Author's Notes: A lot of dueling here.
Chapter Twelve: Death-Match; Rikuo VS Drake!
Rikuo narrowed his eyes, and then glanced at some of his own cards. Finally he started to smirk again. "If I've guessed right this duel is about to get funny. I activate my face down card, Reverse of the Reverse!"
"This trap card lets me activate one face down card on your field for myself. So let's see if I guessed correctly!" Drake's card flipped up, and revealed it to be the quick-play magic card Grave Sifting. Rikuo had indeed guessed correctly.
"The most likely card to combo with Mechanical Magic Mirror. Well now I use Grave Sifting, and I'll move Card of Demise from my graveyard to yours!" He threw the card to Drake, who shoved it into the cemetery slot of his duel disk. Now the first step of Rikuo's combo was ready.
"I set two cards face down and then play Double Spell, and discard a magic card from my hand to activate Card of Demise from your graveyard!" Once again he drew five cards, giving him even more options to work with. Things were starting to look bad for Drake yet again.
"Now I activate Soul Exchange and offer your set monster for Jinzo(2400/1500)! I'll also activate my face down equip card, Amplifier to make Jinzo's effect apply only to your side of the field!" Drake slid his Sage of Unending Darkness into the graveyard, and watched as the anti-trap king hit the field. He was just lucky Rikuo had no battle phase this turn.
"Since I don't have a battle phase, my turn is over. Use your free turn wisely if you can." He smirked and folded his arms, confident in his chances. After all, Drake didn't have that much to work with, and once again traps for the duelist were totally useless.
Drake closed his eyes for a moment, and then drew without seeming to pay attention. "You may have me on the run, but I'm far from being finished. And your own monster will defeat itself right now!"
He snapped his card around, and revealed a Double Spell. Then he opened his eyes, and slid his Double Spell and another card from his hand into the grave. "I'll thank you for the use of Card of Demise, allowing me to draw till I hold five just like you did!"
In one motion he drew four cards, and then snapped them out so he could see them all. "Thanks to your efforts Jinzo is finished! I activate Absolute Control, and seize control of Amplifier!"
Rikuo frowned as the brain implant lifted off Jinzo and floated over to Drake's field, just floating useless in front of him. "Keh, what do you think you can do with Amplifier? It only equips on Jinzo, so all you've done is prevent me from using my traps."
"Oh really? I'm sure you're aware of Amplifier's weakness, and I'm about to exploit it. I'll do it with this next magic card!" He slid it into his duel disk, and the holographic image was created. It was a magic card with what looked like military food rations on it.
"You know quite well what Emergency Provisions does, so I'll use its effect and send Amplifier and Absolute Control to the graveyard! Since Amplifier was equipped to Jinzo, Jinzo says farewell!" The android shuddered and then exploded, getting it off the field. At the same time the two cards that Drake had sacrificed also exploded. (DLP: 2800)
"Do you really think that defeating Jinzo changes anything? If you do, come and try to attack me!" Drake sighed and threw a card down on his disk. A red robed magician, similar to Sunset Magician, now stood in front of him.
"Sunrise Magician(2000/1300) will do quite nicely. Whenever it deals life point damage I get to draw a card, but that's not what's important. Sunrise Magician, Sun Flare!" The magician cast out his hands, and a ball of light charged there. Then it hurled it pitcher-style, the flames arcing straight towards Rikuo.
"Are you really that stupid as to think I bluffed? Sakuretsu Armor!" The flames vanished in a puff of smoke, and then Sunrise Magician shattered into a million pieces. Drake's only monster had failed in its efforts.
"So be it. I set this card face down, and end my turn." The brown backed card was now all that stood between Rikuo and Drake, but luckily Rikuo only had one face down card and no monsters, along with a relatively small hand.
Rikuo smirked and lay his newest card onto his own disk, causing a long-armed machine to form. "Mechanical Chaser(1850/800) should do just fine. Attack him directly!" Drake grinned and triggered his face down card.
"Magician's Circle lets both players special summon a magician from their deck to the field, but since you have no magicians I'm the only person who benefits!" His grin faded as his trap was pricked like a soap bubble and vanished. Then the chaser's arm extended and slammed into his chest, hurling him backwards. (DLP: 950)
"Your trap was worthless thanks to Remove Trap. Now all those life points you gained to destroy Jinzo are gone. You've only got one card in your hand, so make it count why don't you? Set one card face down, and end turn." Drake's fists balled up as he considered his options. His single card might not help him out right now, so he had to hope for a good draw.
He glanced at his new, and then he slowly started to smile. "This should do quite nicely. Demon Magister(1900/700) in attack mode!"
A humanoid figure in pitch black robes shimmered and appeared. Based on the obsidian staff in the figure's hand it was obvious it was a spellcaster, but what gave it its name were the two curved horns extending from its head. "This is a spellcaster? Looks more like a demon to me, don't tell me you've suddenly switched types?"
"Hardly. Demon Magister may have that name, but overall he's still a magic user. Demon Magister, attack Mechanical Chaser!" The magister snapped his staff down in an arc, and a metal blade extended from it. The blade sheared straight through the Mechanical Chaser, blowing it into tiny little pieces. (RLP: 2550)
"Keh, what a useless play. I'll recover no matter how hard you try to defeat me, and I'll get my vengeance." Drake scowled at the demon's comment and slid the final card in his hand onto his duel disk. It was time to find out whether Rikuo was bluffing about that or not.
The wolf demon drew, and after a single glance at his face down card he knew what to do. "Keep trying to win while you have the chance. X-Head Cannon(1800/1500) in defense mode! End turn."
Drake narrowed his eyes and then drew, not quite sure what to make of it. At a casual glance it seemed like Rikuo was just playing defensively, but he was so confident that it was hard to tell. "Demonic Magister, destroy his monster!"
The blade slashed through it, and it vanished in a flash, leaving Rikuo with only a single set card on the field. "One card face down, and that's all."
Rikuo smirked at whatever he saw when he drew, and then immediately placed one of the two cards in his hand onto his duel disk. "Y-Dragon Head(1500/1600) in defense mode. Then I set one card face down and end my turn."
'Oh yeah, he's definitely up to something. I'll only draw it out of him if I really go on the offensive.' He drew, and then just like Rikuo he played his card instantly. Upon doing so a magician in white robes was summoned to the field.
"White Magic Summoner(1200/500) in attack mode. Demonic Magister will blow away Y-Dragon Head!" A single strike of a blade and Y was gone. Drake narrowed his eyes, readying himself for a chain at any moment. When nothing happened he felt confident enough to risk another attack.
"White Magic Summoner, attack him directly!" The magician raised his arms over head, and a dragon appeared above him. The dragon shot a jet of flame at Rikuo, but at the last moment Rikuo's set card flipped up, and armor launched itself out and attached to Demonic Magister.
"Attack Redirection Armor now sends the attack straight at your Demonic Magister!" The flames turned in mid-air and aimed for Demonic Magister. The half-demon magician raised his left arm, palm out, and stopped the attack in mid-air. It vanished in a puff of smoke, and the magician retaliated by cutting down his magician companion. (DLP: 250)
'He could have used his trap when I attacked with Demonic Magister and accomplished the same thing, so why wait till after I killed Y-Dragon Head? Whatever he's up to it has to do with sending his monsters to the grave' With nothing else he could do, Drake's turn was over.
Rikuo slid his newest drawn card into the cemetery, and an angel appeared above him. Rays of light rained down on his field, landing on his deck. "Graceful Charity's effect you probably remember, so I'll just discard Machine King and Z-Metal Tank(1500/1300)."
"Now, it's time to reveal my plan! Open face down card, Rise of the Machines! Since my magic card has been on the field for a total of three turns I get to revive three machines. So rise up, X-Head Cannon(1800/1500), Y-Dragon Head(1500/1600), and Z-Metal Tank(1500/1300)!" The three pieces of the machine were now together on the field, and Drake knew exactly what that meant.
"You've fallen right into my trap, so say goodbye to the last of your life points! My three monsters combine themselves together into XYZ-Dragon Cannon(2800/2600)!" Each of the three united, creating a massive behemoth of power. One of the strongest and deadliest machines in existence, with an effect that easily made up for the difficulty of summoning it.
"I'll discard the remaining card in my hand to destroy your face down card and leave you defenseless!" The combination machine launched a missile which collided with Drake's set card and blew it to pieces. Drake gritted his teeth and stood his ground against the force of the blow.
"Not so fast Rikuo! I chain the other card I had face down! Reveal Protection of the Destined, which will keep my monsters and myself safe for this turn!" The second card flipped up, and a barrier of blue light surrounded Drake and his monster. Now even XYZ-Dragon Cannon couldn't get past.
"Keh, run all you like, I'm not bothered. Next turn I'll blow away whatever other defense you have with my machine's effect. Till then, it's your turn. Consider it your last." The former general sneered and tapped his clawed fingers against his duel disk, eagerly awaiting the moment when he could strike again.
Drake glanced down at his deck, knowing that if he didn't draw something good right here and now that he was finished. He had one card face down, and no hand. Now he was going to have to pull off an awesome top-deck, or he was finished. 'Well, here goes nothing.'
He felt a pulse the moment he lifted the card off his deck, and when he flipped it up so he could see it, he knew why. This was one of those moments where a duelist had to test themselves. "I remember that during our last duel I tried to find out which of us had a stronger destiny. Well, it's time to try the same experiment!"
His field zone opened up, and he slipped his new card into it, and then it closed. Suddenly the area around them became dotted with stars and lights, forming a curving pathway through the darkness above them. "My field magic card Destiny's Way will be the proving ground for that, so now I activate its effect and pay two hundred life points!" (DLP: 50)
"By paying two hundred life points your field card lets each of us draw only one card. You really think you can top deck towards victory while blowing all but your last fifty life points? Name whatever type of card you want, it won't change anything." Drake snapped his fingers, and the field around them started to glow green.
"Like usual, I think I'll name magic. So, let's see what destiny has in store for each of us!" At the same time both duelists drew, and to Drake's relief a scowling Rikuo was forced to slide his card into the cemetery. Then he let his eyes drift shut, not quite ready to look at the card he had drawn.
"Quit cowering from your destiny and show me what it is! Play your card already so I can finish you off!" Drake nodded and held the card up. Rikuo grimaced as he saw the image on it. The card had a green background, so Drake had drawn the magic card he needed. Worse yet was the man on the card raising his arms in praise of the golden coins that were following down upon him.
"Card of Sanctity! Now draw your six cards Rikuo!" They each drew six, and Rikuo's eyes narrowed at what he saw. Drake took note of this, and wondered if it was a good draw or a bad one. Then he too narrowed his eyes and broke out laughing.
"Looks like this card was perfect for the situation if my math was correct. I sacrifice Demonic Magister for Black Sorcerer(2200/2000)! Not just that, but when Demonic Magister goes to the cemetery I gain its attack as life points!" A black robed man with no staff was Drake's newest monster, who stepped up at the same time as energy flowed into Drake's body. (DLP: 1950)
"Now I set three cards face down and end my turn!" Rikuo snarled and drew, giving him a total of seven cards. Suddenly a ghostly hand erupted from his cemetery, and snatched his entire hand away, dragging it down to the grave. His eyes flashed a darker red, and he turned to Drake for an explanation.
"That's why I thought it was perfect to have drawn Card of Sanctity. See, five turns ago you activated Card of Demise, so just now its secondary effect forced you to discard your entire hand." With no cards in his hand and three cards between him and Black Sorcerer, Rikuo felt it best to end his turn rather than run into a trap.
The moment Drake drew a card, a ghostly hand exploded from his own graveyard and dragged his hand into the cemetery. "Of course I suffer from the same side effect this turn. By the way, had you attacked you would have succeeded in draining six hundred of my life points. Since you didn't, I think it's time to end this duel!"
He tapped a button on his duel disk, and one of his three face down cards flipped up. "Activate Play of Rebellion! This card forces one of your own monsters to turn traitor and attack you directly! XYZ-Dragon Cannon, finish him off! Hyper Destruction!"
The mechanical monstrosity turned towards Rikuo, and then launched a massive beam of energy at the wolf demon. Rikuo just scowled and braced himself, using his bare hands to halt the attack. When the energy faded his palms were scorched, but he was otherwise fine. "Don't think I'll die so easily!"
His graveyard spat out a card, and he held it up, revealing a monster card depicting a turtle. "My Super Electric Turtle easily blocked your attack, and it went to the grave thanks to Card of Demise's effect. Your attempt failed pathetically."
"Nobody said I was done Rikuo. Face down equip card open! Ghost Medallion equips to my Black Sorcerer and removes him from play, keeping him from defending my life points. In exchange he gets the ability to attack directly. So, strike now!" The now ghost-like sorcerer fired a silver ball of energy at Rikuo, which exploded across the demon's chest and forced him backwards. (RLP: 350)
"According to Black Sorcerer's effect I now want you to discard a trap card from your deck to the cemetery." Rikuo searched through his deck before finally settling on a card. Once he was finished discarding it, his focus was back on Drake completely.
"I'm done for now. Your turn Rikuo." Drake stood there calmly, awaiting whatever move Rikuo could make. He knew what he could do, and he knew what he was going to do. It was only a matter of time really before the end of this duel came one way or another.
Rikuo growled deep in the back of his throat, and slid his drawn card immediately into the cemetery. "By discarding my Repayment of Losses card to the cemetery I not only get to draw a card, but I get to destroy your last face down card!"
A powerful barrage headed straight for Drake's final set card, but the magician duelist was ready. "Open face down card, Mystical Space Typhoon! I'll use it to destroy Ghost Medallion and return Black Sorcerer(2200/2000) to the field!"
"That only saves you from oblivion! Hyper Destruction now!" A powerful beam of energy burned apart Drake's sorcerer, also draining Drake's life points somewhat. The leftovers of the energy blasted Drake off his feet, and burned away half of his Obelisk Blue jacket. (DLP: 1350)
"You destroy Black Sorcerer, and luckily for you I have no cards in my hand, so I can't bring out White Sorcerer. However, since you killed him you have to remove the top three cards of your deck from the game." Rikuo nodded and shoved his three cards into the graveyard, then slid the one card in his hand onto his duel disk.
Drake let out a deep breath, and then slammed down his newest card. "Monster Returned lets me bring back Black Magician of Chaos(2800/2600) from out of play! And according to my magician's effect I get to add a magic card from my grave to the hand."
"Card of Sanctity!" The two duelists swiftly drew their six cards, giving them more options to work with. Drake took a single glance at his new cards, and new exactly what to do.
"Prepare to feel the wrath of my strongest monster once again! I play Chaos Fusion from my hand, and fuse Black Magician of Chaos with White Magician of Chaos to unleash Supreme Sage of Balance(4000/4000)!" A towering being of pure light formed in front of him, its light pushing back the darkness of the Darkness Realm around them.
"I summon Twisted Spellweaver(1800/400) and offer it to Supreme Sage of Balance, and then remove White Sorcerer in my deck from the game as well. This raises my sage's total points to sixty-six hundred! But I'm far from done!" Two spheres of light entered the Supreme Sage of Balance and its size grew somewhat.
Rikuo scowled as his opponent's monster raised in power. He knew this creature could easily reach massive heights of power. "Now I activate Offering of the Soul! I can remove monsters in my hand from the game for any effect, plus I gain five hundred life points for each one. So I remove three, gaining fifteen hundred life points! Each of them is a level four!" (DLP: 2850)
Three spheres of light went into Supreme Sage of Balance, and once again its power rose and so did its size. "Supreme Sage of Balance(7800/7800) has now absorbed a total of five monsters, which means it becomes a divine type and gains all of a divine type's immunities!"
"Time to activate a special ability! Supreme Sage of Balance, bring me back a magic card by removing a monster in my grave from play!" Hell Spell Striker appeared and then vanished, and then a magic card appeared in Drake's hand. He flipped it around, revealing Card of Sanctity.
"I get to draw six cards, but you get nothing!" He snapped six cards off his deck, and fanned them out, ready to get to using them. He scowled slightly, having hoped for something more, but this would have to do.
"Considering my monster has the immunities of a god, I think I'm safe to attack. Supreme Sage of Balance, attack XYZ-Dragon Cannon. Purifying Touch!" Light erupted around the machine, but suddenly a box appeared in the path, and it cranked open. A boxing glove shot out from it and collided with the sage's chin. No damage was done, but the light faded.
"Distraction Device can negate the attack of ANY monster, even a divine type. So your attack is a failure! You finished?" Drake slid three cards onto his duel disk, and then finish his nodded, declaring the end of his turn.
Rikuo sneered, showing his fangs. He had exactly what he needed. "I activate Mechanical Breakdown, which lets me sacrifice XYZ-Dragon Cannon to return each of the separate pieces to the field!"
XYZ split apart, and each of the separate monsters was now on the field. "Next I play Joy of Tribute, which allows me to gain life points equal to the attack power of each monster I sacrifice this turn."
"Oh by the way, Mechanical Breakdown and Joy of Tribute each cost a card from my hand, so I might as well take care of that now." He slid the two cards into his graveyard, leaving him with three cards in his hand and his three monsters on the field.
'He's preparing for something big, I can feel it. An enormous power is lurking within his hand...so full of rage...what in the world could it possibly be?' Drake felt a chin run down his spine as Rikuo took one of the last three cards in his hand and held it up. With the power of the Millennium Disc, Drake was able to see a terrible aura surrounding it. A power different than anything he had ever faced before.
"Meet your demise! I sacrifice all three of my monsters to summon Fenrir-Destroyer of Gods(4000/4000)!" The darkness around them seemed to howl with rage as a massive black wolf reared its head. From muzzle to the tip of its tail Drake had to estimate that the beast was just shy of a hundred feet long, and it was a definite match in size for his Supreme Sage of Balance. (RLP: 5150)
"You're gonna wish that you never turned your monster into a divine type, because when summoned Fenrir removes one divine type from the game and adds that creature's attack to his own!" A black aura surrounded Fenrir as it roared, and Supreme Sage of Balance was torn apart by the pure force of that roar. Drake grimaced as Fenrir's power rose to a massive eleven thousand eight hundred points.
"Since you removed Supreme Sage of Balance from the game you saved me from the effect caused when it is destroyed. Now my out of play pile and cemetery are shuffled back into my deck, as are yours!" The two duelists did what was needed of the effect, and now what remained was Fenrir and the three cards between it and Drake.
"Fenrir, Black Inferno's Roar!" A stream of black flame streaked towards Drake, but was suddenly intercepted by a rainbow colored barrier. The flames faded, and the rainbow light shot down into Drake's duel disk and the numbers rose. (DLP: 14650)
"My Mirage Magic quick-play card negated your attack and added Fenrir's attack to my life points. So I have to thank you for that one." Drake smirked and snapped his hand of cards together. Then he shoved his hands into his pockets and waited for Rikuo to declare the end of his turn.
"Bah! You think negating my attack finishes my turn? I activate Renewed Efforts, which can only be played when a monster of mine has its attack negated! Now it gets to attack again and gains a bonus of one thousand attack points!" The black flames collided with a golden barrier formed by Drake, but the strength was so great the barrier broke and he was hurled back a dozen feet, his clothes and skin somewhat burnt. (DLP: 1850)
"Fenrir awaits his next morsel, so go ahead and take your turn. Nothing you do can stop his assault, so I set this one card face down and end." Just like that he had emptied his hand and unleashed a creature capable of crushing gods with a single strike. Once again the advantage was all Rikuo's, and all Drake had to work with was three cards in his hand and two on the field.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Kodowari smirked and settled back against the tree, a smug look on his face. The duel between Rikuo and Drake was accelerating and he was getting to enjoy every moment of it. "With the skill and intensity that those two are playing at no matter who wins both will be completely exhausted and unable to continue."
His gaze traveled down to the duel disk on his arm, with deck inserted. "The loser will be easy prey for my deck, and then I'll gain their power. With the strength granted to me from that I can accelerate my progress. And the best thing is, nobody can stop me!"
He shuddered, imagining what it would be like to possess the sort of power that those two had. "Oh yes, once their power is mine nothing will be able to stand in my way. I'll cut down every foe in my path and gain what I have long searched for. Ultimate power!"
Before his very eyes the view of the ongoing duel expanding, taking in various other duels. Masue was facing down that Kai fellow, while Vance was facing Kirani, and Alice was facing off against Sumatin. "Wait a moment...where's that girl? Rikuo's daughter, where is she right now? If she wanders into the area of the darkness game Rikuo will sense it and know she's still alive! It'll ruin my plan!"
He expanded his senses, seeking out the girl's presence. If he could find her then he could confront her and get her out of the way for good. Doing so would also grant him her power, and that was always a positive thing. "I'll crush her the second I find her!"
Power crackled around him as he sought out her presence, and suddenly he felt something strange. His energies as they searched for her had just touched a void, something similar to a black hole. He couldn't sense anything in that one spot. "What is this? The touch of my power is nothing to this thing...my power is drawn inwards!"
The strange void seemed to be approaching, and knowing that he couldn't truly touch it with his power he drew back, keeping himself away from it. "How could anything do that to my power? What sort of beast is capable of taking in all of my power!"
Kodowari dropped down from the tree, landing in a crouch. He lifted his head, and found himself facing a teenager in a solid blue uniform. An Obelisk Blue underclassman. "You? Get the hell out of my way, I'm not in the mood to deal with your cocky attitude."
He moved forwards and attempted to brush by the taller boy, but when he pushed against the other boy he felt a hand latch onto his wrist. His blue eyes widened as he felt the power that still crackled around him drawn away and into that hand around his wrist. 'I feel so cold...'
He turned his head in fear, and found his blue eyes met by cold and calm jade eyes. "What are you! Don't touch me!"
In his mind's eye, he could see all that this boy was. This was the black hole for his power, this was the thing that he couldn't touch with his magical energies. "I am myself. I am Hitokage Seijitsu, and I know exactly what I am. The question is, what are you?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Next Chapter: Duel Montage Pt. 2
Author's Notes: Yeah, more plot to be revealed. I know it seems weird to have Hitokage involved, but I have a good reason for it, and he won't be involved for that long anyways.
Review Responses
Time Mage: Actually, Alice's game is based on Magic: The Gathering. Duel Masters itself is intended to be a blend of Yu-Gi-Oh and M:TG, however Alice's is a truer blend. I'm sure Kirani isn't happy about your laughing at her pain. Maybe she'll kick Kai in the crotch...
John: I know! I know! It's Tool Time!
Gryphinwyrm7: I will need some of those texts later, but not quite yet. I thank you for the information that Nimble Momonga is a Sugar Glider, as it helped me construct Vance's deck.
G.O.T. Nick: Vance may be funny, but it's killing me to write the guy. His speech pattern is incredibly irritating to write.
Adriel: That's pretty much what I did...
WolfGeneral: I just really felt like doing it. As for...Sugar Man(I don't even want to write the name), it is a crazy monster.
Original Cards:WG(WolfGeneral), TM(Time Mage), G(Gryphinwyrm7)
Drake: Absolute Control, Sunrise Magician, Demon Magister, White Magic Summoner, Protection of the Destined, Destiny's Way, Ghost Medallion, Black Sorcerer, Monster Returned(WG), Chaos Fusion, White Magician of Chaos, Supreme Sage of Balance, Twisted Spellweaver, White Sorcerer, Offerings of the Soul,
Rikuo: Rise of the Machines(WG), Repayment of Losses, Distraction Device(WG), Mechanical Breakdown, Joy of Tribute, Fenrir-Destroyer of Gods(WG), Renewed Efforts
