So Karen vs Blackheart. Blackheart, the main baddie of the entire series as far as we know at this point. We know Karen is strong, but we also know that her strength is slipping since she was freed from Marik's mental manipulation. Still, she has a genuine desire to fight and win here, so maybe she has a chance. Their duel is pretty spectacular so far.
Oh, and Karen totally does an impossible thing in this chapter. Because she's a BAMF and she can do impossible things.
Chapter TwoThe Soul Breaker;
Blackheart Emerges!
Blackheart
“You know,” I said, “it’s my turn, so you don’t really have the right to threaten me anyway. You, Blondie, since you seem so eager to duel, I’ll kill you first. I begin with a Spell card, ‘Pot of Greed’, letting me draw two cards.” I thumbed the top two cards from my deck and summoned the Soul’s powers, “Destiny Draw!”
There was a flash, and I drew my cards, ‘Card of Sanctity’ and my host’s most powerful card. But even with the Soul of Darkness’ power, could I control him? I smiled a reckless, evil, toothy grin, I guess now’s as good a time as any to find out. After all, if I want to achieve a power without rival, I’ll have to control more than one God!
“I trap your pitiful goblin monsters in eternal darkness,” I said, still addressing the blond one. “Activate ‘Darkness Approaches’.” I discarded my host’s two favorite cards, and a cloud of crackling darkness formed around my opponent’s ‘Goblin Attack Force’.
“Now to finish this,” I said, “I activate ‘Soul Release’, removing ‘Sangan’, ‘The Fiend Megacyber’, and ‘Great Maju Garzett’ in my Graveyard from play, and I combine it with ‘Dimension Fusion’.
“I pay two thousand Life Points,” I explained, my eyes gleaming with anticipation, “letting me open up the dimensions.” A rift appeared above my head, and three monsters emerged, the three-eyed fur ball ‘Sangan’ (ATK: 1000), the yellow-armored warrior ‘Fiend Megacyber’ (ATK: 2200), and the brown skeletal demon ‘Great Maju Garzett’, the red crystals in his shoulders and forehead lacking the red glow that I knew from my host’s memories (ATK: 0).
I smiled again, “Now I use these three monsters as a sacrifice to awaken the God living within this deck. Arise, ‘Sky Dragon of Osiris’!” A cloud formed over our heads as my three monsters disappeared, and a red bolt of lightning struck the ground far behind me. I could smell the asphalt burning where the lightning had struck. The lightning took the form of a massive serpentine dragon with black spikes and wide spanning wings, his head as large as a two story house. He had two mouths, one atop the other. He opened his lower mouth and roared, causing lightning to strike in the turbulent sky overhead.
I can control it, but only barely, I noticed, feeling the God's will struggle feebly against my own, though the revelation did nothing to spoil my good mood. If I want to gain control of the others as well, I will need more power first.
“‘Osiris’,” I explained, reveling in the fear I’d put into my opponents’ expressions, “has Attack strength equal to one thousand times the number of cards in my hand, so I’ll activate ‘Card of Sanctity’, letting me draw until I hold six cards. And don’t get any ideas. My monster is immune to your ‘Skill Drain’.” My monster’s Attack rose (ATK: 6000).
“‘Osiris’ kills you now,” I declared, licking my lips in anticipation. “‘Osiris’, Thunder Force!”
‘Osiris’ opened his lower mouth and breathed thunder down on the blond one’s ‘Goblin Attack Force’, killing all eight of the green creatures with one blow.
I watched happily as the blond one was devoured by the Shadows, screaming the entire time, feeling an amount of pain that was usually reserved for someone being eaten alive by ants. The other two tried to run, but I used my stolen Shadow Magic to lock their legs in place, relishing in the terror that they felt, terror that I, through my magic, could feel and convert into pleasure.
“We have no choice,” said the tall one to the fat one, trying hard to look courageous. “We have to keep fighting. Hurry, take your turn!”
Even as the tall one spoke I felt the terror in the heart of the fat one grow, his will to fight fading fast, replacing itself with soul crushing terror. “Fine,” the tall one said, realizing that his ally would be no use to him, “I’ll beat him myself.” He was acting brave, but I could sense his fear as well. It was beautiful. He drew, and his façade of bravery disappeared. He had no moves, or at least none that would put a dent in the God, ‘Osiris’. “Oh shit,” he said. “I’m going to die!”
“That’s right,” I said. I drew, the God’s power rising (ATK: 7000). “But first, ‘Osiris’, attack the fat one’s monster. Kill him as well.” ‘Osiris’ did as he was commanded, and my second opponent fell to the God that I’d made my slave. I ended my turn, discarding a card from my hand. ‘Osiris’’ Attack fell again to six thousand.
“I-I won’t give up,” said the tall one, the only opponent remaining. He was getting desperate, which meant he would soon do something stupid. His turn promised to be entertaining.
“I play ‘Pot of Greed’,” my opponent said. He examined his hand, “I discard ‘Hunter with Seven Weapons’ to activate the Spell card ‘Tribute to the Doomed’, destroying your monster.” Mummy wraps burst from his Spell card, reaching for the God, but they dissolved as soon as they came near him.
I laughed maliciously, “Nice try, but nothing you do can stop me.”
Karen
I ran through the door leading out behind the mall and I saw a wall of Shadows. Someone was fighting a Shadow Duel!
John’s in there! I thought. He’s in trouble. I have to help him!
I called on the power of my Soul of Imagination to part the Shadows, something that I only realized after the fact should have been impossible, and I ran inside.
Blackheart
The girl, Karen, arrived behind me just as I began my turn. She looked around and saw the God, which, as part of a Shadow Game, would have only been visible to someone on the inside of the Shadows. Somehow she’d managed to find her way into my game, and it worried me, if only for an instant. Then it occurred to me that I could use this girl. My host was in love with her, and he could see everything that I did. If I hurt her, it would hurt him and make me stronger.
The girl ran up to my side and grabbed my arm, “John! What are you doing? Stop!” I swung my arm, throwing her to the ground. Tears came to her eyes. I smiled and looked into my opponent’s eyes, “’Osiris’, finish this!”
The God inhaled and then fired his attack at the ‘Goblins’, destroying them and reducing my opponent’s Life to zero. His body has devoured by the Shadows.
The girl rose to her feet as the God disappeared and the Shadows faded. She looked angrily at me and said, “You’re not John.”
I smiled, “How’d you guess?”
She ignored my question, saying, “I won’t let you have him, Yami.”
My expression grew dark and I shot the girl a piercing glare. “You insult me girl,” I said. “I am far beyond that fool Marik.”
I watched with great interest as understanding crept into the girls eyes. She adopted a shocked and horrified expression, “You’re Blackheart!”
I laughed darkly and borrowed an expression from my host, “Bingo.”
Karen
“Give him back,” I said weakly. Then with more enthusiasm I cried, “Give him back!”
Blackheart, in the body of my best friend, laughed condescendingly and raised the Dark Disk, “Make me, if you think you can!”
“Fine,” I said, activating my Duel Disk and inserting my deck. “If you want a Shadow Game, then you’ll get a Shadow Game. Shadow Games are based on the intentions of the players, so I can set the terms with my intentions. And the terms that I set are that, when I win, you have to give John’s body up and go back to wherever you came from!”
By the end, I was screaming and I had tears in my eyes. Blackheart laughed, “You have a deal.”
I have to finish this quick, I thought, before he can summon that monster against me. I faced Blackheart as the Shadows rose up around us, my Soul glowing, and I drew my opening hand (LP: 8000). “I begin with the Spell card ‘Graceful Charity’, letting me draw three cards and then discard two cards. Next I play a second Spell card, ‘Pot of Greed’, drawing two cards from the top of my deck.”
I looked at my new hand. I was ready to duel Blackheart with everything I had, and at the risk of sounding immodest, I have a lot.
“I summon ‘Toon Alligator’,” I said, and a small alligator carrying an axe appeared at my feet (DEF: 1600). “Next I pay one thousand Life Points (8000-1000 =7000) to activate ‘Toon World’.”
A giant green book appeared and fell open.
“Now that 'Toon World' is on the field,” I explained, “I can Toon Summon ‘Toon Mermaid’,” a caricatured mermaid appeared, lying in a clam shell, “and I sacrifice both of these Toons to summon the ‘Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon’!”
Pink smoke spewed from ‘Toon World’, swallowing up my two monsters. The smoke cleared, revealing a cartoon of the legendary white dragon, with huge blue eyes that sparkled mischievously. He laughed and did a playful flip in the air (ATK: 3000).
“I set three cards face-down,” I concluded, “ending my turn.”
“Excellent,” Blackheart said. He pulled the last card of his opening hand and played it, “Activate ‘Mystical Space Typhoon’ to destroy ‘Toon World’!”
A wind picked up, tearing at the magic book. “Reveal,” I countered, my heart pounding, “the Spell card ‘Emergency Provisions’, sending ‘Toon World’ to the Graveyard to recover one thousand Life Points,” the book disappeared (7000+1000=8000), “and because my ‘Toon World’ was removed from the field without being destroyed, my Toons already in play stay in play.”
“Good move,” said Blackheart, smiling in a wicked way that, to my horror, actually reminded me of the way John smiled, “but I’m not even close to finished with you yet. I discard ‘Strike Ninja’ to activate ‘Dark Core’, removing your dragon from play.”
A dark hole opened above the Toon dragon, swallowing it up. There was nothing I could have done.
“Next I play ‘Painful Choice’,” Blackheart continued, “selecting five cards from my deck. You choose one to add to my hand and I discard the rest.” He fanned out John’s deck and picked five cards, placing them on the surface of the Dark Disk. Holograms of the cards appeared. They were ‘Red-Eyes Black Dragon’, ‘Summoned Skull’, ‘Dark Ruler Ha Des’, ‘Dark Master – Zorc’, and ‘Contract with the Dark Master’. I laughed, sure that Blackheart had made a mistake by choosing only monsters he couldn’t yet summon, “Add ‘Red-Eyes Black Dragon’ to your hand.”
Blackheart discarded his cards. He was smiling. I thought for a second, and I realized what he was going to do. I swallowed nervously as it occurred to me that if I’d been dueling with my head, I would have seen through his play. It wouldn’t have made a difference, but it still worried me that I hadn’t seen it sooner. Hopefully the combo that I had in waiting would protect me.
“Activate,” said Blackheart, “the Spell card ‘Soul Release’, removing ‘Ha Des’, ‘Summoned Skull’, and ‘Strike Ninja’ from play. Then I pay two thousand Life Points, activating ‘Dimension Fusion’.” A portal opened above Blackheart’s head, and the red-violet skeletal demon, the black-clad ninja, and the horned demon lord appeared at Blackheart’s side.
“Now,” said Blackheart, “I sacrifice my three monsters to summon the God, ‘Sky Dragon of Osiris’.” The three monsters disappeared, becoming wisps of smoke, and the God dragon emerged from the clouds overhead with an earth-shaking roar. “Activate ‘Card of Sanctity’, letting us each draw until we hold six cards,” we drew, and the power of the God increased (ATK: 6000).
“’Osiris’, attack directly, Thunder Force!”
“Reveal,” I commanded, my knees shaking, “my ‘Physical Double’ Trap card, and my ‘Staunch Defender’ Trap card, creating a duplicate of your God to intercept ‘Osiris’’ attack.” Behind me, a mass of clay appeared, expanding out and becoming a gray-washed duplicate of the God dragon. It faced the original God and roared (ATK: 6000).
“That won’t work against ‘Osiris’,” Blackheart said, chuckling. “‘Osiris’, Summon Lightning Shot!” The God opened his second mouth and fired a burst of light at my dragon, cutting two thousand of his Attack (6000-2000=4000).
“’Osiris’,” Blackheart commanded, “destroy that impostor, Thunder Force!”
“‘Mirage Token’," I replied, hopelessly, "counterattack, Thunder Force!”
The two massive dragons attacked. Their breath attacks met, flashing so bright that I thought I would go blind, but before long the original dragon’s attack overcame the attack of the copy, shredding him, vaporizing him before my eyes. The residual energy from the blast burned as it ripped away my Life (8000+4000-6000=6000).
“You may be strong, girl,” said Blackheart, so very smug, “but like your pathetic excuse for a dragon, you’ll always fall short of me.”
Card of the Day:
Toon Mermaid
Played by: Karen
Karen uses this monster in, like, every duel ever. It earns this spot on sheer staying power alone.
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