Boss Rush
XLVIII: Falling Down
"So, you'll need this to handle that monster," Setsuka's voice brooked no denial.
Seiran glanced down at the card to look at Setsuka. "B- But, Setsuka-san, this-"
"I need you to survive this," Setsuka waved. "I will loan this to you this once. Otherwise, you will be in great danger..."
Seiran bit her lip, before slowly nodding. "I... will try."
"The moment we've all been waiting for... the last match of the day, and the last of four to enter the semi-finals of the Stygian Dirge..." the MC roared to cheers. "Team Illusion vs Team Night Sky! Presenting DA Queens' youngest Lady, Hinamori Seiran, vs the dynamic woman warrior, Satonaka Erika!"
"There are so many things wrong with that title," Chase muttered.
"Huh?" Rex paused. "I know Hinamori's pretty tough, so what are you talking about?"
"Erika-san," Chase sighed. "She's... weird."
Both the other wheelers looked from the track towards Ryuusei, sleeping with his hands wrapped around the laptop they called Calcifer.
"We tell him when he wakes," Rex shrugged as the vroom of engines echo and two D-Wheels shot off.
"Riding Duel, Acceleration!"
Erika: LP 8000, SPC: 0
Seiran: LP 8000, SPC: 0
"Draw!" Erika called. "I play the Spell, Cost Down, discarding a card to lower the levels of all monsters in our hands by two this turn. Then, I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 6[2300/1600]!"
The pre-evolved form of one of the most dreaded Monsters in the game… A Dragon made entirely of golden metal with a hawk-like head and wings. In a burst of dark-shaded flame, the dragon roared, wings outspread as it gave a small burst of black flame.
Above the track, Takeshi crossed his arms. "So that's the possessed monster?"
Kiyomi had a hand out, squinting. "No. but it's close. Still, we know what's coming..."
"Since I cannot attack in the first turn, I shall set three cards and end my turn." Erika cackled.
"Draw!" Seiran called. "I have no idea who are you, but... I won't let you off! Draw! I summon XX-Saber Emmersblade [1300/800] to the field in attack mode!"
What resembled a praying mantis appeared on the field, brandishing a green sword in each... limb.
"I'll set three cards and end my turn." Seiran declared.
"Draw!" Erika crowed. "I'll summon Mirage Dragon [1600/600] and enter my battle phase. Mirage Dragon, attack Emmersblade! And Mirage Dragon's presence seals your traps during the battle phase!"
"Hinamori's at a disadvantage," Adrian immediately concluded. All of them, which meant Team Conflagration and Tsugare, plus Drake and Justin, were there, all glued to the latest of Team Night Sky. It was probably good to know the type of horrors Shimotsuki was fielding against them.
To everyone's surprise, Tsugare began laughing.
"What?" Koichi demanded.
"That's so precious," was his bemused reaction.
On the field, Mirage Dragon roared in triumph as the praying mantis was destroyed.
Seiran: LP 8000 → LP 7700, SPC: 3
Erika: LP 8000, SPC: 3
"When Emmersblade is destroyed by battle, I can special summon a level four or lower X-Saber from my deck, such as XX-Saber Darksoul [100/100] in defence mode."
"Horus, attack!" Erika called as the dragon swooped down to attack. "End phase, I tribute Horus LV 6 to special summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 8 [3000/1800]!"
Horus became shrouded in flames, and doubled in size, turning more humanoid and muscular. "Turn end." Erika smirked.
"At the end phase of the turn Darksoul is sent from field to graveyard, I can search my deck for an X-Saber monster and add it to my hand." Seiran declared. "I'll choose XX-Saber Faultroll. Now, I draw! When I have two or more monsters in my graveyard and I control no monsters, I can special summon from my hand XX-Saber Gardestrike [2100/1400]!"
In a flash, a large green-furred tiger warrior appeared in a swathe of red cloak, carrying a large blade.
"And then, I'll summon XX-Saber Fulhelmknight [1300/1000]," Seiran declared as a blond warrior appeared. "When I control two or more X-Saber monsters, I can special summon from my hand XX-Saber Faultroll [2400/1800]!"
A warrior in red appeared, brandishing a sword with both hands.
"But, the attack power of Horus is far stronger!" Erika cried. "Your monsters are too weak!"
"Are you sure?" Seiran looked amused. "Trap card, Gottoms' Emergency Call! Emmersblade, Darksoul, reappear!"
In a flash, both monsters were crouching on the field.
"Tuning, level three Darksoul to level three Fulhelmknight," Seiran announced. "Dance, swords! Become the steel which the battles are won with and begin the age of heroes! Waltz, XX-Saber Hyunlei!"
The new X-Saber was a woman with round catty ears worn on her head, robed in plain fighting attire like the rest, and carrying a curved blade [2300/1300].
"When Hyunlei is Synchro summoned, I can select and destroy up to three Spells and Traps on the field!" Seiran called. "Go, Hyunlei! Swallow Trio Reverse!"
The woman took to the skies, and then landed gracefully, a flower carved of her flashing swords that Erika numbly realised were her set cards.
"I'll then use the effect of Faultroll to revive Fulhelmknight," Seiran pointed as the blond warrior reappeared. "Tuning, level six Hyunlei to level three Fulhelmknight. Within the deepest darkness, even the sword of justice will spark! Where the scales cannot reach, the sword will! Fight, XX-Saber Gottoms!"
A hulking monster, hefting a giant Sword of Sparkles that was doing nothing for compensation and everything to do with cutting with brute force appeared. A red cloak swirled dramatically behind him as he raised his sword in a gesture that was meant to terrify, and it did [3100/2600].
"T- Three thousand one hundred!" Erika gasped.
"Then I activate the Trap, Horn of the Phantom Beast!" Seiran called as a pair of shining horns appeared on Gottoms' head, gleaming as it conferred power [3100/2600 → 3900/2600] onto Gottoms.
"Captain Gottoms, stand and ready!" Seiran called. "Attack Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 8 with Ittoryu!"
The beast-warrior rushed forward and slashed well and hard, beheading the dragon. Blood spattered, before it vanished, and the X-Sabers present crowed in victory.
"When Gottoms destroys a monster by battle, Gottoms allows me to draw a card," Seiran murmured. "Then Faultroll, attack Mirage Dragon!" The red-armoured warrior charged, striking true. "Gardestrike, Emmersblade, direct attack!"
The tiger yowled, brandishing its blades to slice at Erika.
Erika: LP 8000 → LP 7100 → LP 6300 → LP 4200 → LP 2900, SPC: 4
Seiran: LP 7700, SPC: 4
"Now, I tribute Emmersblade to activate Gottoms' effect," Seiran called. "My opponent must discard one card in their hand."
Scoffing, Erika slid a card into her graveyard slot.
"I'll end here." Seiran nodded. "The effect of Darksoul activates, allowing me to search for another X-Saber monster to add to my hand. I'll choose X-Saber Airbellum then."
"Draw!" Erika looked frustrated at the two cards in her hand. "Because I only have Dragon-Type monsters in my graveyard, the Totem Dragon I discarded earlier will be revived from the graveyard. Also, I Hand of Nephthys [600/600] to tribute both and special summon Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys [2400/1600]!"
The golden phoenix arose in a flash of fire, crying and singing, the sight beautiful.
"That card..." Seiran looked taken aback.
"I equip Nephthys with the equip Spell, Mist Body," Erika announced. "Nephthys, destroy Emmersblade with Sacred Fire!"
Fire washed over the field, and Emmersblade panted right before it shattered.
Seiran: LP 7700 → LP 6600, SPC: 5
Erika: LP 2900, SPC: 5
"Emmersblade has a searching effect!" Seiran retorted. "Come, X-Saber Pashuul [100/0]!"
The warrior crouched on the field.
"Turn end." Erika smirked.
"Draw!" Seiran called. "I activate the effect of Faultroll, reviving Darksoul to the field. Tuning, level five Gardestrike to level two Pashuul. For the sake of truth and justice, take up arms! Synchro summon! For our ideals, X-Saber Souza!"
A red-cloaked warrior appeared, grinning like in a slasher film [2500/1600].
"The effect of Darksoul," Seiran called. "By tributing Darksoul, I can activate one of two effects. I choose the one where Souza will win against any monster he battles this turn, that is, the other monster will be destroyed at the start!"
"What!" Erika yelped.
"Go, Souza!" Seiran yelled. "Sword of the Avengers!"
The blade sliced deep, and Nephthys screeched as the monster was killed.
"Gottoms, finish this!" Seiran called. "Ittoryu!"
Still gleaming, Gottoms raised his sword, and let it fall...
Erika: LP 2900 → LP 0, SPC: 6
Seiran: LP 6600, SPC: 6
"Well, that's Queens' youngest Lady ever for you," Chase shrugged. "What d'you think?"
"We need to really buck up," Rex answered. Ryuusei wordlessly nodded, ignoring the foreboding feeling in his gut.
"Satonaka Erika has fallen! Now comes the next wheeler, Rowena Cortez! Team Illusion sure has some way to go before they can equal Team Night Sky!"
"I'll show you..." Rowena's D-Wheel tore out like a bat out of hell, her eyes clearly flashing gold behind the visor. "I'll show you!"
"Riding Duel, Acceleration!"
Seiran: LP 6600, XX-Saber Gottoms [3900/2600] + Horn of the Phantom Beast, X-Saber Souza [2500/1600], X-Saber Faultroll [2400/1800], 1 set card.
Rowena: LP 8000
"Draw!" Rowena called, her voice strangely distorted and hoarse. "During my standby phase Nephthys returns to the field!"
The phoenix screamed in victory as it reappeared on the field, and all of Seiran's traps fell, and Gottoms groaned from his loss of power [3900/2600 → 3100/2600].
"I'll summon the tuner monster, Comrade Swordsman of Landstar [500/1200 → 900/1200]," Rowena called. "All Warrior Type monsters I control gain four hundred attack points, hence the card. I will set a card and end my turn."
"Draw!" Seiran called. "Faultroll will revive Fulhelmknight. Now, Gottoms. Attack Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!"
"Trap card, Negate Attack!" Rowena retaliated.
"Fine," Seiran's eyes narrowed. "I'll tribute Darksoul for the effect of Gottoms to make you discard a card, before I set a card. End phase, I search out X-Saber Ragigura to my hand."
"Very well," Rowena acknowledged. "It is my turn. Draw. I summon the tuner monster, Jutte Fighter [700/900] to the field. I'm double-tuning!"
"What?" the MC yelled. "Another monster than Scar-Red Nova Dragon that needs Double Tuning? What a revolutionary idea!"
"A heartbeat that lasts for eternity," Rowena gloated. "Lives consumed in soundless balls of fire. No one can tell when the world is displaced, and the flames of the crimson world sweep over all. Synchro summon! Bring the conflagration, Nothingness King Phoenix – Kyothys!"
Nephthys screeched, its flames morphing from scarlet to gold, and from the ashes arose a violet-eyes creature [3200/3000].
In the booth, Chase swallowed. That is Kyothys's form... and she is free...
"Trap card, Saber Hole!" Seiran called. "The summon of Kyothys is negated and destroyed!"
Rowena clicked her tongue. "Turn end."
"Draw!"
"But, Kyothys will revive during the next standby phase!" Rowena laughed as the golf creature flashed its wings and reappeared on the field. "And when that happens, I'll just remove from play every Spell and Trap on the field!"
"Except Speed World Two – Dual Magic," Seiran quipped as she dodged the resulting fire. "Hot..."
From her booth, Setsuka clicked her fingers. "Send it."
"And Team Night Sky is signalling their wheeler!" the MC roared. "What... is that?"
"EH?" Seiran glanced towards the approaching sign held by Jimmy.
Spear through it.
"Huh... Setsuka..." Seiran looked fairly nervous. "I'll activate the effect of Gottoms, to tribute Souza to make my opponent discard one card."
Rowena glared as she threw the card down.
"Then, I'll use the effect of Faultroll to revive Emmersblade," Seiran continued. "Activating quick-play Trap Booster, I discard a card to activate a Trap from my hand, Gottoms' Emergency Orders! Come, Darksoul, Fulhelmknight!"
"Hinamori Seiran now has a field full of monsters!" the MC cried. "Rowena looks to be in danger!"
"Those pitiful creatures are nothing compared to me now!" Rowena laughed, her eyes blazing gold as actual flames seemed to gather around her D-Wheel, causing the protective glass on the track to crack. "Save yourself and surrender already!"
"The stadium is on fire!" the MC roared. "Hinamori Seiran and Rowena Cortez are both known Psychic Duelists! It looks like Rowena Cortez has lost control! I, the Master of Ceremonies, will remain to bring to you the results of the Duel, so everyone evacuate! Including you, son!"
"I'm the MC too, Dad! I'm not going to leave here!"
"I have a weapon entrusted to me!" Seiran exclaimed. "I won't allow you to do this to everyone!"
"You can't destroy me!"Rowena mocked, her voice getting more and more distorted. "I will burn this world, because I say so! I am Kyothys!"
"Tuning, level three Emmersblade to level three Darksoul and level three Fulhelmknight," Seiran called. "Please, Setsuka-san's monster... Trident of the cold death, the swing of the pendulum is ever frozen. May the three thousand worlds linger forever in winter."
She continued, even as her lips turned blue with cold and ice cracked the glass. "Synchro Summon! Touch the three worlds, Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!"
There, right in front of them, rising from the Synchro rings, was an enormous monstrosity. The creature was almost snake-like, its long tail partially visible compared to its great size. It had a pair of short limbs that ended in enormous claws, and three triangular, snake-like heads, with a pair of wide, wide leathery wings. The monster was a solid silver-blue scaled creature, like a creature of ice. The icy maw cracked open, and a thunderous roar tore through.
"When Trishula [2700/2000] is Synchro Summoned, its effect triggers, causing one card to be banished from my opponent's hand, field and grave," Seiran recited, shivering violently. "One card in your hand, Kyothys, and the Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!"
Ice rushed through the road where Trishula landed, raging. Kyothys had barely screamed when she was encased in solid ice, nothing but a gleam of golden light glimmering through. Idly, Trishula raised one head to crush her, causing the makeshift statue to implode into a million shards of icy cold that vanished without any trace save for the patch of cold there.
"Faultroll, Trishula, Gottoms..." Seiran's breath was equally misted over as Rowena's was. "Direct attack!"
Rowena: LP 8000 → LP 0, SPC: 8
Seiran: LP 6600, SPC: 8
Icy spears cut through the tyres of Rowena's D-Wheel, and Rowena screamed as she flew off the vehicle towards... towards Trishula, who snapped its jaws and slammed her into the booth of Team Black Knights.
Needless to say, Ryuusei was rudely awoken when a body flew into him from through the window, sending him skidding into the nearest couch. Rowena was hardly so lucky; she bounced up and hit the remnants of the window with a sickening crack.
Already awake, Ryuusei glanced out of the window to see Trishula's fading form, Seiran shivering from cold, and the remains of a cold spell lingering around like the aftermath of a rain storm, then towards Rowena's bleeding form...
"Since Rowena cannot pass on the armband to the next player, the winner is Team Night Sky! Someone call a doctor!"
"Good job, Seiran," was Setsuka's first words when she came to visit. "I'll take my Trishula back, if you don't mind."
Seiran shook her head wearily. "H- How... is she? Rowena Cortez?"
Setsuka considered Seiran's bed in the infirmary for a moment. "The NDPD are considering applying charges to Rowena-san for destruction of public property. Terrorism charges were also considered, but I am sure that Rowena-san did not have any deliberate intent to hurt anyone, but still the evidence speaks too much to the contrary. Rowena Cortez will most likely be charged... assuming that she ever woke up, that is."
In another part of the city, in Puzzle Hospital, Ryuusei was agitatedly waiting for the doctors' assessments. "Mom?"
Izayoi Aki turned to her son, her expression sad. "I don't... it's not good."
Ryuusei nodded, following her to another room where a sobbing woman he recognised as the last wheeler Koyomi Yoshisawa waited, along with a silver-haired woman solemnly perched on the end of one seat and another, dark-haired woman.
Aki coughed lightly. "Satonaka Erika is exhibiting signs of epilepsy. We need to thoroughly investigate her medical history. However, our greatest concern is Rowena Cortez."
"W- What about Rowena?" Koyomi insisted.
"Rowena Cortez..." Aki took a deep breath. "Rowena Cortez is in a coma and is unlikely to awaken."
The silver-haired and the dark-haired woman twitched. "Oh, great."
"Can I help you?" Aki politely enquired.
The silver-haired woman got up. "Dr Izayoi? I'm Captain Kaname Yuuko, of the First Investigative Brigade, Neo Domino Police Department. Are you quite sure that Rowena Cortez is unlikely to awaken?"
"It's a bit early to tell, but preliminary testing does reveal so," Aki hedged. "And your companion?"
"Mavis Hart, Prosecutor's Office," the woman shortly answered. "Rowena Cortez was not made to place a bomb in the middle of the Memorial Circuit against her will, was it?"
"Hold on, we've established that there were no explosive materials on the D-Wheel!" Yuuko spoke up.
"A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy." Hart was unrepentant. "Even she herself could be considered a bomb. The Prosecution Office will indeed be waiting when she awakes."
"Hold on," Ryuusei paled. "You mean..."
Mavis Hart shrugged. "Even if Rowena Cortez is unavailable to give testimony, we of the Prosecution Office will indeed be gathering evidence. Assuming that she ever awakens, Rowena Cortez will indeed be tried by the Neo Domino law system for the destruction of public property, battery and terrorism. It remains to see where the blame is placed."
"Rowena-san couldn't have done anything wrong," Ryuusei pointed out.
"The fact remains that she did publicly use her powers and part of the Memorial Circuit was burned, and only another Psychic Duelist could stop her," Mavis looked vaguely sympathetic. "The fact remains that it was her, and her alone, and she held the incriminating card that did so. Please accept my card, Dr Izayoi. I will be in touch."
"Kyothys..." Ryuusei numbly murmured as Mavis's heels clicked away.
"True, such a card," Aki sighed. "Ryuusei... I don't think she could survive such a trial. Even if she manages it... she'll be looked at with suspicion for most of her life. Somehow... I think she's happier this way..."
Ryuusei looked up to meet his mother's eyes. "Mom, why are you looking at me like that?"
Aki's eyes remained sad. "Because... Rowena Cortez... you'd better see for yourself. Yoshisawa-san, please come along."
The beep of the monitors was the only sound in a prevalent silence in the white room. It was clean, smelling of bleach and cleaning products. The stark white contrasted sharply with Rowena's body, and Ryuusei could feel his mouth go dry and his skin crawl.
Rowena lay demurely on the bed, her limp form tucked under the covers. Her hair spilled out over pillows, framing her face like some parody of Juliet on her grave in the crypt. The Riding suit had been cut, leaving her wrapped only in scrubs and the bedclothes. Like a dream, if not for the clear bandages wrapped to frame her cheeks.
"She'll be scarred forever," Koyomi hiccoughed. "Rowena's.. not going to be happy. Perhaps it's best... that she doesn't know..."
"How can you say that?" Ryuusei heard himself speak. "Rowena-san can't move, can't speak... how could you place words in her mouth?"
"You... really don't know the heart of women, do you?" Koyomi sighed. "Rowena is a bitch, and she's still one, still obsessing about her hair and make-up... she'd like how shiny her hair looks... I... damn it all, why do you all keep getting into shit every time!" Koyomi broke out in a wave of fresh crying. "Rowena...! Erika...!"
"Sorry," Ryuusei mumbled as he followed Aki out of the room.
"No, it... wasn't wrong," Aki murmured, frowning. "Do you..."
"I'll try," Ryuusei gave a wan smile. That smile remained only long enough for his assured mother to nod and leave, and for Koyomi to follow moments later, and for him to slip into the room.
Rowena still remained there when he entered it, her hair spilling out over the pillows like the Lady of Shalott might have resembled at her deathbed.
"Marguerite?"
A whisper heralded her presence. "I see her."
"Could..." Ryuusei swallowed. "Could you do something about her?"
"She could awake... but she might not wish to," Marguerite considered, her soft features calculating. "Or she might become beautiful once more, but never awaken."
"What about both?"
"I cannot do both. For one thing, I owe this woman nothing. Even if you were to use that last favour to ask so, I cannot affect the physical realm like this. And think of what the rest of the healers here would say if she awoke and her face was healed."
"So you can't, or you won't?" Ryuusei patiently asked.
"I can't, and even if I could, I would not," was the calm reply. "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to save someone in front of me," Ryuusei extracted a card.
"You can do nothing," Marguerite answered. "The reason why we spirits can possess people is because they are so blind to their obsessions that their minds are weak. Humans are inherently conflicted creatures, vulnerable and weak. She will never look at you."
"I don't need her to..." Ryuusei trailed off as the door opened.
"Ryuusei?" Setsuka tilted her head to study him. Ryuusei got the feeling that she could guess, or already knew, the reason for his presence.
"Shimotsuki," Ryuusei rounded on her. "Our Psychic powers can save Rowena-san, right?"
Very slowly, Setsuka turned to study the unconscious Rowena, clicking her tongue. The staccato echo rang in time with the beeping of the heart monitor. "Perhaps."
"Please, answer me directly," Ryuusei insisted.
"Why are you hesitating?"
The boy sucked in a breath, having never realised it. "I..."
"Isn't it because you already believe that she cannot recover?" Setsuka pointedly asked.
"No! I..."
"Then why are you asking me?" Setsuka pressed. "You know what is the correct thing to do, but you are not doing it, are you? Why the hesitation? Isn't it because you know that you will do something irrevocable?"
"Fine!" Ryuusei turned away from her towards the bed and a sleeping Rowena, rifling through his side deck. "Do you think..."
"I would not recommend that you do that," Setsuka interrupted.
"Why not?" Ryuusei groaned in frustration. "I won't hesitate to help people! I can help them, can't I?"
"If you do... they will be beholden to you forever," Setsuka's warning stopped him in his tracks. "A gift as large as life freely given cannot be without strings."
"That's for you," Ryuusei pointed out. "I don't care."
Tapping could be heard, and Ryuusei could almost picture her reaching out for the heart monitor, tapping her fingernails against the face. "And how many people you've helped so far into disaster?"
He could not hold back the flinch this time. "I... I won't know until I try."
A ghost of a smile played around her lips. "Then go ahead."
"Don't," Marguerite whispered. "Please, don't. Ryuusei, you have no idea what you will do."
"I have to try," Ryuusei pleaded. "Rowena-san might still have a chance."
"Well, she could wake up..." Setsuka glanced at the handy diagrams of the brain that the hospital kept on file beside Rowena's patient papers for some odd reason. "But she could also be subjected to locked-in syndrome."
Ryuusei's hand paused.
"Summer governs life, and healing, but too much and the resulting pressure caused on the hindbrain might be too much." Setsuka continued. "Unable to move, unable to speak. Awake, aware, and trapped in her own body. Watching herself waste away, being fed through a tube in her stomach, having to suffer the indignities of doctors and nurses feeding and clothing her. A certain blessing, such as waking up... that can turn out horrific because of other things. Pain. Terror. Frightfully, distressingly alive... and being buried alive in her own body. How long will it take for such a personality to go insane, I wonder?"
"You're persistent, aren't you?" Ryuusei glared back at her. "Why are you doing this?"
Setsuka glanced back at him, eyes wide in a parody of innocence. "I am merely pointing out the various dangers of performing untried procedures upon a certified member of the Arcadia Movement whom I am beholden to protect for the moment. Please do not misunderstand, but your history of helping people have been dotted with coincidences that prelude death, destruction and despair. Only with the presences of others have those coincidences been negated. Not to mention, you have never done this process. If it turns out wrong..."
Ryuusei sighed after a long silence. "You're right."
"Of course I'm-" her eyes narrowed. "You admit it?"
"True, I might not be able to do anything," Ryuusei took a deep breath. "I know how bargains between spirits work. Rowena cannot speak, and so it falls to someone else to bargain for her. I can't give her something for free without something happening. Marguerite can't help her. Which means that I need someone with power far above Marguerite, whom I can bargain with. You've saved Yamamoto-san from death before, Marguerite told me. There is a price, right? One I'm willing to pay."
"Ryuusei!" Marguerite protested sharply. "Why are you doing this?"
For a long moment, Setsuka never spoke. "Do you even know what it entails?"
"A price." the answer was solemn.
"A price you might not wish to pay..." the sardonic smile bloomed slowly. "Do you really wish for Rowena Cortez to awaken?"
"Yes," Ryuusei affirmed.
"For a wish to be granted, there is a price," Setsuka took the card from shaking hands, and the air remained cold like a powdery winter as Setsuka idly raised it. "The price... I shall tell you later."
She twirled the card, before holding it face-up. "The Cure Master, Dian Keto. By granting a thousand life points, let the mortal Rowena Cortez awaken. By the command of the Queen of Air and Darkness, see that our will be done, so mote it be."
A shiver of cold filled the air, light and sweet as powdery snow. In response, the Rowena on the bed began to shake and tremble, and Setsuka seemed to glow with the terrible beauty of Winter, cold and remote.
The card fluttered, and Ryuusei managed to snatch it out of thin air. "Rowena-san...?"
"Ow..." Rowena groaned. "R- Ryuusei...?"
"Rowena-san!" the boy nodded, pressing the call button. "You're awake! We thought... you might not get up again..."
Wincing, the woman sat up. "W- What happened...?"
"You were possessed... by Kyothys," Ryuusei shook his head. "I'm sorry... about Erika-san. She fainted the moment you got into your accident as well, and she hasn't woken up yet."
"I... see..." Rowena moaned, her hand moving from her head to across her face. It paused the moment she reached the bandage. "What... is this?"
"Your face was cut by shrapnel," Ryuusei blithely continued as he sat down at the sole available chair. "Mom said that it might scar forever, but I'm sure that- Rowena-san, are you alright? You look rather pale."
"Get out!" Rowena screamed the moment the doors flew open and the nurses barged in. "Get out! Get out, please! Just get out! My face... my face...!"
"Come along, then," Setsuka clicked her tongue, and it was a stunned Ryuusei that followed her.
"The price I take is twofold, from her and you." Setsuka's words disoriented him more once they got out of the intensive ward. "The price from her is her beauty. From you, a heartbreak. Remember this, and remember it well, Fudo Ryuusei."
"Rowena-san..." Ryuusei coughed. "She..."
"Remember this hate," Setsuka murmured. "Remember this well. Duel, and reach me. Reach me, who extorted this price that drove this to her. Reach into yourself, gouge your heart out for pain and hate. And use that to reach me. Come Samhaine, the finals will be here, and then... we will face each other. Because if you can't save her... then avenge her, Fudo Ryuusei."
They had barely moved three steps from the door when there was a rattle of bars. When Ryuusei turned, only the sight of panicking nurses and an open window greeted him...
How did this happen?
Muouhouou – Kyothys (Nothingness King Phoenix – Kyothys)
DARK/ LV 12
Winged Beast/Synchro/Effect, 3200/3000
2 Tuners + 'Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys'
When this card is Synchro summoned using a 'Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys' special summoned by its own effect; your opponent cannot activate cards that send cards from the deck to the graveyard. Once per turn, when your opponent Summons a monster while there are no cards in your graveyard; negate the Summon of that monster and remove it from play. When this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, special summon it to the field during the next Standby Phase, and remove from play all Spell and Trap cards your opponent controls.
Image: A purple-eyed orange phoenix with golden flames emitting from its body. Behind her is a white void.
A phoenix born from the same void as Dreigoon and Zerashii, she sees herself above them despite being just as selfish. Created by Ten Commandments, and so far one of the oddest fan-made cards I've seen.
So ends Rowena Cortez. Please review!