Chapter 15: Amy vs. Satoshi Part 2
Amy was in the toughest duel she'd played all night. Her opponent had left her with little Life Points left thanks to a powerful deck that had a lot of burn damage effects and despite having the most powerful monster on the field for now, she wasn't in control of the duel. Satoshi had her cornered with his Backfire Trap Card. Every time Amy destroyed a monster now, she'd lost 500 Life Points. Once her Life Points hit zero, it would be all over for her. Her soul would belong to Hallows and Satoshi would get the sick satisfaction of burning her alive with his flamethrowers. She'd gotten out of many close scrapes with the previous members of the Fiendish Five, but she had to admit that this duel had her doubting if it was even possible to win right now. Unless Satoshi got a bad draw next turn and didn't draw any Monster Cards, she was in for a tough time. The redhead considered her options. She still had one Trap Card she'd been saving in case of emergencies and a White Dragon Ritual she couldn't currently use. The Trap Card might be able to help her but her White Dragon Ritual was useless for now. Her best option would be to draw a third Monster Card so she could give Satoshi more of a beating to get his Life Points down to zero before he could keep abusing Backfire. All she could do for now was wait and see how Satoshi's next turn went.
Chloe could feel Amy's anxiety and she was feeling as doubtful as her friend did. If she was in Amy's position, she'd be completely stumped! How does one fight a duellist that has a Trap Card that does damage to you when you destroy their monsters?
"Is there any way Amy can possibly win this?" Chloe asked nervously.
"Just gotta hope Satoshi doesn't draw another monster so she can attack him directly next turn." Kazuki noted, "But I doubt he's run out of monsters. He'll still have plenty to use…"
He opened up his jacket and glanced quickly at the inside pocket. It was lucky for him he still had the new tool kit he'd bought in town earlier today! If Amy lost, he'd be able to save her from being burnt alive at least…
Satoshi cackled as he made his next move.
"The fire burns and it grows ever stronger!" he said crazily, "Now let's see if I can keep it blazing with this next card!"
He drew from his deck and grinned with pleasure.
"Another monster! Just as I'd hoped for!" he crowed, "I summon Fire King Avatar Garunix in Defence Mode!"
His monster appeared in a wall of flames, spreading its wings and flying gracefully up into the air. It flew in a circle for a moment and then landed, its wings crossed defensively in front of its face. Fire King Avatar Garunix (700ATK/1700DEF) resembled a phoenix, appropriate for a Fire attribute monster, and it wore armoured decorations on its head and around its neck, giving it a somewhat ceremonial look. Amy cursed in annoyance. If its defence wasn't so high, she could've had Ground Attacker Bugroth destroy it so Red-Eyes could attack directly for game! As is, she'd be forced to use her weaker monster and Satoshi would still have 100 Life Points left when it attacked! Why couldn't he have drawn something weaker instead of having just what he needed to mess with her chances of winning?!
"Do you dare attack me Amy?" Satoshi taunted, "You know what the consequences of playing with fire is! I'd make your next move VERY carefully!"
"Whatever you crazy bastard." Amy said nonchalantly, "I'm getting real sick of your constant lecturing about the power of fire and all that crap. If I can get another monster on the field, I'll still be able to beat you!"
"We'll see about that, won't we?" Satoshi sneered, "But do hurry up. The flames are getting impatient…"
He activated the flamethrowers again as if to remind Amy what was coming for her when she lost the duel. Amy felt the heat from the flames all around her as they shot up into the air. She could already imagine them roasting her alive now. Sighing heavily and trying not to be intimidated, Amy made her next move. She drew her next card and looked at it. Her heart sank as she saw it wasn't a monster card. But it was a handy Trap Card at least.
Not the draw I wanted, but maybe it's the draw I needed… Amy thought, At least with this and my other Trap Card I haven't used yet, I can stall the duel out until I can think of a way to get past Backfire.
"OK, I place two cards face-down." Amy announced, setting both her Trap Cards, "And now I'll just have Red-Eyes Black Dragon destroy your Fire King Avatar Garunix so Bugroth can attack directly!"
Red-Eyes Black Dragon took aim and blasted Fire King Avatar Garunix into ashes with its Inferno Fire Blast attack. But unfortunately for Amy, not only did Backfire do more damage to her Life Points because of her dragon's attack, but Fire King Avatar Garunix didn't stay gone for long. To Amy's confusion, another copy of it appeared on the field in Defence Mode to protect Satoshi's Life Points from Ground Attacker Bugroth.
"Hey! What gives? I just destroyed that thing! Why is it still here?" Amy demanded.
"Because of its effect." Satoshi crowed, "Fire King Avatar Garunix allows me to Special Summon any Fire King monster I choose from my Deck after it's destroyed, and as it happens I have a second copy of it to bring to the field so here it is! And I wouldn't bother attacking it again as you'll only do more damage to yourself and its effect will just let me summon another Fire King monster in its place!"
"That sucks. Now there's no way I can get to your Life Points without potentially killing myself!" Amy muttered, "With only 1500 Life Points left, I only need to attack your monsters three more times before I wipe myself out!"
"Exactly!" Satoshi crowed, "Face it Amy, you're trapped! You can't win as long as Backfire remains in play! Your soul is as good as Lord Hallows's!"
He could hear Lord Hallows laughing in agreement inside his head.
"Well said my boy! I knew you'd be the one to FINALLY defeat that wretched girl!" Hallows congratulated, "Let us see how this duel ends, shall we? Will you defeat her or will she defeat herself?"
Satoshi grinned deviously at his master's words. He was going to enjoy the outcome no matter what it was. Amy was as good as dead and he'd be the only remaining member of the Fiendish Five left to continue his dirty work for Lord Hallows. They'd failed whereas he wouldn't and thus he'd be safe from the Shadow Realm!
Amy sighed angrily and ended her turn. There was nothing more she could do. Ground Attacker Bugroth couldn't get past his Fire King Avatar's defences and Red-Eyes had already attacked this turn. Satoshi was left with a monster to protect him and also abuse Backfire's ability with. If only she hadn't used up her Remove Trap already! If she'd known Satoshi had Backfire in his deck, she'd have saved it for then instead of getting rid of Final Attack Orders. At least then she'd be able to attack him with no further damage to herself!
Satoshi made his next move. He drew his next card and much to Amy's annoyance, it was yet another Monster Card. The more monsters Satoshi had in play, the more damage Amy would inflict on herself whenever she attacked. Satoshi played his new monster, which was Darkfire Soldier #2 (1700ATK/1100DEF). It was just as strong with only fifty less Defence points than its predecessor but it looked quite different in appearance. It resembled a man clad in a yellow martial arts robe and wielding a pair of katana. Amy, Kazuki and Chloe all thought it looked like something out of a martial arts movie with its twin swords and robes. But this was no movie and this monster wasn't here to entertain anyone. Although Satoshi was playing monsters in order to set up his wall to keep abusing Backfire's effect, he decided to let his Darkfire Soldier attack Ground Attacker Bugroth. He reasoned that being able to do any damage to Amy's Life Points would be better than nothing as it would also mean Backfire could potentially wipe her out quicker in the meantime. Amy was tempted to activate one of her Trap Cards but for once, she decided to stay her hand and let her machine get destroyed. It would be better to save this trap for if Satoshi tried to do even greater damage than just 200 Life Points to her. Ground Attacker Bugroth was sliced apart by Darkfire Soldier #2, a low robotic groan emitting from its chopped up remains. Amy only had 1300 Life Points left. It now felt like a stiff breeze could blow away the rest of her Life Points with what little she had left! Chloe clutched Kazuki as if Amy's life depended on him. The duel was looking more hopeless by the second! How could her friend possibly win this one?!
"Do you think Amy's truly done for?" Chloe asked worriedly.
"Not yet." Kazuki said reassuringly, "She's still got two face-down cards. They might help her, more so if they're the ones that stall rather than destroy. With any luck, she'll draw Trap Master and get rid of Backfire with it so she doesn't have to hold back anymore."
"Ah yes, that's a point." the blonde bookworm acknowledged, "It can destroy Trap Cards so if Amy can draw it, Backfire won't be an issue anymore."
Amy heard the two and nodded in agreement. Trap Master would be brilliant at this point! If she could draw it, Satoshi's little strategy would be going down the toilet and she'd be safe to whale on him until his Life Points hit zero! But knowing her luck, it was probably at the bottom of her deck and she'd never draw it! Where was Jack's Card of Sanctity when she needed it?! Amy took a deep breath and drew her next card. To her disappointment, it wasn't Trap Master. It was Electric Lizard. Still, its effect could help in stalling the duel out long enough until she drew Trap Master so it wasn't all bad.
"I'll just set a monster in Defence Mode and end my turn." Amy announced. It was the only move she could make.
Her monster appeared face down on the field beside Red-Eyes Black Dragon, who looked miffed that it couldn't keep blowing away Satoshi's monsters. Amy imagined that if it could talk, it would be saying to her "Hey lady, when do I get to attack again?! This is boring just sitting here doing nothing!" Sadly because of Backfire, it was all she could do lest she risk wiping out the rest of her Life Points. Satoshi laughed mockingly.
"It's not so easy is it when your options are far more limited, is it?" he jeered, "Some duellists I've been up against in the past just surrender after Backfire brings them down to such little Life Points that there's no way of winning without killing themselves! Not that it saves them from being burnt to cinders anyway!"
"Well too bad, cause I don't surrender." Amy retorted, "Not when I have something to fight for! As long as Jack's soul remains in Hallows's possession, my desire to save him will keep me going even if I'm lying bleeding half to death on the floor with a sword through my chest! Your stupid fire can't do anything to stop me from getting my brother back Satoshi so deal with it!"
Chloe couldn't help but smile in spite of everything. Trust her best friend to be with her back against the wall and still able to come out with something brave to say! She often wondered if Amy even understood the concept of fear with how brave she could be. Satoshi just scoffed.
"You keep telling yourself that. I guess it'll make it more harrowing for you when you lose in the end." he sneered, "Now let's put in the stepping stones to my victory already!"
He drew his next card and immediately played it. It was another Monster Card, this one called UFO Turtle (1400ATK/1200DEF). True to its name, it resembled a turtle with a shell that looked like a flying saucer. Curiously, it was a Machine-type Monster but still had the Fire Attribute so destroying it would still trigger Backfire's effect. Amy was puzzled. Why play a monster like that in Attack Mode? Satoshi knew Amy wasn't going to attack it any time soon and it was too weak to destroy her Red-Eyes Black Dragon! If he wanted to attack her face-down card, then why not use Darkfire Soldier #2? Then Amy suddenly remembered something. Yes…she'd seen UFO Turtle before. It had an effect. What did it do again? Her eyes widened in shock as she remembered what it did. UFO Turtle had an effect in which it could summon another monster from the user's deck if it was destroyed in battle. Said monster had to have 1500 or less Attack points and it was summoned in Attack Mode. Satoshi was gonna crash it into her Red-Eyes Black Dragon and abuse its effect to maybe summon another monster to crash into her again! Destroying his own monsters would trigger Backfire's effect over and over until her Life Points went to zero! But would Satoshi be stupid enough to try it? The resulting onslaught would actually do more damage to him than her as UFO Turtle would cost him 1000 Life Points just attacking her dragon while she'd only take 500 from Backfire. Satoshi would kill himself quicker than he could kill Amy.
"OK UFO Turtle, attack and destroy yourself against Amy's Red-Eyes Black Dragon so Backfire can burn her some more!" Satoshi commanded.
His turtle withdrew its head and limbs into its UFO-like shell and it took flight. It hovered across the field towards Amy's dragon with fearless abandon. It looked like a suicide bomber about to fly straight into a mountain. Red-Eyes Black Dragon recoiled, clearly confused on what crazy idea Satoshi was trying with this. Amy was equally as incredulous. Had Satoshi not realized how stupid his idea was or didn't he care and just wanted to hurt her some more? Nevertheless, Amy couldn't let that happen.
"Nice try asshole, but I'm cancelling your attack with Negate Attack!" Amy declared, pressing a button on her duel disk to activate the card.
Negate Attack flipped itself up and conjured up a barrier that blocked UFO Turtle's attack. This had been the card Amy had been saving until now and Amy was glad she'd set it when she did. At least Backfire wouldn't eat up more Life Points. Satoshi looked slightly disappointed at this outcome but he shrugged it off.
"So what if my attack didn't carry out?" he sniffed, "I was a little nervous of your face-down cards so I was hoping to force you to use them up so they're out of the way. That attack wasn't meant to succeed entirely, more just trick you into wasting your resources."
Amy was sure that Satoshi was lying just to try and cover up the fact he'd just attempted something stupid. No way was he smart enough to pull off a bluff like that! And no duellist would ever try anything like that because nobody had any way of telling if a face-down card was going to be a risk or not!
"Yeah, I don't buy that either." Kazuki muttered as if reading Amy's thoughts, "He's clearly trying to make himself sound smarter than he is. No way had he done that just to trick Amy into using up a trap."
Even Lord Hallows was unconvinced, and also unimpressed with Satoshi's reckless attempt at an attack.
"Do you have any idea how stupid your plan was?!" he barked furiously, "If you'd crashed your turtle against Red-Eyes Black Dragon, you'd be down to 600 Life Points and thus if you tried to crash again, it wouldn't work and Amy could've used her dragon to pick off whatever monster you summoned through UFO Turtle's effect to win the duel! I will not have this duel being blown on your reckless idiocy you fire crazy imbecile!"
"I'm sorry Lord Hallows!" Satoshi whimpered feebly, "It just seemed like a good idea at the time and lucky for me, Amy foiled it before I could pay for my stupidity so she's helping us win in that regard!"
"SHE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO BE THE ONE HELPING YOU WIN!" Hallows roared angrily, raising out from his chair and banging his cane on the floor, "We should be crushing her with our own bare hands, not requiring her to do our dirty work for us! You play more sensibly from now on or else I'm gonna throw you into a tank of water just to make you suffer before you go to the Shadow Realm as punishment! As a pyromaniac, I doubt you'll enjoy that very much…"
Satoshi grimaced as Hallows banged his cane. The resulting bang had caused his head to flare with pain and he swayed on his feet as if about to pass out for a moment. Hallows's threat made him feel even worse. He was extremely aquaphobic. Even before he'd become obsessed with fire, he'd been afraid of water. He wouldn't even take a bath because water scared him that much. He was NOT going to let Hallows torture him with a tank of water! He would play smart and sensible from now on! No more mistakes!
"Understood master! I shan't repeat this mistake again!" the Fire Duellist declared.
"I hope so, for your own sake!" Hallows snarled, "Now let's see what Amy will try next…"
Satoshi could only nod feebly in agreement. He ended his turn and passed over to Amy. The teen suspected that Hallows wasn't too pleased with what he'd just tried to do and hopefully now the fear of retribution from his master would throw the fire duellist off his game and give her a chance to make a comeback. As relieved as she was that she'd stopped his UFO Turtle suicide bomb act with Negate Attack, she began to wish she'd let him continue his assault instead of blocking it. She would've been able to just attack Satoshi and finish the duel with Red-Eyes Black Dragon if she hadn't used up Negate Attack. But Amy was sure another opportunity would present itself to her. She drew her next card to see what this opportunity would be. It was yet another Trap Card and thankfully, it was one that could potentially benefit her.
Nice one! With this at least, I can get rid of any potentially powerful monster Satoshi might have lurking in his deck somewhere if he tries to summon any. she thought.
That was something Amy knew would be really bad for her. Satoshi had three monsters on the field now. If he drew any Level 5, 6, 7 or 8 monsters now, he'd have all the tribute fodder he needed to bring them out and might be able to summon something stronger than her Red-Eyes to wipe out her best line of defence and deplete all her Life Points! But this new card she'd drawn would at least put a stop to that plan, even if it would cost her more Life Points as Backfire activated no matter how Satoshi's monsters were destroyed.
"I'll just set a card face-down and end my turn." Amy announced, "Got any more stupid ideas to make me use up my traps for this turn, Satoshi?" she taunted.
"How are you so close to defeat and yet you still feel like you can make fun of me you insolent bitch?!" Satoshi growled irritably.
"Maybe it's because you make it so easy for me to mock you?" Amy sneered.
Chloe and Kazuki both giggled. Only Amy could somehow make jokes in a situation like this! Satoshi's face turned redder than the fires that were spewing from the makeshift volcanoes in his room.
"The joke's on YOU Amy for I'll incinerate what's left of your Life Points with this next move!" he growled.
He drew his next card. The moment he saw it, he began to laugh hysterically.
"And wouldn't you know it? I got JUST what I needed!" he crowed, "I now activate Polymerization to summon my ultimate monster!"
"No fucking way! You have Polymerization?!" Amy exclaimed.
"I do!" Satoshi cackled, "And with it, I summon the ultimate creature of fiery destruction! Blaze the field my almighty Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird!"
"No you fool! Don't Fusion Summon!" Lord Hallows barked angrily, "You'll be walking into a trap if you do!"
But Satoshi ignored him and played the card anyway. His monster was made up using Darkfire Soldier #2 and UFO Turtle as it required a Pyro-type and a Machine-type monster as the necessary materials. Amy watched them disappear into a vortex together as Polymerization worked its magic to create a whole new powerful creature for Satoshi to use against Amy. Blaze Fenix appeared in a tornado of flames that formed into the shape of a winged humanoid bird creature with golden armour coating its arms, wings, chest and head. Its entire body was made up of fire and it looked as if it could melt entire continents just with its very existence. Despite being a hologram, it made Amy feel sweaty just by looking at it! Blaze Fenix was a powerful Fire Attribute monster with 2800ATK/2300DEF, but its attack power was nothing compared to the devastating effect it possessed…
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Satoshi crowed, "And it's truly going to be the instrument of your destruction, Amy! For my fiery bird has…"
"Yeah, yeah, it's really impressive and all that." Amy said dismissively, "But too bad it's not gonna stay around for long! I activate Bottomless Trap Hole!"
"WHAT?! No fair! I only just got my beautiful Fusion Monster out and now you're destroying it!" Satoshi wailed.
"Exactly! True I lose 500 more Life Points but it's worth it to keep you having any monster that's stronger than mine on the field." Amy crowed.
"I WARNED YOU! I WARNED YOU!" Lord Hallows bellowed furiously.
Amy's face-down card sprung into action and Satoshi could only watch as his precious Fusion Monster left as quickly as it appeared on the field. It disappeared down into a hole that had no bottom and it was not only gone from the field, but from the game as well as Bottomless Trap Hole banished any monster it destroyed. Amy was down to 900 Life Points thanks to Backfire's effect, but at least now Satoshi had no strong monster left to threaten her even further. Satoshi grumbled furiously, pulling on his hair in frustration.
"I was so gonna use that card to wipe you out!" he complained, "Its effect would've won the duel for me then and there without me even needing to attack! But you ruined everything!"
Amy raised an eyebrow in interest.
"Its effect would've won the duel for you? How so?" she asked.
"Don't you dare tell her or else!" Hallows hissed in his minion's mind.
"You'll find out for I have a card that can bring back banished monsters!" Satoshi declared, "All your Bottomless Trap Hole has done is delay the inevitable! Once I get it back in my Graveyard, I'll be able to resurrect it and then you'll see what its effect does!"
That gave Amy an idea. If Blaze Fenix's effect did what she thought Satoshi was implying, then it could be her ticket to winning this duel! He said its effect would've won the duel without him needing to use it to attack. So did its effect inflict burn damage of some kind? If so, she could use that against him. Once Satoshi got it back in his Graveyard, she'd wait until she could draw Monster Reborn and then resurrect it on her side of the field. But her plan all depended on if Satoshi could draw the card he needed. Chloe could see from Amy's face that she had a plan of some kind. That was reassuring. Maybe she wasn't doomed after all.
"I love it when Amy has that look on her face." Chloe said to Kazuki, "That's the "I've got a plan and it's gonna cream you HARD face" and it always makes me excited to see what she's gonna do."
"She's got me curious, that's for sure." Kazuki said thoughtfully, "What is that girl planning? Whatever it is, I bet Satoshi unintentionally gave her an idea so that'll really bite him in the butt later."
Lord Hallows slumped in his throne and sighed irritably over what had happened.
"That was always Satoshi's biggest problem…he doesn't know when to shut up!" he sighed, "Now I bet he's given Amy a great idea that she'll use to turn this duel upside down and make it a fifth victory in a row…"
He watched on just to see if Amy would actually be able to execute her plan. It was the rookie duellist's turn now and she drew her next card. It wasn't Monster Reborn, but it was a strong Monster Card that she could make use of nonetheless.
"I sacrifice my face-down Electric Lizard to bring forth Summoned Skull in Attack Mode!" Amy announced.
Her face-down monster disappeared and in its place appeared the mighty Summoned Skull. It seemed appropriate for Amy that she should have it on the field with Red-Eyes Black Dragon beside it as they were the Fusion Materials for Black Skull Dragon. Now they were both here, side-by-side to prevent Satoshi from getting to her Life Points. Even if Satoshi tried anything now like crashing his only remaining monster into either of them to get Backfire to burn off more Life Points, it would hurt him more than Amy as Fire King Avatar Garunix only had 700 attack points going up against Summoned Skull and Red-Eyes Black Dragon's 2500 and 2400 respective attack points. If he tried that, he'd only wipe out the rest of his own Life Points. For now, Amy's situation was more comfortable than before whereas Satoshi now looked to be one struggling for survival. Amy concluded her turn, knowing it would be futile to attack now as King Avatar Garunix might be able to summon another Fire King with its effect and just leave Amy's Life Points even closer to zero.
Satoshi made his next move. It was clear to all three of the teens watching that he was starting to feel more nervous and less confident than he had been before. His face was white, his eyes lacking the fire they usually had and his hands trembled. Getting rid of Blaze Fenix had clearly done a number on his confidence. Now it was gone, it was as if he had nothing else to fall back on. But as he drew his next card, he suddenly sprang back into life.
"Just what I needed!" he cried, "I now activate my Burial From A Different Dimension Spell Card!"
"Ah, so that's the card you had for banished monsters?" Amy asked.
"It is. I have monsters that require banishment to summon them so I have this as a way to bring them back to my Graveyard for potential resurrection if necessary." Satoshi explained, "I also have it for cards that banish too. So now my Blaze Fenix returns to the Graveyard! And given I have a spare Monster Reborn somewhere in my Deck, I'll use it to bring my monster back and then seal your doom once and for all!"
He played the Spell Card as he said, his banished Fusion Monster was now back in his Graveyard. Amy now felt this duel had turned into a race, a race to see who could resurrect Blaze Fenix first and use its effect to win the duel. She could feel the pressure weighing down on her now. Suppose she didn't draw her Monster Reborn in time? She'd be finished! Satoshi had used Graceful Charity and Pot of Greed earlier in the duel so his deck would've been thinned out more than her own so far. He was surely closer to his Monster Reborn? But that depended how deep in his deck it was. Maybe it was stuck at the bottom and he'd never draw it! That would be lucky. For now, Amy could only pray that she got to her's first.
Jack…you've helped me out before. Help me out again. I know we can do it if you just help me one more time… Amy thought to herself as she closed her eyes and made her next move.
Her fingers came down on the top card of her deck. Breathing in deeply…she drew it. She looked at the card and gaped. It was just what she was hoping for! She was so amazed that she now had Monster Reborn in her hand that she nearly squealed for joy. If she wasn't shackled to the floor right now, she'd be jumping up and down in excitement.
"YES! Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes! Just what I needed! Oh thank you big bro!" Amy cried, kissing the card like it was her golden ticket to victory, "Sorry Satoshi, but I just drew MY Monster Reborn first so let's bring back your Blaze Fenix and see what it does, shall we?"
"Alright! Way to go Ames!" Kazuki cheered.
"WHAT?! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Satoshi howled in fright.
He was completely helpless to stop Amy now. Her Monster Reborn was activated and now his Blaze Fenix was resurrected from the Graveyard to Amy's side of the field. The fiery bird creature appeared before Amy and screeched loudly. Satoshi whimpered, feeling intimidated at the fight of his own monster towering over him like it was going to roast him alive. Now the card was in Amy's control, she read the text on it to see what Blaze Fenix's effect was. Her eyes widened with amazement and she smiled deviously as she read the effect.
"So that's what it does…I can inflict 300 points of damage to you for every card on the field instead of attacking." she said with a dark edge to her voice, "Well…now I can use it to defeat YOU! I've finally got a way around Backfire so I can beat you without needing to attack!"
"I will not allow you to defeat me with my own monster!" Satoshi cried feebly.
"Too bad, cause I'm gonna do it!" Amy boasted, "Now let's see, I have Blaze Fenix itself, two other monsters and one Trap Card still set on the field. You have one monster and Backfire in play. That makes…1800 Life Points lost overall. And oh no, you only have 1600 left! I'm afraid you can't survive this hit! Looks like your fires have turned against you!"
"No, I won't allow it! You will not defeat me! I cannot be defeated! I'm the most powerful of the Fiendish Five! My fires make me invincible!" Satoshi wailed frantically.
"Your fires have been extinguished!" Amy declared, "Now Blaze Fenix, use your effect to wipe out the rest of Satoshi's Life Points!"
Blaze Fenix flapped its enormous wings and sent comets of fire hurling towards Satoshi, one for each card on the field. Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Summoned Skull ducked down low as if to avoid being hit themselves. Satoshi cried out in anguish as he was bombarded by fireballs. Each one hit him until eventually, his Life Points plummeted down to zero. It was finally over. Amy had won her final challenge and beaten all of the Fiendish Five. Satoshi collapsed down on to the floor and whimpered like a frightened dog. He couldn't end his life like this! He didn't want to be trapped in the Shadow Realm forever! Amy sighed the biggest sigh of relief ever. Finally, it was all over! She wasn't going to be burnt alive after all! Kazuki and Chloe were equally as relieved.
"Thank goodness! I really thought Amy was done for but nope, she wins again!" Chloe exclaimed.
"If only Satoshi hadn't given her an idea on how to win in the end." Kazuki sneered, "He bought this on himself. And unlike the other members of the five, I'm not gonna feel sorry for him when he ends up in the Shadow Realm. This might be cruel to say but he belongs there for what a fire crazy nutcase he is!"
"Likewise! The world will be safer without him!" Chloe agreed.
Amy shared their sentiments. Satoshi was the only member of the five she wasn't going to try and save. He deserved to rot in the Shadow Realm for what a monster he was! Nobody who took pleasure in burning people alive deserved to live!
"OK Satoshi, duel's over. I've won. Now let me out of these shackles so I can go my merry way to kicking your boss's ass in a duel." Amy demanded.
Satoshi picked himself up from the floor, shaken from his loss but very much full of rage. His eyes had become mere pinpricks in the pools of white and his burnt skin had become the colour of the fires he obsessed over.
"I'M NOT GONNA ACCEPT THIS DEFEAT!" he screeched, "YOU MAY HAVE WON, BUT I'LL GET THE LAST LAUGH AS I'M STILL GONNA BURN YOU ANYWAY! HALLOWS WILL SPARE ME THE SHADOW REALM WHEN I KILL YOU AND LEAVE YOUR SOUL RIPE FOR THE PICKING! NOW BURN BABY BUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRNNNNN!"
"WHAT?! No, you can't do this to me! Let me go!" Amy screamed.
She tugged on her feet but it was useless. The shackles were much too strong. Satoshi whipped out his remote control and stabbed down at the button. He was in such a frenzied state that he outright crushed the control with his bare hand. The flamethrowers spouted their flames and they began to lower towards Amy. Amy could only bend down as far as she could go and brace herself for impact. She could feel the heat of the flames up above, the temperature increasing as they descended further towards her.
"HELP ME!" Amy wailed.
Satoshi cackled as the flames came down closer to Amy. If this was the last thing he was going to do in his life, at least he'd get to enjoy watching his last victim suffer before he did! But just as the flames were about to reach Amy…they stopped! The flamethrowers turned off and the shackles suddenly sprang open. Amy was so surprised at this that she fell forward onto her hands and knees. Satoshi stared incredulously.
"WHY AMY NO BURNING?!" he demanded furiously.
He soon found out as Kazuki Shudo emerged from behind one of the flamethrowers with his new toolkit in hand. He gave the fire duellist a mocking smile.
"I expected you'd try to kill Amy anyway, so I decided to sabotage your little death trap just before you could do so." he crowed, "Lucky for me I bought this new toolkit in town today or else you'd have gotten what you wanted."
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! NO FAIR! YOU'VE GONE AND DENIED ME MY LAST MOMENT OF JOY BEFORE I LEAVE THIS WORLD!" Satoshi complained, "I HATE YOU ALL SO MUCH!"
But Kazuki was no longer listening. He only cared about Amy. He ran over to the red-haired girl. She was still on her hands and knees panting heavily with sweat raining down her face. The shock of her near death had clearly left her in hysterics and Kazuki hoped he could help her calm down. Chloe ran up to her friend to help out as well.
"Thank goodness you're safe now!" Chloe cried, "I thought you was gonna die! Thank you for saving her Kazuki!"
"No need to thank me." Kazuki said casually, "I was never gonna let that freak just murder her like that. Are you OK Ames?" he asked, patting the shell-shocked girl on the back.
Amy panted several more times before finally turning to face Kazuki. At first, she was still and unable to speak. And then…she suddenly grabbed Kazuki by the lapels of his jacket and pulled him into a kiss. The blonde boy was taken aback as he suddenly found his lips locking with Amy's. Chloe recoiled in astonishment but smiled with awe. Amy kept the kiss up for a solid minute before finally releasing her saviour. Then she fell into Kazuki's arms and embraced him in gratitude.
"Oh thank you! Thank you so much! You've saved my life!" Amy gasped, "Oh Kazuki, how can I ever, ever repay you for this?"
"I th-think y-you a-already did…" Kazuki said, blushing bright pink.
He hugged Amy back as the girl began to cry. The shock of what had happened was coming out of her in the form of a sob and Kazuki allowed her all the time she needed to let out her emotions. At least she was alive, and all thanks to his quick thinking and a lucky purchase to prevent Satoshi from killing her! As Amy sobbed into Kazuki's chest, Lord Hallows made his return to the room, appearing in a puff of smoke that formed into his familiar shape. His glowing yellow eyes fixed on Satoshi's with a cold anger that could freeze the blood. Satoshi whimpered anxiously.
"Um…h-h-hi master!" he babbled, "I beg of you, please don't send me to the Shadow Realm! If you let me fix my flamethrowers, I can still give you Amy's soul by burning her…"
He was cut off as a flash of black scythed through the air and walloped him heavily in the side of his face. He was knocked down to the floor with blood pouring from the side of his mouth. His cheek was swollen from where Hallows had hit him with his cane. He tried to move but Hallows hit him again with his cane. He whacked him repeatedly over and over, each blow cracking a different bone in his body as he hit.
"I'VE TOLD YOU A MILLION TIMES ALREADY YOU STUPID, STUPID BOY!" Hallows roared, his voice like hell itself, "I CANNOT TAKE SOULS FROM DEAD PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN BURNT TO ASHES! AMY'S SOUL WOULD'VE BEEN NO GOOD TO ME IF YOU KILLED HER! I HAVE TO WIN IT IN A DUEL! IF YOU'D KILLED HER, I WOULD GAIN NOTHING AND YOU WOULD'VE COST ME A VALUABLE SOUL THAT COULD'VE ADDED MORE DUELLING ENERGY TO MYSELF!"
He whacked Satoshi one last time, this one being hard enough to knock him out cold. Kazuki and Chloe had watched all this uncomfortably. Even if Satoshi was a horrible human being who had just tried to murder their friend because he lost at a card game, they had to imagine that being hit by Hallows's cane like that must've really hurt. Now Satoshi was unconscious, Hallows saw to taking his soul as punishment for not only losing the duel, but for trying to kill Amy. The soul was swallowed up by his cane and Hallows felt another surge of energy flow through him as he was granted even more power. After that, he relaxed and sighed in content.
"Ah…much better." he purred, "So it seems the Fiendish Five weren't enough to beat Amy in the end. At least they've served their purpose well in increasing Amy's duelling spirit while giving me souls to feed upon for myself! So even though they lost, I win in the end…"
He turned to the teens.
"I must apologize for Satoshi." he said, sounding genuinely apologetic for what had happened, "So obsessed with flames that he'll murder the winners. I warned him not to, but he did it anyway. I only hope he hasn't thrown Amy off her game and we can still duel."
Kazuki and Chloe turned to Amy to see how she was. The teen girl had finally released her emotions and was no longer in shock. She looked up to Hallows with determined eyes.
"No Hallows. He hasn't." Amy declared, "I've beaten your challenge, so now let's duel as you promised! You and me with Jack's soul up for…"
She was interrupted by a sudden loud yawn as tiredness swept over her. Five duels in a row with each one being a near death experience for her was finally starting to take its toll. Amy looked as if she could barely stay wake. Her eyes drooped but she tried her best to keep them open.
"Gosh, you look exhausted!" Chloe acknowledged, "Oh Amy, you need a good night's sleep after all this!"
"Quite right, child." Hallows concurred, "Judging from her vital signs, she's not fit to carry on. If me and her duel in her current condition, she's going to drop dead. As I said to Satoshi, I cannot claim souls from dead people. As Keeper of the Shadow Realm, I can only claim souls from duels I win, duels my minions win or from people who are bound to me by contract. Amy must rest until tomorrow night before we have our duel."
"No way! I'm not waiting to get Jack's soul back! We duel now or…" Amy protested.
"This is NOT up for discussion!" Hallows snarled, "You are NOT duelling me in your current condition and that's final! You get some rest and then we'll duel!"
"I hate to agree with Hallows Ames, but you have to." Kazuki said softly, "You wouldn't want to pass out from fatigue during the duel, would you?"
"But Jack! I…I just want him back Kazuki! Every moment that passes is more suffering for him!" Amy whimpered, her eyes filling with tears again, "I don't want him to suffer any longer!"
"He'll only suffer more if you exhaust yourself and you can't win the duel." Kazuki noted, "Please Amy, for his sake, just do as you're told. We will get him back no matter how long we have to wait."
Amy wanted to refuse but in the end, she knew it was the right thing to do. It would be better to duel Hallows when she was well rested than as she was now. She felt like she just wanted to go to bed and sleep for a thousand years after all the emotional stress she'd been put under tonight. She nodded slowly and turned to Hallows.
"OK, I accept." she finally said, "We'll duel tomorrow night once I've had a good rest."
"Very good!" Hallows said cheerfully, "I'll take you to your room immediately."
He banged his cane on the floor and conjured up a magical mist that teleported himself and the kids from Satoshi's room to a bedroom somewhere in the castle. The bedroom was probably the least creepy looking room in the entire castle so far. It actually looked somewhat inviting and comfortable to be in. There was a large double poster bed in the centre of the room and a window that had the curtains drawn. Amy wondered why Hallows even had this room. Surely he didn't use it? Hallows didn't exactly strike her as the kind of demon who needed to sleep.
"Do make yourselves comfortable in the meantime." Hallows purred in a fake attempt to sound friendly and courteous, "I'm sure the bed will be to your liking. Enjoy your sleep…for it may be the last thing you'll ever enjoy when you join Jack in the Shadow Realm tomorrow!"
And with that, he disappeared from the room to leave the teens in peace. Amy lay down on the bed. To her pleasure, it was very comfortable. It had the sort of mattress that one seemed to sink into as they lay on it and the sheets and pillows were very soft. Give Hallows credit, he at least made some kind of effort to make his guests comfortable! Amy rested her head on the pillow and curled up into her most comfortable position. She looked to Chloe and Kazuki and smiled softly to them.
"Thank you both. For everything." Amy said appreciatively, "Your support helped me through this challenge and kept me going against all odds. I…I don't think I'd have made it without you two. I certainly wouldn't be alive without you!" she added, looking to Kazuki.
"We're best friends Amy. I'm always by your side no matter what." Chloe said kindly.
"I'm glad we could be here when you needed us most." Kazuki said softly, "Now you get some rest Ames. You'll need all your strength for tomorrow."
"I know. Goodnight you two. See you…"
Amy trailed off as she gently drifted off into a much needed sleep. She'd never fallen asleep so fast in her life. The only movement from her was the slow rise and fall of her body as she breathed. Kazuki and Chloe smiled in awe. It was nice to see Amy at peace for now. She deserved it after all she'd been through with the Fiendish Five. They would have to get some sleep themselves. Chloe climbed onto the bed beside Amy while Kazuki decided he would sleep somewhere else. He didn't think it would be right to be sleeping near two girls that he wasn't in a relationship with. Kazuki looked around the room to see if there was anywhere he could rest. But as he looked around, he suddenly found himself being surrounded by a black fog that obscured everything. He looked around wildly.
"Ames?! Chloe?! What's happening? Are you two still here?" he asked.
"There's no one here but us, Kazuki Shudo." purred the terrifying voice of Lord Hallows, "You're in my realm now. The girls can have their rest undisturbed as me and you have some fun together."
Kazuki watched as a piece of fog separated itself from the rest of the fog and formed into the familiar shape of Lord Hallows. The robed demon fixed Kazuki with his glowing eyes, his jack-o-lantern shaped mouth curled into a cruel smile of pleasure.
"Why are we here? What do you want with me?" Kazuki asked curiously.
"Isn't it obvious you stupid boy?" Hallows retorted, "I'm not waiting a whole day while Amy sleeps in preparation for our duel. Me and you shall have our duel while we wait for her to recuperate. At least it should keep us from getting bored while we wait for our duel to come…"
Amy's beaten Hallows's challenge but the poor girl's too tired to go on. She'll be getting some much needed rest for now while Kazuki takes on Lord Hallows. Can he succeed and save Amy the job of doing it herself? Find out next time in "Kazuki vs. Lord Hallows"...
Trivia: This duel turned out very differently due to my original notes containing several, and I mean SEVERAL misplays, mistakes and dumb plays. You have no idea how many times I had to re-write my notes as I was writing this chapter! One such change involved Satoshi bringing out Fire King High Avatar Garunix only for me to realize "hang on, Fire King Avatar Garunix CAN'T actually summon it" so I had to scrap it.
Also that bullshit with Amy using Bottomless Trap Hole and Satoshi conveniently having a way to bring Blaze Fenix back into his graveyard just so Amy could use it to finish him off...yes I know it's ludicrously contrived and is blatantly me pulling shit out of my ass. ^^; The thing is, it HAD to happen because Satoshi could've won the duel immediately if he used Blaze Fenix's effect so there was no other way of preventing it other than making it so Amy could get rid of it with Bottomless Trap Hole. Given it banishes cards, I needed some way for Satoshi to get it back in his Graveyard so Amy could bring it back with Monster Reborn and thus Burial From A Different Dimension came in to set up the win Amy needed for this duel. I'm not happy that I had to bullshit my way to a conclusion I wanted but that's what happens when you're me and don't bother to proof-read your Yu-Gi-Oh duels. =P