And here it is, the final part of our mid-story interlude!
Now, I know it took longer than I had planned to post this chapter. Duels of this sort are hard to plan to begin with, and given the nature of both decks, it was very easy to make a mistake. If I did make a mistake, please PM me about it, and I'll try to fix it.
Before we start, should any readers enjoy playing "mood music" while reading these duels, I would suggest the battle theme from Final Fantasy VI.
Enjoy!
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Shadowchasers
Blue Blood
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Interlude
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Souled Out!
Part 6
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"What the FUCK?"
Maddie's loud expletive surprised even her. Ask anyone, her friends, family, colleagues, even Shadowkind criminals she had known long enough to have a mutual grudge with, she wasn't the type who had a foul mouth.
But upon driving her D-Wheel though the portal, few words could have described the mess she now realized she had gotten herself into.
She had emerged into a place best described as a desert, with blood red sand and rocky hills the same color. There were also bones and skulls, many of them too large to be human, strewn along the desert to either side of her. The sky above had no sun, and seemed full of blazing, smoky clouds.
While this alone wasn't enough to panic someone in her line of work, there was something else that unnerved her. The desert was covered with large… lumps, like cysts or blisters. Simply looking at these unnatural formations made Maddie feel nauseated.
"Oh, for the love of -" said a familiar voice.
Despite the horrific surroundings, they were still on a road of sorts, and the infernal carriage was still in front of her with Cammy and Ferid at the reins. They had stopped for some reason, but upon seeing Maddie, started again. The Shadowchaser shifted the gear and floored it - wherever she was, she knew she had to concentrate on her goal. These two would not get away if she could help it,
"Dammit!" yelled Ferid. "Of all the folks Stormbringer could have sent, WE get the one craziest enough to follow us! Ugh, does this thing even have shock absorbers?"
"You're more than welcome to get off and walk, Ferid!" shouted Cammy. The Kasha slowed down slightly, and it moved slightly to the left. "Maddie, listen to me -"
Maddie wasn't going to take their crap any longer. She drove her bike up to the right side of the Fire Wagon and demanded, "Where are we, Cammy?"
"Better you didn't know. Word of advice - we both know what's about to happen, and if you want to get back home in one piece, do not dismount your D-Wheel!"
Then, Kasha hurled the two lanterns it was carrying at Maddie, and they burst like a pair of Molotov cocktails, covering the road with green flames. Maddie held on, swerving, and cringing as she avoided the first splash and drove through the second one.
"You have a funny way of giving advice, Cammy."
"It needed its hands free," replied Cammy.
Then, she saw what Cammy meant, although that didn't make it any less weird. Now that its hands were free, the Kasha's left arm started to change shape, a Duel Dish forming out of its flesh and bone. Maddie had heard of these organic devices before, or rather, heard stories of Duel Spirits who could create them. Exactly how was a mystery.
Cammy started to shuffle the deck of cards Ferid had given her. "We all know what's going to happen, Maddie, but if you value your life and your soul, you'll heed my warning." She handed the deck to the Yokai, and it in turn placed it in the Disk. "You might say that on a road like this, I'm inclined to have… good intentions."
"You want a duel, Cammy? I'm as game as you are." She flipped a switch on her dashboard. "Been wanting to try this deck out anyway. I activate Speed World 2!"
Thunder flashed overhead as the special Field Spell covered the road, and flames erupted on either side as they soared past.
"Just wish I had time to give it a dry run first…
(Maddie: 8,000, SPC 0) -#-#-#-#-#-#-#- (Cammy: 8,000, SPC 0)
"First I draw," said Maddie, "then I'll set these."
Much like any Riding Duel she'd seen, the set monster and set card in her Spell Zone appeared in front of her D-Wheel briefly.
If the deck she's using is anything like it was last time, best play conservatively for now.
"And it's your move."
"Cammy, I do not think this is a good idea!" Ferid growled.
The Kasha made its first draw, causing the Speed Counters for both them and Maddie to increase to 1 apiece.
"True, but it's the only option right now, so just keep the ride steady." Then she spoke up and announced, "I'm summoning Injection Fairy Lily!"
Obeying her directions, the Yokai played a card; as Maddie had suspected, this did indeed seem to be at least like the deck she had used before. Lily - a cute young nurse with angel wings holding a syringe as large as she was - flew out of the card and smiled sweetly at her. (400 ATK)
"I'm not going to pay 2,000 Life Points right now to attack a defending monster, so we'll set these," the demon used two more cards, setting two in Cammy's Spell Zone, "and turn it over to you. Oh, and heads up."
(Maddie: 8,000, SPC 1) -#-#-#-#-#-#-#- (Cammy: 8,000, SPC 1)
"Wha -" started Maddie. Then she saw where they were heading - towards a giant skull, the road leading into its huge mandibles! She covered her head, briefly, and felt the road slope downwards - it seemed they had entered a tunnel and were taking a route down. Down into whatever was under this horrible place. Worse, the dim lights made Lily's eyes - looking at her - a lot more unpleasant.
She flicked a switch, and the headlights of her D-Wheel came on, then she drew a card. She played one, causing Panther Warrior to leap out to the forefront. (2,000 ATK) She set two more cards behind it, and then said, "It's your move."
The slope leveled off, and the two Turbo Duelists started to drive through a cavernous grotto of some sort. There was a damp, wet smell around them, not a very pleasant one.
"Sorry, Maddie, but this time, Lily's isn't going to waste time attacking him." She drew a card, causing both their gauges to increase to three. "First of all, seeing as Lily is the only monster I control, I can Special Summon Volunteer Lily."
The monster that materialized looked even younger than Lily, still a teenager, with girlish pigtails and a uniform that looked like the older Lily's but covered with red pinstripes. Maddie recognized the reference, this was a "candy striper" (as they were called in the 20th Century), a hospital volunteer who wore the striped outfit to differentiate themselves from the actual nurses. Or rather, the stereotype associated with them. (200 ATK)
Guess she had to start somewhere, she thought.
"We'll get to her later," continued Cammy, and then one of her Traps lifted, "Lily Nurse Corps! Until my next turn, this Trap lets me destroy one card whenever I pay Life Points for Lily's effect. Which I'll use with this monster's effect. The Magic Hole Golem!"
Another card was played, and the monster that appeared was… a ring. A large ring of silver and gold metal about ten feet in diameter, with a robot's head on the top and flared metal wings on each side. Maddie didn't think she'd seen a more peculiar golem in her life. (0 ATK)
Kasha swerved and headed towards another tunnel. Following her, Maddie started driving on an upward slope, hopefully towards the surface.
"Yes, I know, you're wondering how this thing can attack with no Attack Points. Well, it can't. But it can give Lily a hand when she does." Lily sidestepped slightly as the Golem moved forward, positioning herself behind the Golem. "All I have to do is cut her Attack Points in half now, and when she attacks, she does so directly." (200 ATK)
"Wait, that means," started Maddie as the realization hit.
"That's right, losing 200 Attack Points isn't much when you then gain 3,000!" (3,200 ATK) "How'd that old saying go?" Lily flew through the Magic Hole Golem, holding her syringe over her head like a spear. "To the last, I grapple with thee. From Hell's heart, I stab at thee!"
Maddie screamed, her panicked voice echoing loudly through the dark cavern…
(M: 4,800, SPC 3) -#-#-#-#-#-#-#- (C: 6,000, SPC 3)
"Like I said," continued Cammy, "due to Lily Nurse Corps, your Panther Warrior is toast."
As bad as this usually would have been, Maddie barely noticed her monster being blown to shards this time. She skidded and struggled to control her D-Wheel. She didn't seem seriously hurt, but that attack… She felt like she had been literally impaled. Should have known, she thought.
But this wasn't the same as any other Shadow Game she'd been in. (The fact she had been in so many to compare this one too was an anomaly she wouldn't notice until later). Lily seemed far more… malevolent when she made that attack, the dark cavern making her face look inhuman and cold. Maddie could even swear Volunteer Lily had giggled a little when the attack connected.
Not exactly big on the Hippocratic Oath, are they?
She had to keep going; she hit the gas and flipped a card on her dashboard. "You didn't say the whole passage there, Cammy - you were supposed to finish by saying, 'For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee'."
'Uhm, I think she's right," added Ferid.
"Picky," growled Cammy, "I never paid much attention in English class anyway."
"Try this then, pay attention to this, the Trap Card, Damage Condenser!" She took one card from the hand on the dashboard and slipped it into the Graveyard slot underneath it. "I'll toss one card, and then I can summon a monster from my deck with Attack Points less than the amount of damage I just took, which in this case is any of them. So, let's bring out the Big Bang Girl… Fire Princess!"
An oversized card appeared in front of her bike, and then was consumed by fire, as a woman with flowing, flaming red hair and fiery eyes, wearing a long, flowing crimson dress and brandishing a long, wooden shillelagh. (1,300 ATK)
"Oh, brother…," said Cammy. "I'll set one more card, and then you go."
"My pleasure," said Maddie, "DRAW!"
As she did so, a phantom of another monster appeared behind her, a demonic-looking woman with ebony skin, black, feathered wings, short blonde hair, and a pink and white blouse.
"Darklord Marie," muttered Cammy, "figures."
"That's right, I discarded her card when I used Damage Condenser, which means, at the start of my turn, I get 200 Life Points."
Marie clasped her hands and closed her eyes, and the sigils on her wrists and forehead glowed with golden light. "But any time I gain Life Points, Fire Princess can strut her stuff."
The royal Pyro twirled her staff, and then shot a volley of fireballs at the Fire Wagon. It shook and trembled as they hit.
(M: 5,000, SPC 4) -#-#-#-#-#-#-#- (C: 5,500, SPC 4)
"That the best you can do?" shouted Cammy.
"Can you please stop encouraging her?" growled Ferid.
"Oh, I can do a lot better," continued Maddie. She used a Speed Spell, the popular and useful Angel Baton. She drew 1 card, then discarded another. Then, her other set card was lifted. "A Rival Appears! I can Special Summon a monster from my hand that matches the Level of one of yours; because Lily is Level 3, I can bring out this little guy."
A furry Fiend with a spherical body, three eyes, long clawed hands and feet, and a toothy mouth leapt from the card with a happy chitter. (1,000 ATK)
"Then, I'll flip-summon my set monster, Scapeghost!"
The set card turned and then flipped up, the monster appearing looking like a Scapegoat Token at first, but the… unsettling eyes and mangy fur revealed its Zombie Type nature. (0 ATK)
"Right now, I could summon two Black Sheep Tokens, but this time, I'm only going to summon one."
The goat Zombie split, creating a clone of itself with blue fur. (0 ATK) "Heh, kind of cute, actually… In an evil sort of way. But now I'll Tune Scapeghost Black Sheep Token and Sangan…" The Scapeghost, Token, and Sangan flew upwards, as the Synchro rings formed above them.
"Magic and science interwoven in ways never intended, an esper that breathes new life!"
(*1 + *1 + *3 = *5)
"Descend… I Synchro Summon Magical Android!"
Descend she did, a woman in a flowing, rainbow-colored robe, with a matching staff and odd, metallic circuity on her face and arms. (2,400 ATK)
"And I'm not done yet! Thanks to Sangan, I get to take a monster from my deck." In front of her, holo-images of the ten qualifying cards in her deck (the ones with 1,500 ATK or less) appeared and she pointed to one of them.
"I can't use its effect this turn, but that isn't an issue, because I can still summon… Cure Mermaid!"
A lovely, enchanting voice echoed through the hellish cavern, ending with a girlish giggle. The monster was a… well, a mermaid. Long, flowing, blonde hair, a pink blouse, ruby-red scales on her lower half, a golden necklace and tiara - she was a typical mermaid. (1,500 ATK)
"Quite a team," said Cammy.
This struck Maddie as odd - there was no hint of sarcasm from Cammy's remark. But then, there was no indication it was a genuine compliment either. She just… said it.
I'll figure it out later, she thought, none of them can safely attack Lily, but… "Magical Android, attack the Magic Hole Golem!"
The Psychic pointed its staff at the Golem, but only elected a slight laugh from Cammy. "Gravity Bind, activate!" she shouted. The notorious Trap Card lifted, causing Magical Android to halt her attack. "You seriously thought I'd put that monster there unguarded?"
To be honest, no, thought Maddie, but it was worth a shot. She set the rest of her hand - two cards - in her Spell Zone, and then said, "I'm done here… But my monsters aren't. Magical Android now gives me 600 points for each Psychic monster I have. I only have her of course, but that means Fire Princess can do her thing again."
Ferid covered his eyes again, and the flaming bolt from Princess again caused the Kasha to tremble.
(M: 5,600, SPC 4) -#-#-#-#-#-#-#- (C: 5,000, SPC 4)
Maddie eyes one of her facedown cards as Cammy made her draw - this was going to take perfect timing.
"I summon… Learning Elf," continued Cammy.
Maddie raised an eyebrow at the sight of this new monster. It was an elf, naturally, with long red hair, wearing a midriff-baring halter and a noticeably short skirt, plus a flowing cape and boots, glasses, and an odd-looking headband. When she appeared, she was in a sitting position (sitting in mid-air behind the Kasha) seemingly reading a large spellbook (again, with nothing holding it).
"A Catholic schoolgirl elf," sighed Maddie, "and they call this a 'children's card game'."
"I didn't design the card, okay? Now I can use Volunteer Lily's effect - prep the patient, Lily!"
This was something Maddie truly did not expect. Volunteer Lily stood up and flew towards Magical Android; despite being less than half the Synchro's size, she seized hold of Android by the waist, and as Android seemed about to protest, shoved a thermometer in her mouth. Then she seemed to start taking a pulse, holding the Psychic's wrist while looking at her watch. The overall effect seemed to pacify Magical Android, with a noticeable change in her Score. (1,200 ATK)
"Next, you know how my Magic Hole Golem works, I assume. Lily will be using it again. But before I use it, I'll, uhm…"
She looked at Fire Princess, and then at the weakened Magical Android. Princess will be trouble, she thought, but I'd better deal with that Psychic while I still can.
"Learning Elf, attack Magical Android with Number Cruncher!"
The elf student briefly looked up from her book, lowering her glasses with her eyes turning coldly blue. Volunteer Lily shrieked and dove aside, and a stream of numbers and mathematical symbols shot towards Magical Android, and the Synchro was obliterated. "Hmph!" grunted Volunteer Lily, and then vanished into motes of light.
"Thanks to my little Volunteer, the base Attack Score of that monster is added to my Life Points. And now as before…" The older Lily situated herself behind Magic Hole Golem, her Attack Points halving to only 200. "Attack directly!"
"I activate… Dust Tornado!"
Maddie's Trap flipped up, and a magical windstorm blew through the tunnel, smashing into the Lily Nurse Corps card and smashing it.
"Clever," said Cammy, "without that card, your monsters are safe… You, on the other hand…"
Like the previous round, Lily flew through the Golem, but being able to see it coming this time helped Maddie a great deal, bracing herself before the powerful stabbing blow hit her.
(M: 2,100, SPC 5) -#-#-#-#-#-#-#- (C: 5,400, SPC 5)
"What the devil are you made of?"
"You know, Cammy…" Maddie's Trap Card opened. "I often wonder about that myself. I activate Damage Gate! This is a lot like that Damage Condenser, except it summons from the Graveyard. So, let's bring out White Magician Pikeru!"
There was another girlish giggle, and with a spin and a flourish of colored stars, a young girl rose in front of Maddie's D-Wheel, electing smiles from both Fire Princess and Cure Mermaid. She wore a white pullover robe covered with eldritch symbols, had a wand with a glowing orb on the tip, and wore a hat shaped like a Scapegoat Token! (1,200 ATK)
"How cute," said Cammy, and this time the sarcasm was clear. "So adorable it makes me want to throw up."
"CAMMY!" screamed Ferid.
Maddie saw what had panicked him - the uphill tunnel was headed for an opening, which had been blocked off by wooded boards!
The Kasha didn't stop, the head in the front belching flames at the barrier. Unfortunately, while they didn't crash, smashing through the blocked off exit caused dirt and flaming debris to shower all over them.
Of course, what remained of the barrier didn't hinder Maddie's D-Wheel much at all, a benefit, it seemed, to pursuing rather than being pursued.
"Dammit," shouted Cammy. She turned to Ferid and slapped him on the side of the head. "You can open your eyes now."
Maddie took a minute to look around. The sky had suddenly gotten darker, and they were driving through a dense forest of…
No… thought Maddie. The 'trees' on either side of them were more like giant tangles of fleshy, ropy plants without leaves. There were more large bones and skulls, ruined houses - that looked like they might have been fancy and expensive manors - and more of those strange cysts. Maddie was starting to get the idea and tried hard to block it from her mind.
"Cammy, please!" she shouted, "give yourself up! You're going to kill us all!"
"Oh, right, big incentive there, Madelyn. I'll be dead anyway before the night is over, remember? The city guard probably has a 'kill on sight' order by now with my name on it. Even if I escape from them, that potion I took will do me in if I don't get the full antidote in a few hours."
She switched Magic Hole Golem's card, and it moved to Defense Mode. (2,000 DEF)
"You might be right, this may be the far more dangerous path, but dying here is the best way it can happen. So, finish me off if you think you can."
"If I must…," said Maddie.
As she made her draw, Cure Mermaid lifted her arms, conjuring an orb of pure water that started to grow. Pikeru, in turn, started to whisper and incarnation as magic started to channel from her wand.
"First of all, I get another 200 Life Points from Marie, then 800 from Cure Mermaid."
The Mermaid threw the orb forward, and it spread into a wall of water that Maddie's D-Wheel drove though. "Ah…" she said, the refreshing and invigorating feeling fueling her.
"Then, Pikeru grants 400 Life Points for each monster I have, so if you are, much like me, bad at math, 400 times 3 is 1,200. All this means that Fire Princess can use her effect three times."
A triple blast of fireballs exploded around the Fire Wagon, a curse from Cammy cut off in the blasts.
(M: 4,500, SPC 6) -#-#-#-#-#-#-#- (C: 3,900, SPC 6)
"And there is no way I'm dealing with her next turn," she said, pointing to Lily, "and now I have just enough Speed Counters to use Speed Spell - Banger Racer!"
Cripes, thought Ferid, as if this wasn't dangerous enough already.
"It works as follows - I send any monster at all from my deck to the Graveyard, and this turn, one of my monsters gains Attack Points equal to that monster's base Attack Points. Downside is, only that monster can attack." She turned a card forward. "The monster I'm sending is a gift from an old friend… Alector, Sovereign of Birds!"
As she discarded the card, Pikeru did the one thing no duelist would expect from her - she got angry. Incredibly angry. She flexed her muscles as her small, frail form started to grow, her loose robe strained by her biceps and abs, going from petite to a powerhouse in mere seconds. (3,600 ATK)
"No… way…" said Ferid.
"That's right, Pikeru is strong enough now to defeat Lily even if she does use her effect, which she won't be doing I might add." Her Trap Card lifted, revealed to be Call of the Haunted. "From my Graveyard, I summon… Alector, Sovereign of Birds!"
The rocky ground cracked and split, and the Divine Avian Lord flew out and upward, on magnificent crimson wings, its plate armor shining like a beacon. (2,400 ATK)
"This is bad," muttered Ferid.
"Oh, you bet. Because once per turn, I can choose any face-up card at all, Monster, Spell, or Trap, and Alector shuts its effect off for the rest of the turn. And this turn, I'm using it on Lily. So, time to attack! Pikeru, send that nurse to the ER!"
The hulked-out White Magician laughed in a way that seemed unlike her normal self, her girlish smile turning into a nasty Cheshire cat grin, and a powerful wave of pure light incinerated Lily…
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Sometimes Jil thought herself more of a babysitter than a guild leader.
It sure seemed like it now. In the catacombs under the city (where Dr. Tramell's office, among other things, were located), Rivaldi was again, in deep meditation, this time at an odd altar that held a large ring that looked like Magic Hole Golem but bigger. Cassandra was leaning against the wall nearby, polishing one of her long daggers; she was Rivaldi's actual bodyguard, the Last Laugh members being there in case any disposable grunts were needed. Seeing as Jil was the only one who knew that (making her hopefully the last choice should that be needed) she had the unpleasant duty of supervising the other three.
The half-orc Blacktusk brothers consisted of Orlack (who was short, stocky, bald, and dumb), Theorn, (who was taller, built, and just as dumb) and Sequius (who was a lot smarter than he looked, but far more willing to put up with his brothers than Jil was). Of course, she had little right to complain, seeing as she had invited them to the group initially, but times like this (when they had a boring job) tried her patience.
"Okay, how about this?" said Orlack. "Madame Murliss or General Mimi?"
Jil rolled her eyes. They were playing "Would You Rather?" a party game where a player posed a dilemma to the other players, who would have to choose one. The choice could be two good options (like "Would you rather have super strength or the ability to fly?") tempting offers ("Would you rather be rich or famous?") or supposedly bad offers, ("Would you rather sleep with your best friend's wife or your wife's best friend?") Answering "both" or "neither" was not allowed, and you'd be expected to explain your response.
With these three, the questions tended to be juvenile. Madame Murliss was an infamous infernal temptress who had been slain about two centuries ago by the angelic knight General Mimi (a nickname used by humans), so the question was basically, "Would you submit to a lustful demonic beauty who attempts to drag her paramours to Hell, or would you court an equally-beautiful celestial steward, who would likely insist on loyalty and commitment from a spouse while nagging him on his shortcomings and faults for years before taking him to Heaven?
"Oh, no contest there," said Sequius, "Murliss, full stop. Mimi is just wrong there."
"Murliss is better?" asked Theorn. "I hear she was called the Slaying Mantis for a reason."
"Maybe, Mimi would be a lot more… domineering."
"You're scared of women who are more built than you are, right?" asked Orlack.
"Oh, you'd be the expert on that, right?"
Jil could say one thing for sure, she would rather be anywhere but here. Fortunately, they didn't have to stay here long. Rivaldi would activate the portal in front of her when Ferid gave the signal, but only until six o'clock. At that time, she - and the Cagewrights - would consider Cammy and Ferid a lost cause and seeing as she had been paid in advance Jil did not care either way.
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This time, it seemed Kasha itself felt pain from Pikeru's powerful blow, swerving with a low moan, its hull cracked and burned from the attack. But it was still in one piece and still fleeing from Maddie at high speed, as Cammy had been prepared. Her Nutrient Z Trap Card had activated, and while it couldn't save Lily, it boosted her Life Points by 4,000 the instant before she lost 3,200.
(M: 4,500, SPC 6) -#-#-#-#-#-#-#- (C: 4,700, SPC 6)
"Damn," muttered Maddie. "I end my turn."
Pikeru shrank back to her normal size, breathing heavily and drained from the sudden gain (and loss) of strength.
"Huh, hope she knows enough to stay hydrated," said Ferid.
Cammy said nothing this time as Kasha drew the next card. It moved a card on the Disk to move Learning Elf to Defense Mode (1,500 DEF) and then set two more cards behind the monsters. Cammy waved her hand, signaling that she was done.
Ferid looked back at Maddie's monsters, noticing that Pikeru was in the process of gulping down the contents of a canteen. Me and my big mouth… he thought. He suddenly remembered he had a bottle in one of these pouches on his bandoleer - it wasn't water, but he needed it now. Where did I put that…
"I draw one card," said Maddie, "and ladies, if you will."
Marie, Cure Mermaid, and Pikeru again cast their respective enchantments on Maddie, while Fire Princess again shot her fiery whammy at the fleeing carriage. "UGH!" grunted Cammy.
(M: 6,700, SPC 7) -#-#-#-#-#-#-#- (C: 4,700, SPC 7)
"Now that I have 8 Speed Counters, I can use Speed Spell - Shift Down!"
Activating the Spell card caused her Counters to reduce to 2, causing her to start falling behind the Kasha, but she drew 2 cards as a result.
(M: 6,700, SPC 2) -#-#-#-#-#-#-#- (C: 3,200, SPC 8)
Dammit, she thought. Even if she got by that Gravity Bind, she only had one monster that could overcome the Defense of either monster. This might take a while.
"This time, Alector is going to use his effect to nullify Gravity Bind. So… Destroy that Magic Hole Golem, Alector! Crimson Plume!"
The Sovereign of Birds took to the air, beating his wings furiously, sending a rain of flaming feathers cascading towards the construct…
And then her set card lifted. "Oh crud…" she said. She screamed and swerved her bike as the Magic Cylinder caught the Crimson Plume and then clobbered her with it.
"I hate that card…"
(M: 4,300, SPC 2) -#-#-#-#-#-#-#- (C: 3,200, SPC 8)
She turned, and started up again, making a mental note, as hurt as she was, Cammy was still very dangerous. With this method of combat, maybe even more so.
It was here that Ferid finally got a good look at the bag that Aszithef had given him, the one that had previously held all the stuff he had told her to get. He had abandoned all of it when that anti-magic strike had hit him (not the wisest move, in hindsight) and when he went to reach for the flask of brandy he had brought, he grabbed this instead. He was about to angrily throw it away… and then he noticed something on it, a special type of embroidery and a small, odd metal insignia on the drawstring, slightly larger than a zipper's pull tab.
No… he thought. He looked closer, and finally realized why his plan had gone awry. He had double-checked and triple-checked every item in the bag, but he had never thought to examine the bag itself. He started to envision in his mind what he would do to that little runt when he caught her alone…
Cammy was sweating now and trying extremely hard to hide it from Ferid. Very briefly, she looked back at Maddie, a foe she now knew she had underestimated.
The Kasha made a draw…
Nine Speed Counters… Next turn I can use Speed World's effect to wipe that bird out - but I might not get a next turn. No choice here…
"I'm using the effect of Speed World 2 now, Madelyne, reducing the dial to 2 in order to draw 1 card."
Better, she thought when she saw what it was.
"Learning Elf, school's out," she said. Elf stood up, closed her book, and bowed slightly towards Maddie before disappearing. "I'm sacrificing her to summon… The Emissary from Pandemonium!"
The monster that appeared in Learning Elf's place was as hideous as Elf was cute. It had the basic shape of a hound, but the similarity ended there, as the two large horns on its neck pointing forward, four smaller horns on its shoulders, scaly, rough, black skin, spines on its back, glowing eyes, and a collar and anklets all studded with spikes and razor-barbed chains all marked it a Fiend from the underworld. It let out an eerie, ominous howl. (2,600 ATK)
"This monster is Level 7, but I can summon it with one sacrifice if I reduce its Attack Score by half and its Level to 5." (1,300 ATK) "And because I sacrificed Learning Elf, I draw one card."
The Kasha made the draw, and upon seeing what it was, Cammy seemed a little sad. She had hoped it wouldn't have had to come to this.
"I'm sending my Gravity Bind to the Graveyard," she said, the Trap Card dissolving into particles, "to summon… Traplin."
This monster was more bizarre than any other Cammy had used. It was a funny-looking man with a mustache wearing a bowler hat and a suit, the coat too small and the pants baggy and loose, holding an umbrella. It was a Duel Monster representation of Charlie Chaplin's "Little Tramp" role. (300 ATK)
"Now I'll Tune my Emissary from Pandemonium, Magic Hole Golem, and Traplin…"
This time, rather than fly through the rings, the three monsters turned to streams of light and darkness, spiraling through the portal as lightning started to flash in the blood red sky above.
"In a vast universe of near infinite possibilities curiosity turns to tragedy as a once Noble soul delves into secrets neither man nor Duel Monster was ever meant to know!
"Come forth… Dark Necrologist Lily!"
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Okay, I got one - Countess Gleoptra or Lady Fayne, would you -"
"Will you guys clam up?"
"Seriously, Jil, live a little!" said Sequius. "Here, why don't you try it?"
"Ugh, if I do, will you knock it off? Okay, fine, hit me."
"Okay, lessee here," said Orlack. "Okay, would you rather do it with, uhm… Prince Kymar or General Leornis the Proud?"
"I have to choose between necrophilia or bestiality. Swell."
"I dunno, Jil," said Sequius, "if you call it bestiality, does that make him more animal than a person?"
"Heh, I think a lot of other wemics would take offense to that," added Orlack.
"He's got a point there," said Theorn. "I mean, I think the big problem with 'bestiality' is that an animal can't give consent, but if he can, well -"
"Oh, this is seriously creepy…" groaned Jil.
"Not sure if doing it with Kymar is 'necrophilia' either, I mean, does that mean he's 'dead'?"
"Undead," sighed Jil.
Then Orlack said, "Well… He's not dead, I mean, if 'undead' is the same as 'dead'... When someone is dead, they don't say he's 'un-alive.' I mean how can he be dead, he eats, he sleeps, he breathes…"
"I don't think vampires breathe."
"You have to breathe in order to talk, Sequius. You know, that is kind of… strange, a dead body would atrophy and rot, but Kymar is as strong as ten men and can heal… He can heal better than a living person can, wouldn't that be an oxymoron?"
Jil looked over at Rivaldi. I need a break, she thought, these fools are starting to make sense…
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Maddie was silenced. For a minute, everything - the roar of her D-Wheel's engine, Cammy, the infernal hellscape surrounding them - she was zoned out for a few seconds, focusing only on the monster.
At first, it seemed this was some dark, evil twin of Injection Fairy Lily. She was slightly older than the original card, but with longer, black hair and larger wings, still feathered, but black like that of a raven. Her clothing was the same, but it was torn and ragged; buttons had come loose in the front, showing a great deal of cleavage - however, seeing as her clothes and skin were all covered with blood stains (likely at least some of it her own) it is doubtful a male duelist would find it arousing.
Such a sight wouldn't be enough to panic Maddie - she'd seen far more gruesome things in her career - but there was something about this creature that just seemed… wrong, like this was a shadow of something that wouldn't or couldn't let itself be seen. (2,800 ATK)
"Lily… What happened to her?"
"Weren't you listening to the Synchro chant?" Cammy smiled and then shrugged. "Let me put it this way, Madelyn, when someone gives the old line about how 'there are some things man was not meant to tamper with,' it's generally good advice.
"Now, before I show you what she can do, I'm going to summon one more monster here." Two cards - Magic Hole Golem and Traplin - appeared in front of Kasha in an enlarged state and then crumbled into dust. "I'll banish a Light monster and a Dark monster to, ah -" She noticed the sudden look of fear from Maddie, and then added, "No, Madelyn, no, I'm not summoning one of the Envoys. Those two aren't right. I'm summoning… Chaos Valkyria!"
Maddie was a little relieved to see this monster - it was Dunames Dark Witch but had changed her hair style - now bobbed and platinum blonde - and her wardrobe - now a violet halter, skirt, boots, and tiara, all with scaled ridges. (1,800 ATK)
"Now I can use Lily's effect, and she has two effects to choose from. This turn, I'm using her first."
Lily threw open her arms, producing five small objects, three in her right hand, two in her left, held between her fingers. They were small, sharp, metal razors. These were scalpels, and no sooner had Maddie figured this out, Lily hurled them towards Alector; there was a loud screech from him, the knives slamming into him and burying themselves in his armor!
But he didn't shatter. He hadn't been destroyed by that effect, but he was far from well. (0 ATK)
"Dark Necrologist Lily's first effect lets me place a total of 5 Necro Counters on your monsters, each one deducting 500 points from that monster's attack Score. Plus, because Alector now has zero points as a result, he can't use his effect."
"That is seriously broken!" shouted Maddie.
"Will you let me finish? Yes, it has a cost, which we'll get to in a minute, but it also means I can't attack Alector while your other monsters are there. So, I'll deal with them now."
Chaos Valkyria put her palms together, creating a crackling ball of Dark Energy (as in, like the sphere on the old Equip Spell) and then threw it; a loud, pitiful wail came from Cure Mermaid, and she was gone.
"And I have something special for her,'' said Cammy, pointing at Fire Princess.
Lily produced a different sort of surgical tool - a bone saw - and smiled sadistically as she flew towards Fire Princess. While the Pyro defiantly stood her ground, Maddie closed her eyes…
Who in the world designed this card, Jeffery Dahmer?
"Okay, guess that's enough for this turn," said Cammy.
Then, the most horrific part came. Dark Necrologist Lily produced a second set of those scalpels and threw them… at Cammy. She screamed loudly as all five of the knives pierced her abdomen.
"I'm starting to like this game," said Ferid, with a chuckle.
(M: 2,700, SPC 3) -#-#-#-#-#-#-#- (C: 1,200, SPC 2)
"That would," gasped Cammy, "that would be the cost I have to pay to use that effect."
Suddenly, the road turned into a steep upward slope. The Kasha pulled ahead, accelerating as best it could. But for now, she took no notice of that and started her turn.
"I draw once," she said. "I gain another 200 Life Points from Marie, and 800 from Pikeru… And then I'll get rid of Pikeru…"
The White Magician clasped her hands, closed her eyes, and bowed her head, and then dissolved into pixels. "...and summon… Tiger Lady!"
A portal of Speed World energy started to open, and two catlike, feminine eyes appeared first, then the monster leapt out, leaping into a battle-ready crouch. Her name described her perfectly, a tall, nubile woman with a fine coat of orange fur with black stripes, and long, waist-length red hair. Her clothing seemed like something the Amazoness tribe might approve of, and she wore metal wristbands, each of which held a sharp axe blade. (1,900 ATK)
This monster's effect might help later, but for now…
"I activate Speed Spell - Speed Energy! For every Speed Counter I have, Tiger Lady gains 200 Attack Points!" (2,700 ATK)
With a low roar, Tiger Lady pounced, slashing both axe blades across Chaos Valkyria's torso. Maddie shuddered a little - Valkyria's face clearly showed the blow had caused her incredible pain for a few seconds before she shattered.
(M: 3,700, SPC 4) -#-#-#-#-#-#-#- (C: 300, SPC 3)
"Okay, Alector, you may not be able to attack, but at least you can defend." The Sovereign of Birds knelt, covering itself with its wings. (2,000 DEF)
"Okay, Cammy I… I… Cammy?"
She pulled her D-Wheel to a stop. Where did she go?
The Kasha, its two riders, and Dark Necrologist Lily had bolted, somehow accelerating during that battle phase. She checked her console… No winner had been decided, so Cammy hadn't forfeited.
Fortunately, there was only one direction she could have gone - up. Maddie could sense it now, there was something important at the top of this hill. And whatever it was, she knew she had to stop Cammy from getting it.
She switched gears and sped up the slope towards the summit. The thought at the front of her mind, Time to end this.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The three other members of the Last Laugh were still debating how undead beings made sense, and had not noticed that Jil had, in effect, forfeited her turn at the game, so she decided to ask Cassandra a question she had wanted to ask for a long time.
"So, uh, why Ferid, anyway?"
"Eh?"
"Why are we here wasting time waiting for him? What exactly does he do here?"
"Well, I guess he is rather annoying, rude, egotistical, incompetent… pain in the ass…" started Cassandra. "But… Hmm, maybe you're right…"
Jil was about to walk away in frustration, but then Cassandra grabbed her by the shoulder and said, "C'MERE."
Jil did not dare disobey, but it seemed Cassandra was going to answer her after all.
"Let me tell you an old story. Once there was a woman who worked for a king as a housekeeper. Problem was, she couldn't keep house. Every time she tried to clean the bathroom it ended up messier than before. If he told her to draw a hot bath the water would be boiling hot, but if he told her to draw a cold bath, he risked catching pneumonia. If he told her to return books to the shelves in the study, she would always put them there out of order and with the spines facing the wall. He learned quickly not to even think of telling her to dust in a room where there were breakable antiques; he lost more than one valuable vase before that rule was made official.
"So, if she's such a klutz, why wasn't she fired? Or even disciplined?
"Well… Try her macadamia fudge cookies sometime. She once offered them to an army of mercenaries, and they agreed to side with her liege over a horde of orcs they were at war with, the orc chieftain's offer to them being a share of the spoils and their pick of women of the land once they conquered it. Which naturally, they did not, but when they tried, she convinced them to stop their invasion and rebuild the towns they had sacked by offering them lemon chiffon cake. A dark cult started abducting and brainwashing civilians, but she convinced them to desert by giving them butterscotch fudge brownies.
"As terrible as she was at most her duties, a woman so skilled at baking that even the gods take notice is someone the king could afford to let go."
Obviously, Cassandra was telling her a tall tale, but she got the hint. Ferid was needed for something he did well. Of course, now she really needed to know what, though she felt Cassandra had been generous enough telling her that much.
Her watch said 5:40. At least they didn't have that much longer to wait.
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The peak of the tall hill plateaued into a flat surface, about a hundred feet across. In the center was an altar, almost identical to the one Rivaldi was waiting in front of.
The Kasha swerved to a halt, with Dark Necrologist Lily positioning herself in front of it, watching the road leading into the peak. "Move it!" shouted Cammy. "I take it you managed to hold onto some matches?"
Ferid didn't answer, but half-leapt-half-fell off the shotgun seat. His book of matches was easy for him to find and lighting the two brasiers would be a simple matter, but he decided to wait a few minutes before doing so. He was secretly hoping Maddie could overpower Cammy right now - offering a surrender to this Shadowchaser if that happened might be an adequate plan-B that could turn this whole mess around in his favor. After all, the portal was the only way back, and he knew who was on the other side waiting to open the portal…
He made a smug smile as Maddie drove into the plateau, making a side skid halt with her D-Wheel. "Where do you think you're going?"
Cammy stood up, looking down on Maddie from the Kasha's driver seat. "Oh, nowhere yet, Madelyn," she purred. "I always finish what I start. Draw the card, Kasha!"
(M: 3,700, SPC 5) -#-#-#-#-#-#-#- (C: 300, SPC 4)
"I'm activating the second effect of Dark Necrologist Lily, which I can do this turn because I reduced Alector's Attack Score to zero with the first effect."
"What, wait -"
But Dark Necrologist Lily's eyes had captured the Sovereign of Birds! The Fiend with Lily's face stared without blinking…
Then, as the Winged-Beast shattered, Maddie screamed…
(M: 2,000, SPC 5) -#-#-#-#-#-#-#- (C: 300, SPC 4)
"That… that hurt!"
"Oh, and it's going to get worse, little one."
Ferid changed his mind, deciding to return to the original plan. He fumbled with the matches, cursing under his breath as the first one sputtered and went out.
"Dark Necrologist Lily, attack Tiger Lady!"
Lily flew upward brandishing her saw and positioning herself for a divebomb…
"I activate Chaos Burst!" screamed Maddie. As the Trap lifted, Tiger Lady roared, and fiery energy surrounded her. "By sacrificing Tiger Lady, I can destroy your monster and deal 1,000 points of damage!"
Tiger Lady leapt at Dark Necrologist Lily, and the two collided in midair, an explosion causing a tremor that seemed to shake the whole mountain. "Damn it!" screamed Ferid. He cowered and covered his head with his hands…
"Wait…," said Maddie. "No…"
Dark Necrologist Lily was still there, her clothing, hair, and skin burned, but still in one piece. She was looking at Maddie in stony silence, though her expression was easy to read - she was angry.
Cammy was much calmer. "I have to admit, Madelyn, that was a noble attempt."
"How…"
"Remember this?" Cammy held up a card, the Lily Nurse Corps Trap Card she had set on her first turn. "This has another effect, if it's in my Graveyard, I can get rid of it if Lily is in danger of being destroyed by a card effect. Didn't help your monster much though, so now…"
Maddie remembered how shocked she was a few minutes ago when Lily conjured up all those knives and hurled them at Cammy. It was much worse now when she realized that the target this time was her…
(M: 0, SPC 0) -#-#-#-#-#-#-#- (C: 300, SPC 4)
I'm… I'm not dead?
Maddie had fallen off her D-Wheel and seemed to black out for a minute or two. She looked up. Cammy was standing over her. "How…"
The wounds Cammy had sustained from being beaten that month in prison waiting for death were gone, and she had somehow switched the dirty prison uniform for her revealing and spike-studded plate armor that she had been wearing when they first met at the temple. She also had recovered her pendant, holding the unholy symbol of Hextor.
Behind her, the braziers in front of the altar had been lit, the beacon Rivaldi had been waiting for. A new portal was starting to grow within the ring, and Ferid looked anxious and nervous while standing beside.
Cammy's eyes literally burned with fury, her tattoo and pendant burning with the same power. "You lose, Shadowchaser…" she said softly. "Any last request before I banish you to the Festering Maw of Demogorgon?"
"Yes, I request you kiss my -"
Maddie didn't get a chance to finish, as a simple gesture from Cammy finished her black incarnation. Two horrid tentacles erupted out of the ground, seizing Maddie. She screamed…
Even Ferid was terrified now. "Cammy don't!" he screamed.
"Back off or you're next!" warned Cammy.
Maddie was screaming and struggling, as more tentacles grabbed hold, tightening the grip the first two had. Ferid took Cammy's advice, averting his gaze as the vile tendrils pulled the Shadowchaser under, the screams turning to low sobs…
After a minute, she was gone.
Cammy stood there a minute, her eyes tightly closed. She was sweating and shivering.
"Cammy… You… You didn't…"
She looked at him and opened her eyes; there wasn't even a glint of humanity in them right now. She nodded, and then the spiraling green portal on the altar - the way home - opened.
"Let's go."
Ferid shivered as he followed.
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Speed Spell - Banger Racer (Normal Speed Spell)
Image: Battle Ox driving a D-Wheel, trailing Top Runner, and positioning itself to ram from behind.
Effect: Activate when you have 6 Speed Counters or more and only during your first Main Phase. Select 1 face up monster you control, and then send 1 monster card from your deck to the GY. The selected monster gains ATK equal to the base ATK of the sent monster until the End Phase of the turn. The selected monster is the only monster that can battle this turn and cannot attack directly.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Lily Nurse Corps (Continuous Trap)
Image: Injection Fairy Lily and two other nurses dressed in combat medic gear, seen from the rear, on the streets of a ruined city, facing down an angry, roaring Gogiga Gagagigo.
Effect: Activate only if you control a Fairy or Spellcaster "Lily" monster. Once per turn, when you pay Life Points to activate the effect of a Fairy or Spellcaster "Lily" monster, select a face-up card on the field and destroy it. If this card is in your GY and a "Lily" monster would be destroyed by a card effect, you can banish this card instead.
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Volunteer Lily (Effect Monster)
Spellcaster/Earth/Lvl2/200ATK/750DEF
Effect: You may Special Summon this card if the only monster you control is an "Injection Fairy Lily." Once per turn, except a turn where this card was Summoned, you may equip this card to a monster as an Equip Spell. A monster equipped with this card loses half its Life Points; if the equipped monster is destroyed by battle, you gain Life Points equal to its base ATK.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Dark Necrologist Lily (Effect Synchro Monster)
Spellcaster/Dark/Lvl10/2,500/3,000
Tuner + 2 or more LIGHT and/or DARK monsters
Effect: While you control this card, face-up monsters lose 500 ATK for each "Necro Counter" they have and a monster whose ATK has been reduced to zero by this effect cannot use its Effect. You cannot declare an attack against a monster with "Necro Counters," but if your opponent controls only monsters with "Necro Counters," your monsters may attack directly. Once per turn, you may activate 1 of the following effects (An effect of "Dark Necrologist Lily" can only be used once per turn and only 1 of the following effects per turn):
Select 1 opposing monster and pay any amount of Life Points in increments of 400 and for each increment of 400 paid, place 1 "Necro Counter" on the selected monster.
Select 1 monster that has zero ATK via the effect of "Necro Counters"; destroy it. Then, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's base ATK. During the End Phase of the turn you use this effect, you take 3,000 points of damage.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Tiger Lady (Effect Monster)
Beast-Warrior/Earth/Lvl6/1,900/2,100
Effect: ?
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
And… that concludes our interlude!
"Shadowchasers: Blue Blood" resumes its regularly scheduled story next chapter, and that's all I'm going to say right now.
Oh, and one more thing, I hope everyone has a happy - and safe - Halloween.