Author's notes: Sorry if this is a bit late. My computer froze at in the middle of the duel and I ended up losing around 1500 words and had to try and remember what I had written. Worked out for the best I think, though, since I wanted to re-write that part anyways. Thanks again to those who have been leaving comments, favs, and follows. You all really keep me going with this. Here's to you all.
Montage Canyon felt like a maze as Wyo, Hela, and Ranger navigated between tall rocky walls in search for the first floor dungeon. Wyo studied her digital map every few moments, cursing her luck every time the buffer symbol popped up and the map stopped updating her current location. The towering rock walls provided little help when it came to signal acquisition or simple waypoint navigation. Entering a small clearing with several branching paths, Wyo held up a hand to signal for them all to stop.
"Might as well take a break while we wait for this map to load," Wyo suggested as she waved her map from side to side, up and around as she searched for a better signal.
Since Ranger's nerve-racking duel against Gaia the Fierce Knight, the group had only stopped once to let Ranger recuperate. That had been hours ago. Looking up, Wyo couldn't see anymore sunlight shining down into the canyon, just shadows steadily growing darker by the moment. Night was quickly approaching and the thought of spending one more night out in an unprotected area had her irritable. If only she could get a signal, see some sort of sign, maybe even a...
"PLAYER DELETED."
The usual booming automated voice reverberated throughout the canyon, though it sounded muffled as if far off.
"That can't be far off," Hela muttered as her eyes unfocused and her head swiveled from side to side as she tried to catch any more sounds that might indicate where the announcement had come from.
Wyo pulled up her map once more, begging the software to load properly so she could get some semblance of where they were and what path to take. She'd just closed the map when small stones tumbled down from above. All three duelists were instantly on guard, backs to each other and all eyes scanning the tops of the canyon walls for signs of potential danger. Muscle by muscle Wyo felt her body relax as no more suspicious sounds or movements caught her attention. Chalking it up to a combination of their collective frayed nerves and the possibility of it having been a natural occurrence, Wyo shrugged and straightened, turning back to her friends.
Standing in the middle of their tight circle was a short, purple-skinned humanoid who smiled innocently at Wyo, waving hello before vanishing as if someone had hit the "close" icon in the top right of the game's menu.
"Son-of-a-...," Wyo cried out, falling backwards onto her back as she scrambled away. Ranger and Hela spun towards her, their puzzled looks indicating that they hadn't seen what she had.
"Wyo, what's...," Hela started.
"Th-The virus!" She cried out. "I-It was right here! In the middle of us!"
Ranger scanned the area while Hela reached down to help her friend up off the ground.
"You sure?" Hela asked, her grip tight as she hoisted Wyo to her feet. "How did it get behind us and none of us notice?"
"It teleported, or at least that's what it looked like."
"It can do that?" Ranger asked, giving up on locating the virus. He glanced down at where Wyo had seen the virus and paused, kneeling down to touch the dirt. "Hey guys, was this always here?"
Wyo and Hela followed his gaze down to the tips of his fingers, finding a small arrow about the size of his hand drawn into the dirt, pointing towards one of the branching paths.
"Do you think it's trying to help us?" Hela asked, looking down the canyon path as far as she could.
"That or guide us into a trap," Wyo suggested as she breathed deep and slow, trying to calm her pounding heart. Checking her map once more she found that it had finally loaded. She followed the path that the virus had indicated and noted that it at least didn't end in a dead end. "Either way, it's a way forward and the map has finally updated. I say we follow it and see where it leads us."
Hela and Ranger nodded in silent agreement, falling in behind Wyo as she trudged forward. The path was narrow, twisting left and right in several places and sometimes turning so sharply that they were nearly turned back the way they had just come from. Other times they had to go single file and turn sideways to squeeze through gaps where the rocks had converged. It wasn't long, however, until the sound of voices caught Wyo's ears. Faint at first, she almost mistook the noise as birds crying out above, their caws and chirps echoing off of the stone walls and coalescing into some semblance of words and voices. It wasn't until a few steps later did she finally catch the sound of chatter, noticing distinct differences in pitch and tone and understanding the words being spoken. Turning a corner, Wyo gazed out upon a large opening in the canyon filled with tents and players standing around, most of them staring at a large cave entrance set into the far cliff.
Everyone else was staring daggers at her.
Wyo straightened her back, standing as tall as she could as she entered the area. She never took her eyes off of the cave entrance as she stepped around other duelists, striding towards the lair of the first floor boss with determination burning in her eyes. Some players stepped aside when they saw her as she approached, others tried blocking her path, refusing to let a Deleter help. Trying to step around them proved fruitless as they quickly formed a human wall, barring her from going any further.
"Seriously, guys?" A familiar voice barked from the other side. "She's trying to HELP! She's even offering to place her life on the line and you idiots refuse to go inside yourselves! I swear, you all are pathetic. Now, make a hole. Let her through."
Wyo stepped through the gap the group had made as they grumbled and separated, cursing under their breaths as they returned to their groups and turned their backs on her. A hand landed on her shoulder, startling her and eliciting a defensive cry from Hela.
"Get your hand of...," Wyo started, grabbing the hand and twisting, yanking the individual in front of her before recognition struck her. "B-Beast?!"
"The one and only," Beast replied, grimacing as Wyo released him and he nursed his wrist. "Long time no see, Wyo. How've you been?"
Shrugging, Wyo replied, "Good. Trying to stay out of trouble and not get deleted, which is surprisingly hard when the virus decides to stalk me."
"Yeah, I've been good myse-... wait, what? The virus is stalking you?"
"It's starting to seem that way. Just about gave me a heart attack about thirty minutes ago before vanishing. Other than that, let's see: chased down a husk during the recent town invasion, upgraded my deck, nearly watched a friend get deleted-."
"Hey, I WON that duel, remember?" Ranger snapped.
"Strange, it's like the little guy is still here," Hela feigned heartache. "I can almost here him even now."
"Jerk."
"Stop picking on the kid," Wyo chastised, doing her best to hide the smile that pulled at the edge of her lips. Turning back to Beast she found a faint smile on his lips as he stared at her. "Wh-What?"
"It's about time you eased up," he replied. "Back when you save my skin you were such a hard-&$$. Come to think about it, I don't think you smiled once that day. Now, you're smiling and joking with friends. It's good to see."
Wyo rubbed the back of her neck, a little embarrassed. Looking around the area she once more took in the sight of all of the players surrounding the entrance to the floor boss's lair. Many were standing around, chatting, as if nothing was the matter and they were simply out at a picnic. Others were doing what they could to modify their decks as best as they could, doing every little thing they could think of to give them an edge in the upcoming duel. Finally, there were the 'lone wolves' who sat away from others, watching everyone else. One of the 'lone wolves' caught her eye, causing Wyo to pause and stare. Beast followed her gaze.
"You know Drake? They say he defeated a husk that had invaded a town."
"Yeah, we know," Hela scowled as she remembered the day. "We were there. We saw the entire duel. Just FYI, husks can take the form of another user, albeit kinda zombie-esque. It's trying to mentally manipulate those who may have know the individual."
Wyo and Hela both glanced at Ranger who's demeanor had hardened. Beast followed the gaze, slowly putting two and two together.
"Thanks for the heads up, I'll pass the info along just in case any of us come across an invasion."
"Anyways," Wyo said, trying to change the subject, "anything you can tell us about the level boss?"
"Not much, just that anybody who witnessed the boss dueling is too heartbroken or hysterical from losing a friend to give us any solid information. The most we've gotten out of someone is that it has, and I quote, "... its skill... and that dragon...". Unfortunately that's all we could get out of them."
"'Skill'?" Hela pondered. "Were they talking about how good of a duelist this boss is?"
"What else could it be?" Wyo asked. "I'm more worried about this 'dragon' they mentioned. Do you think Drake would know any counters? He seemed to specialize in them during the invasion."
"He hasn't been very forthcoming," Beast sighed, looking over to where Drake sat watching the entrance. "We asked him yesterday when he arrived. He's been sitting there looking at the cave since then. Hasn't said anything to anyone, hasn't made any attempt to duel the boss."
"Maybe he's scared," Hela suggested, shrugging.
"I doubt it," Ranger countered. "He pushed me out of harm's way during the invasion and took the husk on without a second thought."
Wyo looked over and studied Drake once more, catching his gaze. Time seemed to stretch on as he studied her, his emotions impossible to read. She watched him right back, refusing to back down. Just when she felt that their stare-down couldn't become anymore awkward, a booming voice blasted around the area, jolting her back to everything else.
"PLAYER DELETED."
Everyone turned towards the entrance to the boss's lair, an air of despair falling upon them all like a heavy blanket that made it difficult to breath. A few players broke down nearby, friends of the deceased, Wyo assumed. Others attempted to comfort them, pulling them into hugs and guiding them away from the area. Watching the procession sob as they were lead away, Wyo turned towards Beast while never taking her eyes from the devastated players.
"How many does that make?"
"Seven," Beast replied solemnly. "And that's just for today alone. Overall the count is up to forty-three now. If we keep losing players at this rate nobody is going to want to take the boss on..."
'And none of us will get out of this game,' Wyo finished his sentence quietly in her own head.
The memory of the virus standing in the middle of her and her friends, smiling and waving as if it didn't have a care in the entire world, danced in the front of her mind. The thought of it never being beaten, of all of the players who wouldn't get their justice and revenge... it blinded her with rage. It wasn't until a sharp pain in her palm stabbed at her did she snap out of her thoughts. Glancing down, she saw that her nails had dug into her skin and a small trickle of digital blood oozed from the gouges. Taking a deep breath, she looked once more at the lair's entrance, her shoulders set in determination.
"Hela, Ranger... let's go."
Beyond the entrance Wyo found lit torches guiding her and her friends deeper into the lair. Tall columns danced in the shadows cast by the flames on either side like fiends eager for the next foolish player to meet their doom. The echo of their footsteps reverberated and warped, returning to Wyo and her friends in the form of disembodied laughter. The whole sensation caused Wyo's hairs to stand on end and every muscle to scream at her to turn the other direction and run. Minutes ticked by before Wyo stopped at set of stairs the descended down to an opening where light streamed from, illuminating the bottom landing. Forcing her feet forward, she took the steps one at a time.
The room beyond the opening was brightly lit, much in contrast to the lengthy dark entryway from before. Duel disks lay scattered around the room, their owners nowhere to be seen. Trying to push the thought of the fates of the players from her mind, Wyo looked to the far end of the room where a set of stairs led up to a raised platform. A single throne sat atop where a single figure sat, its oily black eyes watching her as its head rested on its fist as if bored. Its body was a nightmare with half looking like a skeleton and the other half looking like a beast out of a fantasy game, the separation going down the middle of its body from head to toe. Behind her, Wyo heard Hela silently curse, the censor cutting off her colorful wordplay.
"Maju Garzett."
"GREAT Maju Garzett," the creature corrected her. "I wasn't selected as the boss of this floor for being any old plain monster, now was I?"
"Wyo, please, let me handle this," Hela begged, grabbing Wyo's hand and spinning her around to face her. "I know this guy's weaknesses. I know how to counter him. Let me do this."
"You are my last line of defense. If I can't beat this guy I'll go out knowing that he'll have hell to pay when he has to duel you. Besides, I trust in the deck you built for me." Wyo held her deck between the two of them and smiled. "In a roundabout way you'll be taking him down. Just tell me what to expect from him and he won't be able to defeat our might."
Hela swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded.
"Alright, here's the gist..."
Wyo listened intently as her heart hammered in her chest. Moments later, and with Hela now listing off counter-measures that were in Wyo's deck for any situation that might arise, Wyo turned back to the boss as she slammed her deck home into the duel disk.
"I hope you provide a little more enjoyment for me than your predecessors did," Great Maju Garzett said, his tone bored as he continued to sit while a duel disk appeared on his left forearm.
Great Maju Garzett - 4000
Wyo - 4000
"I'll start," Wyo said as she pulled four cards from her starting hand. "I summon Skilled Dark Magician. Next I'll activate not one but two Spell Absorption spell cards. As long as they remain on my field anytime a spell card is activated I gain five hundred life points, and with two of them on the field that gets bumped up to one thousand life points. Plus, I gain five hundred life points for activating the second Spell Absorption. Also, Skilled Dark Magician gains two spell counters. Just one more and you'll get to see a nifty magic trick. I'll end my turn by setting a card face down."
Great Maju Garzett - 4000
Wyo - 4500
"Will your magician survive until next turn though?" Great Maju Garzett asked. "I'll start by playing Card Destruction. We both discard our entire hands and then draw the same number we discarded."
"That gives my magician his third and final spell counter, plus it also gives me an extra thousand life points thanks to my spell cards."
Great Maju Garzett - 4000
Wyo - 5500
"Next I'll summon Alexandrite Dragon." A bejeweled dragon burst from the ground in front of Maju Garzett, roaring and spreading its wings wide. Colors danced along the walls and ground as the light from the torches reflected off of the rubies, diamonds, and other precious stones that dotted the monster's body.
"Two thousand attack?!" Ranger gasped. "And for a level four monster?! That has to be what everyone up top were talking about."
"Maybe," Hela grumbled.
"Alexandrite Dragon, attack her magician!"
The dragon leapt at Wyo's monster, its heavy wings whipping up a viscous gale that battered Wyo. It took everything she had to press a button on her duel disk. The wind immediately died down and Maju Garzett's dragon calmed, returning to its side of the field with an angry growl.
"What did you d-..." Maju Garzett spotted Wyo's face down card, except this time it now stood face up. "Negate Attack? Tricks will only protect you for so long. You'll run out eventually, and when you do my monsters will be the end of you. I'll set one card face down and end my turn."
Wyo breathed out a small sigh. She'd managed to keep her magician around and now it had all of the spell counters it needed. All she needed now was field advantage. Drawing her card, she smiled.
"I summon Defender, the Magical Knight. When normal summoned he gains a spell counter that can be used to keep one of my spellcasters from being destroyed. Next, I use Skilled Dark Magician's ability. When he has three spell counters on him I can sacrifice him to special summon his mastered form from my hand or deck. Say hello to the one and only Dark Magician!"
Skilled Dark Magician raised his rod as dark energy surrounded him from the tip of his rod down to the bottom of his robes. A sudden blast of energy shattered the darkness from around him, but in his place stood the master of all magicians.
"Dark Magician, attack his dragon!"
"You aren't the only one with tricks," Great Maju Garzett chuckled. " I activate my own trap card, Draining Shield. It negates your monster's attack and gives me that amount as life points."
Great Maju Garzett - 6500
Wyo - 5500
"You may have stopped Dark Magician's attack, but a good magician always keeps a card up their sleeve. I activate the quick play spell Rush Recklessly. This card grants my Defender an additional seven hundred attack for the turn, more than enough to take out your dragon. I also gain another thousand life points. Defender, destroy his Alexandrite Dragon!"
Great Maju Garzett - 6200
Wyo - 6500
"You're starting to bore me, just like all of the rest," Great Maju Garzett groaned. "All that work for a laughably weak field presence and no cards in your hand. I think it's time for me to show you what you'd be facing IF you can manage to win. At the cost of half of its attack, I can summon this monster without tribute. I summon Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast!"
A mechanical dragon with tank treads instead of legs and shoulder mounter cannons materialized onto the field, creaking and hissing steam menacingly.
"Half of its attack? But that would leave it with only fourteen hundred attack," Ranger said as his brows scrunched together in thought. "What's he trying to do?"
"He's about to do something big," Hela cursed. "Wyo, this is it! He's bringing out the big guns! Just remember what I told you."
Wyo nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat. With no hand she would have to rely on a bit of luck to draw something she needed. At the very least she had a few turns to hold on and survive until then.
"I play the spell card Double Summon," Great Maju Garzett said, playing a card from his hand. "You'll gain a thousand life points again because of your spells, but with this I can perform one additional summon this turn. And so, I sacrifice Fusilier Dragon in order to summon myself, Great Maju Garzett!"
Great Maju Garzett - 6200
Wyo - 7500
A deep gouge in the floor ripped open behind Fusilier Dragon and with a demonic growl from the depths a monstrous clawed hand erupted from within, grabbing the mechanical dragon and dragging it down into the pit. A moment later, a giant sized version of the floor's boss clawed its way out of the fissure, towering over the duel field. Wyo, remembering what Hela had told her before the duel, watched patiently as the monster's attack points started from zero and began to climb. Hela had told her that Great Maju Garzett's attack was based on the sacrificed monster's attack, multiplied by two. Fusilier Dragon had only had fourteen hundred attack when it was sacrificed, so Wyo was expecting Great Maju Garzett's attack to simply stop at twenty-eight hundred, but her breath caught in her throat when the monster's attack kept climbing past three thousand... four thousand... only stopping once its attack reached fifty-six hundred.
"W-What gives?!" Wyo stammered. "Its attack should have only doubled, why is it so much higher?!"
"It's simple," Great Maju Garzett smiled from his throne. "You ARE right that Great Maju Garzett's attack is simply double the attack of the monster it uses as a sacrifice, but it's based on the ORIGINAL attack of the sacrificed monster. Meaning, it takes Fusilier Dragon's original twenty-eight hundred attack and doubles from there. Now, Great Maju Garzett, attack her Dark Magician and remove it from my sight."
The towering monster swung, its massive claws each the size of Dark Magician. The master of magicians was swatted away like an annoying fly, slamming into the far back wall with so much force that the wall cratered. Dark Magician slumped to the ground, landing with a thud and a groan but otherwise still intact and alive. The floor's boss lifted his head from where it was perched on his fist, confusion twisting his already horrifying face into something even more sinister.
"He survived? But how?"
Great Maju Garzett - 6200
Wyo - 4400
"As you said, 'It's simple.' My Defender, the Magical Knight kept my Magician alive by expending his own spell counter," Wyo explained as Dark Magician pushed himself back to his feet using his rod before returning to his spot on the field.
"No matter. He'll die next turn. I end my turn."
Wyo cursed as she looked at her empty hand. Thanks to Hela, she knew HOW to beat Great Maju Garzett. All she needed was the cards necessary. Something like the Enemy Controller spell card or the Block Attack spell card to change him to defense position, which Great Maju Garzett had zero defense, or even Dark Magician's trusty Thousand Knives which would destroy the monster without expending a single attack. Praying to whatever god existed, and to whichever one would answer her prayers, Wyo drew her card.
'Not horrible,' Wyo thought to herself.
"I activate the spell card Pot of Greed. I get to draw two cards, my active spells give me another thousand life points, and I get-..." Wyo glanced at her new cards and frowned. Nothing game changing. She grabbed the only monster she'd drawn, "I set one monster face-down and change my other two to defense position and end my turn."
Great Maju Garzett - 6200
Wyo - 5400
"Pathetic," Great Maju Garzett sighed before drawing his next card. His face drooped in disappointment, much to Wyo's relief. "I'll keep my promise from last turn and attack your Dark Magician once more."
His monster roared, swinging its claws forward so fast that the gust it produced nearly toppled Wyo over. By the time she recovered, Dark Magician stood motionless in front of her seemingly unharmed. She was about to say something when the magician keeled over, digital blood oozing from multiple claw marks along his body. He turned to offer an encouraging smile before erupting into digital fragments right before Wyo's eyes.
"So much for the master of magicians. I'll end my turn."
Wyo drew her next card, cursing at her rotten luck. With an annoyed wave of her hand she ended her turn."
"Nothing? You should have just surrendered then. Stop drawing out the inevitable." He drew his next card and the same disappointed look returned before slowly turning to irritation. "This is starting to get old. A hand full of monsters and I can't summon any of them. I suppose I'll have to destroy your monsters one by one for now. I'll attack your Defender before ending my turn."
Wyo shielded her eyes as her second monster was obliterated. Drawing a card she sighed. Nothing... again.
"Hela, I trust you and your deck building skills, but this run of luck is going to give me gray hairs if I survive this duel."
"You're dueling is going to give ME gray hairs," Hela snapped back. Wyo saw her smile but could tell it was forced. It was the way Hela's eyes weren't lighting up the way they usually did whenever she harassed a friend. She was nervous for Wyo.
"I'll end my turn."
Great Maju Garzett drew another card, a snarl of anger pulling his lips apart.
"This duel should have been over turns ago! Instead, I am forced to toy with you because the whims of fate deem it so. I attack your last monster to end my turn."
A sly smile spread across Wyo's lips as Great Maju Garzett slashed through the face-down monster, only to have the monster reappear momentarily before being destroyed.
"That was Magician of Faith you just destroyed. Thanks to her, I can return a spell card from my graveyard to my hand, and I choose Pot of Greed."
"Putting faith into the next few cards you draw hasn't helped you yet, why rely on them now?"
"For starters it'll be another thousand life points for me." Wyo informed as she drew her next card. Riryoku! Finally, things were starting to look up. Now all she needed was a monster to use it with. "I activate Pot of Greed, netting me two more cards and another thousand life points."
Great Maju Garzett - 6200
Wyo - 6400
Holding her breath, Wyo drew her two cards. Looking back at her friends, she let her breath go.
"I'm sorry..."
"Wha-," Hela began, her voice catching in her throat as disbelief drained the color from her face. Beside her, Ranger's eyes began to tear up as understanding dawned on his face.
"I'm sorry that I ever doubted this deck," Wyo smiled, sticking her tongue out teasingly before turning back to the duel.
"Why you... you... you b^ &!" Hela cursed as Ranger grabbed her around the waist and desperately tried to hold her back.
"I summon Mythical Beast Cerberus in attack position!"
"A three-headed mutt," Great Maju Garzett yawned, bored. "What good is it going to do? Gnaw my monster's little toe?"
"Better than that. I activate the spell card Riryoku! With this I can cut your monster's attack in half and add that amount to my Cerberus. Plus, with every spell card I activate, my Cerberus gains a spell counter as well as five hundred attack points. With the five hundred from the spell counter, twenty-eight hundred from your monster's attack, and his already fourteen hundred attack, Mythical Beast Cerberus now has forty-seven hundred attack while your monster only has twenty-eight hundred."
Great Maju Garzett's eyebrows rose slightly as he lifted his head from his fist. If Wyo didn't know any better she would have sworn he was more intrigued than worried.
"Mythical Beast Cerberus, attack his monster!"
The multi-headed creature leapt high into the air, magical energy forming between its mouths until the gathered energy was larger than the creatures entire body. Silence engulfed the room as if the building energy was sucking it from the very air. With a resounding VROOOM Cerberus unleashed its attack, the beam of magical energy slamming into its opponent with such force that the massive monster was slammed into the ground at the foot of the stairs to the throne. Within moments the magical energy engulfed the monster, burning away everything until just a pile of ash remained before dematerializing and leaving the boss unprotected.
Great Maju Garzett - 4300
Wyo - 7400
A deep, rumbling laugh reverberated around the room as Great Maju Garzett finally stood from his throne. Stepping towards the edge of the top step he smiled down at Wyo with glee in his dark eyes.
"Good, GOOD! Not many have gotten this far in a duel against me. It's always so invigorating to be backed into a corner."
"You're f*ed up, you know that?" Wyo spat. "Anyways, my Cerberus loses all of its spell counters after every battle it's in, meaning its attack returns to forteen hundred. Luckily for you I'll end my turn there."
"My turn then," Great Maju Garzett grinned wickedly. With a cackle that caused the hairs on Wyo's neck to stand on end, he added, "I activate my skill, Draw Sense: Earth."
End part 1