Finally, the moment you've all been waiting for.
Chapter 22: Playing with the Big Bugs Pt 1
Today, Sidney, Minnie, Robbie and Gisele were watching a match from the Port Court. Not any match. A CodeMaster Match. Fry was battling against CodeMaster Chirrul. Fry was already down to his last Creature. Orth. "You know, if he wasn't Fry, I'd almost feel sorry for him." Minnie said. "Yeah. Down to his last Creature, and CodeMaster Chirrul's not gonna take it easy on him anytime soon." Gisele said. "I doubt any CodeMaster would if they were battling Fry." Minnie joked. Both girls laughed.
Robbie noticed Sidney staring almost blankly at the screen. "Sid's really into this match." He said. "Say, didn't Sidney score her 7th win in the Amzen Drome?" Gisele asked. "Yep. Just won number 7 last week." Minnie said. "So, that's it. She wants to get a clue on how to win. Just like her dad did against CodeMaster Crellen." Robbie said. "Doubt she's gonna learn anything from Fry." Gisele joked. Sidney just continued to watch.
Orth trailed through a cavern tunnel, thinking he had whatever Creature he was battling cornered. But it turned out to be a dead end. "What?! Where is he?!" He asked. Suddenly, a huge boulder bearing a red aura came rolling towards him. The boulder exploded as it hit him, coding him.
Fry stomped over to A.J. and Marshal in frustration. "I was so CLOSE! So close. I almost had him!" He ranted as he scarfed down his shake. "You wish." Marshal chuckled. "I tried to warn you. CodeMasters always seem to have the homefield advantage." A.J. said. "Advantage shmadvantage!" Fry scoffed.
Sidney shook her head, sick of the 3 stooges being sore losers. Just then, her scanner received a call. She answered it. It was the Drome Master from Battledrome Amzen. "Majorina, CodeMaster Amzen challenges you to battle. Prepare your deck and meet her in the Amzen Drome in exactly 72 hours." The Drome Master instructed, ending the call. "Oh boy." Minnie said as Sidney looked down with an exasperated sigh. "Sidney's definitely feeling the pressure now." Robbie said. "Can you blame her? Her dad's one of the only players in Chaotic history to defeat not just one, but 2 CodeMasters." Gisele said. "She's got a family legacy to live up to." "Yeah. Everyone in Chaotic's expecting me to win. I really don't wanna let them down." Sidney said.
"Wow. Spooky." A.J. said. Apparently, he and his boys heard everything from their table. "Looks like it's your turn to suffer a humiliating CodeMaster defeat, Majors." A.J. said. "I doubt she'll even last as long as I did." Fry said. Sidney kept her cool. She knew she would show them.
(Intro)
Sidney spent the next few days studying. She was looking at one of the Creatures CodeMaster Amzen uses. A huge blue-green mantis Creature with 2 sets of arms and legs and huge wings. "Pluxis is one of the toughest Creatures Amzen has. The speed and power are unbelievable." She said as Minnie, Robbie and Gisele walked up. "Girl, have you been here for 3 days?" Gisele asked. Robbie took a small sniff, cringing from the smell. "Ugh! From the smell of her hair, I'd say so!" He said, covering his nose. "Couldn't find time to shower. I've been studying everything I could about the CodeMasters. Old CodeMaster Matches, battle strategies, and going over my deck a billion times." Sidney said. "Don't overdo it, Sid." Tom's voice came. "Daddy?" Sidney asked in surprise. "That's right." Tom said as he and Sarah walked up. "We heard about your upcoming CodeMaster Match with CodeMaster Amzen and we came to offer our support." Sarah explained. "Thanks guys. I need all the help I can get." Sidney said. "Especially since you've battled Amzen before like I did with Crellen." Tom said. "Yeah. And that battle scares me as much as your match scared you, Dad." Sidney said, recalling her Beta Match with CodeMaster Amzen.
[Flashback]
"She's got that Location, Invectoid Garden, that's very dangerous. Especially the quicksand areas." Sidney said, recalling when her Lomma got stuck in the quicksand. "And I thought my Verlina was tough until I saw Flitterix. I gotta think the other Creatures are just as fierce and pesky." She continued, remembering how tough Flitterix was against her Creatures. "Even her BattleGear was impressive. She had this Gear called Element Pheromone that blocked every one of my elemental attacks." She continued, remembering the Pheromone's effects blocked off her Creature's elemental attacks
[Flashback End]
"And that was the tip of the iceberg. Who knows what other cards Amzen has?" Sidney said. "You know, this really reminds me of when I was preparing for my CodeMaster Match with Crellen. But I just did the best I did with what I had." Tom said. "Your father's right. And you have to do the same." Sarah said. Sidney smiled. "Thanks guys." She said. "Anyway, it's time for your match." Minnie said. Sidney stood up, fixed up her hair and got her game face on. "Right. Let's get to the Amzen Drome." She said.
Everyone made their way to the Amzen Drome. Apparently, Sidney's upcoming match has gathered quite a crowd. "Alright. I've worked out my strategies and my backup plans- and my backups to my backups." Sidney said. "Man, you sound just like your dad before his match with CodeMaster Crellen, Lil' Majors." A familiar voice joked. Sidney knew that voice anywhere. She turned and saw a quadruped of familiar faces. "Uncle Kaz! Uncle Peyton! Aunt Jycella! Aunt Lulu!" She cried, hugging each of them. "I called them and told them that you had an upcoming CodeMaster Match." Tom said. "Yeah. Like we'd miss our niece's first CodeMaster Match." Kaz said. "And it looks like we came just in time." Lulu said. "Good luck, Sid." Gisele said. "We'll be rooting for you." Minnie said. "Thank you. All of you." Sidney said before turning to the Drome and walking in.
Sidney walked up to her pedestal and waited. And then there, across the room, up through a hatch in the floor, came CodeMaster Amzen herself. But Sidney didn't stir. "Majorina, you have won 7 matches here in the Amzen Drome. Now CodeMaster Amzen will put your skills to the test herself." The Drome Master said. "Good luck to you, Majorina." Amzen said. "And to you, CodeMaster Amzen." Sidney said.
"Dock your scanners please." The Drome Master instructed. Both Sidney and Amzen docked their scanners and prepared their boards to assemble their teams. 'I'm sure she knows I'm gonna use Verlina. But I hope this Bronzeflight is a surprise.' Sidney thought, putting Verlina up front and equipping her with her newest BattleGear, a Bronzeflight. 'From what Dad told me about CodeMaster Matches, most players lost because they played too cautiously.' She thought as she put Sukoval next to Verlina. 'I'm gonna put up my toughest Creatures, use my best Gear, Mugic and Locations, and just do the best I can.' She thought, putting the rest of her team on the board. Amzen did the same on her board.
Outside the Drome, Tom, Sarah, Minnie, Robbie, Gisele, Kaz, Jycella, Peyton and Lulu all watched the screen. A.J., Marshall and Fry watched from the port court, not liking to be in a crowd.
Even in Perim, the Tribal Alliance was watching from Kiru City. The CodeMasters hooked them up with television sets so they could watch Chaotic matches from the comfort of their own home. Verlina was really excited to see her best friend in some Drome action.
"Ladies, lock your decks." The Drome Master said. Sidney and Amzen locked their decks and revealed their teams. Other than Verlina and Sukoval, Sidney had put Loderool, Eremia, Neffa and Deenha. Amzen had a series of crazy looking insects, including Flitterix up front. "You put your toughest Creatures up front while protecting your best Mugic casters. Very classic. Just like your father." Amzen said. "Well, I see Murbura and Grizeetle, and I remember Flitterix on the frontline's pretty tough. Guess we're playing the same strategy." Sidney said.
"Majorina, you will attack first. Activate the Location randomizer." The Drome Master instructed. Sidney spun her randomizer, spinning through her Locations until it finally stopped at the first Location. "The first Location, Lake Ken-I-Po." "Verlina attacks Infex!" Sidney declared. She tapped her Verlina and transformed into her best Creature friend. Amzen tapped the Creature at the top and transformed. In her place stood a big light-green cricket Creature with big long grasshopper legs, muscular arms with bear-like paws and 2 sets of saber teeth. "Let's get Chaotic!" Sidney shouted. Amzen released a loud screech as everything went white.
Verlina trailed along the beach, looking for Infex. She summoned her Bronzeflight and rode onto the lake. Little did she know, Infex was waiting on top of Najarin's castle. He leapt off and prepared to attack. Verlina sensed him and looked up, just as Infex fired an Airize from his paws. She steered her Bronzeflight out of the way just in time, dodging the attack as Infex landed in the water. 'Ha! Let's see if Infex can swim.' Sidney thought. Just then, the water began to whirl around Verlina. And then, up from the water, shot out Infex riding a whirling water tornado. Verlina was surprised.
The others were also very surprised. "Whoa! I don't even think any of the water Danians could do attacks like that!" Sarah said. "I don't think any Creature can!" Kaz said. "I hope Sidney can handle this." Minnie said with worry.
Infex cackled from atop the tornado. Verlina blasted the tornado with Coral Balls, but they just bounced off the watery wall. Verlina drove her Bronzeflight off as Infex launched his attack. Several spouts of water blasted from the tornado. Verlina did her best to avoid the blasts. She leapt onto the beach as the last blast hit her Bronzeflight. She then looked back as Infex approached on the water tornado. 'There's gotta be some way to get past that water wall. Wait. That's it!' Sidney thought. She placed her hand on the water. "Ice Sheet." The water completely froze. The ice reached all the way to the water tornado, freezing it on the spot. The force from the frozen tornado stopping sent Infex flying off. Verlina fired Frostblight at Infex, coding him.
The crowd outside the Drome cheered at Sidney's first win. "Alright, Sid!" Minnie cheered. "She totally rocked Amzen!" Kaz said.
Even in Perim, the Alliance cheered. "Man, that kid is good!" Gespedan said. "Atta girl, little Majors!" Arias shouted. "That was a stroke of genius." Vinta said. Maxxor was really impressed. "Keep it up, Sid. I know you can win this." Verlina said.
Sidney felt proud from winning her first battle against CodeMaster Amzen as she transformed back. "Very impressive, Majorina." Amzen said. "CodeMaster Amzen, it is your attack." The Drome Master said. Amzen spun her Location randomizer, stopping on the next Location. "The next Location, Burial Tunnels." Sidney silently gasped, not knowing about this Location. "Pluxis attacks Sukoval." Amzen declared, tapping Pluxis on the bottom.
Sukoval stood in a series tunnels covered in Danian skeletons. "Bleh! Why the Danians never bury their dead, I'll never know." He said, heading down the current tunnel. As he slithered down the tunnel, getting a little worried, he felt a strange presence behind him. By the time he turned around, Pluxis swatted him into the tunnel wall. "Gotta try harder than that to beat me!" Sukoval said, firing Frostblight. Pluxis crossed his arms, blocking the attack. Suddenly, Sukoval felt his head hurt. "What's going on? My head's starting to feel funny. Gotta take down Amzen!" He said, getting back into the fight and summoning a Torrent Krinth on his arm. "Coral Balls!" He fired a few Coral Balls from his hands, but they missed their mark. Just then, his head started to feel more pain. 'What's happening to me? I feel my courage dropping! But I can't let that stop me! Gotta take Amzen down fast!' Sidney thought. Sukoval struggled to fight off the effects.
Everyone watched from Chaotic. "What's happening to her?" Minnie asked. "Sid's playing this all wrong! Burial Tunnels is the scariest Location in Mount Pillar! The Location is so dark with all those dead Danians, that your courage drops every time you attack!" Gisele explained. "Like how Sha-Kree Flats lowered my energy when I battled Crellen!" Tom said. "Exactly! Amzen's doing the same thing to Sidney the same way Crellen did it to you! She's using Sid's own strategy against her!" Gisele said. "Sidney, stop attacking or you're gonna lose all your courage!" Kaz called to no avail.
As Sukoval launched his latest attack, he felt the darkness of the cave closing in around him. 'She hasn't hit me, but my courage is dropping every time I attack her.' Sidney thought. "So, that's why Amzen's not moving! She's waiting for me to drain my courage with one more attack!" Sukoval deduced. "Very clever." Pluxis said. "For you see, Chaotic's not only about strategy. It's also about knowledge. You didn't know this Location could drain your courage. And you didn't know that that would also let me defeat you." Pluxis fired Steam Rage from his mouth, hitting Sukoval and coding him in a second.
Sidney sighed as Amzen transformed back. 'Alright. We're both down one Creature each. But I'm not gonna let that stop me. Like Amzen said, Chaotic is about knowledge too. And it's time to show her how much I know.' She thought. "Majorina, it's your attack." The Drome Master said. Sidney spun her randomizer, landing on the next Location. "The next Location, UnderWorld City." "Loderool attacks Pluxis!" Sidney declared, tapping her Loderool card.
Loderool strolled through the city, Plasma Pounder at the ready, looking for Pluxis. Just then, Pluxis dropped down in front of a stone statue of Chaor. "Looking for me? Shock Blade!" Pluxis shouted, launching several energetic ninja stars from his raptorial legs. Loderool fired his Plasma Pounder, blasting each Shock Blade down. Pluxis just chuckled. "you're not the only one with an impressive piece of BattleGear." He said, forming a similar blaster in his claws.
"That's the BattleGear that turned me into a shock absorber!" Kaz pointed out.
Pluxis fired the Gear, and a field of electricity surged around Loderool, causing him great damage. Loderool nearl fell to his knees when the surge field disappeared. "I hope that was a shock to your systems." Pluxis joked. Loderool was unamused. "Think that's funny, huh? Then try to laugh at this! Rock Wave!" He slammed his fists into the ground, creating a wave of rocks, hitting Pluxis and knocking the Gear out of his claws. "Well done. Should've seen that one coming." Pluxis said as he stood back up. "You'll find that I'm full of surprises than the first time we've battled." Loderool said. "So am I. Clear example." Pluxis said, leaping into the air. Loderool took aim with his Plasma Pounder, calculating the exact spot Pluxis will land. Loderool took the shot, but to his shock, he saw that he didn't hit Pluxis, but the side of a building. He looked up and saw Pluxis flying with big wings. "Pluxis can fly?!" He asked. "Surprised? There was a reason Pluxis knows how to use air attacks. And they're better to be used in the air." Pluxis said, launching a Voltorch from his chest. But Loderool leapt out of the way, almost getting scorched.
"That's bad news for Sidney. If Pluxis can fly and use air attacks, there's no way she can win against CodeMaster Amzen now." Kaz said. "Don't count Sidney out yet, Mr. Kalinkas. She's still got plenty of surprises for CodeMaster Amzen." Minnie assured.
Even in Perim, Verlina was getting worried. 'I hope Sidney can find a way to beat that big bug.' She thought. Maxxor sensed Verlina's worry and put a comforting arm around her.
Loderool continued to dodge Voltorches left and right, not being able to get a single shot it. "Sorry Sidney, but you should've known that I was never gonna make it easy for you. I am a CodeMaster after all." Pluxis called. 'She's right. It's never gonna be easy. There's gotta be a way to- Wait. I've got it!' Sidney thought, coming up with a plan. Loderool stood his ground and prepared to attack. "Lavalanche!" He shouted. But instead of shooting it from his hands, it came out from his hooves, launching him into the air. That shocked Pluxis. "Iron Balls!" Loderool fired dozens of iron balls from his eyes, hitting Pluxis in the chest and sending him to the ground. Pluxis started to recover, but Loderool came down fast. His hooves grew big and stomped on Pluxis as he landed on him, coding him upon impact.
Everyone in Chaotic cringed and cheered. "Ooh! That's gotta hurt!" Sarah said. "Weird way to use a Lavalanche attack, but surprisingly effective." Tom said. "Indeed. Sidney sure knows how to use attacks to her advantage." Minnie said.
The 2 ported back to the Drome and Sidney transformed back. "Interesting way to use a Lavalanche. You're actually playing very well for your first official CodeMaster Match, Majorina. But let's see if you're ready for what'll come next." Amzen said. Sidney nodded, getting her game face on. Amzen spun her randomizer, landing on the next Location. "The next Location, Invectoid Garden." 'Here it comes.' Sidney thought. "Flitterix attacks Verlina." Amzen declared. She tapped her Flitterix and transformed into the humanoid butterfly that has haunted Sidney's memory since that day. Sidney tapped Verlina and transformed into her best friend once again.
In Invectoid Garden, Verlina searched the Location for Flitterix. 'I better take cover and lay low. Don't want Flitterix to get the drop on me again.' Sidney thought. Verlina headed deeper into the garden. Suddenly, she caught the sound of wings beating in her ears. 'She's coming!' Sidney thought. Verlina jolted around just as Flitterix appeared from above. "Remember this? Pollen Gust!" Flitterix called, blowing Pollen Gust at Verlina, sending her into a tree.
Everyone in Chaotic cringed at when Sidney got blasted. "What's Sidney gonna do now? She never beat Flitterix with Verlina last time. How's she gonna do it this time?" Sarah asked. "If I know Sidney, she's got some kind of plan." Tom said. "I hope so, Tom. I hope so." Sarah said, holding her husband's arm with worry for her daughter.
Verlina got up and cracked her neck. "Sludge Gush!" She yelled, firing a stream of sludge from her hand. The sludge hit Flitterix in the face. She groaned in disgust and tried to wipe it off. 'It's time.' Sidney thought. She cast one of Verlina's Mugicians and activated one of her Mugics. "Song of Transposition!" The Mugic played in key as a light shined over Flitterix. And just then, in Flitterix's place, stood a magenta shelled orange mollusk with several tiny antennae on its body. This Creature was Murbura.
Everyone was shocked. "What the bloomin' heck just happened?" Robbie asked. "Sidney swapped Flitterix with Amzen's other Creatures." Kaz said. "But why?" Minnie asked. "I guess Sidney wants to have Verlina and Flitterix face off for the final battle." Sarah guessed.
Murbura was surprised by this move, but he didn't let it distract him. "You surprise me, using Mugic to switch Flitterix with Murbura." He said. "I just felt that this battle wasn't right for Verlina to face Flitterix yet." Verlina said. "Well then, let's see how you deal with Murbura then." Murbura said. Verlina prepared herself, knowing that the match wasn't over yet. It had just begun.
To Be Continued…
New Cards:
Creature 1: Infex
Past Insect
Courage: 50
Power: 45
Wisdom: 40
Speed: 60
Elements: Air, Water
Mugic: 1
Energy: 45
Creature 2: Pluxis (Special thanks to Nitro zeus)
Past Insect Warrior
Courage: 55
Power: 70
Wisdom: 45
Speed: 80
Elements: Fire, Air
Mugic: 2
Energy: 70
Creature 3: Murbura
Past Insect Muge
Courage: 45
Power: 45
Wisdom: 50
Speed: 20
Elements: Fire
Mugic: 2
Energy: 45
BattleGear: Surgeration Cannon
Location: Burial Tunnels
Courage drops by 10 every time a Creature attacks.
