: EARTH
Level: 3
(Rock/Effect)
When this card is destroyed through battle, you and your Opponent roll a six-sided die. You and you Opponent must draw cards equal to the number the respective player rolled.
ATK: 700 DEF: 0
Cheat Code – Invincibility
Normal Spell
Image: Magical Scientist holding an Enemy Controller that is attached to a computer. The computer screen shows "Invincible Mode ON" in big, red type.
While this card is in your Graveyard, while you have no Monster, Spell, or Trap cards on your side of the field, reduce any damage you take to your Life Points to 0. This effect cannot be used if your Life Points are greater than 2000 or more than half of your Opponent's Life Points.
Lifeforce Draining Data Program
Cont. Spell
Image: Kozaky operating a computer hooked up to a weakened Gilford the Lightning, who is kneeling on the ground in pain
Select one non-Machine Type Monster your Opponent controls. That Monster cannot attack or change its position. Once per turn, you can discard one card from your hand to add half of the selected monsters ATK or DEF to your Life Points and inflict the same amount as damage to your Opponent's Life Points. (This depends on the selected Monster's position) During the End Phase of your fifth turn after activating this card, destroy the selected Monster and place this card at the bottom of your deck. If the selected monster is destroyed other than by this card's effect, destroy this card.
Synchro of Kindred Spirits
Normal Spell
Image: Jutte Fighter dissolving into Synchro Rings that are surrounding Twin-Sword Marauder. The spirit of Goyo Guardian can be seen in the background.
Select one Synchro Monster in your Extra Deck and show it to your Opponent. Remove from play 1 Tuner Monster and 1 non-Tuner Monster that are both the same type as the selected Synchro Monster whose total Levels are equal to that of the Synchro Monster, and Special Summon that Monster. (This special Summon is treated as a Synchro Summon)
Girl's voice: So the story wasn't as full on as you expected, was it. *draws card* Don't worry, we're just setting the scene. Up next, we see what Shadowchasers do besides arresting Shadowkind…defending them. Get ready for Ch. 7: Shadow Tamer.
