Now, if you were to ask anyone who had extensively studied the behavior of dragons, he'd tell you that they are not beasts to be trifled with. A dragon tends to define the local ecology rather than fill a niche in it, and occupies a spot somewhere between the top of the food chain and a living embodiment of nature's fury.
So why was Judy's father, a member of this proud and mighty race, frightened by the influence held by one unidentified human? It is the nature of humanity to fear the unknown, but he was a Shadowkind who was hundreds of times stronger than the average human. So why were he and his daughter, who likely could have counted on any Shadowchaser in the world to protect her if she were in danger, duped by this lie? Why did they fear the imagined consequences of an untrue rumor about a killer who died over a century ago?
Jack the Ripper. It's a name that sends chills down one's spine. He is regarded as not a serial killer, but THE serial killer. From what the Mundane world knows, no motive was ever discovered for his crimes, and he was never apprehended or identified…
…assuming "he" is the right pronoun to use, he was only one person, and the five murders associated with her had any connection whatsoever.
That's the problem. All that Mundanes truly known about this cold case is that five victims, all female, all prostitutes, were found knifed to death over a period of slightly less than four months, all but one showing signs of mutilation. But while their deaths were indeed tragic, he was not the worst serial killer of all time, or even the worst of his time. Such a murderer would almost be considered tame nowadays, certainly not compared to some well-known modern ones like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy. And if the forensic science available today were available then, he would likely have been caught quickly.
But it was not, and the unsolved nature of this crime caused it to grown into mythic proportions. Writers never get tired of expanding his reign of terror in fiction, often portraying him as no mere mortal. This has given rise to wild conspiracy theories over his true intents and motives.
Who was Jack the Ripper? I don't know. Jalal claims he knows, and I can only assume he's being honest. If he won't share the story, the mystery may never be solved.
Still, what point would it be to press the subject? No relatives of his victims survive either, so there's no point in finding closure. The Ripper may have once been a man, but whoever tries to find him now may as well be chasing a ghost.
0-0-0-0-0
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Chapter Twenty
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
I Fought the Law
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
0-0-0-0-0
Sirens blared over the hustle of afternoon traffic as the criminal's D-Wheel sped down the highway with about a dozen members of the City of London Metropolitan Police in pursuit. It was a sight that defied logic – twelve of the most recent models of police motorcycles trying in vain to catch up to an old clunker of a D-Wheel, which somehow was able to keep ahead of them.
"This is your last chance, mister!" shouted someone on a loudspeaker. "Stop your vehicle NOW or we have the authority to FORCE you to stop!"
Domino simply ignored them as he shifted and sped ahead of them.
Of course, more effort was being put into this by London's Finest than he thought. At the Police Plaza, the chase was being observed on satellite cameras by several technicians, overseen by an Inspector, and they had a plan set up.
"You sure this will work?" he said.
"Positive," said one technician. "At the rate he's going, he'll hit the drainer in ninety seconds, and his D-Wheel's Momentum-charged engine will be sucked dry of power. That should stop him pretty quickly."
The technician paused. "Sixty seconds…" he said, as the blip on the screen representing Domino approached the green line representing the drainer. "Thirty…"
"Fifteen…"
But to everyone's complete shock, Domino simply drove right past the drainer, the device not having any effect on his D-Wheel at all.
"Bloody hell…" said the Inspector, as he watched the pursuing officers approach it. "Turn it off!"
The technician tried, but it was too late. The pursuers all came to a sudden halt, half of them crashing against the other half as they did…
…all but one that is. One of the pursuers, an officer on an even fancier and souped-up bike shifted and drove in a zero-g maneuver upside the wall, over the drainer and back onto solid ground in the span of ten seconds, continuing the chase.
"Who's that?" demanded the Inspector. Then he realized who it was. He grabbed a microphone.
"Son of a bitch," he said, punching in a number.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
In the meantime, both Jabels and Dolores were monitoring the chase in their command center with their own group of technicians.
"You're telling me he passed through the drainer?" asked Jabels, with a tone of doubt.
"Calm down, Mr. Jabels," said the Inspector, "one of my best men is still on his tail…"
A heavy sigh came from the communicator.
"Okay, maybe calling Officer Baker 'one of my best men' is a tad of an exaggeration…"
"Guy's the type who doesn't do things by the book, I assume?" asked Jabels.
"Worst headache on the force," came the reply. "I'd have fired him a long time ago if his wild hunches didn't always turn out to be right."
"Just tell him not to let that guy get away," warned Jabels. "We need him, and in one piece, preferably…"
"Jabels, this is weird…" said Dolores.
He turned as she was looking at a computer analysis.
"The reason the drainer didn't stop that D-Wheel is because…" she mused. "Well, it doesn't have a Momentum-charged engine!"
"How in the world could it move as fast as it is with an old hybrid engine?" asked Jabels.
"I don't think it's that either," she replied. "There's no carbon emissions coming from it. It's clearly not being powered even partially by gasoline. In fact, it doesn't seem to be expending any fuel byproducts at all."
"Dolores…" said Jabels. He leaned over the monitor. "That's impossible. How does this D-Wheel of his run, does he… wind it up?"
Then there was a buzz from a console on the other side of the room behind him.
Dolores shook her head. "Maybe there's some type of magic involved in its power source. I'll try to identify the type."
"Mr. Jabels," said the technician by the console that buzzed, "Mr. Hudson is on the line…"
Jabels rolled his eyes, and walked across the room as he straightened his tie.
"This better be important Karl," he said sternly. "We're in the middle of two crisis right now."
"I'll be as quick as I can," said Karl, as his face appeared on the screen. "I believe Sofia told you and the boss that she and Philip found something called Memory Crystal Alpha?"
"Yeah, but Philip ran off with it," said Jabels, with a nod.
"Take a look," said Karl. "I found some interesting bedtime reading in the new online version of Bargle's Bazar of the Bizarre."
Jabels looked at the entry with the accompanying illustration.
"Holy…"
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Warning lights were now flashing above the now-deserted duel lane next to the highway as Domino sped by it, with a lone member of the City of London Police on his tail. While it was true that Officer Curtis Baker ("Curt", to his friends) didn't care much for routine protocol, he wasn't about to let that stand in the way of bringing this bastard in.
"Curt!" shouted a voice from his radio. "Curt, are you nuts? You didn't get authorization to go after him alone, when the Inspector gets ahold of you, he'll…"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," replied the motorcycle cop. "Right now, this perp just got on my bad side…"
Domino looked in his rearview mirror and scowled. He snapped a switch by his shift, and canister started to tumble out the rear of his bike. Even so, the cop's motorcycle weaved and avoid each of them, avoid each as they exploded.
"Criminy," he muttered, "one cop in London stupid enough to keep following me, and he turns out to be Evel Knievel…"
"Better not try and use Genocide Key again, no telling if Stormbringer's brat's already told him the details of that last duel, and I wouldn't put it past him to give the cops a head's up."
He removed his deck from the slot on the console, then pulled a second one from his belt and slammed it in, grinning as the new cards were registered.
"Besides, the mood I'm in, I feel like kicking some serious ass, and with this deck, I can kick it pretty hard! Now let's see what I can find out about this guy…"
He looked at his pursuer, and then some information started to run past his eyes on the surface of his visor. He snickered a little.
"Looks like Officer Baker here has a stellar record, but he seems to have gotten it the same way Maxwell Smart did... By being stupid and lucking out…"
"You know, I can hear you!" shouted Curt, who had obviously just gotten closer than he had counted on. "And I dare you to stop that D-Wheel and say it to my face!"
"I've got a better idea, gumshoe," replied Domino.
He hit another switch, and to Curt's surprise, his console started to change modes without him doing anything.
"Duel Mode engaged," it said.
"Huh? HEY!" he shouted. "How the hell did you override my system?"
Then Speed World 2 radiated from both vehicles, but it seemed far different than most of the times Curt had remembered.
"I won't tell you how," replied the criminal, "but I will tell you it isn't the same way that Duel Chasers bring down their quarry. And by the way, you'll find this a little harder than most Riding Duels you're used to…"
He knows that if I lose, I'll be forced to stop pursuit… thought Curt, and unfortunately, he's exactly right… Well…
"Bring it on, you turkey!" he barked back. His deck swung into position, and the Life Point and SPC meters appeared in place.
(Domino: 8,000, SPC: 0) - - - - - - - - - - (Curt: 8,000, SPC: 0)
"Shall we?" said Domino.
Curt drew a card, and looked at the odd female Warrior on the card. He played it.
"I'm summoning Warrior Lady of the Wasteland," he announced, as the vortex behind him opened.
An unlikely fighter strode from the portal, a young lady wearing a blue crop-top, short-shorts, knee-high boots, a tattered, black cape, and a wide-brimmed hat with a feather in it. She held a longsword and had a pistol on her hip. (1,100 ATK)
"Well I think it's obvious what sort of deck you have," snarked Domino.
"Don't be so sure…" replied Curt. A set card appeared behind Warrior Lady. "Let's see if you can keep up."
"I'm going to leave you in the dust!" shouted Domino, dramatically, as he made a draw, causing both the vehicles to speed up. "Here, play with these."
He grabbed two of his cards, causing them both to appear set on his console, one in each Zone. Curt looked at the Game Mat version in front of him, then at his hand.
"Go on, shamus," said Domino.
Curt drew again, then placed the card aside. The summoning vortex appeared to the opposite side of Warrior Lady.
"I summon Zubaba Knight!" he exclaimed.
A battlecry like "Zu-ba-ba-ba-BA!" came from it right before a knight emerged, his bronze plate armor completely covering him with a scarlet cape trailing behind. Lightning bolts adorned the armor, just like the bolt-shaped blades on his arms. (1,600 ATK)
"Okay, I guess that's a… little unorthodox…" said Domino.
"I activate Mischief of the Yokai," replied Curt. His Trap Card lifted up and turned around. "This little number reduces the Levels of my monsters by two until the end of the turn.
"So what?" asked Domino. "Now you have a Level 1 and a Level 2 monster, I don't think you can Xyz Summon with them."
"Oh, I have a reason," said Curt. Then Warrior Lady did a turn in midair and flew towards his monster. "I'm just not too keen on sharing it at the moment."
A double rocket launcher with a frowning face on the front appeared right before her sword smashed into it, the weapon snapping in two. (1,800 DEF)
"HA!" laughed Domino. "Guess Machina Defender didn't get its name for nothing! And because you flipped it, I get a certain card from my deck."
Curt gave him a blank stare for a second, watching him take the card.
Commander Covington? he thought. He can't really be trying to…
"Ahem…" he said. "Zubaba Knight, you try!"
"Good grief," laughed Domino, as the Knight flew towards Defender, "you'd think you guys would at least need a grade school diploma to… HEY!"
Zubaba Knight's two blades flashed, cutting Machina Defender into three separate pieces, which dissolved.
"I can do math just fine," said Curt. "But when Zubaba Knight attacks a face-up monster in Defense Mode, he always wins.
(D: 8,000, SPC: 2) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 7,300, SPC: 2)
"I'll set this, then the ball is in your court." A set card appeared behind his two Warriors, then he signaled with his hand.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
In another place…
Ferdinand and Emily had appeared in a room with walls the color and texture of lapis lazuli. There was a doorway in front of them, and a corridor beyond. The two had already formed fighting stances as they appeared, but there was no-one here, at least not yet.
"Coast is clear," whispered Emily. Ferdinand nodded, and turned on the electronic map they had been given.
"Okay, first thing we have to do is get to a room with, uhm, five fonts…" he said. "Fonts?"
"When a pool of water is in a temple, it's called a font," replied Emily. "Come on!"
They ran out the exit, into the corridor, then down the corridor… Which eventually terminated in a very large, cathedral-sized room. Then they stopped.
Way at the other end, they saw two of them. Xill. They were ugly critters, man-sized with bug-like heads with sharp mandibles and very large eyes with disgusting cataracts covering them. They had rust-red, reptilian scales instead of skin, and four arms, each with three sharp talons.
Clearly, they couldn't see, but they clicked their mandibles eagerly and looked around, as if sensing something in the air. However, Ferd and Emily weren't standing around to wait; they made a rush for a doorway to the east (arbitrary) side.
"Ugly, aren't they?" she whispered.
"Let's not tempt fate," he said. "I think these, uhm, fonts are ahead…"
The corridor was a long one, with the same lapis lazuli colored walls, and several alcoves making indentations. They cautiously made their way for the room at the end…
…but they quickly stopped and hid as they were about to enter.
"Even uglier close-up…" he whispered.
Apparently, Addams wasn't entirely right when he said they usually patrolled in pairs; there were four of them in there.
Ferdinand motioned, and the two backed down the corridor. "I got an idea," he said, very, very softly.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Domino grinned as he drew a card. "So many cards, so little time," he mused. "How about… This one? Machina Soldier!"
A robot leapt out of a portal from below, a droid in green armor with a single red optic sensor below its helmet-like head protection, with a blade in place of its right hand. (1,600 ATK)
"Now I use its effect to summon Machina Sniper."
From the same portal, a thinner droid came, with khaki-colored armor and an elongated head, holding an assault rifle. (1,800 ATK)
"Why him?" asked Curt. "You could have used Soldier's effect to summon far more powerful Machina."
"I'm not too keen on sharing my reasons either," replied Domino.
Then Sniper's gun fired a dozen rounds at Warrior Lady, literally chewing through her before she shattered.
"Hope you enjoyed that," grumbled Curt. "Because via her effect, I'll summon my Big Belly Knight!"
There was a loud belch, and an enormously obese man wearing a tunic, pantaloons, gauntlets, and a knight's helmet, all of which seemed to fit him very badly, lowered himself to Curt's right side. (1,000 ATK)
"You just made my day," said Domino, with a grin. Machina Soldier lifted its blade. "I like fat people… When you knock them down, it's just so funny seeing them try to get back up…"
Then as Soldier flew at the overweight knight, Curt's Trap Card flipped open.
"I use Kunai with Chain!" he exclaimed.
A long length of chain with a boomerang-shaped hook appeared in Zubaba Knight's hands, and he twirled it above his head a few times before throwing it, tangling up Machina Soldier's legs. (1,500 DEF)
"This not only forces your monster into Defense Mode, it boosts Zubaba Knight's Attack Score a little."
(2,100 ATK)
"After all, I know that I can't get to your Soldier before I get to him," he said, pointing to Sniper.
"Yeah, you're very smart," said Domino. Two more set cards appeared behind his monsters, for a total of three. "I end my turn.
Can he really be trying to summon Machina Force? thought Curt. It's not going to be easy since I get rid of Defender last turn… And I sure the hell won't let that guy stay around much longer.
He drew as the two rides started moving faster, then pointed forward.
(D: 8,000, SPC: 4) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 6,800, SPC: 4)
"Watch and learn," he said. "By banishing Mischief of the Yokai from my Graveyard, I can lower the Level of my Big Belly Knight from 4 to 3."
"So what?" sneered Domino.
"It makes his Level equal to Zubaba Knight's, brainless," muttered Curt, as the spiraling vortex opened, "so via the Overlay Network…"
Curt swerved ahead and picked up speed as the two Knights flew into the portal, which then disgorged another, larger, flashier-looking Warrior who made a dramatic pose against the backdrop of Speed World. While still wearing plate armor, this hulking brute was no knight, the armor covered with magical runes and a horned helmet, a scarlet cape, and large, red shoulder epaulets completing the ensemble. He used a long scimitar. (1,600 ATK)
"Now, because I used Big Belly Knight to summon M-X-Saber Invoker, I can combine both their effects simultaneously. You see, by getting rid of an Overlay Unit, Invoker can summon a Level 4 Warrior or Beast Warrior from my deck in Defense Mode, like Assault Mercenary."
There was a low hum and a blur of purple light, and a strange looking lycanthrope with white fur in brown pants with odd tattoos on his chest, holding a chainsaw-like weapon appeared. (300 DEF)
"And because that Overlay Unit was Big Belly Knight, I also get to summon a Level 3 monster from my hand, Comrade Swordsman of Landstar!"
With another hum and blur of light, the cute, upgraded version of Katsuya Jonouchi's toy Warrior appeared with a big grin. (500 ATK)
"Now, Comrade Swordsman can give Assault Mercenary a Tune-Up!"
As the two Warriors flew into the sky, thunder started to rumble over London. Then lightning flashed as the two dissolved into stars:
(*3 + *4 = * 7)
Lightning flashed again as the very strange Warrior Synchro landed gracefully in front of him. It was a woman dressed in a full leather outfit with no sleeves (or shoes) with azure skin, long blonde hair that went past her waist, and pointed ears that even an elf would consider too long. She held a weapon that looked far too heavy for someone as svelte as her to use, a large, metal device as long as herself that looked like a… tuning fork. (2,200 ATK)
"Looks like she could give a lot of folks a 'tune up' too," said Domino, offhandedly. "Don't forget, so long as Sniper is on the field, you can only attack him."
"Yeah, well, I'm more than certain Raven Wind can handle it," replied Curt, as the strange Warrior lifted her fork, as electricity and wind coursed around it in a spiral pattern.
Then lightning crashed down from the heavens, onto Machina Sniper…
To Curt's shock, however, it was still there.
"Cyber Repairer," he said. "You draw once, but my Machines are invincible this turn."
Curt made a draw, then looked closely at the duel mat presentation on his screen, where he could see Domino's other two set cards.
(D: 7,600, SPC: 4) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 6,800, SPC: 4)
He shook his head, then put the drawn card with his other three, then chose one of the three, and set it in his Spell Zone. He motioned, signaling to his foe.
"Does that mean you want me to go?" asked Domino. "Well before I do…"
One of those two set cards lifted and turned, and this was a Trap that Curt only vaguely remembered from somewhere.
"I use Burst Rebirth," he said. "This Trap costs me 2,000 Life Points to activate…"
"Two-thousand?" shouted Curt.
"Nothing is free in this world, fellah," said Domino, looking at him with a snide, sideways glance. "I take it someone on a cop's salary knows that."
Why, I oughta… thought Curt.
"Now that I've paid the cost, I can summon a monster from my Graveyard, but in face-down Defense Mode," continued Domino. A set card appeared in front of him, then slowly faded.
"Now I'll draw…"
(D: 5,600, SPC: 5) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 6,800, SPC: 5)
"Now to Flip Summon my Machina Defender," he said, as the mean looking missile launcher appeared again. (1,200 ATK) "And via its effect, I can get a second copy of Commander Covington!"
He took the card, and then held up both copies.
"Both of them are Machines, both are Level 4, which means I can discard both…"
He quickly threw the two card into the chute under his dashboard leading to the discard pile. Then the whole highway started to rumble, the pavement buckled, and a huge cross between a robot and an armored tank on three powerful threads with a long, threatening laser cannon thundered onto the field. (2,500 ATK)
"Machina Fortress…" muttered Curt, looking at it in dread. "So you were planning to summon it…"
"Not just the Fortress," said Curt. He grinned wickedly. "I use the Trap Card, Shoddy Mechanic!"
His last set card revealed, and Commander Covington, a short (compared to the others) droid built to look like a man in a uniform with riding pants, a tie, and a tall, pointed helmet. However, he seemed to be dented, rusty, and cracked all over, with sparks buzzing out of his seems. (1,000 ATK)
"He looks like he's malfunctioning," said Curt.
"He is," said Domino. "What do you expect when you take a Machine to a Shoddy Mechanic? Summoning him this way leaves him unable to attack, shift to Defense Mode, or be Tributed… But he still has his effect…"
A bugle appeared in the small android's hand, and he started to play a tune on it that sounded like reveille. It was now that a realization came to Officer Baker. He had assumed his foe had been trying to summon Machina Force, instead of the much-easier-to-summon (and arguably, just as lethal) Machina Fortress.
His true intentions were clear now… Why choose when you can have both?
"I send Machina Soldier, Machina Sniper, and Machina Defender to the Graveyard," said Domino. He discarded the three cards as the three corresponding monsters turned into digital symbols…
Then, the road started to shake and buckle again as a true robotic goliath started to rise behind the two bikes. It was a twenty-five foot tall amalgamation of the three droids, with Soldier's legs and head, Defender's lower torso, feet and upper turrets, and Sniper's upper torso and a variation of its assault rifle, but larger. Its eyes were cold and emotionless. (4,600 ATK)
"Ugh…" muttered Curt, looking at the huge Machines. They were starting to drive over a bridge as he swerved to a stop ahead of him. He heard the sound of helicopters coming from behind them.
"Speechless, huh?" asked Domino. "Machina Fortress, neutralize his M-X-Saber Invoker!"
The cannon fired a beam of red and blue laser energy that spiraled around each other, blowing the Xyz to atoms. As Curt struggled to hold on, his D-Wheel spun around twice. Raven Wind struggled too, dropping her tuning fork in the process.
"Oh, you don't get away that easily darlin'!" laughed Domino. Then Machina Force's missile's blasted, honing in on the Synchro. The whole sky turned red with the explosion the impact caused.
Domino sped ahead of his foe, and checked the score.
(D: 4,600, SPC: 5) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 3,500, SPC: 5)
"Huh, well, that attack cost me another 1,000 Life Points, but I think I finally got rid of him…" He chuckled a little. "Wonder if the boss will log this one as energetic or exuberant?"
"Can we consider 'insane' as option three?" asked a voice.
To Domino's incredible shock, Curt sped out of the smoke, and not only was he mad, but so was Assault Mercenary, who was next to him. (1,800 ATK) He slammed on the breaks and looked at his foe.
"Wait a minute, how did…" said Domino.
"Raven Wind's effect comes into play when she battles, and a Synchro Monster is destroyed as a result," replied Curt, "even if said Synchro is herself. I get to Special Summon one of the non-Tuners that was used to summon the defeated monster in the first place."
As the police copters appeared from the city behind them, Domino turned and took off again.
"I end my turn!" cursed the criminal.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
As Curt continued to pursue, a lone figure appeared by the banks of the river near the bridge.
I just love doing this, thought Joka.
He aimed his heavy-duty weapon, the same missile-launcher like device he had used in the Graveyard…
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
As Jabels and Dolores watched, one of the helicopters pursuing the pair was struck by something that made the engine rupture.
"Dear God…" gasped Jabels.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Curt saw it too, and he was closer. He was speechless as he saw it crash.
"You… you bastard!" he shouted.
"Don't blame me," laughed Domino. "I didn't do it!
"Of course, it might not have happened at all if you swine hadn't put your noses where they didn't belong."
"Swine?" shouted Curt. He was about to reach for his holster, but then an incoming message came it.
"I'm here," he said. "Look, you want me to…"
"Keep going, Officer Baker," replied the Inspector. "I'm tempted to authorize use of lethal force right now, but this hood knows something, and we want to know it too.
"As for you… I was also tempted for a while to give you a direct order to abort the chase. But you might say things are very different now."
Curt nodded as he made a draw, his Speed Counters clicking up to 6. "Calling me a pig, huh?" he growled. "You know, I read a story once about a very creative judge in the States. He resisted arrest and called the cop a pig, so you know what the judge did? He made the guy stand on a street corner holding a pig and a sign that said, 'This is not a police officer'."
"Would you prefer skunk?" asked Domino. "Rat? Sheep? Maybe you'd prefer being called an 'ugly giant bag of mostly water'?"
Curt looked at him weird.
"I don't know who you are or where you came from or why you decided to come to our town," he cursed, "but I'm bringing you and your scrap heaps down. I use Speed Spell – Half Seize!"
"Huh?" said Domino, as the shimmering Speed Spell appeared. He looked at Machina Force, as it started to spark and jitter. (2,300 ATK)
"Your monster loses half its Attack Score, and I gain Life Points equal to the amount it lost," said Curt. "Next, I sacrifice Assault Mercenary…"
The lycanthrope turned into an orb of brightness, which folded in upon itself, turning into a watery orb.
"…I'll summon Salvage Warrior!"
With a tremendous crash, a fat, bulky creature landed in front of his bike before flying upwards and ahead, a bulky creature with blue skin, and a bald head covered with knobby protrusions. He wore jeans, work boots, a life jacket, and was holding onto two mooring chains that were hooked to his backpack. (1,900 ATK)
"Now let me show you what he can do…"
Salvage Warrior hurled its chains, and they darted through a shadow in the road ahead. He gave a swift tug, and Comrade Swordsman of Landstar was pulled through, holding onto them. (500 ATK)
"You summoned your Tuner back!" gasped Domino.
"That's right," replied Curt, "and while he does increase the Attack Scores of all my Warriors by 400 points…"
(Comrade Swordsman of Landstar: 900 ATK, Salvage Warrior: 2,300 ATK)
"I'd much rather Synchro Summon again!"
The smaller Warrior flew skyward first, the obese one following, as the sky darkened and the Synchro rings appearing…
"Flesh, muscle, and bone, combined altered microchips and machinery to form the ultimate cybernetic super soldier! A Warrior larger than life, one who can truly be called a GIANT!"
(*3 + * 5 = *8)
"I Synchro Summon… Colossal Fighter!"
With a roar, a huge humanoid creature, three times bigger than Salvage Warrior landed in front of his bike. While still dwarfed by Machina Force, it was ripped and covered with knotted muscles, its biceps and triceps seemingly about to burst as it flexed. (2,800 ATK)
"At current count, I have eight Warriors in my Graveyard right now…"
Eight cards – Warrior Lady of the Wasteland, Big Belly Knight, Zubaba Knight, M-X-Saber Invoker, Raven Wind, Assault Mercenary, Salvage Warrior, and Comrade Swordsman of Landstar – flashed by him.
"And that means the big lug gains 800 points, I know!" replied Domino, clearly not too worried.
(3,600 ATK)
"Now here's something for you to think about, bluebottle," he continued. "You attack Fortress…"
"It will drag Colossal Fighter to the Graveyard with it," said Curt, quietly.
He was very angry now. "Bluebottle" was an old, archaic, and very derogatory term for a British police officer derived from "Cockney rhyming slang"; it was downright insulting, almost as much as "pig".
"Well here's my solution, the Trap Card, Power Nap!"
His set card lifted up, and Colossal Fighter made a heaving yawn. Its Attack Score went down to 2,500.
"What's going on?" shouted Domino.
"Since my monster has more points than all three of yours," replied Curt, "Power Nap brings him down to an Attack Score equal to that of your monster with the highest points. On my next Standby Phase, I'll be able to get rid of the card to gain those points back, plus an equal number extra."
"Wait, hold on…" said Domino.
"But I don't intend to wait that long!" yelled Curt. "Colossal Fighter, clobber Machina Fortress!"
The huge Synchro lunged at the robot, and it fired its weapon again, only for the two forces to collide in a blast that blew them both to flaming wrecks.
"They killed each other!" screamed Domino.
"That's right, and because I have no cards on my field at the moment, Fortress' effect is worthless," said Curt. "Power Nap was destroyed too, because it was set to Colossal Fighter.
"But due to Colossal Fighter's own effect…"
Again with a roar, the Synchro Warrior appeared a second time. (3,600 ATK)
"He's back, and no longer under the influence of the Power Nap. That means he's going to do to Machina Force exactly what he did to its friend!"
"Oh crap, I'm done for!" cried Domino, as Colossal Fighter aimed a punch at the even bigger robot. "But seriously folks…"
He thrust his arm to the side, and his Trap opened.
"I use Deflector Shift!"
As Colossal Fighter aimed a punch at Machina Force's chest, the titan kneeled over in Defense Mode, right before the fist slammed into it. (4,100 DEF) The Synchro stumbled and stepped backwards, holding its fist in pain.
"OW!" cried Curt. "What… What… That really hurt… How…"
"You want to play with the big boys, officer?" said Domino, with an evil glint to his eye. "Then we'll start dueling using the same conditions Judy and I had. Of course, she's half-dragon and tough enough to handle them… It will be very interesting to see how some glorified crossing guard like yourself does."
Can he actually mean… thought Curt. A Shadow Duel?
"As for my Trap Card," continued the criminal, "I've never heard of anyone defending with Machina Force, but it does have a pretty high Score in that area. Good thing your Speed Spell only halved the Attack Score."
(D: 4,600, SPC: 6) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 5,300, SPC: 6)
Damn it… thought Curt.
"Just go…" he said.
"I will," said Domino, "I… draw!"
He made his next draw dramatically.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"An incense burner, Ferd?" whispered Emily.
"You'd be surprised how strong an odor this gives off," he said. "Back in the 1960's, kids used to use burning incense to cover up the smell of another burning material, if you know what I mean.
"Hopefully, this should distract them for a few minutes. Be ready to run to that alcove…"
He lit the incense, and the two of them ducked into the alcove to the side. As Ferd had hoped, the four xill rushed past them to investigate, and the two of them ran into the room once they passed.
Indeed, there were five fonts. One was a big, circular one in the center, and the other four were smaller, triangular, and made up the corners of the room. Each of the small ones had a gargoyles head over them, but they were empty. The one in the center was full.
"The map says there should be a way down into a room below," said Ferdinand, "a trap door or something…"
Emily looked at one of the gargoyles. Then she noticed a switch on the crown of its head, and pushed it. Water started to fill the font.
Ferd realized what she was doing, and clicked the switch on another. Once they had turned them all on and all four started to fill, the center one started to empty. A trap door was in the center.
Emily opened it, and they jumped down into a basement below
Why do I have the feeling I'm in some stupid video game? she thought
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"With seven counters on Speed World," exclaimed Domino, "I'll ditch them all for a second draw!"
His ride started to fall back as he drew again, and a strange monster that looked like a fancy mirror with pipes and metal tubes as a frame. (800 ATK) Then Machina Force stood up, the effect of Half Seize having worn off. (4,600 ATK)
"Thanks to my Healing Wave Generator, I can choose one of my monsters, and gain Life Points equal to its Level times 100. And since Machina Force is Level 10, I gain a thousand points.
"Then I'll pay those thousand Life Points to attack with it! FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
Again, the stream of lethal rockets fired, and Curt's bike shook as Colossal Fighter was reduced to dust.
"GAH!" screamed Curt.
(D: 4,600, SPC: 0) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 4,200, SPC: 7)
He wiped soot off his face. "Once again, I use its effect!"
The Synchro rematerialized, this time holding its head, as if the constant abuse was giving it a bad headache.
"No matter…" said Domino. "I throw a card face-down, and then use Machina Force's other ability, sacrificing it…"
Curt looked up in complete shock as the goliath disappeared. Then Machina Soldier (1,600 ATK), Machina Sniper (1,800 ATK), and Machina Defender (1,800 DEF) all appeared around Domino.
"I think that's enough for now," said the criminal.
"Uh, yeah…" said Curt. He made a draw.
Wasn't expecting that, he thought.
(D: 4,600, SPC: 1) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 4,200, SPC: 8)
He can't possibly have two of them, can he? Well I'm not taking any chances…
"Destroy Commander Covington!" he ordered.
Again, the giant Warrior made a bulrush for the much smaller monster…
"I use the Trap Card, High Rate Draw!" shouted Domino.
Before Curt's unbelieving eyes, all five of the Machines around the criminal were blown into jagged pieces of metal, Colossal Fighter roaring as some of them stabbed into its hide.
"This Trap destroys all of my monsters," explained Domino, "and I get to draw once for each one that was a Machine."
"Five cards?" cursed Curt.
"That's right…" said Domino. He snatched the top five cards from his deck. "And I neglected to mention the other effect of Shoddy Mechanic, because it was holding up one of my Machines, and both it and at least one other Machine was destroyed by the same effect, your monster loses 1,000 Attack Points for each other monster destroyed until the end of the turn. Which means it's reduced to a big goose egg."
(0 ATK)
"Then it's your move…" said Curt, through his teeth.
"Why so angry, copper?" laughed Domino again. He drew another card. "Folks in your profession wonder why you suffer from stress, burnout, high turnover rates, depression…"
(D: 4,600, SPC: 2) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 4,200, SPC: 9)
"You need a hobby or something…"
"I don't recall it being any of your business!" shouted Curt.
"Yeah, well…" said Domino. "I summon Machina Gearframe!"
In a flash, a thin, humanoid robot with an orange helmet, torso, forearms, and calves appeared, striking a pose. (1,800 ATK)
Oh no, thought Curt. That guy lets him pull any Machina he wants from his deck.
"I know what you're thinking, and it's not the Machina you assume," said Domino, holding up a card.
He played a Speed Spell, and it appeared.
"My Speed Counters may only be at two, but Speed Spell – Drag Racer is a little complicated. I get to Special Summon a Machine from my hand, that matches your monster's Level, but with only two Speed Counters, both the Type and Attribute have to be different…
"I know, I know, but like I said, this isn't Fortress. This one better."
There was a thousand decibel roar of sound behind them as a Machine just as big as Machina Force blasted over them using a jetpack. It slowly lowered, hovering in front of them.
"Meet Machina Megaform!"
Who the devil builds these things? thought Curt.
Indeed, this device could only have been thought up by someone who was crazy. It was as if someone had turned Machina Fortress on its side, then welded Machina Gearframe and Machina Peacekeeper to it to create a mess that looked vaguely humanoid. Fortress' tank treads now served as shoulder joints, the cannon mounted on the left shoulder. (2,600 ATK)
"Don't like it, do you?" asked Domino.
"NO," replied Curt.
"Fine, Megaform, go away."
Curt's eyes nearly popped out of his head as the huge Machine disappeared into binary ones and zeroes.
"You saw right, I sacrificed it," said Domino. "Know why?"
With a crash, Machina Fortress landed on the field between them. (2,500 ATK)
"Because I can summon any Machina from my deck that I want!" he laughed. "Well, except Force, naturally…
"…for now...
"Next, I'll Union Equip Gearframe to Fortress."
Gearframe did a flip, and landed on the larger Machina. Wires spread from its fingers, plugging into ten ports.
Finally, Domino set two cards, and then flashed face-down in his Spell Zone.
"Come and get me!" he dared.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Stupid cops," chuckled Joka.
He rammed the lever of his weapon, fully reloading it.
"You think they'd give up after one of them crashed…"
He took aim through the crosshairs. "Wonder if I could bring down two at once here…"
Then, to his surprise, something blocked his aim.
"WHA?" he shouted.
What looked like an orange wreath with green ribbons fluttering in the air with white, feathered wings. (1,400 ATK)
"Nova Summoner?" he said, puzzled.
He moved the gun to the left, but the Duel Monster moved left too, continuing to block him. He lowered the weapon.
"SHO!" he shouted, waving his hand. "Scram! Beat it!"
No answer.
"Okay wise guy…" he muttered. He drew another weapon from his side holster. "Suck on this!"
He fired, and the small Fairy exploded in a burst of orange feathers.
"Dumb Fairy…" he sneered. He holstered the weapon. "Now…"
Then, to his shock, another Nova Summoner appeared.
"Okay, you're making me angry, you little…" He aimed again.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
In a dark room, a man sat at a desk, with a standard tabletop dueling mat in front of him, and a deck in the normal place.
At the moment Joka fired, he quickly took the Nova Summoner card from the Monster Zone and moved it to the Graveyard, then leafed through his deck, and took a third Nova Summoner . In a weird simulation of a Special Summoning, he placed it where the second had been.
"I often wonder, Joka," said the man, as he shuffled quickly, "have you ever met a foe who does not make you angry?
"Your rage has always been your greatest strength… But your greatest weakness as well."
He watched the assassin fired a third time. He discarded the third one, and replaced it with a Shining Angel.
"Let us see how tenacious you are."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Curt drew a card, and his D-Wheel started to accelerate like never before.
(D: 4,600, SPC: 3) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 4,200, SPC: 10)
With my Speed Counters at 10, I could use Speed World's third effect, he thought, but Machina Fortress has Gearframe as a Union Monster, so if I tried to destroy it that way, it would survive by getting rid of Gearframe.
Colossal Fighter is stronger, but… this time, attacking Fortress would kill Fighter too…
"Alright, just like you, I'm using the second effect of Speed World to draw once…"
He fell behind slightly as he made a draw.
Hey… he thought. This changes everything!
"Come and get you?" he said. "My pleasure!
"First, I'll send my Assault Beast here to the Graveyard, in order to take a… specific Trap from my deck."
"Huh?" said Domino, as Curt discarded the Beast-Warrior. "What are you…"
"I'm gonna show you how we do things downtown, you freakshow," answered Curt. "First, I'm setting this Trap Card, then I'm calling Night Wing Sorceress for backup."
The card set, and then two spooky, female eyes appeared behind him. A dark lady in a black dress with long, platinum hair, pale skin, and black feathered wings fluttered behind Colossal Fighter. (1,300 ATK)
"Colossal Fighter, junk that Machine!"
"I activate, Draining Shield!" laughed Domino, as he threw his hand out. Colossal Fighter's paw jammed into an invisible field, and Domino cackled.
"Thanks for the power boost, nimrod!" he chortled.
(D: 8,200, SPC: 3) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 4,200, SPC: 3)
"You're welcome," said Curt, "but the best is yet to come. You see, because I have Night Wing Sorceress on the field, well, you know that 'specific Trap Card' I searched for?"
The Spellcaster put her hands in a praying position, and started to chant. Then, the Trap lifted up.
"I get to activate it right away! Assault Mode Activate!"
Colossal Fighter lifted his fist to the heavens and lightning flashed, as Speed World 2 turned into a warp tunnel of scintillating lights. It grew to half-again its size, and armor started to fit over its cybernetic bodysuit with clashing sounds as each piece appeared in place.
Within minutes, Colossal Fighter barely looked like the same Warrior at all. A metallic blue breastplate, armored greaves, and gauntlets protected it, and a massive winged jetpack was fit on its back, with odd metal tubes leading to a blue helmet with a visor.
The hulking Warrior grinned and pointed at Domino and his mechanical beast as an inferno erupted behind Curt's bike… (3,300 ATK)
"You summoned its Assault Mode form!" gasped Domino.
"Well, duh," said Curt. "Why do you think I had Assault Mercenary? Anyway, simply by summoning Colossal Fighter/Assault Mode, I can send two Warriors from my deck to my Graveyard."
He quickly tossed the two cards into the chute under him.
"…which brings the total number of Warriors there to eleven, meaning your monsters all lose 1,100 Attack Points."
Machina Fortress groaned and trembled. (1,400 ATK)
"So my powered up Fighter can really hit one home! Attack Machina Fortress with Iron Knuckle Crusher!"
"Err… I use Gearframe to protect Machina Fortress!" yelled Domino.
As the huge Warrior drew its fists back, Gearframe ripped its hands out of the ports and threw itself in front of the larger Machine, only to be crushed by the massive fist. Still, Domino's bike spun in a complete circle as the whole highway shook.
(D: 6,300, SPC: 3) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 4,200, SPC: 3)
"Unfortunately, it's still slightly stronger than Sorceress," said Curt, "so I'm ending my turn now, and…"
"Not yet youaren't!" cursed Domino.
His fist slammed down on his console, and one of the Trap Cards on his side of the field turned up and forward. Curt couldn't help but be a little shocked. It was Destruct Potion.
He ducked and covered his face with his right arm as a piece of what might have been one of its camshafts narrowly missed his head.
"You trashed your monster?" asked Curt.
"And I not only gain 2,500 Life Points," replied Domino, "but by banishing one of the two Machina Fortresses that are now in my Graveyard…"
A dark pit opened in the road ahead, and Machina Megaform rocketed out. (2,600 ATK)
"Terrific…" muttered Curt. "It still loses Attack Points because of my monster.
(1,500 ATK)
My biggest surprise is coming up, thought Domino, but this is really going to throw a wrench in it…
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Patience had never been Joka's strong suit, and tonight didn't seem to be doing much to change that. The three Shining Angels, had given way to three UFOroids, which in turn had given way to three UFO Turtles, and right now Joka was on his second Masked Dragon and, it seemed, the very limits of his self-control. The police helicopters were well out of range of anything he had brought by now, but he had forgotten about his mission about four minutes ago. (Which was five minutes after he stopped caring about it.)
"Will... you... stop... fricking... summoning... more... monsters?!" He screamed emphasizing each word with another stab before finally the Masked Dragon groaned and shattered like broken glass.
In the dark room, the man placed the third Masked Dragon on the mat, and then a set card behind it.
"Time to see if he's really stubborn enough to go through them all," he remarked.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Domino paused before he drew.
If I don't get something good here, I'm toast… he thought. I can only do this once, but then, now's as good a time as any…
He stopped, then accelerated and swerved, pulling his D-Wheel to the left of Curt.
"What?" said the cop.
Domino didn't answer, the reason was, in fact, to make sure Curt didn't see his deck, which was glowing with a metallic blue light, particularly at the very top. His visor glowed with the same light.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
In the Astral Plane, the dimension of thought, a flat digital surface formed, suspended in the void. Another surface intersected it at the Y axis, and a third at the Z. All three planes formed a grid pattern, and in each square, colored lights flashed, showing the numerous portals to everywhere and every-when.
The viewer scanned them all quickly, with speed that a mortal mind was incapable of…
Then the viewer noticed it… An uncolored square…
It would do… The viewer's gaze locked on it…
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Finally, Domino drew.
(D: 8,700, SPC: 4) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 4,200, SPC: 4)
He didn't look his foe in the face or say anything, he simply put the card aside for a minute as a Trap in front of him lifted up and turned to face forward.
"First I use the Trap Card, No NOMI" he said. "You know what a NOMI is, I take it?"
Curt simply lifted his helmet visor to look at him.
"I'll take the angry glare as a yes," snarked Domino. "Anyway, for the cost of 2,000 more Life Points, I can select a monster in my hand, deck, and Graveyard that I normally couldn't Special Summon from there because of NOMI conditions, and then for this turn only, disregard those conditions."
"That's crazy!" shouted Curt. "You mean you could use that card to break the rules and… Discard a Gate Guardian with Foolish Burial and then summon it with Monster Reborn?"
"Now listen here," said Domino, sounding serious for a change. "Some people will tell you that rules were made to be broken. That's a lie. But… By studying rules, you can avoid them, so they don't hinder you and prevent you from getting what you want."
"So now that that I've used that Trap, I can indeed summon Machina Force with Machina Megaform's effect!"
The Megaform dissolved for the second time, and Curt, still in shock, watched as Machina Force loomed in front of them. (4,600 ATK) –) (3,500 ATK)
"I could use this on that big guy, but what rush?" He pointed to Night Wing Sorceress. "Eat hot burning death!"
The missiles fired, and the winged dark witch screamed. It was all Curt could do to keep from screaming too, not just from the pain… He saw them… Shadowy, clawed hands by his feet and legs, making weak grabs. He couldn't feel anything, but as the duel was progressing, they were making their presence known more and more as his Life Points went down…
(D: 5,700, SPC: 4) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 2,000, SPC: 4)
Domino grinned again.
"You know why I run Machina Force?" he asked. "The same reason there will always be people who try and summon Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth, Gate Guardian, and every other near-impossible-to-summon card out there. To show that we can.
"To show that we're so far beyond our opponent we can pull off some of the hardest strategies in the game and still walk all over their faces so they understand just how out of their league we really are. Machina Force isn't just a powerhouse, it's a symbol of my superiority as a duelist!"
"Really?" asked Curt. "Gosh and here I thought you were just trying to compensate for a dick the size of a safety pin."
The look Domino gave Curt was somewhere between jaw dropping surprise and homicidal rage.
"Look jackass," said the officer, "you wanna prove you're a superior duelist? Here's a tip, you don't use Shadow Magic on a teenager you're trying to blackmail. You know the reason why most people don't run those cards? It's because no matter how impressive an accomplishment it might be, and credit due that thing's not that easy to summon, there's a big difference between summoning it, and using it to win.
"Sure I'd be impressed if I was dueling someone who managed to summon Gate Guardian or Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth, but it's questionable exactly how well either of them would hold up these days when three grand and above beatsticks are a dime a dozen.
"So if you're trying to convince people that pulling off a move like that makes you any better than me, I'd say the only one you're really fooling is yourself."
Domino simply narrowed his eyes his voice thick with bile. "So tell me, you write your own speeches or do you just parrot back anything you read in one of Yugi Muto's biographies?"
Curt smirked. "Little from column A, little from Column B."
Domino deftly set two more cards, then smirked. "Just move, okay?" he called.
Curt drew and turned the card so he could see it.
Well, that one might work, he thought, but if it doesn't, I'm in trouble…
"Having trouble deciding?" asked Domino. "Here, let me help you… I use the Trap Card, Compulsory Evacuation Device!"
As the Trap lifted, a mass of chains sprang out of nowhere and seized the huge Warrior. They hurled him into the air, and he vanished into sparkling motes, as the card appeared with Curt's other four. Domino started to laugh hysterically.
"Know why Assault Mode never really caught on?" he laughed. "Because you have to summon it from the deck! If you're unlucky enough to actually draw it, well, there's really not much you can do with it then. Unless, of course, you have a No NOMI of your own, which I'm pretty sure you don't."
Curt said nothing. He simply used all four of the other cards, and Warrior Lady of the Wasteland appeared again (clearly a second copy) then three set cards. (1,100 ATK)
"Your move…" he said, softly.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Was Joka stubborn enough?
Indeed, he was. Far away, Joka let out a scream as the third and final Masked Dragon exploded into bits.
Standing there with his arms at his sides, he looked around and panted as he dropped the knives, the various clicks whirrs and squeaks that always seemed to emanate from within his figure getting slower. He started to fumble for a flask on his belt.
"God-dammit..." he mused. "They better cover all the hardware I'm wasting on this cannon-fodder. Stuff ain't cheap… Although maybe I can get them to charge extra for all these dead Duel Spirits..."
As he stood there mumbling to himself he failed to notice the broken shards of the last Masked Dragon suddenly coalesce into a great pulsing shadow... That is until a ghastly clawed hand reached out from the darkness and tapped Joka on the shoulder.
Joka groaned having just lifted the flask to the fanged mouth part of his mask. "Oh for the love of... is a moment's fucking peace really that much... to... ask... for?"
Joka didn't really so much have eyes as large burning balls of flame deep within the sockets of his mask, but even these shrank to a rather comically small size at the sight of a twelve foot tall Chaos Necromancer looming over him. (0 ATK)
"No fair!" yelled Joka. "Since when can Masked Dragon summon Fiends?"
He got no answer… No verbal one anyway, only the demon raising its claws with the phantoms of every single monster he had just destroyed gathered behind it giving him very nasty looks (4,500 ATK)
"Oh fuck me with a spork..."
The ensuing explosion could be seen for almost a mile and heard for almost three, as was the strange, screaming comet that was hurled far off into the distance before landing with a loud earth-shaking thud and, had anyone been around to hear it and possessed truly exceptional hearing, a very soft whimper of pain.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
In the dark room, the strange man held up the Code Change Quickplay card.
He shuffled the Quickplay Spell Card, the three Nova Summoners, three Shining Angels, three UFOroids, three UFO Turtles, three Masked Dragons, and one Chaos Sorcerer, into the deck.
He shook his head, sadly.
"As your ally just said," he muttered, "if one knows how the rules work, they can be avoided, manipulated, and at times, even changed with ease so that they only benefit you."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"You don't really think I'm going to waste a thousand of my Life Points on her, do you?" asked Domino.
Another Trap flipped around, revealing Call of the Haunted. There was a blinding flash, and Machina Fortress returned. (2,500 ATK)
"Great Caesar's Ghost…" gasped Curt.
"You're finished!" gloated Domino, as the Fortress aimed its weapon. "Attack Warrior Lady of the Wasteland with De-Fission Laser!"
The weapon aimed, and powerful energy beam fired, honing in on the female Warrior…
…but then, from out of nowhere, a bare-chested Warrior with a spear and shield appeared in front of her, attempting to block the blast. He couldn't manage it, and the ray incinerated both of them…
But…
(D: 5,700, SPC: 5) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 2,000, SPC: 5)
"HEY, wait just a minute!" shouted the criminal, "since when was Shield Warrior in your Graveyard."
"Since I put it there," replied Curt. "Remember?"
"Uh…" said Domino. "Wait…"
That's when it hit him.
"Simply by summoning Colossal Fighter/Assault Mode, I can send two Warriors from my deck to my Graveyard."
"Oh yeah…" he muttered.
"But because Warrior Lady of the Wasteland was destroyed by battle anyway," replied Curt. He held his hand forward, and Spell Striker flew from the vortex in a spiraling pattern.
Domino said nothing, but he did growl a bit.
"Going to attack?" said Curt. "Are you willing to 'waste Life Points' on this one, even though I won't take any damage at all."
His answer came with a round of missiles that blew the small Warrior to vapor.
"Big deal!" goaded Domino. "I end my turn, but what now? All you have now is that big meathead's card that you can't even use."
"You're dead wrong," said Curt. Then he drew one card.
(D: 4,700, SPC: 6) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 2,000, SPC: 6)
He shivered for a minute, then his last Trap activated.
"Reckless Greed!" he announced. "I draw twice, but…"
"But after that, for the next two turns, you're in trouble!" laughed Domino. "Assuming you last that long."
Not bothering to respond, Curt drew twice.
Then he played one of them, and a second Assault Mercenary appeared in front of his bike. (1,800 ATK)
"I'll get to him in a minute," he said, "right after I use this card."
Another of his Traps lifted up with a spin.
"It's a Trap and a monster, Copy Knight!"
A humanoid floated out of the card that was… Well, a knight. A very atypical and plain-looking knight in shining armor with a sword and crest-shaped shield. (0 ATK)
"And his Level becomes the same as Assault Mercenary's, 4. Speaking of which, time to show you what this guy can do. I have to return that Assault Mode Activate card I used earlier back to my deck…"
He slipped the card in his deck, and as the auto-shuffle started to work, Mercenary fired up the chainsaw.
"Now Mercenary can destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field, and I know just the right one."
He pointed at Machina Fortress, and the lycanthrope leapt once, twice, three times over the highway, over Fortress' "head", and then sawed through the Call of the Haunted Trap Card.
"NO!" screamed Domino. But it was too late. Mercenary leapt clear as Fortress itself shattered.
"I'm gonna…" he said.
"Save it…" replied Curt "You were right about one thing, partially. The nasty handicap Assault Mode monsters have is what kept them from catching on. But… This particular one I can still use even now."
"Yeah, how exactly are you gonna summon it now?" asked Domino.
"I'm not going to," replied Curt. "I'm going to open the Overlay Network, and use my Level 4 Assault Mercenary and Copy Knight…"
The vortex opened above the two bikes again, and the bestial Warrior and the delicate one both leapt upwards into it…
"I Xyz Summon Zubaba General!"
Another armored Warrior dropped from the portal, making a perfect four-point landing, upon mid-air it seemed, rushing alongside Curt's bike. Like Zubaba Knight, it was a fully armored Warrior, but taller, broader, bulkier, and with silver plate armor, holding a very large two-handed sword.
"Zu-ba-ba-ba…" he said, in a much deeper tone. (2,000 ATK)
"He doesn't look like much," continued Curt, "but by detaching an Overlay Unit, I can equip him with any Warrior-Type monster from my hand."
He flipped Colossal Fighter/Assault Mode around.
"Like this one. And then, Zubaba General gains Attack Points equal to that Warrior's base Attack Points."
A globe of light was absorbed into Zubaba General's sword, and Curt threw Colossal Fighter/Assault Mode's card on his Spell Zone behind Zubaba General's card. (5,300 ATK)
"Five-thousand, three-hundred?" gasped Domino.
Even as he said this, he was startled to hear more police sirens. They were catching up.
"But this is going to end bad," said Curt. "First, I use Speed Spell – Overboost. It gives me four extra Speed Counters now, so long as I reduce them to 1 at the end of the turn."
Flames spouted from his mufflers, as his Counters shot up to 10 and he swerved past Domino.
"And finally… Speed Spell – Final Attack!"
As the card appeared, Zubaba General slowly swung its sword in a circle, tracing an outline of flames… (10,600 ATK)
"Destroy Machina Force!"
The Xyz Warrior made a great leap towards the colossus, bringing its sword down and knocking it backwards and over. Machina Force crashed ahead of them, shaking the highway as it did so.
"You fool…" laughed Domino.
(D: 2,700, SPC: 6) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 2,000, SPC: 10)
"I had one Trap left, you oversized Boy Scout, Nutrient Z! So I'm still in this, but your monster won't last another turn.
"Don't' you get it, fool? You lost, you failed, you're finished! And I'm…"
"About to get your ass handed to you," interrupted Curt, "I use Wild Tornado!"
His final Trap opened, and a strong wind ripped over the highway.
"Now I can destroy one of my Spell or Trap Cards, and I'll choose the monster equipped to Zubaba General."
The card in the Spell Zone shattered, and the road rumbled again.
"And because Colossal Fighter/Assault Mode was just destroyed…"
There was another roar, and the normal Colossal Fighter burst out of the pavement again. (2,800 ATK)
"NO FAIR!" shouted Domino. "You can't just…"
"As far as technicalities are concerned," said Curt, interrupting again, "the text of an Assault Mode monster's card just says it has to be destroyed while on the field. Nothing else. It doesn't say it has to be summoned as a monster first or where on the field it has to be. It doesn't specify which Colossal Fighter you have to summon either.
"And besides, who ever said life was fair?
"Now, time for a recount. Since last time, my Graveyard has had a net gain of two Warriors."
(4,100 ATK)
"Not that it matters…"
Domino stepped on the gas and tried to speed away from the huge creature, but it simply grabbed the seat of the D-Wheel, and the back wheel skidded. Then it gave a backhand slap, and Domino's front tire blew. He went into a spin before finally crashing against the wall and tumbling off his bike, just as the rest of the police force drove up.
(D: 0, SPC: 0) - - - - - - - - - - (C: 2,000, SPC: 10)
Curt slammed on his breaks, and behind him, both Jalal and a police officer wearing Sergeant's stripes dismounted their own vehicles. Curt ran over to the now prone duelist.
"Hey!" he said. "You okay? Someone call an ambulance!"
He bent down to take a pulse. "Dear God, I didn't mean to hit him that…"
Then the hand came off at the wrist, and he let out a holler as it fell and cracked.
"Huh?" he said.
"He's a Duelbot?" asked the Sergeant.
"Sure looks that way…" said Jalal.
"I was dueling an overgrown calculator?" asked Curt, hardly able to believe it.
Indeed, Domino's arm fell off now… And small, pretty stones were falling from the stump.
"Seems like one expensive 'calculator'," said the Sergeant.
"Are those…" asked Curt. Jalal picked up a few of them.
"Gemstones…" he said. "Rubies, sapphires, emeralds… diamonds… A fortune! If his entire body is full of them…"
He dropped them.
"Who… what… was this guy?" asked the Sergeant.
"Well I sure as hell want to find out as much as you do…" replied the leader of the Shadowchasers. "We can analyze it and…"
Then the communication beacon on his Duel Disk started to beep. He looked at it, then hit the audial-only setting.
"Go ahead, Mr. Amore," he said, keeping his voice down and turning away.
"I've just spoken to the museum curator, Mr. Stormbringer," said Voltaire, "and I have good news and bad news, I'm afraid. I may know where our friend Mr. Drumer may be headed."
"And the bad news?" asked Jalal.
"That is the bad news," replied Voltaire. "First of all, the curator confirmed that the journal did indeed belong to Benedict Arnold, but it didn't appear to be anything but an officer's logbook. It didn't seem to have any incriminating evidence that may have cleared the man of treason…
"The two pages he tore out… Well, when a written work is analyzed at the museum, copying it with a word processor is the first thing they do, so it was relatively easy to see what was on those two pages…
"I believe Drumer is heading for the old farm near Providence that we investigated in 1967. You know, the one where you-know-who found you-know-what with you-don't-want-to-know?"
"Terrific…" sighed Jalal. "Just when I thought this headache was going away. No news on Yolanda or Ramon yet?"
"I'm afraid not," said Voltaire. "I can go take a look at the old place…"
"Not just now," cautioned Jalal. "I'll see if Ms. Nyte and Mr. Luthor are available to back you up…
"We may need them there for a similar reason as last time…"
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
CYBER REPAIRER (Trap Card)
Normal Trap
Image: Several mechanical arms fixing a machine.
Card Description: Your opponent draws 1 card. This turn, Machine-Type Monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle.
Note: "Cyber Repairer" first appeared in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode "Tough Love".
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
CODE CHANGE (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: A papyrus scroll being written in kanji with a brush.
Card Description: Declare 1 Type of monster, and choose 1 face-up card on the field that includes a Type in its effect text. The Type written on that card's effect is assumed to be the one you declared until the End Phase of the current turn.
Note: "Cyber Repairer" first appeared in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode #180.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
SPEED SPELL – FINAL ATTACK (Spell Card)
Normal Speed Spell
Image: The Big Core being attacked by several Vic Vipers while in orbit over a planet.
Card Description: Activate only when you have 8 or more Speed Counters. Select 1 monster you control, and double its ATK. This turn, the selected monster is the only monster that can attack, and it is destroyed during the End Phase of the turn.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
SPEED SPELL – OVERBOOST (Spell Card)
Normal Speed Spell
Image: Four golden stars flying through the void of Speed World.
Card Description: You gain 4 Speed Counters. At the end of the turn, reduce your Speed Counters to 1.
Note: "Speed Spell – Overboost" and "Speed Spell – Final Attack" were both first used in the Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds episode "Fortune Cup Finale".
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
SPEED SPELL – HALF SEIZE (Spell Card)
Normal Speed Spell
Image: A globe of pulsating green and blue energy.
Card Description: Activate only when you have 3 or more Speed Counters. Select 1 monster your opponent controls and reduce its ATK by half until the End Phase of the turn; if you do, increase your Life Points by the amount lost by the selected monster.
Note: "Speed Spell – Half Seize was first used in the Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds episode "Destiny's Will (Part 2)".
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
HIGH RATE DRAW (Trap Card)
Normal Trap
Image: A hand reaching out of a stagnant, dark swamp to reach for a shimmering Duel Monsters card floating down.
Card Description: Destroy all monsters you control; draw 1 card for each Machine-Type monster destroyed in this manner.
Note: "High Rate Draw" was first used in the Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds episode 147.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
NO NOMI (Trap Card)
Continuous Trap
Image: A Goblin Calligrapher erasing the words "cannot be Special Summoned" from the text of an unidentified Effect Monster Card.
Card Description: Upon activation, pay 2,000 Life Points and select a monster in your hand, deck, or Graveyard that either cannot be Special Summoned at all from its current location, or must be Special Summoned via its own effect. This turn, whatever effects or conditions prevents the Special Summon of the selected monster from its current location is disregarded. If this card leaves the field, banish the selected monster.
"No NOMI" first appeared in Shadowchasers: City of Angels. Credit goes to MichaelDJ54
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
RAVEN WIND (Monster Card)
Warrior/Wind/Synchro/Effect/2,200ATK/2,000DEF
Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monster
Effect: When this card of an opposing Synchro Monster it battles is destroyed by battle, you may Special Summon 1 of the non-Tuner monsters that was used for the Special Summoning of this card from your Graveyard. Its effect is negated.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
DEFLECTOR SHIFT (Trap Card)
Normal Trap
Image: Robotic Knight defending himself from an angry Gagagigo with the Magnum Shield.
Card Description: Activate when your Machine-Type monster is targeted by an attack; this card is then treated as an Equip Spell that is equipped to that monster. The equipped monster is moved to Defense Position, and cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn. If the equipped monster moves to Attack Position, destroy this card.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
SHODDY MECHANIC (Trap Card)
Continuous Trap
Image: Magical Scientist looking puzzled at the pieces of a Kinetic Soldier that has been taken apart.
Card Description: Select 1 Level 4 or lower Machine-Type monster from your Graveyard and Special Summon it in Attack Position. The selected monster cannot attack or move to Defense Position, and cannot be used for a Tribute, or for a Synchro or Xyz Summoning. If this card leaves the field, destroy the selected monster. If the selected monster leaves the field, destroy this card. If the selected monster is destroyed by a card effect that destroys at least 1 other Machine-Type monster, choose 1 monster on the field. That monster loses 1,000 Attack Points for each Machine-Type monster destroyed by the effect except the selected monster.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
POWER NAP (Trap Card)
Normal Trap
Image: Slacker Magician pulling herself off her couch with a sour look on her face as Alchemic Magician storms out the door behind her. (This seems to be the scene after the one on "Xyz Tribalrivals".)
Card Description: Activate only during your turn when you control only 1 monster and that monster has higher ATK than any of your opponents' monsters. Reduce the ATK of your monster to a Score equal to the ATK of your opponent's monster with the highest ATK. During any of your Standby Phases, you may send this card to the Graveyard to increase the ATK of the reduced monster's ATK to the amount it had before this card's activation, and if you do, you may then increase it again by the same amount. If the reduced monster leaves the field, destroy this card.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
SPEED SPELL – DRAG RACER (Spell Card)
Normal Speed Spell
Image: Destiny Hero Dasher and Ambulance Rescueroid racing down a highway through the void of Speed World.
Card Description: You must have at least 2 Speed Counters to activate this card. Select 1 monster your opponent controls, and Special Summon 1 monster (from your hand) that is the same Level of the selected monster. If you have 4 or less Speed Counters, you cannot Summon a monster with the same Type OR the same Attribute as your opponent's monster. If you have 2 Speed Counters, you cannot Summon a monster with the same Type OR the same Attribute as your opponent's monster.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Jemorille: One crisis has been halted, but not without cost. There had been casualties to apprehend this one, including the occupants of one police helicopter. And it seemed no information would come out of Domino.
Indeed, a new question had come up: What WAS Domino? An android with innards of gemstones? Jalal had never encountered such a thing.
And now, Drumer was causing trouble again…
But that will be addressed later. For now, more was happening across the English Channel, as this day that most associated with the events of this conflict would not soon forget continued…
"Scarborough Fair" is coming soon.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Shadowchaser Files: Organizations
The Skurra; Power of Silence
Okay, mimes. People don't seem to like them, and this aversion can be exaggerated a lot in fiction. Why? Maybe the reason is simply that, much like some clowns, mimes just don't get the hint when you're in not in the mood for their act and wish they'd bother someone else.
In recent years, however, one group of mimes has caught the eye of both Shadowchasers and other Awares. No-one is certain if this group of about eighteen is an extended family, a clan, or even a group of restless spirits. They're called the Skurra, and they appear at carnivals, county fairs, and circuses – often without approval of the establishment's owners – performing for any money they can get before moving on in a few days, tops.
What makes them especially creepy is the fact that, while most mimes don't speak during their performance, the Skurra never speak, period. They never remove their makeup either, applying it frequently to make certain their faces are always covered.
Why the odd behavior? Ask Madame Fortuna, she knows, and this elderly fortuneteller always seems to have a booth at whatever place the Skurra are performing.
According to Fortuna, the Skurra are hiding. Once a clan of rare Shadowkind called dark folk, possibly related to the Voodan, Chicken Bone's people, they once explored the Tower of the Arcanoloths on Gehenna, and stole of tome of the darkest magic. It was cold comfort. The book was too dangerous to use, but also too dangerous to throw away, and its owners were looking for them to take it back.
Legends tell horrid, gruesome stories of the fates of thieves who steal from the arcanoloths…
Fortunately, one of them knew of a solution. The white face-paint, which Fortuna calls Skurra-verra, makes them invisible to fiends and protects them from demonic magic. But it doesn't mask their voices. As long as they wear the stuff and never speak, they – and the dark tome they protect – are safe. (And before anyone asks, no, they won't sell it; it doesn't work for other races anyway.)
The Skurra are not a violent group, but should one of them be killed, the murderer faces of very specific punishment should he fall into their hands. The murderer is restrained (usually tied up) and each surviving Skurra is given a dagger, then allowed to stab the murderer once. If he dies, fine, if he lives, they let him go, and if he survives long enough to get help before he bleeds to death, they put it behind them.
There seem to be about twenty Skurra – they might recruit new members, possibly, but some notable members are listed below:
Dominique: Some have half-jokingly claimed that Dominique, recognizable by his fedora and black star painted around his left eye, is a "dark, gloomy brother of Harpo Marx", but it's inaccurate. (Dominique plays an old-fashioned lute rather than a harp, which is often accompanied by another of the Skurra playing a drum or flute.) His haunting music can draw a crowd quickly with tunes that seem to be magic.
Naturally, they are magic. Much like Penelope, he can channel bardic magic through the melody, often using it to calm anyone with hostile thoughts. If that fails, he has far more powerful bardic magic available, able to hypnotize people, telekinetically move objects, and according to one witness, create illusions.
Philippe: For some reason, nobody ever expects a mime to be very tough. Stereotypically, they tend to be thin, spindly fellows. Philippe is a big, bulky guy, who could likely get a job as a circus strongman if Fate hadn't chosen his path differently. With black diamonds painted over both eyes and an outfit that usually consists of overalls, his act is partially acrobatic and usually involves a smaller member of the troop, or even two, usually Rose and/or another female member whom he can lift easily.
Naturally, Philippe is the most martial member of the group, and protects the others like a big brother (which he might actually be to some of them). He seems to be far stronger than any normal man has a right to be, but whether the cause is inborn or supernatural is unknown.
Rose: Quite possibly the only member of the troop that is potentially dangerous, Rose is a beautiful woman who seems to be in her early thirties with long, raven hair and an outfit with a daringly-plunging neckline. Her face-paint is accented by a black, painted rose on her cheek.
Rose suffers from a mild insanity that gives her wild mood swings that border on schizophrenic. She often flirts with handsome young men (as well as she can while keeping her vow of silence) and if they show interest, often tries to lead them to a secluded spot. If he touches her, however, the mood swing happens, and her affection turns to rage, lashing out at the poor guy in a voiceless fury with whatever she can find to hit him with, or her bare hands if there's nothing.
Fortunately, the other Skurra learned about her condition a long time ago, and they know enough to look for her if ten minutes go by and she's not accounted for. Usually, they manage to find her with a potential victim before anything bad happens, and wrestling her to the ground is easy then. So far, Rose hasn't killed anyone (yet).
Exactly why Rose has been allowed to stay with the group isn't clear, but the others seem to sympathize with her, because she may be the only one whom their foes were able to reach. M may be proof of this.
Marcel: Rose's son, Marcel is ten years old, and his birth signaled the start of his mother's violent mood swings. Madame Fortuna applied the Skurra-verra to his face the day he was born, but it may have been too late; either the Skurra's dark foes found his mother due to him being in her womb, or… They were behind his conception. To put it bluntly, the father's identity isn't known, and some wonder whether or not some dark seducer was behind it.
Still, Marcel does seem rather friendly. He doesn't engage in any actual mime act, preferring juggling when called on to entertain. Some suspect him of filching small things from souvenir stands at carnivals, but most carnies look the other way if they see him at all. (They quickly learn not to make the other Skurra angry.)
The Organ Grinder: He has no name, and he's exactly what his name implies, at least most of the time, and were it not for the Skurra-verra, he'd seem like any other organ grinder; a performer in a tuxedo and derby hat who played a barrel organ, with a pet monkey.
Of course, what makes him – the de facto leader of the troop – unique is that he's an actual wizard. Having perfected the incredibly difficult magical skill of somatic mastery, he can cast any spell using only his hands (most wizards have to use gestures and speak magical incantations).
It's unknown just how powerful he is, but one witness claimed he used the moderately advanced wizard's spell Hold Monster, meaning he's at least of intermediate skill.
As to why he's the most agreed-upon leader, it probably has to do with the fact that he's able to communicate with non-Skurra better. While he doesn't talk any more than the others, a simple nod or nudge can often get his intention across, and he can often hold an entire conversation without saying a thing. Much like Kevin Smith's "Silent Bob" character, he can speak volumes with silence.
Story Suggestions: Whether the Skurra are interpreted as victims or atoners, no-one can deny that they're creepy. As such, they fit best in a fic with a darker tone and a sense of foreboding; more Gothic Horror than Sword and Sorcery.
The biggest part of the plot regarding any story they appear in would be the nature of the book they stole and just what's in it. If the yugoloths are so dead-set on getting it back and they were never keen on using it themselves, then clearly no good can ever come from it. It could possibly be the original draft of The Book of Keeping, in which case both Red Shroud and Xideous (among others) would want it, or it could possibly be one of the two sets of Nether Scrolls (in which case every evil wizard in creation would want them). The Skurra are willing to die before telling anyone what it is (or where it is) and it's very possible that Marcel's father tried to use seduction to get the information from Rose. But it should be obvious that no good can likely come out of it.
It's very easy to combine the Skurra with the Cirque de Moitié or the Fellowship of Galatea (or even both) giving the entire fic a carnival setting. (Why do the Skurra perform? They may be the self-appointed guardians of a Book of Forbidden Knowledge, but they still have to eat.)
For those interested in using this group, movies like Something Wicked this Way Comes and Freaks can give you a general idea. (Or The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, if you can find it.) Diehard authors might want to look for the novel Carnival of Fear by J. Robert King. (But be warned; while the book is set in the Ravenloft setting of Dungeons & Dragons, a lot of fans of the setting have been disappointed in this book, as it breaks the tradition of Ravenloft, being more of a murder mystery than a Gothic Horror. Still, it is useful for this purpose.)