I think now would be a good time to explain what is going to occur in chapters three through fourteen. Every two chapters will contain one group's adventures. For example, Zack and Larka were covered in three and four, so now we'll move to another group to see how they are faring. But what can get confusing is the timing of this. All you need to remember is this: when we move to another group, we are going back to the beginning of that day where they split up. The second chapter will end at about the same point of the night that Zack and Larka's did. It may not be quite as late as theirs, but it's the same basic time frame. Make sense?
Kinsei: Why thank you. I'm glad the Mavericks seem to be fitting into their character. I'm sorry to say that Gale is not in this chapter… in fact, it's one of our least favorites! But at least that means he'll be out of the way, right? I shall keep them coming, I'm happy you're enjoying it.
John: You're in luck John, you'll get to see that very deck this chapter.
Erestor Telemnar: Sorry, you'll have to wait on that one. It'll happen, but not quite yet.
Captain Obvious: I personally liked Bolt the best of all the Mavericks. Glad you thought he was cool.
Demon Fan: You did not want to see their training. It was very… um… let's not even go into it. And it isn't too hard to figure out who Bolt was referring to, just think about it.
Chapter 5: Brute Force
Kazel flew swiftly through the air, enjoying the first flying she had gotten to do that day. Kisara was familiar with the fast wing strokes, playful rolls, and wild dives that her Soul Monster usually took. Although it had taken a while for her to get used to, she had learned to love the excitement from them, and had no objections to the way Kazel flew.
Amy, on the other hand, gripped onto Kazel for dear life. It took her a few minutes before she could lift her pale face to look over the side. Seeing how far up they were, she quickly buried her head into Kazel's back again.
Kisara looked back and noticed her companion's discomfort. "What is the matter?" she asked.
Amy took a few moments to try to speak. "I can't hear you!"
Kisara blushed, remembering the problems most people had trying to hear her quiet voice. With the air rushing by them, it was only harder. Forcing herself to raise her voice, she repeated her question. "I asked if something was wrong."
"I'm feeling a bit sick!" Amy called back. "I can't stand flying, to be honest!"
Kazel heard her and slowed down, flapping her wings at a slower pace. "Sorry. I'm not used to having anyone but Kisara ride me."
"It's fine…" Amy still seemed a bit ill though, and did not look around anymore.
Luckily for her, they were soon at the mountains. Kazel descended on one of the flatter ones close by, to save Amy from having to be in the air any longer than she had to be. Amy gratefully leapt off, stumbling for a second but soon gaining control of being on solid ground again. Kisara looked over Amy, worried about her condition. "Are you going to be ok?"
"Yeah, in a few minutes," Amy replied. "I've never been one for flying. Just ask Hope if you don't believe me; she always had to come to Florida to see me, since I refused to walk onto an airplane."
"It's impossible for me to imagine not liking flying," Kazel commented. "But if that's how you feel, I'll be gentler next time."
"Thanks," Amy said. "Oh, Kisara, why do you talk so quietly all the time? It makes it hard to hear what you're saying."
"That is just how I speak," she said softly. "I never speak up unless I am forced to. I am sorry."
"No, it isn't a problem," Amy replied, bringing out her Soul Card. Sakura appeared shortly.
She grinned when she saw how Amy looked. "Have a good flight?"
"I'm not in the mood to joke around," Amy muttered.
"You liar. You're always ready with some humorous remark for anyone who comes your way!"
"I prefer sarcastic, but that works," Amy shrugged.
Sakura let the matter drop and looked around the mountain. "So just where are we?"
"No area in particular," Kazel responded. "I chose the closest mountain that I could safely land on."
"I guess any place would be a good area to start off at," Sakura said as she continued to examine her surroundings. Then she froze, staring at something.
They turned to look in her direction, and saw what had caught her attention. It was a black temple, with pillars and several steps. Completely the opposite of the Sky Temple, this temple seemed to be made of pure evil.
They had no way of knowing that Hope, Rue, Max, and Will had been here before, when they had faced Echecs. In fact, the temple looked nothing like it had when they had come there. But the companions were certainly intimidated.
All except for Kazel, who eyed it distastefully. "If a Maverick would be in this area, then it would most likely be inside that temple."
"Probably," Amy agreed. "Let's give it a try."
Even though they were a bit hesitant to enter the dark area, they went up the steps and inside. By folding her wings and struggling a bit, Kazel managed to get into the doorway as well, and followed them into the large room.
The room was pitch black, but Kazel could still see, and directed Sakura to a torch on the wall. She brought out her staff and shot a fireball at the torch, causing it to light instantly. With the help of the small amount of light, Sakura was able to light up the other ones as well. There were three on the side and back walls and one on each side of the door that they had entered in, so the eleven torches gave enough light to see by. But the paintings on the walls were the last thing they wanted to lay their eyes on now. Instead of chess demons killing others, it showed several Demon Sub-Types slaughtering each other. Kisara looked away from them quickly when she had caught sight of the bloody images. Amy shuddered and did the same.
"I don't like this at all," Amy stated. "There's nobody here, so let's just leave."
But as she said that, the door suddenly flew open, and then shut again as someone charged inside.
Kisara and Amy were too slow to react, but Kazel was ready. She instantly spat a fireball at the invader, which hit him full force.
But to their shock, the man was not even fazed by the attack and leapt into the air, bringing down a giant axe. Kazel ducked away, but the axe still sliced into her wing, causing her to roar in pain.
Seeing her friend in trouble, Sakura leapt into the fight, smashing her glowing hot staff onto the man's head. Again, he did not seem to notice, but turned to Sakura, bringing his axe down to chop into her. She barely managed to parry it with her staff, and even then she had to use all of her strength with both her arms to manage to keep the axe away.
This was the first opportunity for them to get a good look at their attacker. He was huge, at least six feet tall if not more. He probably would have in fact been taller, except he was hunched over, and didn't look as though he left that posture often. His whole body was covered with golden armor that was like medieval armor, except that he kept his tanned head uncovered. He had dirty blonde hair that was kept in a short ponytail that went down to just a bit below his neck. He also had brown eyes.
The axe he wielded was a very powerful weapon, to say at the least. It had a curved, double-sided blade that was a gold that matched his armor. The handle was a dark brown, and altogether, the weapon was as big as the man himself was. Even the members of the group who had seen Rue's huge battle axe would have been awed at how large this one was.
The man pushed on his axe with all his strength, which was just too much for Sakura. It slowly came closer to her, despite her efforts to keep it at bay.
But before he could cut into her, Kazel's whip-like tail crashed into him, sending him skidding backwards. He was far from finished though, and lunged at Kazel. She jumped backwards just in time; the axe slammed into the ground where she had been standing.
As a side effect from it though, the earth suddenly jolted. Taken by surprise from the earthquake, Kisara, Amy, and Sakura fell to the ground. Kazel kept her balance though, and slashed at him with her claws. Although they connected with him, they scratched against his armor harmlessly. The screeching noise it made caused everyone else besides the attacker wince.
Then he was on the offense again, and swiped his axe at her head. She quickly jerked it out of his way, but the hilt of the blade still struck her. She collapsed to the floor, momentarily stunned.
He brought up his axe to deliver a blow that would behead her, but was distracted when a fireball hit the back of his head. He twisted around to see Sakura already preparing to fire a second one.
He went after her this time. She threw another fireball at him, but he completely ignored it.
Sakura knew that she wouldn't be able to deflect this attack, even as she futilely raised her staff.
Then the attacker abruptly stopped as a wall of light came up in front of him. He growled and swung his axe at it, but it couldn't pass through the wall.
Sakura sighed in relief, lowering her staff. "Good timing Amy; thanks."
"Glad to help," Amy replied, looking at the card she had put into her Duel Disk. "I knew that Sealing Wall of Light would come in handy sometime."
Kisara didn't pay attention to their conversation though. She ran over to Kazel and looked over her injured wing. "Kazel?"
"I'm fine," Kazel said, standing up while shaking her head. "I just have a headache… and my injured wing."
"Hold on." Kisara took out a Compensation of Blood and then a Red Potion. Although it was very small compared to Kazel's size, the potion did its work just as well as it would on a human. The wing healed instantly, although she could tell Kazel was still pained by it by the way she let it limply hang.
Meanwhile, Amy was more concerned about the attacker. She studied the man warily. "Who are you?"
The man responded after a moment. "Gaia Axe."
"Are you one of Juno's Mavericks?" Sakura demanded.
"Yes," he responded after another pause.
"And you just rushed in and attacked us without a chance to defend ourselves!" Amy exclaimed.
"Yeah, I did," Gaia agreed, looking proud of himself.
"Just great, another maniac who wants to kill us all," Amy muttered. "Well, since we're at a stalemate, let's decide on who lives through a duel!"
Gaia blinked. "…A duel?"
"Yes, a duel," Amy stated. "What, haven't you played one before?"
"…No."
Amy sighed. "I suppose I should have suspected that. But you at least know how to play, right?"
"…No."
Amy stared at him before slapping her head in exasperation. "Then how do you expect us to solve this problem?"
Gaia looked at the wall and tried to chop it down again. He had no more success than the last time he had attempted it.
"Is this guy an idiot or something?" Amy asked.
"I would assume so," Sakura answered. "He certainly isn't as intimidating as Dark Scythe was, that's for sure."
"True…"
Sakura quickly got tired of watching Gaia try to cut down the wall. "Stop that, you big oaf! The only way we can settle this is with a duel, so get ready to duel, whether you want to or not!"
Gaia looked at his Duel Disk, unsure of what to do.
"You have to have a Soul Monster," Sakura stated. "Bring him out, and he can help you understand what to do."
He took out the Soul Card after a moment. The monster that emerged was one of the most twisted ones yet. Its body was black and similar to a shadow, not quite solid in appearance. Covering it were green ribbons, and the four clawed hands and arms that came out from it were purple. Its face was concealed by a blue mask, but its wild black hair and yellow eyes, which had no iris or pupils, were still visible.
"I think that's God of Destruction Vasago," Amy said.
After another pause, Gaia turned on his Duel Disk. Amy did the same.
"You wish to duel him?" Kisara asked.
"Yeah," Amy nodded. "You could probably win, but Kazel's in no condition to help out. Look over her while I take care of him, alright?"
"Thank you," Kisara replied, going over to her Soul Monster.
"Be careful," Kazel growled to Amy and Sakura. "He may be an idiot, but I get the feeling this won't be as easy as you suspect."
"Don't worry. I never underestimate an opponent," Amy assured.
Amy: 8000
Gaia Axe: 8000
"Since you don't seem to care about the order of turns, I'll go first," Amy said. "I summon White Magician Pikeru (1200/0) and lay one card down. That's it."
Gaia looked at his cards for quite some time, before finally laying a monster in defense mode.
"I'm surprised you didn't attempt an attack," Amy stated. "But whatever pleases you. On my standby phase, my White Magician Pikeru's effect activates. I gain 400 Life Points for each monster on my side of the field."
Amy: 8400
Gaia Axe: 8000
"Then I summon Big Bangirl. (1300/1500) I switch White Magician Pikeru to defense mode and end my turn."
This time, the wait wasn't quite as long. Gaia flipped over his monster. Amy's eyes widened as she saw what it was.
"A Haunting Blood Soul? (1200/800) I thought he would be using brute force… it looks like my view on his deck was completely wrong."
Then the Haunting Blood Soul lunged at the Pikeru, enveloping her in flames as it vanished. She resisted for a few seconds, but soon gave in and went to Gaia's field.
"What did he do?" Kisara inquired.
"That's Haunting Blood Soul's effect. By sacrificing it, he can take control of one of my monsters that is level three or less," Amy explained. "Again though, I'm surprised. I didn't know he'd be smart enough to be able to use that effectively."
Sakura cast a suspicious glance at Vasago. "He isn't. It must be Vasago's doing-he's probably telling Gaia what strategies to use."
"But he hasn't spoken at all," Amy pointed out.
"True, but remember that some Soul Monsters don't talk out loud," Sakura replied. "I wouldn't be surprised if his speech was telepathic or something of the like."
Correct.
Amy blinked, startled at the sudden thought. Then she realized who it must be.
Since Gaia will take up so much time otherwise, I will explain what is necessary. Although it may seem ironic, Gaia's deck is actually one of the most complex ones among the Mavericks.
"Go figure," Amy muttered.
Then the Pikeru vanished, being replaced with a much more intimidating, four-armed creature.
"I've never seen this monster before," Amy said.
It is Baffomet. (1400/1800) Its effect allows Gaia to search his deck for a Phantom Beast King Gazelle and add it to his hand.
"Is that all he does? That doesn't seem very beneficial when you consider his weak stats and the fact that he requires a sacrifice to be summoned," Amy stated.
Alone it is not very useful. But now that Gaia has both Baffomet and Gazelle, they can be brought together with this card.
Gaia slid in the magic card, and as the Baffomet's form began to twist, becoming combined with the Gazelle from his hand, Amy could guess what it was.
"Fusion?"
To form Winged Phantom Beast Chimera.(2100/1800) But that is not all.
Gaia discarded three more cards, all he had in his hand, into the Cemetery. A new creature formed in front of them.
"Another fusion monster? You had the necessary cards for it?" Amy exclaimed.
Actually, he did not have another Fusion. But that is where my Deck Master ability comes into play. By discarding a card from his hand, such as that Grand Dragon, two monsters can be fused together as though a Fusion had been used.
"Then why did Gaia put Fusions into his deck in the first place?" Sakura asked.
Gaia's deck was built by Juno, who did not know what my Deck Master ability would be. So he thought the Fusions would be necessary. As for the monster that now faces you, it was brought forth by Warrior: Dai Greyfar and Spirit Dragon. It is called Dragon Warrior. (2000/1200)
Gaia indicated to the Big Bangirl, and the Chimera rushed at it. This brought Amy's senses back to her.
"I activate Destruction Ring on your Chimera! This destroys it, and makes us both lose Life Points equal to the amount of its attack!"
The ring of grenades formed around the Chimera. But before it could explode, the Dragon Warrior brought up his sword and sliced right through the ring. It faded away harmlessly.
Dragon Warrior's effect is that it can negate any normal trap card by paying 1000 Life Points. So your Destruction Ring was useless.
Amy: 8400
Gaia Axe: 7000
After the Chimera tackled the Big Bangirl, running right over her and trampling her into the ground, the Dragon Warrior struck out at Amy, who had nothing left to block it.
Amy: 5600
Gaia Axe: 7000
"You alright?" Sakura asked as Amy got up.
"I've had worse," Amy shrugged as she drew. "The situation really isn't good with that Dragon Warrior though, seeing as we depend on traps quite a bit…"
"And your deck doesn't seem to have many high attackers," Kazel stated.
"I have none whatsoever," Amy confirmed. "But I can still defend myself. I play Level B Restriction Map! This permanent magic card makes all face up level four or higher monsters go into defense mode. Then I lay one monster in defense mode and end my turn."
Gaia looked at his new card, but did nothing.
"Passing? Fine by me. I lay another monster down and end my turn."
This time, Gaia played the card he had drawn. A fierce gale appeared suddenly, causing the Level B Restriction Map be torn apart.
"Cyclone…" Amy growled.
After switching both of his monsters to attack mode, the Chimera sprung at one of her defense monsters.
"Another White Magician Pikeru…"
Then the Dragon Warrior attacked the second monster.
"That was my Quick Squirrel. (1000/100) When destroyed in battle, I get 1000 Life Points and can special summon up to two more from my deck in face down defense mode."
Amy: 6600
Gaia Axe: 7000
"Since you seem to be done, I'll take my turn now. I lay one card facedown, that's all."
Gaia started his turn with a magic card, one that Amy once more recognized.
"Jar of Greed…" Sakura stated.
Then he played another one, which caused the Haunting Blood Soul to emerge from the ground.
"Early Burial," Amy assumed. "You get your monster back in attack mode, even though it costs 800 Life Points."
Amy: 6600
Gaia Axe: 6200
After it appeared, he discarded a card from his hand. The Haunting Blood Soul began to morph, and finally emerged as yet another terrifying monster.
My effect was used once again by discarding a Fusion Weapon. Fused by Haunting Blood Soul and Border Wiseman, this is Demon: Dark Baltar. (2000/1200)
The Chimera lunged for a defense monster, but was stopped by a barrier that appeared.
"This is my Drain Shield," Amy announced. "It negates your attack and I gain Life Points equal to your monster's attack power."
The Dragon Warrior cut down the barrier as it began to form though, and the Chimera continued, unhindered.
Amy: 6600
Gaia Axe: 5200
"She must have known it would be stopped," Kazel commented. "So why did she do it? Is she trying to make him run out of Life Points by his monster's effect? I don't think she will have enough trap cards to pull that off…"
"We will see," Kisara replied.
The Quick Squirrel was quickly slaughtered by the Chimera. The Demon: Dark Baltar claimed the second one. Then the Dragon Warrior slashed Amy once more.
Amy: 6600
Gaia Axe: 5200
"I think now would be a good time to use this," Amy said, eyeing a card in her hand. "I activate Change of Heart! This allows me to take control of one of your monsters, so I choose Demon: Dark Baltar."
But as the card appeared, it suddenly shattered.
Baltar has an effect similar to Dragon Warrior's. By paying 1000 Life Points, your normal magic cards are negated and destroyed.
Amy: 6600
Gaia: 4200
"Then I'll never be able to win!" Amy exclaimed. "I don't have enough cards at the moment to make him run out of Life Points and I can't hope to win when it comes to monsters alone!"
Sakura looked at Amy's hand. "Yeah, it looks pretty bad… hey, wait." She glanced at Vasago, and then began to whisper to her companion. "Didn't he say normal traps? And normal magics? Then do you think…?"
"Yeah, you're right!" Amy turned back to the playing field. "I lay one card face down and one monster as well. That's it."
Gaia placed a monster face down, and then the Chimera went forward.
"You've destroyed my UFO Turtle," Amy announced. (1400/1200) "Since it was destroyed in battle, I can special summon a Fire Main-Type with 1500 attack or less, so I get another Big Bangirl."
As the Dragon Warrior went at her, it was suddenly halted as Amy flipped over her face down card.
"I activate Gravity Bind, which means that no monster that is level four or above can attack. And your Dragon Warrior can't stop it, now can he?"
"What? Why wouldn't he be able to?" Kazel inquired.
"He can only stop normal traps, while Gravity Bind is a permanent trap," Amy explained.
True. You have found the flaw in this strategy.
"Then it should be my turn," Amy said. "I lay one monster in defense mode and one card face down. I also switch Big Bangirl to defense mode."
Gaia began by flipping over his face down monster.
Material Supplier.(1300/800) Its reverse effect allows Gaia to choose two monsters in his Cemetery that were put there due to fusing and add them to his hand.
Then he summoned one that Amy did not recognize. Seeing her confusion, Vasago explained.
Border Wiseman.(1600/800) Quite a decent amount of attack power for a level three monster, wouldn't you say?
"He's level three?" Amy yelped.
The statement was confirmed when the Wiseman obliterated her Big Bangirl.
Seeing that Gaia was done, she nervously drew. "I need something good, or that Wiseman alone will kill us… oh, good! This will be perfect! I play Theft, to take control of your Chimera!"
"Baltar cannot negate that, can he?" Kisara asked.
"Nope. Normal magic cards and equip magic cards are two different things. So now, your Chimera is mine. But that's not even the best part. Normally, you would gain 1000 Life Points during each of your standby phases. But that's why I have this permanent trap, Drug Reaction! Now instead of normally gaining Life Points, you will lose them! Now the question is, can you find a way to stop it in five turns? Actually, you probably won't even have that long, seeing as I have many cards that can take your Life Points down even more. I end my turn."
Despite her words, Amy was still nervous. She knew that if Gaia had any kind of magic or trap removal, namely Tempest, then she was doomed.
Amy: 6600
Gaia Axe: 3200
Luckily for her, Gaia Axe did not seem to have anything that could help him. He did nothing, and Amy assumed he was passing.
"I first play Rich Goblin. I draw one card and you gain 1000 Life Points… or, in this case, lose 1000 Life Points, due to Drug Reaction."
Vasago glanced at Gaia Axe, but he did nothing to stop it.
Amy: 6600
Gaia Axe: 2200
Thank everything he's an idiot, or else he would have negated it, Amy thought before speaking. "Alright! If I can just draw what I need to next turn, then I've won… I lay one card down and end my turn."
Amy: 6600
Gaia Axe: 1200
Again, Gaia passed. Amy's breathing became a bit easier, but she was still tense, praying she would draw the card she needed to end the duel.
"…Yes! I lay one monster in defense mode and end my turn!"
Amy: 6600
Gaia Axe: 200
Gaia finally made a move. He played a magic card, causing another windstorm to come up. But this was not Cyclone; Amy recognized it to be Tempest.
"Nice try," Amy smirked. "But not good enough. I chain your Tempest with my trap card, Cease Fire Treaty! This trap card flips over all face down monsters on the field, including my Burning Weeds. (500/1500) More importantly though, it does 500 damage to you for each effect monster on the field! And you can't stop it with Dragon Warrior since you don't have enough Life Points. So… can you say overkill much?"
Amy: 6600
Gaia Axe: 0
Gaia watched as the monsters faded away, blinking stupidly at his Life Point counter. Then he suddenly lunged at Amy, axe coming down at her.
Shocked at the sudden attack, she froze. But Sakura reacted instantly, and crashed into her, sending them both flying out of the way. His axe hit the ground heavily, causing the ground to shake once more. Kisara grabbed onto Kazel's leg to keep herself upright, but Amy and Sakura, shaken by their sudden fall, could not even try to rise. Gaia brought up his axe as Vasago rushed towards Amy and Sakura. Much faster than Gaia was, it seemed he would not have any problems killing the stunned pair.
Intent on his target, Vasago ignored the other two in the room. But as he heard something coming towards him, he looked up.
He only had time to see the fireball for one second before it engulfed him, the explosion killing him instantly.
Kazel gave a mental sigh of relief that her guess had been correct; even though he looked intimidating, he was pathetic when it came to physical fights. But Gaia would certainly not fall as easily. She knew she had to try though, and spat another fireball at him.
Gaia crashed right through it, unfazed by his Soul Monster's death nor the extreme heat as his axe came up. Amy and Sakura looked up, and watched helplessly as the weapon began to come down.
But before they could blink, something appeared behind Gaia, grabbing him. The normally invincible golden armor, which would have easily held up to anything, was already weakened by several fire blasts; it was not at all difficult for the monster to tear him apart.
Amy stared in horror, paralyzed as blood came flying from Gaia as he was torn apart. Sakura quickly covered her with her own body though, determined to protect her from the new foe.
But as the mangled corpse of Gaia was flung away, the seven foot monster made no threatening moves. Kazel crouched down, ready to spring if necessary, but knowing that she wouldn't be able to stand up to it.
"Alright, enough Masque!"
Masque vanished, leaving a new person there. Amy looked up hesitatingly, and stood up as she saw who it was.
"Matt?"
To be continued…