Let me start by saying this: Rest in peace, Robin Williams. You will be missed, and never replaced.
That's all I want to say on it. Now that I've gotten that out of my system...
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A lot of times, conspiracy theories start because the public view of what happened and what actually happened is different. Ever watch Gilligan's Island? Who hasn't, right?
I know, but work with me here. A lot of fans think that the castaways could have been rescued in a week tops if they had killed Gilligan (or just kept him tied up), because he was an idiot and it was always his fault that their hopes for rescue were ruined.
But was it? Or was this belief a distortion of the facts leading to a misconception?
Actually, if you study the show itself in detail, and watch every episode closely, you'd see that this sentiment is, well, wrong. Such a study would actually make a valid case in Gilligan's favor. See, of 98 episodes total, there were only 37 where the plot offered a possibility of escape or rescue, and of those, only in 17 cases was the failure truly Gilligan's fault. Now granted, he was responsible for more screw ups than any other single member of the cast in that regard, but there were LOTS of other episodes where he rescued the others from death, enslavement, or some other horrible fate at the hands of villains.
In fact, you could even form other theories as to why they were stuck there. Seeing as the island was frequented a lot, but not much effort was put into looking for them, and more than one episode involved somebody on the mainland trying to steal Mr. Howell's fortune (even an imposter in one case) a likely theory would be that one corrupt business rival of Howell was maintaining a public façade that they were dead.
Now, Gilligan's Island was fiction (not very realistic fiction, either; I mean, Gilligan's shirt never wore out, for starters), so it can't be compared to reality, so how does this relate to conspiracy theories? Simple. People tend to focus on the bad things a famous person does more than the good ones, and remember them longer. President William Jefferson Clinton made so many accomplishments while in office, such as lowering unemployment to the lowest levels in thirty years, the crime rate to the lowest in twenty-six years, and the Brady Bill. But for years after his second term ended, some people still held the Monica Lewinski scandal against him, even though his own wife did not.
Thus, when someone has even the slightest of skeletons in his closet, they can become exaggerated by a distorted point of view, distortions become misconceptions, and misconception become lies, and well…
I think you know where it goes from there.
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Chapter Sixteen
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The Wind Beneath My Wings
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Liverpool. Almost noon, local time.
It was chilly this time of year, and a pile of garbage in the back of an alley didn't exactly make for a warm place to sleep. Still, for Monika, who was curled up there and snoring, it was adequate. After all, she wasn't the type of Shadowkind who could go apartment-hunting very easily. Or the type who made a good neighbor.
A friend of hers – one of the few she had – had offered to let her live at the London Zoo once, but the offer of safety and free food wasn't tempting enough to let herself become a caged animal. She had too much pride.
She was a gynosphinx one of the four core races of sphinxes, the only female type, and the ones known for being the smartest and wisest. Most of her body resembled a lion's, with a youthful woman's head, and large, feathered wings. She was semi-humanoid, meaning she could sit upright and do most things that a human could do in such a position (having paws with opposable thumbs was a plus), but still dropped to all fours when she had to run. (She could fly, but not very well.)
Biology aside, the gynosphinx was a race of Shadow with a bad reputation, possibly far more than they might have deserved.
If you were a bestial, monstrous, carnivorous Shadowkind with a habit of preying on humans, and known for toying with potential victims before killing them, that usually gave you bad press. Ever since the legend of Oedipus the King, everyone assumed a gynosphinx would pull the old "riddle-me-this" routine and force a potential prey to answer a riddle, where the punishment for guessing wrong meant he was lunch.
Monika didn't deny that maybe a few gynosphinxes did that (well, maybe more than "a few") but she insisted that a gynosphinx would always, without question, keep her end of the bargain and let a victim go if he answered right, no matter how hungry she was…
Well, they were supposed to, at least. She did know one of her kind that cheated. This rather sneaky sphinx thought up a word puzzle in which the solution, if deciphered correctly, was "kill me", putting the victim in a no-win situation. If he got it right, she would attack anyway, having been given permission. It was a dirty trick, but she didn't count on anyone living long enough to find out about it…
But a few other sphinxes found out. A few of them admired her ingenuity (some would have liked to copy the trick, but a gynosphinx does not use another's riddle; it just isn't done) but others, like Monika, were disgusted by this utter lack of honor. That was why she confided in a human Shadowchaser, and helped him subdue the rogue and take her down.
Unfortunately, her species had gotten even worse press relatively recently than most of the other monsters mentioned in Greek mythology that were known for cruelty (and there did tend to be a lot of them). Ever since it was discovered that Athentia had been a minion of the Light of Ruin and her daughter had been the one who tried to flood the world, sphinxes in general couldn't get any breaks. The truth was, they weren't related to Athentia in any real way except name, but try explaining that to people.
"Hey!" said a surly voice.
Huh, thought Monika. She slowly opened one eye.
Still half-asleep, she turned her head slightly and saw a man stagger into the alley towards her, wearing a worn and dirty suit. The smell of body odor and cheap beer came from him.
"What happened, honey?" chuckled the clearly intoxicated man. "Your old man kick you out?"
"Go away…" grumbled Monika.
"Ugh…" moaned the drunk. "Honestly, sleeping here? I mean, when someone treats you like garbage you don't have to admit it…"
"Go AWAY…" growled Monika, fully awake now.
He coughed.
"Course," he said, "if you're that depressed, I can…" As he said this, he slapped her on her side near her hindquarters.
That did it. She sat up quickly, and roared.
A lot of people misunderstand the Veil that hides Shadows from Mundanes. It has less to do with illusions, and more to do with the human mind being unable to accept what a person does not believe exists, things which, all his life, he has been made to think are not real. Thus, when their eyes see the monsters, their minds deceive them, papering over what they see and hiding the truth behind something they can accept.
Thus, the lilend waitress who served the man his beer seemed like a busty young woman, while the flind bouncer who threw him out later was just a big, tough guy to him. And Monika just looked like a female bag lady, maybe more overweight than the typical one.
What most people don't understand is, what happens when a Shadow actually turned violent and was intent on killing a Mundane? How could the Veil hide the truth from him then?
The answer was simple: It couldn't.
The unfortunate drunk who had mistaken her for some overweight homeless woman now saw her for what she truly was, a very angry predator twice his size, who he had just woken up… Grouchy and with a headache. He was fully sober now, and wondered if having one too many might have finally been too much…
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In Addams' office, the phone rang.
"Talk to me," he said, when he answered it. "She's where?"
His eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"Are you crazy!" he shouted. "What the hell kind of…"
Durwood walked in as he continued to shout, then stopped. He slammed the phone on the receiver.
"Mr. Addams?" asked the assistant.
"Thingol says she found the perfect target for Aysis," muttered Addams.
"Uh…" said Durwood.
"Six blocks away…" he continued. "From this building… The woman is crazy…"
"Took you this long to figure that out?" asked Dunstan.
He opened a cabinet next to the safe behind the desk that held a brandy bottle and some glasses.
"The woman is the mayor or burgomaster or whatever the proper title is of that city-state," he muttered, "and she calls herself High Chamberlain Thingol the Mocking…"
He poured brandy into the glasses.
"And her idea of stately mayoral attire is an iron mask over her face, chains on her limbs, and a ragged, moldering sweatshirt and pair of jeans that no-one's ever seen her remove, let alone wash.
"Of course she's crazy. As is whoever made her the ruler of that place."
"She took over the place," replied Addams. "She used some… ritual to gain the absolute loyalty of ten beholders. The folks there don't question her authority because the idea of being held telekinetically in mid-air by two beholders while a third slowly disintegrates your flesh isn't a pleasant thought."
Dunstan nodded as he sipped the brandy. "I think her bond with the beholders more than likely had something to do with her… Questionable mental state. Who in their right mind would deal with them? But don't worry, we're more than prepared in case the… unexpected happens."
"Dunstan, recently," sighed Addams, "I'd be happy if something expected happened."
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At that six-block mark, at an outdoor sidewalk café, a man with neatly combed black hair took a bank card from the Royal Bank of Scotland and placed it on the counter.
"Uhm, I'm afraid I need an ID this time sir," said the clerk, with a forced smile. "New policy, you know…"
She laughed nervously, as he looked through his wallet. "Bureaucrats…" she said.
"Indeed," he muttered. Of course, he didn't like this either. His wallet had about ten ID cards, each issued by a different government (most from Europe, but also from the United States, Japan, and Hong Kong), all of them with different names. (Technically, laws had been compromised to get them, through deals with the governments of each nation.)
It took about twenty seconds to find the one that matched the bank card. It didn't have his true name either, but then again, few people knew Mr. Z's true name.
The clerk smiled and rang up the order. "Thank you," he said, as he took the white package from the counter. He sighed as he took it to the table and sat down.
So long since I've had these… he thought, as he unwrapped the package, I almost forgot what they tasted like.
He sighed again, this time in content at the battled fish and chips, along with mushy peas. Indeed, it had been months since he had been able to have them.
Mr. Z was a Shadowchaser who had been all around the world, to every continent, even Antarctica. He really didn't think there were all-too many countries left that he hadn't been to. Liverpool was his favorite city for a good reason. It was where he was born. Still, ironically, it seemed his least frequent destination.
They just can't seem to get these right anywhere else, he thought. They…
Then he screamed as he held his forehead.
"Son of a…" he said. He turned around, still holding his forehead. It was like a migraine, but he recognized it as something else.
The magical blood oath he had taken years ago wasn't meant for humans; most would get far more than a headache when this happened.
"Monika?" he gasped. "Lord, I wish I could just have one meal in peace…"
Maybe it was panic-fueled adrenaline, maybe just dumb luck, but by some miracle, the angry gynosphinx hadn't caught that unfortunate drunk yet, even though she was furiously in pursuit as he fled, screaming.
"Monika!" screamed Z, running after them.
Finally, the guy collapsed, exhausted and sobbing. The sphinx was about to pounce on him.
"MONIKA!" yelled Z, louder.
The sphinx turned, and he punched her in the nose, hard, knocking her down.
"OW!" she shouted.
"Monika, stop it!" he ordered. "Get ahold of yourself!"
"He woke me up!" she cursed.
"Oh, well that's certainly an excuse to try to kill the man!" scolded Z.
Monika sat up again and started to breathe hard, as the drunk got to his feet again and started to run away in the opposite direction, fast. Z looked towards him, then shook his head, then looked at Monika.
"You all right?" he asked. "Calm down now, calm down…"
He held her head, and started to stroke her gently, and she started to take some deep breaths as the rage inside her started to settle. The slamming sound inside his own head started to subside, a surefire sign she was calmer.
"Lucky I was here…" he said, as he continued to stroke her. She looked in the direction the lush had run.
"Never mind him," he said, "the police will likely find him and throw him in the drunk tank. But as for you, you're also lucky it was me. Honestly, you know what would have happened if it had been someone else? You've told me so many times that you just want to be accepted, but things like this are not helping your case."
"What should I do, Z?" she moaned. "That offer you made… It seemed appealing on the surface. Free room and board, and a guarantee that I'd be safe the rest of my life… Only catch was, I had to give up my dignity and live as a caged animal…"
"Sit down, sit down…" replied Z, as the much larger Shadow relaxed herself. "I can understand that, but right now, people tend to see folks like you as a violent predator, and incidents like this are actually bringing you closer to becoming one. What would you have done if you had caught him?
"Just ask any of your sisters, Monika, once you taste human blood, you may enjoy it too much. There may be no turning back."
She groaned sadly.
"Lord knows," he continued, "I've tried to find a better place for you, somewhere you could put your mind to use. I've been to libraries and universities that cater to wizards and other scholars of arcane subjects. The few open-minded ones who would consider it all tell me that their insurance wouldn't cover them if you did cause a disaster. You know, it's a budget issue."
"Every time there's a good idea, someone brings up the budget," muttered Monika. "Maybe if I was on their staff, I could balance it…"
"Yeah, a catch-22," said Z, "but…"
"Z, behind you!" she screamed.
Before he could react to that, she darted up and pushed him aside, and then the crazy part happened. A wave of inky, almost liquid darkness flowed towards them, one which had apparently been sent towards him… Before she pushed him out of the way. But it hit her instead, and then enveloped her.
Z got up as Monika vanished quickly…
Then he saw someone who seemed very out of place in this cold weather. A young woman wearing a midriff-bearing halter and short-shorts, both deep red, and no shoes. They stood out against her black, cord-like hair tied in pigtails, piercing, dark eyes, and the weirdest part, the color of her skin. Blue. Pale blue. That was the biggest indication that she was a Shadow.
She frowned at Z as he looked at her. Then her eyes turned snake-like and a forked tongue darted from her mouth before both turned back to normal.
Then the most bizarre thing happened. Her exposed midriff started to bulge and shift a little, as if something was actually moving inside her belly. Fighting to get out.
Z had seen this before. A jahi, a lower caste of rakshasa who usually worked for the nobility of the species (and anyone else with a large enough bank account) as bounty hunters. This creature had a magical ability to literally swallow her target and hold him in a magical container inside her, a rather unique and easy way to get the quarry to whoever the client was. The reason for the soft, pleasing, female shape was because they weren't the best fighters, and needed a way to get close to a mark. And Z knew that.
"I'm really starting to regret putting off my trip to New Deli until January," said Z. "Let her go, you little…"
He opened his coat and drew his sword from his hip. Aysis – as this was, indeed, the one who Addams had been talking about – hissed a little, then turned and ran.
"You can't hide from me in this city!" he shouted, as she fled in the other direction. "I grew up here!"
As he ran after her, she fled down a street, down a public thoroughfare, into a business district. Of course, her method of restraining a victim had advantages; it left her hands free, and didn't raise any suspicion. But the biggest disadvantage was, well, holding a creature this large was seriously slowing her down. (It's not like a Shadow that was about eight feet long and twice the weight of an average human was her normal target.) She felt like she had just gone through a buffet line four times.
She ducked into a supermarket, and stopped. She waited a moment, breathing hard. She held her stomach. Monika was still struggling. That didn't make sense. Most victims gave up by now.
"Settle down, or I'll…" she cursed.
She grit her teeth and her eyes burned as darkness flared around her. This was how a jahi "convinced" an uncooperative victim to stop kicking, and the sharp pain it caused usually resulted in a scream. This time, however, she heard a threat that included a Shadowkind expletive that described a certain female body part.
"Shit…" she cursed as she looked out the door. "Guess I won't get a second chance…"
"Listen, bitch…" said Z, as he walked in the door.
Aysis stepped backwards.
Did she grab Monika by accident? he thought. Of course she did, why else would she have?
Of course, Z really didn't care one way of another. His head was throbbing a little, reacting to the same bond in a different way. Monika was angry again, and it was a focused anger now. Of course, he was pretty upset too.
"…You gonna let Monika go, or do I have to cut your stomach open?"
Aysis stepped backwards again, backing into a display of cereal boxes, knocking them over, and falling on her behind.
Then she hissed angrily, her eyes turning snake-like again.
"Take one step closer human," she threatened, "and I'll suck the life force right out of her and leave you with nothing but an empty husk!"
"The secret to enjoying your job is to have days off that are ever worse," he growled under his breath. Then he spoke out loud. "You're new at this, right?"
He looked at her. Yeah, she was probably bluffing, but… Maybe she wasn't.
"So now what?" he asked. "We're in a stalemate."
Aysis held up her left arm, and that same weird Duel Disk with the tray fed out by the gears started to unfold.
"Seriously?" asked Z. "You seem a little eager to duel me…" His own Disk whirred into position.
"You want your pet back or not?" asked Aysis. She giggled and fit a D-Gazer over her left eye while grinning.
"She not a bloody pet!" shouted Z. He unfolded his own Gazer, fumbling with it a little as he did. "Fine… If that's what you want. Usually I consider myself a gentleman, but I can be downright nasty if I have to…"
"Duel interface set, augmented reality vision link established."
(Mr. Z: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Aysis: 8,000)
Aysis watched as Z made his first draw.
"So, I'm wondering…" she said. "Who on Earth would put a bounty on a handsome guy like you?"
He looked at her angrily.
"Maybe a jilted lover? A jealous boyfriend of a jilted lover? A waiter at the Ritz you forgot to tip?"
Z's frown turned even sourer.
"Really, you can tell me," she replied. "My organization has had a lot of odd clients over the years… The Flat Earth Society…"
"Ugh…" muttered Z.
"Mary Kay Cosmetics…" she continued, as Z put his hand over his face and shook his head. "The Shriners… Pottery Barn…"
"You're awfully chipper for someone facing such serious charges," he said. He set three cards, one a monster, and the other two behind it. "And if your goal is to make me angry, it's working. Your move."
"What, cruelty to animals?" she asked as she made a draw.
She stopped. Z clenched his fist, and it trembled a little. He held the side of his head again, wondering if she had heard that.
"Heh…" he said, as he unclenched it and his eyes opened. "I just came the closest I came in years to losing my temper and caving your head in with this Duel Disk."
"Aw, you couldn't do it because you hate to hurt people huh?" she laughed.
"No, I didn't do it because I didn't want to hurt Monika," he snapped. "Now move! Or are you all talk now that you're holding her?"
Aysis quickly lost the smile, and as if to drive the point home, Monika started struggling again, causing her stomach to bulge. Aysis threw a Spell Card into her Disk.
"I'll show you I can do more than talk," she said. "I use Onslaught of the Fire Kings!"
As she played the card, a giant bonfire erupted in front of her, and the customers watching ran for cover.
"I know the barbecue season is past, but I'm in the mood for a cookout anyway, and this Spell Card lets me summon any Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged-Beast I want from my deck with the Fire Attribute, so let's all have a very warm welcome for Fire King High Avatar Garunix!"
With a loud screech, a gigantic firebird rose from the bonfire, one with feathers of every color of the spectrum, a crown-like plume, and flames running down its back. (2,700 ATK)
"Okay, now you're getting somewhere…" said Z, slowly.
"You wish," replied Aysis. "Next I'm summoning Hand of Nephthys."
She played the card, and a young girl in fiery red Egyptian-style clothing stepped forward. (600 ATK)
"Then, I'll sacrifice her and Garunix…"
The giant bird and the small girl disappeared, and then in another conflagration, another giant firebird, this one with metallic bronze wings, appeared. (2,400 ATK)
"The Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys…" said Z.
"Now, you're probably saying, what is she, insane…" asked Aysis.
"I wasn't wondering," muttered Z.
"…sacrificing a monster that powerful?" the jahi continued, ignoring the comment. "Well, no…I use the Spell Card, Fire Back!"
The Spell appeared, and she discarded another of her cards as a flaming cloud covered her side, and then Garunix appeared yet again. (2,700 ATK)
"I just love this part…" she giggled. "Sacred Phoenix, destroy his monster with Divine Flame of the Warrior King!"
The fire that shot from the great bird's mouth was so hot, it was a brilliant blue in color. Z's monster – which was a small, flowering plant in a flower pot – could only be seen for an instant before it was vaporized, leaving only a small scorch.
"Feeling the heat yet?" she laughed. "Garunix, get him! Attack directly with Divine Flame of the Sorcerer King!"
"You know what they say about playing with fire, right?" asked Z.
"Huh, a Trap Card?" shouted Aysis.
The set card lifted up, and Z discarded one of his three cards. "Nitwit Outwit," he said. "I'll discard my Sphinx Mystery, which has 2,300 Attack Points, and your monster loses just as much."
An odd creature leapt in front of Z, resembling a lioness with vaguely human features on her face, and with large, black, feathered wings. She leapt in the path of the burning stream of flames and shattered, but Garunix plummeted to a Score of only 400, and Z simply lifted his free palm to block it.
(Z: 7,600) - - - - - - - - - - (A: 8,000)
"Hmmph!" grunted Aysis. "In that case… Because I have a Fire monster, I can Special Summon my Bonfire Colossus…"
The monster that appeared this time was even bigger than the two firebirds. Much bigger. The titan made of pure flame towered over the field as it looked down on the two monsters and the two duelists… (2,800 ATK)
However, it seemed less interested in Z and more interested in Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys and Fire King High Avatar Garunix right now. It quickly seized both of the Winged Beasts, one in each hand, and squeezed, causing them to shatter.
"Problem is, I have to destroy two Fire monsters to do that… But they'll both be back soon…
"With a vengeance…"
Z didn't like that smile as she used her last card, and her voice turned much sweeter.
"In the meantime, I'll use the Equip Spell, Cinder Shower, and that's all for me."
As she played the card, volcanic ash started to fall from above like snow, but burning hot instead of cold.
"My draw…" said Z, making a draw. "And I believe one of your two giant birds is due to appear right… about… now."
Like he said, Garunix burst onto the field, letting out a loud "CAW!" Z waited…
"Expecting something to happen?" asked Aysis. "Oh… Right… Because Garunix was Special Summoned via his effect, he destroys all monsters on the field except himself, and you're wondering how my Colossus survived."
"It's the Cinder Shower, I assume?" muttered Z.
"Yup," she replied. "It can protect Colossus from the effects of other Fire monsters, but only three times."
"Well, that's something that has to be dealt with," answered Z. "I use Call of the Haunted to summon Sphinx Mystery."
As the Trap lifted, a large Beast resembling a lioness with very large, pure white wings and vaguely human features on her face (but not nearly as human as Monika's) flew in front of Z. (2,300 ATK)
"Next, I'm using the effect of that monster you destroyed last turn, a little guy called an Amarylease. By banishing it, I can Normal Summon a monster with one less sacrifice than usual. So I'll do so to summon Dark Sphinx."
The flower sprouted out of the ground, and then disappeared. Then a news Sphinx appeared, one that may have been Monika's evil twin. Her fur was coal black, she had raven hair, blood-red-eyes, and ram-like horns. She held a pair of sickle-like weapons. (1,800 ATK)
"Her bark is worse than her bite…" said Aysis. "You don't…"
Then Dark Sphinx turned into a shadowy specter, and rushed across the field, reappearing next to Garunix.
"Too bad you don't like her," said Z with a brief chuckle. "She seems awfully fond of you. You see, when I normal summon Dark Sphinx, she moves to my opponent's side."
Dark Sphinx looked at the rakshasa with a smug grin.
"Okay, I suppose there's a reason for this sudden generosity?" she asked.
"Oh, you bet there is…" said Z. "You'll find out in a minute… Until then, I'll the Spell Card, Knights and Knaves."
"Wha?" asked Aysis. 'Knights and Knaves?"
"You've probably seen this old version of the riddle game in some movie before," explained Z, as the card appeared. "The hero – or heroine, as the case may be – comes to two identical doors with two identical guards, and is told one door is the one he needs, while the other leads to something bad. Anyway, one of the two guards is a 'knight', who will always tell the truth, and the other is a 'knave', who only tells lies. He's only allowed to ask one question, so he has to phrase it in a way to find out which door is which…"
"Yeah, yeah, I've seen that sort of thing…" replied Aysis.
"Of course, there's a big problem with this setup…" said Z, ominously. "This sort of thing is good for logic problems and video games, but…"
He stopped for a second, holding his head again, then went on.
"The hero has to take note of how the instructions to this little challenge are being given to him. If one of the two guards is explaining it, well, that throws the whole thing out the window. If one of them is always a liar, can he trust the setup? The big question would be, 'is the one giving him the instructions telling him the truth?"
"You're trying to confuse me it won't work…" said Aysis, getting annoyed.
"The Spell works as follows," said Z. "I pay a thousand points, then take a monster from my deck that matches the Level of one of yours, like your Level 6 Dark Sphinx, and also a non-monster."
He held up two cards.
"Then you choose one of them. Guess the monster, I get to summon it. Guess the other card, and they both go to the Graveyard, and I lose my Battle Phase this turn."
"Uh…" said Aysis.
"Come on…" said Z. "Left or right?"
"Uh… LEFT!"
Z flipped it around to the sound of groans from the jahi as she saw the six Level stars indicating a monster. Z discarded the other card, and threw the monster on his Disk.
The card seemed to be a dead ringer for Monika, almost her twin. The same lion-woman hybrid, the body structure nearly the same, only slightly larger and with a few pieces of gold jewelry around her arms. (2,400 ATK)
"I'll be glad to show you what Gynosphinx can really do later," he said, as she spread her wings and took to the air. "For now…"
Then she swooped, landing on top of Dark Sphinx and crushing her.
"Ugh…" grunted Aysis. "Well that was pointless…"
(Z: 6,600) - - - - - - - - - - (A: 7,400)
"Mmm… Maybe…" replied the Shadowchaser, as Gynosphinx floated back down beside him. "But now we get to Gynosphinx's effect. You draw once, and I guess whether it's a Spell, Trap, or Monster. If I guess right, I can destroy a card of the same type."
"Is this a duel or some dumb game show?" shouted Aysis.
"You're a pretty sorry excuse for a bounty hunter," said Z. "With my deck, they're one and the same! I guess monster, so draw!"
Aysis muttered something as she drew. Then she almost tripped when she saw what it was.
"Dark Sphinx?" she gasped. "How'd THAT get there?"
"When Dark Sphinx is destroyed by battle, it doesn't go to the Graveyard, it goes to the top of the controller's deck," said Z, with a chuckle. "Cheer up, at least you still get to keep it… But I choose to destroy… Bonfire Colossus!"
The rakshasa covered her head as fire burst out of the giant's head, and the whole thing collapsed into a pile of hot ash. Then, to Z's utter shock, Garunix burst too.
"Heh, heh…" laughed Aysis. "Cinder Shower has one little drawback…If the monster it's equipped to is destroyed, it destroys one Fire monster for each time it protected the monster. Nothing is free in life, you know."
"I know…" sighed Z. "I end my turn…"
"Then let's see what we have here…" said Aysis. She made a draw.
"Before this goes further," interrupted Z, "I can use Sphinx Mystery's effect now."
"Make it quick!" she snapped.
"Certainly," he said. "Every one of your Standby Phases, I draw once, and then you guess what kind of card it is. You guess wrong, I get to keep it. However, if you don't feel like it, you can pay 1,000 Life Points and forget it for this turn."
"Mmm…" growled Aysis. Then her frown turned into a warm smile. "Actually, this is getting kind of fun. Draw. I guess monster."
Z drew a card. Then he laughed nervously and turned it forward. The orange border revealed she was right.
"What do you know?" she said. He frowned and discarded it. "In the meantime…"
There was an explosion of fire on her side of the field bigger than any of the previous ones. Garunix flew onto the field again and fire blasted towards the other side, incinerating both the Sphinxes.
"Huh, too bad…" said Aysis. Then in another blast, Sacred Phoenix rose behind her as well. (2,400 ATK)
"So tell me," she asked, "ever wonder what Hell is like?"
"It's not something I dwell on two much…" replied Z. "Not exactly the sort of conversation that comes up at social gatherings."
Aysis just smirked, and then yelled "BURN!" before Sacred Phoenix exhaled flame. Z grunted and took a step backwards as the wave of flame covered him.
(Z: 4,200) - - - - - - - - - - (A: 7,400)
"Still standing?" asked Aysis. "I'll impressed. But I've got another one…"
Garunix took a deep breath, but Z's expression turned to an angry frown. "I use the effect of Bacon Saver from my Graveyard!" he yelled.
A black pig hopped up into the air in front of him, and then, its skeleton literally leapt out of its mouth, as a shield of energy blocked the flames.
"Well that's just…" said Aysis. Then there was a ringing sound. "Oh, hold on…"
She pulled a mobile phone from within her halter and answered it Z watched. "What in the name of…" he said.
"Oh, hi!" she chirped. "What, you're watching?"
In his office, Addams was on the phone while on a laptop.
"Of course, I'm watching!" he said, not in the most pleasant tone. "Your duel has become popular enough in this town to show up on at least five live Duel Monsters blogs, one of which already has 267 hits!"
Aysis looked around. Indeed, the duel had attracted quite a crowd.
"Well, heh… Isn't that something?"
"Listen, Aysis…" replied Addams, "maybe you weren't clear on what the instructions were, do you want me to repeat them?"
"No, no calm down…" she whispered. "Everything's fine…"
"I've heard of people using cellphones at inappropriate times," said Z, "but this one kinda takes the pastry."
"Don't worry, you'll find out," she answered. She clicked the phone closed and put it back. "Eventually. Now where were we? Oh right… It's your move. Just don't forget, it either my Winged Beasts are destroyed by card effects, they come back, one quicker than the other.
"If Sacred Phoenix does it, she destroys all Spell and Trap Cards, "but if Fire King High Avatar Garunix does it, he destroys all monsters except himself. So go ahead…"
"I will…" said Z, as he drew, "and the Question is…"
"Ugh…" groaned Aysis, "rolling her eyes when she saw the Spell Card, which was indeed, Question.
"…what monster is at the bottom of my Graveyard? Guess right and it's gone for good. Guess wrong, and I get to summon it."
Oh, very clever, pal, she thought. There are only two monsters there, and they were both sent there at once by Garunix's effect. It could be either of them.
Well, seeing as I might actually benefit more if one of them was actually summoned…
"I guess…" she said.
Then she groaned a little and clutched her stomach again.
"Heartburn?" asked Z.
"Very funny," growled the jahi. She was worried now. There had been stories about jahi who had bitten off more than they could chew (so to speak) and captured a victim who was too strong… Legends told of some who had broken free… These legends were nightmarish and rather… ghastly to hear told.
I gotta finish this quickly…
"Gynosphinx!" she answered.
There was a geyser of shadow, and Sphinx Mystery leapt out of the ground. (2,300 ATK)
"Figures…" she growled.
Z set one card as she groaned again, and it appeared behind the Beast. He wasn't feeling very well either, and while he wasn't going to tell her, the throbbing in his skull was getting slower and less intense…
Monika was starting to lose the urge to fight.
The bond between them did allow for telepathic communication, but he needed to concentrate undisturbed for about five minutes or so to do that. Not much chance of that. Still, maybe he could bluff a little.
"If you feel like you want to throw up," he said, "maybe you should and let Monika go, because I sure as hell won't offer any Pepto-Bismol. After all, she's just an innocent bystander in this."
"Mind if I ask why you care so much for her?" groaned Aysis. "If she's not a pet, than what is she, a girlfriend?"
Then she stopped, and covered her mouth.
"For the love of… Not a pretty sight… I almost really got sick…"
"Look, suffice to say that Monika owes me more than you could ever imagine," replied Z.
She looked him in the eye.
"What… in the world… could that monster have done that was so special?" she asked.
"You've got some nerve calling someone a 'monster', lady," he said. "It's none of your business, but here's a question… Ever hear of a piece of theatrical drama called The Infernal Machine by a man named John Cocteau?"
"I'm not into live theatre," replied the demon.
"Well, the play is sort of a version of the myth of Oedipus with a very different view of the characters and the situation. Most versions see the Sphinx as a cruel predator… This version sees her as a miserable creature under a curse, forced to guard the gates of Thebes and pose her riddle to whoever passes, and then murder those who can't answer, all because some asshole god is angry at the city. She wants to die, but can't even do that.
"When Oedipus comes, even he can't answer it. She would have won the contest. But she's had enough, and decides to give him the answer beforehand so he can finally release her from the curse. That's why she leaps off the cliff, so she can finally die and free her soul.
"But the guy never even so much as says thank you, the bastard…"
"And there's a point to this how?" asked Aysis.
"What I'm saying is," he answered, "when looking at a situation in retrospect, whether a participant was good or evil can sometimes depend entirely on the point of view of whoever is interpreting it. I mean, the legend of Oedipus the King is an old story. Older than dirt. Most folks know what the Riddle of the Sphinx was, the old, 'What walks on four feet and two feet and three' thing, but in the earliest versions of the story, it wasn't even specified what exactly the riddle was. Who knows just what her true motivations were?
"Of course, in some cases, making that judgment of someone can be incredibly easy. And it's your move…"
"I can live with that…" she mused, as she made a draw.
"Hold it…" said Z. "Remember Sphinx Mystery's effect?"
"Fine! Draw!" shouted Aysis. "I'll guess monster again!"
Z drew. Then he smiled and turned it forward.
Oh, great, thought Aysis. The card wasn't just a Trap, it was a very annoying one called Ordeal of a Traveler.
"First of all, I'm summoning Fire King Avatar Barong," she said.
There was a smaller bonfire of flame, and a fiery creature with a lion-like head with a black mane resembling a beard and wild hair, dressed in South Seas native attire and gold jewelry leapt forward with a somersault, drawing two long blades. He swung them both around in a full circle with a nasty laugh. (1,800 ATK)
"Destroy Sphinx Mystery, Nephthys!" she commanded.
"I activate… Horn of the Phantom Beast!" exclaimed Z, as his Trap Card lifted and two bull-like horns sprouted on Sphinx Mystery's head. "This little number boosts her Score by 800 points!"
(3,100 ATK)
The Sphinx roared, and the flames turned back on themselves, covering Sacred Phoenix and roasting her. A pile of ashes fell to the floor.
"Oh, and Horn of the Wild Beast also lets me draw once when she destroys a monster," he said as he drew.
Aysis simply frowned, but then she simply turned to Garunix.
"In that case..." she continued. She played a Spell Card. "Now I can use The Big Cattle Drive. Because I have a Beast-Warrior and a Winged Beast, I get to make two draws."
She flipped two cards off her Disk. Then she set one of them, and it appeared behind her two monsters.
"Heh, heh… your move…"
Z drew, then put the card aside, and pointed again. Sphinx Mystery pounced, and tore the second large bird to pieces.
"Don't celebrate yet," said his opponent, "because he has a different effect when slain in battle… I can summon any Fire King I want from my deck except another copy of him.
"So I'll bring out his younger brother, the regular Fire King Avatar Garunix."
As she described, a monster appeared that was little more than a pint-sized version of the big Garunix. (700 ATK)
(Z: 4,200) - - - - - - - - - - (A: 6,300)
Somehow I doubt the little one is going to be any easier to deal with... thought Z. His Disk flashed with the message "DRAW ONE". He almost chuckled a little, nearly forgetting his Horn of the Phantom Beast.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
In New York City, the neighborhood between 34th and 59th Street was officially named Clinton and Midtown West.
Everyone in the city called it Hell's Kitchen.
The place fit the name once, being a bad part of town that was home to criminals and the poor working class. In recent years, gentrifying and public relations had given the place its own spot in New York culture, with a variety of trendy clubs, stores, and eateries. One such place was the Wooden Nickel, a popular bar and grill.
Inside, Bert, a regular of the place, a forty-something year old man in a black suit, was at a table finishing a glass. A half-eaten bowl of potato chips was next to him. He turned his head, then leaned it on his hand.
His friend Steve, who was about fifteen or so years younger than he was, was with her again. He wasn't sure what her name was, but she was blonde, blue-eyed, busty, and bubbly, wearing short-shorts and a top she was spilling out of. He said something, and she giggled. Then they kissed.
Bert muttered something, then turned and motioned to the barkeep. He turned back to Steve, and they were still kissing. He looked at his watch and watched the second hand.
After about forty seconds, they broke the kiss, and the young lady smiled, waved goodbye, and head for the exit. Steve wiped his brow, and walked to the table.
"I'm calling the AMA," said Bert. "I think your girlfriend is performing unlicensed tonsillectomies."
"Will you shut up?" replied Steve, his attitude quickly changing. The barkeep set two glasses of beer at the table and he reached for one. "Thank you." He sipped it, then turned to Bert again. "You're just jealous."
"Yeah, right…" muttered Bert, between sips.
"Bert, why the hell are you so afraid of women?" asked Steve. "It's not like Denise was going to knock me unconscious and take my wallet. Not that there'd be anything in it that she doesn't already have."
"You never know," mumbled Bert.
"And she's not one of those… Lady wrestlers the size of linebackers who you're afraid to get close to for fear of breaking something…"
"There something wrong with girls who like to work out, Steve?" said a feminine voice behind him.
"Nah, I guess not," he replied. "It's just that come on, sometimes you gotta pull her pants down to make sure she's a…"
Then he froze. Froze with fright as he recognized that voice, and a hand came down on his shoulder. He slowly turned his head around and looked up – way up – at the woman who had spoken.
She somewhat fit the description he had just made, but while muscular, wasn't built bulky and rough like a bodybuilder, her powerful frame still retaining curves, not to mention a rather ample bosom. Still, she was six-foot-eight, looking down at him with hazel eyes with a chilling stare. She was wearing a spandex exercise outfit under a long overcoat, and fingerless leather gloves.
"N-no, Terra!" he stammered. "Nothing at all! I'm just fine with them! The buffer the better!"
Terra frowned at him for a minute, they there was a loud shout from the bar.
"YO! Terra!" yelled the bartender. She turned her head to see him holding the phone. She turned back to Steve.
Terra leaned over until their faces were almost touching; her eyes narrowing while Steve started to visibly sweat. Then after a few tense seconds the corner of her mouth tilted up and she reached up to pat him on the head.
"There's a difference between compliments and brown-nosing squirt," she said, cheerfully, "but I think you get the point. There's more to a girl then just a decent rack and a tight ass. I just hope I don't have to remind you again, we clear?" The smile remained on her face as she applied just a bit of pressure to Steve's head.
"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-OW!" he yelped. "Clear! Crystal clear! So clear!"
"Good boy," Terra said in a tone like she had just housebroken a new dog before she turned, gave Bert a casual salute with her pointer and middle finger against her forehead and went over to the bartender.
Steve picked up his glass and drank half of it in one gulp. "Dear God, I think I just saw my life pass in front of me!" he stammered.
"Uh…" said Bert. "Going back to your original question, as to why I stay away from women, well… If you'd been a regular here as long as I have, you'd know. Just be glad she just got here. She's a lot more willing to go one on one after she's had a few."
Steve choked, and then spit out what he was drinking. There were two ways to interpret that, both of them terrifying.
And if he could have seen Terra Ironhoof's true face he would have been even more frightened, possibly even if he were a Shadow. Up until a few years ago, there had been no documented cases of female minotaurs. Terra gained instant fame and notoriety being the first one seen when she got into a… physical altercation with Jalal Stormbringer himself at a bar and won.
Since then, she had gained an almost mythic status as a defender of women in places where chauvinism and misogyny were especially bad. These stories tended to range from simple (beating the crap out of pair of incubus brothers) to the exaggerated (wrecking a hill giant steading on her own) to the wildly exaggerated (actually daring to challenge the Dread Emperor to rescue the children chained to him, and fighting the fiend to a standstill before the arrival of authorities caused both to flee). Terra herself would not confirm nor deny anything, so it seemed most of her life would stay shrouded in mystery.
"Talk to me," she said, as she picked up the phone. As she sat at a barstool, the bartender poured a pint from the tap, and slid it over to her.
"So what are you now, her secretary?" asked a waitress.
"Terra and I got a deal," replied the bartender. "She keeps guys outta here who want to cause trouble, I answer the phone for her and tell her in advance when we're having mozzarella sticks during happy hour. None of my business who she's talking to."
"You're serious?" said Terra. "You can't get some construction worker to do it?"
She listened carefully, then drained the glass.
"Fine, fine, it's your money…"
She hung up, and then stood up.
"Guy hates a headstone so much he'll pay five c-notes if I smash it, I can smash it…" she muttered as she headed for the door.
The waitress looked at her oddly, then looked at the bartender.
"Like I said," he repeated, "none of my business."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Aysis turned and waved to the bloggers' cameras as she made a draw. Then she simply set a new card, and nodded to Z.
This kid is getting on my nerves... he thought.
"I summon Sphinx Conundrum!" he shouted.
He played the card, which formed the hologram of a very different Sphinx, one that had a humanoid, muscular body that seemed to be made of sandstone, with a head resembling the Sphinx of Giza. It held an axe with a blade on both ends, which it dramatically twirled. (1,700 ATK)
Again, Sphinx Mystery spread its wings and flew, crashing down on Fire King Avatar Barong and crushing him.
"I draw once due to Horn of the Phantom Beast," said Z, making a draw. "Now then… ground that bird with Theban Cleave!"
The strange Beast-Warrior made a downward slash, cutting the smaller bird cleanly in two, lengthwise.
(Z: 4,200) - - - - - - - - - - (A: 4,300)
"I've still got a few tricks left…" replied Aysis. "I can use that monster's effect to summon Fire King Avatar Kirin."
There was a noble-sounding neigh, and a beautiful, celestial-looking steed with a flowing mane of green fire and a decorated red vest trotted onto the field. (1,000 ATK)
"Nice…" he said. He set one of his cards, and it appeared in his Spell Zone, set. "You're up…"
"Then I'll draw…" she said, drawing. "And I believe that means you can use your Sphinx again… Think I'll guess monster again."
Z drew. Then he sighed, turned it forward to show she was right again, and then discarded it.
"Hope it was a good one," she snarked. "I use Call of the Haunted!"
Not again… thought Z, as the Trap lifted and the big version of Garunix appeared again. (2,700 ATK)
Aysis shoved a card into her Disk and a Spell Card appeared, then Kirin burst.
"My Gift of the Martyr gives him a little more octane," she said, as Garunix burned fiercely, "so long as I sacrifice another monster."
(3,700 ATK)
"Deep fry that Sphinx Mystery!" she commanded.
"I use Ordeal of a Traveler!" he shouted, as his Trap lifted up. He selected one of his two cards and held it forward, back to front.
"All you have to do is guess what type of card this is… Get wrong, and the big bird gets blown off the field."
"Fine! Monster again!" replied the rakshasa.
Z closed his eyes, and turned the card around. This time, it was a Trap Card called Phantom Knight Shadow Veil.
"If it makes you feel better, no-one ever expects it to be a Trap," he said. "Now then…"
He was cut off as Garunix exploded in a flaming cascade of embers.
"What just happened?" shouted Z. Then he saw a Quickplay Spell in front of Aysis.
"I used Circle of the Fire Kings," she replied with an evil smirk. "So named because it can start an unstoppable circle of destruction and carnage. This card lets me destroy one Fire monster in order to summon one from my Graveyard…"
To Z's horror, Sacred Phoenix rose onto the field again, and as she let out her cry of anger. (2,400 ATK)
Aysis grumbled a little and held her stomach again before continuing. "Allow me to explain how this setup works. Because I just used a card effect to destroy Garunix, he'll be back on your next turn, and destroy all monsters except himself. That includes your monster, and my Sacred Phoenix.
"But… That triggers Sacred Phoenix's effect, meaning she'll come back on my turn, burning up all Spell and Trap Cards on the field. So on my next turn, I'll have two angry divine birds ready to hit you with everything they've got.
"But... I'm not taking the chance with that Ordeal Trap of yours, so… I'm ending my turn now…"
"Fine…" said Z. "Draw!"
He drew a card, and then, as the jahi had said, Garunix appeared on the field in a blast that burned Sacred Phoenix and Sphinx Conundrum to hot ash, Horn of the Phantom Beast with them.
The throbbing in his head was getting even weaker. Monika was about to give up.
Steady… thought Z. Hang on, Monika…
"You activated Sphinx Conundrum's effect," he said. He wiped his brow, then went on. "Because he was destroyed by a card effect, he comes back to the field in Attack Mode…"
The humanoid Sphinx appeared again, without its weapon this time. (0 ATK)
"He has no Scores, but his Level becomes 6. Now my big surprise… The Spell Card… Subspatial Battle!"
"Never heard of it," replied Aysis.
"Oh, this card is fun," said Z, with a devilish grin. "In fact, Monika taught me a lot of ways to use it… That's just one of the reasons I owe her.
"Now listen carefully, this is complicated. It works like this. We each choose three monsters from our decks, any at all, and reveal them to each other, one at a time. The two revealed monsters battle in the Astral Realm, a subspatial dimension. In this battle, the only thing that matters is the Attack Score, nothing else. The monster with the higher one wins.
"The player whose monster loses takes 500 points of damage and sends the monster's card to the Graveyard. The winner gets to keep the card. And we do that three times, with all three of the monsters we chose. Okay?"
"Piece of cake…" replied Aysis. She tapped her Disk, and holographic images of all the remaining monsters in her deck appeared in front of her. She quickly found the three cards she wanted, and tapped them.
The three cards materialized in her hand, and she turned to Z, who had done the same. "Round one then…" she said.
She took one of them, and held it forward. "Infernal Flame Emperor!" she exclaimed. "Beat that!"
Z flipped the card he had chosen around. "Nubian Guard…" he said.
Aysis was a little shocked. Her monster, a giant, hulking, winged centaur made of fire appeared (2,900 ATK) and looked rather intimidating compared to his, a decaying corpse dressed in rags holding a spear that was little more than a sharpened stick and a makeshift shield. (500 ATK)
Nonetheless, Nubian Guard bravely flew into the air as Infernal Flame Emperor did so too to meet the attack; still, it was pointless. A backhand stroke from the mighty Pyro turned the Warrior to small shards.
"I have no idea why you did that…" said Aysis. "But my second choice is Thestalos the Mega Monarch!"
"And mine is Effect Veiler," replied Z.
Aysis made a face as her monster, a giant, hulking, armored beast shrouded in flames appeared (2,800 ATK) to challenge his, the famous Tuner with an uncanny resemblance to Hatsune Miku. (0 ATK) Still, she flew to meet the Monarch's challenge, only to scream and tumble backwards from one punch before she shattered.
"Odd, my last opponent had that same twitch," replied Z.
"Third card…" said Aysis, holding it up. It was her second copy of Fire King High Avatar Garunix.
Z flipped his card around. Aysis had never seen this one before, and when the Solid Vision appeared, it looked like a bent, old man with a jackal's head, dressed in rags, holding a sickle. (1,000 ATK)
"No idea what that is," she said, as the two monsters flew towards each other. "But still…"
A breath of fire later, and the odd monster was no more.
(Z: 2,600) - - - - - - - - - - (A: 4,300)
"There's no way you could possibly have thought those three monsters could win," she thought. "You lost that Subspatial Battle on purpose, didn't you?"
Z suddenly felt a new feeling; not a painful throbbing, but more like a heartbeat…
"Of course," replied Z. "Now you'll see why. I use a Spell Card called Awakening from Beyond!"
"WHAT?" shouted Aysis. "Don't you realize you're letting me draw more cards?"
"And I get back my Sphinx Enigma that I discarded a few turns ago," replied Z, taking the card.
"Fine, fine, you're only helping me…" replied Aysis, drawing twice more.
"No, I'm helping me," replied Z. "First of all, because my Ancestral Keeper was sent to the Graveyard by Subspatial Battle, I can use his effect. If I discard one card while I have a Sphinx on the field, like Sphinx Conundrum, I can summon him in Defense Mode."
He discarded the Phantom Knight Shadow Veil Trap Card, and the odd monster appeared, kneeling. (500 DEF)
"Next, I'll sacrifice him," he said as it vanished, "for Sphinx Enigma."
This one was a complete surprise, and even gave Aysis pause. It was hard to tell if this monster was living, undead, or what. Almost seven feet tall, it had a humanoid body covered in mummy wrappings (most disturbingly with mammaries, indicating it was female). Worse, it had bronze gloves with blade-like claws and a golden Egyptian burial mask covering its face, and to top it off, black feathered wings on its back. It held a long scythe. (2,300 ATK)
"Okay, that's just not right…" mused Aysis.
"Here's something else you'll find not right," said Z. "I can use Sphinx Enigma's effect only once, if you have at least five cards in your hand, and I think you have seven. I guess any monster I can think of, and if you have it in your hand, it's summoned to my side of the field."
Before Aysis could say anything, Z said two words: "Dark Sphinx".
Sphinx Enigma's eyes flashed, and a card flew from Aysis' hand towards Z's side of the field, quickly turning into the demonic Sphinx. (1,800 ATK)
"I forgot all about that crazy card!" yelled Aysis.
"Well I didn't," replied Z, as his three Sphinxes turned to dark spheres of void. "And now that I've opened the Overlay Network, I can use these three beings of darkness…"
The galaxy spiral appeared briefly…
"To summon a force of pure Light… I Xyz Summon the Mythic Sphinx of Al-Qadim!"
There was an overwhelming, painful light, and a large, humanoid being stepped out of the radiance. It looked like a statue of a muscular man made of pure gold, with a pharaonic crown and beard on its head, wearing an iron kilt and a decorated vest. Gemstones were laden all over the creature, two forming its eyes, and three large rubies in its belt. (2,600 ATK)
"Very pretty, but…" said Aysis.
"It may not have a very high Score," interrupted Z, "but it makes up with it via its effect. After all, this is a Rank 6 triple-Overlay that requires monsters with the word 'sphinx' in their names to summon.
"By detaching an Overlay Unit and paying 800 Life Points, I can declare the name of one monster that I think is in your hand. So I'll get rid of this…"
He took Sphinx Conundrum's card and discarded it.
"…and guess Infernal Flame Emperor!"
As he said that, Aysis let out a little cry of pain as Emperor's card in her hand started burning.
"What happened?" she groaned, clutching her chest. Then she looked up at Garunix, who seemed to be hurting just as much. (1,700 ATK)
"Each time I guess right, not only do you take 1,000 points of damage, but your monster loses 1,000 Attack Points," said Z.
(Z: 1,800) - - - - - - - - - - (A: 3,300)
"You're never gonna get away with this you bastard, I'll…" she started.
"I use his effect a second time, and guess Thestalos the Mega Monarch!" he yelled.
Aysis screamed again, as Garunix fell to an Attack Score of 700.
"WAIT, stop!" she pleaded. "This isn't funny!"
"Was it ever?" he cursed. "Third time's the charm…"
He discarded Dark Sphinx.
"Fire King High Avatar Garunix!"
Again, Aysis let out a cry of pain, and the Garunix on the field went up in a plume of black smoke, dissolving into hot ash.
"Because if had less than 1,000 Life Points, it was destroyed," muttered Z. "Of course, that means it will be back on your next turn…"
(Z: 200) - - - - - - - - - - (A: 1,300)
"But I really don't think we're ever going to get there. Mythic Sphinx of Al-Qadim, attack directly with Monolith Smash!"
Aysis wanted to run, but the huge creature could actually move faster than it looked. The next thing she knew it slugged her, low, right in the stomach…
(Z: 200) - - - - - - - - - - (A: 0)
There was a vomiting sound, and the jahi coughed up a wave of dark, oily shadow, then stepped back jerkily before collapsing. Monika appeared out of the darkness, falling on her face in front of Z.
"MONKIA!" he screamed.
A weak moan from the gynosphinx confirmed she was alive. He felt her pulse anyway.
"Calm down…" he said. He knelt down and held her close. "We seem to have drawn such a large crowd… I'm sure someone at headquarters has already sent a medic."
There wasn't any feeling in his head now, but he felt his chest as he put his arm around her. His heart was beating in tune to hers.
He sighed in relief. "You'll be fine," he said, softly.
He looked at Aysis.
And hopefully someone who can bring a pair of binder's shackles before she wakes up, he thought.
Suddenly he remembered those fish and chips he ordered, which were likely taken by some vagrant and would be cold by now even if they weren't…
Then he made a nervous laugh.
Honestly, talk about not getting your priorities straight, he thought. Monika could have died, I was likely the real target, and all I can think about is my lunch?
He looked at the bounty hunter again.
Thing is… I have that feeling… That feeling like I was one of those contestants on a game show who was asked "What day did the 21st Century begin?" who thought the answer was 2000… Like I missed something obvious…
He thought for a minute as he looked at her.
Something was wrong with this whole set-up, and I really don't know what…
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
AWAKENING FROM BEYOND (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: A ghostly face superimposed over a group of coffins.
Card Effect: Your opponent draws 2 cards. Add 1 Monster Card from your Graveyard to your hand.
Note: "Awakening from Beyond" was first used by the Pharaoh in the original anime episode "The Final Duel (Part 3)"
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
FIRE BACK (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: A fiery orange nuclear mushroom cloud.
Card Description: Discard one FIRE monster. Select 1 Fire monster in your Graveyard and Special Summon it.
Note: "Fire Back" was first used by O'Brien in the Yu-Gi-Oh GX episode "Triple Play (Part 2)"
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
SUBSPATIAL BATTLE (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: A violent melee with Freed the Brave Wanderer fighting Gagagigo in the foreground, Water Dragon confronting an unknown monster behind them, all below a portal ripped in the air above.
Card Description: Both players select 3 Monster Cards from their respective decks, then both show them to each other simultaneously, one at a time. Each time both players reveal a Monster Card this way, the player who reveals the Monster Card with higher ATK adds that card to his hand, while the player who reveals the Monster Card with lower ATK takes 500 points of damage and sends that card to the Graveyard.
Note: "Fire Back" was first used by Judai in the Yu-Gi-Oh GX episode 180.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
CINDER SHOWER (Spell Card)
Equip Spell
Image: Brushfire Knight trudging trough a wasteland as a volcano erupts in the background, volcanic ash falling around him like snow.
Effect: Equip only to a FIRE monster. Once per turn, if the equipped monster would be affected by the effect of a FIRE monster, you may place 1 Spell Counter on this card (Max. 3) to negate that effect once. If this card has 3 Spell Counters, banish it and the equipped monster during the End Phase of the turn. Banish this card and destroy the equipped monster if the equipped monstt is destroyed by a card effect before it is banished by this card's effect, or if this card leaves the field while equipped to the monster, banish this card and destroy 1 FIRE monster for every Spell Counter it had.
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GYNOSPHINX (Monster Card)
Beast/Dark/Effect/Lvl6/2,400ATK/1,400DEF
Effect: Once per turn, you may state 1 Type of card (Spell, Trap, or Monster); your opponent draws 1 card. If the drawn card is the Type named, activate 1 of the following effects depending on the Type drawn: Spell: Destroy 1 Spell or Trap Card on the field. Trap: Inflict 1,000 points of damage to your opponent. Monster: destroy 1 face-up monster on the field.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
SPHINX MYSTERY (Monster Card)
Beast/Dark/Effect/Lvl6/2,300ATK/2,000DEF
Effect: During your opponent's Standby Phase, draw 1 card (your opponent may choose to negate this effect; if he does, he must pay 1,000 Life Points during the Standby Phase in question); your opponent guesses what Type of card (Spell, Trap, or Monster) he or she believes it is. If the answer is correct, send the drawn card to the Graveyard.
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DARK SPHINX (Monster Card)
Beast/Dark/Effect/Lvl6/1,800ATK/0DEF
Effect: If Normal Summoned, switch control of this card to your opponent. If this card is destroyed by battle, place this card face-up on the top of its current controller's deck without sending it to the Graveyard.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
SPHINX CONUNDRUM (Monster Card)
Beast-Warrior/Dark/Effect/Lvl4/1,700ATK/500DEF
Effect: If this card is destroyed by your opponent's card effect, Special Summon it from your Graveyard in Attack Position; its ATK becomes zero, and its Level becomes 6. If summoned in this manner, its battle position cannot switch, and if it leaves the field, banish it.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
SPHINX ENIGMA (Monster Card)
Fiend/Dark/Effect/Lvl6/2,300ATK/1,900DEF
Effect: If this card is summoned when your opponent has 5 or more cards in his/her hand, you may state the name of 1 monster. If that monster is in your opponent's hand, Special Summon it to your side of the field, disregarding any summoning conditions. The summoned monster's effect is negated, and it is destroyed during the End Phase of the turn. If the card is not in your opponent's hand, banish this card. Each player may only use the effect of "Sphinx Enigma" once per duel.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
ANCESTRAL KEEPER (Monster Card)
Beast-Warrior/Dark/Effect/Lvl3/1,000ATK/1,000DEF
Effect: If you control a "Sphinx" monster, you may Special Summon this card from your Graveyard in Defense Position. Each player may only use the effect of "Ancestral Keeper" once per duel.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
KNIGHTS AND KNAVES (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: A painted rendition of the scene in Labyrinth where Sarah confronts the four door guardians.
Card Description: Pay 1,000 Life Points. Select from your deck 1 non-Monster Card and 1 Level 5 or higher Monster Card that can be Normal Summoned. Your opponent selects 1 of the 2 selected cards. If the non-Monster card is chosen, send both cards to the Graveyard. If the Monster Card is chosen, send the non-monster card to the Graveyard; you may the Normal Summon the Monster Card this turn without Tribute(s).
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
MYSTIC SPHINX OF AL- QADIM (Monster Card)
Warrior/Light/Xyz/Effect/Rank6/2,600ATK/2,000DEF
3 Lvl 6 "Sphinx" monsters
Effect: When you use the effect of this card, you may choose to detach 1, 2, or 3 Xyz materials. After making the choice, detach the chosen number of Xyz Materials and pay 800 Life Points per Xyz Material detached. For each Xyz Material detached, state the name of a monster. (Each monster stated must have a different name and cannot be the same name as monsters stated for previous uses of this effect.) For every monster you name that is in your opponent's current hand, your opponent takes 1,000 points of damage, and the monster he controls with the highest Level loses 1,000 Attack Points. For every monster you name that is not in your opponent's current hand, this card loses 1,000 Attack Points. If a monster is reduced to zero ATK by either effect, it is destroyed.
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Jemorille: Indeed, it seemed a little too easy, and Aysis seemed to have overplayed her part a little. Mr. Z couldn't help but think that Aysis could have escaped if she hadn't stopped to look back at the supermarket, and wondered why, if he was her true target, why she didn't let Monika go and try again, rather than hold her hostage and so eagerly try to duel.
Something was wrong.
But, oblivious to this, as the day turned to night, something was happening in Raleigh. Sofia had been digging deeper trying to follow the clues she had to find out where Philip would be, just hours from now…
She had struck gold.
"Bridge Over Troubled Waters" is next. As for the meaning behind the title… You'll just have to wait.
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Shadowchaser Files: Races
The Ormyrr, Persistence Personified
Try to imagine this situation: You want to be a chef. You want to be a great chef, one known the world over with his own cooking show and chain of restaurants, like Emeril Lagasse or Susan Spicer. It's been your dream all your life.
Problem is, you can't cook. You're terrible at it.
When you try to make eggs and sausage for someone, you burn both so badly he can't tell them apart. Not only has your mashed potatoes been compared to tile caulking, they've been used as such. The last time you made chili, they had to call in a Hazmat unit, and even before that, there's been a court order that forbids you from using a pressure cooker.
Despite it all, you won't give up your dream. You're willing to do anything to learn, willing to pay any price. You call it determination… Everyone else calls it an obsession.
If you can imagine such a thing, then maybe you can understand the ormyrr. They are a race fascinated not with cooking, but with magic, despite the fact they have no talent in it whatsoever.
An ormyrr is an odd-looking non-humanoid creature, resembling a huge, serpentine worm with a very large toad's head (with a huge mouth) and four arms, pale-mushroom white to dun in color, with a purplish underbelly. They rarely wear clothing (not much would fit on them) except satchels and pouches to hold gear. Some ormyrr wear necklaces made from the skulls of enemies they've slain, cleverly concealing useful items and tools in the skulls' braincases.
Although ormyrr have no problem, it is impossible for other races to tell the gender of one of them; "it" seems the best pronoun to use for an ormyrr. Also, ormyrr personal names are unpronounceable by humanoid races, so they identify themselves first by the name of their clan, and then by their occupation as relevant to the clan. For example, the head of the Krokus clan in Norway (the largest community) is called Krokus Overseer.
Ormyrr prefer to live temperate to cold lands, mostly swamps; they have both lungs and gills, and are excellent swimmers. Because it is very hard for the Veil that hides Shadowkind to conceal Shadows this large, most ormyrr try to avoid human communities altogether.
Ormyrr are believed to have an enmity with the ophidia that dates back to prehistory, and the feeling is mutual. Although fights between the two races are rare on this world, the two can rarely ever do more than glance daggers at each other when they meet. (A few young members of both races have admitted that they don't even know the origins of this feud, but it is likely very different than the dislike ophidia have for humans.
As stated, ormyrr are obsessed with magic in all forms, and dream of becoming wizards themselves, but the problem is, they can't seem to learn it. Thus far, their race has yet to produce even an apprentice mage. (And most other races are happy leaving it this way, as they are certain that the excitement an ormyrr would experience at learning apprentice-level magic would likely encourage him to try the advanced stuff too soon and cause an accident.) Still, the ormyrr try to study magic whenever they can, collecting any magical device that the average joe could use (and there are more than one might imagine) to hopefully someday figure it out.
The research they do has actually proven quite useful in many ways. The biggest example of this is Krazy Krokus' Trading Post, located outside of Oslo. The Krokus clan collects a lot of magic items, including many that are unusable by ormyrr due to their body shape. (Say armor, helmets and other headgear, belts, boots; many kinds of clothing, really.) The store works on a barter system; they'll trade these items for ones that ormyrr can use. The Krokus clan employs a human accountant named Derek Chambers to appraise anything brought in (and do most of the other paperwork), as the stuff they have is quite valuable. (In fact, very little of their stock is kept in the store itself; they make use of trained beasts to guard their communal vaults in their own village, where most ormyrr have magical weapons.)
At first, the ormyrr were unimpressed by Duel Monsters. A race as dedicated to order and purpose as they are have little time for recreation, much less collectable card games. But once they found out that the game was inspired by an ancient type of wizard's duel, they became determined to master it. A few ormyrr have already done so, and some have already wondered if the original Shadow Duels might be recreated…
Story Ideas: Ormyrr are attracted to magic like moths to a flame. Despite having no idea how to cast spells and even less idea how to learn how to, they pursue the goal of studying magic in an attempt to unravel the secret. They can easily be inserted into any story where artifacts and magical treasure is prevalent. (The sort of place Indiana Jones or Lara Croft would feel right at home.)
Of course, this goal has given the ormyrr a lot of smarts regarding magic, and they know how dangerous it is. (If given a choice, an ormyrr would likely prefer to fight Jalal himself on his own than fight Rayearth with ten other ormyrr supporting him, and to tell the truth, that would be a better choice for someone with absolutely no ability to use magic.) Still, some ormyrr are tougher and hardier than most humanoids, and if you need a pair of strong arms (or four) in a place where magic won't cut it, ormyrr can probably do it… Not for free, of course, but they're opportunists who can be found when such a need arises.