【41 - Forces of Nature Arise Against a Chosen Boy and Girl as Fate Seeks to Unite Them!】


YouTube: 10 Hours Of Relaxing Jungle Sounds | Planet Earth II | Earth Unplugged


The tropical jungle was alive with ringing cicadas, hanging vines and prehistoric ferns. The Polynesian teen was shirtless as he trekked with careful feet. A tribal tattoo went down the muscles of his right arm; his toned chest and short hair glistened in the heat. Soon the nature cleared and he squinted against white sand and ocean. Kanoa emerged and looked around for the evil presence he'd sensed and started tracking. It felt more powerful than anything he'd ever faced before. Standing by a canoe and facing the caves around the bay, was a man. He was Caucasian, same as half the population in the tropics, though this island was tribal territory. His faded and sea-worn clothes made Kanoa think: pirate.

"Can I help you?" his firm voice made the fellow jump around, drawing a cutlass from his belt.

"Well I'll be…" the motley pirate's eyes alighted. "I know ya face. I've seen it on posters and billboards all over Kua Kuano. The chosen nature duelist, the hero of the North islands: Kanoa Tuonga."

"I'm also protector of this tribe. So, can I help you?"

The man slowly smiled, revealing brown teeth "the news hasn't spread here yet? Ya know why that atom bomb wiped out the coal province?"

"Everyone knows about that-"

"Do ya know why, islander boy? The General did it to kill the fire and darkness chosens, and to send a message to Aurellia: This is the power we got. His period of grace is over. Now ya all got to join us, or ya die."

"My duty is to my tribe. And you're not welcome here." At Kanoa's threat his entire body became engulfed in green energy, tangling like branches of the jungle's spirit.

The pirate lifted a deck, his hand igniting white "Ever wonder why ya were left alone up here? Ya abandoned Augus to come back. A lieutenant or two kept an eye on ya in case. They didn't think ya were a threat…"

"I'll show you how much of a threat I am," the teen took his deck from a pouch around his waist.

Tables appeared and they took their marks. There'd been rumours of a new deity appearing in this side of the jungle, forcing a native tribe to worship it while mutilating them. Making requests both grotesque and strange, like painting the flowers with blood and building furniture with the bones of those killed. This evil presence... is this man that deity?

"Ya know… of all the rumours I heard about the Hero of the Islands, I heard one that wasn't good. I heard a bad rumour about ya…"

Kanoa felt a hit of grief but fought it back. He shuffled his deck and set it down, his shields slipped off the top and five teal panels shimmered to life. Another set of five mirrored them and they sparkled beneath the afternoon sun. The pirate pierced the sand with his cutlass to free his hand. The boy clearly wasn't in the mood for talking.

"Duel Start!"

The pirate charged light-darkness mana, the shine fluctuating between yellow and purple. Kanoa drew and hesitated before charging with Supernova Jupiter King Empire. The pirate charged a light-water twinpact card. Kanoa charged with Marinyan, a draguner creature before his two cards turned.

"I summon Yattar Wan, Adventuring Fox!" a humanoid fox with red pants and a coat entered play. "I can now charge extra mana this turn." Kanoa added Sasoris, another draguner before ending his turn.

The pirate charged more light-darkness before his other two cards turned "Berlin, Bell Gravekeeper!" The 3000 blocker was also light-darkness, a gold bell dripping with black ooze.

"Nam=Daeddo, Bronze Style!" Kanoa's next creature was a green beast folk with a tribal mask and spear. "Mana Arms 3, since I have at least three nature cards in my mana I boost one extra from my deck. Done."

The pirate charged with a nature twinpact card "I cast Faerie Life and also boost!" he added a light card and ended his turn. So far he'd used light, darkness, water and nature.

Kanoa scowled as he drew from his deck. The presence of evil is tainting this whole area. Kanoa added his sixth mana and five of them tapped "I summon Marinyan, Dragon Edge!" Kanoa's third creature was a cat-girl with pink hair. At her appearance the pirate scowled. "That's right, she's a draguner. So once summoned I can bring out a dragheart from the hyperspatial zone! Go, Marinyan!" At his shout the cat-girl raised a paw, summoning chains that came alive with blue electricity. Sand exploded and the tree-line shook with a fierce wind.

Above a portal opened to hyperspace. Outside of this vortex emerged a Jurassic green temple with a dragon's head, shaking the ground behind Kanoa. "I bring out the dragheart fortress Euru=Bucca, Mystery Gathering Ruins! Turn done." From the middle Marinyan cheered, the fox jumped with glee, while the green tribesman stayed stoic.

"Not rushing to attack me… as expected of a slow nature player." The pirate grumbled from behind his single blocker. He drew and charged nature-light "Emeralda, Pitch Dragon Elemental! I can add a shield to me hand and add a card from me hand to me shields!" A 5500 blocker emerged with a set of four heavenly wings. A shield safely disintegrated as the pirate took the card to his hand. He examined his two cards and smirked "I choose not to replace me shield. Turn end."

"My turn starts and because I have at least two nature creatures in play, Euru=Bucca's dragsolution conditions are met! It transforms into Rejiru=Euru=Bucca, Mystery Ruinskind!" The temple behind Kanoa transformed, becoming electric with that strange hyperspatial energy. It became a nature dragon formed of spiky terrain. It had a different appearance and energy to Terradragons, being a Jurassic Command Dragon. "Now all my creatures cost 2 less to summon."

Kanoa drew. Mystery Ruinskind only has 5000 power, same as Marinyan. Bronze Style has 3000 while Yattar Wan is 1000. I wouldn't want to attack just yet anyway… Kanoa skipped charging "I tap 1 to play a second Nam=Daeddo, Bronze Style. I boost… Ragmal." He added the card to his mana. "Then I tap 1 to summon Huckle Kirin Sawyer, Jungle Governer! It's an evolution that evolves from a creature in my mana zone." Kanoa deliberated before choosing a mana card, then a red giraffe with twin gold swords entered play on 5000. The nature chosen stood behind an army of six creatures. "Done."

"Still not attacking… ya sure are cautious. Guess there's no need to keep this, I charge with Lightfang Falconer." A mana card shone yellow. "Now I got seven mana, so I can summon a draguner of me own… Heaven's Rosia, True Dragon Edge!" Another 5500 creature appeared, a gold armored humanoid with extravagant blue and green winged design. It raised a spear and shone with brilliance, summoning electric chains that opened a hyperspatial vortex. "I choose the dragheart fortress Endless Heaven, True Holy Church!" A heavenly palace shook the beach behind the pirate. "Heaven's Rosia has a Mana Arms 5 ability that lets me sacrifice a light creature in place of a shield whenever one is about to get broken. Let's see I got… light-dark, light-water, light-dark, light-nature and two mono lights, so I qualify." The brown teeth of his smile returned "and… thanks to True Holy Church whenever one of me creatures is destroyed I gain an extra shield."

Kanoa watched his opponent deliberate. The dragsolution conditions for True Holy Church meant that it could transform into a creature once he had the most shields, however he didn't want to give Kanoa cards in his hand now that he wasn't holding any. He also wanted to be in a better position before beginning his attack. They were both trying to put each other on a clock, as the duelling expression goes. The pirate had three creatures and his fortress. "…turn end."

Kanoa drew, he had six mana so just enough "Sasoris, Dragon Edge!" A masked green squirrel entered play as his seventh creature, quickly summoning electric chains that twirled around the zone. "I equip him with the dragheart weapon Boaroaxe, Evil Tomohawk!" a gloomy axe relic appeared and was clutched by the squirrel. "When it enters play I can summon a nature creature from my mana zone so I choose Ragmal, Spirit Knight!" His eighth creature was green and bulbous "Ragmal forces us to choose a creature to become mana. I choose one of my Nam=Daeddo, Bronze Styles."

"I choose Emeralda, Pitch Dragon Elemental…" Both creatures were swallowed by greenery and pulled under, their cards bouncing.

"As I end my turn the total mana cost of the creatures in my battle zone equals… 29. Since that's more than 10 my Boaroaxe dragsolutions into Boaropagos, Evil Emperor Ruins!" The weapon floated up before flashing green, reappearing as a sinister temple behind Kanoa. "Now I can bring out nature creatures from my mana zone every time I summon from my hand. Done."

"I got to admit… this is me first time going up against the legendary Boaroaxe in a kaijudo duel." The pirate observed the sinister temple facing opposite his holy church. "But I just got to beat ya before it dragsolutions a third time. I evolve Berlin, Bell Gravekeeper into Queen Alcadeias, Dark Gaia!" His blocker transformed into a feminine gold robot with a yellow-purple evo-crystal hovering beside it. It was another light-darkness creature with 9000 power. "Now ya can't play spells for no cost, and any spells ya want to play cost five more! Ya don't have enough mana and ya shield triggers will be all but useless! Turn end."

Kanoa looked at his tabletop and frowned. For Boaropagos to dragsolution into its final form he needed his total mana cost of creatures to be 30 at the start of his turn, meaning he was 1 short. He drew and summoned a creature. "Boaroaxe isn't my only trump, or did you forget? I summon a second Ragmal, Spirit Knight. I send Yattar Wan to my mana zone, which means you have to choose between Heaven's Rosia and its shield saver ability or Queen Alcadeias and her blocking my spells!"

"This damn kid… he keeps removing me creatures by sending them to me mana zone, so True Holy Church hasn't given me extra shields…" the pirate assessed his options before making a painful choice "Heaven's Rosia to mana…" Another two creatures were swallowed by vines, Kanoa's fox and the pirate's golden soldier.

"And if you haven't forgotten, Boaropagos lets me bring out a creature from my mana whenever I summon. My chosen phoenix evolves from Dreammates, Arc Seraphims or Wild Veggies. So now I evolve Huckle Kirin Sawyer and my two Ragmals into Supernova Jupiter King Empire!"

Suddenly Kanoa was fully engulfed by green energy once more. Three cards on the tabletop slid together and he slammed the phoenix on top. Roots and vines twisted out the sand and spread from behind Kanoa's table and out. The nature phoenix was huge, it had green pincers and wings. It had the head of a sabre-tooth tiger on its lower body. Two leaf-like swords crossed at its middle and it wore a gold crown atop its leafy shogun-style helmet. A 14,000 triple-breaker that would be able to meteorburn four times.

For a moment Kanoa seemed as fearsome as any chosen. Then suddenly, all his power retracted and the phoenix left as soon as it came.

The duel went quiet. Kanoa looked at his table-top and saw Jupiter had returned himself to his player's mana zone. The pirate had been terrified but then he lowered his arms.

"So it's true. The bad rumour that has been spreading around. Supernova Jupiter doesn't want ya as his chosen duellist anymore. Your phoenix has begun to reject ya."

"It won't let itself be chosen… I bring out Aragoto Musubi instead." A rice-ball fighter on 2000 emerged. "Turn done…" Kanoa looked crestfallen and ashamed. He stuck his hands out to the table.


+ "Peru - Bike Ride" ('Tomb Raider: Legend' Soundtrack) by Troels Brun Folmann [DR]


"I do have a chance to beat ya… I summon Stegoro Kaiser, Struggling Battlekind!" A twinpact nature creature emerged, a stegosaurus on 9000. "It has a Mach Fighter ability, meaning it can attack tapped or untapped creatures on the turn it's summoned! Attack Mystery Ruinskind!" The dinosaur roared as it stomped toward the Jurassic dragon.

"Nam=Daeddo, Bronze Style has a Guardman ability! So I can tap it to intercept attacks on my other creatures!" Kanoa watched his green beast folk leap into the dinosaur's charging path and get flattened.

"Ha. When Stegoro Kaiser attacks I boost mana then add a mana card to my hand. Turn end."

"My turn!" Kanoa began "The total mana cost of my creatures is now exactly 30! Boaropagos 3D dragsolutions into Verokiboarus, Ga Ga Ga!" The temple behind the teen transformed into another Jurassic Command Dragon, it was green and as big as Jupiter, wielding a multi-coloured axe and having 15,000 power. The pirate's head went back on his neck at its height. "Now I can bring creatures out from my mana whenever I summon or when it attacks!" Kanoa drew and it was his spell Euru=Bucca, Antique Dragon Ruins. This would allow me to send both his creatures to the mana zone… but because of Queen Alcadeias it costs 10 so I can't use it. Kanoa breathed, it was time to begin his attack.

"Verokiboarus triple breaks your shields!" Konoa ordered and the giant raised its axe.

"Ninja Strike 4! I bring out Falconer, Lightfang Ninja from me hand and block the attack!" a futuristic gold ship appeared in a flash, breaking apart against the giant axe.

"…players can only have one Lightfang Falconer in their deck." Then Kanoa's eyes widened.

"I returned it to me hand with Stegoro Kaiser. And now True Holy Church gives me an extra shield because me creature died." The pirate laughed as he had five shields once more.

Kanoa assessed the field, he still had plenty of creatures to attack with. "Now Verokiboarus's effect activates from attacking. I summon another Marinyan, Dragon Edge from my mana zone. From the hyperspatial zone I choose the dragheart… Reddull, Dragon Soul Castle to give her speed attacker." From behind Kanoa landed an eastern temple with blades pointing outward. "Next creature… Huckle Kirin Sawyer break a shield!" The giraffe swirled and sliced through a panel. "First Ragmal, break a shield!" an arm-stalk broke glass that began to reform before Kanoa could tap his next card.

The pirate held out his hand then revealed a light-darkness spell "Shield trigger, Grave of Angels and Demons! Any copies of creatures in your battle zone or mana zone get destroyed!" A pointed meteorite faded to view. When it crash-landed sand blew apart, creating a shockwave that wiped out both Ragmals and Marinyans. Kanoa winced as four of his creatures died. This was exactly why he preferred waiting before he attacked.

He still had three creatures left to attack and it was better to do it now before his opponent brought strong blockers into play. "Sasoris, shield break!" the green squirrel jumped and kicked through glass. "Aragoto Musubi, shield break! Rejiru=Euru=Bucca, Mystery Ruinskind shield break!" The rice fighter jumped in with a chop, followed by Kanoa's smaller Jurassic dragon. His opponent's shields were gone, but Kanoa had run out of creatures to attack with and the pirate had a full hand. "…done."

"Hahaha! I cast Heaven's Gate! It lets me summon Hades, the New Moon that Rules the Underworld and Holyend, Destiny Dragon Armored!" Two huge blockers entered play. Hades was a light-darkness triple-breaker on 15,500 power and both an angel and demon command. It stood as the strongest creature in play. Holyend, Destiny Dragon Armored was a twinpact card, its creature version being a blue-gold knight on 9500 that let him draw. "Now I got two blockers I can grant meself more shields later from True Holy Church, not only that but Hades lets me sacrifice shields in place of creatures and destroys ya creatures whenever I lose a shield! Stegoro Kaiser attacks Mystery Ruinskind! Queen Alcadeias attacks Sasoris, Dragon Edge!" His larger creatures made quick work of Kanoa's smaller ones, then the turn was passed.

As soon as Kanoa drew, Verokiboarus let out a roar of eagerness. "First… I evolve Aragoto Musubi into Gyogyou, Revolutionkind!" His wild veggies transformed into a feathered pterodactyl with 8000 power. Kanoa assessed the field, he had three creatures. Having Stegoro Kaiser and Queen Alcadeias tapped is just to bait me, if anything. As soon as I destroy a creature True Holy Church grants him an extra shield and then Hades can destroy my creatures if I attack again. So… I have to win this duel without destroying any of my opponent's creatures! Kanoa's hand moved from Verokiboarus to his weaker creature "Huckle Kirin Sawyer, todomeda!"

The pirate hesitated for a second "Hades, block!" The 5000 giraffe was easily squashed by the giant angel-demon command.

"Revolutionkind, todomeda!"

"Holyend, block!" The knight cut apart its squawking attacker. The pirate's face paled "…I overestimated Hades's power. Ya won without attacking a single creature of mine… and with five shields!"

"You have no more blockers… and despite what you said, I am the hero of my tribe." Kanoa twisted his last creature, lighting up with green "Verokiboarus todomeda!" The colossal dragon hissed like an emissary of prehistoric doom, leaning down to devour its enemy and quake the island. The creatures and tables faded, Kanoa fell to his knees and panted.

Jupiter forsaked me again… To see his chosen phoenix retreat after his call was a crushing rejection. Kanoa had always taken his hero duty seriously, he was willing to sacrifice everything to protect his people, and yet Jupiter still didn't consider him worthy. Not anymore. Kanoa closed his eyes but then they snapped open as he realised the evil presence hadn't left even though his opponent was dead. He looked up and saw a slender figure who shimmered under the sun.

"I cannot imagine a more hilarious destiny than to be born a chosen duellist to a world with a doomed timeline."

He was a man with a very feminine appearance, draped in a champagne kimono with onyxes dangling from his ears. He looked delicate but his presence was timeless and infinite. His black eyes were as deep as the endless void of space. The murderous new jungle deity.

"Who… who are you?" Kanoa had an instinctual knowledge that this man- this being was capable of killing him with a blink of an eye. Perhaps even, disintegrate the whole world with a snap of his fingers.

"I am Gatekeeper Pluto, one of the gatekeepers of the outer path. You are the chosen nature duellist."

Kanoa lowered his head before raising it again "you are saying… that we'll definitely fail?"

"The five of you will do what chosen heroes do: fight to the bitter end. The futility is humorous and I look forward to the show." The cold figure gave the slightest smile, revealing his stillness. Then he disappeared in a heat haze, like he'd been nothing but a mirage. The grip of his presence lingered as proof of his visit.


YouTube: Thunderstorm At Sea Sounds For Sleeping, Relaxing ~ Thunder Rain Ocean Sea Lightning Ambience


Aboard the pirate ship Lady Lachrymose, much of the crew had returned below deck to avoid the wild winds and pelting rain. They entertained themselves by singing sea shanties, stamping along and drinking rum. Pirate Heidi had picked up much of their jargon and scampered about as a lively and welcome addition to their company. The crew of hardy men were entertained by her fieriness and she was referred to with much affection as 'little Heidi'. Not a nickname she preferred but over the three weeks they'd been out at sea she got used to it. On their journey they'd been close to the hurricane twice and had lucky escapes. The godly natural disaster had sustained itself all this time and once more was seen on the horizon. If they were lucky it'd blow right past, if they were unlucky they'd get another close call. Nature, the captain had told her, is a terrifying thing.

Now wearing sea-faded clothes and with a new propensity to spit, Heidi had been hardened not only by the environment but also by her disappointment and experiences in the coal province city. She no longer had nightmares about friends dying, now all she dreamed of was walking through a melting radioactive city and hearing the screams of a million suffering souls echoing about her head. Demanding of her: Why didn't you defeat the Mad Duellist? Why didn't you get rid of the canister when you had the chance? Why didn't you save us, Heidi? Waking up in a hammock by a circular window was the only time she showed vulnerability. She always wiped the tears from her face and hardened herself before any of her crew-mates could see.

In her pirate days Heidi became particularly close to the cook. He wasn't what you'd expect a cook to be like. Dominic was a teenager, older than her. He was serious and tough. He was big for his age, with muscles and a beard. Basically, if Heidi had been a boy she would've wanted to look like Dominic. When he wasn't cooking meals for the entire crew, the two of them sometimes hung out in the back kitchen. Both had taken time to open up to the other, and it'd only been recently that they discovered they were both familiar with Duel Masters. Dominic was reserved though teased her on occasion; they got along well enough. They were sitting together on the kitchen floorboards, away from the crew while the boat swayed and rain pelted against the high window. Dominic reached into a lower drawer and pulled out a deck. Heidi's heartbeat skipped.

"I haven't had a duel since…" she shook off the memory and her enthusiasm returned. "You know, there's no way you're going to beat me Dominic."

"Is that right?" he seemed amused by her certainty. "Well, one way to find out."

Heidi kept her deck on her at all times. She and Dominic shuffled while they sat cross-legged facing each other. There were creaks from the wind and a dripping coming from somewhere. They cut each other's decks then set out their shields, one at a time without magic. They drew their hands and played scissors-paper-rock. Dominic won so went first.

He charged a fire spell, Comet Missile before turning it sideways and dropping Deadly Fighter Braid Claw into play. Then his dark eyes raised to her in waiting.

"A fire player, huh?" Heidi asked, still unwaveringly confident. "Well I for one approve. Let me see…" Heidi charged her cross gear Crimson Rifle and then passed the turn.

Dominic briefly eyed the unfamiliar card before drawing and starting his turn. This time he charged nature, Sniper Mosquito. He tapped both cards then dropped Gonta, the Warrior Savage into play. A rainbow creature on 4000. He turned Braid Claw and tapped one of Heidi's shields.

"Off to a good rush I see," Heidi complemented then drew. She used her third phoenix, Asteroid Gauss Flame Comet for mana then turned them "I summon Brawler Zyler and end."

Again Dominic examined the unfamiliar future card on 11,000. He tapped the floorboards twice before drawing and assessing his hand. Wordlessly he charged Volcanic Arrows then tapped his three cards, dropping Pyrofighter Magnus into play. Heidi's jaw clenched. One after another he turned his three creatures and tapped Heidi's shields with his finger. Her last one was a shield trigger.

"Tornado Flame to destroy Pyrofighter Magnus." Heidi watched him drop the card in his graveyard then she let out a worried sigh. She only had a single shield left already. She drew and charged Balzark, Sword Flash Fortress "I summon Explosive Dude Joe. Brawler Zyler attacks Braid Claw."

Dominic dropped another creature into his graveyard and Heidi was a lot less confident as she watched him draw. He skipped charging and dropped Rikabu the Dismantler into play. The speed attacker broke her last shield and then he turned Gonta "that's game."

Heidi was wordless for several seconds, unable to process what happened.

"How… the hell… did you beat me so fast!?" she exclaimed.

"It's RG rush."

"Huh?"

"Look," Dominic turned his deck over and spread it out for her. She was astounded to see that not a single card in his deck cost more than 3. It was made entirely out of weenies. "Do you get it now?"

"You have no strong creatures here… at all! What kind of deck is this?"

"One that's designed to win in Stage One of a duel."

"Now I know you're making up words."

"Listen," Dominic let out a sigh before explaining. "Stage One is when duels start. Players don't have much mana and can't do a lot. Stage Two is mid-game. Stage Three is when players have enough mana to play their most expensive cards. This deck is designed to win the game quick before you can do anything."

"I see…"

Dominic dropped the card he'd been holding, a 1-cost Hearty Cap'n Polligon "Most of my deck are speed attackers or 1 to 2 cost creatures. Even the spells here are cheap: Comet Missile to get rid of blockers, Volcanic Arrows to destroy a creature up to 6000 if I burn one of my shields. It's called Red Green Rush."

"My deck didn't have time to react… even when I started with a 2-cost creature. And you attacked me with 4000." Heidi felt her stomach drop as she imagined what would've happened if this had been a proper kaijudo duel.

Dominic watched her with those dark eyes "I started faster so I was the beatdown while you were the control." At her confused look he continued "at any time in a duel there's always someone playing as the beatdown while someone else is the control. And our roles swap depending on how the game goes."

"How do you know these… technicalities?" Heidi asked.

"How come you don't? You said you once lived at the Duel Masters Academy."

"I did! But I wasn't a proper student…"

"Do you know the expression 'putting your opponent on a clock'?" he asked and she shook her head. "I'm surprised someone who apparently loves this game knows so little about competitive play. My Dad… was on a boat cruise hosting an official card tournament. He knew all about competitive play, but when the ship sank he drowned."

"…did this happen twelve years ago?" Heidi watched him nod. "I think my parents also died on that cruise."

They stared at each other in surprise. The ship was creaking and groaning, then it rocked wildly. The dripping was constant and steady, the wind wilder and lightning flashed behind the glass. Suddenly they veered quite violently, both teens jumped to their feet.

Heidi packed her cards together "we better go see the rest of the crew!"

The atmosphere in the bunker was tense. The pirates held tight to fixtures every time they got slammed by a wave. The doors up the steps blew open and there stood the rain-soaked captain, coming down from his quarters.

"Captain?" Dominic called.

"Argh, she be my first love and I knew one day she'd be the death of me…" from behind was the unstoppable hurricane in plain sight "all hands on deck, scallywags! We got a ship to steer! The hurricane be headed right this way!"


AN: To quote one David Bowie, this story's gone through some ch-ch-ch-changez. I got the idea of duel soundtracks from Azure and took it further by adding ambient nature sounds to help with immersion. Audio of course being optional depending on reader preference. It is thanks to friends Acuma, Azure and a fellow named Sergiu that all duels for Nature Arc have been pre-written! Because I've adapted them from real games! That means we're finally using up-to-date decks! But how am I going to explain that...? You'll just have to see and learn alongside our little Heidi. I would also like to give credit to Kevin Ho's article 'Duel Masters TCG Strategy and Deckbuilding' which has given me well-needed knowledge.