Reaper of Despair
11-05-2004, 05:43 PM
Episode 7: Defeat the Spirit’s Vengeance!
Yugi stood on the docks. He ran home to grab his Duel Disk and his deck, then, came to the place where he was supposed to duel Amune-ra.
‘I guess we’re supposed to wait,’ Yami thought.
Yami walked around the area. Boats where anchored in the harbor and the smell of fish was all around. He turned towards the warehouse district and spotted Amune-ra, waiting on him. Yami walked up to the man.
“Alright, what is this all about?” Yami demanded.
“5,000 years ago, you sentenced me to die in the most horrific way. I was merely a follower of the great Salazar Midus, but you couldn’t handle that, could you Pharaoh?”
Yami gasped. The words the man spoke revived memories in Yami’s mind. Memories of his time as Pharaoh. Yami looked into Amune-ra’s eyes, but saw nothing.
“Who are you?”
“I am a spirit, resurrected by my master, for the sole purpose of revenge against you. And now, I shall have that revenge. Prepare for a fate worse than death!”
The man chanted an ancient incantation in Egyptian and the shadows swept over him and Yugi.
“A shadow game?! I thought that only one with a Millennium Item could manipulate the shadows,” Yami said.
“I was born of shadow magic that stems from the Millennium Items. Now, enough talk! It’s time to duel!” Amune-ra said as he held up a Duel Disk.
(Yugi: 8000) (Amune-ra: 8000)
“I’m just curious, since you are a 5,000 year-old spirit, how do you know of the game Duel Monsters?” Yami asked.
“The same way that you do. I inherited my host’s memories. Now, since I challenged, you decide who goes first.”
“I’ll go first,” Yami said as he drew his six cards. “I’ll set one card face down and a monster in defense mode. That ends my turn.”
Amune-ra snatched the top card from his deck and smirked as he looked at it.
“You’ll have to do better than that, Pharaoh. I’ll place a monster in defense mode and two cards face down, and end my turn.”
‘He’s hiding his strategy from me. I’ll have to draw him out.’ “I’ll flip over Retrained Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) in attack mode!”
The face down hologram flipped up and a tall elf in an armored chest plate with a long cloak attached at the shoulders and a pointed green cap appeared on the field. His cloak fluttered slightly behind him as he stood in front of Yugi.
“Go, Retrained Celtic Guardian, attack his defense monster!”
The warrior unsheathed his sword and charged forward, slashing at the face down hologram. The card flipped up and a tall woman, with the same dark complexion as Amune-ra, dressed in black robes, blocked the slash with a barrier of energy.
“You attacked my Gravekeeper’s Spy (1200/2000), which means you lose life points!”
(Yugi: 7400) (Amune-ra: 8000)
“But that’s not all. When my Spy is flipped, I’m allowed to bring forth another monster from my deck with Gravekeeper’s in its name with an attack of 1500 or less. And I choose Gravekeeper’s Curse (800/500)!”
Another monster appeared on the field, this time a shorter man dressed in similar robes and wielding a long hooked staff.
“My Gravekeeper’s Curse has a very special ability which allows it to do 500 points of damage to my opponent when it is summoned. So go, Gravekeeper’s Curse, activate your ability!”
The monster chanted an incantation and pointed his staff at Yugi. A beam of energy launched at the duelist, striking him directly in the chest.
(Yugi: 6900) (Amune-ra: 8000)
“So, Pharaoh, tell me. Do you feel so high and mighty now?” Amune-ra taunted.
“That’s enough. I will defeat you,” Yami snapped.
“No, you won’t,” Amune-ra said as he drew. “Now I’ll summon Gravekeeper’s Cannonholder (1400/1200) in attack mode!”
Another dark skinned, black robed monster materialized on the field. This one was kneeling and a large cannon sat atop its shoulder.
“My new monster also has a special ability. I can sacrifice one of my Gravekeepers to do 700 points of damage to your life points. So go, Gravekeeper’s Curse, become fodder for my Cannonholder so that he may unleash his power.”
The shorter Curse glowed brightly with energy, until he became a glowing sphere. The sphere loaded itself into the Cannon and the Cannonholder fired the energy at Yami, knocking the duelist to the ground from the force.
(Yugi: 6200) (Amune-ra: 8000)
“You’re not off to a good start Pharaoh. I end my turn.”
Yami recovered from the assault and drew. He looked at Amune-ra’s side of the field.
‘He left that weak monster in attack mode, which means that one of those face down cards is a trap to stop me from attacking it. I’d better play it safe.’ “I’ll switch Retrained Celtic Guardian to defense mode and end my turn.”
“Fine. I’ll sacrifice Gravekeeper’s Spy to summon Gravekeeper’s Chief (1900/1200) in attack mode.”
The Spy shattered and a tall dark skinned man appeared dressed in brilliant white and black robes, instead of just the black robes of his fellow monsters. He held a gold staff in his hand with a gold cobra at the end of it.
“My chief like all my other Gravekeeper’s, has a very special ability. When he is summoned to the field, I can revive one Gravekeeper from my graveyard. And I choose Gravekeeper’s Curse (800/500)!” The short, cloaked monster reappeared on the field. “And you know what that means. But in case you don’t, Gravekeeper’s Curse, remind him of your power!”
The Curse chanted and raised its staff again, firing a beam of energy that struck Yami directly and caused him to stumble back from the shock.
(Yugi: 5700) (Amune-ra: 8000)
“Now, Cannonholder, activate your…”
“Hold on!” Yami yelled, cutting Amune-ra off. “Reveal trap card: Shadow Balance!”
One of the card holograms flipped up and a large scale with a menacing face in the middle appeared on the field. Yami’s Retrained Celtic Guardian appeared on one of the scale plates, and all of Amune-ra’s monsters appeared on the other.
“What have you done?”
“Simple. My Shadow Balance card makes the number of face up monsters on your side of the field equal to the number of face up monsters on my side of the field. And since I only have one, you can only have one. So choose.”
“Fine. I choose Gravekeeper’s Chief.”
The Chief leaped down from the scale. The side of the scale with the Curse and Cannonholder became lower than the side with Retrained Celtic Guardian. The scale plate with Amune-ra’s monsters closed, crushing the two into dust.
“You’ll pay for that. Go, Gravekeeper’s Chief, attack the Retrained Celtic Guardian!” Amune-ra commanded.
The monster pointed his staff at Yami’s monster and fired a blast of energy. Yami smiled as the blast slammed into the elf and his monster remained unharmed.
“What is going on? Are you trying to cheat me?!”
“I can assure you that this is not a cheat, but rather my monster’s ability. Any monster with an attack of 1900 or more can’t destroy my Retrained Celtic Guardian. And since your Chief has 1900 exactly, he won’t be able to do it,” Yami explained.
“That’s fine. I have enough monsters in my deck that can handle that problem. I’ll place a card face down and end my turn.”
Yami drew, then, smiled.
“I’ll activate Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards from my deck. Next, I’ll sacrifice Retrained Celtic Guardian to summon Beast of Gilfer (2200/2500) in attack mode!”
The elf disappeared in a blaze of flames and a large red and black demon rose out of the ground where it once stood, and spread its large, menacing wings.
“Now, Beast of Gilfer, attack the Gravekeeper’s Chief with your mighty flame!”
The demon spat an intensely blazing fireball at the Chief, incinerating it with great ease and force.
(Yugi: 5700) (Amune-ra: 7700)
“I’ll end my turn,” Atem said, reassured of victory.
Amune-ra snapped the top card off of his deck. The Beast of Gilfer was powerful, but he was ready with some power of his own.
“If you think that did something, you’re sadly mistaken! For now I activate my face down card: Rite of Spirit! This card revives one monster with Gravekeeper’s in its name from the card graveyard. And I choose the Gravekeeper’s Chief!”
Light chanting could be heard as Amune-ra’s monster rose from a fissure in the ground. Yami looked on with interest.
“Now I’ll activate the spell card Terraforming! This card allows me to take one field spell card from my deck and add it to my hand.”
Yami’s interest turned to concern as Amune-ra went through his deck and added a card to his hand. His face twisted into a smile as he looked at the card.
“This is the card of your end. I play Necrovalley!”
Amune-ra placed the card in the hidden slot in the side of the Duel Disk and the entire scenery changed from the darkness of the Shadow Realm, to the burning sands of a desert valley. Pyramids in the background were turned into silhouettes by the ever-setting sun that seemed to hang in the sky. Amune-ra’s Gravekeeper glowed with an eerie yellow color that seemed to match the color of the sky around the sun.
“Now Gravekeeper’s Chief, attack the Beast of Gilfer!”
The monster raised its staff and fired another blast, shattering Gilfer, much to Yami’s shock and confusion.
(Yugi: 5500) (Amune-ra: 7700)
“Pharaoh, don’t look so surprised. You should’ve known that Necrovally carried with it a hidden power that only my Gravekeepers can access. As long as Necrovalley remains face up on the field, all my Gravekeepers gain 500 attack and defense points. Plus, my card negates all cards that take any cards out of the graveyard, so whatever goes will stay gone.”
“I will find a way to defeat you! I swear it!” Yami bellowed.
“I doubt that. But let’s see. My turn is over.”
Yami drew Monster Reborn, but realized that his draw was useless thanks to Necrovalley’s effect.
“I’ll just place a monster in defense mode and end my turn.”
“I thought so. I’ll summon Gravekeeper’s Spear Soldier (1500/1500) in attack mode!”
Another black robed monster appeared on the field. This one was carrying a long spear at his side, and glowed with the same yellow radiance as the Chief (2400/1700), boosting his attack points.
“My Spear Soldier (2000/1500) can do life point damage to you, even if your monster is defense mode. So with that said, Gravekeeper’s Spear Soldier, attack his defense monster!”
The monster charged forward and thrust his spear at the face down hologram. A long-haired warrior appeared behind a massive shield and deflected the blow easily.
“You attacked my Big Shield Guardna (100/2600), whose defense is much higher than your monster’s attack. So you know what happens,” Yami said.
(Yugi: 5500) (Amune-ra: 7100)
“That doesn’t matter because defense can’t save you from the power of my vengeance,” Amune-ra said.
Yami chuckled, then, drew.
“Vengeance means nothing without power or skill. Your deck’s flaw is blaringly obvious so let me get it out of the way. I activate Mystical Space Typhoon! This card will destroy one spell or trap card on the field, and I choose Necrovalley!”
A powerful twister formed on Yami’s side of the field, and picked up strength as it raged towards the center of the field.
“You’re so very naďve, aren’t you? Activate Eternal Spell! This continuous trap card negates the effects of spell and trap cards that destroy spell or trap cards on the field. So you’ve failed.”
The raging twister died, much to Amune-ra’s delight at the pharaoh’s failure.
“That doesn’t matter to me, because I’ve still got a trick left up my sleeve. I sacrifice Big Shield Guardna to play Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700) in attack mode!”
The warrior disappeared and a young female mage dressed in a loose-fitting blue sleeveless top adorned with a mage’s jewel bearing a yellow pentagram in the center, and a short pink skirt, appeared with a smile and a wink. She flipped her long blonde hair under her tall pointed wizard’s cap and floated down next to Yami. Amune-ra laughed.
“Ha, your pathetic little girlfriend can’t compare to my Gravekeepers!”
“Next, I’ll activate Magician’s Tome! This card’s ancient magic will raise my Dark Magician’s Girl’s attack power by 700 points,” Yami continued, ignoring Amune-ra’s comment.
A large book appeared in front of the Dark Magician girl and she began reading it. As she read, her body became wrapped in a green glow.
“Now, Dark Magician Girl (2700/1700), attack the Gravekeeper’s chief with Dark Burning Attack!”
The mage raised her staff and blasted the Gravekeeper with a wave of magical energy.
(Yugi: 5500) (Amune-ra: 6800)
“I’ll end my turn,” Yami said with satisfaction.
Amune-ra glared at the Dark Magician Girl, then, drew.
“Pharaoh, this is not the end. I will have my revenge for disgracing my master and I. You will suffer, this I swear.”
Amune-ra prepared to play his next card, unaware that a spirit of the shadows was watching him and Yami.
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Who knew that Gravekeepers could be so effective? Episode eight is in the works and may be here as soon as next Wednesday, so be on the lookout for it.
Yugi stood on the docks. He ran home to grab his Duel Disk and his deck, then, came to the place where he was supposed to duel Amune-ra.
‘I guess we’re supposed to wait,’ Yami thought.
Yami walked around the area. Boats where anchored in the harbor and the smell of fish was all around. He turned towards the warehouse district and spotted Amune-ra, waiting on him. Yami walked up to the man.
“Alright, what is this all about?” Yami demanded.
“5,000 years ago, you sentenced me to die in the most horrific way. I was merely a follower of the great Salazar Midus, but you couldn’t handle that, could you Pharaoh?”
Yami gasped. The words the man spoke revived memories in Yami’s mind. Memories of his time as Pharaoh. Yami looked into Amune-ra’s eyes, but saw nothing.
“Who are you?”
“I am a spirit, resurrected by my master, for the sole purpose of revenge against you. And now, I shall have that revenge. Prepare for a fate worse than death!”
The man chanted an ancient incantation in Egyptian and the shadows swept over him and Yugi.
“A shadow game?! I thought that only one with a Millennium Item could manipulate the shadows,” Yami said.
“I was born of shadow magic that stems from the Millennium Items. Now, enough talk! It’s time to duel!” Amune-ra said as he held up a Duel Disk.
(Yugi: 8000) (Amune-ra: 8000)
“I’m just curious, since you are a 5,000 year-old spirit, how do you know of the game Duel Monsters?” Yami asked.
“The same way that you do. I inherited my host’s memories. Now, since I challenged, you decide who goes first.”
“I’ll go first,” Yami said as he drew his six cards. “I’ll set one card face down and a monster in defense mode. That ends my turn.”
Amune-ra snatched the top card from his deck and smirked as he looked at it.
“You’ll have to do better than that, Pharaoh. I’ll place a monster in defense mode and two cards face down, and end my turn.”
‘He’s hiding his strategy from me. I’ll have to draw him out.’ “I’ll flip over Retrained Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) in attack mode!”
The face down hologram flipped up and a tall elf in an armored chest plate with a long cloak attached at the shoulders and a pointed green cap appeared on the field. His cloak fluttered slightly behind him as he stood in front of Yugi.
“Go, Retrained Celtic Guardian, attack his defense monster!”
The warrior unsheathed his sword and charged forward, slashing at the face down hologram. The card flipped up and a tall woman, with the same dark complexion as Amune-ra, dressed in black robes, blocked the slash with a barrier of energy.
“You attacked my Gravekeeper’s Spy (1200/2000), which means you lose life points!”
(Yugi: 7400) (Amune-ra: 8000)
“But that’s not all. When my Spy is flipped, I’m allowed to bring forth another monster from my deck with Gravekeeper’s in its name with an attack of 1500 or less. And I choose Gravekeeper’s Curse (800/500)!”
Another monster appeared on the field, this time a shorter man dressed in similar robes and wielding a long hooked staff.
“My Gravekeeper’s Curse has a very special ability which allows it to do 500 points of damage to my opponent when it is summoned. So go, Gravekeeper’s Curse, activate your ability!”
The monster chanted an incantation and pointed his staff at Yugi. A beam of energy launched at the duelist, striking him directly in the chest.
(Yugi: 6900) (Amune-ra: 8000)
“So, Pharaoh, tell me. Do you feel so high and mighty now?” Amune-ra taunted.
“That’s enough. I will defeat you,” Yami snapped.
“No, you won’t,” Amune-ra said as he drew. “Now I’ll summon Gravekeeper’s Cannonholder (1400/1200) in attack mode!”
Another dark skinned, black robed monster materialized on the field. This one was kneeling and a large cannon sat atop its shoulder.
“My new monster also has a special ability. I can sacrifice one of my Gravekeepers to do 700 points of damage to your life points. So go, Gravekeeper’s Curse, become fodder for my Cannonholder so that he may unleash his power.”
The shorter Curse glowed brightly with energy, until he became a glowing sphere. The sphere loaded itself into the Cannon and the Cannonholder fired the energy at Yami, knocking the duelist to the ground from the force.
(Yugi: 6200) (Amune-ra: 8000)
“You’re not off to a good start Pharaoh. I end my turn.”
Yami recovered from the assault and drew. He looked at Amune-ra’s side of the field.
‘He left that weak monster in attack mode, which means that one of those face down cards is a trap to stop me from attacking it. I’d better play it safe.’ “I’ll switch Retrained Celtic Guardian to defense mode and end my turn.”
“Fine. I’ll sacrifice Gravekeeper’s Spy to summon Gravekeeper’s Chief (1900/1200) in attack mode.”
The Spy shattered and a tall dark skinned man appeared dressed in brilliant white and black robes, instead of just the black robes of his fellow monsters. He held a gold staff in his hand with a gold cobra at the end of it.
“My chief like all my other Gravekeeper’s, has a very special ability. When he is summoned to the field, I can revive one Gravekeeper from my graveyard. And I choose Gravekeeper’s Curse (800/500)!” The short, cloaked monster reappeared on the field. “And you know what that means. But in case you don’t, Gravekeeper’s Curse, remind him of your power!”
The Curse chanted and raised its staff again, firing a beam of energy that struck Yami directly and caused him to stumble back from the shock.
(Yugi: 5700) (Amune-ra: 8000)
“Now, Cannonholder, activate your…”
“Hold on!” Yami yelled, cutting Amune-ra off. “Reveal trap card: Shadow Balance!”
One of the card holograms flipped up and a large scale with a menacing face in the middle appeared on the field. Yami’s Retrained Celtic Guardian appeared on one of the scale plates, and all of Amune-ra’s monsters appeared on the other.
“What have you done?”
“Simple. My Shadow Balance card makes the number of face up monsters on your side of the field equal to the number of face up monsters on my side of the field. And since I only have one, you can only have one. So choose.”
“Fine. I choose Gravekeeper’s Chief.”
The Chief leaped down from the scale. The side of the scale with the Curse and Cannonholder became lower than the side with Retrained Celtic Guardian. The scale plate with Amune-ra’s monsters closed, crushing the two into dust.
“You’ll pay for that. Go, Gravekeeper’s Chief, attack the Retrained Celtic Guardian!” Amune-ra commanded.
The monster pointed his staff at Yami’s monster and fired a blast of energy. Yami smiled as the blast slammed into the elf and his monster remained unharmed.
“What is going on? Are you trying to cheat me?!”
“I can assure you that this is not a cheat, but rather my monster’s ability. Any monster with an attack of 1900 or more can’t destroy my Retrained Celtic Guardian. And since your Chief has 1900 exactly, he won’t be able to do it,” Yami explained.
“That’s fine. I have enough monsters in my deck that can handle that problem. I’ll place a card face down and end my turn.”
Yami drew, then, smiled.
“I’ll activate Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards from my deck. Next, I’ll sacrifice Retrained Celtic Guardian to summon Beast of Gilfer (2200/2500) in attack mode!”
The elf disappeared in a blaze of flames and a large red and black demon rose out of the ground where it once stood, and spread its large, menacing wings.
“Now, Beast of Gilfer, attack the Gravekeeper’s Chief with your mighty flame!”
The demon spat an intensely blazing fireball at the Chief, incinerating it with great ease and force.
(Yugi: 5700) (Amune-ra: 7700)
“I’ll end my turn,” Atem said, reassured of victory.
Amune-ra snapped the top card off of his deck. The Beast of Gilfer was powerful, but he was ready with some power of his own.
“If you think that did something, you’re sadly mistaken! For now I activate my face down card: Rite of Spirit! This card revives one monster with Gravekeeper’s in its name from the card graveyard. And I choose the Gravekeeper’s Chief!”
Light chanting could be heard as Amune-ra’s monster rose from a fissure in the ground. Yami looked on with interest.
“Now I’ll activate the spell card Terraforming! This card allows me to take one field spell card from my deck and add it to my hand.”
Yami’s interest turned to concern as Amune-ra went through his deck and added a card to his hand. His face twisted into a smile as he looked at the card.
“This is the card of your end. I play Necrovalley!”
Amune-ra placed the card in the hidden slot in the side of the Duel Disk and the entire scenery changed from the darkness of the Shadow Realm, to the burning sands of a desert valley. Pyramids in the background were turned into silhouettes by the ever-setting sun that seemed to hang in the sky. Amune-ra’s Gravekeeper glowed with an eerie yellow color that seemed to match the color of the sky around the sun.
“Now Gravekeeper’s Chief, attack the Beast of Gilfer!”
The monster raised its staff and fired another blast, shattering Gilfer, much to Yami’s shock and confusion.
(Yugi: 5500) (Amune-ra: 7700)
“Pharaoh, don’t look so surprised. You should’ve known that Necrovally carried with it a hidden power that only my Gravekeepers can access. As long as Necrovalley remains face up on the field, all my Gravekeepers gain 500 attack and defense points. Plus, my card negates all cards that take any cards out of the graveyard, so whatever goes will stay gone.”
“I will find a way to defeat you! I swear it!” Yami bellowed.
“I doubt that. But let’s see. My turn is over.”
Yami drew Monster Reborn, but realized that his draw was useless thanks to Necrovalley’s effect.
“I’ll just place a monster in defense mode and end my turn.”
“I thought so. I’ll summon Gravekeeper’s Spear Soldier (1500/1500) in attack mode!”
Another black robed monster appeared on the field. This one was carrying a long spear at his side, and glowed with the same yellow radiance as the Chief (2400/1700), boosting his attack points.
“My Spear Soldier (2000/1500) can do life point damage to you, even if your monster is defense mode. So with that said, Gravekeeper’s Spear Soldier, attack his defense monster!”
The monster charged forward and thrust his spear at the face down hologram. A long-haired warrior appeared behind a massive shield and deflected the blow easily.
“You attacked my Big Shield Guardna (100/2600), whose defense is much higher than your monster’s attack. So you know what happens,” Yami said.
(Yugi: 5500) (Amune-ra: 7100)
“That doesn’t matter because defense can’t save you from the power of my vengeance,” Amune-ra said.
Yami chuckled, then, drew.
“Vengeance means nothing without power or skill. Your deck’s flaw is blaringly obvious so let me get it out of the way. I activate Mystical Space Typhoon! This card will destroy one spell or trap card on the field, and I choose Necrovalley!”
A powerful twister formed on Yami’s side of the field, and picked up strength as it raged towards the center of the field.
“You’re so very naďve, aren’t you? Activate Eternal Spell! This continuous trap card negates the effects of spell and trap cards that destroy spell or trap cards on the field. So you’ve failed.”
The raging twister died, much to Amune-ra’s delight at the pharaoh’s failure.
“That doesn’t matter to me, because I’ve still got a trick left up my sleeve. I sacrifice Big Shield Guardna to play Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700) in attack mode!”
The warrior disappeared and a young female mage dressed in a loose-fitting blue sleeveless top adorned with a mage’s jewel bearing a yellow pentagram in the center, and a short pink skirt, appeared with a smile and a wink. She flipped her long blonde hair under her tall pointed wizard’s cap and floated down next to Yami. Amune-ra laughed.
“Ha, your pathetic little girlfriend can’t compare to my Gravekeepers!”
“Next, I’ll activate Magician’s Tome! This card’s ancient magic will raise my Dark Magician’s Girl’s attack power by 700 points,” Yami continued, ignoring Amune-ra’s comment.
A large book appeared in front of the Dark Magician girl and she began reading it. As she read, her body became wrapped in a green glow.
“Now, Dark Magician Girl (2700/1700), attack the Gravekeeper’s chief with Dark Burning Attack!”
The mage raised her staff and blasted the Gravekeeper with a wave of magical energy.
(Yugi: 5500) (Amune-ra: 6800)
“I’ll end my turn,” Yami said with satisfaction.
Amune-ra glared at the Dark Magician Girl, then, drew.
“Pharaoh, this is not the end. I will have my revenge for disgracing my master and I. You will suffer, this I swear.”
Amune-ra prepared to play his next card, unaware that a spirit of the shadows was watching him and Yami.
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Who knew that Gravekeepers could be so effective? Episode eight is in the works and may be here as soon as next Wednesday, so be on the lookout for it.