Been a while since I was here, talking to you all…
…but then again, I'm not really surprised that I'm here for the opening monologue…
Anyway, I'm not really a buff on movies; I've seen a few of the classics however. Ya know the old black and white movies that were so cheap that you could see the rubber on the monster masks or the stings that seemed to hold up the widely different items that were supposed to be possessed…
But still, I enjoyed them; I found them more humorous than scary however…
The Wolfman, the Mummy's Curse, the Blob, Dracula…they all had their own charm. But then there were those freaky and just plain cheap scary movies that didn't do a thing for any emotions...like The Birds, Eight Legged Freaks, and…well, I'd rather not say anymore.
My favorite type of scary movie were those Zombie swarm chillers, it was amazing that no matter what people did to try to kill those dead creatures…they just wouldn't stay down.
Now you've got to ask your self…why am I bringing this up.
Well…let's just see how my new deck would face the army of the undead…
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Chapter 34
The Horrifying Deck
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When the Creator was gracing the pavement in front of the school, at another part of the island, Lucian just sipped on his drink watching as the weird structures began to take shape.
With five pillars standing tall on the edge of the cliff, Lucian looked at the five emblems that were burned into the stone pillars. All of them the five Japanese characters for fire, water, earth, thunder and darkness.
And in the center of the five pillars was a large stone alter that resembled that of a dueling platform with the five symbols that were on the pillars were carved into the rock. "…excellent…most excellent…"
Turning around, Lucian couldn't help but smirk evilly at the three tired grunt members. "…not bad for rejects…has a certain charm to it…"
"Ah shut the heck up you Akatsuki wanna-be!"
"…how rude," Lucian sighed turning back to the platform, slowly caressing the stone with his fingers. "I only like their taste in cloaks…that's all…"
"Uh, sir…can we go now?"
"Yeah! I'm hungry!"
"…I would assume so…" Lucian muttered crossing his arms. "However, I'll expect to see you all back before sunset today…Today is the day!"
"Finally! And if I succeed this little test then does that mean…"
"Correct," Lucian interrupted jumping onto the stone platform. "One way or another tonight we will finally crown the Saint of Wrath..."
"And that's going to be me!"
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While chaos was erupting all over the island, there was only area of tranquility…
…the classrooms…
In fact, it was because of that, Takashi could actually relax from his crew. During the time when the Duel Out Project was running, the T- Team was apparently looking for recruits courtesy of Iruka and Vector…
…and a large amount of Ra Yellow students were more than willing to join. Since paranoia and panic would spread often like a virus, the students were all trying to find a way to stay the school, should they get selected for the duel out program.
And what better way to find a way to stay, than by following a successful duelist…in this case Takashi.
For some real miracle, anyone who managed to join the T-Team was able to stay on the academy when they were placed into a Duel Out Project duel. And since Kurro's fall from grace, Takashi would've figured that all the new members would've left from the T-Team…
…but then again, if that were the case, he wouldn't have the need to hide in the classrooms on the weekend.
When the T-Team was only comprised of three people, Takashi enjoyed that he was able to evade them to hide in his favorite trees. But since that number nearly multiplied by ten, everyone knew where the popular Ra Yellow student could be found.
All he wanted to do was read his novels…was that too much to ask?
Flicking the next page, Takashi began to chuckle slightly at the images that were appearing in his head as he slowly read the text. As per habit, Takashi had found himself reading one of the more mature romance novels he loved so much…
…only this one had a little twist to it…the author had decided to had a chill and a thrill to the storyline, giving the reader of the book another reason to read…just to find out if everyone would turn out okay…
And with the rate he was reading, Takashi would've been done with the next chapter…if it wasn't thanks to…
"Here he is! I found Takashi!"
With a snap of his book, Takashi sighed turning his eyes to the side entrance of the room, seeing all of the Ra Yellow members of the T-Team rushing into the room. Some how…some way…they always found him…
'Maybe they've got me tagged…' Takashi thought, jumping from his seat before the larger T-Team could encircle him. Without looking back, Takashi dashed towards the door, jumping from seat level to seat level dodging the students that were trying to grab him.
'What did he do to deserve this popularity?'
'Why did he avoid the attention?'
'And how did he perform those amazing leaps of athletics?'
Unbeknown to all the charging Ra Yellow students, standing out like a blue thumb was a dark figure…watching Takashi race out of the room with the large T-Team chasing behind him.
With ocean blue eyes following his movements before Takashi disappeared out of room, the owner of the eyes sighed slightly, shaking their head. "…why does he regret that so much?"
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Meanwhile, in the Obelisk blue main hall…
"Hey there Luntina!" Mustang announced into the phone, pumping his arm into the air a few times that he could actually get a hold of his friend after so long.
"Mustang? Oh…I didn't expect you to call!"
"Tsk, tsk, Luntina," Mustang scolded his friend over the phone with a wag of his finger. "You should know by now that you can't predict anything about me!"
"I can predict that you're chasing a new skirt around…"
"Ow!" That was a harsh blow on Mustang's ego almost making the Die Hard Kaiser drop the phone in his hands. "That's a low…real low Luntina, and here I have the consideration to give you a call…"
"Heh, I'm surprised you remembered my number…after all…"
"Stop that! I have your number down in my head," Mustang interrupted looking a little bit insulted. "There's no way I'd ever forget about a beautiful lady's number…especially the queen of beauties!"
"Ah that's sweet…now what did you want?"
"What makes you think I have an ulterior motive?" Mustang retorted shifting his eyes left and right, making sure that no one was around.
"Because I know you…"
"Alright," Mustang sighed shaking his head. "You got me…I've got two things I want to ask ya. One's concerning a rumor I read on the Duel Academy website…"
"I'm guessing that you're referring to that guy Vic who transferred a week or two ago…"
"Then you already know what I'm getting at," Mustang replied, his face turning serious as he crossed his arm over his stomach.
"…unfortunately, the only thing I've heard is that the Former Dark World Prince was hanging out with a Ra Yellow student who goes by the name of Robert Becker…"
Mustang was surprised, and with a few blinks of his eyes Mustang grew silent for a few seconds. "Really? No evil schemes? No challenging that weird Principal of yours to get into blue?"
"Nope…nothing like that…"
"…you've got to be kidding me," Mustang muttered away from the telephone. "…nothing? That's not like the Vic I knew…"
"Don't know what to tell ya…anyway, you said you wanted to know something else?"
"Huh? Oh yeah," Mustang snapped from his daze. "Yeah, the other day we ourselves got a few transfer students here from the Atlantic Academy. You think you could send me some information about them?"
"Well, I could try, but I'm kinda swamped with the Rush for the Treasure tournament that Alan set up for the island…"
"Oh come on…please?!" Mustang pleaded, trying to get as pathetic as he could get.
"Fine…but with some quid pro quo…"
"You know how to kick a guy when he's down, don't you?" Mustang moaned lowering his head slightly.
"Don't be like that…you're lucky that I'm even considering doing you a favor."
"Alright, alright," Mustang sighed gathering his composure back. "So what exactly do you want? That Disgaea three game?"
"Nah, I want to get that myself when it comes out. You want information…well, so do I. I know you've got connections to information networks…"
"I'm ahead of ya…" Mustang snickered. "So what do you need to know?"
"There's something going on here at the Atlantic Academy, but I need you to find out about a group known as the Yokai…think you can do that?"
"Yokai? Sure," Mustang answered with a question mark appearing over his head. "But don't forget, I need information on two students that transferred here from the Atlantic."
"…you got a couple of names?"
"Yeah, Talo Krys and Den Iwa…"
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"Hmm…I think I finally ditched them…"
With all honesty, Takashi didn't expect sanctity in the library…and he certainly didn't expect that any of the T-Team didn't think that he'd surround himself with books.
"Not my problem though," Takashi stated looking at the selves upon shelves of romance books as he walked through the maze of shelves.
"Uh! Come on!"
At first, Takashi jumped at the sound of the voice echoing through the library's maze of books, but then…
"…dang shelves! Why do they always put the good stuff on the top shelf?"
If there was one thing that he knew, Takashi learned that none of the members of the T-Team (or current members to be precise) were interested in book materials. They were all interested in the easy way out of things. But he couldn't take his chances.
Carefully, Takashi turned around the corner of the book case…and slowly a blush crept on his face at the sight in front of the horror novel section.
Climbing up to reach the top shelf, completely unaware of Takashi's presence, was a young (slightly short) girl dressed in the sleeveless female uniform top with a blue trim on it. But that was the only part of the uniform that Takashi noticed. Over the top was a black vest that went down to the top of her abdomen.
Of course he was more concerned with the blue sailor skirt that the girl had in place of the standard uniform…that was the cause of his blush.
'…this is how my first novel started…' Takashi thought pumping his arms silently in the air, with a grin on his face. 'My dream is coming true!'
"AAAAAHHHH!"
Snapping from his day dream, Takashi realized that the girl had slipped from the shelves, falling backwards, screaming into the air.
"AAAAHHHHH!"
TH-WHAP!
"AAAHHH!"
"Ssh, you're in a library," Takashi stated making the girl stop screaming.
"Uh…" The girl blushed slightly, turning her head down to allow her dark and purple dyed hair to cover her blush covered face. "Thanks…"
"Yeah, we don't want the librarian to kick anyone out," Takashi chuckled shaking his head as a large sweatdrop began to roll down the side of the girl's head.
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"Hmm…now where was it supposed to go again?" Lucian muttered to himself walking around the new structure that the three fools had finished, with the addition of the chains around the pillars, the unlit torches, and several runes painted on the ground.
"Heh, I always wondered if you're crazy…now you're talking to yourself, pretty much proves that theory…"
Slowly, Lucian turned around with a dulled look on his face, seeing that now in the circle of the structure was none other than Fomalhaut with a snicker escaping from his mouth. However…there was something being dragged behind the star duelist, but Lucian couldn't tell what it was…
"Make all the comments you wish," Lucian said slowly walking towards Fomalhaut, more curious about what he was dragging behind him. "But, soon, all the finishing touches will be compl…what the heck?"
Catching even Lucian off guard, the cloak wearing young man starred in bewilderment at what Fomalhaut was holding up. "Fomalhaut, you always talked about it, but I never took you seriously…"
"Huh? What the heck you talking about?" Fomalhaut asked blinking a few times.
"You actually beat up Kazuki! That's what I'm talking about," Lucian answered pointing towards the knocked out pulp of what one could assume was once the Saint of Gluttony but the white sparkles that seemed to pop out of his bruised face.
"Wha…nah, I wish I did this though," Fomalhaut chuckled releasing Kazuki's leg, allowing it to plop to the ground. "Unfortunately, when I found him, he was already like this…my guess would have to be that he got the snot beaten out of him from the guy he was targeting…"
"Might be the kinda guy I could buy a drink for kudos…"
"Whatever, do you know if he was successful in tagging the target with the talisman?" Lucian retorted spinning on his heel, his cloak wrapping in the wind.
"Weren't you listening?" Fomalhaut asked crossing his arms. "I found him knocked out…but, when I checked his overcoat pocket, I found a blank slip of paper. So unless he was planning on going to the dry cleaners, I would assume that this is the talisman that you're fascinated with…"
"Once again, your sense of humor is bland," Lucian sighed shaking his head. "Either he did it or he didn't he…that is vital to our mission."
"Relax, I'm pretty sure that since he got beaten this badly," Fomalhaut chuckled taking this chance to kick Kazuki in the ribs a few times. "He must've touched the little runt…"
"…I see," Lucian scoffed closing his eyes. "…and why exactly are you kicking him?"
"Hey, the little snot got to beat up the freak," Fomalhaut growled pulling his foot back for a mighty swing to Kazuki's ribs once more. "I should at least get the honor to kick him while he's down…quite literally."
"…joy…" Lucian sighed. "Just make sure that he wakes up before twilight…"
"Why?"
"...tonight we're finishing our ranks," Lucian answered spinning on his heels, his cloak flowing into the air, showing that in his arms he was holding up a beautifully crafted silver mirror that reflected Fomalhaut's image in it. "…and to make sure that the beauty of this ritual is not tarnished, I shall require all members on the island to stand guard."
"Where the hell did that mirror come from?" Fomalhaut asked again, adjusting his silver hair slightly.
"I've got more than just a suit under my cloak," Lucian stated lifting the mirror up slightly to place it onto the platform next to him. "We need only to hope that the Saint of Envy will get the final target…"
"So, I would assume that the Dumb Duo actually succeeded," Fomalhaut sighed shaking his head. "Its amazing that they were able to pull that off…"
"In addition, we may have another ally," Lucian continued, ignoring the last comment that Fomalhaut shot off. "This one may be more prideful than you Fomalhaut…"
"Heh…yeah right…" Fomalhaut scoffed. "Although, it might be nice to change my damn apprentice…I'm getting tired of that UFO obsessed freak of a duelist…why'd I even get paired up with him anyway? He seems more like the kinda guy to be greedy…"
"I know…which is why I'm having a few transferences once out ritual is completed," Lucian replied.
"…good…" Fomalhaut grunted turning away from Lucian. "Now if you excuse me…I'm going to head back to my dorm room…I have some, uh, business to get done before twilight…"
"…there's no need to cover up your drawings," Lucian stated making Fomalhaut stop in his tracks. "There's no need to be ashamed…"
"Wh-What?! Who says that I was a-ashamed of it?" Fomalhaut snapped throwing his arm to the side. "Besides, I just need a shower that's all…this damn idiot," Pointing towards the still knocked out Kazuki. "And his sparkles are a stain on my hand…"
"…I don't want to know," Lucian sighed shaking his head.
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Sitting in one of the silent rooms of the library, Takashi just continued to read his book sitting in one of the chairs that were set up in the room. His eyes trailing from time to time from the pages…
…towards the girl that was sitting to his right, also reading a book.
She was silent as the room they were sitting in, and since that little fiasco, she had only told Takashi about this silent room. For the past hour, the two were quiet, only the sound of flipping pages filled the air, adding to the tension that had arisen between the two.
With the thoughts of the T-Team searching for him in the back of his mind, Takashi was more concerned with the book he had. He had no interest in breaking a fellow reader's concentration…
"Hey…"
…apparently that wasn't mutual. "Hmm?"
"Thanks for earlier," The girl replied still keeping her eyes on the horror novel she had in her hands.
"Don't mention it," Takashi stated closing his book with his thumb still on the page where he left off. "Why exactly were you climbing on the shelf in the first place anyway?"
"Eh, they just put the best stuff on top," The girl admitted putting a bookmark in the book. "It's always a pain."
"Yeah…but, I don't know how that feels," Takashi stated shaking his head slightly. He wouldn't know what that was like; Takashi was always a tall person since he could remember. "Oh…I suppose I've been rude. I go by the name of…"
"Takashi, correct?" The girl guessed waving her finger slightly.
Takashi was a little taken because of that, he knew that he was a name for Ra Yellows (that was still confusing him if you asked him) but for the other two dorms…well, he was convinced that he was just another face in the crowd.
"…something the matter?" The girl asked blinking a few times.
"Uh? Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts," Takashi admitted rubbing the back of his head a few times. "So…how in the world do you know my name?"
"I saw you in the halls a few times," The girl answered promptly placing her horror novel on the table. "It's hard not to notice a red haired guy with an entourage chanting his name."
"Eh, to tell the truth, it's quite embarrassing," Takashi replied rolling his eyes. "I can't even remember how it started…"
"I heard that you managed to defeat one of the top contenders from the prep school," the girl suggested folding her hands. "I believe it was a guy named Raven…"
"Oh, now I remember," Takashi muttered, remembering the Monarch duelist…whatever happened to him anyway.
"Ah, in this I forgot to introduce myself," The girl stated lowering her head slightly. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Takashi, Madoka Swartz is the name I was graced with…"
"Hmm…it's nice to meet a fellow reader," Takashi chuckled slightly.
"I suppose," Madoka replied slowly lifting her head up. "And don't take this the wrong way…but, why exactly are you in the library? You don't strike me as the 'surround me with books' kind of guy…"
"Remember that T-Team you saw me with?" Takashi asked getting a slight nod from Madoka. "It's really a pain…they never give me a moment's peace, it's simply irritating…"
"Really? I would think that the attention would be good," Madoka admitted shrugging her shoulders. "I mean, you get to surround yourself with people who adore you…it sounds marvelous…"
"It's all hype," Takashi retorted.
"…then why do you allow them to follow you?" Madoka asked blinking in confusion.
"Because…well, I doubt you want to hear my theory," Takashi chuckled. "I'd rather not get into that when there's fine literature to be read…"
"Reading's excellent…" Madoka stated standing up from her seat, reaching for something that was under the table. "But…if you don't mind…I'd like to see if all your fans are just hype as you say, or if there's something behind that pretty face…"
"Hmm?" Takashi questioned looking up to see Madoka lifting up a pair of duel disks. "…okay, I'll duel you…"
"I knew you would say no, so…" Madoka replied…only to have the reality of what Takashi said. "Huh?!"
"I said I'll duel you," Takashi replied slowly standing up to take one of the duel disk, strapping it to his wrist. "I mean, it's just a friendly little game…"
"Yeah…whatever you say…" Madoka sighed lowering her head; she honestly didn't expect Takashi to accept her challenge rather easily.
"Now…I doubt that they'd allow duels in here…so why not head to the roof?"
"Trying to make a tribute to Clerks?" Madoka questioned blinking a few times as she slipped the duel disk on her left arm.
"Clerks? What the heck is that?" Takashi asked.
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A cold breeze swept over the roof as Takashi and Madoka stood a good twenty feet from each other, shuffling their decks before snapping them into the machines. The machines hummed to life as the life point counters glowed…and while Takashi yawned, Madoka quickly put her right hand into her vest pocket for a few seconds.
Snapping off the top six cards of her deck, Madoka fanned the cards in front of her. Slowly she ran her fingers on the six cards. "I hope you don't mind, but I would like to start us off…any objections?" (MLP: 8000)
"I'm cool with that," Takashi replied slowly sitting on the ground. Hopefully, none of the T-Team duelists would find them up here on the roof. (TLP: 8000)
"Thanks," Madoka replied lifting one card from her hand, placing it onto the duel disk, making the set horizontal card appear in front of her. "And to keep up the suspense, I'll just set one card face down in defense mode."
"Suspense?" Takashi questioned slowly drawing his next card.
"Of course, it's a key part in any good story," Madoka answered wagging her finger. "Especially if it's in a horror novel…the suspense that draws you in…surprises at every corner…the same can be said about a duel if you think about it."
"Hmm…I suppose you have a point," Takashi replied lifting a card up from his hand. "So why don't I create some suspense of my own? I activate the spell card, Reasoning!"
"Reasoning?" Madoka muttered as the card appeared, showing a man pointing towards a glowing card with several cards spread out in front of him. "That's an old card…"
"True, but it can be helpful if you know how to properly use it," Takashi retorted lowering his arms to relax them. "Now, you declare a monsters level, and I pick up cards till I draw a monster card…but when we get to that bridge, we'll cross it."
"Hmm…then if I had to guess," Madoka murmured rubbing her chin. "Since the odds are in my favor, I'll go for level four monsters."
"If that's what you want," Takashi said pulling the top card off of his deck, turning it around to show a spell card that went by the name of Star Blaster, only to slide it into his duel disk's graveyard. "Crud…I could've used that…"
With another snap, Takashi grimaced turning the card around, showing a trap card known as Nutrient Z, tossing it into the graveyard slot. "Could've really used that…"
"What was it you were saying about properly using that card?" Madoka joked.
Drawing the next card, Takashi could only turn his eyes back to Madoka and then the card again. "Well…I was able to pull a monster after only losing two good cards…"
Slapping the card onto his duel disk, a monster card appeared on the field, the picture blank. "A level seven monster…and since it wasn't the level you declared, I can special summon it immediately!"
"Urk!" Madoka stepped back as the monster card shattered into millions of diamond like particles that flew into the air.
All of the particles clustered together, forming into a large form that roared loudly, scattering the particles that revealed a very large dragon that was made entirely of diamonds that glistened in the bright light as it long wings flapped in the air to keep it afloat (2100/2800). "And meet Hyozanryu!"
"Uh…that's an outdated card," Madoka pointed out crossing her arms at the dragon.
"Eh, not that I care," Takashi replied lifting his hand up. "It's got its uses…like this! Hyozanryu! Attack the face down monster, Diamond Storm!"
With a loud roar, the large dragon snapped its head forward, unleashing several diamond shards that crashed into the face down monster, revealing a large purple wrapped mummy that screeched in pain before it exploded into a cloud of purple dust (1000/1800).
The dust flowed forward; wrapping around Takashi's body, making him cough a few times as his life point counter began to drop. "W-What the heck?" (TLP: 7500)
"Surprise!" Madoka announced fitting the newly destroyed card into her graveyard. "That monster was known as Poison Mummy, and when he bites the dust, five hundred of your life points do as well!"
"Well, it certainly wasn't something I expected," Takashi admitted waving some of the dust away from his body. "But, I've got a few surprises of my own…for example one face down card, and since I didn't normal summon, I'll set one monster as well."
Just after the two cards appeared on the field next to the large diamond dragon, Madoka drew her next card. "Hmm…true…but now that things seem to be going in your favor, its time for the rising action to take place! I activate the spell card, Desperado Manager!"
Madoka's spell card appeared on the field, forming into a card with a young man wearing a large leather jacket with a dragon surging on the back.
"Huh…that's news to me," Takashi muttered looking at the card as Madoka pulled the top two cards from her deck.
"Always gotta add some mystery to the plot," Madoka chuckled lifting three monster cards up. "But, I'll break that mystery up, especially when my Desperado Manager allows me to draw two cards…but then, I need to place three cards from my hand back to the top of my deck."
"…should I even bother wondering why you played that?" Takashi asked crossing his arms.
"You're about to find out! I activate the spell card, Enchanting Fitting Room!" Madoka announced as a pair of large red curtains materialized above her head. "Now, I just need to pay eight hundred life points and then I pick up the top four cards of my deck." (MLP: 7200)
Four holographic cards appeared on the field, one of them showing a large purple dragon with decaying skin, another a samurai also with decaying skin wearing red cracked armor, the third was a creepy decrepit clown with a scythe in its hands, and the final one was a just a skeleton wearing a purple cloak. "And would you look at this…all four of my cards are level three or lower normal monsters…"
"And what does that mean?" Takashi asked as the cards slowly began to float into the ceiling melding with the ground.
"The other effect of my Fitting Room kicks in," Madoka answered slowly placing the cards onto her duel disk, sliding them onto the machine's field. "And now…the climax!"
The ceiling shattered upwards as if it was dirt, allowing the four creatures that were on the cards to erupt from the ground, clawing their way out in a slow manner. Takashi couldn't help but cover his nose; the three decaying monsters lofted a pure putrid smell that could make anyone gag on their tongues if they smelt it for too long.
"Now then…meet the army of the undead…" Madoka chuckled in a very sinister manner, trying to make the air have a certain chill to it.
The large rotting dragon roared loudly into the air, slamming its claws on the ground (1600/0). "Dragon Zombie!"
The dead samurai swung the broken rusted sword it head (1500/0) into the air while the decrypted clown cackled into the air (1350/0). "Armored Zombie and Clown Zombie!"
And finally the cloaked skeleton knelt down, crossing its arms as its card appeared underneath it (300/200). "And last, but certainly not least, Skull Servant!"
"…oh no, it's the rejects of Dawn of the Dead," Takashi chuckled looking at his snickering Hyozanryu.
"That's a good one," Madoka giggled pulling another card from her hand. "But, don't think that my monsters are weak since they don't have any effects! You just need the right combo! So I'll activate the continuous spell card, Phantom's Soul!"
As Madoka's spell card appeared on the field, several spirits erupted from it, flowing into all four of the zombies, making them roar and cackle in madness as their bodies began to grow.
(1600/0 + 800/0) (1500/0 + 800) (1350/0 + 800/0) (300/200 + 800/0)
"I'll assume that you know what the A. Forces spell works correct?" Madoka queried twirling some of her hair in her fingers. "Well, my Phantom's Soul has the exact same effect, but only for Zombies and Fiends…"
"Quite an impressive army," Takashi muttered. "But power isn't the only thing to this game."
"True," Madoka replied wagging her finger at Takashi. "But, since I have three monsters on the field with over twenty-one hundred points, you tell me which strategy works…Clown Zombie! Attack Hyozanryu!"
With another loud cackle, the Clown Zombie leapt into the air, throwing several rusty daggers from its free hand, all of them flying into the diamond dragon's neck. With a painful roar, Hyozanryu fell over to its death. (TLP: 7450)
"And next, Armored Zombie!" Madoka commanded as the zombified samurai staggered forward. "Eliminate that face down monster! Blade of the Bane!"
Lumbering forward, the Armored Zombie slammed its rusted blade into the face down card, sending it flying backwards showing that it was a young magician girl with purple hair (300/200). "Thanks…that was Magician of Faith, now, I'll take Star Blaster back to my hand."
"Heh, not like I'll give you a chance to use it!" Madoka announced throwing her hand up. "Dragon Zombie! Attack him directly!"
Pulling its head back, the Dragon Zombie breathed in a large breath of air…
"Sorry, but I'm activating my spell card, Scapegoat!" Takashi announced as four multi colored sheep appear on the field (0/0 x4). "Now, you'll have to get through these guys before you get to me!"
"Fine…Dragon Zombie! Corrosive Acid Breath!" Madoka commanded as the powerful purple dead dragon fired a blast of acidic breath that eradicated one of the sheep tokens into dust.
"Good thing it was in defense mode," Takashi muttered rubbing his forehead.
"It won't last you for long," Madoka replied fitting another card from her hand into her duel disk. "Now then…let's see how the towns people deal with the zombie invasion!"
"…someone's been watching too many horror flicks," Takashi joked slowly pulling his next card. '…alright! Luck thank you so much!'
"You ready for a little gambling?" Takashi asked lifting a card from his hand, fitting it into his duel disk. "Cause now I'll activate the spell card, Star Blaster!"
"That's the card you got from your Magician of Faith, right?" Madoka asked watching as a small imp appeared on the field with a six-sided dice in his hands, half of his body wearing demonic black clothes while the other was wearing red angelic clothes. "…certainly looks weird…"
"Have you seen your monsters?" Takashi retorted as one of his final three Scapegoat tokens disappeared. "Uh, excuse me, my Star Blaster activates right now. So by offering one of my tokens, its effect is a go!"
"Now, I roll a six-sided dice, and if I happen to have a monster card in my hand with the result of the dice roll plus the level of the token, which is one by the way, I can special summon that monster immediately."
"But with a great effect like that, I'm betting against the house. If I don't have a monster, my turn ends automatically…"
"Hmm…could you be running a gambler deck?" Madoka asked as the Star Blaster imp jumped into the air. "Quite the risk you're taking…"
"Well, I'm willing to take it…" Takashi replied adjusting his headband before throwing his hand towards the imp. "Go, Dice Roll!"
With a loud cackle, the imp threw the red dice towards the ground, allowing the cube to bounce on the roof. Takashi, Madoka and all of her zombies watched as the six-sided dice began to spin on the roof until it stopped…
…on five.
"Alright! Now I can special summon a level six monster!" Takashi announced lifting a card up into the air. "And allow me to introduce the level six monster that I had in mind!"
With a slap on his duel disk, many dice began to rain down from the sky on the roof before him. As soon as the last of the dice stopped raining down, a weird teenaged man was standing in front of Takashi, his spiked down black hair held out of his face by a diamond checkered headband. Wearing mostly black save for the red vest over his body, the young man slowly tossed up a few dice in his right hand as he smirked towards Madoka (1500/1500). "…I'm not sure about this monster, but he's called Dice Master."
"…and he's a level six right?" Madoka questioned as Takashi held up two more cards. "Monsters with an attack score that low, aren't really that acceptable nowadays…"
"Neither was my Hyozanryu," Takashi pointed out as two face down cards appeared behind the Dice Master. "But, like I said, all of my monsters have a place in my deck…and to prove that, I'll end my turn…"
"Hmm…I'm going out on a limb here," Madoka stated pulling another card from her deck. "But you probably had a stronger monster in you hand, and was hoping for a six or such…oh well…"
That's when Madoka snapped her fingers, allowing the Dragon Zombie roar loudly. "Now then, Dragon Zombie! Lead the attack and obliterate that Dice Master!"
Roaring loudly, the dragon zombie began to breathe in once more, this time aiming to damage Takashi's life points. But that's when a large pair of dice appeared in front of both the Dice Master and the Dragon Zombie. "Huh?"
"You said attack? Now, I'm pretty sure that you did," Takashi stated lifting his finger towards the Dice Master. "Now, here's what my Dice Master is famous for! You see, this monster was actually based off of a famous game designer who created a parody game off of duel monsters, known as Dungeon Dice Monsters…"
"At first, the game was a hit, but after a fire at the game store where it was first introduced, the game didn't really take off. So as an apology of hard times, the creator of the game created this card based of the creator of Dungeon Dice Monsters…"
"Wow…I was expecting a duel, not a lecture," Madoka muttered as both of the dice flew straight into the air.
"…and when Dice Master battles a monster, both monsters get selected. And then we roll one dice each. And depending on what we get, that affects the game drastically!"
"…great, now you've got me gambling," Madoka giggled slightly wagging her finger. "You really shouldn't do that…but if I must, then go! Dice Roll!"
The die fell down in front of the Dragon Zombie, bouncing a few times before it landed face up on a five. "A five? Is that good?"
"Heh…hardly! You see, a monster that rolls a five," Takashi explained as the Dragon Zombie roared loudly in pain (2400/0 – 1000/0). "It loses a thousand attack points!"
"What?!" Madoka yelped at the sight of her slouching Dragon Zombie.
"And now…go! Dice Roll!" Takashi shouted throwing his hand into the air, calling down the dice to land in front of the Dice Master…
…spinning slightly…
…until it stopped with two facing up.
"Heh…alright, a two!" Takashi announced as the Dice Master smirked wildly as four spun four dice on his fingers (1500/1500 + 500/0). "This increases my monster's printed attack by five hundred attack points!"
"Huh!? There's no sense to this dice game!" Madoka stammered taking a step backwards.
"Makes sense to me!" Takashi replied as the Dice Master threw all four of the dice in front of the in pain Dragon Zombie…
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The four dice had exploded into four fiery eruptions that sent several pieces of the Dragon Zombie flying into the air. (MLP: 6600)
And with one less zombie on the field, the other members of the Zombie Army began to weaken (2300/0 – 200/0) (2150/0 – 200/0) (1100/200 – 200/0).
"Care to try again?" Takashi offered as the Dice Master smirked wildly.
"Nah," Madoka sighed shaking her head fitting another card into her duel disk, making it appear behind her three zombies. "The only one that could defeat your monster is my Armored Zombie…and until I know what else your little dice man can do…I'm not going to take a chance."
"Fine by me," Takashi replied pulling another card from his deck, then with a small smirk. "Cause I think I'll summon another favorite, Gambler of Legend!"
A tumbleweed stumbled over the field, making Madoka and her three zombies sweat dropped as a western drifter walked onto the field, his blonde hair covered with a black hat and a blue scarf covering his neck. As he stood next to the Dice Master, the drifter flicked a coin into the air with his thumb a few times (500/1400). "Now then, I activate my Gambler of Legend's special ability, I toss three coins, and depending on what happens…well…you'll see…"
Three gold coins appeared over Takashi's head, all of them face up to show the weird eyes on them signifying heads. And with a smirk on his face, the Gambler of Legend snapped his fingers, sending all three of the coins into the air.
Time seemed to slow down as all three coins fell to the ground, both duelists held their breaths before the coins bounced on the roof a few times…
And Madoka's eyes widened…
"N-No way…" Madoka gulped as all three of her zombies were eradicated into ash.
"Hmm…even I wasn't expecting three heads, and since that happened all monsters on your side of the field get blasted," Takashi muttered rubbing the back of his head. "But, I'll take it…Gambler of Legend! Attack Madoka directly!"
Shaking his head a few times, the Gambler flicked several coins from his pocket towards Madoka, making her lift her arms to block the attack on her life points. (MLP: 6100)
"And that's my turn," Takashi stated crossing his arms as the Dice Master and Gambler of Legend did the same.
"Wait…why didn't you attack with your Dice Master?" Madoka questioned shaking some coins from her hair.
"Eh, I just didn't want to," Takashi replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "No need to get rough with a lady…"
"…or maybe, your Dice Master can't attack…" Madoka proposed lifting her finger up onto her next card, snapping it off her deck.
"…" Takashi just tilted his head slightly to the left.
"I'll take your silence for my answer," Madoka stated spinning her newly drawn card around, showing it was the Pot of Greed spell card. "Now then, I don't think I need to tell you what this card does…correct?"
"Sure…I know what it can do," Takashi muttered as Madoka pulled the next two cards from her deck…
…and he couldn't help but notice the grin that had appeared on Madoka's face. "Oh, and now you're in trouble! First, I activate the spell card Premature Burial!" (MLP: 5300)
The roof receded once more, allowing the Skull Servant to crawl back onto the field (300/200 + 200/0). "This equip spell may cost me eight hundred life points, but since I'm getting my Skull Servant back, its well worth it…"
"Hmm…I would've thought you'd try to get back your Armored Zombie…" Takashi admitted rubbing his chin. "That way you could've gotten me more damage…"
"Oh, but wait till you see what I can do," Madoka giggled lifting her hand up towards her face down card. "I activate my trap card, The League of Uniform Nomenclature!"
Madoka's face down card flipped up, showing three weird yellow creatures dressed in red bikini briefs and eyestalks placing their hands on top of each other. "This trap card only works by selecting one level two or lower monster on my field, then I can special summon all other copies of my selected monster from my deck…"
"…and last time I checked, Skull Servant falls under that category…"
The ceiling erupted again, allowing two more Skull Servants to cackle onto the field loudly (300/200 + 600/0 x3), sending a chill down the two luck monsters and the two sheep tokens on Takashi's field. "And I'm not done…I summon Man-Thro' Tro'!"
This time from the sky, a large ogre like man crashed onto the roof behind the three Skull Servants, its many folds of fat jiggling unsightly (1000/1000). "Ugh…even this guy gets on my nerves…"
"Then why even include him in your deck?" Takashi asked crossing his arms.
"You'll see…but," Madoka replied lifting her hand up towards the first Skull Servant. "Skull Servant! Attack the Gambler of Legend! Skull Bash!"
Shaking its arms into the air, the first Skull Servant charged towards the Gambler of Legend…only to have two imps to appear before both of the monsters, making the Skull Servant stop in his tracks. "Huh?"
"Don't think its going to be that easy!" Takashi announced with both of his face down cards flipped up. "I activate the spell card Graceful Dice! And just in case, Skull Dice!"
The first imp, this one wearing black clothes with bat like wings on his back, threw the large red die towards the ground, allowing it to bounce a few times…
…before coming up with a two on the die. "Well…unfortunately, Skull Dice lowers your monsters' attack by one hundred points times the result of the dice roll…so all of your monsters lose two hundred attack points…"
"But that's what Graceful Dice is for! It empowers my monsters by one hundred points times the result of the dice…Go Dice Roll!"
"Are you going to say that every time a dice is being used?" Madoka asked as the more cheerful imp tossed the blue die towards the ground.
"I'm just trying out a new catchphrase," Takashi admitted as the blue die began to spin slightly…
…until it stopped, showing the one symbol. "ACK!"
"Looks like your luck ran out!" Madoka giggled.
Cackling loudly again, the Skull Servant simply rammed into the Gambler of Legend, sending him off of the roof, screaming loudly. Both Takashi and Madoka blinked in confusion. "…that was weird…"
"I've never seen a monster simply push another monster to defeat it…" Takashi admitted looking down at his life point counter. (TLP: 7150)
"Well, you ever see a monster throw another one?" Madoka asked as the Man-Thro' Tro' lumbered forward, grabbing all three of the surprised Skull Servants.
"Um…no, but I think I'm about to find out," Takashi gulped as Man-Thro' Tro' tossed the three Skull Servants into the air…all three of them crashing directly into Takashi's torso, making the gambler duelist stumbling to his feet. "Grgugh!" (TLP: 4750)
"In case you're wondering," Madoka replied looking at the last card in her hand…a spell card that couldn't help at this time. "Man-Thro' Tro' allows me to tribute a normal monster on my field to inflict eight hundred points of damage to you…and since that all three of my Skull Servants were offered…"
"I get the point…" Takashi groaned holding his stomach while rubbing it. "A-Anyway…that wasn't half bad…"
"Hey, I'm not in Obelisk Blue for nothing," Madoka giggled with a blush on her face. "But thanks for the compliment…Lucky."
"Lucky?" Takashi questioned pulling his next card.
"Oh…its just a little habit of mine," Madoka admitted, the blush growing on her face. "I have a tendency to nickname people after I see what they relate most to…one person I know I call him Star Boy, another goes by Icicle…and since you like gambling, Lucky seems appropriate for you!"
"Um…" Takashi gulped slightly, now he was blushing slightly because of the embarrassment of that nickname. "Okay… let's see what we've got here…"
'…Well, well, well…looks like I got one of most dangerous gambles around…and maybe…'
"HEY! IT'S TAKASHI!"
Both Madoka and Takashi jumped slightly, turning towards one of the set of stairs that had led up to the roof. The sight just scarred Takashi out of his wits…
…the T-Team had found him!
Before he could do something, someone had grabbed his right hand, pulling him to run. After a few seconds, Takashi realized that Madoka was the one who grabbed his hand, leading him somewhere. "Hurry! We can get away through the other exit!"
"Uh…Sure!" Takashi replied, realizing that the T-Team was right behind him, chasing him and Madoka.
A few minutes later in the school hallways…
"Dang it! We lost Takashi again!"
"No! Wait! I see him! He's standing at the docks!"
"Quick! After him!"
All of the T-Team charged through the halls, crushing several other students or slamming them into the walls or doors of the closet.
"Man…those guys are just weird," Takashi muttered popping his head out from the closet to watch all of the T-Team Members running through the halls.
"Oh, I don't know," Madoka replied pushing the door open, allowing both of them to exit the closet. "I jealous of your attention…"
"You should be relieved that you don't have people who try to follow you when you try to get ten minutes of peace…" Takashi sighed rubbing the side of his head. "…speaking of the T-Team, I apologize for them interrupting our duel…"
"Ah, no worries," Madoka giggled crossing her arms. "But…since they did interrupt the duel…you owe one!"
"What?" Takashi questioned blinking a few times.
"Yep! You gotta meet tonight after twilight tonight!" Madoka giggled walking away while waving her hand to Takashi. "Meet me at the cliffs near the Red Dorm! And if you don't show up…I'll send my undead army after you, Lucky!"
As soon as Madoka had disappeared down the hallways, Takashi slapped his forehead with his right hand. "Uh…did I just asked out?"
…Takashi didn't notice the glowing symbol on the back of his hand…
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Card Stats
Star Blaster / Spell / Effect: Offer one monster on your side of the field to activate this card. Roll a six-sided dice. If you have a monster in your hand whose Star Level equals to the Star Level of the sacrificed monster and the result of the dice roll, you can special summon that monster. If you don't have such a monster, your turn automatically ends.
Image:
This card was used by Joey…and as a side note, this is a reference to the game Pluster World.
Phantom's Soul / Continuous Spell / Effect: As long as this card is face up on the field, increase the attack of all Fiend and Zombie type monsters on your side of the field by 200 points for each Fiend and Zombie type monster on your side of the field.
Image: A dark warrior clutching his skull in pain as multiple ghosts is flying into his body.
Dice Master / Dark / LV. 6 / ATK: 1500 / DEF: 1500 / Spellcaster/Effect: This card cannot attack. When this card battles another monster, select this card and the attacking card. Both players roll one six-sided dice, and activate the following effects on the monsters respectively.
1: Destroy the selected monster.
2: Increase the printed attack of the selected monster by 500 points.
3: Double the selected monster's attack points until the end phase.
4: Halve the selected monster's attack points until the end phase.
5: Decrease the printed attack of the selected monster by 1000 points.
6: Return the selected monster back to its owner's hand.
Description: a weird teenaged man, his spiked down black hair held out of his face by a diamond checkered headband. Wearing mostly black save for the red vest over his body, the young man tosses out a few dice in his hands.
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Lucian: Finally…finally…the ritual is complete…
Fomalhaut: …why are you talking like that?
Lucian: It…adds to…the drama…
Fomalhaut: …it sounds like you're mimicking another character that this author used before…
Lucian: Fine…ruin my fun will ya, ya pedophile…
Fomalhaut: Damn it! I'm not a pedophile!
…with that vague description out of the way, the night of judgment has arrived…the two chosen candidates for the trial of wrath will fight…one for their own purposes…the other to defend…
Who will win? What will happen?
The suspense will kill you to wait for the next chapter… - Chapter 35: Trial by the Elements
Fomalhaut: Damn it…the stupid author got more serious than we did…
Lucian: …that's just sad…