City of Fire

by Blax

In a dark century, a group of young men use powerful creatures called Cree to battle the evil forces of the N00b Armies. They are the last line of defense that protects the great City of Janime. Using their powers, they wage duels of darkess against the

37. Dino Storm

Chapter 37: Dino Storm

"Not so fast. You've activated my trap! I activate Rivalry of Warlords! You see, we both run Warrior-Type monsters, but now… you have your little dragon. Well, my trap forces you to choose if you would rather play with Dragon-Types or Warrior-Types."

'Then… then I can't use Timaeus' ability to fuse with my knight!' "I return Timaeus to my mind."

"Then it's settled. I have successfully sealed Timaeus from play."

'Damn… he's right.' "I cast a Spell. End turn…"

"Now… you die."

"Keep running. We gotta catch up to him sooner or later," Zakei yelled back at the others.

"Yeah… but what if this is a…" Tiamat started. Before he could finish, a flaming arrow whizzed by him. "Whoa, that was close. I think it was a warning shot."

All five of the Bashers stopped where they were. Suddenly, the air was filled with flaming arrows falling light shooting stars.

"Watch out!"

The Bashers continued to run, ducking and dodging the arrows as they set areas of the forest on fire. Finally, they came to a clearing, where Garu stood waiting. In his hand, he held a bow, nocked with a flaming arrow.

"Watch out!" Recks yelled as Garu released the arrow aimed at Zakei. He pushed Zakei out of the way and was hit with the burning dart. "Ahhh…"

"Recks… You saved me…"

"No prob."

"Foolish Anim," Garu laughed. He pulled back the string on his bow. Magically, a new arrow appeared in the nock and ignited itself. "This will finish you."

He released the arrow and it flew at Recks. It then split into five separate arrows.

"I summon Ankyloshield."

An armored Dino rose up from the earth. It's hard shell deflected the arrows.

"Well, that's impressive. You're a quick thinker."

"Enough games, Garu. What did you bring us out here for?"

"So glad you asked. If you want to find Darsus, he's up that trail. As for you friends, the lost ones, I know where they are as well," Garu responded, pointing his finger from a trail that led up the mountain to another that led back down.

"We can't trust you. You've been leading us into a trap," Recks responded, pulling the arrow out of his shoulder.

"I never lie. I will swear upon… well no matter what you won't believe me. However, just look up there." Garu pointed back up the path where he said Darsus was. At the top, a green light could faintly be seen. "So you see, that is where the souls collect. Darsus waits there, feeding the Beast."

"My turn, Bann," Morgen stated. He drew his sword from the sheath with his damaged right arm. The green glow of the Orichalcos covered his arm and his sword.

"I've been meaning to ask, what happened to your arm. You normally aren't so careless."

"It's the mark of the Orichalcos. To accept its power, I must endure its pain. Only then can one truly master it. You wouldn't understand, Bann."

"Right. Just make your move."

"Ben Kei, attack his Knight of Twin Swords!"

"I activate Knight's Seal."

"You've triggered another trap of mine. I activate Spell Shielding. This prevents you from using your trap on my Rivalry of Warlords trap."

"Don't worry. I wasn't targeting your trap. I was targeting Ben Kei so he can't attack a second time."

The Knight Seal appeared at Ben Kei's feet. His effect was nullified.

"He can still perform one attack. Ben Kei, strike!"

Ben Kei leapt into the air and slashed the Knight of Twin Swords with the Fusion Sword. The Knight of Twin Swords blocked the attack, but was still destroyed after being impaled by Ben Kei's spear.

"I'll cast a Spell. Your move."

"So, you aren't lying about that," Recks answered. "I guess you aren't a liar after all. Zakei, Tiamat. You two go after Darsus. He's afraid of your Dragons so you must be the key to beating him. Vaila, you and Jesi head the other direction. With any luck, you might find the others after all."

"What about you?" Vaila asked.

"I'm going to beat the pulp out of this guy."

'Fat chance kid.'

"Recks, be careful. We don't want to lose anymore friends."

"Don't worry about me. Now go."

Zakei and Tiamat headed off. Vaila and Jesi went the other way.

"So, you really intend to take me on? I can't say that's been your first mistake… but oh well. How about I make it easier on you? I won't even use the Seal of Orichalcos."

"Fine by me. That'll just make it easier to beat you."

"Right… DUEL!"

"My turn, and I summon Gold Knight. With his effect, I can automatically summon Dark Blade."

Bann's two knights appeared on the field. They stared at Ben Kei.

"Now, would you look at that? My monsters have equal attack to your Ben Kei. So much for the Seal of Orichalcos giving you so much power. Now, before I can call my attack, I activate Polymerization, fusing Dark Blade with the Pitch-Dark Dragon in my hand to form Dark Blade the Dragon Knight. Now, attack Ben Kei!"

Dark Blade swooped down to strike Ben Kei with his two swords.

"Not so fast. I activate Sacrifice. This allows me to perform a Tribute Summon on your turn. Now, I sacrifice Armed Samurai – Ben Kei to summon Total Defense Shogun!"

Ben Kei vanished. In his place, a heavily shielded warrior wielding a large sword appeared. On his forehead, the Seal glowed and his eyes reddened. Dark Blade flew right over the new warrior, awaiting a new command from his master.

'Damn, that thing's defense. It's too much.' "I end my turn."

"Good. Now, Shogun, attack Gold Knight!"

Total Defense Shogun lifted his large sword, dropping it on Gold Knight, whose head split in two before his body vanished.

"Your move."

'Perfect. I have just the thing to take out your Shogun.' "I start by activating De-Fusion. Since I can't keep both Dark Blade and Pitch-Dark Dragon on the field, I'll return the Dragon to my hand."

"You could've summoned Timaeus if you had kept Pitch-Dark Dragon on the field."

"True, but Pitch-Dark Dragon is far too weak to summon with Timaeus, and I would rather save him for later. Besides, I have something better in store for you. I activate Union Summoner, allowing me to equip a Union Monster in my mind with my Dark Blade."

"Then… you are just going to equip Dark Blade with Pitch-Dark Dragon again?"

"Wrong. There is another dragon that Dark Blade can unite with. I summon Kiryu! Now fuse with Dark Blade!"

A much larger dragon with red skin appeared. Dark Blade jumped into the air, landing on the back of the new dragon.

"Dark Blade Kiryu, attack Total Defense Shogun!"

Kiryu let out a fireball and Dark Blade swung his swords, launching two blades of energy. The three attacks combined and struck the Shogun's shield. The shield shattered and Total Defense Shogun was ripped into a million pieces that were burned in Kiryu's fire.

"I'll start us off," Garu said. "I summon a shadow monster. That'll end my turn."

'That's it? What's this guy pulling? Fine, I'll just have to use… crap.' "I Special Summon Gilasaurus. Then I summon Velocisaurus." 'These two aren't that strong… but they're the best monsters I've got in my opening turn. Shit.' "Gilasaurus, attack his shadow monster."

Gilasaurus ran at the shadows, striking it with its long tail. The shadows dispersed to reveal Arsenal Summoner, who blocked the attack.

"My Arsenal Summoner gives me the power to add one Guardian Cree to my mind. I choose Guardian Trouse."

"I cast a Spell and end my turn."

"Good. I equip Arsenal Summoner with Gravity Axe – Grarl. Then I activate Guardian's Treasure. By giving up all the Cree in my mind, I can add two new Cree to my mind and do the same during each of my turns." Garu closed his eyes and concentrated for a second. Then he opened his eyes and laughed. "Excellent. I cast a Spell and summon Guardian Grarl. Then I activate the Spell I just cast, Tailor of the Fickle, giving my Guardian Grarl his axe."

The axe transferred to Grarl's hands.

"Now Grarl, attack his Gilasaurus!"

Grarl charged at Gilasaurus. Recks was in awe of the great Dino that was charging at him. It was amazing that Garu could summon something like that.

"Recks, you have to do something!"

'Huh? Oh yeah.' He shook his head. "I activate Canyon Breaking!"

A huge crack in the ground between Recks and Garu opened, preventing Grarl from reaching Recks' Dinos.

"That would make it my turn, and I sacrifice Gilasaurus to summon Sailadon."

Sailadon, a large, blue, sea-faring dinosaur, took the place of Gilasaurus. With his power, Recks was able to add a new Cree to his mind.

"Now Sailadon, attack Arsenal Summoner!"

Sailadon let out a supersonic howl, destroying the cloaked magician.

"Grr…"

"Didn't like that, did you? Well, get used to your monsters being destroyed."

"I seriously doubt that. I'm sorry, Arsenal Summoner. I promise you that I won't let anymore comrades fall for the rest of the duel."

"You… you can't be serious. There is no way you can keep every single one of your monsters from going to the Graveyard."

"Try me, Recks Syprus. Unlike you, I care for my Guardians, and I won't let them die."

'Wow, he looks serious… no way he can keep his vow, though. It's just impossible.'

"I wouldn't be too sure of that. He looks awful sure of himself."

'Yeah…?'

"Oh, you can see me again. Well, that's good."

'Cave Girl?'

"Yeah?"

'Never mind. Thank you.' "I cast a Spell. Your move, Garu. Let's see if you can keep your boast."

"Very well. I'll start by summoning a shadow monster and casting a Spell. Now, Guardian Grarl, attack his Sailadon with Decisive Impact!"

Grarl lifted his axe and swung it at the Sailadon, who split in half from the blow.

"That's my move."

"Good move, but your Dark Blade and Kiryu won't be on the field for long."

"You sure about that?"

"Quite sure. I start by activating Cost Down, decreasing the Level of every Cree in my mind. This allows me to summon Zanki without a sacrifice."

A red-armored samurai wearing a blue mask over his face appeared form the darkness. He drew his sword as the Seal of Orichalcos appeared on his forehead. Through the eye slits of the mask, all that could be seen was a bright red light.

"Now, I equip Zanki with Sword Crusher."

A large, heavy sword appeared in Zanki's left hand.

"Zanki, attack Dark Blade Kiryu!"

Zanki jumped into the air, unhindered by the weight of the large sword. He struck Kiryu with the Sword Crusher, destroying the dragon. He dropped the large sword and he and Dark Blade began a mid-air battle as they fell. Zanki was too much for the knight and was destroyed.

"I see my samurai are too much for you knights, Bann. You are no match for my might."

"We'll see about that." 'You're a sight for sore eyes. Welcome back…' "Gearfried the Iron Knight!"

Gearfried appeared beside Bann.

'Great to see you again, old friend.'

"You too, Lord Bann."

'Enough with the "Lord" stuff. Let's go show this clown what we're made of.'

"Alright."

"Since Gearfried can't take on Zanki at the moment, I'll just cast a Spell. Your turn, Morgen."

"Zanki, attack!"

Zanki charged at Gearfried, who lifted his shield to block. Zanki struck the shield, but his attack was converted into life energy, fed directly into Bann.

"What?"

"My trap, Morgen. You didn't think. I activated Draining Shield."

"I had a feeling you set that. That's why I drew it out with my attack. I cast two Spells. Go."

"Fine. I activate Release Restraint. This breaks Gearfried out of his Iron Armor."

'I can't let him strike my life.' "I activate Book of Moon, covering Zanki in shadow."

"Thank you."

"What?"

"You've just made my job easier. I summon Nobleman of Crossout and Nobleman of Extermination."

A blonde haired knight and a large sword wielding, bearded knight appeared on either side of Gearfried. The Nobleman of Crossout lifted his light blade and swung it at the shadows, releasing a ray of light that destroyed Zanki. Nobleman of Extermination lifted his large sword and struck the ground, destroying the set Sakuretsu Armor trap that Morgen had cast.

"No…"

"You're wide open. Gearfried, attack!"

The two noblemen vanished, leaving Gearfried with a clear path and Nobleman of Crossout's sword. Gearfried picked up the blade and ran at Morgen, striking him across the chest.

"AAAHhh ga gak gak…"

"This will be all over, soon."

"Not… not if I have anything to say about it."

"You don't have a choice. I cast two Spells. Go."

"I summon Masaki the Legendary Swordsman."

The blue-armored samurai, Morgen's favorite Cree, would now face off against Bann's greatest defender, Gearfried the Swordmaster.

"I activate Premature Burial, reviving my Armed Samurai – Ben Kei. Now, I activate Bushido Mastery, sacrificing Ben Kei so that Masaki can become a true samurai."

Thunder crashed. The rain began to beat down harder. The Seal didn't hold back the forces of nature, so Bann and Morgen were now soaked. They both lifted their swords.

"This is it. So shall our greatest Cree clash, we will as well."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Samurai Masaki, attack Gearfried. Your favorite monster won't survive this."

"I wouldn't count on it."

The two men ran at each other. Their blades clashed in the rain. Gearfried and Masaki did the same. Gearfried's sword broke from Masaki's might.

"Your… Gearfried is losing…"

"No… I activate Shining Armor, turning Gearfried into a knight. Also, I activate Knight Shield."

The silvery armor appeared over Gearfried along with a shield that blocked Masaki's attack.

"You saved him, but you won't do it again. I cast a Spell."

"Oh yeah? I equip Gearfried with Holy Sword. This increases his attack and allows him to immediately destroy Masaki!"

Gearfried lunged at Masaki as Bann and Morgen continued to clash their swords. The rain didn't hinder their battle as they matched blow for blow. Masaki and Gearfried also met blow for blow. Both men and their Cree were equally matched still.

"Masaki can't be destroyed by an effect. Only in battle will he die."

"Then so be it. Their attacks are equal, but the Holy Sword prevents Gearfried from being destroyed in battle when attacking a monster with equal strength."

Gearfried attacked Masaki again, but his attack was blocked and transferred to Morgen's life.

"You… aren't the only one… who has a Draining Shield trap."

"I see…"

CLANG

"Your swordsmanship has… improved… Bann."

"Same to you."

"You never could beat me, one-on-one." Morgen made a spinning motion with his sword. "Shadow Twister!"

Morgen spun the sword and twirled his body, ducking out of the way of Bann's attack. The spinning of the sword and Morgen's body made the blade spin out of the control. Bann jumped up, just barely missing the blade, but was hit when the sword spun around again.

"Argg!" Bann yelled as he fell back. Blood covered his clothes.

"Bann! Morgen, stop this. Please!"

"I'm sorry Migome, but I need to finish this."

"Suit… suit your… yourself. You should have listened to the lady. I cast a Spell."

"And I activate Kishido Spirit. Since both of our monsters can't destroy each other, this should prove to be quite the battle!"

"You said it. Gearfried…"

"Masaki!"

"ATTACK!" they both yelled.

Bann and Morgen continued their fight alongside their Cree. Migome could do nothing but watch as the two former friends fought to the death.

"I activate Call of the Haunted, Special Summoning Sailadon," Recks called. "Now, I sacrifice Sailadon to summon Long-Neck Guardian."

A large brontosaurus stomped onto the field.

"Now, attack the shadow monster with Stamping Fury!"

Long-Neck Guardian dropped a heavy foot onto the shadow monster, revealed to be Backup Guardna.

"So much for protecting you monster!"

"I activate Guardian Defense. This protects my Guardna from destruction."

'Damn, he did save his monster… and even at the cost of some life.'

"Confused? I told you that you wouldn't understand the bond with my Cree."

"I end my turn."

"I equip Backup Guardna with Rod of Silence – Kay'est. This increases his defense and lets me summon Guardian Kay'est. Guardian Grarl, attack his Long-Neck Guardian!"

"My Long-Neck Guardian has the ability to transfer an attack to another monster and increase that monster's attack."

Velocisaurus jumped in front of Long-Neck Guardian. His attack power increased due to his effect along with Long-Neck's. Grarl easily cut through the small Dinosaur, but two more took its place.

"My Velocisauruses hunt in packs."

"You care nothing about your Cree. You got rid of one just to save another. Never leave a man behind. Don't sacrifice one just to save the others. You must protect them all, just as they protect you."

"Garu…"

"I cast a Spell. Your turn."

"… I activate Polymerization, fusing my Velocisauruses to Fusion Summon Traptor. Traptor gains attack if I have another monster on the field. Then, I add in two Raise Body Heats, making him just strong enough to destroy your Guardian Grarl. Traptor, attack!"

"I activate Guardian Formation, negating your Traptor's attack. I can then add an Equipment Spell to my mind. Now, I activate the Shooting Star Bow – Ceal."

The same bow that Garu was using earlier appeared on the field.

"I then summon Guardian Ceal, equipping him with the Shooting Star Bow. Guardian Ceal, attack!"

Ceal pulled back the bowstring. A fiery arrow appeared in the nock, launching straight at Recks. Ceal then pulled back the bowstring again, launching another arrow at Traptor. The dinosaur vanished in flames. Ceal's bow also disappeared.

"I cast a Spell. Your turn, Recks."

"Fine, I summon my Archaeopteryx. Then, I activate Ultra Evolution Pill – Revised Formula."

Archaeopteryx began to mutate, turning into a dark gray dinosaur with orange stripes.

"I activate Earthquake. This will switch all of your Guardians to defense position, allowing me to attack you directly."

"No, I activate Guardian Force! This negates your Earthquake spell."

The earth began to shake, but Grarl hit the ground with his Gravity Axe, subduing the movement of the ground.

'He… he negated another one of my moves. He can counter everything I do.' "I activate Fairy of the Spring and end my turn."

"I cast a Spell," Bann said.

"So do I. Now, let's see who truly is the greatest swordsman!" Morgen taunted.

"Fine with me!" Bann yelled back.

The two attacked each other again. Gearfried and Masaki remained in locked combat, neither one faltering or weakening. Bann and Morgen's swords clashed. They countered each other's attack swiftly. They were truly both great swordsmen. Migome continued to watch in awe of the two's fighting style.

"I think it's time to end this…" Bann said. His face was a mere few inches from Morgen's, who agreed. "I activate Megas Saber, increasing Gearfried's attack.

"And I counter with Duos Saber, giving Masaki an attack boost."

"So, we thought the same thing. I can't beat you, Morgen. You know me too well."

"Huh? What are you…?"

"I will not hold my Guardians even in death. I activate Soul Release, releasing Guardian Trouse and Arsenal Summoner's souls. Along with them, I destroy your Ultra Evolution Pill, Earthquake, and Meteor of Destruction Spells. Since I don't have any monsters in my Grave, I can now activate this: Revival of Elemental Blade!"

A large, clear sword rose up from the earth. The rain above poured down on the sword and wind wrapped around the edges. Fire filled the clear blade and the four elements met. Lightning struck behind the sword and a man with blue hair appeared, grabbing the sword from where it lay lifting it into the air.

"Meet my Guardian Fayt, who I give the Elemental Blade."

"You Guardian is a Ritual Monster. You need to sacrifice monsters to summon him."

"That is true, normally. But when my Graveyard is empty, the Revival Ritual requires no sacrifice in return for being so good to my monsters. So you can see, by releasing to souls of the monsters I that did die by my hand, shows my kindness. However, I can't say the same of you. Guardian Grarl, attack Dark Tyranno."

Grarl lifted his axe and swung at the tyrant lizard, destroying it in one mighty blow.

'Damn him…'

"Your move."

"I equip Long-Neck Guardian with Raise Body Heat. Then, I have it attack your Guardian Fayt."

Long-Neck Guardian let out another supersonic howl aimed at Fayt. Fayt lifted his sword to block, but he wasn't strong enough. However, only the Elemental Blade vanished. In its stead, the Shooting Star Bow appeared in his hand.

"What?"

"I can send an Equipment Spell that Guardian Fayt holds to my grave in order to stop him from being destroyed. Also, when my Elemental Blade goes to the grave, I can equip a Spell from my grave to Fayt, so I chose the Shooting Star Bow. Now Fayt, use the power of the Shooting Star Bow!"

Fayt pulled back the bowstring and unleashed an arrow that struck Recks in his left leg.

"Ahhh…" he moaned from the sharp burning pain.

"I activate Lock of Nightmare, chaining your Long-Neck Guardian. Then, a cast Spell and that will end my turn."

"Ehhh…grr… you'll regret that. I activate Deepest Impact!"

"No, you'll destroy both of our monsters!"

"Yeah, but I have no other choice."

"I won't let you!"

The meteor shower flew down from the air, but Garu jumped in front of his monsters to protect them, taking the hit of every last meteorite.

"I will use My Body as a Shield. Ahh…"

'He really is willing to do anything to protect his monsters…' "I understand Garu. I won't destroy your Guardians. I will have to find a different way to get around them. I cast a Spell and summon Hyper Hammerhead. Now, attack Guardian Fayt."

Hyper Hammerhead struck Guardian Fayt with its strangely built face. Fayt block with the Shooting Star Bow, which shattered. Then, the Hammerhead struck again, returning Fayt to Garu's mind.

"Thank you. However, I must end this."

"I won't go down without a fight."

"I activate a second Soul Release. This allows me to destroy your Deepest Impact, Polymerization, and Raise Body Heat. Then, I activate Celestial Sword – Eatos. This allows me to Special Summon my Guardian Eatos. Eatos, take up your sword and unveil your judgment."

Eatos lifted the long, slim blade into the air. All of monsters that Recks played during the duel appeared transparently next to Eatos.

"Do you see these? They are the souls of the monsters that you used during this duel. You betrayed them, letting them die. However, you did not let them rest, keeping them tethered to your soul. However, I have released them, and now, together, we shall destroy you."

The souls of the eight fallen dinosaurs were absorbed by Eatos' sword.

"Eatos, attack him!"

Eatos spread here white wings and flew down to destroy all that Recks had left.

"I activate Jurassic Unleash."

Long-Neck Guardian and Hyper Hammerhead vanished. In their place, a large white tyrannosaurus stepped onto the field. He roared as the souls that Eatos had absorbed were sucked out of the sword into Tyranno Infinity. Tyranno Infinity was still no match for Eatos and was destroyed. The intense force of the attack threw Recks against a tree.

"Good, you didn't die. That means I can still use you."

Garu walked over to Recks and picked up his still body.

"I activate Megas Saber, increasing Gearfried's attack.

"And I counter with Duos Saber, giving Masaki an attack boost."

"So, we thought the same thing. I can't beat you, Morgen. You know me too well."

"Huh? What are you…?"

"I activate Final Attack!"

Gearfried and Masaki stepped back, about to face off in one final move.

Morgen jumped back. He had no idea what was about to happen. Gearfried and Masaki charged, slashing with their swords, stopping back-to-back.

Next time on City of Fire: Double Trouble