Can anyone guess where the names of these chapters originated? Cookie for the one who can figure it out.
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DRAW FIVE
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A Bad Turn
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"Why don't you simply shut the system down?" asked Jabels.
"Ordinarily, it would be that simple," replied Gelinas. "But with their brain activity like this…
"Do you know how it's said that it can be dangerous to wake up a sleepwalker? Well, with the rate their brain activity is, shutting down the system may be even worse.
"To give an analogy, it's like Jalal is driving a car down an expressway at ninety miles an hour with Hebi-Na in the passenger's seat, and neither of them has a seatbelt on. Shutting down the system would be like slamming on the brakes."
"I see…" said Jabels, gravely.
"Hebi-Na would likely be killed…" said Gelinas. "And as for Jalal… Well, he could well end up a brain-damaged vegetable for the rest of his immortal existence!
"The only thing we can do is…"
Then he was startled. Both Jalal and Hebi-Na started to glow with an eerie, shadowy aura.
"What's happening?" asked Jabels.
"I'm not sure…" said Gelinas.
Then the shadowy aura lifted off the two patients, and turned into an orb of blackness…
Then the orb burst, and a terrible creature was standing in front of them.
It was a seven-foot tall demon, muscular, broad, and covered with an armored exoskeleton. It had a vicious, doglike head, and four arms. Two of the arms were large, and ended in sharp pincers, while the arms below those were human.
This was a glabrezu, a dark creature who lived to cause corruption. A glabrezu's very presence in the mortal world could cause vegetation to die and cattle to sicken. Its prolonged presence could upset the natural order if not driven off.
Everyone in the room cowered from the creature, except Gelinas, who looked rather annoyed at the intrusion.
The demon looked at the Bridge.
"And what, may I ask, is your business here?" asked the doctor.
"Repo man," responded the demon, with a chuckle. "Afraid that the payment on this device is overdue… Going to have to confiscate it…"
"Over my dead body," said Gelinas.
"Okay, chubby," laughed the glabrezu, "I can arrange that!"
In response, Gelinas pulled down a switch on the machine, and as the demon lunged, it slammed into a barrier of energy that divided the whole room in half.
It grunted. It was now on one side of the room, and everyone else, along with the Bridge, was on the other.
"Force field!" grunted the fiend.
"Fool," said Gelinas. "You didn't really think I didn't expect someone to try to shanghai my device? I took precautions in case some uncouth monster like you tried to steal it. I'm well-aware of what it could do in the wrong hands.
"One does not earn doctorates in two fields by being stupid."
"You can't hide behind that wall forever!" laughed the glabrezu.
"Nor can you stay here forever," said Gelinas. "You're in the middle of Shadowchaser Headquarters. Your presence is sure to raise an alarm eventually…"
"Uh, doc…" said Jabels.
He got close and whispered into his ear.
"I tried to call for help…" he whispered. "My cell phone is dead… This guy must have cut communications somehow… Until someone comes to check on us, we're on our own."
The glabrezu cackled.
"Once again, Ranstul the Render triumphs!" it laughed.
Gelinas lifted an eyebrow. That boast made by the overconfident demon suddenly gave him an idea.
He looked at the side of his coat. He had something in his pocket that he could use to defeat this creature… But first he had to weaken him.
His eyes narrowed.
"Quite an egotistical title…" he said.
He took a small device out of another pocket, no bigger than a blackberry. Then he clipped it onto his wristband, where it quickly unfolded into a Duel Disk.
"What's this?" asked Ranstul. "You want to duel me?"
Gelinas took a cord from the same pocket, and then hooked one end to the Disk. Then he plugged the other end into a port on the Bridge.
"We seem to be in a stalemate for now," said Gelinas. "I'm offering you a chance to end this quickly.
"You want to get to us? Reducing my Life Points to zero in a duel will turn off that force field."
Ranstul laughed out loud.
"Fool!" it said. "Even if you win, you'll get nothing.
"I accept!"
A Duel Disk appeared on its left human arm, the same model of the ones used by Brittlebeak and Norg.
"Ain't a braver man alive…" said one of the technicians.
Gelinas took a deck of cards out of another pocket, and fit it into the deck holder.
"Duel," he said.
(Gelinas: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Ranstul: 8,000)
"I draw one card," said the doctor.
He looked over his hand of cards, and then picked four of them.
"I set three cards facedown, and then set a Monster in Defense Mode," he said.
A horizontal set card appeared in front of him, and then three vertical cards appeared behind it.
"That ought to do it for now…"
Ranstul chuckled as it made a draw.
"I summon Alien Hunter!" it laughed.
An orb of watery, blue energy appeared in front of it. Then it burst, and a large, humanoid lizard with blue skin, wearing armor with blue orbs on its chest, holding a double-bladed staff, appeared in its place. (1,600 ATK)
Gelinas looked at it over his spectacles.
An Alien… he thought.
"Attack his Monster!" shouted the demon.
The Alien's weapon crackled with electricity, and it lunged. A large turtle with a metal, mechanical shell appeared on the card. As the outer space Reptile stabbed it, it exploded.
"So much for that," laughed the demon.
"I activate UFO Turtle's effect," replied Gelinas. "I now get to summon a Fire-Attribute Monster with 1,500 Attack Points or less… So, I summon to the field… Fire Princess."
There was a burst of flame, and a beautiful, stern-faced woman in a red-dress holding a long, wooden staff appeared in front of him. (1,300 ATK)
"Feh…" said Ranstul.
It set a card on its Disk.
"I set one card facedown, and end my turn."
"And as you do," said Gelinas, as one of his three facedown cards lifted up, "my Solemn Wishes card activates.
"Now, I'll draw…"
He drew a card.
"And every time I draw one or more cards, Solemn Wishes grants me 500 Life Points…"
A shower of gold fell upon him.
"AND, every time my Life Points increase, Fire Princess gets to strut her stuff, dealing 500 points of damage."
Fire Princess pointed her staff, blasting a small ball of flames at the fiend.
"Bah!" it said. "You barely made a scratch."
"Maybe so," said Gelinas. "But she's hardly the only part of my strategy…
"I summon White Magician Pikeru to the field."
He played the card, and a small child, likely no older than ten, dressed in a white gown with blonde hair and pigtails appeared. The most unusual piece of clothing she wore was a hat shaped like a Scapegoat. She held a wand with a glowing orb. (1,200 ATK)
"Now, a Spell Card," he said, as he threw a card into his Disk. "It's called Sibling Rivalry. With Pikeru on the field, I can Special Summon her dark sister from my deck… Ebon Magician Curran."
Another girl Spellcaster appeared, the same age as Pikeru. She wore a black dress and a hood with bunny ears over her long, chestnut brown hair, and held a long, leather switch. (1,200 ATK)
Pikeru and Curran gave each other cold looks, and then turned to face Ranstul.
"I end my turn," said Gelinas.
(G: 8,500) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 7,500)
"Do you think those pathetic females are a match for my Monsters?" asked the demon, as it drew a card.
"I sacrifice Alien Hunter…" he said.
Alien Hunter turned into an orb of dark energy.
"For Alien Overlord!"
With a roar, a much more terrifying Alien exploded out of the orb. It was much bigger, was covered by an insect-like exoskeleton, had taloned feet, and six spindly arms ending in long claws. (2,200 ATK)
"Now, I activate Call of the Haunted," it said, as his facedown card lifted up, "to bring back Alien Hunter!"
Alien Hunter reappeared in a flash of energy. (1,600 ATK)
"You think I'm afraid of Aliens?" asked Gelinas. "In my first year of medical school, when I was on spring break, I went to a film festival where I saw Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, and Alien Resurrection all in one viewing, and loved every minute of it."
"Movies are one thing," said Ranstul, "Duel Monsters is quite another. Now, I use Alien Overlord's effect, which I can use once per round. I place one A-Counter on one of your Monsters!"
A cavity on Overlord's chest opened, and a disgusting slug flew out and latched to Fire Princess's chest. She grunted in pain.
"Alien Overlord is one of many Aliens with a special effect that causes Monsters to lose 300 Attack Points per A-Counter whenever they battle an Alien," continued Ranstul. "And while Alien Hunter doesn't have that effect, it has another effect… Once it destroys a Monster that has an A-Counter, it gets to attack a second time!"
"Is that so?" asked Gelinas.
Another of his facedown cards lifted up.
"I activate Gravity Bind," he said. "Your Monsters can't come near my Monsters now.
"You pride those Aliens for being so big and strong, but that's not always an asset."
"Coward!" cursed Ranstul. "You hide behind Traps and defenses… Are you too scared to attack?"
Gelinas glared at him with a look that could crack stone.
"I end my turn…" said the demon.
Gelinas drew a card.
"I'm no coward, demon," he said. "And if you came here looking for a fight, you will certainly get one!
"I gain 500 Life Points from Solemn Wishes again… Then, White Magician Pikeru grants me 400 Life Points for each Monster I possess… You can do math, can you?"
The shower of gold fell on him again, and Pikeru chanted, and cast a spell. Soft light covered the doctor.
"Now, because I gained Life Points from two sources, Fire Princess's effect is activated twice."
Fire Princess blasted an even bigger stream of flame at the demon.
"And, thanks to Curran, you now lose 300 Life Points for every Monster you possess!"
Curran chanted, and then lashed with her switch, striking Ranstul.
(G: 10,200) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 5,900)
"Next," said Gelinas, as he played a Spell Card, "I play Ancient Leaf. Because my Life Points are at least 9,000, I can pay 2,000 of them to make two draws."
His Life Points went down, and he made two draws.
"Now then…" he continued. "When there's a bad case of parasitic infestation, you need to call in a specialist. Fortunately, I have one. I summon Injection Fairy Lily!"
There was a burst of magical energy, and a young woman dressed like a nurse appeared, with small wings on her back, holding a syringe as big as herself. She smiled sweetly. (400 ATK)
"Now, she attacks…"
Lily flew at Alien Overlord…
"And by paying 2,000 of my Life Points, I can increase her Attack Score by 3,000!"
Lily's Attack Score shot up to 3,400, and she hurled her syringe, impaling the wicked Alien. It howled, and then shattered.
Lily alighted back on Gelinas's side of the field with a giggle.
"You'll pay for that…" hissed Ranstul.
"I set one card facedown," said Gelinas, as a set card appeared behind Lily, "and I end my turn…"
(G: 6,200) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 4,700)
Ranstul made a draw.
"Okay…" he said.
"I have here a very special Monster…
"So special, that I'm going to give it to you, as a present…"
"I don't like the sound of that…" said a technician.
"Of course," said Ranstul, "a sacrifice has to be made…"
Then Injection Fairy Lily screamed and dropped her syringe.
"Lily?" said Gelinas, stepping backwards. "What…"
Lily clutched her chest, and fell on her back. Then, to everyone's shock, a hideous Monster literally burst out of her chest.
As Lily's body disintegrated, the young Alien quickly grew to full-size. It was thin and gaunt, with a face that looked like a fanged skull. It had green orbs on its chest. (1,600 ATK)
Gelinas sighed.
"That may have been the one scene in the first movie that I didn't like…" he said.
"Of course," said Ranstul, "because I Special Summoned Alien Skull to your side of the field, it gains an A-Counter. AND, it's another Alien that saps the Attack Score of Monsters that have them when Aliens attack them. Which means, if I attack it with my Hunter, it will be defeated by its own effect!"
"But you can't attack with Hunter due to my Gravity Bind," replied Gelinas, "and because you Special Summoned your Skull that way, you aren't allowed to Normal Summon this round."
"I'm not done," said the demon. "First, I set a card facedown."
A set card appeared in his Spell Zone.
"Then I play… Card Destruction."
It played the Spell Card, and then discarded two cards. Gelinas shrugged, and discarded his one card. He drew one, and Ranstul drew two.
Then the card that Ranstul had just set lifted up.
"I activate Monster Reborn!" it shouted. "I'll bring back one of the Monsters I just tossed… Alien Telepath!"
The strange ankh appeared in mid-air, and then a strange creature appeared next to Alien Hunter. It looked like a cross between a slug and a catfish, covered with red scales. It had a very big mouth and two red orbs on its forehead. (1,600 ATK)
"Now I use its effect," continued Ranstul. "By removing an A-Counter from one of your Monsters, I can destroy one of your Spell or Trap Cards."
The A-Counter on Fire Princess crumbled to dust, and Alien Telepath blasted a bolt of psychic energy, blowing Gravity Bind to pieces.
"Seems I can attack after all," chuckled the demon. "And one other thing… Alien Telepath is also an Alien that saps the Attack Scores of Monsters that have A-Counters when Aliens attack them."
Alien Hunter lifted its staff.
"That means that the one A-Counter on Alien Skull will cause it to lose 600 Attack Points in this battle! Alien Hunter, attack! Otherworldly Electrostaff!"
Alien Hunter leapt at the gaunt Alien, its weapon crackling with electricity. As Alien Skull's Attack Score fell to 1,000, it jammed the weapon into the Skull's chest, and the Skull exploded into gore.
"And like I said," continued Ranstul, "when Hunter slays a Monster that has at least one A-Counter, it gets to attack again!"
Hunter rushed at Fire Princess, and stabbed her in the chest. She screamed before she shattered.
"Ergh…" grunted Gelinas.
"Now, Telepath will eradicate your bunny-girl. Attack Ebon Magician Curran with Telepathic Wave!"
Curran squeaked in fear. Then Telepath shot its wave of mental energy again, and she screamed before shattering.
Pikeru looked at Ranstul and his Aliens with a look of pure fury.
"Calm down…" said Gelinas.
"To end my turn," said Ranstul, I'll set one card facedown, and then play the Continuous Spell Card, 'A' Cell Breeding Device."
A facedown card appeared, and then a strange contraption appeared in front of him. It looked like a tank full of chemicals with ugly things swimming around inside it.
"It's your move…" said Ranstul.
(G: 4,900) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 4,700)
"Not yet," said Gelinas. "From this point, this Trap Card will be in play…"
Another of his facedown cards lifted up.
"Life Absorbing Machine. We'll get to that in a second. Now, I draw…"
He made a draw.
Hmm… he thought.
"I gain 500 Life Points from Solemn Wishes, and 400 from Pikeru," he said.
"And thanks to Life Absorbing Machine, half of the Life Points I lost due to Life Point payments last round are now refunded. That means I gain 2,000 Life Points."
(G: 7,800) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 4,700)
He quickly set one of the cards in his hand, and a hidden Monster appeared next to Pikeru. Then Pikeru knelt in Defense Mode. (0 DEF)
"End," he said.
"That was all you could do, huh?" asked Ranstul.
"I draw…"
He made a draw.
"And during my Standby Phase, I use 'A' Cell Breeding Device to put an A-Counter on Pikeru…"
One of the vile slugs leapt out of the tank, and latched onto Pikeru.
Ranstul scratched his chin with one of its pincer arms.
"Hmm, let's see now…" said the demon. "I could remove that A-Counter to use Alien Telepath's effect… I could use it to destroy your Solemn Wishes…
"On the other hand… I could attack Pikeru with Alien Hunter while the Counter is still there, which would let it attack your other Monster as well, and then let me attack directly with Telepath…
"Yes, I think I'll do just that!"
Hunter charged at Pikeru and stabbed with its Electrostaff, blowing the young Spellcaster to pixels. Then it charged at the facedown Monster. A dark-looking man briefly appeared on the card before shattering as well.
"Alien Telepath, attack the good doctor directly!" ordered Ranstul.
Gelinas groaned as the Telepath's mental wave plowed into him.
"I knew you would do that…" said the doctor, with a hint of contempt in his voice. "Your kind has as much foresight as a rabid grizzly bear…"
Ranstul frowned.
"We'll see about that," he said, as he set the last card in his hand into his Disk. "I set this facedown."
"And I activate this," said Gelinas, as his last Trap Card lifted up. "Miracle's Wake. Now I can summon back to the field a Monster that you destroyed this turn via battle…
"I summon my Devilish Bard."
In a shadowy, dark aura, a devilish handsome young man strode onto the field. He was dressed in a leather jerkin with a long, white, flowing scarf, and carried a lute which he slowly strummed. A pair of fiendish wings sprouted from his back. (0 ATK)
"He has no points…" said Ranstul.
"Attack Points aren't everything," said Gelinas.
"I end my turn…" said the demon.
(G: 6,200) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 4,700)
"Then I draw!" exclaimed Gelinas. "And I gain 500 Life Points from Solemn Wishes again.
"Then I summon… the Beautiful Flute Player!"
He played the card, and an aura of light appeared next to the Devilish Bard. An angelic woman with long, blonde hair, dressed in white and golden robes with beautiful, feathered wings on her back appeared. Her eyes were closed, and she was playing a lovely melody on a sky-blue flute. (200 ATK)
"Bah!" said Ranstul. "Do you think those two weaklings can threaten my Aliens?"
"Maybe not," said Gelinas, "but let me explain their effects…
"Devilish Bard cannot be attacked so long as I have a Monster other than a Devilish Rogue on the field…
"And Beautiful Flute Player cannot be attacked so long as I have a Monster other than a Beautiful Flute Player on the field."
"It's an attack lock!" exclaimed the technician.
"Indeed…" said Jabels. "They may not be able to actually attack… But Devilish Bard will protect Beautiful Flute Player, while she will protect Devilish Bard!"
"Now, I move straight to my End Phase," continued Gelinas, "and because both of my musicians are in Attack Mode, their true effects activate.
"First, Beautiful Flute Player grants me 400 Life Points for each Spell and Trap Card on the field. I count six.
"Second, Devilish Bard deals 300 points of damage to you for each Spell and Trap Card on the field, again, that's six."
Devilish Bard's eyes glowed, and this time, Ranstul screamed in pain.
(G: 9,100) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 2,900)
"All right, now I'm angry…" snarled Ranstul, as he made a draw.
He looked at the card. And then he laughed an unholy cackle…
"I use the effect of 'A' Cell Breeding Device to put an A-Counter on Beautiful Flute Player!" it laughed.
The Fairy opened her eyes as one of the slugs flew at her, and latched to her chest.
"Now…" said the glabrezu, as its facedown card lifted up, "I activate Brainwashing Beam! I can now take control of one Monster that has an A-Counter on it."
Beautiful Flute Player screamed as she was dragged over to Ranstul's side of the field.
Ranstul grinned as he lifted up the card he had drawn.
"This Monster normally needs two sacrifices to summon…" it said. "But I can summon it with only one, providing that the one is yours…"
"Oh no…" said Jabels.
He had seen this beast before…
"I sacrifice your flutist…" said Ranstul, as Beautiful Flute Player vanished.
Then an explosion of energy rocked the room. A huge behemoth rose on the demon's side of the field. It could best be described as a giant brain perched on large, crustacean legs, with slimy tentacles all over. (2,600 ATK)
"Cosmic Horror Gangi'el…" muttered Gelinas.
"You got it!" laughed Ranstul. "Attack his Devilish Bard! Psionic Blast!"
Cosmic Horror Gangi'el blasted a bolt of destructive mental energy at the Fiend, blowing him to pieces. Gelinas held his chest in pain.
"Now, I attack directly with Alien Telepath and Alien Hunter!" shouted the demon.
Alien Telepath blasted its own bolt of mental energy at the doctor, while Hunter rushed up and stabbed him hard with its weapon. Gelinas toppled over.
(G: 3,300) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 2,900)
"Doctor!" screamed Jabels.
"I'm all right…" said the doctor, as he slowly got up. "I can take pain… That's something that all men in my profession need to know how to take…"
He dusted himself off.
"Freud himself knew it well… He smoked cigars all his life… It was a habit that gave him throat cancer at age sixty-seven, but unfortunately for him, it didn't kill him for sixteen years. He was in almost constant pain for those sixteen years, and would have suffered even longer if a friend hadn't helped him die by administering morphine as a mercy-killing."
How does Freud always find his way into these things? thought the technician.
"I believe… It's my move…" said the doctor.
He drew a card.
"Again, I gain 500 Life Points from Solemn Wishes," he said.
"Then I play… Pot of Avarice…"
The goofy jug appeared in front of him, and he took UFO Turtle, Fire Princess, Injection Fairy Lily, Devilish Bard, and Beautiful Flute Player from his discard slot. He shuffled them into his deck, and made two draws.
"Because I drew cards, Solemn Wishes activates again…"
The shower of gold fell on him a second time.
Then he played a Spell Card.
"I play… Star Blast!" he exclaimed. "I pay 1,500 Life Points, in order to downgrade the Level of this Monster in my hand from 7 to 4.
"That means she can be summoned with no sacrifice…
"You think you can impress me by using Monsters that come from beyond the stars? I have one that comes from Heaven itself!"
Celestial choirs started to play as a brilliant light appeared.
"I summon Guardian Angel Joan!"
The beautiful angel appeared in all her glory, spreading her golden wings and radiating an aura of pure brilliance. (2,800 ATK)
"Destroy that overgrown abomination!" shouted Gelinas. "Attack with Light of the Divine!"
Joan frowned, and flew up to Cosmic Horror Gangi'el with her hand glowing with a fiery aura of light. The great beast groaned, and then exploded in a fiery burst of light.
"And thanks to Joan's effect, I gain Life Points equal to your Monster's Attack Points," said Gelinas.
(G: 4,900) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 2,900)
"You'll suffer for that move…" snarled Ranstul. "And so will your accursed Angel!"
His facedown card shot up.
"I activate 'A' Cell Scatter Burst!" it shouted.
"I have to destroy one of my Aliens…"
Alien Hunter exploded into a burst of gore.
"…but your Monster gets one A-Counter for each Level it had!"
Four A-Counters flew at Guardian Angel Joan. Three of them latched to her torso, and one to her face.
"Oh no!" shouted the technician. "If Telepath attacks Joan, she'll lose…"
He paused.
"She'll lose 1,200 Attack Points…" said Jabels. "Telepath will only be able to manage a draw… Ranstul has no cards in his hand. With any luck, it'll get a bad draw."
The demon drew a card.
And then it grinned evilly.
"I think he got a good one…" said the technician.
"You bet I did," replied the glabrezu. "But first, I'm using Telepath's effect, and removing one A-Counter from Joan to destroy Solemn Wishes."
The A-Counter on Joan's face turned to dust, and she gasped for breath. The Solemn Wishes card shattered.
"Now, I summon Alien Ammonite!" shouted Ranstul, playing the card.
A small Alien that looked like a hermit crab with long tentacles underneath it appeared hovering in the air. (500 ATK)
"By summoning it, I'm able to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Alien from my Graveyard. I choose an Alien I discarded when I played Card Destruction… Alien Infiltrator."
A larger, but still somewhat small Alien appeared, one with black, insect-like armor and two tentacles in place of arms. It wore a mask with a breathing apparatus and made a deep breathing sound, similar to the heavy breathing that Darth Vader was known for. The orbs on its chest were black. (800 ATK)
"Eh?" said Jabels. "Why didn't he summon Alien Hunter? I mean, if he's going to summon Cosmic Fortress Gol'gar…"
"That's not what I'm summoning…" said the demon. "Infiltrator is exactly the right Level for an even stronger Alien Synchro Monster."
"That's preposterous," said Gelinas. "There are no Level 7 Alien Synchros."
"No, but there is a Level 10 one," replied Ranstul. "And due to its effect, I'm allowed to use your Monsters as Synchro Materials to summon it, so long as they have A-Counters on them."
Joan screamed as she was yanked over to Ranstul's side of the field. Then she, Infiltrator, and Ammonite, all flew towards the ceiling. Alien Ammonite turned into three dark rings, and Alien Infiltrator and Guardian Angel Joan were pulled through, slowly dissolving into glowing stars.
"I give you a creature who reigns as king among the Aliens…" said Ranstul.
(*1 + *2 + *7 = *10)
As the humans in the room watched, a portal opened, disgorging a mass of tentacles. The huge, shadowy body of the creature emerged, but not completely, seemingly preferring to keep itself partially hidden in the shadows of the portal. But Gelinas and the others could see eyes. Dozens of glowing, red, inhuman eyes glaring at them from the darkness created from the portal. (3,000 ATK)
"I give you… Cosmic Emperor Gilgameth!" laughed Ranstul. "Merely to look upon its face is to embrace madness!
"Fortunately for you, it can't attack this turn because I used your Monster to summon it. So… I'll just attack you directly with my Telepath!"
Gelinas cringed again as Telepath's mental assault hit him again.
"I end my turn…" said the glabrezu with a grin.
(G: 3,300) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 2,900)
"I draw one card…" said Gelinas, as he made a draw. "And I gain 750 Life Points from Life Absorbing Machine…"
He quickly played the card he had drawn.
"I play Magic Planter," he said. "I'll send Life Absorbing Machine to the Graveyard to draw two cards."
The Trap Card vanished, and he made two draws.
"Well, my friend," he said, as he looked at the three cards in his hand, "as we psychologists are so fond of saying, it appears your hour is up…
"I remove two Light-Attribute Monsters from play…"
White Magician Pikeru and Guardian Angel Joan appeared behind him, and then faded into nothing.
"…to Special Summon Soul of Purity and Light."
A Fairy made of translucent, soft light, with feathered wings dressed on a long gown, appeared in front of him. (2,000 ATK)
"Now I summon Sunny Pixie," he continued.
A little pixie, only a foot tall, flew onto the field. She had dragonfly wings and exuded a trail of fairy dust in her wake. (300 ATK)
"How cute…" said Ranstul in disgust.
"Don't underestimate her," said Gelinas. "She happens to be a Tuner.
"So, I Tune together Sunny Pixie and Soul of Purity and Light…"
Sunny Pixie flew towards the ceiling, and turned into a golden ring. Soul of Purity and Light followed, turning into six stars as she flew through the ring.
"Majestic wanderer of the Astral Plane, flying between all realities, the Music of the Spheres playing in your wake! Clustering stars light the way to the mortal realm..."
(*1 + *6 = *7)
"I Synchro Summon… Ancient Sacred Wyvern!"
With a roar, a large, radiant, oriental-looking Dragon with only two legs and small wings appeared to face the two Aliens. Its scales were shimmering silver, its face echoed wisdom, and a plume of golden hair trailed from behind its head. (2,100 ATK)
"Because Sunny Pixie was used to Synchro Summon a Light-Attribute Monster," continued Gelinas, "I gain 1,000 more Life Points."
(G: 5,050) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 2,900)
"And now, there's Ancient Sacred Wyvern's effect," he said. "Because my Life Points 2,150 more than yours, it gains an equal amount of Attack Points."
(4,250 ATK)
"It's not over!" cursed the glabrezu.
"I'm afraid it is," replied Gelinas, as he played the last card in his hand. "To drive the point home, I'm playing Darkworld Shackles! And I'm Equipping it to Cosmic Emperor Gilgameth."
As he played the card, there was a loud roar from the partially concealed Monster. Then its Attack Score started to plummet. (100 ATK)
"What have you done?" screamed the demon.
"It's not what I've done," said the doctor. "It's what I intend to do…
"Ancient Sacred Wyvern… Eradicate Cosmic Emperor Gilgameth with Mega-Blast!"
The huge Fairy bellowed, and breathed a beam of pure, burning light at the dark emperor. The glabrezu screamed and toppled over as his Monster was obliterated.
(G: 5,050) - - - - - - - - - - (R: 0)
"You insolent fool…" gasped the demon. "You may have beaten me… But all you've done is enrage me more… When that force field fails…"
"Why wait?" asked the doctor.
He reached over, and pulled the switch up. The force field flickered, and shut off.
"Dr. Gelinas!" shouted Jabels.
Ranstul's eyes opened wide in shock.
He pulled himself to his feet, stumbling as he did. Then he lunged at Dr. Gelinas…
The doctor pointed something at the wicked demon that looked like a small bottle made of metal, and pulled the stopper off of it.
By the time Ranstul realized what was happening, it was too late. Gelinas spoke a command word, followed by the word "Ranstul". The demon screamed as eldritch energy encircled him, freezing him in place…
Then, the energy enveloped him, and he was sucked into the bottle. Gelinas fit the stopper back on.
He took a deep breath.
"An Iron Flask!" exclaimed Jabels.
"A device that can be used to contain an extradimensional being," replied Gelinas. "He was a fool for telling us his name… As most demons are…"
"Once you knew his name, the Iron Flask could be used to contain him…" said Jabels. "But… To make sure it would work, you had to weaken him…"
Gelinas nodded.
"So I challenged him to a duel," he said. "I knew he'd be too proud to refuse…"
He put the Flask back inside his coat, and started checking the readings on the Bridge again.
"Seems Jalal and Hebi-Na's brain activity is still high…" he said. "But I think we know what was causing it in the first place… You'd best call someone to set up some wards to prevent any other unexpected guests."
"I'll have someone here in five minutes," said Jabels.
"Doc, that's a pretty good deck you have," said the technician.
"It's not mine," said the doctor, as he started to turn some dials. "It's my daughter's…"
The technician looked at him strangely…
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
In the Soulscape, Alzoozel and Jalal crept towards a clearing, and hid behind a bush. In the center of the clearing were two bulezai, standing guard, but not guarding anything, it seemed.
"The Bell Tower can't be seen until you get past the guards," said Dee-Dee.
"There are only two of them…" said Jalal.
"Wrong…" said Alzoozel. "As soon as they see you, dozens more will come from all directions.
"But… If I go there and make like I'm trying to break in like I have so many times before, they'll all concentrate on me. You'll be able to sneak by them and get in!"
"But…" said Jalal. "You'll be captured! Norg will…"
"He'll lock me up, he'll punish me, I'll escape again!" said Alzoozel. "I told you, it always happens. Better me than you…"
She handed him something.
"What's this?" asked Jalal.
He took it. It was a card.
It had a gold border, and was apparently a Monster Card, but the places where the card text and illustration were supposed to be were both blank.
"The soul gave it to me when the Bells stopped the first time," she said. "She told me to give it to anyone who came to help, if anyone ever did."
She looked at the two guards.
"Be ready to run past them… I don't know if I'll see you again…"
Then she ran into the clearing. She quickly ran up to one of the guards, and socked him in the face.
As she had said, more bulezai rushed into the clearing from all directions. She fought hard, knocking them down.
Jalal ran, and as Alzoozel had hoped, they didn't notice him. He got past the place where the first two guards were watching…
And then he gazed in awe at the building which had suddenly become visible.
He was now standing at the entrance of a terrible cathedral of demonic design. It was made of black crystal, with hideous gargoyles on every buttress. It was as if Dracula had taken over Notre Dame Cathedral and redecorated it to his own liking.
The stained glass window on the front bore the image of a creature with an uncanny resemblance to Vennominaga, the Deity of Poisonous Snakes…
It's a temple to Seghulerak, thought Jalal. Far more elaborate than any that an ophidia on Earth has ever built. I've reached the darkest part of her mind…
He looked up. High above was a belfry with large, iron bells.
The true Bells of Baphomet. They were silent now, but Jalal could sense the great evil emitting from them.
He rushed through the entrance. Then he paused, and looked back at Alzoozel, just in time to see the mob of bulezai tackle her and hold her down.
There was nothing more he could do for her here. His only hope now was to find Hebi-Na. He rushed further into the cathedral.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SIBLING RIVALRY (Spell Card)
Normal Spell
Image: A shocked White Magician Pikeru looking in a mirror and seeing an angry Ebon Magician Curran looking back at her.
Card Description: You may activate this card when you control a face-up "White Magician Pikeru" OR a face-up "Ebon Magician Curran". Special Summon 1 "Ebon Magician Curran" (if the card you control is a "White Magician Pikeru") or a "White Magician Pikeru" (if the card you control is an "Ebon Magician Curran") from your hand or deck.
Note: "Sibling Rivalry" first appeared in "The Thousand-Year Door".
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
BEAUTIFUL FLUTE PLAYER (Monster Card)
Card Specs
Type: Fairy/Effect
Attribute: Light
Level: 2
ATK: 200
DEF: 1,700
Card Description: If you control a face-up Monster (other than "Beautiful Flute Player") this card cannot be selected as an attack target. If this card is in Attack Position during your End Phase, increase your Life Points by 400 for each Spell and Trap Card on the field.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DEVILISH BARD (Monster Card)
Card Specs
Type: Fiend/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 2
ATK: 0
DEF: 1,000
Card Description: If you control a face-up Monster (other than "Devilish Bard") this card cannot be selected as an attack target. If this card is in Attack Position during your End Phase, inflict 300 points of damage to your opponent for each Spell and Trap Card on the field.
Note: "Beautiful Flute Player" and "Devilish Bard" were created by fanfic author Lux-Nero. Creative credit goes to him.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
COSMIC EMPEROR GILGAMETH (Monster Card)
Card Specs
Type: Reptile/Synchro/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 10
ATK: 3,000
DEF: 3,000
Card Description: "Alien" Tuner + 2 or more non-Tuner Monsters
This card can be Synchro Summoned using Monsters your opponent controls with "A-Counters" on them. If summoned via this method, this card cannot attack on the turn it is Synchro Summoned. Once per turn, by removing a number of "A-Counters" from the field, you can Special Summon 1 "Alien" monster or "Cosmic Horror Gangi'el" from your hand, deck or Graveyard whose Level is equal to the number of Counters removed. Each time this card destroys an opponent's Monster by battle, you may place a number of "A-Counters" on this card equal to the level of the destroyed monster.
Note: "Cosmic Emperor Gilgameth" was created by fanfic author Metal Overlord 2.0. Creative credit goes to him.
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Next:
Jalal: Before Hebi-Na confronted the aboleth, she was so forlorn that she was ready to choose death over life. Perhaps then, what happened to her wasn't the worst of things, as most cultures believe that suicide is the worst of all sins, and that those who commit self-murder are almost certainly damned.
Before I can find the soul, I am confronted by a demon that seems to have been formed out of that same self-destructive urge… And while it's willing to duel, my deck is ill-equipped to handle his powerful strategy…
Only one card in my deck win my way past this creature… Can I possibly draw it?
"Cold Sweat" is coming soon.