Chapter 12
Bommer grinned at the sight of Ken's scared face. "This is for trying to deflower the young princess!" he shouted.
"Wait, what?" Ken looked across at Bommer.
"Don't act stupid, kid. You know what I'm talking about," Bommer growled, "When you snuck into Princess Cassandra's room and tried to have your way with her."
"Who told you that?" Ken asked him.
"That clown, Lazar," Bommer replied gazing over at Ken. He saw the truth in the young boy's face.
"That clown is the one who's been trying to keep me away from Cassandra. I didn't do anything to her; I would never want to do anything to her. She is why I'm in this tournament, I want to prove myself to Goodwin and show that I am worthy," Ken said angrily as he took another glance up at the watch tower and then he looked over at Bommer.
"I see," he said and nodded understandingly, "I should have seen through the lie. Goodwin has lied to me before."
"He isn't going to stop me from being with Cassandra!" Ken shouted and Bommer smiled. He liked the determination in this kid.
"Giant Bomber Air Raid, attack Opticlops!" Bommer commanded and the ship went flying at the axe-wielding fiend.
"I activate Sakuretsu Armor!" Ken flipped over his face down card and it materialized on the field. But suddenly, Giant Bomber Air Raid shot a rocket at it, blowing it into smithereens. Ken lost 800 LP and then 200 LP from battle damage. He looked up at Bommer expectantly but he was too far away to see him now, as Ken had lost a speed counter again.
"I put two cards face down and end my turn," Bommer said as two cards melted into the race track.
Ken gained a new speed counter and drew a card. "I summon a card face down," he said and scrunched up as he lost 800 LP when the card he had just summoned was blown into bits again by Giant Bomber Air Raid. "What the hell man?!" he shouted at Bommer, who gazed back at him on his Duel Runner.
"My Giant Bomber Air Raid destroys any card you put down on the field and inflicts 800 points of damage to your life points," Bommer told him, "I now activate Hidden Soldier ~ Kakure Hei, which allows me to summon a level 4 or lower dark monster from my hand, so I summon Black Bomber which also allows me to special summon one level 4 dark machine-type monster from my Graveyard in face-up defense position. I choose Trap Reactor RR!"
"I end my turn," Ken growled.
"You're left wide open Ken!" Bommer grinned back at him.
"I know!" Ken shouted, irritated.
"I'm going to tune my Black Bomber with Trap Reactor RR to synchro summon Dark Dive Bomber," Bommer said as a black bomb with a face on it synchronized with the Trap Reactor RR, creating a red robotic being. "Dark Dive Bomber's effect allows me to release one of my monsters to inflict damage equal to the monster's level multiplied by 200."
"Oh, crap," Ken muttered as he gazed up at the level 4 Giant Bomber Air Raid and then down at his life points, which were now 400.
"I release Giant Bomber Air Raid to inflict 800 points of damage to your life points!" Bommer shouted as the huge ship wavered into the atmosphere, as if being sucked up by the clouds. Then Dark Dive Bomber came diving at Ken, and almost knocked his runner off course due to the massive loss of life points. Ken sped to a stop and his runner reeled around sideways on the track. Bommer stopped also, climbing off his runner and walking up to Ken.
"That was a good duel," Bommer smiled, offering his hand for a handshake. Ken reluctantly took it.
"Yeah, I really liked that Star Blast card you played," Ken said, forcing a smile.
"You know, if you and Cassandra were meant to be together, there will be other opportunities for you to prove yourself. Good luck," Bommer said before heading back to his runner.
"Thanks," Ken muttered but Bommer was already too far away to hear. He turned and rode his blue runner back to the garage.
"He certainly crushed him, didn't he, Mr. Goodwin?" Lazar asked, looking up at him. Goodwin remained stern and still. The next match showed up on the screen. It was Sir Randsborg against the Black Rose. One of the matches he had been waiting for, this was the real entertainment.
"Get cleaned up Cassandra. Mina, you go with her," Goodwin said as he turned away from the window to see Mina appear in the doorway. Mina bowed and followed Cassandra into the bathroom.
Cassandra knew Goodwin couldn't trust her alone now. Mina stood inside the bathroom by the door as Cassandra wiped the dirt off her top and tried to fix her ponytail. Finally, she gave up and let it all down, combing her fingers through it.
"Do you need help?" Mina giggled. Cassandra forced a smile; her frustration was kind of funny.
"No. Thank you Mina, I'm done now," Cassandra said and turned to leave. Mina followed quietly and then when they rejoined the others, she took her place behind the sofa where Jack sat.
"We will be back shortly. We have to talk to the next contestant, Sir Randsborg," Goodwin said as he motioned for Cassandra to follow him.
She moped behind as Goodwin took them into a room that was sort of like an office. There was a desk with a chair in the back and a blue sofa put off to the side, both pieces of furniture facing the door. Cassandra thought it odd, and wanted to move the couch sideways, but Goodwin sat down in it and motioned for her to sit with him. Lazar stood at his right with a bundle of papers in his hand as he read it over. As Cassandra sat down, Goodwin turned slightly in his seat and put his arm on the back of the couch between them. She was glad he didn't try to put his arm around her.
Soon enough, a man clad in gold armor came in through the automatic door and stood in front of them. His long blue cloak hung behind him and he gazed back at them with determined blue eyes. Cassandra tried to figure out if this Sir Randsborg was a real knight or not. He even had a sword hanging at his side!
"Sir Randsborg, reporting for duty as you requested, my liege," the knight said to Mr. Goodwin.
Lazar began to laugh, "I told you he'd be perfect for this duel," he said to Mr. Goodwin. "The costume may be a bit melodramatic, but he said he wouldn't duel without it."
Cassandra smiled, Lazar was obviously getting a huge kick out of this knight too. It was as if Goodwin's stories were coming true, the characters popping right out of the story books.
"Is it true that I will be facing an opponent of the female persuasion, your highness?" he asked Mr. Goodwin, "Chivalry forbids this. Creatures of the fairer species are too weak, my lord."
Cassandra looked in the corner of her eyes at Goodwin. His face was just like Lazar's; twisted in amusement and speculation. He was enjoying this knight too. "What if I told you this woman was the Black Rose? It is believed that her cards wield a power so real that they have been known to come to life."
"I see a witch!" Sir Randsborg concluded.
"Are you afraid, Sir Randsborg?" Lazar sneered, "You know if you don't fulfill your obligation, you may find yourself dueling at a Renaissance Fair."
Cassandra stifled a laugh. Goodwin slightly poked her with his hand, a gesture to tell her to shush. She straightened up in her seat.
"My word is my bond and I will engage the Black Rose in battle," he said, slightly intimidated by the clown's remark. Lazar chuckled.
"Just don't go easy on her in the arena. Push her to exhaustion, we must see if she has the mark of the dragon," Lazar told him, gazing at the papers again. Cassandra wondered what he meant by "the mark of the dragon."
"Fear not! The she-creature is no match for Sir Gill de Randsborg!" he pulled out his sword and held it up in the air in front of his face. Cassandra wished he would cut off Goodwin's hand while he had the sword out, "I swear upon my sword, the Black Rose will taste defeat!"
They watched as he re-sheathed his sword and walked valiantly out the door, his cape swirling behind him. When he was surely gone, Cassandra busted out in laughter. She really needed this after Ken's duel. She felt like a child again, dreaming of princes and knights. Goodwin smiled, happy to see Cassandra so joyful again.
lol I swear Lazar is about to crack in the episode with Sir Randsborg. XD
Be sure to check me out on DA as oO-Kai-Oo and to check out the Avatar of Bahamut's Yu-gi-oh! 5D's: Legacy of the Star Princess! ;)