Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX.
A/N: Finally, it arrives... the School Duel mini-arc. Although I'm not saying what happens, I will say this: after this mini-arc, many things will become clear. Also, I'm fudging things again, please consider the events of Episode 24 to have happened. Now, enough talk! On with the fic!
Yu-Gi-Oh GX - A New Duelist Legend
Chapter 13 - Dark Spirit of the Silent
Dr. Crowler, Jaden and Chancellor Sheppard stood on Duel Academy's dock, just in front of the Duel Academy welcoming party. Although, so far all they had to welcome were the distant specs that were the various conveyances of the other Academies.
"Now Jaden," Crowler said, a disgruntled look on his face. "Remember, you're East Duel Academy's representative, so at least try to act with the decorum that this esteemed position demands."
"No worries, teach." Jaden said with a smirk. "There's no way I'll lose!"
"I'm not just taking about winning!" Crowler yelled, "You are East Duel Academy's face to the other schools! You need to act perfect!"
"And... how exactly do I do that?" Jaden asked.
"A good question!" Crowler responded, pulling a roll of paper out of his coat. "I have a few suggestions." He unrolled the paper, and the tail end of it dragged on the ground. "First..."
"Now Dr. Crowler," Chancellor Sheppard said, sweatdropping. "There's no need for that. Jaden will do fine."
"Do fine?" Crowler yelled. "He can barely pass a math test! How do you expect him to-"
"Just have faith in the boy, Crowler." Sheppard said, cutting off Crowler's rant. "That's all he needs."
"Oh, very well." Crowler grumbled, rolling up his list.
"Hey!" One student called, pointing. "There's something coming out of the water!"
As Sheppard looked where the student pointed, a submarine rose next to the dock with a massive splash. After sitting for a moment, the side hatch opened, and a number of burly teenagers in North Academy uniforms came out. Following them was a thin, partially bald man wearing wire rim glasses.
"Hello, Foster." Chancellor Sheppard said. "Still flashy as ever, I see."
Foster snorted. "You say that like it's a bad thing, Sheppard."
"Who's that?" Jaden whisper to Crowler.
"The chairman of North Academy." Crowler whispered back. "He's an old rival of Sheppard's."
"So," Sheppard asked, looking at the assembled North Academy students, "Which one is your representative this year?"
"None of them." Foster responded, stepping to one side as a shadowed figure appeared in the submarine's door. "In fact, I think you already know him..."
"One!" The assembled North Academy students chanted.
"It can't be!" Sheppard gasped.
"Ten!"
"There's no way!" Crowler yelled.
"Hundred!"
"Is that...?" Jaden said under his breath.
"Thousand!"
"THUNDER!" Chazz Princeton roared along with the North Academy students. "Chazz Thunder!"
"Chazz!" Jaden, Crowler and Sheppard simultaneously yelled.
"That's right!" Chazz yelled back, "Chazz Princeton is back, East Academy! And, before I'm done, you'll wish you'd never heard my name!"
At least, that's what he would have said, had he not been drowned out by a high-powered boat engine at 'done'.
"What the heck?" Chazz yelled. "Who dares to cut me off?"
In as spray of seawater, the culprit was revealed to be a large, high-powered speedboat with a number of students in yellow vests and white shorts on it's deck.
"Well well well," Foster said, "It looks like South Academy is here as well."
"You've got that right!" A large, dark skinned man jumped off the side of the boat, shaking the dock when he landed. "We're South Academy, and we'll crush all of you!"
"Hello, Byron." Foster deadpanned. "Been taking your meds? You seem a bit hyperactive."
"That's Grandmaster Byron!" Byron yelled back. "And we both know I've never taken any kind of meds!"
"That much is obvious..." Foster muttered.
"What did you say?" Byron yelled, his fists clenching. After a second, he calmed himself down, then he smirked. "As much as I'd like to wring your scrawny neck, Foster, I think I'll let my representative settle this."
"That's my cue, mon!" one of the boys on the boat yelled. He jumped off of the boat and onto the dock, stood up and smirked.
"This is my representative, Jamil Harris." Byron said.
The South Academy representative was a lanky boy with tan skin and short-cut brown hair. In a distinctive Jamaican accent, he said, "These loony-toons are the competition? I'll wipe the floor wit all of you, mon."
"Bring it on, island-boy!" Chazz yelled. I'll pound you into the sand!"
"Oohhhh, beach jokes." Jamil replied, "Not like I've never heard dose before, mon."
"Why you little-" Chazz was about to argue back, when he was cut off by the sound of helicopter rotors.
"I get cut off again?" Chazz yelled as West Academy's giant helicopter landed. "Why does this keep happening?"
A ramp extended from the bottom of the helicopter, and a woman wearing a grey uniform of a vaguely military cut walked down it. She carried a riding crop in one hand. "Gentlemen." She said in a precise, clipped tone.
"So," Foster said, "You're the new Headmistress of West Academy... Margaret Thatcher, wasn't it?"
"Correct." The headmistress said. She flicked her riding crop. "Students, march. Four abreast." Marching in perfect lockstep, four rows of students in grey psudeomilitary uniforms marched out of the helicopter.
"Where are our accommodations?" The headmistress asked.
Sheppard blinked. "You'll be in the spare Ra Yellow rooms."
The headmistress nodded, before turning to address her students. "Let's go." Followed by her students, she walked off in the direction of the Ra Yellow dorm.
The other three school heads just stared. "Well, that was a little odd." Foster said.
That evening, the students and headmasters of all four Academies had gathered for a feast, to celebrate the School Duel, which began next morning.
But, that's not really all that important. In fact, there's really only one important thing about this event, and it involves a student of West Academy named Garret.
"Hey, Garret," a West Academy student sitting next to Garret said, "What's up? You've been staring into space this entire time."
Garret was an average-looking brown haired, green-eyed teenager. And, for the past ten minutes, he had been staring at probably the least average-looking person in the room-Tsukanna.
"Well," Garret said, looking away, "I thought I saw someone I knew."
"You should lighten up some!" Garret's companion said. "We don't often get to relax like this."
"Uh huh." Garret replied, already lost in thought. "There's no mistaking that hair. She was most definitely on the watch list the Headmistress showed us." He stroked his chin for a second. "I could tell the Headmistress, but what would that get me? No... I'll deal with her myself. I'll receive a boatload of commendations if I take one of them out by myself."
Garret smirked. "There's nowhere to hide now... Tsukanna Kanshisha."
Later that night, Tsukanna was lying in bed when her PDA rang, informing her of an incoming message.
"Who could possibly be sending me a message this late?" Tsukanna asked sleepily. She flipped her pager open and read the message.
Tsukanna Kanshisha-
I know exactly who you are and what you're doing here. Come the cliffs near the Ra Yellow dorm in twenty minutes, or I'll tell someone who's more the capable of dealing with you. Bring your Duel Disc, as well as your deck.
Tsukanna yawned. "Probably just Zane again. Screw it, I'm too tired." She was about to close her PDA and go back to sleep, when another message popped up.
Tsukanna's eyes widened when she saw the two-word message. "Shit." She pulled her clothes on as quickly and quietly as possible, and slipped out the door and into the night.
About fifteen minutes later, Tsukanna walked into a clearing surrounding the cliffs. "What do you want?" She asked the figure standing in the center of the clearing.
The figure turned around, revealing Garret. "I bet you know already. After all, you're supposed to be an expert at 'reading people'."
Tsukanna snorted. "You know what? I don't care what you want. I can't let anyone with that information go free." She snapped her duel disc into position. "I'll crush you."
Garret smirked, readying his own disc. "You're giving me exactly what I want. When I bring someone with your prestige down, I'll be greatly rewarded."
"I hate to break it to you," Tsukanna said, frowning, "But you're not getting anything." Tsukanna clenched her left hand into a fist, and it glowed black. The dark aura expanded until it surrounded both her and Garret. "Let the Shadow Game begin!"
TLP: 8000
GLP: 8000
Garret shivered. "The simulators don't even come close to the real thing... I hope I can handle this." He slid the top card off of his deck. "I'll go first." He considered his cards for a moment, then he placed a card on his disc.
"I'll begin," Garret said, "By summoning Bountiful Artemis in attack mode." As he declared his move, a blue and white metallic fairy appeared on his field. It was wearing a purple cape and had a cone-like protrusion in place of it's legs. (1600/1700)
"For my second move," Garret announced, "I'll activate the continuous spell Dimensional Fissure." He slid the card into his disc, and space seemed to rip behind him, creating a hole in the middle of the air, although it was hard to tell where it was in the supernatural darkness of th Shadow Realm. "As long as this card is in play," Garret said, smirking, "Any monster that would be sent to the Graveyard is removed from play instead."
Tsukanna grimaced. "I need to get rid of that thing, fast."
"Last," Garret continued, "I'll set two cards facedown on my field, and that will be all for my turn." The two cards shimmered onto his field as he finished.
Tsukanna sneered. "If that's all you've got to offer, then this'll be even easier then I thought." She grabbed the top card of her deck, looked at it, and slid it into her disc. "I activate Confiscation. By paying 1000 life points, I can select one card from your hand and force you to discard it."
TLP: 7000
GLP: 8000
Garret grimaced as holographic images of his hand appeared in the air. "Dammit..."
Tsukanna smirked. "Just as I thought. Discard Herald of Green Light." Garret frowned as he slid the spell-negating fairy into his removed from play slot, and the Fissure sucked up the card's image.
"Now that that's out of the way," Tsukanna continued, "I'll activate my Field Spell, Necrovalley." She slid the card into her field slot, and the desert setting of Necrovalley formed over the expanse of the Shadow Realm. The only difference was that the normally scorching desert sun was in the middle of an eclipse.
Garret grimaced. "Such a crucial card on her first turn... she's more powerful then I thought."
"I don't know what makes you think you have a chance against me..." Tsukanna said contemptuously, "But I'll show you the error of your ways. I summon Gravekeeper's Assailant in attack mode." Tsukanna placed the card on her disc, an the female Gravekeeper assassin appeared on her field, brandishing her kris. It's power climbed as it took in the familiar surroundings of Necrovalley. (1500/1500)–(2000/2000)
"Gravekeeper's Assailant," Tsukanna yelled, "Attack Bountiful Artemis! Assassin's Strike!" The female Gravekeeper's kris glowed black, and she rushed at the metallic fairy.
"I activate Negate Attack!" Garret called, one of his set cards flipping up. "This trap will negate your attack and end your battle phase!" The Assailant's charge was abruptly cut off when she slammed into an invisible barrier around Garret's field. Tsukanna snarled. "I thought as much."
"Well," Garret said cockily, "You probably also know the effect of Bountiful Artemis, which allows me to draw a card whenever a Counter Trap, such as Negate Attack, is activated." Bountiful Artemisglowed, and Garret slid a card off of his deck.
"Take all the cards you want." Tsukanna replied, "I don't even need to set anything. I end my turn."
"Your funeral." Garret said, drawing. He considered the three cards in his hand. "I'll summon Majestic Mech - Ohka in attack mode." He slammed the card onto his disc, and a metallic blue wolf-looking creature appeared on his field. It roared at Gravekeeper's Assailant. (2400/1400)
"Is that all?" Tsukanna asked sarcastically, "We both know that when you summon that thing without tributing, it's destroyed at the end of the turn."
"It'll serve it's purpose just fine!" Garret yelled, "Majestic Mech - Ohka, attack Gravekeeper's Assailant with Shining Howl!" The silver-blue wolf howled, and a burst of energy shot at Gravekeeper's Assailant, exploding in a burst of light. When the light faded, however, Gravekeeper's Assailant was still standing, although Tsukanna's life points had decreased.
TLP: 6600
GLP: 8000
"What?" Garret yelled, "How?"
Tsukanna gestured to her removed from play pile. "By discarding Charm of Shabti from my hand, I negated all damage to my Gravekeepers for the rest of the turn."
Garret growled. "Artemis isn't strong enough to defeat that thing..." He slid a card from his hand into his disc. "I'll set another card facedown, then shift Bountiful Artemis into defense mode." A new facedown appeared on his field next to the remaining one he had set last turn, and then the silver fairy folded it's wings defensively in front of it.
"I end my turn." He finished. Ohka glowed brightly, then exploded. It's pieces were sucked into the Dimensional Fissure.
"Well," Tsukanna said as she drew, "I believe it's time for my counterattack." She placed the card she had drawn onto her disc. "I think I'll summon Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier in attack mode." The spear-wielding Gravekeeper appeared on her field, and pointed it's spear at Garret. It's power was also boosted by Necrovalley. (1500/1000)–(2000/1500)
"I'm pretty sure that one of your facedown cards is Divine Wrath," Tsukanna continued, "So I'm not gonna attack your monster with Assailant."
Garret gasped. "How...?"
"Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier," Tsukanna yelled, "Attack Bountiful Artemis." The Soldier charged and rammed his spear into the metallic fairy, shattering it, as well as dropping Garret's life points. The remains were sucked into the Dimensional Fissure.
TLP: 6600
GLP: 7700
Garret growled. "You're cheating! How else could you have known what my set card was?"
"You've never been in a real Shadow Game before, have you?" Tsukanna taunted. "Otherwise, you'd know that you need to do a much better job of suppressing the auras of your cards. They're practically screaming what they are."
"Card... auras...?" Garret said, mystified.
"Oh, for the love of..." Tsukanna frowned. "You don't have the smallest clue!"
"I'm the fourth best first year in West Academy!"
"You're a moron who doesn't have a clue." Tsukanna replied. "Shadow Games are nothing like normal duels. Dueling Skill, Dueling Spirit... neither of them matters at all unless you can control your own Shadow."
"Shadow?" Garret asked.
"That's why they're called Shadow Games," Tsukanna continued, "Because, first and foremost, they're a competition between the player's Shadows."
"..." Garret was silent.
Tsukanna sneered. "You didn't even know that, and you challenged me? Fool." She pointed. "Since it's still my turn, I'll have Gravekeeper's Assailant attack you directly! Assassin's Strike!" Gravekeeper's Assailant rushed forward, darted behind Garret's back, and slashed him. Garret fell to his knees and screamed.
TLP: 6600
GLP: 5700
"You barely even have enough Shadow to protect yourself." Tsukanna tskd. "I don't need to expend any effort at all to beat you. I'll once again end my turn without setting anything."
"I'll win!" Garret yelled, ripping the top card off of his deck. "I'll summon Layard the Liberator in attack mode!" Another mechanical fairy appeared on his field. This one was white and pink, had six arms, and had a pair of floating rings instead of legs. (1400/1500)
"Now," He called, "Layard will attack Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier!" Layard grabbed on of his floating rings and hurled it at the Spear Soldier.
"And now," Tsukanna interrupted, "You activate your facedown Celestial Power, boosting his attack by 1000."
Garret snarled. "Just because you know doesn't mean you can stop it!" His quick-play spell flipped up, and the ring Layard had thrown was surrounded by a glowing aura. It sliced through Gravekeeper's Spear soldier, who shattered and was sucked into the Dimensional Fissure. (1400/1500)–(2400/1500)
TLP: 6200
GLP: 5700
Tsukanna, who was busy examining her nails, glanced up briefly. "You done yet?"
Garret ground his teeth. "Stop mocking me!"
Tsukanna arched an eyebrow. "Why? It seems to be doing a excellent job of throwing you off your game."
Garret growled. "I'll set the last card in my hand facedown, then end my turn."
Tsukanna pulled a card off of her deck, glanced at it, and slid it into her disc. "I'll start by activating Pot of Greed." The grinning pot appeared, and Tsukanna reached for her deck.
"Not so fast!" Garret yelled, "I'll activate Magic Drain! Now unless you discard a Spell card from your hand, your spell's effect is negated!" A evil mist appeared around the Pot, which looked around fearfully.
Tsukanna shrugged. "So be it." She slipped a card from her hand into her graveyard, an the evil mist dissipated. She drew twice more, then considered her hand.
"Oh," Garret said, interrupting Tsukanna's thoughts, "We can't forget Layard the Liberator's effect. It allows me to return two removed from play Fairy-type monsters to my hand whenever a Counter Trap resolves." Layard glowed, and Garret's disc spit out two cards, which he placed in his hand.
"I think," Tsukanna said, ignoring him, "I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy that annoying Dimensional Fissure." A whirlwind leaped out of her card, and the tear in space shattered.
"Now that that's dealt with," Tsukanna continued, "I'll tribute Gravekeeper's Assailant to summon Gravekeeper's Chief in attack mode." The Assailant faded, and was replaced with the white and black robed form of the Gravekeeper's leader. He brandished his staff, and Necrovalley's power flowed into him. (1900/1200)–(2400/1700)
"Also," Tsukanna finished, "His effect activates. When he's tribute summoned, I can Special Summon one of my Gravekeepers from my graveyard." Gravekeeper's Chief gestured, and the cowled form of Gravekeeper's Assailant rose from the ground next to him. The assassin bowed to her Chief, then got into a fighting stance. (1500/1500)–(2000/200)
"Gravekeeper's Chief," Tsukanna ordered, "Attack Layard the Liberator with Grave Spell." Gravekeeper's Chief launched a beam of black energy from his staff, but it was repelled by another invisible barrier.
"Hah!" Garret yelled, "Me second Negate Attack stopped you easily!"
"Yep." Tsukanna replied. "To bad Layard's effect won't activate. You only have one removed from play Fairy."
Garret frowned. "It doesn't matter! I don't need his effect to win!"
"Well," Tsukanna said, "I suppose you're partially right, It doesn't matter. Even if you could have used his effect there, you still would have lost."
Garret ground his teeth. "Are you done?"
"No," Tsukanna replied, "I'll just set these two cards first." She placed two cards in her disc, and their representations appeared on her field.
"Fine!" Garret yelled, ripping a card off of his deck. He slammed it onto his disc. "I activate the spell card Eternal Call! By discarding monsters who share the same type," He said, sliding Ohka and Herald of Green Light into his graveyard. "Now, I can add any monster of the same type as the discarded monsters from my deck to my hand, as long as it's level is less then or equal to the combined levels of the monsters I discarded." He quickly sifted through his deck and found the card he wanted.
"Next," he continued, "I'll activate my facedown, Miraculous Descent." The trap flipped up, and Bountiful Artemis re-appeared on his field in a flash of light. (1600/1700)
"Special Summoning one of your removed from play Fairies won't help you." Tsukanna said.
"It's just tribute bait!" Garret yelled, "I now tribute both my monsters to summon Majestic Mech - Goryu!" The two monsters on Garret's field vanished, and were replaced by a massive golden and silver dragon... which was promptly sucked into a black hole.
"What?" Garret screamed.
Tsukanna pointed at her now-missing set card. "Bottomless Trap Hole."
Garret just stared.
Tsukanna grinned cruelly. "Well, since you're out of cards, I'll assume you're done." She sild a card off of her deck, which she immediately played. "I'll summon a second Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier in attack mode." A copy of the earlier soldier appeared on Tsukanna's field. It saluted Gravekeeper's Chief, then brandished it's spear. (1500/1000)–(2000/1500)
"All of my monsters now attack you directly." Tsukanna said with a smirk. Gravekeeper's Chief blasted Garret with a beam of black energy at the same moment he was slashed by Gravekeeper's Assailant and stabbed by Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier. Garret screamed an collapsed as his life points fell to zero.
TLP: 6200
GLP: 0
"Now let's see..." Tsukanna said, sneering. "I've won, so, what sort of Penalty Game shall I inflict on you...?"
Before she could finish thinking, however, Garret screamed again, and a fountain of dark energy erupted from his body.
"What the hell?" Tsukanna yelled.
"It's not over yet, fool!" A dark voice called from Garret's body. A card slid out of his deck. "Shifting the Balance activates when I would lose the game!"
"What?" Tsukanna said, "A Shadow Card? You didn't have anywhere near enough power to create one a moment ago!"
"Garret never did!" The voice yelled, "But he's no longer here!" Garret's body jumped onto it's feet and stood up straight. Garret's eyes had been replaced with pools of solid black, with small glowing lavender pupils in the center.
"Possession by an outside force...?" Tsukanna said grimly, "There are only a few beings in all of existence that can do that. Who are you?"
"I see no reason to tell you my real name." The voice replied, Garret's body grinning insanely, "If you must call me anything, simply call me Yami."
"Yami..." Tsukanna said fearfully.
"I suppose," Yami said, still grinning insanely, "I should explain the effect of Shifting the Balance. It shuffles both player's hands, decks, graveyards, removed from play piles and cards in play together."
Tsukanna grimaced as all of her cards were blown away and both players decks were restored to their original condition.
"Next," Yami continued, "I draw eight cards and my life points are set to 10000. You draw four cards and your life points are set to 6000."
"What!" Tsukanna yelled as Yami's hand and life points shot up above starting while hers went below it
TLP: 6000
YLP: 10000
"Lastly," Yami finished, "It ends your turn, so now it's my move!"
Tsukanna licked her lips. "That's the most powerful reset card I've ever seen! Who is this guy?"
Yami drew, and power exploded from his body, pushing Tsukanna back a couple of feet. "I'll show you what a real master of Shadow can do!" His field slot opened and he placed a card in it. "Null Zone activates!" He yelled. "As long as this field is in play, neither player my play any field cards!" The activation of the field card did little to change the normal appearance of the Shadow Realm.
Tsukanna gulped. "I guess Necrovalley's out..."
"My next cards," Yami continued, still grinning insanely, "Are the continuous spell cards Devil's Call and Triple Return!"
"Devil's Call summons the other copies of any fiend with 1200 or fewer attack points that's destroyed on either player's field..." Tsukanna said nervously, "And whenever you have three copies of a monster in your graveyard, Triple Return shuffles all of them back into your deck."
"Exactly right!" Yami replied, "As a reward for being right, I'll summon Newdoria in attack mode!" Yami placed another card from his hand onto his disc, and a red skinned humanoid fiend wearing leather straps appeared on his field, moaning in agony. (1200/800)
"Since it's not the first turn," Yami said, "I can attack! So, Newdoria attacks you directly! Death Curse!" Newdoria moaned again, and Tsukanna was engulfed in a purple aura. It took all of her willpower to keep from screaming in pain.
TLP: 4800
YLP: 10000
"I don't want you to die too quickly," Yami said, "So I'll end my turn."
Tsukanna grimaced as she drew. Her hand consisted of two copies of Necrovalley, Gravekeeper's Swordmaster, Gravekeeper's Chief and Gravekeeper's Curse.
"Okay," She thought to herself, "If that massive aura didn't tell me that I don't have a chance, this hand does." She grit her teeth. "Although, if what I remember about forced possession holds true, he can only funnel that much power through a stolen body for a short time. If I can manage to last for just a few more turns, then that body should deteriorate." She looked at Yami's aura, which was so powerful it was warping the Shadow Realm around it. "Although, even just surviving will be almost impossible..."
Tsukanna concentrated for a moment, and a card shot out of her deck. "I have a Shadow Card of my own, Yami. It's called Divine Right. I can activate it from my deck whenever my opponent has more life points then I do, and draw five cards." Five more cards shot off of Tsukanna's deck, giving her a few more options.
"Let's see just what you can do, Yami." Tsukanna said with a shaky smirk. "I'll summon Gravekeeper's Curse in defense mode!" The dreadlocked Gravekeeper appeared in a crouch on Tsukanna's field. He launched a burst of black energy from his crook, which slammed into Yami's chest. Yami didn't even flinch, although his life points did drop.
TLP: 4800
YLP: 9500
"For my next move," Tsukanna continued, "I'll set five other cards on my field, then end my turn." The five cards appeared behind the crouching Gravekeeper's Curse, and Yami laughed at them.
"Hah!" Yami yelled, "I can already tell what all of those are, and I can easily get around all of them!"
"Well then," Tsukanna replied, "Feel free to try, freakshow."
"Gladly!" Yami yelled, drawing. "I'll activate the spell Nullification! When Null Zone is in play, this spell destroys all spell and trap cards on your field!"
"No, it doesn't!" Tsukanna yelled back, "I activate Judgement of Anubis! By discarding a card from my hand," She continued, placing one of the useless Necrovalley in her graveyard, "I can negate the effect of a spell that would destroy spell or trap cards on my field!"
Yami grimaced as his spell card shattered. Tsukanna grinned. "And that's not it's only effect! Now, I destroy one monster on your field and deal it's attack to you as damage!" Newdoria moaned and exploded, showering Yami with fragments, although he still appeared unaffected.
TLP: 4800
YLP: 8300
"It'll take a lot more then that to hurt me!" Yami yelled, a sadistic grin on his face. "I can discard the monster Tortured Soul from my hand whenever I take effect damage to do an equal amount of damage to you!" Tsukanna fell to her knees, held her hands over her ears and screamed as a number of shrieking ghosts appeared around her head. When they finally stopped, Tsukanna shakily rose. "It'll take more then that to hurt me, to."
TLP: 3600
YLP: 8300
"I beg to differ." Yami replied with a sadistic grin. "I summon Plague Carrier in attack mode!" Yami's slammed the card onto his disc, and a sickly looking peasant covered in sores appeared on Yami's field. He moaned hideously. (300/300)
"What is that?" Tsukanna asked.
"I'll show you soon enough." Yami replied, still grinning. "First, I activate the Continuous spell Deck Equalizer!"
"Deck Equalizer?" Tsukanna asked. "I've never heard of that one..."
"It's a very simple card." Yami replied, "Whenever the number of cards in my deck increases for any reason, I draw until there are the same number that there were before the increase."
"First Mobilization and Triple Return, and now Deck Equalizer." Tsukanna thought, "He's got something big planned..."
"Now, I'll show you the deadly power of my deck!" Yami yelled, "Plague Carrier, attack Gravekeeper's Curse!" The sick peasant clumsily rushed at the crouching Gravekeeper, who easily pushed him back.
TLP: 3600
YLP: 7800
"What was the point of that?" Tsukanna asked.
"Watch!" Yami replied, pointing at Plague Carrier. Tsukanna looked, and Plague Carrier coughed and fell over, dead. Apparently, the strain of attacking had been too much. Plague Carrier shattered, and a noxious gas covered the field.
Tsukanna coughed. "What the heck is going on?"
Yami, who was apparently unaffected by the gas, smirked. "Plague Carrier's is automatically destroyed whenever it battles another monster, and both players a dealt damage equal to the attack of the monster it battled with."
TLP: 2800
YLP: 7000
"And I now discard another Tortured Soul to deal you even more damage!" Yami yelled. Tsukanna stopped coughing and started screaming as more shrieking ghosts surrounded her head.
TLP: 2000
YLP: 7000
Tsukanna was on her knees, breathing hard as the pain began to subside. "I'm not done yet..."
"Oh, but you are!" Yami laughed. "Mobilization now summons the other two Plague Carriers from my deck to the field!" The spell card glowed, and two more peasants, identical to the first one, appeared. (300/300)x2
"Now, the second one attacks!" Yami yelled. In a performance identical to the first one, the second Plague Carrier charged and was repelled.
TLP: 2000
YLP: 6500
"Plague Carrier's effect activates now," Yami called, laughing. "And, I'll discard my last Tortured Soul!" The gas covered the field and the ghosts appeared, and Tsukanna almost passed out trying to scream and cough at the same time.
TLP: 400
YLP: 5700
"Of course," Yami continued, "We can't forget about Triple Return and Deck Equalizer. The three Tortured Souls are shuffled into my deck, and I draw three cards!" The three monsters returned to his deck, and he drew three times, replenishing his hand.
"Now, you die!" Yami yelled, "My final Plage Carrier attacks!"
"I don't think so..." Tsukanna said weakly, "I activate Interdimensional Matter Transporter, removing my monster from play until the end of the current turn." A silver ring appeared, and Gravekeeper's Curse jumped through it, disappearing.
Yami grimaced. "And now, Plague carrier has to attack you directly..."
TLP: 100
YLP: 5700
Yami sneered. "I'll end my turn. There's no way you can win."
Tsukanna chuckled. "I don't need to win."
"What are you talking about?" Yami asked sharply.
Tsukanna chuckled again "This." She held up her left hand, and a ripple of darkness shot out of it, slamming into Yami's chest.
"What did-" was all Yami had time for, before a fountain of dark energy exploded out of his chest. "What is this?" He yelled.
Tsukanna smirked. "That superpowerful Shadow Card, all your god draws and my crap draw... you used to much power, too fast. That body couldn't take any more."
"You little bitch!" Yami yelled, "I'll kill you!" He started to move to attack Tsukanna, but another fountain of darkness knocked him down. "RRAAGGGHHH!"
"Later, freakshow." Tsukanna said, smirking.
"This won't kill me, you little bitch!" Yami yelled, "I'll be back, and the next time I see you, you'll DIE!" With that, Yami's borrowed body exploded in a blast of darkness, and the Shadow Game faded.
TLP: 100
YLP: Loss due to body exploding
Tsukanna sat panting on the ground for several minutes before slowly getting up. "I'd better go report this..." She said to herself.
One very painful half-hour trek later, Tsukanna was sitting in front of a computer in front of an out of the way storeroom.
"And that's everything?" The figure on the screen asked.
"Yeah." Tsukanna replied.
"You're sure you couldn't tell how strong it was?"
"Yes, I am." Tsukanna sighed. "Like I said, the sheer size of his power made it hard to figure out exactly how much he had. If he hadn't been using a possessed body, I would be dead or worse right now."
"Hmmm..." The figure thought for a minute. "I'll do some research on my end. In the meantime, stay out of the Shadow Realm for a while."
"Sure." Tsukanna said, yawning. "If that's all, I'm gonna go sleep for about a week. I was tired before, and now I feel like my body's been through a meat grinder."
The figure nodded, and the computer clicked off.
Tsukanna sighed and leaned back in her chair. "I guess I have to walk again, huh?"
New Cards:
Eternal Call
Normal Spell
Discard any number of monsters of the same sub-type from your hand. Add a monster of the same sub-type as the monsters you discarded which has a level that is less then or equal to the combined levels of the monsters you discarded to your hand.
Image: A group of angels blowing trumpets.
Null Zone
Field Spell
Neither player may play Field Spells.
Image: A dark void.
Devil's Call
Continuous Spell
Whenever a Fiend-type monster with 1200 or fewer ATK is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, it's controller may special summon as many copies of the destroyed monster from their hand or deck as possible.
Image: A large demon bellowing commands to a number of imps.
Triple Return
Continuous Spell
Whenever there are three monster cards with the same name in your graveyard, you may shuffle them into your deck.
Image: Three Ojama Yellow getting pulled out of a graveyard by a whirlwind.
Nullification
Normal Spell
You may only activate this card when "Null Zone" is active on the field. Destroy all spell and trap cards on your opponent's field.
Image: Magical energy being sucked into a black hole.
Tortured Soul
Dark, Effect Monster - Fiend, Level 1, 0/0
Whenever you take effect damage, you may discard this card from your hand. If you do, deal damage to your opponent equal to the damage you took.
Image: A screaming ghost.
Plague Carrier
Dark, Effect Monster - Fiend, Level 2, 300/300
Whenever this card battles with an opponent's monster, destroy it. (After damage calculation.) Deal damage to both players' Life Points equal to the ATK of the monster this card battled with.
Image: A sickly peasant.
Deck Equalizer
Continuous Spell
Whenever the number of cards in your deck increases, draw cards until your deck has the same number of cards as before the increase.
Image: Goblin of Greed surrounded by stacks of Duel Monsters cards, punching on a calculator.
Next Time: The School Duelbegins in spectacular fashion, with old rivals Sheppard and Foster betting bragging rights on the Duel between new rivals Jaden and Chazz. Sheppard's confident in Jaden's skills, but Fosterhas given Chazz a few new tricks to try out... and the involvement of Chazz's brothers can't help any. And why is West Academy's representative so interested in Jaden's cards? Don't miss "Two-Man Cell Battle"!