Yugioh 5D's: Konami/Kazuki Takahashi
Beta Reader: MewStar0013
Jason rode on through the Satellite hoping to find the Arcadia member Careen who had taken Katherine hostage. The problem was that he had no idea where she was hiding. He might be going the wrong way. But he had to do something other than stand around.
Suddenly there was a beeping sound on his duel-runner's computer. He pressed a button and a map popped up on the screen. It was a map of the old Domino City, and there was a blinking dot on it. Jason had no idea how it got there. Did Careen somehow hacked into his duel-runner and sent him her location? Could it be a trap? Jason did not care since Katherine was in danger. So he abruptly changed direction and sped off towards the signal.
Careen stood with a smug look on her face as she put away her handheld. With the signal given to Jason her plan has officially been set in motion. There was no reason for him not to come now, especially when she has the right bait. The Mist Valley duelist turned back to see her new companion Katherine, who was sat tied up against a large piece of debris. The girl has been struggling to escape from the ropes she was tied with.
"I advise you to stop doing that," Careen told her, "the more you struggle against that rope the more it would burn against your skin. After all, I'm sure Jason wouldn't like it if you get yourself hurt again."
"You don't know anything about Jason!" Katherine spat.
"On the contrary," Careen replied, standing closer to Katherine, "I learned much of your friend during our last duel. And from what Divine told me, you have a very special attachment towards him; don't you?"
"Did Divine also tell you that he and Sayer are insane?!"
"'Insane'?" Careen repeated with a questioned expression, "Yes, Divine's methods may be a tad bit extreme but surely you're not insulting the leader of the Arcadia Movement. He's a great man."
"He let Divine use his powers against me and he almost killed me with them!" Katherine cried, "They did the same thing to me and Leo when we went to the Arcadia Movement building!"
"...Oh, yeah, that," Careen said, pulling her gaze from Katherine in a flat tone, "Well it's not exactly their fault. You and your friends were getting too close to our secrets. We couldn't just let you leave."
"I knew you were the bad guys the minute I met you!" Careen then turned her back an laughed quietly, "What's so funny?!"
"I find humor in very odd places," Careen said, "It's just so typical; you're so young yet know nothing about the real world," she turned back to Katherine, "do you know how each of us came to be in the Arcadia Movement?" Katherine remained silent, "We were born with gifts that make each of us special and unique. Mine for example, is that I can control the winds around me. When people found out about my powers they started to fear me. And I made one tiny mistake and everyone treated my like a witch, especially my own parents who ran me out of my own home."
Katherine sat with her mouth agape before speaking up, "Your parents hated you...?"
"They wouldn't want a girl who can summon a hurricane ontop of their house as a daughter. I had nowhere to go until I met Sayer. He took me in and introduced me to all he other members, people who were shunned and chased out of their homes because of what we have that people accused us of monsters. The Arcadia Movement is the only safe haven for people like us. Sayer brought us together as a family; a family Jason needs."
"Jason already has a family!"
"You mean that woman who turned herself into one of those Dark Signers? And the scatterbrained little girl who burdens him by getting herself into trouble every other day?" Careen scowled, "That's not what I'd call a family. Trust me, Jason can do much more as a Signer if only he'd allow Sayer to help him!"
"Sayer only wants to take over the world! He's only using his powers to hurt people-!" but Katherine's words were cut off when Careen slammed her hand over her mouth and nose, cutting off her air supply.
"Stupid girl! Don't you ever talk like that about Sayer again!" she growled, "Sayer is a savior! A father! Everyone else would only discriminate us just because we're different! Perhaps what you said is true! But then it would be a good thing to give those people to fear us!" Katherine was close to blacking out until Careen let go of her, letting her gasp for air, "After all, it's no less than they deserve, especially for the way they treated us."
"Jason...would never...agree to this!" Katherine gasped between breaths.
"We'll see..." Careen smirked, pulling Katherine to her feet, "After I'm done with Jason, he'll see things Sayer's way."
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Reverse of Arcadia
Chapter 50: Into the Falcon's Nest
Meanwhile...
Jason kept riding along the path towards the signal, until he found himself coming towards a giant hole. He remembered this from the map Mina showed everyone as the original Ener-D reactor. The signal was already a few clicks away towards the rim of the crater. This must be where Careen was holding Katherine. He promised himself when this matter is over, he will focus on bringing Kathrine to safety. The five back-up generators were activated so his part was over. So the Signers should have no problem taking it from there.
Suddenly there was a strong wing picked up. Now Jason was certain that Careen was here. He stopped his duel-runner and dismounted, and ran towards Careen, who stood near the edge of the crater. He became alarmed when he saw Katherine being held by the rope. "Katherine!"
"Jason!" Katherine ran towards him only to be yanked back by Careen.
"You let her go now!" Jason demanded.
"You know I can't do that," Careen said, "She's here to make sure that you won't just run off."
"What do you want?!" Jason growled.
"I want you to take this one last chance to accept my offer and join the Arcadia Movement."
"You know I can't do that!"
"I figured you'd still refuse. Then I supposed I'd have to use force," Careen then held up her duel-disk, "So how about it!" without responding. Jason activated his own duel-disk, while Katherine was pushed aside to make room, "And don't even think about running off!" Careen warned, as she activated her duel-disk.
"Jason, please be careful!" she whispered.
"LET'S DUEL!"
Jason: 8000
Careen: 8000
"As usual,ladies first," Careen insisted as she drew her sixth card, "And to start things off, I activate the field-spell, Divine Winds of Mist Valley," after slotting the card into her field-spell compartment, the winds escalated and the sky above them lit with a stream of northern lights, "Next, I'll activate a continuous-spell card called Prohibition! By simply calling out a card name, no one is allowed to use it. And I think I know just the card to ban: Genex Controller!" Jason's eyes widened as the illustration on the spell card changed to that of Genex Controller, except it was stamped with a big red x. "I know all about those Genex cards you used. And I also know that you need that particular tuner to summon most of your powerful monsters."
"Do you really think I'd had to rely on that card to win my matches?" Jason objected.
"Obviously," Careen giggled, "Why else do you summon it every time you use that deck? Anyway, without that tuner your chances of defeating me just got a lot slimmer. As for me, I summon the Mist Valley Thunderbird in ATK mode," the small green bird appeared floating over Careen (ATK: 1100), "Finally, I place two cards face down," a pair of reverse-cards appeared, "That ends my turn."
'Last time she and I dueled, her cards relied on sending other on the field back to their hand," Jason thought, analyzing the field, 'I'm betting one of those face-down cards is Springback Feathers. That negates an attack on a monster by sending that same monster back to her hand. And with that Thunderbird out, it'll reappear as soon as that happens. And there's no doubt that other card is set to protect her life-points even further. Well then, if I can't attack...' "It's my turn!" Jason shouted as he drew her sixth card, "I defend with Gaia Genex on the field!" the mechanical earth familiar appeared kneeling on one knee with its arms crossed, "and then I place 2 cards face-down and end my turn!"
"Then it's my turn," Careen drew he next card, "And I return Thunderbird to my hand to make way for (1) Mist Condor(4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 400)!" Heavy wing beats pressed down on Thunderbird as a condor with blue wings flew just above it (ATK: 1400), forcing the green bird to perch itself onto Careen's duel-disk, "but she won't be alone, because now I can special-summon my Thunderbird back to the field!" the bird flew off and stopped beside the condor (ATK: 1100), "And that's not all, since Mist condor is special-summoned due to its effect, his ATK points become 300 ATK points stronger (ATK: 1700)! And now I can activate the effect of my Divine Winds field-spell and summon a level-4-or-lower WIND monster from my deck, like my (2) Whirlwind Prodigy(4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600)!" the magical winds formed a whirlwind which fell towards Careen's field. A young boy in brown clothing surrounded by wind and a swarm of birds and bats formed out of it (ATK: 1500), "And this little guy comes with a special-ability: whenever I want to advance-summon a Wind-Attribute monster, he counts as two monsters!"
"But you already have 3 monsters on your field!" Jason said, "You meant to say that you have more?"
"One more. Now I release my Whirlwind Prodigy!" the boy crossed his arms, creating a stronger whirlwind that then expanded in size, "And this is the one that will make all the combos and techniques you made with that deck useless! I summon to the field, (3) Mist Valley Apex Avian(7/ATK: 2600/DEF: 2000)!" the whirlwind rose to the sky and dispersed revealing a large bird, its appearance similar to that of the much smaller Thunderbird, the yellow plumage being original. It hovered over the field as it bellowed out a melodic shriek rivaling that of a siren's (ATK: 2600), "You're at my mercy now! I attack your Genex Gaia with Apex Avian! Attack with Storm Song!" the golden bird screeched once again before it breathed out a small hurricane infused with lightning.
"Not so fast! I activate my trap card Genex Mirror Shield! Now your attack is negated, and every monster you have in ATK mode is destroyed!" Jason's trap created a shield that held back the lightning blast.
"That's just what I was hoping for!" Careen said, "I activate Apex Avian's special-ability! With a bit of help from my Thunderbird, or course!" the Thunderbird rose as electricity coursed through it. It shot itself at amazing speeds and pierced through Jason's shield.
"My trap!" Jason gasped, right before Apex Avian's attack shattered Genex Gaia to bits.
"That's the power of Apex Avian!" Careen said as the Thunderbird perched itself back on top of her duel-disk, "By returning a Mist Valley monster to my hand, I can halt your card's activation and destroy it outright!"
"What?!"
"Now my Thunderbird returns to the field," the Thunderbird flew back into the air, "And since you're wide open, Mist Condor, attack his life-points directly!" the condor spread out its wings and soared towards Jason!"
"I activate my trap, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" but the moment he did, the Thunderbird ran through the delicate makeshift scarecrow and destroyed it, "No!" the Condor then slammed its wing against his side as it flew by.
Jason: 6300
Careen: 8000
Careen laugh softly and Thunderbird perched itself again, "I guess you weren't paying attention when my Thunderbird destroyed your Mirror Shield, were you?"
Jason held his side sorely, "Then... you can activate that monster's ability more than once a turn?"
"Now you're catching on," Careen said as Thunderbird flew back to the field, "All my Avian needs is a monster to return to my hand. And since I can return my Thunderbird to the field right after sending her back to my hand, I can activate Apex Avian's effect again and again every time you activate a card! Get it? As long as Apex can use her special-ability, any card you plan to use against me will be ineffective! ...Now for my Divine Wind's effect, in which I'll use it to summon (4) Hunter Owl(4/ATK: 1000/DEF: 900)!" a humanoid avian with an owl's head appeared, wielding an anchor-like scythe (ATK: 1000), "And this particular bird-of-prey gains 500 ATK points for every WIND monster on my field, which I now have 4, including Hunter Owl himself (ATK: 3000)! Now Mist Valley Thunderbird, attack Jason's life-points directly!" the thunderbird was charged with electricity which then discharge onto Jason.
Jason: 5200
Careen: 8000
"And now for Hunter Owl! Attack!" Hunter Owl swung its scythe and sent a series of wind blades which slammed the Signer to the ground.
Jason: 2200
Careen: 8000
"Jason! Get up!" Katherine cried.
"Don't worry!" Jason grunted as he got back on his feet, "I'm fine!"
"Well, you won't be for long!" Careen said, "With Apex Avian by my side, any and all card-effects you activate will be instantly negated! And the harder you try, the more you'll fail! And the more my army of avian monsters will increase! But who knows, maybe you'll get lucky. Now make your move."
"Alright..." Jason drew his next card, "Nothing in my hand can help get rid of that Avian, but I can still defend against it! I set a monster in DEF mode and end my turn!" a set monster appeared.
"I'm afraid a single monster won't help, Jason," Careen said as she drew her next card, "Apex Avian, see what he's hiding..." the larger thunderbird attacked Jason's face-down, which was revealed as zombie in a purple cloak wielding a scythe.
"My deck's not just filled with Genex monsters, Careen!" Jason said, "It's a good thing I managed to keep this card."
Careen scoffed, "A lucky move; and all that accomplished was delaying your own defeat. Of course it can't be destroyed in battle, but it's fragile against card-effects. Funny that your monster's most infamous weakness is the very thing you're no longer able to do."
Jason grunted, 'She's right! What if she draws the card that could destroy it?!'
"It's time to face facts, Jason. I can manipulate your deck and I decide if you can activate a card. You might as well give up and surrender yourself to the Arcadia movement," Jason just shook his head, "Then I'll end my turn for now. You'll come around eventually. After all, I have the right bait." she smiled, looking towards Katherine.
"Jason looked in his hand, "The only monster powerful enough to destroy Apex Avian is Genex Dragon. But I need Genex Controller for him; and he's locked away thanks to Careen! This makes things a whole lot harder!' "Okay, my turn," when Jason looked at his drawn card, he felt a bit of weight lift from his shoulders, 'Maybe there is a chance... But I still have to summon 2 monsters in 1 turn! With Apex Avian out...' "I end my turn."
"Took you long enough," Careen smiled and drew her next card, "Now it's my turn. And I activate the spell card Pot of Duality!" when she activated the car a giant jar appeared, one half showing Pot of Greed's face, and the other half calm and docile.
"What's that do?"
"It works the same with Pot of Greed and Pot of Generosity, having two effects: it allows me to pick up the top three card in my deck, then I pick one among them and the others go back in my deck! And here are the cards out for the selection... " Pot of Greed's eyes flashed and from out of the jar came three cards: Spring of Rebirth, Razor Featherstorm and Mist Valley Shaman, "Look what we have here, each of those cards will benefit very nicely for me. Now which one should I pick... Mist Valley Shaman, come to me!" the card came into Careen's hand while Pot of Generosity pulled the remaining two back in, "But of course I can't special-summon during the turn Pot of Duality is activated, so I'll turn over to you Jason. Let's see if you have what it takes."
'Here goes...' "My turn!" Jason drew his next card, "Perfect! Just the card I need! I summon (5) Genex Spare(3/ATK: 800/DEF: 1200) in ATK mode!" a small, rusted robot appeared sat on the ground (ATK: 800), "And then, since I have a Genex monster on my field, I can summon another monster from my hand, Omni Genex!" as the portal opened, the shield-like machine can be seen coming through.
"When will you learn? My Apex Avian can negate your effect by returning a Mist Valley monster to my hand!" Careen's Apex Avian cried as Thunderbird discharged its electricity on the portal. "What's the point of even trying?"
"So I can activate this spell card: Forbidden Chalice!" as Jason activated his card, a large chalice turned itself over Apex Avian and slipped its holy water over it, "Your Apex Avian may gain 400 ATK points, but your special-ability is negated (ATK: 3100)! Which means your Thunderbird isn't going anywhere! And that means my Omni Genex enters the field!" the shield-like Genex machine appeared (ATK: 1000).
"So you did manage to break my strategy," Careen said, "But if you were planning to summon Genex Dragon, the tuner you need is locked away thanks to Prohibition. And even if you manage to summon Colossal Fighter would be meaningless, because if you try to activate his ability, it'll only be negated by Apex Avian next turn! There's nothing you can surprise me with. I've looked over every duel using your deck."
"Well you may have studied my deck but I haven't shown all of my tricks. And just because you locked away my best and most-used tuner doesn't mean there's no way to summon my best monsters! There's always a back door no one thinks of looking! Take Genex Spare! When there's another Genex out on the field, this monster's now identified as Genex Controller!"
"What...?" Careen gasped silently.
"Now I tune Omni Genex with Genex Controller to synchro-summon Genex Dragon!" the two Genex combined as Jason chanted: "Divested stars form into a hidden world of power! Become the new vessel to venture the new frontier! Synchro-Summon! Genex Dragon, Accelerate!" the multi-purpose elemental dragon appeared (ATK: 2800), "And with 3 Genex monsters in my graveyard, my dragon gains 600 ATK points (ATK: 3400)! And as soon as he's summoned, his special-abilities get activated: first his WATER ability negates the effects of every trap card on your field! And with his EARTH ability, he can halve the ATK points of 1 monster on your field per turn; and I'll have him use it on Apex Avian!" the dragon breathed a blast of shockwaves striking the avian dead-on (ATK: 1350), "Not the stage's set to break that combo of yours!"
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Careen asked.
"If it helps be win this duel faster and get Katherine to safety..."
"Then good luck trying to get close to her." Careen smiled and snapped her fingers. On command, Apex Avian beat its mighty wings, causing the dust on the ground to be kicked up in a massive cloud, forcing Jason to shield his eyes. When the dust settled, and Jason lowered his arm, Careen was no longer there.
"Where did she..."
"Up here, Jason." The Signer looked up to the source of the voice and there was Careen, mounted ontop of Apex Avian.
"Hiding behind your monster isn't going to help you, Careen!" Jason said. "It's not gonna stop me from taking out your bird!"
"Perhaps, but perhaps 'this' might," Careen said, before looking downward, "It seems my little birdie caught herself some prey."
Jason looked below the bird to investigate, only to have his eyes widen at the sight of what was in the bird's clutches. Caught by the rope in its talons was an unconscious Katherine. His eyes rose back towards Careen, now angered. "You leave Katherine out of this!"
"Don't make such a fuss," Careen said, "I'm just using the resources I currently have to my advantage."
"She's not some kind of bargaining chip, Careen!"
"Sounds like your really do care for this girl, don't you? Surely she's the reason you won't come to join us," Careen looked back down towards her hostage, "Yes, maybe I really will use her after all."
"I swear, if anything happens to her-"
"Then it will be on your conscious, Jason," Careen interrupted, "Your refusal to join the Arcadia lead to this predicament. So if you decide to destroy my Apex Avian, then your precious Katherine will have nowhere else to go but down," Jason became distraught with anger, surprised at how Careen would gamble with a little girl's life.
"You're a sick woman..."
"Uh, I beg to differ!" Careen replied, appearing offended, "I'm just a woman with special powers, powers that make people mistake me for a monster! I'm just one of those who just want to fit in; but 'society' couldn't deal with it! They're the true monsters!"
"That's no excuse with how you're using a little girl as collateral!" Jason roared.
"If you want her back so badly then you can have her..." Careen challenged, "That's if you can catch her!"
'I have to attack her, but I can't risk hurting Katherine!' Jason thought, 'But if I don't attack, then I may lose her for sure!'
"Just face it! The only way you stand a chance is to forget about this girl and do what you have to do!" Careen called.
'I can't just discard Katherine like that!' Jason thought, but sighed in defeat, 'But I'm not left with any choice...' "Genex Dragon, attack Mist Valley Thunderbird!" the dragon roared and charged its maw for its attack, 'I can't get rid of Apex Avian, but the least I can do is get rid of one of her monsters!'
"Thunderbird, evade!" on Careen's command, the bird barely dodged the dragon's attack.
"What?! You can't do that!" Jason gasped.
"It's not like I'm breaking any rule, Jason," Careen said, "All your dragon has to do is to catch my Thunderbird. But he may be a bit quick to catch up with."
The game of cat and mouse continued as Mist Valley Thunderbird flew around the crater with Genex Dragon right on its tail, firing away failed attacks that caused craters to explode onto the ground in various places, one barely missing Jason. It was not long until Jason realized Careen's true motives. And before Jason can call off his dragon, it finally managed to do away with the pesky avian, its blast dangerously close to where Katherine was. The rope she was hanging by swing a bit just in time to lead her away from the blast.
Jason: 2200
Careen: 5700
"That was too close..." Jason gasped, his expression changing back to anger, "That was uncalled for!"
"Hey, your dragon should be more careful with where it's firing."
"Just start your turn already!"
"Very well..." Careen sighed as she drew her next card, "I activate the spell card Swallow's Nest! By releasing a winged-beast on my field, I can then special-summon another from my deck that has the same level as that monster. So say goodbye to Mist Condor..." Mist Condor left through a portal, "And make way for Mist Valley Watcher!" the indian-styled Mist Valley spy appeared (ATK: 1500), "Next, I summon the monster I got from Pot of Duality last turn, the tuner-monster Mist Valley Shaman!" the avian shaman of Mist Valley appeared (ATK: 1200), "And I'm sure you know what that means, don't you? I tune my Mist Valley Watcher with my Mist Valley Shaman!" the two monsters combined as Careen chanted:
"Hidden spirits commanding the winds, call upon the lightning given flesh and blood! Synchro-Summon! Descend, (6) Mist Valley Thunder Lord(7/ATK: 2600/DEF: 2400)!"
Thunder roared and lightning flashed as a colossal form dropped from the black heavens and hovered around Apex Avian along with Hunter Owl. It was a giant green bearded avian with black wings and a grown feathered kilt with both warm and cool colors (ATK: 2600), "Now for his special-ability: by returning a card to my hand, Mist Valley Thunder Lord gains 500 ATK points for this turn! Time to come back, Hunter Owl!" the avian owl rose up leaving a whirlwind in its trail. Once it passed through the clouds a large bolt of lightning struck the Thunder Lord, the bolts too close to Apex Avian who was holding Katherine
Mist Valley Thunder Lord: (ATK: 3100).
"I'm warning you, if anything happens to Katherine-"
"You just worry about your life-points! Because When a WIND monster is return to my hand while Divine Wind is on the field, I can special-summon another from my deck! So I think I'll summon another Mist Valley Thunderbird!" another thunderbird flew from a portal and fluttered around with the other avians (ATK: 1100), "Now I equip Thunder Lord with Gust Fan, giving him 400 ATK points!" Thunder Lord was now armed with a large fan (ATK: 3500/DEF: 2200).
"But... that means my dragon's no longer the strongest monster..." Jason muttered.
"You got that right!" Careen said, "Now I use Mist Valley Thunder Lord to attack Genex Dragon!" Thunder Lord raised his hand above his head and it was struck by lightning, "Go, Divine Gust!" Thunder Lord brought down his fan and sent a combination of raging wings and thunder that struck down on Genex Dragon. Upon destruction the lightning struck down around Jason.
Jason: 2100
Careen: 5700
"I guess this take us back to where we began. But hey, at least I'm not the one in this duel attacking a little girl. Anyway, I'm sure you you risk an attack if you're worried so much about her. So for now I'll switch Apex Avian to DEF mode (DEF: 2000) and end my turn end my turn."
"I draw," Jason started his next turn, 'I thought I could get out of this with that last move! Now I'm right back where I started!'
"Just face it, Jason! The only way you can survive in this duel is if you throw down your monsters one by one!" Careen said.
Jason groaned, 'She's right. For now, that's all I could do.' "I set a monster in DEF mode and end my turn!" 'I just hope this monster could distract Careen from trying to destroy Spirit Reaper.
"Then I guess it's my turn," Careen drew her next card, "Oh, just my luck! I just drew a certain Raregold Armor equip-spell! I suppose I'll activate this on Hunter Owl!" multiple piece of white, gold-rimmed armor appeared and attached themselves on Hunter Owl's humerus, tarsometatarsus, breast and head, "So now not only can't you attack Hunter Owl with another WIND monster on the field, now you can't attack any of my other monsters either! That means I can activate Apex Avian's effect without having to worry about my Thunderbird being attacked. Now, Thunder Lord, attack Jason's face-down monster!" Thunder Lord swooped down and clawed through the set monster, which was Genex Undine. "With that done, I end my turn."
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card and looked at it, 'I think I finally managed to draw a something that can destroy her monsters,' he then sighed exasperatedly,' but she still has that Apex Avian out on the field. It'll counter my card as soon as I activate it. I have to keep defending.' "I set a monster in DEF mode and end my turn!' another set monster appeared.
"It's my turn again," Careen drew her next card, "And look at that; I drew another equip-spell, Spirit Burner. I'll equip this one onto Mist Valley Thunderbird," the thunderbird glowed a dangerous blue aura, "So from now on, whenever Thunderbird is returned to my hand, Spirit Burner's effect is then triggered, taking 600 points of damage to your life-points! This card may get sent to the graveyard, but I can always send it back to my hand in place of a card I'd draw. And now, Thunder Lord, attack his face-down card!" Thunder Lord destroyed another set card, Genex Blastfan. "Let's see what other monsters you decide to throw away."
"My turn," Jason drew his next card, "I place this card face-down," a reverse-card appeared behind Spirit Reaper, "That's all for now."
"A trap card this time? I wonder what you're planning..." Careen drew her next card, "I activate the spell card Razor Featherstorm! Next I activate Thunder Lord's special-ability, returning Mist Valley Thunderbird to my hand to grant him 500 ATK points! And that's when the effect of Spirit Burner kicks in, inflicting 600 points of damage to your life-points! And since Thunderbird's a winged-beast, Razor Featherstorm deals an additional 800! And that adds up to a whole world of high-voltage hurt!" Thunderbird sent another strong pulse of electricity to strike Jason.
Jason: 700
Careen: 5700
"And here we are; the infamous Fortune Cup Wild Card down to 700 measly life-points! I thought you'd be capable of more than this! But you still have one turn left to make a counterattack. That is, if you still want to rescue this little girl."
"One turn's all I need..." Jason got back up and look at his deck, 'I really do have one more chance to keep myself in this duel. I'd better make this count!' "It's my turn!" he then drew his next card, "And I activate the spell Card of Sanctity! So now we each draw until we hold six card in our hand! And this card will sure give me and helping hand!"
'He must be planning suicide!' Careen thought, 'He should have know better with my Apex Avian on the field! I could easily negate his spell by returning a Mist Valley monster to my hand! But there's that face-down...' she stared at Jason's reverse-card, 'He must have put that out to counter Apex Avian's effect! But what he's not counting on was that I have my Thunder Lord. I can simply send him back to negate that card. But wait... He still has another card in his hand he was holding onto for quite a while. Could he be holding another quick-play to somehow protect himself? Either he's just playing a bluff, or he's just holding out on me. But if I do let him play his Card of Sanctity...' Careen hesitated before answering, "Maybe I could use a few extra cards wouldn't hurt. And besides, with a tightly-knit combo like I have, there's nothing to worry about." with that both Careen and Jason replenished their hands.
"Next I activate the spell card Monster Reborn!" As Jason played the spell card, a large decorated ornament appeared overhead, "Now I can call back a monster that's been lost from the duel from the graveyard. And the card I decided on will be Genex Spare!" the ornament glowed and shown a light next to Spirit Reaper, when the Genex Controller prototype appeared (DEF: 1200), "Next, I summon Genex Doctor to the field as well!" the black-metal robot joined with the two other monsters (DEF: 1000).
"Three DARK monsters... And all of them level-3..." Careen muttered to herself, then smiled, "Just as I thought. You're planning to synchro-summon the dark-attribute Genex monster, the Locomotive R-Genex."
"And how would you assume what monsters I have? For all you know, I don't even have that one."
"Just enough to know the last time you summoned it was by combining Vindikite R-Genex with Genex Recycled," Careen smirked from the silent shock shown on Jason's face, "And as to how I knew about that, I was able to listen in on your match with Sonya Harpe, thanks to the com-link that came with the duel-disk. All I had to do was lock into your duel-disk's frequency and let you broadcast your play-by-play for me and my fellow Arcadia members to study on your dueling skills."
"...Does that mean, did you know about-"
"Know about what? About that small romantic tidbit you had with a pop-star? I also heard about how you and one of our Spirit Callers were on the receiving end of a convict's temper tantrum. But I think my favorite duel you had today-"
"Don't! Don't you even say it!" Jason screamed.
"It seem I hit a nerve," Careen scoffed, "You really do have a soft spot for the girl, don't you; especially when she's the reason you were pressed for time. If she hadn't wandered out with that Dark Signer instead of staying indoors like a good girl... Well, I'm sure you figured it out by now. So why torture yourself by putting up with a burden like her?
"You don't get it, do you! She's nowhere near a burden!" Jason snapped, "She may have gotten in the way from time to time and I really wished she had stayed back where it was safe! But after all this time I realized the reason she did what she did was..." he paused, trying to hold back his tears; his voice broke as he continued, "It was because of me! She does this because she worries! She does it because she cares! And after all this time I wasn't stern enough to keep her away... I guess it's because I thought if I could show Kat that I could hold my own, that I can handle anything that's thrown at me, then maybe she'll have it in her to trust me enough to stay away," he looked up at the girl, still held by the giant bird. "But I've let her wander into danger long enough. It's time I got her out of your talons, starting now!"
Careen scoffed, "If you're so determined then why don't you prove it."
"With pleasure! I tune Spirit Reaper and Genex Doctor with Genex Spare!" the three monsters combined as Jason chanted: "Divested stars have become a vessel of darkness. Penetrate the shadows and race through the dark void, to reach its final destination! Synchro-Summon! Locomotion R-Genex, Accelerate!" The familiar sound of a train's whistle sounded as the futuristic black train shot from the column of light. From the back it folded out, revealing its bipedal robot form (ATK: 2500), "And when this guy's summoned, I can take control of a monster with the highest level that's on your field! There are 2 level-7 monster but all I have to do is pick!" Jason then pointed at a certain monster, "And the monster I choose will be your Mist Valley Apex Avian!" the reactor core on Locomotion's chest shone on the giant bird.
"Don't you forget, I activate Apex Avian's ability! Now all I need to do is return my Thunderbird home to roost and it'll be game over!"
"Not if I activate my face-down!" Jason then flipped open his reverse-card.
'You fell for it!' Careen smirked and then laughed, "You just made your final mistake, Jason! All I have to do is activate Apex Avian's ability once more! Now by using Thunder Lord and your face-down card is negated!" suddenly a huge bolt of lightning struck down from above on the Thunderbird, which shrieked as it disintegrated. "What happened to my Thunderbird?!"
"You should've waited until I showed my face-down!" Jason gestured over to his open reverse-card, "Now I may lose my next draw-phase, but this quick-play Offerings to the Doomed destroys a monster on your field! Now your avian's ability is ineffective!"
"What?!" Careen felt the footing below her shake and looked forward to find her Apex Avian move towards Locomotion's light. Thunder Lord swooped in to catch her before the giant bird was being lead to Jason's field. Careen was let onto the ground and the Thunder Lord flew back to his original position. "It doesn't make any sense! I should've negated that card with my Thunder Lord! So why didn't it activate?!"
"You know, you talk about your avian as if it were your favorite monster," Jason replied, "I thought you would at least know the weakness in that combo of yours."
"What weakness?! My strategy was flawless!"
"Ever since you summoned it you managed to keep me from using most of my combos. But each time your did, you revealed a certain pattern in your so-called strategy. If you can't figure it out what it is then I'll just spell it out for you: Apex Avian can only use her effect at one time!"
Careen became confused, "What's that supposed to mean?!"
"I thought back to when I used Forbidden Chalice to negate avian's ability. You couldn't avoid it because Apex Avian's effect was already occupied with Omni Genex. That got me to realize that Apex Avian can't activate its effect in response to a second card I use! In other words, she can't activate her ability twice in the same combo!"
Careen stood stiff in both amazement and disappointment at how her plan crumbled. She had the upper hand ever since this duel started. She crippled Jason's deck, used Katherine as a human shield, and was in a huge lead in life-points. She was so sure of winning and that her Apex Avian would win this for her that she overlooked her monster's weakness, and allowed Jason to gain an extra hand in not only disabling her of one of her prized monsters, but rescued the girl as well. She felt like such an idiot, even now when her Apex Avian was lowering the girl towards Jason, who managed to untie her.
While Jason wound the girl's small body in his arms, he could feel something warm and wet run down his neck. Jason pulled back to see Katherine not only awake; her face stained with tears. "Katherine..."
"I.. didn't know..." she whimpered, "You wanted to keep me away to keep me safe... You wanted to protect me but I wouldn't listen!"
"Kat, don't-"
"I'm so sorry!" Katherine cried as she latched herself around the Signer's neck, letting more tears fall from her eyes, "I couldn't stay back at Martha's and I held you back on your mission! I let those Dark Signers use me and you had to come and save me! I put you through so much pain! I'm so sorry, Jason!" Jason once again held her tight, stroking her back trying to comfort the girl. Through everything they been through, Katherine had been so persistent on watching Jason duel. And although Jason would not admit it, he had been very selfish as she was ungrateful. But after all that happened to them today, he knew that Katherine was more sorry than she was before. But right now he was glad that Katherine was alright.
However, their moment was interrupted by the sound of clapping, and Jason looked up to find Careen clapping with a dispassionate glare. "I hope you're real happy with yourself. But in case you forgotten, the only way you managed to save the girl was because me."
"And like every bad guy out there your overconfidence will cost you. Kat, stay back," Katherine did as she was told and hid behind Jason. "I've been holding back because you used Kathrine as cannon fodder. But now that she's safe I can go full steam and make you and Arcadia pay for what you done to her! And 'til the I'm placing 1 card face-down!" a reverse-card appeared on Jason's field.
"Then I guess it's my turn," Careen drew her next card, and smirked, "That Locomotive of yours is no problem for my Mist Valley Thunder Lord. And even that face-down card won't change a thing. And to prove it, I summon the (7) Mist Valley Baby Roc(2/ATK: 400/DEF: 600) tuner-monster," a small brown bird wearing a skull mask and a pair of snake-like tails appeared (ATK: 400), "And that's not all. After removing the Mist Condor in my graveyard from play, I special-summon (8) Slipheed(4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 700) from my hand!" a small tornado formed and released a man in white robes, wielding a green staff (ATK: 1700), "And now I tune Mist Valley Baby Roc with Slipheed and Hunter Owl!" the three monsters combined while Careen chanted:
"Rising storm winds manifest an avatar of the screaming sky...! Rise, Spirit of Wind, and take glorious flight! Synchro Summon! Rise up, Simorgh, Deity of Mist Valley!"
An expansive storm was created and out from behind its winds came the the massive 4-winged avian (ATK: 3100), "And like your locomotive, her special-ability gets activated the moment she's summoned! So now all the cards in the spell/trap zone are returned to your hand! And what's more, both duelists lose 400 life-points for each empty space in that zone! It doesn't matter if you have two high-leveled monsters or not; this duel will sure to end in my favor!" following her master's declaration with a shrilling cry, Simorgh once beat her wings down and gather the winds to surround the field.
Katherine held onto Jason tightly, afraid she would get blown off by the storm, "Jason, do something!" she cried over the sound of the howling winds.
"I activate my trap card, Rainbow Veil!" Jason's open face-down formed a barrier around Jason and Katherine while the winds carried off Prohibition, Razor Featherstorm, Gust Fan, Raregold Armor, as well as Careen's own field-spell. "So for the rest of this turn, any damage I'd take will be added to my life-points instead! That means when your turn ends, I get 2000 additional life-points; and then some if you decide to attack! So are you or aren't you?"
"I surely won't make the same mistake twice. I re-equip my Gust Fan and Raregold Armor to Thunder Lord!" the armored Thunder Lord retrieved his fan (ATK: 3000), "Then I'll have him attack Locomotion R-Genex!" Thunder Lord threw a surge of lightning that rip through the steam-engine robot.
Jason: 1200
Careen: 5700
"But don't even think I'm done yet! Simorgh, show Apex Avian of her betrayal!" Simorgh launched a powerful twister that blew away her fellow avian.
Jason: 1700
Careen: 5700
"It's like I said before: having a couple of high-leveled monsters makes no difference. And you won't be summoning another one either. Because now, after placing 1 card face-down, I activate Prohibition, and use it's effect to cancel out a certain spell card called Pot of Avarice!" the card's picture change into a crossed-out version of said card, "Of all the cards you have left in your deck, I'm sure you have that card slipped in. So now you can't summon your Genex Dragon, which could have been your only hope on winning this duel, anymore. But then again, it's not like you can draw it anyway. That desperate attempt to save Katherine sealed your fate when you played that Offerings to the Doomed spell. And with only one card in your hand, all I have to do is end my turn and wait until my next turn." On cue, Simorgh created another maelstrom. Careen braced the winds while they were absorbed into Jason's barrier.
Jason: 3700
Careen: 5300
"And then I'll erase any resistance before I send my monsters to erase the rest of your life-points! Then you'll have no choice but to follow me back to the Arcadia Movement, because you'll be left unconscious along with the little girl, but she served her purpose, so I'll leave her here for the vultures for all I care."
"You putting Katherine in danger is exactly why I'll never join the Arcadia Movement! And as for this one card, I think I'll activate it right now: Double Summon!"
"So I assume that's your last move."
"I'm not done! Now remove my Omni Genex from play and activate its special-ability!" Jason's shield-like machine monster hovered over him, "Now I can add 4 Genex monsters back into my deck, as long as they each hold the combined attributes of FIRE, WATER, EARTH and WIND! Then after my deck is shuffled-"
"Then you can draw two cards from it. Like I said, I know about your duel with Sonya," Careen scoffed, "But that's the problem! You don't meet the proper requirements!" but then Careen thought back to Jason's previous move, "Wait! You discarded from your hand to play Rainbow Veil! What was it!"
"I'm glad you didn't forget! With Omni's power, I retrieve Genex Gaia, Undine, Blastfan, and the card I discarded for Rainbow Veil, Genex Furnace!" Onmi Genex dispersed into four small glowing orbs of either red, blue, green and yellow before they sank into Jason's deck, "And about drawing cards, it's true I can draw 2 from my deck; but since I don't have any more cards in my hand, I can draw 2 more!"
Careen gasped, "Four cards?!"
"That's right!" Jason said and drew his four cards, "And from my new hand I summon Genex Controller!" Jason's prime tuner-monster appeared (ATK: 1400), "It's a good thing I played Double Summon this turn! And since Controller's out, I can summon this next monster without a sacrifice: Genex Furnace!" joining Genex Controller was the furnace-powered level-5 Genex monster (ATK: 2000), "And now I tune Genex Furnace with Genex Controller to synchro-summon someone that's gonna clinch this duel in one go!" Genex Controller separated into its three synchro-gates and surrounded Genex Furnace, whose frame dissolved and revealed five stars. The stars were string with a ray of light as Jason chanted:
"Divested sparks form a lost soul; become the torch that will light its forgotten path! Synchro Summon! Thermal Genex, Accelerate!"
"It's been a long time since I spoke those words!" Jason smiled as the expanded barrel of light dispered, and reveal the iron-plated Genex, its interior engilfed in powerful blue flames (ATK: 2800), "And before you judge him by hit ATK points, I activate the the spell card Premature Burial! For a small price of 800 life-points, I can bring a synchro-monster back from the graveyard and equip it to this card to keep it on the field! Welcome back, Genex Dragon!" the Genex Dragon reappeared on the field with a mighty roar (ATK: 2800-3400).
"A whole lot of good that will do you!" Careen said, "I'll still have plenty of life-points even after Simorgh and Thunder Lord are destroyed!"
"Then I'm gonna need a bigger fire! I activate this last spell card, Limiter Removal!" to Careen's shock, both Thermal Genex and Genex Dragon doubled in ATK points.
Thermal Genex: (ATK: 2600-5200)
Genex Dragon: (ATK: 3400-6800)
"It's time to ground these overgrown birds! Genex Dragon attacks Mist Valley Thunder Lord!" the dragon's maw released a burst of energy and destroyed Thunder Lord.
Jason: 2900
Careen: 1500
Careen looked back as the remains of Thunder Lord fell into the pit. And what was more, a source of heat caused her to find Thermal Genex, whose chest was opened for the flames of flicker out ready to be released. After all her power Careen fought with, she never thought this duel would end in her failure. But nevertheless, she just looked on with a pleased look, "Now I'm sure where that strength of yours comes form." at that moment, Thermal Genex released the over-heated flames to counter Simorgh's cyclone attack. The battle was short-lived as the fire grew stronger as it fed on the powered winds, which resulted in Simorgh's enforced inferno. Careen shielded her eyes as Simorgh vanished in the fiery blast.
Jason: 2900
Careen: 0
With the duel finally done, Jason finally found the opportunity to rest as he dropped to his knees, taking deep breaths. He raised his head to see Careen over him. Unlike him, she did not seemed so drained. "You're looking a little out of it, Jason."
"I won this duel, Careen," Jason huffed, "So leave Katherine alone and take a hike. That's the deal."
"Yes, I supposed we do have a deal." Careen's shot a deviant glare, "But I did forget to mention that small article that there was no deal!"
"What?!"
"I don't recall there ever being a deal made before the match started, and like I said before; you played a card that I could've negated, but I let you have the advantage. There was no way you could have won on your own. So in reality, I won the duel. But your talent is very much appreciated. You'll be a perfect candidate for the Arcadia Movement."
"How many time do I have to tell you, I'm not interested!"
"I didn't say you had a choice in the matter. And besides," Careen switched her gave from Jason and towards Katherine, "You won't be going alone."
When he saw Careen walk past him he instinctively figured out what she was about to do, "Katherine, get away! Run, now!"
But as Katherine sprinted off Careen only took her time and walked after her, "You're not getting away that easy." she said before slapping a card onto her duel-disk, where a glowing circle shot out and chased after the girl. When it reached its target it phased through until it tightened around her arms, paralyzing her and caused her to topple onto the ground. Not going anywhere, she laid limp and helpless as Careen pilled her up roughly to her feet.
"No! Leave her alone!" Jason tried to get up only to fall from the fatigue, "Please! She's just-"
"Just a child? Is that what you're about to say?" Careen asked, "Don't make me laugh. She made a mistake to involve herself into your business. That makes her as guilty as all the rest," Careen looked down at her captive, whose eyes were covered by her hair, "On the other hand, you were so determined to protect this girl, I figure I'd let her come along."
"You're still using her as a bargaining chip!"
"Call it whatever you want; all I care about is bringing you back to Domino City to join the Arcadia Movement. And you'll be joining our cause whether you like it or not."
Jason came to this location only to save Katherine. But after all that has been done he had down on his side with Katherine once again in Careen's clutches. Now here Jason wonders has he fought his hardest just to be at the mercy of one of Arcadia's finest...
"All that fight you put up yet you end up on your back..."
Jason became alarmed by the new yet familiar voice entering the scene. He felt cold from head to toe from its beautiful yet terrifying melody as the area was began running with the black mist.
"Talk about hypocritical. You claim to love her and here you are lying around, while Katherine is once again captive by the Arcadia. I guess I'll have to step in and clean up your mess."
The only other thing Jason can register was a playful giggle, before finally he faded from consciousness, unable to witness what was to come...
DUEL-MON DATABASE
(1) Mist Condor
Stats: [Winged-Beast/Effect] LV4 ATK/1400 DEF/400
Attribute: WIND
Effect: You can Special Summon this card from your hand by returning 1 face-up "Mist Valley" monster you control to the hand. If you do, this card's ATK becomes 1700.
(2) Whirlwind Prodigy
Stats: [Winged-Beast/Effect] LV4 ATK/1500 DEF/1600
Attribute: WIND
Effect: When Tribute Summoning a WIND monster, you can treat this 1 monster as 2 Tributes.
(3) Mist Valley Apex Avian
Stats: [Winged-Beast/Effect] LV7 ATK/2600 DEF/2000
Attribute: WIND
Effect: When an effect is activated, you can select 1 face-up "Mist Valley" card you control. Return that "Mist Valley" card to its owner's hand, negate the effect's activation, and destroy the card whose effect was activated.
(4) Hunter Owl
Stats: [Winged-Beast/Effect] LV4 ATK/1000 DEF/900
Attribute: WIND
Effect: This card gains 500 ATK for each face-up WIND monster you control. While you control another face-up WIND monster, your opponent cannot select this card as an attack target.
(5) Genex Spare
Stats: [Machine/Effect] LV3 ATK/800 DEF/1200
Attribute: DARK
Effect: Once per turn, if you control another "Genex" monster, you can make this card's name "Genex Controller" until the End Phase.
(6) Mist Valley Thunder Lord
Stats: [Thunder/Synchro/Effect] LV7 ATK/2600 DEF/2400
Attribute: WIND
Effect: 1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner "Mist Valley" monsters
Once per turn, you can select 1 card you control. Return it to the hand, and this card gains 500 ATK until the End Phase. This effect can be activated during either player's turn.
(7) Mist Valley Baby Roc
Stats: [Winged-Beast/Tuner] LV2 ATK/400 DEF/600
Attribute: WIND
Effect: When this card is sent directly from the hand to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon it.
(8) Silpheed
Stats: [Fairy/Effect] LV4 ATK/1700 DEF/700
Attribute: WIND
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned by removing from play 1 WIND monster in your Graveyard. When this card is destroyed as a result of battle and sent to the Graveyard, your opponent discards 1 random card from their hand.
Rico: "For as long as I could remember, Divine is voted the most hated person among decent people. He's hurt many people and now he's coming after me! But this is where it all stops! For all the live's he's ruined, for all the people he's hurt, it all stop now! Next time on Reverse of Arcadia: A Hero's Journey! Until next time!"
DUEL-MON TRIVIA-
Hey duelists! Did you know:
Silpheed has passed into general language as a term for minor spirits, elementals, or faeries of the air. Fantasy authors will sometimes employ sylphs in their fiction. Sylphs could create giant artistic clouds in the skies with their airy wings.
Please Read and Review.