I've seen a lot of scary stuff in my life. Especially after I became a Shadowchaser. Eldritch abominations, cannibal fish people, killer robots...
But the opponent I'm about to face might just be the scariest.
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Draw 09 - Pestilence
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Two years ago
This was not how Sabrina expected her day to go. All she wanted to do was waste a few hours at River City's only nerd/hobby shop, The Fungeon, but that plan had been ruined when she was assaulted by, of all things, a werewolf.
"Keep quiet, kid, and this won't end with your guts all over the floor." The wolfman said, placing one clawed hand over Sabrina's mouth, pulling her into the dark alley way. "Empty out your pockets and your purse, and I'll be on my way." His breath smelled like raw meat. His hands were the size of catcher's mitts. Most people would've screamed.
But Sabrina wasn't most people. She considered herself pretty brave. She came out to her parents on her birthday, and paid for her own name change. This wasn't even her first encounter with a monster. She'd seen them all her life, although she'd avoided them as much as possible.
Half-expecting to have her face clawed off, Sabrina bit down on the smelly werewolf's hand, and dug her heels into his foot. He let go of her and howled in pain, letting out enough expletives and slurs to make a YouTube comment section blush. The blonde turned and ran, wanting to get as far away as possible.
She almost immediately ran into someone, though. A handsome, redheaded young man with dark, copper skin and bright red hair. Looking closely, she noticed he had a sword hanging from his belt. Who carries a sword anymore? This isn't the Renaissance Fair!
"Don't worry, I'm here to help." The man said, moving Sabrina aside and drawing his sword. "Hey, Randy, are you that desperate to go back to prison?" He talked to the werewolf as if he knew him.
"I just needed a little extra cash to pay the rent, is all." Randy the werewolf replied. He snarled and bared his fangs. "Afraid I don't have any cards on me, so we'll have to do this the old fashioned way." And he pounced.
Sabrina wasn't sure what she expected, but what happened next definitely wasn't it. The redhead young man simply put his sword down and spoke in a language that sounded like running water. Before Randy could react, a geyser of water burst through the manhole in the middle of the street. With another strange word, the geyser, defying all logic, bent over and knocked him into the wall, before dying and leaving the alley soaking wet.
"You're forgetting, old man." The redhead said, pulling a small blue gem out of his pocket. "We live on an island, and I can control water. You didn't stand a chance." A pale blue light consumed the old werewolf, who vanished completely.
"What just happened?" Sabrina asked, not sure why she wasn't running away. "Who are you?"
The redhead sighed and scratched his neck, causing his jacket's collar to slip. Sabrina noticed three thin, black lines on each side, almost resembling gills. "My name's Caspian, and you've got a lot of stuff to learn."
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Sabrina didn't intend on doing any work today. She got on her Duel Runner and headed straight for the Mekong district, the nicer part of River City. She was wearing a Fantasy Costco t-shirt and biker shorts, with a trans pride flag pin in her jacket, letting her blonde hair fly free behind her.
Hitting a button on her Duel Runner's dashboard, Sabrina turned on the built-in phone. "Hey Coral, get the popcorn ready, I'm bringing over the box set!" She said excitedly, ready to take a personal day and watch old anime with her best friend. It went straight to the answering machine, but Sabrina shrugged it off as her friend being busy with something else.
The blonde girl pulled up in front of a large house with green shutters and a bright green door. This was the home of the Pattons, a well off family whose daughter Sabrina had befriended. The Shadowchaser pulled her helmet off and knocked, using the snake-shaped doorknocker that made the Patton house stand out.
No one answered, which Sabrina found odd. She picked up her cellphone and tried calling again, getting annoyed. "Are you there? You told me you had the day off!"
After several minutes, there was a text. "Come around back." Shrugging, Sabrina jumped over the fence and entered the Pattons' large backyard, which was mostly a garden that Mrs. Patton spent all her free time attending to. Walking through the massive collection of flowers, exotic plants and topiary, she couldn't help but notice that the garden was kind of a wreck. There were pots strewn across the ground, shattered flower vases, and other signs of a fight.
Sabrina cursed and drew her sword, wishing she could finally take a day off without something forcing her to do her job. "Coral, are you there? It's me, Sabrina, I'm here to help you!"
There was a muffled screaming noise, and someone stepped out from behind the largest tree in the yard. No, not someone. Something was a better description. It was around seven feet tall, humanoid in shape, and incredibly muscular. Its arms had scaly skin, its exposed feet were clawed and bird-like, its eyes were yellow with slit pupils, and its teeth... they looked like they had come from a shark. Worst of all, the monster had a hostage. A skinny young Snakeblooded girl with short brown hair and greyish scales: Sabrina's friend Coral.
"A khimera!" Sabrina took a step back, raising her sword. She had heard of these Shadowkind before, but never seen one in person. They were an incredibly rare species that started out humanoid, but could morph their bodies to take on traits of animals that they killed. Most of them ended up working as hired muscle for various criminal organizations.
"Calm down, girlie, I'm not going to hurt you... yet." The khimera was a man, with a deep, gravely voice. His face was ugly and scarred, likely from the creatures he'd killed.
"Put her down, now." Sabrina assumed a fighting stance, preparing to cut off the khimera's arms unless he complied.
"My name is Keith, so use it." He said, one hand clamped over Coral's mouth to keep her silent, the other holding her body.
"Keith? That's not a very scary name." Sabrina forgot for a moment that she was about to attack him. Keith frowned and dropped Coral on the ground, producing a black pendant from his back pocket. "You're a member of the Ebon Sun!"
"That's right, and I'm using your friend to make sure you duel me." Keith pulled out a large, black Duel Disk and strapped it to one of his freakishly muscular arms, placing a deck in the slot. "If you lose, I'm taking your soul for Mama Killa, and moving on to your friends. If I lose... well, I won't be around to bother you anymore."
"Fine." Sabrina sighed, setting her backpack down and activating her Duel Disk. "I made a few changes to my deck recently, I guess this is as good a time as ever to test it out."
(Keith LP 8000) - (Sabrina LP 8000)
The two duelists were surrounded by a malicious, black aura, hiding everything from sight except the backyard they were dueling in. Sabrina bit her lip nervously; this really was a Shadow Game.
"I'll make the first move." Keith drew his opening hand. "I set a monster, and then I'll activate the effect of Darklord Ixchel. By discarding her and Darklord Marie from my hand, I can draw two cards." He adjusted his hand, then set two cards. "That should do it for now. Your move, kid."
"I'm an adult, first of all." Sabrina glared, drawing a card. "I'm activating Harpie Queen's effect! By discarding her, I can add a certain field spell from my deck to my hand." She placed the card in her Duel Disk's discard slot, and pressed a button on the touchscreen, causing a new card to pop out of her deck.
"I summon Harpie Spy!" A new harpie flew onto the battlefield. She had black feathers and wore a black tank top, her short white hair blowing in the wind that seemed to appear out of nowhere. (1600 ATK) "And when I do that, I can special summon a low level Harpie from my deck, like my Cyber Harpie Lady!" The redheaded, armored monster made famous by Mai Kujaku appeared, brandishing her whip. (1800 ATK)
"From your deck? That doesn't seem very fair." Keith raised an eyebrow. The irony of the situation was not lost on Sabrina. Asking for fairness when he was holding her friend hostage.
"Her effect only works when she's normal summoned, and it stops me from summoning non-Wind monsters for the rest of the turn." She explained. "Next, I'm using Monster Reborn to bring back Harpie Queen!" This one was dressed all in blue, wore her long green hair in a ponytail, and had swan-like white feathers. (1900 ATK)
"Now to set the stage. I activate Harpie's Grand Aviary!" The Pattons' backyard changed into an enormous field filled with green plants, rocks and birds of all kinds. Sabrina's harpies seemed excited, spreading their wings and taking flight. "This field spell gives all Wind monsters 300 extra points to both scores!" ((ATK 1600 - 1900) (ATK 1800 - 2100) (ATK 1900 - 2200))
"Spy, attack his facedown monster!" The ninja-like harpie brandished her talons and swooped down on the hidden opponent, which flipped up before it was destroyed, showing a small, brown monster with three large eyes.
"Thanks to Sangan's effect, I can add Burning Algae to my hand." Keith said, shuffling his deck. He barely had time to look up from his cards before Harpie Queen and Cyber Harpie Lady attacked.
"I activate Sakuretsu Armor!" One of his set cards lifted up, but it quickly shattered, having no effect. The two Harpies brandished their weapons, slashing and whipping at Keith furiously. He grunted, his shirt being torn by the effects of the Shadow Game, revealing a scaly chest.
"My field spell protects all Harpie monsters from being destroyed by card effects." Sabrina explained. "I end my turn. Bring it, freak."
(KLP 3700) - (SLP 8000)
"I'm done playing around, kid." Keith drew a card, as a small circle of darkness opened up above them, breaking through the blue sky caused by Harpie's Grand Aviary. A black skinned, angelic figure descended onto the field, spreading large, black wings. The monster was clearly female, indicated by the pink dress it was wearing. "Darklord Marie's effect activates, giving me 200 extra life points."
"I still don't understand why she's wearing a pink dress." Sabrina commented, as Marie blew golden dust onto the khimera. "What is she based on, anyways?"
"Don't know, don't care." Keith replied, playing a monster. "I summon another card I'm sure you've heard of, Darklord Nurse Reficule!" And he was right, Sabrina had heard of this one. A tall, lanky fair with bladed wings, wearing a dress made entirely out of bandages. Her long, purple hair covered most of her face, and each lock ended in a blade. (ATK 1400)
"Well shit." Sabrina cursed, very familiar with this monster. That fallen angel would turn any life points she gained into damage. Keith activated his trap card, The Paths of Destiny. A coin appeared in Sabrina's hand, and she tossed it, knowing that the result didn't matter this time. It was Tails.
The blonde Shadowchaser screamed as a black aura surrounded her. The pain was hard to describe. It felt like she had contracted some kind of virus, one that rapidly increased in intensity and then suddenly stopped. Sabrina's body was shaking, her heart pounding, and she felt nauseous. She took a few deep breaths, removing the choker she normally wore and placing it in her jacket pocket.
Keith smiled wickedly as his coin landed on Heads, and a golden aura washed over him, increasing his life points by the same amount Sabrina lost. "I'm not done yet. I equip my nurse with Mist Body, so she can't be destroyed in battle." Wisps of white mist wrapped around Reficule's body before vanishing completely.
"I'll also activate Card Destruction! So we both toss our entire hands, then draw the same number of cards! And one of my cards was Burning Algae, which means you gain 1000 life points!" Reficule spread her wings, and black feathers began to fall over the Shadowchaser. "Infectious Wrath!"
Sabrina gritted her teeth, trying to prepare herself for the pain, but it was entirely different than before. She was burning, as if she had a high fever, and everything itched. Her legs were shaking when it ended, and she replaced her hand. The mood brightened a bit when Sabrina saw Harpie's Pet Dragon among the three cards she drew. Sure, she couldn't summon it right away, but it was a very welcome sight.
"I'm guessing this is part of the Shadow Game?" Sabrina asked, distracting herself by talking. "Is your monster actually making me sick?" Keith nodded, looking over his new cards.
"Got it in one try!" He grinned, a disturbing sight. "What's the most powerful killing force in the world? I'll answer for you. Germs." He began counting on his clawed fingers. "AIDS, scarlet fever, the plague, cancer... You can hide from a hitman or a natural disaster, but you can't run from something that's inside your own body!"
Sabrina had contemplated how she would die before. She always assumed it would be the one time she lost a duel against some big evil force. But disease? That had never crossed her mind.
"I'm not finished yet." Keith interrupted Sabrina's thoughts, playing yet another card. "Ego Boost will make my nurse just strong enough to beat your Harpie Queen!" Reficule's hair transformed into tentacles, lashing out and slicing the Queen with their bladed ends.
"Now I'm done."
Sabrina drew a card and bit her lip nervously. Both my monsters are stronger than his, but I can't get rid of Mist Body yet... Her hand contained Trap Stun, Reckless Greed, Harpie's Pet Dragon and Split Mirrors of Seduction. None of them really helped at this time.
Looking down at her Duel Disk, Sabrina noticed that the icon for the Extra Deck was flashing. Wait, I've got it! She smiled, sighing with relief.
"I'm building the Overlay Network!" The familiar, cosmic portal opened at her feet, and both Harpies flew in. "With two level four monsters, I can summon something that no Xyz deck should be without! Castel the Skyblaster Musketeer!" The portal closed, releasing a humanoid, purple feathered Winged Beast dressed like a Spanish musketeer. It was even carrying an old fashioned rifle. (ATK 2000)
"And he gets a boost from my field spell, since he's a Wind monster!" Castel cawed in approval as his attack points rose to 2300. "But what's important right now is his effect! By detaching both Overlay Units, Castel can send Nurse Ratchet over there all the way back to your deck!" Castel cocked his rifle and fired, a bullet of pure light hitting Reficule straight in the chest. But, instead of shattering into pixels, she vanished entirely.
"You little-!" Keith's curse was cut short as Castel attacked for real, shooting him in the leg. He hissed, his pants being torn from the bullet.
"I set two cards and end my turn." Sabrina was glaring daggers at her opponent. "This duel is far from over."
(KLP 3600) - (SLP 4800)
Keith drew a card, the grimace on his face showing his disappointment. "First I get 200 more Life Points from Marie, then I'm activating Darklord Contact!" A ladder, of all things, sprouted from the ground. It looked like it was made of dull iron. "This lets me revive Darklord Ixchel in defense mode!"
A monster climbed up the ladder and onto the field. It was an attractive, busty angel in a silvery mini-dress. She had long, black and purple hair, and four black wings. They resembled bat wings, but seemed to have feathers growing on them. (DEF 2900)
"She'll make a decent wall until I draw what I need." The khimera waved his hand, showing that his turn was over.
Sabrina drew, and frowned. "I activate Reckless Greed, so I get two more draws, but I have to skip my next two draw phases!" She picked up the top two cards of her deck, hoping one of them was Hysteric Party.
Neither of them were. She quickly started formulating a back up plan. "I summon Mist Valley Soldier!" Once again, Sabrina's monster seemed to fly down from one of the many trees in the aviary. He was humanoid, and clearly male this time, with bulging muscles and black hair tied into a ponytail. He was dressed in a blue cloak and a loincloth that seemed to be of Native American design. He also had two enormous feathered wings. (ATK 1700)
"Handsome fella, isn't he?" Sabrina smiled. "And useful too! If he battles a monster, and it isn't destroyed, it gets sent right back to the hand!" Soldier drew two kukri knives and flew towards Ixchel, slicing at her. She shielded herself with her wings, and slapped the Winged Beast across the face.
"The extra attack points my field spell gives him softens the blow a little." The blonde Shadowchaser's grin grew wider as she watched the fallen angel vanish. "But nothing's going to soften this!" Castel fired his musket, knocking Keith over.
"You're gonna lose next turn, creep, unless you can beat both my monsters by then."
(KLP 1500) - (SLP 3900)
"I activate Heaven's Lost Property!" Keith played the card as soon as he drew it. "This spell works exactly like Graceful Charity, only its effect applies to you too." Sabrina was grateful for that. She discarded Flying Kamakiri and Harpie's Pet Dragon.
"Now I can finally end this!" The khimera's black sun pendant began to glow an unearthly purple color. "I play Polymerization, and fuse Nurse Reficule with Injection Fairy Lily!" The fusion portal appeared above him, and the two familiar monsters were pulled in. "I Fusion Summon the last monster you'll ever see! Death Injector Reficule!"
A sinister-looking female monster stepped out of the portal. She looked just like Reficule, with the same bladed hair and demonic wings, but she was dressed in a pitch black nurse's uniform, with a skirt that was way too short to get past I2's censors. She wore a glove on her left hand, with syringes for fingers. (ATK 1800)
The sky above Harpie's Grand Aviary was filled with storm clouds, which was something Sabrina had never seen before. "What's she do?" Sabrina took a step back, and her monsters moved to defend her, crossing blade and musket.
"She has the same effect as the regular Reficule, plus a special extra one." Keith replied, pointing at Mist Valley Soldier. Reficule smiled coldly and stabbed him with her glove, causing him to explode. "She can destroy any monster, and then we both gain life points equal to its attack points!"
Sabrina almost fainted from the damage, but Castel put a hand on her back. "Thank you." She said, wondering if he could speak. Duel monsters became so lifelike during Shadow Games, but Sabrina was never sure how living they were. The Winged Beast simply nodded.
"I have to skip my draw phase because of Reckless Greed." Sabrina looked at the cards she had, and quickly set two of them. "That's all I can do for now."
(KLP 3700) - (SLP 1900)
Keith glowed as Marie the Fallen One's effect activated. He drew a card, and played it immediately. "I activate Mystic Plasma Zone!" Nothing about the scenery changed, but Sabrina doubted the field spell would have looked differently than their current Shadow Game. "This gives all Dark monsters 500 extra attack points, just in case you find a way around Reficule's effect." His Nurse's attack increased to 2300.
"Now, finish her off with Lethal Injection!" Death Injector Reficule slashed at Castel with her glove.
"I activate Scrap Iron Scarecrow!" A metal stick figure covered with various bits of junk shot up between the two monsters, taking the attack before vanishing. "My trap negates your attack, and sets itself back down." Sabrina let out a deep breath, wiping her brow.
Keith growled, clenching his fist. "You bought yourself another turn. All I need to do is draw Mystical Space Typhoon, and you're dead."
Sabrina's heart was beating. She still had to skip her Draw Phase, and she needed a new plan. Damn it, I knew I should've sprung for Card of Variation!
"I attack Reficule with Castel!" Sabrina shut her eyes and hoped that her theory was right. There was an explosion, and the familiar sound of sinister whispers that always accompanied a Dark Card battling. When Sabrina opened her eyes, both monsters were gone.
"I was right! Your fusion can only use her effect when she's attacking, not when I attack her!" She felt like jumping in the air, until she remembered the duel was still going on. "I'll summon Harpie Channeler to defend my life points!" The redhead harpie priestess appeared, brandishing her scepter like a spear. (ATK 1700)
(KLP 3900) - (SLP 1900)
Keith drew, and nearly crushed his cards. "Make your move." He hissed.
Sabrina placed her hand on top of her deck, and slowly drew a card. I need to win on this turn! She would've prayed if she had any idea what god to pray to.
"I activate Phalanx Pike!" A large, golden spear appeared in Channeler's hand, and she cawed excitedly. "This is one equip card no Harpie deck should ever be without! It gives my Channeler 900 extra attack points for every monster in the graveyard with the same name as her! And since basically every Harpie monster is treated as Harpie Lady while on the field or in the grave, I have three!"
Ghostly images of Harpie Queen, Harpie Spy and Cyber Harpie appeared, and placed their hands on Channeler's shoulders, nodding in unison. The Winged Beast's attack rose to 4400, and she aimed the pike at Keith's heart. "Attack!"
A beam of golden light fired from the tip of Phalanx Pike, and the khimera roared when it hit him. The entire field was swallowed in pure light, and by the time it faded, the duel was over and Keith was nowhere to be seen.
(KLP 0) - (SLP 1900)
"Coral, are you okay?" Sabrina rushed over to her fallen friend, having lost sight of her during the duel. The Ophidia groaned and slowly sat up, opening her bright blue eyes. She squeaked in surprise when her friend hugged her tightly, still not sure what had happened.
"Why am I so dizzy?" She asked, both girls standing up and brushing off their clothes. Sabrina laughed and promised to explain everything after they got something to eat.
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I'd like to apologize for the delay on this chapter. Work and college are really kicking my butt.
Next time, we get some insight into Caspian's past, and a new main character!
Tune in for "Power Bond"!
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Anime/Manga original cards-
Heaven's Lost Property: *peasants rejoicing as white feathers fall from the sky*
Card Type- Spell
Spell/Trap Type- Normal
Text- Both players draw 3 cards, then discard 2. You can only activate 1 "Heaven's Lost Property" each turn.
First Used: GX manga, chapter 42
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Cards invented by someone else-
Death Injector Reficule: *Nurse Reficule in a low cut nurse dress; her left hand is gloved and has syringes on the fingers*
Card Type- Fusion Monster
Monster Type- Fairy
Attribute- DARK
Level- 8
ATK/DEF- 1800/2400
Text- "Nurse Reficule the Fallen One" + "Injection Fairy Lily". This card can only be Special Summoned by Fusion Summon, and only with the above listed Fusion Material Monsters. Any effect that would cause your opponent to gain Life Points instead inflicts the same amount of damage to your opponent. When this card attacks a monster, destroy that monster without applying Damage Calculation, and both players gain Life Points equal to that monster's ATK.
(Dark Card)
Credit: This card was invented by fanfic author Metal Overlord 2.0, and first appeared in "Shadowchasers Ascension"
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Cards I invented-
Harpie Spy: *black feathered harpie with white hair*
Card Type- Effect Monster
Monster Type- Winged Beast
Level- 4
Attribute- WIND
ATK/DEF- 1600/1000
Text- This card's name is treated as "Harpie Lady" while it's on the field or in the GY. When this card is Normal Summoned, you can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Harpie" monster from your Deck in face-up Attack Position. You cannot Special Summon other monsters the turn you use this effect, except WIND monsters.
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Harpie's Grand Aviary: *massive rocky field, filled with birds of all kinds*
Card Type- Spell
Spell/Trap Type- Field
Text- This card's name is always treated as "Harpie's Hunting Ground". All WIND monsters gain 300 ATK & DEF. Once per turn, if you Special Summon a "Harpie" monster, you can Banish 1 "Formation" Spell/Trap from your GY, then target 1 card on the field and destroy it. If this card is destroyed by an opponent's card effect, you can shuffle all of your Banished "Formation" Spell/Trap Cards into your Deck. "Harpie" monsters cannot be destroyed by card effects.