As I've said before, I do not, under any circumstances, claim innocence in a problem that causes distrust and paranoia. As a rilmani, I've had to orchestrate a few conspiracy theories of my own for the purpose of maintaining the Balance of the Universe. My people have always prided our ability to manipulate those of weaker minds, using disguise, subterfuge, propaganda, and other covert methods to hinder whichever side has tipped the Balance too much in their favor.
I've often compared this to chess, but to some, it more resembles one of those puzzle-themed video games where making only one mistake ruins the whole thing and causes a Game Over. But in this case, a Game Over causes a cataclysm that could cause millions to die. Most rilmani see this as a necessary loss, to prevent the whole multiverse from coming apart at the seams.
But when one views the universe as a chessboard, he must be careful not to become too concerned with the pieces. A rilmani who becomes too fond of mortal beings or too disgusted by their actions is letting personal bias cloud his judgment. And when that happens… A Game Over can occur much faster…
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Chapter 49
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Astonishing Panorama of the End Times
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"What the hell? Where did the bitch go?"
The groggy, tired voice came from Freddy as he roused himself from something he hadn't known in years, sleep. The confusion quickly turned to anger as it came back to him. He grabbed his hat and slammed it on his head as he pushed himself to his feet.
"When I get ahold of her, I'll," he started.
"You will do nothing," said a harsh and stern voice.
A misty, blocky shape was in front of him, a projection of the platonic Antisthenes.
"You," he said with an annoyed growl.
"Your role in this affair is over, Mr. Krueger, and for now, you are no longer needed."
"Hold on, bub, we had a deal," snapped Freddy.
"Ah, yes, deals," said the being, in what sounded like a sigh. "Mr. Krueger, a hare that makes a deal with a wolf is called a fool by other hares, and by the wolf itself before being devoured. But then, such naivete is expected of garbage like yourself."
"Garbage? Why I oughta…"
"You may have once been a 'cash cow'," replied the platonic, "but a cow who can no longer be milked has more limited uses."
The demon roared and his claws snapped, but the image just winked out as he leapt, falling flat on his face. The backdrop of his pocket dimension went out, plunging the area into blackness.
"Aw, shit," he growled, realizing what the guy likely meant by "for now".
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"Dio, what the hell has happened to us? We're being bossed around by a kid!"
In Fanciullo's manor, two of his well-armed bodyguards were in a well-lit room, their backs towards the vault, which had a very recent addition, the odd crate that Fanciullo had ordered them to guard with their lives.
"He ain't a kid, Belbo, he just looks like one."
"Fine, the guy's a grown man who makes himself look like a kid. That's better?"
"Hey, he's eccentric," answered Dio. "Geniuses are like that, y'know?"
Belbo leaned against the wall with a long sigh. "So, what's in that crate anyway?" he asked.
"Don't know, really don't care," answered Dio. "Boss wants it watched, so we watch it."
Damn, thought Belbo. Of course, as much as he thought being told to guard a crate nonstop was dumb, he sure wasn't going to tell the boss that. He'd watch it until…
He felt a familiar feeling in his abdomen. Damn, he thought again.
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Where am I?
Sofia had asked herself that many times, but this time was more bizarre than most. The answer seemed to be Tokyo!
She seemed to be in a very busy commercial center of a big city, and the bright colored lights and Kanji script on huge, flashy, gaudy billboards under a night sky made her compare it to Shinjuku, the nerve center of Tokyo. Still, one important thing seemed missing - people. Despite the obvious signs of busy nightlife, the large ward seemed almost deserted. Almost.
"Yo, Kojak, look up!" laughed Kei's voice.
As Sofia complied, she saw Kei perched on a lamppost in front of her. Then, to her incredible shock, the Lovely Angel gave a "WHEE!" and spun to the ground, pole dance style!
To even more shock, she made a glass of the silversnap ice appear as she landed.
"Kei, I have no idea what your limit is," warned the Shadowchaser, "but i'm pretty sure you're past it."
Kei drank the glass in one gulp, giggling again. Where's Philip? thought Sofia.
"Hey, lighten up, Sofia!" laughed Kei. She threw the glass aside, her Duel Disk appearing in the same stroke.
(Sofia & Philip: 16,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Kei & Yuri: 16,000)
"You need to learn to unwind, like my Upstart Golden Ninja here."
Throwing a card on her Disk, a portly man leapt from behind her, landing with a loud thud on his feet. And that wasn't the only thing about him that was loud. He wore a purple kimono with sparkly, gold trim, grey pantaloons and sleeves, gold gloves, and a hood with a golden headband shaped like a cat's head, not to mention a huge grin. Everything about him sparkled, his eyes, teeth, and clothing. (500 ATK)
"That's a Ninja?" asked Sofia. "Doesn't seem to have the whole 'Art of Invisibility' thing mastered, does he?"
"Eh, he's rich," said Kei with a shrug. She discarded a card, and the Ninja shone even brighter and sparklier as his effect activated and a new monster, a young woman in a purple bodysuit and long, green hair. Lady Ninja Yae knelt defending. (200 DEF)
"Now let's move uptown, with the Field Spell, Kyoutou Waterfront!"
Sofia felt like she was whisked off her feet and rushed down the street at high speed, pushed by an unseen source from behind, past the avenues and thoroughfares towards…
The docks? she thought. She started to catch sight of a very tall tower by the ocean, looming above as she finally stumbled to a stop. Kei, on the other hand, skidded gracefully in front of her with another giggle.
She laughed again, setting a new card, then added, "Your turn…"
Sofia looked back and forth as she drew a card. Where was Philip? Where was she? Where did this odd facsimile of Tokyo come from?
"You want to play, Kei? Well, you're tempting fate. I don't think I have to remind you what nasty habit birds pick up in cities."
She used a card, causing Mist Valley Thunderbird to appear. (1,100 ATK) Then she blinked, activating a function on her D-Gazer.
She was a little relieved to see that the Battle Phase option for her this turn was shaded out. This is still a two on two then, she thought. But where is he?
"I return Thunderbird to my hand to Special Summon Mist Condor."
Switching the two birds caused the ugly buzzard to push Thunderbird aside, and its score inched up. (1,700 ATK) Thunderbird made a squawk and leapt beside it, using its own effect to summon itself back. (700 DEF)
"I'll set one card, and use Winged Repayment," she said, "I, GAH!"
As she used the Spell Card, a flock of pigeons appeared from nowhere, flying from in front and mobbing into her."
"Wow, these things sure are lifelike!" laughed Kei. She tapped the side of the D-Gazer, Sofia trying to catch her breath as she drew twice.
(S&P: 15,400) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 16,000)
Must have been… the LP payment, she thought. Oh, well.
"SOFIA!" shouted a familiar voice, followed by the sound of panting and running..
She was relieved to see Philip running towards them, even if a little irked.
"Hey, the crosswalk is over there, bub!" laughed Kei.
"Can you focus for even one minute?" said Yuri's voice.
Looking up and to the side, she saw Kei's blue-haired partner, perched atop the Walk/Don't Walk sign. She gave another of those shy smiles, then drew a card, then used a Monster Card, causing a far-more threatening Ninja to appear next to her in mid-air, dressed in back with odd, blood-red insignia. (1,800 ATK)
Then came the big shock, as he grabbed hold of her and both leapt, flipped, landing on the other side of the street, much to Kei's disgust.
"Show off," she pouted.
"You're just jealous," replied Yuri. The Ninja handed her another card, and she smiled at him. "Thank you, Hanzo," she added, then set that card and a second on her Disk, in the Spell Zone.
"Grandmaster Hanzo's Ninjitsu Arts are a useful gift, and I'm in a mood to share myself."
"Calm down, So-So," assured Philip, "we can handle some Ninja deck."
"Oh, but this is not a Ninja deck," corrected Yuri. "The Ninjas are just here to help the main cast. Would you like to meet one?" A new Continuous Spell appeared, one that clearly did not suggest anything Ninja-like. "It's called the Kaiju Files, and it sets the stage for one of the true stars…" She flipped another card around, showing a rather high-Level monster. "To summon this one, I need to make a rather, uhm, unorthodox type of summoning."
Mist Condor vanished in front of them. "HEY!" shouted Sofia.
"Don't worry, like I said, I like to share, and this is a much better gift than some old buzzard."
Then she felt it. The sea around then started to churn, and a very, very big shadow started to cover them. Sofia and Philip turned around…
"Behold," announced Yuri, "Gameciel, the Sea Turtle Kaiju!"
The monster wading through the bay was a sea turtle, yes, a sea turtle the size of a skyscraper, on its hind legs, with four long tentacle-fins, two above and two below its short and stubby arms. It lifted its eyes to the heavens and let out a roar that shook the whole city. (2,200 ATK)
"What, what's it going to do?" asked Sofia, not wanting to know.
"Whatever you want it to," laughed Kei.
Sofia looked at her Disk. It was true, this abomination had been summoned on her side.
"And… You're being so nice, why?" she asked, with a suspicious tone.
"You'll see. It's your turn."
"Don't worry, So-So, I still got this," added Philip. He drew, then looked up at the monster they had called "Gameciel".
"'Gameciel' my ass," he noted. "That's a color-swap Gamera!"
"Quiet! You want to be sued?" warned Yuri.
Philip activated two of his cards. "I summon Delta Flyer!" he shouted.
The card produced a small Dragon with insectile wings and exoskeleton, with no front legs. (1,500 ATK)
"Then I'll use the Spell Card, Balloon Party, to conjure up a pair of Balloon tokens."
As the card itself faded, two hot air balloons rose behind him, each with a comical face painted on the balloon with an impressive handlebar moustache. (0 ATK x2)
Three monsters already! thought Sofia. That means…
"That's right, I activate Sky Union!"
Green fires surrounded and consumed the balloons and the Delta Flyer, and all three turned to streams arching towards the clouds. Thunder rolled, and Air Fortress Ziggurat slowly descended. (2,500 ATK)
"Woo, he's a big one!" exclaimed Kei.
"Let's see if this wipes that smile off your face," replied Philip. The behemoth's dark eyes focused on Upstart Golden Ninja, as did a pair of crosshairs.
"From my Graveyard, I activate Dimensional U-Turn!" exclaimed Kei. The Golden Ninja again made that sparkly grin as he tapped his headband, and vanished into nothing.
"He'll be back in a few," chuckled Kei.
"Well, Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo is still there," said Philip. "Open fire!"
The torrent of lethally hot artillery and missiles fired upon the Ninja, bursting and exploding around him and making large dents in the street. As the smoke cleared, however, a pile of logs and burlap was burning on the ground, and Yuri's Trap had been activated..
(S&P: 15,400) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 15,300)
"Nice shooting, tex, but my Ninjitsu Art of Decoy, protected him."
"Maybe they are able to do the whole stealth thing down," sighed Sofia.
"All right, I'll use my Shard of Greed, and my turn's done," said Philip. As the Continuous Spell appeared, a Toy Robot Token leapt from the giant craft, positioning itself in front of Philip in Defense Mode. (0 DEF) Still, he was more concerned with the big turtle, even as Gold Ninja and Hanzo reappeared. Not sure what they intend to do with that big guy, but I'm sure it's just as big.
"My move!" laughed Kei. "And I summon…" Thunder started to roll from the angry clouds. "Thunder King, the Lightningstrike Kaiju! YAY!'
"I was wrong…" gasped Philip. "It's even bigger."
He and Sofia were terrified as the monster that was nearly twice as big stared to lower itself from the clouds…
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Emily was still wearing the pirate wench outfit even though the particle mask and latex gloves she wore in as she worked in the small lab made it look absurd. She didn't even need them, really, but still, Dunstan had insisted everyone follow the rules in the safety guide to the letter, should some OSHA inspector drop by.
"Oh, screw it," she finally said, and tore the mask off,
She was frustrated enough and still angry at Ferdinand, but it was hard to tell whether she was angrier at him for the slap or for pointing out the obvious. Times like this, she wondered about Jacqueline Romaine, the first ermordenung, and the inventor of the process. Elves regarded her as their version of Oppenheimer, a genius who was to be admired, but who had created a weapon that was rightly feared. Every elf who underwent the process respected her as their progenitor, but often questioned her mental state.
As the stories claimed, she lived in a time and place where battles with cruel orc and goblin armies had caused elven royalty to adapt a "total war" approach. Jacqueline only had to take the "poison milkshake" she had invented once in her life, and it made her much, much stronger and more lethal than any modern ermordenung. She could defeat whole armies simply by standing in their path with the wind at her back, or slay an entire town of enemy militia simply by touching their water supply.
But the procedure she gave to her apprentices was far less potent. The original recipe was somehow lost. Maybe it had been an accident she couldn't reproduce, or maybe her notes were stolen by an enemy who lacked the skills to make it.
But, many believe she might have destroyed it on purpose, regarding it as a curse she would not wish on another. Unable to turn her power off meant she couldn't touch anyone, ever. She couldn't marry, couldn't take a lover, and couldn't bear children. She claimed she had risen above such frivolous matters (claiming with the same voice typical of haughty elf nobles), but it was an act. The things that were denied her gnawed at her soul, almost continuously.
She was cut off mid-thought by a knocking on the lab door. "Emily?" said Ferd's voice.
It opened a crack, and a curtain rod poked through with a white handkerchief tied to the end, waving back and forth.
Emily let out a short laugh. "Come in you big doofus," she ordered.
She still looked at him with a pout as the door opened. "Is this where you come with flowers and ask to make up?" she asked.
"Flowers?" he asked. "I did one better. Look at this."
What he was offering as a gift didn't look very romantic. It was a plastic bag full of some sort of weed. Still, Emily gave an excited shriek of surprise. "Baatoran violet orchids?" she gasped.
"Yup, rare flowers that only grow in the corpses of murdered soldiers," he said, "not all-too romantic but I heard they were about ten times as toxic as cyanide, so if you could…"
"Forgiven!" she squealed, snatching the bag and kissing him.
Huh, that was easy, he thought. Emily eagerly grabbed a pair of old journals and started rifling through them as he simply watched dumbfounded. Imagine if I'd stopped to get chocolates.
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Philip had seen a few old Japanese monster movies, so he had recognized Gamora rather easily. By the same token, he quickly recognized King Ghidorah too. In fact, he had seen a screening of Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster when it had premiered, when he was young for a half-elf and such movies, along with 3D films, were a fad that seemed as big as the monsters. While badly dubbed Japanese movies with stop-motion animation would be considered crude and cheesy years later, such a genre was new then, and it was terrifying to see the giant dragon loom over you, roaring with its three gaping mouths. It was the type of movie you could take a date to a drive-through to see that would cause her to cling to you in fright.
The much closer holographic view in this odd Solid Vision reality made those memories come back even stronger as the triple roar shook the whole city. (3,300 ATK)
"Lunch time!" giggled Kei, the giant Dragon looking hungrily at Sofia and Philip. "Table for one three-headed Kaiju, no waiting!"
"Uhm, Kei," added Yuri.
"Oh, right," replied Kei. "First I can use the Field Spell, and get a new Kaiju." The special Disk beeped, and eight other cards appeared, hovering in front of Kei. She grabbed one of them, and the others cleared away. "I'll save that for later. See, it's easy to summon these guys, but you can only use one at a time.
"So I'll remove three Kaiju counters from the Field Spell so the big guy here can attack three times this turn!"
"Three times?" shouted Sofia.
Each head of the great beast spewed a bolt of flaming, burning lightning. Thunderbird and the Token were nuked instantly, and a third bolt crashed through the Air Fortress Ziggurat like it were paper. The craft started to plummet in a plume of smoke as Sofia watched, horror-stricken.
(S&P: 14,700) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 15,300)
They blew one of Philip's best monsters out of the sky like it was nothing…
As the Ziggurat crashed, she turned to the giant beast. She swallowed hard. Philip wasn't all-too great either, feeling a little woozy and dizzy.
"So-So, hate to bring this up," he said, "but they weren't kidding about that stuff in the Disks."
"The first time is always the hardest," said Yuri. "Anyway, the Field Spell gains another counter for each card sent to the Graveyard, and The Kaiju Files gains another whenever a Kaiju is summoned. So Thunder King will have more than enough to do that again next turn. And if you think you can tear the tower down, think again. So long as it has even one counter, it will hold."
"Specially now," said Kei. "I'll discard a Trap Card so Golden Ninja can summon Goe Goe the Gallant Ninja in Defense Mode."
As she discarded the card, another unlikely Ninja formed, wearing a red kimono with a weapon that looked like a shower head on a stick. (1,000 DEF)
Kei looked at him and Lady Ninja Yae, then looked up and Sofia and Philip. "Say, you think -"
"NO!" shouted them and Yuri at the same time.
"Ah, heh, think I'll let Golden Ninja take a load off now," she added, the monster kneeling in Defense Mode. (1,800 DEF) "Go on…"
Sofia looked very, very closely at the monster card on her Disk. She drew a card, and Philip's continuous Spell changed a little, the broken Pot of Greed becoming partially fixed.
Hey, this will work!
"I summon Mist Valley Falcon!" With a flourish of her arm, her Duel Monster lookalike appeared, spreading her wings and drawing her weapon. (2,000 ATK)
"And I'll use the Equip Spell, Big Bang Shot, and equip it to… Ahem, Thunder King the Lightningstrike Kaiju!"
"Say what?" said Yuri. The card activated, causing the colossal Dragon to snarl a little. (3,700 ATK) "you made it stronger!"
"But I also made it vulnerable, because if triple-ugly loses that card, it goes to never-never land, and when Falcon attacks, she bounces one of my cards!"
"Hey, not bad!" exclaimed Philip.
"Like so," said Sofia. "Attack Goe Goe the Gallant Ninja, Falcon!"
Like a dart soaring forward, the Winged Beast flew towards the Ninja blade first. Sofia grabbed the Equip Spell, and the far larger monster disappeared in an undulating wave. The blade hit, blowing the odd Ninja to dust.
(S&P: 14,700) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 12,800)
"Okay, here goes nothing… Gamecial, attack Lady Ninja Yae!"
The younger ninja shivered as the giant turtle-beast opened its massive jaws, preparing to summon a mighty blast…
"I activate the Trap Card, Kaiju Capture Mission!" shouted Yuri. As the card flipped up, a missile shot from it, unfolding into a huge metal-cord net with weighted bolos, snagging the giant Kaiju who yelled as electricity was channeled through it. The giant fell backwards with a crash that again, caused the city to tremble.
"Did you really think it would be that easy?" she asked.
Sofia set another card. "To be honest, no," she answered. She looked at the Disk again, which indicated that Gamecial had been flipped to reverse. "But it was worth a shot. It's your move."
Yuri quickly flipped backwards, landing on the same overhanging street light with uncanny balance, then drew, looking down on them coyly. "Like I did before, I'll use the effect of the Field Spell to gain another Kaiju. And like I said before, I can Special Summon a Kaiju if you two have one."
"Not if Gamecial is upside-down like it is now," said Philip.
"Hm, good point," said Yuri. She used a new card, and an earsplitting alarm sounded over the entire city. It was easy to recognize, even though its use had ebbed in the past decade. Her Continuous Trap smashed to bits.
"The Kaiju Warning Alarm calls off the Kaiju Capture Mission and frees Gameciel, but it will take a while for him to recover."
The giant turtle roared loudly, snapping the net as it stood up, but fell on one knee from exhaustion while doing so. (0 ATK)
"It also summons the K.H.U. Wolf Colossal in Attack Mode."
The alarm started to die down, even though sirens were still flashing, and the sound of a rocket engine preceded a new monster landing in front of the Angels, breaking the sidewalk as its feet touched down. The robot wasn't quite as big as Gameciel, but just as intimidating, an armored, faceless, steel warrior with a burning red core in the chest. Oddly, this robot didn't seem to have any visible weapons, but was clearly eager to fight, putting up its dukes as it faced the Kaiju.
"To get points here, the KHU has the same Score as the base Score of your Kaiju." (2,200 ATK) "Oh, and that little problem you mentioned? Seems I took care of it.
"I Special Summon Radian, the Multidimensional Kaiju!"
The activation of the card caused the sky behind her to rip open, literally, creating a huge, portal that seemed to lead to a dark void. Philip and Sofia watched nervously, expecting a monster to come out of it…
But it didn't. The portal grew larger, changing shape, becoming longer and thinner, nearly human-shaped… Then they realized that the portal was not the monster's method of entrance, the portal was the monster!
It loomed over them, a human-shaped void as big as the other two, the head shaped in such a way that it had horns, and red, evil eyes on its otherwise featureless face. It was bent over slightly, but still towered over the duelists. (2,800 ATK)
"Afraid I have no idea where this one came from, So-So," said Philip.
"Come to think of it, neither do I!" said Yuri, with a shrug. "But no matter, it and my other monsters can still kick some serious ass." The giant Fiend lifted its claws and straightened up, its eyes opening wider. "No idea why, but two when two Kaiju meet, they never have a good word for each other always eager to fight a brutal battle to the death. So let's get it on."
The huge robot skidded forward, its right fist slamming into Gamecial's chin, the second into its breadbasket. Sofia barely heard the sounds of the brutal fight, barely heard Philip screaming her name, and barely even felt the quake that shook the city as Gamecial toppled over. She was feeling dizzy and confused, the euphoric effect of the silversnap kicking in.
Maybe I shouldn't have told her to set it to high, she thought.
She did, however, snap out of it when a powerful bolt of darkfire from Radian struck Falcon, blowing her apart and leaving Sofia herself wide-open. She stood up wide awake in time to see Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo closing in.
Cmon, come and get me you son of a - ARGGH!
(S&P: 10,600) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 12,800)
"How d'ya like that, babe?" cracked Kei.
"I absolutely love it!" replied Sofia. Her Trap Card lifted. "I'm using Damage Condenser! Good thing I held onto this."
She discarded the Big Bang Shot card, and took a card from her deck, laying it widthwise on her Monster Zone. The monster who appeared looked like Mist Valley High Priestess, but more, well, formal. Her holy raiment was now a long, blouse-skirt combination with made of hide with teeth and wooden fetishes on the belt and wrist. She had a long, plain, wooden staff. (1,000 ATK)
"Couldn't you have done better than that?" asked Kei.
"Can we please stop tempting fate?" asked Yuri. "Your movie, pointy."
Philip didn't do anything for a minute or two, and it was clear to Sofia he was upset. ("Pointy" was not something that only the rudest of dwarves and orcs would called an elf in such a casual tone.)
"I'm not amused, you two," interrupted Sofia. "If you know what's good for you, you can still consider calling this off and coughing up the antidote. Assuming you even have an antidote."
"Well of course we do!" laughed Kei. "You didn't really think we'd drink that crap without bringing a cure, didja?"
"We aren't too keen on sharing," added Yuri, "so take your turn."
"Very well," said Philip. "I draw a card, then I'll send Shard of Greed to the Graveyard to draw twice more."
With two more cards, he was starting to envision a strategy. "And I'll banish a Wind monster to summon Garuda the Wind Spirit."
He tucked Ziggurat's card in his shirt pocket, causing trash and litter to blow upwards in a small cyclone. The Winged Beast alighted and touched down. (1,600 ATK)
"And one that Sofia would remember, the Stryker Bot Model X-9."
Sofia remembered it, of course, the creepy android in a trenchcoat and fedora that he had used against the Mask team. (1,200 ATK)
"Then I'll juice it up with the Equip Spell, Pain to Power," he said, "so he can let that big lug have it!"
Striker Bot drew its twin pistols and fired all twelve rounds towards the goliath. Unfortunately, for all the gusto, it wasn't much, and Philip clearly felt it as the android's chest plate cracked from the backlash.
(S&P: 9,000) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 12,800)
."Did you really expect that to work?" asked Yuri.
"It did work," replied Philip. "Since it had Pain to Power, well, take a gander at Garuda."
The Winged Beast flexed its muscles from the surge of might (3,200 ATK) then flew like a bullet at the giant Kaiju with a flaming wake behind him, his fist walloping the beast where the chin would be. It toppled over onto the building behind it with a crash, knocking Yuri off her perch in the process.
"I'll throw down a face-down and end my turn, so Garuda's score goes back to normal."
"Kei?" mused Yuri. "NOW it's okay to start tempting fate."
"You betcha!" exclaimed Kei. She drew, then moved one of her cards, and Lady Ninja Yae stood up in Attack Mode. (1,100 ATK) "Time to use my Field Spell again, and I know just the right guy to get this time!" She made her choice, then pointed to a set card. "I'll activate the Trap Card, Ninjitsu Art of Super Transformation!"
As she started to caper and cheer, twin cyclones of energized magic blew from the card, one of them grabbing Garuda and the other encircling Hanzo.
"This Trap sacrifices our Ninja and your monster, then I add their Levels together, and I can summon a Sea Serpent, Dinosaur, or Dragon up to the combined Level."
Nervously, Sofia and Philip watched as the sea started to churn.
No, not churn. It started to boil.
"Presenting, the bestest Kaiju of them all! Dogoran the Mad Flame Kaiju!"
Sofia had noted that this Trap could be used to summon a Dragon or Dinosaur, but this thing - that rose from the sea in a scalding hot cloud of blazing steam - combined the worst traits of both, standing upright the size of a skyscraper and the steam turning to blazing flame over its rock-hard hide as it trudged to shore with slow, earthshaking steps. (3,000 ATK)
Scared as they were, Kei looked ecstatic, capering, dancing, and singing a rather bouncy song as the monster roared. .
With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound,
He pulls the spitting high-tension wires down;
Helpless people on subway trains
Scream bug-eyed as he looks in on them;
He picks up a bus and he throws it back down
As he wades through the buildings toward the center of town…
She might have started to sing another verse, but the great beast's roar drowned it out. Its fist slammed on the ground, sending a fiery circular wave towards Philip and Sofia, the impact blasting their monsters to ash.
"How did," started Philip.
"Two Counters from the Field Spell, and your monsters are all toast!" laughed Kei.
Lady Ninja Yae beside her was now smirking just as much. She leapt, did a flip, and her boot slammed into Philip's head hard. Sofia rushed to catch him before he hit the sidewalk.
Unfortunately, Dogoran was glaring down at both of them. "Go on," she persuaded.
(S&P: 7,900) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 12,800)
Flames appeared in its massive jowls…
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In his office, Dr. Kohl was perusing through one of his old texts he had saved from medical school. (Of course, his particular alma mater was the type where keeping them was a good idea. After all, alchemy wasn't the type of science where theories were debunked often.
Incredible, he thought. Who would have ever thought it would be so simple.
Jalal's voice came over a speaker, sounding somewhat urgent. "Tony, any luck finding it?" he asked.
The doctor tapped his earpiece before he answered, opening a cabinet as he spoke. "Actually, it was easier than I thought it would. The reference to Sala Kasper was easy to find. He was commissioned by the Emperor of Japan to diagnose and treat a curse that was described by not officially named in this text, due to rules of diplomatic courtesy."
"I've heard of that," replied Jalal. "Royal bigwigs don't like people knowing that members of their family are 'blemished' by diseases. Can't have an 'imperfect' emperor, can we?"
"Well, by comparing that descriptive journal to this more formal medical log, it's obvious that the he treated the Curse of the Void successfully. It simply requires sulfur and mercury - both very common ingredients in alchemy - willoweep berries, which are easy to obtain, and powdered spellhaunt essence. I can make this cure in a few hours."
"I take it from the tone that powdered spellhaunt essence isn't as easy to procure as sulfur."
"Well, no," he replied, his tone turning more dour. He looked at a flask he had taken from the cabinet, one which had silvery powder inside that shimmered as he held it to the light. "That's the downside. Spellhaunts are dangerous beings created via a side effect of magic that occur by accident, and nobody actually tries to create them. Most folks who do so and recognize the value of this stuff can command a hefty sum. It's going to be hard to find if someone makes a habit out of using Curse of the Void."
"Understood," replied Jalal.
This time, however, Tony was the one who noticed the dour tone. He knew of curses even deadlier and more notorious than the one afflicting Karen, and many cures required ingredients that could not be purchased. If they could be cast with the ease this one had...
These nanomachines may have opened the proverbial Pandora's Box, he thought.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Look at it this way, if you're gonna be dead meat, no sense not being fully cooked, right?"
It was a bad joke, but the heat from Dogoran's breath was even worse. Sofia covered her eyes… Then the huge Kaiju coughed, and hiccuped.
"Just kidding!" laughed Kei.
Sofia's eyes opened quickly, and turned to see the formerly-angry-now-annoyed Kaiju was backing off.
"Yeah, he can't attack that turn, so guess you're okay now,"
(S&P: 7,900) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 12,800)
Sofia released Philip, almost dropping him, and turned to the Angels, drawing a card as she did. The fury in her eyes nearly rivaled Dogoran's.
"You two play with fire, you get burned. And because you destroyed Mist Valley Archdruid last turn, she recovers."
But she didn't come back quite the same way. The Angels quickly saw that she had discarded her staff for a scimitar, and was now emitting a green aura of pure power, the same color as her angry eyes. (3,000 ATK)
"As you can see, that short dimensional jaunt gave her a boost in Attack Score, and she's about to take it out on Lady Ninja Yae!"
Lightning flash and an arc blade from the Spellcaster's downward swinging sword carved through the Ninja and shattering her.
(S&P: 7,900) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 10,900)
"Now I can use her second effect, and sacrifice her to summon these two guys."
The Archdruid folded her hands and disappeared, and two glowing, white coyotes appeared, growling at the titan. (1,800 DEF x2)
"These guys are Tuners, remember that. I can't Synchro Summon this turn, but I can banish Archdruid to summon Silpheed!"
She pocketed the card, and there was a colder, brisker wind, causing the spirit in the white suit to come forward. (1,700 ATK)
"Wait, wait," stammered Kei. "Why in the world did you banish her? You could have -"
"You'll see," interrupted Sofia. "If I were you, I'd worry more about this." She set a card, then turned to Philip, who nodded, then turned to her foes and stabbed her thumb down.
"I don't know what you two are up to," said Yuri. She drew, then went over her cards. "But I don't like it."
Obviously, she intends to use one of those guys to Synchro Summon, she thought, but if I got rid of the non-Tuner, she couldn't. On the other hand, if I destroy Silpheed, I'd lose a card.
But, I can get rid of it without destroying it.
"Sorry, Sofia, I'm not going to be suckered into attacking that guy. I'll use the Field Spell's effect again, and then sacrifice your Silpheed…"
Here it comes, thought Sofia. She watched as, like before, Silpheed was consumed by some odd power. Then wind started to pick up, getting stronger, fiercer, and louder. They watched as a gigantic moth flew from the clouds above, beating its wings. (2,700 ATK)
You're kidding! thought Sofia.
While she was shocked, she was actually kind of excited. She couldn't believe her luck.
"Pretty Level 11 Synchros are hard to come by," continued Yuri, "even if you avoid what's coming next. And speaking of which, I'll drop 800 Life Points to use Stage Crasher, an Equip Spell that lets me use Kei's monster this turn., and then I'll..." She looked at Sofia. "Are you even listening?"
"Mmm-hmm, yeah, Cash Back, right?" asked Sofia. Indeed, it seemed she didn't hear Yuri at all, as she was quickly reading the effect of Gadarla the Mystery Dust Kaiju, the monster she had been unwillingly gifted.
Now Yuri looked upset. "I'll show you. I use Dogoran's effect to wipe your monsters out!"
"Oh, that I heard!" said sofia. "I activate Tempest Surge!"
To Yuri and Kei's incredible shock, Gadarla started beating its wings twice as fierce as before, the storm turning to gale and then hurricane intensity. Dogoran's grunted and stumbled, then fell on its behind. (1,200 DEF)
"What's happening?" screamed Kei.
"You should have thought harder before you gave So-So such a powerful Wind monster," answered Philip. "Her Counter Trap required at least 8 total Levels of them, and you upped it to 12."
"C-c-Counter Trap?" gasped Yuri.
"Yup, it not only foiled Dogoran's effect, it forced him to Defense Mode," said Sofia.
"So now I can join the fun with my Trap!" exclaimed Philip. "Gulliver Chain!"
The thick chains sprang from the ground, looping around Dogoran as it roared and struggled.
"You try to move it to Attack Mode, those chains will tear it apart."
"Tempest Surge has another effect too," added Sofia. "Remember when you asked last turn why I banished Archdruid?"
There was a low rumble of thunder, and Archdruid appeared in her original, calmer form, kneeling and holding her staff on her lap. (2,600 DEF)
"Now you know. And Gadarla still has his effect, so I'll use three of the counters on your Field Spell to cut the Scores of every monster on the field except him by half."
(Mist Valley Coyotes: 600 DEF, Mist Valley Archdruid: 1,300 DEF, Golden Ninja: 900 DEF, K.H.U. Wolf Colossal: 1,100 ATK, Dogoran: 600 DEF)
Yuri looked a little recomposed now. "Clever," she said. "This calls for a change of strategy, I use the effect of The Kaiju Files, which destroys one Kaiju on the field."
A bolt of concussive force blasted from the card, striking the huge moth and smashing it to bug guts.
"But it also summons a replacement, I think I'll give you… Kumongous, the Sticky String Kaiju!"
There was a loud, creepy, skittering, and another huge bug, this one with a darker exoskeleton and eight legs, crawled over the buildings behind the Shadowchaser. (2,400 ATK)
"Eww, the spider!" whined Kei. "I hate spiders!"
I'm not a big fan of them either, thought Philip. He looked up at the big thing, wondering if Kaiju monsters had a habit of double crossing their duelists.
Finally, Hanzo knelt to defend, while the huge K.H.U. crossed its arms and generated a frontal shield. (500 DEF, 1,500 DEF) "I end my turn," said Yuri.
"Which means, to pay 1,000 Life Points, added Sofia. "That's the cost of Tempest Surge."
(S&P: 6,900) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 10,100)
Again, she felt a little woozy, the hallucinogen in her blood clearly at a dangerous level now. These two weren't bluffing. She and Philip were near overdose territory already. Even if they won, she wondered how long they had to find medical help.
Stay focused, she told herself. Concentrate...
She wondered if the euphoric nature of the drug was the only thing that was preventing panic.
Drawing, Philip perked up. "Ah, the Cyber Tech Alligator," he said. "And I'll summon it by sacrificing So-So's Archdruid."
The Spellcaster again disappeared, and a far-more modern monster, a lizard man with cybernetic arms and wings with a helmet appeared, brandishing sharp mechanical claws. (2,500 ATK)
"Obliterate Dogoran with Sonic Scream!"
The Machine projected an ear-splitting wave sound, tearing into the giant mecha and causing the huge Kaiju to groan and then burst into embers.
"Oh, I really liked that guy!" whined Kei.
"Such a shame," replied Philip. "Now that I've gotten rid of my Gulliver Chain, I'll use the Spell Card, Magical Spring." As he played the card, the sparkling waters of the Spring of Rebirth appeared behind him. "I get to draw one card for every face-up Spell and Trap you two have."
"Three cards?" gasped Kei, noting the two Continuous Traps and one Continuous Spell.
"Nope, four," corrected Philip. "Your Field Spell Counts too. I then discard a card for each face-up card we have. But only Magical Spring itself counts." He took one card, Marauding Captain, and tossed it.
"Then I'll Tune my Level 6 Cyber Tech Alligator and the Level 3 Mist Valley to summon the Cloudcastle!"
The elemental magic in the hearts of these beings combine to fuel a magical engine of unspeakable power!"
(* 3 + *6 = *9)
As the nine stars combined, the hovering fortress rose over their side of the docks. (3,000 DEF)
"Its effect summons a Level 9 monster from our Graveyard, so Archdruid isn't ready to leave just yet."
It certainly seemed as such, the Spellcaster rising and defending yet again, her Defense Score intact. (2,600 DEF)
"I'll wrap up my turn with these three cards face-down," he said, "and that's that."
"You know, guys," said Kei, in a far more subdued voice. She drew a card slowly. "I'm kinda starting to like you. How's about we up the ante a bit?"
"What did you have in mind?" asked Sofia.
Kei used her free hand to reach inside her halter top, withdrawing a very small bottle of red liquid. "What else, the antidote," she answered. "There's enough here for two people."
Sofia seemed about to make a lunge for it, but she quickly put it back there. "After all, if you want to be serious about this brutal battle to the death thing, we might as well make it count."
Philip looked at Yuri, who was looking at Kei sternly, but said nothing. "Not like you have a choice, by the way," added Kei. "So let's really rock!"
She drew a card, then used the now-familiar effect of the Field Spell, spreading the Kaiju cards from her deck in front of her to choose one. She giggled wickedly as she picked out her choice. Then she used another rather familiar card, Magic Planter, drawing two as Ninjitsu Art of Super Transformation, which wasn't doing anything now, disappeared.
"I activate the Spell Card, Kaiju Cooperative Crisis!" she cheered. "As in, it enacts a crisis enough to convince two Kaiju to cooperate. The first effect summons one of them from my Graveyard. Remember this guy?"
As much as they had wanted to forget Gameciel, the answer was a clear yes, the giant turtle Kaiju trudging behind the two angels a rather sore reminder. (2,200 ATK)
"I activate the effect of Kumongous!" yelled Sofia. "I'll take two Counters from your field Spell to stop him from attacking!"
"And I'll use twofrom Kaiju Files to use Gameciel's effect!" laughed Kei.
The giant turtle spun so its back was to Sofia, and as Kumongous spun giant strands of course, sticky web at its foe, Gameciel's shell glowed with blinding colors, blasting at the giant spider and reducing it to dust.
"You fight fire with fire," said Yuri, offhand, "and you fight a giant abomination with another giant abomination. Okay, Golden Ninja, Wolf, you two hit the road." She pointed to the Ninja and the Mecha, and both disappeared in orbs of dark shadow.
Then, there was the all-too familiar sound of footsteps making the earth tremble. Still, Sofia was a little more confused now.
Double tribute? she thought. Duelists still DO that?
"You see, while this Spell allows a second Kaiju, I can't special summon the second. So let's put our hands together for our newest Kaiju about to rock this town to its very foundation, Jizukiru, the Star Destroying Kaiju!"
The really bad joke was lost on the two duelists as the city around them went up in flames…
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
In his dark control room, Antisthenes was brooding, while watching an experiment in progress on a screen.
Files labeled with pictures of all four of the duelists was superimposed over a video of the actual duel, with rising percentage numbers under each of them.
The door opened behind him, and Beatrice came in. "Sir," she said meekly, "I wanted to -"
She stopped dead cold as he turned his head. She gulped.
"Leave the gautier stable for now," he said. "We may yet have some use for her." He turned back to the screen. "This whole incident seems to have had a few unforeseen benefits."
Really? She thought, relieved that she might not actually be punished.
"Once we have repaired the sabotage she did, we will discuss your role in this incident further. Begone."
She had the need to feel her chest as she exited, and the door slammed shut. It was obvious he wasn't angry at all this, but he wasn't pleased either. She had no idea what these benefits were, but hopefully, she'd survive to see them.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Gigan was a Kaiju that was a late addition to the mythos, and notorious for being one of the most malevolent of Godzilla's foes. A strange monster with a rotary saw in his abdomen and cruel hooks for hands, he was a sadistic beast who simply loved to kill. He wasn't the most competent fighter, however, being slain by his own weaponry after being outsmarted by Mothra. Only to come back as a cybernetic Kaiju, with chainsaws for hands.
This new version, which Kei had called Jizukiru, was like a chrome-plated version, a nightmarish union of a robot and a giant dragon. While the armor on it was shiny and flawless, the general shape was unbalanced and unwieldy, with too many spikes and shearing blades that seemed to have been placed awkwardly. (3,300 ATK)
"Feel like taking a speed swim to China?" asked Philip, turning to Sofia.
"Sorry, kids, we're still in the asylum," said Yuri, now sounding more amused and relaxed, likely a little drunk on the silversnap herself. "This virtual reality is great, but it has limits, and you try to run you might smack into a wall you didn't know was there."
"Yeah, well remember, my Castle's effect prevents monsters that aren't at least Level 9 from attacking," said Philip, "Your big turtle is Level 7."
"Thanks for the heads up," replied Kei. "Jizukiru, nuke that Castle!"
The command caused dozens of hatches to open on the Machine's limbs and torso, revealing missile silos and cannon turrets. Philip swallowed hard, and then used one of his Traps, making a brief prayer before he did.
"I activate Astral Shift!" he yelled.
"PHILIP!" screamed Sofia.
She couldn't stop it. The missiles and shells soared past the Castle and honed in on him…
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Uh, Dio?"
"Now what?" asked his partner.
"I gotta, uh," said Belbo. "You know, that coffee I had an hour ago…"
"OH, make it quick!" shouted Dio.
He shook his head watching the guy make a rush up the stairs to the bathroom. We running a kindergarten class here or something?
Still, he had to admit he was kind of bored too. Staring at a wall with nothing to do was rather tedious.
Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief
Taffy went to my house, and stole a piece of beef.
I went to Taffy's house, Taffy was not in
Taffy went to my house, and stole a silver pin.
"Dio? Dio? Dio!"
Dio felt a slap to his face, rousing him. What had happened? Had he fallen asleep while standing up?
"What?" he shouted.
"You were quoting poetry," said Belbo.
"Poetry?" said Dio. He was about to inquire further, but then, that old nursery rhyme he had just heard… He had been saying it?
"You've been working too hard, Dio," noted Belbo.
Of course, had they opened the door to the vault at that moment, they might have noticed an odd flicker from that crate. Something was happening...
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Philip!" screamed Sofia. She slapped him as she held him, trying to rouse him. "Philip! Say something!"
"Something," he mumbled.
Kei actually giggled a little, and Yuri shook her head. Sofia helped him up, and drew once, clearly not much of a benefit after such a nasty direct attack.
"Ah, well, I'll end my turn now," said Kei.
"Ahem!" added Yuri.
"Oh, right, think I'll keep Kaiju Cooperative Crisis for now, so I'll pay 1,000 Life Points."
(S&P: 3,600) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 9,100)
Just gotta, thought Sofia. However, as she drew a card, she was cut off in mid-thought by what she had drawn. No way!
This wasn't her card. It was Philip's. The City of Eternity card.
She had no idea how it got there, but she went over in her head how he used it the other two times. I can't use it now, because of their Field Spell, but… Hmm…
"I'll sacrifice one of my Coyotes to summon Swift Birdman Joe!"
The card caused the Beast to dissolve, and a Winged Beast, a muscular, shirtless, handsome male version of Harpie Lady with rainbow wings spun into place in front of her. (2,300 ATK)
Kei nearly shrieked and swooned at the sight of him, much to her partner's morbid embarrassment. "Kei, please…" said Yuri, rolling her eyes.
"I use Joe's effect to blow every Spell and Trap card off the field!" shouted Sofia.
Now Kei almost seemed ready to cry. "Ooh, sorry, babe, I gotta do this. Gameciel, counter his effect."
But Philip had other ideas, and so did his Trap Card. "Not going to happen this time, Kei," replied Philip, "thanks to the Counter Trap, Solem Strike!" Lightning rolled again, and the bearded deity loomed behind him, pointing to Gameciel. "It costs 1,500 Life Points, but your monster's effect is canceled out, and then -" He paused for emphasis as lightning flashed, hitting Gameciel and blowing him to gibbets.
Swift Birdman Joe beat his wings furiously, and the city disappeared, as the Field and The Kaiju Files blew back to Kei's hand, while Philip's other Trap flew to Sofia's. She set it again, then used the Field Spell, causing the much more surreal and squalid City of Eternity to rise in its place.
"Living dangerously, aren't we?" asked Yuri.
(S&P: 2,100) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 9,100)
Then Sofia used the last card in her hand. "I still can't attack this turn, cause Joe is Level 5, but I can use Swords of Revealing Light!"
"That's a cheap move!" yelled Kei.
"So?" asked Sofia. The glowing Swords crashed down around the larger Kaiju. "Still works. It's your move."
"You think you're so smart," replied Yuri. She drew a card, then used a Spell that neither Sofia nor Philip recognized.
"Soul Futures?" she asked.
"A little risky trade venture, but far less risk involved for the initiator," replied Yuri. "I'll give up 2,000 Life Points, then I get to trade my hand of cards for the cards another player has. Kei, get over here."
Oddly enough, Kei didn't object to this, even though this seemed a very unfair trade, as Yuri only had one card compared to the six cards that Kei had. Nonetheless, Kei handed them over in exchange for that one card.
"Go on, Kei, five cards," added Yuri. Kei smirked again, picking five replacements via drawing. "A pretty even trade-off, but it trades an existing resource for a variable."
"Yeah, well, I tend to take risks too," added Sofia. The card she had set on her turn, actually Philip's card, stood up and around. "Gamble. That sudden increase in hand size might give me more of an edge too."
Philip grit his teeth, watching as she took the coin and flipped it. "HEADS!"
He breathed a long sigh of relief to see that it was heads, granting Sofia four more cards.
"Lucky," said Yuri, "but now I can use both The Kaiju Files and Kyoutou Waterfront!"
Philip's heart started to beat faster as the City crumbled and the older one returned. Not because he was nervous, but because he was excited.
"Thank you!" he exclaimed, "because destroying City of Eternity gets me this card!" As he showed them the Bridge of Eternity card, Yuri almost dropped the cards. "Looks like you might lose your shirt on this deal, Yuri." Then he turned to Kei quickly and added, "That was only an expression!"
"Good save," muttered Yuri. "You should have seen what happened on our last shore leave. And I'm done with this turn."
"Philip?" said Sofia. "That one's yours."
Philp could only wish he was as confident as she was as he made a draw. "Okay, here goes… I activate Bridge of Eternity!" Playing the card caused the city to fall away for the second time, the disheveled Bridge taking its place. "I draw once per its effect..."
When he saw what his new card was, then he was confident, giving Sofia a thumbs up to show it. Then he used the card, and took Marauding Captain, Stryker Bot, and Garuda from his discard pile, pocketing them as the wind around him turned to a sandstorm, compressing into a muscular Fiend with a whirlwind in place of legs. (2,300 ATK)
"With Desert Twister and Swift Birdman Joe, I can build the Overlay Network, and summon Gauntlet Launcher!"
The vortex consumed the Winged Beast and fiend, creating an armored battle robot that, while not as intimidating as the Wolf Colossus, was more solid. It was stocky and wide with thick limbs, and the plating was a fire engine red. (2,400 ATK)
"Now to take down that eyesore," he said. "I'll give up an Overlay Unit, and…"
The droid clenched its fists and, as its name implied, launched them like rockets at the huge Kaiju, right through its center. It trembled, then shattered into little pieces.
"Big deal," said Yuri.
Then she noticed she and Kei had no monsters left… And Archdruid was standing up. (1,600 ATK)
Gauntlet Launcher struck first, burning lasers shooting from its visor and striking Yuri in the chest.
"HA-HA!" laughed Kei. "Serves you right Ms. Stuck Up!"
Of course, she was a little too distracted to see Archdruid aim for her, the magical lightning from her staff hitting her in the side and knocking her down.
(S&P: 2,100) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 3,100)
"You two are gonna pay for that," she snarled.
"Are we?" asked Philip. "We still have the Swords, and this is a team duel."
Kei was trying to figure that out, when Yuri interjected. "Three turns of each player, Kei, we can't attack, they can. Think about it."
"Your move," said Philip. "No pressure now."
Kei looked a little scared now. She drew a card. Then her expression snapped back.
"How's this?" she laughed. "Bye-bye Gauntlet Launcher, hello Zaq-G the Mad Kaiju!"
The Xyz monster disappeared, and both Philip and Sofia were startled by hideous, echoing laughter. Philip had never heard of a movie with something like this in it, but he did not want to see it. The first thing you noticed was the eye. The thing had a giant, headless torso with one big eye. Much smaller eyes were on its thick legs and stumpy arms, but the eye was something that was hard to ignore. Even more so with the maddening laughter coming from the thing. (2,000 ATK)
"Oh, and because Gauntlet Launcher was an Xyz, it gets stronger!" (2,800 ATK)
"I don't care, I do not want it!" protested Philip.
"Mmm, okay!" laughed Kei. She played a Spell Card. "I'll use Owner's Seal so you don't have to worry about it."
Me and my big mouth, thought Philip. Zaq-G slowly trod over to Kei's side.
"I'll set one card, and my turn is over," she giggled.
"Calm down, Philip, I've got this," said Sofia. She drew, then looked over the field.
Let's do a monster count here, she thought. Coyote here is Level 3, Archdruid and Philip's Castle are both Level 9, and we have a big ugly thing with 2,800 points to deal with. She made a draw, then looked up at the Kaiju. Level 8, I see.
"I'll summon my Cassowary, and use him to summon Watcher!"
The flightless bird appeared first (300 ATK) then the male shaman. (1,500 ATK) "Then the Levels of Coyote and Cassowary each become 4. So with the Overlay Network built again, I can summon the Mist Valley High Priestess!"
The vortex quickly consumed the three monsters, causing the scantily clad female shaman to descend slowly. (3,200 ATK) Her resemblance to Archdruid was clear, although Archdruid was older and more modest.
"Nice," said Kei.
Priestess was unimpressed, holding her staff high as the giant monster continued to laugh maniacally.
"Think that's funny?" asked Sofia. "Laugh this off!"
A loud CRACK with a sonic boom caused the giant Kaiju to shatter in an explosion of outward-bursting little shards.
(S&P: 2,100) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 2,700)
"End turn."
"I hope you have something up your sleeve, Yuri," said Kei, her tone turning dour.
"No sleeves," replied the other Angel. She lifted her arm, indicating the lack of it. "But I have something. So, if you would…"
As she drew, Kei used her set Trap, and the Dust Tornado blew, ripping the Swords of Revealing Light apart. Ho brother, thought Sofia.
"This is one of the most potent Kaiju accessories," continued Yuri. "Even a few playtesters thought it was too strong, but what's to expect when you intentionally wake two Kaiju. The mighty Spell Card, Interrupted Kaiju Slimber"
She played the card, and there was an eruption of power, as the City behind Philip and Sofia went up in an inferno and the Bridge started to crack. Then, a powerful wave of flames outward, hitting the Cloudcastle, and causing it to plummet…
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"You know, I once knew this tribe of wood elves in Brazil," said B.B. Hood. "Grugach, I think."
She was in a lounge-like room, not far from the cellblock where all the chaos had recently occurred. She was sipping coffee watching Sheeva, who was too tense to even sit down, leaning against the wall and trying very hard to ignore the smart-alec human. A table with a half-eaten cheesecake was in front of her.
"They'd do it with anyone. Didn't consider anything taboo at all. Except maybe doing it with an orc. Come to think of it, pretty sure that's why I was there. They wanted me to wax some 'abomination heathen' as they put it."
"You killed someone for eloping?" asked Sheeva.
"Nah," replied Hood. She paused for a large spoonful of cheesecake. "His fiance was loaded, and offered a pretty decent counter sum. Plus, I figured it was a wedding, with a buffet and all, why ruin a good party?"
"I thought you hated non-humans."
"I don't!" Hood protested. "It just pays good."
"I've seen your 'work', Hood," snapped the Shokan, "you love your 'job' a little too much to make the 'nothing personal' claim."
Hood kept eating her cake, her expression turning a little pissed. "Maybe I should try stomping them into a bloody pulp like some deranged grape presser, maybe that will make me more emphatic."
Sheeva clenched her fists. She was about to tell the hypocrite off with a barrage of well-deserved cuss words. Or more than words.
"C'mon, lighten up," said Hood with a smile. She nudged the table in front of her towards Sheeva with her foot. "This stuff can work wonders for the psyche."
Sheeva hesitated.
"C'mon, the whole reason Chell went through the whole Aperture of Science was to get one."
"That was a video game!" snapped Sheeva.
The irony of that comment struck her quickly, as did Hood's wide grin in reaction to it. She sighed, then picked up the cheesecake.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The Bridge of Eternity was in ruins. The four duelists were in the middle of a smoldering, blackened crater, with pieces of steel and concrete littered around as far as they could see. Archdruid hadn't stood a chance.
But…
"Impossible," gasped Yuri.
Mist Valley High Priestess had survived, and her clothing style had been upgraded to a long, white, sleeveless dress with a golden sash. (2,600 ATK)
"Yeah, she survived, thanks to my Forbidden Dress," said Philip. "It renders her impervious to anything other than battle, and it's made of a pre-shrunk machine washable fabric!"
"I think she likes the color too!" added Kai.
"Quiet!" ordered Yuri. "Like the Spell's name implies, it also summons two Kaiju, one on your side," Radian's portal appeared, the Kaiju landing behind Philip and Sofia (2,800 ATK), and Dogoran to their side. (3,000 ATK)
"You do know, right," said Philip, "that the Dress protects her from that guy's effect too."
"Let me finish," replied Yuri. "I'm using the Spell Card, Mystik Wok! Bronto burgers anyone?"
To the amazement of everyone, including Kei, Dogoran disappeared into a cloud of steam.
(S&P: 2,100) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 5,700)
"You're using that monster to boost your Score?" gasped Sofia.
"Indeed I am, and the reason is," exclaimed Yuri, "this next Kaiju is a little special. With him gone, and Radian still on your side of the field, I'll bing out my favorite, the Super Anti-Kaiju War Machine Mecha-Dogoran!"
With a loud, earthshaking rumble, the biggest Kaiju of all burst from the ground. It looked too big to be real, half-again as big as Dogoran, with metal wings as wide as it was tall, and sharp, metal, pincers for hands.
"Now let's see what this big guy can do."
The immense Machine put its claws in front and a dark, swirling vortex started to form, pulling at Radian. The darkness it was made up of was yanked from it in pieces, until it all broke up and was sucked into the portal. The robotic Kaiju's eyes flashed. (2,800 ATK)
"She equipped it to that… thing," noted Philip.
"That's right," said Yuri with a nod, "but I still think I can do better." She threw an equip spell on her Disk, and there was a hum and a whir, as twin missile launchers swung onto the thing's shoulders.
Then crosshairs appeared on Mist Valley High Priestess, and they fired…
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In the meeting room where the Determined made their plans, Dram was along, dozing at the meeting table, over several old tomes.
He was startled awake by a surge of power from the two Memory Crystals.
Alpha and Beta!
He stood up, cautiously approaching Beta. Something was happening...
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"So much for shrink proof," giggled Kei.
(S&P: 2,100) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 5,700)
"You two are sick!" shouted Sofia.
Then the crosshairs appeared on her.
"Maybe, maybe not," replied Yuri, "but my Cracking Storm Equip Spell gives this guy another shot. On you. Finish her off, Mecha Dogoran!"
"Okay, that does it," snarled the Shadowchaser. "Double Cyclone!" Her Quickplay Spell lifted. "This destroys two Spell Cards, as in our Field Spell and the monster you equipped to that one." What remained of the bridge disappeared, with the giant Machine plummeting to an attack Score of zero.
"I have a better idea," said Philip. "With Bridge of Eternity destroyed, I get to take this card from my deck, the third leg of the journey. And I can also banish the other two Field Spells to activate it now. The Desert of Eternity."
As he used the new Spell, a vast, sandy, barren desert covered the landscape as far as the eye could see, with one part of it standing out. The Temple.
Sofia had seen it in the distance in both the previous Field Spells, and it was much closer now. The feeling she now had was an odd combination of exhaustion, joy, relief, and fear. Like a pilgrim who had traveled hundreds of miles to find his goal now within his sight, but not like the sight of it at all. It was a foreboding monolith of grey shone shaped like a ziggurat, with… something at the top. It was hard to see from here, but something important was at the peak of that enormous temple.
She remembered what Philip had said at Graceland:
"There's one thing that keeps the world from plunging into chaos and anarchy. One thing that preserves peace and keeps civilization from falling into ruin. It's a very fragile thing that would be very easy to destroy if the wrong people found it."
She knew it was up there, at the peak of the temple.
TRUTH.
That was what it held. But it was still well out of reach.
Her lover's voice snapped her back to the here and now. "By summoning using this Field Spell, I get to summon any monster from my Graveyard with a lower Level than yours, and I have a good one."
Cloudcastle materialized in mid-air, again in Defense Mode. (3,000 DEF) "Oh, and because you summoned that monster using Interrupted Kaiju Slumber, afraid it has to finish it's attack."
The crosshairs focused on the castle, but Yuri used her Quickplay Spell. "Not if I get rid of the Equip!" The Emergency Provisions consumed the card, and the crosshairs faded.
(S&P: 2,100) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 6,700)
"Whoo-hoo!" cheered Kei. "We're number one! Watcha gonna do now, Tex?"
As Philip drew a card, he grunted and strained. "You playing Duel Monsters here, or are you taking a dump?" asked Kei.
Philip didn't answer the question, but turned the card on his Disk, moving Cloudcastle to Attack Mode. (0 ATK)
"Why'd you do that?" shouted Kei.
"What, move it to Attack Mode?" he asked. "Cause it's gonna attack, once I use Message in a Bottle!"
The new card turned into an old milk bottle, and was tossed out into the sand, the stopper falling off, and three motes flying from it, the motes turning into Cyber Tech Alligator, Mist Valley Coyote, and Mist Valley Falcon.
"Of course, their Attacks all become zero and they lose their effects, but that doesn't matter, because with Desert of Eternity in play, I can pay a thousand of my Life Points, uhm, sorry, pay a thousand of our Life Points to swap their Attack and Defense Scores."
(Cloudcastle: 3,000 ATK, Cyber Tech Alligator: 1,600 ATK, Mist Valley Coyote: 1,800 ATK, Mist Valley Falcon: 1,200 ATK)
"I'll next activate Southern Cross, a Spell Card that makes his Level 10."
"So, uh, he can get by the Castle's effect?" asked Kei, really hoping that was all.
Philip flipped another card around in his hand, while shaking his head to say "no". "The Spell Resonance Device means the Castle is also Level 10. I'll get to why in a minute, but first, obliterate the Super Anti-Kaiju War Machine Mecha-Dogoran!"
Flashing multicolored bolts of light cascaded from the fortress, through the giant Kaiju, blowing little pieces of it all over the playing field.
"That does it, you two are," started Yuri, but was interrupted and knocked on her behind as Cyber Tech Alligator let her have it.
(S&P: 1,100) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 2,100)
Yuri was out cold, but her partner was still standing. "Got any more?" she goaded.
Sofia waved, causing her Trap to open. "Bummer," said Kei.
"With my partner's Wonder Xyz, I'll Overlay my Level 10 Cloudcastle and Cyber Tech Alligator into Skypalace Gangaridai!"
A big, looming shadow started to cover the desert. Kei looked up, the gigantic airship covering the sun, its multitude of guns aiming at her. (3,400 ATK)
As scared as she was, the silversnap in her veins made it hard for her to express it. "Wow…" was all she could say before it opened fire.
(S&P: 1,100) - - - - - - - - - - (K&Y: 0)
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Sofia woke up, the sound of ambulance sirens working like some giant alarm clock.
Well, that and the icy water thrown in her face.
"WHAT?" she shouted.
"Calm down, Sofia," said Jabels', "you two will be fine, and so will they."
Unfortunately for Yuri and Kei, several of the ravers weren't all too happy with them now, as the Pair was pelting them with garbage as a squad of other Shadowchasers led them out.
"I have a feeling those kids are going to be grounded until graduation," sighed Philip, who was next to her.
"Well, at least one of them was lucid and sober enough to call 911," explained Jabels. "And we were able to at least pry those off you." He pointed to where the four Duel Disks were now stored in evidence bags.
"But the antidotes," started Sofia.
"They had enough," said Philip. He put his arm around her and held her close. "I figured Yuri had at least one other bottle of the stuff, else she would have called Kei a bitch for making such a dumb bet. Pop cultural osmosis, know thine enemy. So what can we do with them?"
"Well, hopefully we can find a way to send them back where they came from," added Jabels. "If not, we can at least hold them for auto theft, trespassing, illegal distribution, and possession of contraband weapons."
"Whoa, wait, hold up here," said Philip. "Contraband weapons?"
Jabels nodded and pointed to Duel Disks again. "We'll analyze them completely of course, but we've seen these before. I believe they were once called Bio-Bands."
There was dead silence for a minute or two as they took that in. Sofia noticed a flask of the silversnap and an overturned glass within reach.
"Bio-Bands," muttered Philip, hardly able to believe it. Sofia slowly poured from the flask into the glass.
"Well," she said, sullenly. She lifted the glass. "Cheers."
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Winged Requital (Normal Spell)
Image: Unknown (obscured)
Effect: Pay 600 Life Points. Draw 1 card for each face-up Winged Beast-Type monster you control. Those card(s) cannot be used during this turn.
First used in Yu-Gi-Oh GX episode 132
Dimensional U-Turn (Normal Trap)
Image: Spell Recycler flying through the void of the Different Dimension following a curved, purple arrow.
Effect: Select 1 of your banished monsters; Special Summon that target. Banish it during the End Phase of this turn. You can banish this card from your Graveyard; banish 1 monster you control until the End Phase of this turn.
First used in Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal episode 129
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Kaiju Warning Alarm (Normal Spell)
Effect: Destroy a face-up "Kaiju Capture Mission" you control, and select a face-down Defense Position monster controlled by your opponent. Flip the targeted monster into face up Attack Position; its ATK becomes zero and it cannot use its effect this turn. If the targeted monster is a "Kaiju" monster, you may Special Summon 1 "K.H.U. Wolf Colossal" from your hand or deck.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Kaiju Cooperative Crisis (Continuous Spell)
Image: Jizukiru staggering from powerful elemental blasts from Dogoran and Gadarla, with Kyoutou Waterfront in the background.
Effect: Special Summon 1 "kaiju" monster from your Graveyard upon activation of this card. While this card is face up, the effect of "Kaiju" monsters that states "You can only control 1 'Kaiju' monster" is not applied. If this card leaves the field or you control 3 or more "Kaiju" monsters, destroy all monsters you control. During the End phase of each of your turns, pay 1,000 Life Points or destroy this card.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
K.H.U. Wolf Colossal (Effect Monster)
Machine/Earth/Lvl5/0ATK/2,000DEF
Effect: If Special Summoned via the effect of "Kaiju Warning Alarm", this card's ATK becomes equal to the base ATK of the "Kaiju" monster on the field with the highest Level. This card cannot be targeted by, and is unaffected by effects of "Kaiju" monsters.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Zaq-G the Mad Kaiju (Effect Monster)
Fiend/Dark/Lvl7/2,000ATK/2,800ATK
You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) to your opponent's side of the field in Attack Position, by Tributing 1 monster they control. If you do, and the Tributed monster was summoned from the Extra Deck, this card's ATK becomes 2,800. If your opponent controls a "Kaiju" monster, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand) in Attack Position. You can only control 1 "Kaiju" monster. During your Battle Phase, when this card battles a Special Summoned monster, this card gains 800 ATK. You may only control 1 "Kaiju" monster.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Stage Crasher (Equip Spell)
Image: A figure with a Japanese-style helmet, from behind, facing UFOroid Fighter, who is about to fire. (In effect, right before Judai and Sho's winning move from GX episode 011.
Effect: Equip to a monster controlled by your partner during a Tag Duel. You may pay 500 Life Points to treat that monster as your own.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Soul Futures (Normal Spell)
Image: The Nefarious Trader in a dark, shady outdoor market, offering three cards in a case (Senet Switch, Storm Shooter, and Blasting Fuse) to a skeptical-looking Goblin of Greed.
Effect: Pay 2,000 Life Points. Exchange all the cards in your hand with those of another player. After the resolution of this effect, if that player has less cards in his hand than you do, that player draws a number of cards equal to the difference.
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Mist Valley Archdruid (Effect Monster)
Spellcaster/Wind/Lvl9/1,000ATK/2,600DEF
If this card is destroyed by your opponent's card effect, Special summon it during your next Standby Phase with its base ATK and DEF switched. If you do, you may Tribute this card and Special Summon up to 2 "Mist Valley Coyote" from your deck. Each effect of "Mist Valley Archdruid" and be used once per duel per player.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Mist Valley Coyote (Tuner Monster)
Beast/Wind/Lvl3/800ATK/1,800DEF
Cannot be used to Synchro Summon or Xyz Summon a monster other than a WIND monster. If this card is Special Summoned via the effect of "Mist Valley Archdruid", you may not Synchro Summon or Xyz Summon that turn.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Tempest Surge (Counter Trap Card)
Image: Storming Wynn and her draconic familiar standing in the center of a cyclone, casting a mighty spell raining lightning upon two Cannon Soldiers and the Linear Accelerator Cannon.
Effect': Activate only in response to the activation of an opposing monster's Effect while you control 8 or more Levels worth of WIND monsters. Negate the effect and switch that monster to face-up Defense Position. Then, select 1 of your banished WIND monsters and Special Summon it. At the End Phase of your turn, you take 1,000 points of damage.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Desert of Eternity (Field Spell Card)
Image: The same evil-looking temple on a rocky peak in the background of the "City of Eternity" card, but now in the center of a bleak desert, with a portal over it. In the foreground, a traveler looks up towards it.
Effect: If this card is added to your hand via the effect of an "Eternity" Field Spell, you may banish 2 "Eternity" Field Spell Cards with different names from your GY; activate this card from your hand. (This is a quick effect.) Also, if this card was added to your hand from your deck by the effect of "Bridge of Eternity", place 2 Pilgrimage Counter on it when it is activated, and then draw 1 card for every Pilgrimage Counter it has. Once per turn, the turn player may pay 1,000 Life Points to swap the ATK and DEF Scores of every face-up monster on the field. If this card is destroyed, you may add 1 "Eternity" Field Spell from your deck to your hand except a "Bridge of Eternity".
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Jemorille: The name of the device Jemorille had mentioned was familiar, as it brought to mind a memory the Shadowchasers wanted to forget. The unfortunately named Professor Cobra had invented this device, which he claimed would collect and analyze the fighting spirit, concentration, and decisions the wearer made. In truth, they were used to channel a form of necromancy, which depleted the wearer's energy at an alarming rate, causing exhaustion or, at extreme settings, death. After Cobra fell victim to his own device, the effect became worse, as those drained of energy were stripped of their free will, becoming zombie-like minions to the power behind Cobra, which was Yubel.
Cobra's goal, it appeared, was to store the energy and use it in a way that could resurrect his deceased son, although given the end result, it's unclear just what such an action would have accomplished. Antisthenes had no desire to perform such miracles, but he recognized the potential of using technology to convert fighting spirit into energy.
Thus, he had augmented the Bio-Bands with nanotechnology. An unholy and dangerous combination.
Continued in "Wrecking Ball", coming soon.