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CHAPTER THIRTEEN
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Yami no Oujou!
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Yumi's Challenge
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Duelatopia…
In the City of a Thousand Wonders, action was happening all over the place. Monsters were at battle in dozens of locations.
In the middle of the Restaurant District, a boy with slick, black hair and a jean jacket was dueling a younger boy with brown hair and more fashionable clothes. The boy in the jean jacket had 1,700 Life Points remaining and Armed Dragon LV 5 (2,400/1,700) on his side. The other boy had 3,500 Life Points remaining and had Soul Tiger in Defense Mode (0/2,100) and Berserk Gorilla (2,000/1,000) in Attack Mode.
"Your Trap Card may have gotten you out of that last attack," said the boy with the Dragon, "but next turn will be different. Make your move."
"Well, let's see here…" said the other boy, drawing and adjusting his glasses.
"All right! I sacrifice Soul Tiger and Berserk Gorilla to summon Big Koala!"
The two Beasts vanished, and a huge koala appeared, towering over the Dragon. (2,700/2,000)
"Get that Dragon!" he ordered. "Take down from down under!"
Big Koala charged on all fours, and tackled Armed Dragon, blowing it away. The first boy cringed as his Life Points fell to 1,400.
"I'm not done yet…" he said, drawing a card.
"I play… Pot of Greed…"
He made two draws.
"Perfect," he said. "I play Level Modulation. First, I get to be generous. You get to draw two cards."
His opponent made two draws.
"Then I get to summon my Dragon back from the Graveyard."
Armed Dragon LV 5 appeared again.
"And I'm not done. Next I play… Level Up! This lets me instantly evolve him into Armed Dragon LV 7."
In a flash of light, the Dragon transformed into an even bigger, nastier one. (2,800/1,000)
"Now I activate his ability…" he continued. "I'll toss Invader of Darkness from my hand, and since it has 2,900 Attack Points, my Dragon can wipe out your big teddy bear."
He discarded the card. Armed Dragon shot out a blast of energy disks, eradicating Big Koala.
"Now, attack directly!"
His opponent was thrown from his feet as the huge claw crashed down.
The duelist slowly got up as his Life Points fell to 700.
"All right, my move…" he muttered, drawing a card. "And koalas aren't bears, for your information…"
He smiled when he saw what it was.
"Thanks for the two free cards," he said, playing a Spell Card. "I play Silent Doom. Now I can summon one Normal Monster from my Graveyard in Defense Mode. Guess who it is."
Big Koala appeared, crouching in Defense.
"Now I play… Polymerization. I'll fuse Big Koala with Des Kangaroo to summon the Master of Oz!"
A short, scrappy kangaroo appeared on the field. Then the two Monsters swirled together…
…forming a titan even bigger than the Dragon. It was a huge koala with green fur, wearing boxing gloves, a purple jacket, and red sneakers. (4,200/3,700)
"WAIT a minute!" shouted his opponent.
"Attack!" shouted the duelist. "Ayer's rock uppercut!"
Master of Oz clobbered the Dragon, blasting it and its owner's Life Points to nothing…
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Outside the Museum of Natural History, Heck had finally gotten the courage to make another challenge.
Right now, he had 2,200 Life Points remaining, and had VW-Tiger Catapult (2,000/2,100) on his side of the field. Unfortunately, he couldn't attack with it. His opponent, who had 2,400 Life Points remaining, had a Continuous Spell Card called "A" Cell Breeding Device on his side of the field, which let him put an A-Counter on one Monster each turn. He also had a Monster called an Alien Psychic that prevented Monsters with A-Counters from attacking. (200/100)
His opponent drew a card.
"I use my Breeding Device…" he said, "to give your Catapult a second A-Counter…"
A hideous slug flew forward, and attached itself to VW.
"Then, I sacrifice Alien Psychic…."
Alien Psychic vanished…
"To summon Alien Mother!"
In an explosion of energy, a hideous creature appeared on his side of the field. It (she?) was reptilian, with an armored carapace, four arms, and razor-sharp claws, teeth, and talons. (2,300/1,500)
"Well that ain't pretty…" said Heck. "And that ain't ugly… That is pretty ugly!"
"Make jokes if you want…" said his opponent. "But when an Alien battles a Monster with A-Counters, that Monster loses 300 Attack Points for each one.
"Alien Mother… Attack his Tiger Catapult! Bite from beyond!"
Alien Mother rushed the Machine, grabbed it, and sank its teeth into its armor. The Machine sparked and exploded.
Heck shielded himself as his Life Points fell to 1,300.
"However," he continued, "since your Machine can't be summoned from the Graveyard, I can't use Alien Mother's effect."
"Your move… You lose next turn, unless you can do something with two cards."
Heck drew a card.
"Ah play Pot of Greed," he said. "So now ah have three."
He made two draws.
"Heh, heh…" he said.
He played a Spell Card.
"Ah play… Different Dimension Hangar!
"Here's how it works. Ah get to remove up to three Union Monsters in my deck from play…"
He looked through his deck and chose two cards.
"And ah'm gonna do that with Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank. Next, ah summon X-Head Cannon…"
He played the card, and the blue, cannon-toting Machine appeared. (1,800/1,500)
"Now, since the two Union Monsters ah just removed from play are ones that can be Equipped to X-Head Cannon," he continued, "my Spell Card lets me summon them to the field…"
A glowing portal opened in mid-air, and Y-Dragon Head flew out (1,500/1,600), followed by Z-Metal Tank (1,500/1,300).
"Now… Combine…"
The three Machines merged, changing shape, and the XYZ-Dragon Cannon loomed over the field. (2,800/2,600)
His opponent gulped.
Heck discarded his last card, and Alien Mother screamed before it was atomized.
"Attack directly!" shouted Heck. "De-fission blasters!"
The Machine opened fire. Heck's opponent was thrown back by the impact as his Life Points hit zero.
As the holograms vanished, Heck looked at his badge, which had been restored to Orange.
"Okey-dokey…" he said.
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On the beach not far from the barbecue pit where Yumi and her group had been (but strangely, were not right now), Felicia was in a tough spot.
She had her Super War Lion (2,300/2,100) on the field, but only 800 Life Points left.
Her opponent had Neo Aqua Madoor on the field in Defense Mode (1,200/3,000), and a strange device that was the result of a dangerous Continuous Trap: Type Zero Magic Crusher. He had 2,000 Life Points remaining.
"My move!" he said, drawing a card.
He grinned.
"And I discard my Gather Your Mind to activate the effect of my Magic Crusher!"
He discarded the card. The Type Zero Magic Crusher glowed. It shot a blast of energy at Felicia, and she winced in pain as it hit her. Her Life Points fell to 300.
"All I need to do is draw one more Spell Card on my next turn, and this duel is mine," he said.
"Not if I can help it," she said, drawing a card.
She smiled.
"I summon Rescue Cat."
She played the card, and the sweet-looking kitten appeared. (300/100)
"Now I activate her effect. By sending her to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon two Beasts that are Level Three or less. Go, cutie!"
Rescue Cat burrowed into the sand, and The All-Seeing White Tiger (1,300/500) and Catnipped Kitty (0/500) appeared.
"And what are they gonna do?" asked her opponent with a laugh.
"Take down your defense," answered Felicia.
"I'd like to see them try it," he replied.
"Do you know what Catnipped Kitty can do?" asked Felicia. "Once per turn, she can reduce the Defense Score of one Monster to zero."
Catnipped Kitty meowed, and blew a kiss to Neo Aqua Madoor. He blushed, and fell to (1,200/0).
"All-Seeing White Tiger… attack!" shouted Felicia.
The Tiger pounced, and Neo Aqua Madoor shattered into shards of ice.
"Super War Lion, attack directly!"
The lion pounced, and the duelist screamed as it tackled him.
Felicia grinned as she looked at his prone foe.
"Mmm…" she said, looking at her badge. "Felicia Summers is back on the prowl…"
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Cassandra sat at her table, shuffling the Tarot deck. (Cassandra never slept for a full eight hours at a time. She had learned how to divide her sleep pattern into short naps that she took frequently, and was thus able to get an ample amount of rest and still be active almost any time. She was willing to teach others how to do this "trick", but it was hard.)
The deck she was shuffling now had a full seventy-eight cards. She needed more insight this time.
She took a card and placed it on the table.
The High Priestess. The card that represented Yumi.
She slowly drew another card. It was a simple picture of an arm coming out of a cloud, holding a large sword.
"The Ace of Swords…" she said. "Yumi's mind is awakening to new challenges, as it should be. One cannot stay rooted in old habits with what is about to occur.
"I sense that the first one is starting and that Yumi is involved. The next card should show me the most likely outcome…"
She drew a card, and looked at it…
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Where were Yumi and her friends?
Yumi was staring down the Ascender, and they were standing on a grim parody of the pleasant beach. The beach they were now on was rocky, covered with grey sand, with angry waves crashing into the shore. Overhead, angry black clouds were overcast. Not a trace of Duelatopia was in sight.
Ren, Chelsea, Sam, and Erik watched in fear from a nearby rock…
Then they noticed Anastasia standing by them, with a look of worry on her face.
"You!" shouted Ren. "Who are you? Did you bring us here? Where are we? What is this?"
Anastasia looked surprised.
"You can see me?" she asked.
They nodded.
"Well, I'll let Yumi tell you if she survives…" she muttered.
"If she survives?" shouted Chelsea. "Where are we? What's happening?"
"I'll… try to explain…" said Anastasia. "We're most likely in the Sorcerer Kings' domain. Another dimension of sorts. Where exactly, I don't know. And as for what's about to happen, it's what has happened in history whenever two warriors have reached a stalemate over a Shadow Charm that had no owner…
"This is called the Yami no Oujou… One of the deadliest types of Shadow Games…
"In ages past, these contests would consist of battles of swords and incantations. But since both of them are duelists, the rules have adjusted, and Duel Monsters will suffice…"
"Then if Yumi loses, she loses her soul?" asked Ren.
Anastasia shook her head.
"It's simpler," said Anastasia. "The term 'Yami no Oujou' can be translated to 'Death of Darkness'. Maybe a more appropriate description of this is death from darkness. This game is played for keeps. Whoever loses… well, the loser usually dies…"
The four youths shuddered.
"Couldn't one of them just forfeit?" asked Chelsea.
"It won't happen…" replied Anastasia. "That has never happened once in the history of these particular Shadow Games. Some people think that the atmosphere affects the mind, and makes both combatants unwilling to surrender. Every time an ally has begged someone to simply give the Charm to his opponent, he's found his pleas completely ignored…"
"Yumi!" screamed Sam. "You'd better live through this! I haven't gotten a chance to beat you yet!"
Yumi either didn't hear her rival or didn't care.
"Yumi…" said the voice of the Pharaoh, "you realize we're in this deep…"
"Mmm…" she replied. "Any idea who's running this?"
"I have no idea," he responded. "Whatever beings are in charge, their power is far beyond anything I've ever encountered. Even Zork pales in comparison. Perhaps the rumors of the Sorcerer Kings' demise were blown out of proportion."
Yumi finally spoke to her opponent.
"You work for Rasputin don't you?" she asked. "So who are you?"
The Ascender lowered her hood, revealing an olive complexion and flowing, red hair.
"You may call me Holly," she said. "I was once the national champion of Greece, before I lost that title. I found that becoming a duelist assassin paid more than tournaments.
"As for who my boss is, I won't confirm or deny anything. All I'll say is, he'll pay a great deal once he learns that I've done away with you. I'm gonna bury you at sea!"
"Don't count on it…" said Yumi.
Then a powerful voice spoke out of the clouds.
"Yumi, Holly," it said. "Listen closely. A battle of Duel Monsters will suffice, but to make it more challenging, a house rule is being added."
"House rule?" said Erik. "He can do that?"
"These beings are not bound by any rules set by Industrial Illusions," said Anastasia. "They can basically do whatever they want."
"Here is the rule," said the being. "I call it Danger Zone, because the arena will have an abundance of Trap Cards, and we all know how dangerous they can be.
"It works as follows: Every time each of you end your turns, a Trap Card, chosen at random, will be placed on your side of the field, provided you have room for one. The Trap could be almost any one that you'd find useful. I assure you, you won't get something that you'd find completely worthless. Backfire, for example, is only a possibility if you have at least one Fire Monster.
"The only two Traps that are not allowed in this duel are Royal Decree and Chain Burst. If either of you have one of them in your decks, I guarantee you'll never draw it. Jinzo is forbidden as well. No card that permanently nullifies or limits the ability to use Traps now exists in your decks if you had any to begin with. One-use cards that counter other Traps, like Seven Tools of the Bandit, are still legit.
"One more thing. Whenever one of these special Traps leaves the field in any way, they are, in a sense, removed from play. Thus, you cannot recover them with Mask of Darkness or something similar. However, if it is a Trap that must be destroyed to activate, it still counts as being sent to the Graveyard if it is destroyed.
"Now begin. Honor goes to Holly."
The two Disks activated.
"He's giving the first turn to Holly?" shouted Ren. "Just like that? No fair!"
"I'm afraid that in a Yami no Oujou," said Anastasia, "the decision of the official is final."
(Yumi: 8,000) -------------------- (Holly: 8,000)
"Game on!" shouted both the duelists.
Holly made her first draw.
"Let's see now, what first…" she said, looking over her hand. "Think I'll summon my Giant Red Seasnake."
She played the card, and in a burst of energy, a giant, eel-like serpent appeared, with sharp teeth and red scales. It hovered in the air in front of Holly, and hissed menacingly. (1,800/800)
"Next, I'll place one card facedown."
She fit a card into her Disk, and a facedown card appeared.
"That will do for now. I end my turn."
With a shimmer of light, another facedown card appeared on her side of the field. But instead of the usual color, it was solid gold.
"Interesting…" she said with a smile.
"Lovely…" muttered Sam.
"What?" asked Ren.
"Giant Red Seasnake…" replied Sam. "Sure, it isn't very special in terms of stats, but that card is incredibly rare. It was made back when Level Four beatsticks were rare and expensive, and unlike most, it was never reprinted as a more common version. So even today, that one is still rare and expensive.
"Holly could well have more rare and powerful cards than she knows what to do with…"
"All right, Holly…" said Yumi. "I draw!"
She drew a card.
"And I will too, thanks to the nice Trap I was just given," said Holly.
The Trap Card lifted, and an image similar to the Pot of Greed, but red and more spherical, appeared.
"Jar of Greed," she said, making a draw. "Now I get one card."
"But you lose one Monster," replied Yumi. "I summon Skilled Dark Magician."
She played the card, and the black-robed mage appeared. (1,900/1,700)
Then the Spellcaster turned towards her. Yumi was startled as she heard him speak.
"Fear not, Yumi," he said. "I and the rest of your companions will aid you in this dangerous game."
"You can talk?" whispered Yumi.
"In this realm we can all reach our full potential," he replied.
"Okay then!" she shouted. "Turn that eel into unagi! Black magic blast!"
"With pleasure," he replied.
He fired a burst of black magic, and the Giant Red Seasnake exploded.
(Y: 8,000) -------------------- (H: 7,900)
"That will be my turn," said Yumi.
One of the golden Traps appeared on her side.
Hmmm… thought Yumi. Now how does this one work again? Not many duelists use it…
Oh yeah…
Holly drew a card.
"Well what do you know?" she said, showing Yumi the card. "I just drew Warrior of Atlantis.
"But don't worry, I don't intend to summon him…"
She slipped the card into her Graveyard slot.
"See, by sending him to the grave, I get to take a certain Spell Card from my deck."
She took her deck and looked through it, choosing a card.
Her Field Slot opened.
"And now I'll use it," she said. "Time to swamp this beach. I play… A Legendary Ocean!"
A huge tidal wave appeared behind her. Yumi braced herself, as it crashed into the beach…
Before she knew it, they were both knee-deep in sea-water, and a beautiful sea palace had appeared behind Holly.
"A Water Deck…" said Anastasia. "Challenging… if used right…"
"Nice, isn't it?" asked Holly. "And in this place, all Water Monsters gain 200 points, for both attacking and defending.
"It also downgrades their Levels by one, letting me summon a Level Five Monster with no sacrifice…
"Like this one… the Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness!"
As she placed the card on her Disk, and bubbles appeared in front of her…
And then a huge creature broke surface.
Everyone here had seen killer whales before. Environmentalists were glad to say that, in recent years, they had grown much more numerous, and were taken off the endangered list a decade ago. However, this one was much different than any they had seen. It was much bigger than the typical specimen, and most killer whales didn't have cannons, turrets, and huge cranes on their backs. (2,100/1,200) –) (2,300/1,400)
"I activate my own Trap!" shouted Yumi.
Her facedown card lifted, showing a sinister Invader of Darkness pointing a finger.
"It's called Penalty Game! and I can use it when you have exactly four cards in your hand, like right now. Now I can choose one of two effects…
"And I'm going to choose the one that makes you skip your next Draw Phase."
Holly scowled at her.
"Fine…" she said. "Your Skilled Dark Magician is still the catch of the day! And if there's one thing I love more than a duel, it's a fish-fry.
"Attack! Killer whale cannon!"
"Sorry…" said Yumi to the Spellcaster.
Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness opened its mouth, and a huge cannon blasted, blowing Skilled Dark Magician to particles.
(Y: 7,600) -------------------- (H: 7,900)
"You're gonna regret that…" said Yumi.
"Man…" said Sam. "The Ascender I faced was a klutz who used a Burn Deck. This one seems a great deal more competent. I guess they come from all walks of life in dueling."
"I'll place another card facedown, and end my turn," said Holly.
Another facedown card appeared.
Then, in a flash of light, another golden card appeared.
"Okay…" said Yumi. "Now I'll…"
"Hold it one minute!" shouted Holly.
Her golden Trap lifted.
"Time Seal?" shouted Yumi "Of all the dirty…"
"What's good for the goose is good for the gander," said Holly, with a smirk.
Yumi growled, and looked at the cards that she already had.
What am I worried about? she thought. I have Mirror Force right here. Man, now why didn't I set it one turn ago?
Because I wasn't expecting a huge killer whale-slash-air craft carrier combination, that's why… Ah well, I'll give her a big surprise.
"I place a Monster in Defense Mode, and one card facedown," she said.
A facedown card and a facedown Monster appeared.
She nodded, and a new golden Trap appeared on her side.
"All right," said Holly. "I'll skip my Draw Phase…
"And then I'll activate the Trap I put down earlier. It's called Cursed Waters LV 3."
The Trap lifted. It showed the picture of a bird's eye view of a ship in clear waters approaching an underwater plateau shaped like the number three.
"Okay…" said Yumi. "Interesting name… But what does it do?"
The water below Holly started to bubble again.
"It lets me summon Monsters from my hand," said Holly, "whose combined Levels add up to… well, three.
"So I'll summon Torpedo Fish and Cannonball Spear Shellfish."
She played two cards. Two small Monsters broke surface in front of her. The first Monster looked like a streamlined shark shaped like a torpedo. (1,000/1,000) –) (1,200/1,200) The other looked like a mollusk with a pointed, spiral shell. (1,000/1,000) –) (1,200/1,200)
Anastasia took off her glasses.
"This Holly is no rookie!" she said in surprise. "Normally, the combined Level of those two Monsters would equal five… But thanks to her Field Spell, they meet the requirements of her Trap Card perfectly!"
"Now to show you the trick I can do with these Monsters and my Fortress," said Holly. "By sacrificing my Torpedo Fish, I can destroy one Monster."
Torpedo Fish vanished. Then the Fortress fired a blast, and Torpedo Fish shot towards Yumi's side of the field, blowing away her facedown Blast Magician.
"Next…" continued Holly, "by doing the same thing with my Cannonball Spear Shellfish, I can wipe out one of your Spell or Trap Cards. And I think I'll do that to the one you set yourself."
The Shellfish vanished, and it was fired from the Fortress. Mirror Force was blown to shards.
"You're wide open!" shouted Holly. "Orca Mega-Fortress, attack!"
"I can't watch…" said Ren, as the huge whale aimed its gun.
"I activate… Mask of Weakness!" shouted Yumi.
Her golden Trap lifted, and a purple tiki mask attached to the huge whale.
"This weakens your Monster by 700 points for one round," said Yumi, as the Orca's Attack fell to 1,600. "Its attack will still go through, but it won't hurt me as much…"
Then she screamed as the cannon's blast hit her.
"I was wrong…" she gasped. "That did hurt pretty badly…"
(Y: 6,000) -------------------- (H: 7,900)
Can't get too cocky… thought Yumi. I can't forget… If I lose… I'm finished…
"And that's all…" said Holly, with a laugh.
A golden Trap appeared on her side of the field.
Hmm… she thought. Think I'll save that…
Yumi drew a card.
She looked at it and made a slight smirk.
She placed three cards in her Disk, and two facedown cards and a facedown Monster appeared.
"That will do for me," she said.
Another of the golden Traps appeared.
Then she smirked again.
Holly drew a card.
"I activate my Trap," said Yumi, as the golden Trap lifted.
It was an ominous image of a robed spellcaster casting a spell inside a barrier.
A dark fog started to cover the field, hanging over the water like some evil mist…
"What's going on?" asked Holly.
Thunder rolled again…
"It's a powerful Continuous Trap called Curse of Darkness," replied Yumi. "Now, if you want to use any Spell Cards, they'll cost you 1,000 Life Points apiece."
"That is a powerful Trap!" exclaimed Erik.
"Yes, but a risky one," said Anastasia. "It affects Yumi as well, so she has to be careful."
Holly looked at her hand.
"Orca Mega-Fortress…" she said. "Attack!"
"You triggered another Trap!" shouted Yumi, as a Trap she had set herself lifted. "A Hero Emerges!
"Now you have to choose a card from my hand, and if it's a Monster, I get to summon it."
Holly's eyes opened wide.
"You have only one card in your hand!" she exclaimed.
"Perfect!" laughed Chelsea. "Now she's stuck with that one!"
"And the one in my hand is a good one…" said Yumi, throwing it on her Disk. "Chaos Command Magician!"
In a burst of light, the glossy-robed mage appeared. (2,400/1,900)
Chaos Command Magician gave her a thumb's up.
"We'll support you to the end, Yumi," he said.
Holly snarled.
"Okay, fine…" she said. "I can't stop you from taking out my Fortress next round… But I can still destroy your other Monster…
"Orca, continue your attack!"
The Fortress blasted its cannon…
A grizzled old witch-doctor in colorful clothes appeared on the card.
"That's Old Vindictive Magician!" shouted Holly.
The Spellcaster was blasted to bits.
"Bingo," said Yumi. "And since you flipped him, your Monster is toast."
Orca Mega-Fortress of Darkness howled, and then exploded in a fiery blast.
"You sunk my battleship!" whined Holly, as debris rained down on her side.
"That's it Yumi!" shouted Ren. "Beat this chick, and we'll all have fish and chips for lunch!"
"I hope so…" muttered Erik. "Sam and I had to skip breakfast to hang out with you guys."
"The fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach…" growled Sam, "especially if you punch him there! Now keep quiet! You do realize that if Yumi dies, my mom is going to have to explain this to hers?"
Holly growled. She waved her hand, and a second golden card appeared next to the first one.
Yumi drew a card.
"I summon Magician's Valkyria," she said.
She threw the card on her Disk, and Valkyria appeared, and gave Holly a mean look.
"Chaos Command Magician, attack directly!" ordered Yumi. "Chaos magic!"
"No problem," he said.
The mage fired a blast of colored energy from his staff, and Holly strained under it.
"Valkyria, you too," she said.
Valkyria leapt up.
"Take this!" she shouted. "Light beam blast!"
She pointed her staff and fired, striking Holly squarely.
Holly held her head…
(Y: 6,000) -------------------- (H: 3,900)
"That's all for my turn," said Yumi, as another of the golden cards appeared in front of her.
I have to do something, thought Holly, looking at her hand, or it's curtains for me…
She drew a card.
She grinned an evil grin…
"Okay, Yumi, time for some serious pain. I'm going to start by using both of the Trap Cards that our host gave me.
"First, I use this one, Pikeru's Circle of Enchantment…"
The Trap lifted, and White Magician Pikeru appeared over Holly. She calmly cast a spell and an aura of light surrounded Holly.
"What it does is prevent me from losing Life Points from card effects for this turn. So I can use Spell Cards without worrying about your Curse of Darkness.
"Now that it's safe to use them, I'll get rid of it. I play Mystical Space Typhoon."
She played the card, and a cyclone tore across the sea, shattering the Curse of Darkness card. The fog dissipated and faded away.
"Next, I activate Soul Resurrection…"
Her other Trap lifted.
"This lets me take one Normal Monster from my Graveyard, and Special Summon it to the field in Defense Mode. So Giant Red Seasnake, welcome back."
The Seasnake appeared again, curling up in its coils. (1,800/800) –) (2,000/1,000)
"I'm only half done…" continued Holly. "I play another Spell Card. This one is called… Big Wave, Small Wave. Here's how it works. I have to destroy all the Water Monsters I have on the field, but then I get to Special Summon an equal number from my hand."
She played the card, and Giant Red Seasnake shattered.
"And the Monster I'm summoning is…" said Holly, "Hydrogeddon!"
A burst of muddy water erupted out of the ocean in front of Holly, and a strange creature rose out of the sea. It looked like a large quadruped, made of boiling, bubbling mud. (1,600/1,000) –) (1,800/1,200)
"Hydrogeddon," she ordered, "drown Magician's Valkyria!"
Hydrogeddon blasted a gush of water from its mouth at the Spellcaster.
"I activate Rush Recklessly!" shouted Yumi, as one of her facedown cards lifted.
Valkyria rose to an Attack of 2,300.
"Oh, whatever shall I do?" moaned Holly.
She grinned an evil grin, and then held up a card.
"I know… I'll play MY Rush Recklessly!"
Hydrogeddon shot up to 2,500. Valkyria screamed as she was engulfed in the blast of water, and then she was gone.
(Y: 5,800) -------------------- (H: 3,900)
"And I'm far from done…" said Holly. "When Hydrogeddon crushes an enemy Monster, I get to summon another one."
Another burst of muddy water shot up, and a second Hydrogeddon broke surface.
"Continuing…" she said. "Since I haven't Normal Summoned yet, I'll summon Oxygeddon."
She played another card, and a wispy creature that looked like a pterodactyl made of green gas appeared, hovering over the two Hydrogeddons. (1,800/800)
"Technically, this isn't a Water Monster, but it works for me… I'll show you why…"
She took the last card in her hand.
"A chemistry lesson. What do you get when you combine two hydrogen atoms with one oxygen atom?"
"You get water," said Yumi. "Duh."
"Exactly…" said Holly. "So I play the Spell Card, Bonding H2O, and sacrifice my three Monsters, to summon Water Dragon."
The three Monsters burst into globules of energy, and then, a huge form erupted out of the Legendary Ocean. It was a giant sea serpent, made entirely of water, with a dragon's head, and no limbs. It looked at Yumi with glowing green eyes. (2,800/2,600) –) (3,000/2,800)
"I'll end my turn there," she said.
One of the golden traps appeared on her side of the field.
"Guys..." muttered Sam, "I really hate to sound like some Patty Pessimist, but I've seen that thing used before, and it's really bad news…"
"What can it do?" asked Ren, looking at the huge creature.
"Well," answered Sam, "even if Yumi somehow destroys it, that might make things even worse."
Yumi drew one card.
"I move Chaos Command Magician to Defense Mode, and that will be all," she said.
Chaos Command Magician crouched in defense.
"Sorry Yumi…" he said. "Good luck from this point…"
"Thanks," she said.
One of the Trap Cards appeared on her side of the field.
She smirked.
Holly drew a card. She smiled when she saw what it was.
"I activate Dust Tornado!" shouted Yumi, as it lifted up. "Say goodbye to that Trap Card!"
The Tornado shot forward, and the golden card shattered.
"Heh, heh…" chuckled Holly. "You took the bait! That Trap was a special one called Dark Coffin. It had to be destroyed for it to be activated.
"Now you have to make a choice, Yumi… You can either destroy one of your Monsters, or discard one card from your hand.
"So, Yumi… What's it gonna be?"
Yumi grit her teeth.
She discarded her last card.
"Now, let's continue…" said Holly. "I summon my favorite Monster. Meet Mermaid Knight."
She played the card, and a new Monster appeared. It was a lovely, but powerful-looking mermaid, somewhat resembling a more mature, adult version of Ariel, holding a shield and sword. Armor covered the lower half of her body. She gave an angry look at Yumi and her Monster. (1,500/700) –) (1,700/900)
Yumi looked at Mermaid Knight. It was easy to see why she was Holly's favorite Monster… She kind of looked like Holly herself…
"Water Dragon… destroy Chaos Command Magician! Tidal surge!"
Water Dragon blasted a mighty blast of water from its maw, and Chaos Command Magician was washed away.
"Now my Mermaid can attack you…" she continued. "And due to my Ocean, she can do so twice!"
Mermaid Knight flew forward, and Yumi screamed as she slashed at her with a downward stroke.
Then she screamed again as it was followed by an upward stroke.
Yumi fell to her knees.
"So this is what… a Shadow Game… feels like…" she muttered.
(Y: 2,400) -------------------- (H: 3,900)
"Good lord…" muttered Ren. "This can't be happening…"
"She has no cards in her hand…" gasped Chelsea. "She's gonna need a miracle draw…"
"I'll end my turn there," said Holly, with a laugh.
A new golden Trap appeared on her side of the field.
Yumi got up. She took some deep breaths…
She drew a card.
Darn! she thought, looking at it. Apprentice Magician, no offense, but you were NOT the card I wanted right now!
"I activate the Trap I got," said Holly. "Sixth Sense!"
The Trap lifted, showing a frightened woman with psychic energy coming out of her head.
"Sixth Sense?" asked Sam. "What the heck is that?"
"Sixth Sense is a very rare and very powerful Trap," replied Anastasia. "In fact, it goes on and off the Forbidden List frequently, and was just made legal again with the last list. Holly names two numbers between one and six, and then a die is rolled. If the result is one of the numbers she named, she draws that many cards. Any other number, and she loses that many cards from her deck."
"Oh, this is the most unfair duel I have EVER seen!" shouted Ren.
"I'd be really dumb to name any numbers except five and six," said Holly, "so let's go!"
A golden die appeared in the air, and rolled, bouncing on the waves…
Everyone gasped as it came up five.
Holly grinned and made five draws.
Yumi placed her card on her Disk, and the facedown Monster appeared.
She bowed her head.
"YUMI!" screamed Ren.
Yumi looked as the golden Trap started to materialize...
If there's a Heart of the Cards, it seems to have deserted me… she thought. This Trap I'm getting is my only chance… If it can't block an attack… All I'm doing is stalling for one more round…
She stared at it for a minute.
Then she faced her opponent.
Holly drew a card.
She looked at her hand.
Let's see here… she thought. Another Ocean, another Bonding H2O, Pot of Avarice, Dust Tornado, Exchange, Spiral Serpent… Nothing I can use here…
Ah well… As if it matters…
"Mermaid Knight…" she ordered. "Attack her Monster! Sword of the sea!"
Mermaid Knight flew forward with an evil grin, and Apprentice Magician appeared on the card before she was cut down.
"I use her effect," said Yumi, "to set another Apprentice Magician."
Another facedown Monster appeared.
Holly frowned.
"Again!" she shouted.
Mermaid Knight cut down the second one.
A third facedown Monster appeared.
"Water Dragon, attack!" she screamed.
Water Dragon roared… It breathed out its breath weapon…
Yumi gestured, and her Trap lifted.
"HUH?" shouted Holly. "Draining Shield? WAIT!"
It was too late. An invisible shield formed around Yumi, and the blast plowed into it. Energy flowed into her and she glowed with an aura of light…
(Y: 5,400) -------------------- (H: 3,900)
Yumi slowly looked up.
"Thank you…" she said. "I feel much better now."
"Big deal!" shouted Holly. "So you got lucky that turn. I'll get you next turn!
"I'll place this facedown, and end my turn."
She fit a card into her Disk, and a facedown card appeared.
Then, another golden Trap Card appeared on Holly's side.
She's right, thought Yumi, looking at her facedown Monster. I don't have a Monster in my deck that's strong enough to destroy her Water Dragon without help. And even if I could, I'd have three Monsters to deal with instead of one.
She drew a card.
"I play… Pot of Greed!" she shouted.
"How lucky can you get?" muttered Holly.
"Lucky?" said Yumi. "You've been the one with all the luck so far. And I think you've used it up, and the tide of luck is about to swing to me…"
She drew twice.
She looked at them and smiled.
"I Flip-Summon my Magician of Faith," she said.
The card flipped, and Magician of Faith appeared where the card was. (300/400)
Yumi retrieved a card from her Graveyard. She held up Pot of Greed.
"Now if you don't mind…" she said, "I'd like to play it again!"
The jar appeared in front of her again with an evil cackle, and she drew twice again.
She looked at the four cards.
"Okay, Yumi," said Magician of Faith. "Use what you have, and bring down that abomination!"
"Right…" said Yumi. "Now… I play Magical Dimension!
"I sacrifice Magician of Faith…"
The Spellcaster vanished.
"…to summon Dark Magician of Chaos!"
In an aura of pure darkness, Dark Magician of Chaos appeared. (2,800/2,600)
"Now, I could destroy one of your Monsters, but if I did, I couldn't use his ability to get a Spell Card back. For some reason, it's a 'miss the timing' thing.
"So I'll forfeit that effect to get a Spell Card back from my Graveyard."
"Pot of Greed again, right?" asked Holly, in an annoyed tone.
"No, actually," said Yumi, as she took another card from her discard slot. "This time, I'm choosing Rush Recklessly.
"And now I'm playing it!"
She held up the card, Dark Magician of Chaos rose to an attack of 3,500.
"Dark Magician of Chaos, attack Water Dragon! Scepter strike!"
The chaos mage leapt into the air, and cast a spell of burning black magic. Water Dragon bellowed and was blown into a great splatter.
(Y: 5,400) -------------------- (H: 3,400)
"Oh yeah?" said Holly. "Well, when Water Dragon bites the big one, I get to summon the three Monsters that I sacrificed to summon it…"
"Not this time you don't," replied Yumi. "That's only the case if it goes to your Graveyard. And Dark Magician of Chaos removes from play any Monster that he destroys."
Holly paused, dumbfounded.
"I'll end my turn now," said Yumi. "The tide of this duel is turning…"
One of the golden traps appeared on her side of the field.
Holly angrily drew a card.
"First thing's first, Yumi," she said. "I don't like the help you've been getting.
"So say goodbye to that Trap. I activate my own Dust Tornado!"
Her own Trap Card lifted up, and the Tornado tore across the field, shattering the golden card.
Yumi grinned as a spooky mist formed on her side of the field.
"I was hoping you'd do that," she said.
A frightening-looking creature, resembling a cross between a golden serpent and a bug wearing a tutan crown rose on Yumi's side of the field, and shielded itself in Defense Mode. (1,000/1,000)
"What is THAT?" asked Holly.
"Dark Coffin isn't the only Trap that has to be destroyed to be activated," said Yumi. "The Trap you destroyed was called Statue of the Wicked. When it's destroyed, I get a Wicked Token like this one."
Holly grit her teeth.
"I play Pot of Avarice!" she shouted.
Both Hydrogeddons, Oxygeddon, Giant Red Seasnake, and Orca Mega Fortress of Darkness slipped out of her discard slot. She added them to her deck, reshuffled, and made two draws.
"I move Mermaid Knight to Defense Mode, and set another Monster in Defense Mode." she said.
A facedown Monster appeared. Mermaid Knight sat on her tail, and folded her arms over her chest.
A new Trap appeared on Holly's side of the field.
Yumi drew a card.
Huh… she thought. Haven't gotten a chance to use him yet.
"Meet the newest addition to my deck," she said. "I summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer."
She played the card, and in a shadowy aura, a man in a monk's outfit, holding a string of prayer beads appeared. He was bald, and the left half of his face was hideously scarred. (1,800/700)
"Hmm…" said Anastasia. "Never expected a Mouto to use that guy, but it makes sense when you think about it."
"Dark Magician of Chaos…" ordered Yumi, "kill her Mermaid Knight!"
The Chaos Mage fired a blast. Mermaid Knight screamed as she was torn apart by it.
Holly screamed too… a bloodcurdling scream. She fell over on her back.
"Holly seems to have taken that loss pretty hard," said Erik.
"Well, I'm no stranger to Shadow Games, and…" started Anastasia, "and…"
They all looked at her. She laughed nervously.
"Anyway," she continued, "you heard what she said… That was her favorite card. In every duelist's deck, there is a card that stands out, a card that is closer to the duelist than any other card. It's the card that represents the duelist.
"In a Shadow Game, if that card is destroyed, it can be quite a shock to the system. And due to the effect of Dark Magician of Chaos, Mermaid Knight didn't just die, she was removed from play… She was eradicated. It struck Holly like a hammer to the skull."
Holly slowly got up, with sweat pouring down her face. She gathered her cards.
"I'm not done with you yet…" said Yumi. "Kycoo, attack her facedown Monster! Spell of banishment!"
"Take this, heathen!" shouted Kycoo.
He waved his hand, and lightning flashed, striking the facedown card. A large grizzly bear appeared on the card, and shattered.
"That was… a Mother Grizzly…" muttered Holly. "Now I can Special Summon a Water Monster that has 1,500 Attack Points or less. So I summon Amphibious Bugroth MK-3."
A Machine of some sort, looking like a submarine with two clawed arms and two turrets of some sort on top, rose out of the water in front of her. It made a series of beeps and clicks, and a light appeared in its windows. (1,500/1,300) –) (1,700/1,500)
Yumi looked at the Machine.
"I end my turn…" she said.
A new golden Trap appeared in front of her.
Holly drew a card. She looked at it closely.
"I'll place one of my own cards facedown…" she said.
A normal facedown card appeared next to the two golden ones.
"Then a Monster in Defense Mode…"
A facedown Monster appeared.
"And I forgot to mention," she continued, "in ocean terrain, my Bugroth can bypass your Monsters and attack you directly.
"Bugroth, attack Yumi directly! Lock-on torpedoes!"
Two hatches on the Amphibious Bugroth's underside opened, and two torpedoes fell into the water. They launched, and shot towards Yumi, exploding on impact. Yumi struggled to keep standing…
(Y: 3,700) -------------------- (H: 3,400)
"Yumi!" exclaimed Dark Magician of Chaos.
"I'm all right…" she replied.
"Two more rounds," said Holly, "and you're finished.
A third facedown golden card appeared next to the other ones.
Yumi angrily drew.
She looked at it.
"Dark Magician of Chaos, attack the Amphibious Bugroth MK-3!"
The Spellcaster prepared to fire…
"I activate… Tornado Wall!" shouted Holly.
Her own Trap Card lifted, and a wall of waterspouts sprang up. The submarine was blown to pieces, but Holly didn't seem to care.
"So long as this Continuous Trap is active," she said, "the very ocean itself will protect me. Any damage you would inflict to my Life Points is reduced to zero."
Yumi's eyes narrowed. Dark Magician of Chaos looked at her.
"Sorry Yumi…" said the chaos mage. "She's right. It's weakening my magic. I never figured I'd ever have to blast through water…"
"Don't worry, we'll think of something," replied Yumi.
"Kycoo, attack her facedown Monster!"
Kycoo started to chant.
"I activate another Trap," said Holly.
One of her golden cards lifted. It bore the image of Freed the Matchless General looking over a map on a table.
"It's called A Feint Plan. Now you aren't allowed to attack my facedown Monsters for this turn."
Kycoo stopped dead in his tracks. He turned to Yumi and shrugged.
Yumi glared at her.
"I end my turn," she said to Holly.
Another gold card appeared on her side.
Holly drew a card.
She played a card, and the Pot of Greed appeared on her side of the field. She made two draws.
She grinned.
"I Flip-Summon my Don Turtle," she said.
Her facedown Monster flipped into Attack Mode, and a weird creature appeared where the card had been. It looked like a big, colorful turtle shell with two eyes peering out of it. (1,100/1,200) –) (1,300/1,400)
"And when Don Turtle is summoned," she continued, "I can Special Summon any other Don Turtles I have in my hand, and I just happen to have another one right here."
She placed another card on her Disk, and a second Don Turtle appeared.
"Now… I sacrifice both my Turtles…"
The two Don Turtles shattered into pixels…
"Wait a second!" shouted Sam. "Two sacrifices? Her Field Spell already downgrades her Monsters' Levels by one… That means…"
"…that whatever she's summoning is stronger than Level Seven…" muttered Chelsea.
"I summon the true King of the Sea…" exclaimed Holly. "A creature whose appearance has meant watery doom to every coastal town that has seen it… The unstoppable Spiral Serpent!"
The Legendary Ocean was still for a minute…
And then, waves started to crash. A giant fin broke surface, followed by another one…
The rest of the creature slowly emerged, looking too big to be real. It was a sea serpent twice the size of the palace behind Holly, with a thick body connected to a long, snaky neck that held a head with a mouth full of shark-like teeth the size of swords. (2,900/2,900) –) (3,100/3,100)
"God help her…" muttered Ren.
"He'd better…" gasped Sam, "because I don't know what else can…"
"Now…" said Holly. "I activate… Rising Energy!"
Another golden Trap lifted.
"Now, I just gotta trash one of my cards, and Spiral Serpent gains 1,500 Attack Points."
She tossed her other Bonding H2O, and Spiral Serpent glowed, and rose to an Attack of 4,600.
"Forty-six hundred?" shouted Chelsea. "That's overkill!"
"Spiral Serpent," ordered Holly, "attack Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer with Spiral Wave!"
Spiral Serpent bellowed a roar that seemed to shake all of creation. It blasted a cyclone of water from its massive jowls, and Yumi was thrown off her feet as Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer was obliterated.
(Y: 900) -------------------- (H: 3,400)
"Dumb," said Chelsea. "She could have attacked Dark Magician of Chaos."
"It doesn't really matter what Monster Yumi has," said Anastasia. "Yumi can't damage her Life Points so long as that Trap Card is on the field, and she likely can't summon anything stronger than Spiral Serpent. She aimed for the target that would cost Yumi more Life Points."
"I'm not done," said Holly, playing a card. "I play… Exchange!"
As the card appeared, Yumi raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, fine…" muttered Yumi, "come here…"
Holly grinned, and walked over.
"You first, I insist…" said Holly, showing the four cards in her hand.
Yumi gave a look of shock. One of the cards in Holly's hand was Creature Swap.
She slowly took it…
Why? thought Yumi, looking at the card.
She slowly revealed the three cards in her own hand, which consisted of Injection Fairy Lily, Dark Magician, and Buster Blader.
"Eh… Not much good here…" muttered Holly. "Your Dark Magician is tempting, but…"
She took Injection Fairy Lily.
"This should do…"
She walked back to her position.
Yumi took the bait, hook, line, and sinker! she thought. She'll obviously use that Creature Swap to take control of my Serpent in exchange for that Wicked Token…
She turned and looked at Yumi.
And it will be the last thing she ever does. The Trap Card I received on my last turn is a powerful one called Trojan Blast. Once she tries to take my Monster from me, it will activate, blowing the Serpent to pieces, and dealing her 3,100 points of damage.
"My turn is over," she said. "Make your move."
One more golden facedown card appeared on her side of the field.
Yumi looked at her deck, then at the cards in her hand, and then at the last golden Trap Card she had been given. Then she looked at the Wicked Token.
Okay, it's crunch time, she thought. She deliberately took the only Monster I could summon with no sacrifice. And I'm running out of options. If I don't get a good draw, this duel will be over very shortly…
She drew a card.
It was Graceful Charity.
She looked at the cards in her hand again.
Okay… thought Yumi. Here goes… something…
"I play Graceful Charity!" she shouted.
"I activate another Trap," said Holly, as her most recent gold card flipped up. "Magic Drain. Unless another card in your hand is a Spell Card that you can discard, you won't be getting any more cards. And since I saw your hand, I know you don't have any…"
Yumi grinned.
"Don't have any?" asked Yumi. "Did you forget about THIS?"
She showed her the Creature Swap.
She quickly discarded it, and the Trap Card shattered.
The beautiful angel appeared, and she drew three new cards. She quickly made two discards.
"What?" shouted Holly. "But… what… You were supposed to…"
"Oh, come on…" said Yumi. "Did you actually believe I would fall for something so obvious, Holly? You must think I'm really stupid. That last Trap Card is probably Remove Brainwashing, which you would have waited to trigger until after I destroyed the Monster you got from me using it."
Holly growled…
"And because you made the mistake of thinking I was stupid," continued Yumi, "this duel is over."
"I play Mystical Space Typhoon."
She played the card, and a ferocious cyclone tore across the field. A Legendary Ocean receded, its palace crumbling to dust, and Tornado Wall went with it.
"Now, I sacrifice my Wicked Token for Dark Magician Girl," she continued.
The Wicked Token vanished, and Dark Magician Girl appeared in a flurry of hearts. (2,000/1,700)
She didn't say anything. She merely smiled and winked at Yumi.
"And she gains a little bonus, since Dark Magician is in my Graveyard," she continued.
(2,300/1,700)
"Since when?" shouted Holly.
"Since I just put him there using Graceful Charity," replied Yumi, as she fit her last card into her Disk. "Next… I play Premature Burial. Chaos Command Magician, welcome back."
Chaos Command Magician reappeared in a burst of energy. (2,400/1,900)
"Big deal," said Holly. "None of your Spellcasters are strong enough to beat my Spiral Serpent."
Yumi glared at her…
Her final golden Trap Card lifted.
"Reinforcements?" gasped Holly.
"Yes," said Yumi. "It gives 500 extra Attack Points to any one Monster on the field, and I think I'll give them to Dark Magician of Chaos."
Dark Magician of Chaos glowed, and his Attack Score went up to 3,300.
"Dark Magician of Chaos… Attack the Spiral Serpent! Scepter Strike!"
The Chaos Mage fired a mighty blast at the much bigger Monster, a David shooting at an immense Goliath. Thunder flashed, and the Spiral Serpent roared in agony as the magical energy erupted over its body.
Finally, it exploded into shards.
"Chaos Command Magician, attack directly! Chaos magic!"
Chaos Command Magician blasted his beam of multicolored light and Holly shrieked as an explosion centered on her.
"Dark Magician Girl…"
Yumi paused…
"Attack…"
She paused again.
She looked at Holly for a few seconds.
Then she looked at the sky…
She realized where she was.
The gravity of what she was about to do slowly set in. Attacking would mean her opponent's death…
She also realized that her opponent hadn't started this battle… Neither of them had.
She had gotten so caught up in the duel, she hadn't really thought about it until now…
What was the point of this duel? Why was it demanded to decide who would own a Shadow Charm? Was it to prove who was worthy?
Or… did some demented creature do it for his own entertainment?
It didn't matter… She knew she had to do it…
"Hesitating?" asked Holly. "You don't have the guts, do you? Heh… I would have seen you dead in a minute, Yumi…"
Yumi paused again.
"I have to win, Holly…" she said, slowly. "But I don't blame you for this… I blame Rasputin. He did nothing to stop you from doing this, and did nothing to save you…
"And from this point on, I'm going to make it my goal to bring him down. God knows how much more blood he has on his hands.
"Forgive me if you can…
"Dark Magician Girl… Dark burning attack!"
Dark Magician Girl cast her spell, and Holly screamed as the whole world seemed to come undone…
(Y: 100) -------------------- (H: 0)
Yumi's head drooped…
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
The next thing everyone knew, they were back on the beach next to the barbecue pit. The prone form of Yumi's opponent was lying in the sand twenty feet away.
Erik rushed to the Ascender, and Yumi noticed that there was something on her head. She lifted it off, and saw that it was the Crown of Souls.
"Well…" said Ren, coming up to her. "You, uhm, you won…"
"Yeah…" muttered Yumi, sadly. "I hope it was worth what I had to do…"
"People!" screamed Erik, who was in the process of ripping open Holly's shirt. "Good news, bad news. Good news is, she still has a pulse. Bad news is, she's losing it fast. Start looking for a Centurion while I do what I can."
He quickly started to apply CPR to the fallen Ascender.
"Erik is CPR certified?" asked Yumi, as they started to look.
"Yeah, uhm," said Sam, "it just never came up in casual conversation… 'Hi, this is my boyfriend, and he knows CPR'…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cassandra placed the card she had drawn on the table underneath The High Priestess and the Ace of Swords.
The card was upside-down. If you were to turn it around so that you could look at it properly, you'd see a valiant knight on a horse carrying a wand in a laurel wreath, while onlookers cheered for him.
"Interesting," said Cassandra. "The Six of Wands represents victory, and Yumi was indeed victorious…
"But the card is inverted…
"Victory is far from complete. Many more struggles lie ahead."
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
One hour later…
A man sat in Rasputin's suite, listening on a cell phone.
He was a hulking man, with a sloping forehead that made him look sort of like a Neanderthal, and a nose that had clearly been broken sometime in the past. He wore an expensive black Italian suit that was clearly custom tailored (he didn't buy it himself – Rasputin had commissioned it).
Everyone called him Louis. He didn't bother with his last name any more. He had once been a penny-ante legbreaker for the European mob before Rasputin offered him much more money for a job as a personal bodyguard.
That was his title, anyway. In truth, Louis was a combination of bodyguard, manservant, and gofer. If one were to compare him to a Duel Monster, the best one to compare him to would be a Giant Orc – very strong, very loyal, but not very bright.
He listened into the phone.
"Okay, I'll tell him…" he said, "but he ain't gonna like it…"
Rasputin walked in.
"Uhm, boss?" said Louis. "Bad news… Holly lost… The Mouto kid… She got the Crown."
"Holly lost…" muttered Rasputin. "Well, is she dead?"
"Nope," said Louis. "She's in the hospital."
Rasputin scratched his head nervously…
"Well…" he muttered. "If that's the case, she's likely in a coma full of nightmares. In her case she's dreaming about drowning in waters full of the Monsters in her deck…
"If she ever wakes up… Which isn't likely… She'll realize that turning coat on me would be even more dangerous than any Yami no Oujou. And that's the best thing about sadists… They hate the thought of being hurt themselves. We have nothing to worry about…"
"Uh, but Yumi has the Crown…" muttered Louis.
"I stand corrected…" growled Rasputin.
He thought for a minute.
"Give me the phone."
"Who you gonna call?" asked Louis.
"Someone to throw terror into them," said Rasputin. "But I won't target Yumi just yet… After all, I'm not some vulture who goes after wounded prey.
"I know someone who's just aching to challenge Ren…
"Someone whom his father was well acquainted with…"
Having won the dreaded Yami no Oujou, Yumi claims the Crown of Souls for her own. One Shadow Charm down, and seven yet to come, but the rest will likely come just as hard. What new dangers lie in wait?
0
0
0
DIFFERENT DIMENSION HANGAR (Spell Card)
Continuous Spell
Image: A spaceship flying out of a glowing portal.
Card Description: Select up to three Union Monsters from your deck that are Level Four or less and remove them from play. If you Normal Summon, Flip-Summon, or Special Summon a Monster to your side of the field and that Monster can be Equipped with one or more of the Union Monsters that was removed from play by this card, Special Summon the Union Monsters that you removed from play with this card's effect that the summoned Monster can be Equipped with. Union Monsters Special Summoned with this effect cannot attack, and cannot be offered as a Tribute.
Note: "Different Dimension Hangar" was first used by Chazz in a third season episode of "Yu-Gi-Oh GX". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
0
0
0
CURSED WATERS LV 3 (Trap Card)
Normal Trap
Image: A bird's eye view of a ship in clear waters approaching an underwater plateau shaped like the number three.
Card Description: You can only activate this card when "Umi" is active on the field. Normal Summon Monsters from your hand whose combined Levels equal three. This counts as your Normal Summon for the turn.
Note: "Cursed Waters LV 3" was first used by Anacis in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode "Get Yarr Game On!" Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
0
0
0
Sam: Enough with this madness! I don't know about all of you, but I've got a tournament to win!
Yumi: It's far from over Sam. In fact, I'd say it's just starting. And we're all in it deep.
Ren: Yeah… And I had the strangest feeling right now… You know what they say? Like someone walking over your grave?
Yumi: Maybe someone did.
Coming up next, "Shadows From a Generation Ago; Duel of Darkness".
As the wheels of the plot start to turn…