---- Chapter 13: The Russian Duelist, Vlad Petrovich ----
=== Russia ===
Masaharu got to his feet, and readied his Duel Disk. His captor, however, simply jumped up out of the pile of rubble and turned around.
The eyes of the man were deep and cold, and sent a shiver down Masaharu's spine. He was dressed in long, black robes, and had a scar running down his face.
"So, comrade...." the man began, "I see you've got quite a bit of stamina, eh? To stand after such a blow.... Not bad! I almost feel guilty having to kill such a strong person."
"?! W-What?! Y-You're gonna KILL me?!"
The man chuckled lightly.
"Don't worry, friend. I won't kill you. I just gotta make it look like it, eh? Maybe I'll just sever an arm or something.... maybe an ear, or a toe? Bah-ha-ha-ha!! Do you like my jokes?! I'm new to the Japanese language, you know...."
"...."
Again, the man burst into laughter.
"What? Was it something I said? Anyway.... I'll bet one Millennium Card - my Millennium Scales, for your Millennium Rod. And I'll bet my entire deck on this duel.... you don't need to bet anything. I don't want to take away any cards of yours when I win - I'll just take your life!"
".... Fine!"
Both yelled out, "Duel!!!" and the battle began.
The man chuckled lightly for a moment, saying, "I almost forgot! My name! It is Vlad Petrovich. Your name is not of importance.... Anyway, I'll place two cards and summon a 'Wingscale Demon,' and end my turn."
On the field, a large, winged creature burst from the ground, and two cards appeared on the field. (Level 4/Dark/Demon/1300 ATK/1400 DEF)
"I place two cards, summon a 'Strike Mage,' and end my turn."
The Strike Mage appeared on the field, as did two face-down cards.
Both duelists stared each other down intently, as the battle continued.
"Activate!" called out Vlad. "'Furnace of the Eight Divinations!!'"
"Activate!" Masaharu called out. "'Magic Jammer!'"
"Activate! 'Ki Absorption!!' This negates the activation of your card, so.... Come forth! 'Furnace of the Eight Divinations!!!'"
From the ground beneath, a huge furnace burst upwards, with a boiling pot on top of it.
"This card boils one card from your hand at the end of your turn, discarding it from your hand. It also gives me three more slots to play Magic and Trap Cards on. Now, I'll place one more card and summon this.... and reveal my deck theme!!"
The Wingscale Demon de-materialized, and in its place stood a warrior in an orange Gi, with scars all over his face and a short hair-cut. Masaharu froze in his tracks.
"Th-That's.... Y-Yamucha?! From Dragonball Z?!"
"Right!" Vlad exclaimed. "This is Yamucha.... one of the characters in my favorite Japanese 'anime' program! This is a Wolf-Fang Warrior, a mighty fighter who wins through speed and skill. Now! Attack and destroy his Strike Mage!!"
(Level 5/Earth/Warrior/2200 ATK/2300 DEF)
Yamucha leaned back, and charged, slamming into the Strike Mage with vicious blows, one after another. To finish, he knocked it away, and shot a blast of energy at it, blowing it to bits. Masaharu cried out in pain, but remained standing.
[Masaharu's LP: 3500] [Vlad's LP: 4000]
"M-My turn.... I summon a Holy Elf in defense mode, and place two cards. And, my last card is absorbed by the Furnace of Eight Divinations...."
As he spoke, an elven maiden appeared on the field, and his last card flew from his hand and into the boiling pot.
"You're open to a direct attack.... And I'll take it!"
With one hand, Yamucha shot a powerful beam of energy directly at Masaharu, and the attack hit hard - sending the young duelist sprawling to the floor. As he got to his feet and spat out a little blood, he smirked.
"Activate! 'Reverse Summoning!!' This allows me to summon a monster from my hand or deck with a level equal to the monster that dealt direct damage to me.... I choose to summon the 'Master Magician!!'"
On the field, a man draped in long purple robes and holding a long scythe materialized. With a single blast of power from his hand, Yamucha fell to the ground and vanished.
(Level 5/Dark/Magician/2350 ATK/2100 DEF)
[Masaharu's LP: 1300] [Vlad's LP: 3850]
Vlad just burst out in more laughter, and flipped over a card in his Duel Disk.
"You fool! I wanted you to do that! Now, I activate, 'Last Hope of a Galaxy!!!' This special summons a certain monster.... one that will seal your doom!! Come forth.... !!!"
Materializing on the field was another warrior in an orange Gi. But this one had large, spiked black hair, and an innocent look on his face.
(Level 8/Earth/Warrior/3200 ATK/3300 DEF)
"S-Son.... Goku?!" sputtered Masaharu, in fear at what was happening. Son Goku just looked at him strangely, cocked his head, and asked, "Yeah, so what?"
Vlad froze.
"Y-You.... can talk?! B-But.... Wait.... Shadow Power, of course.... !!!"
".... ???"
"Ah, I see," Masaharu said. "Shadow power actually summoned the REAL Son Goku to the field...."
"What're you talkin' 'bout?" asked Goku. "What's 'Shadow Power?' Is it Ki?"
Vlad cleared his throat, and just said testily, "That's none of your concern. Just slay the Master Magician...."
Goku shook his head defiantly - "No."
Taken aback, Vlad sputtered, "Wh-What?! You can't disobey me!"
"Try me."
As Masaharu chuckled, Vlad became angrier and angrier. Finally, in a burst of fury, he cried out, "Shadow Spell! Binding of Will!!!"
Suddenly, Goku's face was covered in an even blanker look than usual. Stretching out his hand, he shot out a powerful blast of Ki that destroyed the Master Magician. Masaharu was nearly blown away by the power in that one blast, but held his ground.
[Masaharu's LP: 850] [Vlad's LP: 3850]
"Now, that's the end of my turn.... Your move, friend."
Masaharu stayed silent for a moment, before drawing.
"Activate! 'Coins from Heaven!' We both draw until we have five cards in our hand. Now.... I'll place three cards and end my turn."
Another card was plucked from Masaharu's hand, and sent into the boiling pot. Things were looking grim.
"Now, attack, my mind slave! Wipe out his Life Points!!"
Just as Goku stretched out his hand to fire another blast, Masaharu took action.
"Activate! 'Revenge of the Dead!!' It allows both my previous monsters to return back to the field and attack your monster together.... destroying it! Strike Mage and Master Magician, come forth!!!"
A pentagram appeared on the floor, and from it flowed the ghostly forms of Masaharu's dead monsters. Together, they blocked Goku's blast, and shot out an even larger beam back at him, sending him flying.
As Goku disappeared, Masaharu bowed his head.
Forgive me.... But I can't die here. Not until I beat HER in a match at full strength....
=== Russia ===
Masaharu got to his feet, and readied his Duel Disk. His captor, however, simply jumped up out of the pile of rubble and turned around.
The eyes of the man were deep and cold, and sent a shiver down Masaharu's spine. He was dressed in long, black robes, and had a scar running down his face.
"So, comrade...." the man began, "I see you've got quite a bit of stamina, eh? To stand after such a blow.... Not bad! I almost feel guilty having to kill such a strong person."
"?! W-What?! Y-You're gonna KILL me?!"
The man chuckled lightly.
"Don't worry, friend. I won't kill you. I just gotta make it look like it, eh? Maybe I'll just sever an arm or something.... maybe an ear, or a toe? Bah-ha-ha-ha!! Do you like my jokes?! I'm new to the Japanese language, you know...."
"...."
Again, the man burst into laughter.
"What? Was it something I said? Anyway.... I'll bet one Millennium Card - my Millennium Scales, for your Millennium Rod. And I'll bet my entire deck on this duel.... you don't need to bet anything. I don't want to take away any cards of yours when I win - I'll just take your life!"
".... Fine!"
Both yelled out, "Duel!!!" and the battle began.
The man chuckled lightly for a moment, saying, "I almost forgot! My name! It is Vlad Petrovich. Your name is not of importance.... Anyway, I'll place two cards and summon a 'Wingscale Demon,' and end my turn."
On the field, a large, winged creature burst from the ground, and two cards appeared on the field. (Level 4/Dark/Demon/1300 ATK/1400 DEF)
"I place two cards, summon a 'Strike Mage,' and end my turn."
The Strike Mage appeared on the field, as did two face-down cards.
Both duelists stared each other down intently, as the battle continued.
"Activate!" called out Vlad. "'Furnace of the Eight Divinations!!'"
"Activate!" Masaharu called out. "'Magic Jammer!'"
"Activate! 'Ki Absorption!!' This negates the activation of your card, so.... Come forth! 'Furnace of the Eight Divinations!!!'"
From the ground beneath, a huge furnace burst upwards, with a boiling pot on top of it.
"This card boils one card from your hand at the end of your turn, discarding it from your hand. It also gives me three more slots to play Magic and Trap Cards on. Now, I'll place one more card and summon this.... and reveal my deck theme!!"
The Wingscale Demon de-materialized, and in its place stood a warrior in an orange Gi, with scars all over his face and a short hair-cut. Masaharu froze in his tracks.
"Th-That's.... Y-Yamucha?! From Dragonball Z?!"
"Right!" Vlad exclaimed. "This is Yamucha.... one of the characters in my favorite Japanese 'anime' program! This is a Wolf-Fang Warrior, a mighty fighter who wins through speed and skill. Now! Attack and destroy his Strike Mage!!"
(Level 5/Earth/Warrior/2200 ATK/2300 DEF)
Yamucha leaned back, and charged, slamming into the Strike Mage with vicious blows, one after another. To finish, he knocked it away, and shot a blast of energy at it, blowing it to bits. Masaharu cried out in pain, but remained standing.
[Masaharu's LP: 3500] [Vlad's LP: 4000]
"M-My turn.... I summon a Holy Elf in defense mode, and place two cards. And, my last card is absorbed by the Furnace of Eight Divinations...."
As he spoke, an elven maiden appeared on the field, and his last card flew from his hand and into the boiling pot.
"You're open to a direct attack.... And I'll take it!"
With one hand, Yamucha shot a powerful beam of energy directly at Masaharu, and the attack hit hard - sending the young duelist sprawling to the floor. As he got to his feet and spat out a little blood, he smirked.
"Activate! 'Reverse Summoning!!' This allows me to summon a monster from my hand or deck with a level equal to the monster that dealt direct damage to me.... I choose to summon the 'Master Magician!!'"
On the field, a man draped in long purple robes and holding a long scythe materialized. With a single blast of power from his hand, Yamucha fell to the ground and vanished.
(Level 5/Dark/Magician/2350 ATK/2100 DEF)
[Masaharu's LP: 1300] [Vlad's LP: 3850]
Vlad just burst out in more laughter, and flipped over a card in his Duel Disk.
"You fool! I wanted you to do that! Now, I activate, 'Last Hope of a Galaxy!!!' This special summons a certain monster.... one that will seal your doom!! Come forth.... !!!"
Materializing on the field was another warrior in an orange Gi. But this one had large, spiked black hair, and an innocent look on his face.
(Level 8/Earth/Warrior/3200 ATK/3300 DEF)
"S-Son.... Goku?!" sputtered Masaharu, in fear at what was happening. Son Goku just looked at him strangely, cocked his head, and asked, "Yeah, so what?"
Vlad froze.
"Y-You.... can talk?! B-But.... Wait.... Shadow Power, of course.... !!!"
".... ???"
"Ah, I see," Masaharu said. "Shadow power actually summoned the REAL Son Goku to the field...."
"What're you talkin' 'bout?" asked Goku. "What's 'Shadow Power?' Is it Ki?"
Vlad cleared his throat, and just said testily, "That's none of your concern. Just slay the Master Magician...."
Goku shook his head defiantly - "No."
Taken aback, Vlad sputtered, "Wh-What?! You can't disobey me!"
"Try me."
As Masaharu chuckled, Vlad became angrier and angrier. Finally, in a burst of fury, he cried out, "Shadow Spell! Binding of Will!!!"
Suddenly, Goku's face was covered in an even blanker look than usual. Stretching out his hand, he shot out a powerful blast of Ki that destroyed the Master Magician. Masaharu was nearly blown away by the power in that one blast, but held his ground.
[Masaharu's LP: 850] [Vlad's LP: 3850]
"Now, that's the end of my turn.... Your move, friend."
Masaharu stayed silent for a moment, before drawing.
"Activate! 'Coins from Heaven!' We both draw until we have five cards in our hand. Now.... I'll place three cards and end my turn."
Another card was plucked from Masaharu's hand, and sent into the boiling pot. Things were looking grim.
"Now, attack, my mind slave! Wipe out his Life Points!!"
Just as Goku stretched out his hand to fire another blast, Masaharu took action.
"Activate! 'Revenge of the Dead!!' It allows both my previous monsters to return back to the field and attack your monster together.... destroying it! Strike Mage and Master Magician, come forth!!!"
A pentagram appeared on the floor, and from it flowed the ghostly forms of Masaharu's dead monsters. Together, they blocked Goku's blast, and shot out an even larger beam back at him, sending him flying.
As Goku disappeared, Masaharu bowed his head.
Forgive me.... But I can't die here. Not until I beat HER in a match at full strength....