Cipher 053: Burned at the Stake
Shins LP: 4000
"Graaah!" Shin cried out as he stepped on yet another trap that burned off his lifepoints. They were getting harder and harder to detect. "I will make it to the top you hear, you can not stop me!" He shouted to no-one in particular. "Shin." To his surprise, someone actually did receive his words. "What!?" Shin immediately readied his D-pad, and then he saw Dusk.
"Calm yourself, Shin. I am not your enemy." It had been the first duelist he saw since entering the museum. And Shin was cautious. "You left us down below. How can I trust you now?" Shin did not lower his D-pad. "I did what I had to. You made it here, and that is what matters." Azar pointed to a few tiles behind him on the stairs. "Let me show you how to restore the life you lost, as a way to repay you." He had picked out already which of them were healing cards and which were not. "Why do you want to help me?" Shin had been asking that for a while now. "Because we have the same enemy. The agents, some still remain in this tower..."
Meanwhile a few floors down below..
Andre's LP: 8000 Ruby's LP: 8000
Andre D Morbis began the duel with Ruby. "The first act begins with this monster, Gimmick Puppet - Babyface." He summoned a princess doll(1/0/0) in a blue dress. "It is a machine type and has less than 500 attackpoints. Therefore." He followed it up with spell, Machine Duplication. "I shall summon two more." Two more Babyfaced dolls(1/0/0) appeared from his deck, in defense position. "I end my turn by placing this card down." A trap was set behind the Gimmick Puppets, and Ruby could take her turn.
Gimmick Puppet - Babyface, 1/0/0 Light/Machine
Banish this card from your graveyard to special summon 1 monster from your opponents graveyard to his/her side of the field. That monsters effect is negated.
"Gimmick Puppets?" She had never seen Andre use this deck before, or anyone actually. "Who knew a guy like you liked using cute dolls. Not me though. For me, fire all the way!" Her turn began with a continuous spell. "Fire Formation Tensu; every turn I can do an extra normal summon if its a beast-warrior. And my Beastwarriors will gain 100 attackpoints!" So she normal summoned two monsters, the fire beast Flame Tiger(4/1800/0) and the fire beast-warrior, Rhinotaurus(4/1900/600). "Andre D Morbis, the first hit is mine! I Attack!" The rhino and tiger ran across the arena grounds and tore the two defending dolls to pieces. "Oh and Rhinotaurus can attack twice in a turn in which two monsters were destroyed as a result of battle! So he attacks your third doll too!" The battling rhino plowed through the last Babyface, the only one in attack position. "You have triggered my trap." Yet before damage could be inflicted. "Gimmick Box. I negate damage done to me, and instead summon a monster whose attackpoints are equal to that damage." A cube in dimensions was sliced out, revealing a mechanical face(8/1900/0) inside that cackled like a madman. "Oh, no damage?" She pouted and ended her turn.
Gimmick Box, Continuous Trap
During damage calculation, if you would take battle damage: You take no damage. Then, special summon this card as a monster card (8/?/0 Dark/Machine).
This card's ATK is equal to the amount of damage you would have taken. (This card is still treated as a Trap Card.)
"No. Not yet. The first hit is mine." Morbis drew a card. "As my grave holds only machines, I can special summon the Gearspring Spirit." A clockwork ghost(8/100/100) manifested itself before agent M. "It can erase one monsters full attackpower.." And it was the Flame Tiger(0/0) that the Gearspring Spirit targeted with its debilitating soundwaves. "Ruby Irant, we are Number wielders, so let us act like them." He picked up his monster card and trap card. Too late did Ruby figured out that Gimmick Box was a level 8 monster as well. "I XYZ-summon Number 22: Zombiestein!" The monsters formed an overlay network from which the undead titan(8/4500/1000) came forth. "Wait a second, wasn't that that girls Number?" She had seen this Number before, but not in his hands. "You have seen it before? Well, that does not matter now." Morbis ordered Zombiestein to squash the weakened Tiger into a fiery pulp. "Gaaah!" And Ruby lost more than half her lifepoints from that one blow. After that Andre was done with his turn.
Ruby's LP: 3500
"Okay. Ow! If that is how you want it." Ruby drew a card. "I summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Bear!" She brought out the bearlike firestar fighter(4/1700/1200). "Then I shall activate my Numbers effect." Andre detached one material from Number 22 and discarded a card, Gimmick Puppet - Necro Doll. "Number 22 switches its position, to negate your monsters effect." The creature turned to defense mode.
"You didn't even let me explain what my monster could do!" Ruby hissed. Her Bear could destroy a monster, if she sacrificed a Fire Formation spell card. Not anymore though. Her monsters could not kill Zombiestein through battle either. "Okay.. then I use my second normal summon to bring out the Coach Captain Bearman!" The bear cyborg(8/1400/2700) could normal summon himself without tributes, by halving his attackpoints. "Bearman changes all beastwarriors into level 8 monsters!" Fire Fist Bear(8/1700/1200) and Rhinotaurus(8/1900/600) were prepped for her xyz-summon. "I wont summon my Number straight out of the gate! I have only one Number, who knows how many you have!" She overlayed all three beastwarriors. "In defense position. Coach King Giantrainer!" The hotblooded sports coach(8/2800/2000) was what came from her extra deck. "I detach all three of his materials, to pick up three cards. And you take 800 damage for each monster I draw this way!" Giantrainer took the three cards on top of her deck, revealing them to be a beast-warrior, and a trap- and spell card. "Eh, just one." Her xyz monster hurled one steel pole at Morbis, scraping his sides.
Andre's LP: 7200
"Tss.. It has been a while, since I felt lasting pain." Andre seemed to enjoy the hits more than one normally would. It weirded Ruby out, slightly. "Uh... Your turn." She said after she placed two cards down. "In that case, I shall invoke the spell; Trade In. I discard a level 8 monster to draw 2 cards." Andre sent another Gimmick Puppet to the cemetery, and gained a spell and monster. "I activate the spell, Enemy Controller. choosing its position effect." A game controller plugged into the Coach King and forced him into attack position. At the same time Zombiestein was manually switched back to attack position. "Striker." And it reduced the Coach to a hole in the ground as well.
Ruby's LP: 1800
"Ugh, Great." While not as costly as the last attack, the pain was starting to pile on. Ruby could hear her frantic heart-beats. "I can see how you became the Pro-league King. If that title even means anything in all of this." Andre gave no comment on that, so she just took the next turn. "But I am not going to back down from anyone, not even a King! I activate Flame Tigers effect!" Before she drew her card, she special summoned the Tiger(4/1800/0) from her cemetery. "I can skip my draw phase to revive this monster." With all the cards she drew last turn, she did not need a drawphase anyway. "I summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Dragon!" The next beastwarrior was a blackhaired knight(4/1900/400) that could command dragons made from flames. "If I activate a Fire Formation Spell, he can set another Fire Formation card on my field!" So she activated another continuous spell. "Fire Formation Tenki! My beastwarriors gain 100 more attackpoints and I can draw a beastwarrior in my deck!" That spell sent an Coach Soldier Wolfbark to her hand. At the same time Dragon(2000/400), powered by the spell, took a Fire Formation trap card from the deck and placed it face-down on the field.
"I summon Wolfbark using Tensens double summoning effect!" The tiger and dragon knight were assisted by the werewolf(4/1800/1200). "Once a turn, Wolfbark can special summon a dead level 4 beastwarrior with its effects negated!" The wolf howled and dug Rhinotaurus(4/2000/600) up from the soil with its claws. "XYZ-summon!" And then both Wolfbark and Rhinotaurus were joined into one flame. "Now?" Morbis wondered if this time she was summoning her Number. "Not yet, Andre." Yet she would not play into his expectations. "I xyz-summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Tiger King!" Instead she brought out a knight in red armor(4/2400/1800), wearing a tiger-shaped helmet. "Tiger King sets a Fire Formation card from my deck to the field, when he is xyz-summoned." Ruby placed a fourth trap on her field. "But that's not important. His other effect is!" She detached Wolfbark from the TigerKing. "He negates the effects of all monsters you control!" And from his armor came a steamy haze, that surrounded Zombiestein.
"..." Morbis could negate this effect by discarding a card from his hand. However he knew it would be a waste of a card. "No counter? Huh. Oh well, your loss." With Zombiesteins effects sealed, she moved to step 2 of her plan. "'Dragon' can also send two Fire Formation cards to the grave, to special summon another member of his Brotherhood!" She sent Tensu and Tenki, the two spells, to the grave. "I choose Bear!" And the Dragon warrior(1800/400) reignited the flames of the Bear warrior(4/1600/1200). "I activate my continuous trap card, Fire Formation Tensen! I give a Beastwarrior 700 attackpoints for one turn!" Then she activated a trap she set last turn, it targeted her Tiger King(2900/1800). "This trap also gives a general boost of 300 points to my beastwarriors, but.." The trap was quickly sacrificed. "I send Tensen to the graveyard, so Bear can destroy one monster on the field!" Bear took the flames of Tensen, and channeled them towards Number 22. "Tsk." Andre's Xyz monster was destroyed, burned down to the ground by the monsters effect.
"Well hey. I may actually already have this in the bag!" Ruby counted more attackpoints on her side, than there were lifepoints on his. And he had no traps or monster cards set to defend himself with. "Sweet! Let's do this! A direct attack from all my monsters!" Tiger King, Dragon(1800/400) and Bear of the Brotherhood advanced first, charging their flames along the way. 6300 of her opponents lifepoints were burned away. "Now! Flame Tiger, he is all yours!" And the beast of fire was about to deliver the finishing blow.
Andre's LP: 900
"I activate Heroic Gift." When suddenly Andre's lifepoints shot up to 8000. "Wait what? No!" Instead of it being fatal, her monster just delivered a moderately painful attack. "What the hell did you do?" She asked him. "Not me, him." But Andre pointed out who she should have asked. "Huh? Where did.." She saw another duelist, Korose, standing behind Andre. "Where did you come from?" He stood there, with a trap he just activated, another trap set, and a monster on his field that was wearing an equip spell card. "He has been here for a while now, waiting for the right time to make his entrance."
Andre's LP: 6200
"But that card, that monster." The monster was a Heroic Challenger Spartan(4/1600/1000), its equipment were the Noble Arms of Destiny. And the trap was what had given Andre his full lifepoints back was Heroic Gift. Korose used it to draw two cards, but in return an opponent of his would gain back all his lost lifepoints. "I regret to inform you, that I joined this duel one turn ago. I can not let you endanger the project." Korose did not actually sound all that enthusiastic about what he had just done. "Yes. Agent K knows of my importance. One agent has already failed. Only I can bring down the Fallen One. I can not lose to the likes of you." Morbis explained with renewed smugness. "What are you even blabbing about? How is this fair?"
Korose's LP: 8000
"It is not. The world is not fair. It is my turn! I can banish a Gimmick Puppet monster in my graveyard, to special summon Gimmick Puppet - Necro Doll!" One of the Babyface puppets was banished, as a cost to resurrect a bandaged porcelain doll(8/0/0) that rested had until now slept in a coffin. "Then, as I control only Gimmick Puppets, I can special summon Gimmick Puppet - Magne Doll from my hand!" Magnetic orbs appeared, which pulled several joints together until they resembled a human figure(8/1000/1000). "Before the end, I will confess that I under-estimated you. That nearly cost me everything and I shall rectify it now." The two dolls were taken apart, to build a new xyz monster with them as the materials. "I Xyz-summon Number 40: Gimmick Puppet of Strings!" There was his ace at last, the harp swordsman doll(8/3000/2000). The mark of 40 appeared on Morbis' shoulder. "Destroy Fire Fist - Bear!" Number 40 swung its blade. "I activate Fire Formation Tenken!" While Ruby activated her continuous trap. "Tenken powers up my beastwarriors and makes one of them immune to any targeting effects." She selected the Tiger King(2500/1800) to receive this immunity. Bear(1900/1200) gained more power as well, which minimized the damage she took during its destruction..
Ruby's LP: 700
"Your actions are futile, your defeat is certain. I activate the effect of Gimmick Puppet - Babyface." The two remaining princess dolls climbed out of their graves. "I banish Babyface, to resurrect one fallen monster to my enemy's stage!" The dolls used strings in the back of their necks to drag Wolfbark(4/1900/1200) and Bearman(4/2900/2700) out of the ground. They summoned them in defense position. "Number 40, play the song of the end!" Then The Puppet of Strings cut through one of its materials, to activate its effect. "I place String-counters on all other monsters! They shall perish during my opponents endphase, and deliver 500 points of damage for each casualty!" The puppets heavenly string dirge granted a counter to Korose's Spartan, but also to the revived Coach Beasts, Flame Tiger and to Fire Fist - Dragon(4/2100/400). Only Tiger King was unaffected by the strings, as it was protected by Fire Formation - Tenkens. "But it will not be your endphase." He placed a card down and ended his turn. "Korose's turn comes after mine. All he needs to do is end it." Agent K was about to draw a card.
"What? You are joking!" Ruby had no means to stop the incoming damage now.
"Stop right there, rule breakers!" But then, out of nowhere.. "I the Masked Raider shall act on this lady's behalf." The masked duelist showed up in the room as well. "How the.." His arrival was met with varying degrees of surprise. "This room was sealed, how did you get in?" Morbis did not think anyone would have found them, let alone gotten through to them. "I can not lie. One of my Numbers grants their wielder insight into any barrier and seal; no doors remain closed before it." The Raider had his D-pad active and his cards drawn. "Ruby Irant. You assisted me down below." He drew six cards. "Allow me to repay the favor, and let me be your partner in this team duel that started the wrong way." Ruby stared at him for a long time, before she came with a response. "I don't think you know what you are getting yourself into."
Morbis began to laugh. "He has no idea indeed. If you can control the Numbers you claimed from others, and your goal is nothing more than to stop their 'evil' from spreading, than you should ally with us agents instead of with someone like Ruby Irant! The lady you are assisting is the one with a criminal record. And her reasons for dueling are shallow at best." Ruby cringed when Andre brought all that up.
"I assist those who require assistance." Luckily her new ally was not as judging. The Raiders concealed face turned to Ruby. "What is in the past, is in the past. I have not seen you use your Number in unjust ways in the present. And that is what matters to me!" He said as he started his turn. "It is these two need to answer for their deeds." He summoned Inzektor Centipede(4/1600/1200) to his field. "Inzektor Centipede, choose the armor which will start your battle!" The Centipede warrior equipped an Inzektor from his hand, Earwig, to boost his(2600/1200) attack and defense points. "Well, alright then." Ruby stood by and let him do it. She was not going to complain about needing outside help when her opponent had cheated first.
"So we face simply the jester of the court." Andre failed to be impressed. "Let us crush him, Korose. He should learn the difference between a Hunter and a Pretender."
Masked Raiders LP: 8000
(To be Continued in Cipher 054: Honor amongst Thieves)
New Cards used by Ruby Irant
Flame Tiger
Rhinotaurus
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Bear
Brotherhood of the Fire First - Dragon
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Tiger King
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Fire Formation Tenki
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Fire Formation Tensen
Fire Formation Tenken
New Cards used by Andre Morbis
Gimmick Puppet - Babyface (+)
Gearspring Spirit
Number 22: Zombiestein
Gimmick Puppet - Necro Doll
Gimmick Puppet - Magne Doll
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Machine Duplication
Trade In
Enemy Controller
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Gimmick Box (+)
New Cards used by Korose
Heroic Challenger Spartan
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Noble Arms of Destiny
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Heroic Gift
New Cards used by Masked Raider
Inzektor Earwig
(+ Based on the Cards used by IV/Quattro in Yugioh Zexal)
