Here's another chapter for you nuts! Enjoy! Oh, and by the way, I don't commend cross-dressing, but the character who duels Brigit was created by a member of the forum, so flame him, not me.
Never in my life have I seen weirder things.
Of course, being a duelist, I expect to see strange things, thanks to the awesome technology of the Duel Disks.
I've seen whole landscapes change due to field cards, I've seen frightening monsters that would make even the bravest men cry in sheer terror. I've seen trap cards inflict grievous harm on monsters and duelists alike.
But never have I seen something like this.
Not only is the person I am dueling…eccentric in his fashion, but his monsters are a deadly combo of machines that would make even some of the well known machine duelists(like this kid I heard about, Syrus Truesdale, who uses a strange type of machine monsters) quiver in fear.
Oh, I'll beat this guy. But I'll still be having nightmares for years to come.
o
Yu-Gi-Oh Jr. - Sister of Anansi
Chapter 20: Union Rider
O
Deep inside another dimension, separated from Duelist Camp and Duelatopia by walls of time and space, a turbaned Egyptian rose up from the floor of a golden-walled room. He approached the center of the room, which held a cage suited for holding hamsters or other rodents. He knelt down and examined it carefully.
"Just as I feared," he murmured. "She has escaped. I sensed the magic but I had thought it was a fluke. Had I been more careful, I would have been able to act sooner. I must speak with Ishizu's daughter about this. Surely she knows by now."
And with that, Shadi, the Guardian of the Millennium Items, sank back into the floor of the prison room...
0
The sun drearily trudged across the sky, over the trees and buildings of Duelist Camp. In Lina's station, a fierce duel was taking place between Jake Forester and Lina Mystara, but it was winding down. Jake had his two Solar Flare Dragons and Sacred Phoenix on the field, along with Molten Destruction, but was down to 2500 life points. Lina, on the other hand, had her Masked Sorcerer out and, thanks to her Kirby's Sketchbook, it was now at 2900 (Jake had tried to destroy it with Nephthys). She was at 4200 life points thanks to some healing cards earlier.
"I sacrifice my Toon Masked Sorcerer..." said Lina, as the goofy masked gremlin crumbled into light. "To summon my favorite Toon! Toon Dark Magician Girl, come out!"
There was a pop and puff of smoke, and out of the book hopped a super-cute version of the legendary sorceress. She let out a giggle and squeal. (2000/1700)
"Now my sorceress, attack Jake!"
The sorceress fired her magic into Jake, who screamed as he was flung back. His life points dropped to 500 life points.
"I hate to say it, but you're as good as dead," giggled Lina as her super-deformed self floated down and laughed. "When my Toon sorceress hits you again, you're finished!"
Jake sighed. She's right! My Solar Flare Dragon lock won't work against Toon Monsters! I have to get creative. He drew a card. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." He drew two cards from his deck and smirked. "This should finish you off."
He slapped down a card.
"First, I'll summon Ultimate Baseball Kid in attack mode!"
The young red-clothed baseball player appeared and tapped his bat to the ground, taking a batting stance. (500/1000); (1000/600)
"What? Are you serious?" grinned Lina. "That thing can't even stand a chance against my Toons!"
"That is going to change!" laughed Jake. "Thanks to my Phoenix and Solar Flare Dragons, this baby gains 3000 attack!" Ultimate Baseball Kid rose to 4000 attack.
"Oh no!" said Lina in shock. "My Toon's toast!" Toon Dark Magician Girl squealed in terror.
"That's right, it's toasted, roasted, and burnt to a crisp!" laughed Jake. "Ultimate Baseball Kid, use Homerun Slammer!"
The boy summoned a fireball and threw it into the air, then whacked it for a homerun right into Toon Dark Magician Girl, shattering her into a million pieces. Lina's life points dropped to 2200.
"Sacred Phoenix, attack her life points directly!" ordered Jake.
The Phoenix screeched and launched a blast of fire that immolated Lina. When it was over, she was covered with soot and her life meter hit zero.
"I won!" cried Jake, pumping his fist in the air. "Yes!"
Lina dusted herself off. "Well, you're pretty good, Jake. I didn't expect one of Arn's campers to defeat me. I thought you were a poser too, just like Norus."
"Heh, that jerk doesn't deserve to duel," laughed Jake, helping her dust off. "So..."
"Yeah, I know, you earned the Shadow Badge," said Lina, removing a box from a niche and opening it. It revealed a black disk with a wicked face on it. "Put it on your card with pride."
"Yes, I'm in the finals!" laughed Jake. "I can't wait to show Brigit!"
"Brig?" asked Lina. "She's in my cabin. She said she only has six more pins to get. I heard she defeated Jackie too, I'm a bit surprised myself." She smirked. "I wouldn't be surprised if she were wandering around and looking for a duel to get into. Why don't you go find her?"
"Thanks!" said Jake, nodding. "I'll do that right now!" He waved and left.
"Well, seems I'm losing my touch," laughed Lina. "Already three duelists defeated me and got my badge. Jake, Sonja, and then that girl from the Shining Friendship cabin. SHINING FRIENDSHIP...I can't believe she owns such a powerful deck!"
She snickered. "Well, better get ready for my next opponent." She took a broom and swept the floor of the cave.
0
Brigit sneezed.
"You okay, Brig?" asked Diane as the girls wandered the campsite.
"Yeah," sniffled Brigit, wiping her nose with a tissue. "But I swear something was talking about me."
"Maybe it's Lina," said Giselle with a big grin. "She was so excited to see you with Jackie's badge."
Diane nodded. "That duel was so intense! I mean, I didn't expect her to do so well!"
"Well, she DID work in the Labyrinth, I'm sure she learned a few tricks," stated Brigit. "As Twilight would say..."
The three grinned and spoke in unison. "You can't tell a book by its cover!" Giggles erupted.
"Great minds think alike," said a voice.
The three girls looked about. "Who said that?" asked Giselle.
"I did," said the voice. The girls turned to see a girl wearing a feathered boa, high platform shoes, and gaudy eye shadow. Her face seemed...oddly masculine. "Mind if I challenge one of you girls to a duel?"
Diane looked at her shirt, sporting the Penguin Knight logo. "You're in Donnie's cabin!"
"And Ares'!" said Giselle. "That means..."
"YOU'RE A GUY!" cried Diane in horror.
"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful, darling," grinned the boy, tossing his boa over his back. "The name's Jonathan. Jonathan Slade."
"So, why do you...want to duel us?" asked Brigit, trying to hold her revulsion down. So he's a...cross-dresser. I'm sure he's...just eccentric and not a pervert.
"Oh, it's only that I need two more star pins," said John, holding up his card. It showed a glittering fairy-shaped badge below seven star pins.
Giselle gasped as she recognized it. "That's Harold's Legend Badge! Kate told me about that! You beat the Spear Dragon counselor?"
"Indeed I did," said John, smirking. "He's not so tough compared to my deck. If you want, I could show you ladies my powerful monsters."
"No need," said Giselle, flashing her card. "I'm in the finals already."
"My, my, quite a good show, girl," said Jonathan, eyeing her card.
Brigit stepped forward. "I don't speak for my friends. They may think you are...to put it bluntly, weird, but I'm sure you're not some horrible person just because..."
"Oh yeah, that," said John. "I do tend to dress effeminately. Many of the boys in my cabin tend to shun me because of that. Even Brandon, my counselor, keeps bugging me to stop wearing these clothes. I had to promise not to wear my beautiful evening gown at the opening ceremonies."
He saw their reactions.
"Girls hate me even more because of my behavior. Not that I'm interested in you ladies, I prefer..."
"Oh god," said Giselle, turning green at what she thought he was going to say.
John finished. "...remaining out of a relationship. I guess that's when I started dressing this way, after my girlfriend broke up with me..." He sighed.
"Oh, I'm sorry," said Brigit. "If you want, I can duel you. I only need three more pins to enter the finals."
"Thanks for accepting my challenge!" said John, grinning. "But I must warn you, I've only lost twice in this tournament so far. Minor losses, though." He waved his hand. "So, shall we begin, dearie?" He shuffled his deck.
"Gladly," said Brigit, smiling as she shuffled her own deck.
0
As Brigit and Jonathan began their duel, Lina was approached by two figures. She looked up. "Eh? Two duelists?"
"No," said Twilight with a gentle smile. "You should know me by now."
"Oh! Twi!" said Lina. "Who's that with you?"
The man smiled and spoke in an Egyptian accent. "I thought you would recognize me, considering what Kimi told me of you and Pegasus."
Lina looked over him, then recalled a painting in Maximillion's manor. "You..you're Shadi, the one who gave Max his Millennium Eye, then you showed him the chamber with the God Card tablets!"
"Exactly," said Shadi. "I must commend your friend, Brigit, for defeating Obelisk one final time. Few can stand against the might of an Egyptian God Monster. And thankfully, it is gone forever. But I fear Slifer and Ra will appear soon."
"We must not talk about these things here, Shadi," said Twilight. "Lina, come with us. I've arranged for us to abandon our stations early to talk to Sibylla about something we talked about yesterday." She narrowed her eyes.
"Huh? Oh, your dream," said Lina. "Okay. Is it okay if I put on a coat? It's freezing today." She removed her wig and hat.
0
Brigit and John activated their duel disks and inserted their decks, and the life meters rose to 8000 each. They drew their first hands.
"Ladies first," said Brigit, eliciting some chuckles from Giselle and Diane.
John cocked a brow and drew a card. "Don't mind if I do, miss."
"Hey, that's not what I..." Brigit began to say.
John interrupted her. "I set a card face-down." The card appeared before him. "And summon X-Head Cannon in attack mode!"
A man-sized robot with purple coating and twin cannons on its "shoulders" appeared. (1800/1500)
Diane stopped laughing. "X-Head Cannon? There's only one theme John has...he's got Seto Kaiba's XYZ monsters!"
"What?" asked Giselle. "Oh crud, Brig's in trouble!"
Brigit didn't hear her friends, but simply drew a card. "Well then, since you stole the first move from me, John, I might as well make my play now. A monster in defense mode..."
The monster appeared before her face-down.
"And I activate Level Limit Area B! This forces all four-star monsters or higher to shift to defense mode!"
The cannon crouched and withdrew its cannons.
"So your robot can't touch my monsters!"
John grinned. "Nice play, Brigit. But I'm afraid that magic card you played is about to go." He drew and grinned. "Excellent. Y-Head Dragon in defense mode!"
A red robotic pterodactyl-like creature appeared with a screech. (1500/1600)
"That thing's weaker than your X-Head," said Brigit.
"True, girl," grinned John. "But together they can form a deadly combination. Let me show you. Combine, my two beauties!"
The purple robot flew to the red robot and clamped onto its shoulders. John removed the two cards. "By removing my two robots from play, I can summon XY-Dragon Cannon!" The two dragons glowed briefly as they fused together to form a robot-carrying dragon robot. (2200/1900)
"Oh no, I just remembered what these creatures do!" gasped Brigit in horror.
"Too bad you didn't find out until it was too late, dear," grinned John. "By discarding a card from my hand, I can activate XY-Dragon Cannon's special ability." He discarded a Union Rider monster card from his hand. "Destroying one of your face-up magic or trap cards!"
The dragon powered up a blast as did the robot and three blasts shattered Level Limit Area B.
"No!" cried Diane in horror.
"Of course, since I summoned my Y-Dragon Head, I can't shift my new monster to attack, but next turn, your monster is toast." John grinned and nodded. "I'll end my turn by placing this card facedown…" He set a card and it materialized. "Move."
"This is bad," whispered Giselle. "How can Brig stand against such a deadly machine like that?"
0
The Augury greeted the three as they appeared in a disk of light. Greetings Shadi, Guardian of the Items.
"Greetings to you, oh great Phoenix," said Shadi, bowing. "I am honored to meet you. We have much to talk about."
Yes, we do. The bird preened its glowing blue feathers.
Lina was amazed to see the thing again. She hoped that Sibylla hadn't spooked the girls too much with his appearance during her duel with Balzack. "So, what's this all about? Some silly dream that makes no sense?"
Twilight's vision through the Millennium Necklace was no mere dream, said Sibylla. When she receives a vision from the Necklace, it is an omen.
"What bothers me is Lady Circe's return," said Shadi. "She has escaped."
"What? You mean she broke out?" asked Lina in shock. She paused. "Well, she probably wriggled out of her cage. She won't get very far as a black rat."
"Had it been a rat's escape, I would not be concerned," said Shadi. "But I felt a wave of dark magic a couple of nights ago. I did a cursory scan of the prison where I held all the Rare Hunters, but there was no breach. The magical wards were all in effect. I admit I let my guard down, thinking I was overworking my job as warden for the Rare Hunters I had locked up until their redemption, but recently, I sensed a familiar dark magic...that of an ancient spell that should have been forgotten."
"The Seal of Orichalcos," sighed Lina, who explained what happened. Twilight filled in some details and Sibylla added a couple of things as well.
0
Brigit sighed. "Well, to be honest, you should have disintegrated my monster," said Brigit, flip-summoning it. She smirked as the metal pod rose up.
John gulped. "A Cyber Jar?"
Diane grinned. "All right! That monster's toast!"
Brigit nodded. "That's right, and rules state that when this guy's flipped, all our monsters are destroyed!" The jar sucked up the giant robot and exploded violently. "Then we draw five cards and set or summon all the four-star or lower monsters in our hand."
She drew five cards and grinned.
Yes! These two cards will take out all his life points in one shot once I summon these monsters!
"Gigobyte."
The reptilian warrior appeared. (350/300)
"Mokey Mokey."
The marshmallow angel appeared. (300/200)
"Kozaky."
A hideous mad scientist with wild eyes appeared. (400/400)
"Dancing Elf."
The cute toga-clad fairy appeared. (300/200)
"And Petit Dragon in attack mode!"
A cute legless dragon child appeared. (600/900)
"Hmph," said John, drawing five cards. "X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank in attack mode!"
Another purple robot and red dragon robot appeared, along with a yellow four-legged robot with a camera for a single eye. (1500/1300)
"Uh oh," said Giselle. "Next turn, he can fuse all of those monsters for a massive monster that can destroy ANY card!"
"Poor Brig," whispered Diane.
Brig chuckled. "Hate to rain on your parade, Johnny girl, but those monsters are toast." She showed a card and activated it. "I activate The Law of Normal! This magic card will wipe out all monsters on the field except two-stars or higher, as long as I have a full field of such monsters!"
"Yes!" cried Giselle.
The card appeared. "Sorry, love, but that's not happening." John smirked as he flipped up his face-down card. "Activate Magic Drain!"
"No!" sobbed Diane.
"Now, if you want to use your magic card, you'll have to discard one from your hand," grinned John. "Otherwise, it's gone for good."
Brigit gasped and looked at her hand, then cursed.
Damn! All I have is this card I was going to use to wipe out his life points in one hit! Well, I can still do some damage, but I'll be in danger of a direct...
She then saw a card in her hand and grinned. "I let Magic Drain resolve!"
The Law of Normal shattered.
"Well, too bad your plan failed, dear," said John. "Any more moves you'd like to make?"
"In fact, I do," said Brigit. "I place a card face-down."
The card appeared before her.
Brigit grinned. "Then I activate the magic card I would have had to throw away with your Magic Drain...Triangle Power!"
A golden triangle encased Dancing Elf, Mokey Mokey, Kozaky and Gigobyte.
"Even though all four of my one-stars will die next turn, for this turn they gain two-thousand attack points!"
The four grew stronger. Kozaky grew to 2400 attack, Gigobyte rose to 2350, and both fairies rose to 2300.
"Oh dear," said John, sweating.
"Now, let's see how your robots can handle my Lilliputian onslaught!" said Brigit. "Kozaky, take down X-Head Cannon with Mad Science Blast!"
The scientist cackled and fired a beam of dark energy from his hand into the purple robot, shattering it.
"Gigobyte, your turn! Use Fury Fist on that red dragon robot!"
The reptile grinned and punched Y-Dragon Head, shattering it.
"Mokey Mokey, use Infinite Anger Burst on Z-Metal Tank!"
The angel squealed as it blasted a beam of rainbow light into the yellow robot, making it explode into pixels.
"Finally, Petit Dragon and Dancing Elf, attack his life points directly!"
"AUGH!" cried John as he was kicked and bitten by the two remaining monsters. As his life meter dropped to 2850, he opened a compact and checked his face.
"My makeup's ruined! That's just horrible!"
Giselle cringed as Diane laughed. "All right, one more direct attack and he's done for!"
Giselle turned to Diane. "But Di, all of her one-stars go to the graveyard because of Triangle Power, remember?"
"I know, but she can just summon her you-know-what next turn and attack directly..." Diane winked.
"Oh," said Giselle, smirking. "In that case..." She called to Brigit. "You go, Brig!"
Brigit smiled. "Your turn, Johnny."
0
"So, the Seal has returned," whispered Shadi fearfully. "Then it is out of my hands. Whoever owns that magic obviously has the power to spirit away one of my prisoners, and also has the power to remove Yugi's penalty game if he so desires. This sorcerer, Pisaro, is very dangerous and something tells me that he is as dangerous than the evil in Duelatopia."
"You think there is evil in Duelatopia?" asked Lina in shock.
"It was my vision that warned Shadi," whispered Twilight. "I did not notice it until I had a vision the night before you were attacked on the plane here. I didn't tell anyone for fear of being mocked. I saw a wicked demon over the island, eagerly licking his lips, and a silver disk under the waves."
"I decided to examine this thing myself, using my Millennium Key," said Shadi, showing the glowing golden key. "This is another Millennium Item, allowing me to become invisible and alter the perceptions of all who see me. I can also enter people's minds and alter them. I have been altering the minds of the Rare Hunters to erase the evil from their minds, but I have left the Dark Four and Skackle alone because Yugi inflicted the Penalty Game."
"Wow, that's amazing, you can actually reform a person to good?" asked Lina.
"It doesn't work like that," stated Shadi. "But in a way, yes. To continue, I went to the island and hid under my Key's power, and then I saw them - the robed ones. They were like the old Rare Hunters under Marik, only much more evil and inhuman. After a bit of investigation, I knew something was up, so I went to the ancient libraries and researched legends, and learned about the legend of a fallen angel who was defeated by my Key, Kimi's Necklace, and four more of the Items."
"This vision I had was about that very fallen angel, Saurius," said Twilight. "I saw it with my own eyes. It was a vision of Battle City, thirty-five years ago! I saw my mother dueling the demon, and in the end, he was defeated by my mother's Exchange of Spirits card. Saurius never knew what hit him."
"So...Saurius is this guy's name," said Lina in concern. "Is he THAT dangerous?"
As powerful as Pisaro in magic, and as greedy, stated Sibylla. I have existed before humanity and saw with my own eyes the destruction he wrought that made him fall from the Blessed Realm. However, the owner of the Millennium Ring put a curse on him - if he is defeated by all seven Millennium Items, his soul will shatter into a million pieces and he will be no more than dust.
"So, Ishizu and this other guy defeated him while holding the Necklace and Ring," said Lina. "Speaking of the Ring, I think my foster dad mentioned some guy called Bakura who owned the Ring..." She shrugged. "Any other defeats?"
"I cannot say who defeated him with the Millennium Key, Scales, Rod, or Eye," said Shadi. "But he was defeated by the owners of those too. Every aeon, he came to seek out the Mandate of Heaven, and every time he was defeated. Now, only the Millennium Puzzle remains to defeat him before the curse takes full effect."
Lina gasped. "That means...Yugi's got to fight him!"
"Exactly," said Twilight. "And I know the outcome of that duel...but it will never be if we do not stop Lady Circe and Pisaro, for they plan to ambush Yugi and kill him before then."
0
John was red in the face and angry. "You will pay for messing my makeup, girl!" He drew a card and chuckled. "He, he, he..."
"What's so funny, John?" asked Brigit.
"The fact you are in serious trouble, dear," said John. He pulled a card from his hand. "Z-Metal Tank in attack mode!"
Another yellow four-legged robot appeared.
"Oh no, he's gonna blow Petit Dragon away!" gasped Giselle.
"I don't think so, I bet that face-down card is her Gravity Bind," whispered Diane. "If he dares to attack, she can activate it and stop the attack cold."
"Oh, thank goodness," said Giselle. But she was still worried - John didn't seem concerned about that face-down card.
"You're thinking about blowing away my Petit Dragon, Johnny boy?" asked Brigit, cocking a brow as her dragon sweated heavily.
"Nope, I have other plans," said John. "I activate the magic card, Dark Core!"
"Uh oh, that removes a monster from the game!" cried Giselle.
"Stop acting like Brig's dragon," said Diane as Petit Dragon was spazzing out. "Even if that dragon goes, Brigit can still activate her trap."
"Don't worry, little drake," grinned John. "I'm not using this card on YOU. This card can remove monsters from my side too!"
He discarded a monster called "W-Tiger Cannon."
"So I'm discarding a card to remove my Z-Metal Tank from the game!"
A vortex opened up and sucked up the robot.
"What was that for? Are you nuts?" asked Brigit. "You destroyed your only defense!"
"That's not all, girl," said John. "I activate this card, Soul Release!" He showed a card.
Diane gasped. I know about that card! It removes five cards from either graveyard!
"Oh, and I'm targeting five of my dearies, the two X-Head Cannons, Y-Dragon Heads, and my other Z-Metal Tank."
His graveyard shone and he removed the cards from them and put them into the removal slot.
"Hmph," said Brigit. "I don't see your strategy."
"Well, maybe THIS card will ring a bell?" said John as his trap card flipped up. "Return From The Different Dimension!"
Brigit paled. "No, I know about that card!"
"Then you know what it does, dear," said John. His life meter dropped to 1,425. "For half of my life points, I can bring back monsters removed from play, but since I can't have more than five on the field, I'll bring back as many as I can!" Two Z-Metal Tanks, Two X-Head Cannons, and a Y-Dragon Head appeared.
"And now, to avoid losing them at the end of my turn, I'll fuse two more powerful monsters! Combine, all my beauties!"
"This is bad," said Giselle as one of the X-Head Cannons locked into a hole on top of a Z-Metal Tank as the remaining monsters fused together into a giant behemoth of a robot beast.
Soon, two robots were looking down on Brigit's Petit Dragon, who squealed and, if he had been real, would have lost control of his body functions.
"Meet my two robot monsters!" laughed John. "XZ-Tank Cannon..." (2400/2100) "And XYZ-Dragon Cannon!" (2800/2600)
"Oh no," said Brigit, the color draining from his face. "My defenses are toast."
"What?" asked Giselle in shock.
"His robots are about to wipe out her Gravity Bind and Petit Dragon!" cried Diane.
"Lovely," said John.
Taking two cards from his hand, he smirked.
"These two have powers just like my XY-Dragon Cannon. XZ-Tank Cannon can eradicate one face-down magic or trap card on the field, and XYZ, my pride and joy, can annihilate one card on ANY type on the field! So..."
He discarded another monster called "V-Metal Wing" and a Formation Base magic card and the two cannon robots fired at will. Petit Dragon howled as he was vaporized by the bigger tank and Brigit's Gravity Bind exploded under the lasers of the smaller tank! Brigit's life meter dropped to 7800.
"No!" cried Diane in horror. "That was her only defense!"
"So much for your STRATEGY," said John wickedly. "XZ-Tank Cannon, XYZ-Dragon Cannon, attack her life points directly!"
Brigit hung her head as the two cannons aimed their guns at her.
"NO!" howled Giselle, who lunged forward. Diane shoved her arm across her path. "Diane, let me at him! I'll pummel him!"
"We can't interrupt the duel, Gissy!" snapped Diane.
"But..." Giselle said.
FWOOM! The two cannons fired and engulfed Brigit in an explosion! She let out a blood-curdling scream!
"BRIG!" howled Giselle, leaping over Diane's arm as the smoke dissipated, leaving a barely-conscious Brigit. Her glasses had fallen several feet from her. "Oh my god, are you okay?" She picked up Brigit, who was coughing.
"I...I'm fine," whispered Brigit, brushing herself off as her life meter dropped to 2600.
"That bastard..." grumbled Giselle.
"Gissy, you know the rules, no cussing," whispered Brigit.
"Screw the rules!" snarled Giselle. "I can't let you get..."
"I'm fine!" snapped Brigit, breaking away from Giselle. "Stop babying me! I'm not your little sister!"
Giselle wiped a tear from her eye. "You are to me, Brig. Ever since we met on that plane, I began to feel like you are the sister I always wanted to protect. You and Diane are like my sisters. If I hadn't met you guys, I might have never had any...friends." She sighed and hung her head sadly.
Brigit looked at her sadly. She's so strong, I can't match up to her.
"Touching, but it's her move," said John. "Could you move back so we can continue?"
Brigit turned to him. "There's no need, I'm forfeiting." She raised her hand over her disk.
"WHAT!" cried Diane.
Giselle grabbed her hand. "You can't do that! If you lose, you..."
"I'm also dropping out of the tournament," sighed Brigit.
"You have get to the finals, Brig, you have to!" whispered Giselle. "What would D.M.G. be without your brains?"
"But, if we enter the finals, we won't be a team anymore, we'll be enemies," sighed Brigit sadly.
"Oh, I see," said Diane with a smile, walking up to her. She put a hand on Brigit's shoulder. "Brig, we'll still be friends, even if one of us has to take the others down."
"But..." said Brigit.
Diane smiled. "Lina told me something when she heard Giselle was almost in the finals. I was a bit nervous and worried that I'd have to face her there. She said that she had seen a lot of tournaments in her day, and many times, friends became enemies and lovers broke up and hated each other. It was all blood and tears, but in truth, she knew why…you take the game too seriously."
"Oh?" asked Brigit.
"Yep, I should know," giggled Diane. "Once, my sister found a very cute and smart guy in one tournament and he asked her on a date after the tournament ended. However, her heart broke at the final round because he was her opponent. They both dueled hard, but after she won, he completely changed. He spat in her face and said he never wanted to see her again, she was even called the B word. She was so depressed I had to order pizza for two weeks, her favorite kind, to cheer her up. I felt that the jerk didn't deserve her, because he loved Duel Monsters more than a nice woman like Sheena, who has many other nice talents."
"Wow," said Brigit.
Giselle snorted. "Jerk! Serves him right, I hope he gets cancer for treating your sister that way!"
Diane smiled. "But don't worry, Brigit. If we can still be friends after one of us is beaten by the other, then we're true friends. You should enjoy your duels and never feel like they are life-and-death, okay?"
Brigit turned to John, who was adjusting his makeup a bit. "You're right. Sorry for scaring you, guys. I will try to win this duel and get into the finals!"
"All right, that's the Brig we know!" grinned Giselle. "Kick this cross-dressers' robots' butts!"
She laughed as the two girls backed off.
Brigit reached for her deck. Diane's right, I'm taking this too seriously. Even if I lose, it won't be a big deal - I just won't get into the finals. But I really want to be there with Di and Gissy, dueling all the others!
She pulled the top card from her deck...
0
The conversation between the characters in Sibylla's clearing continued.
"But even so, the Oath the Heir made prevents Circe from harming Yugi," said Shadi. "And the Millennium Scepter made it impossible for anyone connected to Pegasus to harm Yugi."
That will not stop either Circe or Pisaro, said Sibylla. I sense Pisaro's magic from here. It is very evil and dark. His hatred for human beings has come with him across the worlds and he will not stop until Yugi is dead and his 'lover' is avenged.
Lina curled her lip in disgust. "Great..." She then thought of something. "Say, if old Pisaro is capable of yanking people out of your jail, why didn't he yank ALL the Dark Four out and overwhelm Yugi with them?"
From what I know, stated Sibylla. He is not stupid. He knows that using spells to rescue all the Dark Four would drain him, and he wouldn't able to grant all their powers back. He also knows that Shadi would have been alarmed and contacted Yugi with a warning, ruining his plans. I suggest we play his little game a bit longer, and move when he strikes. I believe that time will come soon. The more assurance we give him, the easier it will be to ambush him when he isn't looking. In the meantime, I will keep watch over the campgrounds in case something is up.
"It doesn't matter how many he brings back," stated Shadi. "From what I know, Yugi and Remi made an oath. When Yugi won, the oath took effect - none of the Dark Four can harm Yugi, Jade, Kaiba, or Yugi's friends as long as they live due to that oath."
"Circe will not be stopped, she is forming a plan to bring that other woman into her fold and use her as a weapon," whispered Twilight fearfully. "We must stop her before it is too late."
I do not think Circe will strike Yugi now, when the tournament on that island is in full swing, said the Augury.
"The bird's right, Twi," said Lina, getting a glare from Sibylla. "She's probably going to wait a bit, maybe until after the finals, when everyone's guard is down, before lashing out. Relax, after our finals, we'll keep our eye on Yugi."
"I hope you are right," muttered Twilight somberly.
Shadi nodded. "We can only wait and hope that we won't be too late when she makes her move against Yugi."
"Well, I'll keep watch over my campers," said Lina. "The finals are approaching. I believe that whoever this Pisaro creep is, he won't make a move until after Monster Valley is over. Except for that Balzack, it's been quiet."
Balzack was not acting under Pisaro's orders, he was acting on his own free will, stated Sibylla. I am sure that Pisaro had not intended for him to duel you. Pisaro is laying low until the time is right. If you are right, he will only strike when this tournament's finals are over. Those who are in the finals may be the most vulnerable.
Lina paled. "Giselle's in the finals...and so is Jake! He just got into the finals after getting my badge!"
"Then you had better keep a close eye on those two," said Twilight softly. "I fear they are in grave danger."
"Right," said Lina with a sigh.
I must go and start my sweep of the camp for anything unusual, said the Augury, opening his wings. Shadi, if anything comes up about Circe, we will let you know.
He let out a cry and shot into the air in a blue blaze of light. The clearing grew dimmer with his passing.
"I must return to the prison myself to keep watch, in case Pisaro tries to rescue any more of the prisoners," said Shadi. He bowed. "I wish you all good fortune and may we all live to see the next full moon." With that, he sank into the ground in a disc of light.
"Nice exit," muttered Lina. "Well, Twi, let's hope for the best. I sure hope Brigit and Diane don't enter the finals, but..."
"Their fate has been decided," said Twilight sadly. "Bless them and hope that their hearts remain strong." She left.
"Hoo boy..." sighed Lina, sweatdropping. "Anne, you stupid girl, you've sure got me in a web of danger and mystery!"
0
Brigit looked at her card and grinned. "This duel is over, Johnny!"
"Eh?" asked John, putting his compact away. "Are you mad, girl? I have two monsters on the field and you have none."
"That's about to change. I play Queen's Double in attack mode!" The beautiful blue-robed red-head appeared. (350/300)
"Big deal, I may have low life points, but I can weather an attack from that thing," said John. He paused. "Unless you have another of those special pump-up power cards."
"No, but this card is just as powerful!" She slapped the magic card she had drawn down. "Creature Swap!"
John gasped. "Uh oh..."
"Oh yeah!" said Giselle. "He's toast!"
"Here's how it works, John," said Brigit, smirking. "You must choose a monster and it will swap places with my Queen's Double. Choose carefully."
Jonathan sweated heavily. "XZ-Tank Cannon."
The two monsters switched places and now Brigit owned the XZ-Tank Cannon and Queen's Double was on John's side.
"Good," said Brigit. "Now I can wipe out your monster! XZ-Tank Cannon, blow away Queen's Double!"
The woman gasped in horror as the cannons pointed at her.
"No! I'm toast!" cried John in horror.
"Sorry, Queen's Double, nothing personal," said Brigit. "Attack with Tri-Fusion Laser!"
The creature fired three lasers that vaporized the woman and dropped John's life meter to zero.
"YEAAAAAAAH! " cried her friends, dancing a victory jig. "She won!"
The disks deactivated. "Well, that was an...interesting match, Brigit," said John with a sigh. "I was surprised at that strategy you pulled." He walked up to her. "But a deal is a deal. Here are your star pins." He removed the star pins from his card and handed them to Brigit. "You've earned them."
"Thank you. You are a bit weird-looking, but you are a nice girl...I mean, guy," said Brigit, blushing.
She turned to the others and stabbed the pins onto her card. "What do you think?"
"You're in the finals now, like me," said Giselle, hugging Brigit tightly. "I knew you could pull it off!"
"Thanks for believing in me," grinned Brigit. "Now all we need is for Di to get five more pins and we're all going to the finals!"
Diane laughed a bit sheepishly. "I've got all day and until noon tomorrow, so don't sweat it."
"Well, I'm off," said John. "I've got duels to attend, try to get back up to speed and hopefully into the finals."
"You know," said Giselle. "Despite what I said about you before, Johnny boy, you're pretty good as a duelist. Those XYZ monsters aren't something to be sneezed at. I hope you get in the finals, even if you...er...dress strange."
"Thanks love, I'll remember that compliment," winked John.
He checked his compact.
"Oh dear, my makeup's running! Better get back to the pad and get it fixed. A nice shower might be nice." He waved. "Ciao!" He left, leaving the girls with slightly queasy expressions.
"Well, that's an interesting duelist," said Diane. "But personally, I hope that he doesn't wear that to the finals. He'll stick out like a sore thumb!"
The others joined in her laughter as they walked off, not realizing that Diane was almost close to her final duel in the prelims, and that the one who would refer her to her final contestant was a few yards nearby, concluding a duel of his own…
0
"Heh, heh, heh," said Norus wickedly as a hideous demon glowered over the freaked-out fairy on the opponent's field. "You really thought you could pull that Monster Reborn when my End of Anubis stops cards like that?"
"No..." said the blonde girl from the Shining Friendship cabin that had defeated Lina earlier. She fell to her knees in despair. "Reviving Shinato was my only option..."
"Time to say good-bye to your stupid fairy and end this duel!" laughed Norus. "End of Anubis, take out the trash!"
The hideous demon powered up a dark ball of energy, aiming for the shuddering Dunames Dark Witch...
NEXT CHAPTER: Diane has to deal with a virtual army to get the remaining star pins for her card, but can she win the war, or will this be her final stand? Find out in Reinforcements of the Army!