Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Legacy of Tarot
Chapter 9: Halis and Silah
In the last chapter, a rather shocking turn of events occurred: it was discovered that Miss Mai Valentine, the CEO of the International Duel Monsters Committee and founder of the IDMC Biennial Cup, was actually our hero, Nick Maximus' mother! The story now takes us to the VIP lounge after her preliminary announcement to begin the tournament…
* * * *
"M…mom?!" Nick stammered for what must have been the thirtieth time since he saw her. A part of him wanted to reach out and hug her; another, to push her away, just as she abandoned him those many years ago.
"Yes, that's me," Mai smiled, tilting her head to the side. "It's good to see you, Nick."
"I wish I could say the same for you!" Nick growled, standing up from his seat and staring her directly in the eye. His were filled with fire and anger; hers, with confusion. She had no idea what he was talking about. "Why the hell did you just abandon me?" He never was the kind of person to just beat around the bush. 'Get right to the point,' that's his motto.
"What?!" Alyssa broiled, standing up beside him. Nick was generally a timid person, so you can imagine that if his eyes were filled with fire, Alyssa's were thrice that. "What the hell is he talking about? You abandoned him? That's why he never talked about his mother! I knew I never liked you! Why I oughtta—"
Mai immediately rose from her seat and slammed her fist on the table; it seemed as though the entire room shook. "Sit down and let me explain, BOTH OF YOU!"
It was a frightening moment, to say the least; even Alyssa's fiery temper seemed dowsed by Mai's retort, and she immediately slunk back into her seat alongside Nick. The fervour of the woman's youth, a period of time not known to most of those present, is relived in her temper. "I didn't abandon anyone! Believe me, you don't want to know what happened. It's better that you don't."
Nick rose, shaking his head: "No, it isn't. I have to know. I've gone on all these years thinking that you had abandoned me. Grandma and grandpa told me you were dead!"
"Dead?" Mai laughed for a second, quickly returning to her composed, elegant state. "No one and nothing kills Mai Valentine."
"Alright," Mark began, still sitting in his seat. He had been remaining silent and composed through all this, unlike his female counterparts. "If you're Nick's mom, then how come you two have different last names?" Hey, it wasn't a particularly important question, but it would at least break the ice. Mai sat down and crossed one leg over the other, running a hand through her long blonde hair as she began.
"Maximus was the last name of Nick's father; my maiden name is Valentine," she explained. Mark opened his mouth to continue, but she cut him off instead. "Before you ask, no, I didn't retain my maiden name when I got married. I was, for a time, Mai Maximus, though I still don't think it really fit all that well."
"Mom…" Nick started, sounding a little irritated. She did have a way of going off on a tangent on some things when an opportunity presented itself, and no one really knew why.
"Nick, you have to remember that your father was, at times… well, let's just say he was a beggar for the bottle," she continued, sighing a bit. Nick thought for a moment and, in the end, nodded his head. The last time he saw his father was at least 7 years ago, but he did remember his rather intoxicated attitude on most nights. "Well, things got a little worse than the usual 'father comes home drunk, yells at family, goes to bed'. I knew I had to get you out of that hellhole. So, I took you to my parents' house where your father would never find you… they always hated him, anyway. They knew he was a drunk, and no-good liar. I knew they'd never tell him you were there."
"So why didn't you ever come to see me in those 7 years?" The confused boy asked, bewildered. Mai merely sighed and shook her head.
"Your father."
"What?"
"Your father. Drunken bastard or not, he had friends in high places… somehow he twisted the divorce case into getting a restraining order to prevent me from seeing you."
"What?!" Nick and Alyssa rang out in unison. She was just as distressed about this news as he was; Alyssa was, after all, almost like a sister to Nick when he was younger. Mai merely nodded her head.
"Yeah. I don't understand how he did it… but I guess money makes the world go round, after all," she sighed, shaking her head and slamming a fist on the arm of her chair. "I hope he rot—"
Just then, someone burst into the lounge. From the looks of the man, it was one of Mai's men hired to patrol the tournament and catch any rule-breakers. The dueling police force of York, you might call them. "Miss Valentine, we've got a troublemaker. Two of them, actually. They just defeated a whole group of duelists and keep screaming something about a Tarot card."
Mai and Nick both immediately stood up; Mai figured that Nick was merely exercising his attitude towards vanquishing troublemakers. She didn't suspect in the slightest that he might have a Tarot card in his possession. "I'll take care of them… god, I hate these things sometimes."
* * * *
Outside at the location of the disturbance, a pair of cloaked men stood in the center of a large clearing bordered by frustrated, confused, and angry duelists. They'd just beaten a younger pair of fighters, and cards were scattered all over the floor.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Mai exploded, stamping her foot in anger. Many of the duelists in the crowd seemed relieved to see her as she pushed her way through, and the cloaked figures were no different. "What have you done to these duelists?"
She was referring to the state of the pair he had just defeated. They were babbling like idiots, completely unaware of their surroundings, as though their minds had been completely played around with.
"They are not worthy of the title Duelist!!" one figure bellowed. Even Mai couldn't help but feel a wave of fear wash through her body, as did Nick, as the creature spoke. He was thin and hunched over, and his body was covered completely by a billowing black cloak—only his eyes, which glimmered a violent silver, were visible from beneath the shadowy folds of his robe. The other figure looked the same, but much more submissive, as though he was perhaps the first figure's servant or henchman.
"This is just a god damn tournament! They aren't here to prove themselves, least of all to you!" she screeched at the figures, taking another step towards them. Nick couldn't help but feel a little bit proud to have such a passionate, defensive mother; meanwhile, Alyssa had found a new role model. "Just get out of here now, before I have my guards drag you from the city by your heels!"
"We duel."
"What?" she asked, momentarily stunned, her form relaxing in the moment. Despite her rather seductive look—she was dressed in a while blouse, purple jacket with gold buttons, purple high-heels, and a purple miniskirt—she looked just as forceful as any of the pro duelists here.
"We duel. If you win, we leave the city, and your pitiful excuse for a tournament. If I win, you give me your Tarot card."
Nick immediately stepped up beside his mother; "Why do you want my Tarot card? Who are you?!"
The figure paused for a moment, looking towards Nick. It seemed as though this wasn't the turn of events he had expected but, as his eyes gleamed with anticipation, the situation appeared to be just as tantalizing.
"You will know me only as Halis. This is my partner, Silah. Now… enough talk! You and I shall duel!"
"You're on, you caped creep! I guess it's two on one, unless your quiet little friend there wants to join in." Mai boasted. She knew the duel would be easier if it was just her and Nick versus Halis, but a part of her was thirsting for a real challenge. "Activate HDS – Holofield Dueling System!"
A state of the art piece of technology surpassing even Seto Kaiba's Duel Disk device years and years earlier at the Battle City tournament, the Holofield Dueling System actually places the duelists in a holographic rendition of the arena. Field cards change their surroundings, and the crowd cannot be seen—though the crowd can see them. Immediately, the duelists were engulfed in a shroud of darkness, and in an instant, their podiums rose before them. The vast expanse between them seemed immeasurable, the dueling field where the cards would be represented in the third dimension.
"Let us begin!"
Mai took her turn first, drawing a card from her deck. "Don't worry, boys, this will all be over soon. I'll play two cards face down, and play Harpie Lady in attack mode. That ends my turn." All four duelists knew that the Harpie Lady wasn't particularly a powerful card. Nick, being a Harpie enthusiast himself, knew that there was more to her than met the eye. Halis and Silah, however, were more worried about Mai's face-down cards than her winged-beast.
"I will go next," noted Halis, drawing a card from his deck. "I play Dragon Zombie in attack mode. It's more than powerful enough to destroy your Harpie Lady; Dragon Zombie, destroy her monster with Putrid Breath!"
A wave of rotten gas rolled across the field as the zombie merely let forth a breath. It threatened to eradicate Mai's Harpie Lady, but the duelists didn't exactly seem worried. "Reveal magic card, Harpie's Mountain Kingdom!"
A field-magic card designed specifically for the harpies, the kingdom appeared all around the duelists. Harpies of all ages, sizes, and shapes sat watching the duel from within the grand hall, and it looked to be a very serene place. More importantly, however, it's effect powered the Harpie Lady's attack by 100 times its level—with 1700 attack, the Harpie Lady was strong enough to withstand the blast.
"Alright, Harpie Lady, counter his attack with your scratch!" Mai ordered, and the lady-shaped beast responded. It leapt forth through the grand hall and tore into the Dragon Zombie, not only vanquishing it but dropping Halis' life points by 100, to 3900. The cloaked figure muttered annoyedly.
"Very well. I'll place these two cards face down and end my turn."
"Then I believe it's my turn to go," said Nick as he drew a card from his deck. "To protect my life points, I'll play the magic card Falcon's Wind. This rare card allows me to Special Summon any Harpie Card from my hand without tributing any monsters first; I choose Harpie's Stone Sphynx in defense mode." The card appeared on the field, with the body of a lion, the head of a female, and the wings of a Harpie. The creature was made purely of stone and didn't look like it could attack at all. Looks, however, can be deceiving. "Thanks to the effects of Harpie's Mountain Kingdom, my sphynx's defense increases by 600. It's attack would increase by 600 also, but thanks to its effect, any attack bonuses become defense bonuses instead; that means this card's defense is now 4200!" The stats showed up on Nick's podium for a moment: the card had no attack points, but an immense 4200 defense points. "I'd like to see you crumble that. Just to ensure that you don't, I'll lay one card face down and end my turn."
It was Silah's turn, then, and he made it silently. His card was drawn in utter silence, and he made his move just as quietly. The figure played the card Skull Servant in attack mode, as well as laying two cards face down. He merely waved his hand towards Mai to signify that his turn was over and hers had begun. She looked at him in a confused manner, and then laughed.
"A Skull Servant? THIS is your partner, Halis? Looks like you'd better actually teach him to duel, first," she taunted, drawing her card. Hey, it wasn't her fault that Silah had shoddy dueling tactics. Deep inside, however, she knew that she had to be wary; no duelist, no matter how awful, would play a card that weak without some kind of plan to back it up.
"You'd be wise not to underestimate Silah, girl." Halis began with a chuckle.
"We'll see about that," replied Mai. "I play Elegant Egotist, allowing me to summon the Harpie Lady Sisters from my deck. Powered up by 600 points, these little darlings are more than enough to handle whatever you might throw at us. That's not all, though; I reveal my face-down magic card, Harpie's Feather Duster! This rare magic card will get rid of ALL your face down magic and trap cards; that leaves your and your partner in serious trouble."
It didn't look like Halis or Silah had anything that could possibly counter the attack, as they let their cards get discarded easily. Neither one seemed particularly phased, however, retaining their calm composure.
"You look awfully content considering you're about to lose. Harpie Lady, attack Halis; Harpie Lady Sisters, get rid of Silah's Skull Servant and a big chunk of his life points!" Halis' life points dropped to a miniscule 2200, while Silah's Skull Servant was vaporized, along with 2250 of his Life Points—this left him at 1750. "You know, boys, I was expecting a little more of a challenge. I haven't seen this kind of shoddy dueling since Duelist Kingdom."
"You won't be so bold soon, miss Valentine," chuckled Halis. "Our master has already told us the outcome of this duel, and you're playing it exactly as he had predicted."
"Oh god," muttered Mai, shaking her head. "Not more of this 'I can predict the future' nonsense. The last time I heard something like that was from Yugi, who said someone tried the same tricks at Battle City! Well, that time it was for real; I don't think I trust you two clowns, though."
"Believe what you will, but our master's power is real. Everything is going according to plan."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," grumbled Mai, "Just make your move already."
"I will," noted Halis, drawing his card. "Just as I suspected. This duel is coming to a close."
"Yeah, for you maybe," laughed Nick.
"We shall see. I too shall play Skull Servant, in defense mode, along with two face down cards. That ends my turn."
"Another Skull Servant? Maybe you ought to ask your "master" for some retraining, boys," laughed Mai, shaking her head.
"Mom, maybe we should be careful," Nick cautioned. "They've only played a single monster worth attacking with, and that was their Dragon Zombie. There must be some purpose behind these Skull Servants."
"I know, I know," she whispered softly to him. "But the cardinal rule of dueling is that it's a mind game as much as it is a card game. You can never let on what you're really thinking, not if you want to keep your opponent guessing."
Nick merely nodded with a smile, and drew his card. "You're still a long way off from crumbling my Sphynx, so I see no need to summon any more monsters just yet. Instead, I'll place one card face down and end my turn."
"Running out of options, boy?" taunted Halis. Nick shook his head with a smirk.
"Far from it, you caped freak. Silah, I believe it's your turn."
The diminutive figure nodded solemnly, drawing his card for the turn. In what seemed to be another stupid move, he also played a Skull Servant, silently. He also played a card face down, and in the same silent way, motioned for Mai to take her turn.
"I don't know what you think you're up to, but you certainly aren't doing it well. First, I'll lay two cards face down. Now my Harpie Lady will destroy your monster…" she chuckled to Halis, "and her sisters will destroy yours. Ready? Go!"
All at once, both Halis and Silah shouted something, "Activate trap card, Waboku!"
This was, indeed, the first time Silah had spoken in the entire duel, and his words were like an omen; Mai and Nick both felt like, now that he was speaking, they had completed whatever plan they were hoping to achieve.
"These trap cards will keep our life points untouched, even though our monsters still go to the graveyard," Halis pointed out.
"Hmph," chuckled Mai, only slightly annoyed. "Fine with me. Make your move."
"Indeed. And I should thank you, miss Valentine. You've helped me more than you know."
"Well, you're welcome for whatever I did, but don't count on it helping you too much."
"I think you're wrong. Because now that you've sent three of our Skull Servants to the graveyard, you've allowed me to play this card: Revival of Creaking Skull."
As the card came into play on the field, the Harpie palace was suddenly filled with wild wailing and moaning, as though the souls of the dead themselves had arrived. The holographic harpies that were sitting around the grand hall covered their ears, as the wailing was too much for them. It was indeed lifelike, and was a sound that even Mai and Nick couldn't endure.
"These are the wails of the Skull Servants you destroyed; and thanks to my Magic card, I can revive their restless souls."
"So you're going to revive your Skull Servants? Oooh, scary," Mai joked, knowing that there was something much more sinister in store for her. Remember, duel monsters is a mind game, after all.
"Not quite, miss Valentine. Their souls will be resurrected in the form of a great beast known as the Creaking Skull!"
He wasn't kidding, either; a great crack in the floor of the palace gaped open, and from within it clambered out a skeletal beast of gigantic proportions. Its head was clearly several times the size of its body, and cracked as though it had seen several battles and better days. Its arms had no hands where hands should be, but rather sharpened scythes of bone. Its legs were small and frail, unable to support the weight of its massive head. Its statistics flashed on Halis' viewscreen. Its defense, like many zombies, was a frail 0; however, with an attack of 3200, it was easily strong enough to decimate both Mai's Harpies.
"Meet the Creaking Skull, our ultimate beast and the bringer of your demise!!"
