Episode 2. - Oceans of Life and Death

Thunder crashed against the windows of the mansion. The lightning had illuminated the room a second before. Now the rain came. The party guests inside were not at all bothered. Their little celebration was going along fine regardless of the weather. Those who were outside in that storm, though unfortunate, were no concern of theirs.

Yodaz stood, leaning against one of the walls next to one of the large glass windows, listening to it rattle whenever the thunder clapped. Attending these little functions was part of his job as champion, and he could only manage to avoid three of them or so before someone would notice and he would have to put in an appearance. Tonight was not one of his better 'draws'. This party was all about the sponsors of the League. Half of these people could barely pick him out of a lineup, and the other half were more interested in what the first half was wearing to the banquet.

A waitress came up to him with a covered tray, now, and, without looking at her, he said simply: "No thanks, I'm not hungry."

"Are you sure you don't want any? It isn't food..." came the lightly chilling answer. Yodaz's gaze turned immediately. He knew that voice. He knew that voice all too well.

"Libra..." he intoned disdainfully, "Are you stalking me now? I should call security for your pathetic skin right now."

"But you won't," she smirked, lifting the cover off the tray to reveal a single deck of cards, "Because we always duel, don't we?"

Yodaz smirked also. She had the tendency to annoy him. His psychic energy and hers clashed for a moment now, Yodaz judging if she had become any better. She had, but only in Kaijudo. As usual, her deck would be the same. He asked the usual precursory question.

"Did you improve your deck any?"

Much to his surprise, Libra said: "Yes, I think I did. I should be able to tax you a bit more than usual today."

Yodaz was taken aback. She nearly never changed her deck. She was one of those 'other' duelists, who believed that perfect Kaijudo was stronger than the perfect deck. He could never understand why they would not just do as he did and combine the two, but she had said something about 'synchronicity' or something like that. If she had changed her deck finally, however, perhaps he could get a real duel after all. Publicly defeating this one would make his night worthwhile.

"I'll go make arrangements," he said, pushing off the wall and walking into the throngs of guests. Libra waited patiently where he had left her, and merely observed, with her own Kaijudo, as Yodaz 'convinced' the staff on hand to clear one of the serving tables and move it into the middle of the banquet hall, for his purposes. She was not one to look down on the act of using one's Kaijudo outside of duels, but something about the way Yodaz did it, she found distasteful. As if he truly believed that most other people were idiots, and would mold their minds accordingly.

Within ten minutes the table sat in the middle of the room, covered with a stark white tablecloth, with the guests clamoring around it to see what was going on, mostly expecting some sort of special hors d'ouvres. When Yodaz motioned to the girl, and she stepped through the crowd, it became obvious what he intended, and the host strode up to deal with the situation.

"Now see here, you can't just--"

Yodaz silenced him with a look, then said: "Quiet, please. We will need to concentrate. That goes for all of you."

Libra sighed at his puppetry, and sighed again, in further exasperation, as the crowd naturally parted to allow the media personnel closer access to the table, without even seeming to know what prompted them to move out of the way. Yodaz was getting quite good at this mental subversion. She wondered how long it would be before he reached the level of actual mind control. Noticing that he had begun to shuffle his deck, she did so also.

"I won last time, so you go first," he said, quite matter-of-factly. She scoffed. He always won. That had never been a reason to let her go first before. He was probably just showing off for the cameras. Being famous certainly tended to suit his purposes.

Neither duelist wasted any time. Shields were deployed, cards were drawn, and minds were linked, all in one smooth transition. Yodaz allowed himself some awareness of what else was going on around him. Libra did not bother. She knew his Kaijudo was stronger, and she would need all of hers just to keep up with him. Today, she would break through that defence, and defeat that evil tactic he had. She began by charging water mana, and ending her turn.

Yodaz responded by charging Fire mana. He knew her well. Even if she had changed her deck, her style was unlikely to change. He would need the fire first. Libra charged more Water mana, and ended her second turn. Yodaz looked at the two cards in her mana zone. Revolver Fish and Faerie Child. She could not possibly have changed her deck that much, if she had left those two useless cards in it. This was going to be the same as it always was. Easy.

He charged Water mana and summoned his Emeral, activating its trap setting effect. He ended his turn with this, secure now in the belief that this was going to be just another duel. Libra charged Darkness mana, and summoned an Aqua Soldier. That did not surprise Yodaz either. Neither did the spike in her psychic energy when she played it. He knew that she identified strongly with this card, though it never caused the same type of effect as Corile did on him. It was doubly annoying because it was hard to get rid of, but certainly not very hard to stop.

Yodaz drew his card and charged Nature mana, and summoned a Hunter Fish to slow her down. Libra smirked slightly, and flicked the waitress' cap off her head now, allowing her short silver-blue hair to fall down around her face. She tossed her head slightly and let the hair settle into place before speaking calmly.

"I almost forgot that you've started using more blockers since last set."

It was a taunt on him. She had told him, before the cards were released, that the Speed Attacker creatures like his Twin-Cannon Skyterror, would force him to need some. He could not remember whether or not he had argued against that at the time, but the smug look on her face indicated that she had at least had to take some time to convince him, and he had most likely been opposed to the idea.

"Just play," he half-growled, his Kaijudo swamping her as he allowed his irritation at her useless challenge to become apparent.

She drew her card and charged more Water Mana.

"I see you're impatient to see what it is about my deck that actually changed. Sorry to have kept you waiting. You remember my Bone Spiders, right? Well, they are gone now. Here is something you might be interested in. Vile Mulder, Wing of the Void!"

The lightning flash and thunderclap that accompanied her summon did not faze Yodaz at all. He could see how the card might be dangerous under her control, but certainly not dangerous enough that he would consider it a 'change to her deck'. She ended her turn, grinned, and accidentally let her influence extend a little too far into the room. One woman fainted, but that was probably more a result of having too much to drink, than of Libra's fluttering Kaijudo.

Yodaz motioned to one of the real waitresses nearby, who brought him a tray, and stood beside him. He picked up a finger sandwich off it and bit half of it off, before turning his attention back to the duel. The cameras panned across his calm face. Libra did not sense him affecting either the waitress or the cameramen directly. Apparently the champ simply was that charismatic. She sighed, gesturing that she had ended her turn. Yodaz drew his card, and charged Nature mana, the last needed of the four, for him. He made no other action, so the turn count returned to her.

Libra drew her card, and Yodaz felt her energy rise exponentially. He knew what she had drawn. The duel itself seemed to stop for a moment as the 'argument' in their minds unfolded. No one else could hear the near-violent telepathic exchange that occurred now. Together, they stood in the dark realm of the mind, Yodaz with his arms folded, and the purple shape floating next to him, Libra resting on her haunches with a small oddly shaped blue water creature beside her. The personification of her own Kaijudo.

"You again? Why don't you give up and leave us alone!?" The purple one was obviously quite irritated. Perhaps due to the pointlessness of battling the other, always winning, and yet never destroying.

"I like annoying you," came the almost laughter-like answer from the younger Cyber Lord, "If you don't want to battle us, no one forces you."

"It is simple principle. You should not exist in a deck, furthermore in such a prominent position in one. You are a useless being. No better than a Scissor Eye. In fact, worse! At least my Meteosaurs cannot scorch that into nothingness."

Shtra simply shrugged, an odd thing to do, since it also makes the younger Cyber Lord look like it is nodding, due to the 'hands' protruding from its head.

"I won't argue with you. I have already established what I think of your ambitions. I have brought Mulder with me today. To help you think a bit."

Corile's energy darkened, furious at the 'arrogance' of Shtra.

"You really think that pathetic flying disease will pose any threat to us? You are such a fool. You will be defeated as you are always defeated, and today, I will spare no effort in making you look like the ineffective fool you are. You are just like your stupid Aqua Soldiers. Not strong enough to do anything, but always refusing to die..."

"Perhaps. I suppose we should show you the power of those who you mock... Libra?" --the duelist turned to look her creature in the eyes now-- "Break their shields."

Libra smiled as the mental arena faded away, back to the first tier area, where the cards were still in play. She sent Shtra itself to the mana zone, and played a Critical Blade to destroy Yodaz's Hunter Fish, following that with an Aqua Soldier summon. Looking carefully at her options, and noting the danger that Yodaz's traps usually posed, she had to make a guess. Was it a Natural Snare? Or a Terror Pit? Her mind quickly calculated. It would have to be Darkness.

"Vile Mulder, ikei. Double break."

Yodaz could do nothing, and neither of those shields offered any trigger to stop her. She was sure that Corile would make its appearance momentarily, to remove Mulder, so there was no point in giving Yodaz further resources.

"Aqua Soldier. Spring the trap. Ikei."

Yodaz flipped the card. "Shield Trigger. Terror Pit. Destroy Vile Mulder."

Libra was actually surprised at this. She had expected him to dispose of one Soldier, and use Emeral to deal with Mulder. That way, he could play some form of hand-destruction in the hopes of getting rid of the Soldier before he had to attack. Then it occurred to her.

"You don't have any Locomotiver... do you?"

Yodaz regarded her disdainfully. He hated her ability to do that. It was true that he would have to wait longer to do any such thing. The Soldiers would already be back on the field by that time. He would get her, though. The outcome of the event would be the same. He drew his card, and sent his Lost Soul to the mana zone. Libra suppressed a gurgle of laughter at this point. He glared at her, and summoned his Illusionary Merfolk. Each card that he drew, increased his power, forcing Libra to put up her mental defenses to deal with it.

"Emeral, attack Aqua Soldier. Ikei."

The Emeral was destroyed, whilst the Soldier returned to a puddle-state. Libra picked up the card, and then drew hers, simply resummoning the Soldier and nothing more. She attacked the fourth of his shields with the other Soldier. Yodaz scoffed again. Her 'low mana' tactic. It would get her killed today. If she was so averse to sending cards to her mana zone, he would do it for her. He drew his card, and charged Fire mana. Against Soldiers, he seldom needed it.

"I cast Natural Snare. To capture your untapped Soldier. Merfolk, ikei."

Libra trembled a bit, but she resolved that she should have been prepared for this. Yodaz often countered her moves perfectly, and the Merfolk made that an easy task today. Worst of all, Corile had not appeared yet. As if saving its wrath until the end. One of them was already in his mana zone, just as her Shtra was in hers. He ended his turn. She drew her card, and noted that two of his Searing Waves were already in his mana zone. Perhaps it would be safe to try this...

"I summon Writhing Bone Ghoul, and Aqua Soldier. And end my turn."

The storm outside was raging almost as strongly as that within the minds of the two duelists now, but no one seemed to notice. Their attention was fixated on the two, whether because of the duel that so few of them truly understood, or because of the immense psychic shock waves that emanated from them with each turn. They did not break their gaze upon that battle zone.

Yodaz moved as if to send his Bronze-Arm Tribe to mana, then reconsidered. There was nothing in Libra's deck that would absolutely require him to hold on to that Terror Pit. He charged the Darkness mana instead and cast Crimson Hammer to destroy the Bone Ghoul, then played Mana Nexus to send the Terror Pit to his shield zone. He ended his turn at this.

Libra breathed. She could feel it. She was close. All she would have to do now would be to render some of his previous efforts useless, and finish the duel. Terror Pit... and only a Merfolk to stop her now. He did not have enough creatures to rush at her before she could strike. Her energy shot up now as she realized that she could actually win! She drew her card, and smiled broadly. Even Yodaz was surprised at the enormous increase in her Kaijudo. For the first time in a long time, it surpassed his, even if just for a moment.

"I cast Snake Attack! Aqua Soldier, double break! Ikei!"

She moved her shield, a Revolver Fish, to the grave, and smiled at her choice. This was it. The Terror Pit would be wasted, or go unused, and she would still have the Soldier. She had got past his second trap! This was--

"Shield Trigger. Natural Snare."

Her body was instantly wracked with pain, and she coughed, bringing her hand to her mouth quickly to squelch the urge to retch. She dizzily tried to focus on the field again. This could not be happening. He could not have managed to escape her yet again!

Yet, he had. Yodaz smiled almost kindly at her, in that sickening way he had of pitying her when she came so 'close to winning'. She moved the Aqua Soldier card to the mana zone. Two Soldiers gone. There were not many ways to get past Yodaz's defenses without them. She had been denied 'Todomeda', and he still had the Terror Pit now.

"Are you done, Libra?"

"Y-yes..."

Yodaz drew his card, and played the Bronze-Arm Tribe he had been saving, charging more Fire mana by its effect, and ending his turn. She drew her card also, and sadly noted that... it did the 'wrong' thing. Dark Reversal. But her Soldiers were in her mana zone, not her grave. She would have needed a Flood Valve to keep fighting, not the Darkness card. Furthermore, she only had one Darkness mana. Even if she regained her Vile Mulder, she could not threaten him with it this turn. She had no choice, however.

"I cast Dark Reversal, to resurrect Vile Mulder, Wing of the Void..."

Yodaz's eyes glimmered darkly as she ended her turn. He merely cast the Lost Soul, and watched as her Kaijudo energy was dropped by more than half. She had, in her hand, Vile Mulder, and a Critical Blade to take care of any blocker that got into its way. Now they were gone, and with them, her chances of victory. He had countered her at every turn, and now, with the tiny bit of luck that he had needed, he was going to crush her in front of a room full of Duel Masters sponsors, and whoever else eventually saw the footage.

She drew her card. Spiral Gate. Most likely what she would have played with the Vile Mulder to protect herself from the Merfolk's early attack. She sent it to mana, and ended her turn sadly. Even with all the cards that could normally defeat her stuck in his mana zone, he had still managed to counter her moves. The 'knowledge' inherent in a Cyber Lord was impressive on both sides, but Yodaz simply had the intent...

He summoned his Twin-Cannon Skyterror now. This was the end. He did not attack. He knew her too well. To attack now could seal his defeat. He had not seen an Aqua Jolter for the whole duel. They had to be somewhere, and it was quite likely that one of them was waiting in that shield zone for him, to end his onslaught. She drew her card, and summoned the Revolver Fish. Her head swam now, and she shook it, trying to clear it. The thunderclap outside startled her back to attention, as Yodaz drew his card.

"Just like a Soldier. Too weak to do anything."

She looked up, startled, at the voice, as Yodaz summoned the creature. The first Corile. He did not attack this turn either. Still not safe to do so yet. She had also only come across one Spiral Gate, and he had not seen the other threat either.

Libra simply drew and resummoned the Revolver Fish. Yodaz destroyed it with a Terror Pit... and the onslaught began.

"Twin-Cannon Skyterror, ikei," --a Critical Blade was no help, but the Aqua Jolter could be. If only her last line of defense was in her shield zone, she could still survive. Just that one card would be enough-- "Bronze-Arm Tribe, ikei." --she smiled. Her Crystal Lancer. He was in the wrong place, though. Both of her last shields would have had to return one of Yodaz's creatures, for her to win. She was never as lucky as the champ was.

"Bronze-Arm Tribe, ikei," --the final shield. A Writhing Bone Ghoul. Nothing could protect her now.

"You are not worth my effort. Merfolk, you can finish this..."

"Illusionary Merfolk. Todomeda."

Libra trembled... her cards falling from her hand... the Critical Blade and Bone Ghoul landed face down. The Crystal Lancer landed on its edge, then fell neatly atop the Aqua Jolter, even if it was slightly askew. The crowd gasped. Libra slumped slightly, then pulled herself up and extended her hand, to shake that of Yodaz. The host came up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Well played, young lady, whoever you are. It was such a good idea Mr. Yodaz had, to provide us with such stimulating entertainment for the evening. Duel Masters has such a worthy champion."

Libra glared at Yodaz, wondering if he had implanted this thought into the host's mind, or if the man was simply that vapid. Yodaz finally finished putting his deck back in order, and only then did he take the offered hand. Looking down at her battle zone, he spotted the Crystal Lancer, and chuckled to himself.

"I am glad, that you don't have the sense to use Holy Awe, dear. That might have been dangerous."

She squeezed his hand strongly in her frustration, looking him directly in the eyes. It hurt so much to be so close and then lose. She must have lost control of her Kaijudo in that moment, or perhaps it was the fact that the host still had his hand on her shoulder, because the man suddenly seemed to become very sympathetic.

"Don't feel frustrated, miss. You were quite close. And he is the champion."

Yodaz laughed as one more lightning flash lit the room.

"Yes, Libra. There's no need to get frustrated. Just get a better deck..."

She glared at him now, trying to hold back her furious tears. Tossing his hand away, she picked up her own cards and stormed off toward the door.

"She's going out into that storm?" the event host wondered to himself.

"Leave her alone. Sometimes Water duelists need to 'drown their sorrows' a bit,' Yodaz quipped. The assembled crowd had their laugh at this, and Yodaz smiled a bit for the camera. She had given him just the opportunity to get out of this boring affair now. Now that the attention was focused on him directly, perhaps the place would liven up.