-Obliviswisp-
Pop kept up her flight. She had chosen to target Onpu first and try bringing her back to her senses. To that end, she had used magic to levitate the purple rod and have it guide her to her location.
It didn't take long. Pop spotted Onpu walking down a deserted stretch of path and wasted no time in cutting her off.
"Onpu-chan!" Pop called.
Onpu looked at Pop with disappointment. A dark aura was clearly visible and a familiar presence could also be felt.
"So you have abandoned your focus?" Onpu inquired. She was almost as emotionless as Pop was, though she seemed more dangerous. "You will suffer for your betrayal."
Pop glared at Onpu. "I didn't even ask to be corrupted!" she angrily retorted, "And I will never go back to that either!"
"Suit yourself." Onpu drew her poron. "She does not tolerate betrayal."
Pop grit her teeth as she drew her poron. She knew her magic isn't quite as powerful as Onpu and she knew she wasn't as skilled as she was either, though she came pretty close. But Pop didn't want to actually hurt her whereas Onpu seemed dead set on having her killed. But then she remembered how Doremi dealt with her only a few minutes ago.
"Chotto matte!" Pop called. Onpu held off her attack while Pop inserted her poron into her bracelet; moments later, her Duel Disk formed. "If you beat me in a duel, I will return to your side."
"Is that so?" Onpu asked. She then inserted her poron into her bracelet, transforming it into her Duel Disk. "Then let's begin."
Both of them inserted their decks into the right slot, shuffle them, and drew their opening hands. Their Life Point Meters raced to 8000. Finally, both of them exuded a dark aura; Pop was shocked that she still had one but was relieved that Onpu's was greater.
"Duel!" Pop shouted.
"Duel," Onpu said, "You will take the first move."
Pop nodded. "Atashi no Turn! Draw!" Pop took her first card and added it to her hand. She gulped. I hope I know what I'm doing, she thought, "First, I will activate Haze Piller! As long as this is out, I can normal summon Haze Beast monsters without tributing! And I will use it to summon Haze Beast Peryton!"
At once, a flaming winged deer appeared before Pop (1600/1700).
"Peryton has an ability: By tributing him and sending a FIRE monster from my hand to my graveyard, I can special summon any two Haze Beasts from my deck!" Peryton burst into flame, gathering the flames of another Haze Beast form Pop's hand to make its power possible. Two more Haze Beasts emerged: Another Peryton as well as a fire-theme Sphynx (1900/1900). "Spinx has an ability as well: Once per turn, I can call monster, spell, or trap and then send the top card of my deck to my graveyard. If it's the card I called, I can bring back any FIRE monster from my graveyard! I choose…Spell!"
Spinx's eyes glowed a bright orange as it began divining the future. Pop took the card off the top of her deck…and saw that it was a monster card.
Pop sighed. "Oh well…there's always next time," she muttered, sending the card to her graveyard. A reversed card appeared behind Peryton. "I set one card. Turn end."
Onpu looked at her opponent's field. "Atashi no Turn. Draw," she said, taking the card out of her deck. She eyed her hand carefully. "I will activate Buster Teleport. By returning any buster monster from my hand to my deck, I can draw two cards." The corrupted purple Ojamajo took one of her cards and shuffled it back into her deck. "Next, I activate Terra Forming. And I will use it to add Dragon Ravine to my hand."
Onpu took the aforementioned card from her deck and added it to her hand.
"My searching isn't done. I will discard Buster Beast so I can add Buster Mode to my hand." Buster Beast appeared briefly by Onpu's side before vanishing. The purple Ojamajo took her trap card and added it to her hand. "And now, I will activate Dragon Ravine."
And just like that, Onpu inserted the card into its proper slot. Once there, the scenery changed dramatically. No longer was it the beautiful and mysterious landscape of Majo Kai. Now, it was a massive ravine; dragons and their riders could be seen flying in the distance.
"We know what's coming next," Onpu said. Pop gulped and nodded. "Shadow Onpu called me out on describing such a long and typical combo. I will do the same if she does it herself again."
The corrupted purple Ojamajo began her combo. She used ravine's effect, discarding Dragunity – Phalanx to add Dragunity – Dux to her hand. She followed by normal summoning Dux and using his effect to equip it with the Phalanx in the graveyard. She then watched as Dux turned Phalanx loose to special summon it.
Phalanx and Dux flew into the air, with the former turning into two green rings while the latter flew through them.
"In the times of dire, Winged Warrior and Dragon shall unite as one. Become the master of weapons to aid in the struggle. Synchro Summon. Descend, Dragunity Knight – Vajuranda." Onpu chanted.
Vajuranda descended to Onpu's side and quickly use his effect, equipping Phalanx from the gravryard. Phalanx was then turned loose to special summon it. Then…both monsters flew into the air, with the former again transforming into two green rings.
"Clustering wishes will become a new shining star. Become the path its light shines upon. Synchro Summon. Take Flight, Stardust Dragon." Onpu chanted again.
Stardust Dragon flew down from the heavens, remaining aloft by Onpu's side.
Pop debated about using her set card to stop it. On one hand, she could stop the combo from going off and she knew good and well that Buster Mode was in Onpu's hand right now. Then again, Onpu could potentially summon it again next turn and she would only be delaying the inevitable. She was certain Onpu would have another out to her comeback even after she negated the summon. But…
"Reverse card, open-!" Pop began.
"Are you certain you can win by stopping the first Stardust Dragon?" Onpu asked suddenly. Pop stopped in her tracks. "If you think you can win, then you can try. But once again…how do you know I won't have an out to your own comeback later?"
Pop grit her teeth. This was the dilemma that had just gone through her head a few minutes ago. Onpu was correct; she might not have any outs to whatever Onpu had later and she wouldn't be able to properly deal with them with the cards she currently had.
"Fine," Pop replied, "Continue."
"I will attack Peryton with Stardust Dragon," Onpu stated, "Shooting Sonic."
Stardust Dragon took flight and quickly fired its breath weapon. Peryton replied with a stream of fire balls. Stardust Dragon's attack effortlessly plowed through the stream and went for the kill, vaporizing Peryton and impacting the ground before Pop. She was thrown back a bit and her Life Points fell to 7100.
"I will set two cards." Onpu inserted two cards into the slots, causing two reversed cards to appear behind Stardust Dragon. "Turn end."
Pop eyed Onpu's field carefully. She knew that one of those set cards was Buster Mode and that Onpu was going to activate it as soon as possible. And once it was out, she would have a hard time running it dealing with it. But at the same time, she didn't know if Onpu's other set card was an out or a bluff.
She had to take a chance.
"Atashi no Turn! Draw!" Pop shouted. She took the card from her deck and eyed it carefully.
"Reverse card, open. Buster Mode hatsudou!" Onpu said. One of her reversed cards revealed itself and glowed brilliantly. Stardust Dragon was caught in its light and quickly became empowered by it. It didn't evolve per se, but rather gained armor and power to go with it (3000/2500). "Rise, Stardust Dragon/Buster."
"This is my chance! Reverse card, open! Warning of God hatsudou!" Pop shouted. Her card revealed itself while Stardust Dragon/Buster was still making its presence known. The beings on the card appeared and, after accepting Pop's payment -that reduced her to 5100 Life Points-, turned and began their warning. "Warning of God can negate any summon or any card or effect that allows for a special summon!"
"But it cannot stop the summon in question if it's during the resolution of a cad effect," Onpu said, "However…Reverse card, open. God's Pronouncement hatsudou. By paying half of my Life Points, I can stop almost any summon, spell card, or trap card you try to use. Including your Warning of God."
As the card pictured the same beings, the figures ceased giving their warning. And after reducing Onpu to 4000 Life Points, they all faded.
At least I don't have to worry about that card… thought Pop, But Onpu-chan doesn't have to worry about mine either!
"Are you going to end your turn?" Onpu asked.
"No!" Pop replied, "Stardust Dragon/Buster still can be defeated like any card in this game. And I will!" Pop looked over her field. She only had her Haze Pillar and Spinx, but that was bound to be enough. "I activate Spinx's ability! Are you going to stop it?"
Onpu looked at Spinx as she prepared to give her riddle again. "You failed the last time you used her effect, Pop," Onpu said, "I will let it go through this time."
Pop nodded. "Hai. I call…Trap!" Pop took the top card off of her deck and showed it. It was Safety Zone, a continuous trap. "Yosha! This means I can bring back any FIRE monster from my graveyard! And I choose Peryton!"
Spinx smiled, knowing someone solved her riddle. The flames surrounding her took form, forcing open a portal and allowing Peryton to return to the field.
"And now I will use Haze Pillar to normal summon Haze Beast Mecoleos!" The pillar glowed brightly for a brief moment. Seconds later, a massive beast emerged. It sported a lion's head, bat-like wings, and the tail of a scorpion. And like its fellows, it too was on fire (2200/300). Then, Peryton, Mecoleos, and SPinx transformed into orbs of burning energy and spiraled upward. "And with these three Lv6 FIRE monsters, I build the Overlay Network!"
The three monsters entered the red vortex. A fiery explosion burst forth…and a powerful beast with the body of a rooster and the tail of a snake emerged (2500/1800).
"Haze Beast Basilicock gains abilities depending on how many Overlay Units he has," Pop explained, "And since he has three, he gains 200 ATK for each!" Basilicock drew power as the lights orbiting him flared up (2500-3100/1800). "And I'm not done yet! I will activate Haze Pillar's effect! With it, I can take any Haze Beast I have and attach it to any Xyz monster I control. And since it's not actually activating a spell card, Stardust Dragon can't stop it!"
A form much a flaming cerberus (2000/200) appeared within the Pillar. In moments, it turned into a ball of flame and quickly joined the other lights orbiting Basilicock. And with one more Overlay Unit, the flaming basilisk's power rose (3100-3300/1800).
"And when it has four Overlay Units, Basilcock cannot be targeted by card effects!" Pop shouted. Onpu stood silently and looked at her monster. "Basilicock! Attack Stardust Dragon/Buster!" Basilicock flapped its wings furiously, spreading fire and ash in a wave directed toward the armored dragon. It retaliated with its own power, and even though it was close, the fire monster's attack won out, blowing off its armor in the process. The flames reached Onpu, singing her lightly and reducing her to 3700 Life Points. "Nani? How did your monster survive?"
"When a Buster Mode monster is destroyed by battle, I can bring back the monster used to summon it," Onpu explained, "Stardust Dragon will survive it in his base form. And then there's the prospect of me drawing another Buster Beast or Buster Mode and forcing you to go through it again."
Pop grit her teeth. She has to overcome yet another challenge just to save Onpu from the Verz. But it didn't matter; she had a powerful monster on her field that even she couldn't attack over. But she was well within range of her DESTINY DRAW and could easily come up with a card that would destroy it outright, despite its targeting immunity.
"I know you have something that can crush Basilicock," Pop stated, "So I activate the spell Overlay Regenerate! When used, it becomes an Overlay Unit for any Xyz monster on the field!" At once, Pop's spell transformed into a cyan light and went to orbit Basilicock. It may be standing out, but it didn't change the basilisk's ability to draw more power from it (3300-3500/1800). "And when Basilicock has at least five Overlay Units, you can't even destroy it with card effects! Turn end."
"No matter," Onpu replied, "Atashi no Turn." The top of her deck glowed with a brilliant purple glow and crackled with black lightning…DESTINY DRAW. The corrupted purple Ojamajo took her card from her deck. "I will activate Dragon Ravine's effect. By discarding one card, I can either add a Lv4 or less Dragunity to my hand or send any Dragon-type monster to the graveyard. I will choose the former."
Onpu tossed a card from her hand and added another. Then, the entire Ravine vanished and a being with black feathered wings appeared (1600/1000). However, a number of feathers burst outward upon his revival, hitting Onpu and dropping her to 3400 Life Points.
"Black Feather – Zephyros the Elite can resurrect himself once per duel…so long as I return any single face-up card I control to my hand and take 400 damage." Onpu almost seemed to smirk…something that Pop couldn't tell was either a good sign or the Verz taunting her. "And I will now reactivate Dragon Ravine." No sooner did she put the card back into the slot, the entire scenery changed back into the Ravine. "And the thing about cards like this is, well, when a card that's normally 'Once per turn' is removed from the field or another copy is used, I can activate its effect again. This will be round two."
Onpu again discarded her card. And once again, she chose to add a card to her hand.
"Now, I will summon Verz-o'-Wisp." Immediately, a blue flame burst into life. It expanded until it somewhat resembled the Verz's insignia (450/2050). Once it appeared, the dark aura surrounding Onpu deepened…and Pop felt the Verz's influence. "I did not think I would have to use this."
So that's the focus of her Verz corruption, thought Pop, If I kill it, then maybe I can free Onpu-chan! And with my monster at 3500, nothing can get to my Life Points!
"I will now attack Basilicock with Verz-o'-Wisp," Onpu half-declared, much to Pop's shock. Verz-o'-Wisp's fire increased dramatically as it threw a dark fire ball at Basilicock. The blatantly stronger monster narrowed its eyes at the attack and channeled its own barrage of fire balls at the small, corrupted fire monster. It never stood a chance, being blasted apart. And the vast majority of the counterattack got through, striking Onpu hard and sending her plummeting to 250 Life Points. No sooner than Verz-o'-Wisp perished, a series of dark flames burst into being on Basilicock, causing it to screech in pain (3500-2500/1800). "If Verz-o'-Wisp ever battles a monster, then that monster loses all of its abilities after Damage Calculation…including those in the graveyard."
Pop looked up at her once-powerful monster. She could hear it screaming, though not like anyone else can. This scream…was more akin to raw emotion than an actual sound. But Basilicock turned its head toward the red Ojamajo, shooting a look that read "Do not worry about me". Pop understood, but wanted to do something about what happened.
She then noticed that the dark aura was still surrounding Onpu. And it was still as thick as ever.
This isn't right! Pop mentally shouted, The Focus for her Verz corruption was destroyed! How can she still be under its control?!
Onpu looked at Pop, her expression the same as it had been since the duel even began. "It wasn't your action that destroyed Verz-o'-Wisp," she explained, "It was my own and Verz-o'-Wisp's desire to weaken your own monster, even at the cost of most of my Life Points. I remain loyal to Her at any cost."
Pop grit her teeth. Her older sibling had set her free by slaying her Verz card while it was on the field at the cost of having to return hers to her deck. But Doremi had destroyed it on her terms whereas Onpu destroyed hers by herself.
She came to the conclusion that as long as a person free of the Verz's control is the one who destroys it, the victim can be freed too. But if the Verz card is destroyed by its owner, then it won't count and will therefore remain under the Verz's control. The best protection; putting it in the graveyard to keep it out of reach of the opponent's monsters and destruction-based card effects all but made it impossible to stop it by this point. But…there may just be a way around that…
"My turn isn't over yet," Onpu said, snapping Pop out of her stupor, "I will ram Stardust Dragon into Basilicock."
"But they have the same ATK!" Pop called back, "They will both be destroyed! And any Buster Modes you get later will be useless until you get another Stardust Dragon out!"
"That is a risk I will take." Stardust Dragon flew up into the air as per its mistress's orders. "Shooting Sonic."
The dragon obeyed orders and shot its breath weapon at Basilicock. The flaming basilisk fought through its pain and retaliated with a barrage of fire balls of its own. The two attacks impacted violently, generating an explosion that caught both the dragon and basilisk in the radius, vaporizing both and sending both Pop and Onpu flying to the ground. Both got back up without a problem, but Pop was now defenseless.
"Zephyros will attack you directly." Pop braced herself as Zephyros rushed her. He struck hard with his armored knuckles, reducing her to 3500 Life Points. "Turn end."
Pop struggled back to her feet. "I know you're in there, Onpu-chan," she said, "And like Onee-chan did with me…I will free you from the Verz!" The top card of her deck glowed a brilliant red…DESTINY DRAW. "Atashi no Turn!" Pop took the top card of her deck and gave a determined look. "I activate Pot of Avarice! With this, I can draw two cards as long as I return five monsters to my deck. I choose these!"
Pop took Basilicock, Peryton, Cereberus, Spinx, and Mecoleo from her graveyard and shuffled them into her deck. She then drew her new cards.
"This is it, Onpu-chan!" Pop shouted, "Since you have a monster, I can special summon Haze Beast Gryps!" A burst of fire erupted before the red Ojamajo. And from it emerged a gryphon clearly made of flame (200/2100). "And then I will use Haze Pillar to summon Peryton without any tributes!" The Pillar glowed brightly…and enabled the fiery beast to fly to the field and land by Pop's side. Both of them then transformed into orbs of fire and spiraled upward. "And with these two Lv6 FIRE monsters, I build the Overlay Network! Xyz summon! Awareru, Haze Beast Basilicock!"
And just like that, the fiery basilisk emerged from the vortex, free of the dark flames corroding its powers and ability. It looked at its mistress with a gentle look…and being very careful as well.
"Basilicock has a very powerful ability," Pop explained, "Once per turn, by detaching an Overlay, basilicock can target any monster on your field or in your graveyard and banish it!" One of the lights orbiting Basilicock flew into its chest, causing the fires bursting from it to flare up. "And I think I know who to target."
Onpu looked at the powerful Fire monster. "I see. Then I suppose Zephyros will not survive its power then…"
Pop shook her head. "No. I'm targeting Verz-o'-Wisp!"
Onpu's eyes shot open. At once, Basilicock glared daggers at the corrupted purple Ojamajo; Verz-o'-Wisp appeared in the aura surrounding her. Both of their eyes met…and Verz-o'-Wisp's body went from being made of fire to being comprised of fire and stone. It shattered immediately…along with almost all the aura surrounding the purple Ojamajo. She fell to the ground, clutching her head.
"Onpu-chan!" Pop called, "Onpu-chan!"
Onpu stirred and managed to get back up. "Pop-chan…? What was I…? Oh no…" Onpu looked over the duel field. It was very clear she recalled everything that happened. "I…I couldn't-!"
"That doesn't matter now! I couldn't resist it's influence either, but Onee-chan freed me just as I freed you!"
"But where is Doremi-chan now?"
"She's gone after Ai-chan, Hana-chan, and Hazuki-chan. I decided to deal with you and Momo-chan."
"But Momo-chan and Ai-chan are traveling as a team! They will massacre Doremi-chan if she tried to handle them!"
Pop looked at Onpu in shock. "Then we have to-!"
A loud explosion in the distance caught attention of both girls. They knew then and there that Doremi had to be dueling against someone at the moment.
"I will give this bout to you, Pop-chan," Onpu said, putting her hand on top of her deck, "Now let's go!"
Pop is the winner!
Pop nodded at the purple Ojamajo. "But first…I want to try something. Show me the Verz card."
Onpu took Verz-o'-Wisp out of her deck. Pop grabbed it, but Onpu's grip was tight…and very much against her will. The purple Ojamajo tried to let the card go, but something was forcing her to maintain her hold on the card.
"I'm…I'm still infected, aren't I?" Onpu asked sadly.
Pop nodded solemnly. "It was the same with me. I tried to release Verz Salamandra…but it wouldn't let me either. But Onee-chan's ace monster…it was able to take the card and allow us to get rid of it!"
"All the more reason to find Doremi-chan," Onpu declared.
And with that, the two Ojamajos mounted their brooms and took off. They were flying in the direction as the explosion…for they believed that Doremi was dueling right there, right now.
Featured Duel: Pop vs. Verz Onpu
Pop LP (8000) – Verz Onpu (8000)
Pop's turn:
Pop has Hazy Flame Peryton, Hazy Pillar, Overlay Regen, Hazy Flame Griffin, and Hazy Flame Cerbereus as her opening hand. She draws Solemn Warning.
Pop activates Hazy Pillar. She then normal summons Hazy Flame Peryton without tributing thanks to Pillar. She follows by activating Peryton's effect, tributing it and sending Hazy Flame Cerbereus to special summon another Peryton and a Hazy flame Sphynx from her deck. Pop activates Sphynx's effect and calls spell; the card she mills is Flamvell Magician, so she cannot revive anything.
Pop sets Solemn Warning and ends.
Verz Onpu's turn:
Verz Onpu has Evilswarm Obliviwisp, Terraforming, Assault Beast, Dragunity Phalanx, and Assault Teleport as her opening hand. She draws Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode.
Verz Onpu activates Assault Teleport, returning the Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode to her deck and drawing Solemn Judgement and Dark Hole. She then activates Terraforming and uses it to add Dragon Ravine to her hand. She follows by discarding Assault Beast to add Assault Mode Activate to her hand.
Verz Onpu activates Dragon Ravine and then uses its effect, discarding Dragunity Phalanx and adding Dragunity Dux to her had. She then normal summons Dux and uses his effect so equip it with the Phalanx in her graveyard. She follows by activating Phalanx's effect to special summon it. She then tunes Lv4 Dux with Lv2 Phalanx to Synchro Summon Dragunity Knight Vajrayana. She then uses Vajrayana's effect to equip itself with the Phalanx in her graveyard and then special summons it as per Phalanx's effect. She then tunes lv6 Vajrayana with Lv2 Phalanx to Synchro Summon Stardust Dragon.
Verz Onpu attacks Peryton with Stardust Dragon, destroying it.
Verz Onpu sets Solemn Judgment and Assault Mode Activate and ends.
Pop LP (7100) – Verz Onpu (8000)
Pop's turn:
Pop draws Hazy Flame Mantikor.
During her Standby Phase, Verz Onpu activates Assault Mode Activate, tributing Stardust Dragon. Pop chains by activating Solemn Warning, but Verz Onpu chains by activating Solemn Judgement; Pop pays 2000 LP while Verz Onpu halves hers; Warning is negated and Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode is special summoned from her deck.
Pop activates Sphynx's effect again, this time calling trap; Verz Onpu does not negate with Stardust/Assault. Pop mills Safe Zone, so she is able to revive any FIRE monster; she chooses Peryton. She then normal summons Mantikor without tributes thanks to Pillar. She then overlays Mantikor, Peryton, and Sphynx to Xyz summon Hazy Flame Basiltrice; since it has 3 materials attached, Basiltrice gains 200 ATK for each material. Pop activates Pillar's effect, attaching the Griffin in her hand to Basiltrice as Xyz material; with 4 materials, Basiltrice cannot be targeted by Verz Onpu's card effects.
Pop attacks Stardust Dragon/Assault Mode with Basiltrice, destroying it. Since it was destroyed, Verz Onpu can revive Stardust Dragon.
Pop activates Overlay Regen, attaching it to Basiltrice as Xyz material; with 5 materials, Basiltrice has an immunity to destruction effects and 3500 ATK.
Pop ends.
Verz Onpu's turn:
Verz Onpu uses DESTINY DRAW to get Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite.
Verz Onpu activates Dragon Ravine's effect, discarding Zephyros and adding Phalanx to her hand. She then activates Zephyros' effect, returning Dragon Ravine to her hand to revive it and then taking 400 damage. Verz Onpu reactivates Dragon Ravine and uses its effect again, discarding Phalanx to add another Dux to her hand. Verz Onpu then summons Evilswarm Obliviwisp.
Verz Onpu attacks Basiltrice with Obliviwisp. Obliviwisp is destroyed, but Basiltrice's effects are negated. She then rams Stardust Dragon into Basiltrice, destroying both. She then attacks Pop directly with Zephyros.
Verz Onpu ends.
Pop LP (3500) – Verz Onpu (250)
Pop's Turn:
Pop uses DESTINY DRAW to get Pot of Avarice.
Pop activates Pot of Avarice, returning Basiltrice, Peryton, Cerberus, Sphynx, and Mantikor to her deck and drawing Peryton and Griffin. Since Verz Onpu has a monster and the monsters on Pop's field and/or in her graveyard are FIRE monsters, Pop is able to special summon Griffin. Shethen uses Pillar to normal summon Peryton. She continues by overlaying both to again Xyz summon Basiltrice. Pop activates Basiltrice's effect, detaching Griffin and banishing Obliviwisp from Verz Onpu's graveyard.
At that point, Onpu breaks free from the Verz's control. She surrenders.
Pop LP (3500) – Onpu (250)
Pop is the winner!
I…I knew I would have to face her after the Verz took them. And I can see how its affecting her: She looks and acts normal, but she's just as corrupted as the others. I have to save her. If I don't, I'll never forgive myself! I almost lost her that time ago, I will not fail this time!
!amaM
Disigma Zwei and Castor have begun their approach…
A/N: The next few chapters are going to be more or less the same. I will still try regardless.