Chapter Ten: Hope of Tomorrow!
"My name's Laurna Hope!" the thin, purple hair girl introduced herself. "I'm a volunteer, and I'm here to help you plant the new garden!"
It was the Saturday following the incident at the warehouse. Everything had gone back to normal, and during the days following that incident, they were all left alone by the Blackheart Corporation. It was a typical Saturday, Laurna was doing some volunteer work at a park, helping plant a new garden, Jason was around town, dueling any and all opponents. Tony went to a card shop with Nick. All was calm and undisturbed. Nick had explained all that happened, and everyone had learned to deal with the fact that Blackheart's cronies might be pop up anywhere at any possible time. They were ready for whatever Jeff wanted to throw at them. Duo's absence bothered Nick's Aunt the most, but the rest of them believed that they would find and free him from Blackheart's grasp, all they needed to do was get into the right place.
"Something isn't right, Tony." Nick said as they browsed around the card shop. "Blackheart has left us alone these past few days."
"Well, I don't mind. This way things are a lot less hectic. We don't have to schedule our days around duking it out with that Jeff Jerkheart's Eliminators. Plus it gives me more time to spend time with the many ladies of Antonio." Tony nudged Nick with his elbow.
"Yeah, right! We both know you're only interested in Laurna, and like that will ever happen... Haha!" Nick picked up a couple of booster packs from a box.
"You're just jealous 'cause you're not a ladies' man like the 'Great Womanizer: Antonio!' My flip effect is attract any girls within fifty feet!"
"Oh, I think you meant," Nick looked at the card he was holding, and pretended to read it, "As long as this loser remains face-up, no girls will be attracted to him. There is no cost to activate nor to maintain this effect. Yeah, that makes more sense."
"Shut up! Haha... When we're done here you wanna go see how Laurna's doing at the park?
"Sure, you ready to go?" Nick said.
"Gimme a second, I'm trying to decide which ones I want." Tony was picking up booster packs and holding them up to his ear.
"Uhhh, what exactly are you doing?" Nick looked at him, confused.
"I'm trying to sense the rare cards... Be quiet for a minute." Tony continued with his odd behavior.
"Okay, I'm going to go pay for my boosters now then." Tony ignored him.
"Hello, Nick. What can I do for you today?" The kind old man at the register said.
"I decided on these packs. Oh! You're the man who was dueling with Ace in the park!"
"Hehe, yes, that was me. I'm surprised you didn't recognize me when I walked right by you."
"Well, here you go." Nick handed him a few folded bills.
"Thank you," John handed him his change. "Have a nice day youngster!"
"You're welcome. Tell my friend I'm waiting for him outside."
"Sure, I'll do that." Nick went outside to open his booster packs.
Nick waited outside the card shop for Tony and opened up his boosters.
"Awww...A Curse of Dragon? That won't do me much good, even with my new deck."
Tony came out of the door, holding a few opened boosters.
"Hey Nick, did you get any rare cards?"
"Not really, I got a Curse of Dragon, it won't be much useful to me, but it looks kinda cool. I did get that second Flute of Summoning Dragons I needed though. I got a couple of Gravity Binds if you need them."
"That won't be necessary. I've already got enough of them." Tony held up a couple of cards. "And as you can see, I pulled a Swords of Revealing Light, a Premature Burial, and a Mirror Force!"
"What? Now how did you do that?"
"I told you, my senses...They never fail me!"
"Whatever, let's go see how Laurna is doing." They both started on their way to the park.
"So should I reveal my secret of how to pick rare cards to you?" Tony asked.
"Hm, let me see that Mirror Force for a second..."
"Sure." He handed the card to Nick. He examined it for a minute.
"Hey! This is your Mirror Force! You just took it out of your deck and put it in the booster before you showed it to me! You liar! Senses my ass..."
"Haha...Okay, you got me. I don't always do that, but it's so fun to mess with you, man. Isn't that Mr. Marcus coming out of that courthouse over there?"
"Yeah, it is. You wanna go talk to him?"
"He seems a little mad, are you sure that's a good idea?"
"Not really, but lets talk to him anyway. We're his students, so he can't really do anything to us."
"Especially in front of a courthouse, haha." Tony laughed.
They approached Mr. Marcus who was sitting on the steps outside the courthouse.
"Hi Mr. Marcus! What are you doing here at the courthouse?" Nick asked.
"Hello, Nick, Tony. Well, I'm here taking care of some papers and settlements for my recent divorce."
"Divorce?" Tony had no idea about this.
"Nick might know about this, but I'm going to get married to the principal of New Mephisto High, Maggie Sheratt. So I needed to clear up a few things before that was going to happen."
"Oh, I see." said Nick.
"I've got to go, I have another appointment to get to. Good luck with the tournament guys!"
"Okay Mr. Marcus, I'll see you at school on Monday." said Tony.
"Tell Ms. Sheratt I said hello!" said Nick.
"I will. See ya later." Mr. Marcus picked up a briefcase and left.
"I didn't know about that, how come he said you might know Nick?"
"Well, I had a little duel with him for my third Decoder, and it came up."
"Oh. Okay, well you wanna go to the park now?"
"We were on the way there anyway, so yeah, let's go." Nick and Tony continued on their way to the park.
---
Laurna was helping plant some flowers in a small enclosed area behind a statue of an angel. She was carrying a few potted flowers which she was going to plant in the soil. Laurna was working, minding her own business. A girl came up behind her, but she didn't notice.
"Excuse me, but you're not doing that right..." The girl said.
"I'm not? What's wrong with the way I'm doing it?" Laurna asked.
"Well, first of all, you have to make sure the root systems of the plants don't crowd each other. And second of all, I don't believe we know each other. I'm Dianah Vanderlaan. What's your name?" she smiled kindly at Laurna.
"I'm Laurna Hope. Nice to meet ya!"
"Nice to meet you too, Laurna. Do you come here to volunteer often?"
"Oh, not really, usually I'm busy with my Track Team. We didn't have practice today, so I decided to help out here."
"That's nice of you... We could always use more help around here. I come here to volunteer around three times a week."
"It must be nice to be around nature so much, huh?" Laurna continued planting the flowers.
"Yeah, I love being outdoors, around trees, all of this..." she breathed in deeply, as if she were taking in all the wonders of nature. "It's just so peaceful."
"When the Track Team is done this season, maybe I'll come here more often, and we can hang out!"
"That would be really nice." She smiled at Laurna again, as her green hair fluttered in the wind.
"Am I doing this right?" Laurna asked as she was planting another flower in the soil.
"It's good enough. It doesn't have to be perfect. That's what I love about nature the most. You think I can help you plant the rest of those flowers?"
"That'd be really cool. Okay, I'll finish up on this side, and you start from the opposite end."
Laurna and Dianah worked late into the afternoon. Working together, they filled up a large patch of soil with a variety of flowers. As they were just finishing up, Nick and Tony had shown up. Nick and Tony were talking with the coordinator asking where Laurna was working.
"So Laurna, why don't we get cleaned up and go get something to eat? I know a nice little place a couple blocks away from here." Dianah said.
"Okay," Laurna stood up and brushed some dirt off her pants. "Hey I think I see someone I know over there!"
"Really? Bring them over, maybe they would like to join us."
"M'kay! Nick, Tony! Over here!" called Laurna. They walked over.
"Hi Laurna. How's the volunteer work going?" asked Nick.
"It's good, my new friend Dianah helped me out."
"Really...New friend, huh? Well what are you waiting for, introduce us already!" said Tony.
"She's a bit old for you Tony. Hey Dianah, these are my friends Nick and Antonio."
"Hello. I was going to take Laurna out for something to eat after we got cleaned up. Would you like to join us?" Dianah was extremely friendly.
"Would I?!" Tony was excited.
"Um, Tony, like I said before, she's too old for you."
"Hehe, I'm flattered, Tony. How about you Nick?'
"Sure, I don't see why not."
"Since we're done out here, let's get going. I parked my car near that corner over there. It's the green convertible. Go ahead, I'll be right there."
Dianah made sure the three of them were far enough away so that they wouldn't hear her. She took out her cell phone.
"Boss, it's working. I'm going to take them out for a little lunch, then let them fall right into my trap..."
"Excellent work. I hope you have more success than Ryosuke. Keep in touch." said the muffled voice coming from the phone.
Dianah walked over to the driver's side of her car and got in.
"I just had to check my messages. So now let's go!" she drove off.
---
The ride lasted only a few minutes, as their destination was close by. Dianah's green convertible pulled up in front of a small sandwich stand.
"Okay, we're here. You guys can go ahead an order what you want. It's on me. I need to make a call to a friend." Dianah said as she stepped out of her car.
The three of them got in line behind a few other costumers. Dianah took out her cell phone again.
"Hunter, is my station ready? As soon as we're done here I'm going to bring them."
"Just about, but be careful, the boss is pretty angry already since Ryosuke's failure."
"I know. I know how to deal with him, I've worked with him longer than you. Anyways, I've got to go."
"Okay, are we still up for dinner later?"
"Shut up Hunter." She hung up and got in line behind Nick, Laurna and Tony.
The four of them got their food and sat down at a small table in the shade. They all got to know Dianah better, asking where she was from, what kind of work she was into, and asking if she was into Duel Monsters...
"So Dianah, when you're not volunteering at the park, what kinda job do you have?" Laurna asked.
"I run the greenhouse about three blocks away from the shopping district. I make sure the plants are healthy."
"Wow, you must spend a lot of time around plants and nature." Tony said. "I've always loved plants. I have my own garden at home."
"Ha, you mean the houseplants your mom hangs on your front porch?" Nick was laughing.
"Shut up...." Tony's eyes shifted from side to side as he trailed off.
"Are any of you into Duel Monsters? If you want, later I can show you around my greenhouse and maybe we could have a little friendly duel. I've been wanting to win this tournament because with the money, I could do so much for nature..." Dianah said.
"Actually...We all are." Laurna giggled a little bit. "We're all in the tournament, and not to mention Nick here has four Decoder Devices already."
"Well Nick has been attracting trouble lately, I have three Decoders myself." Tony sat up straight to dignify himself.
"That's quite impressive, it sounds like in another duel you'll be qualified for the Finals just like Nick. How about you Laurna?"
"I've got two Decoder Devices. I haven't been around as much as these guys here."
"Maybe you can I should duel later. I've got two Decoders as well. Plus, even if a Decoder changes hands, there's no hard feelings right?"
"Yep, I'm sure there won't be any." Laurna nodded.
"I guess when we're done here, we can go see my greenhouse. Does that sound good?"
"Okay." The three of them agreed.
And so after they were finished, they all got back into the green convertible. Dianah drove them through the shopping district. She drove into a small closed parking garage and parked in a space that was reserved for her. Nick noticed that the sign above the space said, "D. Vanderlaan Parking Only."
"If you look over this walk way, you can see my greenhouse. It's right over this way." Dianah directed them towards the greenhouse.
"Whoa, that's one huge greenhouse..." Nick said as he noticed how far it stretched out.
"Yes, it covers over one whole city block. It's really expensive to maintain, but worth it when you see the different plants, flowers, and trees that grow here. They're used for all kinds of purposes like medicines, food, and lots more."
"Do you get paid for maintaining this place?" Laurna asked.
"Well, I get funds from various organizations and companies, and I get paid whenever I ship out a supply of plants for medical or commercial use. It's also a big tax write off."
"I'd love to have a place like this for my own. It seems like it would be so relaxing."
"Indeed it is...Sometimes I just come in here to think or just lay down. I'll open the door and let you guys in, I'll show you the different areas of the interior."
She took her keys out from her pocket and unlocked the front door. She led them into the greenhouse. Inside, it was like paradise. In one spot, it was like a tropical island, with a multitude of colorful flowers and plants. While in another, it was desert-like, with cacti and shrubery.
"After you take a look around meet me in the area that looks like a clearing in a forest. We can duel there, since there's enough space."
Nick was looking around the ground, like he lost something.
"What's wrong Nick?" Laurna asked.
"I think I dropped my wallet..."
"I'll help you look for it... Dianah, is it ok if we go back to the car for a minute?"
"Sure, I'll just show Tony around for awhile." Tony grinned when Dianah said this.
"Okay, let's go Nick, hopefully you dropped your wallet somewhere around here." Laurna and Nick went off to look for his wallet.
Dianah motioned for Tony to follow her.
"Okay Tony, I'll just give you the mini-tour. Over here is the Desert Area, notice the various cacti..." Dianah said as they walked along.
---
"So where'd you see it last?" Laurna asked.
"Uhhh, when I was at the card shop with Tony. I remember putting in my back pocket, and I could feel I was sitting on it while we were in the car...so hopefully it's there somewhere. It must've fallen out."
"Well, I'l take a look in the back seat and you check the front."
Nick and Laurna were searching around the car, underneath the seats and along the floor.
"I found it... It was under where I was sitting."
"Okay, good. So let's get back to the greenhouse."
"Okay...ouch!" Nick hit his head on the glove compartment. It opened up and some of its contents spilled out.
"Nick...so clumsy." Laurna said. "I'll help you pick that stuff up so we can get back."
"Laurna...take a look at this!" Nick said as he picked up some sort of ID card.
"I really don't think we should be looking at her--!!" Laurna stopped as she saw the ID card.
It was an employee ID card.
Nick showed her the card. "Dianah Vanderlaan, Blackheart Corporation Employee. What are we gonna do?"
"We should hurry back! Tony's alone with her!" Laurna and Nick rushed back.
"Argh! This must've been a trap the whole time!"
---
Back at the greenhouse...
Tony was sitting down on a tree stump in a small clearing in the forest area. Dianah was sitting on a large tree branch of a huge redwood.
"So Dianah, what kind of companies fund this place? They'd have to be pretty damn loaded to provide money to fund this place..."
"Well, one of them happens to be the Blackheart Corporation."
"What? I don't know if you know of the terrible things that Corporation does...but I suggest that you don't let them fund this place anymore. It may do much more harm than help."
"That's not important Tony. What's important is that we're finally alone." Dianah grabbed a branch on the side of a tree and turned it.
"Heh, looks like it. Nick and Laurna might be back any minute though."
"It won't matter because they can join in the fun as well..."
"I wouldn't think you're into that sort of thing, Dianah, but okay..." Tony got up off the stump.
"Just come a little closer Tony..." She pushed the branch into the tree, activating some sort of mechanism.
"Hey! What's going on here?!" Vines extended off a tree, sweeping Tony off his feet. The vines acted like tentacles as they wrapped around Tony's arms and legs, restraining his movement.
"Whoa Dianah, I didn't know you were into this sort of this, but okay..."
"Don't you get it, foolish little boy? You're right in the middle of this little game, brought to you by the Eliminators of the Blackheart Corporation." Strangely, Dianah had the same calm look she always had on her face.
"Then that means..."
"I'm one of Blackheart's Eliminators. Sorry for my little friendly act, it was wrong of me to deceive you and your friends, but I'm under orders from Jeff Blackheart himself."
"I thought you worked to protect nature." Laurna was standing at the doorway.
"I do. However, protecting the environment doesn't protect my bank account. There are certain expenses a woman such I requires, and Blackheart's salary covers that, and then some."
"You're nothing but a greedy witch! You masked your true nature and deceived us. I'll never forgive you! I trusted you!" Laurna was angry.
"Laurna look! Those vines are holding Tony down!"
"I'll deal with her, you go free Tony!"
"So Laurna, it looks like your true nature has shown itself. You're not the push over I thought you were."
"Okay Dianah! If it's a duel you want, I'll give you one!" She took out her Duel Disk and strapped it onto her arm.
"Before we begin, maybe I should direct your attention towards your friends back there."
The vines had taken both of them, restraining both Tony and Nick.
"Take a look at the floor below them." the floor opened up, revealing a pool of black sludge. "See that sludge down there? At the Blackheart Corporation, we like to call that Dark Matter. We used it to cultivate a special species of plant... When Dark Matter is diluted with water, it makes an excellent fertilizer, otherwise it's an extremely dangerous poison."
"Dark Matter...that must be what Jeff Blackheart was made of.... But he said he was still human... There must be some kind of explanation to this. Now isn't really the time to solve this, but at least now I've got a piece of the puzzle... Whatever is down there can't be good..." Nick thought.
"Show yourself! Rise from the Dark Matter, my baby!"
From the pool of dark sludge, something was stirring. It started to bubble. They could see feint movement coming from below. It emerged slowly, rising, revealing its form. It was like a huge set of jaws, with dozens of vines that had razor edged leaves.
"Meet my pet! All we began with was a small carnivorous plant. If you lose to me Laurna, I'll drop you and your friends into that pit. If you win, well, if I'm in a good mood, I'll let you all go."
The floor closed, covering the pit where the mutant plant was kept.
"Don't worry Laurna! Show her who's in charge!" Tony said.
"I know you can beat her! You can do it!" Nick said.
"We all have to do this... If that Dark Matter can transform a plant, I'd hate to know what it did to Duo while it was planted within his heart... That makes it more important for us to get to the Spire as quickly as possible! One step at a time...I'm not going anywhere while this plant has me in its vines."
"Laurna, it's been nice knowing you. It really was, honestly. You've done a lot for nature just by helping out at the park today."
"Then why don't you just let my friends free and stop working for Blackheart!"
"Like I said before, that doesn't pay the bills. I know what I'm doing is wrong, but I don't have a choice. If I betray Blackheart, my family dies."
"Then help us! Help us fight Blackheart!"
"Nope, I can't do that. I can either betray Jeff, and risk my family's safety, or continue working with him, while getting paid hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of dollars. Hm? Tough choice isn't it?"
"I can't believe you let an evil man like that take advantage of you and your family. That's why the three of us fight... So Blackheart doesn't control our lives."
"So are we going to talk all day, or are we going to duel?"
"Fine. Hopefully, this will knock you back to your senses, so bring it!"
Laurna: 4000 Dianah: 4000
---
"I'll go first by setting a monster facedown in defense mode, and end my turn after I play the Field Magic Card, Gaia Power! All Earth monsters will have their attack power boosted by 500, while their defenses are lowered by 400."
"Okay, I'll set two magic and trap cards facedown, then I'll summon Gemini Elf in attack mode! With your Gaia Power field, it has an attack strength of 2400! Now I'll attack your facedown monster!"
"Hm...Looks like you attacked my Man-Eater Bug, so now your Gemini Elf is destroyed."
"Go ahead, I end my turn."
"I set a magic card facedown, then I'l play the Unfriendly Amazon in attack mode. I'll attack you directly!"
"I play my trap card, Waboku. It will protect me from your Amazon's attack!"
"If that attack had gone through, you would've lost more than half of your lifepoints. Good thing you had that trap. I end my turn."
"I'll play Pot of Greed to draw two new cards, then set a monster in defense mode"
"Before you end your turn, I'll play my facedown magic card, Scapegoat! I use it to summon four Sheep Tokens to the field."
"It looks like she wants to keep that Unfriendly Amazon on the field by tributing her Sheep Tokens... All I have to do is get rid of her Sheep Tokens or get something strong enough to destroy that Amazon and I'll be able to strike her lifepoints... But she's one of Blackheart's Eliminators, so she has to know what she's doing..."
"Okay, I draw, and tribute one of my Sheep Tokens to my Unfriendly Amazon. I'll set a monster in defense mode, then attack your set monster with my Amazon!"
"You attacked my Mystical Elf, but I'll activate another Waboku trap card."
The Unfriendly Amazon drew her huge sword, and was poised to strike down the Elf when three robed sages appeared, chanting a spell to protect the Elf.
"I'll draw for my turn, then I'll summon Thunder Nyan Nyan in attack mode. I switch my Mystical Elf to attack mode, then have both of them attack two of your Sheep Tokens."
"Bad move. I'll be able to take a large amount of your lifepoints because you attacked with Mystical Elf. My Amazon draws her power from the forces of nature, while your Elf draws hers from light. With Gaia Power in effect, my Amazon has an attack power of 2500, which means you'll lose 1700 lifepoints next turn. That is, unless you have another trap card down."
"I'll set two cards facedown and end my turn."
"Poor predictable Laurna... I tribute my last Sheep Token to keep my Amazon on the field. I play Harpie's Feather Duster to wipe out whatever trap card you had waiting for me."
"I'll counter with the trap, Magic Drain, meaning you have to discard a magic card from your hand to use your Feather Duster."
"There aren't any magic cards left in my hand, so you got lucky this time. I set a magic card, then I'll just attack your Mystical Elf with my Unfriendly Amazon."
"I play Negate Attack, ending your Battle Phase and negating your attack."
"Impressive, Laurna. While I had such a strong monster on the field, you've managed to hold on and defend against all my attacks. That will come to an end soon, however. I set a monster in defense mode and end my turn."
"Now to go on the attack! I'll summon a second Thunder Nyan Nyan! Now I change my Mystical Elf to defense mode. I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon on your Gaia Power to lower your Unfriendly Amazon's attack power to it's original 2000! Next, I'll use my Thunder Nyan Nyan to attack your first monster in defense mode!"
"If you're trying to make sure my Amazon doesn't have a monster to tribute during my turn, it's not going to work, honey. You attacked my Bubonic Vermin, destroying it, but allowing me to summon another one from my deck in facedown defense mode."
"If I attack your Vermin again, you'll be able to summon another one, so I'll attack your other facedown monster with my second Nyan Nyan!"
"Oh my! It only gets better from here, you attacked my Nimble Momonga! I gain 1000 lifepoints, and I summon two more from my deck!"
Laurna: 4000 Dianah: 5000
"I'll set a trap card and end my turn." Laurna was frustrated. It was like facing an impenetrable wall of monsters.
"I'll tribute my facedown Bubonic Vermin to my Amazon this turn, then I set a monster in defense mode. I'll play my facedown magic card, Gaia Power! It will replace the one you destroyed. I attack your first Thunder Nyan Nyan with my Unfriendly Amazon!"
"I'll counter with Mirror Force! Now Unfriendly Amazon is destroyed!"
"No... There's nothing else I can do this turn, so I'll end my turn."
"Oh, that Amazon is finally out of the way... Now if I keep attacking her monsters, she'll eventually run out of monsters to summon from her deck, then I'll finally be able to attack her directly!"
"I draw for my turn, then summon a third Thunder Nyan Nyan! I'll have two of them attack your Momongas!"
Laurna: 4000 Dianah: 7000
"You're giving me an extremely high lifepoint advantage Laurna...That may be a very bad choice on your part."
"Whatever...I'll attack your set monster with my last Thunder Nyan Nyan!"
"And it begins...Your end. You attacked my Giant Rat! Which means...I get to summon a monster from my deck that is Earth-based and has below 1500 attack power."
"That doesn't mean much, with Gaia Power on the field, that means you can match my monsters or be 100 points stronger at the most!"
"Don't be so naive Laurna. I choose Injection Angel Lily!"
The winged nurse appeared on the field, carrying her huge syringe. She put the syringe over her shoulder like how a soldier would hold a rifle, and taunted Laurna's Thunder Nyan Nyan with her free hand.
"And with all those lifepoints you gained, that means you'll have more than enough to activate her special ability!"
"Exactly, now if you don't mind, I'm going to take my turn."
"Go ahead..." Laurna was wrong. She hadn't thought about Dianah having such a rare monster.
"I should've known she'd have rare cards like Injection Angel Lily... She wanted me to attack her Momongas to make sure she had lifepoints to pay for her effect! I just can't focus when my friends are in danger...I need to calm down."
"I draw, and now I play the Dark Door. Only one monster may attack during each of our Battle Phases. Not that I need any more monsters, so this will surely hinder your strategy! Next, I'll attack your first Thunder Nyan Nyan with Injection Angel Lily!"
Injection Angel Lily glided towards one of Laurna's Thunder Nyan Nyan, and stuck it with the giant syringe in the stomach. It didn't seem like it had much effect on the Thunder Nyan Nyan, she just looked agitated.
"Now I pay 2000 lifepoints to raise my monster's attack strength by 3000! All the way up to 3900!"
The winged nurse then injected the contents of the syringe into Thunder Nyan Nyan, changing the expression on it's face from agitated to an expression of extreme pain as the contents of the syringe emptied into her. The Thunder Nyan Nyan then fell limp, impaled on the needle, and was destroyed, disappearing from the field.
"Looks like we both lose 2000 lifepoints. Although, that's not a big loss for me."
Laurna: 2000 Dianah: 5000
"It's my turn now, so I'll change all my monsters to defense mode, and set a monster in defense mode. I end my turn."
"Got you on the defensive now, eh Laurna? I'll equip my Injection Angel Lily with the Twin Swords of Flurry - Toraisu, discarding a card from my hand in order to activate it. Now, my Injection Angel Lily has its attack power lowered by 500, but it can attack twice during the Battle Phase!"
"You wouldn't use Lily's effect just to destroy a monster in defense mode would you? That'd be a big waste..."
"Well, you'll see what happens. I'll attack your Mystical Elf with Lily, paying 2000 lifepoints to destroy it!"
Laurna: 2000 Dianah: 3000
"You're making a mistake Dianah..."
"I know what I'm doing Laurna. I'm guessing that your facedown monster is not a Light-based monster, meaning if it were to turn face-up, your Nyan Nyan would be destroyed, so I'll attack it."
"My Giant Soldier of Stone is an Earth-based creature, so you were right to attack it... My two Thunder Nyan Nyan are destroyed."
"I'll pay the 2000 lifepoints to destroy your Soldier of Stone."
Laurna: 2000 Dianah: 1000
"I'm not quite done with my turn yet... I still have this magic card, Blackheart Call of the Dead: Gift From the Graveyard!"
"What? A Blackheart Card!?"
"This one is perfect to go with my Injection Angel Lily. By removing ten cards in my graveyard from play, I gain 2000 lifepoints! That leaves me with enough to activate my Lily's effect one more time! I end my turn."
Laurna: 2000 Dianah: 3000
"I'll make sure you don't get to use it's effect anymore! I play Change of Heart to take control of your Lily! I'll summon my Harpie Lady SB and have it attack you directly!"
Laurna: 2000 Dianah: 1200
"Your Harpie won't be on the field for much longer... I'll use Fissure to destroy it."
The ground beneath Laurna's Harpie cracked open. The Harpie struggled, but it finally fell into the ground.
"I'll attack you directly with my Lily, and since it's equipped with Twin Swords of Flurry, it can attack twice!"
Laurna: 1200 Dianah: 1200
"Looks like a stalemate... I'll end my turn."
"I don't think so Dianah... Remember that Stone Soldier you destroyed? I'm reviving it with Monster Reborn! Then I play Polymerization to fuse it with the monster in my hand!"
"What?! That means..."
"I summon Mystical Sand! And thanks to your Gaia Power, it has an attack power of 2600!"
"No...It's not possible... It's over for me..."
"Mystical Sand, attack Injection Angel Lily with your Earth Shattering Spear!"
Mystical Sand started to chant a spell, shaking the ground beneath it. A huge rock rose from the ground, and it was launched towards Injection Angel Lily, crushing it, and taking out the rest of Dianah's lifepoints.
Laurna: 1200 Dianah: 0000
---
"No! I couldn't have lost..."
"Face it Dianah, you lost to me fair and square, so hand over a Decoder Device."
Dianah was hesitant to do so, but finally gave in. "Here...take it. You do deserve it for beating me, and I should reward your skills as a duelist." She put the Device into Laurna's hand.
"What about my friends? Will you let them go?"
"Sure." She smiled. "If only I could control the plants around here. The control for those vines broke earlier. Anyway, I've got to go, so you deal with it. I have a meeting to get to. Have fun getting them down from there! Hahaha..." She headed for the door. "Oh yeah, and lock up here when you're done."
"Nick! Tony! Any ideas?"
"I don't know... Maybe you could break the vines with something?" Nick said.
"With what?"
"There's some gardening tools in that room over there. Check inside!" Tony said.
Laurna ran over and rummaged through the shelves inside the room. She picked up a pair of hedge clippers.
"These should do! Just be careful because you might land somewhere that might hurt!"
"Laurna, I don't care as long as you get us down from here!"
"I don't care as long as I don't fall onto a cactus!" Tony yelled.
"Okay, here goes nothing..." Laurna took the clippers and tried to cut the vines.
"Laurna look out behind you!"
Laurna turned around to see a vine rushing towards her. "Ahhh!"
The vine knocked the clippers out of her hand, then more vines approached her, grabbing her arms and legs, raising them up to the same level as Tony and Nick.
"Oh great... Now how are we going to get down?" Laurna asked.
"Well, if these plants aren't active at night, they might eventually put us down..." Tony said.
"Just be glad that the floor beneath us isn't opening, and that we're not being eaten by that mutant plant!"
At that moment, the floor beneath them started to open.
"I guess I spoke too soon..." Nick started to squirm.
The vines just tightened their grip around the three of them as the started to lower towards the pit.
"I never thought I'd die being eaten by a giant mutant plant. Well, at least it'll be interesting to see inside that thing!" Tony joked.
"Now's not the time for your humor Tony...We have to get these vines off of us!" Laurna was becoming exasperated.
The huge creature emerged from the sludge once again. This time, it released it's own tentacles, and began to reach towards the three of them.
"Oh man, those things are really slimy looking..." Tony said.
"I think that's the least of our concerns, Tony."
The plant opened its massive jaws, revealing the entrance to its digestive track.
"Looks like this is the end guys... It was nice knowing you all." Laurna said as the plant's mutated tentacles started to wrap around Laurna's midsection.
"Please, someone save us..." Laurna thought.
I don't want to see my best friends die..." Tony thought.
"Duo...I'm sorry I couldn't save you..." Nick thought.
The three of them started to shed tears, and they closed their eyes, awaiting the end.
"Don't look so gloomy everyone! I'm here!" A voice came from above the pit.
"What? Who's there?" Nick called.
"None other than me! Ace Sotras! I'm here to save the day again!"
"Well hurry up! There's not much time!" Laurna screamed.
"Alright, alright." Ace took out a grenade and pulled the pin. "Eat this you freak of nature!"
Ace threw the grenade directly into the plant's digestive track. The force from the explosion killed the plant, sending vascular tissue everywhere. The tentacles and vines were shredded to pieces from the impact. Nick and Tony landed in the sand desert area.
"Whoa, that was close. There's a cactus a few feet in front of me."
"Forget that! Where did Laurna end up?!" Nick looked around frantically.
"Don't worry! I'm on it!" Ace said as he tied a rope to a tree. "Make sure this rope holds! I'm going in!"
Nick and Tony grabbed the rope and held on tight. Ace dived into the pit of sludge, searching around for any sign of Laurna.
"Okay! Pull up the rope!" Ace called from inside the pit.
Nick and Tony pulled the rope, and as they pulled, they could see Ace coming over the edge of the pit. Laurna was in his arms.
"Thanks Ace... You saved us again." Laurna said.
"Don't worry about it. What's important now is you. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, just covered in sludge..." Laurna laughed.
"Here take my jacket, you can wipe the sludge off."
"Thanks." Laurna smiled.
Nick and Tony were scowling at the sight of Ace being so friendly to Laurna.
"So why did you come to save us again Ace?"
"To be honest Nick, I've been keeping an eye on you. I know you're in this to save your brother, and I want to make sure you find him. Plus, I saw all those tentacles, so I had to stop this from turning into a bad Hentai movie."
"Yeah but Laurna still ended up covered in--"
Laurna interupted, "Anyway, thanks Ace. And also thanks for the last time you saved us. I never got an opportunity to thank you." she smiled again.
"Okay Laurna let's get going. Auntie can give us a ride home. I'll give her a call." Nick said.
"I can give you guys a ride, my car is right outside." Ace said.
"No, that's fine. We wouldn't want to hassle you."
"It's no problem, I have nothing better to do right now. Just tell me where you all need to--"
"Thanks for the offer Ace, but it's fine." Nick said sternly.
"Ace, really we should get going. I hope to see you again." Laurna said.
"Don't worry about the jacket, I have another one just like it."
"Thanks." Laurna said as she walked towards the door with Nick and Tony.
"Poor Nick... He must be getting jealous." Ace said to himself. "I knew that grenade I stole would come in handy... Oh well. I just hope that's the last time I have to bail Nick out of trouble..."
Ace left the greenhouse, locking the door behind him.