0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DRAW THREE
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Frontier
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
Jalal opened his eyes.
The first thing he noticed was, he was wearing his armor. His red, dragon-skin armor that had been made from the hide of Malys, the greedy red wyrm that had been responsible for his father's death. It had protected him in every important battle ever since he avenged his father's death by slaying her.
His sword was at his side, and his special Duel Disk was on his arm.
He looked around. He was on a forest path. It seemed to be a warm, spring day, with clouds overhead.
He noticed many garter snakes on the path, and more snakes in the trees to either side of the path. There were also a few lizards and turtles. The fauna seemed to consist of a great deal of reptiles. He wasn't afraid of normal snakes of course, having fought many monstrous ones in the past.
If I truly am in an ophidia's mind, he thought, it's hardly surprising.
He saw a signpost a few feet down the path. He walked down, and saw that nothing was written on it; but it did point in one direction, so he ventured that way.
The forested path quickly gave way to an open field, and he saw it.
A large town was in front of him. It had come suddenly, almost by magic. He had not seen a town like this in centuries. It brought back memories of the quiet towns of Eighteenth Century England.
There were stores, houses, a smithy, an inn…
He saw a large manor house on the hill overlooking the town, not unlike his own back in Shadowchaser Headquarters. Someone important must have lived there…
The soul? he thought.
He noticed then that there were townsfolk about, and it was no surprise to him that they were all ophidia. They were dressed in clothing that also appeared to be typical of the Eighteenth Century.
The townsfolk all looked at him with sad looks, but didn't say anything. Many of them just shook their heads and continued along their way.
"I didn't exactly expect a parade…" said Jalal. "But…"
He went over to an ophidia wearing a milkmaid's outfit.
"Excuse me, ma'am…" he said. "Could you please direct me to…"
Then someone shouted, "They're coming!"
The milkmaid gave a look of panic, and rushed into the inn across the street. Everyone else followed suit, running into houses, stores, and other buildings, slamming the doors behind them.
Jalal looked around in wonder. Who was coming?
"You there!" shouted a voice.
He turned, and saw an old-looking ophidia at the door of what looked like a toy store. He was a broad-shouldered ophidia, the only main reptilian trait being the green scales he had in place of skin. He had a well-trimmed goatee, a slight mammalian trait.
"Me?" said Jalal.
"Yes, you!" shouted the ophidia toymaker. "Don't just stand there! Get in here, fast! If they see you, you'll be in big trouble!"
Jalal didn't know what to make of this, but he rushed into the toy store. The owner slammed the door closed, and barricaded it shut.
Jalal peered out the window, just as a small gang of creatures marched into view.
They were thin, almost gaunt, with human torsos and arms, but the heads and legs of goats that seemed to be infected with some terrible wasting disease. Each one carried a serrated halberd.
"Bulezai…" said Jalal, with a sneer.
He had seen these demons before. Bulezai were shock troops in demonic armies of the Blood War, who existed only to fight. They weren't very bright, but fighting was something that they did very well. When a bulezai saw an enemy, it charged. When it didn't see an enemy, it went looking for one.
So why was a group of them on patrol? And in Hebi-Na's mind no less?
Jalal looked at the ophidia toymaker.
"So…" he said. "Exactly who are you? And why is there a toy store in Hebi-Na's psyche?"
He looked around. The merchandise of the store consisted mainly of toy lizards and ophidia, made into marionettes, stuffed plushies, and other playthings. Smiling alligators and funny-looking geckos adorned the shelves. Jalal supposed they looked like the toys an ophidia would play with as a child…
Two toys in particular caught his eye. They looked like stuffed versions of the Duel Monsters Oshaleon and Majioshaleon, cute, colorful lizards.
"My name is Guiseppe," he replied. "You know how some people have an inner child? A child within? That's kind of what I am to Hebi-Na.
"The soul… The one that you'd recognize as Hebi-Na… She was coming here more frequently…
"And then…"
"Then what?" asked Jalal.
"She disappeared," said Guiseppe. "It was around the same time those awful things started making their patrols.
"Look, I don't know much… For all intents and purposes, I'm just a toymaker in this place…"
"I want to help," said Jalal. "And I think I have to find Hebi-Na."
Guiseppe looked at him.
"Go down the street once the coast is clear," he said. "There's a tavern called the Fang and Flagon. It's the one place in the Soulscape where you're completely safe. The demons never go into there.
"And the bartender might be able to help you… He knows more about Hebi-Na than most folks here. She's very close to him.
"You see… He's her father…"
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fifteen minutes later, Jalal cautiously walked down the street, towards the place that the toymaker had pointed to. He hated sneaking around… He had always been more of a take-charge person. But perhaps it was wise to stay concealed for now.
He looked at the building that Guiseppe had called the Fang and Flagon. The sign above the door was in ophidian, but he knew enough about that language to make it out. He had learned many Shadowkind tongues in his long lifespan.
Frankly, he wondered why anyone spoke English here. He wondered if, possibly, everyone was speaking ophidian here, and he had simply adapted to it. But there was no time to contemplate this. He went in.
Inside, the place wasn't very crowded. A few ophidia were around, slowly sipping from glasses, while another old-looking ophidia was at the bar, wiping it down with a rag. His most unusual feature was the velvet mask he wore over his face. No features were visible.
He looked up as he saw Jalal.
"You're out of your territory, aren't you fellah?" he said.
Jalal sat on the barstool in front of him.
"Kind of," he replied. "So… you're Hebi-Na's dad?"
The bartender nodded. He took a glass, and started pouring something into it from a bottle.
"At least I assume I am," he said. "And everyone else thinks so… Folks around here call me Malore."
He pushed the beverage towards Jalal.
"…but you see, Hebi-Na has almost no memories of her father that she can accurately bring to her mind. See the mask? Even I don't know what I look like under it. She can't remember her father's face…
"All she has are certain feelings that sometimes come to the front of her mind… Feelings that could only have come from a father… Those feelings come from me.
"This building you're in… It's kind of like her subconscious… All her fleeting memories are here… Distant figments of the past that she lost when she made the transition from the homeworld of Shadow."
Jalal picked up the beverage and was about to drink.
Then he stopped.
"Uh, this is viperwine…" he said.
Viperwine was a type of brandy made from the venom of an Indian viper. Reptilian Shadowkind, including ophidia, were very fond of it. The problem was, it was poisonous to non-reptiles. Jalal could drink it safely, seeing as poison couldn't kill it, but mammals who were immune to poison found that it didn't taste very good to them.
Malore laughed nervously.
"Sorry…" he said, taking it back. "We don't exactly get many folks here who aren't ophidia…"
He placed a bottle of normal beer on the counter.
"Look, I came here to help Hebi-Na," said Jalal. "You know, the soul? Where is she?"
Malore sighed.
"No-one is sure," he said. "It all started when horrible bells rang through the whole Soulscape for about an hour…
"Then they stopped. Hebi-Na was on edge for a while, and everyone was worried that this town would fall apart… That madness would strike… If the soul goes mad, so does everyone else.
"The bells started again, but only for a minute or two, but then they stopped. I think Hebi-Na was asleep, and she was happy for a few hours… A blissful state of dreams…
"But then those demons showed up. Whether they were a nightmare gone haywire or some horrible memory that she had kept suppressed all her life, no-one knew. A gang of them rushed Hebi-Na, and dragged her away. She hasn't been seen since.
"Now they patrol the streets every hour, saying that they're in charge and that the soul's house is off-limits…"
"The manor house?" asked Jalal.
"That's right," replied Malore. "Anyone who so much as talks back to them is publically punished… Put in stocks or pilloried, or even flogged.
"But don't worry… They'll never come in this building… They can't for some reason. You're safe here…"
He sighed.
"Safe to a point, that is. Sometimes they get frustrated and burn the place down… But you destroy a building here, and it comes back, fully rebuilt when the sun rises."
"So the demons never come in this building?" asked Jalal.
"Nope," replied Malore.
"Then I'm going out of this building," said Jalal.
He grabbed the beer bottle, and started for the door.
"Wait!" shouted Malore, as he ran up and grabbed his arm. "Reconsider, I beg you… Hebi-Na was the most powerful being in the Soulscape, and they took her away like she was nothing more than a helpless child!"
"But I have a feeling she was mentally exhausted and wounded at the time," replied Jalal. "Let's see how those demons do against someone who can fight back."
He walked out, and looked down the street.
His eyes narrowed. He saw a gang of the bulezai hanging around a fountain down the road. They were laughing, and drinking from bottles of malt liquor.
As Jalal walked up to them, one of them looked at the statue of a female ophidia in the center of the fountain.
"Ten points if you can hit her between the eyes," he said to another one.
The bulezai hurled the bottle, and hit the statue directly between the eyes.
"Ha!" he laughed. "Bull's eye!"
Then the beer bottle stuck him in the back of the head.
"OW!" he shouted. "Who dares…"
They turned and saw Jalal.
"You don't like it, do you?" said Jalal.
He drew his sword.
"Where's Hebi-Na?" he demanded.
"Oh, look at this!" laughed the bulezai he had hit. "Seems someone around here actually has a backbone!"
They howled, and rushed at him. Jalal tensed. This was no problem.
He struck the lead bulezai with his sword, hard. But to Jalal's surprise, while the blow knocked the demon down, it didn't cut him at all.
Jalal continued to fight. His sword plowed into the demons, knocking them backwards, but it seemed that his sword that was normally able to cut down a large tree with one swipe couldn't draw blood at all.
As the bulezai got up, there was a loud screech. A large, bird-like creature flew overhead…
Then it slowly landed.
Jalal tensed again. It was a different demon, this one with the torso and arms of a human, but the legs, head, tail, and wings of an ugly vulture. It was a vrock.
Like bulezai, vrocks were warriors who lived to fight in the Blood War, but they were far more powerful. In the chaotic armies of the abyss, soldiers didn't really have rankings – whoever was stronger told everyone weaker than him what to do.
It didn't take long for Jalal to surmise that, thus, this vrock was in charge of these bulezai.
"Silly mortal!" laughed the vrock. "Sword not work here. This realm of thought. Sword not kill us no matter how hard you try. You can't kill thought."
"By the same notion," said Jalal, "your weapons can't harm me."
The vrock cackled.
"Brittlebeak still defeat you," said the vrock.
It lifted its left arm, and a Duel Disk appeared on it. It looked like the type commonly used by Duel Spirits.
"Brittlebeak duel you in Shadow Duel," said the vrock, "and then you be sorry you ever came here."
"Oh, is that right?" said Jalal.
He sheathed his sword, and lifted his Duel Disk.
"No dirty bird is going to make a fool of me," he said. "I haven't gotten into a good duel in a long time… You're on!"
The two Duel Disks activated.
"Duel!" they both shouted.
(Jalal: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - (Brittlebeak: 8,000)
"Brittlebeak draw card," said the demon, making a draw.
"Set Monster on field, and one card facedown," he continued.
Two set cards appeared in front of him, one vertical, and one horizontal.
"I no go no more. You go now…"
This shouldn't be too hard, thought Jalal, as he made a draw. He certainly doesn't seem very smart.
"I summon… Axe Dragonute!" he exclaimed.
He played the card, and a tall, humanoid Dragon with black scales and wings, holding a large axe, materialized in front of him. (2,000 ATK)
"And now he attacks!"
Axe Dragonute charged, and a large boulder with a face on it appeared on the set card. The Dragon's axe fell, and it was smashed to pieces.
"You destroy Koa'ki Meiru Boulder," said Brittlebeak. "Now I use its effect to take Koa'ki Meiru Monster from deck."
A card appeared in his hand.
"And my Axe Dragonute moves to Defense Mode," said Jalal, as Axe Dragonute knelt and held his weapon down. (1,200 DEF) "I end my turn."
"I draw," said Brittlebeak, making a draw. "Then, Trap Card activate."
His set card lifted up.
"Jar of Greed. Now, I draw card…"
He made a draw.
"Next, summon Koa'ki Meiru Urnight…"
A new Monster appeared. It looked like a centaur clad in bronze armor and barding, holding a shield and a sharp lance. (2,000 ATK)
"Now, use Koa'ki Meiru Urnight's effect," continued Brittlebeak. "Reveal Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru in hand…"
He flipped a card in his hand around.
"…then Special Summon another Koa'ki Meiru from deck. Choose Koa'ki Meiru Crusader."
Another large Monster appeared. This one was wearing the armor of a knight, but it was hulking, and had a sunken, skull-like face. It held a massive, two-handed sword in only one hand. (1,900 ATK)
"Now, I attack Monster with Koa'ki Meiru Crusader!" shouted Brittlebeak. "Smash Dragon to little pieces!"
The Koa'ki Meiru hit Axe Dragonute with its sword so hard that the ground shook, blowing it to bits.
"Now use Crusader's effect," said Brittlebeak. "When Crusader destroys Monster, I take Koa'ki Meiru Monster from Graveyard."
Koa'ki Meiru Boulder slipped out of his discard slot, and he took it.
"Now that Crusader took care of Monster," said Brittlebeak, "Urnight takes care of you! Direct attack!"
The centaur charged at Jalal. The leader of the Shadowchasers frowned. Then he lifted his arm, and blocked the blow with his gauntlet.
"You'll have to do better than that, fellah," said Jalal.
(J: 6,000) - - - - - - - - - (B: 8,000)
Brittlebeak looked at Jalal in disbelief.
"Uh…" said the vrock. "I end turn… That mean Koa'ki Meiru Crusader goes boom unless I discard Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru from hand or show Beast-Warrior Monster in hand… So…"
He flipped a card in his hand around, Gene-Warped Warwolf.
"Then do same thing so Koa'ki Meiru Urnight not go boom…"
He flipped the same card around again.
Meanwhile, many ophidia were watching from the safety of their homes. Guiseppe was watching with a female ophidia.
"He shrugged off that direct attack like it was nothing!" exclaimed the toymaker. "Who is he?"
"Hebi-Na mentioned him before," said the woman. "He may be the one who can save her…"
Jalal drew a card.
Then he played a Spell Card.
"I activate… Hand Destruction," he said. "Now, we must each send two cards in our hands to the Graveyard, and then draw two replacements."
Brittlebeak looked at his hand, and then discarded two cards.
"That's it," said Jalal, making two discards.
They both made two draws.
"Now," said Jalal, as he played another card, "I play Dragon's Mirror!"
Two Monsters, Lord of Dragons and Divine Dragon Ragnarok appeared behind him.
"Because I just sent these two Monsters to my Graveyard, I can remove them from play to fuse them together…"
The two Monsters combined into a swirl of dark energy.
"Forming the mighty King Dragun!"
With a roar, a much bigger Dragon appeared on the field. From the waist up, it was Lord of Dragons, holding a staff that was modeled after the Flute of Summoning Dragons. From the waist down, it was a large, serpentine Dragon. (2,400 ATK)
"Next, by using King Dragun's effect," continued Jalal, as he took a card from his hand, "I can Special Summon a Dragon every round. Like Tyrant Dragon!"
In an explosion of fire, an even bigger Dragon, with red scales and large wings burst onto the field. It certainly did not look friendly as it looked at Brittlebeak and the two Koa'ki Meirus. (2,900 ATK)
The bulezai all cowered in fright. Brittlebeak seemed a little braver, but even he was visibly nervous.
"Now, my Tyrant Dragon attacks Koa'ki Meiru Urnight!" shouted Jalal. "Destroy him! Imperial Inferno!"
Tyrant Dragon exhaled a blast of flame, striking the centaur and burning it to ashes.
"And now, because you still have a Monster," continued Jalal, "Tyrant Dragon gets a second attack!"
Tyrant Dragon blasted a second wave of fire, incinerating Koa'ki Meiru Crusader.
"And I'm not done with you!" shouted Jalal. "King Dragun, attack him directly! Twilight Burn!"
King Dragun blasted a bolt of black fire from his staff, hitting the vrock and knocking him down. The bulezai dove for cover.
(J: 6,000) - - - - - - - - - (B: 3,700)
"Get up, worms!" cursed Brittlebeak, as he himself struggled to get up. "Brittlebeak not lose yet! Brittlebeak still crush this accursed mortal."
"Is that so?" asked Jalal. "Seems you're in big trouble, fellah…"
He took two cards from his hand.
"I haven't Normal Summoned, this turn," he said, "so I'll set a Monster. Then I'll set a card facedown."
Two set cards appeared, one in his Spell Zone, and one in his Monster Zone.
"I end my turn…"
"Brittlebeak draw…" said the vrock, drawing a card.
Then he squawked in delight.
"Brittlebeak like draw!" he said. "Remove Iron Core of Koa'ki Meiru in hand from play…"
He held up the card, and it vanished.
"…to Special Summon Dragon that's better than yours… Koa'ki Meiru Maximus!"
There was a cyclone of eerie energy, and a gaunt, silvery Dragon that seemed to be at least partially mechanical appeared in front of him. (3,000 ATK)
"Now, summon another Koa'ki Meiru," he said. "Koa'ki Meiru Bergzak."
A grim-looking Warrior wearing black armor, a cloak, and a mask holding two swords appeared next to the Dragon. (2,000 ATK)
"Attack King Dragun!" shouted Brittlebeak.
Maximus unleashed a volley of lightning bolts at the Fusion Monster, blowing it to particles.
"Next, Bergzak attacks set Monster…"
The Warrior rushed at the hidden Monster. Masked Dragon appeared on the card, and with two slashes of swords, was cut to pieces.
"I use Masked Dragon's effect!" shouted Jalal. "I Special Summon Golem Dragon in Defense Mode!"
A big, wingless Dragon that seemed to be made entirely out of rock appeared where Masked Dragon had been, and covered itself with large claws. (2,000 DEF)
"Mmm," said Brittlebeak. "Move to Main Phase 2, and use effect of Koa'ki Meiru Maximus to destroy Tyrant Dragon."
The large Dragon exploded into shards. The bulezai cheered and threw coins.
He was smarter than I thought, thought Jalal. He realized that Maximus' effect wouldn't work on my Dragons unless he got rid of King Dragun first…
"I end turn," said Brittlebeak. "So, I send Koa'ki Meiru Boulder from hand to Graveyard so Maximus not go boom…"
He discarded the card.
"Then I show you Koa'ki Meiru War Arms in hand to keep Bergzak too."
He flipped the card in his hand around.
(J: 5,400) - - - - - - - - - (B: 3,700)
Jalal drew a card.
"All right, demon," he said, as he played it, "I'm playing Card of Variation.
"I get to draw two cards now… But at the end of my turn, I either have to discard a card from my hand, or I lose 3,000 Life Points."
He made two draws.
Then his facedown card lifted up.
"I activate Call of the Haunted!" he shouted.
Axe Dragonute reappeared. (2,000 ATK)
"Why you no use Call of the Haunted to bring back King Dragun?" asked Brittlebeak.
"Because I'm summoning someone better," said Jalal with a grin. "Next, I summon Luster Dragon…"
He played the card, and a large Dragon that seemed carved out of sapphire appeared. (1,900 ATK)
"Now, I play the Double Summon Spell Card," he said, as he played another card. "Now I can Normal Summon another Monster.
"Of course, I truly doubt that 'ganging up' is a concept that I have to explain to you guys!
"I summon Magna Drago!"
A small Dragon with flaming red scales appeared next to the other two Dragons. (1,400 ATK)
"You summon Tuner Monster?" gasped Brittlebeak.
"That I did!" replied Jalal. "And now I Tune together Magna Drago, Luster Dragon, and Axe Dragonute…"
The three Dragons soared into the sky. Magna Drago turned into three rings of energy, and Luster Dragon and Axe Dragonute flew threw them, slowly dissolving into a cluster of glowing stars. Jalal started to chant.
"The elemental forces concealed within these creatures will combine into an engine of raw destruction!"
(*2 + *4 + *4 = *10)
"I Synchro Summon… Trident Dragion!"
The biggest Dragon yet towered over the field. Like a modern-day King Ghidorah, it had no limbs except for two huge wings, and three fierce Dragon heads. (3,000 ATK)
"Now, I activate its effect," continued Jalal. "I can destroy up to two of my own cards…"
Call of the Haunted and Golem Dragon shattered.
"…and for each one, Trident Dragion gains an extra attack!"
He took the last card in his hand.
"Now I play… Battle-Tuned! By removing my Tuner Monster in my Graveyard from play…"
He took Magna Drago from his discard slot.
"…my Monster on the field gains Attack Points equal to its Attack Points!"
(4,400 ATK)
"Attack Koa'ki Meiru Maximus!" shouted Jalal. "First Flame Strike!"
The giant Dragon roared, and exhaled a mighty blast of fire. The Koa'ki Meiru exploded in a mighty blast as its core ruptured.
"Now for its second attack!" shouted Jalal. "Second Flame Strike!"
Trident Dragion blasted another mighty burst of flame, obliterating Koa'ki Meiru Bergzak.
Jalal was about to give the order for the third attack…
But then, he realized that he didn't have to.
(J: 5,400) - - - - - - - - - (B: 0)
"It's over already?" said Jalal. "What a shame…"
Brittlebeak was lying on the ground, his feathers burned, moaning in pain…
"He's too powerful!" screamed one of the bulezai.
"What's Lord Norg going to say?" screamed another one.
They all turned to flee, but Jalal was not finished. He made a rush for the one who had spoken last, and grabbed him.
"Oh, I'd actually love to hear what this Lord Norg fellow has to say," he said to the bulezai.
"So take me to him! NOW!"
"Y-y-y-yes sir…" stammered the bulezai.
Demons… thought Jalal. Typical bullies. They're all so tough until someone stronger comes along. Then they're nothing but cowards…
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CARD OF VARIATION (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: A Duel Monsters card floating in clear water.
Card Description: Draw 2 cards. At the End Phase of your turn, either discard 1 card from your hand or take 3,000 points of damage.
Note: Card of Variation was first used by Kenzan in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode "Primal Instinct". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Next:
Jalal: I meet the demon who claims to be in charge, a more powerful, and more loathsome creature called Lord Norg. Clearly, this guy won't go down as easy as Brittlebeak did. And even if I defeat him, I don't know if I can force him to tell me where Hebi-Na is…
I don't blame the townsfolk for cowering in fear. Demons are horribly cruel creatures. But I may have an ally yet in this Soulscape… Someone else who has the guts to fight them…
"Contact" is coming soon.