Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and everything in it.
Song of Temarocia
Chapter 26: Saika's Determination
Jason exploded into laughter. "Hey Saika, this is just a guess so tell me if I'm wrong or not, but you swallowed the Mirror Eye to make sure this gold freak couldn't get it didn't you?"
The silver-crystal furred tail she had just sprouted swinging behind her, Saika kept her jaw squared proudly. "I can't tell you that, Jason." The two cat ears of a similar color scheme coming from her head twitched together as if to help prove that she was serious about keeping the location of the remains of the Mirror Wildcat a secret.
Don Karot's jaw was hanging as close to the floor as it possibly could now. Alita was doing similar. Jason couldn't have found this entire situation funnier unless Rick had been around doing something stupid like he tended to.
"Not Excellent!" Don Karot hurled Jason through the air behind him and stomped towards Saika angrily. "You foolish girl, you would dare to eat something worth one billion Tem?"
"I'm not telling you, bleah!" Saika stuck her tongue out at him and stepped back as he continued to approach. "I promised Shiny Kitty-san that I wouldn't let anyone take his gift away from me, no matter what happens!"
"That's because you ate a Wild Fusion, you stupid girl!" The Warlord looked like he was on the verge of exploding into violent action, his golden plating screeching as it pressed against itself. "The Mirror Wildcat is bonded to you eternally, and there's nothing anyone can do take it out!"
"Huh?" Saika tilted her head to one side and looked at him like he was crazy. "Wild Fusion? Bonded? What are you talking about?"
"I…can't…stop…laughing…" Gasping for breath, Jason rolled back and forth across the ground screaming with laughter. "This…this is just like…Sai…"
("She willingly swallowed the crystallized remains of a monster…") Alita's eyes were twitching and she was sweating as her mind started formulating the average amount of time a Wild Fusion was supposed to bond in. ("For it to not materialize until just now though shows the rarity and power of a Mirror Wildcat. There is very little information written about Graftborns, but to see the birth of one is definitely something surprising…") If she had the time at this moment she would record the incident in her book, but the words that Don Karot had said before were still echoing in her mind. "Jason, we have to take this seriously."
"I always take this kind of stuff seriously." The Grafter sat up; legs crossed…and then fell over laughing again. "Just give me a minute!"
"We don't have a minute!" She shouted at him. "Don Karot's about to explode, and when a Warlord explodes the effects of it are disastrous!"
Don Karot roared in rage, a vein bulging out of the side of his golden-plated head. "You cost me one billion Tem, you idiot!" His body began to emit a pulsing golden light that was slowly shifting red in color. "I will make you pay for it with your death! Diamond Buster!" His diamond-studded right arm shot in towards Saika's face, the girl flinching in fear…
"La Botte joutant à la Tête!" King flew in and delivered a bone-shattering kick to the side of the Warlord's head, hurling him sideways with incredible speed and velocity. Dropping to the ground with surprising grace considering just how much power he had put into his kick, the fake Frenchman lit up a cigarette and pinched it between his middle and index fingers as he motioned to the fallen Don Karot. "My apologies, Don, but I can't let you hurt this girl. She's a member of the Freak Gang…"
His eyes exploded into hearts and he twirled around, dropping to his knees and gushing at Saika. "Plus she's a super-cute cat-girl!"
"Stupid perverted Frenchy…" Jason rolled to his feet and cracked his neck, walking over to stand alongside King. "Don't ruin my fun."
"Your fun?" Taking a puff of his cigarette and blowing it the Grafter's direction, King squared his jaw in a surly fashion. "You looked like you were getting smacked around, as per usual."
"That's because I was just getting warmed up," Jason growled out as his face took on a similar scary quality and he glared eye-to-eye with his friend. "You wanna go, Frenchy?"
Saika leaned in and tapped them both on the shoulder, squeaking in surprise as their very scary faces turned to glare at her at the same time. "Ummm, what did King mean when he said I was a Cat-girl?"
Alita pulled a small hand-mirror out of her pocket, offering it to the bunny-suited girl. "Take a look."
Grabbing the little reflective piece of glass and holding it up to her face, Saika stared at the silver-crystal ears that seemed as if they were waving back at her through the image. "…" She twisted slightly, using the mirror to look at the silver-crystal furred tail coming out of her backside. Her face started to break slightly, and she began to tear up. "My dad's going to kill me!" She started sniffling. "He'll think I joined a really weird gang!"
"There's someone in New York weirder than the Freaks Gang?" King turned his attention to the front as the ground started shaking. "I thought we were the weirdest out of them all."
"We are." Jason muttered as he copied the fake Frenchman's movements. "Whatever though, it looks like you and I are up to bat."
"That it does." King suddenly did a back-flip and landed on the other side of Saika in time to throw a roundhouse kick that forced the attempting to be sneaky Revlis back a few steps. "You got the gold one?"
"I got the gold one." The Grafter cracked his knuckles and then his neck. ("Though what I'm going to do with him is a different story.") He had plenty of power behind Stonequill, but it wasn't going to do him any good if he couldn't break Don Karot's Priceless Body.
"Well then, Marley, it seems you recovered from my little Casse-noisettes Doux." King slid his cigarette to the corner of his mouth and started doing leg stretches. "I was wondering if you would come back in time for the main event though. Your boss is going to get his head handed to him by Jason while I show you why the French way of life is better than the Island life you seem to embrace."
"Island life?" The silver-coated Rastafarian did a couple of spin-kicks, preparing himself as well. "Mr. King, you're a weird guy. What good's gonna come of challenging the Don?"
"I guess I can't answer that question without sounding like a fool." King stood up and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Are you ready?"
"Anytime mon." Revlis suddenly charged.
"I have had enough…" Don Karot stood up, bits of debris falling off his body while the aura around him was now bright red. "Of your games! All of you have caused me so much trouble that I am now at my limit! My second Trial will put you in your place!" His hands slammed into the ground. "Feel my wrath, Priceless Prison!"
The casino started to shake uncontrollably, different statues and busts falling to the ground and breaking in the distance.
Jason had already braced himself properly, and wasn't thrown off balance by the sudden change in ground stability. "What exactly are you expecting to accomplish by making earthquakes?"
"Earthquakes?" The Warlord laughed out. "That's a bit different than the truth, Jason-kun. Priceless Prison actually is meant for a different purpose than that, as you're about to see."
The Grafter got ready to jump. ("Something's going to come out of the ground and try to trap me. That's not very hard to figure out.") His tail coiled underneath him like a spring. ("I'll just launch myself into the air and escape…")
"Priceless Prison!" Don Karot sneered in triumph as Jason and King disappeared in two flashes of golden light, replaced by a pair of pure gold statues that looked just like them, in the same positions they had been in right before the Trial had started. "My second Trial cannot be so easily avoided or dodged because it is instant. With it I have trapped the two of you in shells of gold, and because it is perfectly shaped to your bodies you have no chance of escaping through the use of brute force!"
Saika and Alita stared wide-eyed at the statue of Jason…and then they started running.
"You won't get away!" Don Karot charged at the two girls. "Revlis, intercept them!"
"You got it Don." The Rastafarian leapt in the path of the two and tugged on the collar of his coat. "Sorry ladies, but you ain't gonna get away. You'd better just surrender, otherwise you're gonna wind up like those two."
"Wind Arts; Roaring Hurricane!" Alita skidded to a stop and a powerful spinning blast of wind erupted around the head of the security forces, creating a cloud of dust in the area around itself. "Run Saika, I'll try to buy you…" Her eyes widened as she felt a hand clamp strongly onto the back of her neck.
"Priceless Prison." Don Karot didn't even stick around to watch the process, already moving towards where he had seen Saika last. "Saika-chan, there's no one left but you. Once you're captured I'll put those other three in my gallery and let them decorate my Kingdom. There is no escape for you. Surrender, Saika!"
The rainbow-haired girl kept running, refusing to surrender. ("Everyone is counting on me now. Wait, isn't that one samurai guy that was with Alita-chan still here?") She headed away from where she remembered he was. ("I have to wait until he recovers. Until then Kim is still here too…she can help us!")
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Kim sneezed. "I guess I've got a cold too." She continued walking down the dirt road towards the region border, her duster and cloak flapping in the wind.
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Don Karot smirked as he approached Saika slowly. "The game is over, my dear. I guess the best I can hope for now is that when you die your body will become a Prize Card or maybe a Mirror Gem." His right hand started to glow golden. "I'll lock you in my Priceless Prison and then melt it down around you, burning you to death. How does that sound?"
"I challenge you to an Adventurer's Duel!" Saika squeaked out fearfully, deciding that this was the best way to buy time.
"That's fine…" The Warlord's Carrier reappeared. "I'll end this duel right away."
(500/1500) Saika- 8000/0
(Current Wealth: 599,982,100) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/10000
Saika felt a Carrier appear around her arm and she touched the top of it slowly, a card image and effect appearing in her mind. ("I just do this five more times, just like a normal duel.") Her hand touched the top of her deck five more times and now there was a hand of cards in her mind's eye. "I discard one card from my deck for the cost of Illusion Mirror, letting me equip it to myself." A card was spat off the top of her deck and it faded away into nothing as a shimmering and beautiful silver mirror appeared between her hands. "While this card is equipped to me I cannot be attacked while there are other creatures in play under my control."
("A deck that uses such a card must also use Familiars, eh?") Don Karot laughed. "Saika-chan, there is little chance of any help you calling being strong enough to beat me!"
"I summon Helper Cat in defense mode at the cost of one card from my deck!" A card appeared in front of the girl and changed into a cute-eyed cat that landed on the ground and meowed up the Warlord curiously. (600/600) "The card sent to the graveyard by the cost of my Helper Cat can be activated during my next turn if it is a spell, which it is. Also the card discarded to my graveyard for the cost of my Mirror was a technique card called Reflective Lightning, which returns to my hand at the end of the turn. End turn."
Don Karot touched the top of his deck is frustration. "Is this some kind of joke? Sending such annoying little creatures out as your Familiars won't help this situation for you, Saika-chan!" A card appeared alongside him and changed into a huge gold-plated humanoid monster. "I summon Gold Golem in attack mode!" (1500/1500)
(500/1500) Saika- 8000/0
(Current Wealth: 599,982,100) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/9700
"Gold Golem, blow that little pest into nothingness!" The Warlord sneered as his artificial monster punched forward and shattered the feline. "I set four Contingencies and end my turn."
("I have to buy time!") Saika touched the top of her deck, a new card appearing in her mind. "At this time Helper Cat's effect lets me use the card it discarded, which is a spell called Determined Heart that costs one card from my deck to use."
She discarded the top card of her deck and then pulled five more cards free. "At this time I can discard up to five cards from my deck to my graveyard. For every one discarded my power rises by 500 points until the end of the turn!" The five cards were inserted into the graveyard and she started glowing brightly with an aura of flames. (3000/1500)
A card slid back out of her graveyard slot. "One of those cards was Illusion Mirror, which when discarded from my deck to my graveyard shuffles itself and five cards from my graveyard into my deck." Five more cards left her graveyard and she shuffled them into her deck.
"And now…" Two cards left her deck for its cost. "I summon Samurai Kitty in attack mode!" A little kitten standing on its forelegs and wearing ancient samurai armor appeared in play, drawing its little toothpick of a sword and waving it around fiercely. (1000/1000)
("This is getting ridiculous…") Don Karot frowned in displeasure that he had to fight another annoying creature along with the brat he had been taking of for this last week or so.
"I activate the technique card Reflective Lightning at the cost of one card from my deck to power up my attack by 200 points and draw two cards!" Saika's mirror sprayed out a blast of power that hit the Gold Golem and blew it apart. "Plus the card was another of my Illusion Mirrors, but since I don't have five cards in my graveyard I just shuffle it back in."
(3200/1500) Saika- 8000/0
(Current Wealth: 599,980,400) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/9700
"You activated one of my Contingencies, Insurance!" The Warlord drew two cards from his deck. "At the cost of 200 magic points I can draw two cards when you destroy one of my monsters in battle. Also the effect of Gold Golem is that when it's destroyed I draw one card." A third card disappeared from the top of his deck.
(3000/1500) Saika- 8000/0
(Current Wealth: 599,980,400) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/9500
"Go Kitty!" Saika pointed dramatically at the Warlord while the little samurai cat jumped at Don Karot and slashed its weapon harmlessly across his Priceless Body.
(3000/1500) Saika- 8000/0
(Current Wealth: 599,979,400) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/9500
"At the end of my turn Reflective Lightning comes back to my hand." Saika picked up the card again. "I set one Contingency and end my turn."
Don Karot touched the top of his deck angrily. "I activate the spell card Skilled Builders, restoring one Location or Construct from my graveyard to the field at the cost of 500 magic points!" His Gold Golem appeared in play once more. (1500/1500)
(500/1500) Saika- 8000/0
(Current Wealth: 599,979,400) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/9000
"And now I attack with my restored Familiar!" The Warlord sneered as his monster hurtled in and crashed into the Samurai Kitty, shattering its oversized helmet. "What's this?"
"The effect of Samurai Kitty is that when it comes into play it gets a counter that is removed when it would be destroyed as a result of battle, negating that destruction." Saika bit her lower lip nervously and motioned to herself. "Also, my effect prevents me from taking battle damage while I have a Familiar in play…"
"You're too naïve if you think I'm finished!" Don Karot ran at the little creature and hit it with a powerful uppercut. "This technique increases my attack by 1500 at the cost of 1000 Tem, and it's called Jackpot!" The Kitty shattered. "End turn."
(500/1500) Saika- 8000/0
(Current Wealth: 599,978,400) (1800/700) Don Karot- 8000/9000
Saika touched the top of her deck and a card slid out of her graveyard. "At this time the effect of the card discarded to my graveyard earlier activates now. It's called Daydream and it lets me add one Imagination named Familiar from my deck to my hand." Her deck grew one card slimmer. "Now I bring out one of my Imaginations!" The mirror floating in front of her spat out a little ball of cloudy smoke that poofed into a very familiar shape.
"What…" The Warlord's right eye was twitching rapidly as he stared at what had been spawned by the mirror. "Is this supposed to be funny?"
"Not really…" A chibi version of Jason, brown tunic and all, sneered out cutely. "This is going to be the end of you, Don Karot!" (600/600)
"Yay, it worked!" Saika knelt down and hugged the Chibi Jason tightly around the neck. "This is Imagination Jason, and he's going to help me take you down."
"As I asked earlier, is this some kind of joke?" The Warlord's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You brought out a little big-headed version of Jason-kun…do you expect me to be frightened?"
"You'd better be scared, you gold freak!" Chibi Jason hopped forward and grinned confidently. "Because I'm not playing around either!" He charged in and tackled the Gold Golem with a wild grin on his face. "Now Sai!"
"Right!" The girl's mirror started shining. "Reflective Lightning!" A blast of electricity shot from it and slammed into Don Karot's body. (700/1500) Afterwards she tapped her deck twice. "Now Jason-chan!"
(700/1500) Saika- 8000/0
(Current Wealth: 599,978,000) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/9000
Chibi Jason sneered into the emotionless face of the Golem and then they both exploded like a pair of bombs, creating a cloud of smoke.
"A self-destructing Familiar?" Don Karot threw up his arms to protect himself from the smoke. "Regardless, I still draw one card from my Golem's effect and then I reveal another Insurance Contingency, drawing two more cards." Tapping his deck three times, he sneered into the cloud. "Saika-chan, you can't succeed if this is your best. I am a Warlord, not some common opponent who will fall for such childish tricks."
"I set two Contingencies down and end my turn." Saika reappeared, her eyes determined. ("I have to buy as much time as I can.")
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Wing sighed and walked in a circle around the golden statue of Jason. "He lost again…man, this guy is weird. Seriously, he was wailing on Ruerto Masquil before when they fought."
"That was with the Burst Fox Graft though. As Stonequill I think he's trying too hard to strike strong blows." Feather rubbed her chin, pondering something. "Should I remove the layer of gold from his body? As long as it's attached he's trapped in a kind of stasis so he doesn't suffocate…but still it's rather inconvenient."
"Don't free him just yet." Wing slapped the statue across the face roughly. "This idiot doesn't deserve any respect if he can't even take down a freaking pansy like Don Karot!" He started kicking and punching the statue half-heartedly, though for him a half-hearted punch probably would have injured a normal person.
"What are you doing?" Feather sighed and sat down on a nearby bench, crossing her legs daintly as she watched the black-caped man insult and rough up the statue.
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"It's my turn now, Saika-chan!" Don Karot touched the top of his deck in frustration. ("This girl is wasting my time…and that's probably her purpose. She thinks that my Priceless Prisons will break sooner rather later…and she is wrong. They will break if even one crack appears in their flawless surface, but such a thing will not come to be because she is all that is left of her friends.") "I summon another Gold Golem!" A second golden humanoid appeared before him. (1500/1500)
(500/1500) Saika- 8000/0
(Current Wealth: 599,978,000) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/8700
"Also, I play Rich Man's Advantage, letting me do one thing that would normally break the basic rules of the game. In this case I'll be making another summon at the cost of 10000 Tem." Don Karot motioned to in front of him and another Gold Golem appeared. (1500/1500)
(500/1500) Saika- 8000/0
(Current Wealth: 599,978,000) (300/700) Don Karot- 8000/8400
"And now I crush you with these guys' weight." The Warlord pointed at Saika. "Attack her directly!" One of the two Golems roared forward and fell on the girl, throwing up another cloud of dust. When it cleared the creature stood up to reveal the she had disappeared. "Where did she go?"
Saika's head suddenly poked up out of the tile, seeming to be connected to nothing at all. "Whew, that was close. It's a good thing I set Ground Shelter as a Contingency."
"So you escaped?" Don Karot pointed at the disembodied head of his target. "Golem number two attacks!" The creature charged at Saika, hands extended to grab her…
"KYYYAHHH!" The girl exploded out of her hiding place in the tile and slapped the monster across the face, somehow sending it flying away from her.
"What…what was that?" Don Karot couldn't believe that the meek little girl he had employed into his service was capable of such a thing.
"Anti-Pervert Strike, another of my Contingencies that removes your hand from the game until the end of the turn and negates your direct attack." Saika huffed out angrily, glaring at the twitching leg of the Gold Golem that was currently buried up to its waist in a wall.
"End turn for now." Don Karot no longer had his hand cards so there was nothing he could do about this except wait until his next turn.
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Feather looked up from the book she had been reading when the tirade of insults and smacking noises had finally ended. "Are you done venting on the disabled?"
Wiping some sweat from his brow, the black-caped man turned and cracked his knuckles. "Get ready to head for cover; this isn't going to be pretty. If I know this guy's temperament, this is going to be something amazing to witness."
"Hmmm? What do you mean?" She pocketed her book and stood up, brushing herself off gently.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAH," Wing laughed dramatically, his voice sounding much deeper then normal. "I, the mighty Don Karot, have easily subjugated you and your weakling friends! Now I'll go throw you all in cells and feed you nothing but corn beef!"
"..." Feather sweatdropped and tapped him in the side of the head. "Are you feeling alright?"
"It's just a hunch based on past experiences with our common associate." Wing wound up and punched the golden plating will all of his might. After a few seconds little cracks started appearing in the whole statue. "Now we run like mad!" He turned and ran full speed for cover with Feather right behind him.
A low growl came from the cracking gold… "I…" One of the arms shattered, revealing the flesh underneath. "Hate…" The face splintered and came apart in a spray of golden flakes. "…Corn beef!" Jason exploded free from the rest of the Priceless Prison, his eyes shaking in rage. "DON KAROT!" With speed thought only out of someone in a cartoon he ran, leaving a dust trail in his wake.
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The Warlord turned to look behind him, eyes wide. "Impossible…how did he get free?"
"I'm going to kick your ass!" Jason came flying around the corner and slammed his shoulder into the Don's chest, sending him hurtling through a pillar and along the ground for a few dozen feet. Throwing back his head the Grafter roared in anger and slammed his foot into the ground, causing another small earthquake.
"Don't get so insolent, mon!" Revlis came in from the side, his leg cocked back to land a powerful whirlwind kick to Jason's chest. "Don Karot doesn't have the time to be dealing with a minor annoyance like you!"
Jason, who was already spitting up a little bit of blood from the first hit, was nearly completely out cold when the second one came and threw him into a corkscrew.
"What are you doing here?" She shouted at the top of her lungs, bringing all other activity in the café to a halt. "Leave this place right now!" Face contorted in anger, she slapped him hard across the other cheek. "GET OUT!"
Revlis was suddenly standing above Jason, bringing the heel of his foot down and cracking one of the young man's ribs with the force of it. "You're way outta your league, mon!"
"Later." Jason's smile faded as Don Karot's Golden Whip exploded straight through his chest, burning a hole in his heart. His body stumbled slightly, and then collapsed to the ground lifelessly. The only sound coming from it was the sound of the smoldering leather of his tunic around the hole in his back…that and the smell of charred flesh which permeated the air left no doubt in the minds of anyone watching. That attack had ended it.
Saika was shouting something, but he couldn't hear her. Not over the sound of his own bones breaking and his blood pounding his ears as he was turned into a soccer ball by a guy who was way too much like King when it came to fighting.
"It is not a matter of will at this point. You do not possess the power to defeat me and my skills in this place."
Revlis casually held the Grafter up by the edge of his tunic. "You got anything to say in your defense? You're pretty weak, but at least you entertained the Don more than he'd probably like to admit."
("Entertain…huh…") Jason's growl got lower and lower.
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Wing banged his head against the wall next to him. "You have to be freaking kidding me! One of the Warlord's henchmen is beating him down now? Its official, this kid has nothing to do with the guy we know."
Feather's eyes widened slightly, as what she was seeing was a bit different than what Wing apparently saw. "I suggest you don't take your eyes off him. This is about to be very painful."
"I never thought you were into stuff like that." The man chuckled weakly. "I don't have any wish to watch the kid get pummeled by the silver-coat."
"That's…well…" Feather giggled. "Just watch…"
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Don Karot groaned and sat up, rubbing the side of his head. "That…was rather painful." Standing up and brushing himself off, he sneered at his golden body. "But pain means nothing if the damage is zero. I am invinc…" He finally bothered to look up.
There was a cloud of dust stealing his vision of almost everything. The only thing he could see… "Revlis!" Running to his henchman's side, he kneeled down alongside the fallen man. "What happened?"
"Don…" The Rastafarian gurgled out through his swollen lips. In fact it seemed as if his entire body was swollen and bruised. "He…the Grafter…"
("I couldn't have been out for that long…but it looks like every bone in his body is broken. How could that be possible?") The Warlord's eyes reflected rage now, his normal semi-good cheer completely gone. "Come out Jason-kun, how did you do this to one of my precious underlings?"
"How?" The young man's voice came from the dust cloud, which was starting to clear. "One punch…that was all it took…"
"You did this to him in one punch?" Don Karot stood up in defiance of such a possibility. "No one punch has this kind of destructive power!"
"Well to be fair," Jason added in, his long shadowed hair blowing in a wind that apparently was around him only, "It was a really big punch." The dust cleared completely to reveal him… and it showed something unbelievable. It was a form that Don Karot had never seen before…
To be continued…
Don Karot: What is this form? How could you have possibly beaten Revlis with a single strike? It doesn't matter how much power you have, the damage had far too wide of a spread! I'll bring this battle to its final skirmish!
Jason:...
Next Chapter: Grafter's Trial; The True Purpose of Five Elements
