After getting our rations and topping off the charge on our duel disks, our alliance had marched out into the forest. It had been three days since then. We had made our way through a good portion of Duel Monster Island and I was certain we would reach the other end of it soon.
Along the path we treaded, we'd had several encounters with various individuals. Some of them were alone, while others were traveling in groups. However, we'd yet to encounter another alliance the same size as our own. In addition, fortunately, none of these encounters resulted in a duel.
Half of these people simply ran away from us on sight. However, there were some who stopped to speak with us and we would trade information and resources. This resulted in us losing a few days' worth of food, but as trade, we obtained vital landmarks for our maps, including a couple of lakes, a mountain, and the locations of several more charging stations.
Despite our best efforts, there was only one group that we were able to convince to show us where another food distributor was. It ended up costing us not more food and water, but instead a copy of our map. Of course, we were capable of replacing this loss, but I fear giving away our knowledge of the island's layout could prove detrimental in the long run. At least, it will if we do end up actually trapped here for the long run in this death tournament.
After another hour of making our way through the woods, we pushed past one last row of foliage and came upon our intended destination. In front of the alliance and I, there was an open area large enough for dozens of people, maybe more than a hundred, to comfortably fit on, which cut off with a sharp inclined cliff face.
"Really?! That's all that's here!?" Tanya yelled.
"Well, let's actually look at what's past the edge before we start giving up hope," Erick replied.
"Agreed," I added.
"Oh, and... There's 2,088 left."
Erick had been making a habit of checking on the number of remaining contestants for us. While a few amongst our ranks found it annoying to some degree, we all ultimately agreed that this habit was more beneficial than not. Admittedly, there were fewer deaths in these past few days than I had expected. That's some small victory for Human morality I suppose.
"Well, alright. Let's spread out and look. Erick, would you mind checking the far end of the cliff with me?" Michael requested.
"Uh... Sure," Erick replied while walking off with him.
"I guess I'll look over there," Brie said.
"Oo! I'll go with Brie! Her spirits are in a great mood today," Elsa spoke up.
"I'll stay here and add this to the map. Then I'll examine the edge next to the forest," I stated.
"By yourself, Diego?" Justin asked.
"Yes. I'll be fine," I answered.
"Hmm... If you say so, dude. I'll go look over there."
Quickly enough, we split up and all began examining the different areas of the cliff. After that, I speedily updated my copy of the map before getting to work examining my part of the plateau.
While exploring my section, I found a strip of beach at the bottom of the cliff that seemed to stretch on for miles. There was a chance we could find something of more use if we got down there. However, even after getting on my hands and knees to get a good look at it, I couldn't find any safe way to scale the cliff face, and the drop was too far to be viable.
Just as I was standing up to inform the others of this, I felt the ground beneath me shake ever so slightly. After that, I froze for a moment as the rocks under my feet gave out. If I'd had Erick's nerves or Justin's reflexes, I could have probably moved fast enough to escape before it was too late, but, alas I lacked either.
"Diego!" I heard several of my friends shout at once as I fell.
As I descended down, I found myself sliding on the slightest incline that the cliff had. My survival instincts took over by that point, as I desperately tried to dig my hands and feet into the rock wall.
While any grips I found almost immediately gave out underneath my combined weight and momentum, my actions were enough to slow my fall and prevent it from being fatal. I know I must have been yelling throughout my entire descent, but my sense of panic was too great for me to hear my own voice.
Crashing into the sandy beach, I was finally able to hear myself as I let out a yelp of pain. While I could tell I was hurt, it didn't feel like any of my bones had broken. This was either thanks to adrenaline blocking the sensation or some miracle of God protecting my skeleton. The last thing I or any of my friends needed on an island with no medical facilities was a broken bone. However, the stinging sensation in my palms and aches in my rear-end and feet told me that I hadn't escaped completely unharmed.
Sitting up and looking at my bloody and sand-covered palms, I muttered to myself, "Well, this will go great with my black eye..."
"Diego, stay there! We're gonna find a way down to help you!" Erick shouted.
"Really? I thought I might run a marathon...! Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere!" I shouted back as my attempt at humor failed to even get a chuckle from myself.
"I'm gonna try to climb down to get to you!" Justin exclaimed.
"No! Don't!" I yelled back at him.
"What? Why?"
"The rocks are too loose! You'll just fall as well!"
"Well, what are we supposed to do then?! We're not just leaving you down there!"
"I... I don't know! Give me a second!"
For a moment, I took a few deep breaths and forced myself to calm down. Looking at my immediate surroundings, I saw that this beach connected back into a lower altitude section of the forest.
Collecting my thoughts, I shouted up to my friends, "A part of the forest connects to this beach. See if you all can find a way to get down here through the forest!"
"Alright, just sit tight, Diego! We'll be there soon!" Erick shouted to me.
"And don't forget, clams swim through the ocean by shooting jets of water!" I heard Elsa shout.
"I... Of course! I'd be a fool to forget that!" I yelled back to placate her.
After that, I heard them all make their way back into the woods as I sat in the sand.
I should probably see if I can stand.
Gathering my strength, I started getting to my feet. During the process, I made the mistake of trying to grab the rock wall, forgetting just how cut up my hands were. After cursing my own stupidity, I switched to resting my arm against the wall for support and was finally able to stand back up. While my legs were shaking and my feet were sore, nothing hurt enough to prevent me from standing.
"Well, hopefully, this is a sign nothing is broken... Ugh!"
As I let out my sigh of frustration, I leaned back against the wall and looked out at the ocean and the waves that stopped short of reaching this beach. This made me glad that I didn't land in the water. Despite what movies would have you believe, it doesn't soften a fall nearly as much as you'd think. On top of that, there's a chance I could have been washed away. At the very least, the saltwater would have seriously stung the cuts on my hands.
Oh... That reminds me.
Looking at my palms and all the gashes that had sand in them, I realized that I needed to clean these before I got an infection. Fortunately for me, my backpack had fallen with me and hadn't seemed to take any serious hits. On top of helping to soften my fall, it had my supplies in it.
Pulling out a fresh water bottle, I remarked, "Well, I hate to use up my water for this, but it's unfortunately necessary."
Uncapping the bottle, I used half of it to wash off one hand, before using the rest to clean off the other. I then shook out what few drops were left in it into my mouth.
As I took another look at my hands, I was relieved that I couldn't find any dirt or sand on them. Now all I had to worry about was the bleeding. The bleeding would stop on its own soon enough I figured, so I made sure to keep my hands flat with my palms facing upwards as I allowed the blood to coagulate.
I briefly considered ripping my Obelisk Blue jacket to make makeshift bandages, but I dashed that idea when I remembered it would require the physical strength to easily and cleanly tear the fabric. This was another ability which I lacked. I found myself suddenly regretting never joining Justin during his daily workout routines all those times he'd offered.
Mmm... Hopefully, this whole experience will help get me in better shape. Honestly, I've gotten more chub on my belly than I'd like as of late. Speaking of fat, though...
I next pulled out one of my ration packs. After losing the amount of blood that I did, it'd probably be smart to get a meal in me to replenish it. Sitting down and ripping it open, I emptied out the bag's contents onto my lap. There were pieces of bread, bananas, cheese, and some sort of vitamin cake, and all of them were completely dried out for preservation. It made me wonder why they were stored in fridges in the first place.
Now, this wasn't the most appetizing of meals, but it had everything we needed to keep us going for these past few days. I just wish it wasn't all so dry because I would need to use another bottle of water to consume it all.
Guh... I hope everyone finds me sooner rather than later.
I had spent over an hour sitting on the beach next to the wall. I would have been bored if it weren't for how much more pain I was in now that my adrenaline had worn off.
I still didn't think anything was broken, but I was certain at least a few bones were bruised. The pain wasn't unbearable, fortunately, but it was still very unpleasant.
"Well, the blood on my hands has all dried up, so maybe I can pass the time by looking at my cards and thinking up new strategies," I told myself. Afterward, I undid the latch on the card holster on my belt and pulled out my deck.
As I began looking through my cards, I felt a sense of comfort when the first card I saw was one of my mighty Blue-Eyes White Dragons. I almost wished I was as crazy as Elsa at times like this so I could speak to my cards. Of course, I knew there was no such thing as Duel Spirits, but that didn't lessen the enjoyment of my fantasies of being able to ride on the backs of my dragons through the sky, feeling like I was king of the world.
I found myself lost in such a flight of fancy once more, before remembering that I had intended to strategize. However, just as I was about to get down to business, I heard some rustling from the bushes. Putting away my cards, I got back to my feet and prepared myself.
Now, I had already heard similar sounds a few times before now, with each instance turning out to be the wind or possibly an animal rushing by. However, I still got my hopes up that I would see my friends' figures step out of there. When I saw a Human hand reach out from the foliage, I was more than just a bit relieved, unfortunately, this relief was misplaced.
Making her way out of the brush was a woman, slightly older than me, mid-twenties at the oldest, with a long coat and a baseball cap over her blond hair.
Noticing me as I stared at her, the woman greeted me, "Uh... Hey there. The name's Sheila. Who're you?"
Taking a more reserved stance, I tried to show as little pain as possible as I answered, "I am Diego."
"Okay... What are you doing here by yourself?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
Shrugging, she replied, "Good point. I didn't get a chance to join any groups the first day, so I'm kinda on my own."
"Right... Well, I am in an alliance, and I'm simply waiting here for my friends to return... My very protective friends."
"I see... And how much longer do you think they'll be?"
"Not long..."
Shifting her attention to my backpack, which I'd set on the ground next to me, Sheila stated, "A backpack. That's pretty useful to have here. Probably gives you an easy way to carry your supplies around."
"Huh... Wish I'd thought of that. I just have a bunch of... souvenirs from my school life in there," I said while softly putting my foot on top of my empty ration pack.
"Well then... It must have been annoying to carry those water bottles in your pockets this whole time. Probably tasted terrible being so warm," she said while gesturing to my left.
Looking down, I cursed internally as I noticed the water bottles I'd left there. Grimacing, I looked back up at Sheila and saw the expression in her eyes. It was the kind of look a predator would give prey before being about to strike.
"Yes... Yes, very warm. As I said, my eight friends are going to be back soon, so I guess-."
Cutting me off, Sheila spoke up as she took a step forward, "Oh, I very much doubt that."
I was glaring now as I asked, "And why's that?"
"Well, your friends, if they ever existed in the first place, probably abandoned you here. After all, just look at how banged up you are."
Unlatching my deck holster, I spat back, "I assure you, these injuries are superficial. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself... I was ranked in the top five best duelists at Duel Academy after all."
Smiling at me with false sweetness, Sheila walked out onto the beach and said, "Well then... Maybe you'd like to prove that to me!"
"Don't-!"
"I challenge you to a duel!"
I let out a frustrated sigh and closed my eyes as soon as she said that. Right after, I heard the sound of the challenge acceptance timer activate. Justin, Tanya, and Erick had informed us all of these beforehand.
"Damned idiot... Fine, I accept," I replied as I pulled my cards back out and swiftly shuffled them.
I know I told Erick a few days ago that we would all pull our own weight here, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping that I'd never have to partake in one of these duels.
As I slotted my cards into my duel disk, Sheila did the same, causing both of our duel disks to whir to life simultaneously.
(Life Points: Diego: 8000. Sheila: 8000)
Drawing my first cards, my opening hand was White Stone Of Legend, Honest, Chaos Form, Dragon Shrine, and Dragon's Mirror.
As I was thinking of how best to play this hand, Sheila had pulled out her duel coin and asked, "Heads or tails?"
"Tails," I responded as dismissively as I could.
After audibly flipping the coin, Sheila remarked, "Tch... Tails. Looks like you go first, handsome."
"You could've avoided being annoyed if you had just listened to me... Whatever, for my first move, I set one monster in face-down defense position. After that, I activate the spell card Dragon Shrine. This card allows me to send one Dragon-Type monster from my deck to my graveyard, and if it's a Normal monster, then I can send another. The card I pick is-."
Cutting me off, Sheila stated, "Nope. Don't think so, darling. I activate the quick effect of one of the monsters in my hand, Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring. By discarding her from my hand, there's a whole bunch of different kinds of cards I can negate the activation of. That includes cards that send other cards from the deck to the grave. Soooo... I'll be doing just that to your Dragon Shrine spell."
Just like she said, once she put her card in the graveyard, my spell card's hologram crackled and fizzled out.
"Hmm... Alright. Well, I'll have to end my turn there. Your move."
"Heheheh! I crippled your first move, cutie!"
"Yes... Of course, you did... Are you going to make your move or not?"
Pouting, Sheila told me, "Oh, you're no fun. Well, fine, I draw... Heh. Alright, first, I activate the spell Foolish Burial. This lets me send one monster card from my deck to my graveyard... Next, I summon Vampire Retainer(ATK: 1200. DEF: 0)." This monster had half the body of a white wolf, while the other half, split at the spine, was some sort of shadow wolf/demon.
"But my cute wolf isn't staying here for long. Now, I activate the spell card, Vampire's Desire. I'll use its effect to send Retainer to the grave, and special summon the monster I sent there before with Foolish Burial, and that'd be Shadow Vampire(ATK: 2000. DEF: 0)!" Appearing on the field was a semitransparent warrior with pale skin, long silver hair, glowing red eyes, and a pair of fangs sticking out from his upper lips. He was clad in white plate mail armor, with scarlet cloth beneath it, while he dual-wielded spiked greatswords.
"Now that my ghost in shining armor is on the field, I'll have him attack your face-down monster. Go, Shadow!" Her monster then floated across the field until he reached my face-down card, cross-slashing and destroying it once he stopped.
"Since I declared an attack, I get to activate the effect of the monster in my hand and special summon her in defense position. So come on out, Vampire Fraulein(ATK: 600. DEF: 2000)!" This monster was a red-eyed and blond-haired woman in her early twenties. She wore a black gothic dress and carried a black lace parasol with a red interior and fangs along its ridges. The right half of her body had pristine and pale skin, while her left half had clammy skin with purple veins showing through it. Lastly, out of her right eye, she was crying a constant stream of blood.
"I know she's pretty, but don't go falling in love just yet. You see, I'm going to use Fraulein and Shadow to XYZ summon Crimson Knight Vampire Bram(ATK: 2500. DEF: 0)!" This monster looked somewhat similar to Shadow Vampire, except his dark purple armor was far thicker, and, instead of dual-wielding greatswords, he had one large blade and a kite shield.
"With him on the field, I'll end my turn. Your move, big boy," she told me with a wink.
Unamused, I told Sheila, "Before my turn starts, the effect of the monster in my graveyard, The White Stone Of Ancients, activates. At the end of the turn that this card was sent to the graveyard, I can use its effect to special summon one Blue-Eyes monster from my deck, and I'll be summoning the namesake Blue-Eyes White Dragon(ATK: 3000. DEF: 2500)." My mighty Blue-Eyes then materialized onto the field. As the name suggested, the creature was a colossal, pale-blue, bipedal European-style dragon. Once he was on the field, his eyes shined with their glorious blue glow as he let out a roar and a beam of light from his maw.
As Sheila looked at my monster somewhat nervously, I spoke up, "I think I'll draw my card now... Alright. Let's get going, Blue-Eyes. Attack Crimson Knight Vampire Bram!" Opening his mouth, Blue-Eyes fired another beam of white light at the vampire, vaporizing it and causing Sheila to let out a moan of pain.
(Life Points: Diego: 8000. Sheila: 7500)
"With that, I'll move onto main phase two and normal summon Sage With Eye of Blue(ATK: 0. DEF: 1500)." Sage was a relatively young man with blue eyes and long silver hair. He wore dark blue, ornate armored robes with various fluttering pieces of cloth. In his hands was a staff with a crystal in the shape of a wing on top of it.
"When Sage is normal summoned, I can bring a level 1 Light Tuner to my hand, except for another copy of Sage... Oh, right, since Sage here is a Tuner monster himself, I'll use him and Blue Eyes to Synchro summon Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon in attack mode(ATK: 2500. DEF: 3000)." After my monsters merged together in a cone of light, a new dragon stepped out. This creature's body was silver in color, with a few touches of light blue, and glowing blue eyes.
"With Azure-Eyes on the field, I'll end my turn. Your move."
Smiling at me as she drew her card, Sheila told me, "Well, since it's my standby phase, I'll use Crimson Knight's effect. When he's destroyed by battle or card effect, I can special summon him in defense position during the next standby phase." And just like she said, Bram came back.
"Now, I'll use the effect of Vampire Retainer in my Grave. I can sacrifice one Vampire monster from my hand or field in order to special summon Retainer from the grave, but I'll have to banish him when he leaves the field next. And I think I'll use the little precious monster I just drew for that." With that, the wolf was back too.
"When Retainer is special summoned, I can pay 500 life points to activate his next effect and bring a Vampire Spell or Trap Card from my deck to my hand..."
(Life Points: Diego: 8000. Sheila: 7000)
"Now I'll set the card I drew. With that done, sorry little wolfy, but I'll be sacrificing you for the next card's effect, the card I just put in the grave, Vampire Familiar. I can summon Familiar the same way as Retainer, and I'll be giving up Retainer as the tribute for that(ATK: 500. DEF: 0)." After she moved her cards around again, Retainer's body suddenly exploded into a mess of fur that several shadowy bats came out of.
"When Familiar is special summoned, I can spend another 500 life points to bring another Vampire monster from my deck to my hand."
(Life Points: Diego: 8000. Sheila: 6500)
"You're certainly on a roll, aren't you?" I asked deadpanned.
"Compliments and a present? And it's only our first date. You're certainly a charmer, aren't you?"
Rolling my eyes, I replied disinterestedly, "Mm... Wait. A present?"
Brushing some of her hair aside, Sheila explained, "Well, of course, babe. Those monsters you put in the grave for me. Now I can use my spell card, Book Of Life. This lets me target one Zombie-Type monster in my grave, and one monster in my opponent's grave. Then, I can special summon the former, and banish the latter. I think I'll be going with your crush, Vampire Fraulein, to summon in defense position, and I'll be banishing that big mean Blue-Eyes of yours."
Shaking my head, I replied, "No, you won't."
"I... What?"
"I'm chain activating the effect of The White Stone Of Ancients. On either player's turn, I can banish the little egg from my grave and add one Blue-Eyes monster from my graveyard to my hand. So, I'll bring Blue-Eyes White Dragon back to my hand and save him from being banished."
Unfortunately, that means I'll have nothing to target with Azure-Eyes' effect.
Sheila looked genuinely miffed for a moment before recomposing herself, responding, "Alright, fine. Take your present back. Some gentleman you turned out to be. I still get to summon Fraulein, so try to control yourself. Anyways, I'll be sacrificing Vampire Familiar now in order to tribute summon one more monster from my hand. And that's the dashing Vampire Scarlet Scourge(ATK: 2200. DEF: 2200)." This vampire had the look of a youthful man, again with long silver hair and red eyes. His hands were noticeably clawed, but aside from that, his only noteworthy traits were his clawed fingers, and the scepter he carried that had a spiked crimson gem crowning it.
"Finally, I'll get to summon one last monster thanks to my charming gentleman here. You see, when Scourge is summoned, I can pay 1000 life points and special summon one Vampire monster from my grave, and I'll pick Shadow Vampire in attack mode. Unfortunately, I can't attack with the monster I revived on the turn I brought it back."
(Life Points: Diego: 8000. Sheila: 5500)
"You sure like draining your own life points, huh?" I asked sarcastically.
Biting her lip, Sheila responded, "Who knows? Maybe I just like it rough."
I facepalmed at that, before pulling my hand away and saying, "Alright, I understand what you're trying to do. The flirting is meant to fluster me and get me off my game. But that's not going to work. First off, I'm in too much pain and too distracted by the fact I'm going to kill you to care about that."
Flinching a bit, Sheila replied, "You sound so confident, big boy."
"Until I'm disproven, as far as I'm concerned, victory is a foregone conclusion. But, my second point, even if I was in the mood for your games... It's not like you're pretty enough to actually pull it off."
It almost looked like she dropped her cards when I said that as all expression left her face for a moment.
Eventually, pure rage overtook Sheila as she shouted at me, "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME, YOU DICKLESS VIRGIN!?"
I did my best to keep my expression neutral, but I couldn't help it as a small grin formed while I shrugged and answered, "What can I say? Not my type? Five out of ten? It is what it is no matter how I say it."
"Oh, that's it! You're vampire food! Scourge, attack that dumbass dragon of his!"
"Don't you think he's lacking attack points?" As I asked this, Scourge started darting towards Azure-Eyes.
"Not for long, cock sucker! I activate another of Fraulein's effects! Once per turn, when one of my Zombie monsters attacks an opponent's monster, I can pay a number of life points and turn it into attack points for the attacking monster! So I'm gonna gift Scourge 900 attack points!"
(Life Points: Diego: 8000. Sheila: 4600)
As the vampire monster got closer to my dragon, his muscles suddenly buffed up as a crimson mist surrounded him.
Nodding, I replied, "Well that sucks... Or it would if it weren't for this card. From my hand, I activate Honest."
"Huh...?! Honest!?"
Showing the card, I explained, "When a Light Attribute monster I control battles, I can discard Honest and give my monster the attack points of the monster it's battling until the end of the turn. Seeing as you amped up your vamp to 3100 attack, that should boost Azure-Eyes to 5600. So... I think you understand."
As Scourge got near Azure-Eyes, a pair of transparent angel wings appeared around my dragon and repelled the vampire. As Scourge was knocked away, Azure-Eyes countered with a breath attack of silver light that vaporized the undead.
(Life Points: Diego: 8000. Sheila: 2100)
Grabbing at her head, Sheila ground her teeth and scratched her scalp as she let out a growl.
"Rrrrrggg...! Fine, I end my turn! Your dragon can't finish me off and I have plenty of ways to turn this around!"
Drawing my next card, I looked at it for a moment before saying, "Yeah, you're right... But Azure-Eyes won't be the one to take you down... He will."
"H... He?" Sheila asked as her frustration was replaced with concern.
"Yep... Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon. I activate the ritual spell Chaos Form and use the Blue Eyes in my hand as the tribute to ritual summon Blue-Eyes Chaos-."
"Wait! Wait!"
"Hm?"
Waving to the field, Shiela exclaimed, "I activate my trap card! Vampire Domination! With this, I can stop the activation of one trap, spell, or monster effect so long as I have a Vampire monster on the field, and I'm stopping your ritual spell! Ha!"
Rubbing my chin, I replied, "Huh... Good move. Alright. Well, onto plan B then. First, I normal summon Maiden With Eyes Of Blue(ATK: 0. DEF: 0)." The Maiden was a young adult woman with blue eyes and very long silver hair. For garments, she wore a light brown dress with some silver decorations on the waist and torso.
"Oh, I see. Meek little pious girls are more your speed. Figures for a gutless coward like you."
Ignoring her, I told my dragon, "Alright, now, Azure-Eyes, attack Fraulein."
At my command, Azure-Eyes unleashed another blast and destroyed the female vampire.
"That'll end my turn then. Your move."
This isn't looking good... I feel like Erick or one of the other two above me would have had this bitch on the ropes by now. It didn't help that my opening hand wasn't the best.
Drawing her next card, Sheila yelled, "Alright, let's see...! Hehe! Okay, I summon Vampire Ghost Ogre(ATK: 1500. DEF: 0)!" This monster was an androgynous individual with red eyes and hair, draped in a dark gray cloak, and with long bony fingers with claws. However, instead of having a complete body, this monster lacked legs and simply floated above the field.
Lives up to the ghost part of its name, I suppose.
"Now, I'll activate Ghost Ogre's effect. When he's summoned, I can sacrifice another Vampire monster from my hand or field to bring another level 4 or higher Vampire monster to my hand. In addition, I'll also get to send a level 2 or lower Vampire monster from my deck to my graveyard. So, the card I'll tribute is Shadow Vampire, and now to rearrange my cards... Alright! Now, I'll activate the effect of the Vampire Retainer I just sent to the grave and sacrifice Ghost Ogre to special summon him in defense position!" Once her wolf was back on the field, Sheila went on, "Alright, you little shrimp, now I'll activate Retainer's other effect again to pay 500 life points and bring another Vampire Spell or Trap to my hand!"
(Life Points: Diego: 8000. Sheila: 1600)
"Then, I'll set that card in my spell and trap zone and switch Crimson Knight Vampire Bram to attack position and have him attack your dragon!"
"Kamikaze's your plan then?" I asked.
"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you!? But nope! I'll activate the effect of the Vampire Fraulein I brought to my hand, special summon her in defense mode and then activate her quick effect to pay 100 of my life points to boost Crimson Knight enough to slay your dragon!"
Raising my brow, I remarked, "Oh! Not bad."
The Crimson Knight, surrounded in a red mist, rushed Azure-Eyes, leaped at him, and split him with a vertical slash from his Greatsword.
(Life Points: Diego: 7900. Sheila: 1600)
I winced slightly at the shockwave from this but overall kept my composure.
"Oh! Look how brave the pipsqueak is!"
"Yep, that's me. Bravest boy around. So, are you going to do anything else, or is it my turn?"
As her eye twitched, Sheila told me, "Your... move."
Drawing my card, I replied, "Thanks... Okay, I set the card I drew and end my turn."
"Bwa! That's it?!" Sheila asked while barely holding back a laugh.
"Uh-huh. Your turn."
That card she set is probably another Vampire Domination. I gotta play this carefully if I want to be able to get off Maiden's effect. It's my only hope right now.
Once Sheila drew her next card, she smiled as she exclaimed, "You're gonna love this, runt! I activate the continuous spell, Vampire's Domain! While this card is on the field, I gain life points equal to any amount of damage that my Vampire monsters deal."
As she said this, a crimson moon appeared above the field, and I remarked, "You'd have to deal damage first to pull that off. And aside from that 100 points you just dealt, all you've been doing is destroying yourself so far."
"Just wait! Now, I'll use Vampire Fraulein and Crimson Knight as XYZ materials in order to summon another Crimson Knight!"
"And that accomplishes...?"
"Shut up! Now I have a Bram who has materials to activate his effect with! So, I'll detach one of Bram's materials to target a monster in your graveyard and special summon it to my side of the field, and I pick your Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
The Crimson Knight then pointed his sword at the ground next to him, causing a red portal to open beside him that Blue-Eyes White Dragon footed out of.
I must be spending too much time with Elsa because I swore I saw the Blue-Eyes hologram summoned to Sheila's side of the field look at me with regret for a moment.
"Hehe! I guess it was a present for me after all! Only downside is that the monster you gave me is the only one who can attack this turn. But, so be it. Now, Blue-Eyes, attack Maiden With Eyes Of Blue!" Sheila shouted.
I thought you wanted your Vampires to attack. Idiot... Hm?
Once again, I swore I saw the Blue-Eyes White Dragon hesitate as he opened his mouth and fired his breath attack at Maiden.
Revealing my face-down card, I calmly said, "I activate the trap card, Quaking Mirror Force..."
"Well, I activate another Vampire Domination and cancel your trap out! Ha!"
"Oh darn. I guess I'll have to use Maiden's effect now."
"Uh... Maiden's effect?"
Nodding, I pointed to Maiden as she got on her knees and started praying, while I explained, "You see, when she's attacked, I can switch her attack position, cancel out the attack itself, and special summon a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck or graveyard."
Once I finished saying this, Maiden lifted her hands into the sky as a blue portal opened up above her. Another Blue-Eyes White Dragon then flew out of it and fired a beam of energy at my stollen Blue-Eyes' attack, canceling it out. My second White Dragon then landed on the field next to Maiden and let out an enraged roar.
"So... Any other moves this turn?" I asked bluntly.
Grinding her teeth, Sheila answered, "I end... my turn."
"Cool," I replied as I drew my next card. "Okay, this works. I activate another Chaos Form to sacrifice the Blue-Eyes on my side of the field and summon Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon(ATK: 4000. DEF: 0). Come on out, buddy."
The Blue-Eyes on my side of the field then began to crack apart with shimmers of darkness, until eventually he bursted apart and revealed the even larger Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon. This dark-blue behemoth was made of segmented and ridged parts that looked like they were constructed from metal. Meanwhile, on its joints and claws were crystal protrusions in place of bone.
"I... I... I..." Sheila stuttered as she stared at one of my strongest monsters.
While my dragon growled viciously at my opponent, I heard more rustling from the forest, followed by Erick's voice shouting, "I can hear it coming from this direction! Come on!"
Soon after, Erick came stumbling face-first onto the beach, followed by the rest of our friends and allies.
"Looks like you were right. Following the sounds of the duel led us right where we wanted. Good idea, Erick," Brie remarked.
As soon as she saw them, Sheila yelled to my alliance, "Hey! You guys have to help me! Stop this guy from making his next attack or he's gonna kill me!"
Jumping to his feet, Erick asked, "Huh?! What's going on?!"
Pointing at me, Sheila pleaded, "He tried to come on to me, but when I turned him down he challenged me to this duel! Please! You have to help! He's crazy!"
Looking at me as I kept my face like stone, Erick asked, "Uh... Diego? What's happening here? I mean, I assume that's not true."
"You are correct to assume that, Erick," I told him.
Beginning to shiver, Sheila asked, "You... You know them?"
Pointing to my group, I told her, "Yes. These are my friends. The ones I told you about. The ones who you assumed abandoned me and so you tried to kill me to take my backpack since you assumed I was all alone... Those friends. Now, let's wrap this up."
"No! No, stop!"
Pointing at her wolf, I told my dragon, "Alright, now, Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon, attack Vampire Retainer."
As Chaos MAX Dragon readied his attack, Sheila blurted out, "Ha! You ugly little idiot! You should have attacked Crimson Knight if you wanted to end this! Retainer's in defense mode! I won't take any damage!"
However, this prompted a laugh from Michael, which in turn prompted Sheila to ask, "What!? What's so funny?!"
Looking up at my monster, I remarked, "You see, you're partially right. I could have attacked Bram to end this. But, the thing is... Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon deals double piercing damage to defense position monsters."
"Pierce... What?" Sheila asked as she became as pale as one of her Vampires.
While my dragon was about to finish readying his attack, I explained, "Yeah. That means he deals damage against defense position monsters as if they were in attack position, and then he doubles it. And seeing as your monster had 0 defense points... That'll be 8000 damage to you."
"Wait... Wait! Please no!" Sheila screeched.
I'd feel worse if I hadn't tried to stop this from happening in the first place.
Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon then fired his beam of dark purple energy, destroying Retainer and enveloping Sheila in the blast. Even with how minor the pain from losing life points was, losing 8000 at once must still pack a punch as Sheila wailed in agony.
Okay... Now I do feel a bit worse.
(Life Points: Diego: 7900. Sheila: 0)
As Sheila fell to her knees, our duel disks powered down and our holograms vanished. As they disappeared, I was starting to worry how bad the damage to my eye was, as I swore I saw the Blue-Eyes that Sheila took control of smiling at me.
Seconds later Sheila was sobbing into the sand as her duel disk began to beep. At the very least, I felt I owed it to Sheila not to take my eyes off her in her last moments.
After Sheila was gone, we had all spent a few moments in silence.
Eventually, I heard Michael remark, "Well, that's another twenty-four hours for the rest of us and a reset timer for Diego."
"Hey! Show some tact, man," Justin snapped.
"Why should I? She's the one who tried to kill Diego after all."
"It's just... It's not right to speak ill of the dead," Erick added.
"Oh... Very well. I apologize," Michael conceded.
"On the topic of the departed... How do you guys think we should take care of the body? Burial on the beach, or placed in the ocean?" I asked the group.
"Oh, right... That part," Elsa remarked grimly.
Nodding, I replied "Yes, that part. Burial. Aside from it being the ethically correct thing to do, it's the logically correct action to take."
"Huh? Whattaya mean?" Jessie asked.
Clearing my throat, I explained, "Well, we haven't seen any scavengers on this island aside from some ants. In fact, there are surprisingly few animals on this island at all. Jude's work I'd assume. Being around copious amounts of dead bodies is very bad for one's health, and I doubt a single island's worth of ants are capable of getting rid of hundreds of corpses in a timely fashion. So, the responsible thing to do would be to dispose of the corpses ourselves when we're able to do so."
"And burying someone on a beach or throwing the body into the ocean is easier than trying to bury a body in dirt without a shovel, right?" Erick added.
"Exactly. Unfortunately, with my hands as they are, I don't believe I could help with either digging or carrying her body into the ocean water." I then showed my palms for emphasis.
"Yesh. You're not kidding. Well, not to worry. Frank and I can put her in the water. Right, Frank?"
"Mm," Frank replied to Jessie.
"I suppose leaving her body for the fishes to take care of would be the best choice," Erick remarked somberly.
Without warning, the two volunteers suddenly stripped down to their underwear. Both of them were in amazing shape, which only served to fluster all of us further as we instinctively turned our heads from them.
Tanya then asked what we were all thinking, "Wha- What are you guys doing?!"
"What? We're putting her in the water. We don't want to get our clothes wet," Jessie explained casually.
"But couldn't you have just rolled your pants up or something?!" Brie asked next.
As Frank shook his head, Jessie replied, "Nuh-uh. Not if we want to put the body out far enough to keep it from washing ashore. What are you guys so worked up over anyways? You've all seen me and Frank in our swimsuits and those cover less than this. I'm wearing a sports bra and Frank has boxers on for crying out loud."
Admittedly, this was true. At the beach at school, the swimsuits those two would wear showed off... just how proud they were of their physiques. Frank's speedo was an obvious indicator of that.
Still, the lack of revealing undergarments didn't lessen just how distractingly beautiful Jessie's figure was to behold.
What a woman. Man. Frank's a lucky guy.
Jessie's reasoning seemed to be enough to calm most of us down, as I and everyone but Tanya and Michael stopped covering their eyes. Admittedly, the presence of the dead body took away any appeal that this sight could have had to begin with.
By the time Frank and Jessie went out into the water, Michael and Tanya had calmed down as well. At this point, we were all more concerned with keeping an eye on our allies, lest they get swept away. Fortunately, Jessie and Frank's athleticism extended to swimming and allowed them to perform the burial at sea flawlessly.
While we watched this unfold, Erick had walked up to me and asked quietly, "Are you doing okay?"
I paused at first to collect my thoughts, before answering, "I could play dumb and pretend I think you're asking about my injuries, but... Oh, they're fine by the way. But, yes, er... Rather, I'd prepared myself for this mentally over the past few days. This is stressing, but I can handle it... For now. Don't worry, if and when I start having issues, I'll let you know."
"Well good, you better," Justin remarked, having suddenly walked in on our conversation.
Wrapping his arm around my shoulders and hugging me to him, Justin went on, "Keeping everything bottled up is a terrible idea. I'd have gone crazy by now if I hadn't been talking with Erick about my problems."
"Really? When did you find the time for this? We've been on the move constantly since this tournament started." I asked this while trying to keep myself comfortable in Justin's vice-grip of a hug.
"It's usually before everyone goes to bed. Gives us some privacy, you know? But, yeah, if you need someone to talk to, I'm all ears," Erick told me.
Smiling at my friends, I replied, "Yeah, of course. I'll... let you know when I need it."
Chuckling somberly, Erick remarked, "Good. Good... I just wish Tanya would take me up on that. She's been getting more and more tense ever since her duel." As Erick said that, he looked off to his right.
Craning my neck to look around Justin, I noticed that Tanya had sequestered herself slightly apart from the group. She was gathering sand up into balls before punching and breaking them apart while grumbling inaudibly to herself. This was concerning only because I'd never seen her behave in such a way before now.
"Huh... Well, I hope she's willing to open up soon then," I commented.
"Yeah..."
"Frank and Jessie are almost back!" Brie yelled to everyone, ending our conversation.
Just as she said they were, Jessie and Frank were walking out of the water and back to shore. They both shook the water from their hair, with Frank's hair somehow going right back to a pompadour when he did.
"Job's done... So, anyone have anything to say?" Jessie asked as she ringed out her hair.
"Diego? Anything?" Erick asked me.
"Hm...? Huh... Well, you were kind of a scumbag, Sheila. That said, I hope you find peaceful rest wherever you ended up."
"Wow. Harsh," Elsa remarked.
With an unamused expression, I reminded Elsa, "She tried to kill me just to take my backpack."
"Oh, right... Yeah, she sounds like she was a jerk. Still, it's best not to speak ill of the dead. After all, you know what they say. A rooster disturbed is a chicken by another name."
When Elsa said that, we all lost our composure and began staring at her. Although she seemed oblivious to what our concerned expressions meant, it was clear to me at least that something was truly wrong with her. If she kept up these weird sayings for much longer, someone was going to have to have a talk with her.
"Alright, Elsa. Thank you for... that. Well, if that's everything, and if Diego's okay to move, then I guess we should keep moving," Erick told us.
"Hey, before we go anywhere, can you guys go into the woods for a minute without us?" Jessie asked suddenly.
"What? Why?!" Tanya asked, perhaps a bit too impatiently.
Pointing at her chest, Jessie explained, "Our underwear's wet now. We just need a second of privacy to get changed is all."
"Oh... That makes sense, I suppose. Right, everyone?" Erick asked as he addressed the group.
"Yeah. That's fine. Just don't take forever," Michael remarked as he walked toward the forest.
"Okay, whatever..." Tanya added as she slinked into the woods as well.
Without the need for any further discussion, we all left the beach to give Jessie and Frank their privacy. The privacy they'd need since they'd be getting undressed to change.
Jessie, undressed... Naked...
"Hey. Hey, Diego!"
Coming out of my thoughts, I heard someone say my name. Without even thinking about it, I found that I had walked to a clearing in the trees nearby the beach with the others.
"Hm? Sorry, what?"
"We were talking about how weird Jessie and Frank were. Listen up, man," Justin said as politely as such a sentence could be.
"Huh? What do you mean exactly?"
"Don't you think it's a bit... odd, how they were so ready to swim a dead body out into the ocean?" Tanya explained impatiently.
Before I could give a response, Brie chimed in, "Calm down, guys. That's about what I'd expect from them."
"What?" Tanya asked.
"Really, you think so...? Eh, to be fair, I don't really know them very well, so it's not like I'd know," Erick remarked.
"Well, I've been friends with them for a while, and yes, this isn't too weird for them. Jessie's a tough and adaptable girl, so I'm not surprised she was able to come to terms with things so easily... And Frank just kind of goes along with whatever she says or does."
"He doesn't have much will of his own when she's around him it seems. I wonder if their relationship is healthy," Michael commented.
"Uh... I think that's something we can worry about after we get off this island, Michael," Erick replied.
"Right. I wouldn't consider romance a top priority right now," I added while trying to clear my head.
Shrugging, he relented, "Fair enough. But who knows? You say this place isn't good for romance, but I wouldn't be surprised if plenty of scared and panicking individuals hook up here just for the comfort of the experience."
"I... I don't know if that counts as romance, Michael," Elsa responded.
"Uh... Huh. Yeah, I guess you have a point there. Maybe forget what I just said."
"Yeah, I think we will," Tanya remarked as she took a seat on a rock and looked off into the distance.
When Tanya said that, though, I noticed how Michael gave her a quick glare. Just as fast, however, he switched his face back to his usual smug and aloof expression.
Hm... That could be concerning.
Just as I thought of bringing forward my concerns to Erick, Jessie and Frank walked into the woods. They both had their underwear held in their free hand, keeping them draped on their fingers as a way to help dry them.
"Alright, we're ready to get back on the move once everyone else is too," Jessie said cheerfully.
"Mm-hm," Frank added
While I was never the best at reading emotions, it seemed to me that Jessie's attitude was a front she was forcing herself to put up. My only reason to assume this, though, was her quivering lips and furrowed brow.
Maybe I should talk to her about it...? No. Erick would be better suited for that... Actually, I should probably see if Frank could help her. He's likely the most qualified to speak with her.
Once everyone acknowledged that they were ready to leave, Erick asked me, "What about you, Diego? You never said if you're okay to keep walking."
"Yes. My legs are fine enough. It's my hands that really got it the worst from that fall."
"Wait... But you just played a duel. Didn't that hurt?" Justin asked.
Nodding, I answered, "Oh, yes. Terrible pain throughout the whole experience. But complaining about it wouldn't have helped."
"Oh... Sheesh. Sorry to hear that. Even if you're good to walk, maybe you should take it easy on map duty for a bit," Jessie told me.
Smiling, I responded, "That... Sounds good to me. You don't mind, do you, Elsa? I can still explain how to draw it for you, but my hands aren't good for doing that on my own."
Walking over to me, Elsa suddenly gave me a hug and said, "You fell off a cliff. You earned some rest, my dude."
Still smiling, I gently pushed Elsa off me and said, "That settles it then, I suppose. Let's get going to... Where are we going now?"
Pointing back to the beach, Erick told me, "The rest of us talked about it on the way here. We're gonna walk along the beach to see if we can find anything around the edge of the island."
"Ah. Good. Well, let's do that then."
Once we got going back on our path, I walked at the back of the group with Elsa, instructing her about what notes to take down and put on the map.
This may not have been the best day so far, honestly, it was quite terrible up until now. However, at least we're still making progress. I'm confident that if we all pull our weight and keep dueling at our best, then we'll be able to find a way to escape this place and bring Jude Alexander to justice. At least, I have to believe that.
Duel Academy Student Profile. Diego Garcia
Win/Loss Ratio For Sanctioned Duels: 85.6%
Deck Rating: White Scale Destruction
Consistency: 3/5
Power: 5/5
Comeback: 3/5
Protection: 2/5
Versatility: 4/5