Since it's Christmas Day, I'm posting this chapter and the next. Since is shutting down on Dec. 30, I won't post another chapter until after New Year's Day, so these are probably the last you'll see in 2005. Enjoy!
If you could take the worst thing that ever happened in my life, I'd have to say this would be it. The abduction of the girl of my dreams is probably that very thing.
Diane's gone, snatched away by some crazy nutcake. And worse, we have no idea where to find him. However, I'm not about to let him get away with it, not after all that me and Diane have been through.
Okay, so I haven't dated her much. Just that time after we dueled each other, when we went to the computer lab for some research, and during the dance which opened up the finals, but hey, I'm sure Diane wouldn't mind me being her knight in shining armor!
All I can hope is that we don't screw up. Where we are going now, I feel like it is someplace that is not a part of this Earth.
And if we aren't careful, I feel like we'll never get home…
Yu-Gi-Oh Jr.: Sister of AnansiChapter 36: Assault on GHQ
In the game building of Duelist Camp, a fierce virtual duel was going on in one of the dueling arenas. Even though the duel disks were being locked up in the cabin bedrooms until the next year, the kids were still allowed to enjoy virtual duels in the game room dueling arenas installed there for the rest of their stay. While the game building had enough room for four arenas, only one was being used at the current time. While it seemed odd that Lilith suddenly relaxed her policy to stay in the cabins, a sudden dropping of the order allowed the kids to relax, especially since a pair of men in black were outside the building, prepared to fire first and ask questions later if any weirdos showed up.
Two girls were dueling it out on the arena. One girl had just activated Stray Lambs and two cute pink lamb tokens were sitting on th field, barring the way for the other girl's Elemental Hero Avian(1000/1000).
"Now, watch as I sacrifice both of my Lamb Tokens to summon Cosmo Queen!" said the first girl, who had short brown hair and wore mirrored shades. The two lambs melted into light and turned into the black-skinned spellcaster. (2900/2800) "Destroy her Elemental Hero with Galaxy Crush!"
The sorceress powered up a blast of shadow and fired it at the winged green-suited superhero, shattering him to pixels! The other girl, who had long red hair, was stunned as her life meter dropped to 3300.
"I warn you, next turn, I'll equip my Cosmo Queen with Fairy Meteor Crush, and then NOTHING can save you!" laughed the shade-wearing girl.
"That's fine with me, I love a challenge!" the other girl said, drawing a card. "First, I'll play my Pot of Greed to get two more cards." She did so. "Then I'll play a magic card called A Warrior Returning Alive to bring Elemental Hero Avian to my hand!" She removed the card from her graveyard. "Next, I'll play Polymerization to fuse the Elemental Hero Burstanix and the Avian I got back together to form...Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!"
The vortex appeared and disgorged a giant green humanoid with a bird-like head and a weird mishmash of features, the two most notable being a huge red dragon's head in place of one arm and a wing coming from his other shoulder! (2100/1800)
"Ha, he's weaker than my Cosmo Queen!" said the other girl.
"That may be so, but now for the coup-de-grace!" said the red-head. "I activate the field magic, Skyscraper!" She slapped down a card and suddenly the edges of the arena were filled with a metropolis skyline. A full moon appeared and Elemental Hero Flame Wingman flew up to it. "Now, ATTACK!"
The mutant flew at Cosmo Queen, a flame surrounding his body.
"Heh, your monster is weaker than mine!" said the shade-wearing girl.
"Not for long," giggled the red-head as Elemental Hero Flame Wingman rose to 3100 attack. "You see, Skyscraper grants my Elemental Heroes a bonus of a thousand attack points whenever they attack a monster which is clearly stronger than them! Elemental Hero Flame Wingman, use Skydive Scorcher!"
The shade-wearing girl gaped as the flaming superhero tore apart Cosmo Queen in a shower of pixels and her life meter dropped to zero.
"And that's that," grinned the red-head as the crowd cheered.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" howled a female voice from above.
"Jeez, Sherry, if you are gonna throw a tantrum for losing, you don't have to be so LOUD," mumbled the red-head.
"That wasn't me," said the shade-wearing girl, who sweatdropped.
0
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" came the cry again, which shot from Lilith's lips as she tore her hair out in rage. "Say it isn't so!"
"Sorry, but Sonja's no liar," said Lina. "Diane's been abducted."
"Great, just great!" groaned Lilith, collapsing into her chair. "First those crazy killers, then Machus, and NOW one of the Eliminator's blood relatives is abducted by one of the counselors! Why?"
"I was wondering that too," said Twilight. "Sonja is no liar, but Brandon is no traitor. Obviously, he was forced to help Pisaro, and I fear that Diane is in great danger. It's obvious that Diane was on Pisaro's mind as soon as she beat Brigit in the finals."
"Why? What's so important to him about that kid?" asked Lilith miserably.
"We think it has something to do with Pisaro wanting the best of the rookies," said Lina. "After all, he made sure his minions didn't touch the campers and punished them severely when they did. Janos, for example. It's obvious that he wanted the champion of this camp for a reason. Maybe..." She recalled Balzack's final words about a plot against Yugi Junior. Could it be Pisaro wants someone with the potential to crush the Prince of Games? If so, then...no, I don't want to think about his plans now! She shuddered in fear.
Thankfully, Twilight completed her thought. "Yes, I believe Pisaro seeks to turn Diane into one of his minions. Lilith, I will go find Diane and rescue her."
"Uh..." said Lina.
Twilight shushed her and turned back to Lilith. "Trust me, Lilith. I know it's dangerous, but only I would know where Pisaro is hiding and bring him to justice. Your security men will not be able to handle such power."
"No, both of you are not to leave this camp!" snapped Lilith. "I'll call the head of security and send out a task force. In the meantime, nobody else is to leave this place until the crisis is resolved. I'm sorry, Kimi, but this time I must take authority in my own hands. This camp was created with collaboration with Mr. Kaiba and I won't allow anyone else to take that responsibility. We'll get Diane back safely, my people are very well-trained."
"But..." said Lina.
Twilight nodded. "I understand. You have your own reasons. Very well then, I leave it to you." She escorted Lina out.
"Okay, two questions," said Lina as soon as they were out of earshot. "One, are you going to let her push you around when Diane is in danger? Two, why you and not us?"
"I will give two answers to your first question, Lina," sighed Twilight softly. "First, I don't intend to let Lilith push me around, especially when she doesn't realize the power she's facing. Her task force will be wiped out by Pisaro the instant they mobilize. Second, what she doesn't know will not harm her." She gave a soft mischevious smile. "As for your second question, I cannot allow you to help me. You are already in too much danger as it is, Lina, and the chance you might hinder my attempts might cause us all great trouble."
"You don't trust me to be helpful, do you?" mumbled Lina.
"No, you'd be a burden," said Twilight. "Trust me, Lina, I know you've tackled this power before, but Pisaro is a different matter. He's not just some video game villian, he is a powerful and deadly sorcerer! I want you to stay in the camp and take command of my cabin while I'm gone. I promise, Diane will be rescued before Pisaro's plan takes effect." She nodded and left.
Lina sighed, watched her friend go, then huffed and went back to her cabin in long strides. Yeah, right...
0
Diane slowly opened her eyes and rubbed them. "Urh...what happened? The last I remember is Bra..."
"Oh, so you're finally awake!" laughed a familiar voice.
Diane gasped, rubbed her eyes hard, then blinked and turned to the voice. "Dione?" she gasped, seeing the red-head. "What are you doing here?"
"Lounging, considering that we haven't anything much to do since we're both prisoners," sighed Dione, shuffling her cards. "Blooming witch!"
"Huh?" asked Diane, who took in her surroundings. She found herself in a large cell with several cots and a latrine in the corner. "What the...?"
"Oh, are you awake?" asked a soft female voice. Diane turned to see a middle-aged woman with long soft brown hair sitting on a cot nearby. She was dressed in a nurse's outfit. "I tried my best to heal you, but whatever drug that was given to you was powerful!"
Diane stood up, brushed herself off and looked at the woman's eyes. "You look familiar. Oh, sorry." She blushed. "Guess we should introduce ourselves."
"You're Diane, right?" asked the woman. "Your friend, Dione, told me everything. Now I see why I was snatched from my Peace Corps work in Nigeria."
"Oh, you're a Peace Corps officer?" asked Diane. "I saw a commercial for them and they had nurses in the African countries."
"Yes, I joined the Peace Corps when my son started his job at Industrial Illusions," said the woman with a smile. She blinked her brown eyes. "I wanted to help those in need. Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Serenity. Nice to meet you." She held out her hand.
Diane shook it and smiled. "So, why are you here?"
"Didn't you hear her, Diane?" asked Dione. "She's a prisoner, like us. Kidnapped and spirited here."
"Yeah, I didn't realize the trap until it was too late," sighed Serenity, hanging her head. "I was fooled, I thought my son had come to visit me, but what I thought was Brandon was a trap."
"Brandon? You mean the Penguin Knight counselor?" asked Diane in shock. "He's the one who drugged me!"
Serenity gasped. "Oh no, not my son! How could he?"
"Wait, he's your kid?" asked Diane in shock.
"Yes," said Serenity, nodding. "I can't believe it. That horrible man, Pisaro, must have brought me here as a hostage to make my son do bad things!"
"So, he wasn't doing it willingly," said Diane with a sigh. "That's a relief."
"D'uh," said Dione, slapping her forehead. "What are you, bonkers? It's as plain as the wart on an ogre's face, Diane! Oh, by the way, me and Serenity talked a bit, and...you'll freak when you hear this...but this is actually Mary Wheeler's aunt, and she's quite a good duelist too. I played a couple of matches with her while you were out cold."
Diane gasped. "No way, you're the sister of the legendary Joey Wheeler? No wonder you looked familiar!" That means Brandon is Joey's...
"Well, I don't like to brag, unlike big brother," giggled Serenity. "But it's true, I'm Joey's sister. And yes, I do have a deck. I haven't dueled much in my life, though." She pulled out a fourty-card deck and shuffled it. "Dione told me you're an expert rookie, you defeated every camper in your camp. That's wonderful. Maybe we can pass the time with an unofficial duel, you and me." She smiled gently.
"Sorry for insulting you, miss, but ARE YOU CRAZY?" cried Diane. She grabbed the bars. "We have to get out of here!"
"Forget it," said Dione with a sigh. "I checked. The doors are locked with triple locks and the bars are solid steel. Even if I had magic, which I don't, I doubt that our jailor would allow anyone to leave this place with magic."
"Great," mumbled Diane, slumping against the bars. "But...why would Pisaro do this to us?"
"Well, from what I heard from that crazy witch who beat me with her monsters and turned me into a raven..." started Dione.
"Wait, is that true?" asked Diane.
Serenity nodded. "She was out cold when she was brought in, but I saw that woman, Lady Circe she called herself, bring in a cage with a raven in it. She removed the bird and gestured and it turned into Dione, so I assume that Circe turned her into that bird before she brought her here."
Diane thought back to all the stories she heard, especially the one from Siegfried about the Dark Four. "That must have been Lady Circe, the woman who can turn people into animals! I didn't think she could reverse the process."
"Me neither, but it happened," sighed Dione. "Anyways, from what Circe said, she said we were guests of Pisaro."
"Some way to treat a guest," mumbled Diane.
"Don't worry, someone will save us, I know it," said Serenity. "Back when I was in Battle City, my brother's friends protected me from some horrible men. I didn't see them, because I was still recovering from eye surgery at the time, but horrible people were trying to kidnap me, maybe for horrible reasons. I bet that Marik was going to hypnotize me like he did my brother!"
"Marik?" asked Dione, furrowing her brow. "I heard that name come up when I was overhearing Twilight talking to Lina, but...I don't think I understand what the relationship between our counselor and that formerly evil man was."
"Well, anyways, Yugi saved my brother, and I'm sure that someone will save us," said Serenity. "Until then, we wait."
"Okay," said Diane in disgust. "But I have a feeling that Pisaro has plans for us, and I don't want to stick around to see what they are."
0
Lina opened the door and entered the cabin. Who does Twi thnk she is anyways? Wonder Woman? I mean, sure, it's dangerous to fight Pisaro, but I'd do anything to get Sheena's sister back! She's my responsibility! Just then, Giselle and Brigit appeared behind her and whistled. She turned. "Huh?"
"We...have a plan," said Brigit softly.
"We're gonna rescue our pal," said Giselle firmly.
A few minutes later, in Lina's room, the three girls were talking. "What the...you want to do rescue Diane?" asked Lina.
Giselle nodded. "We didn't tell anyone else in the cabin, because then we'd have too many people. We want a small task force."
"I'm sorry, I don't get it," said Lina. "How the heck are we gonna find Diane? We don't know where she IS!"
"Actually, we have a general idea," said Brigit.
"You tell it to her, sister!" said Giselle with a sly grin.
"Well," said Brigit, opening up a laptop and logging on to the Internet. "While I was browsing the Internet for possible solutions to alien abduction, whcih could be the closest thing we have to Diane's dilemma, I received an anonymous e-mail from someone called 'Princess Alena.' Here's what it said." She cleared her throat. "If you wish to find the Crystal Tower in the Realm of Void-Time, then come to these coordinates and do not be late. The linking spell will only last a few minutes at the stroke of four in the afternoon. Take the Industrial Illusions helicopter and don't worry about security or Lilith. Only you can save your friend." She showed the coordinates to Lina.
"Hmm, talk about mysterious benefactors!" said Lina. "But still, are you sure that would be wise? Twi told me to take care of..."
"We need an adult to supervise us," said Giselle.
Lina paused. Diane's my responsibility. I guess I could ask Arlia and Jen to take care of the others. I just hope that message is correct, or else we'll lose our jobs for abandoning our posts. Not like I have much to lose. "Okay, you win. But only us. I don't want any of the others..."
"Don't worry, they don't know a thing," grinned Brigit. "We made sure not to tell anyone but you."
"Good, I'll make the arrangements and we'll leave at three-fifty so we can get there on time." She checked her watch. "Synchronize your watches, kids."
None of them saw a small flashing electric beetle on the windowsill. It flew off to the boy's cabins.
0
In Pisaro's lair, Ares smirked as he watched a close-circuit monitor. "That bug should relay the message to Donald. I think it will be fun to see him try to rescue his beloved." He chuckled softly.
Elsewhere, Pisaro was busy stirring something in a big cauldron. He poured in some strange gooey stuff. "Soon, the elixir to turn our vessel into a Yugi-slayer will soon be complete. Once the final ingredients are added, we will have a powerful concoction!"
Doppler arrived, in his true form. "So, how is that going to work, Master? We've got the girl, now what?"
"All in good time," grinned Pisaro, taking a sample of the substance and sniffing it. "All in good time. I only trust you so far."
"Oh really?" grinned the doppleganger. He lowered his voice. "How far?"
"Go check on our little prisoners, Doppler, see how they are doing." Pisaro added in a strange blue scorpion and the pot belched a cloud of smoke. "We don't want them to get hungry or anything, since I want Diane to be in good health."
"And the others?" asked Doppler. "Why bother keeping Serenity or the witch-lover?"
"Dione will be bait for the woman called Twilight, the sorceress," said Pisaro. "If she tries to rescue her, she'll fall right into a trap." He smirked. "I've already prepared some guardians to intercept her. As for the sister of that Wheeler fool, she will be used likewise, in case Mary Wheeler or her father decided to interfere. Not like they would, with all the events in Duelatopia going on."
"I see," said Doppler. "i'll check on them." He inwardly chuckled. Pisaro, you fool! You've just given me the chance to begin part one of my plan to screw you regally! I hope you regret not sending Ares to check on the girls. He left with a smirk.
"Soon, very soon, Phase Two will be put into effect. But, just in case that sorceress comes..." He stopped his work and took a deck of cards from the nearby table. He removed two monster cards from the deck and tossed them into the nearby green flames. "Nomirus...Ombreos!"
The cards burst into flames and two flaming spirits engulfed the ashes, emerging and morphing into the images on the cards.
"Go, my Copycats!" ordered Pisaro. "Bar the way from the ground!"
The two nodded and vanished.
"And just in case the sorceress brings in that big vulture..." He chanted some more and three giant grey dragons emerged. "Andreal Triplets! Patrol the skies of this tower and vaporize anyone who comes by sky!"
The dragons roared and flew out the windows.
Pisaro chuckled. "Not like that woman will be much of a threat to me right now, since I have several hostages...but better to be safe than sorry." He went back to his work and added some ground root into the cauldron, which belched more smoke.
0
The Time Wizard clock slowly approached four-o-clock. Three groups were making their move.
Twilight was entering the forest. I know it is too much to ask of Lilith to support me, but the fate her guards would face is not worth it. I pray she doesn't fire me when she sees what I have done to her task force. She sighed and entered the clearing where Sibylla was resting.
Likewise, Lina and her two campers were sneaking aboard the nearby chopper. "This is not a good idea, stealing a chopper," said Brigit.
"Chill, we'll give it back," said Giselle as she closed the door. "Say, Lina, do you know how to fly this baby?"
Lina sat down in the pilot's seat and put on the headphones. "No sweat! I did do some pilot's training when I was in high school!"
"Whoa, you learned to pilot a chopper in high school?" gasped Giselle as Lina activated the controls. "That's awesome! Your parents must have been rich!"
"Well, it's a little complicated," said Lina. "Okay, get in your seats and buckle up...this baby's going for a ride!" She turned on the power.
The helicopter blades began to spin. After a few minutes of loud roaring, the chopper lifted off the ground and shot into the sky.
"Okay, Diane, we're coming to save you," said Lina to herself, pulling back on the control stick. "Hang on!"
The aircraft burst through the trees and was soon heading out of the campgrounds.
Twilight suddenly saw them. She cursed under her breath. "Lina, you fool! You're falling into a trap!" She whistled as loud as she could and the great Augery, Sibylla, appeared. This time, his plumage was a bright lavender.
I know, said the phoenix in a deeper voice than before, obviously a side-effect of his newest power boost. Ever since I absorbed the essence of the Sky Dragon, I know what is happening. We must hurry or else Lina will be in danger.
I know, thought Twilight, recalling the visions she had seen in the past three weeks through her Necklace.
A few moments later, the lavender phoenix burst from the foliage with a cry, bearing a rider.
0
Circe and Pisaro smirked as he saw the two groups approaching. "So, they're coming. I know that silly princess would lure them here if given the right motivation." Pisaro chuckled.
Circe cocked a brow. "Princess?"
"An old enemy of mine, she used to be the princess of a beautiful kingdom...one which I sealed in the Shadow Realm." He chuckled. "But it doesn't matter much anymore. Even if she is helping them, it's too late. Maybe those wannabe rescuers will provide us some entertainment to keep work from getting dull. Yes." He clicked his fingers and the images of the two monsters he had summoned before his dragons appeared. "You two, wait." He waved his hand over the globe and cards came flying from all corners of the viewing area, appearing in the monsters' hands as two Duel Monster decks. "If anyone comes, delay them with a little duel. We'll use the Deckmaster System for kicks, since you two are Duel Monsters."
"Deckmaster system?" asked Circe, cocking a brow.
"A variation of regular dueling," grinned Pisaro. "I believe a young brat called Noah Kaiba introduced it to Yugi Mouto Senior and the late Seto Kaiba. One of our prisoners dueled her first duel under that system." He chuckled. "I think I'll make it so that only deckmaster duels will be held in my domain."
"I don't know anything about this, how am I supposed to duel any of those brats if I have to use a deckmaster?" asked Circe, pouting.
"Don't worry, I'll give you some help," grinned Pisaro slyly. "I promise, if you duel any of those brats, you will have the advantage in your deckmaster."
"Splendid," said Circe. She smirked. It almost makes me feel a bit bad for not telling him about that swan I have in my bedroom. But no matter, when the time comes, I'll have Yugi and his friends come running!
0
Alexa sighed as she brushed her hair back. She saw the chopper coming. Brey, Cristo, this is for you. She held up a pendant and chanted in a foreign tongue. Above her, a giant swirling vortex appeared.
"Okay, there's our ticket to Diane! Hang on tight!" cried Lina, yanking forward on the stick. The aircraft plunged into the vortex and vanished.
A bit later, the phoenix flew into the vortex and it began to close. Alexa sighed. "I hope that my contribution was enough." She then sensed someone behind her and turned, whipping out her other hand, which was decked in sharp golden claws bristling with flame. "Who are you?"
The little girl with silver hair smiled softly and spoke in a whisper.
Alexa paled. "No...you cannot be lying. You are..."
The portal snapped shut completely.
0
Brigit looked at the window and gasped. We're not in the States anymore...
The place outside the chopper was psychedelic to say the least. Silver clouds hung in a dark purple sky, lit by seven moons of various colors and strange pulsating stars. The trees below were twisted and unnatural, and the main landmark was a giant crystal tower piercing the strange night sky like a needle.
"That must be our destination," said Lina, who flipped a switch and turned to face the tower. "Okay kids, you're free to get up, but be careful, as we'll be landing right next to the tower."
"This place is weird," said Giselle as she got up and also looked out a window. "I mean, the sky is weird, the clouds are weird, the forests are weird, and that tower...well, that's beyond weird!" She sat down on a covered object.
"UH!" cried a voice.
"Huh?" asked Giselle, getting up. "What the...?" She pulled the tarp away and gasped. "Hey!"
Brigit got up and gasped. "Donald?"
"Eh heh," said the young boy with a sweatdrop, clutching the tarp. "I hoped you wouldn't find me."
Nearby tarps flew away, revealing Arnold and Jake. "Nice going, Don," said Arnold, rolling his eyes. "I swear, ever since your counselor up and turned evil on us, you've been messing things up!"
"Jakey-poo!" cried Brigit in shock.
"Arnold?" gasped Giselle. "What gives?"
Lina gasped, set the copter to autopilot, and got out. "What the hell?"
"Hi there, Lina," said Donald, waving sheepishly. "Thought we'd tag along."
Lina rolled her eyes. "This isn't a pleasure flight, boys! This is serious!"
"So are we," said Jake. "We want to help."
"No way," snapped Giselle. "We need a SMALL task force, as in four people or less! We're already stuffed as it is."
Donald grabbed Giselle's arm. "No, don't throw us out of the chopper! We want to help! I want to rescue Diane as much as, even more than, you guys! After all, we're soulmates!" He sighed. "I can't believe my counselor did something so evil!"
"It's not his fault," said Lina. "Twilight mentioned that he may have been forced to do that."
Brigit sighed. "A Penguin Knight in shining armor." She wrested Giselle's arm from Donald's grip. "Donald, we appreciate your offer to help. I know Jake would do the same if it were me, but we're dealing with strange forces here. You might be a burden to us."
"You're right about the weird forces at work," mumbled Arnold, brushing his hair back as he looked out the window. "I mean, any cuckoo who makes a crazy sky is way too weird for my tastes. As much as I don't like to believe this is real, my uncle told me his own weird experiences. This is freaky!"
"You didn't have to come, Arn," growled Lina.
"Hey, someone's gotta keep these two from snuggling with your girls!" scoffed Arnold. The girls blushed.
"No, I'm not like that!" cried Donald in horror. "The only girl I want to touch is Diane!"
"Well, talk about faithful to your lover," grinned Giselle.
"Look, we can't go back to drop you guys off anyways, so you can stay," sighed Lina. "But you are staying in the chopper in case something goes..."
Suddenly, a loud blast sent the chopper reeling and everyone was thrown into each other.
"...wrong!" gasped Lina, who found herself in a very comprosing position with Arnold.
"Heh, didn't know you were so forward, Lina," teased Arnold with a smirk. He received a snarl and slap from Lina.
The chopper suddenly pitched forward and everyone was flung to the other side, pounding their heads against the wall. Lina rushed to the pilot's seat and pulled the stick.
"Damn it!" she cried. "The controls aren't responding! I've gotta land this thing!" She yanked the stick back and forth. "Sheesh! My pilot's training should cover this! Everyone, hang on for a crash landing! Must be air turbulence!"
"I think we've found our turbulence," gulped Giselle, pointing at the window.
Lina looked out the pilot window and paled. "Holy..."
One of the Andreal Triplets was blasting the chopper with his breath. He roared and blasted the blades off, making the aircraft take a nosedive!
"No! Not now! I can't die when there is so much to do!" howled Donald in horror as everyone was flung into the pilot's compartment.
"HOLD ON! I'M GONNA TRY TO LAND THIS SAFELY!" cried Lina, straining to keep the stick back. Come on, you stupid bird! Go up!
After a bit of struggling, the aircraft crashed into the forest below.
0
Twilight emerged from the portal just in time to see the crash. "Shoot!" she hissed. "Stupid Lina! Why did you have to go and do that? Sibylla, fly us to..."
I'm afraid we have other problems, Kimi, related the mythical bird. We have company.
Twilight turned to see the other two Andreal Triplets flying at them.
Andreals, dragonic beings of pure evil and power, whispered Sibylla. I'm afraid I cannot fight them in this state.
"Pisaro was expecting us," hissed Twilight.
The dragons charged. Hang on, Kimi! I will try to shake them off! Sibylla screeched and shot into the sky. The dragons charged after him, but were a bit slower than the nimble phoenix, which looped around them and confused them. Sibylla then flew off towards the tower, but then the third Triplet, who was just coming back from his triumph, saw the bird and belched an eldritch flame that grazed Sibylla's wing.
The bird screeched! "No!" cried Twilight in horror.
Be strong, Kimi. I will be fine. The phoenix dodged the second blast and nearly avoided the blasts of the other dragons. This is no good! We must land and hide until they leave! Hold on, my dear, this will be dangerous!
"I trust you implicitly, Sibylla," whispered Twilight, grabbing tightly to the bird's flaming plumage. "Do as you must."
The bird took a sharp nosedive into the forest below and the dragons followed, but then stopped as they came too close to the canopy. They roared and blasted the trees below as the bird vanished into them, but they missed. The dragons flew up and circled the area for a few minutes, but finding nothing, they left and returned to the tower, circling its peak.
"That was close," said Twilight, who was hiding under Sibylla's wing. She had dismounted seconds after the Augery entered the woods with a leaping dismount and the bird had used a camoflauge power to hide them. She looked at the tower. "The threat is gone."
For now, but sadly they will attack again if we emerge, said Sibylla. I'm sorry, but we will not be able to breach the tower by the sky. Let us find the others and see if they are alive.
"I pray they are," whispered Twilight. "But you..."
I think I know how we can travel on foot without being spotted, said the phoenix. I will take the form of a card in your deck and hide there until the time comes for me to come out. He melted into a purple light and vanished into Twilight's deck case. We must hurry, or else Lina and Diane will be harmed by Pisaro's evil.
"Yes," said Twilight. Lina, Diane, I am coming for you. Be safe. With that, she strode into the twisted woods.
0
"Ugh," said Giselle, who slowly picked herself out of the mess of limbs and bodies. "Everyone okay?"
The others disentangled themselves from their awkward positions. Lina pulled herself out of the ruined rubble of the chopper. "I'm okay, just a few bruises. I swear, it was a miracle we're still alive!"
"Yeah, but now the chopper's ruined," grumbled Arnold. "Lina, this is all your fault." He brushed himself off as the group left the rubble.
"Hey, you didn't have to come along," repeated Lina. "Regardless, we're not going back the way we came."
Donald suddenly ran past her. "I'm coming, Diane!"
"Hold on a minute, buster!" said Lina, grabbing his collar. "You're not going anywhere! You, Jake, and Arnold can stay here until we get Diane back."
"What?" asked Donald. "Please, take me with you. I want to help!"
"We really wish to help out," said Jake, taking Brigit's hands. "I don't know how this crazy adventure started, but I do know that Diane's in trouble, and I want to help you save her."
Brigit blushed. "You know, I change my mind. I don't think they'll be any trouble," she murmured dreamily.
"Great, and I thought guys were the only ones with hormones," moaned Lina, slapping her forehead.
"I resent that," said Arnold with a grimace.
"Fine!" cried Lina, throw her arms up in defeat. "You can come, but don't get in the way, okay?"
0
Pisaro chuckled. "It's time to begin the time-flow shift, my dear." He turned to Circe. "Be careful my dear, this can be...disorienting at first." He began to chant the spell.
The entire area seemed to melt as the spell was completed and the time-flow shift began, slowing down time in that dimension to a semi-crawl.
0
Alexa frowned as she felt the time-shift in the other dimension. "Something's wrong."
"I'm afraid the time-shift is happening," said the little girl. "It will be several days before they escape."
0
"Whooooooooa..." moaned Giselle as the group stumbled in disorientation. "What just happened?"
"I...don't know, but whatever it was, it was powerful," whispered Brigit.
The group was trying to find the tower, but the woods were hindering them. The trees were dark and twisted, some having creepy faces on them.
"Eeh, remind me never to watch the Corpse Bride movie," said Giselle, wincing.
0
"And now, the fun begins," said Pisaro with a chuckle. He tossed a card into the green flames.
0
"This is getting annoying," said Arnold in disgust. "We've been walking for what seems like an hour...if time even exists in this creepy place...and we're nowhere closer to our goal than we were before!"
"Chill, Arn," said Lina. "We'll find the tower and then we'll..."
Suddenly, the earth began to shake and Arnold gasped. "Watch out!" he cried, tackling Lina seconds before steel bars shot up from the ground and trapped the others in a steel dome of bars!
"Hey!" cried Lina. She pushed Arnold away and got up. "Stop toying with me!"
"Lina!" cried Brigit. "We're trapped!"
Lina turned and gasped as she saw the cage. "A Nightmare Steel Cage? Here?" gasped Lina, seeing the domed cage made of steel bars with spikes. "But how is that even possible?"
"Anything's possible for our master, Pisaro," chuckled a deep voice.
Lina whipped about to see a pair of figures entering the forest clearing they were in. "What the...?"
The first figure, a lean army-green colored humanoid, flexed his biceps. "Heh, didn't expect that to happen, didja?"
The other figure, who was a portly tan humanoid eating out of a rice bowl, snickered. "Yep, we got most of them!"
Lina gasped. "You're...Doitsu and Soitsu!" She recalled how her adopted father, Pegasus, showed Lina four images of the strange shiny humanoids from a video game called Parodius and said how he'd make Duel Monster monsters from them. "But that's crazy! Duel Monsters can't be real!"
"Our master made us," said Soitsu. "And now you're gonna have to deal with us if you want your pals to be freed!"
"Yep," said Doitsu, putting away his food bowl and chopsticks. "And we don't deal with easily!"
Arnold snarled. "You let the kids go, bastards!"
"Sorry, only way to do that is to defeat us in a duel," said Soitsu with a chuckle. "And we're not lightweights!"
"Especially not me," said Doitsu, patting his big belly.
"You can say that again," grumbled Lina. "But one problem, none of us have a duel disk. We left them at camp and even if we did have them, they were deactivated, so they won't work."
"No problem, we'll let you have special duel disks, courtesy of Master Pisaro!" said Soitsu. He clapped his hands.
Suddenly, strange devices which looked like disconnected duel disks appeared on the arms of Lina, Arnold, and the others. It looked sort of like a Duel Disk, but it was more blocky than usual, and the disk slot looked like a steel bowl with a red light on it. There was an extra slot on the bottom of the deck device, just below the removed from play slot.
"Whoa, this is pretty radical!" said Jake, looking over his new disk. "I bet KaibaCorp would kill to get this design!"
"What's this slot for?" asked Arnold, pointing to the extra slot in the disk device.
"We'll tell you later," said Soitsu. "But first, since it would be unfair to make you guys duel us one versus two, we'll have a tag-team battle! I'm sure you know how it works, considering that your friend Diane, who is currently entertaining our master, dueled the Gemini Sisters."
Arnold snarled at that awful memory. "I'm no stranger to tag-team duels, you crazy Duel Monsters, but I'm not working with Lina here!"
"Look, I don't want to work with you either, Mr. Snobbinator," said Lina. "But we have no choice. We have to work together to save everyone."
"That's right, and if we win, then you are all going to be joining your pals in the dungeon," laughed Soitsu. "Now, to explain that special slot in your deck device. It's for the system we'll use for this duel, the Deckmaster System!"
"And we'll be our own deckmasters," grinned Doitsu. "That's why we don't use that new slot, it's where your deckmaster will be put!"
"Deckmaster system...that's familiar," said Lina, scratching her head. "But I don't remember hearing much about it."
"Actually, I know about that system," said Arnold. "Since my uncle had a duel in that system, he told me how it worked. Of course, he lost that duel badly due to his youthful desire to protect a girl." He shook his head in disgust a bit. "Oh well. If we have to duel together, I should explain the system to you." He took his deck and removed a monster card from it. This is for you, Uncle Tristan. "We take a card from our deck or side deck and it takes a place besides us. For example, I play as my Deckmaster my uncle's favorite monster...Cyber Commander!"
Sliding the card into the new slot, Arnold watched as the cyborg soldier appeared behind him. (750/500)
"Whoa," said Giselle. "This is new."
"All right, so that's what it does," said Lina. She took her side-deck and removed a monster from it. It showed a goofy insane-looking parrot-creature. I never use this anyways, since it's too weak for a tribute and has no effect. It's not even a real Toon, so Toon World wouldn't help it! But maybe it can help me here. "For my deckmaster, I choose Parrot Dragon!" She slid the monster into her new disk's special slot and the parrot-dragon hybrid came to life behind her and squawked. (2000/1000)
"Whoa, I never saw a Toon like that before!" said Donald.
"Technically, Parrot Dragon isn't a toon monster," said Brigit, adjusting her glasses. "It's not even worth playing, because you need to make a tribute to summon it. It's like the Pokemon Magikarp, only it doesn't have ANY redeeming factors."
"Yeah, unless you're crazy for ugly parrots," grimaced Giselle.
"Even my penguins look nicer than THAT," sighed Donald.
"Okay okay, stop insulting my monsters!" snapped Lina, as Parrot Dragon snarled.
"They have a point," chuckled Arnold. "Still, I guess Parrot Dragon is better as a Deckmaster than as a regular monster."
"That is, if you know its Deckmaster ability," grinned Doitsu.
"Deckmaster ability?" asked Lina.
"Each deckmaster monster has a special ability," said Soitsu. "If you can figure it out, you might come out on top. But don't think WE are gonna tell you what your deckmaster abilities are!"
Arnold sighed. "He's right." He lowered his voice so only Lina could hear him. "You can also summon your deckmaster to the field, but...if it gets removed from the field, usually by being destroyed or removed from play, you lose the duel!"
"Oh, good warning," said Lina. She noticed a blue button next to the deckmaster slot. "I guess this summons it to the field."
"Okay, you losers," said Soitsu, magically conjured a duel disk similar to the others. "Let's duel!" Doitsu conjured a similar disk.
"You've got it," said Lina as the four shuffled their decks and inserted them into the disks.
All four reset their life meters to 8000 each and drew five-card hands.
Lina looked at her hand. Wow, talk about crazy luck! This is the best opening hand I've had since I started dueling!
Arnold looked at his hand in disgust. Oh crud, this is just stupid! This is the worst hand I've ever been dealt in a duel!
"I sure hope Lina and Arnold can save us," said Giselle. "Because if they lose the duel...we'll find Diane and be trapped with her!"
"Some rescue attempt," groaned Donald.
"Are you ready?" said Soitsu with a wicked chuckle. "Because once we crush you, you're joining your little friends! Ha ha ha!"
Clouds formed over the tower and neon-green lightning flashed, illuminating the clearing in a spooky glow.
NEXT CHAPTER: The second tag-team duel in the story begins! Can Lina and Arnold defeat these living Duel Monsters? And can they handle the new rules of Pisaro's realm? For those of you who love Noah's deckmaster system, stay tuned for the next chapter, "Double Attack!"