Ranma, King of Games Chapter Eight
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters
Warning: There are some congruency errors in this fic regarding monster stats and magic card effect but nothing severe.
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Yami swore once again as Cologne laid him on a table in the Cat Café. Of course Cologne didn't hear him and continued studying her spell books. Finally finding the information she wanted she woke her granddaughter and brought her downstairs. Shampoo sleepily walked down the stairs but became instantly awake when she saw the Millennium Puzzle on the table.
"Great Grandmother, why you have Ranma's necklace?"
"He gave it to you as a sign of his love." Shampoo's face changed from puzzlement to that of a small child on Christmas day.
"AIYA! Shampoo so happy, can she put it on?" Cologne grinned and nodded.
"Yes, not only does it look pretty but it will also help you control your curse." Among other things like seal people souls. "Now put it on."
"Okay." Shampoo did so and grabbed onto the back of a chair."
"Whoa, Shampoo dizzy." Cologne frowned and looked down at her spell books again.
"That's odd; I could have sworn that would have worked. You can go back to bed Shampoo; I have to do some more research." Shampoo nodded and bounced back up the stairs with the Millennium Puzzle bouncing along. All of a sudden Cologne jumped forward and attached a spirit ward to shampoo's forehead causing her to fall down unconscious. Cologne took the Millennium Puzzle from Shampoo's neck and chuckled as she started to get up.
"Nice try spirit. I new you would try to posses my granddaughter so I was prepared. Once I'm done with my research though, you won't have any more free will and the amazons will never again be troubled by our enemies." Seeing Shampoo groaning and rubbing her head Cologne quickly thought of a lie.
"You should be more careful granddaughter. It is unbecoming for an Amazon to fall down stairs." Shampoo wobbled a bit and then stood up.
"Who was that in shampoo's head? Shampoo meet man that look like Ranma but have different voice and funny hair." Cologne pretended to act surprised.
"You must have hit your head harder then I thought. You go to bed now, I need to decode the markings on this necklace so we can find out were it came from."
"Okay." Shampoo once again bounced up the stairs to her room. Once she was sure she was gone Cologne started taking out various spell books and artifacts as she tried to destroy Yami's will. All of a sudden the front door opened and a figure wearing a cloak entered. Cologne reached for her cane but the figure held up it's hand to show it was unarmed.
"Who are you, why are you breaking into my house?!" the figures face was obscured by a hood but spoke in a feminine voice.
"I've come to warn you that if you don't give the millennium puzzle back to Ranma there will be serious consequences." Cologne snorted.
"The puzzle now belongs to the amazons. If he wants it back he will have to marry Shampoo." The stranger then reached into her robes and pulled out a broad gold necklace with the millennium symbol in the middle. She put it on with out revealing her face and it started to glow.
"Since you don't believe me why don't I show you what will happen." There was a flash of light and the room became empty.
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Cologne opened her eyes and gasped when she recognized her surroundings.
"This is China!"
"Yes, I have taken us two years into the future." Cologne whirled around to see the stranger standing a few feet away.
"So why have you brought us to this place? Why aren't we at the village?"
"This is the village." Cologne looked around at the vast plain they were on and snorted.
"To quote the younger generation, Yeah Right." The stranger's pointed to a stone pillar that was the only landmark for miles. She hopped closer to it and saw Egyptian writing.
"It says that this was the place where humanities last hope was crumbled and Marik took control of the world. He had this mounted to serve as a reminder to those that survived that resisting him is futile." Cologne looked at it and then turned around.
"I don't believe you. Your Millennium Tauk can not lie about the future but I don't think that taking Ranma's puzzle could cause all of this."
"So now you admit that you stole it?" Cologne growled at being tricked into showing her true colors but the figure ignored her.
"Perhaps seeing what happened a year ago would sway your decision." The Millennium Tauk glowed and the pair found themselves in the middle of a battle. Cologne watched in amazed horror as Amazon, Musk, and Phoenix tribe warriors fought against hooded and robed men who were creating monsters out of thin air.
The enemies turned ally seemed to be winning until they all froze. A boy with white hair walked among them with a golden scepter held high.
"Odeon!" A hooded man walked foreword and bowed.
"Yes master."
"Order the men to dispose of these vermin while I control their minds and we will continue on with our mission."
"Yes master, I will."
"Stop!" The white haired boy and his servant turned to see an older version of Shampoo.
"You want fight you fight me!" the boy grinned when he saw the golden pyramid hanging around Shampoo's neck and took out a deck of cards.
"Very well lets duel!" A ring of light formed around both people and Shampoo drew a card from her deck.
"I summon the Unfriendly Amazon in attack mode." The boy smirked as a woman warrior appeared on Shampoo's side of the field. He drew a card and held it up.
"For my first and last move I sacrifice three monsters from my hand and summon the Winged Dragon of RA!!!!" The ground underneath Cologne's and the strangers feet trembled even though they themselves didn't move. With a huge roar a mighty wind blasted down from the heavens and everyone was knocked down except the boy and Shampoo. Suddenly the clouds parted and a huge golden dragon flew down and landed behind the boy.
"Meet my favorite card, the Winged Dragon of RA!!! Attack this fool now!!!!" Shampoo gave off a scream before she and her monster was liquefied by a ball of fire a hundred feet wide. All that remained as a pile of ashes and the millennium puzzle. The boy walked towards it and picked it up.
"Finally it is mine!!! I have beaten the pharaoh and his power is mine!!!" He took two more cards from his deck and added them to his hand with his dragon card.
"With my three all powerful god cards and the power of the pharaoh at my disposal the world will have no choice but to bow down to me its new master. MASTER MARIK!!!!!" The scene changed back to the cat café and the woman pointed to the Millennium Puzzle.
"Ranma is the only one who can duel at Marik's level and if he doesn't have his puzzle the world is doomed. Will you give this back now or will you let the world end?" Cologne numbly handed her the puzzle.
"Good, I will make sure that it is returned to him. Now I will bid you goodbye." The necklace around the hooded figure's neck glowed and she melted through the floor.
Cologne sat down hard on a chair and tried to comprehend what she had seen. Giving a sigh she shakily gathered up her spell books and headed for her room. She would have to think up an excuse for her granddaughter but it seemed like it was time to give Ranma a rest.
The figure melted through the wall of Ranma's room and laid the puzzle on his night stand. She quickly turned around and walked through the wall. Once she was outside the wall surrounding the property a black limousine drove up and opened its door. The woman stepped inside and the car drove off.
"I take it that your mission was successful?" the woman looked over to see Maximillion Pegasus sipping a glass of wine.
"Yes, everything went as you planned it would."
"Good, beating that Chinese girl would have been so boring. When I finely take possession of the millennium puzzle I want to have fun. But that matter aside, we still have to find a replacement duelist for Underwood. You have some one in mind?"
"Yes master." The limousine came to a stop and the woman got out.
"I will test her when she gets up."
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Ukyou groaned as her alarm went off.
"Get up Ukyou, we have business to discuss." All of Ukyou's senses went off at once and she reached for her battle spatula as she realized that there was a stranger in her room. She brandished it as she jumped out of bed and tried to look ferocious. Which was very difficult since she was wearing her 'Hello Kitty' pajamas.
She looked at the stranger wearing a hooded robe and snarled.
"Who are you?! How did you get in?!" the figure rose and the necklace around it's neck gave off a glow.
"Sorry, but some questions are best left unanswered." Suddenly Ukyou's room became dark and the furniture became slightly transparent. Ukyou's heart rose and lodged it self in her throat as she recognized where they were.
"This is the shadow realm!"
"Not quite, this is only the gateway to it. If this was the real shadow real you would be dead by now. No one can survive there unless you have a millennium item like my Millennium Tauk."
"You're one of the people after Ranma and Yami aren't you!" The stranger spoke back in a feminine voice and a pony tail of brown hair could be seen coming out of the back of hood.
"On the contrary, I'm after your Red Eyes Black Dragon. Such a rare card shouldn't be in the hands of a weak duelist like yourself. If you lose this match I'll take it and you will stay here for all of eternity. But if by some miracle you happen to win you will get this." The hooded ghoul held up a gauntlet and a shiny star shaped piece of metal.
"This is a dueling gauntlet and star chip, they allow any person who possesses them to enter the duelist kingdom tournament. If you can beat me you are obviously a better duelist so they should be yours by right. Now pick up your deck and lets duel." Ukyou glared at the woman and shook her head.
"And what if I refuse to duel."
"Then I will take you dragon by force and you will stay here for all of eternity." That was enough for Ukyou and she picked her deck up from her table where it had oddly not been affected.
Lines of light burst through the ground and formed giant five by three foot squares in the shape of a dueling mat. The figure gave a wave of her hand and a board identical to the field except for size appeared in front of her and her opponent.
"Place your deck on this and lets begin." The numbers 2000 appeared in the left corner of each opponents side of the field and the duel began. The stranger went first.
"I'll play Dumas Dark Witch in attack mode {1800,1000), lay one card down and end my turn." A woman with white metal wings appeared on the ghouls side of the field and started hovering. Ukyou kept her face neutral but inside she was panicking. Nothing in her hand was strong enough to beat her opponents monster or defend against it. She drew a card and sighed in relief.
"Since we're dueling you should at least tell me your name."
"You may call me Ishtar."
"Well Istar I hate to disappoint you but your not going to win this duel so easily. First I'll summon the mystical elf in defense mode and add book of secret arts to give it three hundred more attack and defense points." A blue skinned woman appeared on Ukyou's side of the field and started chanting. {1100, 2300}
"With her on the field I'm protected and there aren't many monsters that can beat her now." Ishtar seemed to smirk under her hood.
"Nice move, wrong duel. I activate my face down card. Luminous Spark!" The field was suddenly bathed in brilliant light and Ukyou had to cover her eyes until it died down.
"With Luminous Spark in play all light monsters gain five hundred attack points and lose four hundred defense points. Meaning your mystical elf only has nineteen hundred defense points now. Far to less to stand up to an attack by my super charged witch!" {2300 600} Attack her elf now!" The winged fairy flew high in the air and then shot down like a bullet at Ukyou's monster. She slashed down with a fist and smashed the elf into dust.
"Your turn Ukyou." Ukyou suddenly grabbed at her chest as pain lanced through it.
"What the hell was that!?"
"Here in the shadow realm duelists are connected to their monsters. When they feel pain you will feel pain. And the greater the difference in points the more intense it will be. Now make a move." Ukyou shakily drew a card and laid a monster on the field.
"All I can do is place Harpies Brother in defense mode." A winged man with long claws shot out of the ground and landed on one knee with it's wings wrapped around itself. {1800, 900}
Ishtar drew a card and laid it on the field.
"I'll save this little item for later, and now I'll play Soul of Purity and Light!" An angelic person appeared out of thin air on Ishtar's side of the field. {2500, 1700}
"And now I'll have my dark witch destroy your defense monster." Once again Ukyou felt a stabbing jolt of pain but more intense this time. She drew a card and smiled.
Alright, I drew my red eyes. she looked down at her hand and smiled again.
And I also Shield and Sword. With these I think I can cause some damage.
"First I'll summon the Red Eyes Black Dragon in Attack mode." The ground shook and then split as Ukyou's favorite monster appeared on the field. {2400, 2000}
"Then I'll use Shield and Sword so all of our monsters attack and defense points are flipped. And then to finish it off I'll have my monster attack your Soul of Purity. Attack!" The Red Eyes Black Dragon opened its mouth as a huge fireball collected inside and blasted it fourth. Ukyou grinned as she saw Ishtar's monster become hidden in smoke but was then stunned when she saw it unharmed. Ishtar smiled.
"I forgot to mention, My Soul of Purity monster has a special ability. By removing two light monsters from play I can decrease all of your monsters attack points by three hundred at the beginning of your turn. Your dragons attack was only seventeen hundred and my Soul of purity had seventeen hundred defense points before you used shield and sword. So both had equal points."
Ishtar drew a card and added it to her hand.
"And here in the shadow realm there is no rule that both monsters must be discarded to the graveyard in their attack points are the same and they attack each other. That only happens when one monsters attack is greater then the others. Now that it's my turn your magic card has expired and I'll destroy your monster. But before I do I'll summon Hoshinigen." {1500, 500}
A star shaped creature with rainbow colored ribbons on it's points appeared on Ishtar's field. It smacked Ukyou's red eyes across the nose and retreated back to its square where it started to shine brightly.
"All of my light monsters will get an additional five hundred points and all dark type monsters, like your red eyes, lose four hundred attack points.
{Dark witch 2700, 500}
{Soul of Purity 3000, 1700}
{Hoshinigen 1500 500}
{Red Eyes Black Dragon 2000, 1600} Attack now Soul of Purity!"
The Soul of Purity held up its hands as light collected inside and shot if off as a bright beam, destroying Ukyou's dragon." Ukyou screamed as pain more intense then anything she had ever felt before coursed through her body. She fell on one knee gasping as Ishtar placed a card on the field.
"I told you that it hurts when you lose life points, and you just lost a lot.
[ Ishtar 2000, Ukyou 1000]
Now, I'll place all of my monsters in defense mode and end my turn." Ukyou struggled to her knees as she drew a card and laid a monster in defense mode.
"Twin headed fire dragon in defense mode." {2200, 1700} A double headed dragon appeared on ukyou's side of the field and wrapped it's wings around itself. Ishtar watched and smirked.
"I summon the Wing Weaver in defense mode." A fairy with six wings materialized on Ishtar's side of the field and hovered. {2750 2400} But with my Luminous Spark and Hoshinigen on the field it gains even more strength!" {3150 2000} and now I flip over my face down card.
Curse of Fiend! All monsters in attack mode are switched to defense mode and vice versa!" The monsters on the field faded from view and then reappeared in ready positions.
"Now say good by to your life points Ukyou! Attack my Wing Weaver!!!" Ishtar's monster flew high in the sky and a huge nimbus of light began to collect around her before it shot down and blew up Ukyou's fire dragon. Once again Ukyou's body was racked with agony as her life points dwindled away.
[Ishtar 2000, Ukyou 50]
Ishtar then drew two cards from her hand and held them up.
"Now I'll play Shine Palace, which will give my Wing Weaver an extra seven hundred attack and defense points!" A book marked 'Toonworld' of all things materialized over Ishtar and opened up to reveal a pop up scene of a castle. It started to glow with pure white light and the Wing Weaver got larger. {3850 2700}
"Now it's your turn Ukyou but don't think you can just defend. This other card is a trap called Shadow of Eyes. When you place a monster in defense mode it will force it into attack mode where I can easily destroy it and wipe out your remaining life points. No matter what you do you can't win, this duel is over!"
Ukyou fell down on her hands and knees as tears started to run down her face.
"No, I can't lose, if I stay here I'll never see Ranma or my father again. Just take my red eyes and let me go!"
"No. If you stay here in the shadow realm then my millennium items power will grow greater, just like my monsters grow more powerful with each power up card I play. Now make your move." Ukyou was about to just give up when something Ishtar said clicked in her memory.
I get it now! Her strategy is to power up her monsters with cards and effects and to power down her opponents. If I could reverse that I could still win. She looked at her hand and felt despair wash over her again.
But I don't have anything here that can help me. The card I need is in my deck, I'll have to draw for it. She reached to draw a card but then stopped.
I can't do this! There's no way I can draw it, It's impossible.
"No it's not." Ukyou gasped as she saw Ranma standing behind her.
Ranma! Ranma smiled.
"Not exactly, I'm part of Ranma's memories that was left behind when you two were fused in the duel with Burkera. Now listen to me. There is a way for you to win. Just trust in the heart of the cards." The phantom Ranma laid his hand on Ukyou's deck.
"Your father made this deck and put all of his love for you in it. Ranma helped you enhance it and his love is in there as well. But most importantly, you treat your deck with respect and it respects you in turn. If you trust in your deck there is no way you can lose!" The phantom Ranma started to dematerialize and smiled again.
"Remember that Ukyou, trust in the heart of the cards." Ukyou watched Ranma fade away and grew grim.
"Alright Ishtar, this duel isn't over by a long shot. You made a mistake in telling me what that face down card is. Now I know its effect and since it's the only one you have on the field I don't have to be afraid of it." Ishtar's cocky smirk faded and was replaced by a frown.
"Now I'll Draw." Ukyou slowly picked up the card on the top of her deck. On the outside she remained neutral but inside she was dancing with joy.
Yes! I got it!!!! "First I'll lay one cards face down and then use Monster Reborn to bring back my Red Eyes Black Dragon."
"Trying to go out fighting? Very well, I'll just make your wish come true. Wing weaver attack and end this duel!!!" As the winged fairy charged down on the Red Eyes Black Dragon Ukyou smiled.
"Your Curse of Fiend card reminded me of a similar card in my deck. Except instead of switching attack with defense it switches power ups to power downs. Reverse Trap! Your Wing Weaver's attack points are decreased by 1600 points and my dragon gains seven hundred!" {Wing Weaver 1150 1300} {REBD 3100 2400}
As Ishtar's Wing Weaver bore down on Ukyou's dragon it started to age until it was an old woman. It crashed into Ukyou's dragon and screamed as it shattered apart.
[Ishtar 50 Ukyou 50]
Ukyou grinned as Ishtar picked herself off of the ground.
"Looks like the tables have turned. Now it's my turn and I'll have my super charged dragon attack your Hoshinigen and wipe out your life points. Attack!!!" The Red Eyes opened its mouth as a huge fire ball gathered inside and sparks of electricity crackled over its body. It blasted it forth and melted Ishtar's monster like chocolate.
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The dust around the battle field started to clear away and Ukyou frowned when she saw that Ishtar and her monsters were no where to be seen. She started to think that she had been double crossed when the shadows covering every thing faded away and her room returned to normal. She looked over at where Ishtar had been standing and found the dueling gauntlet and star chip along with a letter.
{Congratulations Ukyou, you have beaten one of my servants and therefore are eligible to participate in my Duelist Kingdom tournament for a grand prize of four million dollars. A boat will be leaving tomorrow at the address on the back of this letter at five o'clock sharp so don't miss it if you want to participate. Prepare your deck well Ukyou girl because today's duel would be considered a piece of cake compared to what you'll face at duelist kingdom.
Sincerely, Maximillion Pegasus.}
Ukyou flopped back on her bed and stared at the letter in disbelief. With four million dollars she could pay for her fathers medical bills and possibly save his life. She was shaken back to reality however when she heard some one call out from the front of her store.
"Hey Uchan! Are you okay? We have to be at school in fifteen minuets!" Realizing that ranma was waiting for her outside she rushed to put on her boys uniform and fixed her hair as she rushed outside.
"Sorry ranma, I had a little problem to take care of this morning." With out warning she got closer and gave him a peck on the cheek before running ahead.
"Thanks for your help." Ranma stood in the road stunned, all he could say was.
"Huh?"
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In a black limousine Maximillion Pegasus sat reading a business document and glanced over to see that the hooded figure was sitting on the opposite seat.
"I take it that your mission was successful Kasumi?" The woman slowly removed her hood and shake out her brown hair done up in a ponytail.
"Yes, but you already knew that."
"You're right, I did. Now is when the real fun begins."
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Authors notes
Sorry for the long wait. I had some serious writers block, and then I had to take my computer into the shop for a week, and then the deal with the aliens invading and well, you get the idea. I'm going to focus now on writing another chapter for Ranma the Stampede and Spirit detective Ranma. Hopefully I'll have them done soon since I'm going to be on vacation from mid July on and not be near a computer for a while.
Send your offerings of praise to animeprime1@hotmail.com