A/N: Another two chapters, hope you all will enjoy it.
Chapter 2: The Яule of Link Joker
Byakuro's Turn: "I stand and draw." He said, grimacing. He needed SOME way to cut down those front row units without wasting his precious attacks. But how…?
"Lock…" said a low, menacing voice. Byakuro flicked his eyes to his left and right, but couldn't see anyone, and it didn't appear that anyone else had heard, so he chalked it up to his imagination. He frowned and turned his attention back to the game, but the voice continued. "The power to helplessly seal units away… Lock is the strength of the Void, to be used by Link Joker…"
Byakuro's frown deepened as he concentrated. Ginta mistook it for nervousness and grinned, but left Byakuro to think.
Meanwhile, Byakuro continued to search for the source of the voice, until his eyes glanced at his vanguard circle and Garnet Star, and an image filled his head once more of the mighty dragon fighting the units that he now knew to be Seekers. This time, though, he could see his vanguard point at a group of them with two fingers and fire two black rings with a malicious red glow into the crowd. The unlucky recipient of the attack shouted in pain before the red rings expanded, captured him inside, and shrunk back down to size, taking him with them. "LOCK!" The dragon roared.
The image ended, and Byakuro gasped inaudibly, mouth opening into an 'o' shape. 'That image… So the cards do have spirits…' He thought. 'It's not just a mental link, I actually command their true bodies in battle on Planet Cray.' His grimace returned. 'Which means that if I'm not careful, it can work both ways. I have to keep my guard up, or Pid can force control and turn me into a puppet like he wanted to…' He chuckled. 'This is so exciting! The thrill of standing on the edge, tempting higher powers but withdrawing before they can catch me… This is one interesting card game!'
"Oi, stop daydreaming and continue. It's your turn isn't it?" Ginta prodded. "You can't possibly need that much time to think!"
Byakuro shook his head to get his focus back. "Right, sorry about that, let's continue," said Byakuro. "I call Berkelium in front of Quantum."
Byakuro held his hand out over his vanguard. "Now, dragon of darkness, tear through time and space to bring forth the invaders from another universe! Make the opponent feel their own helplessness and despair with your overwhelming might: Seek mate!" Byakuro held the pose for the briefest of moments before continuing. "Now, I return four card from my drop zone and search my deck for Photon," he said. "Legion!"
He threw the card down, and he swore he could see Photon nod at him. "Lock will allow you to choose an opponent rearguard and lock it," he heard a voice say. "The locked card is turned face down, and cannot do anything. It turns face up at the end of the owner's turn."
Byakuro nodded in acknowledgement of the voice, which he now identified as belonging to Photon. "The legion skill allows me to choose one of your front row rearguard and a back row rearguard." He pointed in the same manner as Garnet Star had in his vision and smiled cruelly. "Cedric and Gangalen… Lock!" declared Byakuro.
Ginta frowned as he flipped the cards over, and Byakuro clearly heard Garnet Star laughing in his head, accompanied by the screams of the two units. He paid them no more attention; they had told him what he had needed to know, so now he needed to focus. "Graviton attacks your Locrinus," (10000 to 9000). Ginta didn't guard, and moved the rearguard to the drop zone.
"Next, Photon and Garnet Star, Legion attack!" said Byakuro, who fumbled for a moment with the two conjoined cards. (20000 to 11000) "It's hard to rest them this way," he complained.
Ginta ignored him and looked at his damage zone. "Only two damage… No guard!"
"Drive trigger check. First check… Stand trigger. I stand Graviton and give Berkelium the power," said Byakuro. "Second check, critical trigger. The crit to my vanguard and the power to Berkelium."
"Tsk, nothing there," said Ginta, clearly disappointed with his two trigger-less damage checks.
"I'll attack with my Graviton again, but this time to your vanguard," declared Byakuro while counterblasting one to pay for Graviton's effect. (13000 to 11000)
"Damn it!" Ginta cursed as he checked for damage. "Still no trigger!" He placed Egbert in the damage zone, and growled at the five cards staring up at him.
"My Berkelium attacks with a boost from Quantum. With Berkelium's skill it gains 2000 power and my Quantum gains a 3000 boost from the two cards locked cards. Oh, and don't forget that Berkelium also received a plus 10000 from the two triggers. My attack power is 30000," Byakuro boasted with a smile. "Depending on what cards are in your hand, either I win this turn, or you'll end up with no cards in your hand with five damage." (30000 to 11000)
"Shiron, perfect guard!" declared Ginta. He discarded his critical trigger reluctantly, and let both hands fall to the table below, empty.
"Turn End."
Byakuro-Ginta
6-hand-0
2/4-damage-2/5
2-soul-2
0-drop-3
Quantum, Berkelium-[Cedric], Lucius
empty, Garnet Star+Photon-Brutus+Locrinus, [Gangalen]
empty, Gravitron-empty, empty
*[locked units]
Ken, who was watching intently, nodded with approval. "Unless he gets a lucky draw, Ginta's only gonna have one good attack," he mused quietly. "Byakuro's got a pretty good handle on strategy, I have to admit. It's a good play from a beginner with a trial deck…" He frowned. "Except, it was a strategy built around him getting exactly those two cards on the drive check. How did he know to do that? And why did he leave so much up to chance?"
"I stand and draw," Ginta said, shaking Ken out of his thoughts. Ginta growled in frustration and anger as he saw the symbol for a heal trigger winking back at him. "Alright! I'll end this with this one final attack. Go, Brutus and Locrinus, Legion attack! And I activate his ability to CB 1 to give my vanguard and his mate power +3000!" (26000 to 11000) He knew that Byakuro had enough to guard, though, so he prayed that he would have luck on the drive check.
Byakuro yawned slightly, and a small smile crept on his face. "This match is almost over; and so is the excitement. What a shame." He held up four cards from his hand and threw them down all at once. "I guard with Gamma Dile, Apollo Nail, Satellite and Molybdenum. No hope," he said. (26000 to 41000)
Ginta made a 'tsk' noise in irritation, but could still hope for triggers to boost his shield capabilities and help him last until he could get better units. "Drive trigger check, first check… Critical trigger, all effects to my vanguard. Second check… Draw trigger! Power to my vanguard and I draw. (36000 to 41000)" Ginta was initially disappointed at the second check, but was instantly delighted when he drew another trigger, providing him with a grand total of 35000 shield. 'Perfect… Now I have enough to guard his next assault,' thought Ginta. "Turn End. I unlock my units."
Byakuro-Ginta
2-hand-4
2/4-damage-3/5
2-soul-2
4-drop-3
Quantum, Berkelium-Cedric, Lucius
empty, Garnet Star+Photon-Brutus+Locrinus, Gangalen
empty, Gravitron-empty, empty
Byakuro's turn: "I stand and draw," said Byakuro. "You know, I didn't think you would draw two triggers there. One of them was even a draw, too, so you have two cards in your hand that I don't know. Amazing." Byakuro's voice was heavy with sarcasm and disdain.
"My next turn will finish you off," declared Ginta, fist clenching with anger.
"Don't make me laugh, you won't even get that far." Byakuro closed his eyes. "But, I'll admit the double triggers really surprised me. If I haven't planned to send four cards to the drop zone anyways, I really would have lost just now."
He opened his eyes with a fierce intensity. "End Game!" he declared. "I ride Berkelium!"
"Now, again! Seek mate! Magnesium: Legion!" said Byakuro. But he wasn't even close to done. "Now, I call Pixie Powder to my back center and Thorium behind Graviton. I use Thorium skill to CB 1 to give it 1000 power! (7000+1000=8000)"
Byakuro reached out and turned his cards sideways. "I attack with my rearguard Berkelium boosted by Quantum, Berkelium skill let him gets power plus 2000 when attacking a vanguard," (17000 to 11000)
"I guard with Loving Healer! Your attack is stopped," said Ginta. (17000 to 21000)
"I attack with my Graviton boosted by Thorium. Counterblast one to give Graviton plus 3000 power," said Byakuro. (21000 to 11000)
"Guard with Warning Seeker, Maris and Messengal Seeker," said Ginta while putting two card from his hand to the guardian zone. (21000 to 26000)
"My next attack will end this game," declared Byakuro. "My vanguard Berkelium will do a legion attack with a boost from Pixie Powder!"
"I guard with Maris and intercept with Cedric," said Ginta wiping the sweat on his forehead. Once again, he was reduced to nothing, but he had survi—
"Did you forget my vanguard Legion skill?" Byakuro demanded. "If it's in Legion, Berkelium gains 5000 power when attacking a vanguard!"
Ginta's eyes widened farther than they had the right to. "I forgot about that! I can't guard!" (30000 to 26000)
"Drive trigger check, first check, Radon, second check, heal trigger. Power to Berkelium, not that it matters.
Ginta shook his head. "No, I can't lose to a disrespectful punk like you! I still have a chance!" Slowly, trembling, his hand reached for his deck. "Damage check…" He slowly turned the card, heart beating… "Nothing there, I lost," said Ginta, placing Brutus in his damage zone.
Byakuro-Ginta
2-hand-0
4/4-damage-3/6
4-soul-2
0-drop-3
Quantum, Berkelium-empty, Lucius
Pixie Powder, Berkelium+Magnesium-Brutus+Locrinus, Gangalen
Thorium, Gravitron-empty, empty
"I win. That was a long match. It was fun. Thanks," said Byakuro in a monotonous tone. Now that the match was over, he felt the dreaded boredom creeping back into his body.
Ken smiled. 'Byakuro was skillful enough to use the Trial Deck to its full potential. It's hard to believe that he only started to learn vanguard a few minutes ago. I can't wait to fight him; everything else is gonna seem dull until I do.' He paused for a moment. 'Great, now I even sound like him.'
Meanwhile, Ginta was pounding the table. "No! I never thought I would lose to someone who's never played before… And such a brat, too!" He looked up, resigned. "You win our bet, then, right?" He shook his head. "Pathetic, me acting like a freakin' butler to rude-boy over here…"
Byakuro chuckled good-naturedly. "You actually took that seriously? Forget about it. I just wanted you angry so that you wouldn't go easy on me. I know that most people would, since I'm just a beginner."
Ginta looked up at him, eyes wide. "You're kidding me!" Byakuro shook his head, and Ginta laughed, both in amusement and in relief. "You're one of the best actors I've ever seen, then! I thought you were dead serious!"
Byakuro shook his head. "No, that was a really thrilling battle for my first vanguard match. I really apprecia-" Byakuro stopped himself when Ginta suddenly clutched his head. "Are you ok?"
Ginta fell to one knee and began to growl in pain, before breaking out into a scream.
"Ginta, what's wrong?" asked the sub manager, rushing over.
"Ahh…It's my head. It's in pain. It's… Ahhhhh!" the boy yelled.
Byakuro suddenly heard Pid's voice, laughing in his head. "Oh, glorious day! The reverse has finally returned to Earth, after so long!"
"What did you do to him?" demanded Byakuro mentally.
"Me? Why, nothing, Byakuro," Pid answered, voice filled with obviously false sweetness. "This was all your doing. He is in the process of becoming reversed, which is one of the powers we granted to you."
Byakuro scowled. "What is the reverse, exactly? What did you give me the power to do?"
"You, as the agent of Void, are free to manipulate this power to make someone you defeated into a mindless slave, but in doing so, you give them unrivaled power. Then, anyone who he defeats becomes reversed as well, and with patience, the entire world will fall under our control. That will be the moment when we invade in earnest," answered PID.
"You say that I can manipulate this power freely, right? So that means I can control these… Mindless slaves, as you call them?" asked Byakuro again.
"Yes. They will obey your every command," answered PID. "Or, you can elect to give back to them some of their free will. Their personalities will be altered, though, and they'll still feel the urge to reverse all who they meet—They are improved, if you will, by the mastery of the Void."
"Can I also undo the reverse?" asked Byakuro, watching Ginta writhe in pain.
"Why would you want to do that? I thought you wanted this power?" Pid responded, genuinely confused.
Byakuro nodded. "I'll take that as a yes." Then, he tried to do something that he would never know how he did; it was all just pure instinct. He focused his mind on Ginta, and on the red power that was infusing his veins, choking his soul, and then, with a mental scream, he shouted, 'STOP IT!' Instantly, the red aura froze, as if it was a solid material, and began to recede. Byakuro nodded, pleased. Ginta sighed when the aura finally faded, but immediately fell onto the ground, passed out.
"So in the end you are just a pitiful, kind, thoughtful human, huh? Pathetic," Pid said with disdain and anger. "I will admit, though," it continued, "I'm surprised you were able to control it. You've really taken to Void well. You will make an excellent soldier."
Byakuro inwardly let out a short, sharp laugh at Pid's assessment. "Kind and thoughtful don't suit me. I only undid the reverse for two reasons. First, I will not do as you wish and simply reverse someone for the sake of you taking over the world. I'm doing this for the excitement, and that means I want to trample your toes as much as I can without getting burnt, and I need to see where that line is. Second, if people who lose to me start losing their minds or acting strangely, I'll get a reputation and no one will fight me," Byakuro explained coolly. "Besides, he is not strong enough to reverse other cardfighters even after a power boost. Look at him, he even lost to me while I'm still using at trial deck," said Byakuro.
"But you were thanking him for giving you a fine match just now, weren't you?" asked the dragon.
"It was a fun match because it was my first time playing. If I thank him, he'll want to fight me again, so he'll surely become stronger in his attempt to catch up. Maybe he'll end up as a useful pawn for me. Who knows?"
This explanation seemed to placate Pid, and he let loose a long, genuine laugh. "Oh, Byakuro, you and I are very much alike. I apologize for doubting your actions; you will certainly become a good agent of Link Joker. Void wasn't wrong in choosing you."
"You're too full of yourself," said Byakuro. Then he cut the link.
Chapter 2: End