((This would've been out a lot sooner if my laptop charger didn't break, setting me back a week. Hope this was worth the wait.))
The Shadowchasers motto is "Knowledge is not power, but ignorance is not bliss". I hate to argue with the boss, but that's bullcrap. Knowledge is absolutely power.
In this day and age, information is as valuable as weapons or gold. With the right info, you can make any task easier, including fighting in a war. Unfortunately, most of the people who realize this are... less than trustworthy, to say the least.
0-0-0-0-0
Draw 11 - Hidden Soldiers
0-0-0-0-0
Not long after Caspian reunited with Kennedy, the Shadowchasers regrouped and caught each other up. They sat around the coffee table in their home base, Caspian sitting in Kennedy's lap, comparing their experiences.
"So you really did have a boyfriend this whole time." Sabrina had thought Caspian was lying, the idea of a cowboy/train enthusiast turbo duelist was too silly to be true. Kim kicked her underneath the table, not wanting her teammates to fight. Sabrina and Caspian had never gotten along very well. It wasn't that they outright disliked each other, they just disagreed on a lot of things. He hated heights, she got sea sick. He liked dubs, she preferred subs. Petty things like that.
"Alright, we have work we need to do." Tyler interrupted. "We need to get some information on these Ebon Sun creeps. What do you think, Kim?" He turned to his team leader. She nodded, standing up and entering a number into her cellphone.
"We'll split up. I have the number for our underworld contact. Tyler, you and Sabrina should go to the library, there's probably something in their Shadow section about this group. Evil organizations don't just pop up out of nowhere." Kim looked over at Caspian, who was busily kissing his boyfriend. "And you can ask the merpeople. Bring Kennedy with you, if you like, but try not to get distracted."
The redhead stopped what he was doing and blushed, facing Kim and nodding sheepishly. "I think we have a few Merrow Caps in the backroom." He said, running his fingers through Kennedy's short blonde hair. Merrow Caps were rare magical items, small red hats that granted the wearer the ability to breathe underwater. Since River City was surrounded by water on all sides, and filled with aquatic Shadowkind, these caps were highly necessary.
0-0-0
Moments later, in River City's dirtiest slum, Heath Patton walked the streets alone. He was a tall, wiry tiefling with short brown hair and bright green eyes, small horns growing out of his forehead and cloven hooves for feet. Heath was the Shadowchasers' mole, trading criminal secrets for protection.
Looking over his shoulder, Heath slipped into a dark alleyway and found an unassuming looking building. It was a small house with white walls and a red door, marked with a special symbol only Shadowkind and Awares could see. It was also the home of River City's best source of black market information.
Knocking repeatedly on the door, the tiefling felt his hand twitch, keeping his eyes focused on the neighborhood around him. Heath didn't understand why someone with so much power would live in such a crime-ridden part of town. He had a knife hidden in his back pocket, just in case, but didn't have much faith in his fighting ability. A job like this made you paranoid.
The door opened, and Heath came face to face with a surprisingly handsome man. He had literally bronze-colored skin and flames for hair, signifying that he was a genasi, the offspring of an elemental and a human. He wore a very fine suit, and generally looked far too rich to live where he did. This was Baharat al-Mufti, the knowledge broker.
"What do you want, kid?" Baharat asked, raising a bright red eyebrow. Heath blushed; he always got nervous around people he found attractive. "You look a little young to be involved in anything illegal."
"I'm 21!" Heath objected, no longer blushing. "Look, I came here for information!" With that, he was pulled inside the house, the door slammed shut behind him.
"Alright, what do you want to know? Where to buy drugs? How to hire a hitman? Want to sell your soul to an archdevil and become a warlock?" Baharat asked. The inside of his house was heavily decorated and filled with expensive looking paintings, framed Arab calligraphy, and other valuables. "Do tieflings even have souls?"
"There's this group running around town called the Ebon Sun. Have you heard of them?" Heath asked, taking a seat on a leather sofa. He was tempted to rest his hooves on the footrest, which had a replica of Aladdin's magic carpet draped over it, but figured Baharat would throw him out for dirtying his house.
"I do. What can you give me in exchange?" The genasi raised an eyebrow. "You don't look like you have a lot of money on you. And I doubt you have any valuable information."
"Well, I have one idea..." Heath batted his eyes, crossing his legs in a way reminiscent of Sharon Stone from Basic Instinct.
"I don't want your body." Baharat frowned. Heath looked away sheepishly, sitting up straight and holding his legs together tightly. "Tell you what, I'll duel you for it. You win, I'll tell you what you want to know. I win, and you get me a duel with the Shadowchaser Sabrina Moore. I collect Mai Kujaku merchandise, and I know she has a copy of Harpie Empress." The genasi opened his broom closet and pulled out a ruby red Duel Disk, with a deck already loaded inside.
"Deal."
0-0-0
Meanwhile, Caspian was taking Kennedy on a tour of River City's underwater district. The blonde had trouble keeping up with his merman boyfriend, as Merrow Caps did nothing to improve your ability to swim. Caspian laughed and grabbed Kennedy's hand, helping him out.
"I know I'm supposed to be working, but how do I focus on anything but you right now?" The redhead flirted, stroking his boyfriend's face with his free hand. Kennedy blushed, his face turning as red as Caspian's scales, and opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out were bubbles. The two boys laughed and kissed, closing their eyes so they could tune out the rest of the world and just focus on each other.
0-0-0
Heath and Baharat stood in the genasi's backyard, ten paces apart, and activated their Duel Disks. "Duel!"
(Heath LP 8000) - (Baharat LP 8000)
"I'll take the first move!" Heath said, drawing a card. He looked over his hand and frowned, until he saw the card he had just drawn. "I activate Madolche Sweets! This rare spell card lets me shuffle any number of Madolche cards from my hand back into the deck, then draw the same number of cards, plus one!" He placed two cards on top of his deck and shuffled, before drawing three more.
"Madolches? I thought you tieflings played Fiend decks." Baharat raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't expecting something so... cutesy."
"Hey, lay off, I just like sweets." Heath frowned. "I summon Madolche Magileine!" There was a shower of sparkling light, and an adorable doll wearing a large, fluffy dress and a witch's hat appeared on the dueling field. She carried a large fork, as if it were a spear. (ATK 1400)
"Her affect lets me add Madolche Chateau to my hand, and I'll play it right away!" An enormous castle made out of cake and candy rose up behind Heath, and the field transformed into a courtyard made of sweets. "Now all my Madolche monsters gain 500 points for both scores!" (Magileine ATK 1900/DEF 1700)
"To protect my castle, I'll play Field Barrier! Now you can't destroy Madolche Chateau, or any field spells of your own." A sparkling aura surrounded the chateau, before vanishing. "And I'll end my turn with a facedown."
"Let me show you a real monster, little man." Baharat drew and slammed a card down on his Duel Disk. "I summon Chainsaw Insect!" An enormous, gunmetal grey beetle, with chainsaws for mandibles, burst out of the ground. (ATK 2400) "Attack his witch!"
Chainsaw Insect scuttered forward and slashed at Magileine with its blades, causing her to shatter into pixels. "Of course, you get to draw a card thanks to his effect, but that's a small price to pay for over two thousand attack points." The genasi explained.
Heath drew a card and smiled, as another card slid out of his Duel Disk's graveyard slot. "Madolche monsters return to the deck when they're destroyed, but my field spell lets me add them to my hand instead!" He fanned out his hand, which now contained five cards.
"I'll move to my second main phase, and activate Poison of the Old Man!" The familiar old wizard appeared, carrying his two smoking potions. "I choose the option to increase my life points by 1200." The wizard threw the green vial at Baharat's feet, where it turned into a puff of smoke. "Now I set a card and end my turn."
(HLP 7500) - (BLP 9200)
"You're going to have to do better than that if you want to play with the big boys." The genasi taunted.
"Shut up!" Heath growled and drew a card, thinking to himself. What kind of strategy is he using? I doubt it's an Insect deck... maybe Skill Drain? Shaking his head, he looked at his hand. His eyes lit up when he saw that he was holding his favorite card.
"Since I have no monsters in my graveyard, I can special summon Madolche Princicing from my hand!" Another doll appeared, a male this time. He had silver hair and a golden crown on his head, and was riding on a plush unicorn. (ATK 2100 - 2600)
"Oh, how cute, more dolls." Baharat ran his fingers through the fire that made up his hair, looking smug. "What's next, are we going to have a tea party?" He knew Madolches could be a threat, but a duelist with no confidence couldn't win with any deck.
"For my normal summon, I'll bring out Princicing's best friend, Madolche Chouxvalier!" There was the sound of trumpets, and a doll dressed like a cavalier galloped out of the castle, riding on a plush horse and wielding a sword that looked to be made out of peppermint. (ATK 1700 - 2200)
"I activate my face-down card, Greed!" Baharat snapped his fingers and his set card lifted up. "From now on, whenever one of us draws outside our Draw Phase, we take 500 points of damage for each card."
Heath had never heard of this Greed card before, but he wasn't going to let it intimidate him. "Princicing, squash that bug!" The doll prince drew a candy sword, just like Chouxvalier's, and charged, slicing the enormous insect in half. "And I get to draw one more card!"
The Greed trap glowed, and a handful of coins fell from the sky, hitting Heath on the head. "Ouch, I guess?" He shook it off, happy to have a free card, even if it cost a few life points. "Chouxvalier, attack directly!" The adorable monster rushed forward and hit Baharat with his sword, which didn't seem to bother him much.
"You know, you could at least try to look invested..." Heath frowned, setting a card. "Jeez, even Marik cracked a smile now and then."
"I'll take my turn now." Baharat placed two cards on his Duel Disk, a monster and a backrow card, in the classic T position. "And that's all I need to do. My real strategy has just begun."
(HLP 7000) - (BLP 6800)
Heath drew. "Alright, I summon Magilene again!" The cute witch reappeared, looking less than pleased. "And I'll use her effect to search for Madolche Ticket. But I won't be playing it just yet."
A swirling vortex opened in the center of Heath's field, pulling in Magilene and Chouxvalier. "I overlay my two monsters and Xyz Summon Madolche King Crownbrulee!" The sound of trumpets filled the air, and another doll stepped out of the Chateau. This one was an adult, unlike the others, and quite chubby. He had blonde hair and a curly beard, and wore a crown on his head. He carried a scepter in one hand that was topped with a jawbreaker. (ATK 2200 - 2700)
"Looks like he could use a break from all the candy." Baharat snarked. "Maybe they'll make a veggie castle next."
"Oh, shut up!" Heath stomped his hoof in frustration. "I activate Crownbrulee's effect! By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can shuffle three cards from either graveyard into the deck, then all my Madolches gain 300 attack and defense for each one, until the end phase!" He took Chouxvalier's card, and two others from his graveyard, and placed them on top of his deck, activating the auto-shuffler. The candy king lifted his staff, and he and Princicing were surrounded by golden light, as their attack scores both rose dramatically (ATK 2700 - 3600; ATK 2600 - 3500)
"Princicing, attack his facedown monster!" The royal doll drew his candy sword and slashed at the hidden monster, which revealed itself to be Morphing Jar. "Oh no!"
"Oh yes!" Baharat laughed. "Now we both discard our hands and draw five more cards! Which means Greed deals us both 2500 points of damage... or it would, if I didn't have this!" His set trap lifted up, and it was Barrel Behind the Door. "Now you take all the damage I would!"
A heavy shower of coins rained down on Heath, pelting him repeatedly. He gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain, and drew five cards. "I still have a direct attack!" Crownbrulee swung at his master's opponent, hitting him in the stomach with his candy scepter. "That ends my turn."
0-0-0
There was magic hidden everywhere, if you knew how to look for it. Hotels had secret floors just for Shadowkind, there were wizards and sorcerers doing every day jobs that could benefit from some secret magic, and many libraries had secret sections full of spell books and Shadow lore.
The River City Public Library had one of these in its basement. Sabrina and Tyler just flashed their Shadowchasers badge at the librarian, an elderly tabaxi woman, and she lead them down. "Don't take too long! We've heard some weird noises down there, and I haven't been brave enough to check it out yet!"
"Well that was helpful." Sabrina snarked, her hand grasping at the handle of her sword. Tyler was tempted to put an arm around her, but figured this wasn't the right time to flirt. If he could just get her alone after work...
"Did you hear something?" His train of thought was derailed when the basement became filled with bestial noises. "That can't be good..."
0-0-0
Baharat looked over his new cards and smirked. It had been a while since he dueled someone he wasn't afraid to insult, and he really enjoyed that. "I activate Dark Hole! Thank the gods they finally took this off the banlist." A sinister black hole opened up in the sky, threatening to suck in Heath's adorable monsters.
"I don't think so! I chain Dark Bribe!" The tiefling's set card lifted up, causing the black hole to vanish. "Now you have to draw a card, and you take damage from your own trap!" Baharat grunted as a small pile of coins pelted him, his flaming hair growing in intensity.
"Fine. I summon Trickstar Candina!" Heath had never seen this card before. The monster that appeared was a pretty blonde fairy carrying a megaphone, dressed like a Japanese pop idol. She winked flirtatiously. (ATK 1800)
"Do you like it? These Trickstar cards are brand new, but they fit my deck pretty well, so it was worth the extra cash." Baharat bragged, spreading his arms dramatically and showing that he was wearing a gold Rolex watch. "When Candina is summoned, I can add another Trickstar monster to my hand, and I know just the one." A card shot out of his deck, and he grabbed it quickly.
"I'm activating the effect of Trickstar Lycoris in my hand!" The genasi turned the card around, and Candina vanished. "By returning a Trickstar monster from the field to my hand, I can special summon her!" A new idol fairy appeared, this one brunet and carrying a baton. (ATK 1600)
"Now, I'll set two card to end my turn. Think you can handle this?"
(HLP 2000) - (BLP 3200)
Heath drew a card, and was immediately hit by a small blast of energy. "What the hell was that?" He asked, nearly dropping his hand out of surprise.
"Lycoris' effect deals you 200 damage whenever you add a card to your hand." The knowledge broker explained.
"That's... irritating." Heath shook his head and set a card. "I attack your idol singer with my King Crownbrulee!" The candy ruler lifted his staff and prepared to strike, only to be stopped by a wall of clouds.
"I activate Storming Mirror Force! This returns all your monsters to the hand!" Baharat snapped his fingers, and Princicing and Crownbrulee were catapulted off the field by a blast of energy. Heath picked up one of the cards, taking damage again from Lycoris, and placed the other in his Extra Deck.
Sighing, he played another card. "I'll summon Madolche Messengelato to protect my life points." Another doll exited the castle, this one a blue haired mailman with a cape. (ATK 1600 - 2100) "And that's it."
Baharat fanned out the five cards in his hand and smirked. "I play Cosmic Cyclone! For the low price of 1000 life points, I can banish your field spell! Say goodbye to Candy Land!" A portal opened up in the sky, and the Madolche Chateau was sucked inside, returning the dueling field to normal. Messengelato's attack points returned to 1600.
"I tribute Trickstar Lycoris to summon my favorite monster!" The cutesy idol singer vanished, replaced by an enormous bonfire. The fire parted, revealing a large, muscular humanoid with bronze skin, flaming hair and large, menacing horns. It looked like a more monstrous version of Baharat himself, only in a loincloth instead of a suit. "Meet Efreeti of the Mystical Flame!" (ATK 2400)
"I chain activate Rainbow Life!" Heath said, discarding one of his cards. A rainbow barrier surrounded him, glowing brightly and holding back the evil genie's flames. "For the rest of this turn, if I would take damage, I gain life points instead!"
"I can't stop my monster's effect, unfortunately." Baharat frowned. "When he's summoned, you shuffle your hand into the deck, and draw the same number of cards." The ifrit snapped its fingers, and Heath's cards vanished, replace by new ones. The Greed card activated, but the rain of coins slid off Rainbow Life's shield, leaving Heath unharmed.
"I might not be able to damage your life points, but I'm still going to destroy your little mailman!" Efreeti blasted Messengelato with fire from its fingertips, incinerating the doll. "I'll also end my turn by activating Imperial Custom, which protects all other continuous trap cards from destruction!"
(HLP 4200) - (BLP 2200)
"Better make this count..." Heath whispered a prayer to the Heart of The Cards, and drew. It was exactly what he needed! He smiled, brushing his hair out of his face as the Rainbow Life aura faded. "I activate my rarest card! The spell card Madolche Recette!"
"That card just came out! How do you have it already?" Baharat recoiled, shocked.
"I work with some people who have connections." Heath beamed proudly. "This card has two effects, but I'm only using the first one. It makes all Madolche monsters on the field and in my hand level 4, until the end of this turn!" A new doll appeared, and unlike the others, this one was an animal. It was an adorable pink kitten wearing a blue vest and an overly large hat. (ATK 500)
"Madolche Mewfeuille might be weak, but when I summon him, I get to special summon another Madolche from my hand! Like my Hootcake!" Another cute animal doll joined the cat, this one an owl dressed like a school teacher. (ATK 1500)
"Two level fours... You're going to Xyz Summon again, aren't you?" Baharat grimaced. Heath nodded excitedly.
"I overlay my two monsters and Xyz Summon the true Madolche monarch! Madolche Queen Tiaramisu!" The overlay portal opened up, taking in the two Beasts, and out rose a third royal doll. She had silver hair, and was carrying a royal scepter much like her husband, but topped with a chocolate egg and two lady fingers. (ATK 2200)
"This duel is over! I activate my queen's effect, detaching one overlay unit and shuffling two cards from my graveyard into the deck, so that I can shuffle Jafar over there into your deck!" Tiaramisu waved her scepter like a magic wand, and Efreeti of the Mystical Flame vanished completely. "Now she can attack you directly!" The queen flicked her wrist, and buried Baharat under a pile of holographic ice cream.
(HLP 4200) - (BLP 0)
"You better be prepared to tell me everything you know!" Heath said, putting his cards back in place. Baharat groaned about his bruised ego, but he was a man of his word. He pulled a pen and small piece of paper out of his pocket, and quickly scribbled something down. He walked over to his opponent and gave it to him.
"Wait until you get home to read this, kid. It's not much, but it should be good enough." The genasi adjusted his tie and walked back into his house, slamming the door shut.
0-0-0
Back at the Shadowchasers' hq, Kim was speaking to Heath over the phone, writing down everything he told her. "Well, it looks like we've got enough information to start. Thanks again, Heath." She got up and entered the living room, surprised to only see Caspian and Kennedy, who were being scolded by Klaus for having wet clothes. "Where are Sabrina and Tyler?" She asked, looking at the clock. They should have been back hours ago...
0-0-0-0-0
What did our Shadowchasing lovebirds encounter in that library? And will they be able to escape from it with their lives?
Find out next time, in Mind Crush!
0-0-0-0-0
Original cards-
Madolche Princicing: *young male doll with silver hair, with a gold crown, riding on a plush unicorn*
Card Type- Effect Monster
Monster Type- Fairy
Attribute- EARTH
Level- 5
ATK/DEF- 2100/1500
Text- When this card you control is destroyed by your opponent's card (either by battle or by card effect) and sent to your GY: Shuffle this card into your Deck. If you have no monsters in your GY, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). You can only use this effect of "Madolche Princicing" once per turn.
0
Madolche Crownbrulee: *older male doll dressed in noble clothes, with a big beard, sitting on a candy throne*
Card Type- Xyz Monster
Monster Type- Fairy
Attribute- EARTH
Level- Rank 4
ATK/DEF- 2200/2000
Text- 2 Level 4 "Madolche" monsters. Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, then target up to 3 cards in either player's GY and shuffle them into the Deck. If you do, all "Madolche" monsters you control gain 300 ATK & DEF for each card returned to the Deck by this effect, until the End Phase.
0
Madolche Sweets: *Madolche Puddingcess reaching into a cookie jar shaped like Pot of Greed*
Card Type- Spell
Spell/Trap Type- Normal
Text- Shuffle any number of "Madolche" cards from your hand into the Deck, then draw that many cards, +1. Also, for the rest of this turn, you cannot draw cards.
0
Madolche Recette: *Magilene reading a large, fancy cookbook*
Card Type- Spell
Spell/Trap Type- Normal
Text- Choose one of the following effects: *Until the End Phase of this turn, all "Madolche" monsters in your hand and on the field become Level 4. *This turn, you can Normal Summon 1 "Madolche" monster, in addition to your Normal Summon/Set. You can only activate 1 "Madolche Recette" each turn.
0
Efreeti of the Mystical Flame: *large, muscular humanoid with red skin, horns, fiery eyes and flaming claws*
Card Type- Effect Monster
Monster Type- Spellcaster
Level- 6
Attribute- FIRE
ATK/DEF- 2400/1800
Text- When this card is Summoned: Your opponent shuffles their entire hand into the Deck, then they draw the same number of cards. When this card is destroyed and sent to the GY, you can add 1 "Greed" from your Deck or GY to your hand.