Kari Takes Charge

Chapter Two

Yuma was at the area for dueling, his Duel Gazer over his left eye. He had no cards on the field, and his 900 Life Points were meager compared to Shark's 3000.

Two sharks connected by orange airplane wings that were fastened around their bellies, floated on Shark's side of the field, making his name apt.

"I set a face-down and end my turn," Shark said.

Yuma picked up his next card, wrinkling his nostrils. It was Dododo Warrior, and his sister had been sitting directly on top of it. She must have rubbed her butt across it, to make it smell so awful. How could he even play it? His Duel Disk would get disgusting. But there was no safe way to wash his card, or his Duel Disk. The best thing to do would be to throw Dododo Warrior away…

"No, don't do that," a female voice whispered in his ear. He turned to see who said it, but no was there. "It's me, Gagaga Magician Girl. You can't see me, but I'm here all the same."

"GMG? You're really there?"

"Yes."

"This is too much like the show Duel Monsters GX, where Dark Magician Girl talks to Syrus Truesdale."

"This isn't TV; this is reality. I'm here to tell you that you must not throw Dododo Warrior away."

"Why not?"

"If you throw that card away, you will kill the Dododo Warrior in the Vellsyru Corridor."

"The what?"

"The place where all of Duel Monsters live."

"Like the Dominion of the Beasts in the first Duel Monsters series?"

"Please, that's just a TV show made to sell a card game. The Vellsyru Corridor is a real place, where all of Duel Monsters live. And they depend on the people here who love them the most to keep them alive. Your opponent loves Aero Shark, and so if he threw that card away, he would be killing Aero Shark there. You love Dododo Warrior, and if you let it get taken by the trash bots, like you nearly did with all your cards the day you met Astral, you will be responsible for Dododo Warrior's death in the Corridor. And then you'll have to answer to the other Gagagas and Utopia. I wouldn't harm you, and Utopia will try to convince the others that you did it because the card had a foul odor produced there by your sister, but they likely will win out and turn him into his Chaos version. And as you must know, Chaos Utopia is no creature to mess with."

"Indeed. But how can I play this card? It's—"

"Don't worry about the smell. Just do it. You have to win this duel, or Shark will go on wrecking the kids at school."

"Right. I guess I'll play it, then."

"You do that. And Yuma?"

"Yeah?"

"I can reveal myself to whomever I choose. And if you win this duel, I just might reveal myself to you."

Yuma's ears went scarlet. "Then I will do it," he said.

Gagaga Magician Girl said nothing more, so he assumed she was gone.

"Okay, I summon Dododo Warrior in attack mode!" Yuma said.

"That's a six-star monster!" Shark exclaimed. You can't summon it without Tributing!"

"I can, but it loses 500 ATK."

"It's not enough to take down Aero Shark, then."

"Maybe not, but I have ways of making it stronger."

"Like what?"

"Like this! Forbidden Chalice! Now my Dododo Warrior gains 400 ATK on top of having its ATK revert back to 2300 for the turn, so now it's whopping 2700!"

"That's my Yuma!" Kotori shouted from the sidelines.

"I want to be your Yuma," Bronk said to her.

"Oh, stuff it you big lug. Just watch the duel."

"Now, Dododo Warrior, attack Aero Shark with Axe Rogue Knot!"

The dark Hagar-looking creature took his axe and twisted it around the body of the dual-head shark, which gave out a shriek of pain with one head as the other head tried to bite through the axe, but to no avail. Then Shark's monster vanished and his Life Points dropped by 800.

[2200/0900]

"Big deal," Shark said. "I've still got over half my Life Points left. And what is this I just drew? Take a look!"

A fish with all the colors of the rainbow on it, the blue and green and yellow taking up the forefront of its body, and the other hues encompassing the back part, appeared on Shark's field.

"7-Colored Fish? But it only has 1800 attack points."

"Same as your monster, Yuma. When they battle, they'll both be destroyed. Or not."

"Not? What do you mean, not?"

"This Continuous Spell is what I mean! I activate Kishido Spirit! Monsters on my side of the Field that battle monsters with equal ATK are not destroyed. Now 7-Colored Fish, attack with Multiple Tail Slash!"

The fish flung itself at Dododo Warrior, slapping the warrior's face repeatedly. The Hagar-like creature brought its axe down on the fish's tail, separating it from its body. Smoke appeared, and when it dissipated, the fish was still standing, as if had not just been the receiver of multiple slashes.

"Oh well, I can still win this," Yuma said.

"That's what you think. I set one card and end my turn."

"Good, now I draw! And will you lookee here! I summon Koala Nightmare!"

A giant purple koala appeared on Yuma's field. It had claws that gleamed in the sun.

"A guy who works at Industrial Illusions gave it to me. What d'you think?"

"It only has 1400 ATK. It's useless."

"Oh, really? Koala Nightmarre, attack with Eucalyptus Teeth Drill!"

The koala's molars grew till they were six feet long, and it lunged at the fish. The fish began thrashing its tail at the koala, until it thumped it on the head and the koala vanished from the field.

[2200/0500]

"Hah! Your Life Points are toast, and I'll finish you off next turn," Shark said. But he gaped as 7-Colored Fish swum toward Yuma's side of the Field. "Say what?"

"The monster that destroys Koala Nightmare in battle switches control to the opponent," Yuma said. "Meaning I have your Rainbow Fish now."

"It's 7-Colored Fish, not Rainbow Fish!"

"Whatever. Anyhow, Rainbow Fish attacks you directly."

Shark winced as his monster darted at his unprotected Field and wiped away most of his Life Points.

[0400/0500]

"No way you're winning now," Yuma said.

"That's what you think! I will win your sister's clothes off her back if it's the last thing I do!" He drew a card, and his grin became huge. "It's over, Yuma! You hear me? Over! Because I have in my hand here, a card that you can't stop even if you had every card in your Deck on the Field right now."

"You're exaggerating."

"Am I? Well, get a load of this! I activate Fish Barrel From the Tzduku! Surely you know what the Tzduku is?"

"Nope."

"The Tzduku is a place in the realm of banished monsters where Fish swim toward to lay eggs and swim away from to live lives in the other realm of the Duel Monsters."

"The Corridor?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The Corridor…that's the name of the realm of Duel Monsters."

"There is no mention of a Corridor in any cards released from Industrial Illusions."

Yuma started to speak, but he heard Gagaga Magician Girl again. "Don't pursue this further. He is not to know about the Corridor. Cover your tracks."

"Um, the bloke called Huffington from Industrial Illusions told me. I guess it'll be referenced in the next pack."

"Whatever. You have nothing to stop this card. It allows me to remove three Fish-, Sea-Serpent-, or Aqua-type monsters from my Graveyard from play."

"'Remove from play'? What does that mean?"

"It means it's banished."

"Then why didn't you just say that?"

'"I did say that. You just aren't up to old slang."

"So what? Just do whatever you're going to do with that card."

"Fine. I remove Drill Barnacle, Flyfang, and Aero Shark from play.. This allows me to destroy three cards on your side of the Field. So first goes 7-Colored Fish, then two of your face-downs."

"But then I will only have one card left…" Yuma said.

"Good. One card can't hurt me, and I'll win your sister's clothes for sure."

"I activate one of my face-downs before you destroy it," Yuma said. "Jar of Greed. This allows me to—"

"Draw one card. What a waste.. You could have put any card in your deck instead of that one, something that could actually do something."

"It does the very thing that will save me in this duel," Yuma said. "And now, I draw!" He pulled the card out of his Duel Disk and really had to wrinkle his nose this time. It smelled like his sister had been farting on this card for two hours straight. And it was the one card he needed, too.

"Please, fight all impulses to throw it away," Gagaga Magician Girl said. "You must win this duel, and you will be facing worse than Kari's flatulence on a card if you don't."

"But…the smell…"

"Pull a clothespin out of your pocket."

"I don't have a clothespin there…"

"Just check."

Yuma reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin manila thing clasped by a metal swirl. A piece of paper came out too and fell on the ground. Yuma didn't care about that, though.

"Hey, you're not allowed to pull cards ffrom your pocket!" Shark said.

"It isn't a card; it's a clothespin," Yuma said, holding it up for all to see.

"What do you need a clothespin for?"

"Because you're a fish and you give off a pretty foul smell!"

Shark's goons raised their fists at Yuma, but Shark held them back. "He can insult me till Kingdom come, he's still gonna lose."

Yuma put the clothespin on his nose. Then he said, "Finish your turn, Fish-boy."

"Yumaaaaa…" Kototi said.

"Good, now say my name like that," said Bronk. "Just repeat after me. 'Bronnnk.'"

"Bronk will you quit it? Yuma has just said something out-of-character for him. It sounded like he was fed Krokorok meat or red Kryptonite or something."

"So I have to eat Krokorok meat or take red Kryptonite for you to say my name like that? I'd do it in a heartbeat!"

"Bronk, this is serious! I'm worried about Yuma…"

"Better start worrying about me. I don't have a deck."

"That's not something you want to say to girls if you want to win their hearts," Kotori admonished him.

"Oh, yeah, I see…"

Kotori looked on him with eyes of pity. "Look, big lug," she said. "I'm sure there's a girl out there for you somewhere. You just gotta find her."

"But I want her to be you. You to be her. I mean—"

"You mean," Kotori said, placing her hand on Bronk's arm, "that I'm the only girl you hang ouy with and thus you have developed feelings for me. But Ashley Nolan is a more suitable choice for you, and I think she likes you, anyway."

"Which one's Ashley Nolan?" Bronk asked, looking over at the girls watching the duel on the far side.

"I'll introduce you later. Right now, let's just watch the duel."

"Shark was grinning maliciously. "So you drew an extra card, Yuma. That won't save ya."

"I bet it will," Yuma said, sounding a little funny since the clothespin was blocking his nasal passages.

"Whatever. I activate Burial From the Different Dimension to return the three monsters I just banished to my Graveyard." A splashing noise was heard as Shark's monsters moved from banishment to being dead. "Then I activate my face-down, Xyz Reborn! Now I summon Aero Shark and he gets Xyz Reborn as a material."

The dual-headed shark was back, and it looked fierce. Its teeth gleamed as if yearning to sink into Yuma's Life Points.

"Yuma, your sister's clothes are as good as mine. Now Aero Shark, attack Yuma directly with Double Aqua Crunch!"

"I wonder how I'll stop that," Yuma said. "Oh, I know! With my face-down."

The card came up and was revealed to be a trap. It showed a man standing with his Duel Disk to the side.

"Like it?" Yuma asked. "It's called Defense Draw, and with it I take no Battle Damage."

"Whatever," said Shark.

"And I get to draw."

"One more pathetic card. Big deal."

"My grandpa's deck has no pathetic cards, Kaiba!"

"Stop quoting the Duel Monsters TV show and draw already!"

Yuma drew his card.

"Now during my Main Phase 2, I use Aero Shark's effect to discard its Xyz Material (that is to say, Xyz Reborn), and deal 100 damage to your Life Points for each Fish-, Sea-Serpent-, or Aqua-type monster I have banished, Yuma. And guess what? I count five! So this duel is over and I get your sister's clothes straight off her back!"

"Not so fast, Shark," Yuma said. My Defense Draw let me grab a girl who has always been there for me from my deck. And her name is…"

"Kotori!" said the girl whose name that was.

Yuma didn't hear her shout her name, though, for he felt feminine hands cover his ears. He looked for their source but could not find them.

"Hey, who touched me?" he asked.

No one answered.

"Just a figment of my imagination," he said, turning around to face his opponent. "And now, I discard Effect Veiler to stop your Aero Shark's effect!"

A holograph of a young girl with green braids hanging past her waist and black pantyhose going all the way up to her waist, appeared. She kissed the shark on one head, then rolled herself over in the air to kiss the other head, before giving Yuma a wink and vanishing.

"Dang-a-whatzoo, that was one fine girl!" Bronk said.

"If I were your girlfriend, I would have to slug you after seeing your face just now," Kotori said.

"If I were your boyfriend, I would want to be slugged by you," Bronk said.

"Oh, you're impossible."

They both turned their attention back to the field.

"Fine! You stopped the effect now, Yuma, but you're still going to lose this duel."

"We shall see."

"My turn ends."

Yuma drew his card. "Aha! Of all the cards in my deck, this is just the one I needed! Now, prepare to meet your doom!"

"I'm shaking, Yuma. I'm sure the card you just drew is very Gastly and that after this duel, you're going to take your naked sister to Lavender Town. Get it? Gastly? Lavender Town?"

He looked at his goons and they laughed, though when he turned his attention back to the field, they started scratching their heads.

"Laugh all you want, but I've got just the card I need! And I summon Arsenal Bug in attack mode!"

He placed it on his Duel Disk, and at once everyone present had to cover their noses. The stench from the card became increasingly potent as the creature within the card became actualized.

Even through the clothespin, Yuma could barely abide the stench.

"What did you do to that monster to make it smell so horrible?" Shark asked, cupping his hand over his nose.

"I put it in fish grease," Yuma said. "And now it will make mincemeat of your shark."

"It can't!" Shark said, taking his hand away from his nose but choking in return, so he put it back. "Arsenal Bug cannot declare an attack unless you have another Insect-type monster on your side of the Field, and you don't have any other monsters."

"Of course I don't, but I have a card in my hand that makes that unnecessary. It is another copy of a card I played earlier in this duel. Perhaps you'll remember it?"

Yuma revealed the card in his hand. It was a Spell card and depicted a woman standing under a tree, her midriff showing between her manila shirt and manila skirt, and a vine around her head with leaves in the back on her hair. She was drinking from a cup.

"You guessed it! Forbidden Chalice! It negates Arsenal Bug's effect, and gives it the boost it needs to take out your Life Points! Now Arsenal Bug, attack with Driving Slash!"

The monster, which looked like a spearhead carrying a sharpened sword with an archer's bow for a mouth, darted toward the dual-head shark and jutted its spearhead into one of the shark heads, sending its sword into the other. The shark made a swarthing noise before falling to the ground in a heap.

The shark didn't even put up a fight. It seemed as though the stench from Arsenal Bug had deprived it of all its ability to resist. It lay there on the fround for a second, looking up at the bug with bloodshot eyes. Then it vanished.

"Looks like I win," Yuma said.

"I wanted your sister's effin' clothes!"

"Just give me Bronk's deck and you can be on your way."

"Too bad. I burned Bronk's deck last night, certain that you wouldn't win."

"He lies," Gagaga Magician Girl whispered into Yuma's ear. Her could feel her lips on his lobe as she said this, and his cheeks grew warm.

"Yeah, right. You couldn't even burn grilled cheese if you tried, let alone Bronk's deck," Yuma said. "Hand it over."

"Fine," Shark said. He threw the cards at Yuma and whistled for his goons to join him. "Let's get out of this stink-hole," he said.

Bronk came over with Kotori. "My deck!" Bronk exclaimed. "It's all…scattered everywhere!"

"I know. I'm sorry, that Shark dude just doesn't play fair."

"And how did that Arsenal Bug smell so bad? Everyone around had their noses covered, not just us."

"It's um…hard to explain," Yuma said.

"Yuma, look!" Kotori said, pointing to Bronk's cards, which were gathering themselves together.

"Guess we don't have to play 52 pick-up after all," Yuma quipped.

"But what's doing it? It is a ghost?"

"Well, you know…Gastly, Lavender Town…Shark's own words coming back to haunt him."

"But they're not haunting him," Bronk said. "They're haunting us!"

Just then, the deck appeared in front of Bronk, hanging in mid-air.

"Take it," Yuma said.

"But if it's from a ghost, it might be contaminated."

"Just take it, you big lug," Kotori said, putting her hand on his arm encouragingly, though that was probably to reassure herself more than to encourage him.

Bronk took it and felt a surge of goodness enter his veins. If it had not been a good aura, he would have been certain he was right from the start…that his deck was contaminated. But it was good. And he stifled an urge to tell Kotori how staunchlike it made him feel to have her hand on his arm. He knew now that this would be a bad move.

"Well, Yuma, I said I would reveal myself to you," Gagaga Magician Girl said.

"You will? Really?"

"Yes, but not yet."

Yuma hung his head.

"Oh, don't be distraught, my friend. The time will come when I will do so. Just as I gave your friend there something more than just his deck, I will have something for you in due time."

"What did you give Bronk?"

"I cannot tell people other people's gifts. He has to figure it out on his own. Farewell."

"Don't leave me!" Yuma wailed.

"I must go! Oh yeah, and pick up the note you dropped that was attached to the clothespin. It's important that you read it."

"I'd rather talk to you…"

"Goodbye."

"No, stay! Stay!"

There was no response.

"GMG, you there?"

Nothing.

Kotori and Bronk came over. "Yuma, who you talking to?" Kotori asked.

"Um, someone."

"There was no one here."

"Oh. It must've all been in my head," Yuma said, doing his best to look sheepish. He did not believe what he said, though.

A wind picked up a notebook piece of paper off the ground that seemed to be shriveled into eights or sixteenths or something. It landed at Yuma's feet, and he bent to pick it up. This is what he read:

Yuma,

I thought you might want this cloyhespin iif you drew the card I sat pm for hours. And you better have won that duel because you knoe I am against you're dueling but since my clothes were on the line, I'll let it slide. Next time, I won't give you a clothespin, though.

From,

Kari.