Tournament of Souls Chapter 20
"Don't get mad, get even." – Animal House
"Hell, there are no rules here-- we're trying to accomplish something."- Thomas Edison
Lucien dashed through the hallways of the complex trying to get to his friends. What if we're dueling her next? They need to be warned. When he turned the corner and ran into the area containing the duel station, his friends were there on the bench facing down a perfectly normal team of three teenaged boys. He sat down next to his team mates, breathing heavily.
Raoul passed him the cure-all of water and a protein bar. Lucien took a sip of the water, but slipped the protein bar into a pocket. When he had recovered his breath he whispered to his friends. "The woman with red hair is here. She's in the tournament, we were right."
They stared at him. While they had known somewhere in the back of their heads that they would be encountering her, they had always thought that it would be some time later, maybe the national level. It never occurred to them that her known range of operations was the West City area, meaning that if she was in the tournament system, they would be encountering her here, at the state level.
Aliya recovered first. "Who are her team mates?"
"No idea. I haven't seen her yet. But I overheard someone who was beaten by her. It couldn't have been anyone else."
Raoul shook himself out of the shock. "Hold on, how do we know it's her then? If you haven't seen her and there must be dozens of people out there with red hair who look vaguely like her. We have no way to be sure. What exactly did you hear?"
Lucien was getting irritated. He knew that she was here. She had to be. "The guy said that he wouldn't have been beaten if his opponent hadn't used a card called License to Torment. It's an incredibly rare card, and she's the only person I've ever heard of having it. His opponent was a 'she.'"
Now Aliya was having doubts. "Lucien, I know you want to beat her. We all do. But this card isn't like Blue Eyes White Dragon. There are other duelists who have it. It is perfectly plausible that some other female duelist in the state round has it."
Lucien hated it. But he knew that his friends were right. He was a bit over eager to take her down. He took a deep breath and sighed. The judge began announcing the match.
"The Card Shop is about to face off against Mach 5. Will the team captains please come up to the podium." Wonderful, this judge knew what he was doing.
Lucien went up to the podium and shook the boy who was the opposing captain's hand. The boy leaned toward Lucien and said "Good luck." Then he leaned closer and whispered, "You'll need it."
Lucien merely raised an eyebrow and shrugged. He took a sip from the water bottle in his left hand spacing it so the opposing captain would have to move back so as not to be hit by the rising water bottle.
The captain didn't recognize the silent insult for what it was until Lucien had made his way back to the bench. By then it was too late to do anything but get angry and tell his team mates to win. Oohh, I'm scared now. Bring it on numb skull.
One of the opposing teams came up to the duel station cracking his knuckles. Lucien slapped Raoul on the back to get his attention and sent him up. For some reason it struck him as the strategic choice, possibly because he wouldn't be physically intimidated by anything short of an Olympian.
They each took their positions and placed their decks in the machine. Raoul's gem turned purple as his opponent's turned – well, it didn't seem to know what color to turn. It just kind of sat there flickering from one color to the next until someone in the control booth did something that settled it on green.
Raoul Cooper: 8000
Mach 5 1st Lieutenant: 8000
This time the spinner selected Raoul to go first. The audience and his opponent were made to wait as he ate a snack bar. "To start the duel off, I set a monster and end my turn with another card behind it."
His opponent drew. Lucien analyzed his expression, but it revealed nothing. "I summon Familiar Knight (1200/1400) and attack your face down monster." A purple armored spellcaster appeared and was destroyed.
Raoul grinned around yet another snack bar. "You just destroyed Apprentice Magician. I'll bring in a face down monster by its effect."
His opponent scowled fiercely. "I will set two cards and end my turn."
Raoul seemed somewhat over eager. "I will summon Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700). Then I flip my fresh Apprentice Magician (400/800) to give it a spell counter. Then I will activate my face down card, Pitch Black Power Stone and add another spell counter to Skilled Dark Magician. For that last spell counter I will play Emblem of Dragon Destroyer to add Buster Blader to my hand."
His opponent continued to scowl fiercely. Either he was dumb, had no variation of expression, or had a plan. Raoul ignored this.
"I will now activate Skilled Dark Magician's ability to special summon Dark Magician from my deck. Now I play Dark Magic Attack, destroying all of your set spells and traps."
The ever scowling opponent flipped a card. "I chain Scapegoat. A Hero Emerges is destroyed."
Raoul continued forward. "Dark Magician will attack Familiar Knight."
Raoul Cooper: 8000
Mach 5 1st Lieutenant: 6700
His opponent scowled in what seemed to be a more intelligent fashion as he explained the consequences. "When Familiar Knight is destroyed in battle we each may special summon a four star monster from my hand. Unfortunately, Scapegoat prevents me from doing so."
Raoul was still grinning. "I will special summon Skilled White Magician (1700/1900). It will attack a goat token as will Apprentice Magician. Then I will end my turn."
The crowd was not on Raoul's side in this match. He was too haughty, too full of himself from his last duel. Nor were they about to side with his opponent; it is hard to like someone who constantly scowls. The crowd watched eagerly, but they did not side with either player. If you asked who they were supporting, odds are the majority would have named Raoul. None the less, they weren't going to advertise the fact.
His opponent took his turn in stride. These were long strides that knocked down buildings in their path, not friendly walking through the park strides. "I play the spell card Monster Gate. I sacrifice a goat token to special summon the first monster that comes up in my deck. Any spells or traps in between are discarded." One orb on the staff of Skilled White Magician lit up.
He picked the top card off his deck and dropped Monster Reincarnation into the graveyard. The next he slapped onto the field. "I summon the mighty Sword Hunter (2450/1700). This mighty warrior likes trophies and will make one of any monster he defeats in combat."
Raoul showed just how little he cared by taking a big gulp of soda. "He's still weaker than my Dark Magician. Why should I care?"
Lucien just shook his head in dismay. Raoul's opponent however was not so silent. "Watch this. First I think I'll play Wicked Breaking Flameberg – Baou. I have to discard a card to activate it, but it is very worth it. First it increases my monster's attack by five hundred points (2950/1700). Secondly it negates the abilities of anything it may destroy in battle." The second of the stones on the staff of Skilled White Magician began to glow. "Take this for example. Sword Hunter, attack Apprentice Magician."
Raoul Cooper: 5450
Mach 5 1st Lieutenant: 6700
No new monster appeared to aid Raoul. Instead Sword Hunter had taken his magician's staff and slipped it into a strap on his back as his attack rose (3150/1700). "I end my turn."
Lucien noticed that Raoul was looking dispirited. He called up to the opposing duelist. "You have been withholding one piece of information."
He looked down at Lucien, surprised. He couldn't think of anything. "What do you mean?"
"We have a right to know what the card was that you discarded to activate Wicked Breaking Flameberg – Baou."
"You do?"
The judge intervened to prevent confusion on all sides. "That is correct. Both players' graveyards are open to all eyes. Answer the opposing captain's question."
Scowling the boy looked down at his graveyard and scratched his head. "I discarded Rare Metal Dragon for all its worth."
Lucien looked towards Raoul. "It is worth quite a lot."
Raoul took his cue. "I send King of the Swamp from my hand to the graveyard in order to add Polymerization to my hand. Now I will play it, fusing Dark Magician with the Buster Blader in my hand. Put your hands together for Dark Paladin (2900/2400)!"
The crowd exploded with sound. Regardless of the players, how could one not applaud when such a monster was summoned to the field? And Raoul wasn't done yet.
"Now for the more observant of you this will come as no surprise. But my Skilled White Magician has three spell counters, and that means I can activate its ability. I sacrifice it for Buster Blader (2600/2300) from my graveyard."
All the cheering was beginning to give Lucien a headache. It didn't help any that he hadn't noticed that Skilled White Magician had collected three spell counters. At least this put his friend in a good position.
"Raoul has this game in the bag. Dark Paladin will stop any spells that his opponent might play and between it and Buster Blader he'll be able to decimate his opponent's life points."
Aliya shook her head in doubt. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. Raoul doesn't have any cards in his hand so he won't be able to discard for Dark Paladin's effect."
I'm losing my touch. Either that or I'm reacting badly under pressure. These two have no idea what they're about to be up against. I'm tempted to try and get out of the tournament before we have to face that woman.
Raoul was on a roll. "Dark Paladin and Buster Blader share an ability. They each get 500 extra attack points for each dragon on your field and in your graveyard. Actually Dark Paladin gets that bonus for my graveyard as well. Dark Paladin (3400/2400) will attack your Sword Hunter." The spellcaster spun its heavy sword like a baton and sent a blast of dark magic to consume the opposing monster.
Raoul Cooper: 5450
Mach 5 1st Lieutenant: 6450
"Now Buster Blader (3100/2300)will destroy the last goat token and I will end my turn." The mighty warrior looked down at the sheep with contempt. He hefted his sword and cut it in two effortlessly.
Aliya cheered and yelled support. "Keep it up, Raoul; you're going to win this!" She jabbed Lucien with her elbow.
He coughed and spat out the first mildly supportive thing that came to mind. "I can only think of five ways he could beat you right now; you've got this duel in the bag."
Aliya glared at him. "Compared to what?"
"Huh?"
"Compared to how many ways to beat Raoul?"
"Oh, usually there are more than I care to count. It would help if his opponent had a tighter deck theme."
Raoul's opponent had a clear field, but for the first time in the duel he wasn't scowling. "I play Reasoning. You may know how this card works. It functions in the same was as Monster Gate except instead of sacrificing a monster I give you a choice. It is up to you to pick a level of monster. If you get it right and the first monster I pick is of that level it is discarded. If, however, you get it wrong, it is summoned. Care to try?"
Raoul considered for a moment. Lucien himself didn't know what to choose. In the end he thought Raoul made a fairly well educated choice. "I will pick seven stars."
The opponent flipped up the top card of his deck and grinned. "I'm afraid you guessed wrong. The Creator (2300/3000) has eight stars, and I bring it to the field in defense mode. Then I play Swords of Revealing Light. You may not attack for three turns. I end my turn."
Raoul gritted his teeth as the shining swords appeared. "I can only set a card and end my turn."
"Very well then. I will mimic your move."
To Lucien it was something like a ping pong match. The ball bounced back and forth and not much happened. Raoul took his turn.
"I summon Blast Magician (1400/1700). I will activate my set Pitch Black Power Stone and add a counter to it. Now I end my turn." The swords faded from the field.
The scowling duelist peeked at the card he had drawn before deciding a course of action. "I will discard this card from my hand to special summon Sword Hunter by the Creator's effect. I will have Sword Hunter attack Blast Magician and at it to his trophy collection (2650/1700)."
Raoul: 4400
Mach 5 1st Lieutenant: 6450
Raoul puzzled over his situation for a moment. Soon enough he realized that he had very few courses of action and took the best of them. "I set a card and end my turn."
The swords of light dissapeared from the field much to The Card Shop's relief.
His opponent tried his hand at mockery. "Is that all you can do? I'm so sorry for you…" It didn't take long to realize he didn't have the acting skills to pull this off successfully. "I activate my face down Shadow Spell to ensnare Buster Blader and decrease his attack (2400/2300).Sword Hunter attacks your dragon slayer." The battle didn't last long. One swift stroke from Sword Hunter ended it and he sheathed his own sword in favor of Buster Blader's (2850/1700).
"I set one card face down and end my turn."
Raoul looked like he might have a plan this time. "I will summon Injection Fairy Lily (400/1500). Then I will have Dark Paladin attack your Sword Hunter."
The scowling one flipped a card. "I chain with Rush Recklessly. Sword Hunter gains 700 attack points for the turn (3550/1700). Your Paladin is dead." With these last words he turned his thumb down, and Sword Hunter slew the famous monster. Now Sword Hunter wielded two mighty blades (3750/1700).
Raoul: 4250
Mach 5 1st Lieutenant: 6450
Raoul could only look down. "I end my turn."
His opponent grinned cruelly. "You recognize defeat."
"Never."
"Very well, allow me to do that for you. I discard the card I just drew to special summon Rare Metal Dragon (2400/1200) from the graveyard. Then I will switch The Creator to attack mode. Rare Metal Dragon will start off the attack on Injection Fairy Lily." The little monster quivered.
Raoul shook his head. "I activate Injection Fairy Lily's special ability, sacrificing 2000 life points to increase its attack by 3000 (3400/1500) during the Damage Step." Injection Fairy Lily injected itself with its syringe, and then rode the syringe to 'sting' Rare Metal Dragon into oblivion.
Raoul: 2250
Mach 5 1st Lieutenant: 5450
Mach 5's representative continued. "The Creator will attack Injection Fairy Lily with the Thunder of Creation!" The huge monster took a step forward and slammed its hands together on Lily. Out of its hands came lighting and the sound of thunder. However, when it opened its hands one of them had been injected and soon the golden monster fell. Raoul had once again sacrificed his life points to Lily.
Raoul: 250
Mach 5 1st Lieutenant: 4350
Finally his opponent was grinning. "Sword Hunter (3050/1700), attack Injection Fairy Lily and finish this!" Sword Hunter brought down both its mighty blades and sent forth a wave of force towards the cowering monster.
Raoul cried out. "I will not be defeated so easily. I activate Magic Cylinder!" The force wave went in one and popped right out the other, knocking his opponent to the ground.
Raoul: 250
Mach 5 1st Lieutenant: 1300
He stood up, laughing. "Interesting. I end my turn."
Raoul's hands shook as he drew and he put on a brave face. "I set a card and switch Injection Fairy Lily into defense mode. Your turn."
His opponent laughed again as he drew. It sent shivers down everyone on the team's spines. He took too much pleasure in winning. "I think luck is on my side today. I play Fairy Meteor Crush on Sword Hunter to allow him to deal damage despite your defensive stance. Sword Hunter, finish what should have been over a long time ago."
The monster walked over to Injection Fairy Lily and crossed its swords on either side of her neck. Then it snapped them together, like a child's scissors on a pipe cleaner.
Raoul Cooper: 0
Mach 5 1st Lieutenant: 1300
The ever fickle crowd cheered as the victor left the duel station. The judge's announcement of victory was completely lost. Lucien was shocked. Down to the last moment he hadn't expected his friend to lose. People like us aren't supposed to lose.
Then reality had hit. He would need to win a duel to advance them to the next round. It didn't mean he had to like it.
Lucien walked up to the duel station as Raoul came down and walked him to the bench. Lucien wanted to go up their and defeat the other team himself. He held back for two reasons. First he wasn't over anxious to duel with the deck that had failed him. Secondly he saw who it was coming up for the next duel. It wasn't the captain and Lucien wanted to get this at the root. Or maybe he just wanted more glory, but it didn't really make a difference. Instead of going up to duel, he walked with Raoul back to the bench.
He nodded to Aliya. "It's your turn."
Aliya stopped biting her lip and walked up to the duel station. Lucien turned his attention back to Raoul who whispered,
"How could I lose? I should have had that duel in the bag from the start."
Lucien shook his head sadly. "Everyone loses some times. You'll just have to do your best to make up for it next time. Maybe we can tweak your deck later. There's only one more round left today. We can make it through." At this he turned back to the duel station secretly nervous. If Aliya lost this one… no; she wouldn't lose. She couldn't. And if she does? What will I do then? I'll go on. And I won't have to face that demon of a woman. Wasn't that the entire point of being here? The glory would be nice too, but not at the cost of my life. There is more than my life at stake here.
I'll find a way.
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Author's Note: Please, read Shadows of the Small, the companion to this fic. This is not hard. It involves clicking on the link to my profile and clicking on the one there that is labeled Shadows of the Small: Darkness Falls. Go and be rewarded with many digital cookies.