Chapter 3: The Beast
My very own keycard. Under normal circumstances, this was something to celebrate, but I hated this place. My escort just took me up to the elevator, took me back to the cell block and let me loose. I vaguely remembered the path back to my own cell. However, just as I arrived, there was someone already there. I couldn't tell who it was, as the lighting throughout the corridors was quite dim
"You cheeky little son of a bitch," I heard a male voice. "You know what I'd give to be with the Carnivore! Yet you waltz in and claim her as your own!"
"What do you mean 'claim'?" I asked him. As far as I was concerned, I didn't 'claim' anyone.
"Newbie or not, nobody ever talks down to the Beast! Get in and get your deck!"
"Are we going to Duel?"
"Isn't that obvious? You will learn never to mess with the Beast! Carnivore, free ticket to watch me beat this little brat's head in!"
"Beat it, animal," I heard Carnivore's voice state as I retrieved my Deck and Duel Disk
"Awww, come on. Free offer to watch me finally get this irritant out of your way."
"You never learn, Beast. Irritants have a way of getting under your skin."
This 'Beast' dragged me away from my cell soon after and took me to an elevator. This particular one had a black slot, into which he inserted his keycard. When the journey finally stopped, we were in a Duel Arena, with me in the blue corner and him in the red.
"Okay, boy, now you're going to experience the consequences of messing with the Beast!" he roared, activating his Duel Disk.
"I'm not messing with anyone!" I shouted as I activated my own Disk. "You approached me! Let's Duel!"
He started, summoning Exarion Universe (1800/1900), playing Double Summon to Normal Summon again and summoning Enraged Battle Ox (1700/1000). He ended his turn there, unable to attack me as it was his first turn.
I drew, and while my hand wasn't spectacular, I was sure it would do. First, I played my Pot of Greed for two cards, after which I placed five cards face-down and summoned my Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200) in Attack mode. I had set my snare, now I just had to see if he would fall into it.
After he drew, he summoned Vorse Raider (1900/1200), played a second Double Summon and summoned Gene-Warped Warwolf (2000/100). It was at that point that he decided to attack with the Warwolf, targeting my Witch of the Black Forest and destroying it. This also allowed me to add a monster with 1500 or less Defense from my Deck to my Hand. Good, he had stepped directly into my trap. I revealed my Flat Level 4, announcing that since a monster was destroyed, we both could summon one Level 4 monster from our Decks. I chose my Plasma Eel (500/1200) while he chose Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei (2300/0). He then attacked my Plasma Eel with the new monster, which was when I activated my Staunch Defender trap, forcing all of his monsters to attack that target. In total, I took 7200 damage, enough to take off my 3100 remaining points and knock me out of the game… had that not been part of my plan.
It was then that I activated Rainbow Life, discarding the monster I picked up from my Witch, negating all that damage and adding that to my original Life Point total, putting me on… what was it… oh yes, 10300 Life Points. What's more: my Plasma Eel couldn't be destroyed by battle, so it stayed. I noticed just then that I felt somewhat weakened. At that point, I revealed Solemn Wishes, allowing me to gain 500 Life Points with each draw.
I drew, and gained 500 Life Points from Solemn Wishes to come to 10800, and a further 200 points to come to 1100 from the Marie the Fallen One in my Graveyard. From there, I activated Card of Sanctity, allowing both of us to draw until we had six cards. My second card was Guardian Treasure, forcing me to discard my hand to draw two cards and earn the right to draw an extra card every Draw Phase. That was when I activated my Disgraceful Charity, returning the discarded cards to my hand. I saw a possible victory plan forming: I played my Burning Land, allowing me to destroy a Field Spell (which sadly didn't matter at this stage) and inflict 500 points of damage to each player during his Standby phase. My Soul Charge followed, summoning my Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200) and Marie the Fallen One (1700/1200) in Attack mode at the cost of 500 Life Points each, bringing me to 10000. From there, my Plasma Eel went into Defense mode, after which I placed two cards face-down and ended my turn.
"High Life Points ain't gonna save you from the Beast!" my opponent growled as he drew. Just then, his Life Points got knocked down to 3500 from Burning Land. From there, he sacrificed his Vorse Raider and Enraged Battle Ox to summon Mystical Knight of Jackal (2700/1200), activated his Obedience to switch my Plasma Eel into Attack mode and attacked it with his Gene-Warped Warwolf. But that was when my Nightmare Mirror activated, negating the Attack and dealing 1000 damage to him to get him down to 2500. Now, he couldn't attack with his Indomitable Warrior, as it had been switched into Defense mode by its own effect last turn and couldn't change until the end of his current turn. He had only two monsters left. Would he seal his own doom?
He decided to attack my now Attack mode Plasma Eel with his Mystical Knight of Jackal, which suited me just fine. My other face-down required me to select a monster, and I had selected his Vorse Raider. Now, I revealed Blast Held by a Tribute. Since he attacked with a monster Tribute Summoned by using the selected monster as a Tribute, I could activate this card to assuredly destroy the monster and inflict damage to his Life Points… equal to the attacking monster's Attack points, which meant that he took 200 points too many of damage.
"Aaaah!" he screamed, and the aftermath of the monster explosion left him somewhat singed. I personally had felt as if I took a bit of a shockwave to my chest, but I decided to return to my cell. Going to the elevator, I tried to remember my cell block number, as there were cell blocks one through sixteen. While I was standing inside, I started to worry: I couldn't remember my cell block number. Judging from what the Carnivore told me, asking for help here was a very bad idea, and this 'Beast' surely wouldn't help me; his pride was wounded.
Was I really all alone in this terrible place? The interior of this black elevator, with only one light, was doing little to help my mood, and tears quickly started flooding my eyes. I couldn't remember where my cell block was; any one of the cell blocks could have been mine. There was nothing I could do, so I just assumed the fetal position on the floor of the elevator. I was completely friendless and powerless, especially in this confining, cube-like black space with only one light, which is only making me want to break down more. I could just feel; absolutely nobody was going to come, and that was when I completely lost it, with tears streaming out and my voice sobbing. I hadn't made any friends among the other people here, in fact if anything I just made enemies. Judging from the way she acted towards me, I highly doubted that the Carnivore would come to help me; she might even be relishing in her solitude.
I didn't know what else to do, but I decided that I had to do something. Inserting my keycard into the elevator slot, a screen came up displaying the various locations. I should have remembered Carnivore doing this, so maybe if I see which area she clicked on, I could click on the same area. Just then, the elevator started moving of its own accord, and I felt myself going down. From Duel Arena 3, to Duel Arena 2, to Duel Arena 1, then Cellblock 16, Cellblock 15, Cellblock 14, Cellblock 13, Cellblock 12, Cellblock 11, Cellblock 10, Cellblock 9, Cellblock 8, Cellblock 7. The lift stopped at Cellblock 6 and opened to reveal a silhouette of a woman with long hair. I couldn't make out exact features due to the poor lighting though.
"Oooh, what have we here?" she purred. I could just tell that this wasn't Carnivore, even though I felt a strong grip on my wrist. "I call down an elevator and it brings such a gorgeous catch?"
"Sorry, miss, but I'm-aaaah!" I found myself screaming as I got yanked forward, landing right on her chest.
"Exquisite, I know." Her hand was now resting on the back of my head, making sure it didn't move.
"Mmmm, mcphmmhm mmmp!" I found myself unable to speak properly; it was as if my entire face was pressed against something.
"What? Oh, sorry, I tend to get a little excited sometimes. You were saying?" Her hand had relaxed its grip, allowing my head (which apparently was where I thought it was, in her chest) to retract a bit and speak properly.
"I said I was actually lost."
"Lost, eh? What Cellblock are you from?"
"I can't remember."
"Do you have a cellmate? I'm sure I can use that to get you back home. I know just about everyone here."
"All I know is that she is called a carnivore."
"Carnivore, eh? So you're with the Carnivore. Take it from someone who's known her for a few years; she isn't exactly the most sociable of people."
"Yeah, I know. I keep trying to talk to her, but it feels like I'm just getting brushed aside. It's like I'm completely alone in here!"
"In that case, want to come back to my place? I don't have much in the way of cellmates, so space isn't exactly lacking if you know what I mean."
My heart started to rise. Was I finally going to make a friend in this godforsaken place?