Good gosh almighty. I'm sorry for how long this took, but I've been having a terrible time of things. Besides preparing to move, I have had three loved ones die (all for different reasons) and my appendix removed. I think that gives me an excuse at least this once, right? It should also be noted that unlike the next two (and final) arcs in this series, this arc is not completely planned out. I have to finish planning things before I can post chapters at times. Hopefully this will be fixed soon.
Also, happy birthday Epyon. Complete coincidence that his birthday is the same day I'm posting this, but hey.
Chapter Ten: A Long Grudge
By the time they arrived at the lake shore, they found Jin wrestling with Dennis, apparently trying to teach him a lesson for his prankish remarks. What drew everyone else's attention was the crystal clear water that stretched ahead. The high noon sky reflected off it like a mirror, giving a dazzling impression.
"It's beautiful," Leigh said in awe.
"It's hard to believe that gates to light and dark areas exist in this lake," Lance remarked.
"Hard indeed. When I first saw it, I could barely believe it myself." Shane spoke lightly, as if seeing the lake had made him forget the fight he had taken part in.
"Doesn't look like there's anyone else here though," Courtney said.
"Who cares? Let's play!" Angela said before running towards the lake.
Leigh shook her head. "I hope she can swim."
"It'd be pretty sad if the guardian of Teknisk Wereld could be taken out by throwing her into a lake," Kurtis joked.
"She makes the perfect Guardian," Leigh said dryly. "Anyone trying to defeat her would soon be running in terror from her high-pitched, never-ending voice."
"It could be a lot worse," Kurtis said. "Just play a couple of video games with young girls that have voice acting. I can give some examples…"
Courtney cut him off. "Don't. You'll bore the rest of us to tears."
"Not me!" Jin protested. "Video games are awesome! I keep telling Shane to get some, but all he does is go off and read!"
"If you think he's bad, you should see Will," Lance said. "He'd literally take books into Teknisk Wereld."
Jin shivered. "I don't know how his Soul Monster can stand it."
"He releases his energy by exploding kitchens. I wish I was kidding," Leigh said with a sigh.
"…I totally want to meet him now," Dennis said.
Lance yanked him out of the air. "Fat chance, if it means you'll take lessons from him."
"So you know Will personally?" Shane asked. "I guess it makes sense, if your parents are friends of his."
Jin gave him a blank look. "Their parents are friends with Will?"
Ace laughed at his confusion. "Looks like your mind was out to lunch yesterday. Leigh and Kurtis dropped more than enough hints to say their parents are Hope and Max Drigger."
"Plot twist!" Jin exclaimed as Arcadia gave him a doubtful look.
"I can only assume that means you're Max's sister, Chasity," Shane directed to her. "Lance's name was mentioned at the very end of Hope's last book, so he must be Draken and Kisara's son. Courtney's name was said as well, so she'd be Brandi and Matt's daughter."
"I'm surprised you remembered the two of us," Courtney said with Lance nodding.
"And Angela played such a large roll that anyone would recognize her name. Speaking of which…" He called towards her, "Angela! Don't go too deep into the lake!"
They looked to see that Angela was wading into the water. She waved cheerfully in response. "I'm okay! I lived in water for a long time!"
"Freak with a capital… every letter in the word," Kurtis muttered.
Ignoring him, Chasity said, "We've seen the lake, and there's nobody here. I suggest we move on."
"I guess we have more important things to do than swim," Lance agreed.
"All right, who volunteers to get Angela? I'll be the first to say 'not it'," Ace said.
Before anyone could respond, a torrent of water came from the sky. The liquid formed itself into a sphere, wrapping completely around all of them. Epsilon had the worst reaction to it as he became completely unable to move. Everyone else was caught by surprise and barely realized what had happened until water replaced air in their mouths.
Courtney took action first by swimming to one side of the sphere and pressing her hand against it. The water did not give way, and she gestured to the others, indicating that she thought them trapped.
A disoriented voice came from outside the liquid. "That was certainly easy. Now all I have to do is sit here and watch you drown. It should only take about thirty more seconds… enough time to think your prayers, if nothing else."
Though she sounded different underwater, they were able to make out Angela's words as well. "Hey! Let them go, you mean lady!"
"Who are you supposed to be? Children aren't allowed in Teknisk Wereld. Leave, or I'll kill you too," the voice snapped.
"No! It's my job to protect them, and I will!"
A blinding flash engulfed them while the water turned incredibly hot for less than a second. They then found themselves lying on the ground with torched grass surrounding them. There was little time to marvel at this though, for they celebrated their freedom by unceremoniously coughing up all the water accidently ingested.
"I never want to go through that again," Lance managed to say afterwards.
"What saved us?" Leigh asked while looking around.
Her eyes focused on the scene ahead. Angela stood there, her hair raised like snakes ready to strike. Another small girl stood beside her. She wore a black dress, white stockings, and black shoes, along with a black hat that had a large rim. Her long, blonde hair curled at the ends, and her light blue eyes chilled Leigh to look at. They showed no emotion whatsoever, merely staring at the enemy that stood before them.
The woman who had been responsible for the attack kept her black cloak draped over her shoulder. That and the orb of fire around her neck identified her as a General of Hell. Her dark blue pants and light blue shirt went well with her blonde hair, which was tied back in a casual ponytail. Though her eyes matched her shirt, they appeared darker from bitterness. Like the others they had encountered, she was clad in chains.
Her Soul Monster resembled a man with a green skirt and a spear. He had wild black hair and yellow, pupil-less eyes that stared blankly ahead. Though his appearance was threatening, he made no moves to attack.
As the group stared, Courtney said, "Can someone explain what just happened?"
"It seems this brat's Soul Monster saved you," the woman growled.
"Soul Monster? Angela has a Soul Monster?" Kurtis said in disbelief.
"I don't recall her having one," Shane responded as he stood. The others followed his lead.
"I am the Soul Monster of this one called Angela," the girl said flatly. "Though I am a Fire Sorcerer, you may refer to me as Sera."
"But that doesn't even make sense!" Leigh protested. "Angela's-"
Petra cut her off. "Does she have a soul?"
Leigh blinked. "Well, I guess…"
"Then she can have a Soul Monster. Not a difficult concept, is it?" Petra shrugged. "Not that I know how she got a card for one."
Dennis spoke up. "Wait a minute. A Fire Sorcerer got rid of a water trap?"
"I don't understand how she destroyed my Water Spirit Technique-"Aoi"," the woman said harshly. "It shouldn't be able to be destroyed without support cards!"
"My fire's strength was enough to evaporate the water," Sera stated.
"…What? That shouldn't even be possible!" Kurtis exclaimed.
"Can we just say a wizard did it? That lady doesn't look too happy about us," Jin said.
"My name is Aurora, and I have been sent to kill you all," the woman declared. "My ambush may have failed, but my deck will not." She pointed at Courtney. "You, duel me!"
"Huh? Why me?" Courtney asked.
Grimacing, Aurora said, "You resemble one that I loathe. Crushing you is the closest I can come to defeating her!"
"That's pretty lousy reasoning," Kurtis said.
"It may be, but I'll accept," Courtney said. "I'm one of the only ones that hasn't dueled yet, so I should do my share of the work."
"I could duel instead," Leigh suggested. "I haven't either."
"Yeah, but you don't have a Soul Monster," Courtney reminded her.
Leigh looked away. "Yeah…" Even Angela has one now. What's taking mine so long?
"Angela hasn't either, but she may not even remember how to," Shane said.
"Then it's settled." Courtney stepped forward. "Naomi, are you up for it?"
"O-oh… y-yes… I'll d-do my best!" Shaking out her wet feathers, Naomi stood beside Courtney.
"I have Visser, The Legendary Fisherman as my Soul Monster," Aurora stated. "Let's begin!"
Watching from the shadows of a tree, Larka murmured to herself, "Aurora? She doesn't seem familiar, yet… those chains look like the ones Robin had. What's going on here?"
Courtney: 8000
Aurora: 8000
"Seeing as this duel never should have happened, it's only right I go first," Aurora said.
Courtney sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss Robin."
Ignoring her, Aurora said, "I summon Mermaid Knight (1500/700) and lay two cards down. Get your turn over with."
"I'll try to make it quick," Courtney said. "I summon Newt (1900/400) and attack your Mermaid Knight!"
"You think I'd be stupid enough to not have a trap down? I activate Gravity Bind!" The Newt was pulled to the ground just before it could slice apart the Mermaid Knight. "All monsters at level four or higher cannot attack now."
"Isn't Mermaid Knight a level four monster?" Lance asked.
"I'm sure she has some way around it," Chasity said, rolling her eyes. "They always do."
"Probably," Courtney agreed. "I lay one card down and end my turn."
"This is what I was waiting for!" Aurora announced. "I play The Legendary City Atlantis!"
"Atlantis? What does that-AUGH!" Courtney was promptly bowled over by a wave of water that engulfed her and Naomi. They soon emerged from it, sputtering but unharmed.
"I remember that one," Shane said. "It's a field magic card that is treated as Sea. It raises all Water Main-Types' stats by 200."
"Except it also lowers the levels of all Water Main-Types by one," Ace said. "That'd explain why she used Gravity Bind."
Courtney wrung out her hair. "For some reason, I really dislike this card, despite having never seen it before."
Still hiding, Larka shook her head. "I'm glad Brandi isn't here to see this." She had no way of knowing that at that moment, back in the real world, Brandi was currently wondering to herself why she felt a sudden urge to break something.
"And don't think you'll be able to destroy Atlantis," Aurora warned. "I play Field Barrier! Now field magic cards cannot be destroyed, nor can another one be played. Then I summon Seazarion. (1800/800) Due to Atlantis acting as Sea, both his and Mermaid Knight's stats increase by 200. (1700/900) (2000/1000) Since both are now counted as level threes, I am free to begin my assault. Seazarion attacks!"
"I can't stop that," Courtney said, watching her Newt be crushed to death by the giant, red serpent. "Though Newt's effect does lower your monster's stats by 500, due to being destroyed by it." (1500/500)
"That doesn't make a difference. Mermaid Knight attacks you directly!"
"I'm not letting you get away with this one!" Courtney flipped over her trap card. "I activate Dimensional Wall! Any damage I would have taken is instead dealt to you."
The Mermaid Knight sliced into the wall that appeared, and Aurora hissed as a gash spread across her chest. "No matter. Mermaid Knight can attack twice when Sea is out. She hits you this time!" Another slash was dealt, this time to Courtney.
Courtney: 6200
Aurora: 6300
Trying to ignore the pain, Courtney said, "I set a monster in defense and lay a card down."
"Too scared to try fighting back?" Aurora taunted. "I'll place a card down and attack with Seazarion!"
"I'm not going down that easily!" Courtney declared. "I activate Itaqua's Gale! All face-up monsters are forced to change positions, meaning each of yours go into defense!"
Aurora smirked. "Stalling? It won't get you anywhere. I switch my monsters back to attack mode and end my turn."
"I needed this monster to survive," Courtney said. "I flip over Blade Fly. (600/700) It lowers the attacks of all Earth Main-Types by 400, but that's not what I kept it alive for. Blade Fly's main function is to raise all Wind Main-Types' attacks by 500! (1100/700) Now, I summon Sonic Duck! (1700/300) Due to Blade Fly, it's powerful enough to take your Mermaid Knight down!" (2200/300)
Ace raised an eyebrow. "A duck?"
"Not just a duck, a duck with a bucket on its head!" Kurtis said.
"I always loved seeing Courtney play this monster against new opponents. They have no idea what she's doing with it," Lance said.
Aurora seemed unimpressed. "So it's stronger. Big deal! It still can't attack due to Gravity Bind."
Courtney grinned. "The great thing about Sonic Duck is that, despite having 1700 attack, it's level three. That means he's free to attack, and he will!"
The duck rushed forward and pecked through the mermaid. As she vanished, a water tornado appeared in front of Aurora to defend her. She laughed at Courtney's stunned expression. "You may have caught me off guard, but I still had a trump card! My Tornado Wall can only be activated while Sea is on the field, and it's destroyed if Sea leaves the field, but it's completely worth using. Any damage done to me when one of my monsters attacks is reduced to zero!"
"That'll be annoying in the long run. At least I wasn't counting on getting much damage out of that attack," Courtney said. "I'm done."
"So Courtney runs a deck based around the Wind Main-Type?" Shane asked Lance.
"That's right. I asked her why once, and she said it was because she loved the sea breeze," Lance said.
Dennis raised an eyebrow. "What? That's her reason?"
"It works for her," Lance said before turning back to the duel.
"Your little surprise has only managed to destroy one of my monsters," Aurora said. "I summon another Seazarion, and then I activate Aqua Chorus! This raises the stats of all monsters with the same name by 500, meaning my Seazarions benefit nicely. (2000/1000) (2500/1500) One will attack Blade Fly, and the other will destroy your silly duck!"
Courtney winced as she watched the two Seazarions squeeze her monsters to death, and as she saw her Life Point counter go down.
Courtney: 4500
Aurora: 6300
"We're in a tough spot," Courtney said. "Naomi, do you have an ability that can help us out?" When she did not receive a response, she glanced back. "Naomi?"
Naomi stood still, her only action being to tremble. She softly stammered, "I… I… I…"
"Now we have a Soul Monster that can't even use a Deck Master ability," Petra said in disgust. "I've never seen such a useless thing."
Covering her eyes, Naomi whimpered, "I-I'm sorry…"
Before Petra could say more, Arcadia spoke up. "There's no need to be so harsh. Every Soul Monster has their own personality as well. They can't all be as bold as you."
"What, you're saying she isn't useless?" Petra said.
"She will get over it in her own time. It will take longer if you keep putting her down though," Arcadia stated, undisturbed by her piercing glare.
"Wow, he's actually arguing with Petra. I never thought I'd see someone brave enough to do that," Kurtis whispered to Leigh.
"He's probably oblivious to what she's capable of," Leigh muttered back.
Naomi was still upset, so Courtney said, "He's right. I'm sure you'll be able to help soon."
"T-thank you…" Naomi said.
Aurora sighed. "Are you going to take your turn?"
Courtney drew a card at that prompt, and was clearly relieved. "I summon Harpy Lady 3! (1300/1400) Her name counts as Harpy Lady, so that means I can play Ten Thousand Reflections! When I have a Harpy Lady on the field, I can special summon a Harpy Lady or a Harpy Lady Triplets from my hand or deck. I'll take a Harpy Lady Triplets from my deck!" She found one and placed it on her Duel Disk, causing the three harpies to appear with screeches. (1950/2100)
"Impressive looking, but they're not strong enough to destroy my Seazarions," Aurora pointed out. "And that's even if they could attack."
"That's why I'm going to play Triangle Ecstacy Spark! Until this turn's end phase, my Harpy Lady Triplets have 2700 attack, you can't activate trap cards, and any trap cards you have on the field are negated. (2700/2100) They attack the stronger Seazarion!"
Aurora snarled as she watched the triplets claw apart her serpent, especially when she saw her other Seazarion lose power from it. (1500/500)
Courtney: 4500
Aurora: 6100
"I'm done." At those words, the triplets lost the brief surge of power they had held. (1950/2100)
"I'll take care of those annoying birds later," Aurora snapped. "For now, your Harpy Lady 3 is far too vulnerable to pass up. I attack her with Seazarion!"
Courtney: 4300
Aurora: 6100
Despite losing her monster, Courtney looked pleased. "Big mistake. When a monster battles Harpy Lady 3, it can't attack again for two turns."
"Annoying, but I can always summon more," Aurora said.
"You can, so that's why I'll set a monster in defense," Courtney said. "Then I switch my Harpy Lady Triplets to defense. Go ahead."
"I'll bypass your walls entirely," Aurora said. "I summon Water Configuration Bakross MK-3. (1500/1300) It gets powered by Atlantis, and it gains an ability while Sea is out that allows me to attack directly. (1700/1500) It will attack you!"
Courtney gasped in pain as the machine slammed into her, nearly toppling her over.
Courtney: 2600
Aurora: 6100
"Just a bit more of that and you're dead," Aurora stated.
Courtney smiled. "Good thing it won't get the chance. I flip over Tornado Bird!" (1100/1100)
"It looks useless," Aurora said.
"Not in this case, it isn't. When reverse summoned, it allows me to return two magic or trap cards to your hand! That means I can get rid of Atlantis and Gravity Bind!"
"What? No!" Aurora yelled as her Tornado Wall exploded and her sea vanished. Her monsters became weaker from the loss of their habitat. (1300/300) (1500/1300)
"You can't even play Atlantis again due to your own card," Courtney said triumphantly. "I switch my Triplets to attack mode, and sacrifice Tornado Bird for Monstrous Bird of the Valley of Mists! (2400/1400) Monstrous Bird attacks Seazarion, and Triplets attack MK-3!"
The bird screamed as it tore apart the serpent. Along with the screeches of claws against metal, the battle caused the watchers to cover their ears.
Courtney: 2600
Aurora: 4550
"I'm not done yet!" Aurora said, but her voice had lost its strength. "I play Rainbow Colored Fish (1800/800) and lay a card down…"
Courtney took advantage of her loss of morale. "Gravity Bind, right? You won't be able to use it, since I can summon Eagle Eye! (1300/1200) When he's normal summoned successfully, no trap cards can be activated. Then I play Raise Dead for Blade Fly, who raises all of my monster's stats! (2450/2100) (2900/1400) (1800/1200) (1100/700) Monstrous Bird attacks your fish, and then the others attack directly!"
"No! I can't lose!" Aurora shouted before being swamped by Courtney's four monsters.
Courtney: 2600
Aurora: 0
"I don't want to go back! My husband… I have to find my husband… Don't take me back!" Aurora wailed one last time before vanishing, along with her Soul Monster.
The silence in response to this was broken by an unfamiliar voice. "What the heck is going on here?"
…
Zack watched as Max shifted through his papers. He stopped and sighed, glancing up. "Thanks for coming quickly."
"What's the problem?" Zack asked.
"Attacks from monsters were reported in the canyon area," Max explained. "I would investigate it myself, but I'm way too busy here. Think you can handle it?"
"I'll see what I can do. If I go directly there, I doubt it will take very long," Zack said.
"Probably not. I'll be waiting for your report," Max said.
Zack nodded and left the room. Max stared at the door for a moment before returning to work.
To be continued…