(Just to let everyone know, yes, I have made some changes to some card effects, and I will make further changes. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, it's just how the story worked out in my mind. If you don't like it, don't read the story. But whatever you do, remember, THIS IS FANFICTION!! That's all.)
Last time our heroes wound up completely off course. While Martin attempted to determine their location in space and time, Irma and Hay Lin had a Duel. After managing her nerves, Hay Lin won brilliantly. Now it's Will vs. Taranee. Who shall win? On with the show!
Chapter 12: Two Duels and a Cosmic Filament part2
"So we're still lost," Addicus said, "What now?"
"I'll tell you what now," said Will as she strapped on her Duel Disk, "Now it's my turn to Duel!"
"Right on, girlfriend!" said Taranee as she pulled on her Duel Disk, "Let's throw down!!"
They shuffled their respective decks and activated their Duel Disks. Matt flipped a coin for them. Will called it correctly, "Tails."
"DUEL!" they both shouted.
Will's Life Points: 4000
Taranee's Life Points: 4000
"Good luck, Will!" said Jaden and Matt, as Will and Taranee drew their hand.
"I'll start the show," said Will, "By playing one card facedown, and summoning Mythical Beast Cerberus in Attack mode!" In front of Will appeared a huge blue, white and purple wolf that had two heads and seemed to phase in and out of reality, like it was made of living magic, or something like that.
Mythical Beast Cerberus
Attribute: LIGHT
Type: Spellcaster/Effect
Level: 4
Attack: 1400
Defense: 1400
"That's all for now," said Will, "Your move."
"Okay!" said Taranee as she drew her card, "I'll start off, by playing the Spell card Molten Destruction, increasing the Attack of all FIRE monsters by 500, while decreasing their defense by 400."
"You just activated Cerberus' special ability," said Will, "Every time my opponent uses a Spell card, my monster gains 500 Attack points!"
Mythical Beast Cerberus
Attack: 1900
"Cool effect," said Taranee, "But I'm just getting warmed up."
"That was so funny I forgot to laugh," Chazz muttered.
"I hate to agree with him," said Irma, "But seriously, Taranee, leave the puns to me."
"I thought it was funny," said Nigel.
"Moving on," said Taranee, "I summon Solar Flare Dragon in Attack mode!"
Solar Flare Dragon
Attribute: FIRE
Type: Pyro/Effect
Level: 4
Attack: 1500, increased to 2000
Defense: 1000, decreased to 600
"Solar Flare Dragon!" said Taranee, "Destroy Will's monster!" with that her dragon shot a huge fireball at Mythical Beast Cerberus, destroying it.
Will's Life Points: 3900
"I'll play one card facedown," said Taranee, "And thanks to my Solar Flare Dragon's special ability, you lose 500 Life Points at the end of my turn."
Will's Life Points: 3400
"Will isn't doing so good out there," said Hay Lin, "It's her first Duel and already Taranee has her on the ropes."
"Don't count Will out of the game just yet," said Matt, "She knows what she's doing."
That card Taranee just placed is most likely Backfire, Will thought, that'll hut me every time I destroy one of her monsters. But it's a risk I'll have to take. "My move!" she said as she drew her card, "I play two cards facedown, and summon Rapid-Fire Magician in Attack mode!"
In front of Will appeared a magician wearing purple and gold wizards robes and carried two staffs, the left-handed one had a light green orb, the right-handed one had a light orange orb. Forming a ring around the magician were several orbs, each a different color and connected by red energy.
Rapid-Fire Magician
Attribute: DARK
Type: Spellcaster/Effect
Level: 4
Attack: 1600
Defense: 1200
"I now play the Spell card Mage Power," said Will, "Giving my Rapid-Fire Magician a 500 Attack and Defense point boost. But here's the best part, Taranee, every time a Spell card is played by either players, Rapid-Fire Magician's special ability delivers 500 points of damage to your Life Points!"
Rapid-Fire Magician
Attack: 2100
Defense: 1700
Taranee's Life Points: 3500
(I know that Mage Power has a different effect in the real game. I altered it for the benefit of the story, so please don't make a fuss over it in the reviews. We now return you to your regularly scheduled fanfiction)
"Rapid-Fire Magician!" said Will, "Destroy Solar Flare Dragon!!" With that Rapid-Fire Magician sent a multi-colored magic blast at Taranee's monster, destroying it.
Taranee's Life Points: 3400
"You triggered my continuous Trap card!" said Taranee as she pressed the activation button on her Duel Dist, "Backfire! Every time you destroy one of my FIRE monsters, you lose 500 Life Points!"
Will's Life Points: 2900
"I knew that was coming," said Will, "And I'm gonna find a way around your Trap."
"We'll just see about that," said Taranee, "My move!" she drew her card, "I play one card facedown, and use the Spell card Monster Reborn, to bring back my Solar Flare Dragon. And yes, I know that Rapid-Fire Magician's special ability hurts my Life Points. It'll be worth what I'm about to do."
Taranee's Life Points: 2900
"I now sacrifice Solar Flare Dragon," said Taranee, "To summon Thestalos The Firestorm Monarch!!"
Thestalos The Firestorm Monarch
Attribute: FIRE
Type: Pyro/Effect
Level: 6
Attack: 2400, increased to 2900
Defense: 1000, decreased to 600
"And thanks to Thestalos' special ability," said Taranee, "I get to pick one random card from your hand and you have to discard it. If it's a Monster card, you lose Life Points equal to the monster's level multiplied by 100. I pick… the one on the far left. No, my left, not your left."
"Crap!!" swore Will as she was forced to discard her monster card.
Skilled Dark Magician
Level: 4
Will's Life Points: 2500
"This is bad," said Cornelia, "If Taranee hadn't had Will on the ropes before, she does now."
"It ain't over till it's over," said Hassleberry.
"Sarge is right," said Jaden, "As long as Will has at least one Life Point, she still has a chance to win."
"Hate to burst your bubble, Jaden," said Irma, "But it's still Taranee's turn."
"Thestalos!" said Taranee, "Destroy Rapid-Fire Magician!!"
"Activate Trap!" said Will, "Magic Cylinder! Your attack goes right back at you, Taranee!"
"Nice try," said Taranee, "But not good enough. I counter with Dust Tornado! My attack goes through!!" Her armored knight blasted Rapid-Fire Magician with a large fireball. Will winced from the force of the attack, but wasn't hurt.
Will's Life Points: 1700
"Okay," said Jaden, "Now Will's on the ropes."
"She's not finished yet," said Matt, "Come on, Will!! You can do it!!"
"Believe in The Heart of the Cards!!" exclaimed Hay Lin.
I do believe in The Heart of the Cards, Will thought, I sure need it right now. All I've got in my hand is Spell cards. I've got Call of the Haunted facedown on the field, plus that other Trap I played at the start of the Duel. But what I need is a monster card that'll help me win this Duel this turn, otherwise Taranee is gonna totally wipe me out on her next turn.
"You okay?" Taranee asked, "Want to call a time out?"
"I'm fine," said Will, "My move!" This is it, whatever I draw, it'll make or break this game, she drew and looked at the card, yes!!
"I activate Call of the Haunted," said Will, "Bringing back my Mythical Beast Cerberus. But he won't be here for long. I use the Spell card Magical Dimension! With this I can tribute Cerberus, in order to special summon from my hand Dark Magician Girl!!" In front of Will appeared a female magician with long blond hair, a wooden wizards staff and wore blue and pink armor.
Dark Magician Girl
Attribute: DARK
Type: Spellcaster/Effect
Level: 6
Attack: 2000
Defense: 1700
"Isn't that the card you gave Will?" Caleb asked Cornelia.
"It is," said Cornelia, "Don't ask me why, but it really makes me happy that Will is using that card."
"That's the rare holofoil that Cornelia gave you," said Taranee, "The one that was printed backwards by mistake."
"It's even rarer that Cornelia thinks," said Will, "This Dark Magician Girl has a extra special ability. Normally Dark Magician Girl gains 300 Attack points of every 'Dark Magician' card in the Graveyard. But for this one, she gains 300 Attack points for every monster in my Graveyard whose name contains the word 'Magician'. I count two; Skilled Dark Magician and Rapid-Fire Magician, so my Dark Magician Girl gains 600 Attack Points!"
Dark Magician Girl
Attack: 2600
"It's still not enough to defeat my Firestorm Monarch," said Taranee.
"It will be once I use this," said Will, "Another Mage Power!"
Dark Magician Girl
Attack: 3100
"Now Will can destroy Taranee's monster!" Matt said, "She can win!"
"Not just yet," said Syrus, "Taranee still has Backfire on the field. If Will attacks now and destroys Thestalos, she'll lose 500 Life Points."
"I don't think Will is ready to attack yet," said Jaden, "She's still working her magic."
"I said leave the puns to me!" Irma snapped.
"I now play the Spell card Dark Magic Attack!" said Will, "Since I have a card with the words 'Dark Magician' in its name on the field, I can destroy all my opponent's Trap and Spell cards!" With that Taranee was forced to send Molten Destruction and Backfire to her Graveyard.
Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch
Attack: 2400
Defense: 1000
"Are you quite done yet!?" Taranee asked, "Or are you just going to keep throwing cards down all day?"
"I'm almost ready," said Will, "Finally, I activate the Trap card Devine Wrath! This allows me to destroy one Effect monster on the field, and I choose your monster!" With that Thestalos self-destructed, leaving Taranee wide open.
"Dark Magician Girl!!" shouted Will, "Attack Taranee directly!!" Dark Magician Girl then aimed her staff at Taranee. The area around Taranee shifted colors like a photo negative, blasting her.
Taranee's Life Points: 0
"That's game!" said Will.
"Now that's what I call awesome!" said Taranee, "Good game." She shook hands with Will.
"You're taking this pretty well," said Nigel, "Two loses in a row."
"It's how you play the game," said Taranee, "But seriously, I need to rework my strategy."
"That was a great Duel, cousin," said Jaden, "Few more like that and you and your friends might be ready for the pros."
"We're nowhere ready for the professional leagues," said Cornelia.
"We still have to save the universe and all of reality first," said Will, "Anyway, Cornelia, I can't thank you enough for giving me Dark Magician Girl. That card is a real winner."
"No problem," Cornelia said, "Just don't bend, scratch, rip or lose it, it's irreplaceable."
"I'll take extra care of it," said Will. She then looked at her card, "And I owe an extra one for you, Dark Magician Girl." It was then that something really, really, really strange happened; the picture of Dark Magician Girl winked at Will. She was so dumbfounded at this sudden incident that Will failed to hear Martin calling her name.
"Earth to Will!" said Martin, "If you're done traveling the Twilight Zone, I've figured out what happened."
"Huh? Oh, yeah," said Will hastily as she placed her card back into her deck, "So, Martin, how did we get here?"
"An extremely rare celestial phenomena is the culprit," said Martin as he cleaned his glasses, "A Cosmic Filament. It's a natural fluctuation of reality that's several light-years across, yet less than a millimeter thick. Will, when you made that Fold to Zamballa, there was a Cosmic Filament right between New Nahani and Zamballa, which caused us to arrive here."
"Wherever here is," said Addicus.
"We're still lost," said Eric, "We can't move forward and we can't go back to where we came from."
"Not true," said Martin, "As fate would have it, we're only off course by ten light-years, give or take a parsec or two. Zamballa is right over there," he pointed up into the sky, "Just a hop from one star system to another."
"Then what are we still doing here?" Beck asked, "Let's go already!"
"Oh, Will," Cal said as Will was about to make another Fold, "This time around, try not to bump into any Cosmic Filaments."
"You're a Cosmic Filament!" said Beck.
"Welcome to my family," said Dylan to Elyon.
"I can manage," said Elyon, "As long as I have you." They kissed. They then followed Will and the others through the Fold.
Meanwhile…
"The Guardians are on the move again," said Findo Trask, "They've reached Zamballa."
"Then let us take leave," said The Obliterator, "So that I may dispose of our enemies!"
"Not so fast, my armored comrade," Cedric said, "There is a matter with our wizardly friend that I wish to clarify."
"And what would that be?" the demon wizard asked.
"Not too long ago," said Cedric, "You had Elyon's lover at your mercy. Yet you hesitated, allowing our enemies to take the initiative and force us to retreat. My question is what caused you to lose focus on our mission? and whether or not it will happen again?"
"Why I hesitated is of no concern to you, shape shifter," said Findo Trask, "It is irrelevant. But I can assure you, it will not happen again." The demon wizard had good reason to keep what happened to himself. Ever since the redheaded Guardian attacked him with the power of The Heart of Candracar, he'd been having disturbing thoughts. Random memories from his human past, memories that had lain buried for centuries, were beginning to surface.
To Findo Trask these memories were a sign of weakness, one that had to be stamped out of existence, if he wished to achieve his goals. So the demon wizard had devoted a good portion of his mental energy to repressing his memories again. Yet during the struggle on New Nahani, an especially powerful memory had emerged. Images of long forgotten friends and colleagues from when he was still human; faces, but no names.
"I must agree with Cedric's concerns," said Salavine, "Your hesitation, wizard, cost us the first Rainbow Crystal. But even worse, your forced withdraw from the area allowed The Guardians and their pathetic friends to interrupt my fun."
"Perhaps our wizardly friend is losing his touch," said Lacerta, "Perhaps his centuries of service is beginning to take its toll on his powers. It may be that he is ready to retire."
"I beg your pardon!!" snapped Findo Trask, "Are you suggesting that I am less a demon than you, scumbag!?"
"I wouldn't use those exact words," said Lacerta, "But off the record, I wouldn't have hesitated, and the red Rainbow Crystal would be in our hands by now."
"Well then put this in your record!!" snapped the demon wizard. Before Lacerta could act, Findo Trask had pointed his staff at the pinstriped demon, "Crucio!!"
Lacerta's face contorted in pain as he collapsed to the ground, writhing in indescribable agony.
"Enough, wizard," said Cedric after a minute or so, "As much as I like to watch the sleaze get what he deserves, and I do enjoy it, we still need him, for now."
"For now," said Findo Trask. He then raised his staff away from Lacerta, whom ceased contorting in pain.
"You bastard!!" exclaimed Lacerta, "If you ever do that to me again, I'll…"
"You'll do nothing!" Findo Trask said boldly, "For the next time, I'll most likely kill you outright. So tell me, do you still think I am, 'losing my touch,' as you put it?"
"Enough talk!" said The Obliterator, "The Guardians are locating the next crystal, if they hadn't discovered it yet."
"Our armored friend is right," said Salavine, "Zamballa awaits."
Findo Trask and Lacerta glared at each other before nodding, as if declaring a silent truce. Yet each demon desired to kill the other. Each one silently vowed to destroy the other, thereby eliminating not only an irritation, but also a rival for the attentions of The God Hand.
Without waiting for further altercation, Cedric made a dark Portal, with he and his demon allies went through.
The end of chapter 12. Next chapter our heroes finally reach Zamballa, 'nuff said. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!