Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and the rules behind the Magical Battles.
Song of Temarocia
Chapter 10: The strongest criminal in Shunsuna
"It seems that the big blowhard has decided to have another running," A low hissing noise echoed across the darkness of the cell used as their meeting place. "This is our best chance to escape, don't you agree Raiza?"
The sound of something being sharpened could be heard nearby, a glint of light coming from a blade. "Without a doubt. If we can escape now then there's no way Akutast could chase us down before we escape out of his territory."
"However," A third and much deeper voice spoke out. "Without Bull and his men we'll have some problems. Plus there is the problem of the 'price' that the old man wants in exchange for the gate keys."
"That's why he's out there with his boys." Raiza coughed out. "We just need to wait for him to return. And we also gotta make sure to avoid whoever set this running off."
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"Argh, where are you Flair?" Alita screamed out at the top of her lungs, wandering down the halls of the Bloody Prison with a powerful tornado-like barrier of wind around her body. "How can you possibly get lost when I was right in front of you?"
"Maybe he just wanted to run from your screech of a voice," A single rough-looking criminal with an axe yelled out as he dove out of hiding to strike her in half. "Die!"
Alita didn't even notice him as he was hurled straight through the stone ceiling above by the force of her barrier. "Flair! Hey Flair?"
"Wow, did you see that?" A pair of voices echoed out together.
"Yup. That was pretty scary." The speaker was a man with a metal brace across his lower jaw, giving him a permanent sneer. "What do you think boss?"
"I think she's the perfect candidate." A low shaking rumbled across the floor around Alita and a giant round-bodied bear of a man walked into view from around a corner.
"Excuse me kindly," Alita tried to walk through him, but her barrier flared to life and pushed her back a couple of steps. ("What? He's stronger than my barrier?")
"Sorry, miss," The bear-man rumbled out, revealing a row-full of rotten teeth. "My name is Massacre Bull, and if you want to get past here you're going to have to duel me." He lifted up one huge arm to reveal the Carrier there. "I'm going to be fair though and make it a normal duel. There's no need for a Life Deck, since I'm sure you know about my name."
Alita's right eye twitched fearfully and she stepped back. "Massacre…Bull? The same Massacre Bull that fought with Carime Anderson, the Captain of the Guards in Mudeia, and wound up fighting him to a standstill?"
Bull started laughing heartily. "That was a long time ago, little girl. Don't worry about that though, I told you that I wasn't going to use my Life Deck. This will just be a battle of skill between you and me."
"Is…Is that so?" Hands trembling, Alita summoned her Carrier and removed her Life Deck from it. "Alright then…but if I win then you have to help me find the guy I came here with."
"That's fine with me." Cracking his knuckles, Bull turned to look behind him. "Keep an eye out for the guards, boys!" The rest of his dozen person gang all yelled their understanding of the order. "Let's go, missy!"
"Duel!" They both yelled at once, drawing five cards from their decks.
Alita- 8000
Bull- 8000
"It's been so long since I've been in an ordinary duel or any kind of duel for that matter…" Bull flexed one massive arm and slammed his foot into the ground, cracking the stone floor underneath him. "Make sure you do your hardest, girl. The downsides to your losing will be very steep indeed."
Alita gulped fearfully. ("Massacre Bull, one of the most dangerous brute force criminals in the country. He was said to have gone toe to toe with Mudeia's Captain of the Guards and fight on the same level as him. This kind of opponent would be unstoppable if I dueled him and he used his Life Deck. Since he doesn't have it on him apparently, this is my best bet to beat him and get away with my life!")
She drew off the top of her deck. "I place one card face-down and one monster in defense mode." A pair of set cards appeared in front of her. "End turn."
"It's my move…" Bull snapped the top card off of his deck and the ground around them both shook. "Draw!" The card was flipped up and a powerful blast of wind shot across the field and pierced her set card, shattering it. "I activate my Mystical Space Typhoon to clear away your set card before I begin my assault!"
Though this was disappointing, Alita had been smart enough not to set a card she was going to need later. ("I can live without having that Dust Tornado card, since that means the card advantage in this match is still mine.")
Bull hurled a card from his hand in front of him, the piece of cardboard disappearing and being replaced by a howling tri-horned dinosaur with a sword for a tail. "I summon Sabersaurus in attack mode!" (1900/500) Another card appeared on his field, this one keeping its shape but appearing extra large behind his monster. "And I'll also activate the continuous magic card Rage Crusher, which only has its effect going while I have no defense mode monsters on my field. When an attack mode monster on my field battles with a defense mode monster on your field, and the attack of my monster is higher than the defense of yours then the difference will be inflicted as battle damage to your life points!"
"What?" Alita screamed as the Sabersaurus tore through her set monster and crashed against the barrier of wind she instinctively managed to summon, though she could still feel the painful impact all throughout her body…it was just much duller than it could have been.
Alita- 7000
Bull- 8000
"My monster was Flying Kamakiri #1," Alita pulled her deck out of her Carrier and removed a card from it. "When this card is sent from my field to the graveyard as a result of battle I special summon a wind attribute monster with 1500 or less attack points from my deck to the field in attack mode!" A red-haired female humanoid covered from the neck down with feathers appeared on her field. "I summon Harpie Lady 1 in attack mode!" (1300/1400)
"End turn." Bull grinned at the blond-haired girl that barely came up to his waist. "You're either stronger than you look or you are insane for coming to the Bloody Prison, little one."
"Draw!" Alita refused to listen to someone make fun of her, regardless of whether he was a dangerous criminal or not. "I activate the magic card Elegant Egotist, which can only activate if I have a Harpie Lady in play!" A trio of different-looking feathered females appeared alongside her first monster. "From my hand or deck one Harpie Lady Sisters will be special summoned!" (1950/2100)
"I see, so you've summoned a pair of powerful monsters?" Bull chuckled heartily, his muscles rippling under his torn prisoner's shirt. "However, that alone will not be enough to defeat me."
"You're jumping to conclusions if you think I'm done!" She threw another card in front of her and a bear-sized little dragon appeared in play. "I summon Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon in attack mode!" (1200/600) The baby creature roared loudly and flapped its wings a couple of times. "And now for their special effects! First the special ability of my Baby Dragon is that for every monster in play with Harpie in its name besides itself that it gains a new effect."
A golden chain went from the dragon's collar to the waiting talons of her Harpie Lady 1. "When there is at least one Harpie in play this monster becomes a guard to them all, making it so you can't attack the rest of them until you get past it."
Another series of chains appeared, connecting the dragon to the trio off to its other side. "If I have two or more in play then this guy gets the first effect and his original attack and defense are doubled too!" The dragon roared loudly and started glowing. (2400/1200)
Bull threw back his head, his booming laughter growing louder and louder. "Your dueling skills are definitely befitting a member of my powerful crew. Of course that does mean that you will win this duel."
"Stop complimenting me! You're my enemy, right?" She pointed at her Harpie Lady 1, which started glowing. "The effect of Harpie Lady 1 increases the attack of all wind attribute monsters in play by 300 points!" (1600/1400) (2250/2100) (2700/1200) "Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon, attack Sabersaurus now! Inferno Shot!" The infant creature released a jet of flames that hit the dinosaur and burned it to ash instantly.
Alita- 7000
Bull- 7200
"And now for a blast from my two ladies!" Alita smiled triumphantly as her two monsters launched across the field and slashed Bull across the chest with their talons. "How did that feel, huh?"
Alita- 7000
Bull- 3350
"Not too bad," The criminal ran a hand through his bushy beard and gave her a full grin of his rotten teeth. "You've got some good moves as a duelist, but the battle has only yet to begin."
"I was afraid you'd say that," She murmured meekly. "I set one card face-down on my field and end my turn."
"And now it's time for me to show off my strength!" He drew again and the cavern shook. "I activate the magic card Pot of Greed, drawing two cards from my deck and adding them to my hand." Looking the cards over, he started laughing. "Ah, it's about time I brought forth some of my deck's power! I special summon Gilasaurus, meaning that now you special summon a monster from your graveyard to the field." A raptor appeared on his field, hissing angrily at the gathered Harpie monsters. (1400/400)
"That's fine by me!" Her Flying Kamakiri #1, a preying mantis-like monster, appeared on her field alongside the rest of her monsters in defense mode. (1400/900)
"It should be, a free monster is nothing to make fun of." He threw a card up in front of him and his Gilasaurus disappeared. "I activate the magic card Great Evolution Pill, which lets me sacrifice a dinosaur type monster on my field to activate it. This card remains on my field for three turns. While it is in play I can normal summon a dinosaur monster from my hand to the field without sacrifice."
"Without sacrifice?" Alita's eyes widened as the hallway was suddenly filled from top to bottom with the giant body of a huge spike-bodied dinosaur appeared between her and the criminal. "That creature…"
"This is my Ultimate Tyranno!" (3000/2200) Bull started laughing again as the creature roared with enough force to shake the chamber. "He will attack all monsters on your field one after another during the battle phase! Before I do that though I play the field magic card Jurassic World!" The stone walls disappeared, replaced by huge tropical trees. "While this card is in play all dinosaur type monsters gain 300 attack and defense points!" (3300/2500) "Ultimate Tyranno, attack her Baby Dragon now!"
Alita screamed as her barrier was rattled again when the giant dinosaur stomped on her monster and hit her with the shockwave. ("So this is the magical power of a top security level criminal exiled to Shunsuna…")
Alita- 6400
Bull- 3350
"Ultimate Tyranno, attack her Harpie Lady 1 now!" Bull couldn't be seen, but he didn't have to be for his powerful voice not to reach Alita's ears.
The blond-haired girl screamed again as the mighty dinosaur chomped down on her monster with its powerful jaws. ("I can't keep my barrier up much longer…") She dropped to her knees.
Alita- 4700
Bull- 3350
"And once more!" Bull heard another scream and there was a sudden decompressing blast of air that pushed against his Ultimate Tyranno for a moment. "That was the end of your barrier and your Harpie Lady Sisters!"
Alita- 3550
Bull- 3350
Alita screamed louder as the Ultimate Tyranno stamped down on her Flying Kamakiri, hitting her with the backlash and throwing her backwards until her skull crashed against the heavy wooden door that connected this hallway to the next. She slid down to the ground slowly, eyes squeezed closed.
Alita- 1150
Bull- 3350
Bull cracked his knuckles and waited patiently for a response from the other side of his far too big monster. "Come now dear, are you dead just from that?"
"I can't surrender here…" Alita stumbled to her feet, though for some reason she couldn't quite see straight. ("I must have gotten a concussion from that impact against the door…") She drew from her deck. ("Flair, I can fight on my own without your help. I can do this!") "I activate the magic card Pot of Greed, drawing two cards from my deck!"
("So she hasn't given up yet?") Bull couldn't help but smile. "I can't help but feel that perhaps there is more to you than meets the eye, young miss."
"I activate Giant Trunade!" A powerful wind swept across the hallway. "This card will return all magic and trap cards in play to their owner's hands!" At the same time her set card flipped up. "I also activate the trap card Royal Records! At the cost of 1000 life points this card replaces itself with the top card of my graveyard!" The trap disappeared and her Pot of Greed appeared face-down on her field, followed by which it appeared in her hand.
Alita- 150
Bull- 3350
Bull added the three returned magic cards to his hand with a large smile on his face. ("A card returned by Royal Records normally cannot be activated during the turn it is set, but by using Giant Trunade she escapes that limitation. Now she can use her Pot of Greed and draw two more cards.")
"I activate Pot of Greed, drawing two cards!" Adding two more cards to her hand, Alita held up another card. "I activate Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two!" A pair of cards in her hand disappeared and she nodded weakly to what she was holding. ("In this battle only my skill will make the difference. My magic cannot help me in this duel.")
Another Harpie Lady 1 appeared on her field in defense mode. "I summon this lady in defense, and then I play another Elegant Egotist to special summon another Harpie Lady Sisters from my deck to the field in defense mode!" Another trio of feathered women appeared on her field. (1300/1400) (1950/2100) "Also I set three cards face-down on my field and end my turn!"
"Draw!" Bull looked at his drawn card and then flipped it over. "I activate Pot of Shining! This magic card lets me draw five cards from my deck, after which I discard all monsters amongst those five. Once that is done I then discard a number of cards equal to the number I drew, excluding the discarded monsters." He did so, quickly emptying a good number of cards into his graveyard slot and leaving him with four cards in his hand. "I activate Rage Crusher, which while in play allows my monster to deal damage through defense!"
Alita concentrated, doing the best she could to not run in fear as she felt the steamy atmosphere of Jurassic World return and the terrifying Ultimate Tyranno somehow push its massive body down the hallway towards her. "I will not run from you, regardless of how powerful you might be! Massacre Bull, I am Alita Meijer, Adventurer and leader of the Alita's Adventuring Company!"
"Just sounding brave won't be enough to beat me!" Bull smirked as he heard his Ultimate Tyranno stomp its foot down on the Harpie Lady 1.
"You're getting a bit ahead of yourself." Alita smiled calmly as the Ultimate Tyranno suddenly disappeared in a burst of flames, revealing her field. "You triggered my trap card."
"That shouldn't work while my Jurassic World field magic card is…" Bull gasped down at his hand, where the field magic card was now located. "How did you do that?"
"It's thanks to this card," Alita motioned to the center set card on her field. "It's called Royal Order, which sends one magic or trap card on the field back to the owner's hand and negates its effect." Her hand moved over to point at another of her set cards. "I also activated Icarus Attack, which lets me sacrifice a winged beast monster on my field to destroy two of your cards. I gave up my Harpie Lady 1 to take care of your continuous magic card and Ultimate Tyranno!"
"I see." Bull chuckled heartily. "You're quick on the response, girl. Even though I'm not exactly on the top of my game, for you to put me in such a dangerous position is definitely something to be proud of."
"Is your turn done or what?" Alita crossed her arms across her chest confidently, now sure that this man was just desperate to buy time.
"Not at all. I activate the magic card Scrounging for Supplies, which lets me shuffle any number of cards from my graveyard into my deck. For every four cards shuffled back in I draw one card afterwards." He removed the twelve cards in his graveyard and shuffled them into his deck before drawing three new ones.
"You…you replenished your hand that easily?" Her arms dropped to her sides as she realized that this opponent may not be as easy to defeat as she had hoped.
"Of course." Bull held up his Pot of Shining, drawing five cards, discarding three monsters, and then discarding two cards to make up the difference in the card's effect. "And now I activate Jurassic World again!" The giant tropical trees of the field magic card appeared in play again. "Also I activate the magic card End of an Era, removing all face-up monsters on the field from the game!" A series of fireballs pounded the field and completely obliterated the Harpie Lady Sisters. "As a downside the Jurassic World that must be in play for this card to work is also removed from the game." A pair of cards appeared face-down on his field. "I set two cards face-down. End turn."
Alita drew from her deck, eyes trembling in fear. ("If I lose here then I'll die…") Those words kept echoing in her mind, and she suddenly couldn't even bring herself to look at the card she had drawn. ("I don't want to die…I don't want to die…")
"What's the matter?" Bull glanced back at the snickering that was coming from the rest of his gang. "Shut your faces, boys. This little lady is obviously terrified of the big bad scary criminals here." His face cracked into a broken smile, showing off his terrible dental hygiene. "She came here expecting to find teddy bears or something like that."
The rest of his men broke out into hearty laughter.
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Jason's confident look faded, and his fists clenched tightly in quivering anger. "I'm always the underdog in every conflict I've ever fallen into. I'm the guy that winds up getting laughed at, or made a fool of, or just outright beaten to a pulp. And then I fought that Shadow Duelist, and I was dying just like I am right now. In that moment I felt like a hero that was killing himself to make sure the villain stayed down…"
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"What's so funny?" Alita asked quietly, her blond bangs hanging in front of her face. "Do you dirty apes think it's amusing to pick on a girl? Are you such a group of cowards that you can't even treat an opponent like me with a little bit of respect?"
Bull's laughter stopped and he smirked at her. ("She sounds different now…like she's made a resolution…")
"Even if it takes my life to do it, I'll crush all of you!" Alita threw the drawn card in front of her and it appeared set on her field. "End turn!"
Bull drew slowly, his eyes lifted slightly in amusement. ("Let's see what you've got, little one.") "I discard one card from my hand to activate Fossil Excavation. This continuous trap card lets me revive one dinosaur from my graveyard to the field in attack mode!" A cute little baby dinosaur appeared on his field. "My choice is Babycerasaurus!" (500/500) "Direct attack!" The little creature waddled across the field towards her rapidly. "Alita Meijer, show me your resolve to win! Put it all on the line!"
"I don't need your permission to do that!" Her black robes blowing around her body, Alita motioned to one of her set cards. "I activate The Paths of Destiny! Both of us now flip a coin. If we get heads then we gain 2000 life points. If we get a tails we lose 2000 life points!"
The rest of Bull's gang gasped in surprise at this. She was really going to risk her life on a coin flip.
Bull erupted into laughter. "Interesting…let's see what the final outcome will be!" A gold coin appeared in front of him. Grabbing it out of the air he flipped it up above him at the same time as she did so with hers. They both came down with incredible force, kicking up huge clouds of dust…
When the dust cleared Bull's gang gasped in complete surprise.
Alita sneered coldly. "From the looks of it I just got a heads and you just got a tails." A golden aura lit up around her at the same time that Bull was surrounded by a burning red aura.
Alita- 2150
Bull- 1350
Bull threw back his head and laughed heartily again while his baby dinosaur butted heads with Alita cutely. "I lost this standoff. You have, without a doubt, shown that in a battle of guts you can win." The giant round-bodied man bowed to her slightly, though whether he was mocking her or not the rest of his gang was unsure. "Alita Meijer, I will take you seriously. End turn."
Alita- 1650
Bull- 1350
"Draw!" Alita looked at the drawn card and she grinned, throwing the card in front of her as an orange-haired feathered female appeared in play before her. "I summon Harpie Lady 2 in attack mode!" (1300/1400) "With this I can finish this duel!"
"Unfortunately…" Bull's set card flipped up slowly, revealing a picture of a raging torrent of water. "The trap card Torrential Tribute triggers now, destroying all monsters in play." A powerful shockwave of water washed over them both and then faded, leaving them both with no monsters in play.
Alita frowned angrily. "Darn it, you had a trap ready for me. It's okay though, I can still win this…"
"I'm sorry, Alita Meijer, but you cannot." Bull removed a card from his deck and threw it in front of him. "The effect of my Babycerasaurus is that when it is destroyed by an effect it special summons a level four or lower dinosaur from my deck to the field!" His Sabersaurus appeared in play and roared powerfully. (1900/500) "Draw!" He held the card up strongly, a blast of wind arching across the field and shattering Alita's set card. "Mystical Space Typhoon…I'm sorry."
Alita screamed in pain and collapsed as the Sabersaurus powered right through her, nearly sending her through the thick wooden door with its attack.
Alita- 0
Bull- 1350
As the field disappeared Bull had his head lowered and his fists clenched tightly. ("The lives of my boys or your freedom. I'm sorry, Alita Meijer, but I cannot sacrifice them for you.") "Hurry up and get the potion ready for her." He noticed that a couple of his boys were leering at the unconscious girl in a rather lecherous. "If any of you touch her beyond giving her the potion I'll snap your necks, you got it?"
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"Damn it, where am I now?" Flair screamed before running past a pair of armed criminals and cutting them down easily before heading off down the hallway in front of him and out of sight. "Alita, where are you?"
A few seconds later Daniel and Deondre stepped into view from the direction that Flair had originally come from. "That's weird," Daniel muttered. "I could swear I just heard Flair's voice."
"You did," Deondre replied sharply, pointing down the hallway. "He went that way."
"If Flair is here though…" The Seer's right eye started twitching rapidly. "What is Princess Alita doing here?"
"Princess Alita, eh?" A low laughter came from behind them, and they were immediately on their guard with their weapons drawn as they turned to face the speaker. "That would explain who the mystery girl you five have been searching for so hard these last few weeks is."
"Yo Kyris, it's been a while." Daniel joked, though the sweat dripping down the side of his forehead spoke otherwise. ("What the hell is he doing here so quickly?")
"This is a surprise for me too." The shadows around him dropped slowly to reveal a young boy that couldn't have been any older than fifteen or sixteen. "I find it amazing to think that the three of us would just run into each other this quickly…though it seems we're after different things today." His long red hair blowing behind, the red-shirted and red-panted boy drew his rapier and held it up in a fencing stance at the two Guardians of Mudeia. "So what do you say, boys? Shall we fight?"
"It doesn't look like we have a choice." Daniel drew Future Edge from its sheath while Deondre pulled a pair of long black stilettos out of his suit's sleeves. "Let's see if you've improved since the last time we met in battle, Kyris."
"I pose the same question to you." Then the red-haired boy erupted within a pulsing inferno of blood-red energy.
To be continued…
