Hello, everyone! Happy Week Before Christmas!
Been a hectic month, of course. Finally finished my shopping, paid most of the bills, got the tree up, finally put the air conditioner into storage, not much left to do until the 23rd until just sit back, relax, and play Pokemon Scarlet (with the new DLC).
So, wherever you are, Happy Holidays, and hope you enjoy this next chapter. If you can, leave a review and tell me what you think, that means a lot.
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Chapter Ten
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He Put It Aside
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If anyone here hasn't realized it by now, Jenni has always had something of a sadistic streak, her challenges often using brutal and confusing deck strategies. Maybe she subscribed to the old "adversity makes you stronger" mode of thought.
(Terone: 5,800) - - - - - - - - - - (Jenni: 5,900)
She was in front of me right now in her campy and cheesy cosplay outfit (which by now, I realized, was supposed to be the Batman villain Poison Ivy, she likely would have green body paint if she were going to an actual convention) with some weird Plant-Type Ritual Monsters that I had never seen before. Come to think of it, I had never seen any Plant-Type Ritual Monsters before!
At the moment, she had Avoka the Sharp Greedyent, a big avocado with a pit inside packing a tripod-mounted machine gun, placed in Attack Mode. (1,850 ATK) She also had one of the Ritual Monsters I mentioned, Tuber III the Tradition Rooted Greedyent. This was three monsters in one, the largest looking like a huge potato-onion hybrid with stubby arms, holding a sword, and a face like some cartoonish country bumpkin. There were two smaller versions of itself as well, holding cleavers. (1,800 DEF) It looked silly, but given what Jenni had said, its effect would prevent both Tribute summoning and Special Summoning from the hand. Not a card to take lightly. She also had Appropriate and a set card.
All I had was a facedown card in my Spell Zone, a rather useful Trap, but not enough to deal with this. And it was just the second turn of the duel!
GLaDOS (the name we gave our new training computer) was just as annoying as the sociopathic AI she was based on, but I was glad she was at least concealing my identity for Jenni's live stream - otherwise, this would have been embarrassing.
"Go on, Terone…" she purred.
I had three cards here, Rabidragon - which I couldn't summon right now even if Tuber wasn't there - Golem Dragon, and an Equip Spell, which right now I was better off saving for later.
Here we go, I thought, and I drew once.
A Spell Card. This was going to be risky, but I didn't have much choice. "I'm using Trade-In! I'll send my Rabidragon to the Graveyard, and then draw twice."
"And…" she replied, playfully, "I get to draw twice from Appropriate."
Like I said, risky, but the cards I drew were the key parts in a combo that I was just dying to use. Briefly looking at my Duel Disk's Extra Deck Zone (where the newest member of my team was waiting) I used one of the cards and announced, "The Lady of Dragons!"
At first, the card produced a dark aura of flames and two sinister, reptilian eyes, but then the flames turned to a golden aura and the eyes turned soft and feminine. With a dramatic brandishing of a cloak, a young female spellcaster emerged, wearing a black leather leotard, gloves, and boots, with gold trim and the cloak held in place by a clasp shaped like a dragon's head. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she wore a spiked crown made of blackened iron. (1,500 ATK)
"Damn it, Terone," she said, "if I knew I was coming to a picnic I'd have brought a cheese board."
"Maybe you can supply some music instead. I'll use… The Lyre of Reviving Dragon!"
As the Lady of D lifted her arms, a large, gilded instrument appeared in her hands. The base of the item was a sound-box shaped like a dragon's head with ruby eyes, attached to a yoke with curved arms, each shaped like a serpentine dragon, and a crossbar on the top. Lady of D closed her eyes and slowly strummed the strings while singing a haunting, wordless melody.
"A harp?"
"A harp is a large instrument with a single neck that must be played using both hands, while a lyre -"
"Okay, GLaDOs, okay!" She was annoying, but at least I wasn't afraid of her now. "Ahem, if I can't special summon from my hand, I'll have to do so from the Graveyard, and with Lady of Dragons playing the Lyre, I can summon three of them! So long as I pay 800 Life Points for each."
(T: 3,400) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 5,900)
Lady of D started to play more enthusiastically, opening her eyes, which again had slitted draconic pupils. The heavy cost caused an uncomfortable cramp in the pit of my stomach, but it was worth it, as Lava Dragon (1,600 ATK), Divine Dragon Ragnarok (1,500 ATK), and Rabidragon (2,950 ATK) appeared in front of me. For the first time today, Jenni seemed a little nervous now, especially as Rabidragon looked at her, drooling with steam rising from its nostrils.
"A giant, fire-breathing hare," snarked GLaDOS, "I have definitely seen everything. You may uninstall my hard drive now."
"Don't tempt me. Naturally, these Dragons can't use their effects, but Rabidragon doesn't have one, and as for the others…"
Lady of D stopped playing the lyre, and a very different tune replaced the soft music, a sort of invigorating marching tempo played on a piano. Lady of Dragons faded and dissolved into pixels, then Ragnarok, and then Lava Dragon.
"With my three Level 4 monsters, I can build the Overlay Network!"
The music reached a crescendo, and much like Harrington had done, I played the card, the pixels from the three monsters turning to digitized particles, combining into a humanoid shape, the rough form of an 8-bit 3rd Generation image. The rough form quickly reshaped itself and evolved five full Generations into 3D form, and Link, Guardian of Hyrule emerged, brandishing his mighty sword (2,300 ATK)
"Impressive," said Jenni.
"It's about to get a lot more, once I use Link's effect. By getting rid of one Overlay Unit, I can take an Equip Spell from my deck and boost him with it, and I have just the right one in mind."
I carefully took Lady of D's card from under Link's - I had plans for her that I'd get to in a minute. A glowing orb floated up from below and was absorbed into Link's sword.
"Draconic Attack!"
Playing the card caused red, hellish flames to surround Link. His green tunic changed to red, scaly armor with a golden belt and epaulets, his hat changing to a helmet shaped like a dragon's head of the same color (his face in-between the jaws, like Lord of D's helmet), and a long cloak with a high collar. The fire was quickly subsumed into the sword, giving it the same flaming aura. (2,800 ATK)
"The new wardrobe not only gives him 500 more points, it changes his Type from Warrior to Dragon. Which will be far more of a benefit once I use this." I flipped the Trap Card open. "Back to the Front, which brings back someone I think you'll remember."
As I said, I had further plans for Lady of D, and as per the Trap's effect, she rose back onto my side in Defense Mode. (1,100 DEF)
"So long as she's there, I can send one Dragon from my hand to the Graveyard if ever a Dragon on the field would be destroyed. For now, however… Link, mash that potato! Attack!"
Link swung his sword once, twice, and then a third time straight down, Tuber III's eyes bugging out before shattering into pixelated shards.
"Pity we don't have any butter and sour cream," said GLaDOS.
"I think this situation calls for guacamole." I pointed to Avoka, and Rabidragon readied its breath weapon…
"Trap Card, activate!" shouted Jenni, waving her hand and triggering her facedown card. "Greedyent Griller!"
"Uh…"
As the Trap flashed with magical power, The Bistro Butcher – the first monster she's summoned in the duel – appeared next to her, but this time, he had brought some heavy duty cutlery, a very large hibachi grill.
The diabolic chef twirled his cleaver, and then with a loud "HAI!" sliced Avoka in two, lengthwise. Then he discarded the cleaver and produced a large shish kebob skewer, and thrust it forward, impaling the two halves. He quickly transferred them to the grill where he started to prepare the unfortunate Greedyent, humming as he did so, with the smell of fried avocado wafting over the arena.
It was all rather disturbing, and GLaDOS seemed to agree. "An interesting effect… Amusing and disgusting at the same time, sort of like yogurt."
Jenni, meanwhile, was rubbing her stomach with a satisfied expression. "This Trap sacrifices my Greedyent before you can attack it. Tasty too, because I also gain 400 Life Points times Avoka's Level.
Then, as Bistro and his grill started to disappear, I was hit from above by… I think the quarrels were asparagus spears, I didn't get a chance to look closely. The impact was sudden and painful.
(T: 2,400) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 7,100)
Jenni giggled. "Because I previously summoned Avoka using Gathering of Greedyents, sacrificing it now - for anything - causes you to take 1,000 points of damage."
"A clever move indeed. Or rather, it would have been, had Avoka the Sharp Greedyent not been the only thing standing between you and Rabidragon's direct attack."
As hard as it was to believe, I was actually starting to get used to GLaDOS.
"Attack directly, Rabidragon! Gaia's Vengeful Fury!"
Given how Jenni reacted when the potent divine fire covered her, she was regretting that last move…
(T: 2,400) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 4,150)
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Again, I must make a brief intermission here.
Trask was still at his desk in what could be considered the "control center" of his media company, where many Duels of the Blockbuster tournament were still being shown, but at the moment, he had tasked a group of studio technicians to monitor them. At the moment, he was more focused on his PC, and a certain employee file - mine.
"Let's see here, Terone Brickman, 24 years old, born in Birmingham to Christina and Maury Brickman, no siblings, unmarried… no criminal record, BA degree from Newcastle, highest League ranking… Tier-3. Doesn't seem like the usual target for this sort of thing."
"Which for this sort of 'this sort of thing', is the general idea."
Hephzibah had placed her chair at the side of the desk and was typing on a laptop as she spoke. "One thing that the file does not mention is a certain event that was not held last year on one of I2's old properties that Mr. Brickman certainly did not attend."
This rather absurdly-made statement was intended to be an obvious lie, seeing as Ms. Frantisec put a memo out saying that anyone who spoke of the event in question would be fired on the spot. Trask was not going to bring that up - not yet, at least.
"Well then, this is going to -"
He was interrupted by one of the technicians behind them. "Hey, hey boss! You should see this!"
"Can't it wait?" he asked, annoyed.
"Go see what they want," said Hephzibah, "I will need at least ten more minutes to finish here."
Trask sometimes wondered who exactly was in charge here. As it was, he could seriously use some coffee right now.
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For a minute or so, I thought I might have hit her a little too hard. She was still standing, but doubled over and holding her stomach, looking like she would collapse at any second. Then, however, she raised her head, and despite the sweat on her forehead, she was smiling.
"Nice hit, Terone. Impulsive, but nice hit."
"Impulsive?"
Jenni took her deck from the holder, a clear indication that some sort of search effect had been triggered. I figured something was wrong – that Trap Card wasn't even as good as Mystik Wok, and that attack had cost her more Life Points than it would have had Rabidragon's attack destroyed Avoka. Now it seemed I had just been played a sucker. Indeed, it seemed sacrificing Avoka was a cost for the card's actual effect, which I was going to see now.
"Because you made a direct attack, I can summon a Greedyent from my deck, so long as its Attack Score is less than the damage I took."
I was actually a little relieved to see that the monster she chose to summon was another Avoka. (1,850 ATK) Seemed a little strange, actually, was that the best monster that could be summoned by this effect?
I shook my head, then I set one more card in my Spell Zone. I still had Golem Dragon, which hopefully I could use for Lady of D's effect if I needed it. "Turn end, and because I summoned Rabidragon via the Lyre and he's still on the field, his card returns to my hand." I took Rabidragon's card from the Disk, and the hologram faded away. "Your move."
"Then I draw," started Jenni, "and I use the Spell Card, Awakening from Beyond!" It seemed to me that Jenni had been planning her turn here since the start of my last one - her ability to read the field seemed almost uncanny at times. "This card lets me take a monster from my Graveyard, at the cost of you getting two draws."
"Meaning you get another two from that Trap, I assume?"
"You got it."
I drew, of course, and quickly took notice, as one of them was Dark Magician Girl. Her sweet smile put me at ease and made me disregard the other card I had drawn - for the moment.
Jenni used another odd Spell, one which caused a large spice shaker to appear, shaking its contents over Avoka and causing it to change color, from green to blue.
"This Equip Spell is called Nefarious Stimulating Nutrient, so named because it's fortified with enough vitamins and minerals to make Avoka here to survive being destroyed by a card effect once per turn, but has a kick twice as potent as caffeine, that lets it gain 200 Attack Points every time that happens. Plus, I can use a special effect every turn. Avoka, if you will…"
Avoka held out its palm face up, and then blew across it, the pungent spice wafting towards. Link seemed annoyed at first, but then sneezed loudly, then clutched his stomach as one would from a bad cramp. (2,100 ATK)
"He's lucky he had that Equip," continued Jenni, "because that effect also lets me Ritual Summon! So, I'll take Tuber III here, which I got from Awakening from Beyond, and sacrifice it -"
Now this was new. This was the first time I had ever seen a Ritual Summon done with something other than a Ritual Spell. Still, it seemed Jenni was doing exactly that.
"First of all, because I sacrificed Tuber III, I get a Rootpack Token here in Defense Mode." Appearing on the field was what looked like one of the small potato monsters that was with Tuber III, but no limbs. (1,300 DEF)
"And now, for the next entry, I give you… Carioca the Sweet Greedyent!"
At first, the monster she summoned seemed like a huge caterpillar, maybe the "cartoonish" time, a big bug-worm with a segmented body composed of colorful spheres. Then on closer inspection, I saw that the "spheres" were cream puffs, each with a happy smiling face on it. It also had a long, red spike on its forehead that seemed to be either crystalline or metallic. (2,000 ATK)
"That certainly looks tasty," said Lady of D, with clear sarcasm in her voice.
"Well, it does love to share," replied Jenni.
She pointed at Lady of D, and like a high-pressure spigot, Carioca's horn sprayed a gout of sugary, syrupy liquid at the Spellcaster. She tried to shield with her shoulder, but was drenched in the stuff, literally melting into a puddle of goo. I could actually smell it, it was "sweet", yes, to the point of cloying.
"Now that I've taken care of that, I can use Carioca's special effect, and this one is a doozy. For each different card with the word 'Nutrient' in its name I used this turn, I get to banish one of your Graveyard cards."
That was bad. Or… so I thought. Carioca's horn and eyes glowed red, and then a card - Back to the Front appeared, crumbling into dust.
"Uh… Why that one?"
"Because I also get to take that card, and then set it on my side! So, I'll do that, and then I'm done. For now."
Yep, it was bad. But at least it was my turn again. I made a draw – and then used my other set card.
"The Equip Spell, Overdone Burial!"
I had set this as a bluff on my last turn, as I didn't have a chance to use it then, but Jenni didn't fall for it. I could certainly use it now, however.
"By discarding a monster, I can bring one from my Graveyard that's a lower Level than the one I'm discarding. So, by tossing the Level 8 Rabidragon, I can bring back the Level 6 Des Volstgalph. You remember him, I assume?"
The Earth Dragon appeared, looking at Jenni and making a low growl. (2,200 ATK) It seemed he certainly remembered her. "Sautee that avocado!" I shouted. "Attack!"
The powerful, forceful blast thundered towards the Plant, and again, Jenni cringed in pain as it was blown to little pieces.
"Not only do you take damage from that battle, Des Volstgalph's effect deals an additional 500 points of damage. And now for him…"
Link held his sword in his right hand, lifting it up high as a stream of fire started to coil around the blade. When it reached the tip, a fierce dragon's head formed out of the flames. Grasping it with both hands, he made a powerful downward thrust, and a burning blade of flames cleaved through the Sweet Greedyent, blasting it into flaming residue.
(T: 2,400) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 3,200)
"Dramatic," said GLaDOS, "for an attack that only did 100 points of damage."
"He got rid of the monster, didn't he?"
"That he did," said Janni, "so now I can use the effect of Secret Recipe!"
"Wait, what do you… That's the Ritual Spell you used to summon the… you…"
Jenni took the Spell Card from her Graveyard, lifting it up so it could be seen. "That's right, and because you destroyed a Greedyent Ritual Monster, it's secondary effect activates."
She took the Ritual Spell, placing it under the bottom of her deck, and then… Then what looked like a phantom of Carioca the Sweet Greedyent. But… While all the faces on the segmented spheres were still smiling, the smiles weren't so sweet now. The nasty Greedyent ghost darted towards Link, and he struggled and dropped his sword as it grappled and constricted around him, his Attack Score plummeted to only 100.
"Secret Recipe activates from the grave when you destroy a Greedyent Ritual Monster, and when it does, the destroyed monster Equips itself onto the slayer, reducing its Attack Score by the Ritual Monster's own base Attack Score. And if that causes the Score to reach zero - well, can't give away everything now."
"You don't say…" I looked at Link, then took Golem Dragon from my hand and set it in the Monster Zone. "There we go… I'll end my turn with that."
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As I've said previously, I had assumed Jenni's livestream made the two participants unseen and incognito. Which was true enough. But there was one flaw that neither I, Jenni, nor even the snarky AI whose system it was being streamed through, seemed to have considered - it naturally did not conceal the cards or the Solid Vision effect it created.
All that wouldn't have been a problem, had I not been using a prototype of a card that nobody else had.
"Interesting," said Trask. "You sure it's him, Clayton? Harrington could have recorded this earlier?"
"The rest of the deck corresponds to Mr. Brickman's, chief. Pretty sure it's him."
"Who's his opponent?"
"Uhm…," said the other technician. "Says KammyKaine77." Seeing Trask's reaction, he added, "What? They have this thing about confidentiality."
One thing Trask's employees that he worked with the most knew about him: he was a control-freak. "Move over!" he ordered.
The one in front of the screen quickly got up; he sat down to take a closer look.
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"So, ready for dessert, Terone?" Jenni drew a card, then played one. "I summon Cherry Inmato!"
Finally, she used a monster I knew about. Playing the card brought forth two little guys wearing pajamas (one green and one blue), the long sleeves covering their hands, and their heads looking like younger Mystic Tomatoes. (700 ATK) Not very strong, but then, Tuners usually aren't. And as I suspected, Cherry Inmato flew upward with the Rootpack Token in tow, and both were quickly absorbed into the Synchro rings and dissolved into stars.
"I know you were looking forward to cake, Terone, but hey, far be it from me not to offer an alternative. I Tune my Level 2 Cherry Inmato and Level 2 Rootpack Token to bring out my sweet and succulent reward…"
(*2 + *2 = *4)
What appeared next, well, I had seen weirder-looking monsters than this before, but it was still bizarre. What she had summoned seemed to be a huge bowl (slightly bigger than I was) mounted on a pedestal, with a lid on the top. It was all made of glass, which gave a good view of the contents. It was a layered dessert, made of cake, fruit - mostly strawberries and bananas - and whipped cream, the multiple layers arranged in a colorful pattern. (1,900 ATK)
"Trifle? Heh, actually, I kind of like…"
Then the lid on the top of the bowl lifted, looking more like a maw with sharp teeth. Worse, inside were two evil-looking strawberries, each with a long fondue fork with barbed prongs.
"Okay, okay, that I don't like."
"Well, you'll like this next monster even less." She played another Equip Spell, causing yet another Avoka to appear. (1,850 ATK) It didn't seem any different than the previous two, but then, I caught the stench. It was like someone had combined limburger cheese, raw onions, and sauerkraut.
"That seasoning I just used is called Nourishing Pungent Nutrient, and its effect is a potent mouthful. While this Avoka can't use its effect or attack because of it, I can not only Ritual Summon, I can Ritual Summon more than one monster!"
"That's impossible!"
"More impossible than music that can raise the dead?" asked GLaDOS.
"Touche."
She flipped open the Extra Deck chamber on her Disk. "As I was about to explain… I can summon more than one Ritual Monster so long as all of them are in the Graveyard, and I have to sacrifice both Avoka and a Fusion or Synchro, the combined Levels of which have to be at leastthat of the combined Levels of the Ritual Monsters. So, I'll sacrifice Avoka and a second Sundai to summon my Gallant and Traditional-Rooted Greedyents again."
Cheri and Tuber III rose out of the summoning pentagram, both crouching in Defense Mode. (2,200 DEF), (2,300 DEF)
"Naturally, they can't use their effects, but that's a good thing in this case, because Tuber would have prevented me from Special Summoning this - Brock, the Crucial Greedyent."
This next monster that appeared was, in fact, an anthropomorphic version of the vegetable I liked the least - broccoli. Still, I admit it was a cool-looking monster, looking like a druid in a long, flowing blue robe, with a scepter and a pendant in the shape of a sun. Its head was the broccoli stalk, and it had one eye. (200 ATK)
Still, these monsters she had didn't seem very formidable, especially without their effects.
Unless, I thought. "Wait, you don't mean…"
"That's right, I'm going to make a second Synchro Summon! And this time I'm going to summon a monster that will give you the worst indigestion since those fried clams you had last June."
I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised here. If a Ritual Monster could have a Flip Effect - like Monty's - why couldn't it be a Tuner? All this was the latest odd duel in an odd week (which more likely than not, would be an odd month).
I watched Brock, Tuber, and Cheri Tune themselves, and I admit, I was kind of looking forward to what she was going to bring out next.
"I've got an order called in for two number 9s, a number 9 large, a number 6 with extra dip, a number 7, two number 45s, one with cheese, and a large soda!"
(*1 + *2 + *3 = *6)
"Order up! The Bistro's Hungry Burger!"
"You have got to be kidding me…"
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"I could seriously go for a hamburger right now…" said the second technician.
"Gordon, it's ten AM," Clayton replied.
"Says the man who puts ketchup on pancakes."
"Those were potato pancakes, dumbass!"
"Will you two pipe down?" shouted Trask. "Honestly, you both eat too much as it is, you're both getting fat."
Of course, Trask was overweight too, more so than either Gordon or Clayton; such a hypocritical statement was something he tended to do often, just to see if anyone would call him out on it. He waited a few seconds to see if they would (they did not – they knew better), and then turned back to the screen.
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"The malt shop order from Hell."
"Oh, you said it, GLaDOS."
Of course, the Hungry Burger was a very old and iconic (and obsolete) Ritual Monster in Duel Monsters, but this Synchro Monster was very different. For starters, this one had a toasted Brioche bun, which had eyes on the top, and a halo over it. Or rather, two onion rings that functioned as a halo. Along with the two patties it had - I assumed - lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles within, easy to see as its "mouth" was wide open. (2,000 ATK)
"Okay, okay, funny," I said, "but I don't see what's so terrible about it."
"The lettuce is actually kale, the tomatoes are sun-dried, and the special sauce is Caesar salad dressing."
"HAVE YOU NO SHAME?"
Maybe I was joking or exaggerating… Maybe. That combination certainly did not seem appetizing. I tried to keep my mind on the cake here, even as Jenni took a card from her deck.
"Don't worry, Terone, the Burger is a back-up plan. For now, I'll use the effect of Sundai. All I have to do is choose a Plant monster from my deck and toss it." She turned a card forward, Sweet Corn; discarding it caused the two strawberries in Sundai's dish to grin menacingly as their spears burned with green fire and the cream started to boil. "By doing this, I get to draw once, and the Defense Score of all monsters on the field changes to that of Sweet Corn. As in, zero.
"Of course, your monsters are in Attack Mode, but when Sundai attacks a monster, the target's position changes - and does double piercing damage!
"Attack now! Crème fraiche frappé flambe!"
As Jenni had warned, Link moved to Defense Mode, and Sundai spewed a gout of scalding custard mixed with fruit. As delicious an end it might have been for Link to be smothered in sweet, rich, cream (sarcasm there) I was not about to let it happen. Carioka uncoiled from Link and threw itself in front, shielding him with its long body.
"What?"
"That would be Link's effect. I can get rid of one of his Equips to protect him and avoid taking damage, and because Carioka was acting as an Equip -" The Ritual Monster shattered, and the onslaught of cream subsided. "You knew that, right?"
Jenni laughed. "Oy, guess I didn't! Silly of me, huh?"
Of course, I may have avoided losing the duel there, but she still had another monster, meaning Link was still toast. Or so I thought.
"Now my Bistro's Hungry Burger attacks Des Volstgalph!"
"Say what?"
"I know, I know, Des Volstgalph is stronger, that's the point! You see, Bistro's Hungry Burger can't be destroyed in battle, and when it battles, its Attack Score falls all the way to zero, and all the battle damage is taken by you!"
"Okay, wait one minute here…"
"Hear me out! You want to save yourself? It has one other effect, but you have to activate it. Just pick any number of Ritual Monsters in my Graveyard equal to Bistro Hungry Burger's Level. I get them back, but then it can't attack this turn. Seems like a fair trade, right?"
Now that was, I had to admit, unique. Not that I had a choice.
"Okay, okay, I accept."
Of course, the decision was easy to make, as the three Ritual Monsters in her Graveyard (Cheri, Carioka, and Tuber III) added up to exactly six, which was the Level of Bistro's Hungry Burger. Unfortunately, not only did she now have them back, I wouldn't be able to use that effect again.
She set one card in her Spell Zone. "Well, guess that's enough for now. Go on…"
I made a draw… It was Tri-Horned Dragon. Damn. I could summon it - and it would certainly be an improvement over Link right now, but it wouldn't matter much against that Burger. If I could…
Then, I noticed Link was looking up at me. "What?" I asked.
He simply nodded; I looked at my hand, specifically at the two cards I had drawn via that Awakening from Beyond.
"Hey… Good idea there, that will work!" I went for Dark Magician Girl's card first. "Time for the moment we've all been waiting for, I sacrifice my set monster to bring out Dark Magician Girl!"
Golem's card vanished, and the idol music and pink light effects started again, a pink thaumaturgic circle traced onto the floor in a sparkling hue, and the perky female sorceress gracefully pirouetting out of it. (2,000 ATK)
It did seem like this excited Jenni, but Dark Magician Girl was excited too; she didn't talk, but as she looked at Bistro's Hungry Burger, she squealed with delight, looking on it longingly.
Does… Does she want to eat it?
As weird as this was, I had to continue my turn. I went to move Link back to Attack Mode… And to my complete shock, Dark Magician Girl offered him her hand and helped him up. (2,100 ATK)
"Uhm, I uh… Ahem, Des Volstgalph attacks Bistro's Hungry Burger! And as he does…" I used the Spell Card I had drawn with Dark Magician Girl. "Forbidden Chalice! Using it on that thing makes it no more dangerous than the original Hungry Burger."
"Not quite," said Jenni, "it makes it 400 Attack Points stronger, meaning Des Volstgalph still can't manage it." (2,400 ATK)
"Oh, Jenni?" said GLaDOS in a sweet voice. "Forgetting something? When a Normal or Quickplay Spell Card is played…"
It sank in quickly. "Des Volstgalph gains 200 Attack Points…"
"That's right," I added. (2,400 ATK) "So I'll be taking this order to go."
Des Volstgalph roared, and its fiery breath blasted towards the Bistro's Hungry Burger. The Burger retaliated, shooting a thin stream of volatile special sauce from its jaws. The streams collided halfway, and both me and Jenni shielded ourselves as both monsters exploded.
Dark Magician Girl's head drooped. "Uh…" I said softly. "Uhm, I'll get you another, I promise."
That actually seemed to cheer her up, so I nodded, and continued my turn. "Link, your turn, carve up that trifle! Attack!"
The Hero of Hyrule made a dramatic brandish with his blade, and shimmering magic surged from the hilt to the tip. He leapt at the Bistro's Delicacy, and with one mighty downward slash, cleaved through it. He landed, crouching, behind it, as the cloyingly-sweet Synchro behind him cracked, shuddered, and then shattered.
"Your turn Dark Magician Girl!" I said. Then I stopped… I wanted to make this perfect… "Dark Burning Attack!"
As I mentioned before, Jenni had wanted to face this card in a duel, as she always did when I got something nice. It was almost a… fetish she had, maybe a "nerd thing". Well, she was getting what she wanted now - you know what they say, "Be careful what you wish for." The scream when Dark Magician Girl's spell clobbered her made me wonder if she was having second thoughts.
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"Well, I've seen enough. Download the stream and save it to file, we might need it later."
"Roger that, boss."
Trask turned away from them, but then stopped and added, "And from now on, I'd prefer it if you two did not turn such programs on during company time."
Clayton gulped and nodded. "Uh, yes sir."
"I'll let it slide this time, but -"
"Mister Trask."
The stern comment had come from Hephzibah, who it seemed had found what she had been looking for. "There is a seller willing to part with what you require and deliver it the way you requested, here's what he's asking." She turned the laptop towards him. "I do not believe I need to tell you he requires cash and needs an answer immediately."
"Ugh, call the bank."
"It is Sunday, sir."
"Eh?"
"The bank is closed, sir."
"Typical." Trask lowered his voice considerably. "Then get it from the vault, we'll replace it when it is open."
"Sir." Hephzibah lowered her sunglasses to look at him, something that always made him nervous. "If you truly want that card, it would be a simple matter for me to simply take it from him."
"At the cost of losing Mr. Brickman himself, Hephzibah."
"I fail to see why that is a problem."
"Heh," said Trask. "Typical." He sat down on his chair and then turned his own PC on. "Would Nabisco stop marketing Oreo cookies?" Seeing her blank stare, he shook his head, sarcasm was lost on some people.
"In the 12 hours since Terone's duel where he first summoned that monster, we have gotten more new subscriptions than we usually do in a week, plus more upgrades among existing subscribers than we would in two weeks. This is big, Hephzibah."
"Oh, I see. You are concerned with profit then. My mistake."
Maybe sarcasm was not lost on her.
"Nonetheless, Hephzibah, I will remind you that for the foreseeable future, you and your associates work for me, so I assume you know what to do."
She nodded and stood up. "Reservations are for six o'clock." And then she turned and left.
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(T: 2,400) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 1,200)
"Ha-ha. Nice Terone." Jenni got up, despite the heavy hit she had taken, she was smiling. "So, if that's all…" I nodded to reply. "I'll take my turn."
She drew a card, and then played it immediately. "Card Destruction!"
Leave it to Jenni to always have a plan B. Letting her have those three Ritual Spells gave her three cards to discard by using that card, while I had only one remaining, but drawing that one let her use Appropriate again, meaning she now had a hand of five cards to work with.
"Then, I'll use my, eh, excuse me, your Trap Card, to bring back the Bellpep Vital Greedyent one more time!"
Now this was a surprise. Of all the monsters that could have been summoned with this card, that one… Well, it wouldn't have been my choice. (1,700 DEF)
"In case you need a reminder, I can use its effect to discard one card and take both a Greedyent and a Secret Recipe from my deck. But don't worry, I'm not going to Ritual Summon this time. Instead, I'm going to discard this last Secret Recipe to play… Monster Reincarnation!" She made the play, and then swapped the Spell Card for a Monster Card from her Graveyard.
"Next I'll activate my facedown card, Seed of Deception, and summon Brock the Crucial Greedyent again."
"Ugh, the broccoli again?" (200 ATK)
"You know how it is, Terone, I always make too much." And then, two half-size versions of Brock appeared to either side of him. (100 ATK x2)
"These are called Brock Ally Tokens; by using this effect I'm not allowed to Special Summon anything this turn except Plants, but…" Bellpep and one of the Tokens disappeared. "...Tribute Summoning is another story. I give up two monsters to summon the Bistro Butcher!"
There was a stench of brimstone and rancid meat as a new monster - clearly not a Greedyent nor anything even remotely resembling vegetables - rose from a portal on the floor, rising as a hunched figure, and then straightened itself to full height. I assumed from its name that it was a stronger version of the Bistro Butcher, but while this… thing was a Fiend, it didn't seem to have anything else in common with the more familiar card. It was a hulking, obese monstrosity with flabby folks of skin on its immense gut. It was bald, with a pug-ugly face, big nose, and upward-pointing tusks on its lower jaw. The only clothing it had was a ragged pair of trousers, and didn't have shoes, its huge feet having two toes each, with talons. Naturally, it had a cleaver, which was almost as big as I was. (2,800 ATK)
"Well, it's… big, I will say that," said GLaDOS.
I had no idea what this thing was or where it came from. Link had one Equip Spell left, so I was certain he could withstand this thing's attack…
"Now, for the final course," said Jenni. She took one of her three remaining cards - it was Polymerization.
"I'll fuse together the other Brock Ally Token and from my hand, Predaplant Chlamydosundew, in order to sow the Seed of Chaos!"
So much for that. I was rather certain I knew what this monster was even before it appeared, and when the huge pod with a thick trunk, a rafflesia flower on the top, and two fanged maws on vine-like branches sprouted out of the ground. (2,500 ATK)
"Predaplant Chimerafflesia! Now the first thing I'm going to do is…"
I assumed she was going to use Chimerafflesia's effect to banish Dark Magician Girl, and there was no way I could stop her. Jenni locked eyes with the Spellcaster who looked back defiantly.
"Eh, on second thought… Butcher?" The Buffet Butcher lifted its large cleaver, running his finger along the blade, as if to test its sharpness. "So, Terone, would you rather he did this with a cross-cut or top-to-bottom?"
"Listen to your heart," said GLaDOS.
Oh yeah, very funny, I thought, and I barely had time to react as the huge ogre lunged towards Link, his footfalls making the whole room shake.
"Link's effect activates!" I screamed. The draconic armor shattered, and Link's Attack Score lowered to only 1,300. The Butcher's blade glanced off, and I was unharmed - but at the moment, it was only done for the sake of dignity.
Chimerafflesia lifted its two arms, and Link groaned as they literally started to sap the energy out of him. His Attack Points reduced quickly to only 300, while Chimerafflesia was strengthened, rising to 3,500 points.
It was more than enough. The beast launched a volley of lethal spines from its blossom, stabbing through Link causing him to shatter. I fell on one knee…
(T: 0) - - - - - - - - - - (J: 1,200)
Ironically, this was a lot less brutal than Jenni usually was. Sometimes I wondered if she would make a better pro.
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"Terone?"
"Ugh," I said. I held my head as I sat up.
"Thank goodness," said GLaDOS's snarky voice. "For a minute
"Did I black out?"
"Only for about a minute," said Jenni. "Heh, guess I was a little rough. Here…"
I opened my eyes and saw Jenni, offering me a hand… And then I jumped back in shock.
"Hey, hey, I don't bite!"
Actually, Jenni hadn't been what spooked me. The duel was over, and the holograms should have all vanished - but Dark Magician Girl was behind Jenni, smiling sweetly at me and waving. But as I scooted back from the shock, my eyes were averted for a second, and when I looked again, she was gone.
"Hey, cheer up, Terone, that was a great duel. I haven't felt so refreshed in months. Here -" She lowered the cake tray in front of me, and then lifted the lid. "I told you, the cake isn't a lie."
I had almost forgotten the whole reason I had agreed to duel her.
"Go on, you've earned it."
"Uhm… Do we have any milk?"
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We did, but it was naturally in the refrigerator upstairs. Still, given all I had done to earn the cake, it was worth the run upstairs.
After two and a half slices and almost a full quart of milk, I noticed something else on the counter I forgot - the strange note I had gotten right before the duel, encouraging me not to back out of it.
Curiously, I went to pick up the folded note, and a game card slipped out - which of course, had not been there before. Putting the note down, I looked at that first… Then I stopped, put the food down on the counter, and pushed it aside. This card I did not want to ruin by getting chocolate on it.
It was an equip Spell, one with very specific requirements; it could only be equipped to Light, Warrior Xyzs - such as Link - but very powerful when used as such. Who would simply give me a card so powerful?
I picked up the note again to reread it, wondering if I might have missed something; instead, I found a completely different message, though seemingly written by the same person.
Dear Terone,
You have great potential, and I can make you stronger.
Vendreti's Antiquities, Hecate's Square, come tomorrow, 3PM.
Please bring a hamburger.
I read this short message several times, wondering whether or not I was going crazy or was the victim of some prank. Jenni had gone upstairs to shower; while she could have left the first note, she didn't have any opportunity to switch them, and frankly, she never "covertly" gave me a card. Whoever left it had somehow placed a note in our house twice without either of us noticing.
Hecate's Square, huh?
One thing I was certain of, I was not about to wait until tomorrow at 3PM to look into this.
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Three hours later, I got off the train in a part of town I'd never had reason to go before, the neighborhood called Hecate's Square.
There was an odd history of this place; decades ago, it had become something of a low-rent district with a bad reputation, until it was subjected to a unique form of urban renewal when some rich investors bought up the place and decided to convert it into a tourist destination for a specific demographic in mind - Goth culture.
From what I heard, it seemed to work for a while. Restaurants and nightclubs were set up with names like the Gates of Hell and the Styx Oarsman Tavern, plus retro arcades, book and music stores, theaters (film and live), and game centers. They sponsored annual events like a Halloween-themed carnival and a street fair called the Pandemonium Bazaar. There were even plans to build a university in an adjacent area dedicated to "dark academia" studies, which I believe is a form of higher education intended to adapt the oldest forms of art and culture into modern aesthetic forms. (Try to imagine how Hogwarts might approach teaching the subjects offered in actual colleges, and you might get a general gist of it.)
It all seemed campy, trite, and cheesy - in a dark way - but it seemed successful at first.
Then came the Shakedown of 2032. This was a scandal involving the British government that would take far too long to discuss; suffice to say, many powerful members of the Costa de Cram (an unofficial name for the biggest organized crime syndicate at the time) had many members of Parliament itself on the take. One of them was the lead stockholder of the firm that owned Hecate's Square, a man named Giulio Malmone.
If you think that's the perfect name for a mobster, you aren't the only one, because he was. Malmone was using much of the project as a front for various illegal activities, including trafficking, smuggling, loan sharking, and contract killing. I have no idea why he had decided on such a theme, I mean, not to disparage Goth culture, but if I were selling contraband out of a supposedly legitimate nightclub, I wouldn't call it the Gates of Hell. I wouldn't say he was worse than the typical crime boss, nor was he the most powerful member of the ones involved in the Shakedown, but the plot was uncovered, and multiple plea bargains, convictions, and election reforms later, his company collapsed. Hecate's Square still existed, mostly as the low-rent district it was before, with only a few of the old Goth-style attractions still open among liquor stores and supermarkets, and quite a few of them having degenerated into less reputable establishments.
And right now, looking around the street where I got off, I suddenly realized I had absolutely no idea where this Vendreti's Antiquities place was.
And then, my mobile phone started ringing. Oh, brother… It was Jenni. Busted… I considered not answering it, but I'd have to face her eventually.
"Hey, Jenni! What a surprise!"
"Terone, where the hell are you? I found the note, by the way."
"Uh, well, gonna be honest here, Jenni, I'm trying to find out who sent it."
"Terone, listen, I looked up this Antiquities place and I don't - Terone? Hello? TERONE!"
I couldn't answer her. I had dropped the phone.
Or rather, it had been taken from me by the woman who had grabbed me from behind.
This was my first meeting with Hephzibah. Not something easy to forget…
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Ooh, looks like we're going to have to end it there.
Next chapter, more about Hephzibah, Trask, and an old face some of my long term readers might hopefully recognize.
And of course, now that the duel has finished, I can update the effects of some of the fanmade cards. Well, most of them. I'm not sure if Jenni will be using the others later, so if anyone wants to see the full effects of some of them, PM me. Again, credit for creating all of these cards except the last one goes to D'Sceptre Inc.
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Secret Recipe (Ritual Spell Card)
Image: A sinister-looking cultist, with a silvery-white cloak with violet highlights and gold embroidery, his hood hiding all but evil-looking glowing eyes; also wearing a disposable paper chef's hat on top of the hood, held a long kitchen knife in his right hand and a cutting board in the other. Behind him is a ruined Shinto-style temple with odd, thorny potted plants. Dark flames border the whole scene.
Effect: Can be used to Ritual Summon any Plant-Type Ritual Monster, "Nouvelles" monster, or "Hungry Burger". You must also Tribute monsters from your hand or field whose total Levels equal or exceed the Level of the Ritual Monster you Ritual Summon. Once per turn you may activate the following effect as a Quick Effect: If a Plant-Type Ritual Monster you control is destroyed by your opponent (by battle or by card effect) send this card from your GY to the bottom of your deck, and then equip the destroyed Ritual Monster from your GY to the monster that destroyed it. A monster equipped with a Ritual Monster this way loses ATK equal to the equipped monster's ATK. If a monster's ATK is reduced to zero via this effect, take control of the equipped monster.
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Avoka the Sharp Greedyent
Plant/Light/Lvl3/1,850/200
Effect: If this card is Normal Summoned: You can add 1 "Nutrient" Spell/Trap from your Deck to your hand. Cannot attack, except during a turn when a "Nutrient" Spell/Trap is activated. If this card is Tributed: You can target 1 Plant monster in your GY that was Tributed this turn (except "Avoka the Sharp Greedyent"); Special Summon that target in Defense Position, then if it is a Ritual Monster, you can add 1 Ritual Spell from your Deck to your hand whose name is specifically listed on that monster. You can only use this effect of "Avoca the Sharp Greedyent" once per turn.
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Tuber III the Tradition-Rooted Greedyent (Ritual Effect Monster)
Plant/Dark/Lvl3/0ATK/2,300DEF
Effect: You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Nutrient" Spell. While you control this Ritual Summoned card, your opponent cannot Tribute any monsters on the field, nor Special Summon monsters from their hand with monster effects. If this card is Tributed: You can Special Summon 1 "Rootpack Token" (Plant/DARK/Level 2/ATK 1300/DEF 1300), but it cannot attack or be used as material for a Summon, except a Synchro Summon.
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Carioca the Sweet Greedyent (Ritual Effect Monster)
Plant/Light/Lvl2/2,000ATK/0DEF
Effect: You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Nutrient" Spell. During the Battle Phase (Quick Effect): You can banish cards from your opponent's GY, equal to the number of "Nutrient" Spells with different names activated this turn, and if you do, you can Set 1 of those banished Spell/Trap Cards to your field. You can only use this effect of "Carioca, the Sweet Greedyent" once per turn. Once per turn, during the Main Phase (Quick Effect): You can target 1 Spell/Trap you control and 1 other card on the field; until the End Phase, their effects cannot be activated, also destroy them if this card leaves the field.
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Gathering of Greedyents (Normal Trap Card)
Image: Several fruits and vegetables with happy or pouty faces leaping down a waterfall of sparkling water under a blue, sunny sky and rainbow.
Effect: Special Summon 1 "Greedyent" monster from your Deck with the same Level as a Ritual Monster or Plant monster currently face-up on the field; if you do, if you do, and it is Tributed this turn or next turn, inflict 1000 damage to your opponent. You can (?)
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Nourishing Pungent Nutrient (Equip Spell)
Image: A flask of blue liquid with vines coiled around. The flask hovers in a green aura around golden, curved prongs.
Effect: Activate by targeting 1 "Greedyent", "Bistro", or "Hungry Burger" monster in your GY: Special Summon it in Attack Position and equip it with this card, but it cannot attack, and its effect is negated. Your opponent's non-Plant monsters cannot destroy a monster equipped with this card by battle, or with their effects. During your main phase, you can Tribute a monster Equipped with this card and 1 monster from your Extra Deck. Then, select up to 2 Plant-Type Ritual Monsters in your GY whose combined Levels are equal to or less than the combined Levels of the selected monsters. Special Summon the selected monsters from your GY. (This is considered a Ritual Summon). You can only activate 1 "Nourishing Pungent Nutrient" per turn.
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Nefarious Summoning Nutrient (Equip Spell)
Image: A flask of red liquid, seen from below, the liquid spurting from the top. On the bottom of the flask is a rune of an eye inside a circle with a slash through it. Another eye-shaped rune is on a tag tied to the neck of the flask.
Effect: Equip only to a Plant monster, "Hungry Burger", or "Bistro's Hungry Burger". Each turn, the first time that this card or the card it is equipped to would be destroyed by a card effect, that card is not destroyed and the equipped monster gains 200 ATK. Once per turn: You can select 1 monster on the field; the selected monster loses 700 ATK, and if you do, you may Tribute monsters you control or in your hand whose total Levels equal the Levels of a Plant Ritual Monster in your hand, then Special Summon that Ritual Monster (This is considered a Ritual Summon). You can only activate 1 "Nefarious Stimulating Nutrient" once per turn.
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The Buffet Butcher (Effect Monster Card)
Fiend/Dark/Lvl8/2,800ATK/1,000DEF
Effect: You can only control 1 "The Buffet Butcher". The player (?)
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Bistro's Hungry Burger (Synchro Effect Monster)
Warrior/Dark/Lvl7/2,000ATK/1,850DEF
Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters
Effect: Cannot be destroyed by battle. When this card battles, its ATK becomes zero until the End Phase of the turn and battle damage you would have taken is instead taken by your opponent. During the Battle Phase, your opponent can activate the following effect: Select Tuners and/or Ritual Monsters from your GY to your hand whose total Levels exactly equal 6; if your opponent does so, this card cannot attack this turn. If this (?)
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Sundai the Bistro's Delicacy (Synchro Tuner Effect Monster)
Plant/Dark/Lvl4/1,900ATK/1,950DEF
Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
When this card is Synchro Summoned: You can select 1 Plant monster from your Deck and destroy it. If you do, draw 1 card; also, the DEF of all monsters on the field becomes equal to that destroyed monster's DEF. If a Plant monster you control battles an opponent's Extra Deck monster, you can switch 1 of your opponent's monsters to Defense Position; if you do, this card inflicts piercing damage against that monster, and battle damage is doubled.
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Greedyent Grill (Normal Trap Card)
Image: The Bistro Butcher in the foreground, cooking a Tuber III the Tradition-Rooted Greedyent on a large picnic-style hibachi grill. The background depicts an outdoor party in a suburban backyard with Dream Clown, Ancient Brain, Water Omotics, and Ancient Elf among the guests.
Effect: Activate when the only monster you control is 1 "Greedyent" Monster. Tribute that "Greedyent" monster; increase your LP by 400x the Level of the Tributed monster. If you do, and you take Battle Damage that turn, you may, during the End Phase of the turn, Special Summon a "Greedyent" or "Bistro" monster from your hand or deck with an ATK that is less than or equal to the amount of damage you took.
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Wrath of Tiamat (Continuous Trap Card)
Image: The F.G.D. surrounded by Arcane Archer of the Forest, Mid Shield Gardna, Kojikocy, Amazoness Swords Woman, Chronicle Magician, and Gravekeeper's Spy.
Effect: When a Dragon-Type monster you control is destroyed by battle, place 1 Wrath Counter on this card. (Max:4) All face-up Dragon-Type monsters you control gain 200 ATK per Wrath Counter on this card. During your Main Phase, you may discard 1 Dragon-Type monster from your hand and send this card to the GY. If you do, Special Summon (from your hand or deck) a Dragon-Type monster with a Level equal to or lower than the number of Wrath Counters this card had x2. Otherwise, destroy this card during your End Phase.
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Lyre of Reviving Dragon (Normal Spell Card)
Image: Closeup of Lady of D's face, her eyes closed as she plays a lyre with a yoke shaped like two Dragons.
Effect: Activate if you control a "Lord of D." or "Lady of D." Select up to 3 Dragon-Type monsters in your GY; pay 800 LP per selected monster, and then Special Summon the selected monsters. Monsters summoned via this method cannot use their effects. During the End Phase of the turn you use this effect, send all Dragon-Type monsters you control that were selected by this card's effect from the field to your hand.