Annex 009: Mind the Gap

The road went up the hill through the outer gate of the synchro guilds complex. The castle itself was up above, the pickup took a fork into a tunnel and ended up in a huge underground parking lot underneath. "And you're sure it's safe? The guilds work with Dreamworld, don't they?" Uno had reservations. The company made the cards, the guilds had to have some connection with. "100 % sure. We're independent from Dreamworld, because we finance ourselves." Cassius readily exposited every time he was asked about things. "Where do you get the money from?" Eric already had his next question lined up. "We let people tour the castle during the day. Then there's sponsors, jobs, tournament earnings." Cassius ushered the others towards the nearest exit. He also handed everyone name-tags."Take these. They're temporary IDs for visitors. Don't lose them while you're inside, or you won't be able to go through the doors."

Beyond the sliding doors lied a more technologically advanced environment. Perhaps on purpose, the color white dominated this underground facility. The walls were stark, the windows spotless and the lights pale. "This place is kinda spooky, like a hospital." Alice preferred the castle part over this. "Yeah we get that a lot. In my defense, it was like this when I got here." Cassius had no say in design after all. "So what do you do here?" In came Eric with yet another query. "Dueling mostly, in a controlled environment. See those rooms?" Cassius directed their attention to large open chambers down the hall to their left. Several duels were going on them right now. "Those are training rooms. People usually frown at public duels. That is why the guilds were made in the first place, to create homes for duelists. This castle is our main hub in this region, but we have smaller installations around the country. You can eat here, rest here, anything." It was basically a rec-room that could be used by duelists all the time.

"And what about the mainframe?" Uno was more interested in the promise Cassius made. "Of course. I'll send in a request. ..Or were you expecting we would go there directly?" He paused, reading the hopeful expressions on Eric and Uno's faces. "Oh. I'm affraid that can't be done. The mainframe is restricted for most people even inside our guild. I could go there, but I'd have to go through a lot of loops." And if he could not go in, they certainly couldn't. "Why does a computer need so much protection?" Emily was curious. "Private details, social security data.. that kind of stuff. It's no issue to Uno though. We can request a reference search. That might take an hour or two. In the mean, should I give you a tour of the inside of the castle? Afterwards we can stop at the cantina for food." He asked them now. "Oh yes! Ye.. I mean please.. and thank you!" Alice was looking forward to all of that. "I kinda want that too, Emily." Uno was surprised at his own patience. On the other hand, if he had to wait, he might as well entertain himself. "Why are you looking at me? You can make your own decisions. Besides I'm going too, I'm not leaving any of you alone." She claimed, while secretly she did look forward to finally getting something to eat.

"Hey guys. Mind if I skip the tour? I'd rather check this place out. All these duelists walking around it gets something going, you know?" Eric had something different in mind than walking through a stuffy old castle. "I don't know if you want to be unsupervised, Eric. It is fine by me but.." Cassius was guessing the others would have objections. "Eric, you do get lost in your own street." Alice had one, only because she knew Eric. "I do not! I just like to wander! I can handle it!" Eric fumed, crossing his arms to make himself look more fearless. "..Oh well. In that case, use this." Cassius handed Eric a dueldisk from one of the training rooms. "I can have this? Really!?" This was beyond what Eric had expected. "Its a guild disk, it comes with a virtual guide of this place. That way you don't get lost." The chief explained. "I guess that will work. Okay Eric, just meet us at the cantina in an hour." Emily was not going to wait one moment longer. "Right, got it!" Eric found the map on the disk already and marked the cantina's location. "Now, off to the adventure!"

Eric left the group, going from chamber to chamber. If it had been earlier in the day he might have seen some more duels, but there were at least a few duelists around to observe. "Naturia, Psychic, Goyo; all these synchros are so cool." He did briefly consider challenging one of the guildmembers for a second. After his loss to Uno, Eric had reworked his deck from scratch. So he was not that worried about his chances. He had more qualms about the fact that he wasn't officially part of this club. For nowhe contained his excitement and just watched. "Oh..damn." An hour had passed before he eknew it. "Better get back. I.. hey." As he turned around, a shadow moved before his eyes. "Who was that?" A woman with long blond hair in a large gray sweater passed him by. There was something immediately off about her appearance.

She didn't have an ID-tag.

Whoever she was, she was easily walking through every door, leaving them all open in her wake. She was going places not even Eric was allowed in. "How is nobody seeing her?" She crossed several people along the way who did not so much as blink at her. This person was not from the guild, or else she would have had a patch with their symbol on it somewhere. But she was a duelist, because she had a folded-in dueldisk on her arm. "Should I call for help? Will people even listen to me?" The voice in the back of his head was telling him to do this on his own. She did not seem to see him either, as long as he kept his distance. Where was this woman going? Eric checked his map on the disk, but the map did not cover the lower levels. That was where they were headed, several stairs downwards. He tried not to make a sound, and followed the ones she made. Eventually there was a stop, a large door and a huge complex behind it. "Maybe this is the mainframe?" For a moment Eric was struck with awe, and in that moment he forgot to hide himself. "You followed me?" The woman was standing there in the opening, glaring.

...

"I don't want to be the one who says it every time. But I knew he'd be late.. again." Emily and the others had finished their tour and were waiting at a table; waiting on their drinks and their friend Eric. "I am sure Eric knows where he is. It'd be embarrassing if he got lost with a map." Alice said as she absentmindedly played with the coasters. She was not too worried. "I could go check." Uno nevertheless volunteered to help out. "No need. If he is anywhere, my people will know about it. Sit down, enjoy the refreshments." Cassius stood up, just as the waiter came to take orders. "I am sure he is not getting in any trouble."

...

"Uhr.. I guess so." Out of all things to ask, she hit Eric with a question like that? "That is the thing, you shouldn't have been able to." The woman looked and sounded slightly perplexed. 'Yeah, what was up with that? Nobody else saw you.. Also, what are you doing here?" Why the hell was he answering her? He should be doing the interrogating. "Oh, nothing you would find interesting, Eric." She tried to brush him off and walked into the door. "Hey. Don't ignore me! How did you know my name?" Eric paused. "Oh, the ID-tag..I mean, wait up!" He pursued. Both came upon a large hall with rows and rows of hard drives. This had to be the mainframe. "Whatever you're trying to do, I will stop you!" He saw her put a strange device on top of one drive. That couldn't be a good thing. He didn't want anything to happen to a machine that could help Uno. "I can believe you will try.. but how?" The woman left the machine alone and smiled at him. "I challenge you! That is how!" Eric raised his dueldisk and turned it on. "You're a duelist and so am I. You cannot escape from a duel!"

"..I could. I don't really see a need to honor this code you duelists seem to have." She tilted her head from side to side, letting her thoughts stir. "But I'm guessing you will not let my finish my job otherwise. Hmm, it's been a while. I'll have to investigate later. For now, while I let my machine do the work..." The woman activated her dueldisk as well. "You have yourself a duel."

Erics LP: 8000 Womans LP: 8000

"Don't I get to know your name?" Eric asked as he started drawing cards. "I can't give you my name, but you can call me June." She drew her cards too, and left the first turn to him. "Ooo-kay. June then, can't wait to see what cards you are going to use. I have these!" He summoned what appeared to be ghost of fire(4/800/1800). "Aratama. This Spirit monster puts another Spirit monster in my hand!" Eric used Aratama's effect to claim a card called Rasetsu from his deck. "Spirit monsters? If my memory does not fail me; Spirits return to your hand during the endphase." Spirits were never longlasting. "They do. They cannot be special summoned either." The flame of Aratama was extinguished and the card flew back into Erics hand. "But I'm not gonna give you a free hit." Eric placed two trap cards down. "Turn's over."

"Hmm. Two cards. Both dangerous.." 'June' traced her free fingers across her own cards. "Nope." She stopped at one and took it out. A green-colored emperor penguin(4/1600/400) was normal summoned. "Have you seen a Spiritual Beast Rampengu before?" Eric shook his head. "Interesting. You're not from a guild at all, are you? Well let me show you what Rampengu does. He banishes a Ritual Beast from my extra deck and sends A Ritual Beast of the same type from the main deck to the graveyard." The penguin banished a card called Ritual Beast Ulti-Pettlephin. Then sent a monster, Ritual Beast Pettlephin, into the graveyard. Both were Pyro-type monsters. "Spirits and Spiritual Beasts are not that different. My monsters can be special summoned. But only once each turn." Allthough that did not apply to the Beasts that waited in her extra deck. "I throw down a card in my spell/trap zone as a defense too. End turn."

"From the extra deck?" Did that imply she used synchro monsters or something else? Eric had no clue. The banished card had purple borders, which he hadn't seen before. This entire deck was unfamiliar territory. "Anyway!" It was his turn and time to strike. "I summon Rasetsu this time." A maneating ogre spirit(4/1500/1900) appeared from a ball of flames. "Rasetsu is so terrifying, he scares off any attack-mode monster on the field, if I reveal another Spirit in my hand." Eric showed June his Aratama card. This made Rasetsu's hair burn like the seas of hell. "Oh?" Rampengu was pushed back off the field and into its masters hand, as Rasetsu targeted it with its effect. "Now I can attack directly!" The ogre slashed through the opponent with its ethereal blade. "Yeah, liking that attack animation." Eric moved the turn to his endphase, and Rasetsu returned to his hand.

June's LP: 6500

"The trap did not even enter your mind." June noted. "Pff. Traps are gonna go off one way or another. Might as well trigger them!" Eric felt like bragging. Unlike her, he was not going to skip an attack just because of a few face-downs. "Yes. You do not let 'notknowing' get in your way. I could almost envy you." She drew her card. "Ritual Beast Tamer Lara, I summon her." Another longhaired blonde(1/100/2000) showed up. Only this one was wearing green tunic and cape. Also she was a hologram. "This Tamer summons Spiritual Beasts from my graveyard." Lara waved her taming staff around. Her effect brought a pink dolphin back to life. It was Spiritual Beast Pettlephin(4/0/2000), the card Rampengu had tossed into the grave earlier. "You see, Eric. Unlike you, I know too much.. Pettlephin banishes a 'Ritual Beast' from my hand to bounce back one card my opponent controls." In her hand the beast Rampengu was banished. On the field Erics left trap was targeted and returned to its controllers hand. "That one?" This decision that June made without consideration, managed to remove his best trap. But Eric could still count on his other trap to stop her.

"And now.." The woman clapped her hands softly. "We move up a level. I fuse my two monsters." The dolphin and the tamer were thrown into a maelstrom of orange and blue colors. "'Fuse'? Now I'm no expert or anything, but.. can you just do that?" He could have sworn fusion summons were not as easy as she made it look. Yet there was a fused monster. "It doesn't even have any dolphin parts!?" The Tamer Lara sat on top a giant tiger of fire(6/2600/400). Where that came from, Eric had no clue. "I don't blame you for being confused, Eric. This is the Ritual Beast Ulti-Apelio. His fusion materials can be any Ritual Beast Tamer and Spiritual Beast on my field, and no spell is required to fuse the materials. Though.. the fused monsters are banished." That much was written on the card's official text. So was another effect. "While Ulti-Apelio attacks, she becomes immune to all card effects." The Tamer and beast charged forward. "Did you say.." Before Eric knew it, he was run over. "Yes you did.." His leftover trap card could not stop the fusion monsters direct attack. Once the damage was done, June's turn was done.

Eric's LP: 5400

"Okay, she did not have to worry about traps with a monster like that. But how did she know which trap to leave alone?" The other card Eric had set was a card Uno had granted him; Ultimate Offering. With that continuous trap Eric could normal summon Spirits like Rasetsu during her battle phase, and remove her fusion monster from the field. "I need too.. I need." Eric slapped his own cheek. "Stay focused damn it. This is your time to prove that you can help!" It must have been getting late, if he was getting tired already. "I have to do it myself!" He normal summoned his ogre spirit once more. "Rasetsu targets your fusion monster! He.." His moment of glory was a short one. "Huh?" As Rasetsu tried to push back Ulti-Apelio, the beast instead split into two halves. Lara and Pettlephin were summoned back to the field in defense position. "...Is that what fusion monsters do, when they die?" Eric was hoping Ulti-Apelio would just go back into the extra deck. Normally that would have happened. "She didn't die. Any Ritual Ulti-Beast can retreat to the extra deck during either players turn. A banished Tamer and Beast are then resummoned to stand in its place. It's gonna get worse by the way. I activate my trap; Ritual Beast Steeds. This card destroys two of your cards, because I control two 'Ritual Beast' monsters." Lara jumped on the back of the dolphin and jumped over Eric. From above she fired a spell that destroyed Rasetsu and his Widespread Ruin trap card.

"Damn." He was losing control, fast. "I set two cards and end my turn." He tried to trick her by shuffling his hand a bit before setting Ultimate Offering down along with a random spell card. "I like how you play. But.. I am going to have end our fun." June reactivated the effect of Spiritual Beast Pettlephin. A second Spiritual Beast Pettlephin card in her hand was banished and Erics Ultimate Offering was forced into his hand. "Not again." He could not trick her aim at all. "It is unfair, isn't it? Oh well." The woman banished her two monsters again. This time the Tamer and Beast formed a fusion that looked nothing like its parts. This fusions tamer was an elderly mage. The best itself was a giant phoenix(6/1400/1600) of thunder. "This time, I summon Ritual Beast Ulti-Cannahawk. Cannahawk recycles banished Ritual Beasts, to fetch Ritual Beast cards." The Hawk put the previously banished Ulti-Pettlephin and regular Pettlephin back in the graveyard. Meanwhile June claimed a second Spiritual Beast Apelio from her deck and added it to her hand.

She summoned this new monster; the base form of the lion, Beast Apelio(4/1800/200). "Apelio. It banishes one Ritual Beast in my graveyard to place a powerboost on the field that affects all Ritual beasts. Even those I summon later this turn." The red tiger consumed the body of Ritual Beast Ulti-Pettlephin to strengthen himself(2300/200) and Cannahawk(1900/1600). "Direct attack." Cannahawk struck first with blasts of energy from her staff. Eric was zapped several times. "Gahh!?" Each hit felt strangely painful. Not in a damaging kind of way, but it felt like it was draining his energy. "What.. what is happening? "He was felt like he was losing the power to keep his mind on the duel. It was all slipping. Was it because he lost lifepoints? Apelio slashed away even more lifepoints. "Just let it overwhelm you, Eric. Forget I was ever here.. It will be better for all of us." To make matters worse. June unfused Cannahawk into Tamer Lara(4/600/2000) and the second Ritual Beast Rampengu(4/2100/400). They had to be summoned in defense position by the fusion monsters effect. But.. "Enemy Controller." June activated a quickplay spell card from her hand, which switched Rampengu to attack position. Eric was going to lose.

Eric's LP: 1200

BATTLE ROYAL MODE ACTIVATED

"!?" June's eyes darted to her left. A new monster came in from the left. "When my opponent declares a direct attack, I can special summon Speedroid Menko from my hand in attack position!" With lightning fast tongue and reflexes, the third duelist entered the fight. He summoned a machine(4/100/2000); an encased card that spun around as it was boosted by tiny rockets. "Speedroid Menko switches the position of all monsters on the field!" The Penguins flippers slammed into the casing and got no further. Rampengu was driven back and made to cower in defense mode along with the other monsters. "Oh. Another." June saw that the new guest was Cassius himself. "I made it in time. And I see someone else here who has a lot of explaining to do." The alarm began to sound across the entire building. The doors to the chamber were hermetically sealed. Nobody would get in or out. "I am not amused, madam."

(To be Continued in Annex 010: The Forgotten Testament)

New Cards used by Eric Stonewell
Aratama
Rasetsu

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Ultimate Offering
Widespread Ruin

Cards used by 'June'
Spiritual Beast Rampengu
Ritual Beast Tamer Lara
Spiritual Beast Pettlephin
Spiritual Beast Apelio

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Ritual Beast Ulti-Apelio
Ritual Beast Ulti-Cannahawk

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Enemy Controller

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Ritual Beast Steeds

Cards used by Cassius
Speedroid Menko