Disclaimer: All official Yu-Gi-Oh! GX characters & cards are property of VIZ, Shonen Jump, and Konami.
This fic a joint project with one of my friends, Comic Master Alpha.
EPISODE 2-14
Gio's Inferno
The child was playing with two figures on the edge of the island replica. One was of a young girl with her dark brown hair tied back into a ponytail. The other was of a dark-skinned boy who wore a vest. "It appears we have to uninvited guests. Roman, what are we doing about them?"
"We've decided to enter them into the competition," Roman answered, "If we want to maximize the amount of duel energy we can possibly gather, it would be best to bring in as many Duelists into the tournament."
"Excellent." The British boy put the figures back on the replica and ran his left hand through his snowy white hair while using his right arm to hold something close to his body. His fingers came to rest on the short fuzzy ponytail at the back, which was held in place by a short thin strip of black cloth. "It'll be interesting to see how things play out for these two."
o o o
The sun was starting to set and the island was bathed in a vivid orange light. Cassie slapped a bug as it landed on her arm as she walked along the edge of the island. Trailing right behind her was Gio, who was carrying both backpacks. "Why do I have to carry the packs?"
"Cuz I said so," Cassie answered as she continued walking ahead of him. Gio grumbled and followed her, carefully stepping over logs and going around large rocks.
"Can we stop now? It's getting late and we need to set up camp."
"Whatever." Cassie looked toward the horizon and saw the sun beginning to set. "Sure. Okay." Gio sighed and immediately dropped his load. Cassie cried out and she quickly drew back.
"You jerk! You dropped that on my foot on purpose!" she yelled as she hopped on her right foot.
"I couldn't even see your foot!"
The two of them continued to argue for a few more minutes, their voices growing increasingly higher. Eventually, their argument drifted off onto completely unrelated issues.
"And for the love of God, put a shirt on!"
"I'll wear what I like!"
"No one wants to see your nipples!"
"Hey, that's a low bow!"
"No. THIS is a low blow!" Cassie drew her head back and slammed it into Gio's face.
"OW!" The boy stumbled back and put a hand over his face. "My nose!"
"Oh god, Gio! I'm sorry!" Cassie ran closer to Gio and put her hands on his shoulders. "You okay?" Gio blushed upon feeling her touch.
"I am now." He moved his hand away and smiled with a hidden smirk, though not as well hidden as he thought. Cassie saw it and smacked his face.
"Ow!"
"Find someone else to look after you!" She stood up and crossed her arms across her chest, looking away. Gio just laid back on the ground and stared toward the sky. The two of them had been lucky. So far, neither of them had encountered any other Duelists. Cassie looked at her Duel Band and wondered what it was for. It had to be more than just an identification bracelet for the competitors. She remembered once overhearing her parents talking about something called Bio Bands when she was younger. They were in the living room talking while she was hiding behind the wall in the hallway. She remembered that the Bio Bands drained a Duelist of his or her energy after each duel. She glanced at the bracelet she wore now and began to wonder about that.
The silence was suddenly broken by a nearby explosion. "What was that?" Gio wondered as he sat up.
"Let's go find out." Cassie ran off and Gio went after her, leaving the bags behind. They ran into the woods and dashed through the foliage until they came to a clearing. Four Duelists lay unconscious on the ground. Standing over them were four horses, each carrying a rider. The first was a man wearing pitch black armor. His face was obscured by matching helmet with a bone-white plume. A Duel Disk was clearly built into his left gauntlet. In his right hand, he held a pair of scales as he sat atop his black steed.
The second was a man dressed in white armor. His head bore no coverings save for a long white scarf that obscured the lower half of his face, which left his long silver hair exposed to the elements. Strapped to his back was a quiver of arrows. His eyes were black like the darkest night as he sat upon his white horse with a matching Duel Disk on his left arm and holding a bow in his right hand.
The third was an even more fearsome man as he sat on a brown horse that had been covered from head to toe in blood-red armor. His own armor matched that of his steed with enormous shoulder guards studded with spikes. Atop his head he wore a horned helm red as blood. In one hand he wielded an enormous claymore with runes etched into the blade. Upon closer inspection, however, one would come to the realization that those runes were actually the Monster Zones of a Duel Disk.
The last one frightened Cassie and Gio to the bone. The horse was adorned with old yellowed bones up to the point that it wore the skull of another horse upon its head. Under the right light, it looked like an equine reanimated skeleton. Its rider wore pale armor that also followed the bone theme with horned skulls as his shoulder and knee guards and something appearing to be the head of a Summoned Skull serving as a helmet. In his hand he wielded a long and deadly scythe.
Gio tugged on Cassie's shirt. "Let's get outta here!" her whispered.
"Shh!" Cassie shushed him and continued to watch the scene. The horses slowly circled the unconscious Duelists as their riders looked down at them.
"That was hardly even an effort," the black one said.
"These were just weaklings," the white horseman replied.
"When can I fight a stronger opponent?" demanded the red-clad man as he stabbed his sword into the ground.
"Be patient." The man in bones broke away from the others and moved in front of his comrades. "We are Player Killers. Our task is to remove anybody we encounter from the game, regardless of skill. As the number of Duelists dwindles, only the strongest will remain. Then you shall have your satisfaction." The red horseman smiled beneath his helm.
"Cassie, let's go!" Gio whispered again.
"Shh!"
"Fine! Then I'll go by myself!" Gio turned and started to run away. But in going so, his foot stepped down on a dry branch and it snapped loudly.
"Gio, you idiot!" Cassie whispered loudly.
"What was that?" the black horseman asked.
"It appears we have interlopers amongst us." The bone-armored man turned his horse around and faced the direction from which the sound at come. He clenched his left hand into a tight fist. Several bones resembling fingers sprouted from his gauntlet. A thin membrane formed between then, connecting them together to form a wing-like appendage. A small skull appeared on top of his glove and he slotted a deck into its mouth.
"Gio, run!" Cassie immediately turned around and started running, passing Gio along the way.
"UGH!" Frustrated that nobody ever listened to him, the boy kicked a rock into the trees and ran after Cassie.
"Who were they?" asked the white horseman.
"Just a pair of children. They're not worth the effort," the pale horseman answered as he retracted his Duel Disk, "Come, my comrades. We have much work to do. The horsemen ride tonight." His horse reared up and neighed before he rode off with the other three right behind him.
o o o
Mikey sat on a rock with a raised eyebrow as he read the packaging of the food he found in his survival pack. Coltyn sat adjacent to him tending to the campfire. "Mikey, have you seen your brother?"
"He should be back by now," the brunet answered. At that moment, they heard a holler as Gabe returned to camp with four fish he had caught.
"Got us dinner," he announced.
"Nice, Gabe. I'll take care of 'em now." Coltyn took out his knife from his survival pack and began scaling the fish.
"Hey Coltyn, we already have three days' worth of food in our bags. Why do we still need to forage for more food?" inquired Mikey.
"The food in our survival packs is non-perishable. It'll last us for a while, so we want to keep that for emergencies." Coltyn looked at his classmate. "That a good enough answer?"
"I think so." Mikey put his food pack away. "When's Max coming back?"
"I'm heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!" Max called out gaily as he returned with an armful of root vegetables.
"I wonder if they have any boars on this island. I'm dying for some red meat," Gabe thought out loud.
"Even if there were, you're gonna have one hell of a time trying to hunt one down." Coltyn finished scaling the fish and proceeded to gut them.
"So when's dinner?" Gabe inquired.
"It's gonna take a while, but I'll whip up something filling," Coltyn promised.
"But I'm hungry now."
"Well have an apple," Mikey suggested as he held out one of the juicy red fruits. Gabe took his brother's offer and bit into the apple.
o o o
Mikey and his friends were not the only ones who had already decided to set up camp. Jaden Yuki along with his fellow professional Duelists Syrus Truesdale and Chazz Princeton had a roaring fire going and were sitting around eating dinner.
"Why do you think someone would want to bring back the Bio Band technology?" Syrus asked.
"Whatever it is, it can't be good," answered Chazz. Suddenly, the Ojama Brothers appeared around him.
"Hey Boss, can we have a bite?" asked Ojama Yellow.
"Yeah, come on. Just one bite," urged Ojama Green.
"You guys are Duel Spirits," Chazz replied calmly, "You can't even eat." Having had the Ojamas around for so long, he had long since gotten used to them. Now whenever they showed up, he never got irritated with them.
"Hey Jaden, how come Aster never came?" Syrus inquired, "I thought for sure he'd be here."
"Well you guys know what happened to Sartorius, right? Well, Aster stayed behind to look after him," was Jaden's answer.
"I heard it was brutal," Chazz mentioned.
"Who could do something like that?" Syrus seemed worried.
"Well for now, Aster's on the rescue team along with Zane and Jesse and the other guys," Jaden said, "If things look like they're going bad, they'll show up."
"I'm going to sleep early." Chazz set his empty dish on the ground. "I'm on lookout for the second half of the night, so I'm gonna get some shut eye now."
"I'll wake you when it's time," said Jaden.
"Right." And with that, Chazz crawled into his sleeping bag and started to fall asleep. Jaden and Syrus looked at each other for a moment and continued eating.
o o o
Cassie and Gio had run away from the horsemen and found themselves to be quite lost. "We need to find the bags," the latter said.
"How come you didn't bring them with you?" asked Cassie.
"They were heavy and you told me to keep up, so I had to put them down."
"Great! Now we have no food or water. What are we supposed to do now?" All of a sudden, Gio's Duel Band began to beep and he paled. There was rustling in the bushes and the kids immediately huddled together.
"'Ello, 'ello, 'ello. What 'ave we 'ere?" a British man's voice could be heard saying. From the bushes emerged a man with a short green spiky mohawk wearing a Union Jack tank top, camouflage pants, and military boots. He had piercings were in his right eyebrow, nose, and lower lip as well as flesh tunnels in his ears. "Looks like I've found me-self a couple of victims."
"Who are you?" demanded Cassie.
"Me name's Nicky and I'm 'ere for a duel." He took out a fire-orange Duel Disk and strapped it on.
"How do you cancel?" Gio asked as he tapped his Duel Band.
"Ya can't," answered Nicky, "Once ye've locked onto another Duelist, yer stuck wit 'em until someone wins, oi tell ya."
"Then I'll do it." Gio put on his Duel Disk and activated it.
"Gio, be careful," Cassie warned.
"I've hit some hard rocks, Cass. This'll be easy."
A'right, oi'm gunna wipe da floor wit' ya! Make ye piss ya knickas!"
--
Gio: 8000
Nicky: 8000
--
"Oi'll make me first move!" Nicky placed his hand on top of his deck and ripped out his first card, "Oi summon Flamvell Firedog in 'tack mode!" He placed his card onto his Duel Disk and summoned out a hound made from lava (ATK/1900 DEF/200). "Then Oi'll set two cards. Lesse wot ye got!"
"You talk funny." Gio drew his first card and read the text. "I set a monster and end my turn."
"That's it?" Cassie asked from the sidelines.
"I know what I'm doing," Gio assured her.
"Ye little tots ain't got nuttin'." Nicky placed his fingers on his deck's top card and pulled it out. "Oi summon out me Flamvell Gurnika!" His Duel Disk's holographic projectors hummed loudly as they projected a blue winged dragon in brown leather pants with a mane and a tail that flicked like fire (ATK/1700 DEF/200). "Aw'right Firedog, show dis lil pillock wot ye've got!" Flamvell Firedog leapt forward and unleashed a twister of flame from its mouth at Gio's facedwn card, which was revealed to be a large green stone statue known as Stone Statue of the Aztecs (ATK/300 DEF/2000).
"You attacked my Stone Statue of the Aztecs!" Gio announced, "Now you take double damage for attacking him!" The flames dispersed around Stone Statue of the Aztecs, which fired a pair of lasers from its eyes at Nicky.
--
Gio: 8000
Nicky: 7800
--
Nicky growled and looked at his hand. Things were fine for now, so he ended his turn.
Gio then proceeded with his turn. He drew his card. Thinking he could ruin his opponent's strategy, he set another monster and ended his turn.
"C'mon, Gio! Stop defending already!" Cassie called from the sidelines.
"Y'ain't gunna 'elp out the lil shrimp," Nicky said as he drew his card. "And my Flamvell Baby will 'elp see ta that! Ya see, whenever I discard Flamvell Baby from me hand Oi can increase the 'tack o' one fire monster on me field by four 'undred till me end phase. The monster Oi'm choosing is me Flamvell Firedog!" Nicky slid the monster card into his grave and smiled as an impish child appeared, made entirely of fire. The infant giggled lightly before it exploded into a torrent of flames that wrapped around the Flamvell Firedog, making it blaze red hot. As it died, the beast roared as its attack points rose up by four hundred to twenty-three hundred. "Chew up dat statue!" Flamvell Firedog leapt up into the air and unleashed a blast of fire that destroyed Stone Statue of the Aztecs. Nicky cackled as he watched the piece fly about in smoldering rubble. He was jubilant in watching the destruction, licking his lips in self satisfaction.
"An' wit' Flamvell Firedog's effect, if 'e destroys a monster by battle, I can summon a Fire monster with two 'undred or less defense. Like me Gaia Soul!" In a burst of fire, the one-eyed meteor that was Gaia Soul the Combustible Collective appeared on the field (ATK/2000 DEF/0). "Now Flamvell Gurnika, 'tack that facedown!" Flamvel Gurnika summoned a fireball into each palm and then clapped its hands together to fire them both in the form a single concentrated fireball with a loud bang. The blazing attack struck Gio's facedown, revealing it to be Morphing Jar.
"Ha! When Morphing Jar is flipped, we both discard our entire hands and draw five new cards!" Gio smiled as both Duelists sent the rest of their card s to their hands and drew five new cards.
"It don't matter, ya soddin' twat. Flamvell Gurnika's effect still activates!" The humanoid dragon inhaled through its nostrils, taking a deep breath into its burning lungs, before it unleashed a blast of fire that washed over Gio. "Wheneva Flamvell Gurnika destroys a monster 'e deals two 'undred point of damage for each o' that monster's level."
--
Gio: 7600
Nicky: 7800
--
"Oi ain't finished." Nicky pointed up to his Gaia Soul the Combustible Collective and then redirected his finger at Gio. "'tack that lil bugger!" The one-eyed meteor broke off several chunks of its molten body and hurled them down on the small boy.
--
Gio: 5600
Nicky: 7800
--
"Me Battle Phase is over, but Oi ain't finished. Oi sack me Gaia Soul an' summon me Flamvell Fiend in 'tack mode!" Gaia Soul the Combustible Collective exploded into a shower of molten rock and from its remains emerged a grotesque demon made of blue and black flames, wearing black leather pants and chain dangling from its pockets (ATK/2100 DEF/1200). "Lesse wot ye've got, kid."
He destroyed my rocks so quickly, thought Gio as he drew, What can I do to beat him? He examined his hand. A card stood out and he quickly reanalyzed his graveyard. Thanks to his Morphing Jar, he had a total five Rock monsters in the grave, including said Morphing Jar and the Stone Statue of the Aztecs that was killed. If only I had Megarock Dragon, but this guy will do fine too, he thought to himself.
"I remove from play Stone Statue of the Aztecs and Morphing Jar from my graveyard to summon Gaia Plate the Earth Giant!" The ground split open and from the fissure emerged an enormous stone golem (ATK/2800 DEF/1000). "Gaia Plate, attack Flamvell Gurnika!" The massive stone creature raised its arm and slammed its boulder-like fist on top of the fire-wielding dragon.
--
Gio: 5600
Nicky: 6700
--
Nicky seemed to be unfazed by the attack. In fact, he almost seemed to enjoy it. "'ow cute. The kid's got some fire in 'im!"
"Yeah, well.... Shut up!" Gio took a monster card and set it in defense mode before setting another facedown in one of his Spell and Trap Zones.
"Me turn at last. Was afraid Oi'd die from a bit o' the boredom." Nicky drew his card. He licked his lips once more as his Field spell slot opened. "Oi play Molten Destruction!" The sky went black with a cloud of smoke and ash as a volcano formed behind Nicky erupting and roaring with the voice of an angered god. A river of molten rock flowed and the two Duelists stood upon stone platforms within the stream. "This card brings all fire monsters tacks up by five 'undred tack points.
"Dammit," Cassie cursed and and looked at Gio with annoyance and worry. Gio was good at defensive plays, but Flamvell monsters were about power and burning. He couldn't stop that. Sometimes a heat was too strong for even the toughest stone. Her hand fell to her hero deck. Her father had given it to her. What would he do now? she thought to herself and bit her lip.
"Next," Nicky licked his lips for a third time, a flake of skin brushing off, "Oi play Foolish Burial to send me Flamvell Commando in me deck to me Graveyard!" A freshly-dug grave appeared beside his feet and a coffin was slowly lowered into it before several shadowy figures filled the grave. Nicky's hand was fanned out and moved around as he prepared for his next move. He laughed lightly and held up another card. "I discard a second Flamvell Baby to power up me Flamvell Fiend by another four 'undred points." Nicky laughed a high pitched cackle as the fiend of blue flames grew in size and his body seemed composed of red, orange, and blue flames now thanks to the eruption of the flaming sprite. The devilish beast now stood tall with an attack of three thousand, a mass of hellfire. Gio was scared.
"Flamvell Fiend!" Nicky called out with ecstasy on his face, "tack 'is Gaia Plate! 'ellfire Blaze!" The demon of flame cackled like its master as it ran towards the stone goliath, its hand grasping at its face and lifting the rock beast high into the air. Flamvell Fiend's blazing eyes stared deep into Gio's eyes, black flames crackling as pupils that pierced the young duelist's soul before the fiend smashed Gaia Plate into the earth, crushing it into molten rubble.
--
Gio: 5400
Nicky: 6700
--
"Dang!" Gio hissed as he felt a sudden rush of actual heat that blazed by him. Hot atmosphere whipped around the young boy and brought a bead of sweat to his face.
"Gio!" Cassie called out, taking a step forward only to stop when she heard the hissing of her sneakers against the ground. The rubber grew hotter the closer it got to Nicky. Her heart began to beat like a hammer as she looked at the strange Duelist. He had a seething and piercing look in his eyes and a smile on his face that showed nothing but enjoyment. He was loving every moment.
"Don't think that that attack is all that there is to it, mate. Flamvell Fiend's effect activates. When 'e destroys one of ya monsters 'e deals two 'undred points of damage to ya for each Pyro type monster in me grave. I 'ave me two Flamvell Babies and me Flamvell Commando. That is six 'undred point of damage to ya." As Nicky finished speaking the heat increased drastically, waves of heat rippling through the air. Gio began to sweat more and more as he felt the heat cut through his Life Points.
--
Gio: 4800
Nicky: 6700
--
"Now Flamvell Firedog! tack 'is face down monster!" The hellhound roared and unleashed a powerful fireball that collided with the monster, revealed to be door shaped form of Golem Sentry. As the stone golem crumbled in a heap of flaming rock a card was ejected from Nicky's deck that he grabbed and placed on the monster card zone. "And wit' me Firedog's effect I summon Flamvell Archer in 'tack mode." On the field a one eyed archer with flaming hair stood, his fiery bow in hand and quiver on his back (ATK/1000 DEF/200). "Oi end me Battle Phase, but not me turn. I will then sacrifice me new Flamvell Archer and summon me second Flamvell Commando." As soon as the Archer had made its appearance it vanished, now replaced with the form of a humanoid being with dragonic features. He wore green pants and had a helmet that spewed an inferno from the top as he held onto a rifle made of twisted black magma (ATK/2200 DEF/200). "Flamvell Commando can remove a monster with two 'undred defense to inflict damage to ye life equal to its attack."
"Wait...slow down...I can't follow all of that, especially with your funny speech," Gio said, now panting heavily from the heat that was grasping at his lungs. The heat was even getting to Cassie, but didn't seem to bother Nicky who had his sadistic grin plastered on his face. Gio was too exhausted to notice, but Cassie was terrified of the look in his eyes. He was making this heat somehow.
"It don't matter, ya soddin twat. Oi'm gonna remove me first Flamvell Commando from the grave for 'is effect. Flamvell Commando! 'ell's Gunfire!" The blazing commando growled as his rifle began to glow at the barrel. He aimed and pulled the trigger releasing a single blazing stream of flame that slammed into Gio who let out a howl of pain, as if his body were actually on fire. He felt ever bit of the scorching heat and fell to his knees in pain.
--
Gio: 2600
Nicky: 6700
--
"Gio!" Cassie screamed once more, tears streaming from her eyes. She was scared. She was terrified of this man. She kept thinking, I should have listened. I should have not come here, like Gio told me to. Oh god. Daddy help. Mommy help. help Gio.
Nicky reared his head back and let loose his loudest laugh yet. He was almost giddy by this moment, wanting to dance yet his excited trembling wouldn't let him. "Oi, mate, don't ya love this? The fire and burning and pain! Marvelous! Don't take too long on ya turn. Oi want ta 'ave more fun with yah."
Gio shook violently and stood up. It was finally his turn. He drew his card and smirked. It was time to make his move. "I activate Brain Control. I can use it to take one of your monsters by paying eight hundred Life Points."
--
Gio: 1800
Nicky: 6700
--
As Gio's Life Points went down, a brain materialized in one of the Spell and Trap Zones on his side of the field. A pair of phantasmal arms reached out and grabbed hold of Flamvell Commando, placing him in front of Gio. "Now I sacrifice Flamvell Commando so I can summon Hieracosphinx in attack mode!" Flamvell Commando vanished from the field in a shower of stars and in his place, the young boy summoned a creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of a bird (ATK/2400 DEF/1200). After that, he took a card from his hand and switched it in with his Hieracosphinx. "I sacrifice my Hieracosphinx to Special Summon Exxod, Master of the Guard in defense mode!" The molten ground trembled violently and several rocks burst out from it as an enormous statue of an Exodia-like creature rose up from beneath the surface, its back adorned with a shining golden ring (ATK/0 DEF/4000).
"So ye got out a big ol' defenda. It still ain't gunna stop me Flamvell monsters, ya know," Nicky pointed out.
"That's why I've got this." Gio played the last card in his hand. "This is my Fissure!" The ground split open beneath Flamvell Firedog and the molten creature was swallowed up into the earth. "And this!" He revealed his facedown card. "Smashing Ground!" The ground below Flamvell Fiend rumbled before it fell through the earth and was crushed under ton of rubble, dispersing blue flame upon impact. "Now you've got no monsters and I've got my strongest defender on the field! It's your turn!" Gio smiled. Despite how intimidating Nicky had been this entire duel, the boy finally had his confidence back. All he needed to do now was burn off the rest of his opponent's Life Points with Flip Summons and Exxod's effect.
This duel's mine! he thought excitedly with a grin and a hearty chuckle.
"Think ye've won, eh?" Nicky ripped the top card from his deck. He looked at it and a mad grin appeared on his face followed by his trademark laugh. "Well it ain't gunna happen, ya lil twat." He looked at his two facedown cards at his feet and then flipped one of them up. "Oi activate me Foolish Burial an' Oi'm sendin' me second Flamvell Archer to me graveyard." Another fresh grave appeared on his side and a coffin was lowered into it. "Next Oi play me Rekindling card. Wit' this, Oi can summon as many Fire monsters wit' two 'undred defense points." In a bright flash of flame, Flamvell Gurnika returned to the field accompanied by two Flamvell Archers and two Flamvell Babies.
"None of them an destroy my Exxod!" Gio said. "He's destroy-proof!"
"Oi ain't finished yet." Nicky pointed to his creatures. "Now Oi tune me two Flamvell Archers to me Flamvell Babies." Both Flamvell Archers' bodies faded away until three stars remained for each and they transformed into a set of green rings. Each Flamvell Baby was surrounded by one set of rings and a bright column of light engulfed them. "Oi Synchro Summon two Armory Arms!" The lights faded and in their place were a pair of enormous mechanical gauntlets armed with sharp claws (ATK/1800 DEF/1200). "When Oi equip 'em to another monster, that monster gains a thousand 'tack points for each Armory Arm equipped to it. Now I equip 'em both to me Flamvell Gurnika!" Each Armory Arm slid onto one of Flamvell Gurnika's arms and clamped into place. With the added bonus of Molten Destruction, the dragon roared loudly as its attack points rose up incredibly.
"Forty-two hundred attack points?!" Gio was flabbergasted. He never thought anyone could be able to raise a monster's attack points high enough to destroy his Exxod and now here was an opponent who had done just that.
"Gurnika, blow that thing into 'ell!" Spreading its wings, Flamvell Gurnika roared and took flight. It soared up through the air with its arm outstretched and plunged the claws of its right Armory Arm into Exxod's face. It snarled as it brougt up its left arm and sunk those claws in as well. Then with another roar, it began to focus its flames and began pouring them through its weapons into its target. Very slowly, the enormous behemoth began to glow a molten red. Cracks appeared on its body. Gio looked up in horror as his monster, seemingly in pain, began to spew flames from the fissures in its body. With one final roar, Flamvell Gurnika pulled its arms out to the side and ripped out Exxod's face as the rest of the body burst up in flames and crumbled into a pile of molten rubble.
"EXXOD!"
"An' now me Gurnika's effect," declared Nicky, "Now 'e deals damage to ya equal to yet monster's level times two 'undred!" Flamvell Gurnika turned on Gio and blasted him with a powerful flame attack from its mouth.
--
Gio: 200
Nicky: 6700
--
Gio cried out in pain as he felt the intense heat against his bare skin. This was no hologram. This was real.
"Time to end this!" Nicky's grin widened further as he revealed his other facedown card. "Me Spiritual Fire Art - Kurenai makes me sack one o' me monsters so it can deal damage equal to its original 'tack. It's over!" Flamvell Gurnika hovered over Gio's head for a moment and roared one last time before its body exploded, hitting the boy with an intense blast of fire. The Armory Arms clattered harmlessly to the ground, scarred with incredible burn marks and smoking. The both burst into scrap metal moments later, showering Gio with shards of molten steel along with the blast from Flamvell Gurnika's death.
--
Gio: 0
Nicky: 6700
--
Gio heard nothing. Gio felt nothing. Gio saw nothing. His world had gone dark, his senses dulled save for that of smell. The scent of ash filled the air as he collapsed, unable to hear the maniacal laughter of his opponent as Nicky stood triumphantly over him. The sadistic pyromaniac cackled even as his Duel Band sapped his energy. Nothing seemed to faze him in his hour of blazing glory.
Nicky slowly came down off of his joyous laughter, looking around to see if he could have a little more fun. There was a little girl there, after all, and she might be a good fight too. Nicky looked around and she had already vanished. Gone from sight and mind. He simply shrugged and sighed. He began to leave when he heard an eruption atop a nearby hill. On the hill there stood a flaming dinosaur that slowly faded. Nicky smiled wide once more and began to run up the hill. "Looks like Terry found some fun. Best join 'im before 'e 'ogs all the good duels. Don't want everyone to be burnt to a cinder just yet," Nicky said, a gleam in his eyes.
o o o
Tears streamed down Cassie's face as she ran. She couldn't stay. She was too scared. Gio was hurt, she knew that. She didn't know if he was dead or not, but she did know she couldn't stay. That man was something unnatural. That man and those horsemen were all unnatural. What have I gotten myself into, Daddy? she thought to herself as she ran and cried. She ran until she could not run anymore and cried until she drifted to sleep. This was the nightmare she didn't realize she had. To be alone. Late in the night, after her breathing had settled and she was in a deep slumber a man sat down on a rock near her head. A man with a rifle in hand and cigarette in his mouth. He looked down at her and smiled. The man smiled and he had grey eyes. She was safe, though she didn't know it.
Next Week on Yu-Gi-Oh! GNext
Flamboyant Max meets his first opponent in the Duel Royale tournament, a shy young girl who'd rather not be there. Will there be salvation for either or will they both be forced into a duel against each other? Find out next Friday on Yu-Gi-Oh! GNext!
