Well, here we go, chapter 4, and the first real introduction of the plot.
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Metroid.
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Hi, Cassandra here, or Cassie if you'd prefer, don't ask what my last name is, because the truth is that I don't have one.
I come from an interesting heritage, my mom, Ariadne Jenkins, was a half-dragon bounty hunter that worked together with Samus Aran during the Phazon Wars, what is known as the Metroid Prime games in this universe.
It just goes to show you that not everything is perfect in the adaptation between truth and fiction, my mom saved Samus' butt on more than one occasion.
My father on the other hand, was at one point the leader of the Space Pirates, the infamous Ridley, who saw the light in the end.
Now I'm facing an opponent that works for the group that my father once led...
Let's hope that I can win.
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CHAPTER 4:
BURDEN OF COMMAND
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Cassie had always been a loner, figuring that in the Bounty Hunting business it was better to avoid making friends when it could come to the point that you might have to hunt your friends.
She had always realized that Sarah had felt different than her, maybe that's why she considered her a rival in the business.
When she found herself on Earth, she had hoped that it would be a chance to finally be alone for once, away from her rivalry with Sarah. She even took up the hobby of dueling, but the whole time hoping to get home somehow.
Now with Sarah in the same situation as her, the rivalry had started again, and the two girls where still going neck and neck.
Cassie had thought about challenging Sarah to a duel, to prove once and for all that she was the better of the two. But she had no desire to duel her yet, but she knew that it would come to that someday.
"Hey Cass, we're going to dinner!" Sarah calls out.
Cassie's concentration was broken, she had been thinking about her situation in meditation, her black trench coat off to the side, revealing her nicely toned arms.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be there in a minute," Cassie says, pulling on her trench coat and walks out of the room.
Down the hall, someone glances back at her, and starts walking at a distance behind her.
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After dinner, most people are chatting or dueling, and don't notice a large black and gold dragon flying across the ocean.
Cassie, now in her dragon form, lets out a loud yawn as she pulls into a dive, speeding towards the ocean before pulling out and skimming across the surface as she lets the wind carry her over the Pacific.
My mom is probably worried to death about me, she thinks to herself, remembering her mom who worked as the Governor of the Planet Bryyo. I would never admit it, but I miss having her around, at least she made things interesting.
Ariadne Jenkins had been a Bounty Hunter during what was known as the Phazon Wars, a series of wars between the Galactic Federation and the old Space Pirate Confederacy. Phazon itself is a dangerous element, mutating its victims, and driving them insane, and eventually breaking them.
Ariadne had almost been a victim of it when she had been corrupted along with Samus, Rundas, Ghor, and Gandrayda on Norion, but she had pulled off one final trick, venting the Phazon in her body through the arm cannon on her suit. She hadn't gotten it all, but it was enough to temporarily protect her from total Corruption.
Cassandra had developed a sense that could let her know if Phazon was nearby, and she had been sensing an increasing amount of it recently. Despite the destruction of Phaaze, somehow Phazon still existed in the universe, and she had the duty to stop it, well, so did Sarah and maybe the others now.
Finally tired of flying, she lands back on the island, returning to her human form as she slides her duel disk back on from its hidden spot.
"You know, a lot of people would be shocked to see a dragon flying around," Sarah says, coming into view, and making Cassie jump.
"Yeah, well I need time to stretch my wings," Cassie says, and the two girls start walking.
"You know, I always wondered something, why is your mother's name Ariadne?" Sarah asks.
"It's a family tradition, all women in my family are named after mythological characters," Cassandra says. "Ariadne was the Cretan Princess who helped Theseus through the Labyrinth, only to be abandoned on Naxos."
"And your name?" Sarah asks.
"Cassandra was the name of the daughter of King Priam of Troy who had the gift of prophecy, and tried to warn the Trojans of the Greek's plans," Cassie explains.
She was going to talk some more, but there is a rustling in the bushes ahead, and Cassandra's hand moves down towards her side. "Who's there?" She demands.
With a final rustle, a figure steps out of the bushes, he is a tall man wearing silver armor with light blue streaks crossing it, he carries a laser pistol at his side (Space Pirate design, Cassie noticed), and a duel disk was strapped to his arm. He had a slight mustache, and stared at the ladies with one eye covered by a light blue scanning device.
Cassie was immediately nervous; this guy practically reeked of Phazon.
"Who the heck are you?" Sarah demands, her arm changing into a metallic green cannon.
"George Custer, known in the Pro Leagues as the General," he says, getting a small chuckle from Cassie. "You think that's funny, do you?"
"George Armstrong Custer wasn't even a General for one thing," Cassie says with a smirk. "He had an ego the size of Texas, and went into the Battle of Big Horn thinking he could win based on a previous victory, and got slaughtered. If that's what you're going to be calling yourself, then you'll lose just as shamefully."
"You've got spunk, girl, I'll give you that, but why don't you put your deck where your mouth is?" George says, activating his duel disk. "I win, and we go on a little trip to meet with my boss."
"Valcouri, right? Yeah, like you can beat me," Cassie says, activating her own duel disk. "No pirate alive can beat me in combat, so whats the difference?"
"You'll see soon enough," George says.
"LET'S DUEL!" The two say in unison.
"I'll start things off," Cassie says, and draws swiftly. "I summon my Komouri Dragon (1500/1200), in attack mode!" She says, and a purple dragon appears, snarling at George. "And I'll place this card face down to end my turn."
George draws, and grins. "I start out with this, my Marauding Captain (1200/400), in attack mode, which lets me special summon a monster from my hand, and I choose my Warrior Lady of the Wasteland (1100/1200)!" He says, and a battle-scarred warrior appears wielding two swords, followed by a young woman with dirty blonde hair, and wearing a green fedora with a tattered green outfit.
"That girl needs a lesson in fashion," Cassie says, but doesn't feel too threatened.
"I equip my captain with Wicked Breaking Flamberg- Baou!" George continues, and discards a card as a large sword appears in the captain's hands, and his attack rises to 1700. "And I'll give my Warrior Lady a Jeweled Sword!" He continues, and a smaller sword encrusted with jewels appears in the female warrior's hands, raising her attack to 1400.
"Okay, that might be a problem," Cassie says.
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Back in the Sliffer Red dorm, Theo is glancing through his mail when he comes across a letter from home. Recognizing his father's handwriting, he opens the letter, and reads it closely.
Dear Theo,
I received a package the other day from Victoria Pegasus of Industrial Illusions. She had heard about your use of the War Hero monsters, and decided that this card would best suit your deck. She asked that I would have it sent to you as soon as possible, and hopes that you can use it to the best of your ability.
Keep up the good work at Duelist Academy; I hope to hear from you soon. Good luck, son.
Sincerely,
Your Father.
Theo looks in the envelope, and sure enough he finds a Duel Monsters card. After reading the text on it, his eyes go wide.
Woah, this card will be useful, I didn't even know they made this card, he thinks to himself.
That's when he suddenly gets a strange feeling, and slips the card into his deck before leaving his dorm room, and heading out of the building, going down the path towards where Cassie is dueling George.
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"Marauding Captain, destroy her Dragon with Blade of the Marauder attack!" George commands, and the warrior swings the large sword, and slashes through the purple dragon, lowering Cassie's life points to 3800. "Now Warrior Lady of the Wasteland, attack her directly!" He continues, and the female warrior charges forward.
"Go trap card, A Hero Emerges, so pick a card!" Cassie counters as her trap card flips up, and she shows her 4 cards.
"Okay, I pick the card on the far left," George says.
"That would be my Cave Dragon (2000/100)!" Cassie says, and a large golden dragon appears with a huge yawn.
"Since that triggered a re-do, I'll end my turn there," George says.
Cassie draws, and glances at the card. "I summon my Luster Dragon (1900/1600), in attack mode!" She says, and a blue scaled dragon appears. "Luster Dragon, destroy his Captain with Sapphire Blaze attack!" She commands, and the dragon sends a burst of blue fire at the monster, destroying him and lowering George's life points to 3800. "Now Cave Dragon, attack his Warrior Lady of the Wasteland, Noxious Breath Attack!"
The dragon lets out a yawn, and sends a burst of flames at the female warrior, shattering her, and lowering George's life points further to 3200.
"Fine, but thanks to my monster's effect, I can special summon another monster to the field, like my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (1400/1200)!" George says, and an elven warrior, garbed in green armor appears. "And also, thanks to my Jeweled Sword, I can draw one card," he continues, and draws a card.
"One card face down, your move," Cassie says.
Theo finally comes running up behind Sarah, looking at the duel. "Whats going on?" He asks Sarah.
"Okay, we where jumped by a guy named George Custer while heading back to the dorms, and he is now dueling Cassie," Sarah explains. "He's using a warrior deck by the looks of it."
"Interesting, you think Cassie can win?" Theo asks.
"Its hard to tell, I've never seen her duel before, but you never know," Sarah admits. "So far she seems to be doing just fine."
"My turn," George says, and draws a card. "And I activate Pot of Greed," he says, and draws two cards. "Now, I equip my Guardian with the Grade Sword!" He continues, and another sword appears in the elven warrior's hands. "And now, I sacrifice my guardian for one of my deck's best monsters, Gilford the Legend (2600/2000)!" He says, and a warrior with red hair and black armor, carrying a huge sword appears. "And I can now activate his special ability, letting me equip him with equip cards from my graveyard, so first out comes the Jeweled Sword!"
The jewel-encrusted sword appears at Gilford's side, raising his attack to 2900.
"Wicked Breaking Flamberg- Baou!"
The large sword appears in Gilford's hands as George discards a card, and Gilford's attack rises to 3400.
"And finally, the card I just discarded, my Divine Sword-Phoenix Blade!"
A smaller sword with a golden hilt appears at Gilford's side, raising his attack again to 3700.
"Okay, that is not good," Theo says.
"He has a warrior deck, while they can be less than subtle, they can be extremely dangerous," Sarah says. "I've never really faced one myself, but I've heard of a warrior that can be a threat to Cassie's deck."
"Now Gilford, attack her Cave Dragon, Legendary Sword Attack!" George commands, and the warrior slashes through the dragon, lowering Cassie's life points to 2100.
"Activate trap card, Damage Condenser, so I discard a card, and I can special summon a Masked Dragon from my deck," she says as she discards a card, and a red dragon with a mask over its face appears. "Is that all?"
"Yeah, go ahead," George says.
Cassie draws. "Perfect, I sacrifice my two dragons for my Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000)!" She says, and a black scaled dragon with red eyes appears with a roar, spewing fire into the air.
"What? How can you have Red-Eyes, that's a very rare card?" George shouts.
"What and Gilford isn't? Whats the rule that says only the bad guys can use rare cards, I must have missed that one," she points out.
"Wow, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, that is an impressive dragon," Theo says.
"Yeah, but its not strong enough to destroy his warrior," Sarah says.
"And now, I sacrifice my Red-Eyes Black Dragon, to summon my Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon (2400/2000)!" She says, and a huge black and red dragon bursts out of the darkness, roaring loudly as it releases bursts of flame.
"Huh? That monster is just as strong as your last dragon; you'll have to do better than that!" George says with a laugh.
Then the dragon's attack starts going up, stopping at 4200.
"My dragon gains 300 attack for every dragon in my graveyard, which totals 6," Cassie explains.
"Wait, hold on…" George starts.
"I'll place this card face down, now Darkness Dragon; destroy his Gilford the Legend, Infernal Fire Blast!" Cassie commands, and the dragon sends a huge burst of fire at the warrior, and he shatters, lowering George's life points to 2700, George draws a card from his spell card. "And that's it for me."
George draws. "I activate Card of Sanctity!" He says, and they both draw until they have six cards. "I summon my Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800/1600)!" He says, and a warrior in metallic armor, carrying a large blade that looks like a cross between a sword and a shield. "At one point, this warrior was a great Barbarian King; they say that whenever he picked up a weapon, the earth would tremble under his feet, whole armies would be destroyed."
"Okay, that's very nice, but what does it have to do with our duel?" Cassie asks.
"To seal up his power, he created a special suit of armor, and now, I am going to release him when I activate, Release Restraint!" George says.
"Release Restraint? Oh no!" Theo says.
"You've heard of that card?" Sarah asks.
"My father once saw Joey Wheeler use it," Theo says. "Its an extremely dangerous card, especially in this situation."
"Oh dear," Sarah says, secretly hoping that Cassie would make it out of this alive.
"By sacrificing my Iron Knight, I can special summon from my deck, Gearfried the Swordsmaster (2600/2200)!" He says, and the armor shatters, revealing a muscular man with long black hair, and raising two fists appears.
"So? He's too weak to destroy my Dragon," Cassie says, not worried at all.
"Really? Well I guess you won't mind if I equip him with my Fusion Sword Murasame Blade," He says, and a sword appears in the barbarian's hands, raising his attack to 3400, then the earth begins to shake as the ground opens up underneath the Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon, who falls into the chasm. "Now Gearfried, finish her off!"
"Go spell card, Shrink!" Cassie counters as the warrior grows smaller before slashing through her, lowering her life points to 400.
"Fine, your move then," George says, feeling confident that he will win on the next turn.
Okay, I've only got one shot at this, but if this works, I might be able to win, Cassie thinks to herself, and draws. "I activate my own Pot of Greed!" She says, and draws two cards. "And I activate, Snatch Steal!"
"What? Not Snatch Steal!" George says.
"Seeing as how you love Equip cards so much, you should know what this card does, it allows me to take control of your Swordsmaster!" Cassie says, and a shadow flies into the warrior, who floats over to Cassie's side. "Now, I could finish you off now, but I think I'll play my Double Spell card, so I'll discard a spell card, like my Dragon's Gunfire, and I can use any spell card in your graveyard, like your Grade Sword!" She says, and discards the card, and then the sword appears in Gearfried's hands. "And thanks to your spell card, I can tribute your Swordsmaster, to summon this monster, my Tyrant Dragon (2900/2500)!"
The swordsman disappears in a burst of fire, and from the fire emerges a huge golden dragon, with a jewel in his forehead, and he lets out a huge roar.
"Wow, that's a pretty rare dragon," Theo says, obviously impressed by the new monster.
"Now Tyrant Dragon, finish him off, Imperial Inferno!" Cassie commands, and the dragon sends a burst of fire at George, lowering his life points to 0.
"No, how could I lose, I'll get you for this!" George shouts, charging forward at Cassie, raising his pistol.
At that point, Cassie removes a pistol from her side, and fires two quick shots, the first one knocking the pistol out of George's hand, the second hitting him in the leg, knocking him down. Cassie hits him with the butt of her pistol, and knocks him out cold. She then kneels down, checking his pockets, removing several small pills.
"Space Pirate Suicide Pills, works even faster than Cyanide, and is completely untraceable," Cassie says, pocketing the pills, then turns to look at the duelist again. "Uhh Sarah, you might want to look at this."
Sarah comes over, and gasps as she sees a light blue liquid dripping out of George's mouth and scanner. "Phazon…" she says.
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Grade Sword and Jeweled sword where both used in season 2 of GX.
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Well, there you go, after a bit of a wait, chapter 4 is done.
Next chapter, its class time for our heroes. Their assignment, win a tag team duel against two opponents. Can Sarah and Theo team up to win this game? Find out in, "The Machines of War."
Coming soon to a site near you.