Fan-of-Mai
05-05-2004, 04:31 PM
Well, after a good long time, I'm finally getting around to posting my YGO fanfic right here at Pojo. ^^ I've already got a few chapters written since I've been doing this on and off (mainly off ^^;; ) for a while now, so if you don't mind, I'll post those in fairly quick succession. Not all at once, though. I don't want to overload on chapters too soon. Anyway, here are the first couple of chapters. Enjoy!
(EDIT: Lots of owning by Pojo, I'm afraid. It appears the censors don't like people who speak like snakes. ^^;; And since that lovely <pojo_ownz> replaces each and every letter of the naughty words, I've replaced them with <censored> so that they don't take up the entire page, if that's okay. ;))
Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Legacy of Tarot
Prologue
Our story begins long ago, some time after the seven almighty Millenium Items filled the earth with their power and might. The art of dueling had evolved from the times of Ancient Egypt: no longer were monsters summoned from stone tablets, but magical cards imbued with the spirits of magical, mystical, and sometimes fearsome monsters. Those long years ago, when Duel Monsters was a method of war rather than a sport, 21 men and women reigned supreme over all others. None could stand in their way. Entire armies challenged them and fell like tissue paper to a hot knife. Their secret? Each of these 21 elites carried with them 1 special card, known only as the Tarot Beasts. Forged long before any man can remember and imbued with powerful magic, these dangerous cards tore through the world with their dark magics, corrupting their masters and soon becoming the masters themselves. For a while, the world lay in ruin, all peoples afraid to even venture outside their doors for fear that they too would succumb to the wrath of the Tarot Beasts.
It was, surprisingly, a young girl that was able to stand up to the malice and the corruption of the Tarot Beasts. Though no one knows why she was able to defeat them while entire armies could not, one riddle to explain it has been passed through the generations:
“The Heart of a Child can move mountains.”
Codswallop, say most scientists and Duel Monsters experts. Just some pretty rumour started by a troublemaker ages ago to throw everyone off. In their naivety, they knew that a simple child – nor his or her heart – could move a mountain. No one can! Of course, the riddle was clearly a figure of speech, but it did not answer many questions for anyone, and many more arose from it.
But what became of the Tarot Beasts, you ask? Upon Lord Lucius Malgrave Tarot’s defeat many ages ago, it is said they were scattered to the winds by the girl that defeated him in hopes that they would never be found again. Unfortunately, one card managed to find it’s way right into the hands of an ambitious group of young science majors at Motoh City University….
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“Hey, Craig, look at this!” a young woman called, dressed in a while lab coat and holding what looked to be an archaeologist’s brush in her hand.
“What is it, Amanda?” a man replied, rushing over to see what was the matter. Upon arriving at her position, he found that she was holding a somewhat dirty Duel Monsters card that was in surprisingly good condition. It had markings on its surface and backing that set it apart from other Duel Monsters cards, but it was similar enough for the two students to recognize it. Upon it was etched the picture of a court jester dancing foolishly, just about to fall over the edge of a steep cliff.
“It’s a Duel Monsters card, I think…” she began, pausing for a moment to examine it more closely. The card’s name was a bit blurred and withered with age, but she finally managed to make it out. “King of Fools. That’s its name. It’s old, too.”
“Look at that Attack and Defense! This is a pretty powerful card, Amanda!” Craig exclaimed, extending his hand to hold it for himself. He brought it up closer to his nose, examining it through his glasses, a smile painted on his face the whole while. “This card is amazing! What a find! It must have been made by the ancient civilization of Duelists that Professor Duncan was telling us about on the way here.”
“We should show the professors, quick! We’ll definitely get an A in this course if we’ve really found an ancient card!” Amanda said excitedly. Her eyes lit up at the very thought of the fame and fortune she would receive for this.
“You’re right, Amanda… Professor Duncan! Professor Gardner!” Craig called, waving the card above his head as he hollered. The two professors who had been supervising the expedition, a man and a woman, ran over to see what was the matter.
“What’s wrong, Craig?” Professor Duncan, a tall, handsome man asked in his deep voice. Amanda did everything she could to keep from blushing every time his beautiful voice penetrated her ears, and she almost succeeded. Almost. The professor winked at her playfully, knowing that she had a crush on him. It was a harmless crush, after all, since Professor Duncan had been married for 8 years now and he knew that Amanda knew that.
“I… I mean we found this strange card when we were digging over here! I’ve never seen one like it!” the excited student exclaimed, practically shoving the golden card in Professor Duncan’s face.
“Oh? It’s that rare, eh?” Professor Gardner, a tall, sexy young woman who was clearly younger than Professor Duncan but quite a lot better looking, joked. She had long, straight brown hair that fell just above her shoulders, and she wore half-circle glasses that only amplified her appearance. She knew that Craig was a pretty avid Duelist. He had come in second in the University’s annual Duel Tournament this year, and owned more cards than many students in the entire school. Professor Duncan and Professor Gardner had barely gotten a chance to glance at the card when Amanda interrupted.
“Yeah! It’s called the King of Fools. It’s really strong!”
Immediately the two professors went white as ghosts. They looked at the students, then at each other, and then at the card. They whispered something back and forth to each other for a while, each one nodding in turn and humming deep in thought to themselves. Still pale, Professor Gardner ran off to gather the rest of the students while Professor Duncan barked an announcement.
“Students! The field trip is now over! Please make your way to the bus so we can return to the school!”
The announcement was met only by a few “Huh?”s and groans from students that had, until this point, been enjoying themselves quite a lot. Reluctant to follow their professors’ orders, the budding scientists filed onto the three buses and began to drive back to the school.
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The King of Fools that Amanda and Craig found was indeed one of the 21 Tarot Beasts that plagued the world all those years ago, though the teachers never told them. Whenever any of the students inquired about the card, the teachers would go white and frantically change the subject. A buzz fluttered through the school, but eventually most of the talk of the King of Fools card vanished as the students that had found it graduated and went on with their lives. Was the King of Fools card dead and dormant, as the teachers hope, or was it – and the rest of the Tarot Beasts – still awake, trying to return to each other to plague the world again? Either way, the Tarot Beasts have been unearthed again. The future is dark…
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Chapter 1
Our story now takes us to an arena on the bustling island metropolis of Tare City, where the final round of the annual Tare Invitational, a world-famous Duel Monsters tournament, is about to take place. The second finalist is in the process of being chosen, and the match is between a beautiful teenage girl with blonde hair and a shorter, heavier boy with spiky brown hair and glasses. The names “Rebecca” and “Adam” are written in lights on their podiums. From what can be seen, Rebecca has a Flame Champion (1900/1300), Deepsea Warrior (1600/1800), and an Island Turtle (1100/2000) on her side of the field, all in attack mode. She also has a face-down card in play. Adam is clearly doing much worse, with only a Psychic Kappa (400/1000) and a Red Archer Girl (1400/1500) on his field in attack mode. Rebecca is doing quite well with 6700 Life points, and Adam only has 2300.
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“Alright, folks,” a voice from the loudspeaker boomed overhead. “This battle is coming to an end, and it’s Adam’s turn. Let’s see if he can turn around Rebecca’s overwhelming stranglehold on him.”
Adam drew his card and a grin came over his face. He slapped it down on his playing field face-down. “This was a good battle, Rebecca, but I’m afraid this is where it ends. I’ll place a card face-down on the field, and place Psychic Kappa in defense mode!” he said, turning the Psychic Kappa card to the side. The creature on the larger field vanished for a moment, then reappeared inside its shell. “Red Archer Girl, attack Rebecca’s Island Turtle! That’s the end of her, Rebecc-“
“Not so fast, Adam. I played a card face-down, remember?” Rebecca taunted, picking the card up and showing it to him. He gasped as he read the word “Reinforcements” on the card’s label, and he groaned. “A trap card; Reinforcements. This card allows me to add 500 attack points to whichever card I wish for one turn, and I choose to add them to Island Turtle!”
For a moment, Island Turtle’s attack and defense of 1100/2000 were shown on screen. The attack portion increased rapidly to 1600, and the battle continued. Red Archer Girl peeked out of her shell with a bow in hand, an arrow nocked to the string. In a fluid motion, she launched the arrow at Island Turtle, who simply deflected the attack completely. Raising its foot as high as it could, the tortoise slammed down on the ground of the arena, sending a shockwave forth that destroyed Red Archer girl where she stood. Adam’s Life points dropped by 200, to 2100.
“I believe it’s my turn!” Rebecca said with a playful grin. Her slender hand reached over to her deck and she drew a card. Immediately she chuckled and looked over in Adam’s direction. “This was fun, darling, but I’m afraid it ends here. Sorry! I play a Magic card: Raigeki!”
There’s no need for an explanation here – just about every Duelist knows what Raigeki can do to an opponent’s field, and their game. Bolts of lightning flashed overhead, and in a swift, brilliant moment, Psychic Kappa was removed from the field. Rebecca laughed and continued her victory speech.
“I’m not finished yet! Flame Champion, Deepsea Warrior, attack Adam!”
On her command, the flaming warrior and the aquatic defender leapt forward in a synchronized manner, flame and water combining to slash away at Adam’s remaining Life points. His total soon dropped to 0 and his podium began to lower along with Rebecca’s. The field emptied and the players picked up their cards, moving towards each other to shake hands. While they exchanged their congratulations, the loudspeaker boomed louder than ever.
“Rebecca has won! Rebecca goes on to the Tare Invitational’s Final round to face Nick Maximus for the grand prize!”
Overhead in the finalist’s box seats, Nick sat watching the battle. He was a tall, well-built teenager, though not overly muscular, with deep brown eyes and hair that is usually spiked. He was dressed unusually fancily that day – customary for the Tare finalists, being that the city is known for its parties and balls – with a classy tuxedo and a Christmas tie that is all too corny and yet classy at the same time. He wasn’t particularly fond of himself, but in the Tare invitational, the finalists don’t get to choose their own wardrobe for the final match.
“Wow… she’s good. I’m going to have a tough time beating her, guys!”
He was, of course, talking to his two friends, labeled by the Tare Duel Council as VIPs for the time being. One was a boy with black hair and tanned skin, just a bit shorter than Nick himself. The other was about the same height, a girl with beautiful auburn hair and striking brown eyes.
“Oh come on, Nick. You’ll cream her.” Mark, the black-haired boy, exclaimed.
“Mark’s right – she’s a pushover compared to you!” Alyssa, the girl, reassured him with a smile. Nick smiled right back, though still a bit unsure of himself. He held his deck tightly in his hand, flipping through it absentmindedly, not really looking at it all that closely. “Maybe if we go over your deck again it’ll make you feel better. You know, to make sure that it’s perfect.”
“Yeah, Alyssa’s right! We’ve still got about an hour before the match.”
“Alright… alright, yeah! That sounds like a good idea.” Nick said, moving over to a couch by the coffee table. He began laying his cards down as his friends joined him.
“You’ve still got those Harpie Ladies and Harpie Lady Sisters, right?” Alyssa asked, watching as he laid down the cards. One of the cards she had mentioned, a Harpie Lady, was placed on the table and Nick nodded.
“Yeah, and the Elegant Egotists to go with them.”
“Good… if it weren’t for them, I might have beaten you in our last match!” She laughed, sifting through the visible cards.
“What about that Millenium Shield your mom bought for your birthday?” Mark wondered, not seeing the card on the table.
“Of course! That card is an invaluable defense tool. I wouldn’t leave it behind.” Nick exclaimed, beginning to sort his cards into groups to remind himself which could be used in unison, which should be used in unison, and so on.
“Don’t forget your Castle of Dark Magic and Pumpkin the King of Ghosts combination.” Alyssia reminded him, which prompted a nod from the finalist.
“I’ve also got that Change of Heart combo in here, which should help.”
“Yeah…” Mark began, soon interrupted by the voice on the loudspeaker. “Woah! You’re on, Nick! Don’t keep the fans waiting!”
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Just a few minutes later, Nick was standing on his podium opposite Rebecca, who was dressed in a glittering blue dress, and she looked as though she was ready to go straight to a ball. After finishing the usual “Rock, Paper, Scissors”-like method of choosing turn order, it was decided that Rebecca would draw first while Nick would have the first attack. Both players drew their cards, and Rebecca seemed rather pleased with her hand.
“Alright, hun… I’ll play this card in defense mode, as well as this card face down.” She told him, placing the cards down in their respective positions. Nothing spectacular happens, as her side of the field is completely face down. “Your turn.”
“Hmmm… not a perfect hand, but I do have a Harpie Lady. All I need is an Elegant Egotist and I can summon the Harpie Lady Sisters!” Nick thought to himself, picking out a couple of cards from his hand. “I place Neo the Magic Swordsman in Attack mode, as well as another card, face down!” As he spoke, he placed the cards down on his field. Neo the Magic Swordsman apparated onto the larger field, facing Rebecca’s as-of-yet empty field. “Neo the Magic Swordsman, attack Rebecca’s defense card!”
The blade-wielding sorcerer ran forward as quickly as he could, and a blast of energy surrounded his sword. Rising upwards and readying himself for a vertical slash to whatever the monster might be, Neo was greeted by a small arachnid made completely of metal. The sword came down and sliced the hapless foe clean in two, which immediately prompted a thoughtful look from Nick as Neo returned to its post.
“Is that all you’ve got, Rebecca? It’s a wonder you got this far.” The finalist taunted, knowing that she boasted more talent than she was showing at the time. He had seen her in action, and he knew very well that she was an accomplished, learned Duelist.
“You forget, my darling opponent, that Steel Scorpion carries with it a very special effect!” Rebecca grinned, pulling the card out of the Graveyard for a second. “When a non-machine type monster attacks Steel Scorpion, it has 3 turns left to live. Then, on my 3rd endphase, that monster… goes bye bye!” She returned the card to the Graveyard pile and placed her elbows on the mini playing field before her, resting her head in her hands. “I think that makes it my turn, doesn’t it?”
Slipping her hand over her deck and sliding a card into her hand, Rebecca looked over the cards available to her for a brief moment. It seemed like only seconds before she was grinning again, apparently having formulated the master plan that would win her the battle.
“Ohh, this is a good one. I think you’ll like this move, Nick. I play Polymerization to combine Queen’s Double and Hibikime!” The second finalist announced, placing those cards in their respective positions on the field. Queen’s Double and Hibikime apparated where Steel Scorpion once stood, still as statues. When the spinning vortex of Polymorph appeared, however, the two creatures were sucked inside without a sound. For what seemed like minutes the two did their magical dance within the portal before, finally, a new monster erupted from within. “Meet Empress Judge. I could attack and destroy your pitiful Neo the Magic Swordsman right now, but since Steel Scorpion’s poison is doing a good enough job of that, I’ll leave Empress Judge in attack mode. Your turn, my love. Neo the Magic Swordsman has 2 End phases left.”
Reluctantly, Nick drew a card. He knew that Rebecca would never attack his Neo the Magic Swordsman as long as the face-down card, which as far as she knew could have been a trap card, was there, and as long as Steel Scorpion’s venom was working away at him. He needed something to either destroy Empress Judge completely, or something that would at least stall any further attacks. What he saw made him light up – it wouldn’t ruin her completely, but it would give him time to think up something else.
“I’ll place Harpie Lady on the field. As well, I’ll play a Magic Card, Elegant Egotist.” Nick smirked, placing the two cards in their positions on the mini-field before him. The Harpie Lady, wings and all, appeared right beside the coughing Neo the Magic Swordsman, staring only straight forward. “As you know, Elegant Egotist allows me to Special Summon a Harpie Lady Sisters card from my Hand or my Deck – I shall do so now, and play the Harpie Lady Sisters in defense mode.” Reaching into his deck, he shuffled through until he found the card he wanted. Placing the trio of Harpies on the field right beside their sister, Nick shuffled the deck just as the card specified. “Your turn, Rebecca.”
A bit curious as to what her opponent was so calm about, Rebecca drew a card. Judging by the look on her face, it wasn’t anything particularly special, or something that she needed at the time. However, she still had two other cards in her hand, and judging by her past efficiency with her cards, Nick knew that she might still have some lethal combination waiting for him.
“I’ll play a card face-down in defense mode, and I’ll play this card as well.” Rebecca noted, putting one card in the monster section and the other in the Magic and Traps section of the field. All Nick could see was still that Empress Judge, and he had know idea whether her two face down cards in the Magic/Trap area were traps that would seriously rupture his game. He did know this: one wrong move could lose him the match. “Empress Judge, use your Judgement attack on Harpie Lady!”
Without moving, a ray of light shined down upon Harpie Lady. In a brief, fluid motion, Empress Judge snapped her fingers and caused the beam of light to vanish – when it disappeared, so had Harpie Lady. Nick’s Life Total flashed on his podium, and the 8000 dropped to 7200. He was still far from out, however.
“That makes it my turn, Reb—“
Just then, before Nick even had the chance to draw a card, a great rumbling shook through the arena. Panic arose, and spectators found themselves frantically dashing for whatever exit was closest. Figuring that the island was suffering the effects of an earthquake, Nick and Rebecca prepared to pick up their cards and continue the fight later. It was then that an explosion was heard and a huge chunk of debris fell not 10 feet from Nick’s podium. Looking up, both contestants saw a strange robed man floating down through a hole in the roof, eyes fixated on the both of them.
“You… are the finalistssss…” The figure hissed, yellow eyes staring down at them.
“Yeah, and who are you?” Nick asked demandingly. He wasn’t afraid anymore – just angry that this show off had decided to ruin their battle. He wasn’t even that aware that the man was actually floating in the air, a rather abnormal feat.
“My name isss not important… We will duel…”
“What? Why should I duel you?” Nick asked, getting even angirer that he seemed to have been ORDERED to duel, not asked.
“They… are sssseeking… a master…”
“They? Who are ‘they?’”
“Duel… we will duel!” The robed man hissed. He was wearing flowing green clothes and looked like he was taken straight from the desert. There was barely an inch of his skin that wasn’t covered by the silky green material, save for his eyes and hands. His voice got more and more impatient as he continued speaking. Reluctant to say anything too hasty that would upset this maniac, Nick finally got up the courage to speak.
“Rebecca, leave while you can. Leave this show off to me!”
“What?” She began, seemingly perplexed. “And let you have all the fun?” A wink followed, and she pressed a few buttons on her console. Her Empress Judge vanished from her side of the board and reappeared on Nick’s, as did the two face-down cards she had placed. Nick smiled as he realized what she was doing, and he moved aside as she started running over to his podium, cards in hand.
“Alright! If you wish to duel, you’ll duel both of us! You’ll pay for interrupting our match.” Nick and Rebecca taunted in unison. Their monsters were just as brave, staring motionless towards their new enemy.
“We… shall ssssee…” The green figure barked. Waving his hand once, a multitude of cards began to fly out of his robes at blinding speeds, ripping through the air and placing themselves in a neat pile where a contestant’s deck would be. “They… will have a new master… before the day issss done… We duel!!”
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Chapter 2: The Serpent’s Bite
When last I left you, our up-and-coming duelists Rebecca and Nick were gearing up to face off against a hooded intruder with a forked tongue, a violent attitude, and a short temper. The snake-like figure, whose name had not yet been given to his opponents, was quite obviously not human – far from it, at that. Perhaps he was, once. Perhaps someone or something changed him for the worse. Either way, his rash interruption of the Tare Invitational finals match had quite sparked Nick’s curiosity – and his temper.
Slowly, the figure reached over his deck with his scaly green hand, drawing the usual 5 cards that all duelists start a match with. Between them, Nick and Rebecca also had five cards, but they were at an advantage – three of their own monsters already populated the field, and they had three face-down cards ready for action at any moment. A glint of yellow was seen from under the creature’s green hood as he looked in their direction, and he placed a card face-down in defense mode, as well as another card in the Magic portion of the field. Saying nothing, he looked up at them as if daring them to attack. A bit reluctant, each of them drew their card. Nick and Rebecca whispered to each other for a few brief, fleeting moments before deciding on what to do. They were at a slight disadvantage in that they had only 1 Summon per turn, which meant that only one of them could place a monster. It took a while, but it was decided that Nick would place his monster this turn.
“I play Harpie’s Brother in attack mode, and I play Black Pendant as well!” Nick began with a chuckle, certain that he’d come up with a rock-hard monster this time. “Harpie’s Brother’s attack is now 2300.”
“I’ll start this round off with an attack! Empress Judge, use your Judgement Ray on our opponent’s face-down card!” Rebecca ordered, and just as before, a ray of light began to shine down upon the reptilian opponent’s face-down card. However, this beam of energy bounced backwards just as quickly, shining itself all over Nick’s and Rebecca’s field. This prompted a chuckle from their opponent.
“Foolsss… I played a Trap card… Mirror Forccce… It negatesss all your damage thisss round and dessstroysss all your attack posssition monssstersss on the field.”
Just as he had promised, the Empress Judge’s reflected Judgement Ray attack made quick work of their entire playing field, destroying the Harpie’s Brother, Harpie Lady Sisters, Neo the Magic Swordsman, and Empress Judge. This left their field near empty, with only a few face-down cards left to protect their life points.
“Drooling Lizard, attack!” The reptile hissed under his green hood. The image of a small lizard became visible to the combatants, and despite its petite stature, Drooling Lizard ran right towards Nick and Rebecca, prepared to attack their life points directly. It did, and their Life total dropped from 8000 to 7100. However, immediately afterwards, that same total increased above and beyond normal, to 8100! This, of course, made their opponent very angry.
“Let’s not get angry now, my nameless foe!” Nick chuckled, trying to keep his cool. He knew that wearing down your opponent’s mind was just as important as actual card strategy. “I just played a simple trap; Numinous Healer. This card allows me to increase my Life by 1000 points when I am attacked. I just chose to activate it now.”
Another hiss followed, accompanied by a furious slam of their foe’s fist on the playing field. A few of his cards shook out of place, but he returned them just as quickly. Nick and Rebecca simply laughed at his short temper.
“Very well… it isss your turn…”
The dynamic duo nodded, and each drew their card for that round. Again they conversed in no more than a whisper, formulating a plan that would deal as much damage as possible to their aggressor. Rebecca drew one card from her hand while Nick drew two, and each placed them on the field.
“I play Dark-Piercing Light!” Nick began, sliding the card into position. A bright light flooded the battlefield, even causing the snake-man to shield his eyes, and when he looked back, his face-down card was revealed to be a trap. “Waboku, eh? No matter. I’ll play this card face-down.”
“My turn! I play Gemini Elf in attack mode!” Rebecca announced, slamming the card down face-up on her field. Ripples of light coursed through the console and the twin elves appeared battle-ready on the field, arms interlocked, prepared to fight as one. “Gemini Elf, attack Drooling Lizard!”
The two elves began to dash in the hapless reptile’s direction, only to be halted for a brief moment by Waboku. The figure chuckled, knowing that he had stopped their attack… or had he?
“Ah ah ah, not so fast!” Rebecca laughed, whipping a card from the field into her hand. “We played Seven Tools of the Bandit! This card allows us to negate the effects of your own trap card. Clever, huh?”
As their antagonist hissed impatiently once more, the priestly figures that were Waboku vanished instantly into thin air, leaving Gemini Elf prepped and ready to pummel Drooling Lizard into submission. The snake-man’s Life points dropped to 7000 as a result.
“My turn…” The grim aggressor growled, drawing a card of his own. Suddenly, a deep look of victory and success came over what they could see of his face, and he hastily slapped a card down on the field. “Now you will witnessss the true power of the Tarot Beastsss! Sssorcerer of Ssserpentsss, come forth!”
Slapping the card down on his field, Nick’s opponent caused a robed snake with arms to slither onto the field, energy beams crackling at regular intervals between its hands. The two finalists looked at themselves, stunned. They, in all their dueling years, had never seen a card anything like this. Also, it was easily more powerful than any of the cards they possessed, with an attack strength of 3000!
“I also play Harpie’sss Feather Duster, to dessstroy each trap or magic card on your field.”
A grey feather began to flutter above Nick and Rebecca, and as it lowered, it opened into a merry dance that swept their two face-down cards right off the field and into their graveyard. They could have sworn the giggling of a Harpie Lady was heard afterwards, but it could have been a figment of their imagination.
“Sssorcerer Ssserpentsss, attack Gemini Elf with Lightning Volley!”
The Sorcerer of Serpents’ hands began to crackle a bright yellow-and-blue colour, pure energy roaring through its veins. In an attack powerful enough to awe even the most hardy of Duel Masters, a blast of pure energy was thrown forth, disintegrating the twin elvenkin where they stood. Our heroes’ Life total dropped to 7000, putting them even with their aggressor.
“Rebecca, what the hell is that thing?” Nick whispered frantically, bent over so that the reptilian foe could not see their words.
“I haven’t got a clue… he called it a Tarot Beast, but what does that mean?”
“All I know is that it means big trouble… look at that attack strength! I don’t think I have a single card that could take that down! And I’m all out of Trap Cards!”
“Me too… well, I guess all we can do now is prey…”
Gulping low in their throats, the duo took their cards and looked them over carefully. They knew that from this point on, any mistake would mean certain loss on their part. Anything, ANYTHING at all that could take down the Sorcerer of Serpents would be accepted. Their hearts sank; no powerful monsters, no all-encompassing magic cards. However, Rebecca did have one trick left up her sleeve.
“I’ll play this card face-down… I’m afraid that’s the best I can do!” She smirked, trying to keep her cool. She knew that her plan was a long shot, but the course of this battle depended on its success. “Your turn.”
“Very well…” Their opponent chuckled, drawing a card. He grinned even further, placing another card in Attack mode on the field. “I play Vorssse Raider in attack mode… attack their face-down card!”
The beast with the curved blade lumbered forward, much to the dismay of Rebecca and her plan. A few quick slices were all it took to dispatch of the card she had played; Dimensional Warrior. After the last swipe had found its mark, a rift seemed to open in the center of the battlefield. Dimensional Warrior simply jumped in of its own free will; Vorse Raider was sucked in afterwards, definitely NOT of its own free will. Rebecca simply sighed sadly – the best plan she had on such short notice had failed.
“Now… Sssorcerer of Ssserpentsss… attack them, now!”
Once again brimming with energy, the Tarot Beast lobbed forth its volley of electrical energy. Slamming hard into Nick and Rebecca’s podium, the entire stadium seemed to rumble violently, and pieces of it even fell to the ground. Their Life points fell drastically from 7000 to 4000.
To be honest, things weren’t looking too good as they drew their cards. Nick’s face lit up as he saw the Millenium Shield in his hand; however, as a Level 6 monster, it required a Tribute to be played in battle. With Sorcerer of Serpents in play, that wasn’t likely to be an option.
“I wish I had something better, Nick, but this is all I’ve got…” Rebecca whispered, playing a card face-down in Defense mode. “What about you?”
“Not much… I’ve got a trap, but I doubt it will do us much good at this point.” He replied in defeat. “Alright… your turn.” The finalist shouted at his opponent, showing as much false confidence as he could muster.
The snake-man drew his card once more, as well. Again he laughed, and Rebecca and Nick felt their hearts jump into their throats as he played his next card. Though not the most powerful card in the whole of Duel Monsters, it would certainly add to their horrid position.
“I play La Jinn the Myssstical Genie of the Lamp in attack posssition. Ussse Three Wishesss on their face-down card!”
Waving its hands in a strange fashion, La Jinn snapped its fingers and created a ball of shadowy energy in its hands. Then another. And another. These three spherical energy blasts orbited its body before, on his command, they shot directly at the face-down card, with revealed itself to be Beaver Warrior. A raising of its shield and a quick squeal were all that were heard before the poor beast was lugged off to the Graveyard pile.
“Thisss has been… enchanting… but I mussst end our battle here and now. First, I equip Sssorcerer of Ssserpents with Dark Pendant, increasing itsss attack to 3500. Now, Lightning Volley!” He commanded, prompting an obedient nod from his monster. The beast charged up just as before, only the energy seeming more chaotic and destructive this time, volleying the charged beam of energy right into their Life points. After the onslaught, they were left with a shoddy 600 Life points to go by. “And it doesssn’t ssstop there. I play Final Flame, which decreases your Life pointsss by a further 600! Hahahahaha!”
The cold realization of defeat swept over Nick and Rebecca. Not only had they been beaten by this flying show off, they had been DECIMATED by him. One thing was still on their mind, however, beyond even the fact that they had lost the match: what would happen to them now that he had beaten them?
“Now… I shall take… my prize…” The reptile growled. His cards had, at this point, vanished into his robes, and he was darting through the air in Nick’s direction, arms outstretched to snatch him right off the podium! Just as he reached a mere three feet from his target, Rebecca leapt in the reptilian aggressor’s path, she herself becoming entangled in his clutches! “Not what I had intended… but you shall do, my pretty…”
“No! Leave her alone, you <censored>!" Nick roared, slamming his fist on the playing field. The snake simply chuckled and levitated upwards, finally soaring through the hole he had created earlier. His new prize was tucked firmly underneath his arm, screaming fiercely as she vanished from sight. “Dammit… you <censored>..."
(EDIT: Lots of owning by Pojo, I'm afraid. It appears the censors don't like people who speak like snakes. ^^;; And since that lovely <pojo_ownz> replaces each and every letter of the naughty words, I've replaced them with <censored> so that they don't take up the entire page, if that's okay. ;))
Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Legacy of Tarot
Prologue
Our story begins long ago, some time after the seven almighty Millenium Items filled the earth with their power and might. The art of dueling had evolved from the times of Ancient Egypt: no longer were monsters summoned from stone tablets, but magical cards imbued with the spirits of magical, mystical, and sometimes fearsome monsters. Those long years ago, when Duel Monsters was a method of war rather than a sport, 21 men and women reigned supreme over all others. None could stand in their way. Entire armies challenged them and fell like tissue paper to a hot knife. Their secret? Each of these 21 elites carried with them 1 special card, known only as the Tarot Beasts. Forged long before any man can remember and imbued with powerful magic, these dangerous cards tore through the world with their dark magics, corrupting their masters and soon becoming the masters themselves. For a while, the world lay in ruin, all peoples afraid to even venture outside their doors for fear that they too would succumb to the wrath of the Tarot Beasts.
It was, surprisingly, a young girl that was able to stand up to the malice and the corruption of the Tarot Beasts. Though no one knows why she was able to defeat them while entire armies could not, one riddle to explain it has been passed through the generations:
“The Heart of a Child can move mountains.”
Codswallop, say most scientists and Duel Monsters experts. Just some pretty rumour started by a troublemaker ages ago to throw everyone off. In their naivety, they knew that a simple child – nor his or her heart – could move a mountain. No one can! Of course, the riddle was clearly a figure of speech, but it did not answer many questions for anyone, and many more arose from it.
But what became of the Tarot Beasts, you ask? Upon Lord Lucius Malgrave Tarot’s defeat many ages ago, it is said they were scattered to the winds by the girl that defeated him in hopes that they would never be found again. Unfortunately, one card managed to find it’s way right into the hands of an ambitious group of young science majors at Motoh City University….
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“Hey, Craig, look at this!” a young woman called, dressed in a while lab coat and holding what looked to be an archaeologist’s brush in her hand.
“What is it, Amanda?” a man replied, rushing over to see what was the matter. Upon arriving at her position, he found that she was holding a somewhat dirty Duel Monsters card that was in surprisingly good condition. It had markings on its surface and backing that set it apart from other Duel Monsters cards, but it was similar enough for the two students to recognize it. Upon it was etched the picture of a court jester dancing foolishly, just about to fall over the edge of a steep cliff.
“It’s a Duel Monsters card, I think…” she began, pausing for a moment to examine it more closely. The card’s name was a bit blurred and withered with age, but she finally managed to make it out. “King of Fools. That’s its name. It’s old, too.”
“Look at that Attack and Defense! This is a pretty powerful card, Amanda!” Craig exclaimed, extending his hand to hold it for himself. He brought it up closer to his nose, examining it through his glasses, a smile painted on his face the whole while. “This card is amazing! What a find! It must have been made by the ancient civilization of Duelists that Professor Duncan was telling us about on the way here.”
“We should show the professors, quick! We’ll definitely get an A in this course if we’ve really found an ancient card!” Amanda said excitedly. Her eyes lit up at the very thought of the fame and fortune she would receive for this.
“You’re right, Amanda… Professor Duncan! Professor Gardner!” Craig called, waving the card above his head as he hollered. The two professors who had been supervising the expedition, a man and a woman, ran over to see what was the matter.
“What’s wrong, Craig?” Professor Duncan, a tall, handsome man asked in his deep voice. Amanda did everything she could to keep from blushing every time his beautiful voice penetrated her ears, and she almost succeeded. Almost. The professor winked at her playfully, knowing that she had a crush on him. It was a harmless crush, after all, since Professor Duncan had been married for 8 years now and he knew that Amanda knew that.
“I… I mean we found this strange card when we were digging over here! I’ve never seen one like it!” the excited student exclaimed, practically shoving the golden card in Professor Duncan’s face.
“Oh? It’s that rare, eh?” Professor Gardner, a tall, sexy young woman who was clearly younger than Professor Duncan but quite a lot better looking, joked. She had long, straight brown hair that fell just above her shoulders, and she wore half-circle glasses that only amplified her appearance. She knew that Craig was a pretty avid Duelist. He had come in second in the University’s annual Duel Tournament this year, and owned more cards than many students in the entire school. Professor Duncan and Professor Gardner had barely gotten a chance to glance at the card when Amanda interrupted.
“Yeah! It’s called the King of Fools. It’s really strong!”
Immediately the two professors went white as ghosts. They looked at the students, then at each other, and then at the card. They whispered something back and forth to each other for a while, each one nodding in turn and humming deep in thought to themselves. Still pale, Professor Gardner ran off to gather the rest of the students while Professor Duncan barked an announcement.
“Students! The field trip is now over! Please make your way to the bus so we can return to the school!”
The announcement was met only by a few “Huh?”s and groans from students that had, until this point, been enjoying themselves quite a lot. Reluctant to follow their professors’ orders, the budding scientists filed onto the three buses and began to drive back to the school.
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The King of Fools that Amanda and Craig found was indeed one of the 21 Tarot Beasts that plagued the world all those years ago, though the teachers never told them. Whenever any of the students inquired about the card, the teachers would go white and frantically change the subject. A buzz fluttered through the school, but eventually most of the talk of the King of Fools card vanished as the students that had found it graduated and went on with their lives. Was the King of Fools card dead and dormant, as the teachers hope, or was it – and the rest of the Tarot Beasts – still awake, trying to return to each other to plague the world again? Either way, the Tarot Beasts have been unearthed again. The future is dark…
* * *
Chapter 1
Our story now takes us to an arena on the bustling island metropolis of Tare City, where the final round of the annual Tare Invitational, a world-famous Duel Monsters tournament, is about to take place. The second finalist is in the process of being chosen, and the match is between a beautiful teenage girl with blonde hair and a shorter, heavier boy with spiky brown hair and glasses. The names “Rebecca” and “Adam” are written in lights on their podiums. From what can be seen, Rebecca has a Flame Champion (1900/1300), Deepsea Warrior (1600/1800), and an Island Turtle (1100/2000) on her side of the field, all in attack mode. She also has a face-down card in play. Adam is clearly doing much worse, with only a Psychic Kappa (400/1000) and a Red Archer Girl (1400/1500) on his field in attack mode. Rebecca is doing quite well with 6700 Life points, and Adam only has 2300.
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“Alright, folks,” a voice from the loudspeaker boomed overhead. “This battle is coming to an end, and it’s Adam’s turn. Let’s see if he can turn around Rebecca’s overwhelming stranglehold on him.”
Adam drew his card and a grin came over his face. He slapped it down on his playing field face-down. “This was a good battle, Rebecca, but I’m afraid this is where it ends. I’ll place a card face-down on the field, and place Psychic Kappa in defense mode!” he said, turning the Psychic Kappa card to the side. The creature on the larger field vanished for a moment, then reappeared inside its shell. “Red Archer Girl, attack Rebecca’s Island Turtle! That’s the end of her, Rebecc-“
“Not so fast, Adam. I played a card face-down, remember?” Rebecca taunted, picking the card up and showing it to him. He gasped as he read the word “Reinforcements” on the card’s label, and he groaned. “A trap card; Reinforcements. This card allows me to add 500 attack points to whichever card I wish for one turn, and I choose to add them to Island Turtle!”
For a moment, Island Turtle’s attack and defense of 1100/2000 were shown on screen. The attack portion increased rapidly to 1600, and the battle continued. Red Archer Girl peeked out of her shell with a bow in hand, an arrow nocked to the string. In a fluid motion, she launched the arrow at Island Turtle, who simply deflected the attack completely. Raising its foot as high as it could, the tortoise slammed down on the ground of the arena, sending a shockwave forth that destroyed Red Archer girl where she stood. Adam’s Life points dropped by 200, to 2100.
“I believe it’s my turn!” Rebecca said with a playful grin. Her slender hand reached over to her deck and she drew a card. Immediately she chuckled and looked over in Adam’s direction. “This was fun, darling, but I’m afraid it ends here. Sorry! I play a Magic card: Raigeki!”
There’s no need for an explanation here – just about every Duelist knows what Raigeki can do to an opponent’s field, and their game. Bolts of lightning flashed overhead, and in a swift, brilliant moment, Psychic Kappa was removed from the field. Rebecca laughed and continued her victory speech.
“I’m not finished yet! Flame Champion, Deepsea Warrior, attack Adam!”
On her command, the flaming warrior and the aquatic defender leapt forward in a synchronized manner, flame and water combining to slash away at Adam’s remaining Life points. His total soon dropped to 0 and his podium began to lower along with Rebecca’s. The field emptied and the players picked up their cards, moving towards each other to shake hands. While they exchanged their congratulations, the loudspeaker boomed louder than ever.
“Rebecca has won! Rebecca goes on to the Tare Invitational’s Final round to face Nick Maximus for the grand prize!”
Overhead in the finalist’s box seats, Nick sat watching the battle. He was a tall, well-built teenager, though not overly muscular, with deep brown eyes and hair that is usually spiked. He was dressed unusually fancily that day – customary for the Tare finalists, being that the city is known for its parties and balls – with a classy tuxedo and a Christmas tie that is all too corny and yet classy at the same time. He wasn’t particularly fond of himself, but in the Tare invitational, the finalists don’t get to choose their own wardrobe for the final match.
“Wow… she’s good. I’m going to have a tough time beating her, guys!”
He was, of course, talking to his two friends, labeled by the Tare Duel Council as VIPs for the time being. One was a boy with black hair and tanned skin, just a bit shorter than Nick himself. The other was about the same height, a girl with beautiful auburn hair and striking brown eyes.
“Oh come on, Nick. You’ll cream her.” Mark, the black-haired boy, exclaimed.
“Mark’s right – she’s a pushover compared to you!” Alyssa, the girl, reassured him with a smile. Nick smiled right back, though still a bit unsure of himself. He held his deck tightly in his hand, flipping through it absentmindedly, not really looking at it all that closely. “Maybe if we go over your deck again it’ll make you feel better. You know, to make sure that it’s perfect.”
“Yeah, Alyssa’s right! We’ve still got about an hour before the match.”
“Alright… alright, yeah! That sounds like a good idea.” Nick said, moving over to a couch by the coffee table. He began laying his cards down as his friends joined him.
“You’ve still got those Harpie Ladies and Harpie Lady Sisters, right?” Alyssa asked, watching as he laid down the cards. One of the cards she had mentioned, a Harpie Lady, was placed on the table and Nick nodded.
“Yeah, and the Elegant Egotists to go with them.”
“Good… if it weren’t for them, I might have beaten you in our last match!” She laughed, sifting through the visible cards.
“What about that Millenium Shield your mom bought for your birthday?” Mark wondered, not seeing the card on the table.
“Of course! That card is an invaluable defense tool. I wouldn’t leave it behind.” Nick exclaimed, beginning to sort his cards into groups to remind himself which could be used in unison, which should be used in unison, and so on.
“Don’t forget your Castle of Dark Magic and Pumpkin the King of Ghosts combination.” Alyssia reminded him, which prompted a nod from the finalist.
“I’ve also got that Change of Heart combo in here, which should help.”
“Yeah…” Mark began, soon interrupted by the voice on the loudspeaker. “Woah! You’re on, Nick! Don’t keep the fans waiting!”
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Just a few minutes later, Nick was standing on his podium opposite Rebecca, who was dressed in a glittering blue dress, and she looked as though she was ready to go straight to a ball. After finishing the usual “Rock, Paper, Scissors”-like method of choosing turn order, it was decided that Rebecca would draw first while Nick would have the first attack. Both players drew their cards, and Rebecca seemed rather pleased with her hand.
“Alright, hun… I’ll play this card in defense mode, as well as this card face down.” She told him, placing the cards down in their respective positions. Nothing spectacular happens, as her side of the field is completely face down. “Your turn.”
“Hmmm… not a perfect hand, but I do have a Harpie Lady. All I need is an Elegant Egotist and I can summon the Harpie Lady Sisters!” Nick thought to himself, picking out a couple of cards from his hand. “I place Neo the Magic Swordsman in Attack mode, as well as another card, face down!” As he spoke, he placed the cards down on his field. Neo the Magic Swordsman apparated onto the larger field, facing Rebecca’s as-of-yet empty field. “Neo the Magic Swordsman, attack Rebecca’s defense card!”
The blade-wielding sorcerer ran forward as quickly as he could, and a blast of energy surrounded his sword. Rising upwards and readying himself for a vertical slash to whatever the monster might be, Neo was greeted by a small arachnid made completely of metal. The sword came down and sliced the hapless foe clean in two, which immediately prompted a thoughtful look from Nick as Neo returned to its post.
“Is that all you’ve got, Rebecca? It’s a wonder you got this far.” The finalist taunted, knowing that she boasted more talent than she was showing at the time. He had seen her in action, and he knew very well that she was an accomplished, learned Duelist.
“You forget, my darling opponent, that Steel Scorpion carries with it a very special effect!” Rebecca grinned, pulling the card out of the Graveyard for a second. “When a non-machine type monster attacks Steel Scorpion, it has 3 turns left to live. Then, on my 3rd endphase, that monster… goes bye bye!” She returned the card to the Graveyard pile and placed her elbows on the mini playing field before her, resting her head in her hands. “I think that makes it my turn, doesn’t it?”
Slipping her hand over her deck and sliding a card into her hand, Rebecca looked over the cards available to her for a brief moment. It seemed like only seconds before she was grinning again, apparently having formulated the master plan that would win her the battle.
“Ohh, this is a good one. I think you’ll like this move, Nick. I play Polymerization to combine Queen’s Double and Hibikime!” The second finalist announced, placing those cards in their respective positions on the field. Queen’s Double and Hibikime apparated where Steel Scorpion once stood, still as statues. When the spinning vortex of Polymorph appeared, however, the two creatures were sucked inside without a sound. For what seemed like minutes the two did their magical dance within the portal before, finally, a new monster erupted from within. “Meet Empress Judge. I could attack and destroy your pitiful Neo the Magic Swordsman right now, but since Steel Scorpion’s poison is doing a good enough job of that, I’ll leave Empress Judge in attack mode. Your turn, my love. Neo the Magic Swordsman has 2 End phases left.”
Reluctantly, Nick drew a card. He knew that Rebecca would never attack his Neo the Magic Swordsman as long as the face-down card, which as far as she knew could have been a trap card, was there, and as long as Steel Scorpion’s venom was working away at him. He needed something to either destroy Empress Judge completely, or something that would at least stall any further attacks. What he saw made him light up – it wouldn’t ruin her completely, but it would give him time to think up something else.
“I’ll place Harpie Lady on the field. As well, I’ll play a Magic Card, Elegant Egotist.” Nick smirked, placing the two cards in their positions on the mini-field before him. The Harpie Lady, wings and all, appeared right beside the coughing Neo the Magic Swordsman, staring only straight forward. “As you know, Elegant Egotist allows me to Special Summon a Harpie Lady Sisters card from my Hand or my Deck – I shall do so now, and play the Harpie Lady Sisters in defense mode.” Reaching into his deck, he shuffled through until he found the card he wanted. Placing the trio of Harpies on the field right beside their sister, Nick shuffled the deck just as the card specified. “Your turn, Rebecca.”
A bit curious as to what her opponent was so calm about, Rebecca drew a card. Judging by the look on her face, it wasn’t anything particularly special, or something that she needed at the time. However, she still had two other cards in her hand, and judging by her past efficiency with her cards, Nick knew that she might still have some lethal combination waiting for him.
“I’ll play a card face-down in defense mode, and I’ll play this card as well.” Rebecca noted, putting one card in the monster section and the other in the Magic and Traps section of the field. All Nick could see was still that Empress Judge, and he had know idea whether her two face down cards in the Magic/Trap area were traps that would seriously rupture his game. He did know this: one wrong move could lose him the match. “Empress Judge, use your Judgement attack on Harpie Lady!”
Without moving, a ray of light shined down upon Harpie Lady. In a brief, fluid motion, Empress Judge snapped her fingers and caused the beam of light to vanish – when it disappeared, so had Harpie Lady. Nick’s Life Total flashed on his podium, and the 8000 dropped to 7200. He was still far from out, however.
“That makes it my turn, Reb—“
Just then, before Nick even had the chance to draw a card, a great rumbling shook through the arena. Panic arose, and spectators found themselves frantically dashing for whatever exit was closest. Figuring that the island was suffering the effects of an earthquake, Nick and Rebecca prepared to pick up their cards and continue the fight later. It was then that an explosion was heard and a huge chunk of debris fell not 10 feet from Nick’s podium. Looking up, both contestants saw a strange robed man floating down through a hole in the roof, eyes fixated on the both of them.
“You… are the finalistssss…” The figure hissed, yellow eyes staring down at them.
“Yeah, and who are you?” Nick asked demandingly. He wasn’t afraid anymore – just angry that this show off had decided to ruin their battle. He wasn’t even that aware that the man was actually floating in the air, a rather abnormal feat.
“My name isss not important… We will duel…”
“What? Why should I duel you?” Nick asked, getting even angirer that he seemed to have been ORDERED to duel, not asked.
“They… are sssseeking… a master…”
“They? Who are ‘they?’”
“Duel… we will duel!” The robed man hissed. He was wearing flowing green clothes and looked like he was taken straight from the desert. There was barely an inch of his skin that wasn’t covered by the silky green material, save for his eyes and hands. His voice got more and more impatient as he continued speaking. Reluctant to say anything too hasty that would upset this maniac, Nick finally got up the courage to speak.
“Rebecca, leave while you can. Leave this show off to me!”
“What?” She began, seemingly perplexed. “And let you have all the fun?” A wink followed, and she pressed a few buttons on her console. Her Empress Judge vanished from her side of the board and reappeared on Nick’s, as did the two face-down cards she had placed. Nick smiled as he realized what she was doing, and he moved aside as she started running over to his podium, cards in hand.
“Alright! If you wish to duel, you’ll duel both of us! You’ll pay for interrupting our match.” Nick and Rebecca taunted in unison. Their monsters were just as brave, staring motionless towards their new enemy.
“We… shall ssssee…” The green figure barked. Waving his hand once, a multitude of cards began to fly out of his robes at blinding speeds, ripping through the air and placing themselves in a neat pile where a contestant’s deck would be. “They… will have a new master… before the day issss done… We duel!!”
* * *
Chapter 2: The Serpent’s Bite
When last I left you, our up-and-coming duelists Rebecca and Nick were gearing up to face off against a hooded intruder with a forked tongue, a violent attitude, and a short temper. The snake-like figure, whose name had not yet been given to his opponents, was quite obviously not human – far from it, at that. Perhaps he was, once. Perhaps someone or something changed him for the worse. Either way, his rash interruption of the Tare Invitational finals match had quite sparked Nick’s curiosity – and his temper.
Slowly, the figure reached over his deck with his scaly green hand, drawing the usual 5 cards that all duelists start a match with. Between them, Nick and Rebecca also had five cards, but they were at an advantage – three of their own monsters already populated the field, and they had three face-down cards ready for action at any moment. A glint of yellow was seen from under the creature’s green hood as he looked in their direction, and he placed a card face-down in defense mode, as well as another card in the Magic portion of the field. Saying nothing, he looked up at them as if daring them to attack. A bit reluctant, each of them drew their card. Nick and Rebecca whispered to each other for a few brief, fleeting moments before deciding on what to do. They were at a slight disadvantage in that they had only 1 Summon per turn, which meant that only one of them could place a monster. It took a while, but it was decided that Nick would place his monster this turn.
“I play Harpie’s Brother in attack mode, and I play Black Pendant as well!” Nick began with a chuckle, certain that he’d come up with a rock-hard monster this time. “Harpie’s Brother’s attack is now 2300.”
“I’ll start this round off with an attack! Empress Judge, use your Judgement Ray on our opponent’s face-down card!” Rebecca ordered, and just as before, a ray of light began to shine down upon the reptilian opponent’s face-down card. However, this beam of energy bounced backwards just as quickly, shining itself all over Nick’s and Rebecca’s field. This prompted a chuckle from their opponent.
“Foolsss… I played a Trap card… Mirror Forccce… It negatesss all your damage thisss round and dessstroysss all your attack posssition monssstersss on the field.”
Just as he had promised, the Empress Judge’s reflected Judgement Ray attack made quick work of their entire playing field, destroying the Harpie’s Brother, Harpie Lady Sisters, Neo the Magic Swordsman, and Empress Judge. This left their field near empty, with only a few face-down cards left to protect their life points.
“Drooling Lizard, attack!” The reptile hissed under his green hood. The image of a small lizard became visible to the combatants, and despite its petite stature, Drooling Lizard ran right towards Nick and Rebecca, prepared to attack their life points directly. It did, and their Life total dropped from 8000 to 7100. However, immediately afterwards, that same total increased above and beyond normal, to 8100! This, of course, made their opponent very angry.
“Let’s not get angry now, my nameless foe!” Nick chuckled, trying to keep his cool. He knew that wearing down your opponent’s mind was just as important as actual card strategy. “I just played a simple trap; Numinous Healer. This card allows me to increase my Life by 1000 points when I am attacked. I just chose to activate it now.”
Another hiss followed, accompanied by a furious slam of their foe’s fist on the playing field. A few of his cards shook out of place, but he returned them just as quickly. Nick and Rebecca simply laughed at his short temper.
“Very well… it isss your turn…”
The dynamic duo nodded, and each drew their card for that round. Again they conversed in no more than a whisper, formulating a plan that would deal as much damage as possible to their aggressor. Rebecca drew one card from her hand while Nick drew two, and each placed them on the field.
“I play Dark-Piercing Light!” Nick began, sliding the card into position. A bright light flooded the battlefield, even causing the snake-man to shield his eyes, and when he looked back, his face-down card was revealed to be a trap. “Waboku, eh? No matter. I’ll play this card face-down.”
“My turn! I play Gemini Elf in attack mode!” Rebecca announced, slamming the card down face-up on her field. Ripples of light coursed through the console and the twin elves appeared battle-ready on the field, arms interlocked, prepared to fight as one. “Gemini Elf, attack Drooling Lizard!”
The two elves began to dash in the hapless reptile’s direction, only to be halted for a brief moment by Waboku. The figure chuckled, knowing that he had stopped their attack… or had he?
“Ah ah ah, not so fast!” Rebecca laughed, whipping a card from the field into her hand. “We played Seven Tools of the Bandit! This card allows us to negate the effects of your own trap card. Clever, huh?”
As their antagonist hissed impatiently once more, the priestly figures that were Waboku vanished instantly into thin air, leaving Gemini Elf prepped and ready to pummel Drooling Lizard into submission. The snake-man’s Life points dropped to 7000 as a result.
“My turn…” The grim aggressor growled, drawing a card of his own. Suddenly, a deep look of victory and success came over what they could see of his face, and he hastily slapped a card down on the field. “Now you will witnessss the true power of the Tarot Beastsss! Sssorcerer of Ssserpentsss, come forth!”
Slapping the card down on his field, Nick’s opponent caused a robed snake with arms to slither onto the field, energy beams crackling at regular intervals between its hands. The two finalists looked at themselves, stunned. They, in all their dueling years, had never seen a card anything like this. Also, it was easily more powerful than any of the cards they possessed, with an attack strength of 3000!
“I also play Harpie’sss Feather Duster, to dessstroy each trap or magic card on your field.”
A grey feather began to flutter above Nick and Rebecca, and as it lowered, it opened into a merry dance that swept their two face-down cards right off the field and into their graveyard. They could have sworn the giggling of a Harpie Lady was heard afterwards, but it could have been a figment of their imagination.
“Sssorcerer Ssserpentsss, attack Gemini Elf with Lightning Volley!”
The Sorcerer of Serpents’ hands began to crackle a bright yellow-and-blue colour, pure energy roaring through its veins. In an attack powerful enough to awe even the most hardy of Duel Masters, a blast of pure energy was thrown forth, disintegrating the twin elvenkin where they stood. Our heroes’ Life total dropped to 7000, putting them even with their aggressor.
“Rebecca, what the hell is that thing?” Nick whispered frantically, bent over so that the reptilian foe could not see their words.
“I haven’t got a clue… he called it a Tarot Beast, but what does that mean?”
“All I know is that it means big trouble… look at that attack strength! I don’t think I have a single card that could take that down! And I’m all out of Trap Cards!”
“Me too… well, I guess all we can do now is prey…”
Gulping low in their throats, the duo took their cards and looked them over carefully. They knew that from this point on, any mistake would mean certain loss on their part. Anything, ANYTHING at all that could take down the Sorcerer of Serpents would be accepted. Their hearts sank; no powerful monsters, no all-encompassing magic cards. However, Rebecca did have one trick left up her sleeve.
“I’ll play this card face-down… I’m afraid that’s the best I can do!” She smirked, trying to keep her cool. She knew that her plan was a long shot, but the course of this battle depended on its success. “Your turn.”
“Very well…” Their opponent chuckled, drawing a card. He grinned even further, placing another card in Attack mode on the field. “I play Vorssse Raider in attack mode… attack their face-down card!”
The beast with the curved blade lumbered forward, much to the dismay of Rebecca and her plan. A few quick slices were all it took to dispatch of the card she had played; Dimensional Warrior. After the last swipe had found its mark, a rift seemed to open in the center of the battlefield. Dimensional Warrior simply jumped in of its own free will; Vorse Raider was sucked in afterwards, definitely NOT of its own free will. Rebecca simply sighed sadly – the best plan she had on such short notice had failed.
“Now… Sssorcerer of Ssserpentsss… attack them, now!”
Once again brimming with energy, the Tarot Beast lobbed forth its volley of electrical energy. Slamming hard into Nick and Rebecca’s podium, the entire stadium seemed to rumble violently, and pieces of it even fell to the ground. Their Life points fell drastically from 7000 to 4000.
To be honest, things weren’t looking too good as they drew their cards. Nick’s face lit up as he saw the Millenium Shield in his hand; however, as a Level 6 monster, it required a Tribute to be played in battle. With Sorcerer of Serpents in play, that wasn’t likely to be an option.
“I wish I had something better, Nick, but this is all I’ve got…” Rebecca whispered, playing a card face-down in Defense mode. “What about you?”
“Not much… I’ve got a trap, but I doubt it will do us much good at this point.” He replied in defeat. “Alright… your turn.” The finalist shouted at his opponent, showing as much false confidence as he could muster.
The snake-man drew his card once more, as well. Again he laughed, and Rebecca and Nick felt their hearts jump into their throats as he played his next card. Though not the most powerful card in the whole of Duel Monsters, it would certainly add to their horrid position.
“I play La Jinn the Myssstical Genie of the Lamp in attack posssition. Ussse Three Wishesss on their face-down card!”
Waving its hands in a strange fashion, La Jinn snapped its fingers and created a ball of shadowy energy in its hands. Then another. And another. These three spherical energy blasts orbited its body before, on his command, they shot directly at the face-down card, with revealed itself to be Beaver Warrior. A raising of its shield and a quick squeal were all that were heard before the poor beast was lugged off to the Graveyard pile.
“Thisss has been… enchanting… but I mussst end our battle here and now. First, I equip Sssorcerer of Ssserpents with Dark Pendant, increasing itsss attack to 3500. Now, Lightning Volley!” He commanded, prompting an obedient nod from his monster. The beast charged up just as before, only the energy seeming more chaotic and destructive this time, volleying the charged beam of energy right into their Life points. After the onslaught, they were left with a shoddy 600 Life points to go by. “And it doesssn’t ssstop there. I play Final Flame, which decreases your Life pointsss by a further 600! Hahahahaha!”
The cold realization of defeat swept over Nick and Rebecca. Not only had they been beaten by this flying show off, they had been DECIMATED by him. One thing was still on their mind, however, beyond even the fact that they had lost the match: what would happen to them now that he had beaten them?
“Now… I shall take… my prize…” The reptile growled. His cards had, at this point, vanished into his robes, and he was darting through the air in Nick’s direction, arms outstretched to snatch him right off the podium! Just as he reached a mere three feet from his target, Rebecca leapt in the reptilian aggressor’s path, she herself becoming entangled in his clutches! “Not what I had intended… but you shall do, my pretty…”
“No! Leave her alone, you <censored>!" Nick roared, slamming his fist on the playing field. The snake simply chuckled and levitated upwards, finally soaring through the hole he had created earlier. His new prize was tucked firmly underneath his arm, screaming fiercely as she vanished from sight. “Dammit… you <censored>..."