「Kaijudo Generation Arc: Team Zeta. 004 - Tafiya Damji」
"I'll leave you to talk with her, seeing as this girl has no synced creature of her own." Blaze commented.
"Good idea." Jamie replied and the holographic dragon vanished back to her case.
After finding the correct apartment number she rapped on the door. The deadbolt unlocked and a face peered out underneath the security chain.
"Jamie, sweetheart." Tafiya greeted.
The raven-haired girl flashed a brief smile from the hall. Tafiya closed the door, undid its chain, then opened it wide for her guest. Tafiya was wearing the same soft, oversized sweater she'd worn at school. Maybe it belonged to a boyfriend. She had a face full of makeup, the plastic bracelets rattled on her wrists. Her dark hair was bushy and wavy, she stepped aside "come in."
Jamie entered and Tafiya closed the door behind her. Jamie looked around at a rather spacious apartment. It wasn't as luxurious as Karon's, but based on the antique vases and Arabic wall-hangings, her parents were still well off.
"Thank you for inviting me over to talk," Jamie said.
"Thank you for checking in. My Mumma won't be in until five, and my Daddy would lose it if he ever found a boy in here. But you'll be okay." As Tafiya relocked the door Jamie caught sight of her waist hanging over her skirt. That couldn't be comfortable. When and why did she start gaining weight? Jamie wondered.
They walked the length of a hall rug, stepped down into a wide living room and then crossed it to a bulky kitchen fridge. Tafiya went to get them drinks so they could have their talk. It seemed like a friendly, hospitable gesture. Yet Jamie noticed that Tafiya didn't keep her out of sight for a second. As she went through the fridge, the shelves and poured the glasses there was always one dark eye on her at all times. Like a watchful bird. Once ready Tafiya led them to a couch and they sat opposite each other, sipping healthy tropical juices.
Jamie sank into the cool leather "So… my partner is worried about what went down with Collin. He wants answers, something that might've been overlooked."
"Is that CJ Henderson?" Tafiya asked.
"Yeah. It really gets to me, seeing him so wrapped up. Don't tell him I said that."
"You have a big heart. And we heard about that kidnapping incident with Dr. Collin's kid, you especially have been through a lot." Tafiya lightly touched Jamie's hand with unnecessary sweetness.
"Thanks. Which of the guys was your partner? Jeremy?"
"No, Collin." She gave a wry smile. "I think Jeremy wanted to be something like Jake, but he's no cadet."
"So it's probably hitting you hard too then? Being partners and all."
"Yeah, my heart breaks for him." Tafiya said it distantly, playing with the edge of her purple sock. Both girls sipped from their glasses.
This was something else Jamie remembered about Tafiya. She could be extremely sweet, but if you weren't careful with what you said she could turn on you in a heartbeat.
"So I wanted to find out more about Collin," Jamie finished her drink, figuring she'd wasted enough time on etiquette.
"I also wanted to ask you how the case is going," Tafiya snapped back to attention. She downed the last of her glass then grabbed Jamie's and hopped up. She smirked "so how about a duel? Winner gets their questions answered first."
"A duel?" Jamie asked, surprised.
"Just a friendly one. Come on…" she fetched her deck and went to their ridiculously long coffee table. Lacquered wood with a glass covering. She knelt on the carpet.
"Alright, but enough with the baby-talk. I switch on when I duel." Jamie fished out her deck and knelt at the other end of the table.
Darker Than Black -Ryusei no Gemini -OST-15 - Underground Sophia
"If you say so…" Tafiya smirked again; they shuffled and set out their shields and drew their hands.
"Challenger first," Jamie prompted and watched the girl add water mana and end. "So how long have you known Collin?"
"Not long…" Tafiya watched Jamie add fire mana. Then Tafiya added her second mana and played "Kelp Candle."
Kelp Candle
Civilization: Water
Power: 1000
Jamie observed the blocker, drew and frowned. No two-cost creatures in hand, this was sure to make her rush strategy harder. She added mana and passed.
"I play Grape Globbo. Now I get to look at your hand."
Grape Globbo
Civilization: Water
Power: 1000
Jamie reluctantly turned over the cards, holding her arm out.
Tafiya leaned forward with a squint and got a good look "I see five cards in your hand and the two you used for mana… it's less than a quarter of your deck but I can still guess what its basic strategy is… humanoids, Cocco Lupia and I see Scarlet Skyterror. An offensive approach may be best for me then." Tafiya sat back "your turn."
Jamie drew Gatling Skyterror and immediately tried to form a new attack-plan Tafiya wouldn't be able to guess. She didn't use Scarlet Skyterror for mana just yet, because she might be able to mislead her opponent. Jamie played a creature.
Migasa, Adept of Chaos
Civilization: Fire
Power: 2000
"Your turn, Tafiya."
"I cast Eureka Charger. I draw and gain one mana. Back to you, Jamie."
"So much for an offensive approach?" Jamie remarked as she drew.
"I don't want to make moves until I know the battlefield better." Tafiya explained. "So that would include giving you shields, cards I don't know that could change your strategy."
Jamie drew her signature card and smirked "I summon Cocco Lupia."
Cocco Lupia
Civilization: Fire
Power: 1000
Jamie tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear, hand then moving for her other card "Migasa breaks a shield."
Tafiya turned her blocker in response "Kelp Candle takes the hit. I look at my top four cards, add one to my hand and put the others at the bottom of my deck. Here's where the offense comes in, darling."
As she surveyed her options Jamie's phone buzzed in her pocket. She read the text from her brother stating that someone had freed Collin Hoxham with a Dimension Gate. She stood up suddenly and Tafiya paused just as she was putting the three cards under her deck. The girls stared at each other for a few seconds. In that time Jamie decided not to tell Tafiya just yet, in case she was also involved in all this.
"What's wrong, dear?" Tafiya asked.
"Nothing," Jamie lowered herself back down. "Just… Jeremy got really powerful all of a sudden, didn't he?" That was a different text she'd got from Jake upon first entering the apartment building.
"Did he? Jeremy was really sick when I last saw him?" Tafiya's ignorance looked believable.
Jamie decided to gamble "Tafiya, it was completely out of character for Collin to do what he did. Everyone can tell he's covering for someone."
"Can they?"
"So if you know anything it's time to speak up."
"Alright. It was Jeremy."
"Jeremy did it?" Jamie's voice raised. She studied the other girl's face, trying to figure out the truth.
"Yes, I think so. He can be very intimidating."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Jamie demanded.
"I was scared for my family! So I didn't react right away… then I was scared of losing my internship!"
"Six people died, another's in a coma. One young woman was strangled to death. Whoever did that is a monster and the DCA needs to deal with them."
"You gonna rat me out, then?" Tafiya asked before getting to her feet. Suddenly her K-waves spiked and blue energy burst into a dome around them. The expensive ornaments and vases within the duel field trembled but didn't fall. Five shields lit up on both sides. Suddenly Grape Globbo, Cocco Lupia and Migasa Adept of Chaos were visible in the room.
Jamie stood "You want to have a real duel inside your apartment? Are you crazy?" After seeing no wavering in her opponent's stare, Jamie released red energy from her palm that hit the top of the dome and rolled out, making their true duel official.
Most Wondrous Battle Music Ever: Daughter Of The Flame [EXTENDED]
"The deal still stands. Winner gets their questions answered first. So now… I summon Tekorax!" A sea creature with bulbous eyes emerged, its tentacles undulating.
Tekorax
Civilization: Water
Power: 3000
"I get to look at your shields now too…" Tafiya said as Jamie's panels darkened, the other side revealed. Jamie scowled as Tafiya murmured "now I get an even bigger picture of your deck… and now it's safe to attack.."
Tafiya couldn't help the big smirk etching up her face. Jamie only had the one trigger and it was useless now! All she had to do was attack the least useful shields and she'd predict Jamie's moves easily and come up with counter-strategies for them.
"Grape Globbo attack centre shield!" The gelatinous creature fluttered forth and shattered glass.
Jamie
Shields: 5-4
Jamie caught the card as it bounced off the table. Comet Missile and there were no blockers for her to use it on. Both girls were down on one knee, now tense instead of relaxed. Jamie set Scarlet Skyterror for mana. "Arise from the flame's of Justice, Bolshack Dragon!"
Bolshack Dragon
Civilization: Fire
Power: 6000+
Blaze's emergence and roar made two vases fall from their stands and shatter delicately against the floor.
"Suppose your parents aren't going to be happy about that?" Jamie remarked before pointing "Migasa attacks Grape Globbo!"
Migasa, Adept of Chaos: 2000
Grape Globbo: 1000
The shaman leapt into action, unleashing swirling energy from its palms that reduced the gel creature to a puddle. A realization came over Jamie that she shouldn't attack. From the start of the game an early rush had been unsuccessful. Tafiya had looked at her hand and now her shields as well. Jamie wanted to give her opponent as little a chance to strike back as possible so that involved waiting for a swarm. It was a gamble, considering the water civilization's removal effects, but perhaps it'd be a strategy Tafiya wouldn't see coming.
"I end my turn." Jamie declared.
"I summon Marching Motherboard!" Tafiya began.
Marching Motherboard
Civilization: Water
Power: 2000
A big robotic mainframe stepped forward on cybernetic limbs. Tafiya was only holding one card in her hand, but she knew her Motherboard would let her draw whenever a creature with cyber in its race was played. Thanks to Scout Cluster she had a brilliant idea of how to replenish cards even if Jamie wasn't attacking her shields just yet…
"Tekorax break a shield, second from the left!" Those tentacles flexed before whipping through glass as the creature spun. Shards pierced the far wall and all its paintings and ornaments crashed down.
Jamie
Shields: 4-3
Jamie had a full hand, she added her sixth mana then "I summon Mini Titan Gett and another Cocco Lupia!"
Mini Titan Gett
Civilization: Fire
Power: 2000+
Cocco Lupia
Civilization: Fire
Power: 1000
Jamie was now alongside an army of five creatures. She had the firepower to take out five shields at once and go for a finishing attack all in one turn. Tafiya will have a trigger, and she could play a blocker. I just need a bit more… "I end my turn." Jamie announced, clenching her cards.
"Still scared of me? Aw, little dear." It was half-mocking. Tafiya drew a cyber lord and grinned. "I summon Scout Cluster! Marching Motherboard lets me draw a card!"
Scout Cluster
Civilization: Water
Power: 4000
A domed tank scuttled forth. Tafiya drew Aqua Surfer. Even better, she thought. "Next I summon Emeral and replace my left shield. Scout Cluster gets bounced back to my hand."
Emeral
Civilization: Water
Power: 1000
The amphibian with a gold helmet appeared in the room. Tafiya drew again and it was Fort Megacluster. A winning strategy was coming together for her… She tapped the last of her mana "I re-summon Scout Cluster once more and draw a third time. Marching Motherboard breaks your right-most shield!" The mechanism stepped forward and fired a laser. Jamie caught the card.
Jamie
Shields: 3-2
Tafiya took one last look at the field "Alright…" If Jamie tries for her win next turn Aqua Surfer will send her final attacking creature back to her hand. Then I evolve Fort Megacluster from either the Scout Cluster in play or the one in my hand. Her last two shields aren't triggers so with three attacking creatures… I'm going for a win next turn. "Your move, darling girl."
"I cast Comet Missile to destroy Scout Cluster!" The missile-strapped meteorite collided with the only blocker and exploded. All remaining ornaments inside the duel field smashed, and outside tremors made the kitchen and living room shake.
Tafiya sighed, that's fine. I knew that move was a possibility for her.
"I evolve Mini Titan Gett into Armored Blaster Valdios!" Jamie declared. An evo crystal descended on her human and it transformed into an armored fighter with a ridiculous amount of cannons.
Armored Blaster Valdios
Civilization: Fire
Power: 6000
Tafiya's face paled beneath all that makeup. Jamie grinned, knowing she hadn't seen her draw the evolution creature.
"Alright, here we go! Bolshack Dragon double breaks!" With a roar Blaze leapt into action, swiping two shields clear and making the floorboards shake.
Tafiya
Shields: 5-3
"Shield trigger, Aqua Jolter!" The liquid fighter landed and swished its arm-blades.
Aqua Jolter
Civilization: Water
Power: 2000
Now that Tafiya had another attacking creature she could still win soon, even if Jamie decided to pass and attack Marching Motherboard instead. And if Tafiya drew Crystal Lancer next turn her opponent was doubly-screwed. Jamie decided to press on.
"Valdios double-break! Migasa, break her last shield!" Their ears were assaulted by thunderous cannon-fire and the shaman's spiraling energy.
Tafiya
Shields: 3-1-0
Unfortunately Jamie's order of attacking was perfect. She'd kept track of which shield Tafiya replaced with Emeral, and made sure she still had two attacking creatures before hitting it last. Tafiya's other two shields hadn't been triggers… it was over.
Aqua Surfer
Civilization: Water
Power: 2000
Her new creature rode in on a wave. Tafiya felt the victory slip away from her "I send a Cocco Lupia… back to your hand…"
"We had a deal, right?" Jamie pressed.
"Yes, fine…" Tafiya answered her and the other girl's smile returned.
"Let's call this off now," Jamie said with her hand on the second Cocco Lupia. Tafiya was mad but called back her duel field. Jamie waited for it to fade before she released her own. The creatures vanished back to their realm. The two girls stood alone in the apartment once more.
Jamie stared around at the mess "How the hell are you going to explain this to your folks? I'm not helping you clean. I only expanded my duel field because you forced me to."
"Don't worry about it," Tafiya responded, strangely unconcerned.
It was time for Jamie to dig out the truth "So it's not Collin. Jeremy blew up the seven-eleven with his freaky new powers, is that right?"
"Seems like it."
"Why was Collin with Jeremy that night?"
"Collin's a push-over, if you hadn't realized. And Jeremy has always been scary." Tafiya answered.
"I've spoken to Jeremy. He's not scary." Jamie bit back.
"You're not his teammate, he has another side to him."
"Why would Collin take the fall for Jeremy?"
"Because he's scary!"
"What about you? Were you with Collin and Jeremy that night? Was it all three of you?" Jamie asked and received only a bitter smile in response. "Why would Jeremy break Collin out of the DCA just before I got here? It doesn't make sense for those two to go so far for each other."
"You're not getting another word out of me."
"Then I'll leave the questions for a DCA agent. I'm sure there's a lot they want to ask you." With that Jamie turned for the door to let herself out.
She was halfway down the hall when quick footsteps made her turn, Jamie glimpsed Tafiya just before she threw the frying pan. It caught the side of her head and Jamie fell against a bathroom door. She gasped then cried out, her vision going blurry. Tafiya's body slammed into her and they went down. There was struggling and thrashing, but then Tafiya's knees pinned Jamie's arms, hands found her neck and thumbs dug deep into her windpipe. Jamie's vision cleared enough to see through a wild mass of hair, lips pulling back over barred teeth and wild eyes.
"No you don't, sweetheart."
Jamie gasped and her eyes bulged. Her deck case flashed and Blaze's hologram appeared on her chest, between the two girls. Blaze roared and Tafiya paused in surprise. It was enough for Jamie to wiggle loose then headbutt the other girl, get her arms free then throw her off.
Tafiya fell back on her butt. She made an outraged sound, like she couldn't believe Jamie would dare. But then the raven-haired girl scampered up, still coughing and choking. She undid the deadbolt and chain-lock, swung open the door and got the hell out of there.
。
"This is the Golden Gate Bridge."
"It's red."
"At nighttime it lights up, then it's gold."
"Hmph," Heidi remarked on the park-seat next to CJ. There were trees around and they observed the famous landmark from where they sat. "It's still just a bridge."
"You wanted to see where I grew up. You wanted to see touristy things. So here we are, in California and here's the bridge."
"Don't get me wrong, it's a nice bridge." Heidi replied. "It's big, it looks very sturdy. But come on, CJ."
"Well what kind of touristy things does Aurellia have?" CJ turned and crossed his arms.
"We have a statue down south, built by an ancient tribe. It's not as big as the Statue of Liberty, I'll give you that, but it's painted all these different colors, even gold. Statue of Liberty is just green, why is it green?"
"It was a gift from France."
"Who's France? A king?"
"It's a country," CJ shook his head "talking to someone who doesn't know this stuff… is mind-boggling."
"It's not my fault Earth has like a hundred different countries! No wonder you had World Wars, people here can't get along."
"I didn't say it was your fault!" CJ snapped back. "Besides, remember that poster you looked at, at school? It showed the Eiffel Tower and it had 'France' written at the top of it."
"Well it did look cool. Can we go to France?"
"No."
"But you have that Dimension Gate, we can go wherever we like."
"Two things," CJ began with a sigh. "First, if people see us we could be in trouble with the DCA or trouble in general. Second, anyone who can sense K-waves could find out, that includes my parents and friends. I let you talk me into it because we were out in the city. You're lucky I was having a moment of nostalgia."
"Okay…" Heidi looked around and there were no tourists in sight. "What do we do next then?"
"Go back soon," CJ shrugged. "It's a shame I can't say hello to Grandma, but I'll visit later in the year."
Heidi looked at the bridge for a minute before something occurred to her.
"Oh! CJ! I want you to tell me how I can one-up Jamie!"
"Why would I tell you that?"
"She's your partner! Come on, she's too smart for me."
"Look… Jamie's never going to shy away from a confrontation. You can't get under her skin by coming at her head-on."
"I only know how to be direct!"
"I noticed… look just," CJ turned away distractedly "make her come to you… wait for her to disagree with something then whisper 'you would say that'."
"Hmmm…" Heidi rubbed her chin thoughtfully and CJ realized what he'd said.
"Look, Jamie has been through a lot okay? More than the rest of us. It's just her and her brother, she got kidnapped right before the Survivor incident and she's still the only one in our team not synced with an evo-creature. She works her ass off. So give her a break, alright?"
"Fine, fine." Heidi sighed.
"Thank you." CJ replied and they both went back to staring at the bridge.
A couple minutes later CJ's mobile rang and he fished it out "Hey Dad. What!?" he jumped to his feet "What happened to Jamie! Okay, okay. Yeah I'm with her. No, actually we're not far from there. No, we'll be fine. I'm flagging a taxi right now. Love you, see you soon-" he hung up. Heidi blinked at him from the seat. "Jamie was attacked. Grab the card and think of a hospital, I'm taking us to her."
Heidi nodded and got up. She held the Dimension Gate in CJ's hand and focused, their K-waves sparked and suddenly they were down the side of a hospital building, shielded by a tree from the rest of the parking lot.
"Woah, I didn't realise it was getting so dark." CJ remarked as he slipped the card away.
"Different time-zones. Is Jamie okay?"
"She's alright but I want to see her. Come on!" CJ ran off to the entry.
"We were just sitting for ten minutes. Damn jetlag…" Heidi followed after him.
They were told to sit in the waiting room. After almost an hour CJ was allowed to see her, he left Heidi with the magazines. CJ opened the door and Jamie was sitting up on a bed, looking out the window with annoyance. There was a tiny band-aid on a cut over her cheek.
"Jamie…" CJ sighed in relief. He closed the door and went to pull up a chair beside her.
"I'm fine. My hands wouldn't stop shaking but the doctor said it was excess adrenaline leaving my system." She raised her hands and they were almost back to normal.
"What happened?"
"It was Tafiya. She must've strangled that woman in the seven-eleven. She tried to strangle me after our duel." Jamie pulled back her hair to show the bruising.
"God… well that explains why that woman wasn't molested."
"Also explains why it was the pretty one. Tafiya's a bitch."
"Jamie-"
"This isn't your fault, CJ. You didn't know this was going to happen." Jamie caught him before he could start. "I'm the one who agreed to talk to Tafiya at her place. I'm the one who didn't attack her directly when I won the duel, even though I was pretty sure it was her at that point…"
"You were? Then why did you ease up at the end?"
"Because I noticed something she was trying to hide." Jamie said to the wall before her eyes went back to CJ "Tafiya's pregnant."
CJ put his hand over his face and let the ticking of the wall clock go by "…that's why Collin was willing to take the fall."
"That's why she broke him out. That's why she let us trash her apartment. The two of them were going to run away anyway. Tafiya's been hiding the pregnancy for a while, so her and Collin were involved before their K-waves spiked. That's why Tafiya was dressing funny, that's why she was vomiting in the school toilets. Morning sickness. She's not getting fat, she's pregnant."
"A teenage pregnancy. Mom was so right, those three are the worst kind of teenagers." CJ stated.
"Your Mom was right about a lot of things." Jamie agreed.
"So with Jeremy superpowered and dangerous, and those two on the run, I'd say bringing in Team Zeta is the DCA's number one priority right now." CJ stated and Jamie nodded her agreement.
"They need to bring in Tafiya before she attacks another girl. That one's a loose cannon."
⟨author's note⟩
Why hello, it is I, back with another chapter. I wonder if it will be possible to extend this first arc to ten chapters. Possibly not, but this second story is much more relaxed and I like it that way. Some arcs could be six chapters, others nine. Whatever man ~ Anyway I like this chapter and I'm not going to keep saying "I hope everyone's in character" because I'll be saying that at the end of every chapter. So for now we'll just see when I get my next review. I'm excited for more story revelations to be revealed
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