"You failed!" snapped Noah. The Big 5 cowered. He had summoned them all
into a completely empty area of the virtual world. There was nothing but
blackness here, save the light the seemed to spotlight the six figures.
"Please Noah!" begged Johnson. "Give us another chance."
"You have thoroughly humiliated me by losing to those punks!" Noah yelled, causing them all to shudder.
"But Noah!" stammered Gamesly. "We haven't dueled them all yet! Give us another chance! Please!"
"We will win this time!" added Crum. "The odds are in our favor! The remaining duelists are the weakest!"
"Why should I?" asked Noah.
"Because nothing has been done about Seto Kaiba," said Lector. "And we all want revenge against him!"
"We have too much at stake to lose!" added Nesbit. "We will not underestimate them again!"
"We won't let them win because they have humiliated us as well," said Johnson. "Please sir, give us another chance to prove ourselves!"
"Very well!" snapped Noah. "And I expect better results! This lot looks like they can hardly duel their way out of a paper bag with scissors!"
"We will crush them!" exclaimed Lector.
"I'm expecting it!" said Noah.
"Thank you!" the Big 5 exclaimed, then vanished.
However, Noah stopped two of them. "Johnson! Crum!"
"What is it sir?" they asked.
"I want you two to take on the next target," said Noah.
"We will not fail," said Johnson. "Who is the defendant?"
Noah brought up a screen, one of many that he had been using to spy on the duelists. It stopped randomly showing scenes and focused on one person. "Her. I want you to defeat this duelist."
"Are you sure you really need both of us?" asked Johnson.
"Yes, I will not tolerate any more losses from you five," replied Noah, shortly. "She thinks she can avoid my rules by sitting there, well, I'm going to show her. Now go!"
"Right!" they said and disappeared.
Noah looked at the screen and grinned. "You are going to play a key roll in my plans, whether you want to or not!"
**************************************************************************** **
Shayla still had not moved from her place in the meadow. Everything seemed peaceful enough there, but she refused to relax. She kept reminding herself that this was all an illusion, and that there were six people out there who wanted to cause them trouble. However, being still like that gives one a lot of time to think, and she was beginning to wonder where her plan would lead.
"What is going to happen if I stay here any longer?" she asked herself. "I have a feeling that someone is bound to show up...But if they don't, then what? Then again, do I have any better options? Roaming a strange virtual video game is hardly a smart move, especially considering what can be out there...But it's not like any of this is real in the first place. These situations keep getting more and more bizarre. I do know one thing though, I am not going to let Noah toy with me. I am not going to play his game, even though I have no idea why he even wants to bother us in the first place."
"She seems so exciting, doesn't she," said a voice from behind her. "This duel should be easy." Shayla tensed. These weren't the ones she wanted to show up.
"Of course," answered a second person. "I've calculated every possible aspect of our duel, and there is no way we can lose." This speaker put a hand, or more appropriately wing, on her shoulder. Shayla screamed, jumped and wheeled around to face them, nerves on end. Johnson and Crum laughed.
They had already taken on the forms of Duel Monsters. The first speaker was a humanoid monster with short, stiff white hair. He wore a long violet cape and matching armor with golden trim. Despite this he looked like a barbarian that had been put into elegant armor. The creature next to him was much short; a blue-violet penguin complete in tux and top hat.
"What do you want with me?!" she demanded.
"Your body of course," answered Crum. Shayla shuddered.
"Buzz off!" she snapped. "I'm not dueling you!"
"You have no choice," replied Johnson. "You have been subpoenaed as a witness in this trial. And besides, it is a very poor defense when the defendant refuses to take the stand."
"Oh great...a lawyer," groaned Shayla.
"The name is Johnson, former head legal advisor for Kaiba Corp.," said Johnson.
"And I'm Crum, former chief accountant for Kaiba Corp.," added Crum.
"And I am not dueling you," retorted Shayla.
"I think you will," said Johnson. "We can be very convincing."
"Let's see..." said Crum, papers materializing in his wing-like hands. "No registered name, except under the Battle City tournament, were you registered as Shayla, no last name. Height 5' 9", shoe size 9..."
"What kind of freak are you?!" interrupted Shayla, who was getting more unnerved by the second. She was beginning to wish she had found some of the others instead of facing these two alone.
"I'm not a freak, I'm a penguin!" protested Crum, indignant.
"Penguin?" asked Shayla with a twitch. "You did not just say penguin."
"Yes I did! Is there a problem with that!?" demanded Crum.
Shayla didn't answer him. She just put a hand to her face and shook her head. "This cannot be happening."
"Enough with the formalities," said Johnson. "This court is now in session!"
"Are you deaf? I'm not dueling!" replied Shayla.
"If you don't duel, you forfeit your body," replied Johnson.
"What?! You can't do that!" protested Shayla. "You can't bully me into dueling you!!!"
"If the defendant does not wish to plead her case, then the prosecution will rest so the verdict can be delivered," said Johnson with a sly smile.
"Pity there's only one body for us to take," said Crum. "Penguins first!"
"Stay away from me!" Shayla shrieked.
"That's no way to treat a lady," a new voice said.
"Who are you?" asked Johnson to the newcomer. "And how did you get here? Noah said we were not going to be disturbed!"
Shayla recognized the voice, although she was completely stunned that she did. "Rudy?!"
"Yup," answered the dark-haired boy. He wore a white tank top and baggy jean shorts. He seemed completely calm, unlike Shayla, who was as far on edge as she could get. (AN/ Rudy belongs to Master of Dimensions, not me.)
"How did you get here?!" demanded Johnson and Crum.
"How else?" asked Rudy. "I hacked my way in."
"You hacked your way in here?" repeated Shayla. "Why do you want to be here?!"
"To help you," he answered. Shayla went quiet, not having an answer for that.
"I may have a stalker," she thought. "Either that or a superhero or guardian angel, since he always shows up when I'm in trouble...and I thought this day couldn't get any weirder."
**************************************************************************** **
Noah was very busy at his command central, frantically pressing the buttons that control his virtual world. But he wasn't having much luck. "How can this be?! How is it possible for someone to override me within my own world?!" He continued to try to break through the hacking, but he had been locked out of the whole area.
**************************************************************************** **
"We are a little busy here!" Crum snapped at Rudy. "We have a duel to win!"
"Two on one hardly seems fair to me," replied Rudy, a duel disk forming on his arm. "So I'm going to make it two on two."
"But..." stammered Shayla.
"On what grounds should we let you duel?" asked Johnson.
"Because I will agree to your stakes," said Rudy. "You win, you get my body too. But you won't win."
"Are you crazy?!" yelled Shayla.
"Don't worry," replied Rudy. "You should be more confident in your own skills as well." Shayla once again stammered as his words rang true.
Crum and Johnson exchanged looks. "Deal."
"I don't care how you got here, but you will be playing by our rules," said Johnson.
"Fair enough," agreed Rudy. Then he smiled, "But I expect you to play by your own rules too." Johnson glared at him. Rudy once again smiled. "I know how you like to play. But you won't be able to cheat Shayla."
"You'd try to cheat me!?" exclaimed Shayla.
"You know he'd never get away with it," answered Rudy. Shayla was beginning to wonder how much he really knew, especially about the Millennial Items and her scales.
"Let's begin this already!" exclaimed Crum. "Your decks are void here, so you have to select new decks for our card database." Rows of cards formed in front of Shayla and Rudy. Rudy calmly began to select his cards.
"How do you expect me to do that?" asked Shayla, tersely.
"Well...um," stammered Johnson. They hadn't expected there to be problems.
"If you don't mind, I'll chose her deck for her," volunteered Rudy.
"Go right on ahead," said Crum with a smirk. He and Johnson both knew that it would be easier for them to win if one of their opponent's didn't even know what cards were in her deck. A second card database appeared next to the first one that was in front of Rudy.
"Um...Rudy..." stammered Shayla.
"Trust me," answered Rudy as he finished selecting both their decks. Shayla felt the duel disk on her arm grow heavier as her new deck teleported in place.
"Before we begin, you two must select your Deckmasters," said Johnson. "Since we have taken the form of Duel Monsters, we will be acting as our own Deckmasters."
"Judgeman and Nightmare Penguin, we can handle them," said Rudy. Shayla merely nodded, she seemed the most nervous about this duel.
They both picked up their decks off of their duel disks and began to filter through them. Much to her own relief, her cards had Braille printed on them, so she could read them. Another thing that helped her relax was finding all her familiar monsters and magic cards in her deck. Rudy had almost recreated it perfectly, though there were some modifications. That puzzled her, because she wasn't as famous as Yu-Gi, Drake, or Kaiba, where her deck was all over the Internet. It seemed strange that someone would know her deck as well as herself.
"My Cosmo Queen will be my Deckmaster," said Rudy, bring Shayla back to the task at hand. He held up his card and his Deckmaster appeared to the right just behind him. She wore an elegant dark violet robe with golden trim. Her skin with pale blue, and her hat was nearly three times as large as her head. One could tell by looking at her that she was powerful. It wasn't that she was muscular, but her very presences vibrated with power.
"I know any of my monsters would serve me well," thought Shayla. "But it is hard to know was special abilities they will gain under these new rules. ... Well, no one can go wrong with her favorite..."
"I chose my Mystical Sand!" announced Shayla. Her favorite monster appeared behind her. The Mystical Sand had hair like seaweed and wore a simple scarlet witch's robe with matching pointed hat. She sat on a broom which hovered off of the ground, right behind Shayla. She glared at the two opponents.
"Those are your Deckmasters?" asked Johnson, with contempt.
"They're the best ones here," replied Rudy, calmly.
"Grrr! Enough talk!" snapped Crum. "Let's begin this!"
"Fine with me," answered Rudy. "Ladies' first."
"M-m-me?" stammered Shayla.
"You'll be fine," said Rudy.
Shayla nodded and drew her first card, starting the duel. She was still having her doubts, but there was nothing she could do with them. She examined her cards for a moment, considering her best option. She was not at all happy with the fact that she didn't know what the Deckmasters would do, so she decided to make a cautious opening first move.
"I will play my Goddess with the 3rd Eye in defense mode," announced Shayla. Her monster wore a light green robe with bronze trim. She also had a small hat the same color of her trim. But what stood out the most about her was her namesake: a third eye on the middle of her forehead. Her stats were 1200 and 1000.
"Penguins next!" exclaimed Crum, cutting off Johnson's comment. "I'll play my Flying Penguin in attack mode!" His first monster appeared. It looked like a normal penguin, if not slightly larger. There was one slight difference, and that was the two enormous eyebrows it had that functioned like wings. Its attack was 1200.
"Since my Flying Penguin is a water type," said Crum, "I will use my Deckmaster's special ability."
"Already?!" gasped Rudy.
Crum smirked, "All water type monsters gain 200 attack points from me!" That meant that the Flying Penguin now had an attack of 1400. "But since we're playing tag team, I can't attack until everyone has had a turn."
"My turn then," said Rudy, glaring at the penguins. He drew a card, the slid it into the magic slots on his duel disk. "I play this magic card, then I summon Neo the Magic Swordsman to the field!" Neo was a blond warrior with silver armor that had intricate designs engrained in it. His gloves were dark red, and occasionally his fingers sparked with magic power. A sword rested in one hand, ready to use at a moment's notice. His attack was 1700 and his defense was 1000.
"Now for my argument," said Johnson. He sounded a bit bitter about being last. He looked at his cards and frowned. "I will play one monster card face down in defense mode, then one magic card. That ends my turn."
Shayla sighed and was about to start her next turn when Crum spoke up. "It's too warm here! Let's make this place a little more penguin friendly!" Frost began to creep across the ground, freezing everything. It began to cumulate, quickly turning the meadow into the artic.
"What are you thinking?!" demanded Johnson. "This frozen wasteland is hardly the proper place for a trial to take place!" As he finished speaking, the ice vanished and walls began to form, creating a courtroom; complete with judge's stand, jury box, and benches.
"We penguins don't like it inside!" snapped Crum as the land began to freeze again.
"You are out of line!" yelled Johnson. "One more outburst and I will have you thrown out of my court!" Rudy crossed his arms and watched their banter with a smug smile. It was clear that they were amusing him. Shayla on the other hand looked like she was getting a headache.
"Artic!"
"Court!"
"Artic!"
"Court!"
The land kept changing half way as they each yelled. They were glaring each other down venomously.
Shayla sighed and placed a card in one of her magic slots. "Forest!" The land stopped being torn between the artic and a courtroom. Instead, tress grew high and thick and lush. A few animal calls could be heard. Gentle sunlight filtered though the leaves. The two members of the Big 5 stopped arguing and looked around surprised.
"What did you do?!" snapped Crum.
"I started my turn and played the magic card Forest," replied Shayla. "That makes this field a forest and ends you two's stupid argument! It also powers up forest creatures, like my Nekogal!" As she said that she placed another card on her duel disk. Her newest monster appeared next to her goddess in attack mode. She had orange hair that was half hidden under a point forest green hat. The main part of her outfit was also forest green, but her boots and gloves were orange. She had two pointy cat ears, sharp claws, and tiny gossamer wings which were practically unnoticeable. This was Nekogal #1, and her stats were 1100 and 900, but thanks to Forest they were 1600 and 1400.
"This is not the place for penguins," muttered Crum.
"My turn isn't over yet," said Shayla. "It's been one full round, so I can attack now! Nekogal, attack the Flying Penguin, Pussy Cat Scratch!" The Nekogal darted forward with cat-like speed and slashed at the Flying Penguin so fast her claws couldn't be seen. The Flying Penguin squawked and disappeared, leaving only a few black feathers. This brought Crum down to 3800 life points.
"I play one magic card, and that will end my turn," said Shayla as he Nekogal returned to her place.
"I knew you'd do fine," said Rudy. "You just need to be more confident in yourself." He could see that she was still a little tense.
"Consider your luck over!" snapped Crum. "The odds are in our favor for this duel! And that means both of your bodies will be ours and we will escape to the real world at last!"
"Yeah, right," retorted Rudy.
"This game is all about numbers, so watch closely!" continued Crum. "I now summon my Giant Red Sea Snake!" His monster was the largest one yet this duel. Like the name says, it was long and red, with thin green rings. Its attack was 1800. "And it is a water type too, so it gains 200 attack points from my Deckmaster's special ability!" This brought the snake up to 2000.
"Now wise guy," said Crum, "say good-bye to your swordsman! Sea snake, attack! Crush him!"
The snake shot forward and wrapped Neo in its coils. It kept squeezing until Neo broke into digital pieces. This brought Rudy down to 3700 life points.
"My turn is far from done," continued Crum. "Then I will activate Penguin Torpedo!" A small creature appeared in front of him. It was penguin shaped, pale blue, but a torpedo nonetheless. "This lets me attack one of you directly for 550 damage! But that becomes 750 thanks to my special ability! Now Penguin Torpedo, attack the blind girl!"
The Penguin Torpedo shot forward, aiming at Shayla. It went through the gap between her monsters and exploded in front of her, taking her down to 3250. Shayla, however, slid to the ground with a hand across her chest.
"That...hurt!" she gasped. She was completely stunned. This whole world was an illusion, how could it hurt?
Johnson and Crum laughed. "You're playing in our world. You've never dueled like this before," laughed Johnson.
"Shayla? Are you okay?" asked Rudy.
"It's...not...supposed...to hurt," she gasped. One of her hopes had been reminding herself that this was all a trick. She hadn't been prepared for this.
"I told you the odds were in our favor," said Crum. "The girl has never dealt with duels this real before. She can't handle this!" He half squawked, half laughed.
"Don't worry, the duel is only beginning. You can win," said a female voice quietly. Shayla had no idea who said it, but the speaker was right.
Shayla struggled to her feet. She wasn't ready to give up yet, even though she was still a bit wary, "Clearly you have never dueled in the Shadow Realm."
"The defendant is speaking nonsense!" exclaimed Johnson.
"Oh, save it!" snapped Rudy. "No one here cares for your legal jargon anyways! Now..." He reached to draw his next card.
"Wait, my turn's not done!" exclaimed Crum. "I play one magic card, now my turn is done."
"Fine. I play my Beast King of the Swamps in defense mode," announced Rudy. His monster appeared on his empty side of the field. It was a muddy green monster that seemed to ooze. It actually seemed like an extension of the swamp itself. Its stats were 1000 and 1200. "That's all for me."
"Then I summon Curtain of the Dark Ones in defense mode!" said Johnson as his turn started. His monster appeared next to his face down one. The Curtain of the Dark Ones was a black cape with skeleton hands and arms coming out from under it. "Then I will activate my magic card, Polymerization...."
"No you won't!" exclaimed Shayla. "Because I activate Magic Jammer! If I discard one card from my hand, I can stop the effect of your magic card!"
"Not so fast!" countered Crum. "I activate Cold Wave, which freezes you from using any magic or trap cards until your next turn!"
"That makes your Magic Jammer void," said Johnson. "And I can still use Polymerization, fusing my two monsters together to create Kamion Wizard!" A dark warrior bearing a scythe appeared. Its armor was black, but its cape was blood red. Its face was hidden behind a black mask. Its attack was 1300.
"Next, I play Sinister Justice," continued Johnson. "By paying 800 life points, my fusion monster will be able to attack this turn." This brought him down to 3200 life points. "Then, I will activate Leading Question, which will give 800 points to any fusion monster. Now, Kamion Wizard, attack the Goddess with the Third Eye!" The Kamion Wizard jumped into the air, scythe raised. It cut the Goddess with the Third Eye from top to bottom and she disappeared into fragments. Lucky for Shayla, her monster was in defense mode so she felt nothing from the attack.
"I will play one magic card and rest my case now," said Johnson. He smirked as he slid the card into an open slot.
"You must destroy that card," said the female voice from behind Shayla again.
"Who are you?" whispered Shayla, half wondering if she was hearing voices.
"You know me," the speaker replied, placing a hand on Shayla's shoulder.
Shayla looked surprised as the truth dawned on her. "M-Mystical Sand?" Her Deckmaster squeezed her shoulder in affirmation. "You talk now?!" Another positive squeeze.
"You must destroy that card," said the Mystical Sand.
"How can I do that?" asked Shayla, knowing the cards in her hand wouldn't help.
"My special ability," said the Duel Monster. "I can create a sandstorm that will destroy any one random card on the field."
"If it's random how will we get the card we need?" asked Shayla. "We might even take out our own card!"
"Trust me," said the Mystical Sand. "I have not failed you before and I will not now."
Shayla nodded. "I will now activate my Deckmaster's special ability, Sandstorm!" The Mystical Sand smiled and held out her arms. Sand began to whip through the forest, eliminating it. The duelists all shielded themselves as the vicious winds tore at them and their cards. Even the Duel Monsters seemed to cringe. The card in front of Johnson broke lose and disappeared into the wind.
"That was cruel!" squawked Crum. "Us penguins hate sand! We love snow!"
"Impressive," coughed Rudy, who was also spitting sand.
Johnson was glaring daggers at her for destroying a key part of his strategy. Shayla didn't notice though.
"It worked," said the Mystical Sand. "Thanks for believing in me mistress."
Shayla nodded slightly and drew her next card, sand falling from her curls. "I play one monster face down in defense mode," she declared as she placed her Dancing Fairy on her duel disk. "Then I move my Nekogal to defense mode. I will also set one magic card and end my turn." Shayla knew she didn't have any monster strong enough to take out the Giant Red Sea Snake, and she wasn't about to go through more pain.
"She's hiding!" laughed Crum. "We will win this and escape this nightmare!"
"You won't go anywhere penguin!" said Rudy, although he practically spat the last word out.
"Watch me!" exclaimed Crum. "I will have my snake attack your girl's face down monster!" With that his monster crushed the life out her face down fairies. "Then, activate Ocean of Regeneration! This will let me bring back my Penguin Torpedo from the graveyard!"
"Oh no," groaned Shayla, who was still sore from the last explosion.
"So you haven't forgotten it?" said Crum smugly. "Well, here it goes again, attack Penguin Torpedo!" The torpedo shot forward and exploded point blank and Shayla. She cried out, but managed to stay standing this time, even though it was clear she was in pain. Her life points dropped to 2500.
"Leave her alone, okay!" exclaimed Rudy. He glared at the Big 5. "I play Tainted Wisdom!" His newest monster was a brown brain with weird growths on it. "Then, using my Beast King of the Swamp's special ability, I will fuse them together with Polymerization and create Skull Knight!" His fusion monster was a knight with armor made of bones, carved to look like a skull. Even its shield was a skull. Other than that, it was as black as night. Skull Knight's stats are 2650 and 2250. "Then, I'll activate my Quick Attack magic card, allowing Skull Knight to attack this turn!" He smirked at Johnson. "Thanks to your Leading Question, Skull Knight gains 800 attack points too! Say good-bye to your Kamion Wizard, its dust! Attack Skull Knight with Blades of Bone!" The Skull Knight charged forward and sword met scythe. The scythe gave in and the Kamion Wizard broke into bits. This made Johnson's life points 1850.
"My turn!" exclaimed Johnson. "And you will regret that, because now I activate my Deckmaster's special ability, Clear the Courtroom!"
"Clear the Courtroom?" repeated Shayla.
"Yes," said Johnson. "By paying 1000 life points, I can wipe the field you're your pathetic monsters, leaving you defendants wide open!" In a bright flash of light Shayla's Nekogal and Rudy's Skull Knight were gone. Johnson was down to a slim 850 life points.
"This is not good," muttered Shayla.
"Soon, this trial will be over and your bodies will be ours!" exclaimed Johnson. "Then I will call Hysteric Angel to the stand!" Shayla looked unhappy, because this was a monster she considered to be one of hers. Hysteric Angel wore a navy schoolgirl's uniform and had a book cradled under her arm. She wore a pair of thick glasses and had a pair of dove wings. Her stats were 1800 and 500.
"Now, Hysterical Angel, attack Rudy, Frantic Beam!" ordered Johnson. The Hysteric Angel put her hands together and aimed a powerful blue beam at Rudy. It hit him directly in the chest and he gasped in pain.
"Rudy!" called Shayla.
"I'm fine," he replied with a slight groan.
"Don't worry," said Shayla. "It's my turn now."
"I'm glad to see you're more confident," said Rudy.
"I'm still nervous," admitted Shayla.
"You should realize by now that the verdict has already been decided upon," said Johnson. "Your bodies are ours!"
"Not yet!" said Shayla. "It's my turn, and I play Amazon Archer in attack mode!" Shayla's newest monster formed in a flash of light. She was on the small side, but still vicious. Her pale blonde hair was cropped short. She wore a brown outfit that showed a lot of skin, as well as a black jacket with red trim. A long bow was clutched tightly in her hands. Her attack was 1400 and her defense was 1000.
"I place one magic card, then I'll have her attack your Giant Red Sea Snake! Go Amazon Archer, Lethal Bow!" ordered Shayla.
Crum laughed, "Your monster doesn't stand a chance!"
"Watch as I activate Kunai with Chain!" declared Shayla. "That weakens your monster, will increasing the strength of my own!" Her Amazon Archer now had an attack of 1900. She fired an arrow at the sea snake. It writhed in pain and disappeared. Crum dropped to 3400 life points.
"Now I set one magic card and end my turn," said Shayla, finding an open slot with her fingers.
"For my next turn," said Crum as he drew a card, "I play my Penguin Soldier in defense mode!" His new penguin was small and violet in color, with red shoulder pad and a stubby sword. Its stats were 750 and 500. "Then I'll place two magic cards."
"That puny thing won't help!" growled Johnson.
"Never underestimate a penguin," said Crum. "I said this was a game of numbers. Well, one might be defeated easily, but not an army! I activate Shrink and Multiply! Shrink cuts Penguin Soldier's attack so Multiply can work. Now, stop a whole army of penguins!" He again squawk/laughed.
"Since your monsters are in defense mode, it's my turn now," said Rudy. He drew a card, but it wasn't the one he was hoping for. "I play Reinforcements of the Army, which lets me select one level four monster or less from my deck and put it in my hand." He quickly flipped though his deck and selected a monster. "Then I will summon it. Reveal Earthbound Spirit!" His monster looked like a human skeleton that had been covered with mud and was being swallowed by the ground. Its defense was 2000.
"It's my turn to take the stand," said Johnson. "I will play one monster face down, then activate Hysteric Angel's special ability. I will tribute both my monsters and raise my own life points by 1000!" This brought him up to 1850. "Then, I will use another Polymerization to fuse two monsters in my hand and create Dragoness the Wicked Knight!" His fusion monster wore a strange green and yellow armor and wielded two swords with curvy blades. A similar horned helmet hid much of its face. Its attack was 1200. But thanks to Leading Question still being in play, Dragoness could have 2000 attack points easily.
"I cannot attack with my monster this turn, so I will set one magic card and step off of the stand," said Johnson.
Shayla drew her next card without a word. It was Soul of Purity and Light. It was a very special card, but she could only summon it if she removed two Light monsters from her graveyard. And currently, she only had one. She put it in her hand and considered her other options.
"I will tribute my Amazon Archer and summon my Empress Judge!" announced Shayla as she moved her monster cards into position. Her Empress Judge wore an elegant pale robe with golden trim and a red sash that matched her fiery hair. A golden tiara encircled her forehead. Her face had elegant violet markings on it. Her attack was 2100 and her defense 1700. She stood to her full height and glad at the Judgeman.
"Since when has the servant of justice sunk to dealing with traitors?!" demanded the Empress Judge, eyeing daggers at Johnson.
"I...um..." stammered Johnson, then his mood changed to anger. "How is this possible?! The program is not supposed to allow any monsters to talk outside the Deckmasters!" The Empress Judge continued to give him looks so dirty he shifted uncomfortably. "You, hacker! What did you do?!"
"I did nothing," replied Rudy, calmly. "You brought this upon yourself."
"Empress Judge," called Shayla, a bit hesitantly. Her monster nodded a hair. "Attack the wicked knight with Rough Justice!" The Empress Judge smiled, pointed a finger at Dragoness, and blew it to dust. Johnson felt the heat from the attack and jerked backwards. His life points were now at 1750. Rudy was barely better at 1900. Shayla was at 2500, and Crum had almost all of his still at 3400, because he was hiding behind his defenses and letting Johnson do most of the direct fighting.
"We have to do something to take out all those penguins," thought Shayla. As if reading her thoughts, the Mystical Sand put a hand on her shoulder. Shayla nodded. "I will use my Deckmaster's special ability again."
The Mystical Sand smiled and raised her arms, once again creating a violent sandstorm. Everyone braced themselves. A magic card in front of Johnson twitched, then was lost to the winds. Then the storm slowly came to a halt.
"I'm sorry," whispered the Mystical Sand.
"No, I'm sure you've helped us, even if it wasn't in the way we planned," said Shayla. Louder, she said, "I play one magic card and end my turn."
"Finally you're done stalling!" exclaimed Crum. "But you will not change the odds! We will win!"
"You talk way too much," retorted Rudy.
"Try this!" snapped Crum. He turned to Shayla. "I activate Driving Snow, which will blow away your magic card!" Shayla ducked as a freezing gust of wind blew her magic card away. The ground was now spotted with piles of sand and snow. For the first time this duel, Crum looked comfortable with the atmosphere.
"Now, I play one magic card face down. Then, I will activate my second Penguin Torpedo!" exclaimed Crum, eagerly. "You won't last much longer!" He placed the card on his duel disk and once again blasted Shayla. She cried out and slipped to the ground, breathing hard. Her life points fell to 1750.
"I won't give up," she told herself. "But how can I go on when it hurts so much?"
She felt the Mystical Sand place a hand on her shoulder again.
"We believe in you," said the Duel Monster. "We will fight for you. Please do not give into pain. You must have faith in us and yourself."
Shayla nodded and rose to shaky feet.
"If you are done hiding behind your defenses and direct attack cards, I will take my turn," said Rudy, glaring icily at Crum. Rudy had his Earthbound Spirit in play, in defense mode, as well as one magic card. Shayla had her Empress Judge. Johnson's monsters had all been eliminated, but he still had Leading Question in play. Crum, however, had his Penguin Soldiers in play, and they were growing by the minute thanks to Multiply, as well as another face down card.
Rudy drew a card and a sly smile spread across his lips. He looked at Crum and smirked. "I will now activate the magic card Mustard Firewall!"
"Mustard what?" asked Johnson. "That is not a card! I will throw it out of the court!"
"It is too a card!" exclaimed Rudy, holding it up for both of them to see. Shayla was sweat-dropping enormously.
Crum was flipping out. "What?! No!!! It can't be!!! Anything but that!!!"
Rudy continued to smile. "This card eliminates all penguins from the field! Say good-bye to your army!" He slid the card into his duel disk and bright yellow liquid covered the penguins, effectively melting them. Crum was squawking away the whole time.
"I do not understand..." said Johnson.
"Mustard is poison to penguins, please please please don't ask," said Shayla, shaking her head slightly.
"How dare you?!" demanded Crum. "You have some nerve using that vile stuff! You will regret it!"
"I doubt it," said Rudy, continuing to smirk. He pulled out a small paintball gun and aimed at Crum. "I am here also representing an elite group who are out to stop you foul birds! I am here to take you out, Penguin King! POF forever!"
"They have an organization now?" asked Shayla, sweat-dropping even more.
Rudy nodded. "Yup. We're going to save the world." He turned back to Crum. "Now die penguin scum!" He pulled the trigger and started firing mustard bullets at the former accountant.
"ARRK! Help!" squawked Crum as he began to run.
"Come back here!" demanded Rudy as he began chasing, still shooting.
Shayla was back to burying her face in her free hand, and even Johnson was beginning to sweat-drop. Crum and Rudy's chase continued, doing laps around the dueling field. Rudy was laughing, and Crum was squawking as the bullets grazed him.
"Order! Order in the court!" bellowed Johnson. "I will have order, or I will have the bailiff kick you out!" He glared at Crum. "We still need to win this duel so we can claim their bodies!"
"Tell that to him!" squawked Crum, jumping as a bullet hit him in his lower backside.
Rudy came to a stop as the paintball gun failed to produce any more bullets. "Dang it! Out of ammo!"
"Again numbers are on my side!" exclaimed a winded Crum.
"Just wait until reinforcements get here bird-boy," snapped Rudy, walking back to his section of the field like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"If you twp are done, I am ready to present my argument," said Johnson.
"No, I'm not done," said Rudy. "I tribute my Earthbound Spirit to summon Ushi Oni!" It a flash of light and strong wind, the spirit was whipped away. In it's place stood a monster than looked like a bull-turned-genie. It wore a blue chest plate, but there was no need to guard its legs because they did not exist. Below the waste the Ushi Oni maded down like a genie. Its claws were exceptionally wicked. It glared down its opponents with a snort.Its stats were 2150 and 1950.
"Now, Ushi Oni, directly attack the penguin scum!" ordered Rudy.
Ushi Oni did. It jerked forward and slashed repeatedly at Crum, who squawked in pain and was sent flying backwards a little ways. He struggled to his stubby feet again, his life points at 1250.
"And now, we will have order in this courtroom!" said Johnson. "Because I will activate my Deckmaster's special ability again, getting rid of all your monsters!" He shifted a bit, because the Empress Judge had not stopped glaring at him. But then the duel system activated. Johnson's life points fell to 750, and the Empress Judge and Ushi Oni disappeared in a blaze of glory.
"Then, I will cal The Stern Mystic to the stand," continued Johnson. His monster appeared on the field. It looked like an elderly man with darker skin and course white hair. He wore a dark brown robe with a thick red collar and carried a gnarled wooden staff. Its stats were 1500 and 1200. Johnson eyed up his two opponents with an evil smile. They both had no monsters guarding their life points. "Mystic, attack Miss Shayla directly!"
The Stern Mystic raised its staff and held it out straight. A blue orb of power formed on the tip. Then, it shot forward, right at Shayla. She had been anticipating the attack and had put her arms up defensively, but the attack still hurt. She gasped in pain and fell to her knees. Her life points dropped to a mere 250.
"Shayla!" called Rudy. "Are you okay!?"
"I....I," she stammered. She took some deep breaths of air and again forced herself to her feet.
"You should just give up now," said Crum. "I wouldn't want your body to be any more damaged for when we take it!"
"Oh, shove it!" snapped Shayla.
"My turn is not over yet," said Johnson. "I play Pot of Greed, which lets me draw to more cards." He did so. "Then, I will place these three magic cards, before I activate Emergency Provision. With this card I..."
"Gain 500 life points for every magic card of yours on the field that you discard," finished Shayla, a bit waspishly. She was annoyed and scared, a bad combination.
"Correct," said Johnson, giving her an unnoticed evil eye. The life point counter on his duel disk rose to 2250.
"My turn then," said Shayla. She took a deep breath, even though it hurt to inhale, and drew her next card. It was Lady Assailant of the Flames. Shayla put it in her hand next to Soul of Purity and Light. She still wanted to summon the later, but she didn't have two Light monsters in her graveyard to do so. "There still might be a way," thought Shayla as she examined the rest of her hand.
"I will place this monster face down in defense mode," said Shayla as she set her Lady Assailant of the Flames. She then pulled out a magic card that she would never normally put in her deck; it was one Rudy had added. "Then, I activate Dark Piercing Light! That reveals my Lady Assailant of the Flames and activates her special ability!" Her next female monster appeared where that had been a face down card hologram. She had wild sliver-brown hair with feathers tied in it. Her outfit was skimpy and royal blue. Many metal bracelets adorned her arms. Her attack was 1500 and her defense was 1000.
"Special ability?!" cried Crum.
"Yes," said Shayla. "By discarding the top three cards from my deck, I can do 800 direct damage to one of you!" Her fingers found her deck and removed the top three cards, which she slid in her graveyard. She smiled when she noticed the last one she discarded was Dunames Dark Witch, a Light monster despite her name.
"Judgment on the Judgeman!" exclaimed Shayla as she decided her target. The Lady Assailant of the Flames put her hands together. A wall of fire rose, racing towards Johnson across the ground. He gasped as the flames singed him, taking off 800 life points and dropping him to 1450.
"First I will set a magic card. Now, I can finally summon my Soul of Purity and Light," said Shayla. "First, I will remove Dunames Dark Witch and Goddess with the Third Eye from the game. Then I can special summon my next creature!" Shayla put her second monster on the duel disk and it appeared to the right of the lady assailant. The Soul of Purity and Light was barely a glowing vapor. It had a female shape, but was so transparent it was hard to make out any other features beside that. Her stats were 2000 and 1800.
"If I directly attack either of them, they lose," thought Shayla. "But I can only attack with my Soul of Purity and Light, since my Lady Assailant of the Flames just changed battle positions."
"Soul of Purity and Light, attack the penguin directly, Revival Light!" ordered Shayla.
"Activate Negate Attack!" exclaimed Crum as he flipped over his face down magic card. The orbs of light that Shayla's monster had sent hit an invisible wall and disappeared. Shayla frowned.
"Never underestimate a penguin!" chuckled Crum. "I will activate Monster Reborn and bring back my Flying Penguin. But it won't stay on the field long, because I will tribute it to summon my Defender Iceberg!" His next monster was made of solid ice. It could pass itself for a small glacier it was that large. But once one got over that fact, one would see that it was really a giant carved into the ice. It held a hand out as if saying, "Stop." Its defense was 2450 with Crum's Deckmaster bonus. "Then I set one magic card and end my turn."
"You're always hiding behind your defenses," said Rudy, disdainfully. "Well, it won't work, because I am bring my Cosmo Queen to the field!" His Deckmaster nodded and stepped in front of him.
"Are you sure Rudy?" asked Shayla.
"Of course," he replied.
"You just made this easier on us!" said Crum. "All we have to do is destroy that one monster, and we win!"
"Too bad you won't be around then!" Rudy shouted back. "Now, Cosmo Queen, attack his Defender Iceberg, Cosmic Meteorain!" The Cosmo Queen raised her hands to the sky and began to call down comets.
Shayla heard the Mystical Sand gasp behind her. "We must stop this or your friend will lose mistress!"
"What!?"
"I will destroy the trap card."
"Do it," agreed Shayla.
The Mystical Sand nodded as she raised her hands, causing another fierce sandstorm. The violent winds caused the Cosmo Queen to pause in her attack. Slivers of ice broke off of the Defender Iceberg. The two members of the Big 5 cringed from the unexpected change in the weather. The card in front of Crum flipped up for a moment, revealing itself as Mirror Force. Then it vanished in the wind.
Rudy was the first to recover as the storm died. "Thanks Shayla, I owe you one."
"No, we're even now," she replied.
Rudy nodded, "Now, finish your attack Cosmo Queen!"
The Cosmo Queen once more called down comets from the sky, which pounded the Defender Iceberg to bits, thus thoroughly eliminating Crum's defenses.
"And you have the nerve to call me a cheater," muttered Johnson. "It isn't possible that your Deckmaster only takes out our magic cards!"
"I agree!" snapped Crum. "The odds of that happening are slim to nothing! You had more of a chance to destroy your own monsters then our traps!"
"I will not fail mistress," replied the Mystical Sand, glaring at them.
"Take your turn," Rudy said to Johnson.
"I will," said Johnson. "First, I play Graceful Charity. This magic card lets me draw three new cards, then discard any two cards from my hand."
"We know what it does, get on with it!" snapped Rudy.
Johnson looked at his cards and frowned. "I will move myself to the field."
Rudy smirked, "All or nothing? Eh?"
Johnson glared at him, "I will set one magic card, then attack the Soul of Purity and Light!" He raised a hand and began to concentrate his energy into it.
"I activate Clock of Destiny!" exclaimed Shayla, using the card she had placed last turn. It was one Rudy had added to her deck. "This will speed up all time related cards by one turn."
"There are none on the field!" exclaimed Crum.
"Yes there is," said Shayla. "My Soul of Purity and Light's special ability! For everyone full turn she is on the field, she decrease the attack of my opponent's monsters by 300. That means she is 100 points stronger than you Judgeman!"
"NO!!!" cried Johnson as the two clashed. There was a blinding flash of light and a loud, long scream. When both faded, all that was left was the nearly transparent soul.
"Now, finish this duel Soul of Purity and Light!" ordered Shayla. "Attack the penguin directly and eliminate the rest of his life points!"
"NO!" squawked Crum. But the attack could not be stopped. The attack went though and Crum's life points dropped to 0. His body broke into data bits and he vanished, leaving Shayla and Rudy alone in the sandy meadow.
Shayla felt very funny for a moment. She started to space out, but she pulled out her scales. She started speaking, but she wasn't sure if it was her voice or not, "It is time to judge those who have corrupted justice and defiled truth! The traitors will now have their hearts weighed!" The Millennial Scales glowed brightly and tipped to the left. There was another blinding flash of light. A creature that was part hippo, part lion, and part crocodile appeared in front of Shayla. The creature's name was Ammit, and she was ravenous. She didn't even look over her shoulder at the one who had summoned her before she disappeared in search of her prey.
With that Shayla's arm dropped. She shook her head as if she was confused, "W-w-what just happened?"
"Don't worry about it. I knew we'd win," said Rudy smugly.
"Rudy...thanks," said Shayla.
"Don't mention it," replied Rudy. "You are a good duelist, don't doubt yourself."
"Erm..." stammered Shayla. Then she felt a chill. "Rudy?"
No answer, he was gone.
Before Shayla had time to puzzle over this, a huge hole formed under her feet and she dropped. Her heart leapt to her throat and her acrophobia kicked in double time. She screamed, and somewhere during the fall, she blacked out.
**************************************************************************** **
*Dream*
Shayla was again watching a life outside her own. She was walking down empty streets in late evening. A large, heavy jar of water was in her arms. Shayla guessed that she had gone out to fetch water for the evening from a well.
She was trying to make it home before the sun fully set, but her arms were tired. She set it down in front of her and wiped the sweat off of her forehead.
CRASH! The sound of something breaking behind her caused her to whirl around. She heard some curing in Egyptian. Her eyes focused on a figure in the shadows. He had tripped over a jar that someone had left outside and broken it. The man signed and approached her.
Shayla heard herself gasp as she recognized the person. He was the high priest who had visited the temple before. She quickly looked down and tightened her grip on her jar of water. Her eyes slid back, considering running for it. But by that time he was in front of her.
"W-w-what do you want sir?" she asked, her voice and hands shaking.
"I am curious as to why an Israelite would be inside the temple of Isis," he said. She did not answer.
"Look at me," he said, not angrily, not demanding. Shayla did not move.
She felt strong fingers on her chin, tilting her head up. Her creamy brown eyes focused on his intense blue ones. Her eyes flickered away only once, but she found it near impossible to do that again. He started into the depths of her eyes as if he was reading her soul through them.
It was hard to say how many moments passed then, but it seemed like an eternity when he finally removed his hand from her face.
"I see then," he muttered. Shayla had the impression he had learned something from staring at her like that. "I will leave you now." With that he turned and walked away.
Shayla felt herself exhale, and she hadn't even realized she was holding her breath. Her heart had been pounding away like an out of control train. She took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves, grabbed her water jar, and hurried home as fast as she could. But her heart refused to calm down.
*End Dream*
"Ugh...my head," groaned Shayla as she woke up. Her mind was in knots from the duel and the dream, her nerves were on end from the fall, and her heart was still pounding from looking into his eyes. "Where am I?"
She began to feel around. Her hands first found her backpack, with everything in tact. The floor was cold and metallic beneath her fingers. She ran them along its surface, but it wasn't too far before she came across a pole in the ground. Next to that was another one, then another and another. Shayla jerked up right, but almost hit her head on the low ceiling. A cage!
"What is going on?!" she gasped.
"You are key in my plans, and I couldn't have you going anywhere," came Noah's reply.
"Noah?!" gasped Shayla. "What do you want with me?!"
"Like I said, I have my plans," he answered. She heard him go back to typing.
All around her were the voices of her friends, they sounded lost, confused, or just ticked. Shayla guessed that she was in some sort of surveillance room, where Noah watched them all.
"What are you trying to pull?" she demanded.
"Be quiet!" snapped Noah. "I don't need your mouth!"
Shayla felt that is she remained silent, she would once again be consumed by fear. "Answer my question then."
Noah ignored her and continued muttering to himself. "My software has almost finished going through all of Seto's memories. Then the real fun can begin!"
"You're going through his memories?!" gasped Shayla, horrified. "That's sick!"
"It's not less than he deserves!" Noah snapped back. "You should know that!"
"Everyone deserves to have their minds safe," replied Shayla, her heart wrenching as she thought of Mai.
"You are awfully noisy!" Noah retorted. "Why don't I show you how well this technology works first hand?!"
*Flashback*
"And that should finish it," Shayla, who as Adora at time, said to Martin. They had been labeling all of her newest Duel Monster cards. It was a beautiful day outside, but Shayla and Martin stayed inside because no one ever wanted to play with them. Luther, however, was out. He loved being athletically active. But he had promised he'd join them later that afternoon.
Someone, one of the workers, entered the room. "Martin, erm...whatever your name is, please come with me," her tone was dead serious.
"Come on Martin," said Adora/Shayla as she slipped her cards into her pack and walked out. Martin followed in her heels.
They were led to the main office. Mr. McCallen was behind his desk, a grave expression on his face. Martin and Adora sat down across from him.
"I have some bad news," he said. He waited for a response, but he got none, so he continued. "There's been an accident..." Still no response. "I'm sorry....Luther..."
"What about Luther?!" demanded Adora. Her mouth had gone dry and her heart started to throb.
"I'm sorry," repeated Mr. McCallen. "The car came out of nowhere...it was going too fast...He didn't make it..."
"What?! NO!" shrieked Adora. Martin sat there quietly, but his eyes were as wide as dinner plates.
"I'm sorry...he's gone," said Mr. McCallen.
"He can't be!" Adora cried. "I just talked to him this morning! He's not dead! He can't be! You lie!"
"I'm not...." started Mr. McCallen, but he never got a chance to finish before Adora ran from the room.
There were no tears, just a stunned breathlessness that had overtaken her and formed into panic. She didn't know where her feet were taking her, but she was in Luther's room. It smelled like him here. His things were here. It was familiar.
But it seemed like everything was pushing in around her. She gasped for air, but her head seemed light. Her legs gave out on her and she fell with a sob. That was where they found here half an hour later.
*End Flashback*
Shayla's heart was broken in two again as she relived that day in precise detail. She was breathing hard from the experience. Her Millennial Scales activated, feeling her stressed. They did what they were made to do, equalize things. A beam of light caught Noah squarely between the shoulder blades.
His eyes went vacant for a moment, then he screamed, "An accident?! ...NO!!! .... Father! Don't leave me!!!"
It went silent for a moment as they each tried to reorient themselves with reality...or as much of reality as they could.
"What are you?!" demanded Noah. "How did you use my own software against me?!"
"It's not technology, it's magic," Shayla answered, honestly.
Noah, "I bet it was that hacker friend of yours!"
"No, it was magic," insisted Shayla.
"Be quiet!" snapped Noah. "I am sick of hearing you!"
"You brought me here!"
"You're part of my plans and nothing more, so shut-up!"
"Then tell me what you want from me!"
Noah ignored her and began typing again. In the silence she could still hear her friends voices, same as ever. But a lump was forming in her stomach, some kind of instinct telling her she was in more trouble than she realized.
"Please Noah!" begged Johnson. "Give us another chance."
"You have thoroughly humiliated me by losing to those punks!" Noah yelled, causing them all to shudder.
"But Noah!" stammered Gamesly. "We haven't dueled them all yet! Give us another chance! Please!"
"We will win this time!" added Crum. "The odds are in our favor! The remaining duelists are the weakest!"
"Why should I?" asked Noah.
"Because nothing has been done about Seto Kaiba," said Lector. "And we all want revenge against him!"
"We have too much at stake to lose!" added Nesbit. "We will not underestimate them again!"
"We won't let them win because they have humiliated us as well," said Johnson. "Please sir, give us another chance to prove ourselves!"
"Very well!" snapped Noah. "And I expect better results! This lot looks like they can hardly duel their way out of a paper bag with scissors!"
"We will crush them!" exclaimed Lector.
"I'm expecting it!" said Noah.
"Thank you!" the Big 5 exclaimed, then vanished.
However, Noah stopped two of them. "Johnson! Crum!"
"What is it sir?" they asked.
"I want you two to take on the next target," said Noah.
"We will not fail," said Johnson. "Who is the defendant?"
Noah brought up a screen, one of many that he had been using to spy on the duelists. It stopped randomly showing scenes and focused on one person. "Her. I want you to defeat this duelist."
"Are you sure you really need both of us?" asked Johnson.
"Yes, I will not tolerate any more losses from you five," replied Noah, shortly. "She thinks she can avoid my rules by sitting there, well, I'm going to show her. Now go!"
"Right!" they said and disappeared.
Noah looked at the screen and grinned. "You are going to play a key roll in my plans, whether you want to or not!"
**************************************************************************** **
Shayla still had not moved from her place in the meadow. Everything seemed peaceful enough there, but she refused to relax. She kept reminding herself that this was all an illusion, and that there were six people out there who wanted to cause them trouble. However, being still like that gives one a lot of time to think, and she was beginning to wonder where her plan would lead.
"What is going to happen if I stay here any longer?" she asked herself. "I have a feeling that someone is bound to show up...But if they don't, then what? Then again, do I have any better options? Roaming a strange virtual video game is hardly a smart move, especially considering what can be out there...But it's not like any of this is real in the first place. These situations keep getting more and more bizarre. I do know one thing though, I am not going to let Noah toy with me. I am not going to play his game, even though I have no idea why he even wants to bother us in the first place."
"She seems so exciting, doesn't she," said a voice from behind her. "This duel should be easy." Shayla tensed. These weren't the ones she wanted to show up.
"Of course," answered a second person. "I've calculated every possible aspect of our duel, and there is no way we can lose." This speaker put a hand, or more appropriately wing, on her shoulder. Shayla screamed, jumped and wheeled around to face them, nerves on end. Johnson and Crum laughed.
They had already taken on the forms of Duel Monsters. The first speaker was a humanoid monster with short, stiff white hair. He wore a long violet cape and matching armor with golden trim. Despite this he looked like a barbarian that had been put into elegant armor. The creature next to him was much short; a blue-violet penguin complete in tux and top hat.
"What do you want with me?!" she demanded.
"Your body of course," answered Crum. Shayla shuddered.
"Buzz off!" she snapped. "I'm not dueling you!"
"You have no choice," replied Johnson. "You have been subpoenaed as a witness in this trial. And besides, it is a very poor defense when the defendant refuses to take the stand."
"Oh great...a lawyer," groaned Shayla.
"The name is Johnson, former head legal advisor for Kaiba Corp.," said Johnson.
"And I'm Crum, former chief accountant for Kaiba Corp.," added Crum.
"And I am not dueling you," retorted Shayla.
"I think you will," said Johnson. "We can be very convincing."
"Let's see..." said Crum, papers materializing in his wing-like hands. "No registered name, except under the Battle City tournament, were you registered as Shayla, no last name. Height 5' 9", shoe size 9..."
"What kind of freak are you?!" interrupted Shayla, who was getting more unnerved by the second. She was beginning to wish she had found some of the others instead of facing these two alone.
"I'm not a freak, I'm a penguin!" protested Crum, indignant.
"Penguin?" asked Shayla with a twitch. "You did not just say penguin."
"Yes I did! Is there a problem with that!?" demanded Crum.
Shayla didn't answer him. She just put a hand to her face and shook her head. "This cannot be happening."
"Enough with the formalities," said Johnson. "This court is now in session!"
"Are you deaf? I'm not dueling!" replied Shayla.
"If you don't duel, you forfeit your body," replied Johnson.
"What?! You can't do that!" protested Shayla. "You can't bully me into dueling you!!!"
"If the defendant does not wish to plead her case, then the prosecution will rest so the verdict can be delivered," said Johnson with a sly smile.
"Pity there's only one body for us to take," said Crum. "Penguins first!"
"Stay away from me!" Shayla shrieked.
"That's no way to treat a lady," a new voice said.
"Who are you?" asked Johnson to the newcomer. "And how did you get here? Noah said we were not going to be disturbed!"
Shayla recognized the voice, although she was completely stunned that she did. "Rudy?!"
"Yup," answered the dark-haired boy. He wore a white tank top and baggy jean shorts. He seemed completely calm, unlike Shayla, who was as far on edge as she could get. (AN/ Rudy belongs to Master of Dimensions, not me.)
"How did you get here?!" demanded Johnson and Crum.
"How else?" asked Rudy. "I hacked my way in."
"You hacked your way in here?" repeated Shayla. "Why do you want to be here?!"
"To help you," he answered. Shayla went quiet, not having an answer for that.
"I may have a stalker," she thought. "Either that or a superhero or guardian angel, since he always shows up when I'm in trouble...and I thought this day couldn't get any weirder."
**************************************************************************** **
Noah was very busy at his command central, frantically pressing the buttons that control his virtual world. But he wasn't having much luck. "How can this be?! How is it possible for someone to override me within my own world?!" He continued to try to break through the hacking, but he had been locked out of the whole area.
**************************************************************************** **
"We are a little busy here!" Crum snapped at Rudy. "We have a duel to win!"
"Two on one hardly seems fair to me," replied Rudy, a duel disk forming on his arm. "So I'm going to make it two on two."
"But..." stammered Shayla.
"On what grounds should we let you duel?" asked Johnson.
"Because I will agree to your stakes," said Rudy. "You win, you get my body too. But you won't win."
"Are you crazy?!" yelled Shayla.
"Don't worry," replied Rudy. "You should be more confident in your own skills as well." Shayla once again stammered as his words rang true.
Crum and Johnson exchanged looks. "Deal."
"I don't care how you got here, but you will be playing by our rules," said Johnson.
"Fair enough," agreed Rudy. Then he smiled, "But I expect you to play by your own rules too." Johnson glared at him. Rudy once again smiled. "I know how you like to play. But you won't be able to cheat Shayla."
"You'd try to cheat me!?" exclaimed Shayla.
"You know he'd never get away with it," answered Rudy. Shayla was beginning to wonder how much he really knew, especially about the Millennial Items and her scales.
"Let's begin this already!" exclaimed Crum. "Your decks are void here, so you have to select new decks for our card database." Rows of cards formed in front of Shayla and Rudy. Rudy calmly began to select his cards.
"How do you expect me to do that?" asked Shayla, tersely.
"Well...um," stammered Johnson. They hadn't expected there to be problems.
"If you don't mind, I'll chose her deck for her," volunteered Rudy.
"Go right on ahead," said Crum with a smirk. He and Johnson both knew that it would be easier for them to win if one of their opponent's didn't even know what cards were in her deck. A second card database appeared next to the first one that was in front of Rudy.
"Um...Rudy..." stammered Shayla.
"Trust me," answered Rudy as he finished selecting both their decks. Shayla felt the duel disk on her arm grow heavier as her new deck teleported in place.
"Before we begin, you two must select your Deckmasters," said Johnson. "Since we have taken the form of Duel Monsters, we will be acting as our own Deckmasters."
"Judgeman and Nightmare Penguin, we can handle them," said Rudy. Shayla merely nodded, she seemed the most nervous about this duel.
They both picked up their decks off of their duel disks and began to filter through them. Much to her own relief, her cards had Braille printed on them, so she could read them. Another thing that helped her relax was finding all her familiar monsters and magic cards in her deck. Rudy had almost recreated it perfectly, though there were some modifications. That puzzled her, because she wasn't as famous as Yu-Gi, Drake, or Kaiba, where her deck was all over the Internet. It seemed strange that someone would know her deck as well as herself.
"My Cosmo Queen will be my Deckmaster," said Rudy, bring Shayla back to the task at hand. He held up his card and his Deckmaster appeared to the right just behind him. She wore an elegant dark violet robe with golden trim. Her skin with pale blue, and her hat was nearly three times as large as her head. One could tell by looking at her that she was powerful. It wasn't that she was muscular, but her very presences vibrated with power.
"I know any of my monsters would serve me well," thought Shayla. "But it is hard to know was special abilities they will gain under these new rules. ... Well, no one can go wrong with her favorite..."
"I chose my Mystical Sand!" announced Shayla. Her favorite monster appeared behind her. The Mystical Sand had hair like seaweed and wore a simple scarlet witch's robe with matching pointed hat. She sat on a broom which hovered off of the ground, right behind Shayla. She glared at the two opponents.
"Those are your Deckmasters?" asked Johnson, with contempt.
"They're the best ones here," replied Rudy, calmly.
"Grrr! Enough talk!" snapped Crum. "Let's begin this!"
"Fine with me," answered Rudy. "Ladies' first."
"M-m-me?" stammered Shayla.
"You'll be fine," said Rudy.
Shayla nodded and drew her first card, starting the duel. She was still having her doubts, but there was nothing she could do with them. She examined her cards for a moment, considering her best option. She was not at all happy with the fact that she didn't know what the Deckmasters would do, so she decided to make a cautious opening first move.
"I will play my Goddess with the 3rd Eye in defense mode," announced Shayla. Her monster wore a light green robe with bronze trim. She also had a small hat the same color of her trim. But what stood out the most about her was her namesake: a third eye on the middle of her forehead. Her stats were 1200 and 1000.
"Penguins next!" exclaimed Crum, cutting off Johnson's comment. "I'll play my Flying Penguin in attack mode!" His first monster appeared. It looked like a normal penguin, if not slightly larger. There was one slight difference, and that was the two enormous eyebrows it had that functioned like wings. Its attack was 1200.
"Since my Flying Penguin is a water type," said Crum, "I will use my Deckmaster's special ability."
"Already?!" gasped Rudy.
Crum smirked, "All water type monsters gain 200 attack points from me!" That meant that the Flying Penguin now had an attack of 1400. "But since we're playing tag team, I can't attack until everyone has had a turn."
"My turn then," said Rudy, glaring at the penguins. He drew a card, the slid it into the magic slots on his duel disk. "I play this magic card, then I summon Neo the Magic Swordsman to the field!" Neo was a blond warrior with silver armor that had intricate designs engrained in it. His gloves were dark red, and occasionally his fingers sparked with magic power. A sword rested in one hand, ready to use at a moment's notice. His attack was 1700 and his defense was 1000.
"Now for my argument," said Johnson. He sounded a bit bitter about being last. He looked at his cards and frowned. "I will play one monster card face down in defense mode, then one magic card. That ends my turn."
Shayla sighed and was about to start her next turn when Crum spoke up. "It's too warm here! Let's make this place a little more penguin friendly!" Frost began to creep across the ground, freezing everything. It began to cumulate, quickly turning the meadow into the artic.
"What are you thinking?!" demanded Johnson. "This frozen wasteland is hardly the proper place for a trial to take place!" As he finished speaking, the ice vanished and walls began to form, creating a courtroom; complete with judge's stand, jury box, and benches.
"We penguins don't like it inside!" snapped Crum as the land began to freeze again.
"You are out of line!" yelled Johnson. "One more outburst and I will have you thrown out of my court!" Rudy crossed his arms and watched their banter with a smug smile. It was clear that they were amusing him. Shayla on the other hand looked like she was getting a headache.
"Artic!"
"Court!"
"Artic!"
"Court!"
The land kept changing half way as they each yelled. They were glaring each other down venomously.
Shayla sighed and placed a card in one of her magic slots. "Forest!" The land stopped being torn between the artic and a courtroom. Instead, tress grew high and thick and lush. A few animal calls could be heard. Gentle sunlight filtered though the leaves. The two members of the Big 5 stopped arguing and looked around surprised.
"What did you do?!" snapped Crum.
"I started my turn and played the magic card Forest," replied Shayla. "That makes this field a forest and ends you two's stupid argument! It also powers up forest creatures, like my Nekogal!" As she said that she placed another card on her duel disk. Her newest monster appeared next to her goddess in attack mode. She had orange hair that was half hidden under a point forest green hat. The main part of her outfit was also forest green, but her boots and gloves were orange. She had two pointy cat ears, sharp claws, and tiny gossamer wings which were practically unnoticeable. This was Nekogal #1, and her stats were 1100 and 900, but thanks to Forest they were 1600 and 1400.
"This is not the place for penguins," muttered Crum.
"My turn isn't over yet," said Shayla. "It's been one full round, so I can attack now! Nekogal, attack the Flying Penguin, Pussy Cat Scratch!" The Nekogal darted forward with cat-like speed and slashed at the Flying Penguin so fast her claws couldn't be seen. The Flying Penguin squawked and disappeared, leaving only a few black feathers. This brought Crum down to 3800 life points.
"I play one magic card, and that will end my turn," said Shayla as he Nekogal returned to her place.
"I knew you'd do fine," said Rudy. "You just need to be more confident in yourself." He could see that she was still a little tense.
"Consider your luck over!" snapped Crum. "The odds are in our favor for this duel! And that means both of your bodies will be ours and we will escape to the real world at last!"
"Yeah, right," retorted Rudy.
"This game is all about numbers, so watch closely!" continued Crum. "I now summon my Giant Red Sea Snake!" His monster was the largest one yet this duel. Like the name says, it was long and red, with thin green rings. Its attack was 1800. "And it is a water type too, so it gains 200 attack points from my Deckmaster's special ability!" This brought the snake up to 2000.
"Now wise guy," said Crum, "say good-bye to your swordsman! Sea snake, attack! Crush him!"
The snake shot forward and wrapped Neo in its coils. It kept squeezing until Neo broke into digital pieces. This brought Rudy down to 3700 life points.
"My turn is far from done," continued Crum. "Then I will activate Penguin Torpedo!" A small creature appeared in front of him. It was penguin shaped, pale blue, but a torpedo nonetheless. "This lets me attack one of you directly for 550 damage! But that becomes 750 thanks to my special ability! Now Penguin Torpedo, attack the blind girl!"
The Penguin Torpedo shot forward, aiming at Shayla. It went through the gap between her monsters and exploded in front of her, taking her down to 3250. Shayla, however, slid to the ground with a hand across her chest.
"That...hurt!" she gasped. She was completely stunned. This whole world was an illusion, how could it hurt?
Johnson and Crum laughed. "You're playing in our world. You've never dueled like this before," laughed Johnson.
"Shayla? Are you okay?" asked Rudy.
"It's...not...supposed...to hurt," she gasped. One of her hopes had been reminding herself that this was all a trick. She hadn't been prepared for this.
"I told you the odds were in our favor," said Crum. "The girl has never dealt with duels this real before. She can't handle this!" He half squawked, half laughed.
"Don't worry, the duel is only beginning. You can win," said a female voice quietly. Shayla had no idea who said it, but the speaker was right.
Shayla struggled to her feet. She wasn't ready to give up yet, even though she was still a bit wary, "Clearly you have never dueled in the Shadow Realm."
"The defendant is speaking nonsense!" exclaimed Johnson.
"Oh, save it!" snapped Rudy. "No one here cares for your legal jargon anyways! Now..." He reached to draw his next card.
"Wait, my turn's not done!" exclaimed Crum. "I play one magic card, now my turn is done."
"Fine. I play my Beast King of the Swamps in defense mode," announced Rudy. His monster appeared on his empty side of the field. It was a muddy green monster that seemed to ooze. It actually seemed like an extension of the swamp itself. Its stats were 1000 and 1200. "That's all for me."
"Then I summon Curtain of the Dark Ones in defense mode!" said Johnson as his turn started. His monster appeared next to his face down one. The Curtain of the Dark Ones was a black cape with skeleton hands and arms coming out from under it. "Then I will activate my magic card, Polymerization...."
"No you won't!" exclaimed Shayla. "Because I activate Magic Jammer! If I discard one card from my hand, I can stop the effect of your magic card!"
"Not so fast!" countered Crum. "I activate Cold Wave, which freezes you from using any magic or trap cards until your next turn!"
"That makes your Magic Jammer void," said Johnson. "And I can still use Polymerization, fusing my two monsters together to create Kamion Wizard!" A dark warrior bearing a scythe appeared. Its armor was black, but its cape was blood red. Its face was hidden behind a black mask. Its attack was 1300.
"Next, I play Sinister Justice," continued Johnson. "By paying 800 life points, my fusion monster will be able to attack this turn." This brought him down to 3200 life points. "Then, I will activate Leading Question, which will give 800 points to any fusion monster. Now, Kamion Wizard, attack the Goddess with the Third Eye!" The Kamion Wizard jumped into the air, scythe raised. It cut the Goddess with the Third Eye from top to bottom and she disappeared into fragments. Lucky for Shayla, her monster was in defense mode so she felt nothing from the attack.
"I will play one magic card and rest my case now," said Johnson. He smirked as he slid the card into an open slot.
"You must destroy that card," said the female voice from behind Shayla again.
"Who are you?" whispered Shayla, half wondering if she was hearing voices.
"You know me," the speaker replied, placing a hand on Shayla's shoulder.
Shayla looked surprised as the truth dawned on her. "M-Mystical Sand?" Her Deckmaster squeezed her shoulder in affirmation. "You talk now?!" Another positive squeeze.
"You must destroy that card," said the Mystical Sand.
"How can I do that?" asked Shayla, knowing the cards in her hand wouldn't help.
"My special ability," said the Duel Monster. "I can create a sandstorm that will destroy any one random card on the field."
"If it's random how will we get the card we need?" asked Shayla. "We might even take out our own card!"
"Trust me," said the Mystical Sand. "I have not failed you before and I will not now."
Shayla nodded. "I will now activate my Deckmaster's special ability, Sandstorm!" The Mystical Sand smiled and held out her arms. Sand began to whip through the forest, eliminating it. The duelists all shielded themselves as the vicious winds tore at them and their cards. Even the Duel Monsters seemed to cringe. The card in front of Johnson broke lose and disappeared into the wind.
"That was cruel!" squawked Crum. "Us penguins hate sand! We love snow!"
"Impressive," coughed Rudy, who was also spitting sand.
Johnson was glaring daggers at her for destroying a key part of his strategy. Shayla didn't notice though.
"It worked," said the Mystical Sand. "Thanks for believing in me mistress."
Shayla nodded slightly and drew her next card, sand falling from her curls. "I play one monster face down in defense mode," she declared as she placed her Dancing Fairy on her duel disk. "Then I move my Nekogal to defense mode. I will also set one magic card and end my turn." Shayla knew she didn't have any monster strong enough to take out the Giant Red Sea Snake, and she wasn't about to go through more pain.
"She's hiding!" laughed Crum. "We will win this and escape this nightmare!"
"You won't go anywhere penguin!" said Rudy, although he practically spat the last word out.
"Watch me!" exclaimed Crum. "I will have my snake attack your girl's face down monster!" With that his monster crushed the life out her face down fairies. "Then, activate Ocean of Regeneration! This will let me bring back my Penguin Torpedo from the graveyard!"
"Oh no," groaned Shayla, who was still sore from the last explosion.
"So you haven't forgotten it?" said Crum smugly. "Well, here it goes again, attack Penguin Torpedo!" The torpedo shot forward and exploded point blank and Shayla. She cried out, but managed to stay standing this time, even though it was clear she was in pain. Her life points dropped to 2500.
"Leave her alone, okay!" exclaimed Rudy. He glared at the Big 5. "I play Tainted Wisdom!" His newest monster was a brown brain with weird growths on it. "Then, using my Beast King of the Swamp's special ability, I will fuse them together with Polymerization and create Skull Knight!" His fusion monster was a knight with armor made of bones, carved to look like a skull. Even its shield was a skull. Other than that, it was as black as night. Skull Knight's stats are 2650 and 2250. "Then, I'll activate my Quick Attack magic card, allowing Skull Knight to attack this turn!" He smirked at Johnson. "Thanks to your Leading Question, Skull Knight gains 800 attack points too! Say good-bye to your Kamion Wizard, its dust! Attack Skull Knight with Blades of Bone!" The Skull Knight charged forward and sword met scythe. The scythe gave in and the Kamion Wizard broke into bits. This made Johnson's life points 1850.
"My turn!" exclaimed Johnson. "And you will regret that, because now I activate my Deckmaster's special ability, Clear the Courtroom!"
"Clear the Courtroom?" repeated Shayla.
"Yes," said Johnson. "By paying 1000 life points, I can wipe the field you're your pathetic monsters, leaving you defendants wide open!" In a bright flash of light Shayla's Nekogal and Rudy's Skull Knight were gone. Johnson was down to a slim 850 life points.
"This is not good," muttered Shayla.
"Soon, this trial will be over and your bodies will be ours!" exclaimed Johnson. "Then I will call Hysteric Angel to the stand!" Shayla looked unhappy, because this was a monster she considered to be one of hers. Hysteric Angel wore a navy schoolgirl's uniform and had a book cradled under her arm. She wore a pair of thick glasses and had a pair of dove wings. Her stats were 1800 and 500.
"Now, Hysterical Angel, attack Rudy, Frantic Beam!" ordered Johnson. The Hysteric Angel put her hands together and aimed a powerful blue beam at Rudy. It hit him directly in the chest and he gasped in pain.
"Rudy!" called Shayla.
"I'm fine," he replied with a slight groan.
"Don't worry," said Shayla. "It's my turn now."
"I'm glad to see you're more confident," said Rudy.
"I'm still nervous," admitted Shayla.
"You should realize by now that the verdict has already been decided upon," said Johnson. "Your bodies are ours!"
"Not yet!" said Shayla. "It's my turn, and I play Amazon Archer in attack mode!" Shayla's newest monster formed in a flash of light. She was on the small side, but still vicious. Her pale blonde hair was cropped short. She wore a brown outfit that showed a lot of skin, as well as a black jacket with red trim. A long bow was clutched tightly in her hands. Her attack was 1400 and her defense was 1000.
"I place one magic card, then I'll have her attack your Giant Red Sea Snake! Go Amazon Archer, Lethal Bow!" ordered Shayla.
Crum laughed, "Your monster doesn't stand a chance!"
"Watch as I activate Kunai with Chain!" declared Shayla. "That weakens your monster, will increasing the strength of my own!" Her Amazon Archer now had an attack of 1900. She fired an arrow at the sea snake. It writhed in pain and disappeared. Crum dropped to 3400 life points.
"Now I set one magic card and end my turn," said Shayla, finding an open slot with her fingers.
"For my next turn," said Crum as he drew a card, "I play my Penguin Soldier in defense mode!" His new penguin was small and violet in color, with red shoulder pad and a stubby sword. Its stats were 750 and 500. "Then I'll place two magic cards."
"That puny thing won't help!" growled Johnson.
"Never underestimate a penguin," said Crum. "I said this was a game of numbers. Well, one might be defeated easily, but not an army! I activate Shrink and Multiply! Shrink cuts Penguin Soldier's attack so Multiply can work. Now, stop a whole army of penguins!" He again squawk/laughed.
"Since your monsters are in defense mode, it's my turn now," said Rudy. He drew a card, but it wasn't the one he was hoping for. "I play Reinforcements of the Army, which lets me select one level four monster or less from my deck and put it in my hand." He quickly flipped though his deck and selected a monster. "Then I will summon it. Reveal Earthbound Spirit!" His monster looked like a human skeleton that had been covered with mud and was being swallowed by the ground. Its defense was 2000.
"It's my turn to take the stand," said Johnson. "I will play one monster face down, then activate Hysteric Angel's special ability. I will tribute both my monsters and raise my own life points by 1000!" This brought him up to 1850. "Then, I will use another Polymerization to fuse two monsters in my hand and create Dragoness the Wicked Knight!" His fusion monster wore a strange green and yellow armor and wielded two swords with curvy blades. A similar horned helmet hid much of its face. Its attack was 1200. But thanks to Leading Question still being in play, Dragoness could have 2000 attack points easily.
"I cannot attack with my monster this turn, so I will set one magic card and step off of the stand," said Johnson.
Shayla drew her next card without a word. It was Soul of Purity and Light. It was a very special card, but she could only summon it if she removed two Light monsters from her graveyard. And currently, she only had one. She put it in her hand and considered her other options.
"I will tribute my Amazon Archer and summon my Empress Judge!" announced Shayla as she moved her monster cards into position. Her Empress Judge wore an elegant pale robe with golden trim and a red sash that matched her fiery hair. A golden tiara encircled her forehead. Her face had elegant violet markings on it. Her attack was 2100 and her defense 1700. She stood to her full height and glad at the Judgeman.
"Since when has the servant of justice sunk to dealing with traitors?!" demanded the Empress Judge, eyeing daggers at Johnson.
"I...um..." stammered Johnson, then his mood changed to anger. "How is this possible?! The program is not supposed to allow any monsters to talk outside the Deckmasters!" The Empress Judge continued to give him looks so dirty he shifted uncomfortably. "You, hacker! What did you do?!"
"I did nothing," replied Rudy, calmly. "You brought this upon yourself."
"Empress Judge," called Shayla, a bit hesitantly. Her monster nodded a hair. "Attack the wicked knight with Rough Justice!" The Empress Judge smiled, pointed a finger at Dragoness, and blew it to dust. Johnson felt the heat from the attack and jerked backwards. His life points were now at 1750. Rudy was barely better at 1900. Shayla was at 2500, and Crum had almost all of his still at 3400, because he was hiding behind his defenses and letting Johnson do most of the direct fighting.
"We have to do something to take out all those penguins," thought Shayla. As if reading her thoughts, the Mystical Sand put a hand on her shoulder. Shayla nodded. "I will use my Deckmaster's special ability again."
The Mystical Sand smiled and raised her arms, once again creating a violent sandstorm. Everyone braced themselves. A magic card in front of Johnson twitched, then was lost to the winds. Then the storm slowly came to a halt.
"I'm sorry," whispered the Mystical Sand.
"No, I'm sure you've helped us, even if it wasn't in the way we planned," said Shayla. Louder, she said, "I play one magic card and end my turn."
"Finally you're done stalling!" exclaimed Crum. "But you will not change the odds! We will win!"
"You talk way too much," retorted Rudy.
"Try this!" snapped Crum. He turned to Shayla. "I activate Driving Snow, which will blow away your magic card!" Shayla ducked as a freezing gust of wind blew her magic card away. The ground was now spotted with piles of sand and snow. For the first time this duel, Crum looked comfortable with the atmosphere.
"Now, I play one magic card face down. Then, I will activate my second Penguin Torpedo!" exclaimed Crum, eagerly. "You won't last much longer!" He placed the card on his duel disk and once again blasted Shayla. She cried out and slipped to the ground, breathing hard. Her life points fell to 1750.
"I won't give up," she told herself. "But how can I go on when it hurts so much?"
She felt the Mystical Sand place a hand on her shoulder again.
"We believe in you," said the Duel Monster. "We will fight for you. Please do not give into pain. You must have faith in us and yourself."
Shayla nodded and rose to shaky feet.
"If you are done hiding behind your defenses and direct attack cards, I will take my turn," said Rudy, glaring icily at Crum. Rudy had his Earthbound Spirit in play, in defense mode, as well as one magic card. Shayla had her Empress Judge. Johnson's monsters had all been eliminated, but he still had Leading Question in play. Crum, however, had his Penguin Soldiers in play, and they were growing by the minute thanks to Multiply, as well as another face down card.
Rudy drew a card and a sly smile spread across his lips. He looked at Crum and smirked. "I will now activate the magic card Mustard Firewall!"
"Mustard what?" asked Johnson. "That is not a card! I will throw it out of the court!"
"It is too a card!" exclaimed Rudy, holding it up for both of them to see. Shayla was sweat-dropping enormously.
Crum was flipping out. "What?! No!!! It can't be!!! Anything but that!!!"
Rudy continued to smile. "This card eliminates all penguins from the field! Say good-bye to your army!" He slid the card into his duel disk and bright yellow liquid covered the penguins, effectively melting them. Crum was squawking away the whole time.
"I do not understand..." said Johnson.
"Mustard is poison to penguins, please please please don't ask," said Shayla, shaking her head slightly.
"How dare you?!" demanded Crum. "You have some nerve using that vile stuff! You will regret it!"
"I doubt it," said Rudy, continuing to smirk. He pulled out a small paintball gun and aimed at Crum. "I am here also representing an elite group who are out to stop you foul birds! I am here to take you out, Penguin King! POF forever!"
"They have an organization now?" asked Shayla, sweat-dropping even more.
Rudy nodded. "Yup. We're going to save the world." He turned back to Crum. "Now die penguin scum!" He pulled the trigger and started firing mustard bullets at the former accountant.
"ARRK! Help!" squawked Crum as he began to run.
"Come back here!" demanded Rudy as he began chasing, still shooting.
Shayla was back to burying her face in her free hand, and even Johnson was beginning to sweat-drop. Crum and Rudy's chase continued, doing laps around the dueling field. Rudy was laughing, and Crum was squawking as the bullets grazed him.
"Order! Order in the court!" bellowed Johnson. "I will have order, or I will have the bailiff kick you out!" He glared at Crum. "We still need to win this duel so we can claim their bodies!"
"Tell that to him!" squawked Crum, jumping as a bullet hit him in his lower backside.
Rudy came to a stop as the paintball gun failed to produce any more bullets. "Dang it! Out of ammo!"
"Again numbers are on my side!" exclaimed a winded Crum.
"Just wait until reinforcements get here bird-boy," snapped Rudy, walking back to his section of the field like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"If you twp are done, I am ready to present my argument," said Johnson.
"No, I'm not done," said Rudy. "I tribute my Earthbound Spirit to summon Ushi Oni!" It a flash of light and strong wind, the spirit was whipped away. In it's place stood a monster than looked like a bull-turned-genie. It wore a blue chest plate, but there was no need to guard its legs because they did not exist. Below the waste the Ushi Oni maded down like a genie. Its claws were exceptionally wicked. It glared down its opponents with a snort.Its stats were 2150 and 1950.
"Now, Ushi Oni, directly attack the penguin scum!" ordered Rudy.
Ushi Oni did. It jerked forward and slashed repeatedly at Crum, who squawked in pain and was sent flying backwards a little ways. He struggled to his stubby feet again, his life points at 1250.
"And now, we will have order in this courtroom!" said Johnson. "Because I will activate my Deckmaster's special ability again, getting rid of all your monsters!" He shifted a bit, because the Empress Judge had not stopped glaring at him. But then the duel system activated. Johnson's life points fell to 750, and the Empress Judge and Ushi Oni disappeared in a blaze of glory.
"Then, I will cal The Stern Mystic to the stand," continued Johnson. His monster appeared on the field. It looked like an elderly man with darker skin and course white hair. He wore a dark brown robe with a thick red collar and carried a gnarled wooden staff. Its stats were 1500 and 1200. Johnson eyed up his two opponents with an evil smile. They both had no monsters guarding their life points. "Mystic, attack Miss Shayla directly!"
The Stern Mystic raised its staff and held it out straight. A blue orb of power formed on the tip. Then, it shot forward, right at Shayla. She had been anticipating the attack and had put her arms up defensively, but the attack still hurt. She gasped in pain and fell to her knees. Her life points dropped to a mere 250.
"Shayla!" called Rudy. "Are you okay!?"
"I....I," she stammered. She took some deep breaths of air and again forced herself to her feet.
"You should just give up now," said Crum. "I wouldn't want your body to be any more damaged for when we take it!"
"Oh, shove it!" snapped Shayla.
"My turn is not over yet," said Johnson. "I play Pot of Greed, which lets me draw to more cards." He did so. "Then, I will place these three magic cards, before I activate Emergency Provision. With this card I..."
"Gain 500 life points for every magic card of yours on the field that you discard," finished Shayla, a bit waspishly. She was annoyed and scared, a bad combination.
"Correct," said Johnson, giving her an unnoticed evil eye. The life point counter on his duel disk rose to 2250.
"My turn then," said Shayla. She took a deep breath, even though it hurt to inhale, and drew her next card. It was Lady Assailant of the Flames. Shayla put it in her hand next to Soul of Purity and Light. She still wanted to summon the later, but she didn't have two Light monsters in her graveyard to do so. "There still might be a way," thought Shayla as she examined the rest of her hand.
"I will place this monster face down in defense mode," said Shayla as she set her Lady Assailant of the Flames. She then pulled out a magic card that she would never normally put in her deck; it was one Rudy had added. "Then, I activate Dark Piercing Light! That reveals my Lady Assailant of the Flames and activates her special ability!" Her next female monster appeared where that had been a face down card hologram. She had wild sliver-brown hair with feathers tied in it. Her outfit was skimpy and royal blue. Many metal bracelets adorned her arms. Her attack was 1500 and her defense was 1000.
"Special ability?!" cried Crum.
"Yes," said Shayla. "By discarding the top three cards from my deck, I can do 800 direct damage to one of you!" Her fingers found her deck and removed the top three cards, which she slid in her graveyard. She smiled when she noticed the last one she discarded was Dunames Dark Witch, a Light monster despite her name.
"Judgment on the Judgeman!" exclaimed Shayla as she decided her target. The Lady Assailant of the Flames put her hands together. A wall of fire rose, racing towards Johnson across the ground. He gasped as the flames singed him, taking off 800 life points and dropping him to 1450.
"First I will set a magic card. Now, I can finally summon my Soul of Purity and Light," said Shayla. "First, I will remove Dunames Dark Witch and Goddess with the Third Eye from the game. Then I can special summon my next creature!" Shayla put her second monster on the duel disk and it appeared to the right of the lady assailant. The Soul of Purity and Light was barely a glowing vapor. It had a female shape, but was so transparent it was hard to make out any other features beside that. Her stats were 2000 and 1800.
"If I directly attack either of them, they lose," thought Shayla. "But I can only attack with my Soul of Purity and Light, since my Lady Assailant of the Flames just changed battle positions."
"Soul of Purity and Light, attack the penguin directly, Revival Light!" ordered Shayla.
"Activate Negate Attack!" exclaimed Crum as he flipped over his face down magic card. The orbs of light that Shayla's monster had sent hit an invisible wall and disappeared. Shayla frowned.
"Never underestimate a penguin!" chuckled Crum. "I will activate Monster Reborn and bring back my Flying Penguin. But it won't stay on the field long, because I will tribute it to summon my Defender Iceberg!" His next monster was made of solid ice. It could pass itself for a small glacier it was that large. But once one got over that fact, one would see that it was really a giant carved into the ice. It held a hand out as if saying, "Stop." Its defense was 2450 with Crum's Deckmaster bonus. "Then I set one magic card and end my turn."
"You're always hiding behind your defenses," said Rudy, disdainfully. "Well, it won't work, because I am bring my Cosmo Queen to the field!" His Deckmaster nodded and stepped in front of him.
"Are you sure Rudy?" asked Shayla.
"Of course," he replied.
"You just made this easier on us!" said Crum. "All we have to do is destroy that one monster, and we win!"
"Too bad you won't be around then!" Rudy shouted back. "Now, Cosmo Queen, attack his Defender Iceberg, Cosmic Meteorain!" The Cosmo Queen raised her hands to the sky and began to call down comets.
Shayla heard the Mystical Sand gasp behind her. "We must stop this or your friend will lose mistress!"
"What!?"
"I will destroy the trap card."
"Do it," agreed Shayla.
The Mystical Sand nodded as she raised her hands, causing another fierce sandstorm. The violent winds caused the Cosmo Queen to pause in her attack. Slivers of ice broke off of the Defender Iceberg. The two members of the Big 5 cringed from the unexpected change in the weather. The card in front of Crum flipped up for a moment, revealing itself as Mirror Force. Then it vanished in the wind.
Rudy was the first to recover as the storm died. "Thanks Shayla, I owe you one."
"No, we're even now," she replied.
Rudy nodded, "Now, finish your attack Cosmo Queen!"
The Cosmo Queen once more called down comets from the sky, which pounded the Defender Iceberg to bits, thus thoroughly eliminating Crum's defenses.
"And you have the nerve to call me a cheater," muttered Johnson. "It isn't possible that your Deckmaster only takes out our magic cards!"
"I agree!" snapped Crum. "The odds of that happening are slim to nothing! You had more of a chance to destroy your own monsters then our traps!"
"I will not fail mistress," replied the Mystical Sand, glaring at them.
"Take your turn," Rudy said to Johnson.
"I will," said Johnson. "First, I play Graceful Charity. This magic card lets me draw three new cards, then discard any two cards from my hand."
"We know what it does, get on with it!" snapped Rudy.
Johnson looked at his cards and frowned. "I will move myself to the field."
Rudy smirked, "All or nothing? Eh?"
Johnson glared at him, "I will set one magic card, then attack the Soul of Purity and Light!" He raised a hand and began to concentrate his energy into it.
"I activate Clock of Destiny!" exclaimed Shayla, using the card she had placed last turn. It was one Rudy had added to her deck. "This will speed up all time related cards by one turn."
"There are none on the field!" exclaimed Crum.
"Yes there is," said Shayla. "My Soul of Purity and Light's special ability! For everyone full turn she is on the field, she decrease the attack of my opponent's monsters by 300. That means she is 100 points stronger than you Judgeman!"
"NO!!!" cried Johnson as the two clashed. There was a blinding flash of light and a loud, long scream. When both faded, all that was left was the nearly transparent soul.
"Now, finish this duel Soul of Purity and Light!" ordered Shayla. "Attack the penguin directly and eliminate the rest of his life points!"
"NO!" squawked Crum. But the attack could not be stopped. The attack went though and Crum's life points dropped to 0. His body broke into data bits and he vanished, leaving Shayla and Rudy alone in the sandy meadow.
Shayla felt very funny for a moment. She started to space out, but she pulled out her scales. She started speaking, but she wasn't sure if it was her voice or not, "It is time to judge those who have corrupted justice and defiled truth! The traitors will now have their hearts weighed!" The Millennial Scales glowed brightly and tipped to the left. There was another blinding flash of light. A creature that was part hippo, part lion, and part crocodile appeared in front of Shayla. The creature's name was Ammit, and she was ravenous. She didn't even look over her shoulder at the one who had summoned her before she disappeared in search of her prey.
With that Shayla's arm dropped. She shook her head as if she was confused, "W-w-what just happened?"
"Don't worry about it. I knew we'd win," said Rudy smugly.
"Rudy...thanks," said Shayla.
"Don't mention it," replied Rudy. "You are a good duelist, don't doubt yourself."
"Erm..." stammered Shayla. Then she felt a chill. "Rudy?"
No answer, he was gone.
Before Shayla had time to puzzle over this, a huge hole formed under her feet and she dropped. Her heart leapt to her throat and her acrophobia kicked in double time. She screamed, and somewhere during the fall, she blacked out.
**************************************************************************** **
*Dream*
Shayla was again watching a life outside her own. She was walking down empty streets in late evening. A large, heavy jar of water was in her arms. Shayla guessed that she had gone out to fetch water for the evening from a well.
She was trying to make it home before the sun fully set, but her arms were tired. She set it down in front of her and wiped the sweat off of her forehead.
CRASH! The sound of something breaking behind her caused her to whirl around. She heard some curing in Egyptian. Her eyes focused on a figure in the shadows. He had tripped over a jar that someone had left outside and broken it. The man signed and approached her.
Shayla heard herself gasp as she recognized the person. He was the high priest who had visited the temple before. She quickly looked down and tightened her grip on her jar of water. Her eyes slid back, considering running for it. But by that time he was in front of her.
"W-w-what do you want sir?" she asked, her voice and hands shaking.
"I am curious as to why an Israelite would be inside the temple of Isis," he said. She did not answer.
"Look at me," he said, not angrily, not demanding. Shayla did not move.
She felt strong fingers on her chin, tilting her head up. Her creamy brown eyes focused on his intense blue ones. Her eyes flickered away only once, but she found it near impossible to do that again. He started into the depths of her eyes as if he was reading her soul through them.
It was hard to say how many moments passed then, but it seemed like an eternity when he finally removed his hand from her face.
"I see then," he muttered. Shayla had the impression he had learned something from staring at her like that. "I will leave you now." With that he turned and walked away.
Shayla felt herself exhale, and she hadn't even realized she was holding her breath. Her heart had been pounding away like an out of control train. She took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves, grabbed her water jar, and hurried home as fast as she could. But her heart refused to calm down.
*End Dream*
"Ugh...my head," groaned Shayla as she woke up. Her mind was in knots from the duel and the dream, her nerves were on end from the fall, and her heart was still pounding from looking into his eyes. "Where am I?"
She began to feel around. Her hands first found her backpack, with everything in tact. The floor was cold and metallic beneath her fingers. She ran them along its surface, but it wasn't too far before she came across a pole in the ground. Next to that was another one, then another and another. Shayla jerked up right, but almost hit her head on the low ceiling. A cage!
"What is going on?!" she gasped.
"You are key in my plans, and I couldn't have you going anywhere," came Noah's reply.
"Noah?!" gasped Shayla. "What do you want with me?!"
"Like I said, I have my plans," he answered. She heard him go back to typing.
All around her were the voices of her friends, they sounded lost, confused, or just ticked. Shayla guessed that she was in some sort of surveillance room, where Noah watched them all.
"What are you trying to pull?" she demanded.
"Be quiet!" snapped Noah. "I don't need your mouth!"
Shayla felt that is she remained silent, she would once again be consumed by fear. "Answer my question then."
Noah ignored her and continued muttering to himself. "My software has almost finished going through all of Seto's memories. Then the real fun can begin!"
"You're going through his memories?!" gasped Shayla, horrified. "That's sick!"
"It's not less than he deserves!" Noah snapped back. "You should know that!"
"Everyone deserves to have their minds safe," replied Shayla, her heart wrenching as she thought of Mai.
"You are awfully noisy!" Noah retorted. "Why don't I show you how well this technology works first hand?!"
*Flashback*
"And that should finish it," Shayla, who as Adora at time, said to Martin. They had been labeling all of her newest Duel Monster cards. It was a beautiful day outside, but Shayla and Martin stayed inside because no one ever wanted to play with them. Luther, however, was out. He loved being athletically active. But he had promised he'd join them later that afternoon.
Someone, one of the workers, entered the room. "Martin, erm...whatever your name is, please come with me," her tone was dead serious.
"Come on Martin," said Adora/Shayla as she slipped her cards into her pack and walked out. Martin followed in her heels.
They were led to the main office. Mr. McCallen was behind his desk, a grave expression on his face. Martin and Adora sat down across from him.
"I have some bad news," he said. He waited for a response, but he got none, so he continued. "There's been an accident..." Still no response. "I'm sorry....Luther..."
"What about Luther?!" demanded Adora. Her mouth had gone dry and her heart started to throb.
"I'm sorry," repeated Mr. McCallen. "The car came out of nowhere...it was going too fast...He didn't make it..."
"What?! NO!" shrieked Adora. Martin sat there quietly, but his eyes were as wide as dinner plates.
"I'm sorry...he's gone," said Mr. McCallen.
"He can't be!" Adora cried. "I just talked to him this morning! He's not dead! He can't be! You lie!"
"I'm not...." started Mr. McCallen, but he never got a chance to finish before Adora ran from the room.
There were no tears, just a stunned breathlessness that had overtaken her and formed into panic. She didn't know where her feet were taking her, but she was in Luther's room. It smelled like him here. His things were here. It was familiar.
But it seemed like everything was pushing in around her. She gasped for air, but her head seemed light. Her legs gave out on her and she fell with a sob. That was where they found here half an hour later.
*End Flashback*
Shayla's heart was broken in two again as she relived that day in precise detail. She was breathing hard from the experience. Her Millennial Scales activated, feeling her stressed. They did what they were made to do, equalize things. A beam of light caught Noah squarely between the shoulder blades.
His eyes went vacant for a moment, then he screamed, "An accident?! ...NO!!! .... Father! Don't leave me!!!"
It went silent for a moment as they each tried to reorient themselves with reality...or as much of reality as they could.
"What are you?!" demanded Noah. "How did you use my own software against me?!"
"It's not technology, it's magic," Shayla answered, honestly.
Noah, "I bet it was that hacker friend of yours!"
"No, it was magic," insisted Shayla.
"Be quiet!" snapped Noah. "I am sick of hearing you!"
"You brought me here!"
"You're part of my plans and nothing more, so shut-up!"
"Then tell me what you want from me!"
Noah ignored her and began typing again. In the silence she could still hear her friends voices, same as ever. But a lump was forming in her stomach, some kind of instinct telling her she was in more trouble than she realized.