Back when I was developing this story, and I made the decision to connect Karen with Pegasus, I was surprised to see that the writer of Yu-Gi-Oh! R, Akira Ito, had a similar idea, and gave Pegasus an entire group of adopted children that he raised as protegees. At first I was discouraged, since my idea was clashing with canon (as tentatively as R is canon), but after some thought, I realized that this actually helped me. I clash with canon all the time already, and after really working out my story's timeline compared to the original series timeline, I realized that Karen would have left at least a year before even the flashback scenes in R, so her being a part of that group of children wouldn't contradict anything that was shown.
So I worked out a rough idea for how I thought Karen would have related to the others. I decided that she would have looked up to the Tenma brothers, but that Richie Merced and Depre Scott would have had similar issues with her that they did with Gekko Tenma. I never planned to explore this, just keep it in mind as a potentially defining aspect of her character backstory. Then I decided to pit the Card Professors against my Duel Force, and I was glad to have that backstory worked out. It gave me the leverage I needed to force Karen to finally confront Pegasus and force him to admit to some of the horrible stuff he'd done. And that gave me leverage to allow Karen to come to terms with her past as a brainwashed member of the Duelists of the Order. It came together so perfectly that it was almost too good to be true.
So here it is, the culmination of Karen's story. She went from a confident, manipulative enemy, to a perfectly competent ally who was afraid to cut loose and utilize the skills that being manipulated by Yami had brought out in her, to rejecting her Duelist side, to someone who could only show her full potential when someone she loves is threatened, to someone who has come to terms with her past, and is capable of balancing the positives and negatives about herself to unleash her full abilities. This is symbolized in the fact that Karen looses her deck, and is forced to rebuild it from scratch. It parallels the fact that she had to rebuild herself from scratch after realizing that it is possible to use the dark aspects of yourself to build a better person.
The question here is, will she be able to set her emotions aside and duel Richie objectively, or will her animosity for him cause her to loose her cool and fall victim to Richie's quick, ferocious style? Karen, at her best, is my most powerful character, but Karen has also shown that being emotionally compromised puts her at a disadvantage. And considering that we've moved past the filler duels at this point, this thing can go either way.
Wooow, that got wordy.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sibling Rivalry;
Karen vs. Richie Merced
Karen
I stepped through the metal doors and found myself face-to-face with Richie. The real Richie this time, hopefully. Frankly, I'd had enough of Richie and his attitude, and I was done trying to be above it all.
"I've been looking forward to this moment for a long time, Karen," said Richie. "During your time with Pegasus, you were always so superior. None of us were allowed to challenge you. Finally I get to see once and for all what made you so special. Even more special than the Tenmas. Even they didn't get the same kind of treatment that you did."
"I don't have time for this, Richie," I told him, exasperated. "You refuse to listen to anything that I have to say, so I have nothing more to say to you. If you won't let me through, then tell me what I have to do to earn my way, and let's get this over with."
"Not that it will make a difference," Richie replied, "and as much as I wish it were more difficult, all you have to get past me is step on that panel at your feet, and then beat me."
He gestured at the floor panel in question, "But again, it makes no difference, because I'll be the one to win this duel."
He smiled darkly, "This is going to be so much fun."
"There's nothing fun about any of this," I argued. "You aren't going to win, so you won't be having fun, and despite what you seem to think, I don't have anything to prove to you, so I won't be having any fun either. This is just business."
I drew my opening hand, "I set one monster and one card, and I end my turn."
Richie laughed derisively, "Don't expect that I'll show you mercy if you play badly, 'sister'. I summon my 'Twin Gunfighter'."
A tall, strong-looking man with long hair, wearing western attire, appeared, carrying a pistol in each hand (ATK: 1600).
Richie sneered, "I attack!"
His monster took aim and fired with both of his guns.
"You revealed my monster," I countered as a sorceress with long red hair, wearing a blue dress and a pointy witch's hat appeared, brandishing an ornate wand, conjuring up a magical barrier that stopped the bullet from 'Gunfighter''s pistol dead. "This is 'Magician's Valkyria'," I explained, "a monster with eighteen hundred Defense. You take damage (8000 -> 7800).
"But when my monster attacks," Richie explained, still sneering, "you take damage equal to his attack from his second bullet."
I remained completely stoic, meeting my opponent's eye, even though I was completely aware of the smoking (holographic, thankfully) bullet hole in my chest. I imagined for a moment how painful it would have been in a Shadow Game (8000 -> 6400).
"Defend all you like," Richie explained. "It'll just make this duel even quicker."
I ignored him, and looked down at the cards in my hand as I drew.
"I set another card," I declared, "and another monster, and I end my turn."
Richie looked momentarily confused, but then he smiled another of those dark smiles, "Wow, I honestly didn't expect you to take me seriously. That's okay. If you want to throw the game, that's fine by me."
He drew, "I summon 'Pierce Musketeer'."
A woman in an old, lacy western period dress and a wide-brim hat appeared, carrying a musket (ATK: 1700).
"My monster attacks your hidden monster," Richie declared, "and inflicts piercing damage to your Life Points."
Richie's monster took aim, looking down the barrel of her gun, and fired. My face-down monster, a second sorceress, wearing dark robes, appeared to meet the attack, just long enough to be gunned down (6400 -> 5900).
"You destroyed my 'Witch of the Black Forest'," I explained. "Her effect activates when she goes from the field to the Graveyard, allowing me to add a monster from my deck to my hand."
As I explained my monster's effect, I fanned out my deck and chose a card.
"It's pointless," Richie insisted. "I attack your 'Magician's Valkyria' again with my 'Twin Gunfighter'."
His monster took aim with his two pistols and fired. 'Valkyria' defended herself again (7800 -> 7600), but I took another direct hit, another bullet hole appearing only inches from the first (5900 -> 4300).
Richie laughed menacingly, "Just give up, Karen. I won't think any less of you if you admit that you're no match for me. Granted a large part of that is because I literally can't think less of you."
I continued to ignore him.
"Come on, Karen," Richie insisted, "you're clearly outmatched. Surrender."
Finally, I decided to react. I met Richie's eyes, smirked confidently, and asked, "Are you sure? Because I was about to say the same to you."
Richie looked taken aback, but he recovered his composure quickly, "I set a card before I end my turn."
"Good," I told him, "I don't want this to be too easy."
I drew, "I summon 'Magician of Faith'."
A pretty young woman appeared, carrying a glowing staff with a crescent shape affixed to the upper end (ATK: 300).
"Next," I declared, "I change 'Magician's Valkyria' to attack mode (ATK: 1600), and I activate 'Magicians Unite', allowing my two monsters to attack together for three thousand points of damage."
'Magician's Valkyria' crossed her wand with 'Magician of Faith''s staff. Light erupted from their implements, and poured over Richie's 'Twin Gunfighter' with a blinding flash. For just a second, I thought that my attack had actually gone through, but then I felt another diminished impact. I looked down, and saw a third smoking bullet hole, this time in my midriff. The light from my attack faded, and it was revealed that the 'Twin Gunfighter' was completely unharmed.
Richie laughed, "I reveal 'Grazing Bullet'. I take the damage meant for my monster (7600 -> 4600), but in exchange, my strongest monster is able to use the moment of confusion to attack you directly as well.
I scowled, and looked to the still-smoking barrel of 'Pierce Musketeer''s rifle (4300 -> 2600), "No!"
"That's right," Richie explained, "no matter what you do, you'll never get through my monsters. You'll never beat me. Even if you go all out on defense, you're only, at most, two turns away from losing anyway. Give up, and stop embarrassing yourself."
I hung my head and said nothing. I simply stood there, radiating disappointment. After a minute or so, without a word, I looked back up at Richie, and held my Duel Disk up at the ready. Richie laughed again. He was, in that moment, absolutely convinced that he'd already won, which was just what I'd expected.
"Fine," he told me, "I'll just keep on humiliating you, which is really the preferable choice anyway. I mean, damn, you're even weaker than I expected. I knew there was a reason why you disappeared off of the tournament scene a few years back. You never deserved special treatment from Pegasus. You were never fit to be part of his family. Face it."
He drew, "'Pierce Musketeer', begin the final assault. Attack 'Magician of Faith'."
His monster took aim, and I dropped my facade. I smirked again, "Well, this has been fun, but I think I've let you hold the reigns of this duel long enough. Reveal, 'Magical Dimension', tributing 'Magician of Faith' to summon a Spellcaster from my hand."
A coffin-like box appeared, suspended by chains in a metal frame. It opened, and 'Magician of Faith' stepped inside. The coffin closed, deflecting the shot from the barrel of the 'Musketeer''s gun, and it opened a moment later, and a second red-headed sorceress emerged.
"I summon a second 'Magician's Valkyria'," I explained. "And while I control two or more 'Magician's Valyrias', you can't declare an attack against any of my Spellcasters. I'm completely invulnerable."
"But you were beaten!" Richie exclaimed, his eyes wide, his hands shaking.
"No," I said, smiling, "you were played. The only genuine aspect to my little performance here was my disappointment. I'm disappointed that you're this weak. I was hoping that my first duel with my new deck would actually be a challenge.
"When a Spellcaster is summoned via 'Magical Dimension'," I explained, "she can combine her power with a Spellcaster already on the field to destroy any monster in play."
My twin sorceresses crossed their wands and fired a wave of light that blew 'Pierce Musketeer' apart. I drew my next card, "I activate a card that's very special to me. A gift to me from Teacher. Richie Merced, my dear brother, welcome to the 'Forest Clearing'."
The room around us transformed. Where there had once been drab, metallic walls covered in protruding machinery, there appeared a ring of trees, wide enough that creatures could fit within it, but dense enough that, if there were anything hidden among the threes, it would be impossible to tell. The floor at our feet took on the appearance of packed dirt, populated sparsely by tufts of grass and weeds. Above us, the dark ceiling was overcast by a loose canopy of branches
"This duel is over, Richie," I explained, noting the look of apprehension on my opponent's face as he scrutinized our new surroundings. "You're in my world now, and in my world, I'm invincible."
Card of the Day
Forest Clearing
Played by: Karen
Yes, for those of you who are wondering, this is the card that Karen designed back in Yu-Gi-Oh! DA that was intended to make placement of cards on the field relevant again. Finally we get to see what exactly it is that it does, and it's...pretty situational. I mean, you'd really have to build an entire deck around this thing. If only Karen had recently had a chance to completely rebuild her deck oh wait.
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