And there it is, at the end of the chapter. Tucker recognizes that his opponent is being controlled, and he literally sends his soul into hers. He may be insane.
Chapter SixBeating Up Some Jerkbags Using Trading Cards, Part 3
Max
“Your ‘Reaper’ might be a rare card,” said Scourge, full of pride, “and I’ll admit, I’m impressed, but my strategy, the ultimate strategy, has only begun to unfold. I begin my turn by gaining two hundred Life due to the effect of ‘Marie the Fallen One’ sent to the Graveyard by ‘Armageddon Knight’ (8000+200=8200). Next I summon ‘Armageddon Knight’!”
Another of the dark swordsmen appeared alongside his doppelganger (ATK: 1400).
“This,” Scourge explained, “allows me to discard another ‘Marie’ from my deck. And I follow up with the Spell card ‘Painful Choice’.”
Scourge didn’t bother to explain his Spell and instead jumped right into the effect, fanning out his deck and choosing five cards. He added them to his Duel Disk and holograms of the five cards appeared above his head. He’d chosen three copies of ‘Shining Angel’ and two copies of ‘Giant Germ’.”
Of course I already knew what my opponent was planning, so I didn’t really care which card he kept. “Keep your ‘Giant Germ’,” I told him. He did, discarding the rest.
“Finally my combo is complete!” said Scourge. “Now that I have another Fiend in my Graveyard I have the power to summon one of the most powerful, dangerous monsters in the game! I remove ‘Shining Angel’, both copies of ‘Marie’, and the ‘Giant Germ’ from play to summon-.”
“The ‘Sky Scourge Norleras’?” I asked, bored.
“-The ‘Sky Scourge Norleras’!” Scourge declared, and then paused, my question sinking in. “Hey, how did you know that!?”
“Well,” I answered, “my first clue was the fact that you call yourself Scourge. Then you did so much deck thinning that you practically showed me your deck. I didn’t need a third clue, not to say that there wasn’t one. Or three.”
Scourge was fuming, “Maybe you did figure out my deck. I’m still going to blow you away. Behold my monster!”
A pillar of dark light erupted from the ground, and from it rose the imposing figure of ‘Norleras’. He had a skeletal face with a protruding horn, tattered, leathery wings, black skin studded with spikes, and long, spindly arms. His arms and lower torso were wrapped in white bandages. He had spindly fingers with long, sharp claws. He had no legs, and instead had only a tail of wispy black smoke (ATK: 2400).
“Your ‘Reaper’ can’t be destroyed in battle, but my monster is even more powerful,” Scourge explained. “He can release all of his energy in the form of one final attack, destroying everything on the field and in our hands, and then allowing me to draw one card, at the cost of only one thousand Life Points!”
I didn’t react in the slightest, which seemed to piss my opponent off, but can you blame me? I knew ‘Norleras” effect, so I wasn’t surprised. Plus, my strategy could handle such a minor setback. Scourge’s Life fell (8200-1000=7200). ‘Norleras’ cried out and self-destructed, his energy erupted outward like a dark fountain, washing away everything on the field. Scourge and I discarded our hands, and Scourge drew his one card. One card that gave him a decisive advantage over me, in theory.
“I play ‘Graceful Charity’,” Scourge declared confidently, “to draw three cards and discard two.”
He drew again and discarded as I taunted, “Draw anything good? Or maybe you’re setting up for another Special Summon of a useless monster.”
“Shut up!” Scourge snapped, momentarily losing control. He regained his cool quickly, “I discard ‘Hysteric Fairy’ and ‘Sangan’, and I remove two copies of ‘Shining Angel’, ‘Hysteric Fairy’, and ‘Sangan’ from play to summon the second ultimate card!”
“Big surprise...”
“Behold,” Scourge announced as he was flanked by a pillar of light, “the ‘Sky Scourge Enrise’!”
A form emerged from a pillar of light. He was more slender and angelic than ‘Norleras’ with elegant, feathered white wings. His eyes were covered by a visor. He wore leather pants and leather straps on his arms, and he had a hole in his abdomen that glittered, like a swirling vortex (ATK: 2400).
“My monster attacks directly,” Scourge commanded, “with Fallen Burst!”
‘Enrise’ summoned energy into his hands from the vortex in his body and released it in a wave (8000-2400=5600).
“Nice play,” I said, honestly impressed, “but whatever. Your monster won’t be around much longer.”
“You might have figured me out two turns ago,” said Scourge, “but you still can’t come back from this,” he gestured at the current state of the field. “I control a powerful monster able to remove one of your monsters from play each turn. You don’t even have a hand!”
I ignored him and drew my card, This is it. This next card will prove which of us has the stronger will to win!
I looked at my card, and I smiled, “What were you saying about my hand?” I showed Scourge my card, and he stared at it, shocked.
“No way!”
“Yes,” I replied. “I play ‘Card of Demise’, letting me draw five new cards!”
I drew again, “Next I play the Field Spell card ‘Fusion Gate’!” A huge metal gateway rose up behind me, a swirling green vortex appearing within it. “While I control this card,” I explained, “I can remove monsters from play in order to fuse them together instead of using ‘Polymerization’. I remove ‘Ancient Brain’ and ‘The Dark – Hex-Sealed Fusion’ in my hand from play to Fusion Summon ‘Skull Knight’!”
The surface of the vortex rippled, and a caped knight emerged, with a bone sword and skull shield, a skull helm, and skeletal armor (ATK: 2650).
“This is the first card I ever owned, given to me by a friend,” I told my opponent, “and it’s just what I needed to take your monster down.
“‘Skull Knight’,” I commanded, “destroy ‘Enrise’ with your mystic blade!”
My ‘Skull Knight’ released a wave of light from his sword, sheering the ‘Sky Scourge’ in half (7200+2400-2650=6950). My opponent struggled to remain undaunted.
“My move!” Scourge declared, getting a little ahead of himself.
“Not yet,” I countered. “I set two cards. Now it’s your move.”
Scourge drew, scowling at me.
“You’re losing your cool, Scourge,” I taunted.
“Shut up!” He stared at his card with disappointment, his expression telling me that his turn was over before it had begun.
“Running out of luck?” I asked, mockingly. “I draw, and I activate ‘Pot of Greed’.”
I drew again, “Next I play the Spell card ‘Book of Life’ to remove from play ‘Norleras’ in your Graveyard, and to revive a monster from mine. I choose my ‘Spirit Reaper’ (ATK: 300)!
“My monsters attack,” I commanded, and my ‘Reaper’ and my ‘Knight’ struck Scourge directly. ‘Skull Knight’, my first monster, swung his sword, and ‘Spirit Reaper’, my favorite monster, swung his scythe. The two attacks brought my opponent to his knees (6950-300-2650=3800).
“I reveal,” I continued, “the Spell card ‘Quick Summon’, tributing both of my monsters to summon the mighty ‘Despair from the Dark’!”
The recently-revived ‘Reaper’ and his sword-wielding companion both faded into the shadows at my feet, and those shadow stretched upward, taking on the solid form of a pitch black torso with huge claws (ATK: 2800).
“My monster attacks!” I declared, and in an instant my opponent’s face turned from one of frustration to one of pride.
“You fell for my ultimate trap!” Scourge exclaimed. A barrier appeared around him as my monster struck. The barrier stopped my monster’s attack cold.
“When your ‘Spirit Reaper’ dealt me damage, you forced me to discard the last card in my hand, the Spell card ‘Secret Barrier – Magic Force’! I remove it from play to halve your monster’s Attack (3800-1400=2400) and then destroy it!”
The barrier spread out vaporizing my last remaining monster.
“I knew I’d defeat you!” Scourge cried excitedly.
I chuckled darkly, “You couldn’t be more wrong. You’ve fallen into my trap. Because the Level Eight ‘Despair from the Dark’ was removed from the field, I can play ‘A Deal with Dark Ruler’ to summon my ultimate card!”
The shadowy remains of ‘Despair’ gathered together and formed a massive, brown, skeletal dragon with a tuft of white hair coming off of the back of its head, “Scourge, meet ‘Berserk Dragon’ (ATK: 3500)!”
Scourge didn’t say a word. He only stared on, wearing a look of utter defeat. My dragon breathed fire over my opponent, ending the duel.
“You’re obviously not nearly as good as you think,” I told him, “but your knowledge of dark magic makes you dangerous. Good thing you won’t have that knowledge much longer.”
My Soul flashed with amber light, and Scourge collapsed, unconscious.
Tucker
“My turn,” said Frost simply as she drew her card. “I summon the ‘Cold Enchanter’.”
Even as Frost’s monster, an attractive young woman in layered white and blue garbs, long blue stockings, and an icy crown, carrying a wand of ice, topped with a giant icicle, appeared at her side (ATK: 1600), Frost continued to look through me as if I wasn’t there. It was as if she were acting and reacting without realizing what she was doing.
“‘Cold Enchanter”s effect,” Frost explained, almost mechanically, “places an ice counter on one of your monsters.”
I watched as a layer of ice formed over the arm of ‘Thing in the Crater’.
“I tribute ‘Blizzard Dragon’,” Frost continued, “and ‘Cold Enchanter’ to Special Summon ‘Ice Master’.”
A tall woman, who appeared to be an older version of ‘Cold Enchanter’, but with a more deeply layered dress and a staff topped with a snowflake in place of a wand, replaced both of Frost’s monsters (ATK: 2500).
“‘Ice Master”s effect places another Ice Counter,” Frost explained. The flames covering my ‘Blazing Inpachi’ were almost dispelled by a gust of wind, and ice crystals formed across his torso.
“I tribute ‘Ice Master’,” Frost declared, “to destroy every monster bearing an Ice Counter.”
‘Ice Master’ turned into a form of crystalline vapor (or at least that’s what Sarah called it later when I described it), and blew over my monsters, causing the icy patches to build up and spread until my monsters were covered. They became heavy and brittle, falling over and shattering all around me.
She gave up her powerful monster to clear the field? When she could have attacked? I considered this. I may not be all too book smart, but I know fights and battle combos, and even though I don’t know much about this girls cards, I can tell that her combo is a weird one.
“I remove ‘Cold Enchanter’ and ‘Blizzard Dragon’ in the Graveyard from play to Special Summon ‘Fenrir’ the Ice Wolf’,” my opponent announced. A fierce gray wolf appeared, an icy aura hovering around it, hanging in the air (ATK: 1400).
“‘Fenrir’ attacks directly,” Frost declared, and the wolf came at me with long, yellow claws bared.
“Reveal,” I countered, “with ‘Firewall’! I remove ‘Thing in the Crater’ in my Graveyard from play to negate the direct attack of your monster.
A protective wall of fire rose up around me, forcing ‘Fenrir’ to return to his master’s side.
This keeps getting weirder and weirder! I realized. She gave up her powerful monster and summoned ‘Fenrir’ instead, after all of my monsters were gone, rendering ‘Fenrir”s effect mostly useless? Why?”
I looked my opponent in the eyes, and I saw the answer: a single tear rolling down my foe’s unexpressive face.
I had a feelin, I thought, but now, seeing that, I’m sure. A feeling of anger washed over me, Someone is doing this to her! Someone is forcing her to fight. But who?!
But when I thought about it I realized that I already knew the answer. I could feel it in my heart. I looked over to where Sarah was dueling and looked into the face of her opponent. Into the face of the man causing this girl so much pain.
“I’m not gonna let him get away with manipulating you,” I told Frost. “I’ve never tried this, but I think I can do it. I’m gonna send my spirit into yours and get you your life back, even if I have to peel away Mask’s dark magic by hand. I pay the cost to keep the Continuous Trap card ‘Firewall’ (8000-500=7500). “Next I’ll play ‘Soul of Fire’. I remove ‘Infernal Flame Emperor’ from play!”
A spectral form of a sphinx-like creature with the body of a lion, the head of a human, and bird-like wings, its body made of flames, appeared on the field. The spectral creature struck my opponent, surrounding her in flames, before disappearing from the field (8000+1400=6450). The flames lingered.
“‘Soul of Fire’,” I pleaded, “merge my spirit with the girl’s over a bridge of flames!”
My Soul flashed red light, and for better or for worse, I felt my spirit leave my body.
Card of the Day:
Berserk Dragon
Played by: Max
"Soul of Fire" could have gone here, but really, this card makes a bigger impact in its duel, and it is Max's most powerful monster, and yet somehow I've never featured it before. This monster is strong on its own, but in the deck of a duelist like Max it becomes even more dangerous. Plus it's pretty sweet looking.
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