I love this chapter. I wrote this chapter not only to very quickly push any lingering doubt as to the loyalties of Karen and her crew from John's mind, but to show that the evil Master of the Order isn't the kind of villain to just sit back and let his enemies get away. I love John and Karen's conversation, a discussion between leaders. I just love it. I also keep going back and rewriting it a lot, trying to get the details and nuances just right. I vow today that this version, posted here, is the final version, barring the future correction of spelling and grammar mistakes that I may have missed.
Continuing with our theme of underlying fear in this book, you can see in Karen's exposition that she is afraid. She's afraid of Yami, and of Max, and of herself. We get more of this as the series progresses, but basically Karen is afraid that the part of her that Yami brought out to influence her mind will come out again if she is too aggressive. She almost immediately starts to hold herself back from this point forward.
Chapter ElevenAttacked by the Master;
Former Foes Unite!
After our little meeting, Karen and I walked off together along the old walking path to discuss some things. Kimi had agreed to let Karen stay with her, and I had agreed to let Monty and Lawrence stay with Tucker. He has a big basement.
“You three may not have Duelist’s Souls,” I said to Karen, “but I know that you have even more reason to want to resist the Order than we do. I just don’t want you three doing anything stupid.”
“Don’t worry,” said Karen. “We never intended to go it alone.”
I smiled, intrigued, “You planned for me to ask you to join us from the start.”
“Yep,” said Karen, brimming with pride, “I’m just that brilliant.”
Then she stopped, “But really, thanks. Without you, we’d be dead, or maybe even worse, a part of that thing.” She leaned in and she kissed me on the cheek.
I blushed again, “Really, don’t mention it.”
We kept walking.
“So,” said Karen, “how many of the Souls have you found?”
“Only the ones you’ve seen,” I replied, careful not to give her too many details yet, as I wasn't quite as sure of her allegiances as I'd let on, taking time to observe her before deciding.
“I’m not sure seven Souls will be enough.," Karen replied, sounding genuinely thoughtful. "The more Souls you find the more danger you’ll be in, but the closer you’ll come to destroying the evil that pursues them. We’ll help you. We know a lot about the Order, and we’re some of their strongest.”
“But not the strongest,” I said. “We’ve already faced someone stronger, a kid my age. He called himself Max.”
“Ah, so you’ve met Max," Karen replied, her tone full of recognition. "Did you beat him?”
“Once,” I said, “but he was only testing me. Last time it took me and Sarah to beat him. He as good as told me that he has a plot in motion. I know he won't be happy until he faces me one-on-one to settle the score. For some reason Max only seems interested in my Soul.”
“Max is different,” Karen said. “He’s closer to Yami, and he’s been with the Order almost since it was founded. He has a theory that all the Souls are tied together through yours, and that all that is needed to capture all twelve is your one. Yami is giving him a chance to prove his theory. If he fails, I have no doubt that Yami will do to him what he tried to do to my team and me.”
I tried to hide my surprise. Max's theory was startlingly close to the truth that Pegasus had told us, that my Soul could bring the others together. That meant Max was right. I didn't tell Karen that, though, not yet.
“Is Max being controlled by Yami?” I asked instead.
“I don’t know,” Karen replied thoughtfully, “but I do know that Max is powerful. At least as powerful as me and you, maybe even more powerful, and if it took two of you to beat him it means that he’s grown even stronger since I last met him. Now that he’s determined your limits he’ll be back. He’ll force your hand, and if he beats you, he’ll take your Soul and maybe all of the Souls.”
“And,” I said grimly, “if Max knows that his life is on the line, he could become even more dangerous.”
Karen nodded, “My thoughts exactly.”
“Then I guess we should be ready for anything,” I told her, though I could tell that she was as unsure as I was as to how exactly to accomplish such a monumental feat when we had no idea what might be coming next. We kept walking. Despite the fact that we had never met before on friendly terms, I felt comfortable with Karen. There was a connection between us. It would take me a long time to discover just what that meant.
We had been walking along a part of the path that led through the woods for several minutes. We had just curved back toward the gazebo where the others were waiting when the surrounding area began to grow dark. Karen didn’t notice, so I pushed her behind me, shielding her as best as I could.
Then she noticed too, “Oh, great.”
“Yeah,” I said. “It looks like when Yami said he’d be back he really meant it.”
You catch on quick, spoke a voice in my head. A wicked voice. Out of the surrounding shadows emerged a man-shaped shadow apparition with red eyes, the same red eyes as the much weaker shadow form that had appeared earlier. He looked and sounded different than last time, but there was enough resemblance for me to recognize the Master of the Order.
“I can’t say it’s good to see you again, Yami,” I told him, trying to sound more confident than I felt. Yami laughed. It echoed in my head. It was very unpleasant.
I see that my former minion has filled you in on the details of my existence, Yami said. If only she knew half as much as she thinks she does about me and my powers, then maybe I’d have reason to expect a real fight from you. Now, let’s skip the pleasantries, or lack thereof, and get right to the point. Dark Duelist, I’m here for the girl and the others, and this time you will not keep me from what is mine.
“Sorry Yami,” I said, “but it’s like I told you, these three are under my protection from now on.”
I’m afraid that your protection won’t be enough anymore. This is a Shadow Game now. Destroying this body that I have conjured would be treated as cheating and your lives would become forfeit. We will duel, and if you win I will back off, for now. But if, or I should say when the two of you lose, I will kill you, and your spirits as well as the spirits of the other two will be mine to do with as I please.
I looked over at Karen. She seemed nervous, so I took the heat for her, “Forget it, I’ll fight you alone before I let my ally get hurt.”
“No,” Karen interrupted, “you can’t beat him alone. This may not be his true form, but even in a weakened state he’s still stronger than any single Duelist.”
She faced Yami, “If I have no choice, I’ll fight.”
If that’s what you want, said Yami, laughing wickedly. Just remember, girl, that you were given a chance to spare yourself the pain of the game to come. Now, let’s get started. I’ll move first.
A duel disk emerged from the shadowy form’s wrist, deck and all.
“We need to be careful,” Karen told me. “Yami’s using a manifested deck. It could be made up of any combination of cards in existence.”
I nodded, “Okay, I’ll be ready.”
For my first move, said Yami in a grandiose tone, I set a monster and place one card face-down.
“If that’s all,” Karen said, trying to sound confident, “then maybe I have less to worry about than I thought. My move. I play ‘Mirage of Nightmare’. Now, during your next Standby Phase, I draw until I hold four cards. Next I place three cards face-down and play ‘Toon World’ (LP: 8000-1000=7000). Finally I summon my ‘Toon Mermaid’,” the caricaturized mermaid of which I was all too familiar appeared, this time as my ally, her bow string drawn (ATK: 1400). Karen sighed nervously, “I end my turn.”
“Giving me,” I said, also trying to hide how frightened I really was, and failing pretty miserably, “a chance to strut my stuff. And seeing how I’m the last one to move, I can attack, so I’ll start out strong with ‘Giant Orc’ in attack mode.”
A twelve foot tall gray-skinned goblin appeared carrying a club (ATK: 2200).
“‘Giant Orc’,” I commanded, “attack the face-down monster with Club Slam.”
The ‘Orc’ rushed my opponent’s field, but he was stopped abruptly, wreathed in a red light.
Reveal, said Yami, laughing like an amused child, my ‘Ordeal of a Traveler’. Each time you attack you must select one card from my hand and declare Spell, Trap, or Monster. If you choose correctly, your attack succeeds. But if you choose incorrectly, your attack fails and the attacking monster returns to your hand.
“I do know a little about this game,” I replied sarcastically. I pointed at one of the cards in Yami’s hand, to the far right, “That one’s a Trap.”
Wrong, said Yami with a wicked chuckle, revealing the card. I couldn’t make out what card it was in the darkness, but I could tell that it was a Spell. My ‘Giant Orc’ disappeared from the field in a flash of red light, and I returned his card to my hand.
“I’ll protect myself,” I said, “with a face-down card.”
It won’t be enough, Yami said tauntingly, laughing wickedly. My move! I place one card face-down and I pass.
As Yami spoke, Karen drew her four cards in silence. She drew one more and said, “At the start of my Standby Phase I reveal ‘Emergency Provisions’, sending ‘Mirage of Nightmare’ and two face-down cards to the Graveyard to gain three thousand Life Points. I give one thousand of it to my partner, and I keep the rest for myself (LP: 7000+2000=9000/ 8000+1000=9000). Next I follow John’s lead and set a card to finish my turn.”
“I take the baton as it’s passed,” I said to Yami, pulling my next card and giving it a once over before placing it on the field, “by setting one card and re-summoning my ‘Giant Orc’ back to the field in attack mode.”
I smiled, “Let’s see what you’re planning Yami. Contrary to my nature, I’m going to wait. Your move.”
Yami laughed again, As you wish. For my next turn, I Flip-Summon my ‘Gravekeeper’s Spy’, letting me summon another Gravekeeper monster from my deck, my ‘Gravekeeper’s Curse’.
The ‘Gravekeeper’s Spy’, an Egyptian man in a black cloak, appeared in a crouch, ready to pounce (ATK: 1200). Beside him appeared ‘Gravekeeper’s Curse’, an older man in a similar cloak, carrying a crooked staff (ATK: 800).
When my ‘Gravekeeper’s Curse’ is Special Summoned it triggers my face-down ‘Inferno Reckless Summon’, Yami explained, and I understood just what type of deck I was facing. I choose one opposing monster in order to activate this card, and then I summon up to two more copies of the Special Summoned monster. In exchange my opponent can summon up to two more copies of the selected monster. Because it’s likely that you only have one copy of ‘Giant Orc’ in your deck, I choose him as the target of my Spell card’s effect.
“Well that’s the first bit of truly good luck I’ve had so far,” said Karen, flashing the same smug smirk that she’d once directed toward me. “Reveal ‘Fairy’s Hand Mirror’, forcing your Spell card to target my ‘Toon Mermaid’ instead of the ‘Giant Orc’. Because I control ‘Toon World’, I can Special Summon my other two copies of ‘Toon Mermaid’ from my deck.”
Two more ‘Curses’ appeared in a flash of dark light, and two more ‘Mermaids’ appeared in a puff of pink smoke from the book. Even though Karen’s monsters were stronger, Yami seemed completely unconcerned.
When ‘Gravekeeper’s Curse’ is summoned, Yami explained, each of my opponents take five hundred damage.
The three ancient-looking sorcerers raised glowing crooked staves, and Karen and I took damage (9000-1500=7500 (each)). My body burned, like I had been thrown into a fire, and then it passed. It was a horrible sensation, even for a Shadow Game. I looked at Yami, glaring. He was laughing. Hurting us gave him some kind of sick pleasure. It was nearly a full minute before he finally stopped laughing, licking his shadowy lips.
I end my move, said Yami, by sacrificing one ‘Gravekeeper’s Curse’ to set a monster, and by placing two cards face-down.
“Because I have three monsters out now,” said Karen, her teeth clenched against the pain of ‘Curse’s’ effect, “it should be safe to attack. I pay fifteen hundred Life Points (7500-1500=6000) to attack with all three ‘Mermaids’, Animated Archery!”
All three ‘Mermaids’ pulled back their bowstrings, arrows loaded, and all three were stopped dead when their bodies were wreathed in the familiar red light. At this point Yami only had two cards in his hand so at best at least one of Karen’s attacks would get through, and at worst she would reveal Yami’s hand and make it easier to hit him later. Coupled with the fact that her monsters could be Toon Summoned right back to this field, it made for a brilliant strategy, which was no surprise.
“For my first ‘Mermaid’’s attack,” Karen declared, a look of confidence returning to her face, “I choose the card on the right and say that it is a Spell card.”
Incorrect, said Yami, chuckling wickedly, revealing a monster called ‘Nubian Guard’. Karen picked up the first card, and the first monster disappeared.
“Alright,” said Karen, as Yami shuffled his hand, “for the second attack I choose the card on the right again and say it’s a monster.”
Yami smiled wickedly again, shuffling his hand, and said, You are correct, but I’m prepared with a second ‘Ordeal of a Traveler’. Now you must choose again.
“Well,” I said, “that should make things a bit more interesting.”
“I choose the card on the right one more time,” said Karen, “and one more time I say monster.”
Wrong, said Yami, revealing the Trap card ‘Rite of Spirit’.
Karen returned the second ‘Mermaid’ to her hand as well, but she wasn’t worried. She’d already accepted this as a possible outcome to her turn.
“For my final attack,” Karen continued, “I choose the card on the right, and I’ll say it’s your ‘Nubian Guard’.”
Yami chucked softly, smiling tauntingly, Correct.
He shuffled his hand, Karen watching like a hawk. Good job, said Yami, but before you choose again, I reveal ‘Reload’. I shuffle my hand of two cards into my deck and draw two new cards!
“Crap!” said Karen, letting her composure falter. Now neither of us knew any of the cards in Yami’s hand. Yami threw his head back and laughed. I scowled.
“I choose the card on the left,” said Karen, “and I’ll say Spell this time.”
Yami turned his card around, revealing it as a second ‘Reload’, sounding annoyed for the first time, You would be correct.
“Yes!” I exclaimed. The ‘Toon Mermaid’ let her arrow fly, hitting Yami square in the chest (8000-1400=6600). I expected Yami to be angry, but instead he seemed excited. He was enjoying this, all of it. The pain of the Shadow Game was all part of the fun to him.
“My turn isn’t over yet either,” said Karen. “I place three cards face-down and return my ‘Mermaids’ to the field.”
Pink smoke gushed from the pages of the green book that was ‘Toon World’. From the smoke emerged the two ‘Toon Mermaids’ that had recently been removed from the field (ATK: 1400 (each)).
“My turn,” I declared, “and what a turn it will be.”
I gave Yami my smug face, “I summon my favorite card, a monster that represents me on the dueling field, ‘The Fiend Megacyber’!”
At my side appeared the yellow-armored warrior, his fists held ready to strike. I looked over at him, and he nodded. I smiled confidently. My monster was with me once again (ATK: 2200).
“Now I attack with the ‘Giant Orc’, choosing the card on the right. I say Spell.”
Wrong, Yami said, showing me the monster ‘Aswan Apparition’. I smiled as I placed the ‘Orc’ back into my hand. Now I knew both of Yami’s cards.
Now that I know every card in his hand, I thought, finally feeling that the duel was going my way, getting through his combo should be a piece of cake. But I have to be careful to choose correctly. My life and the lives of Karen and her team depend on it!
Card of the Day:
Ordeal of a Traveler
Played by: Yami
This is a card that I use often for a while in the duels that I write, but here, in it's first appearance, it was yet to be overused, and presented a real threat to two of my strongest heroes.
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