Once the three were back on the streets, a sight caught Orlandu's eye. "Hey! There is some kind of water show over there!" Orlandu, Raven, and Kaomi ran into a park-like setting.
- O -
The waters washed off the street The opponent, Zaff Destal, an acquaintance of Orlandu's, walked away with his head hung low. The man of the sea, Mako Tsunami, reduced Zaff to nothing. Orlandu smiled.
"Destal deserved it." he smirked.
"Some 'water show', Cid!" Kaomi looked, a little disappointed.
"You can't walk fifteen feet without running into a duel!" Raven felt agitated.
Tsunami laughed, "I could use one more before I take a break!"
Orlandu stepped up. "I'll take you on!" he activated his disc, "I am Dragon Handler Cid Orlandu! Prepare yourself!"
"My friend, you have yourself a challenge!" Mako activated his disc as well.
"DUEL!" they declared.
I will begin by summoning The Lightning Conger in defense mode and I throw two cards face-down." A crackling snake-like thing appeared.
"No problem! I summon Spear Dragon!" Orlandu threw a card onto his disc.
"Activate Torrential Tribute!" Mako called. A massive blast of water cleared the monsters.
"I set this face down and end my turn." Orlandu frowned.
Mako smiled. "I activate A Legendary Ocean!" The path through the park became amerced in water once again, "And I summon my Seven Colored Fish!" His smile grew, "Now I activate Cold Wave, rendering all Spells and Traps useless! Now, Fish, attack!" The Seven Colored Fish swam up to Orlandu, and bit his Duel Disc, which reflected 2200.
Orlandu drew and looked at his hand. The only way he could summon a monster would be using Change of Heart and Monster Reborn, and offering Spear Dragon and the Fish. Cold Wave prevented this. He was unlucky.
"You can do it, Orlandu!" Called Raven "Show that punk the might of Dragons!" Though, Raven did note, coming from the last person Orlandu lost to, this was an odd statement.
"Doing nothing?" Mako drew. "Fish, attack!"
Orlandu drew as his counter flashed 100.
"Maybe." Raven whispered.
"Activate Monster Reborn on the Spear Dragon! And Change of Heart on your monster and sacrifice both to summon my great Yamata Dragon! And here's a little Spiritual Energy Settle Machine to keep it alive!" The translucent Yamata Dragon fizzled into existence. "ATTACK!"
Mako laughed as his Life Points flashed 1400. "The simplest monster in my deck is about to save me. I summon Oogichi! Attack directly!"
Orlandu gasped as his life points hit zero. He had lost it all. His Dragon Cannon, his Locator Cards, and his honor.
"Oh, god!" Kaomi turned away.
Orlandu fell to his knees, as the holograms faded.
Cidofolos Orlandu, the Dragon Handler, was removed from the tournament.
Orlandu walked sadly toward Kaomi and Raven. His deck was removed from his Duel Disc, and his face bore a look of disappointment.
"It's OK, Orlandu." Raven nodded.
"Call me Cid." Orland sighed.
"I will not. You are Orlandu, the Dragon Handler, and any other name is an insult." Raven turned, "Come on, Kaomi, we still need Locator Cards."
"May I come with you?" Orlandu asked, kindly.
"On one condition." Raven turned, "No feeling sorry for yourself, got it?"
"Yes." Orlandu looked around, "Perhaps we should go farther into the park. The scenery is nice."
"Why not?" Raven and Kaomi shrugged and walked further into the park.
- O -
Across the vast park, a blue robed man looked at the river. A red robed man ran up behind him. "Alen-Tax!" He stopped next to the blue robed man. "Alen-Tax! The Dragon Handler is defeated!"
"By who?" the blue robed Alen-Tax asked.
"The Tsunami guy!" replied the red robed man.
"Blast! I wanted a Star to take him out!" Alen-Tax fumed.
"What's greater, he has friends, to of them!" the red robed man responded.
"We have to hurry, then! We don't want Rare Hunters moving in on Star prey!" Alen-Tax turned, "Go, Barbas! Win one for the Stars!
- O -Kaomi held her hands behind her head as she took in the sunlight. "It's a truly nice day for a tournament," she said without thinking.
"It is." Orlandu responded.
A burst of light came from a nearby tree, distracting them momentarily. When the light was gone, a group of men in dark cloaks approached them.
"Rare Hunters!" Orlandu stepped forward, "They are thugs who, win or loose, will take your rarest cards and locator card. Be careful."
"They are no mach for us, Orlandu!" Kaomi activated her disc.
The five Rare Hunters walked slowly closer. All but the center man had their head covered. The center man was tall, and bald. He had an odd tattoo, and his gaze was cold. He spoke, and the power of his voice was great, "Raven Vaniver. Your Tri-Horned Dragon is targeted by the Rare Hunters."
Raven locked eyes with the bald man, unable to move.
"DUEL!" Ordered the bald man, Odion, activating his discs.
Raven activated his disc as well.
Odion threw three Traps face down, "I end my turn!"
Raven drew. Come on, Raven! Focus! He's open for a direct attack! "I summon the Dancing Fairy!" His little faries blinked into existence, "ATTACK!"
"I activate Ring of Destruction!" A ring of bombs appeared around each fairy, all exploding at once, "And I activate the Ojama Trio!" As both their Life Point counters flashed 2300, three little alien things appeared on Raven's field. "My turn." Odion drew, "I play Swords of Revealing Light and this card, Just Deserts!"
Raven drew as his life points flashed a dismal 800.
"Raven!" Kaomi called, "Not another loss!"
Raven placed one card face down and ended his turn.
"I activate Dark Hole!" called Odion, "And on the way out, the Ojama's will take the rest of your Life Points!" Raven's counter flashed zero. "Hand us your Tri-Horned Dragon and your Locator cards!" ordered Odion.
Raven complied, and once Odion had what he wanted, he drifted off in search of more prey.
"We're counting on you now, Kaomi." Raven said, softly, as he put his deck in his pocket.
Raven Vaniver was removed from the tournament.
Kaomi felt the weight of the world on her shoulders, but screamed in anger after Odion, "Wait and see, Rare Hunter, Vengeance is a powerful weapon." she called.
A mixture of overconfidence and luck cursed Orlandu and Raven. Kaomi would not fall to this. She was going to win this. She smiled, "Trust me, Raven, you will be avenged, and I'll get you locator cards. I'll win them back. I need more though. I need to find someone to challenge before that Hunter gets too many cards. C'mon!" Kaomi ran off.
O –
It only took a few minutes to find what she was looking for. A woman in a dark shirt and dark pants. Her long brown hair flowed gracefully. Her Duel Disk was turned on.
Kaomi approached the woman, "I am Kaomi Itai, your next opponent."
The woman laughed, "Afraid I have yet to participate in a duel in this tournament, and only have one locator card to offer. I am Aura Leathe. Prepare yourself to fight my great deck." she activated her Duel Disk.
"DUEL!" they called.
"I start by summoning my Little-Windguard in defense mode!" Kaomi smiled, as the little armored warrior appeared, "and throw these two cards face-down!"
"I set a monster in defense mode and end my turn." Aura smiled.
"Little-Windguard, Attack it!" The tiny guardian attacked the monster, a flying squeal, "Nimble Momonga." Kaomi scowled as tow more appeared on Aura's field, and her Life Points flashed a comfortable 5000, "Windguard, defend."
"Now, I sacrifice one Nimble Momonga to set this monster in defense mode. Your turn."
"I'll equip me Windguard with my Butterfly Dagger." Windguard's sword was replaced by green shining dagger, "ATTACK!"
A large wall appeared in place of Aura's new defensive monster. Kaomi's Life Points reflected the loss. 1700 points.
"Aww, blast." Kaomi muttered.
"It's not as bad as it'll get, Miss Itai." Aura smiled. "I place a third monster in defense mode and end my turn.
Kaomi drew. She knew better than to attack, but there had to be something else she could do... "One card face down. Go."
"Sacrifice my Woodland Sprite for this monster. Your move." Aura smiled.
"Just wait, Aura, I'll knock that smile off your face!" Kaomi threatened. She was far less confident as she let on, however. Cid and Raven already lost, she thought, maybe we're not as good as we think. "I pass."
"Sacrifice my last Momonga for another monster. Go."
Kaomi smiled. She had a plan, "I'll place one card face-down and play Swords of Revealing Light!" The two face-down monsters on either side of the Labyrinth Wall revealed large shields with the Eye of Anubis inscribed upon them, "Just as I thought, three amazing defenders." She smiled.
"So you realize you can do nothing. I set one card face-down. Go." Aura felt comfort in her position.
"I can do anything, Aura." Kaomi drew, "Reveal my Curse of Fiend!" Windguard moved to an offensive posture, "Although your monsters have great defense, they have no attack value. My Curse of Fiend spell card forces them into Attack Position. Now, I'm sure you have something to stop me from roasting your Shields, so I play this, the Giant Trunade! That also lets me re-play my Swords, binding you for three more turns. Now I play my Kycoo, the Ghost Destroyer. Kycoo and Windguard, destroy the Millennium Shields! And Kycoo, remove them from her Grave. "
Aura's counter showed only 500 Life Points left, "Nice move, but it'll take more than that to beat me. First, I play the Dark Hole spell card!" a vortex in the sky pulled all the monsters into it, "And, to show you I'm not all defensive, meet my Mad Dog of Darkness! Mad Dog, give her rabies!"
"Reveal, Negate Attack!" The Mad Dog stopped moving. Kaomi looked at her hand, Monster Reborn, Butterfly Dagger, and Dark magician. Nothing.... Wait! She said something about a Woodland Sprite! "Activate Monster Reborn! Revive your Woodland Sprite in Attack Mode! Now, I play the Butterfly Dagger Elma!" The green dagger appeared in the sprite's possession.
"Reveal Alter for a Tribute, offering my Mad Dog to put my Life Points at 2400!"
"It doesn't matter. Offer my Butterfly Dagger Elma, inflicting 500 points of damage, lowering you to 1900. Elma returns to my hand when it's sent to the grave, so I can equip it again, and discard it again to inflict 500 more damage. You're done, care for me to do this three more times, or want to surrender?"
"My God... I surrender." She handed over her locator card, "Here's my Millennium Shield. Take it."
"Millennium Shield..." Kaomi ran off, "I must avenge my friends, I hope to see you again!"
-O-
"Itai." A voice came from behind Kaomi as she ran, causing her to stop. Barbas "Duel me."
"Fine." Kaomi launched her disk, "Let's go!"
"I'll go first. Here comes my Gearfried, the Iron Knight!" Barbas assumed a dueling stance.
"No problem," Kamoi sat three cards in her Spell/Trap zones and smiled, "I'll defend with this. Go."
"Attack!" Gearfried sliced the Nimble Momonga.
"My turn!" Kaomi said, watching two more Momongas come forth, "Sacrifice these two, to bring out my Dark Magician. Dark Magic Attack!"
Barbas drew, his counter flashing 3300, "I'll make short work of you. I set one card face-down and activate Snatch Steal!" The Dark Magician flickered and transported to Barbas's field "Now, feel your own Dark Magic Attack!"
Having no monsters to shield her, the force of the attack knocked Kaomi back, and her Life Points were down to 2500. "I draw. Too bad I gain 1000 Life Points now, eh?"
"No, you don't. Reveal trap card Bad Reaction!" Barbas grinned.
Kaomi watched her life points fall, "Defend and play two cards face down. Go."
"I wi8ll, thanks. I play the Rain of Mercy spell card, giving my 1000 Life Points, and costing you the same amount. Now, enter the field, my Sorcerer of the Doomed!" A decaying wizard with a mere 1400 attack points appeared. That would be enough to finish her. "Dark Magician, ATTACK!"
"Negate Attack!" Kaomi smiled, "It's not over 'till I say so, Barbas." She drew, "First, so I save my Life Points, I'll reveal my Dust Tornado, getting rid of your Reaction so I gain 1000 Life Points, instead of being eliminated. Now, I play Heavy Storm, destroying your other cards, returning my Dark Magician! And check out my next monster, the great Dark Blade! One card face-down, Dark Blade, Attack!" Dark Blade slayed the Sorcerer. "Dark Magic Attack!"
"Not bad at all. You are deserving of the honor I plan to give you, Kaomi Itai. But this match is still mine." He drew as his Life Points fell from 4300 to 1400, "Go Raigeki! Now, Monster Reborn! Come back Dark Magician! Finish her!" The Dark Magician attacked. The force was larger this time, kicking up a large cloud of dust. Kaomi stood in the center when it settled, smiling. She had 1500 Life Points.
"How!" Demanded Barbas.
"My Trap, Enchanted Javelin." Kaomi drew and grinned, "Set one card and play Card Destruction, then reveal my Monster Reborn! Come on out, Seiyaryu! And here's another two face-down cards. Now go, before I have to hurt you."
"Gladly. Summon my Drillago! Dark Magician, ATTACK!"
"Reveal my trap, Blast with Chain! Destory the Dark Magician!"
"Drillago, attack directly!"
"Reveal my other trap, Staunch Defender, forcing you to attack Seiyaryu!"
"Reveal my Mystical space Typhoon, destroying Seiyaryu's equipment, and forcing you to destroy my Drillago, saving my Life Points. Set this card face-down and you can go." His counter fell to 900.
"Seiyaryu, OBLITERATE!"
"No." Barbas laughed as Seiyaryu's blast flew at him, "Reveal Magic Cylinder!" The blast from Seiyaryu flew into a cylinder, and out another one, crashing into Kaomi, lowering her Life Points to zero.
Kaomi Itai was eliminated from the tournament.
-O-
Barbas let her keep her Seiyaryu, and took her Locator cards. With hers included, he had six. He snapped them in half, and threw them on the ground before her.
"Why did you do that?" she looked, puzzled.
"Because I am of the Stars of Destiny. We are holding our own tournament tommrow, for people eliminated from Battle City, and some of those Kaiba snubbed from even joining. We're giving everyone a chance."
"How noble." She replied, "So you want me to join it?"
"You, Mister Vaniver, and Mister Orlandu, yes. See you then." He turned to walk away and stopped, "Do you know much of your friend, Mister Vaniver? My master, Lord Sevanos, speaks very highly of him. Perhaps, even Mister Vaniver would be unsure as to why, though. He will soon see, rest assured."
"Get out of my sight." Kaomi scowled.
"Fine. See you tomorrow, Kaomi Itai. The train for the tournament site leaves Domino Station tomorrow morning at eight. The tournament begins in the afternoon at four. Since you have your high school courses in two days, we have sent a notice to your school, you and Mister Vaniver are excused through Thursday, giving you a bit of time to relax after the tournament." Barbas drifted away as Raven and Cid ran up.
"What happened?" Raven asked.
"I'll tell you later. We should all head back to my house." Kaomi offered. The others agreed.
-O-
"... and that's what happened." Kaomi explained.
"So we leave tomorrow morning. Right, I must go prepare." Cid walked out.
"Raven!" Kaomi stopped him from leaving, "Please stay in our guest room tonight. I wouldn't mind some practice before tomorrow."
"Okay." Raven nodded.