Episode 17. - Desert Ride on a Moonless Night

Her son bawled, Bernadette, in turn, sighed, mulling over in her mind whether she should teach him a lesson by leaving him as he was. After all, he had insisted on the triple scoop, and as she had warned him, it had fallen on the floor. The lowest of the three scoops had survived the boy's enthusiastic licking, so she could leave him with just that, but--

"Bernadette Collins versus--"

She did not hear her opponent's name properly due to a fresh earsplitting wail from her son. It was at that point that she decided not to replace his lost ice-cream. He would have to cry this one out. Her cousin, who had come with her to help watch the boys, hurried over to her now. Bernadette nodded enthusiastically at her relative, as if to say 'I'm ready!', and then gave the younger woman strict instructions not to replace the ice-cream disaster. She then knelt next to her son and whispered to him.
"If you cry so much it'll melt before you can eat the rest..."

With that, she was off, and two or three energetic bounds later, she was opposite Blood at the table.

"Deploy your shields," instructed the official, "Ms. Collins will go first, as her opponent has agreed. Good luck to both of you. Begin."

"You let me go first?" Bernadette smirked, "You wouldn't be underestimating me now, would ya?"

Blood sighed nonchalantly.
"Oh, please. I let you go first because your deck has no draw. Decks without draw power nearly never win, so I figured I'd lessen your hand a bit. So you'll have the mana lead... doesn't mean anything when you're topdecking."

Bernadette wrinkled her nose. In a way, she was being underestimated, and in another way, totally respected. There was nothing she could think of to say in response to that. She charged fire mana, and ended her turn. The battlefield instantly took on a redder glow. Blood noticed that he had been drawn in even before she summoned. Normally the Kaijudo only began when both players had at least one creature on the field.

"Trying to impress me or something?" he laughed, drawing his sixth card. He charged nature mana now, and the smell of a forest filled their perceptions, "I can show off a little too, you know."

It was, indeed, showing off. Most Kaijudo players could not mimic the scent perceptions required to do what he had just done. Even those who were not actively involved in the duel could still perceive it as if they, too, could smell the trees. Bernadette knew she was in for a seriously wild ride, and wasted no time in making her preparations for that. She charged darkness mana on her turn, and ended it, trying to figure out if this was another young upstart that needed to be taught a lesson, or a serious young duelist that she should be wary of.

Blood's next turn gave her no clues regarding this. He charged more nature mana. That was all. Nearby, Gene Kirricort had given himself a director's role regarding the television crews covering the event. When he tried his hardest, he could barely pick out whose Kaijudo was strongest at a given moment. No more than that, but that was enough to point the cameramen in the correct direction to increase the drama. It was a tense situation already. He could feel that, and stopped just short of rubbing his hands with glee. This would push card sales through the roof if there was only some way of hinting to the audience what the invisible psychic forces were doing. As it was, all he could do, was have the crews point their cameras in the right places at the right times, and hope that the duelists said nice, cryptic things.

Bernadette's third turn began now, and she finally charged her own nature mana, completing her mana-set and cementing the scent of trees in the minds of those around.
"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe. More... nature mana, it seems."

She smirked. It had been a second Mana Crisis card that had come to her hand by the Bronze-Arm's effect. She placed it into the manapool next to the first. As far as she was concerned, she wouldn't need drawing power if she controlled her mana well. She ended her turn.

Blood also would add a creature to his field on this turn. Charging his Crystal Paladin to mana, knowing that he would not need it, he summoned an Aqua Hulcus and drew the customary card by its effect. He ended his turn now.
"So let's see if draw is more powerful than what you plan to do, hm? There's no real question about that, I just like to be proven right. Your turn."

Bernadette scoffed, charged fire mana, and summoned the closest thing she had, to a defensive line.
"Ruthless Skyterror!"

The imagery was very detailed, as the psychic energies meshed. The wing flaps of the giant creature rippled the liquid form of the Aqua Hulcus. It was in danger now. The Skyterror would be able to destroy it on her next turn regardless of what Blood could do.

"Six thousand..." Blood said aloud, almost without realizing he had spoken.

"Yeah, six thousand," Bernadette grinned. She was feeling fairly pleased with herself at this point. The card was in no way invulnerable, but on this particular turn it was, and that could throw off the rhythm of many opponents long enough for her to clinch the duel. It had been happening all day, mainly because she had taken the initiative and mostly challenged duelists with many water creatures. Since, at this level, that was most people, even when she had been challenged herself, her Skyterrors had brought her through. Now Blood would have to face the same problem that so many others had, for the day. What exactly did one do against an early game card with six thousand power and very little penalty?

Blood apparently had his plan, and it involved drawing more cards. He charged another Crystal Paladin to mana, quite sure now that he would not be needing it, if the Skyterror was acting as her defence. He played Brain Serum now. Two more cards to add to his hand. He would not fall into Bernadette's trap of attacking so as not to 'waste' the Hulcus, however. He was a better tactician than that. The design of the deck was one that could pressure an opponent into attacking and therefore refilling the young mother's hand. He ended his turn.

Bernadette smiled. This was going to be easy. She charged more darkness mana.
"I cast Brutal Charge, and summon another Ruthless Skyterror. Skyterror one, destroy the Hulcus. Ikei! Bronze-Arm, break his shield!"

The two creatures charged together, the Bronze-Arm riding on the back of the Skyterror. With a powerful swoop and a blast of its weapons, the Skyterror evaporated the Hulcus, and the Bronze-Arm leapt from its back in a lancing attack to shatter one of Blood's shields. It did not trigger. Bernadette made a little celebratory motion.

"What's she so excited about?" Yodaz wondered aloud, "So she broke a shield... so what?"

Pikaye answered him.
"It isn't that. I take it you do not see this card much in your metagame. He is locked down somewhat himself, now. Until he can remove at least one Skyterror permanently, not even Corile can get through this. She is celebrating because the shield did not remove either Skyterror. She has at least one more 'free' turn."

Yodaz rolled his eyes at the Japanese champion's 'analysis'.
"Oh, please. Don't make me laugh. Emeral and a Merfolk on turn seven. Solves the problem totally. It isn't as if the Skyterrors are breaking your shields."

"Perhaps so..." Shinji Nykahrii contributed, "But I do not think that Mr. Blood has those cards..."

Noting that possibility, Yodaz settled down to watch again. Something in his mind pricked him to think about it. To figure out what he would do in this situation with only Corile to save him, and no way of drawing cards quickly other than a spell. Blood had just done that. Would it help?

Bernadette retrieved a Meteosaur from her deck, further cementing her anti-water position. She was going to make it as difficult as possible for Blood to start the deadly stream of water cards that could crush so many duelists. She ended her turn, her Skyterror and Bronze-Arm back where they had begun, menacingly eyeing Blood, waiting for something to appear on his side again. Something for them to concentrate on.

"Fairly interestin' so far," Blood smirked, "Now let's see what you say to this one. Rumbling Terahorn!"
The creature's thundering hooves heralded its arrival. There were other ways to deal with these situations. Blood retrieved an Evolution card from his deck. Niofa, Horned Protector. He was at least going to make Bernadette squirm for trying to lock out his water cards. He would simply switch his deck from its normal pace to a much faster one, for the sake of dealing with her irritating Skyterrors. He shuffled his deck, and ended his turn. Bernadette knew she had no way of stopping that evolution outright, but she did not wish to, either.

"You're good," she nodded, drawing her card, "I like you. Here's another Ruthless Skyterror, just in case you're getting any funny ideas about swarming me. Bronze-Arm, ikei!"
She summoned a third of the winged fire creatures, and the trio circled in wide arcs above her head. The Bronze-Arm Tribe, on the other hand, made a dash for Blood, its lance smashing another shield, which, again, did not trigger. Bernadette smirked at him. She was thoroughly enjoying this. She braced herself now, however, knowing that her opponent's Kaijudo would drastically spike in only a few short moments.

Blood laughed at the appearance of the third Skyterror. He charged more water mana, and laughed again. He was quite amused by this. So she did have a strategy after all. She could not draw, so she had ways of 'ensuring' that her opponent could not draw either. Unfortunately for her, that did not affect his searching power at all.

"Now, Rumbling Terahorn evolves into Niofa, Horned Protector!"
The Terahorn stamped on the ground once... twice... then a third time. The third stomp shook the ground, causing Bernadette to shake her head for a moment to reset her perception of reality before it got jarred by the Kaijudo. When she was focused again, it was a gigantic horned beauty that stared at her. Blood was more interested in retrieving his Bronze-Arm Tribe from his deck, however. Only once he had done that, did he declare his attack.

"Niofa, crush that annoying Bronze-Arm. Ikei!"

The beast charged, and despite the Bronze-Arm's attempts to escape, it was quickly crushed indeed. Bernadette nodded. He had figured her out. Breaking her shields would be more help than threat, so he had decided to eliminate her attacker. She drew her card, and simply ended her turn.

"The problem with your initial plan is simple," Blood smiled, "I don't need water creatures to win."
As if to prove his point, he charged an Aqua Hulcus to his mana zone, and summoned the Bronze-Arm Tribe. It sent his Fighter Dual Fang to his mana zone.

"You never can trust those things..." came the thought that buzzed in Yodaz's mind. He ignored the words of his avatar this time. Blood seemed to know what he was doing.

"Hm... looks like I lost one. I'd better get the other later. Rumbling Terahorn! To retrieve my second Niofa, Horned Protector! End turn."
He shuffled almost complacently, almost as if daring her to try to do something now. The second Terahorn stamped the ground next to Niofa. Bernadette drew her card. She stared at those cards in her hand quite intently now.

"What's the matter?" Blood laughed, "Out of options?"

"More like too many," she replied, "Something about what you can do is bugging me and I can't put my finger on it. So I'm deciding which of your creatures to off."

Blood looked intrigued now. He folded his arms and waited to see what she would do. Bernadette bit gently on her own lower lip as she thought. She really wanted him to break her shields, but she did not want him to do it with too many creatures at once, since she would be needing to break his very soon.

"It's a mana to threat choice, you know?" she finally said. Gene Kirricort was loving this. She talked, apparently without affecting her concentration on the duel, or her chances. She was essentially commentating on her own duel.
"All right, I choose to neutralize your threat. You can have your mana. Essence Elf summon, then cast Death Smoke on your Horned Protector. End turn."

The dark wisps of energy surrounded the giant horned one, and swallowed it up. Blood noted her resilience. He had not attacked with his Niofa that turn, but she could just as easily have cast the spell on the Rumbling Terahorn and saved herself the evolution that he would clearly manage now.
"What are you up to?" he smirked, charging more water mana, "That seemed like a bad move to me. Now I'll get to search and attack ... Evolve Rumbling Terahorn into Niofa, Horned Protector! Retrieving... heheh... Fighter Dual Fang. Now I play Energy Stream also. Niofa! Ikei! Double Break!"

Bernadette picked up the first shield. She flipped over the second.
"You got away from me. I thought I had you... Shield Trigger, Locomotiver."

She reached out and pointed. He discarded his Natural Snare. She sighed.
"I was countin' on you to put all your power into the second evo, and I was hopin' you'd hit the Loco and lose whatever you searched for. Looks like you had enough of your precious 'draw power' to get away with it, though."

Bloody laughed now, from deep in his chest. This woman was interesting. Her deck was by no means the best, but it seemed that she did know what she was doing.
"And what made you think I'd hit the Locomotiver? How did you even know you had one there?"

She shrugged. "Played Brutal Charge earlier, remember?"

He laughed even more at this. She was almost impressive. So she had been plotting against his every move after all.
"Nice. If you had a proper deck you'd probably be really good at this, but then again, I guess this is the deck that does what you do best. Too bad it isn't stronger. Bronze-Arm, ikei!"

She nodded as she picked up her shield.
"Yeah, sometimes you guys and all your 'draw power' kinda suck to battle, but I get by. I think I might even be able to salvage this a little. You end?"

He nodded. She drew her card and smiled. It seemed that she would have been able to do it either way, actually. The three Skyterrors still circled, locking away most of Blood's ability to play water cards. They were relatively useless as long as he did not play them, but as protection from his liquid army, they were still somewhat doing their job. She placed a Meteosaur into her mana zone.
"I summon Essence Elf, and Meteosaur, to destroy your Bronze-Arm. Locomotiver, ikei! Essence Elf, ikei!"

"Whoa, woman. Easy on the tactics there!" he laughed, as he picked up his shields. Neither of them had triggered, but they still brought a smile to his face. Bernadette wondered what devastating play she had unleashed upon herself this time.
"Probably should have let me just sit there," he laughed, "Now you've gone and defeated yourself. You don't mind if I show off a little, do ya? I so seldom get to have fun like this..."

She shrugged and smiled again.
"Go ahead, it's your show now. I'm guessing from the look on your face that it's over."

He nodded.
"Yeah. It's over. It is so over. Almost had me worried though. I charge Bronze-Arm Tribe to mana, and summon... of course, Bronze-Arm Tribe!"
The Beast Folk swung down onto the field, and its effect activated. It twirled its spear triumphantly, as if knowing what its fate would be. First, however, Bloody would have to draw another card to charge to his mana zone.

"Now I place my... well what do you know! Another Bronze-Arm Tribe... to mana! Now, Bronze-Arm evolves into Fighter Dual Fang after all!"
The creature slammed its spear into the ground, and a powerful green light erupted from the energy portal it created, engulfing it and beginning its great transformation. The Bronze-Arm seemed to bulk up considerably, and had a significant increase in arms, both of the physical and of the weapon varieties. It roared. It was now time to activate its effect also.

"So I place Tornado Flame and Mana Nexus, into mana. Finally, I'll play one Mana Nexus from my hand, to place that other one in my shield zone. Hahaha! So over!"

The great black stones shot out of the ground, generating a new shield. When this one was broken, the process would repeat itself, and once that happened, there would probably be a Natural Snare waiting for whatever creature was poised to make the finishing attack. In a single turn, Blood had clearly won the duel. His Kaijudo flooded the room now. Even without any water, the synchronous power resonated with the raw primal rhythm that the nature part of his deck provided. The power of evolution was, in this case, the clear victor.

Bernadette's Kaijudo pressed back against it almost as a token gesture. She knew what her remaining shields were. She knew that as soon as he completed the evolution, she had already lost. Her lips let out a low whistle.
"Yeah, that's definitely it, hon. What a turn... nothing at all I can do about that one, heheh. So let 'er rip!"

Blood smirked. His Kaijudo was bulked up considerably by the power of the two evolution creatures on the field. Niofa lowered itself slightly, to allow Dual Fang to leap onto its back. He had found a new visualization amongst all this. Just as Bernadette had done before, he was now going to have his Beast Folk ride in for the finish.

"Niofa, Ikei! Double Break!"
The image flooded the minds of nearly everyone there. Even the normally unaffected cameramen seemed to at least hear the thundering hooves. Bernadette met him with imagery of her own. Of three Skyterrors diving at the charging beast, only to be swatted away by Niofa's horns and Dual Fang's weapons. The Locomotiver swiftly moved out of the way, the Essence Elves erected energy barriers around themselves to protect against the shockwave that Niofa caused when she passed, in her powerful charge. Then, with a devastating crash, the horned beast hit the two remaining shields...

They shattered instantly under the impact, causing Niofa to roar triumphantly. Blood's Kaijudo rose instantly when he realized that there was no Snare or Pit triggered that would forcibly 'dismount' his Dual Fang.

"Fighter Dual Fang, todomeda!!"
Dual Fang now sprang from its ally's back, into the air, to finish the duel with a devastating strike on Bernadette herself. The woman's reaction in reality was quite clear. She staggered backwards, then braced herself so as not to fall, clutching at her chest, breathing raggedly, and laughing.

"Mommy!" her son yelped, dashing to her and holding onto her leg. The other younger boy was there an instant later, latched firmly onto her other knee. She knelt, and put her arms around them, scooping them both up, demonstrating that she was not only quite strong physically, but that somehow, Blood's final attack seemed to have wiped out her remaining Kaijudo, but strengthened her will. There was no indication that she would lose her balance or stagger again, even with both boys in her arms.

"That was great," she laughed, "What a rush. I'd shake your hand for that, but as you can see, mine are full." She burst out laughing again.

"Indeed, she most obviously does enjoy this..." Shinji Nykahrii remarked, nodding to himself, "I most definitely like her."

Yodaz looked skeptical. She was celebrating, apparently. Why she would celebrate after that loss, he did not know. Blood had countered every strategy she had, as far as he could tell. At no point had she looked particularly effective. Sitting there for most of the duel with her essentially useless Skyterrors on the field. She had not even picked up her cards yet. There they all were. Two Essence Elves, a Locomotiver, a Meteosaur and three Ruthless Skyterrors. Seven creatures on field and still no victory had even seemed forthcoming. He strode forward to her now, with a clear question in mind.

"Excuse me. Could you have won that?"

She looked across at him.
"Hey... don't I know you? Oh! You're the champ, right! Hi! Wow. It's an honor. Kids, this is Yodaz, our Duel Masters champion."

Yodaz acknowledged the young 'Hi' and 'Hullo' with a nod, then turned his attention back to Bernadette.
"Could you? Is there anything in your deck you could have got, that would have won that?"

"Umm... no, I don't think so. I mean, if something had been able to stop the Dual Fang, I guess I coulda hoped for a Magma Gazer so the Skyterror could kill one, or to play on an Elf. Or maybe Doboulgyser to help clear out the shields and get me through for the finish, but I had nothing that could stop the second Evo. Once that Dual Fang hit, that was it. Game over!" she laughed.

"So why are you so happy?" he asked.

"Are you kidding?" she beamed, "That was most excellent! Not many people could even hope to do what he and I just did! We totally outplayed each other every step of the way!"

Yodaz got another of his skeptical looks on his face. It had not seemed that way to him at all. If she wanted to believe that, however, he would not stop her. After all, she was already... defeated.

"Hmm..." she wondered aloud, "Hey, Blood... if you win this thing... do we get cake?"