/ Duel Universe
/ Author: The Cowboy of Oklahoma
/ Ch 51: One Last Time
/ word count: 2387
/ (Author's note: All duel actions are random and fair. Multiple choice decisions made by coin toss.)
Spirit Castle
After we got back to the monster world and were transported to the surface, we reported to the council in the throne room. General Marcellus was undeterred, but Dark Magician Girl didn't like the implication that the goo was somehow aware of the coming invasion. As we turned to leave, again her Majesty called after Ka'an, wanting to speak with him alone. This time was much shorter than before, and we were soon on our way.
Human Encampment
Ka'an surprised me, requesting we duel one final time before we deploy to the other side. I thought it was weird that he'd ask such a thing right now but I agreed and we went to an open area near the Encampment alone. I wasn't aware of just what was going on in his head, but I trusted him, so we activated our duel disks and set our decks for one final duel, one last time.
"Duel!!" We said together.
"I draw!" I started, "I activate Reinforcement of the Army, I can gain an lv4 warrior monster from my deck to my hand. Next, I summon Amazoness Princess in attack mode, and from my hand, I can special summon Amazoness Baby Tiger in defense mode. Plus my Princess lets me gain a new card for Amazoness monsters from my deck to my hand."
A tan skin, red clothe, and a purple-skirted girl appeared on the field. Then a small pink tiger with black stripes appeared on the field. The Princess spun a spear overhead, pointing it at the ground as a card formed and jumped into my hand.
"I choose Amazoness Secret Arts, then I activated it to go for a fusion summon. I fuse Princess and Baby Tiger, both of which change their names to Amazoness Queen and Amazoness Tiger, and can they be used for anythin' I want! Like for my Amazoness Empress in attack mode!"
A pool of swirling colors formed behind me, then Princess and Baby Tiger turned into flares of light and shot down into the vortex. A huge flash shot out, forming a woman with tan skin, green cloth, and a long tanned-leather skirt. It had a slit that went all the up. She was carrying a large draconic-shaped sword.
"That ends my turn," I finished.
"Not bad, Shell now let's see what I can do then. I draw!" He started, "I activate Backup Squad, now I gain one new card whenever I lose 1000lp. Then I set two cards facedown and end my turn," he finished.
"I draw!" I started, "I activate the Warrior Returning Alive and regain my Princess. Now I can summon her and gain another card from my deck. I choose Amazoness Village. I activate my Village, which gives all my Amazoness monsters 200 additional attack points, making Empress 3000 and Princess 1400."
A simple thatched hut village grew up from the ground up and there were smaller Amazoness all about just living their lives.
"Now if ya' want to draw so much, let me help ya'! Battle! Empress and Princess attack his Life Points directly!" I commanded.
The two Amazons leaped forward, bringing their weapons down on his disk, dealing -3000 and -1400 in damages, leaving him 3600lp.
"Grah!! Not bad…first blood," he noted.
"Thanks. Yer latest duels have really set people to rework their decks."
"That's good, but don't forget about my spell, now that I've lost 4000 life points, I can draw four new cards!" He pointed out.
Shit! He's right, I got lost in getting ahead. I neglected that he'll gain big from this too.
"I end my turn there," I finished.
"My turn then, I draw!" He started, "I activate Monarchs Stormforth, now I can use one of your monsters as if I controlled it, and I think your Empress would do nicely! I tribute your Empress to summon my Pyrotech Mech - Shiryu in attack mode!"
My monster vanished off the field, replaced by a large purple monster wreathed in purple flames appeared in the field.
"No! Not my Empress!" I said sorrowfully.
Now, all I have is my Princess, and she can't stand up to that monster on her own!
"Now that she's out of my way, I can go in for an attack, battle! Shiryu attack her Princess!
The large purple monster spewed out jets of flames, engulfing the Princess, rendering her to ash, and dealing -1500 in damages, leaving me 6500lp.
"Now let's see what you can come up with, I set one card facedown and end my turn," he finished.
A card back appeared on the field. Then Shiryu flared and burnt the ground near Ka'an, dealing -1000 in damages, leaving him 2600lp.
"My Shiryu burns me for 1000 every end phase, and that gives me another card to draw," he explained.
"Grr! I draw!" I started, "I activate Secret Arts in my graveyard, this lets me use a fusion monster in my extra deck as material so when I activate Polymerization, I can fuse Amazoness Whip Master in my hand and Amazoness Pet Liger from the extra deck to fusion summon Amazoness Kaiserin in attack mode!"
A pool of swirling colors formed behind me, then Whip Master and Pet Liger turned into flares of light and shot down into the vortex. A huge flash shot out, forming a tan skin, multi-color patterned cloth, and wearing a yellow tiger skirt, large bone shoulder protectors, and a large halo back dressing appeared on the field.
"She immediately lets me gain another Amazoness from my deck to my field," I explained.
"You triggered my trap card, Bad Aim! Now since an effect was activated, I can destroy another card on the field!" He pointed out.
"What? No!"
"I'm not a fan of that field spell, so it has to go!"
A large number of kunai knives flew out of the card face and stabbed into the ground and huts all over the village, destroying it.
What? That's it? He's not going to destroy my Kaiserin? What is he planning?
"I choose Amazoness Queen in attack mode!"
A throne appeared with a tan-skinned woman in grey cloth sitting in it.
"Now to remove that free draw trigger, battle! Empress, attack his Shiryu!" I commanded.
"Not so fast! You triggered my next trap card, Storming Mirror Force! Now all of your attack position monsters are returned to your hand!"
"No!"
The winds picked up, and a mirage of color shimmered across the field before solidifying into a shield. Both monsters slammed into the barrier, then disappeared.
Dammit! That's why he went after my field spell. Now my field is completely empty.
"I…end my turn," I finished.
Shiryu burnt Ka'an again, dealing -1000, leaving him 1600lp.
"And that's another card for me," he noted as he drew, "I draw!" He started, "I summon Capshell in attack mode."
A round multi-colored ball with arms, horns and a bowtie appeared on the field.
"Battle! Now I can special summon Juragedo in attack mode!"
A purple monster with claws and horns appeared on the field. It gave 1000 Life Points to Ka'an, leaving him 2600lp.
No!
"Juragedo gives me another 1000 Life Points. Now attack her directly my monsters!" He commanded.
His two monsters with attack points flew forward, slashing and burning me, dealing -1700 and -2900 in damages, leaving me 1900lp.
"Bah! Is that all?"
"You ready?" He asked suddenly.
"What?! But yer all out of attacks!" I pointed out.
"You think that's going to stop me?" Without even waiting, he held up a new card, "I activate Arrivalrivals, and this lets me summon a new monster right now!"
"No!"
"I tribute Capshell and Juregado to tribute summon Beast King Barbaros in attack mode!"
Two of his monsters disappeared and in their place now stood a creature that made me feel small. It had the body of a feline and the chest of a man with a large metal mane, a round blue shield, and a large, long red spear.
Oh shit! He did it again! How?! How does he keep doing this?!
"Now, Barbaros, attack her directly! Tornado Bringer!" He commanded.
The spear spun, creating a miniature tornado, then slammed into me, dealing -3000 in damages, leaving me =0lp.
"NO!!!" I screamed as the blast knocked me off my feet.
I tumbled a little away from the field, but my defeat was absolute. He beat me again. He always finds ways out of sticky situations. How does he do it? He needs to tell me how.
"Command! Deploy the Device. I am on my way and will follow it through shortly." I heard him say while walking towards me.
Who was he talking to? He stood over me, just standing there with a seriously sad look on his face.
"Ka'an?" I croaked out, but he didn't reach for me.
Suddenly, he dipped down and deactivated my duel disk, taking it off my arm in one motion.
"Ka'an?" I tried to sit up, but he took a step back.
He pulled something out of my disk, then threw the rest to the ground, cracking the casing.
"Ka'an?!" I said insistently.
He was holding my deck and rifling through it. When he found what he was looking for, he removed it from the deck, then let the rest flutter to the ground.
"Ka'an, what are ya' doing?!" I pleaded.
But he continued to ignore me. He stepped away, and I watched him raise his duel disk, and a purple glow flew out and formed on the ground into a platform he could stand on. It immediately began to float up and headed for a portal to the other side.
"Ka'an?" I started to protest as I crawled for my cards.
Looking through the cards and noticed that my Winged Dragon of Ra was missing. No! No, no, no, no!
"Ka'an! No! Don't! Ya' don't need to do this!" I screamed from where I lay sprawled on the ground, covered in scrapes and bruises.
Ka'ans' ascended towards the portals that connected the human world and the monster world, far above me now.
"Shelly, I have to do this. I'm the only one. This world's gods have chosen me to carry out this mission. I am the only one." Ka'an yelled at me as he was getting further away.
"No! I refuse to accept that! Come back! We can find another way!" I screamed, slamming my fists to the ground.
"There's no time. The Device is already moving into orbit above the earth. The goo is building up a resistance to duel energy. It is now, or never! Either I do this, or we're all dead!" He explained, then turned his eyes to the portal above.
I screamed in frustration and beat the ground beneath her, bloodying her knuckles. "Dammit! Dammit! Daaaammmiiitt!! Take me with you!! Ka'an!! Take me with you please!! I lowered my head and sobbed, my screams falling on deaf ears. Pleading, "please don't leave me again…"
Some time later…
That was the last time anyone ever saw the man. The goo is gone. Launched into deep space, out of our solar system, and away from the milky way galaxy. He had set a time for anything to take place and stuck to it with military precision. Dark Magician Girl told me about their private conversations, how someone could acquire a card they didn't own rightfully through a duel. The winner, in some instances, is entitled to a card from the loser. But it is an older style of dueling. Normally, a goal is explained, but sometimes a duelist can just take what they want if there is no one to oppose them. Then she told me about how he had acquired the third and final god card from her. The card was finicky. Its former owner was a Pharaoh and a champion of his people, so it was one of the more loyal gods. It never accepts a duelist unless absolutely necessary. They had dueled at some unknown private moment, which she refused to speak about. They did it right in front of the card until it allowed itself to be taken. She refuses to give me the exact details but it is a safe bet that he succeeded. Then, all he needed was my Ra, and I already told you how that went. He didn't know it at the time, but I was pregnant with our child. The damage wasn't extensive, but it could have gotten worse. If he had used Obelisk…, there is no discernable damage to the child in my womb, but the doctors want to be extra careful since I was dueling while pregnant. Oh, Akiza is having twins, lucky scamp. Not sure if it's maternal or fraternal yet, but she is happy about it. Moonie was worried about how she would be the only one of us that didn't get pregnant, but we were informed how some monsters can take an extra long time to get confirmed pregnancies if they are in mourning. She is too. So the lucky stud hit three for three with all of us. Doubly so with Akiza. We're currently looking into child names for each of the future children of the hero of the human race. Moonie's kid will be the last born, and subsequently, the last to pass away among these siblings. We are trying to help Moonie cope with that fact so she won't lose her mind before then and when it does happen. It was after this I was informed of the vision Dark Magician Girl had received not too long ago. And she had told Ka'an during one of their private conversations. She swears that she never went for Ka'an like she did with her true honey, Truesdale. She had told me that they too are expecting soon and all our children will grow up together.
I'm going to end this story here, it hasn't been easy with him gone. We're all feeling his absence. Some of the other duelists have tried to copy his deck style and keep morale up for the rest of us. He would have been proud of their efforts.
Thank you for listening to his story. A story of a man that gave his all for all of us to survive. Thank you, and goodbye.