This chapter is important because, for the second time since she destroyed the DDF's Shadow Items to heal her Soul, we get to see Karen's power to grant wishes. Well, we saw it in Special #2 when she wished that she could help John and then joined him on the mental plane, but I wasn't very clear at the time what was happening, so I don't generally count it.
Chapter NineteenThe Unexpected Deck;
The Ultimate Warrior!
Karen
John really was going all out to protect us. The shadows he’d summoned to encompass his Shadow Duel were so thick that I was having trouble reading what was going on inside. But despite what John had done and said, I couldn’t bring myself to escape and leave him there all alone.
“Thomas, Ria,” I said, turning to my friends, “you guys go. I’m staying here to wait for John.”
I turned the card in my hand over in my fingers a few times before I noticed that my friends were still there, with apparently no intention of moving.
“Go!” I said.
“No way,” said Thomas, looking down at the blank card resting on his Duel Disk. “I got scared and showed up late. If I’d just come with you guys in the first place, maybe we woulda been able to defeat the Shadow, and maybe I wouldn’t have lost ‘Ignis’. No, I’m seeing this thing through.”
It was clear that ‘Ignis’ was more than just a card to Thomas. I remembered him saying that he could see monster spirits, and I understood that ‘Ignis’ was his friend.
“Same goes for me,” said Ria. “That thing took my ‘Ultimate Fighter’. I’m not leaving until I get my monster back, even if I have to rip him from the monster with my bare hands!”
I nodded, “Alright. Then we’re all in this together.” Come on John, you can do this. We’re counting on you.
John
Come on, I told myself, you can do this! Everyone’s counting on you!
“I draw,” I declared, and I smiled when I saw my latest acquisition.
This might be easier that I thought!
“Don’t get used to having the card you just drew in your hand,” the Shadow warned, “because I reveal ‘Drastic Drop Off’, forcing you to discard the card you just drew.”
“No!” I exclaimed. An invisible force knocked the ‘Mirror Force’ card out of my hand. It curled around me and slid into my Graveyard.
“Damn. Looks like I’m gonna have to do this the hard way,” I said, looking up at the grotesque beast that towered over me. “I don’t know what your monster does, but I’m pretty sure that my next monster can take it out, and take a chunk out of your Life Points to boot. I summon ‘D.D. Warrior Lady’ and attack your monster. When my monster battles, I have the option of removing her and he opponent from play!”
The silver-suited female warrior appeared, her glowing sword in hand, and she lunged at the immense creature.
“You should know by now that such simple moves don’t work on me,” the Shadow countered. “Reveal ‘Nullification Warp’, negating the effect of your monster during this turn.”
‘D.D. Warrior Lady’’s sword lost its glow. She slashed across the chest of her massive adversary, but the attack was unsuccessful. It did nothing at all, to the player or the monster.
No way. It’s indestructible?
“Now, ‘Yubel’,” the Shadow commanded, “activate your effect!”
My warrior was still hanging in the air when the mouth of the giant face on ‘Yubel’’s chest opened, and shadowy black vines extended out. Several of the vines crushed my monster, and the rest reached toward me, slashing me across my chest, nearly knocking me down. I lost Life Points equal to the Attack of my monster (6300-1500=4800).
“Then I pass,” I said. I need to feel this thing out. Figure out just how powerful this monster is.
“Draw!” the Shadow declared, excited by the prospect of my possible defeat. “I play my ‘Level Aura’ Spell card, increasing the power of my monster by twelve hundred.”
Twelve level stars swarmed around ‘Yubel’. It opened its huge mouth and sucked the stars in. An aura flared around ‘Yubel’’s massive body (ATK: 1200).
“‘Yubel’ attacks,” the Shadow declared. ‘Yubel’ produced its vines again, slashing me, tearing at the thick material of my uniform jacket (4800-1200=3600).
“I set a card,” said the Shadow, placing a card on his Duel Disk, “and, sadly, that’s all for now. Go! Mount your pitiful counterattack.”
“Alright then,” I replied, drawing a card. “I play ‘Graceful Charity’, drawing three cards,” I drew, looked at my cards, and I got an idea.
This guy is always prepared, so what I really need to do is throw him off his game.
“I discard ‘Y-Dragon Head’ and ‘Z-Metal Tank’, and then I summon my ‘Snipe Hunter’, a monster that can destroy other monsters at the cost of a card from my hand!”
My monster, a pure-black-colored devil carrying a blaster appeared, only to disappear a moment later in a wave of light.
“Reveal,” said the Shadow, “the Trap card ‘Solemn Judgment’! I surrender half of my remaining Life Points to pass judgment on your monster, destroying him (7000/2=3500).
I smiled, This is going better than I hoped!
“In that case, it’s finally time to turn this duel around! I play my real trump card, ‘Contract with the Dark Master’. I tribute the ‘Chaosrider Gustaph’ in my hand, and remove ‘Djinn Presider of Rituals’ in the Graveyard from play as a sacrifice to initiate the Ritual Summon.”
A black fire flared up behind me, stretching far into the shadows above my head. From that fire emerged the demon lord ‘Dark Master – Zorc’ (ATK: 2700).
“My new monster, ‘Zorc’,” I explained, “has the power to destroy a certain number of cards based on the number I roll on a six-sided dice.”
I held out my hand, smiling with confidence, and a black dice, the same black dice that I’d used against the second Card Taker, materialized in my palm.
“If I roll a one through five,” I explained, “my monster scores a ‘Critical Hit’ and your ‘Yubel’ dies. But there’s a silver lining for you. If I happen to roll a six, a ‘Critical Miss’, my monster’s power will feed back on itself and my monster will be destroyed instead.”
I tossed the dice, darkness forming around my monster, building up. The dice skidded around and finally landed on a three.
“Alright,” I exclaimed, clenching my fist, “a ‘Critical Hit’!”
‘Zorc’ raised his hands, drawing the darkness into them.
“Survive this, nightmare demon!” I said as my monster unleashed his special attack, creating an eruption of energy. “Dark Catastrophe!”
‘Yubel’ cried out as it was swallowed up by the dark energy and completely destroyed.
“Now my monster attacks directly!”
‘Zorc’ fired off a blast of darkness yet again, hitting the Shadow, nearly blasting it apart, but again, the Shadow was able to reform (3500-2700=800).
“This duel is as good as over,” I said, but the Shadow had other ideas.
“I don’t think so,” the Shadow asserted, its lips curling into a crooked smile. “I have one more monster left to play. A monster even more powerful than the one you just destroyed! First I play ‘Card of Demise’ to draw five new cards!”
I felt a familiar power wash over me, and I realized that I’d underestimated the strength of my opponent even more than I thought.
“I’ve absorbed enough energy from the girl out there,” the Shadow explained, “in the form of her magician monster to use one of her powers!”
Light flashed from the Shadow’s deck and it called out, “Destiny Draw!”
My opponent drew his cards, and I knew that he’d drawn just what he needed. I don’t frighten easily, but I’ll admit that I was scared.
The Shadow’s smiled widened further, “Perfect! I play ‘Monster Reborn’ to revive the original form of ‘Yubel’!”
A supernatural red light flared and the first form of the demon ‘Yubel’ appeared at the Shadow’s side.
“And I summon,” the Shadow continued, a humanoid figure made of crystals appearing by his side as well, “the ‘Elemental Hero Prisma’!”
An Elemental Hero? I wondered. This can’t be his big play, so what kind of monster is he planning to summon?
“I show you a Fusion monster, ‘Elemental Hero Dark Neos’,” the Shadow declared, holding out its massive hand, a Fusion monster that I’d never seen manifesting there, “and discard the material monster ‘Elemental Hero Neos’ from my deck,” a card from the Shadow’s deck dissolved into smoke and reconstituted in his Graveyard, “to give ‘Prisma’ the name ‘Elemental Hero Neos’!”
‘Prisma’ lit up, projecting around itself an image of a tall warrior in a single piece white jumpsuit with a crystal in its chest.
“I merge my monsters,” the Shadow declared, “with 'Polymerization', to create the ultimate, perfect monster!”
‘Yubel’ became energy that merged with ‘Prisma’/’Neos’, and ‘Prisma’/’Neos’ became the projected monster, wearing black armor over his chest, arms and head. His eyes were covered by his armor, ‘Yubel’’s third eye, mounted on the forehead of his armor, his only means of sight. A black wing sprouted from each side of the armor wrapping the monster’s head.
“Behold,” the Shadow declared, “the ‘Neos Wiseman’ (ATK: 3000). This monster deals damage to my opponent equal to the Attack of any monster it battles, and restores my Life equal to the defense of any monster it battles. I attack ‘Zorc’!”
‘Neos Wiseman’ rose up, the crystal in the armor of his chest glowing, and raised his armored hands above his head, summoning a massive ball of light.
“‘Neos’,” the Shadow commanded, “Ultimate Nova’!”
‘Neos’ threw the energy ball at ‘Zorc’. My monster was instantly and completely overwhelmed and destroyed (3600-3000=600). The sheer force of the blast threw me through the air. I stood up in time to see life-giving energy flare around the Shadow. His Life Points rose, and he started laughing (800+1500=2300).
“Do you see now?” the Shadow asked. “Do you see? You can’t win against me! You are nothing in my presence. My monster has three thousand Attack, it can’t be destroyed by an effect, and if you do attack it, you’ll take lethal damage. There’s nothing you can do!”
I fell heavily to my knees, He’s right. There’s only one card in this deck that can defeat that monster, my ‘Black Luster Soldier’, but just like before my power of Destiny Draw is being blocked. I’m just not strong enough. There really isn’t anything I can do.
Then I got an idea, No, Karen might still be able to save me. I might be able to win with her help, and her power to create a miracle! But does she even care enough about me anymore?
I frowned, Either way, I have to try!
My Soul flared, and I reached out to the girl that I’d abandoned.
Karen
I felt John take a hit. A big one. Whatever he was facing, it was far beyond what he’d seen the Shadow summon before.
There has to be something I can do! I thought, tears forming in my eyes. This can’t be the end. I can’t bear the thought of never seeing him again!
In a moment of great epiphany of inspiration, my Soul is stronger than any other. In that moment I realized that, despite everything that John had done, I still loved him. I always would. In the moment that I admitted that to myself, my Soul flashed with light so bright that I had to shield my eyes, and I felt it connect with his. In that moment, I could feel that John needed me.
My Soul’s power is the power to grant wishes, I thought, finally putting to words something that I'd known for a while now. When we were under threat from Blackheart and I wished for the power to oppose him, my Soul granted that wish by stealing the power from the Dark Duel Force’s Shadow Items. If my Soul could grant my wish then, then it can grant my wish now. And right now I have only one wish: save John!
My Soul shown with light in an array of sparkling colors, and I felt the card in my hand grow hot, before it finally disappeared in a flash. The wall of Shadows before me parted as the magic of my Soul sent an object through it.
I hope that helps, because it’s all I’ve got.
John
There was a flash, and my Soul transformed. For the first time since my duel with Hiro, since my attitude had first begun to change, my Soul ceased to be the Soul of Darkness and instead became the Soul of Chaos, the Soul with power over the immense forces born of equal parts darkness and light mingling together. I felt my Soul connect with Karen’s. There was another flash, and I knew that she had come through for me. Our combined power was overwhelming! I stood up and looked the Shadow in the eyes, “It’s over. You’ve lost.”
“Impossible,” said the Shadow.
“No,” I said, “it’s not. I will not let you hurt anyone ever again! I play ‘Card of Sanctity’ to draw six cards.”
I prepared to draw, Let’s see how you like this!
My Soul flashed with the power of mine and Karen’s Souls, and I called out, “Destiny Draw!” I pulled my cards, knowing that I‘d drawn everything I needed.
“I play ‘Soul Absorption’, and I combine it with ‘Soul Release’, removing ‘Giant Orc’, ‘X-Head Cannon’, ‘Y-Dragon Head’, ‘Z-Metal Tank’, and ‘Dark Master – Zorc’ from play, and recovering twenty-five hundred Life Points (600+2500=3100).
“I summon ‘Guide to the Different Dimension’,” I continued, “a monster that’s summoned to your side of the field.”
A monster in a black cloak appeared beside ‘Neos’.
“Now, because you control two monsters and I control none, I can summon ‘The Fiend Megacyber’!”
“No!” the Shadow protested as the yellow warrior appeared, energy dancing along his body.
“I play ‘Cyber Spear’,” I declared, a high tech spear appearing in my monster’s hand “giving my monster the power to destroy the ‘Guide’.”
‘Megacyber’ threw his spear, piercing the ‘Guide’ through, destroying him.
“Now,” I continued, “I play ‘Special Draw’ to draw two cards, and I discard both to transform my monster!”
‘Megacyber’’s armor changed, turning white, yellow, black and white lightning rolling off of him.
“My fine Shadowy fiend,” I said, gesturing proudly at my warrior, “you remember ‘The Fiend Omegacyber’ (ATK: 3000).”
“No!” the Shadow exclaimed fearfully. Then he seemed to catch himself. “It doesn’t matter. My monster is stronger!”
“We’ll see,” I replied. “Attack, Omegacyber Impact!”
“Destroy it,” the Shadow commanded, “Ultimate Nova!”
‘Fiend Omegacyber’ summoned energy into his hands and flew right at ‘Neos’. ‘Neos Wiseman’ summoned a ball of light and threw it at the oncoming monster. The two attacks met, energy erupting outward, pouring over both combatants. Both were destroyed. I was surrounded by a burning light that stripped my Life away from me (3100-3000=100). A second aura surrounded the Shadow, restoring his Life (2300+700=3000). The Shadow Laughed yet again.
“How does it feel, human?” the Shadow asked. “Your monster, your last great hope is gone, and you are worse off than ever before!”
“You’re wrong,” I said. “I might be fighting you alone, but I have the strength of many. As long as I have friends worth protecting, I’ll never be defeated by someone who fights only for himself.
“I play my last card, the Spell card ‘Namesake Summon’. I remove from play ‘The Fiend Megacyber’ in my Graveyard,” I smiled, “to revive ‘The Fiend Omegacyber!”
Energy crackled all around me, making the Shadow cringe away. That energy formed a swirling, crackling portal from which my monster emerged, hanging menacingly in the air.
“Finish it,” I ordered, “with Omegacyber Impact!”
Lightning and sheer power poured into my monster’s hand, glowing with all of my anger.
“No!” the Shadow cried. He lashed out with tentacles of darkness, but they dissolved harmlessly when they touched my monster’s light.
“No!!”
My monster held up his hand and shot forward, striking and sending energy pouring through the Shadow’s body.
“NOOOO!!!”
The Shadow’s body dissolved (3000-3000=0). My monster disappeared, and I walked over to the slowly reforming creature.
This isn’t over, the weakened Shadow said, speaking in my head. I’ll return again, and I’ll kill you and everyone you love!
“No,” I said, “you won’t.” I raised my palm and my Soul of Chaos glowed. “Your penalty for your crimes will be to float forever in your formless state, able to watch this world that you desired to rule, but never to interact with it again. Penalty Game, Eternal Formlessness!”
My Soul flashed, and the Shadow dissolved once and for all. The shadows surrounding me fell away, and there she was, the person that I fight for, standing with Thomas and Ria, tears in her eyes. Before I knew what was happening, we were running to each other. She kissed me, and I knew that everything would be fine.
Card of the Day:
Neos Wiseman
Played by: The Shadow Demon
Because Judai Yuki homage! Again!
Original Cards in This Chapter:
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