Again, not much to say here. Kimi is badass, but otherwise this is a popcorn flick of a chapter with action and people overcoming other people through determination and inventiveness, and stuff. It's pretty straightforward.
I guess there is the thing about Rocky animating stone, which is noteworthy. I wanted to imply that he could create golems if he wanted to, but I pretty much dropped it as soon as it was mentioned. Maybe I'll bring it back later.
Rocky Falls;
Shine Bright, Shinato!
Kimi
I took a deep breath and steeled up my nerves. I'd never done a Destiny Draw, and I was in a lot of pain, which made it hard to concentrate, but I believed it would work. It had to work. Okay Kimiko, on three. One. Two. Three!
I drew. There was no flash of light, no surge of strength, none of the things characteristic of a Destiny Draw based on what I'd been told. I took a nervous breath and I looked down at my card. It’s not what I was hoping for, I thought, but it’ll do. For now.
“I summon,” I said, “my ‘Happy Lover’ in defense mode (DEF: 500+500=1000) and equip him with the barrier card ‘Heart of Clear Water’.”
My monster, a spherical angel with four wings and a heart on his forehead, appeared hovering at my side. I played the Spell card that I'd just drawn, and an energy bubble appeared around the angel, protecting him from attacks. “That’s all I can do,” I concluded, uncertainly. I looked over at Robby. “Sorry, I wasn't able to draw my key card.”
“It’s not a problem,” Robby replied. “We’re well protected and we have him outnumbered. We’ll do just Fine.” He looked confident, but I got the feeling he was worried. Truth be told, so was I, and I don’t worry easily.
“Good try,” Ghost said to me, sneering like a maniac, “but something as simple as an Equip Spell card won’t work against me. Activate the Spell card ‘Spiritualism’, returning one Spell or Trap in play to the owner’s hand.”
“No, My barrier!” I exclaimed. No one had so easily gotten past this combo before. It left me shaken.
“You got it,” Ghost said as the barrier around my monster disappeared. “Now you’re wide open and your soul is ready to be plucked away!
“I attack ‘Happy Lover’ with my ‘Headless Knight’!” Ghost declared. The ‘Headless Knight’ slashed, cleaving the tiny angel in half. “Now I can hit you directly with my remaining monsters, finishing you off, starting with ‘Dark Ruler Ha Des’!”
‘Dark Ruler’ fired a sphere of energy at me. It’s all up to you now, Robby, I thought. But suddenly, just in time, the ‘Stone Soldier’ sprung between me and the ‘Dark Ruler’’s attack, swinging his sword and knocking the energy sphere back toward Ghost, where it exploded at Ghost’s feet (2400+2450-2500=2350).
“Based on the tag team duel rules for partners in the game of Duel Monsters," Robby explained, defiantly, "once per turn, if my partner doesn’t have any monsters and is about to be attacked, I can give my monster to my partner and block the attack.”
I looked over at Robby. “Why?” I asked.
Rocky stared straight ahead, into Ghost’s furious eyes. “Because you’re my best friend,” he answered, “and you have the best chance of winning this. I couldn’t let you die, so I gave you my monster to save you when you needed it most.”
“Touching,” said Ghost, “but in case you didn’t notice, giving your monster to your partner left you wide open! I attack you directly with ‘Dark Necrofear’, ‘Gross Ghost’, and ‘Earl of Demise’!”
I was ready to just give Rocky’s monster back to him and bring the attacks upon myself, but I looked into Robby’s eyes, and I saw something there. This was what he wanted. I hesitated, and before I could act he was overcome.
I watched helplessly as the ‘Dark Necrofear’ and the ‘Gross Ghost’ fired dark energy at my best friend’s chest. The resulting explosion kicked up a thick cloud of smoke. Seemingly out of nowhere the ‘Earl of Demise’ burst through the smoke and slashed Robby across the chest with his sword (3550-1300-2200-2000=0). He fell to his knees and collapsed, his spirit stripped away.
“No, Robby,” I said, tears welling up in my eyes. But I heard something, like a voice in the back of my mind reach out to me. Don’t worry, said Robby. I think I’m okay. I looked around frantically for the source of the voice, and the ‘Stone Soldier’ turned its head to look back at me, new life in its once cold, lifeless eyes.
Robby? I thought back.
In the flesh, the voice replied, more or less.
How? I asked with my thoughts. I couldn’t believe what was going on!
I guess I somehow activated one of my Soul’s powers and got my spirit caught in the ‘Stone Soldier’, Because this a Shadow Game, it's made of real stone. But that’s not important. What matters is that I’m still here to help you fight!
I’m glad, I thought, truly relieved. Then to Ghost I said, “I draw, and I equip my ‘Heart of Clear Water’ to my ‘Stone Soldier’, making him virtually indestructible.” A barrier appeared around the monster that was somehow my fallen friend. “I end my turn.”
Ghost drew his card and smiled. “Excellent! Let the final moments of your life begin!”
John
“I draw,” I announced, and I pulled the top card from my deck. “Next I set one card and end my turn,” I declared, forming an idea.
Alright, Keeper, I thought, I just need to turn this strategy of yours to my advantage.
“Excellent,” said Keeper. “Now it’s my turn. I draw, and I attack with my ‘Immortal Mummy’!” The ancient monster struck (5900-300=5600), sending my ‘Red-Eyes’ to the Graveyard.
“Now, attack with the second ‘Mummy’,” he declared, and the second monster moved to strike.
“Not if I can help it!” I interrupted. “I reveal my Trap card, ‘Call of the Haunted’, calling ‘Red-Eyes’ to the field from the Graveyard (ATK: 2400)!” The black dragon appeared and roared, and the ‘Mummy’ stopped dead in its tracks.
“In that case,” Keeper said, “I end my turn by summoning another of my key cards, the ‘Spectral Mummy’!”
A third, but different, mummy monster faded into existence beside the two ‘Immortal Mummies’, its back hunched, its knuckles scraping the ground. “Now,” said Keeper, “I activate ‘Spectral Mummy’’s special ability, sacrificing him and one of my ‘Immortal Mummies’ to summon my very soul, ‘Ghost of Egypt’!”
The two mummies faded into the shadows and a new creature emerged. His skin was black, and he wore a headdress over his jackal-like head (ATK: 900).
“Now I change my ‘Immortal Mummy’ to defense mode (DEF: 0) and end my turn.”
Well, I thought, things really aren’t goin’ my way today.
Kimi
“I begin my turn,” said Ghost, “with a Spell card, ‘Dark Energy’, increasing the Attack and Defense power of any Fiend by three hundred. I give this power to ‘Dark Ruler Ha Des’ (2450+300=2750) and end my turn with a face-down card."
“Then I draw,” I announced, and I pulled the top card of my deck, determined to make the turn count, not just for myself, but for the friend who stood with me. There was a flash of light, and I felt renewed. My heart skipped a beat. I’d performed a Destiny Draw, and drawn my key card, but I could only see one way to use it, and I just couldn’t do it. The cost was too high.
What is it? I heard Robby ask from his place within the body of his monster, having seen the defeated look in my face.
I drew my card.
Then play it, he thought back.
I can’t. To use it I have to sacrifice monsters. Last turn I could have used ‘Happy Lover’, but now, my only option would be to use the ‘Giant Soldier of Stone’ instead. If I do, your soul will go to Yami.
Yeah, he thought, but my soul will disappear alongside the ‘Stone Soldier’ at the end of the duel anyway. I’d rather I go to Yami ahead of Ghost Ruler than alongside you. Crush this creep, and just make sure you get my soul back later, okay?
I had tears in my eyes, but I blinked them back and nodded. To Ghost Ruler I said, “For my turn, I activate the Spell card ‘Shinato’s Arc’!”
High above my head in the sliver of light that remained on the horizon, a huge wooden ship appeared.
“By offering monsters whose total levels equal eight or more,” I declared, as the front of the arc opened, “I can summon my ultimate monster, my Soul, to the field.”
A vortex opened in the bow of the arc and two monsters, the red-skinned angel ‘Agent of Force – Mars’, and a second copy of the ‘Agent of Wisdom – Mercury’, appeared next to Robby on the field. The three monsters were pulled into the vortex, and disappeared, the arc closing behind them. There was a flash of gold light, and the arc shattered. From within the structure a radiant back-lit form emerged.
“Ghost Ruler,” I declared, bathing in my monster’s light, “meet the ultimate angel, ‘Shinato, King of a Higher Plane’!”
Card of the Day:
Ghost of Egypt
Played by: Keeper
Showin' the Keeper some more love, today we feature his key card, the most dangerous mummy monster in his deck simply because, in the hands of a master, it is virtually impossible to kill.
Original Cards in This Chapter:
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