I'd like to make an announcement. It seems my last chapter was released one day too early to learn the truth about the so-called curse surrounding the Cyberdark Monsters.
As viewers of the original anime now know, these cards are not evil. They simply resent being used by duelists who are. Their original owner had an attitude similar to Zane's, so he suffered the same fate as Zane eventually did. Thus, Sheppard believed the cards to be cursed.
However, the cards reacted much differently when Zane gave them to Syrus. Syrus was still an honorable duelist, so the Cyberdark cards would not harm him. He could use them with no ill effects.
That is the truth behind the Cyber Tails Deck.
Had this episode with its revelations aired sooner, I would have greatly edited the last chapter. Unfortunately, the anime is fickle, and the revelations came too late. I don't even like the fact that Syrus decided to keep the cards. I liked him much better when he was using his Roids. (Although, you have to wonder, if the cards were indeed cursed, would Syrus have experienced Roid-rage?)
Incidentally, the same episode came with another interesting revelation. Zane actually had two copies of Cyberdark Dragon. Whether or not this meant the deck had multiple copies of Horn, Keel, and Edge, we aren't sure. Rest assured, however, Chelsea only had one of the big ones.
Anyway, let's hope the anime doesn't have any unexpected surprises like this in the future that lead to me starting something I can't stop.
On with the story.
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CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
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A Beacon Lights the Night
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An Ally Returns
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Some would think that a night where the Lord of the Second Circle had visited the Earth and supernatural activity from another source – namely, a powerful spell created ages ago by one of the Sorcerer Kings – would generate foul, inclement weather.
Actually, it was a rather beautiful night, for now. The full moon was in the sky over Duelatopia, amid thousands of stars. Not knowing there were ten escaped criminals on the loose until a Centurion passed them a warning, many guests were out admiring the beauty.
And one guest who couldn't be happier was Latin America's top duelist, Enrique Lobo.
He had gotten the good news just after Yumi's victory in the finals. His father's plea bargain had been accepted. And while his dad would have to pay a great deal of fines, and his business would be under careful scrutiny for a long time, the important part was, there would be no prison time.
At first, Enrique had considered taking the next boat home to be with his father. But he had wanted to meet with Yumi again… To say thank you, if nothing else. She had convinced him to tell his dad to get out of the deal with Rasputin… What had happened now had given him back his dignity, at least.
He didn't really know where he was going right now. For a while he had walked through the Restaurant District, where boyfriends and girlfriends were kissing over mixed drinks or sodas in outdoor cafes. Everyone knew that the vacation was almost over, and they were making the most of it.
Right now, he was in the Museum District…
He looked up, and saw Clock Tower Prison looming above him, three blocks away… It was strange… Had this monolith called him here?
He was about to walk the last few blocks towards the structure…
"Halt!" shouted a female voice.
Enrique looked up, and saw his path blocked by a young woman about his age. She looked attractive – sort of as a harlot would. She had long, dark hair, and even darker eyebrows. She was dressed entirely in black leather, and wore a Duel Disk.
"Don't go any further, handsome," she purred. "No one is allowed any closer to the Clock Tower than here."
Enrique raised his eyebrow.
"You don't seem to have that authority, Señorita," he said. "Mind telling me why that is?"
"Heh," chuckled the girl. "Do you actually think I'm going to tell you that Rasputin has Yumi Mouto trapped inside it?"
Enrique's eyes opened wide, as the girl covered her mouth.
"Damn…" she muttered. "I have got to stop doing that…"
"You'll get out of my way right now, ramera!" he scowled. "Or I'll…"
"The name is Cindy," she replied, "not Ramera, and you'll do what?"
She took something off of her belt, and something sparked in the dim light.
Enrique flinched. It was a stun gun…
He paused. He looked at the Duel Disk on her arm.
"I see you're a duelist…" he said. "I'll duel you to get by."
Cindy smiled evilly.
"Well…" she purred, in a seductive tone. "Hmm… This might be worth it… You are quite handsome… We could always use the type…"
Huh? thought Enrique. What is she talking about?
Cindy put away the stun gun.
"Fine, I accept," she said. "But once you lose, you'll regret your boldness for a long time…"
She grinned, and slowly unzipped the front of her leather top, just enough to reveal most of her cleavage.
"Oh, trying to distract me by flashing skin, huh?" asked Enrique. "Think again. I have a lover back home, and your pathetic attempt can't turn me away from her."
"Then it will be all the sweeter," she replied, "when I force you to leave her."
The two Disks activated.
"Game on!" they both shouted.
(Enrique: 8,000) -------------------- (Cindy: 8,000)
"Comenze la violencia!" shouted Enrique, drawing his first card.
He looked at his opening hand.
"I summon my Volcanic Blaster in Attack Mode," he said.
The Monster that appeared looked like some sort of glass dome mounted on three legs, inside which a fire was burning. True to its name, a small cannon was pointing out from in front of it. (1,200/600)
"You call that a Monster?" asked Cindy. "I've seen bunny rabbits that looked more formidable."
Little does she know, thought Enrique, this is the sort of Monster that you want your opponent to destroy.
"I'll set these two cards facedown," he said, "and take a break…"
He fit two cards in his Disk, and two facedown cards appeared.
I've already got my Firewall on the field, he thought. And as a bonus, my Fire Trap will foil any attempt she makes to destroy it. Now if she just takes the bait…
"My draw…" said Cindy.
She drew a card, and looked at it.
"I play… Graceful Charity," she said.
As she played the card, the creature that came to her was clearly no angel. It was similar to the erinyes devil that had come to Samen – same evil expression, same trashy clothing – but there were also differences. This creature's skin was coppery, rather than blue, and her wings weren't hawk-like, there were bat-like.
Enrique pondered this, as Cindy drew three cards. She carefully considered, and then discarded two of them.
"I summon… Alien Shocktrooper!" she shouted.
With a roar, a horrid creature appeared in front of her. It was a reptilian, centurian-shaped thing, fully seven feet tall, with four legs (each of which with webbed claws), armor-plated scales, and a lizard-like face. It held a huge scimitar in its right claw, which was clearly of a design that no human culture had created. (1,900/800)
"Wonderful…" muttered Enrique. "A member of the Nineteen-Hundred Club…"
"You got it," said Cindy. "Shocktrooper, tear his Blaster to shreds."
Alien Shocktrooper roared, and made a mighty slash with its blade, slicing the Volcanic Blaster cleanly down the middle. The two pieces burst into a fiery blast. Enrique shielded himself.
"Gracious," he said with a smile, taking the deck out of its holder. "When Volcanic Blaster is extinguished, I get to take any Monster in my deck with the word 'Volcanic' in its name, and place it on the top of my deck."
He took a card from his deck, and looked at it. He placed it on top, and put the deck back.
"Well I'm not done!" said Cindy, playing a card. "I play a Spell Card… The Shallow Grave. Now we each take a Monster from out Graveyards, and Special Summon it in facedown Defense Mode.
"You have only one choice… Your Blaster. As for me… Well, you have no idea…"
Two facedown Monsters appeared, one on each side of the field.
"I end my turn…"
(E: 7,300) -------------------- (C: 8,000)
"Then I draw!" exclaimed Enrique.
He drew a card, and it was clearly the card he had put there.
"I'll summon my own member of the Nineteen-Hundred Club," he said. "My Volcanic Rocket!"
A stream of fire shot out of the ground behind him, like a rocket blasting off, and the Monster flew overhead, and landed on his side of the field. It looked like a cross between a missile and a pterodactyl, shrouded in flames. (1,900/1,400)
"By summoning this creature," he said, taking his deck, "I'm allowed to bring my Blaze Accelerator to my hand.
"Now I'll play it!"
In a burst of flame, the tripod-mounted flamethrower appeared on his side of the field.
"Fortunately for you, I don't have the right ammo for it right now, but that will change very soon. I end my turn…"
Cindy chuckled and drew a card.
"Now the true fun starts!" she said with a laugh. "I flip my facedown Monster into Attack Mode… Meet Alien Grey!"
Her card flipped up, and a strange creature appeared in a flash of light. It seemed to be your stereotypical little alien, with a hairless, grey-skinned body, cold, pupiless eyes, and hands whose fingers looked like small tentacles. (300/800)
"Que?" said Enrique. "You think I'm scared of that little guy?"
"You would be if you knew what he could do," said Cindy.
Alien Grey let out a loud spit, and an ugly, slug-like thing flew at Volcanic Rocket, clasping to its face.
"HEY!" shouted Enrique. "Say it, don't spray it!"
He looked at Volcanic Rocket, with the ugly vermin attached to its face.
"What did you do?" demanded Enrique.
"Ever see the old Sigourney Weaver Alien movies?" asked Cindy.
Enrique glared at her.
"I'll take that as a no," said Cindy. "That slug-like thing is called an A-Counter, and you'd best get used to it, because a lot of the cards in my deck use them.
"They have a variety of effects for my cards… But as far as your Monsters are concerned, whenever one of them battles an Alien, the A-Counter weakens it, reducing its Attack and Defense Score by 300 per Counter for that battle.
"Anyway, continuing…
"I summon Alien Hunter."
In a burst of energy, a new Alien appeared. It was more humanoid than the Shocktrooper, but no more human. It looked like a humanoid lizard with blue scales and a long tail, wearing space-age armor. It carried a strange weapon that looked like a metal staff with a bladed prong at both ends. (1,600/800)
"Shocktrooper," ordered Cindy, "wipe out his Volcanic Rocket."
The Alien Shocktrooper rushed towards the Rocket, and the Rocket's Attack Score fell to 1,600. With one swipe of the Alien's scimitar, it burst into smoke and soot.
"Alien Hunter, destroy his facedown Monster! Otherworldly electrostaff!"
The tips of Alien Hunter's staff glowed with blue fire, and it twirled the weapon around. It leapt at the facedown card, and Volcanic Blaster appeared. The Pyro exploded.
"Don't you remember what happens when Volcanic Blaster goes down?" asked Enrique, taking his deck.
He chose a card, and placed it on the top of his deck.
"Sure I remember," said Cindy. "I just don't care. Alien Grey, attack him directly."
Alien Grey's eyes glowed. Enrique quickly looked at his Firewall card.
Nada… he thought. For a 300-point attack, it isn't worth it…
Two blasts of light shot out of Alien Grey's eyes, hitting Enrique in the stomach…
(E: 6,700) -------------------- (C: 8,000)
Enrique started to sweat, and clutched his stomach.
"Que?" he said. "A… A 300-point direct attack shouldn't have hurt me that much…"
"Mmm…" said Cindy, casually.
Her eyes glowed with pinpoints of red light.
"What did you expect from a Shadow Game, Enrique?"
He stared at her.
"Shadow Game?" he gasped. "Wait… When did I tell you my name?"
"Didn't…" said Cindy. "But your aura let me figure it out last turn."
Enrique stared at her. Her eyes started to glow even brighter.
"Beginning to see just how much danger you've put yourself in?" she asked. "I'm also well aware of what 'ramera' means in Spanish, by the way… You're going to pay dearly for that insult…"
"Rasputin…" muttered Enrique. "How is he doing this?"
"Rasputin isn't running the League of Ascension alone anymore," said Cindy. "He has a partner… Someone with… unique talents…
"I won't divulge who it is yet… But once you lose this duel, you'll be going to meet him… Whether you like it or not…"
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A Centurion cuffed Icarus's hands behind his back. Not that it was really necessary. He was far too exhausted to resist.
"Now, let's see if I've got this right," another Centurion asked Aisha. "After you beat him, he collapsed, and… A shadow came out of his body."
"Well…" said Aisha. "Sort of a ghostly shadow… Or a shadowy ghost, if that makes more sense. It had glowing eyes, and maybe claws too."
She sighed.
"You don't believe me, huh?"
"Actually," said the Centurion, taking out his communicator, "the scary part is, I completely believe you…"
He spoke into it.
"Commander Descartes, we have one of the escapees, and there may be a problem," he said. "Due to his would-be victim, they may not have left the brig via their own free will. In fact, they might have left completely against their will."
There was a pause.
"Yep, that's an affirmative. Should I sound an alarm?"
There was another pause.
"All right… I'll get this woman back to her hotel first…"
He turned it off.
"We've got to get every guest we can find off the streets," he said to Aisha. "Starting with you…"
"What happened to that guy?" she asked.
"No harm letting you know," he replied. "To make a long story short, you ever see The Exorcist?"
"Yeah…" replied Aisha. "I slept with the lights on for three days…"
"Then you may remember how the demon in that story possessed an innocent girl," replied the Centurion. "Now, just imagine how much more powerful a whole group of demons would be, if their chosen victims weren't children, and weren't so innocent to begin with…
"I don't have time to explain the whole thing. I'm taking you back to your hotel, and once you get there, you are going to lock your door, and not come out. Period."
"Yes sir…" she said.
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Enrique was sweating. That was odd. When you grew up in a climate as hot as Mexico's, you didn't sweat very often.
When he first expressed his desire to become a duelist, his father didn't object. His father even paid the money for his first deck, and his first Duel Disk.
But… Before he gave Enrique that Duel Disk, he gave his son a warning… Enrique remembered his father's exact words that day.
"Son, listen closely," his father had said. "I don't want to frighten you… But when a duelist picks up one of these things for the first time, doing so is making an unofficial oath, whether he wants to or not.
"That oath reads as follows: Should a Shadow Game ever threaten, you will not back down. You will attempt to win with the best of your ability.
"Also, I'm not sure if backing down is even an option. Once a Shadow Game starts, I think it must end in a decisive victory.
"If you still want this now, take it… If not, I kept the receipt…"
Enrique was no coward. He had taken it. And he supposed he had taken that oath along with it…
Now, he supposed it was time to fulfill his end of the bargain…
"Why not just give up and save yourself the embarrassment?" asked Cindy.
"Never!" shouted Enrique, drawing.
He looked at the card.
"Thanks to my Volcanic Blaster, I just drew my Volcanic Shell. So it's time to lock and load!"
The Volcanic Shell appeared on the field, and flew into the Blaze Accelerator. A burst of flame shot at the Alien Shocktrooper. It roared, and exploded into Alien guts.
"No fair!" shouted Cindy.
"Now, I'll pay 500 Life Points to activate Volcanic Shell's ability," he continued. "When it's in my Graveyard, I can add another Shell to my hand.
"So let's do this again…"
The second Shell was loaded into the Accelerator, and another burst of flame shot at Alien Hunter, incinerating it.
"Damn…" growled Cindy.
"I'm still not done!" said Enrique, taking a card from his hand. "I summon Volcanic Slicer!"
He played the card, and a flame appeared on his side of the field. A small creature stepped out. It looked like a small, two-legged dinosaur made of bronze, with two small claws, and no eyes. (1,800/1,200)
"Since I used my Blaze Accelerator, I'm not allowed to attack this round," he said. "But my Slicer can still hurt you. If I don't attack with it, it can burn off 500 of your Life Points."
Volcanic Slicer spit a ball of fire at Cindy, and she screamed as it hit her in the chest.
"That's all for my turn," said Enrique.
(E: 6,200) -------------------- (C: 7,500)
"Okay, Chico," she said, drawing a card. "You hurt me… I hope that made you feel good…
"I play… Pot of Greed…"
She played the card, and drew two cards.
"First I move Alien Grey to Defense Mode…"
Alien Grey knelt and shielded itself in defense.
"Then I summon this big guy in Attack Mode… My Alien Warrior!"
A new Alien appeared, one who was much more hulking and muscular than Alien Hunter. In fact, this one appeared to be more like a humanoid dinosaur than a humanoid lizard. Its claws were twice the size of its head, and were razor sharp, and again, it wore space-age armor. (1,800/1,000)
"Very scary," said Enrique. "But it has exactly the same Attack Score as my Slicer. Attacking would result in a draw."
Cindy laughed an evil laugh.
She opened her Field Slot and placed a card inside.
"Goodbye Duelatopia…" she said. "Hello Otherworld – The 'A' Zone!"
The next second, it was like they were falling through a space warp. Enrique almost screamed…
When he regained his footing, they were standing on a rocky surface, which appeared to be the surface of an asteroid. The sky was full of eerie, multicolored lights amid stars and celestial bodies, and a weird UFO was flying behind Cindy.
"Welcome to our humble abode," said Cindy. "Sorry we're such lousy hosts!"
"Que?" said Enrique. "Where are we?"
"Didn't you hear me when I said the name of the Field Spell?" asked Cindy. "This is Otherworld, the place where Aliens are from. And this place has a little rule, by the way… Visitors never leave alive.
"That rule is enforced by a little effect the place has regarding Aliens. Here, since it's their home turf, their mere presence causes so much fear in anyone who opposes them, that any Monster that battles an Alien loses 300 Attack and Defense Points.
"So anyway… Alien Warrior… Destroy his Volcanic Slicer with spacial rend!"
The Warrior roared, and lunged at the Pyro. Volcanic Slicer's Attack Score fell to 1,500, and with one swipe of its claw, it was blown into a cloud of ash and smoke.
"I'll set a card facedown, and take a break…" said Cindy.
A facedown card appeared behind Alien Grey.
(E: 5,900) -------------------- (C: 7,500)
Enrique's hand sweat as he drew a card.
"Trap activate," said Cindy, as her facedown card lifted.
"Huh?" said Enrique.
"Orbital Bombardment," she said. "Now I just have to sacrifice one Alien, and I can destroy one Spell or Trap Card. So I sacrifice Alien Grey, to smash your Blaze Accelerator."
Alien Grey vanished into grains of light, and then a beam of pure energy blasted from the UFO behind Cindy. Enrique was thrown off his feet as the Accelerator was atomized, leaving only a smoking crater.
Enrique slowly got up. He looked at his cards.
"I play… Fire Recovery!" he shouted.
He played a Spell Card, and it appeared on the field, showing the image of a fiery nuclear explosion.
"Now, I send one Fire Monster in my hand to the grave…"
He discarded his Infernal Flame Emperor.
"…and in return, I can raise one other Fire Monster from it."
Volcanic Blaster appeared in a burst of flames. (1,200/600)
"Now… I sacrifice it…"
The Blaster vanished in another burst of flames.
"To summon my Volcanic Hammerer!"
A bonfire appeared on his side of the field, and the huge Pyro that looked like a bipedal, flaming dinosaur, stepped out of the flames. It let out a great bellow. (2,400/1,500)
"I could attack your Warrior with this," he said, "but then I couldn't activate its effect, which lets me deal you 200 points of damage for every Volcanic Monster in my grave. And I have five of them there."
Volcanic Hammerer shot a blast of flames at Cindy, and she screamed again as it hit her, knocking her over.
She got up, holding her chest.
(E: 5,900) -------------------- (C: 6,500)
"That's all I can do," he said.
Cindy glared at him as she drew a card.
She placed a card on her Disk, and a facedown Monster appeared.
"End," she said.
That's got to be another Alien Grey… he thought, drawing a card. Well, I won't attack it yet… I'll wait for her to flip it herself, and then I'll attack it. Losing 300 Attack Points won't matter to my Hammerer…
"I summon a second Volcanic Slicer," he said.
Another one of the smaller Pyros appeared. (1,800/1,200)
"You remember how its effect works, right?" he asked. "Let me refresh your memory…"
Slicer spit a ball of flame at Cindy, and she grunted and sweated.
"Now I'm getting rid of that eyesore," he said. "Hammerer, attack her Alien Warrior!"
Cindy grinned wickedly as Volcanic Hammerer breathed a blast of flame at Alien Warrior. Its Attack Score went down to 2,100, but that was still too much for the Warrior to take. It screamed, and was burned up in the inferno.
"You fell for it," laughed Cindy. "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist attacking my Warrior if I kept it in Attack Mode…
"It may be dead now, but Alien Warriors die, they get their revenge… The Monster responsible gets two A-Counters!"
Two of the hideous slugs flew at Volcanic Hammerer, and latched onto its face.
"NO!" gasped Enrique.
"In case you can't do math," chuckled Cindy, "combined with the Field Spell, that will reduce its Attack Score to only 1,500 should it oppose an Alien."
"Ooh!" growled Enrique. "I end my turn!"
(E: 5,900) -------------------- (C: 5,700)
Cindy smiled as she drew a card.
"I throw a card facedown," she said, fitting a card into her Disk.
A facedown card appeared in a flash of light.
"Then I Flip-Summon my Alien Grey."
Her facedown Monster flipped, and another Alien Grey appeared. (300/800)
"I knew it…" grumbled Enrique.
Alien Grey spit an A-Counter at Volcanic Hammerer, and a third one latched to its face.
"Isn't this sort of overkill?" asked Enrique.
"Perhaps…" she said. "But it's fun!
"I summon a second Hunter."
She played another card, and another of the armed, humanoid lizards appeared. (1,600/800)
"I end my turn."
Que? thought Enrique, as he slowly drew a card. Why didn't she attack with that? She could have easily destroyed either of my Monsters…
Her problem…
"I move Volcanic Hammerer to Defense Mode," he said, as Hammerer knelt and shielded itself in defense.
"And while it may be too weak to defeat your Alien Hunter, I can still use its effect, and I still have five Volcanic Monsters in my Graveyard."
Hammerer breathed a blast of flame at Cindy, but she didn't flinch as much this time.
"You know…" she said with a chuckle, "it doesn't hurt as much when you get used to it… I may even get a good tan out of this…
"So go ahead… Burn me with your Slicer too. I might even like it."
"Nada," said Enrique. "If I did, I couldn't do this…
"Volcanic Slicer, attack Alien Grey!"
Cindy's eyes opened wide. Volcanic Slicer's Attack Score fell to 1,500, but that was still 1,200 more than the pint-sized Alien. It breathed a scorching blast of flame, and the small Reptile was burned to a crisp.
"Ooh!" shouted Cindy, angrily. "I forgot to mention that Alien Grey has another effect… If it's destroyed after it's been Flip-Summoned, I get to draw one card…"
She made one draw.
"Then it's your move…" said Enrique.
(E: 5,900) -------------------- (C: 3,500)
Cindy drew another card.
Her eyes glowed again.
Just what I needed… she thought.
"You know, Enrique," she said, "your Volcanic Hammerer is a wonderful Monster…"
"Si, it is," said Enrique. "Thank you."
"So wonderful that I couldn't bear to destroy it," continued Cindy. "Instead, I think I'll take it."
"QUE?" shouted Enrique.
Cindy's Trap Card lifted, showing the image of an Alien Grey with creepy, hypnotic eyes.
"I activate Brainwashing Beam!" she shouted. "Now, one of your Monsters that has one or more A-Counters on it becomes my slave."
Volcanic Hammerer's eyes glowed. It stood up, and walked over to Cindy's side of the field.
"Hammerer, no!" shouted Enrique. "Don't listen to her!"
"It can't hear you, Enrique," said Cindy. "The A-Counters are messing with its cerebral cortex. You know… It's brain? Of course, to keep this Trap Card, I have to remove one of its A-Counters at the end of each of my turns, and once it has none, you get him back…
"But I plan to finish you off before that happens. First, I move your Hammerer into Attack Mode…"
Volcanic Hammerer stood up.
"Then, I summon another Alien Warrior."
Another of the hulking, muscular Aliens appeared, bearing its claws. (1,800/1,000)
"Fortunately," she said, "your Slicer is not an Alien, so the A-Counters won't impede this attack in the least. Volcanic Hammerer, attack the Volcanic Slicer!"
Volcanic Hammerer shot a burst of flame from its jaws, and Volcanic Slicer exploded.
"Alien Warrior… Attack him directly!"
The Warrior roared, and lunged at Enrique…
"I activate… Firewall!" shouted Enrique, as his Trap Card finally lifted.
"I remove Infernal Flame Emperor from play, and your attack is deflected."
A wall of flames shot up, and Alien Warrior was thrown backwards.
Cindy glared at him.
"Hunter, you attack him!" she shouted.
Hunter charged at Enrique, swinging its electrostaff.
"I can do it more than once per turn, Cindy," said Enrique, taking Volcanic Blaster from his discard slot.
The wall of flames leapt up again, and Hunter was thrown backwards too.
"Well…" she said with a chuckle. "So you managed to survive a little longer…"
"To end my turn," she said, "I place one card facedown, and then activate Mirage of Nightmare."
Mirage of Nightmare and a facedown card appeared.
"That's all."
One of the slugs on Hammerer's face crumbled to dust.
(E: 5,300) -------------------- (C: 3,500)
"I draw…" said Enrique. "And I pay 500 Life Points to keep Firewall…"
"And I draw four cards," said Cindy, as her Mirage of Nightmare card glowed.
She made four draws.
"Now… Emergency Provisions!"
Her facedown card lifted, and consumed the Mirage card.
"Clever…" said Enrique. "Someone else who I dueled used the same combo…"
He looked at the two cards in his hand, which were Blasting Vein and a very unusual Monster.
Looks like I have no choice… he thought.
"I play Blasting Vein," he said. "I'll destroy my Fire Trap, to draw two cards."
His facedown card lifted, and burst into flames. He made two draws.
"And even better," he continued, "when Fire Trap is destroyed, I get to draw an extra card."
He made a third draw.
He looked at the three cards.
"I play Premature Burial, to raise Volcanic Rocket from my Graveyard."
He played the card, and in a burst of energy, Volcanic Rocket appeared again. (1,900/1,400)
"That means I can recover Blaze Accelerator from my Graveyard, and play it again."
He played the card, and Blaze Accelerator appeared on the field.
"But it won't be staying long… I send it right back to the Graveyard, in order to play my Tri-Blaze Accelerator!"
The Blaze Accelerator vanished in a ripple of light, and the much deadlier three-barreled weapon appeared.
"Now…" he said, "I'll load it with my final Volcanic Shell. Sorry about this, Hammerer. Don't hold it against me…"
The cannon fired, and Volcanic Hammerer was blown to pieces. Cindy groaned.
"And that's not all," said Enrique. "You lose 500 Life Points.
"Next… I summon someone new. Meet the Royal Firestorm Guards!"
A blast of flame erupted on his side of the field, and a Monster even weirder than the Aliens appeared in it. It was a fiendish creature with rust red skin, a reptilian face with four eyes and a beak, two sets of wings, and a serpentine trunk in place of legs. (1,700/1,200)
"I'm not exactly sure why its name is a plural," said Enrique. "I mean, it's clearly only one creature. But anyway, when it's Normal Summoned, I get to take four Pyro-Type Monsters from my Graveyard, and return them to my deck.
He played the card, and took two Volcanic Shells, one Volcanic Slicer, and Volcanic Hammerer from his Graveyard, and shuffled them into his deck.
"And then I get to draw twice."
He put his deck back, and made two draws.
He looked at them for a second.
"Next…" he said, "since I now have one Shell in my Graveyard, and sent two back to my deck, I'll pay 500 Life Points to add one from my deck to my hand…"
He took a card from his deck.
"Say adios to your Warrior, and 500 more Life Points!"
The cannon blasted again, and Alien Warrior was blown to bits.
"Ergh…" muttered Cindy.
"Be thankful that I can't attack because I used the Accelerator," he said. "It's your move…"
(E: 3,500) -------------------- (C: 3,500)
That's it, thought Cindy. When I bring this one in, I'm going to give him to the… ambassador. He's handsome enough… And she'll teach him a few manners…
She drew a card.
"First, I place this facedown," she said, playing a card.
A facedown card appeared.
"Then, I sacrifice Alien Hunter…"
Alien Hunter vanished in a burst of green, eerie flames…
With a roar, a much bigger, much more hideous Alien rose out of the ground. It was tall and broad, with a solid carapace, and four muscular arms ending in razor-sharp claws. Its reptilian head was topped with a flared crest of sharp spines, and its mouth was filled with teeth the size of daggers. (2,300/1,500)
"Meet the Alien Mother," said Cindy.
"Caramba…" muttered Enrique.
Alien Mother glared hungrily at Enrique and his Monsters. Drool fell from its jaws…
"As you can likely guess," said Cindy, "she doesn't need the Field Spell to strike terror into her opponents…
"Oh, and don't forget, Enrique… Since this is a Game of Shadows, she's just as real as you are! Unnerving, isn't it?
"But before she chows down, I'm going to play this…"
She played a Spell Card.
"It's called Corruption Cell 'A', and it makes putting an A-Counter on your Rocket as easy as turning on a faucet."
Another of the hideous slugs flew forward, and clamped onto Volcanic Rocket's face. Enrique cursed in Spanish.
"This is seriously getting old!" he shouted.
"Here's something new," said Cindy. "Alien Mother… Attack his Rocket! Bite from beyond!"
Alien Mother leapt at her foe. Volcanic Rocket's Attack Score fell to 1,300, just as Alien Mother sunk her teeth into it, and it exploded into slag. Enrique cringed.
(E: 2,500) -------------------- (C: 3,500)
"And wait until you hear the best thing about Alien Mother," said Cindy.
"Let me guess," muttered Enrique. "A special ability?"
"A potent one," replied Cindy. "After she devours an enemy Monster that has an A-Counter on it, that Monster is reborn… But it becomes her willing slave."
Volcanic Rocket reappeared on Cindy's side of the field, its flesh rotted and decayed, and its eyes glowing with feral light. Clearly, it was neither alive nor dead; Enrique had seen movies like this, how aliens could reanimate corpses with hideous chemicals and biological formulas…
"Now I'm going to play one of my most diabolical cards," she said, fitting another card into Disk. "The Continuous Spell Card, 'A' Cell Breeding Device."
As she played the card, an ominous contraption rose up behind her. It looked like a sinister, cylindrical tank full of green liquid, connected to metal hoses and pipes. Small things that Enrique couldn't quite make out were swimming around in it.
"What is that contraption?" he gasped.
"This 'contraption', as you put it," she said, "is a breeding chamber for the young Aliens that become A-Counters. And some of them are ripe and ready to come out. In fact, I can bring one of them out on every one of my Standby Phases.
"So… I'll just wait until my next turn, and take it from there."
Enrique drew a card.
"I pay 500 Life Points to keep Firewall…" he muttered. "Then I'll set one card facedown. And move Royal Guards to Defense Mode."
A facedown card appeared. Royal Firestorm Guards curled up on its coils and folded its wings in front of it.
"That's all…"
(E: 2,000) -------------------- (C: 3,500)
Cindy chuckled as she drew a card.
"I use my Breeding Device," she said, "to put one A-Counter on you Guards."
One of the slugs flew at the Pyro and latched onto its face.
"Now, I sacrifice your Volcanic Rocket, to summon Cosmic Horror Gangi'El."
Volcanic Rocket vanished, and the most hideous creature of all appeared. It looked nothing less like a giant brain on crustacean-like legs, and tentacles all over its sides. (2,600/2,000)
"What?" said Enrique, taking a step back. "No fair! That's a Level Seven Monster! It needs two sacrifices!"
"Not always…" said Cindy, with a smirk. "This big guy has a special ability… I can summon him with only one sacrifice, if the Monster I'm sacrificing was originally yours.
"Alien Mother, attack Royal Firestorm Guards! Bite from beyond!"
Alien Mother lunged at the Pyro. She sunk her teeth into it, and it vanished into a burst of flames.
"Cosmic Horror Gangi'El, attack directly with psionic burst!"
The huge Monster glowed, and blasted a beam of pure, mental energy at the duelist…
"I remove Volcanic Shell from play, to activate Firewall!" shouted Enrique.
The wall of flames shot up, and the Cosmic Horror cringed.
"Ah, well," said Cindy, "you can't do that forever. By the way, I've been keeping track… I know that your Graveyard only has one more Pyro in it right now. So this might be the last round you'll be able to stop me with that Firewall."
"Maybe longer," said Enrique, as his facedown card lifted. "I activate Burial from a Different Dimension. Now three Monsters that have been removed from play go back to my Graveyard."
He slipped both Volcanic Shells and Volcanic Blaster into his Graveyard.
Cindy growled.
Alien Mother glowed, and Royal Firestorm Guards appeared on her side of the field, its flesh rotting and its eyes glazed over. (1,700/1,200)
"Fine…" said Cindy. "I end my turn…"
Enrique looked at his deck.
Come on, big guy, where are you hiding? he thought. I need you more than ever now…
He drew a card.
There you are!
"Don't forget," said Cindy. "You have to pay 500 Life Points to keep that Trap Card."
"I don't need it any more," he replied, "so I'll destroy it…"
Firewall shattered…
"Huh?" said Cindy.
"I destroy Tri-Blaze Accelerator…" he shouted, "to summon Volcanic Doomfire!"
The Accelerator shattered to bits, and a volcano erupted behind him on the asteroid. With a mighty roar, the enormous Pyro burst out of the lava, burning with flames that lit up the sky. (3,000/1,800)
"Three-thousand Attack Points?" screamed Cindy.
"Destroy Royal Firestorm Guards!" shouted Enrique. "Volcanic Blast!"
Volcanic Doomfire shot a burst of lava from its jaws, and the Pyro on Cindy's side of the field burst into an explosion of smoke and ash.
"And guess what?" said Enrique. "Your Cosmic Horror and Alien Mother go with it, and so do 1,000 more of your Life Points!"
Cosmic Horror Gangi'El and Alien Mother erupted into flames, and exploded into slag. Cindy hollered.
(E: 2,000) -------------------- (C: 1,200)
He took out my two best Monsters in one blow… thought Cindy.
She paused for a few seconds.
"You'll pay for that, Enrique!" she shouted.
"Words, words…" he said. "I end my turn…"
Cindy drew a card.
"I activate the effect of my 'A' Cell Breeding Device," she said, "to put one A-Counter on your Doomfire."
The tank behind her bubbled, and one of the ugly slugs leapt out. It latched onto Doomfire's face.
"Next, I summon Alien Psychic."
She played the card, and a small Alien appeared. It looked like a metallic snake with tentacles for arms, and a bulbous head, wearing a fright wig. (200/100)
"It's not the most powerful Monster, yes," she said, "but as soon as I summon it, it moves into Defense Mode…"
The Psychic curled up, and shielded itself with its tentacles.
"My Doomfire will eat it!" shouted Enrique.
"No it won't," said Cindy. "So long as Psychic is on the field, Monsters with A-Counters can't attack.
"Next, I activate my facedown card… Call of the Haunted!"
Her facedown card lifted, and a flash of light burst from the spot.
"I'll summon someone I discarded way back when I played Graceful Charity… Alien Mars!"
A new Alien appeared. This one had a sinister-looking, bulbous, bald head with a red orb in its forehead, and metallic tendrils for arms and a lower torso. (1,000/1,000)
"You made a big mistake!" laughed Enrique. "Your Alien Mars is in Attack Mode, and all Monsters on your side of the field in Attack Mode are compelled to attack my Doomfire. That means I win!"
"Guess again!" laughed Cindy. "Doomfire's effect may be powerful, but Mars has a pretty powerful effect of its own. When it's on the field, the effects of all Monsters that have A-Counters, except for Mars itself, are negated. So your Doomfire's effect means squat.
"Right now, with my combination of Alien Psychic and Alien Mars, that big, flaming monstrosity is nothing but dead weight.
"You may have killed the Mother, but her offspring will finish you off.
"I end my turn… What are you gonna do?"
Enrique looked at his hand, which consisted of Volcanic Recharge and Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi.
All I have to do, he thought, is draw a Monster that can beat her Psychic's Defense… Its Defense is only 100, so that shouldn't be hard…
He drew a card.
Dark Room of Nightmare.
"Caramba…" he muttered, adding it to his hand.
"I have to pass…" he said.
Cindy smiled, and drew a card.
"I use my Breeding Device again," she said.
Another of the slugs leapt out of the tank, and latched to Doomfire's face.
"Now… I summon… Alien Infiltrator!"
A small, yet hulking creature burst out of the rocky surface. It was an Alien covered with a black exoskeleton, with some sort of breathing apparatus on its face, and tentacles for arms.
Enrique heard a deep breathing sound coming from the creature. He started to get nervous… It sounded just like Darth Vader's artificial breathing, one of the things that made that famous villain so intimidating… (800/500)
"Again, what Infiltrator lacks in points, it makes up for in effects," said Cindy. "So long as there are no cards on your side of the field directly in front of its space in my Monster Zone, it can attack you directly.
"So, Alien Infiltrator… Attack Enrique directly with tendril lash slash!"
The Infiltrator's tentacles started to spark. It rushed at Enrique, and lashed at him with them, and he screamed.
(E: 1,200) -------------------- (C: 1,200)
"That's all for now," said Cindy.
Enrique growled, and drew a card.
It was his third Volcanic Shell.
This only has 100 Attack Points, he thought. I can't destroy her Psychic with it… And if I defended myself with it, she'd destroy it quickly…
He took Volcanic Recharge from his hand.
But I can protect myself from that Infiltrator…
He fit it into his Disk, carefully putting it into the slot directly in front of Alien Infiltrator. The facedown card appeared.
"There!" he said. "No more direct attacks. I end my turn."
Cindy chuckled as she drew a card.
"Let's use my Breeding Device one more time," she said.
A third A-Counter leapt out of the tank. Doomfire groaned as it clasped to it.
"Now I play my Pot of Avarice!"
The goofy jar appeared. She took both Alien Hunters, both Alien Warriors, and Alien Mother from her Graveyard, and shuffled them into her deck. She drew twice.
She looked at the cards and grinned.
"As for your assumption that my Infiltrator couldn't attack you," she said. "Wrong…"
Alien Infiltrator looked to its side, and then sidestepped five feet to the left.
"What did it just do?" asked Enrique.
"Infiltrator has another ability," said Cindy. "Once per turn, it can sidestep, meaning I can move it to the space in my Monster Zone right next to it.
"So once again, there's nothing stopping it from getting to you…"
Enrique screamed again as the Alien lashed at him with the tentacles again.
(E: 400) -------------------- (C: 1,200)
"Next," said Cindy, playing a Spell Card. "I set two cards facedown, and end my turn."
Two facedown cards appeared.
She looked at the last card in her hand, which was Heavy Storm.
This duel is over, she thought. My first facedown card will bring back my star, and even if he somehow manages to make his Doomfire strong enough, I can activate my Trap, Cell Explosion Virus, which will destroy all of his Monsters as soon as his infected Doomfire attacks.
And this Spell Card will wipe out any Traps of his own that he tries to plant.
Enrique drew a card.
"I activate my Trap Card!" shouted Cindy.
Her first facedown card lifted.
"It's called Crop Circles," she said. "To activate this card, I sacrifice Psychic, Mars, and Infiltrator…"
All three of the Aliens vanished.
"Then I add up their Levels, which total six. Then I can Special Summon an Alien from my deck whose Level matches that total."
"You mean?" gasped Enrique.
"That's right…" said Cindy, with a smile. "My Mother is back…"
With a roar, Alien Mother burst out of the ground. She glared at Alien Doomfire and drooled. (2,300/1,500)
"She's hungry, and your Doomfire is a practical feast," said Cindy. "A little spicy, but Aliens like their food with a little kick to it.
"It's still your move… So just try to take her down."
Enrique looked at the card he had drawn.
He closed his eyes, and placed it in his Disk. A facedown card appeared.
He glared at her.
"So that was the best you could do, huh?" she asked. "You gave up… Too proud to even switch Doomfire to Defense Mode… How sad…
"Then stand back… I draw!"
She drew a card.
"Adios…" said Enrique.
"Huh?" she said.
Enrique's facedown card activated.
A young girl appeared on the field in front of him. She had red hair, wore a skirt, halter, and cape, and carried a staff topped with a glowing ruby. A fierce-looking fox was at her feet.
"Who's THAT?" shouted Cindy.
"Hiita the Fire Charmer," said Enrique. "The uncontested master of the element of Fire. I just activated a Trap Card called Spiritual Fire Art – Kurenai. This powerful incantation lets Hiita sacrifice a Fire Monster. Then, she can fire a blast of destructive energy directly at you, doing damage equal to the sacrificed Monster's base Attack Score."
"WHAT?" shouted Cindy. "But that means…"
"Si," said Enrique. "Brace yourself… Volcanic Doomfire has 3,000 Attack Points, and you're about to be hit by every one of them…"
Hiita raised her staff, and Volcanic Doomfire erupted into a blazing bonfire. The Fire Charmer's staff started to burn with white-hot flames… She aimed it at Cindy…
The most intense gout of fire yet shot towards Cindy, and a bloodcurdling scream echoed over the whole Museum District…
(E: 400) -------------------- (C: 0)
Enrique took some deep breaths, as Hiita and the Field Spell faded away, returning him to the city streets.
His opponent was lying on the ground in front of him, unconscious, with the cards in her deck scattered.
Before Enrique's eyes, her body started to glow with black fire…
A ghostly shadow with eyes that looked like fiery coals flew out of her body. It glared at Enrique with a look of fury, and then dissipated.
What on Earth? he thought.
He heard running. He turned around and saw two Centurions rushing towards them.
He sighed. They had heard the scream. Maybe the whole duel could have been avoided if he had simply yelled for help. But even if he had thought of doing that, he probably wouldn't have… He hated accepting help from anyone.
Call it stubborn pride. He had hated himself for accepting Rasputin's help in the first place, but he had little choice…
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Yumi, Ren, and Chelsea paused to catch their breaths as they walked up the third flight of stairs.
"Was that a scream?" said Yumi, stopping to listen.
Then paused. She shrugged, and they continued.
"Why couldn't Rasputin have been like most villains and made his lair at the lowest point of the building instead of the highest?" asked Ren. "Most of these guys hide in big, underground subbasements."
"Well, maybe there is no subbasement, Ren," replied Chelsea. "And maybe he has a helicopter or something on the roof in case things go wrong."
"Or maybe he's a vampire and he can turn into a bat or something…" growled Ren. "I wouldn't be surprised…"
"Let's put Rasputin aside for now, and concentrate on Sam," said Yumi, shuffling a deck. "We have no idea what sort of deck she's been given."
"She's going to be tougher," muttered Ren. "She has two Shadow Charms."
"Yumi…" said Chelsea, slowly. "You… don't suppose that… Rasputin gave her back the Dark World Deck? If she uses it again, we could lose her forever…"
Yumi bowed her head. She took a card out of the deck.
"I'm trying hard not to think of that possibility, Chelsea," she said, "especially since this time, this guy is clearly not in her deck…"
She held up one of the Dark Ruler Ha Des cards.
It's going to be harder, she thought, shuffling it back into the deck. Ha Des is certainly Sam's true soul… But this deck has two copies, and both are from the same release! How the heck will I know which one is the true one?
Yumi didn't know that a Duel Spirit was shadowing her and her two friends. He was very upset, but very determined.
"Don't worry, Yumi," muttered Dark Ruler Ha Des. "Should you fail to convince my consort to come to her senses…
"I will…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Three blocks from the Clock Tower, one of the Centurions cuffed Cindy's hands. Again, it was hardly necessary – Cindy wouldn't be going anywhere.
"Descartes?" said the other one into a radio. "I have bad news, and terrible news.
"Okay, the bad news is, we've got another situation that matches the one on the beach, and this time it was a member of the League of Ascension who was NOT an escaped prisoner. That means that there could be dozens of these possessed duelists around.
"The terrible news is, the she clearly told the kid she dueled that it was a Shadow Game. And given what he told us, I really don't think she was lying. And… Pardon?"
He paused.
"I have no idea. She's out cold right now, so I can't question her, and we both know the regulations about handling an unconscious suspect. We can't just break them…"
He paused again.
"Look, if a lowly sergeant can make a suggestion, I'd say that you should tell them to kill the power to the Holographic Tower…
"Oh… They did… Terrific…
"Okay, we'll do our best, but we're working as fast as we can. Not every guest we spoke to even believes in this sort of thing, you know…"
He turned it off.
"Okay, Mr. Lobo, if you would kindly…"
He looked around.
Enrique was gone.
"Damn…" said the Centurion.
Enrique, meanwhile, had run up to the gates of Clock Tower Prison, only to find that it was shut with a digital combination lock.
"Darn…" he said. "That's one lock I can't pick… There's no way in…"
He looked up at the sky, where dark clouds were moving in a chaotic pattern.
"Unless… If the Disks are still working with the Tower shut down… Maybe the Shadows are covering the whole island… Maybe they'll work for anyone…"
He activated his Disk, and took a card from his deck.
"It's worth a shot!" he said, placing it on his Disk.
With a loud roar, Volcanic Doomfire appeared in front of him.
"Blast those gates down!" he shouted.
Doomfire breathed a stream of lava from its maw, and the iron gates melted into molten metal.
Enrique removed the card from his Disk, and the Monster vanished.
"Yumi's going to need all the help she can get…" said Enrique, stepping over the ruined gates, "and even if all I can do is cheer her on, she's going to get some…"
As Yumi continues to scale Clock Tower Prison, a beacon of hope has been lit, as an ally follows to lend support. But Enrique comes from below, while danger lies above. The dark clock continues to keep time, as if keeping track of the minutes until… something happens. What ultimately awaits our heroes at the summit?
0
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FIRE TRAP (Trap Card)
Counter Trap
Image: Marauding Captain walking through an inferno of flames.
Card Description: You can activate this card when your opponent activates a card whose effect includes an effect that would destroy a Continuous Trap Card on your side of the field. Negate that card's effect and destroy it. If this card is destroyed, draw one card from your deck.
Note: "Fire Trap" was first used by Axel in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode "Hanging With Axel (Part Two)". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
0
0
0
FIRE RECOVERY (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: A huge, fiery, nuclear cloud.
Card Description: Discard one FIRE Monster in your hand to the Graveyard. Then, Special Summon one FIRE Monster other than one you discarded from your Graveyard.
Note: "Fire Recovery" was first used by Axel in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode "Triple Play (Part Two)". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
0
0
0
Yumi: I haven't even had a chance to speak to Sam since our duel in the final round… One has to wonder… Would she have turned against me on her own?
Ren: I'd say that was nonsense… But Sam has already walked a fine line before…
Chelsea: I think it's nonsense too… Deep down, there's an honorable duelist in Sam, and we can bring it out…
Anastasia: For Sam's sake, I hope so, because Rasputin is not the only evil force who now has a hold on her… A wicked entity that has not yet revealed itself has special plans for Sam…
Coming up next, "Plain Vanilla; Yumi versus Sam Again".
It's going to be a whole different flavor of pain…