Soul of a Duelist
Turn 3: Poison of the Mind: Smitten by the Serpent
"Aegis, I think I found it this time."
"What do you mean, Noah?"
"How to create cards of the soul!"
"A card is a card, so why are you trying to make these 'soul cards'?"
"You don't get it, Aegis! Look, you know all about those God Cards and those Sacred Beast Cards and all those other legendary cards, right?"
"Of course, who doesn't?"
"Yeah, well I'm not going to be someone trying to chase after a legend! I'm going to be the one that creates the next one, Aegis! Don't you want to be a legend, Aegis?!"
"You know I want to be the best! But…Noah, all of your other attempts were so dangerous! We nearly died last time!"
"But we didn't! They say the closer you get to the truth the more they try to stop you! Aegis…You know as well as I do that there is more to this world than meets the eye. I won't stop until I see it all!"
"Do you really want to know of the things we can't see, Noah?"
"Of course!"
"Noah…We're not ready to know about them. You can't force things like this. When it's time, we'll know."
"You can only say that because you already saw something, didn't you?! Aegis, you haven't been the same ever since you came back last year. You still haven't told me what happened to your eye…"
"Noah. Drop it, please! I don't want you to get hurt because of your obsession!"
"Aegis, you can't run away from whatever it is forever. You have to stand on your own two legs again, no matter what could happen we have to persevere! I will make those cards, Aegis! My soul will burn with the intensity of a thousand suns!"
"But at what cost…?"
Head still spinning, senses still damaged, but regaining consciousness. Aegis groaned heavily as he was finally coming out of his partly comatose state. The pain in his head had left him but there was still a fair amount of residual stinging plaguing him. Aegis found it difficult to move at first; his joints had locked up for awhile and as a result the majority of his body was very sore. He decided it would be easier to simply piece together where he was first.
Enough of his senses were still intact for Aegis to know that he was laying down on something. If he had to guess it was a bed from how he sank into the surface slightly. He could feel a blanket over his body as well so it would make sense to assume he was in a medical center considering how he had passed out. Suddenly it occurred to him that he still hadn't tried to open his eyes since he gained back basic cognitive functions
With more effort than he originally suspected, Aegis pried his eyelids open and then blinked a few times to clear his vision. He found himself staring up at a nice white tiled ceiling with the occasional florescent light fixture that was worked into the tiles. Shifting his eyes slightly from side to side he saw that he wasn't alone and that there were other beds with people in them; it was definitely a hospital.
"Hey, everyone! Aegis woke up!" A new female voice entered Aegis' dulled hearing; however the voice did seem to be vaguely familiar. At the foot of the bed Aegis could make out the fuzzy impressions of colored masses that could only be people. Realizing his eyesight was still impaired-though it was understandable; Aegis gave up with gathering visual information and shut his eyelids.
"What happened?" Were the first things Aegis found himself wondering. Just one of the usual repertoire of questions one would ask in such a situation.
"We thought we lost you there, boy." A second voice had joined the static in Aegis' mind; yet again it seemed to be familiar, male this time.
"I'm still not exactly here. Give me a moment." Aegis forced his arms to move first, raising them to push himself up into a sitting position with relative little trouble. He shuffled back to prop himself up against the wall and then tried to use his eyes again. Aegis' second attempt proved much more successful as it seemed that more and more of his higher brain functions came back online. He looked forward and was able to make out the figures before him on his second attempt.
At the forefront was Maria, and as Aegis would expect from someone with such a named she appeared to be very distressed over the situation, just then seeming to feel relieved. Next to her was a rugged middle age man. Behind the two were about three other children that he remembered seeing the day before gathered around watching the children dueling.
"You had us worried there. When they found you on the ground you were bleeding pretty badly. Thought a piece of metal got you or something, but they didn't find anything." Aegis realized why one of the voices was familiar. He had heard it before his match with James; Aegis remembered that someone had named him as Earl.
It seemed that Earl had changed out of whatever formal clothing he was given for the tournament and was back to looking like a stereotypical homeless man. Earl wore a tattered burgundy beanie over his head that covered his hair from sight; the hat probably had seen better days judging from its condition. A simple blue hooded sweatshirt and fading jeans were the rest of his attire. Earl's face was covered in stubble that outlined a beard he had probably shaved off just earlier in the day, with that thought in mind Aegis couldn't help but admire the display of manhood with such a vigorous set of facial hair.
Aegis' right hand began to raise itself to his right eye on its own will. When he noticed what he was doing he suddenly gasped as he noticed he could see his hand. The silver gauntlet he wore on his arm was no longer present and the revelation made him panic. Earl and Maria swiftly moved to either side of Aegis and grabbed onto his shoulders, holding him back with some difficulty.
"Now don't worry there, boy. No one took anything of yours; it's all right there on the dresser." Earl motioned towards Aegis' right side, and sure enough on top of the fixture was his duel-disk lying next to his neatly folded royal blue trenchcoat and travelling hat. Aegis nodded his head and relaxed, using his right hand to press down his messy black hair, flattening it over the right side of his face and covering up his damaged eye.
"Aegis, you've been through some hard times, haven't you?" Maria asked rhetorically; the look of concern overtaking her face.
"Who hasn't? Sometimes some people go through harder times than others." Aegis spoke disjointedly as he feigned a smile. His body was still weary and he decided to lay back down on the warm bed; it was a luxury that he didn't receive very often.
"Mister Hallow?" Aegis knew in his mind that it was a little boy who had addressed him as such, yet he couldn't help but flinch as he remembered James Raven constantly using the title as a way to belittle him.
"You can just call me Aegis. Please, I don't want anyone calling me that for awhile." Aegis found himself nearly pleading; the duel he had did take a considerable toll on him mentally and physically. The child that addressed him quickly lowered his head when he realized what he had done and began to fidget nervously. Aegis felt the tingling of guilt in his heart and quickly chuckled. "What did you want to ask?"
"Um…Me and my friends were wondering uh…" More fidgeting came from the child as he found it hard to finish his question. "Where did you get cards like that, Aegis?" Aegis found himself frowning at the question. Normally he would've have made up some story of winning a tournament with the cards as a prize, but he had an unsettling feeling that made it impossible to come up with a false story.
"It was my friend's deck. I don't know how he got it though. Sorry." Aegis found that after he said an inclining of truth that he could lie for the rest of his answer. The boy appeared unsatisfied with the response but didn't pursue the matter any further when he noticed Aegis' solemn face.
"Aegis, if something happened to you…Everyone here would let you lean on them; especially when you've done so much for complete strangers." Maria looked distressed at being unable to contribute something meaningful. Aegis smiled weakly at the sentiment but ultimately shook his head and declined silently.
"Now don't rush the boy. When the time is right Aegis will talk about those things, right?" Earl's addition to the conversation made Aegis feel a great deal of gratitude towards the man. Perhaps it was because they were both of the same social status, but regardless he saw that Earl had a fair amount of wisdom to share. Aegis nodded his head as best he could and then closed his eyes sublimely. "What happened after I passed out?" Aegis asked quietly, relishing the warm sheets over his body.
"Well there was quite a commotion after the holographic projectors malfunctioned, so the finals were postponed until tomorrow morning." Maria's explanation was satisfactory and the children present all needed their heads in unison. "Right now it's about seven so you've been out for a few hours. The doctors were really freaked out when the medics brought you in. They did some x-rays and found nothing actually wrong with you; but they did find a really weird mass in your head…" Aegis nodded his head calmly; the information wasn't new to him.
"I know. Don't worry, it's nothing harmful. There's just a story behind it-which I'll tell another time." Aegis added on his last statement very quickly and silenced one of the children who were no doubt about to ask about the story. "They sure don't waste time to keep their Duel Monster tournaments on track do they? You'd think they'd have enough money to keep some people out of the cold too." Aegis grumbled in a lower voice than usual. Earl nodded his head at the comment and muttered something under his breath.
After the conversation there was a deafening silence that allowed Aegis to reassess his physical condition. Since Aegis moved his arms the soreness in the majority of his body dissipated. Along with it the stinging in his right eye was also gone. He felt like his usual self, and as expected the feelings of exhaustion were starting to engulf him.
"It's been a bit of a long day. If it's alright with all of you I'd just like to rest for the night." Aegis reopened his eyes to gauge the reactions of those around him. There was unanimous expression of hesitation at the statement, Aegis smiling at everyone to try and ease their nerves. "I'll be alright. Just get me before the finals tomorrow."
"Are you sure?" Maria couldn't help but ask when she was sure of the response. Aegis nodded wordlessly. The conversation had ended, the five gave their parting words and filed out of the room; discussing what would happen at tomorrow's finals.
When the door was shut Aegis let out a sigh and sank into the mattress. Because of everyone's presence he didn't have a chance to recall a dream he had prior to waking up. It was far too long since he awoke and the pieces of the experience had already slipped through his fingers. Yet Aegis felt very troubled; especially when recalling his inability to lie about the origins of his deck. "I have a feeling I was thinking of something I shouldn't have been…Noah. I bet that I was thinking about him." Aegis sighed heavily, his soul weary and beaten. He swung his head to the right and let his eyes rest on his duel-disk.
"In the end the price we paid for those cards wasn't worth it. I wish you were still here to guide me, Noah. But, that was a long time ago, wasn't it?"
"92…93…94…" Aegis found himself laying down on a bench back at the tournament site the following morning. He had been unable to sleep as his mind was spewing portions of Aegis' past for the entire night. Something had set his mind off on the tangent and he didn't like it.
"135…136…137…" When Earl came to pick him up Aegis felt like he was finally able to start dozing off, which is exactly why Earl arrived at that moment. Feeling the effects of missing a night of sleep, Aegis had difficulty in walking straight and looked like he had been drinking. Still, after walking for awhile he found himself gaining control of the finer motor controls in his limbs. By the time they reached the stadium everyone else were eagerly waiting for Aegis; but he didn't appear to be in very good shape. His eye was more sullen than usual with a pronounced black patch of skin that had resulted from the long night. His hair was somewhat fuzzy from tossing and turning in the hospital's bed and left Aegis with a permanent frown from being so distressed.
"170…171…172…" After getting some coffee and energy drinks shoved into his system; courtesy of the fretting center people, Aegis found that he was experiencing something of a constant flow of energy throughout his body. It was something that would probably diminish over the day and then cause him to crash and collapse later on.
"200…201…202…" As he lay on his isolated bench Aegis found himself doing any strange thing to keep himself distracted. Strange thoughts and feelings had been trying to seep into the forefront of his consciousness for so long it was starting to drive him insane; or perhaps such abnormalities were being amplified by all of the chemicals he took to remain conscious.
"Aegis! There you are! I was looking all over for you! The finals are starting in ten minutes!" Maria came running down the hallway and stopped to loom over Aegis' sprawled out form. "Hey…Aegis, are you going to be ok? You don't look like you're all there…" Maria moved her left hand towards Aegis' face very slowly, going for the hair he kept in place to cover his burnt skin and damaged gray eye. Aegis watched the creamy hand as it got within an inch of his face before he finally moved his head back.
"You're worrying too much over me, Maria. It's just been stressful being back here." Aegis responded in a quiet voice, devoid of any outward emotion. His right eye closed halfway out of weariness than exhaustion, the dark brown eye lazily shifting to focus on Maria's face for a moment before looking back to the ceiling.
"I'm sorry for making you do this. I didn't realize that you were that Aegis Hallow from the papers five years ago. It's just…I guess whatever happened it was very bad."
"Well, that's alright. Like I said, when it's time I'll tell you about it. I owe you anyway, don't I?" Aegis laughed to himself as a new memory came back to him, breaking the trend of tormented thoughts he had. With the break of norm the entire tower of thought had collapsed and left Aegis feeling much better. "It's time I got ready isn't it? Let's see if I can break the best in the business." With a smile Aegis swung his legs around and sprung himself into a sitting position before he kicked off of the bench to be vertical.
Maria appeared to feel better at the signs of Aegis being revitalized and smiled as well. "Oh, what were you doing here all that time, Aegis?" Maria had spent about half an hour searching along with eleven other people for the illusive man. Aegis blinked slowly and wondered how the response would look. Regardless of what would happen, it probably would make him laugh.
"I was counting the voices in my head."
Aegis stood in the shadows of the corridor leading into the packed stadium. The onlookers were filling into their seats and creating a fair amount of noise in doing so. The dull roar was still soothing to Aegis' ears; as he listened his mind began to wander as it often did. Despite all of the anguish that made him stop the game Aegis still found it therapeutic to listen to the voices of hundreds in united cacophony.
"Alright! We've kept you all waiting much too long for this duel!" David had assumed center-stage with his microphone twirling about in his hand. Aegis' symphony was silenced quickly. He sighed and reached into his coat to once again produce his trusty hat. Securing it in place and tilting it downwards slightly to cover up his eye from view.
"So let's get things moving! Returning from the grave not once, but twice in this very stadium, the man that has Death itself at his beck and call, I give you our first finalist, Aegis Hallow!" Unlike before the crowd had warmed up to Aegis and gave him the same reception that James had received. Hooting and hollering with some mindless cheering in-between. Yet Aegis wasn't entirely pleased with the scenario, firing an unhappy look at David who was too caught up in the cheering to notice. "Did you really have to describe me like that? You're making me into someone I'm not!"
"Finally, the current legend of the pro circuit with a perfect undefeated record, here she is, the beauty in black, Iris Lifian!" While getting a simpler introduction Iris received a much louder and powerful response from the crowd. "This is going to be another long duel…" Aegis grunted to himself and assumed his position at the podium.
He had wondered what kind of person Iris would be; and after his match with James Raven, Aegis found himself hoping for someone he could tolerate. From the hallway opposite him he could hear the characteristic sound of high-heeled shoes walking slowly towards the dueling field. When Iris emerged from the hallway there was a surge of hooting and catcalls from the male onlookers; even Aegis couldn't stifle a look of surprise. "Wow, pretty."
Iris carried herself highly judging from the perfected stride and posture she had when walking. She appeared to be around Aegis' age, but he had a feeling that she may be a bit older than him, even if it was just because of her conduct. In a similar manner to James, Iris also dressed very formally but had a different feel to her style than James. She wore a pitch-black silver buttoned long-sleeved jacket that had no trimmings which had two silver buttons on each sleeve instead for decoration. The jacket almost appeared to be inspired by the original duellists that used swords and would wear elegant garments such as the one she had. But instead of a rapier at the ready she had a very old duel-disk on her hip; the model being the ones used in Battle City and long thought to be discontinued. Rather than a feminine garment for her lower body, Iris vetted for a pair of finely pressed black dress pants that left a slight bit of her ankles in sight.
Having first directed his gaze to evaluate Iris' clothing Aegis brought his head back up to look at her face. While she did have a very elegant face that glowed with amble health, Aegis' attention was grabbed by two things immediately. The first feature Aegis noticed was her hazelnut hair which was waist long yet seemed to remain as one single strip. Though Aegis thought it may be because of the second feature he noticed, being her eyes. They were an unnaturally bright yellow that resembled a serpent's gaze, the second she looked at Aegis he could feel himself starting to sweat nervously.
"This is going to be a duel for the history books! Wish them luck as here we go!" David appeared to be more enthusiastic than usual; from the way he was ranting and raving it looked like he was having a fit. But in comparison to the mobs of people around him David's actions were relatively tame to the roar in the stadium.
Aegis lifted his right arm and pressed onto the trigger in his palm; the bladed duel-disk shooting out and lighting up for use. He was grateful at having the foresight to place his hat on before entering the podium as it covered his face from direct view. Aegis felt uncomfortable when it began to sink in that he was trying to be the first to dethrone royalty. "The best, huh? This isn't good; I barely made it through that last game, even needing to use that card to win. But…If I don't win here I won't be able to bring back enough money for more than a month of bills for the drop-in center! Winning here means I can cover three months…Even if I lose the first month is still covered though…Maybe it's enough that I've come this far…"
As Aegis finished his thought he began to feel fearful of his actions. Combined with his poor cognitive state he found that his mind was racing through scenarios and outcomes in which he failed horrendously. Suddenly it occurred to him that his thoughts mimicked the first time he went to a tournament, and received Noah's punch of clarity. But when he tried to recall on the words he spoke back then a jolt went through his body that filled Aegis with foreboding. Something was still wrong, and for whatever reason he couldn't think of his former best friend without feelings of guilt and anger. Aegis started to fidget as it dawned on him that he had no ability to support himself without being able to rely on Noah. Aegis' breathing became rapid and was causing his whole body to tremble with each breath.
"If it makes you feel better, Aegis, I can throw a punch at you if it helps." Aegis looked up at the refined female voice that just spoke to him. Iris had her eyes closed and was casually shuffling her deck, turned slightly to the side as she did so.
"How did you know about that…?" Aegis' right eye had not reacted at the comment so there was no immediate physical danger threatening him; but something was still wrong about the situation. Iris smiled back and placed her deck into her duel-disk, readying it for the game.
"I know a fair amount about you, Aegis." Whispering shot through the crowd like wildfire at her reply. Aegis flinched visibly and then moved his hat further down his face, nearly covering up his entire head.
"What exactly do you know…?" Aegis' voice had become considerably more serious, weighed down with deep suspicion and paranoia of the woman in front of him. Iris reopened her bright yellow eyes and looked straight at the man who had vanished into the navy blue fabric of his clothing.
"Can I have your hat?" The question was completely unrelated and took Aegis by surprise; it also caused the whispering in the stands to intensify. Aegis tipped his hat with his left pointer finger and examined Iris with his eye.
"Nope, afraid it's mine." Aegis' response was simple and straight to the point. Yet a blast of booing that came from the male spectators began calling for him, the turn of events making Aegis shrink a bit. It seemed that Iris had more of a reputation than Aegis had guessed; and he guessed she was already very world renowned.
"I'm impressed." Iris' reply made Aegis feel even more lost, everything that came out of her mouth seemed to be meant to confuse him. "Most men give in to something like that. You may have that burning soul you were so vividly abdicating after all." Yet again Aegis couldn't decide on how to feel; so he remained a bit offended and a bit proud of himself.
"What's the point to all of this?" Aegis tried his best to speak over the lingering booing that persisted.
"You're interesting to me. I'm just getting a feel of you." Another simple explanation coming out of Iris' refined lips. Aegis grumbled and was feeling quite frustrated with the audience, as well as being sleep deprived and teetering on the edge of sanity. As a result he swung his right arm out to the side, slashing right through the podium's right wall and sending chunks of pewter colored metal into the air. The display got him the desired response and made the remaining members in the audience fall silent.
"Are you not feeling well?" Iris appeared to be taunting him with her last statement; the resemblance to one arrogant, condescending snob suddenly came to Aegis' mind. "Well, since you won't give me your hat, how about I wager for it?" Aegis raised his eyebrow in response to the challenge; yet another off topic thing had come out of her mouth.
"What kind of wager?" Though there was no reason to humor Iris, but Aegis couldn't help but be curious.
"If I damage you first in the duel, you give me your hat. How about that?" Iris grinned thinly, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Don't get too cocky just because you're undefeated!" After Aegis fired his objection, he quickly realized how flimsy it was. "What do I get if I damage your life points first?" Iris paused for a moment and thought. Finally she reached into her jacket and produced a small white handkerchief.
"A maiden's favor. How's that?" Aegis looked unhappy at the trade; even if Iris made it sound much better than it was in reality. Aegis' immanent refusal of terms had caused a redoubling of disapproval to come from the crowd. "This is ridiculous! If I don't play Iris' game the crowd is going to be like this for the whole duel. Honestly, why do I have to put one of my only possessions up for grabs for something like this?" "Alright, alright! I'll take your bet. Just hope that cloth wasn't important!" Aegis threw down the gauntlet, the crowd switching modes to hoot and holler at the declaration.
"The game hasn't even started and already the pressure is on! Looks like we're going to be in for quite the show!" David shouted over the speakers at an opportune moment, provoking even more noise from them; Aegis assumed it was why David was still preceding over big name tournaments.
David walked over to each of the duelists and collected the prizes from both sides before he took them off to the side; Aegis feeling very naked and cold without the hat over his head. With the introductions finally finished both duelists drew their opening hands and prepared for the battle ahead.
(Iris: 8000 Aegis: 8000)
"Ladies first." Iris promptly drew her card before Aegis could protest; though the crowd would ensure he couldn't. She wasted no time in her advancements and swiftly threw a card into her duel-disk.
"First I summon my Venom Basilisk in attack mode (1700/1000)." On Iris' field a ten foot black serpent emerged onto the field. The beast was coiled tightly with long rows of sharp fins running down the back of the snake. Two sets of legs were connected at the back and the front of the monster; the front limbs possessing much larger claws than the back ones. The creature's head was more draconic than it was serpentine with an elongated snout and black whiskers that flowed backwards. As a last touch the basilisk had two glowing red eyes to act as its only means of seeing.
A second card appeared behind the monster shortly after the card materialized. "I'll set a card and pass things over to you." Iris smiled at Aegis with all the sincerity of a serpent.
"Basilisks are said to kill with one look." Aegis took a page from Iris' book and began to go off on an unrelated topic as he drew his card. "But you can kill them with a rooster's crowing. I'm not sure if this counts but let's find out! I summon Fushi No Tori to the field! (1200/0)" A fiery red phoenix erupted onto Aegis' side of the field, trails of embers floating to the ground like feathers. Iris' basilisk began to shrink at the sight of the bird, Aegis noticing it immediately.
"You're well educated, Aegis. You're right, even as a card my basilisk will be destroyed if it battles a winged-beast card. But, it's safe as long as you can't attack it, so I activate my facedown card, Threatening Roar!" A deafening roar like that of a lion blasted throughout the stadium, causing Aegis' monster to shrivel in its presence.
"It's never that easy, is it? I'll set a card and then activate Swords of Revealing Light!" Massive swords formed from pure energy descended from the heavens and lodged themselves into place on Iris' field causing her basilisk to howl madly. Aegis picked up his monster and replaced it into his hand. He was so confident that he could end the pointless wager in a single move, but there was a reason Iris was the best.
"Stalling only-"
"Delays the inevitable, so says the lady that stalled my attack." Aegis wasted no time to cut off Iris' comment and to fire back with his counterpoint. Iris appeared slightly surprised at the outburst, but only smiled wider at her opponent. "Fair enough, Aegis." She drew her next card and glanced at it casually and placed it into her hand. "I'll set another card and end my turn." Aegis eyed the card carefully as it appeared. "She knows I'm going to destroy her basilisk…I better be prepared."
Aegis drew his card, but paid little attention to it and promptly re-summoned his phoenix. "You're more than aware, but I'm summoning Fushi No Tori once more! (1200/0)" Iris had closed her eyes sleepily and only nodded her head at the statement. Aegis hesitated for a moment but growled and shot his arm forward, pointing straight at Iris' monster. "Attack with Sacred Flames!" Aegis' phoenix let loose an ear-splitting screech that shattered Iris' Venom Basilisk instantly. He sneered as his monster then let loose a jet of flames straight at Iris' podium.
"Our game ends here! I activate Magic Cylinder!" The crowd let out a collective gasp at the turn of events. Two golden cylinders appeared in the air. One of them absorbing the stream of fire that threatened their master, the second cylinder promptly released the flames back at Aegis.
"You'd think that, I'm activating my Hallowed Life Barrier! I'll discard Occult Cultist and nullify all the damage I would've taken." The crowd let out another gasp at the counter Aegis provided, the onlookers surprised to see Aegis battle Iris on such even ground.
Iris sighed and shook her head. "It really isn't that easy." Aegis found himself smirking at the comment. "Keep trying. For now however, I'm activating my Spring of Rebirth, now each time a monster returns to someone's hand I'll gain five hundred life points." Aegis found himself staring at the same beautiful stone fountain that he had used in his last duel. The waters glowed a gentle green that reflected off of a large stone within the center of the structure. "And one more facedown card for the road will do it for me." Aegis placed another card into the blade of his duel-disk and retrieved his spirit monster, causing his fountain to glow brightly.
(Iris: 8000 Aegis: 8500)
"I'm impressed with you yet again, Aegis. Keep it up now, or else I'll be disappointed!" Iris was much too happy with the situation for Aegis' taste; or it was just his sleep deprivation causing him to be more irritable than usual. "I'll start my turn by playing Snake Rain. By discarding a card from my hand I can send four reptile monsters from my deck to the graveyard. So I'll discard my Venom Boa to activate my spell, and then I'll send three copies of Venom Snakelet and a single copy of Venom Snake to the graveyard." As Iris played her card hordes of serpents came tumbling from the sky and bounced off of the ground before vanishing.
"To end my turn I'll play my field spell Venom Swamp." As Iris placed her card into her duel-disk geysers of deep violet mist shot into the air that covered the entire dueling arena in a deep purple haze. "At the end of every turn I place Venom Counters onto anything without venom in its name. For every counter on the monster it loses five hundred attack points, until eventually it has no power and will be destroyed by the poisonous swamp."
Aegis left somewhat intimidated by Iris' sudden change in demeanor. She was exquisitely charming but had the distinct feeling of being as equally as deadly. "She makes for a good snake after all…" Aegis could feel himself starting to sweat again, but he didn't have his hat to cover his distressed face.
"Don't panic too much, Aegis. Without your hat you're exposed to thousands of venomous gazes." Suddenly the implication of the wager struck Aegis with the force of an 18-wheeler truck. "This was a big trap! She knows how to manipulate the crowd and her opponent's with these ploys! Well…This is getting interesting."
"You're quite the piece of work, Iris. I really have to admire how cunning you are, using the crowd to back up any of your mind games. But you know, I like having the odds against me." Despite the situation and his vulnerability, Aegis couldn't help but feel revitalized at the thrill of the game. With a giant grin on his face he began to stare Iris down, and surprisingly it caused some kind of reaction.
"Even after five years you're still terrifying I see." Iris appeared to be slightly flustered by the display of confidence, but it wouldn't last long as her comment had done the same to Aegis.
"Who are you?" Aegis had faltered at the sudden remark, falling back in his podium.
"Iris Lifian, who else? Now it's your turn, Aegis." Iris' deflection was simple and effective like her entire style.
Yet another battle of wits had ended with Aegis trying to stroke his bruised ego. Annoyed, Aegis drew his card and began to plan his next offensive. "Her last move is a bit strange. Either she's going to build up for something in the long run or there's a serpent waiting to leap out at me…Let's see how this plays out…"
"Fushi No Tori, in attack mode! (1200/0)" Aegis' move seemed very hasty but if it was no one seemed to think Aegis was aware of it. However the lack of a response from Iris caused Aegis to cringe slightly. "Attack Iris directly with Sacred Flames!" The command he gave was rather weak and came out with a slight wavering of his voice. "I was hoping I baited something out, guess I won't know until it's too late."
"Were you waiting for something, Aegis? Well it doesn't matter; I won't lose this wager that easily. I'm activating the effects of the Venom Snakelets in my graveyard." Iris frowned a bit and then pulled the three copies of the card in question out of her graveyard.
(Iris: 6500 Aegis: 8000)
"By paying five hundred life points I can summon a Venom Snakelet from my graveyard to the field, and I choose to summon all three (100/0). But this won't count as you damaging me, so the wager is still on." Iris shot Aegis a quick look right as he opened his mouth to protest. Feeling the crowd would be on her side, Aegis muttered to himself and watched as things developed.
Three small eggs appeared on Iris' field, from each a tiny baby snake popped out of each, but still remained in their egg shells. Aegis found the sight somewhat endearing, until each of the snakes spat out a purple mass that turned into a copy of a snake as it flew through the air. The cloned serpents latched onto Aegis' phoenix and caused it to screech in pain before it was destroyed in a haze of purple mist.
"What happened?!" Iris smiled sinisterly at Aegis, her eyes almost glowing in the purple haze.
"If I summon a Venom Snakelet I can place a Venom Counter on a monster on your side of the field. Since I summoned three at once I put three of them onto your monster. It reduced your monster's attack power to zero and by the effect of Venom Swamp, it was destroyed." Aegis glowered at the explanation, suddenly finding the tiny serpents to be quite ugly instead of adorable.
"That Venom Swamp card is going to cause me a lot of problems…I need to get rid of it somehow." Aegis shook his head and played another set card. "I'll end my turn here."
"I wonder if that's your trump card…" Iris drew her card and began to eye the glowing swords that were illuminating her side of the field. "I'm afraid you won't be hiding any longer, I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your swords!" A tornado appeared and swiftly tore through Aegis' defensive play, Aegis looking worried at an early cancellation of his plans.
"I'm afraid I'll be taking your hat now, Aegis. I summon Venom Snake! (1200/600)" A thin five-foot long purple and orange snake materialized amongst the ranks of the tiny baby serpents. "Now attack him directly, Poison Fang!" Aegis shrank at the oncoming reptile, his fists clenched tightly.
