When All Was Lost...
Chapter Eight
8
Kalin:4000
Akarii: 4000
Akarii had no idea why Kalin wanted to duel her...
She had a hard time reading him in general.
But they were a Duel Gang...
So Dueling was a pretty regular part of their day- be it with their enemies for territory-
Ot just with each other, for fun.
"I'll make the first move!" said Kalin as he drew his first card, "And I'll start by setting a monster face down in Defense mode." he declared, "Next, I'll lay down two face downs and call it~ Your turn, Rhodes!"
"Don't mind if I do!" said Akarii as she drew her frist card.
I remember this duel...
she thought to herself.
I remember Kalin...and my deck...
My Zombie deck...
"And I'll start by playing Pyramid Turtle! In Attack mode!" she declared.
Pyramid Turtle
ATK: 1200
DEF: 1400
"Now I think I'll go ahead and send my monster into battle!"
Much to Akarii's demise- the face down card she attacked was Newdoria.
"Sorry Rosie~" Kalin teased, "But when Newdoria is destroyed and sent to my graveyard? Then I get to destroy one monster on the field!"
Akarii grunted as her monster got taken from her and sent away.
"I know what that Pyramid Turtle does!" said Kalin, " I know how you like to use its effect to bring out your heavy hitters early in the game~" he teased, "But since Your monster was destroyed by a card effect and not by a result of battle- I'm afraid that effect can't be activated this time! Sorry~"
"Grrh..." Akarii mumbled.
Damn...there goes my early advantage...
She thought to herself.
"Fine...I guess I have no choice now but to lay down my face down and end my turn..."
"Thank you kindly~" said Kalin as he drew his card, " Next, from my field, I'm gonna activate Fires of Doomsday!" he stated,"With this card, I can bring out 2 Doomsday Tokens onto my field!" he explained, "And now I am going to sarifice one of them- in order to summon Patrician of Darkness- in Attack mode!"
Patrician Of Darkness
ATK: 2000
DEF:1400
"And now with him out- I'm gonna attack you directly!"
"Oh no your not!" said Akarii, "Because I activate this- Bottomless Trap Hole!" she stated, "With this trap card, I can activate it whenever you summon a monster on your side of the field with 1500 or more attack points!" she stated, "And With that- Your monster is destroyed!"
"Or so you thoughr" Kalin laughed, "I've got a counter!" he declared, " Destruction Jammer! By discarding one card from my hand, I can negate the effect of any spell, trap, or monster card that destroys any monsters on my field!" he said, "Tough luck, Rhodes.~"
"AURGH!" Akarii huffed.
And with her trap gone- she was left wide open for an attack
"AAAUUUGH!"
Kalin: 4000
Akarii: 4000- 2000
Well...that certainly stung a bit...
She thought to herself, gritting her teeth as she drew her card- The wheels in her head were slowly beginning to turn...
It's risky...
She thought to herself.
And it's gonna cost me some points...but with this...I might just be able to turn this duel around in my favor!
"I'll start by activating a Field Spell- Zombie World!" she grinned as the world around her began to Deca into something dark and grotesque, "The beauty about this field spell is that Any monster on the field? They're now Zombie types. And no one on either side is aloud to tribute summon from their hand EXCEPT if it's a Zombie!"
She beamed.
"Talk about Home field Advantage..." Kalin mumbled, "What else can I expect from out resident Zombie Deck Mistress?" Kalin chuckled.
Akarii smirked and continued her turn-
"Next I'm gonna bring out another Pyramid Turtle!" she declared.
Pyramid Turtle
ATK: 1200
DEF: 1400
"And now I'm ready to attack you!"
"That's gonna cost you some points!" claimed Kalin, "Because with my Patrician Of Darkness out- I get to decise your target!" he grinned.
And 800 points later- Akarii's turtle bit the dust for the second time.
Kalin: 4000
Akarii: 2000-1200
"I was counting on it!" said Akarii, "Because now with my turtle destroyed by battle- I can use its effect- which is to special summon a Zombie monster from my deck!" she grinned, "And the Monster I'm choosing...is my Red Eyes Zombie Dragon!"
She beamed as she pulled out her best beast.
Red Eyes Zombie Dragon
ATK: 2400
DEF: 2000
Of course due to Patrician's effect, that attacked landed on Kalin's Token instead...but Akarii had a back up plan.
"I'll activate this card- Soul Taker!" she explained, "With it, you gain 1000 life points...but I get to destroy one mosnter you have on the field!"
Now Kalin's field is empty... and he can't use any monster advantage to get to me...Because my Zombie Dragon is now the strongest monster on the field!
Kalin: 5000-4000
Akarii: 1200
Kalin clicked his tongue as he took his turn.
"I'll place a monster face down in defense mode." he declared, "Then I'll end my turn with a face down on the field."
Now it was Akarii's turn once again...
And she drew her Third Pyramid Turtle...which she summoned out onto the field.
Pyramid Turtle
ATK: 1200
DEF: 1400
I don't have a whole lot of points left...
Akarii thought to herself.
I'm gonna have to play more carefully from here on in if I want to win!
"I'll attack your face down with my Red Eyes Zombie Dragon!" she declared, destroying the defender of Kalin's life points, "And now- Thanks to my Zombie's effect- whenever Red Eyes Zombie Dragon destroys a Zombie on my opponents side of the field- I can then take that monster to join me on mine!"
Kalin growled.
"Pitch-Black Warwolf is normally a Beast-Warrior type..." Kalin stated, "But since you have Zombie World in play...that means he's now a Zombie type."
"And that also means that he is now mine!" said Akarii as her new soldier joined her ranks.
Pitch-Black Warwolf
ATK: 1600
DEF: 800
"But don't worry, Kalin!" the red head beamed, "Because I'm about to send him right back! GO!"
Kalin: 5000-3400
Akarii: 1200
"But he's not gonna come in alone!" she declared, "Because My Turtle's got some bones to grind with you too!"
"AAUUGH!"
Kalin: 3400-2200
Akarii: 1200
Akarii ended her turn with that...and Kalin started his.
He didn't have much other choice other than to defend...since Akarii's Red Eyes Zombie Dragon Dominated this Zombie field...he grumbled as he placed another card face down.
"I'll activate Coffin Seller." said Kalin when Akarii took her draw on her turn, "Each time a monster card is sent to your Graveyard... then you're gonna have 300 points of damage dealt to you."
"A useful card..." said Akarii, "But i'm afraid it's not gonna do anything to help you this time..." she warned, "Because I'm about to win this!" she claimed, "Now Red Eyes- attack his monster!"
Emissary Of The Afterlife was destroyed.
And as per Akarii's Zombie's effect- it too soon joined her on her field- to which she gifted its power back to him with a bite.
Kalin: 2200- 600
Akarii: 1200
"Game Over!" she declared, as she finished Kalin off with her remaining monsters...dropping his life points right down to zero.
XXXX
"Hey...Kalin?" Akarii blinked, "You good?" she questioned him curiously. He looked a bit down at first having lost...but then he just laughed.
"Am I good?" He chuckled, "Yeah Akarii...I'm good." he snorted, "And you're...not bad!" he grinned, "Which is a good thing...because with what's coming up...we're gonna need all the strength we can muster."
"With what's coming up?" Akarii blinked, "Is that why you wanted to Duel? To see if I would be the wink link of the team!?" she pouted with her arms folded.
She seemed quite a bit offended by that...
"Relax Akarii." Kalin said softly patting her shoulder, "I know you're not weak!" he stated, "Weaklings don't roll on my team- and you're just as much an equal member of this team as the rest of our crew."
Somehow...that didn't make her feel any better...
"I wasn't trying to weed you out." he clarified, "But I did need to see if you were ready..."
"Ready?" Akarii blinked, "For what?"
"It's time for The Enforcers to do some more Enforcing." he stated, "We need to get the upperhand in this Turf War, and to do that all of our members better be ready...because tomorrow is our next Turf Battle." he explained, "We've almost conquered all of Satellite." he stated, "We'll bring big things to this town." he grinned,"You're about to head home to Crow now, right?" he asked.
"Yeah...I am." she stated.
"Good." said Kalin, "Do me a favor and let him know about tomorrow, okay?"
"Sure Kalin..." Akarii said softly, "You've got it."
XXXXX
"Say What!?" Crow blinked with obvious shock, "Kalin wanted to duel? Whatever for?"
"I dunno Crow." Akarii blinked, "Maybe because he's a duelist?"
"Well I mean, yeah sure we're duelists and we duel each other all the time." said Crow, "I guess it's just kind of weird for Kalin you know? To just come out of the blue like that for a duel..."
"Yeah...I suppose it was kind of weird..." said Akarii.
"So..." Crow blinked, "...How'd it go?"
"Oh I won." she stated.
With that Crow choked a gasp.
"It's no big thing though...sometimes I feel like he holds back, you know? Because I'm a girl..."
"Yeah...that sounds like Kalin." said Crow, "But don't worry Akarii, Yusei, Jack and I all know that you're not some damsel in distress."
"Yeah, no kidding." Akarii chuckled.
They were all decent duelists. A bit rough around the edges. Kalin was on a level of his own. It wasn't that he couldn't be beaten...but he certainly didn't make it easy for anyone.
Still it was encouraged to try.
And while Akarii may have won this round... She knew Kalin could trounce her just as easily.
After all...there was a reason he was the Leader of the gang.
"Still though...as random as that duel was...something he said kind of bothers me..."
"Yeah?" Crow blinked, "Why? Did Kalin...say something strange?"
Akarii fell silent as she thought back to the rustic duel scene between her and their stioc leader...
XXXXX
Nothing excited Kalin more than a good match, but this time seemed a little different...even though he lost.
"I see you've been making good use out of those zombie cards your brother gave you." he chuckled, "You and your zombies are something else~"
He meant it as a compliment...but he himself still seemed lost in thought. Akarii blinked in confusion as she shuffled her deck and returned it to her brother's old holster. A habbit she had to make every match a new experience and challenge herself with new strategies in her own cards.
"What!?" she questioned,"Kalin what are you talking about!?" she laughed, "I ain't special or nothin'." she scoffed, "I think You or Yusei fit that bill" she chuckled, "Or even Jack...he's pretty bad ass."
"You say that...but you should believe in yourself a little more." he chuckled, "You may surprise yourself!"
The way he talked...
It reminded her so much of her older brother Kai. She couldn't help but blush softly to herself when he praised her. With Kai gone, Kalin was a close met him some years ago when she was younger. Apparently he used to visit Kai a lot...took a bit of a shine to him...But that may be because Kai kicked his butt in Duel Monsters every time...
When Akarii got arrested, Kalin made it like- his personal mission to love and protect her like the treasure Kai claimed her to be...
Which was why Kalin often took it easy on her...
Because when he looked at Akarii, the youngest member of their gang, not to mention the only girl, all he saw was the little sister that the group all shared.
Kai's most cherished and precious treasure...
Kalin honored and respected Kai's wishes even after Kai was gone. He meant a lot to her... as Kai did, and she always did her best for him.
"Anyway, relax!" Kalin teased giving her a playful knock on the forehead, "I ain't plannin' to get shown up by you or even Yusei in that matter!" he laughed, "But damn, our duel got me all fired up!" He beamed.
Whatever seemed to be bothering him before showed no sign of doing so now. Maybe he just needed to clear his head. "Now that I know you're up to snuff Make sure you're just as ready for our next turf battle!"
Turf battle.
Duel gangs had gathered all around Satellite, they each ruled over different areas, which were call "turfs".
It was Kalin's dream to Unite all of Satellite...so that these turfs didn't need to exist.
At the time...it was such a beautiful dream...so naturally...they would follow him anywhere. Yusei, Jack, Crow...and Akarii too.
Kalin was an incredibly strong duelist...
Win or lose,she knew she could always count on a great game. She walked the rest of the way home now lost in her own thoughts. She wondered what was bothering Kalin so much...He did get a little different after Kai got arrested, but it didn't seem to show itself so much as it did today...
She wondered...
Does he still think about Kai?
She asked herself.
I wonder if he blames himself...
She managed to make it back home before dark. Good thing too, Crow worried whenever she came home later than the sunset. She was greeted with a double tackle hug of two of their youngest ducklings.
"You're late, Akarii~" Crow teased and laughed as she fell under the weight of two small children,"Now you have to suffer the consequences~"
XXXXX
Their run down little shack was full of laughter and tickle attacks into the night. Once things settled down and Crow quietly tucked the young ones into sleep, he snuck his way quietly outside Where Akarii would sit and count how many stars they could see through the smog of Satellite...
Where they often had their talks.
"Hey...Crow?"
"Yeah, Rosie?" he said as he positioned himself next to her. One knee up and an arm rested over it as he looked up. The thick clouds of smog with small specks of starlight reflected in his Onix colored eyes. The sheen of it made them look like the sky, if one looked deep enough, it would be easy to imgine yourself as a bird...flying away towards a new future.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Kalin's not...going anywhere, is he?" she asked him curiously. This question seemed to surprise him.
"No! Of course not!" he said with a flailing of his hands, "I mean...not that I know of?" he blinked and pondered a while, "What brings this on?"
"Oh...uh...nothing, I guess." she shook her head, "...Forget it."
There was a gentle silence between them. It was clear that she was bothered by something. So Crow thought quickly on how he could possibly help clear her tension.
"How was your ride, by the way?" he asked. He already knew about Yusei's little surprise, "We never got to talking about it."
"It was incredible!" she beamed, "I can't wait to take her out for a turbo duel...I think I got real potential~"
"Yeah we'll see about that if you can beat me in a race~" he teased. Atleast the heaviness that seemed to be weighing on her regarding Kalin lifted. The air got colder and she hugged herself for warmth. Crow, seeming unaffected by the weather, moved a little closer to her and blanketed his arm over her chilled shoulders.
" I wouldn't worry so much about it, ya know." said Crow, " Kalin says weird things sometimes...it's always touch and go with Kalin...eversince what happened to your brother...and this whole Turf War and all that."
"Yeah..." Akarii sighed, "Sometimes things get really intense."
"I imagine so." said Crow,"He's a pretty intense guy...especially when he duels."
" By the way..." Akarii blinked, "He told me to tell you to prepare for a turf battle tomorrow." she said softly.
"Tomorrow, huh?" Crow grinned,"Man it's about time...I was gettin' bored waitin' around here."
"Tell me about it..." she chuckled, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Well then...we better get some rest...things are gonna get intense, and we better be ready or-"
He stopped midsentence, realizing that Akarii had already fallen asleep against him. He could feel her smile through her sleeping body. Content as he handled her gently into his arms. That was the thing about Akarii...
Once she Konked out?
She slept like the dead.
It had been a big day...and she spent a lot more energy than she realized, so sleep came rather easy.
Since this is a memory, though...
I know I was sleeping ...
But I was feeling everything.
His arms around me, his secure hold on my body.
I felt safe.
I feel like if I can stay close to him like this, I will always be okay...
And that the reality in the waking world is the one that's actually a long... bad... dream.
To Be Continued...