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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
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Sam Versus The Centurion
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The Plague
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It was now two-thirty in the afternoon.
Ren had recovered from the brutal deathmatch with the android, and the trio was now sitting at a picnic table in the nearby Duelatopia Topiary Park.
And Chelsea had finally gotten around to telling them about the map she had found when she had beaten Edan.
Chelsea read the inscription:
If you are of the fairer gender and are fair of heart, seek the place where ancient beasts stand, taken from their earthen tombs, and find the Tomb of the Elders below. If you believe your power can overcome the lurking danger, challenge the master of the tomb for power and station. But be warned… Few who enter the parlor of the Midnight Caller are allowed to leave.
"Another Eliminator…" muttered Ren. "Are you sure, Chelsea?"
"Why not?" she replied. "It might be fun."
"FUN?" he exclaimed. "Mystara threatened to seal Yumi in amber! This guy might do something worse to you!"
Chelsea studied the strange instructions.
"It says, 'If you are of the fairer gender and are fair of heart'," she said. "Maybe he only accepts female duelists as challengers."
"It might be because he likes to sacrifice virgins…" muttered Ren.
"Well then, he's out of luck…" replied Chelsea.
Both of them stared at her.
"Gotcha!" laughed Chelsea, opening her arms. "Untouched by man…"
Ren glared at her, obviously not thinking it had been very funny…
"Why did Edan have this?" continued Chelsea. "Do you suppose Michelle challenged this guy and beat him?"
"Maybe…" answered Yumi. "Or maybe Michelle tried to beat him, and…"
"Calm down people," said Chelsea, "my mind's not made up yet…"
She looked at the paragraph again.
"…'where ancient beasts stand, taken from their earthen tombs'… That must mean the Museum of Natural History. Dinosaurs are ancient beasts. But who the heck is the Midnight Caller?"
Anastasia appeared behind Yumi.
"Yumi…" she said, "uh, I don't like butting in on matters like this… I mean, this tournament is really none of my business… But I know who the Midnight Caller is. That is to say, who he was, supposedly."
"Was?" asked Yumi.
"My dad heard about him," said Anastasia. "He was supposed to be a vampire who lived – or in his case didn't live – in France around the sixteenth century. My dad used descriptions of him as the model for Vampire Lord.
"According to legend, he was a very finicky vampire. He targeted only the most beautiful women as victims. Those who died and fell victim to the curse of vampirism became his concubines.
"And the strangest part of the story was, no-one knew just how, or even if he met his end. His preying just stopped one day, and he was never seen again."
"Uh, Chelsea?" said Yumi, speaking up. "Before you go find this guy, something you should know…"
"YUMI!" screamed a voice.
"Huh?" said Yumi, standing up. "Sam?"
Yumi turned around, and saw Sam rushing towards them, practically dragging Erik behind her.
"I knew I'd find you here, bitch," shouted Sam, who was obviously very angry. "Look at you, so smug now that you're one step away from the finals… So proud that you beat an Eliminator…"
"How did you…" started Yumi.
"It doesn't matter!" shouted Sam, angrily. "Get your Disk, ready, Yumi! I'm going to cast you into Hades right now!"
"Whoa, whoa, Sam, what is wrong with you?" asked Yumi. "You've never been this nasty."
Sam quickly grabbed Yumi's Puzzle and gave the chain a swift yank.
"Sam!" shouted Yumi, in pain. "Ow! Lay off!"
"Are you going to duel me?" shouted Sam. "Or are you going to make me take this stupid Puzzle and jam it up your…"
"Ms. Arachne!" boomed an amplified voice behind her. "Release her this instant!"
Sam froze in fear…
She let go of Yumi.
She knew what sort of person the voice belonged to, and that voice was terrifying. She was now too afraid to turn and face him…
"Uh… oh…" said Ren, as he saw who it was. "Someone is getting in trouble…"
"Big time…" added Chelsea.
Erik backed away, as the armored Centurion walked up behind Sam, and crossed his arms.
"Ms. Arachne," he said. "You are way out of line here. Leveling threats of violence towards another guest is not becoming of the owner's daughter… What you just did could be construed as assault, I might add."
Sam started to sweat.
The Centurion took hold of her shoulders and turned her around.
"You will look at me when I speak to you," he demanded.
"What… what are you going to do to me?" squeaked Sam, in fear.
"What your mother ordered us to do in any cases regarding you," he replied. "Exactly what we'd do to any other guest who threatened another."
Sam bowed her head.
"Are you going to come quietly," he asked, "or do I have to use handcuffs?"
"Officer, please!" shouted Erik.
The Centurion glared at him.
"Officer…" he stammered. "She's… uh… not in a very good mood… She had… An unofficial duel with me… And… I was merciless. She took some heavy direct attacks. Please be lenient…"
The Centurion glared at him again.
"I'm not sure if I believe you, Mr. Matell," he said. "And that's hardly an excuse. But still… Since it was only a verbal threat, for the most part, maybe I could use a little leniency, if Samantha is willing to work hard for it."
"What do you mean?" asked Sam.
The Centurion took something out of a pouch on his belt and lifted it up.
It was a deck of cards.
"You… You want to duel me?" asked Sam.
"Consider me a Bonus," replied the Centurion. "If you win, I'll even upgrade you, and I'll let this incident go with just a warning. But if I win, you give yourself up and be a cooperative prisoner.
"I guess you can consider it… trial by combat."
Sam sighed.
"I guess I don't have a choice…" she muttered.
"True…" he replied. "You don't… Consider yourself lucky I'm even giving you this chance."
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In the Entertainment District, Rasputin was sitting at a table at an open-air bar, having told Louis and his two wards to leave him alone for a while. He had to do some deep thinking. He had just mentally crossed robots off his list of potential henchmen for future plans.
He sighed. A truly dramatic, explosive – literally – and perhaps even romantic ending to Ren's duel would have been for him to activate Macros's self destruct sequence. He could picture Yumi and company fleeing from the restaurant in terror and diving for cover just as it was blown sky high…
However, this wasn't a movie, and things weren't so dramatic in reality. If he had ordered Macros to destroy itself, it would simply have deleted its memory, and it would have fallen to the ground, an inert piece of metal. He couldn't even have done that – he couldn't transmit orders to Macros during the duel, because of Jeremo's magic, and once they had re-entered the real world, it was rejecting his orders.
A cocktail waitress came up to him.
"Old Granddad and ginger ale," he said, sullenly.
She nodded, and walked to the bar.
The score stands three to two, in their favor, he thought. Maybe more so with Yumi in possession of the Crown of Souls. Machius wasn't called "the Wise" for nothing…
According to rumor, he was very wise, and very insightful… He was supposedly the first of the Sorcerer Kings to obtain actual immortality, and even before he did, he knew things that no mortal had a right to know. Whether he shared the secret with the rest of them, or let them discover it for themselves, no-one is certain…
There are two versions told about what ultimately became of the Sorcerer Kings…
One version said that Machius was the one who orchestrated their master plan, which would give them the ultimate power… But the plan had a fatal flaw in it, so when they failed and met their dire fate, he was to blame…
The more optimistic theory was, another of them orchestrated the plan, but Machius alone saw the flaw in it, and saved them from suffering the consequences…
The waitress brought the drink to his table and he paused as he took it.
If the second version is true, he thought, it's pretty obvious who the true drafter of their master plan was…
He slowly sipped the drink.
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Sam nervously shuffled as the Centurion stood twenty paces from her.
He lifted his left arm, and a scythe-like Disk unfolded from his gauntlet. He placed his deck in the holder.
"Man, I thought I'd be jumping for joy the day Sam really got in trouble," said Yumi. "But now… I don't want her to go to jail!"
"You're telling me!" said Erik, who was a wreck. "I swore I'd protect her, but this is one thing that's out of my reach…
"Stay strong, baby!"
"So, uh, ready?" asked Sam.
"Oh yeah," replied the Centurion. "Game on."
(Sam: 8,000) -------------------- (Centurion: 8,000)
"I'll make the first move, if you don't mind," he said, drawing a sixth card.
"Mind?" asked Sam, nervously. "Why would I mind? I don't mind…"
He looked over his hand.
"Samantha…" he said. "Most people think that battle is complicated, but it can be simple if you look at the basic principles. There are actually six concepts that define large-scale conflicts."
"Large scale conflicts?" asked Sam. "As in war?"
"Not just war," replied the Centurion. "All large-scale conflicts are defined by six concepts.
"The first concept is Strategy. You plan your offensive and defensive maneuvers carefully, trying to form a battle tactic that will outdo those of your enemy."
He placed two cards on his Disk.
"I place a card facedown, and a Monster in Defense Mode," he said.
A defensive Monster and a facedown card appeared.
"So what sort of deck do you think a Centurion plays?" asked Chelsea. "Warriors? Machines? Armors?"
"All I know is," said Yumi, "these guys are some of the most well-trained security troops in the world. They were hand-picked from the crème de la crème of military and law enforcement, and given the best training KaibaCorp could offer.
"So the ones that are trained as duelists are likely champion material."
"My turn now concludes," said the Centurion. "We will soon see if my strategy, or yours, is superior."
Sam drew a card, and looked at her hand.
Well, she thought, no telling what he's hiding. Best start out strong…
"I summon The Bistro Butcher in Attack Mode," she said, playing a card.
With a cackle, the fiendish chef appeared, raising his cleaver. (1,800/1,000)
"You want strategy?" she shouted. "I got one… Powerful Monsters. Go! Carve up his facedown Monster!"
The Bistro Butcher flew forward, holding his cleaver high…
And then, a look of shock appeared on his face, and four vines shot out and grabbed his limbs. The vines belonged to a Monster that was a cross between a woman and a thorny, vine-covered plant, clothed in a pink dress. (300/2,000)
"Prickle Fairy?" gasped Sam.
"Not only that," said the Centurion, "but your failed attack triggered my Trap…"
His facedown card lifted. It bore a bizarre image of a Des Kangaroo throwing a punch at the far-bigger Behemoth the King of All Animals.
"A powerful Trap called Cross Counter. Now, you lose twice the amount of Life Points you normally would have, and you lose your Monster as well."
Prickle Fairy giggled. She lifted both her legs, and gave The Bistro Butcher a swift kick in the stomach. He fell backwards before shattering into shards.
"As you can see, I understand the concept much more than you did," he said. "It seems my strategy was far better than yours…"
(S: 7,600) -------------------- (C: 8,000)
Sam was stunned.
How could I have been so careless? she thought, looking at her hand. Now I'm completely defenseless…
"I… I have to end my turn…" she muttered.
The Centurion drew a card.
"I summon Insect Knight in Attack Mode," he said.
In a burst of energy, an armored, humanoid mantis holding a shield and a jagged sword appeared. He stared at Sam with cold, multifaceted eyes that reflected her image like a dozen mirrors. (1,900/1,500)
"This lets me show you the second concept," he said. "Relations. In a large-scale conflict, you must know who your allies are, know their capabilities, and know how you can work with them.
"Insect Knight knows that when Prickle Fairy is on the field, he can't be attacked, so that's a relation that benefits him.
"Insect Knight… Attack Samantha directly."
Insect Knight leapt up, holding its sword up high…
"NO!" screamed Erik.
Sam screamed as the weapon slammed into her torso.
(S: 5,700) -------------------- (C: 8,000)
"Your move," said the Centurion, crossing his arms.
Sam got up, sweating.
She drew a card.
No… she thought, looking at them. I have nothing that comes close to being able to beat Insect Knight… And even if I did, he was right… I can't get near it until I get rid of Prickle Fairy…
Tears fell down her cheeks.
So this is how my big dream to reach the top is going to end… I'm going to spend the rest of the tournament locked up because I lost my temper…
And I have no one to blame but myself… Yumi beat Aunt Diane fair and square… I shouldn't have gone gunning for revenge…
"Sam!" shouted Erik. "Sam, baby, don't give up! The duel isn't nearly over yet!"
Sam looked at him.
"Yeah!" shouted Ren. "Don't forget what I said… The duel isn't over until the last card is played!"
She nodded, and then placed a card on her Disk. A facedown Monster appeared.
"Can't believe I'm encouraging Sam…" muttered Ren.
The Centurion drew a card.
"Perfect," he said. "Now I have every card I need to implement my true strategy. Get ready…"
He played a Spell Card.
"I play Multiplication of Ants. Now, I can sacrifice one Insect to summon two Army Ant Tokens. And I'll place them in Attack Mode."
Insect Knight melted into light, and two huge ants appeared. (500/1,200 x2)
"You traded in your strong Monster for two weak ones?" asked Sam. "Why?"
"You'll see," he replied, taking another card. "Next, I sacrifice Prickle Fairy, in order to summon… Insect Princess."
Prickle Fairy burst into shards, and a new Insect appeared. It was a female figure with gossamer wings, four arms, and delicate antennae. (1,900/1,200)
"Wait a second…" said Sam. "I know how she works… She gets stronger whenever she destroys an Insect-Type Monster…"
She paused.
"You're gonna use DNA Surgery, aren't you?"
"No," he replied. "I have another way.
"Time to reveal the third concept…"
"Oh no…" muttered Sam.
"Research and Development," said the Centurion. "Always look for new ways to combat your foes, so that you can catch them off guard. Improve upon old ideas, and find completely new ones."
His Field Slot opened, and he placed a card in it.
"I play Insect Garden."
A flash of light covered the whole arena, and then, grass and flowers the size of trees started to grow all around them. Sam got the idea… This was a garden the way it would look like if she were an insect.
"This leads to the fourth concept… Espionage. Infiltrate your enemy's strategy and destroy it from within. Use your own resources to spy and sabotage.
"Here's how it works… For as long as this Field is in play, any Insects on my side of the field that are Level Four or less go to your side of the field.
"So…"
The two Army Ants scurried across the arena, and positioned themselves on Sam's side of the field. She nervously backed up.
"And I'm not done…" said the Centurion, taking another card. "I Equip my Princess with a card made especially for her… Insect Pheromone."
He played the card, and Insect Princess's wings started to glow with a golden light.
"Insect Princess…" he ordered. "Attack the first Ant! Katydid kick!"
Insect Princess leapt into the air, and then swooped down foot-first, bringing her foot down on the first Ant and smashing it flat. Sam cringed.
(S: 4,300) -------------------- (C: 8,000)
"And just like you said…" continued the Centurion, "with each bug she squashes, she gets stronger… By 500 Attack Points."
Insect Princess rose to an Attack of 2,400.
"And furthermore…" he said, "thanks to her Pheromone card, if she destroys one Insect, she can compel another one to attack her."
A cloud of golden dust flew from the Princess's wings, and covered the second Army Ant. It scurried towards her.
Insect Princess gave a kick, flattening it.
(S: 2,400) -------------------- (C: 8,000)
Insect Princess rose to a stronger Attack, of 2,900.
"I end my turn," said the Centurion.
Erik was close to panic.
"She still has a chance, doesn't she?" he asked.
"Yeah, she has two," answered Chelsea. "Slim and slimmer. This guy is just too good. Maybe he'd be easier on her if she just gave up."
"Don't talk like that…" said Yumi. "The Sam I know wouldn't give up. The Sam I know would fight to the end."
Sam looked at her rival.
She's right… she thought. Even if I have to spend the rest of this tournament locked in some cell, at least I'll be able to say I fought to the end!
"My move!" she shouted.
She drew a card.
"I play Pot of Greed," she said, playing a card.
The jar appeared, and she drew two cards.
She looked at them, and added them to her hand.
"I place a second Monster in Defense Mode, and a card facedown," she said.
Another defensive Monster and a facedown card appeared on her side of the field.
"Do your worst," she said.
"My worst, eh?" he said. "Well, watch out!"
He drew a card.
He looked at the powerful Monster on the card.
He took the card that was already in his hand.
"I summon Skull-Mark Ladybug," he said, playing a card.
A large, nasty-looking, black beetle with a skull and crossbones on its back appeared in front of him. (500/1,500)
"And thanks to my Insect Garden…"
Skull-Mark Ladybug scurried over to Sam's side of the field.
"This is it!" shouted Ren. "If this attack goes through, it's all over!"
"Insect Princess…" ordered the Centurion, "stomp the Skull-Mark Ladybug!"
Insect Princess leapt into the air.
"Not so fast!" shouted Sam. "Activate… Shadow Spell!"
Her Trap Card lifted up, and a mass of chains shot up from the ground. Insect Princess gasped as she was bound by her wrists and ankles.
"Better than a no-pest strip," said Sam. "Now your Princess is helpless, and she loses 700 Attack Points."
The Princess fell to an Attack of 2,200.
"Clever…" said the Centurion. "So the duel continues. It's your move. We'll soon see whether or not that was your only good move."
"Oh, I'm just getting started," said Sam, drawing a card. "And I've got plenty of good moves!"
She added it to her hand.
"I sacrifice your Ladybug, to summon my headliner… Arise, Dark Ruler Ha Des!"
Skull Mark Ladybug vanished, and dark clouds rose over the Insect Garden. The intimidating form of the Dark Ruler appeared from out of the shadows. (2,450/1,600)
"All right!" shouted Erik. "It's her best Monster!"
"You just sent my Ladybug to my Graveyard!" said the Centurion with a laugh. "That means, due to its effect, I gain 1,000 Life Points."
"You're gonna need them…" said Sam. "I also Flip-Summon my other two Monsters. My Opticlops, and my Skull Knight #2."
Her two facedown Monsters flipped up. The first one was the horn-headed, one-eyed ogre. (1,800/1,700) The second was a fiendish warrior in armor with a bare skull for a face, holding a scimitar. (1,000/1,200)
"Ha Des…" she commanded, "swat his Insect Princess!"
Ha Des's hand glowed with black fire. Insect Princess struggled against the chains, but to no avail. The blast shot forth, blowing her to pieces.
"All right!" shouted Sam. "Opticlops, Skull Knight… Attack him directly!"
Opticlops charged forward and rammed into the Centurion's breastplate with his horn.
Sam's opponent didn't flinch. In fact, Opticlops grunted in pain, as if that had hurt him a little more than it did the one he had attacked.
Skull Knight slashed his sword against the Centurion's armor, but again, it seemed like he didn't react at all.
(S: 2,400) -------------------- (C: 5,950)
"Boy, this guy is tough," said Chelsea.
"What did I say?" replied Yumi. "The crème de la crème. Some of these guys used to be marines and other military special forces members. No one joins a group like that unless he knows how to take pain. You don't want to mess with a Centurion."
"Anything else?" asked the Centurion.
"Uh…" muttered Sam.
She looked at her hand.
"I place one card facedown and you can go," she said quickly.
A facedown card materialized.
The Centurion drew a card. He quickly played it.
"Time to reveal the fifth concept…" he said.
"Again?" sighed Sam.
"A vitally important one," he continued. "Supply. There's an old saying that says an army moves on its stomach. It can't survive without food and equipment. If it runs low on supplies, it grinds to a halt. To wage a successful conflict, your supply must always be high.
"So… I'll increase my supply with this… Card of Sanctity!"
The sky above Insect Garden lit up, and coins fell from above.
"Now, we must each draw until we each hold six cards…"
Sam grimaced as she drew. She only got two cards out of this, but her opponent got five.
"Wait… a second…" said Yumi. "Exactly how much do they pay these guys? Card of Sanctity isn't exactly a card that you can walk into a store and buy…"
The Centurion looked at Yumi, and while it was hard to tell, it appeared that he looked a little nervous.
"Uhm, Miss Arachne is very generous…" he said. "She occasionally includes cards with the Christmas bonuses.
"Now where was I?"
Yumi rubbed her chin.
I'm not sure if I believe him, she thought. Then again, I'm not sure why he's playing Insects either, for that matter…
The Centurion looked over his six cards.
His Field Slot opened.
"To start," he said, "I'll get rid of my Insect Garden, by playing a new Field… the old, reliable Forest Field Spell."
He played the card, and the giant grass of Insect Garden vanished. Then, huge trees, bushes, and ferns grew in their place, transporting them to a dense, sylvan forest.
"In this Field, all Beasts, Beast-Warriors, Plants, and naturally, Insects," he said, "four groups that are absent from your deck, gain 200 Attack and Defense Points.
"Next… I summon Pinch Hopper."
He played the card, and a large grasshopper appeared in front of him. (1,000/1,200) –) (1,200/1,400)
"Ah, Sam will take that out with no problem," said Ren.
"Pinch Hopper has a powerful ability," replied Yumi. "When it goes to the Graveyard, he gets to Special Summon any Insect he wants from his hand.
"But… Not if Sam destroys it right now… While Ha Des is on the field, all of her Fiends can render the effects of the Monsters they destroy invalid… Didn't this guy know that?"
"Of course I knew that," replied the Centurion. "I'm no idiot. So that's why I'm going to send it to the Graveyard myself, by playing a second Multiplication of Ants."
He played the card, and Pinch Hopper shattered. It was replaced by two more Army Ant Tokens, these two in Defense Mode. (500/1,200 x2) –) (700/1,400 x2)
"And now…" he continued, "due to its effect… I can summon this… My Metal Armored Bug!"
As he played the card, the ground started to rumble, and an Insect burrowed out of the ground that looked too big to be real. It was an enormous beetle of some sort, and true to its name, its exoskeleton seemed to be made of metal. (2,800/1,500) –) (3,000/1,700)
"Okay…" said Sam. "That's… Pretty impressive…"
"Attack her Skull Knight!" he shouted.
Metal Armored Bug loomed over the much smaller Monster…
"I activate… Draining Shield!" shouted Sam.
Her Trap Card lifted, and as the Bug's huge mandibles chomped down, they were stopped by a dome of pure energy. Energy flowed into Sam…
(S: 5,400) -------------------- (C: 5,950)
"You are resilient," said the Centurion, "I end my turn, but next turn, my Bug will still be here."
Sam drew a card.
"I sacrifice Skull Knight…" she said.
Skull Knight vanished in a burst of dark energy.
"To summon Lesser Fiend!"
In a roar, the hulking, four-armed demon appeared. (2,100/1,000)
"And by the way…" she continued, "when Skull Knight #2 is sacrificed to summon a Fiend-Type Monster, I get a little bonus. I get to Special Summon another Skull Knight from my deck. This one I'll put in Defense Mode."
In a burst of dark fire, another Skull Knight appeared on her side of the field, kneeling and holding its sword point-down. (1,000/1,200)
"Now then…" she said, taking another card from her hand. "I play a Spell Card… The incredible Metamorphosis. Now I can sacrifice one Monster on my side of the field, and in return, I can Special Summon a Monster from my Fusion Deck that's the same Level. So goodbye Lesser Fiend…"
Lesser Fiend vanished in a burst of energy.
"…and hello Dark Balter the Terrible."
With a roar, a new Fiend appeared on her side of the field. It was a fearsome creature with a reptilian face and long, tangled hair, wearing golden armor with a breastplate resembling a vicious beast, and a long, green cape. (2,000/1,200)
"Well, I see the 'Terrible' part," said Chelsea.
"And by the way…" continued Sam. "If you're thinking of using a Normal Spell Card, forget it. I only have to give up 1,000 Life Points, and Balter can negate it.
"Ha Des, Balter, destroy his Ants!"
Ha Des fired his Stygian blast, and one of the two Ants exploded. Balter leapt forward and swiped with his claw, and tore the other one in half.
Sam placed a card in her Disk, and a facedown card appeared.
"There, that will do for now," she said.
The Centurion paused for a minute. He drew a card.
"Sorry, Samantha," he said, "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I won't attack just yet…
"But I will do this. I'll play Trap Booster."
He played a card, and a Spell Card with the image of a bear trap being propelled by rockets appeared in front of him.
Darn, thought Sam. Balter can negate Normal Spells, but not Quickplays…
"Now," said the Centurion, "I toss one card…"
He discarded an Anti-Aircraft Flower.
"…and I get to activate a Trap Card from my hand. Like this one… Multiple Destruction."
He played the card, and a Trap with the image of three Duel Monsters cards on fire appeared.
"Now both players must discard their whole hands and draw five new cards," he said. "Normally, I'd have to pay 100 Life Points for each card I was discarding, but since I don't have any left, that point is moot."
Sam growled. She discarded the cards in her hand, and they both drew five.
"Is that another one of your Christmas bonuses?" asked Yumi, in a suspicious voice.
"Uh, Yumi…" muttered Chelsea, "need I remind you, he isn't mad at us yet? I want it to stay that way!"
The Centurion looked over the five cards.
"I place three cards facedown, and one Monster in Defense Mode," he said. "And that will be all."
Four facedown cards, three in his Spell/Trap Zone and one in his Monster Zone, appeared.
Sam drew a sixth card and looked at her cards.
Have to be careful, she thought. Three Traps? If these so-called Christmas bonuses are that good, one of them could be a Mirror Force.
She looked at her foe's side of the field.
"I move Skull Knight into Attack Mode…" she said.
Skull Knight stood up.
"Then I summon Malice Doll of Demise."
With a cackle, the evil wooden puppet appeared, hefting its axe. (1,600/1,700)
"Balter, attack the facedown Monster!"
Balter lunged, and a Neo Bug appeared on the card. With one swipe of a claw, it was blasted into bug guts.
"Now, Ha Des, attack the Metal Armored Bug."
"What?" said the Centurion, in surprise.
Ha Des prepared to fire his lethal hex…
"Now, I activate… Bark of Dark Ruler!" shouted Sam, as her facedown card lifted.
Ha Des howled, and Metal Armored Bug cringed.
"I pay 600 Life Points, and your Bug loses the same amount of Attack Points."
Metal Armored Bug fell to an Attack of 2,400. Ha Des blasted his black flame, and cracks appeared all over the huge Bug's armor. It exploded into fiery debris.
"I'm not done yet!" shouted Sam. "Opticlops, Skull Knight, Malice Doll of Demise, attack directly!"
The three Fiends rushed at the armored man. Opticlops charged horn first, Skull Knight slashed with his scimitar, and the Doll hurled his axe. The Centurion staggered back with each blow.
(S: 4,800) -------------------- (C: 1,500)
Well, thought Sam. I guess the Traps were just bluffs.
"She's winning!" cheered Erik. "My baby is actually winning!"
"Who'd have thought…" said Ren, shaking his head.
"Keep it up, Sam!" shouted Yumi. "One more round, and you'll have won!"
She paused.
Now she couldn't believe she was supporting Sam.
"We'll see about that…" said the Centurion.
He drew a card.
He looked at the two cards in his hand.
"Time for this to reach the next level," he said. "Balter can't stop my three Traps from activating, after all."
One of his facedown cards lifted.
"First, a Continuous Trap called Labyrinth of Nightmare."
The Forest darkened, and fog rose from the ground. Wispy, phantom creatures started to fly through the trees.
"Eesh…" muttered Ren. "What on Earth?"
"Listen closely, because I'm only going to explain this once," said the Centurion. "So long as Labyrinth of Nightmare is active, whenever one of us ends his or her turn, all Monsters on his or her side of the field that are face-up move from Attack Mode to Defense Mode, and vice-versa."
"Odd…" said Yumi. "I don't see the point…"
"Now another Trap," he said, as a second Trap lifted. "Soul Resurrection. I'll use this to bring back Neo Bug, and place it in Defense Mode."
Neo Bug appeared, and shielded itself with its pincers. (1,800/1,700) –) (2,000/1,900)
"Next," he continued, "I activate Call of the Haunted."
His last Trap Card lifted, and a tombstone appeared on his side of the field…
"Oh no…" said Erik. "He's gonna bring back that huge Bug!"
"Actually, no…" said the Centurion. "I'm going to bring back my Pinch Hopper."
Pinch Hopper appeared again, in Attack Mode. (1,000/1,200) –) (1,200/1,400)
"Next…" he said, taking a card from his hand, "I'll sacrifice Pinch Hopper, for a Monster in Defense Mode."
Pinch Hopper vanished, and a facedown Monster appeared.
"And since I just sent Pinch Hopper to the grave again," he said, taking the last card in his hand, "I can bring out the queen of my deck! Come out, your royal majesty! I summon Insect Queen!"
In an explosion of energy, an Insect that was just as big as Metal Armored Bug appeared on the field. It was Insect Queen all right… The Monster that had first gained infamy when Joey Wheeler defeated Weevil Underwood in Battle City and won it from him.
The Queen roared in bloodlust…
"And she gains 200 Attack Points for each Insect on the field, including herself, plus another 200 from the Forest Field," continued the Centurion.
(2,200/2,400) –) (2,800/2,600)
Sam stepped back and gulped.
"Now…" said the Centurion. "I sacrifice my Neo Bug so that my Insect Queen can attack…
"Bon appetite…"
Insect Queen grabbed hold of the Neo Bug and drooled…
Everyone stared in disgust as she stuffed the smaller Insect into her mouth, and chewed.
"I'm gonna be sick…" muttered Erik.
Quickly, the Neo Bug was devoured. Insect Queen fell to an Attack of 2,600.
"That was an appetizer, Sam," said the Centurion. "She's eyeing you for dessert.
"Insect Queen… Attack Dark Ruler Ha Des! Queen's Hell breath!"
No… thought Sam.
Insect Queen blasted a bolt of venom charged with energy from her jaws. Ha Des screamed as he was enveloped in the vile blast.
Then his breastplate, helmet, and shreds of his clothing fell to the ground, sizzling as if they had been soaked in acid.
(S: 4,650) -------------------- (C: 1,500)
"Now…" said the Centurion, "since my Queen crushed one of your Monsters, I get something extra."
Insect Queen squatted, and a large, slime-covered egg came out of her abdomen. It moved next to her. (100/100) –) (300/300)
"It's a mini-Monster called an Insect Token," said the Centurion. "I'm ending my turn now, which means both it and the Queen herself move to Defense Mode, due to my Labyrinth."
Insect Queen sat down and folded her arms.
"So now what?" asked Chelsea.
Yumi paused.
"Why didn't he sacrifice his facedown Monster?" she asked. "He'd have done more damage to Sam… What the heck is it?"
She looked at the facedown Monster.
Then it hit her…
"Sam! Look out! His…" she shouted.
"Quiet, Ms. Mouto!" snapped the Centurion. "This is an official tournament duel, and giving help is illegal!"
Sam looked at her deck.
I already know what she was trying to warn me about... thought Sam. That facedown Monster is a Nobleman-Eater Bug. When it's flipped, it can destroy two Monsters. What other Flip-Effect Monster in an Insect Deck needs a sacrifice?
It wouldn't be a problem if he hadn't taken out Ha Des. When he's on the field, he and all other Fiend-Type Monsters on my side of the field negate the effects of any Monster they destroy.
But now… Balter can still negate its effect, but my other Monsters can't. I don't have a choice… I have to destroy that Bug with Balter, or he'll destroy two of my Monsters next round. Three when he sacrifices it to that Queen.
And if I do destroy that Bug with Balter, and the Token with someone else, that Trap Card will move all my offensive Monsters to defense when I end my turn. If he draws a Monster with a base Attack of even 1,100 next round, he'll be able to destroy Balter and another of my Monsters, taking away my last edge…
She looked at her deck again.
The duel isn't over until the last card is played!
She drew.
The card shone.
"I play… Monster Reincarnation!" she shouted. "Now, I'll toss one card…"
She discarded a Monster Card from her hand.
"And I'll bring Ha Des back to my hand."
The card slipped out of her discard slot.
"Now, I'll sacrifice Skull Knight to summon him again!"
Skull Knight vanished, and Ha Des arose again. (2,450/1,600)
"So you brought him back," said the Centurion. "My facedown Monster might be useless now, but your Dark Ruler can't beat my Queen's Defense. And once your turn is over, Ha Des will move to Defense Mode, where he'll be easy to destroy."
"Oh really?" asked Sam. "I played Monster Reincarnation, remember? Doing so not only brought Ha Des to my hand, it sent another Monster to my Graveyard.
"And as any good duelist knows, sometimes the Graveyard is just a handy shortcut to the field.
"I play Premature Burial."
She fit the card into her Disk, and a small form crawled out of the ground.
"Come on out, Winged Minion!"
The small, winged imp crawled out of the ground and crouched next to Ha Des. (700/700)
"And now, I sacrifice Winged Minion, to strengthen my Dark Ruler…"
Winged Minion hopped on Ha Des's shoulder, and vanished. Ha Des rose to (3,150/2,300)
"All right!" shouted Sam. "Malice Doll of Demise, attack the facedown Monster!"
Malice Doll of Demise threw its axe. A huge Insect appeared on the card. It looked like a much bigger, much bulkier, much fancier version of Man-Eater Bug. The axe cleaved it in half, and the pieces shattered.
"Opticlops, scramble that egg!"
Opticlops charged. He socked the Insect Token with his fist, and it shattered to pieces.
"Ha Des, attack the Insect Queen with Stygian blast!"
Ha Des threw up his arms, and conjured up a huge ball of black flames. He hurled them, and Insect Queen screamed as they erupted around her. She moaned in death throes, and then exploded.
"Dark Balter, attack directly and finish him! Soul rend!"
Dark Balter the Terrible leapt at the armored Centurion, and made a savage swipe with his claw.
He fell on one knee.
(S: 3,850) -------------------- (C: 0)
Sam let out a deep sigh of relief as the Forest Field and her Monsters faded away.
"You won!" shouted Erik, running up to her.
He hugged Sam and kissed her deeply.
"You actually won!"
Then they heard laughing…
It was coming from the Centurion, who had turned the voice amplifier off. And the voice was much different now.
"Yes, you won…" he said, in a much different voice. "And I couldn't be prouder of you, Samantha… You've finally found the right deck…"
The Centurion got up, and slowly removed her – yes, her – helmet…
She lifted it off her head…
Sam was shocked…
"MOM?" she shouted.
"Of course it's me," answered Sheena. "Would a real Centurion have offered to let you off if you could have beaten him?"
Sam paused.
"I… uhm, I guess not…" she muttered.
"I'm surprised you didn't recognize my deck," said Sheena.
"Well, uhm… you never used that strategy with the Insect Garden before…" said Sam, shyly. "And I was scared…"
"And you should have been," scolded Sheena. "A real Centurion would have cuffed you and hauled you away at once, young lady. As would I if you had lost. You aren't immune to the rules here. I made that quite clear."
Sam bowed her head.
"Ms. Arachne," said Yumi. "Don't be so hard on her… I don't even think she remembers now what made her so upset. I don't even know…"
"I do, Ms. Mouto," said Sheena. "Let's just say it's a little family secret of Duelatopia… One which she'd best not tell you about…"
"Yes, Mom…" muttered Sam.
"This is so cool…" said Ren. "So… Ms. Arachne… Do you always pose as a Centurion like this?"
"I've been doing this for years," replied Sheena. "I just have to get out of my office every now and then, get some exercise. And I used to technically be one anyway… A very special one, long ago. I believe your dad met me personally in that regard, Yumi. Why don't you ask him about it when you get home?"
Yumi gave her a strange look…
"But anyway…" she continued, "as promised…"
She waved her hand, and Sam's badge changed luster, to Silver.
"Watch yourself, Samantha," she said. "Next time, it likely won't be me under this armor. Even if it is, you won't get off so easily if you don't walk a straight path.
"Spare the rod, spoil the child. I like to think I haven't spoiled you."
"Uh, mom…" muttered Sam. "I'm kinda curious… You said there were six concepts to large-scale conflicts, and you only mentioned five. What was…"
Sheen smiled.
"Another very important one," she answered. "Morale. If your forces don't believe they can achieve victory, odds are they won't. So you have to keep their spirits up, and preserve positive feelings.
"And you had that in spades… The support from your peers in this duel gave it to you.
"You may see Yumi, Ren, and Chelsea as rivals, but that doesn't mean you can't trust them as allies. At least for now, anyway."
She donned the helmet again, and started to walk away. Sam gave an odd look, trying to take in that last statement…
"Well," said Chelsea, "I'm ready. Who wants to come with me to the Museum of Natural History?"
"We've already been to the…" started Ren.
He stopped short.
"You're gonna find that Midnight Caller, aren't you?" he asked, startled.
"Yup," said Chelsea. "I'm gonna challenge this Eliminator, and I'm gonna beat him."
She looked at Yumi.
"I'm no sidekick, Yumi. I want to go to the top in this tournament. I want to win."
She started to walk, and Yumi and Ren followed her, with nervous looks.
"Uh, Chelsea…" called Yumi, "a few things you should know about this guy…"
Sam scratched her chin.
The Midnight Caller? she thought. Aunt Diane never mentioned anyone named the Midnight Caller… She must be keeping secrets from me…
She paused.
"Hey you guys!" she shouted. "Wait for us!"
She grabbed Erik's hand, and they ran after them.
None of them knew that Sheena had been listening, using the amplified hearing aids in the helmet.
So, you're going to challenge the Midnight Caller, Chelsea? she thought.
Well, good luck…
Frankly, against him, you're gonna need all the luck you can get…
Defeating her disguised mother, Sam is only one step away from qualification for the finals! But now she is hot on the heels of her rival's party, as one of them seeks out a mysterious individual known only as the Midnight Caller, someone who, according to Anastasia, was the model for Vampire Lord. What awaits Chelsea in this vampire's parlor?
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INSECT GARDEN (Spell Card)
Field Spell
Image: A flower garden seen from the view of a small insect.
Card Description: All Insects on your side of the field that are Level Four or lower are transferred to the control of your opponent.
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INSECT PHEROMONE (Spell Card)
Equip Spell
Image: Insect Princess's visage, with glowing wings.
Card Description: This card can only be Equipped to "Insect Princess". If the Equipped Monster destroys an opposing Monster as a result of battle, the controller of the Equipped Monster can force one of his/her opponent's Insect-Type Monsters to battle the Equipped Monster in the same Battle Phase.
Note: "Insect Garden" and "Insect Pheromone" were first used by Missy in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode "Sad But Truesdale". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
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TRAP BOOSTER (Spell Card)
Quickplay Spell
Image: A bear trap with rockets on its hinges, flying forward.
Card Description: Discard one card from your hand to activate this card. Activate one Trap Card from your hand.
Note: "Trap Booster" has been used by many characters in "Yu-Gi-Oh GX", originally by Zane in "The Demon". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
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MULTIPLE DESTRUCTION (Trap Card)
Normal Trap
Image: Three Duel Monsters cards on fire.
Card Description: You may activate this card when at least one player has at least three cards in his hand. Both players must discard all cards in their hands, and then draw five cards. For each card that the player who activates this card discards via this effect, he pays 100 Life Points.
Note: "Multiple Destruction" was first used by Bakura in the original anime episode "Showdown in the Shadows". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
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Ren: Yumi, what do you make of this? This guy's strategy is weird…
Yumi: I don't know… I've never seen anything like this…
Sam: Neither have I. Chelsea may be in trouble…
Chelsea: My opponent has five coffins on his side of the field, and with each turn that passes, one of them becomes occupied… What's the whole point?
Voice: The point will become clear soon, Chelsea, once I'm ready to unleash terror upon you unlike you've ever seen.
Coming up next, "Elimination Duel Two; Tomb of the Elders".
You have been warned…