Episode 35. - Through a Glass, But Darkly

Gene Kirricort huddled behind his father's desk, whimpering like a puppy. Completely at the mercy of Suzanne Marshall's now freakishly potent Kaijudo. It was approaching evening. He had been there with her since morning. Suzanne's impatience was beginning to definitely show, by now. The pressure on his mind had been only intermittent during the first half of his day, but now it was increasing by the minute as she waited for those whom Gene had summoned.

Therefore, he breathed an instant sigh of relief when the trio came through the office door. That sigh of relief was drowned out by Suzanne Marshall's snarl of rage, as she instantly lunged at Yodaz, her fingers clawed, aiming to grab him by the throat. The trio each reacted differently, but the effect was simultaneous, and painful for Suzanne. Yodaz flicked away the grasping hands, Libra's knee met Suzanne's midriff, and the third person, a woman whom neither Gene nor Suzanne was familiar with, grabbed her and locked her hands behind her back.

"Why do you want to change the card?!" Suzanne growled, struggling to be free of the steel grasp. After a few moments, she was released, having lost some of her initial aggression. She still fumed at Yodaz.

"And who are these two, anyways? I wanted you to come here and explain to me why you want to weaken our card. What are these two doing here?"

Yodaz's eye seemed to glow, hidden behind the falling strands of hair, as always. He was calmer than her by far. The flight had slightly fatigued him, but mostly there was only tranquility in his manner. He nodded to Libra and Black Fire, who incidentally still had not identified herself as anything else as yet, and the two moved to the plush black chairs, to sit. Only then did he pay attention to the cowering Gene Kirricort, and mentally shielded him somewhat, from Suzanne's raging psychic force. He now eyed her angrily.

"You have made a big mistake, dragging me all the way here to discuss something as simple as Corile..."

"You are a fool for deeming the best card in this game as 'simple', and even moreso one for wanting to weaken it. What could possibly possess you to feel or even wish such a thing? Don't you understand what you would be destroying if what you asked became reality?"

Yodaz drew his deck from his jacket. "I only see what I would be creating."

Suzanne almost instinctively reached for her deck also. It had been sitting on the desk near Gene. She had been using it to occupy her time whilst waiting for Yodaz to arrive. Now, she felt slightly threatened by him, and also felt herself warily eyeing the two that had come with him. He crossed the room to the side of the desk, and deployed shields. Suzanne responded by doing the same. Gene looked up at both of them with a confused look on his face.

"Wh-what are you two doing?" he asked, now sliding his chair backwards, away from the desk.

"Dueling, you fool, isn't it obvious?" Suzanne snapped at him, as she charged her first mana. Water. Yodaz drew his sixth card and placed his Twin-Cannon Skyterror into his mana zone, ending his own turn.

Then, all was void. Even Gene was now in the zone with them. Suzanne's impatience had been causing her brainwaves to strengthen in their intensity for the whole day, and now this had culminated in a complete singularity of focus. She charged fire mana and summoned Emeral.
"We are fighting. For Corile's supreme right to remain the most powerful of all creatures."

Yodaz drew his own card and shook his head at her. He charged nature mana now, and spoke, to reassure Gene somewhat.
"I fight for Corile's right to be challenged. To be equal to other creatures and therefore to feel the intensity of battling them. I fight to release it from its prison of being the 'best' card there is."

"Why would anyone wish to give up absolute power?!" she demanded to know, her mind lashing out at Yodaz for what she deemed a foolish dream. She charged darkness mana and played an Aqua Hulcus now, drawing another card and ending her turn.

"You know what they say... absolute power corrupts absolutely. If Corile indeed seeks perfection, then having absolute power is actually a flaw," Yodaz stated in response, charging a Thrash Crawler to his mana zone and summoning an Emeral. Suzanne had not even noticed the odd card he had put to mana. She went straight into her own next turn, drawing her new card.

"Mana Nexus to mana. I cast Phantom Dragon's Flame, on your Emeral! You're all fools to think that power is something that should ever be given up. Ever! I will show you your weakness now!"

On the fringes of the mental battle zone, Shtra stood, looking diminutive and non-threatening next to the hulking form of Trox, General of Destruction.

"She's going to attack him, isn't she..." Trox noted. Shtra simply nodded in its odd way, prompting Trox to add, "Hmph. That isn't very smart..."

"Emeral, ikei!" The shield shattered, but the coalescing dark energy quickly made it clear what was going to happen. Yodaz knew what he had to do tactically, though he did not like it.

"Shield Trigger, Terror Pit, on Emeral."
There was an odd squeak as the enemy Cyber Lord went the same way as his own had. Libra winced. Watching them die was not something she handled well.

Suzanne smiled, knowing exactly what Yodaz had done and why. Now she would press her advantage with another assault from her Aqua Hulcus. No sooner had the shield broken, however, than her Hulcus was ensnared in vines and dragged into the depths from whence it had come.
"What? But... hmmm... no matter. You have added mana to me, which will, in turn, destroy you."

Yodaz drew his card, and sent another Thrash Crawler to his mana zone. This time, Suzanne paid attention, seemingly wondering what the strange card he had used was. She did not actually know many of the cards in Duel Masters very well, despite her current level of dueling ability. She also did not have time to pay attention to it, as Yodaz summoned another Emeral, activating its effect as he had with the last, and ending his turn.

"You will not manage your little 'boost' this time, 'champion' Yodaz," she mocked, charging water mana, "Get that little brat away from me. Corile!"

Libra winced at the effect the summon had on Yodaz. It truly was a critical point of the game, for such a thing to happen. Yodaz, however, simply took it in stride, turning to Gene Kirricort instead.
"You see? I have lost everything for that turn, save the effect of Emeral itself. How can a card so easily cause you to lose everything, regardless of what it is, and your opponent lose nothing?"

He drew his card and placed the Emeral to mana.
"See, Gene, what we're going to do now is play a little game of 'Cyber Lord Annihilation' to keep each other from activating our Merfolk. Meteosaur, on your Corile."

The Rock Beast made its appearance now in a scorching display, one that did indeed obliterate the Corile, but Yodaz knew he was still behind, for the time being. He ended his turn.

"Let me see what you think of this, then, champion. Here is a play that might surprise you. I summon Illusionary Merfolk. End turn."

"What is she doing...?" Libra wondered now.

"It is a trap," Black Fire said simply, "She is trying to cause him to err by psychological means. He has great psychic skill, but I think both you and he are a little too young to see what she is doing. Tell me... are you good at chess?"

Yodaz drew his card and charged fire mana. His choice was simple, though he did not exactly like it. She was trying to force him to use his own Corile, but for now, it was the 'best' choice. He summoned the Cyber Lord, and let it wave away the enemy Merfolk. Suzanne did not yet betray any emotion or plan. She simply drew her card and resummoned the Merfolk.

"She wants us to bring forth our own..." the voice in Yodaz's head pointed out to him. He nodded. He could see what she was doing, but he was not sure he would be better off either way. He drew his card. It was not much help to him, so he ended his turn. If luck was with him, he would be wrong about Suzanne's strategy, but deep within himself, he knew her plan.

"Brain Serum to mana. Cast Lost Soul..." she declared, a naughty smirk crossing her face as she sent his Apocalypse Vise and Crimson Hammer to the grave. Noting the two cards he had 'lost', her smirk faded a little. Not much of a loss. However, she had the advantage in both shields and cards now. She ended her turn.

Yodaz drew his card. A Crystal Memory, not exactly what he needed, but he could probably fool Suzanne if he used it. He cast the spell, causing the darkness that her Lost Soul had imposed upon him, to recede somewhat. She would not know the card he retrieved from his deck. Now, he could wait her out, unless she was willing to go directly for another Lost Soul.

"Cute, but predictable," she noted, drawing her card, "I won't let you summon that Merfolk. Crimson Hammer, on your Corile. End turn."

Yodaz smiled as he drew his card. "And who said it was a Merfolk? Corile, on your Merfolk now. End turn."

Suzanne winced, weakened for the second time, and drew the card, ending her own turn now, willing to wait for an Emeral to help her get ahead, if need be. Yodaz drew his card and charged darkness mana for the first time. Suzanne's psychic energy braced itself for the Lost Soul, but it never came.
"lllusionary Merfolk--" he paused now to draw his three cards, "--and from amongst them I summon a Hunter Fish. End turn."

Suzanne's evil smirk returned. "You're leaving yourself open to everything I can do. Have you gone soft in your crusade to become a weakling? Then again, that would be rhetorical. I cast Dark Reversal to revive my Corile, and summon it to remove your Hunter Fish."

Yodaz winced at the drain on his Kaijudo, but as she ended her turn, he drew the fish again, playing an Emeral instead, and a Searing Wave along with it. Yodaz remained calm, making another commentary to Gene as the fiery wash rid him of Suzanne's Corile.

"This card is also wrong because of its capacity to destroy so much for so little."

"You think it needs to be changed, yet you use it to stop me?" Suzanne mocked.

"If you were even paying attention to the suggested change, you would realize that using it just now would have been less detrimental to me than ever. There would be no cost for destruction of your single Cyber Lord. As it is... I place this shield into the grave. Now, Merfolk, break shield."
He indicated the very first one she had set with her Emeral. She smirked at him, since it seemed to be such a silly thing to do, and activated the Shield Trigger. Crystal Memory. She retrieved her card, intent to set him back even more.

"Apocalypse Vise!" she declared triumphantly. The hiss of the steaming energy that now closed in on Yodaz's three water creatures. The Meteosaur was spared. The two Cyber Lords and their Gel Fish soldier were easily evaporated. She ended her turn, the pulse of her own psychic energy still throbbing against the walls of the room in a decidedly sinister way.

Yodaz drew his own card and sent it to mana. A Searing Wave. His turn ended there. He had kept her from succeeding at her own Merfolk summon, but it had cost him quite a lot of energy to do so, and he could not risk summoning the Hunter Fish now either, in case of another Corile, it would instantly give her the advantage.
"Corile, as is, even has the power to make summoning dangerous..."

Suzanne drew her card, totally confident in her ability to decimate him now. "I summon Twin-Cannon Skyterror to break your final shields! Ikei!"

The shields shattered, neither triggering. Apparently Yodaz's quota of Shield Triggers had been met earlier in the duel. Suzanne ended her turn, sure that victory was now hers. Yodaz drew his card, charged fire mana, played a Natural Snare, an Aqua Hulcus, and calmly ended his own turn.

"Your efforts amuse me, champion, but since it seems you have already renounced the true power of Corile, you apparently have also lost your ability. I summon Illusionary Merfolk, and Bloody Squito. End turn."

"She's backed him into a corner..." Black Fire noted, mentally analyzing every move Suzanne made, "She thinks she has control, but she has not prepared for the unexpected."

Yodaz drew his card, and sighed as he summoned his own Corile, to remove the Merfolk. He played an Aqua Hulcus alongside it, drawing his card. He ended his turn. Suzanne drew her own, and smiled.
"It is a good thing your little ideas will never come to pass. I do think that using this card would become almost a bad thing, if it were done your way. Searing Wave."

The rush of superheat swept over Yodaz's forces, decimating them. Both Hulcus, his Corile, and his Meteosaur. Suzanne almost nonchalantly placed her rightmost shield into her graveyard. She did not even bother to look at it. "End turn."

Yodaz was now forced to reveal his exhaustion with the duel. Normally other decks like his own did not cause this in him, but that was because normally, he was simply outright better. For some reason, Suzanne seemed to be able to counter him every time, most likely because he was practically the only thing she had studied since her first attempts at learning to play Duel Masters itself. He was breathing a bit more heavily now as he drew his next card.

"Dark Reversal, return, Corile. Now, remove that Bloody Squito..."

"With pleasure. Begone, gnat!"

Even now, Suzanne could not feel any deep wish from Yodaz to change his mind and have his Corile retain all of its 'power'. He simply accepted that he currently had it, and that it would need to be put to use if she was to be stopped. He ended his turn, his Corile floating before her again. She had none of her own, and now could only draw the Squito, resummoning both it and Merfolk.

"It is only a matter of time, Yodaz. You cannot stop me forever, and you are starved for resources as we speak. Let us see how long you can hold out..."

Yodaz scoffed, drawing his card and charging nature mana.
"Rumbling Terahorn, bring Corile with you. Corile, remove her Merfolk."

The Cyber Lord seemed to be attached to the back of the Horned Beast, and with the customary single wave of a purple limb, Suzanne's attacking force was gone again, locking her deck. She growled. Momentarily, she mentally admitted that it was annoying, but it was a power she was willing to face, in order to have it for herself. She drew her Merfolk and played it, using it to force Yodaz to play a removing spell. He could not block nor easily kill the Merfolk in battle. Unlike herself, he did not use Bloody Squito.

"I summon, Thrash Crawler..."

"Hmf, I was wondering what that thing was..." she snickered, "So what does this 'Crawler' do?"

"A blocker that allows me to retrieve one card from my mana zone. I will use it to get another Thrash Crawler, and summon that... and then get my Apocalypse Vise. End turn."

Suzanne simply stood in shock, staring down the two powerful blockers that now flanked her otherwise defenseless opponent. Never had she seen such a card before. Never had she seen such a tactic before, and from someone she was so sure she understood...

"I have been altering my deck since I have spoken to Gene. In preparation for the changes to Corile, certain adjustments needed to be made. Who would have thought they would be so useful even in a duel with an 'original' Corile... It is your move..."

Suzanne's fingers trembled with rage as she drew her card. She felt mocked. Now, she would wipe that sly smirk off his face.
"Another Apocalypse Vise for you then. Destroy everything that could attack me!"

Both Corile and the Terahorn were crushed under the power of her spell. Yodaz retaliated similarly, his own Vise crushing her Squito and Merfolk. Now, however, Suzanne still had the matter of the two blockers to deal with. She drew her card, unsure of what to do, and ended her turn, feeling the slow fortification of Yodaz's Kaijudo against the intrusive nature of her own.

He merely drew his card and charged nature mana. She summoned an Emeral, but no more. They had played each other to a stalemate.

"Meteosaur, on your Emeral," Yodaz declared, for his turn. She grumbled slightly now, forgetting that he still had those, even though she had taken them out of her own deck. She placed the Emeral into the grave, drew her card, and sighed. She placed the Searing Wave in mana.

Yodaz drew his card, but took no action. In the background, Black Fire yawned. She had already figured out how to beat Suzanne, just in case Yodaz could not manage. It would be a matter of minimal luck, and a lot of mind games.

"Finally!" Suzanne exclaimed as she drew her card, "Twin-Cannon Skyterror, ikei!"

The Thrash Crawler's body intercepted the attack. It's gaping mouth opened to swallow both cannon blasts, then it shut its maw tightly, and the explosions destroyed it from the inside, its battered body sinking back into the ocean. Suzanne smirked. One down, one to go.

"What an interesting waste of a Skyterror..." he noted, placing his Meteosaur into his mana zone, "Aqua Hulcus... to draw a card... and Terror Pit. End turn."

Suzanne drew her card, and played a Brain Serum, one of her other 'improvements' to Yodaz's deck. Drawing two cards, she found herself with another Corile, which she wasted no time in summoning, swirling away his remaining Thrash Crawler.

Yodaz drew the card and smiled, placing his Merfolk into his mana zone.
"There are other ways to be 'immune' to Corile's current effect. I summon Thrash Crawler, retrieve Thrash Crawler, and summon that one also, retrieving Crimson Hammer, to destroy your Aqua Hulcus. Now, my own Hulcus, ikei!"

"Shield Trigger! Terror Pit. Destroy your Thrash Crawler!"

The darkness swallowed up Yodaz's second blocker, leaving him with only one on his defensive line now. He ended his turn. Suzanne drew her card.
"Aqua Hulcus and Searing Wave."

Yet again, her super heat wave removed Yodaz's attacking forces, leaving him with only the Crawler in her way. He drew his card and cast Natural Snare on her Hulcus. She drew her card and cast Natural Snare on his Crawler.

"You're wearing down, Yodaz..." she smirked.

"Maybe... Crystal Memory to retrieve and cast Mana Nexus. End turn." He looked calm, but by now her Kaijudo was beginning to cause disoriented feelings in him. She summoned an Aqua Hulcus and ended her turn. He responded by casting Lost Soul, draining her energy away, in the form of Crimson Hammer and Natural Snare. She smiled. If he used it now...

"I summon Rumbling Terahorn, to retrieve my Rumbling Terahorn. Hulcus, ikei!" --the Nexus triggered, the dark stones generating a Terror Pit defense shield. She ended her turn, and he drew his card.

"I summon... Aqua Hulcus... and play Mana Nexus... to place... Crystal Memory as my shield..."

She laughed at him as she drew her card, summoning her Corile and Terahorn, removing his Hulcus, retrieving a Merfolk... her energy rising, preparing for the end.

"Summon... Hulcus, draw... cast Crimson Hammer on your Corile."

Suzanne's face had a smug, satisfied expression now as she cast the Natural Snare on his Hulcus, and sent her Hulcus in to trigger his Terror Pit, causing her Terahorn to be engulfed in darkness. She ended her turn.
"How are you holding up, hmm? You look a little pale. Oh, that's right, you want less power, so now you have it. Of course..."

Yodaz drew his card, and said nothing more to her. He simply summoned the Thrash Crawler, retrieved the one that she had Snared, and summoned that also, regenerating his defenses and retrieving his own Twin-Cannon Skyterror from his mana zone. He ended his turn. She drew her own card, and did nothing, causing Yodaz to spend his own turn summoning his Skyterror but no more.

"You chose not to attack me. How interesting," she smiled, charging fire mana, "I cast Brain Serum, and summon Emeral, activating its effect--" Yodaz's head began to spin, "--along with an Illusionary Merfolk, to draw my cards. End turn."

"Hmm... it is all about that Merfolk summon, isn't it..." Black Fire noted to herself.

Libra looked sad, "It's no use. She's too freakishly strong... he can't hold out anymore. His concentration is shot..."

Yodaz played his Natural Snare on her Emeral, and ordered his Twin-Cannon Skyterror to attack her shield. It triggered, but the Terror Pit swallowed up the Thrash Crawler, not the Skyterror. At that point, they all knew it was over.

"Your weakness, and your choice to be weak, is disgusting. Power is something one should wield, not attempt to disperse. Illusionary Merfolk to mana, summon Phantom Fish and cast Natural Snare on your Skyterror. Now cast Crystal Memory. Just to seal your fate beyond all shadow of doubt. Not that I have not already done so. Aqua Hulcus, break the final shield! Ikei! Illusionary Merfolk! Todomeda!"

The final attack brought the strongest Kaijudo reaction Gene Kirricort had ever seen. Yodaz wobbled for a moment, then actually fell...