Episode 45. - Kaijudo Is Serious Business!!

"Sales are already up six percent across the country," Suzanne noted as the limousine crawled through the downtown traffic, "Most specifically, there has been an unprecedented jump in sales of boxes of the older sets within the last two or three weeks, since the announcement that the errata would be enforced for the North American Championship. We don't have the actual numbers yet, so it can't be confirmed."

Opposite Gene Kirricort and Suzanne, sat Jasper Ikale, and Yodaz himself. When Yodaz had been, as he put it, 'dragged into this', he had been surprised to find that Suzanne had not only retained her employment at KirriCorp, but had received quite the promotion. A quick glimpse into Gene's mind during the unguarded moment when Yodaz had bluntly asked him about it, showed that Gene admired the woman's 'ruthlessness', though she no longer seemed to display this. Suzanne did seem to retain nearly all of her Kaijudo. That fact was leading to some slight mirth on Yodaz's part.

"I don't see how you can so easily accept the fact that you've drastically changed the game and applied an errata to a card like that. It's at least six sets old!" Jasper complained. His arms were folded in a defiant manner, and had been for the whole trip.

Yodaz laughed, "Why not? You do the same sort of thing every day."

Jasper shot an indignant glare at him.
"You're changing the entire landscape of the game."

"Every new set does that," Yodaz shrugged.

"You know what I mean, Champion."

Yodaz was about to speak again when he got another of those strange jolts in his head that Suzanne had been causing since she had got into the vehicle. In these close quarters, 'his' Corile and 'her' Corile seemed like twins. She had not lost her connection to 'her avatar' after all, even though she no longer dueled. Now, the gentle mental nudge he felt was meant to tell him to let her handle it.

"The playing field is still even, if not, in fact, still skewed towards the performance of the late game based Disruption strategy, but now, our analyses indicate that the players who prefer that style are also experimenting with new methods, and that too is affecting sales. Would you like me to have a copy of the survey results forwarded to your office?"

Jasper gave a mighty harrumph, but was silent after that. Gene turned to face Yodaz.
"Did you contact the girl on our behalf?"

"She'll be at the tournament, as Amera-Lynn will. You can make your pitch to her there. I'm not doing it for you."

Gene nodded. By now he was used to the idea that the champion disagreed with many of his ideas, and not just on an economic basis. Still, Yodaz did seem to be grudgingly willing to support in whatever way he could. Gene often wondered if it was Yodaz's way of keeping an eye on him, or if the champion was subtly subjecting him to psionic manipulation at times. he had asked Suzanne about it after the last tournament they had all attended together, and she had assured him that Yodaz did not seem interested in doing any such thing. Even so, he still found himself wondering. After all, she really had no reason to be particularly more loyal to him than to Yodaz...

The limousine now picked up speed as it turned out of the traffic onto the significantly less congested approach to the superstore.

"What's the status of the research?" Gene asked Suzanne now. She flipped through her binder, and then tapped a few access codes into the laptop that she now carried with her nearly everywhere.

"Both the base wavelength and the trigger point within the cortex have been isolated. However, it's been noted that these are the same for even players without it, and for people playing other games of similar pacing. There's an amplification effect within the lobes that is only present in those with the ability. It can't be duplicated outside of dueling by most. In fact, none of our direct test subjects show the capability at all. The only data on it is from the first recording--"

She seemed to stop suddenly here, as if realizing the implication of that fact. Gene sent an irritated glare at Yodaz. He knew exactly where the 'anomaly' in the first set of data had come from. After all, he had been there. Unfortunately, Yodaz had, time and again, refused to subject himself to any data collection. Suzanne was, to Gene's dismay, also squarely in the subset of 'those who can only do it during or directly after duels'.

"This is why I need that girl..."

"She won't help you anyway," came the words into his mind, "Shtra will just laugh at you."

Yodaz's display of his capability only seemed to frustrate Gene further. He was in for a greater shock when a second, very similar 'voice' now came to him...

"It does seem unlikely that she would be willing to assist."

Gene looked over at Suzanne now, an expression of almost supreme irritation on his face, and broke the strange minor silence by asking, quite abruptly:
"And if you can do that, why don't you just go in for testing yourself?"

Suzanne shrugged and tilted her head towards Yodaz, answering mentally:
"Can only do it when he is nearby."

The vehicle came to a stop now, and the passengers disembarked and headed into the building, scoping out the duelists. As if by instinct, Suzanne found herself drawn toward a source of Kaijudo that she hazily remembered having encountered somewhere before, though she could not clearly access the memory. Yodaz seemed content to follow. Jasper wandered off towards the judge's table, leaving Gene with the decision of who he would accompany.

They did not seem to be paying much attention to him anymore, and he would not be officially needed until the end of the tournament, so he chose to follow Yodaz and Suzanne, who were both standing on a different side of the table. Again, words came to his mind.

"Would you like us to 'patch you in', sir?"
Gene nodded to Suzanne almost imperceptibly, and she, in turn, nodded to Yodaz. Almost instantly, Gene was sucked into the 'zone' as a spectator, and this time, he would experience the event in 'stereo'.

Suzanne stood to the rear left of Rusty. Her sense had caused her to move toward the duelist she knew. Yodaz stood in a mirroring position behind Rusty's current opponent, Angus. Gene stood a bit off from the table, directly at the side. The 'stereo' format of the duel gave Gene a whole new insight, a fact which was demonstrated when both duelists began by placing their avatar cards into their mana zones. Rusty had gone second. Now, Angus placed a Tornado Flame into his mana zone beside the Nature creature that had first been put there, and summoned an Essence Elf. Gene could feel the warm energy of growth almost instantly push back the cold of Rusty's mana zone, but Rusty now added nature mana to his mana pool also, changing the impression into a battle between two forests, one warmer than the other.

"I summon Quixotic Hero Swine Snout. End turn."

Gene raised an eyebrow at the card, and moreso at the vividness of the sub-reality he was now perceiving in his mind. He wondered if Yodaz and Suzanne were indeed merely relaying, or if their own ability was embellishing that of the two dueling in front of him. Angus drew his card and charged more nature mana, but did not summon.

"Essence Elf, ikei."

The shield shattered through mystic power. Rusty picked up the card, drew a new one, and charged an Energy Stream to mana.
"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe. Swiny, attack Essence Elf. Ikei!"

The appearance of another creature in the battle zone on his side sent the Hero into a whooping frenzy, and the Essence Elf did not survive the powerful ramming charge of his mount. Rusty ended his turn.

Now, Angus added a Darkness card to his mana. A Snake Attack. The reason why, became clear a moment later, as the huge intimidating form of Daidalos, General of Fury, loomed over the two Beast folk. Daidalos was little threat right then, but Gene was unfamiliar with the card, and did not know this. He found himself involuntarily backing away, only to realize that his body was not actually doing so, and he merely felt his mental form's need to retreat from the presence of the Demon Command. Angus' turn ended there.

"Aqua Hulcus to mana, summon another Aqua Hulcus," Rusty smirked, his Kaijudo quickly rising. Those who knew him would be aware now that he could quickly strike powerfully if any of those three creatures remained active for long. Rusty's specialty was quick striking Evolutions, and even in the face of a creature large enough to actually defeat them, he was not likely to hesitate to do it anyway.

"Summon Aqua Guard," he continued, cementing his position. The only thing that could outright stop him now was the card that few still played. If Angus did have a Searing Wave and played it on the next turn, he would reduce his own mana pool to only two cards, giving Rusty more than enough time to get ahead. Gene was actually now sufficiently versed in the mechanics of both the game, and the more popular cards, to note all this himself, and he found himself nodding approvingly. This was how one sold cards. Make everyone work for their win.

Rusty seemed to think for a moment longer before deciding if to go in for the strike. He could possibly trigger some dangerous things, and maybe even reduce his own ability to move as he truly wished, but he decided to take the chance.
"Swine Snout, ikei!"

The shield broke uneventfully under the powerful charge, and the one that the Bronze-Arm lanced into a moment later did as well. Rusty ended his turn, satisfied. As long as no triggers had occurred, he was at least going to be able to evolve something.

Angus drew his card, and charged water mana finally, causing Gene to take immediate notice. He could not immediately see what use a deck like Angus' would have, for water cards.
"I summon Corile, on your Bronze-Arm Tribe."

The appearance of the card did not actually spike any serious response from either Yodaz or Suzanne, something Gene now found interesting. Despite their connection to their own Corile, it did not seem that they were much affected by the playing of the card by another. What was even more apparent, a moment later, was that even now, some people were not used to the KirriCorp errata. When Rusty did nothing more than pick up the Bronze-Arm and sit quietly, Angus' awareness of what he had really achieved finally seemed to 'click'.

"Oh... it's only to hand... isn't it..."

Rusty smirked, then laughed.

"Well, that sucks. End turn."

Gene wondered if his concentration had been thrown off, preventing him from attacking with the General of Fury, or if he wished to keep the Corile alive for some other purpose, possibly a Merfolk summon. He got his indirect answer a moment later, when Rusty charged a Dimension Gate into his mana zone, and his energy surged in such a way that Gene was sure he could feel it directly.

"Swine Snout, evolve into Fighter Dual Fang!"
A shining greenish light enveloped the pig-rider, and when it vanished, the huge powerful frame of the four-armed Beast folk warrior stood in its place, and Rusty's mana zone had been augmented by another Quixotic Hero card and an Aqua Surfer.

"Dual Fang, double break shields! Ikei!"
The first to shatter activated a Crystal Memory. Gene got quite awhile to watch the mechanics of the teleporter unit at work, since Angus took quite awhile in his consideration of what to get. The second shattering shield afforded him nothing apparently, and the Aqua Hulcus broke the final one, also with no trigger. Rusty ended his turn. The duel was almost clearly already over, even if Angus mounted a counterattack from here.

He charged Fire mana. An Apocalypse Vise. He needed to do many things at once now. Remove the Aqua Guard, and at the same time provide a creature for Daidalos to eat before it could also devour the Dual Fang. Another Corile would do it, but it did not seem that Angus had another Corile. He sent a Tornado Flame surging into Rusty's forces instead, destroying the Aqua Guard.

"Corile, attack the Hulcus, ikei! Daidalos, attack Dual Fang!"

The Corile and Hulcus locked in combat, both falling by the machinations of the other. Daidalos, on the other hand, did not move. In their mindspace, Angus' Kaijudo seemed momentarily confused.
"Why isn't he attacking?"

"He can't," Rusty laughed, "Or won't... I never knew exactly how it worked with that big ol' thing. Haha."

"Why not?" Angus asked, his confusion becoming clearer.

"Nothin' for him to eat," Rusty pointed out, looking surprised at the question, "You got no creatures."

"There's a Corile right... ohhh... oh no..."
He laughed a bit sheepishly now.

"Hmm... I didn't think of that, for some reason. I always thought Corile would win that fight..."

Rusty looked skeptical.
"You didn't get anything to play from your hand instead?"

"Ah? Hm... nah. Only one mana. Heh."

The situation prompted Rusty to laugh again. The Demon Command was still rather placidly sitting there, taking up space moreso than anything else. He certainly did not seem, in that moment, to be a 'General of Fury'.

"Wait... can I... get something... instead?" Angus asked, giving a shifty look, to see if any judges were around. Even sometimes they would allow reversing of moves early in a tournament if the other player agreed to it, but it was still against the rules. Rusty gave him an odd look and laughed.

"Afraid it's game, man."

"Aw..." Angus sighed, "I don't know what I was thinking... Tornado Flame in the deck over Volcano Charger. Coulda summoned Kooc Pollon, but no, I wanted overkill... hehe..."

"Okay, let's finish this officially," Rusty said, prompting Angus to end his turn. The Dual Fang rushed in for the final attack unobstructed, ending the duel. Gene found himself suddenly disconnected. The sensation was a bit jarring, but not particularly disturbing otherwise. The Kaijudo feeling had started to die ever since Angus' 'error'. His mind began to whir. That made sense. It would also explain the differences in Kaijudo between duelists. The less mistakes one made, the higher it would rise. Which meant that perhaps his search criteria for duelists with the ability was somewhat incorrect.

"You figured it out... Good for you..." came Corile's semi-sarcastic congratulation. Gene gave Yodaz yet another glare, then smiled to himself, noting that already he could tell the difference between the two Coriles that communicated with him.

"But how precisely does one track duelists that make less mistakes? That alone won't make them able to win or lose..."

"You don't," was the interjection of the other Corile, "There was a time when you wanted this little project to end anyway. Remember that feeling, and let them make no progress for a month or so, then you have an excuse to shut it down as a failure. The card sales are up. Be content."

Gene gave Suzanne one of his sterner looks now, but just as he did so, Yodaz caused his mind to suddenly remember the feeling of the duel that he had been subjected to months ago. Even with the cards changed, Gene's mind could still easily justify ending such a project. His memory of his reasoning then, returned to him clearly now. This was something that should be left to the duelists. Research would probably continue, but not as a priority...

Suzanne and Yodaz immediately moved onto a new table, where another duel was starting. Gene followed, wondering what exactly he would experience this time around. Without so much as a word, the two pulled him into the 'zone' with them as the first duelist charged his mana.

Glen Shade was considered to be a dark horse in this particular tournament. A fitting moniker for him, though few would immediately know why. He charged a Terror Pit as his first mana card. His opponent, Mughees Drynn, was better known, as the 'Dark Sword of ...'. No one seemed to know what the last part was supposed to have been, and the person who had coined the name had long since left the official tournament circuit. He now charged water mana. A Spiral Gate. Gene could feel a strange hum now between the two duelists. A feeling he had not encountered before. Their play was fast, each seeming to barely stop before making their next move.

Within a few moments, Glen had added another water card and darkness card to his mana zone, and Mughees had already summoned an Immortal Baron, Vorg, and charged more darkness mana also, but had not attacked. Now, Glen's Kaijudo spiked sharply. The reason why his name was so fitting was about to be revealed. Unexpectedly, he charged Light mana, but the card he played was anything but light.
"Locomotiver!"

The train's billowing noxious cloud robbed Mughees of an Aqua Surfer, causing Glen's energy to perk up. He smirked now, happier. His starting hand had been, in his opinion, quite bad, but now his avatar was making an appearance, and seemed likely to do so in full force. His opponent drew a card. A Volcano Charger, but held onto it, instead placing his Bolmeteus Steel Dragon to mana and summoning his own Locomotiver, taking a Crystal Lancer from Glen. It did not matter too much, as he drew a new one right after, but placed it to mana also in order to one-up his opponent yet again...
"Locomotiver!"

Now the same Volcano Charger card vanished into the blackness. Mughees charged a Lost Soul to mana but did nothing more. Glen smirked and summoned Toel, Vizier of Hope. The exuberance of the two duelists was making Gene's head feel light. Mughees swiftly Corpse Charged his Aqua Surfer back to himself, leaving Glen able to only summon the Vizier of Endurance that he now drew. Yet, he ended his turn there.

"Am I being stupid or something?" he wondered aloud, confusing Gene further. Mughees did not hesitate to summon the Surfer to wash Toel away, but ended his turn there. Gene watched carefully, trying to follow the flow...

Now, rather than put back Toel, Glen summoned a Mist Rias. Mughees played a Crystal Memory. The duel accelerated further, yet nothing seemed to happen. Gene could now clearly feel the difference between Kaijudo itself and the movements associated with it. Toel returned to the battle zone now. Glen knew that Mughees was about to Vise his field. The Locomotivers now moved at last, crashing into shields, one of which was a Spiral Gate that sent Toel away yet again.

"It's there, but it isn't like the others at all..." Gene noted, as the Vise now did, indeed, wipe out Glen's forces. Glen rebuilt quickly, with a Eureka Charger, followed by Toel and an Aqua Guard. Mughees charged mana, and summoned a Hulcus and cast Energy Stream. Glen summoned a Sarius.

Now, it was Mughees turn to summon another Locomotiver and discard an Aqua Surfer from Glen. Gene felt himself becoming confused. They were either very alike, or something in their Kaijudo made them become indistinct from each other at times. Yodaz and Suzanne seemed to be having the same reaction. Mughees cleared it right up a moment later. The Immortal Baron had been sitting there, doing practically nothing, this whole time, but now jumped up and was bathed in reddish light.

"Evolving into Armored Blaster Valdios!"
Yet Mughees did not attack with the now-mechanized human. It simply returned to... doing nothing in particular. Glen summoned an Aqua Guard, and let Toel move in. Valdios was no threat to an untapped creature. Sadly, the Terror Pit that triggered, was, and Toel vanished into it.

"Hmph..." Glen smirked, "Bring it on, dude."

"This is..."

Gene's thought was interrupted by the subdued roar of a Bolshack Dragon going to mana, and the far less subdued roar of the one that was immediately summoned, following that. Yet, Mughees ended his turn there, saying only: "Consider it 'bringed', man."

Glen summoned another Mist Rias, muttering something about how gullible his opponent was, but the reason why was not made clear. Mughees drew his card and smiled. Glen's face fell.
"Don't be a Vise. Be anything but a--"

The Vise obliterated all the blockers, and Valdios finally moved in for the attack. The Terror Pit that triggered dragged Bolshack into the darkness, but the Locomotiver attack did not spring anything dangerous. Glen had already lost. Gene's head was spinning. The duel seemed wild and twisting, yet the two duelists seemed to be totally at home in the chaos. The remaining shields shattered under the assault with no triggers, and the duel was over.

Mughees burst out laughing almost maniacally. Glen nodded, apparently in approval, his dark hair falling over his eyes as always.
"Ha, you really opened my eyes. Have fun with your victory while it lasts."

The two moved out to report their result, leaving the chairs free. Suzanne and Yodaz simultaneously sat. Gene now came up, put his hands on the table and leaned down slightly in a strangely authoritative pose, looked at Yodaz, then Suzanne, then asked quite clearly:
"Okay. What was that?"

"What was what, sir?" Suzanne asked now, looking confused.

"All that! The twisting and the churning and the... what were they doing just now?"

Yodaz gave him an oddly confused look, before taking a quick scan of Gene's mind to find out what the young tycoon was actually trying to ask. Then, he smiled in understanding and answered.
"Having fun."

"What? I don't get it? Their play was all... twisted and... strange and... borderline insane! They didn't... wait... what did they do... what was that all about?!"

"They were playing around, sir," Suzanne shrugged, "It is a game, after all. Not everyone in the world has reason to view Duel Masters as 'serious business'..."