Episode 47. - Blood of Ice, Magma, Nightmare

"That doesn't make sense..." Yodaz noted to himself, "I was sure I saw both those guys at the same tournament a few weeks back. Why are they both here?"

Gene, who was within earshot, looked over at the final few duelists. A blonde young woman, a dark-haired duelist that he recognized from the World Champion tournament, and the two young men that Yodaz referred to. One of them absolutely had to be the same person, down to the tattoo. Mughees Drynn. Gene did not know him by name, but he recognized him surely.

The last person was Rusty. Now, Gene realized what Yodaz meant. They had, indeed, been at the same tournament. He thought back, trying to remember if there had been anything specific about it, then it struck him, and he explained to Yodaz.
"That tournament was a large open one, remember? It wasn't in any way geographically limited. Either of them could have simply been visiting the area and decided to enter."

Rusty was already dueling the blonde girl. His battle zone contained an Aqua Guard and a Quixotic Hero, and hers, an Engineer Kipo. She had gone first, and now he sent an Aqua Surfer to his mana zone.
"I summon Bronze-Arm Tribe."

The Tribe added more power to the mana zone, 'colonizing' a watery area, as Rusty played the Crystal Lancer from the top of his deck, and declared an attack, sending his Quixotic Hero into a mighty charge. The shield shattered, sparking a reaction in Harriet strong enough to make one think it was going to trigger, but no such event occurred. It was merely that the card had been her Bombersaur.

"Mana Crisis to mana. Summon Kulus, Soulshine Enforcer. End turn."

Yodaz was already interested beyond even the shimmering imagery that was taking form in his mind. This duel promised to be full of decision making at a level that he was not used to seeing. Already, Harriet had made one such choice, summoning her Soulshine Enforcer even without getting its effect, when she could have played the Mana Crisis instead and at least attempted to attack the Quixotic Hero.

"What's she got that's worth not even risking the mana loss?" he wondered now as Rusty charged more mana and summoned an Aqua Hulcus. The Hulcus' power brought him a new card, and rallied the Quixotic Hero into another charge. Harriet's Kaijudo surged again, confusing the onlookers on Rusty's side of the table. They could not tell that it was another Bombersaur.

"Really not what you need right now, am I?" rumbled the fiery voice, still almost in laughter. Harriet smirked, charged one Bombersaur to mana, and summoned a Magmarex, scorching the Bronze-Arm into oblivion. The Magmarex's appearance itself drove the Quixotic Hero into another mild frenzy, which in turn saved it from the effect.

Rusty's world expanded with more Nature energy, and he summoned another Quixotic Hero beside the first, then played a Dimension Gate. The portal brought a Rumbling Terahorn. Harriet looked puzzled. It was the perfect situation in which to get one of his Fighter Dual Fang. She knew enough about her opponent by now, from the day's events, to know that he had them. She did not get much time to think about it. The Quixotic Hero charged, smashing into a shield. She held back the trigger. The Mana Nexus. Yodaz could feel the strain of the decision on her.

"What could she need all that mana so much for?"

He did not have to wait long for the answer. Harriet put the Mana Nexus to mana, just in case she was even more lucky and there were more in her shield zone, and her volcanic mountain erupted beneath her Magmarex in a burst of fiery energy. Valkrowzer. The Ultra Rock Beast stomped on the Quixotic Hero, and the Engineer Kipo and Soulshine Enforcer went straight for the shields. They both broke with no triggers. Harriet's Kaijudo soared. Practically nothing that her opponent could do, would outright stop Valkrowzer, and certainly there was little that would stop it in time.

Rusty knew this just as well. He now sent his Rumbling Terahorn to mana, and summoned a Bronze-Arm Tribe. The effect extended his manazone, but the actual card it used to do so was his Fighter Dual Fang. Now, he played an Energy Stream, and finally summoned a third Quixotic Hero to replace the one that had fallen. The appearance of two allies sent the other Swine Snout into a great charge, one that felled the Soulshine Enforcer easily. Rusty ended his turn there.

"Time to go make my entrance!" laughed the Bombersaur, as Harriet sent a Crisis Boulder to her mana zone and summoned it. She did not rush for the shields again, but rather, attacked the Quixotic Hero, and ended her turn. Rusty's situation had not dampened his will, nor the psionic energy backing it up. It could still be felt clashing powerfully with Harriet's at a certain focal point, deep in their mindspace. He charged more nature mana, and summoned an Aqua Hulcus. Harriet held her breath. If he could manage to summon three creatures, the little Quixotic Hero could bring down even Valkrowzer...

Luckily for her, he only managed another two. The second being a fourth Quixotic Hero. One of the Hulcus moved in to destroy a shield, and in doing so, triggered a burst of Tornado Flame that caught the Bronze-Arm Tribe before it, too, could mount an attack. She bit her lip slightly in anticipation. This was going to be too close for comfort. The Quixotic Hero charged...

Rusty smiled and his Kaijudo pressed hers back now. There was no trigger. He was poised to take the duel even with her avatar and largest creature there. Harriet drew her card, and the immediate backlash made even Yodaz stagger, and some of the other less experienced duelists grab onto tables and even people nearby for support.

"Burst Shot!" she declared triumphantly.
Her Engineer Kipo let out a yelp as the volcano erupted in a hail of bullet-like drops of lava. Rusty's creatures did not survive. Not even one. Harriet knew that even then, she could not afford to rest. She would have to take the ultimate chance and refill her opponent's hand. The explosive demise of her Kipo would not even be enough to stop a charging evolution now, but she simply had no options left.

"Valkrowzer, ikei!"
The shields shattered with no trigger, and no surges of energy from Rusty, either. Harriet breathed a bit easier. He would have no reason to mask it if he did get an Evolution card from those shields.

"Bombersaur, ikei!"

"Gladly!" came the laugh. The final shield shattered. Rusty's Kaijudo did not spike. It was down to one chance on his side. His next card. Harriet crossed her fingers and braced herself. If this went his way at this point, the Kaijudo effect would be immense.

Rusty's next move seemed to happen in their minds long before the cards were actually played. In fact, from the instant he pulled the card off the top of his deck, the Crystal Lancer had laughingly delivered the final blow to Harriet Torren. He did not even bother to declare the moves, simply summoning the Aqua Guard, evolving it immediately, and tapping the card.

To everyone who could feel and see, that was all irrelevant. Rusty's avatar had appeared at the exact instant it was needed, and the surge of heat-dispersing power that had rushed forth, had instantly cooled and solidified all the lava of Harriet Torren's volcano. She sat there now, a glazed look in her eyes, not even blinking. Rusty's energy receded, but there was no change in her.

"Hey..." he began worriedly, "You okay?"

Harriet did not answer. Yodaz quickly realized that he was going to have to find a way to downplay her dueling-induced paralysis, but nothing immediately came to mind, for once. He tried to reach her through his own telepathy, but neither Harriet nor the Bombersaur seemed to be 'there'. Probing deeper, he could soon see why. The Crystal Lancer's passing had occurred with such incredible power behind it, that Harriet's mental image of herself, her Bombersaur, and even Valkrowzer, had been frozen solid.

"Looks like you froze her brain..." Yodaz finally admitted plainly. Rusty seemed a little upset at his prospect, until Yodaz continued, "But she seems tough, she'll thaw out soon."

The truth was that he was not at all sure of this, but he managed to sound convincing enough to make the less experienced duelists laugh and move off. The others, who would have been more concerned, knew what had happened anyway, so fortunately none of them freaked out enough to draw any media attention to Harriet's state. A few gentle mental nudges sent the media people off to watch the final duel.

"You might as well go too," Corile told the Crystal Lancer, "There's nothing more you can do for her."

Rusty and his avatar simultaneously, and reluctantly, nodded, and got up. Yodaz decided against trying to move any of Harriet's cards. He now simply placed himself between the young lady, and the table of the final duel. He knew who was dueling now, and did not want any of their Kaijudo to interfere with Harriet's recovery. In her possibly weakened mental state, Shu Lon's psychic waves were the last thing she could possibly need.

At least one of the judges seemed to be able to feel the output of the stronger duelists, which was why no one had objected to waiting for Rusty and Harriet's game to finish before Shu and Mughees got down to business. Having two Kaijudo clashes of that level going on in the same area at the same time just was not a good idea.

"Should I try to hold back?" came the rasping voice. Yodaz shuddered. Even now, Gigazald's presence still made him slightly uneasy. Corile had a similar reaction, but answered anyway, quite decisively.

"No need. My barrier will be enough. Do as you will."

Gigazald seemed to 'nod', and Shu's attention returned to the opponent before him, who had already played their second mana. The first had been an Aqua Surfer. The second, a Gigaclaws. Now Shu added a Terror Pit to the Dark Reversal already in his own manazone, summoned a Propeller Mutant, and ended his turn. Yodaz noted the summon. He had not seen Shu's deck since the World Champion tournament, and back then, the two drop card had been Junkatz. One thousand power stronger. He wondered if the difference would be enough to take advantage of if he needed to.

Mughees sent a Corpse Charger to his mana zone, and summoned an Aqua Hulcus. Yodaz became vaguely aware of the strange Kaijudo emanating from him. This opponent was not a match for Shu outright, but they were just confusing enough to possibly cause Gigazald to be useless as a tactic.

Shu apparently realized this equally quickly, charging a Ghost Touch to his mana zone and summoning another Propeller Mutant, but did not attack. Corile began to analyze the possible tactics. Mughees charged mana, an Energy Stream, and played a Eureka Charger, drawing his card and expanding his mana further.

"I have no place in this duel. They will simply use whatever they get, and will not care what I do," Gigazald observed as it now came to Shu's hand in the form of his next card. Shu still hesitated to place the great dark phantom into mana, choosing a Death Smoke instead.
"Locomotiver."

The card that was discarded, was one of Mughees' Apocalypse Vises. Shu nodded, satisfied. That alone would relieve some of his decision making pressure later. He ended his turn. Mughees charged mana, an Armored Blaster Valdios, and cast an Energy Stream, refreshing his Kaijudo and ending his turn.

"Just assault. You do not need me for this. Strike them down before they get too powerful."

Shu now placed Gigazald in his mana zone, and summoned a Shadow Moon, the darkness spreading through the forces, and increasing the power of the Hedrians. They all made their assault quickly, and none of the shields triggered. The idea of replenishing his opponent's resources so much without Gigazald there seemed to make Shu uneasy. Mughees sensed this, and charged Darkness mana.

"I cast Tornado Flame, on your Shadow Moon."

The Ghost was evaporated into nothingness by the fire, leaving the Hedrians vulnerable. A fact that was quickly taken advantage of by the Aqua Hulcus, as it struck the Locomotiver's driveshaft with a mighty slash, derailing and destroying the dark train. Mughees ended his turn. Shu drew his card, and his Kaijudo fell. A Gigazoul. He would have been able to--

"No. Don't think about it. Kill the Hulcus and continue the attack."

Shu did not hesitate, but he still felt uncomfortable. Even from where Yodaz was, he could sense the trepidation in the mind of the opponent he, even now, considered to be the most dangerous. Shu placed the Gigazoul into mana, and cast Terror Pit on the Hulcus.
"Propeller Mutant, ikei."

"Shield Trigger. Tornado Flame!"

The second Hedrian disappeared into a firestorm, and burst into a flaming oily mass that crashed into Mughees' supply lines, causing a Eureka Charger to vanish into nothingness, and forcibly ending Shu's turn. Shu tried to calm himself. He did not like this feeling at all.

"Tornado Flame to mana. Cast Eureka Charger, and Volcano Charger."
The outcome of that particular play made Shu even more upset. Even though the card Mughees lost was another Apocalypse Vise.

"Not exactly the most tactical of creatures, is he?" Corile laughed to Yodaz, referring to Gigazald. There had been no need to shield the 'thawing' Harriet from anything after all. Shu was too uncertain, and Gigazald did not seem as though it were going to appear. Corile seemed to mean that Shu should be focusing on working out what Mughees could still do to him without the two Vises, but Yodaz reminded his avatar that Shu's dueling was still more similar to the instinctive style of Maze and Libra, than the calculating tactics of himself or Amera-Lynn.

Shu drew his card and summoned a Gigastand, ending his turn there. It would be a little harder to scorch away, now that Mughees had used up so much of his firepower. This was proven on the next turn when the "Dark Sword of ..." placed his Volcano Charger directly into mana, and summoned his Bolshack Dragon.

The roar of the creature unnerved Shu further. The very two Vises that had been discarded would now increase Bolshack's attacking power even if Gigazald appeared. A Thrash Crawler followed, sending an Energy Stream back to Mughees. Shu discarded it with a Locomotiver on his own turn.

Mughees did not hesitate for a moment in summoning his Bolmeteus Steel Dragon. Shu groaned inwardly. This was not at all how he was used to dueling. Now he was staring down one of the game's most powerful, and recently, quite popular, creatures, with no way to stop it unless he drew a Death Smoke or Terror Pit.

He did not.
"Dark Reversal, to revive and summon my Locomotiver."

Mughees lost a Tornado Flame. Shu sighed with relief. Yet another fire card gone. Bolshack's attacking power would increase more, but at this point that did not matter. He had three creatures, and there was one shield. All he would need now, was a way past that Thrash Crawler, and the hope that a new one would not appear.

Mughees drew his card. Now, it was his only card. He was not as fortunate as Rusty, even though the card itself did seem to be his avatar. Even that, was unclear, in the haze of psychic waves that came from him. He summoned it. A second Bolshack Dragon. This time, the roar of the creature did not bring Shu trepidation, but rather, filled him with relief. He could be fairly sure of what his opponent would do now. They could not risk being pinned down by his destruction cards.

"Bolmeteus, ikei."
The two shields were utterly obliterated. One of those was a Locomotiver, and could have given Shu a victory on its own. Now, Shu was a bit more concerned again. Chances of triggers were not as high as he would like if one had already been destroyed.

"Bolshack, ikei!"
Mughees' Kaijudo surged suddenly as the Bolshack Dragon's flaming maw sent a devastating stream of flame at his opponent's defenses. Shu's energy railed violently against it in a powerful backlash. Both cards could have triggered, but only one, did Shu bother with. The Ghost Touch was unnecessary. The Terror Pit was enough to turn the duel around. Darkness swallowed up the Thrash Crawler. This was the end.

Yet, Mughees' concentration did not seem to waver again. Shu stopped himself from surging his forward, trying to think of what could possibly be in that last shield, that could stop him.

"There is probably nothing," Gigazald reassured, as Shu drew what he expected to be his final necessary card. The card that it turned out to be, removed all doubt.

"I summon Shadow Moon, Cursed Shade! Locomotiver, ikei! Gigastand, todomeda!"
The combined surge of relief and victory sent Shu's Kaijudo directly at Mughees, rather than the normal 'dark explosion' that would have spread out through the room. Mughees seemed to be stunned, but it did not last long. That was his second loss. It was over now. The elimination stage was complete. Rusty and Shu Lon would take the final two spots, and the quarterfinals would finally begin.

Yodaz spun when there was a stir of Kaijudo behind him. Harriet had 'thawed out'.
"Oh good, you didn't die," Corile noted. Despite the way it was phrased, the Cyber Lord seemed genuinely relieved.

Harriet was still in her own mind, looking sadly at the lump of unmoving rock that made up her Bombersaur. She seemed very sad, but not about the duel, nor her elimination from the tournament, nor anything related to cards at all, and for the first time, Yodaz found himself thinking about something that he had never actually confronted before.

"Corile... what exactly are you?"

The question seemed to take Corile by surprise.
"What do you mean, 'what am I?'...? I am you. I am the you that is the duel. The you that sees more than 'you' see."

Despite the cryptic nature of the words, Yodaz nodded in understanding. Corile's answer had come with more than just words, and the feeling was easier to understand than the words alone. Now, Yodaz looked around at the other duelists, and the answer made even more sense. Amera-Lynn was Trox, and yet not Trox. Maze was the Silver Axe, and yet not. Even Libra, who, like him, seemed quite similar to her avatar, could now be seen as 'Shtra, and yet not Shtra'.

"You are... the way I duel."
Corile seemed to nod, affirming it. Yodaz sighed. He had known that all along. Now, looking at the seemingly sad Harriet, he felt a deep pang of sympathy. He placed his hand gently on her shoulder, both physically, and in her mindspace where he had managed to take form.

"Is he going to be all right?" he asked, even though he was fairly sure that if she knew the answer to that, she would not be so sad herself.

"He's all cold now..." she sniffed sadly. It seemed unlike her. She was, at least, like her avatar in terms of her warm cheerfulness. To see her close to tears was unnerving to Yodaz. He never did like when people cried.

"It's never been cold like this, here..." she answered, "Nothing is moving... it's so eerie..."
She looked up at the hulking frame of Valkrowzer, and in that instant a sudden explosion threw Yodaz's mental form back. When he gathered himself, he smiled. The Bombersaur was glowing slightly, and Harriet was nestled against its warm igneous body, happy again.

"Well, that was unexpected..." Corile laughed. Now, the Cyber Lord's attention returned to the primary reason for their presence there, as the judges announced the quarterfinalists...