Chapter 36 is up at last, and we have a few new people to thank:
-xBUzzOFF15x for his reviews of chapters 3-6; I'm looking forward to your reviews to following chappies!
-OblivionDoctor for adding TAE to his/her Alerts.
-WILDTRON01 for adding this story to his/her Alerts and Favorites.
And of course, thanks to guisniperman for his/her review. Enjoy the chapter, everyone!
Chapter 36
Psychic Duel (Part II)
I'm back, again…amazingly. First off, I'm going to start out with a quick summary of what's been going on while me and X have been dueling:
1) X rigged our game with deadly consequences. He's said that the loser dies, but I have no intention of letting that happen. If Shadi was right about my Eye way back when, then I've got far more power than X does.
2) X started out the duel the same as last time, but changed the strategy. Now I'm stuck on the defensive, and only two rounds to find something to help.
3) While I've been dueling X, Yugi was forced to take on Mokuba in a deadly game of Capsule Monster Chess. From Melhana's point of view, he won, but I wish I'd been able to be there to see it.
4) And while this has been happening, three of Kaiba's "security guards" have been holding Jonouchi, Anzu, and Melhana hostage via guns to their heads. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how they got out of that.
So, yeah, we're all pretty much in a giant hairball. But enough of my talking, I'll start out this chapter with Melhana's point of view.
000
Melhana shouted in Egyptian, fist-pumping the air. "You go, Yugi!" She was grinning like an idiot as Yugi left the platform. Mokuba was still in denial that, despite having immensely powerful monsters, he'd still been beaten.
The trio's grins faded when Kaiba showed his face, however.
Jonouchi swore. "You fuckin' little…."
Melhana put a firm hand on his arm. "It's a TV screen, not his face." She reminded him. "Trust me, if Kaiba were here in person, I'd do far worse than punch his lights out." And I'm not lying, either.
"I'm bored with these sideshows, Yugi." Kaiba said as Yugi scowled up at him. "I'm tired of waiting—I even have my deck ready for your demise."
"I'm on my way, Kaiba," Yugi said, anger coloring his voice. "And you will lose. Just like last time."
Melhana saw a flicker of resentment in Kaiba's eyes. It disappeared as quickly as it came, however. He only snorted and fixed his younger brother with a glare of disdain. "As for you, Mokuba…"
"Seto, I…."
"Those pathetic, clingy eyes. I've felt them on my back for years, as you've been trying to keep up with your mediocre ways."
"But Seto—"
"I've always told you, little brother, when you play with fire you get burned. Maybe this time you'll learn your lesson."
Comprehension dawned on Mokuba's face. "No, Seto, you can't!"
"I can and I will!" Kaiba responded. "Remember Mokuba, only the victor can leave that box; that is the law of Death-T!"
Melhana watched as horrific holograms formed in the box. He's going to kill his own brother…! She thought. She gritted her teeth, seriously considering knocking out her guard with a shockwave. That thought became all the more tempting as Mokuba's screams escalated. I can't believe this; what kind of monster would condemn their own little brother to death?!
There's a reason older siblings are born first: to protect the little ones that come after. That's what Dad taught me when my brothers were born. Her hands balled up into fists and she saw red. Jonouchi might've said something, but Melhana didn't hear it; she was too pissed at Kaiba. "Seto Kaiba, you've just hit rock bottom!" She bellowed, letting her aura augment her voice. "I don't give a shit what you think, but older brothers aren't supposed to give their baby siblings a death sentence!"
Her eyes flashed red, and rather than ignoring it, she hoped he saw them. She raised her arm and pointed a finger at him, her face set into an emotionless glower. "Take it from someone who has little brothers and actually cares about them: We older siblings are born to protect the ones that come after! Remember that, and I hope this day haunts you for the rest of your sick little life!"
Kaiba only sneered. "Say what you like; as far as I'm concerned, losers aren't a part of my family." The monitor flipped off without another word from the King Asshole.
Melhana glowered at the now-blank screen and was about to lead the way back to their elevator—security goons be damned—as the crowed gasped. Looking up, Melhana swore in ancient Egyptian.
Yugi had run back to the box and dove in.
"HAVE YOU FRIGGIN' LOST IT!?" Jonouchi screamed. He was on the verge of pulling his hair out, but Yugi had already emerged from the box with a gasping Mokuba.
Letting her aura magnify her hearing, she honed in on the conversation between Yugi and Mokuba Kaiba.
"…did you save me?" Mokuba was asking.
Yugi only gave him a kind smile. "I was able to beat you because my friends were there for me, Mokuba." He said. "And, as Melhana told your brother, older siblings aren't supposed to condemn the little ones that are born after them to death."
Melhana let her hearing return to normal as Yugi left for the elevator up to his duel with Seto Kaiba.
The security guard behind Jonouchi prodded him with the gun. "Time for you kids to get the best seats in the house," he said.
Jonouchi gave the guard a shit-eating grin. "They'd better be the best, 'cause I want a front-row seat to seeing Kaiba get his ass handed to him."
Melhana stuck her hands into her pockets and shoved her way past all three security goons. "We'd better get going, then."
000
X drew. Seeing the look on his face confirmed the fact that it must not have been the card he was hoping for. "I pass this turn," he said.
Selena drew. All I've got on my side of the field is White Magician Pikeru, and she's not an attacker. She thought. I need something to attack…and a way to get rid of his Gernia, and it's effect.
She placed her new card in her hand. "I activate Spell Absorption," she said, "and I'll Summon my old friend, Blast Magician (ATK: 1400/DEF: 1700) in defense mode. I set one more face-down and end my turn." One more turn….
Selena: 2200
"Ah, that guy." X said. He whistled as he drew. "Oooh, scary. Not. I play my De-Spell, to get rid of your Steelcage. Yeah, yeah; I know it would've been taken care of at the end of my turn, but I really want to attack."
"You just helped me. Spell Absorption gives me 500 Life Points, and Blast Magician gains a Spell Counter." Selena said.
Blast Magician SC: 1
Selena: 2700
X snorted. "Collect all the Life Points you like; it's useless." He said. "I summon Mad Archfiend, and I'll use him to destroy your Pikeru!"
"Activate Trap: Sakuretsu Armor!" Selena countered. "Auf Wiedersehen*, Mad Archfiend."
"Not likely," X sneered. "I think I'll play Remove Trap, which should take care of that armor, and allow my Mad Archfiend to destroy your Pikeru. Thanks to his effect, you take damage anyway; and yes, I know you'll just gain 500 more Life right back."
Selena: 900
Blast Magician SC: 2
"Is that all?" Selena asked.
Selena: 1400
X tapped his chin for a moment. "Now that you mention it, no." he said. "I'll attack you directly with your own Gemini Elf!"
Now it was Selena's turn to smirk. "You really should've saved your magic card," she said. "Because if you had, then you wouldn't have fallen for my next face-down: Negate Attack! Now not only is your attack cancelled, your Battle Phase has ended."
X glared. "Then I end." He said.
"My turn, then." Selena said. She drew her card, and a smile played its way across her lips. "Your deck's built to withstand Spellcasters, is it not?" She asked.
"No shit, airhead." X replied. "That's all you used last time."
Selena barked out a laugh. "Just because that's all I used last time doesn't mean it's all that's hiding in my deck. Observe," she took the card she'd just drawn and summoned it to the field. "I summon Mataza the Zapper (ATK: 1300/DEF: 800) in attack mode, and as a bonus control of him can't switch. Meaning that your lovely little Lotus Trance trap won't work on him."
"He's too weak to do anything, though." X pointed out. "The only monster on my field he can attack is Gernia, and in that case their attacks are equal."
"I can solve that problem, easy." Selena said. "I equip him with Fusion Sword Murasame Blade, raising his attack by another 800 points. That, I believe, makes his attack 2100, and it can't be destroyed. Oh, and another 500 Life for me."
Selena: 1900
Blast Magician SC: 3
"You can only attack once, you know." X said. "And in case you haven't noticed, I've got four monsters on the field."
Selena smiled coyly. "Mataza can attack twice in the same battle phase," she said. "That effect, combined with his immunity to control shifts, makes up for his low base attack. So, I'm going to use both of those attacks now!" She indicated his Patrician of Darkness. "Mataza, destroy his Patrician!" Please don't shift the attack to Gemini Elf…
"I switch your attack to Mad Archfiend, which switches to Defense Mode thanks to his effect. I don't take damage, even though my Archfiend is destroyed."
Good. "And I'll attack with Mataza again! Go for his Patrician!"
"And I switch the attack to Gernia this time!" X shouted, and the attack was diverted. Only this time, he didn't have a way to prevent the damage from coming his way. He swore as the damage from the attack made itself known with a sword blade through his shoulder.
X: 700
"I'm not done this turn," Selena said. "Thanks to me equipping Mataza with Murasame Blade, Blast Magician now has three spell counters. That's just enough to activate his effect." She held up three fingers. "I remove three Spell Counters from Blast Magician to destroy a monster with up to 2100 Attack power. The only monster that fits that bill is your Patrician of Darkness!"
X only swore as his Patrician was destroyed. "Damn…that all?"
Selena smiled. "You wish. I activate my last spell for this turn: Different Dimension Capsule. This'll stay on the field until my second turn has passed, and during that time one of the cards from my Deck will be out of play. When my magic card is destroyed, the monster I choose is brought back into my hand. Of course, you don't get to see the card I pick." She explained.
"I don't like the sound of that," X griped.
"Guess what; I don't care." Selena replied, looking through her deck. She stopped at her card, took it out of the deck and placed it on the table face-down, and reshuffled her deck. "That ends my turn, X. Your move."
Selena: 2400
Blast Magician SC: 1
X drew. By the way his eyes were flicking to her out-of-play card, she could tell he didn't like what it could be. Selena just gave him her best evil grin, which unsettled him even more. Good. I want you to freak out. It'll make beating you so much easier.
"First, I'll get rid of that Spell Absorption of yours." X said. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, eliminating your life-point gain!"
Blast Magician SC: 2
"And before I attack, I'm going to summon an old friend. Because I have more than three fiends in the Graveyard, thanks to you, I can summon my Avenger of Hell!" The familiar fiend made its reappearance, tri-pronged whips and all. The sneer on X's face did nothing to soothe Selena nerves; in fact, quite the opposite. It freaked her out even more. "And first off, I'll have him destroy your Mataza the Zapper! Say goodbye to your little assassin!"
The whips flew out, wrapping themselves around Selena's Mataza, incinerating him on the spot. Selena even felt the heat of the flames, and could've sworn that her hair was singed in front. She knew that her face was going to blister, that was for sure.
Selena: 1800
"And I'll activate my Avenger's effect. By discarding one card in my hand, I'll destroy your Blast Magician. Good-bye." The same happened to Blast Magician, and this time not only did Selena feel the skin on her face blister, she felt one pop. Painfully.
"And finally, I'll destroy you with your own monster. Gemini Elf, attack your old mistress!" X ended with a cackle, and the elves came forward with their attack.
They're still equipped with Book of Secret Arts, so if I don't activate this then I'll… Selena didn't finish her sentence as she flipped her face-down. "I activate Poison of the Old Man! I raise my Life Points by 1200 to withstand your attack!"
Selena: 800
Even so, the attack still left a nasty bruise in the middle of her chest. It took her several minutes to catch her breath again.
"You've still got nothing to protect you," X said idly. "I'll end my turn with that. "Go ahead, Selena Kuro, squirm."
Selena placed her hand on her deck to draw. That is what I have no intention of doing, X.
She glanced to her out-of-play card and drew.
000
In duels, I don't squirm for anyone. Nor do I go easy on anyone. In this duel, it's either win or die…quite literally. My only hope is that I can hold out until my key card comes back into play.
Cards Used
White Magician Pikeru
ATK: 1200/DEF: 0
Attribute: LIGHT
Type: Spellcaster
During your Standby Phase, increase your Life Points by 400 points for each monster on your side of the field.
Blast Magician
ATK: 1400/DEF: 1700
Attribute: FIRE
Type: Spellcaster
Each time you or your opponent activates 1 Spell Card, put 1 Spell Counter on this card. By removed any number of Spell Counters from this card, destroy one monster on the field with an ATK equal to or less than 700 points x the number of removed Spell Counters.
Mataza the Zapper
ATK: 1300/DEF: 800
Attribute: DARK
Type: Warrior
This monster can attack twice during the same Battle Phase. While this card is face-up on the field, control of this card cannot switch.
Nightmare's Steelcage
Magic Card
This card remains face-up on the field for 2 of your opponent's turns. No monsters can attack. Destroy this card during your opponent's 2nd End Phase after this card was activated.
Different Dimension Capsule
Magic Card
After this card is activated, it remains face-up on the field until your 2nd Standby Phase. Select 1 card from your Deck, then shuffle your Deck. Remove it from play and place face-down. During your 2nd Standby Phase, destroy this card and add the removed card to your hand.
Spell Absorption
Continuous Magic Card
Each time a Spell Card is activated, increase the Life Points of this card's controller by 500 points.
Fusion Sword Murasame Blade
Equip Magic Card
You can only equip this card to a Warrior-Type monster. Increase the ATK of the equipped monster by 800 points. This card cannot be destroyed by effects that destroy Magic Cards.
Book of Secret Arts
Equip Magic Card
A Spellcaster-Type monster equipped with this card increases its ATK and DEF by 300 points.
Sakuretsu Armor
Trap Card
Activate only when an opponent's monster declares an attack. Destroy the attacking monster.
Negate Attack
Counter Trap Card
Activate only when an opponent's monster declares an attack. Negate the attack and end the Battle Phase.
Mad Archfiend
ATK: 1800/DEF: 0
Attribute: DARK
Type: Fiend
During battle between this card and a Defense Position monster whose DEF is lower than the ATK of this card, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent. When this face-up Attack Position card is selected as an attack target, change it to Defense Position.
Patrician of Darkness
ATK: 2000/DEF: 1400
Attribute: DARK
Type: Zombie
The controller of this card selects the targets of their opponent's attacks.
Gernia
ATK: 1300/DEF: 1200
Attribute: DARK
Type: Zombie
If this face-up card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard by an opponent's card effect, Special Summon it during your next Standby Phase.
*Avenger of Hell
ATK: 2700/DEF: 2300
Attribute: FIRE
Type: Fiend
This monster can only be summoned when you have 3 or more Fiend-type monsters in your Graveyard. Once per turn you can activate one of the following effects:
-Discard one card in your hand to inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to half the Battle Damage this card has already inflicted.
-Discard one card in your hand to destroy one monster on the field
Mystical Space Typhoon
Quick-Play Magic Card
Destroy 1 Spell or Trap Card on the field.
*= "Auf Wiedersehen" (the W is pronounced like an English V) is German for "good-bye" or "see you later". "See you later" is a more accurate translation, as "sehen" is the verb "to see", and "weider" means "later". This isn't the first time Selena speaking German is going to pop up—remember from the Interlude, she speaks Japanese and German, in addition to her native English.
Fun, fun, fun. By the end of this duel, X is going to be crapping his pants, guaranteed. As always, read, review (refer if you like), and keep reading!
~HikariHellion