And... Chapter 2! Yep, this fic is officially launched.
Chapter Two
"Someone Wrote It Down…"
If you're the type of person who frequents fast food places, you've likely run into this problem before - you go there, hoping to order your favorite, and they can't supply it. Maybe the milkshake machine is broken, they had problems with inventory, or they simply ran out. You get angry and may or may not go somewhere else. It happens; contrary to what they say, there's more to working at one of those places than "flipping burgers."
I went there that night hoping to order a twenty-piece chicken nuggets, fries, and a Diet Coke, and while they weren't out of nuggets, there was a bit of a wait. Maybe they had to thaw them or clean the deep fryer or something. Still, I had nowhere to go, and Linda - a cashier I was friendly with - was working that night and her sweet smile when she told me it would be a few minutes, well, it was very convincing.
I swear, sometimes those big, green eyes of hers seemed… off… Like feral and non-human, but in a good way.
At least I had my laptop and they offered free Wi-Fi, so this was a good time to do some analysis I had been putting off - and a few online games of Mr. Do! and the Crash Castle on the Arcade Retro site.
"Uhm, excuse me, can you pass me that?"
The voice had come from a guy sitting at the table to the right of me, but I didn't think much of it at the time. Seeing as he was pointing to the ketchup bottle to my left, I simply passed it to him and thought, for the moment, that would be all there was.
"Say, don't I know you?"
"Uh," I replied.
"Have you ever been on television?"
Being a pro duelist means you get noticed now and then. I turned to him - he seemed about fifty years old, slightly overweight, balding, wearing a beige jacket, trousers, and white shirt, casual business attire that seemed old but clean. I also noticed a few game cards on the table where he was sitting, next to his cheeseburger and fries. I was a little nervous when he started pouring the ketchup; the danger of damaging your cards by getting food on them is something every duelist learns early on.
"Not as much as I'd like, unless you mean televised podcasts."
"Well, my son and daughter watch them a lot. They're big fans, and I end up watching it when they're watching. Never know when they're going to switch to one of those MA-rated shows, you know."
"Uh, there's V-chips…"
"Oh, please, I tried that. Had to ask them how to disable the dumb thing. Heh." He extended his hand. "Otto D. Bock."
"Terone Brickman." I said, shaking his hand. "So, uh, you're here on vacation?" Otto's Scandinavian accent was slight but was still recognizable.
"No, no," he said, "convention up in Bristol. I'm with the, uhm, European Association for the Advancement of Oral Hygiene."
"You're a dentist?"
"No, uhm, orthodontist. Trust me, it's even duller than it sounds. Uhm… I'm boring you, right?"
"No, not… really," I said, a little white lie. "So, you play the game?"
"Well, kinda-sorta. I think I'm in the whole 'share in your children's interests' phase."
I leaned over to look at the cards he had. Most were staples like Mystical Space Typhoon, Call of the Haunted, Sangan, and the like, but I did see a few cards that suggested Ritual Monsters, like Samsara and Ascending Soul.
"Well, if you're trying to stay within the 40-card minimum, a smart thing to do would -"
"Oh, Terone?" called Linda's voice.
"Scuse me for a minute," I said.
By the time I got back to the table with my order, Otto had finished and left. I didn't question it at the moment, that's why it was called "fast food" after all, and I didn't expect to see him again.
It's never wise to tempt Fate…
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Forty minutes later, I encountered another annoyance that I'm sure every city dweller here will recognize. I got to the train station just as the train I needed was pulling out of the station. Of course, I tried to run to catch it - no idea why I ever bothered to try.
Sitting down on the bench in a slump, I looked up at the digital clock above the tracks. The next train would be there in 15 minutes. I figured I'd get back to that analysis again and went to take the laptop from my backpack…
…and then I realized it. I didn't have my backpack.
For a minute, I came close to panic. Both the laptop and my Duel Disk were in that backpack, my deck along with it. The laptop was replaceable and most of the data was backed up via "the cloud," but the Disk had been given to me by my sponsor and deck… Suffice to say right now, this was a nightmare for any and every duelist. Never mind the fact that many of the cards were rare, many had been gifts from the aforementioned sponsor, and Jay had provided many more, often scouring the net to find many.
The thought right now of my career in ruins, my agent chewing me out at being so careless and Jay wanting to wring my neck all went through my mind. I had obviously left it at the restaurant - I hadn't stopped anywhere else - and right now, my only option was to run back there and pray whoever found it was the honest type.
And then…
"MR. BRICKMAN!" shouted a voice I recognized.
No way, I thought. "Mr. Bock…"
It was him all right. He was sweating heavily and completely out of breath as he ran into the station, but then, given how out of shape he was, that was hardly a surprise. And he had brought the backpack.
The poor guy almost fell over, and I had to catch him before he did. "Uh, thanks…" he said. I guided him to the bench on the platform, helping him sit down as he tried to catch his breath.
"You okay? I can get some water if you -"
"No, no, I'm all right. I, uhm, I went to use the men's room, and when I came back, you were gone and, uh…" He coughed and set down the backpack.
"You have just saved my career," I said, sullenly.
"Heh, nothing really, I had to catch the -"
"Attention passengers," said a voice over the intercom. "The train on the R line is experiencing delay due to engine trouble. Expected ETA at the moment is 6:30 PM. Thank you for your patience."
"Oh, damn," muttered Otto. "Why do they always give you the 'thank you for your patience' line when you're not patient?"
I had to smile a little at that one. Usually, I would have been just as angry, but I was far too relieved to have gotten my deck back.
"So, uh," I started. Something just occurred to me. "Wait, you were in that restroom the whole time?"
"Uh, I have bad constipation, you see -"
"Okay, okay, TMI there!" This was going to be a long wait to be sure.
"Uhm, say, Terone…" he started. "I got an idea. You said you could help with this deck?"
Truthfully, I hadn't planned on tutoring him. I wasn't very good at giving advice on the game, unless…
"What would you say to a duel," he asked, "right here right now?"
Okay, that was unexpected, but to my surprise, Otto quickly produced a Duel Disk of his own from his briefcase. It was an old Duel Academy model, but still compatible with mine.
"You, uh, sure about this? Those Solid Vision images can pack quite a punch."
I wasn't exactly on Jack Atlas' level of skill, but I was fairly sure even he wasn't exactly prepared for how brutal the game could get the first time he tried it.
"Hey, I may be no spring chicken here, but don't forget, I have two twelve-year-old kids back home to look after."
I couldn't argue with that and seeing as I had little to do now anyway and was pretty anxious after all that happened today, I supposed it couldn't hurt.
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"Duel Disk engage!" I shouted.
(Terone: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Otto: 8,000)
"You absolutely sure about this, Otto?"
"Positive, just try not to kill me too hard, okay?"
Holding back wouldn't be a problem. The deck I was using was only a "casual" deck, and while it did have some of my best cards in it, that didn't mean it was competitive level. I mean, Black Luster Soldier is incredibly powerful, but only in a deck that has enough Light and Dark Monsters for a reliable summon. In this case, it was mostly a Warrior and Dragon combination, which would do for now.
Ironically, my opening hand right now would have made for a great opening move if I had been "on the clock," but I decided to take it slow. I set two cards on my Disk, one of them a monster, the other in the Spell Zone, and said, "That will do for now."
"Okay, let's see here," said Otto. He made a draw, then looked his cards over, moving his hand to one, then changing his mind and considering another. I was starting to wonder if his son and daughter would be better at this.
"I'll play the card… Trade-In!" he said. "Yeah, that's it. So, I'll discard, uh… Heh, hope I pronounce this right… Sengenjin."
I nodded, so he tossed the Level 8 monster and then drew twice. "Okay, yes, I've got this, I activate… Slipshod Ritual."
That was a new one on me, although the card he was playing seemed to be an Equip Spell, even though he had no monsters to equip it to. Still, it seemed to be doing something - in front of him, a pentagram was formed, with violet flames lighting at the points of the five-pointed star.
"I can use this card to summon a Ritual Monster by sending the sacrifice from my deck to the Graveyard, so long as I then boost it with this card. So, I'll send Seen… uh… Seiyaryu, yeah."
In all honesty, I didn't exactly know how to pronounce it either - few duelists used that card anymore. But I was even more surprised when I saw the monster rise from the center of the pentagram.
It was a tall woman with taunt, tanned skin, wearing a bedlah, a dancer's outfit consisting of a decorative bra and green harem pants, with a long, red sash. She had violet hair that reached almost to the floor, and held two long, curved scimitars. (1,950 ATK)
"Wow, uh… this is really something…"
I admit, I was a little awed by Performance of Sword, but not because it was a rare or powerful card. It was more that it was a card I had never seen anyone use - it was rather old and a Level 6 Ritual Monster that had less Attack Points than some Level 4s with no effect was not particularly useful for much other than binder-bait.
"The Equip Spell also boosts its Attack Score by 400 points," continued Otto. (2,350 ATK)
"Watch me, Terone… Watch me dance!"
I had almost forgotten about the TRI system. Silly me. Performance of Sword's seductive voice sounded kind of… Slavic, that was the word. Still, I had little time to consider this, as she was poised to attack, spinning a full 360 degrees then prancing towards my set card. A small, spherical ball of fur with three eyes appeared on it, then chittered. Performance of Sword made another spin, then swung and cleaved it in half.
"I dance for you, my flashing blades lead you to the deadly dance of doom!" Then she blew a kiss and did a back somersault back to Otto's side.
Okay, this was odd, but this gal wasn't going to make me panic - in fact, it was a lot hammier than it was frightening, and I had one advantage here.
"Sangan's effect activates, so I can take a monster from my deck with 1,500 Attack Points or more, so -"
I was about to take my deck from its holder, but it seemed I didn't need to - a flash of light caused all the monster cards that qualified - only five - to appear in front of me as holograms. Sometimes I wonder if Kaiba gets too many clever ideas, I mused. I pointed to the card I wanted, and it somehow appeared with the others as the other four disappeared.
"Okay, then,' continued Otto, "I'll set these cards facedown…' He took two from his hand, setting them in his Spell Zone. "And then I can use Silent Doom!"
The card he now used caused a huge, hulking behemoth to appear. It had one eye, long, sharp teeth, a mane of red hair, blue skin, a spiked harness, and leather boots. It had an axe, mace, and spear strapped to its back. (2,500 DEF) I had one of these cards in my collection myself; it was a cool monster, but again, much better to own than use.
"Uh… It's your turn." Performance of Sword held her stomach and winced slightly. (1,850 ATK) "Oh, that's… right, Slipshod Ritual deducts her Attack Score by 500 when I end my turn…"
My eyes lit up a little when I drew. This was one of the aforementioned cards my agent had given me as a "bonus." Looking at my other cards, I certainly could summon it this turn, but… I had an even better idea.
First thing's first, I thought. "I use the Polymerization Spell Card." As the card activated and appeared in giant holographic form, orange and purple streams spiraled out of the card, combining into a vortex. I took two cards and hurled them, a trick I was well accustomed to, and they flew into the vortex. "I fuse together Lord of D and Divine Dragon Ragnarok to summon King Dragon!"
Lumbering out of the portal was a monster that had never seemed to lose its usefulness, at least not for me. It looked like a centaur, but the human half a nobler version of the Lord of D and the lower quarters that of a Dragon. (2,400 ATK) Peering towards Otto's monsters, he seemed to view Sengenjin with a look of disgust.
"Cowering, are we?" he asked. He pointed at the ogre with his wand. "Typical."
Sengenjin seemed angry, and I had to admit it was a low blow there, as it was hardly his fault that he had to defend.
"King Dragun's effect lets me summon a Dragon from my hand every turn, and this turn, I'll be summoning Rare Metal Dragon!"
Placing the card on my Disk caused a rumbling and sparking sound, and the floor split, a large, hulking monster burrowing up from below. It seemed like a cross between a Dragon and an armadillo the size of a bull with a solid steel hide covered with serrated plates. (2,400 ATK)
"However, he isn't staying, because I'm going to sacrifice him to summon Strong Wind Dragon!"
The Rare Metal Dragon shattered into metallic shards, and a different Dragon rose to the field, a more traditional looking one, standing on its hindlegs, with large wings and thick green scales. (2,400 ATK)
"And he gains Attack Points equal to half that of the monster I sacrificed to summon him." (3,600 ATK)
"Ooh, that's pretty strong," gasped Otto.
"Believe me, his bark is worse than his bite. His breath, on the other hand… Attack with Savage Cyclone!"
Strong Wind Dragon exhaled, blasting a bolt of green energy at the ogre, and vaporizing him. "Ugh!" grunted Otto. "Heh… 'Savage Cyclone'?"
Truthfully, it was the best I could think of. "I'm open to suggestions. I see you've noticed the trampling effect. You take damage from this attack even with your monster in Defense Mode."
"Well, good thing I have this though." He tapped his Disk, one of his Trap Cards lifting. "Option Hunter. With this card, I gain Life Points equal to Senjengin's Attack Score."
"Well, I'm not done yet. King Dragun, attack with Twilight Burn!"
King Dragun pointed its wand at Performance of Sword, and to my surprise, she crossed her swords, and then made a polite bow, right before the blast of dark fire hit and blew her to pixeled shards.
"Uhm… Okay…"
(Terone: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Otto: 9,650)
"I have another Trap Card to use!" Otto pointed to his other set card, and it opened. This was another card I wasn't familiar with.
"Corrupted… Summoning?"
"This card's effect can be used at the end of any of your turns, if a Normal Monster or Fusion Monster is destroyed. For every Level of the destroyed monster, it gains something called a Corruption Counter."
So, because Sengenjin was a Normal Monster that meant it gained eight Counters. Naturally, I figured the counters on the card were used for something, but as he made his draw, I figured I'd find out soon.
"Time to fire up this card," said Otto. "It summons a Fusion Monster with the same name as a Ritual Monster."
Wait, what? That's a new one. I tried to search my mind for a Ritual version of a Fusion Monster, but he answered me quickly.
"First, I need to discard the Ritual Monster with the same name, or the Ritual Spell that summons it. Then I have to expend one Corruption Counter for each Level the Fusion Monster has and pay 200 Life Points for each. So… I'll discard my War Lion's Ritual to summon… The Ravenous War Lion!"
Otto seemed to grunt and wince in discomfort, the usual reaction to spending that many Life Points, but he seemed a lot more confident than before. I know I sure wasn't. The spiraling vortex the Trap Card had created was much like the one from Polymerization, but murky with darker hues, and the monster who leapt from it, well, it was Super War Lion… But at the same time, it wasn't. I figured this was the same deal as Harpie Ladies, with a monster's name different via its effect, and while I had yet to see a Fusion Summon done without, well, fusing monsters, stranger things had happened.
(Terone: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Otto: 7,850)
But this monster… It seemed like it was Super War Lion, but older, and more experienced. Scars on his pelt indicated he had been in many battles, and had grown stronger with each, but colder and bitter. (2,500 ATK)
"Wait, you -"
It didn't wait. The Ravenous War Lion let loose a roar and pounced, going for a tackle and crushing King Dragun. I cringed a little, the pixels that were once my monster dousing me.
This was, of course, the original intended advantage of Ritual Monsters, it was a quicker though less-reliable way to bring out a strong monster. Some duelists called it a flawed technique, but when it worked, it could be lethal.
(Terone: 7,900) - - - - - - - - - - (Otto: 7,850)
"Ending my turn now," said Otto. "Only fair to warn you, the first time on your turn that Ravenous War Lion is attacked by a monster, the Attack and Defense Scores of both monsters switch. Ravenous War Lion has 2,300 Defense Points, by the way."
Which meant I'd need to attack with a monster that had more than 2,300 Defense points.I had one that fit the bill right here but seeing as he had waxed King Dragun this was going to be harder than I thought. Either Otto was using a borrowed deck and was having the best case of beginners' luck I had ever seen, or… He wasn't the beginner he claimed.
I drew one card and was relieved slightly when I turned it around to look at it. This should help.
"I activate Pot of Dichotomy! At the cost of skipping my Battle Phase this turn, I can send three monsters of three different Types from my Graveyard back to my deck."
Playing the card caused a stout and squat jar to appear in front of me, one side the laughing and silly-looking face of the Pot of Avarice, the other the calm and serene face of the Pot of Benevolence.
"Heh, there's a two-faced card if I've ever seen one."
I rolled my eyes at Otto's joke - not like I hadn't heard that one before, right. I took my deck from the holder, then tossed it into the jar; three other cards - Sangan, King Dragun, and Lord of D - appeared in holographic form and were sucked inside as well. I gave the jar a strong shove and it spun around, then slowed, with one card spat out of the Avarice face and another from Benevolence.
I took those two and the rest of the deck reappeared in the holder, the Pot of Dichotomy shattered.
Better, I thought. "Strong Wind Dragon moves to Defense Mode…" The Dragon knelt, crossing its arms over its chest. (1,000 DEF) "...and I'll throw this out in Attack Mode, Alexandrite Dragon!"
Using the card caused a large, shining, shimmering gemstone to appear, then shatter into a thousand pieces. The pieces hung in the air for a few seconds, then combined, forming into a Dragon who best could be described as "beautiful". The gems encrusted in its hide shone with every hue of the rainbow from hundreds of facets. (2,000 ATK)
Hope this works. "I end my turn."
"Here goes!" exclaimed Otto. The man seemed much more confident than he had been before. I wondered if there was a mirror nearby - I had the urge to check and see if someone had pasted a sign to my back with the word "sucker" on it.
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Meanwhile… I had no idea at the time I had something of an audience here. Maybe as a pro I had learned how to zone out the crowd, but its doubtful anyone would have noticed the small group who were watching from a remote location. Heavy stuff was going down, stuff related to what was happening "meanwhile"! I mean… "elsewhere", or uh, ah, you know what I mean.
The small group in question were watching our duel on a monitor, one of them a large, heavyset man sitting down, and about four others behind him.
"Don't know about this," said the man to the left of heavyset man. "His style seems rather… Antiquated if you ask me. Not enough pizazz if you ask me. We need something unique."
"I see," said the one to the right of the heavyset man, "if I recall, that was why you though the steampunk R-rated version of Inspector Gadget was a good idea."
"I thought we all agreed never to speak of that again," the heavyset man said.
"Give him a few minutes," said a man behind them, "trust me, Terone isn't the type to finish quickly. He tends to get a second wind when he's behind, and when he does, it's a serious showstopper. Most of the time…"
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"I summon Corrupted Shaman."
As Otto used his card, more of those dark with motes shadows started to rise from the floor, the smoke forming into a curious-looking Spellcaster. (I assumed.) His purple kimono with a sash and matching trousers seemed typical of a shaman, but his face was swathed completely in bandages, like the Invisible Man but more haphazard and without the glasses. (1,700 ATK)
"Next I can use a second effect of the Slipshod Ritual Equip Spell and banish it to take a Ritual Monster from my Graveyard." He took two cards from his Disk's discard slot, placing one of them in his jacket pocket. "The catch there is, I'm not allowed to Ritual Summon this turn, but I can use Corrupted Shaman's effect, banishing this Ritual Monster and the Shaman. Then I again pay 1,400 Life Points."
He placed the two cards in his shirt pocket, and a geyser of flames shot up and consumed the Shaman. "Whoa," he gasped. "Uhm, I summon Whirling Dervish Performance!"
Oh, brother, I thought.
Two feminine eyes appeared in the flames, and the flames started to die down, the new monster menacingly stepped forward. While this was indeed Performance of Sword, given the hairstyle she had changed. Her outfit was far more modern, having traded in her Bedla-style outfit for a red latex crop top with horizontal pinstripes and black booty-shorts. Much like War Lion, it seemed she had been "hardened" by years of combat… The most notable proof of this was her right leg missing, with a pegleg that was…
No… way… I thought. Her pegleg was an assault rifle! (2,000 ATK)
"Time for you two to dance with the Queen Bitch!" she snarled. The dance-warrior leapt, did a flip in mid-air, and aimed her leg-weapon downward, firing a barrage of fiery hot shells and eradicating Strong Wind Dragon. At least he was in Defense Mode, but…
"I'm activating the effect of Whirling Dervish Performance now," said Otto. "Whenever she slays a monster, that monster is brought back to your side of the field in Attack Mode with half its Attack Points."
Even before Strong Wind Dragon reappeared, I knew where this was going. (1,200 ATK)
"...and then, she gets to attack again!"
Yep, I was right, and the point was made when Performance did a backflip and blasted a rocket propelled grenade at Strong Wind Dragon; it wasn't a direct attack, but even so, I felt that. Still, hopefully Otto's next move would be what I needed.
Ravenous War Lion pounced, its claws raking across Alexandrite Dragon and causing it to shatter.
(Terone: 6,600) - - - - - - - - - - (Otto: 6,450)
"Perfect!" I declared. "Due to a Dragon being destroyed, I can summon, from my hand, Keeper of the Shrine!"
Throwing the card sideways on my Disk caused a stone statue of a man sitting in a lotus position meditative state. He had draconic wings, a full beard, horns, and dragon-like scales on his torso and limbs. (2,100 DEF)
"And, because the destroyed Dragon was also a Normal Monster, I get to take Rare Metal Dragon from my Graveyard."
"Heh, a lot of good that one will do you, how do you intend to summon it?"
I was occupied with getting RMD's card, and the sassy, cheeky comment that was obviously not Otto's voice almost made me drop it. It took me a few moments to realize that Performance had been the one who said it - this weird new system had given these monsters an attitude.
And it seemed that was true of Ravenous War Lion too. "Okay, son," it growled, "we can do this the easy way or the hard way."
Performance giggled and added, "You have an easy way?"
"Nah, I just get a kick out of saying that."
I could not believe this, collectible trading cards were mocking me! But it seemed I did have an ally.
"Seriously?" Keeper of the Shrine's voice was stern and gruff, not unlike my grandfather's when he was upset. "It will be a cold day in Hell before we concede to some grindhouse stripper!"
"I'm NOT a stripper!" yelled Performance. "I am an exotic dancer."
I wasn't sure if Otto could hear this odd conversation or not - was his Disk even compatible with this system? - but he did seem a little nervous as it was happening. Finally, I decided to interject with a loud, "AHEM!"
"I, uh, end my turn," said Otto.
"Terone, word of advice," whispered Keeper, "you must strike against her first." He nodded to indicate Whirling Dervish Performance. "It's a hunch, but I suspect these miscreants are more dangerous than they appear."
Well, that was encouraging. I wasn't about to ask him why, so I just made my draw - it was time to stop pulling my punches.
"I'm going to sacrifice Keeper of the Shrine to summon my next Monster, and when Keeper is sacrificed to summon a Dragon, he counts as two sacrifices, so Keeper, I'll see you later." The living statue dissolved into pixels, and then a geyser of flames erupted from the spot where he had been.
"Oh my…" started Otto.
"TYRANT DRAGON!"
At the time, this monster was my second favorite (and before anyone asks, I'll tell you about my favorite later). Not as big or fearsome as Kaiba's dragons, but one of unparalleled ferocity who had resistance to some of the game's nastiest Trap Cards and the ability to attack two monsters per turn. This had won me quite a few battles, and I hoped it could do the same now. (2,900 ATK)
Whirling Dervish Performance started to sweat as the huge Dragon loomed over her. "Please," she begged, "I'm not ready to die…"
"Your show needs an intermission, so I'm giving you a timeout… IN HELL!"
She rolled her eyes and replied, "Ah, forget it, I'm ready to die."
Regardless, she still screamed as Tyrant Dragon obliged, incinerating her in a single blast of its fiery breath.
"Dying is easy," I said, "comedy is hard."
"I activate the effect of Whirling Dervish of Swords!" exclaimed Otto. "When she is destroyed by battle, I can summon a Normal Monster from my Graveyard!"
Again, the ground cracked, and Sengenjin's fist punched through the pavement, the rest of the ogre clawing and crawling its way out from below, and this time, it was in Attack Mode. (2,750 ATK)
Okay, this is trouble, I thought. The choice I had now was who to use Tyrant Dragon's second attack on. An easy decision, I assumed, as Sengenjin - despite being extraordinarily strong - had no effect, unlike Ravenous War Lion, a monster whose effect I simply could not disregard.
"My Tyrant Dragon attacks Ravenous War Lion! As you said before, both monsters swap their Attack Scores with their Defense Scores…" (Tyrant Dragon: 2,900 ATK - 2,500 ATK, Ravenous War Lion: 2,500 ATK - 2,300 ATK) "...but that isn't as much a problem now! Attack with Imperial Inferno!"
The burning, searing blast of deadly flames coursed towards the savage Beast-Warrior, engulfing and incinerating it… But then, it became clear I shouldn't celebrate yet. Tyrant Dragon groaned and fell on one knee, groaning in pain.
"What, I -" (0 ATK)
"Much like Performance, Ravenous War Lion also has an effect that activates when it is destroyed, the Attack Score of the monster that attacked is reduced to zero."
(Terone: 6,600) - - - - - - - - - - (Otto: 5,050)
Seemed I had assumed wrong. Keeper's advice about having to attack Performance first had been spot on but attacking Lion at all had been a mistake. And with no other moves I could make, my strongest monster was a sitting duck…
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Phew, this part of the story was so long, I had to break it into two parts.
Before anyone asks, yes, Whirling Dervish Performance is indeed based on Cherry from Planet Terror.
Before I post the fanmade cards, let me note here that, if I don't update either of my stories by next Thursday, I'd like to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving.
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Whirling Dervish Performance (Fusion Effect Monster)
Warrior/Earth/Lvl7/2,000/1,900
Effect: Must first be summoned by sending 1 "Performance of Sword" OR "Commencement Dance" from your hand to the GY while removing 7 "Corrupted Counters" from "Corrupted Summoning" and paying 1,400 LP. This card's name is considered "Performance of Sword." Once per turn, when this card destroys a monster via battle, you may Special Summon that monster to your opponent's side of the field in Attack Position; a monster Special Summoned via this effect cannot use its effect, and its ATK is halved. If you use this effect, "Whirling Dervish Performance" can attack that monster an additional time this turn. If this monster is destroyed by battle, you may Special Summon 1 Normal Monster from your GY; on your next Standby Phase, return the summoned Normal Monster to your hand.
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Ravenous War Lion (Fusion Effect Monster)
Beast/Earth/Lvl9/2,500/2,300
Effect: Must first be summoned by sending 1 "Super War Lion" OR "War Lion Ritual" from your hand to the GY while removing 9 "Corrupted Counters" from "Corrupted Summoning" and paying 1,800 LP. When this card is attacked by an opposing monster while in Attack Position, Also, if this card is destroyed by battle, you may pay 1,000 Life Points; if you do, reduce the ATK of the monster that destroyed it to zero until the End Phase of your opponent's next turn.
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Corrupted Summoning (Continuous Trap Card)
Effect: Once per turn, during the End Phase of your opponent's turn, you may select 1 Normal Monster OR Fusion Monster that was summoned via "Corrupted Summoning" that was destroyed by battle; place 1 Corruption Counter on this card per level of the selectedmonster.
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Corrupted Shaman (Effect Monster Card)
Spellcaster/Earth/Lvl4/1,700/300
Effect: You may banish this card you control and 1 Ritual Monster on the field or from your hand; Special Summon 1 Fusion Monster with the same name as the banished card from your Extra Deck, disregarding its summoning requirements. You must pay Life Points equal to 200x the Level of the summoned Fusion Monster.
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Slipshod Ritual (Equip Spell)
Image: Downerd Magician in her laboratory, kneeling at the edge of a pentagram, scratching her head while looking through the Spellbook of Secrets. Pink smoke and multicolored stars are flowing from the center of the pentagram.
Effect: Select 1 Ritual Monster in your hand, and then send a Normal Monster from your deck to the GY with a Level equal to or greater than the selected Ritual Monster. Special summon the selected Ritual Monster and equip it with this card. (This is considered a Ritual Summon.) A monster equipped with this card gains 400 ATK but cannot use its effect; if this card leaves the field, banish the equipped monster. During the End Phase of each of your turns, the equipped monster loses 500 ATK. If this card is in your GY, you may banish it and then add 1 Ritual Monster from your GY to your hand; you may not Ritual Summon during that turn. An effect of "Slipshod Ritual" may only be used once per turn.