Episode 32. - Parasites Cause Paralysis

Yodaz stepped off the platform onto the train, unaware that he was being shadowed by a mysterious figure. The woman was only mysterious to him because she always avoided having any direct contact with him. Suzanne Marshall was following him today to see if she could learn anything from the champ, but to do so without giving herself away would be an extreme challenge. She would have to make sure that she could somehow watch his games, but he would never end up seeing hers. For this reason, she was unsure about the prospect of actually entering the tournament that Yodaz was currently headed to.

By closing her eyes and sitting a few seats away, she could pick up on the psychic emanations from the champion. He seemed troubled. Something beyond her senses, was bothering him...

"The troops are restless... I cannot inspire them any more. It is as if their will to fight is dwindling. I do not know why..."

Yodaz mentally nodded. He had noted the decline in 'luck' in his few recent duels. A few times, he had been on the borderline, nearly losing. Something was clearly awry. Corile seemed almost nervous as it floated there. This tournament was one he was actually entering. Since it was totally unaffiliated with KirriCorp, there was no reason for him to be given any special treatment. This was something that Suzanne was counting on, herself.

The evening air greeted them as they stepped off the train onto the crowded platform of the downtown station. People clamored around them, trying to get onto the train they disembarked, making it easy for Suzanne to get ahead of Yodaz. She knew he would go straight there. They were both already almost late. Even as she hurriedly made her way to the building, her mind was calculating how to avoid his scrutiny whilst still managing to watch him duel, herself.

Upon reaching the registration desk, she found her problem solved. The tournament began with a Swiss system, before moving into the elimination phase. Not only would she and Yodaz be placed into different groups, there was a good chance that if she got lucky, she could watch him duel a bit whilst waiting on one of her opponents to finish.

Her luck did not hold. Ten minutes later she found herself standing not far from Yodaz himself, dueling at the same time, hoping beyond hope that he would notice neither her Kaijudo, nor her exact replica of his current deck. She had even mimicked his most recent changes, and now would have to explain herself if he compared their decklists for any reason.

Worse still, somehow three of the five strong Kaijudo sources of the room were now practically next to each other, and though Suzanne did not count amongst them, she would most definitely need to practice using her own. That was the purpose of the tournament entry. To observe Yodaz's Kaijudo and mimic that also, if she could manage to do so. She breathed to compose herself as she deployed her shields, doing her best to synchronize her psychic emanations with the wavelength of the champion's.

Yodaz deployed his shields also, facing his opponent. The large, muscular frame of his opponent made him a bit intimidating when compared to Yodaz, but Yodaz, as usual, did not intimidate easily. Even the military buzz-cut dark brown hair and piercing green eyes did not in any way sway Yodaz's slightly irritated resolve. He hated having to go through the preliminary parts of tournaments because he could get at least slightly worn out by dealing with all the 'small fry'. Little did he know that Adgant Rannoch was no small fry.

Suzanne's opponent, Hikaru Kido, was similar to Yodaz in demeanour, but even more nonchalant. His hair almost reached his shoulders, and the blond wavy mass did not belie his true nature at all. This one radiated the Kaijudo of a bona-fide Darkness Civilization master, and behind those same nonchalant green eyes, there was a strange coldness that made Suzanne even more nervous than her current proximity to Yodaz.

Yodaz went first at his table, charging a Mana Nexus. Suzanne watched as Hikaru placed a Terror Pit into his own mana zone, blanketing her mind in shadows instantly. Yodaz's opponent responded by charging nature mana of his own, and Suzanne charged water mana of her own.

The Kaijudo was already beginning to swirl. Suzanne was beginning to understand the feeling with which Yodaz was playing, but she could not reach the level of confidence he displayed. She simply aligned herself as best she could, and decided to ride out the game. Yodaz charged fire mana now and ended his turn. Hikaru added another Terror Pit to his mana zone. Suzanne felt something in herself shift into activity now, calculating what was now 'safer' due to only needing to worry about two Terror Pit. Yodaz felt the shift, but did not understand that she was the source of it, and momentarily wondered if Corile was already coming to the fore.

Adgant further confused Yodaz with his next play. He charged his water mana now. A Corile of his own. This left the champ to wonder about the source of Corile-like energy in the room. Adgant ended his turn just as Suzanne charged her own mana. The same as Yodaz had. Searing Wave.

Already, she was beginning to get confused by the swirling energy. Yodaz charged darkness mana now and ended his turn. His opponent charged fire mana and summoned a Phantom Fish. The energy of the champion had not changed much yet. Hikaru charged darkness mana, of course, but took no action. Suzanne mimicked Yodaz, charging darkness mana, but summoned her Aqua Hulcus, assuming that the only reason that Yodaz had not done so, was his own lack of water mana. She drew her card and ended turn.

Yodaz did not look around. Her Kaijudo did not spike enough to bother him, and it was currently quite synchronized. At Yodaz's table, nothing much occurred on the next turn. Both Yodaz and Adgant simply charged mana. Yodaz adding water to his, and Rannoch adding darkness. Hikaru, of course, added darkness mana to his world also, and summoned his Gregorian Worm. Suzanne took her cue from Yodaz, adding a Meteosaur to her mana zone and taking no action.

Now, the true battle broke out. Yodaz drew his card and charged fire mana. He was finally ready to make a move. His eyes seemed to glimmer faintly, and he summoned the first Corile. The purple one rose out of the ocean of death, and noted the opposing fish swimming lazy circles in the water. With a wave of its delicate right appendage, the Phantom Fish vanished altogether. Yodaz's energy surged against that of Adgant Rannoch, but the buff duelist gave no quarter. His own Kaijudo only barely flinched at the action. Yodaz had not truly set him back yet.

Hikaru's action was odd also. With no threat posed from Suzanne's side, he drew his card and charged more darkness mana. Suzanne felt her mind practically sing with relief when she heard her opponent declare the words: "Gregorian Worm. Ikei."

There was no trigger. In fact, all he had really done was provide her with a Rumbling Terahorn to place into her mana zone on her own turn. Adgant's turn consisted of placing the Phantom Fish into his mana zone and actually summoning his own Rumbling Terahorn. The rumbling sound caught the attention of his Cryptic Totem. Yodaz was beginning to notice similarities, but not between his deck and Suzanne's. He was concentrating on what he had in common with Rannoch.
Her mana for the turn having been already charged, Suzanne now took a deep breath and again attempted to synchronize her energy with that of he whom she was copying.
"Corile, on your Gregorian Worm."

As her fortune would have it, Yodaz was already too engrossed in his opponent's possible strategies to notice the spike of Kaijudo from her. Hikaru was taken slightly by surprise, as was Suzanne herself. The energy was more potent in her than in Yodaz itself. Somehow far darker and more sinister, much more like Yodaz had been before Shu, the grand tournament, or any of his time with Libra. The ruthless coldness that he once wielded, now came off of her in waves. Suzanne found herself smiling. She liked the feeling of such power. She ended her turn.

By this time Yodaz had already charged nature mana and played his new Scheming Hands card. Suzanne had long since put her own to mana. She had received news that he had added the card to the deck, but she had no reference material about how to use it. Now, he showed. Corile seemed to see right into Adgant's mind, and from his opponent's mind, Yodaz's army of hands dragged out the Cryptic Totem and dispersed it, causing Adgant to have to discard the card. Yodaz ended his turn, but at this point, the Kaijudo emanating from Suzanne was actually beginning to affect him.

Hikaru drew his card, but charged no mana. He had a fairly clear idea of what might happen next, and his head was already beginning to pound. Removing the pressure on himself was vital, and he could already sense that she probably would not attack him. Suzanne's skill did not yet extend to the masking of her intentions.
"Death Smoke, upon your Corile."

Suzanne gasped and staggered as the proverbial rug was pulled out from under her. The supportive energy of the Cyber Lord seemed to only be active when it was in the battle zone. This, she did not understand. If the card's effect was based on summoning, why would she feel so suddenly tired when the smoke engulfed the purple one and robbed it of its existence? Whilst she tried to regroup, Rannoch made his move on Yodaz, doubling the effect between the two wielders of the Ocean of Death.
"Crimson Hammer, on your Corile."

Yodaz took this more in stride, but the presence of his Corile had indirectly softened the blow of losing her own, for Suzanne. Now, both Corile had reached the graveyard, and already her body was beginning to feel as if it had doubled in weight. With blurred eyes, she drew her card, charged one of her Illusionary Merfolk to mana, and cast a Dark Reversal. The Cyber Lord was reconstructed even from death, and returned to her, allowing her to breathe more easily again...

Yodaz was not so 'fortunate'. He merely drew his card and ended his turn. His Kaijudo offered no support to his semi-symbiotic 'disciple', but she needed none, in the face of Hikaru's next move. He merely charged mana and ended his turn. Suzanne drew her card, but nearly dropped it when Adgant's mana charge was followed by the cry of:
"I summon Twin-Cannon Skyterror to double break your shields! Ikei!"

The dual cannon blasts shook Yodaz strongly, as his opponent's psychic force pushed him powerfully back now. Neither card triggered. In fact, neither was particularly useful to Yodaz in any way, as yet. Adgant ended his turn, giving Suzanne enough time to compose herself and end her own, after merely charging nature mana. Mana Nexus.

For a moment, she looked furtively over at Yodaz, wondering what he would do, feeling a bit desperate for him, though he showed no signs of being desperate himself. He charged his water mana at the same time as Hikaru charged more darkness. However, whilst Hikaru ended his turn at that, Yodaz declared his own assault.
"Twin-Cannon Skyterror against Twin-Cannon Skyterror! Ikei!"

Suzanne was now able to witness one of the most brutal battles she had ever seen visualized. The armored wyverns circled each other in the sky, each blast booming out over the mindscape, some striking, some missing, until finally, they were too damaged and exhausted to fire at each other any more, and so, they began to wrestle, finally falling from the sky, each clawing at the others wings and neck. Yodaz ended his turn, not displaying much emotion. Suzanne finally caught herself, and drew her card. She bit her lip in confusion, then looked over at Yodaz again for a moment. If only she could ask him what she should do when this happened. Her opponent was not moving... he was patiently waiting it out into the later part of the game. She placed a Crimson Hammer into her mana zone and ended her turn.
"Patience... our later game is the strongest there is..." came her answer. She was not sure whether that answer came from her 'mentor' or from within, but she was thankful nonetheless.

Adgant Rannoch was not bothered either. He drew his card and charged mana. Searing Wave. Yodaz growled under his breath. It was surely going to be strongly similar to his own. He often wondered why of all the decks he had seen that were even slightly like his own, he was the only one that seemed willing to use the Meteosaurs. Adgant cast a Crystal Memory, and ended his turn, leaving Yodaz a bit perplexed. He felt a twinge of recognition at that move, but could not place it at that exact moment.

He drew his card, sent his Meteosaur to his mana zone, and summoned a Rumbling Terahorn, to call forth his Emeral. It was in that moment that he remembered what he would have used that Crystal Memory for, at that exact moment in the duel. As the realization dawned on him, all he could think to himself was the simple... "Oh, no..."

Suzanne felt his trepidation, in fact, it felt like abject depression. She tried to keep her focus as her opponent summoned not one, but two worms. A Gregorian and a Horrid. She drew her card and quickly played her Corile to remove the Horrid Worm, and in a desperate attempt to somehow bolster both her and Yodaz's faltering Kaijudo. Her inexperience showed, however. She was in no way prepared for what Yodaz had foreseen. Rannoch drew his card. "Lost Soul."

Yodaz did his best to stand up to the sudden extreme drain on his energy, but Suzanne was almost totally devastated, and found herself a bit frightened, by the extreme effect that the spell had on Yodaz's Kaijudo. Hers now easily eclipsed his, as he discarded his Natural Snare, Illusionary Merfolk, Meteosaur, and the Emeral he had just obtained. Rannoch ended his turn. Yodaz could do nothing now but draw a new card, and end his own.

"Your attempts to remain alive are futile, Cyber Lord. You do not know the true meaning of life or death yet..."

The derisive voice from within Hikaru sent a chill through her. She did not recognize any creature from whom it could have come. She chalked that up to inexperience, as he played the Terror Pit on her Corile, swallowing it up. The repeated fall of the Corile caused both Suzanne and Yodaz to gasp for breath momentarily. By now, Yodaz was becoming aware of the link, but in his current state, his mind was too fuzzy due to Adgant's pressure, to make sense of what was going on.

Adgant drew his card, summoned a Bronze-Arm Tribe, and proceeded to bring a Cryptic Totem to himself through the power of his Dimension Gate. He ended his turn, content to leave Yodaz in his current state of relative helplessness.

Suzanne took a deep breath and pushed her Kaijudo as high as she could. She could no longer afford to risk losing and being mentally scarred, simply to hide herself from Yodaz. She charged her mana, and bolstered her Kaijudo with the biggest boost she could manage.
"Corile, upon your Gregorian Worm, and an Illusionary Merfolk with it!"

The Cyber Lord waved away the Worm effortlessly, and the huge surge of energy that accompanied the Merfolk, and the subsequent three cards she drew, put Hikaru back on the defensive. Unfortunately for Yodaz, cards drawn by Suzanne were no help to him. He drew his card, and ended his turn...

Hikaru returned his two Worms to his mindspace now, and Rannoch summoned his Cryptic Totem. Suzanne felt her Kaijudo shimmering now. She was more confident now than ever before.

"Irritating worms..." she said aloud, the cold edge in her voice almost causing Yodaz to look up, at how familiar it sounded. She pounded her Kaijudo relentlessly against Hikaru's now...
"Corile on your Gregorian Worm, and a Meteosaur for the Horrid one."

The Rock Beast torched the unfortunate worm, leaving Hikaru yet again trapped, under Suzanne's heel, as it were. Yodaz was slightly boosted by the feeling of the nearby power, so much like the memories he had of his own. He drew his card, and mustered his energy to visualize the effect of the Terror Pit he now cast on the Cryptic Totem, ridding himself of yet another and retaliating slightly against Rannoch's onslaught.

Adgant had been silent this whole time, but now, he finally spoke.
"You seem a little under the weather for someone who is heralded as a champion. Surely this puny display is not your usual? Terror Pit on your Terahorn. Summon... Bloody Squito. End turn."

Yodaz gritted his teeth but did not dignify Adgant's words with a response. Meanwhile, Hikaru had already resummoned his Gregorian Worm and ended his turn. Suzanne smirked again. One worm was no threat. She drew her card, her smirk practically taunting Hikaru.
"I summon Cryptic Totem and Illusionary Merfolk. End turn."

Her words were simple, but the power racing through her very being, was anything but simple. With another augmentation from the addition of three more cards to her hand, Suzanne was now a psionic battery with no apparent limiter. Now, however, her energy had inverted, and its strange selfishness was no longer any help to Yodaz. In fact, he was not sure, but something felt, to the champion, as if some of his power was actually being drained away. He drew his card and merely charged mana, ending his turn.

Hikaru drew his card now, and showed Suzanne precisely why even one worm could be a threat.
"Gregorian Worm, evolve into Chaos Worm! Devour the Cryptic Totem!"

The worm was fast, and the efficiency of its attack devastating. Parasite worms are famous for their insatiable appetites, and Hikaru's visualization was nothing short of horrifying. Suzanne merely flared her Kaijudo angrily against the intrusion of Hikaru's. She would deal with him in a moment. It was over. She had already calculated the outcome. Remaining Terror Pit cards... one.

Adgant drew his card, but apparently found no use for it. Instead, his Bronze-Arm Tribe leapt onto the back of his Rumbling Terahorn. Yodaz knew what was coming.
"Terahorn, break shield! Ikei!" --the Horned Beast crashed into the defense barrier, and found itself suddenly surrounded by magical glyphs that appeared on black stones that had shot out of the ground, in a circle around it-- "Bronze-Arm Tribe, ikei!" --unfazed by the Mana Nexus that had been activated by the Terahorn, the Bronze-Arm did not even aim for the new defense point, simply attacking the one it had been aiming for to begin with. This second shield did not trigger. The first Mana Nexus generated a shield out of a second Mana Nexus for Yodaz, and Adgant Rannoch smiled, ending his turn.

Suzanne drew her card and smiled at her deck.
"So, is that it, then? That's what I have been lacking the understanding of all along? Death is more important than life. It is better to learn to kill, than to learn to survive. Death can achieve victory in the end, but the only thing that life can ultimately achieve, is death..."

Oddly enough, Hikaru Kido nodded at this. Yodaz, however, looked over at Suzanne in shock as he drew his card, charging fire mana. Something about her words haunted him... deep in his mind he could remember Libra saying something about the aim of her deck. Never dying, even in the face of everything he could do. The Ocean of Life to his Ocean of Death. Dozens of opponents like Libra flashed through his mind. All charging blindly to their deaths against him, but... they were all, admittedly, hard to kill. That was what made them different from those that would just rush. They would assault, and try not to die.
"Emeral, activating effect, and Aqua Hulcus... end turn..."

Suzanne charged herself some fire mana... one last time...
"I summon Rumbling Terahorn..." --she picked up her deck and began to lazily sift through it.

Adgant drew his card, charged fire mana also, and used a Crystal Memory to teleport to himself, his Pyrofighter Magnus. A moment later the creature had slashed into Yodaz's defenses and triggered the second Mana Nexus, which generated a third. The Terahorn charged again, at the third Nexus. This one granted Yodaz a Terror Pit. Adgant ended his turn just as Suzanne found the card she had been looking for. Her mindspace was filled now with Corile's army, and the vanguard was about to appear.

"Twin-Cannon Skyterror, double break his shields! Ikei!" In her mind, however, the whole army simply charged almost all at once, knowing there was practically no trigger to stop them. They were right. Soon, Hikaru Kido's defenses had been reduced to nothing, as she declared attack after attack, disregarding the triggered Locomotiver and Dark Reversal, caring nothing about their effects, though both she and Hikaru went through the motions of completing them.

Yodaz felt weakened. Suzanne's effect was almost paralytic to him, but he did not know it was her causing it. He placed the Lost Soul into his mana zone, and cast a Crimson Hammer on Adgant's Bronze-Arm, ending his turn.

"Corile! Todomeda!" Suzanne declared, her power surging for its final assault, swamping the mind and nearly all the senses, of young Hikaru Kido. She licked her lips. Power was delicious.

As her influence died away, Yodaz's mind began to clear. Rannoch's Pyrofighter returned, after Yodaz's Aqua Hulcus was Snared by his opponent, and Magnus burst into the Terror Pit at full speed, screeching out of the way in time to have the Terahorn take the fall instead.

Yodaz drew his card and placed a Terahorn into his mana zone, summoning another, to bring a Phantom Fish into being. His turn ended.

Adgant performed a strange play now. He played a Dimension Gate, to retrieve a Corile. Nothing more. Yodaz's face paled. His enemy's Corile would seal his fate if he did nothing. He would hope for the next card. He drew his card and ended his turn, quickly calculating his limited possibilities. A moment later... Adgant Rannoch took those possibilities away. Yodaz could almost see himself as the person declaring the casting of the spell, as the energy began to coalesce around his creatures. Apocalypse Vise. However, Adgant was not done yet.
"Pyrofighter Magnus, ikei!"

The Dragonoid did not escape the triggered Terror Pit this time, leaving Yodaz to wonder about the choice. Suzanne had already walked off. She was no longer interested in Yodaz's duel. He was losing, and therefore, in her slowly warping mind, useless.

Yodaz drew his card, and ended his turn. Adgant did the same, his energy slowly crushing the champion. Yodaz drew and did nothing, yet again. Adgant scoffed, and decided to end the duel through brute force of mana power. Yodaz did not even see the cards as they were played. Only the visualization. The lights that made up the Energy Stream that produced the teleporter... the shimmering function calls of the Crystal Memory... the opening of that crystal pod and a red streak so fast that he only saw it as it retreated from making that final attack. It all took but a moment. The Pyrofighter was standing casually next to Adgant already. Rannoch smiled, his Kaijudo suddenly becoming a roaring, almost violent surge. His voice was ever so slightly mocking...

"Hmph. Todomeda..."

Yodaz felt his mind buckle. The morale of Corile's army was gone... almost as if it had all been drained away...