Episode 70. - Inability To Count On One Hand

"Shield Trigger, Holy Awe," Mughees Drynn smirked at Andrei Vlad, as the spell forcibly ended the duelist's turn, "Aqua Surfer... todomeda."

The buzzer a few seconds later signaled the end of the two-loss elimination round. This year, the head to head elimination aspect would encompass four times as many duelists. Rather than having the other section of the tournament continue until the top eight remained, an incredible thirty duelists would be placed into the main eliminations. Grand Champion Ryoma Echizen would be added to the fifteen winners for the round after that.

Now the preliminary eliminations would begin. The new restriction to card number allowed in deck, meant that each duel could be assigned a maximum time limit, and that time limit seemed to be one which would allow for each duel to occur consecutively. Gene Kirricort was pleased about the whole thing very much.

The young lady in charge of the proceedings now directed the television crews to the main area. Gene had put her in command of the tournament, opting to have some fun and duel in it, for both his amusement and that of his staff. The head of curly blonde hair now bobbed through a crowd, heading toward a microphone on the judge's table. Blue eyes became serious, and soon the voice of Juliet Charlton could be heard over the sound system.

"Will all remaining duelists please prepare themselves and move into the positions designated for their observance of the duels? We will be beginning with duelist number thirty seven against duelist ninety four."

The crowd now buzzed as the final thirty moved to the ring of seats around the dueling table. Number thirty seven stepped forward. Jet black hair, falling slightly over one eye, and a calculating look to him. Yodaz.

His opponent was quite the opposite. Small, cute, a head of short dark brown strands, a bit messy from her morning of dueling and laughing and running about. Arielle Dumas. Yodaz smirked slightly. He knew of this little one. Apparently, she had been granted first turn...

Yodaz now felt an almost refreshing rush of moist energy in his mind. An Aqua Knight in the girl's mana zone. Arielle seemed to be a bit nervous in his presence, something few people had ever seen her display. He also charged water mana. Arielle added Nature to her world, and cast her first spell. Faerie Life...

Instantly, the energy increased, the sound of rain overlaid on the perceptions of all around as Yodaz also charged Nature. Arielle placed even more Water, and the Bronze-Arm Tribe that now came out from her strange jungle found even more. Her mana was double his already. Yodaz added more water and summoned an Aqua Hulcus.

"You're fast. You will get there before I can stop you, won't you..." he noted, partly to her and partly to himself. Arielle charged more nature mana, and shimmering green light engulfed her Bronze-Arm Tribe. The crowd seemed to be quite impressed. The fourth turn. Eight mana, and the powerful Beast Folk evolution was already present. The rain in their minds poured harder, but Dual Fang did not move. Arielle's turn had been ended.

"Blizzard of Spears, to mana. Cast Soulswap on your Fighter Dual Fang."

"Ooh! Oh no!" Arielle exclaimed, seeming almost to panic as the spell dragged her mighty Beast Folk away. In its place now, a Poisonous Mushroom popped up. Nowhere near as intimidating. Yodaz now had to end his turn.

"We have the spell, and he is a little behind... Let me try to go out. But no matter what happens to me, cast it next chance you get!"
These were the words of the creature young Arielle now placed into her battle zone. Tangle Fist, the Weaver. Yodaz had heard enough about her to know that he probably should not let it remain there. More Water mana made it possible for him to cause another dimensional distortion, this time in the form of a Spiral Gate, and then an Energy Stream. Tangle Fist was now with Arielle again, having spent a single turn on the field.

Despite the situation in the battle zone being nowhere near in her favor, Arielle trusted her avatar. No matter what.

"Divine Riptide!"
The rain became a howling storm as the worlds reversed themselves, leaving nothing but the Hulcus and Mushroom. Arielle actually seemed to breathe more easily with things this way. Yodaz was not affected well, but he did not make much fuss.

"She is quite fast, and relying on it. We must keep up."
Yodaz nodded in agreement, charging nature mana. Those around were surprised when on his next turn, after she returned her Aqua Knight to her mana zone, Yodaz charged a new card, no one had ever seen him play before. Dolmarks, the Shadow Warrior. He got to three mana first, of course, and summoned another Aqua Hulcus.

"We restarted time, but now we have the resources and choices far beyond his..."
Arielle placed Tangle Fist into her mana zone, summoned a Bronze-Arm Tribe, and held her breath. If the former champion hesitated one more turn in his attack, she would be able to do what she had been training herself for.

Yodaz 'hesitated'. With a 'hm', a King Ripped-Hide to mana, and nothing more at all. Arielle sighed with relief, and immediately let out all the Kaijudo she had been holding back. Yodaz seemed startled at the rush of power, but that was only a precursor to the main event...

"Summon Ancient Horn, the Watcher, another Ancient Horn, and two Bronze-Arm Tribe!"
Now, the Bronze-Arms rode in on the backs of the great Horned Beasts, but still, Arielle did not attack. Yodaz sighed. The situation had turned ugly rather quickly.

"She has touched no shields yet. Still possible. I will handle it."
Corile appeared now, waving one Ancient Horn away and gesturing to one Hulcus to go break a shield and prevent it from achieving that effect again. It shattered without trigger. A Tekorax. Arielle breathed softly, noting that the room had become eerily quiet as the spectators watched them duel.

"Ancient Horn to mana. Summon Shtra, to retrieve Shtra..."
Yodaz picked up his Thrash Crawler, and a Lost Soul when Arielle summoned another of the Cyber Lords. She regained a Spiral Gate.

"Ancient Horn, ikei! Stomp that Aqua Hulcus!"
The thundering hooves trampled all cohesion out of the liquid one. Yodaz's Crimson Hammer did the same to Shtra on his next turn.

"Ancient Horn to mana. Bronze-Arm, evolve into Fighter Dual Fang!"
The event repeated itself now, adding a Spiral Gate and an Abduction Charger to Arielle's mana zone, which allowed her to summon her own Aqua Hulcus. Again, the young one did not attack. Yodaz would only be able to reach his fifth mana card on the next turn. She would not move until then.

"Soulswap, on your Dual Fang," Yodaz said calmly, nodding slightly at his opponent. Arielle grumbled again as the portal yet again caused her mighty creature to drop into the gap between dimensions, popping out one of her Aqua Hulcus. She drew her card. Another Abduction Charger. Her next card was yet another Spiral Gate.

"Okay, this time, he's gonna hit you!" she declared, "Bronze-Arm, evolve into Fighter Dual Fang! And then I summon Tekorax!"

Yodaz's shields were finally revealed to the little prodigy. A Terror Pit, a Natural Snare, a Crimson Hammer, Corile, and the Magmadragon Jagalzor.

"Dual Fang, double break his shields! Ikei!"
The Ancient Horn valiantly accepted being dragged away by the triggered Terror Pit, and the Hulcus disappeared into the mess of vines. Arielle exhaled, her body sagging with relief at the high point of Yodaz's output, and then sent her creatures to break his remaining shields.

"Bronze-Arm Tribe, todomeda!"

The world was, in that moment, subjected to what was probably the greatest clash of Kaijudo to date. That of the controlled great power of Yodaz, and the surge of Arielle Dumas. The psionic shockwave washed over them all, leaving everyone unable to fully shield themselves, stunned. This did not stop Juliet from making the announcement.

"Victory to duelist ninety four! Next duel will be duelist twenty seven versus duelist one-thirteen. Good luck to you both!"

Fortunately, duelist twenty seven turned out to be North American Champion Rusty Kouizo, and number one hundred and thirteen, Jeff Fenrel. Both these young men had managed to shield themselves from the titanic clash between Yodaz and Arielle. Now, they had taken the places of the previous two duelists.

Jeff would be going first. His speed was the type that manifested far later than Rusty's could, so it seemed best to give him this chance, to the judges. Water mana was quickly charged on both sides, but Rusty's was accompanied by his first summon. An Aqua Guard already. Jeff frowned.

"Plasma Chaser, to mana. End turn."
The increase in his energy did not seem to affect Rusty even slightly. Nature mana came next, on his side, and a Torcon appeared. Jeff drew another Ardent Lunatron. His third one for the duel. He shrugged, sent one to mana, and summoned this new one. Clearly, they were trying to tell him something.

"They came just where we needed them, but will they be enough?" the Plasma Chaser now wondered, especially since Jeff Fenrel had already placed two into his mana zone. Rusty summoned his third creature. A Bronze-Arm Tribe.

"So unbelievably fast..." someone in the crowd muttered, as Jeff now summoned a Sopian. The reason for his summon was known to only him. He ended his turn, and Rusty summoned another Bronze-Arm Tribe. Everyone could feel the building power there. Now, three Beast Folk waited. Jeff did not play the Searing Wave that could have stopped them, in his deck.

Jeff charged fire mana, but nothing more. The tension built quickly, but now it was the moment. The breaking point. Rusty sent his Quixotic Hero card to his mana zone, and again, for the fourth time in the preliminaries, already... Fighter Dual Fang appeared in the minds of those who watched. This time, the Beast Folk champion did not hesitate. It charged, directly at the Ardent Lunatron, and they all watched as Dual Fang's weapons smashed into it again and again, until finally, it crashed to the ground, leaving the way clear for the other two warriors. The Bronze-Arms moved in to shatter the shields, and now, Rusty's forces were reduced by their champion being temporarily removed from the battlefield by a rush of Aqua Surfer power. Rusty's turn ended.

Jeff charged the fire mana he drew instantly, and without hesitation on his side either...

"Summon Legionnaire Lizard! Sopian, Ikei! Attack the Bronze-Arm Tribe!"
Surprisingly, Rusty did not block this, nor did he block the Legionnaire Lizard doing the same. Jeff ended his turn there. Things were bad, but not horrible.

"Summon Torcon and evolve it into Fighter Dual Fang, and then summon another Torcon. Dual Fang, ikei! Destroy the Legionnaire Lizard."

Another mighty battle between the great Beast Folk and another strange opponent, now occurred. One of the commentators in the background could now be heard remarking on the fact that it was only the second duel of the preliminaries and they had already seen Dual Fang appear five times.

"Plasma Chaser to mana. Summon Shock Trooper Mykee. Sopian--" Jeff tapped the card, and in their minds, the Cyber Lord seemed to equip the human with some sort of phasing device. Mykee dashed off in a flash, and destroyed the Aqua Guard on his way to shattering the shield. It triggered. Roar of the Earth. A new Fighter Dual Fang, now returned from the Champion's mana zone.

With nothing to stop it now, the Aqua Surfer continued the attack, breaking another shield. There was little more that Fenrel could do. The situation had already raged totally out of control. Rusty was about to send yet another in to assault him.

"Summon Quixotic Hero Swine Snout, and evolve it into Fighter Dual Fang! Dual Fangs, attack Mykee and the Surfer."
The declaration was standard, but it was also, in its own way, a very clearly expressed command to the Beast Folk. In the mindscape, the Surfer and Mykee stood no chance.

Jeff's Kaijudo buckled, as he resigned himself to his fate. He could only now play a Eureka Charger and summon another Sopian. The first broke another shield, but this triggered as an Aqua Surfer from Rusty's side. His new Sopian disappeared as easily as it had come, and the incredible power of Rusty Kouizo manifested fully now...

"Summon Aqua Hulcus, and evolve Aqua Hulcus to Crystal Lancer! Dual Fang, ikei--" neither triggered, "--Dual Fang, ikei--" and the last did not either, "Crystal Lancer, todomeda!"

The ending of this duel was far different. Jeff Fenrel fell back a bit, staggering, caught an instant later by Shinji Nykahrii. He regained his steady stance quickly, and shook Rusty's hand. In their minds, the Crystal Lancer seemed to bow to the Plasma Chaser, before their mindscape faded away to make room for the next.

"Victory to duelist twenty seven!" came Juliet's announcement. How exactly she could tell who had won through the crowd, and where she was, was unclear to most, but a few of the duelists had easily been able to discern that, whether or not she dueled, Juliet could sense the swirling psychic energy just as well, if not better, than the rest of them.

"Now duelist eighty two will face duelist seventy three. Please be careful not to jostle any of the equipment, someone nearly just knocked over one of the overhead cameras..."

Duelist eighty two was someone that had not been seen in serious tournament play in a long time. For some, she had not been seen for a year. Not since the last Grand Tournament. Apparently, her skill had not faded to the point where she could not claim a spot at this one as well. The blonde mother. Bernadette Collins.

Duelist seventy three had flown a long way to be there. At his age, he needed to bring his parents too, but neither had apparently minded. In fact, both had seemed very proud of their son, and impressed that he could so easily hold his own against the many older duelists at the tournament. Bernadette now remarked something to that effect...

"You're the other impressive lil' pup that's been around here today, huh? What's your name, hun? I'm Bernadette Collins. Gosh, I think you're around the same age as my first son..."

"I'm Leo Motane. I'm eight! Nice to meet you!" he said quite cheerfully. She smiled warmly and returned the greeting, as she deployed her shields. It did not surprise her that she would be going first. The younger duelists this days played strong and fast, so whoever could accelerate faster was chosen to go second.

She immediately filled their minds with volcanic heat. Magma Gazer to her mana zone. Leo placed a Holy Awe in his, and Bernadette added Darkness mana, the smoke now filling the night sky of her mind, blotting out the moonlight she had visualized there, the shadows creeping over the rocky crags. Leo's Water card balanced their mana zones now.

Now, when Bernadette opened things with the Cragsaur summon, the heat became almost oppressive. Leo did not seem bothered. He sent a Bronze-Arm Tribe to his mana zone, and summoned one. Bernadette mirrored his mana, but her summon was altogether different...

"Ruthless Skyterror!"
The shriek of the creature seemed to startle some of the duelists around, even Leo Motane, a bit. In his mind, the Skyterror flapped powerfully as the Cragsaur rumbled in to break his first shield. It did not trigger. He summoned Magris quickly, and sent his Bronze-Arm Tribe to break one of hers as well. This did not trigger either.

"Brave one, ain't ya? Dedreen, the Hidden Corrupter, to mana. Summon Meteosaur!"

Leo shielded his eyes as the creature sent the burst of lava at his unfortunate Bronze-Arm Tribe. The Cragsaur rumbled in again, to shatter another of the young man's defenses. He smiled, drawing his card and adding his Ancient Horn to mana.

"Just bring it..." he grinned now, causing Bernadette to smile just as broadly, "Magris, evolve into Craze Valkyrie, the Drastic! Valkyrie, ikei!"

The Valkyrie swooped down on the Cragsaur, its light whips immobilizing the Ruthless Skyterror and Meteosaur in passing, but it was not headed for them. The stronger of the two Rock Beasts was quickly cornered and struck down by the Initiate's overwhelming power, and Leo's turn ended.

"One strong one might not be enough to stop me, dear. Ruthless Skyterror to mana, summon Bat Doctor, Shadow of Undeath, and another Cragsaur. Meteosaur, ikei!"

This time, the lava burst shattered a shield, and again, no trigger occurred. Leo breathed. It was totally possible that she was going to deal with this by simply attacking more quickly than he could dispatch everything. He decided to slow her down as much as he could. Placing one Water card in his mana zone, he gave the others the clear impression that he was somehow in contact with his avatar, yet the card he played next did not seem to be it...

"Aqua Surfer, on your Cragsaur. Craze Valkyrie, attack the Meteosaur! Ikei!"
Leo Motane's turn ended, but his shields were still being steadily depleted. Bernadette, though kind, had not come to this tournament to give breaks to youngsters based on their age, either. She summoned her Essence Elf... and the Cragsaur...

"Where are you? I don't... understand..."
As if in test, the Ruthless Skyterror swooped down on the Aqua Surfer, slashing it, but although the event seemed to affect Leo Motane, it was clear that the creature was not what was the representation of him.

The Bat Doctor shattered the next shield. It was going to be close. Very close. Now, when Leo sent his Aqua Hulcus to his mana zone and summoned another Bronze-Arm Tribe, his avatar became clear... or, at least, as clear as a swirling Energy Stream could become.

"Wish... move... end? For you... defeat..."
The thoughts only barely formed the words, in a soft strange whisper. Feeling expressed strongly in resonance, but the words few and strange. Leo summoned a Quixotic Hero, and a Miele, Vizier of Lightning. The rings of light from the initiate, trapped the Essence Elf...

"Craze Valkyrie, ikei."
The Tree Folk's defeat meant little now. The duel was one shield away from being over, and Bernadette's Cragsaur and Bat Doctor were ready to fulfill that outcome. Bernadette drew her card. A Lost Soul. Without her Elf, she could no longer cast it. She placed it in mana.

"Ah, I made the right choice!" Leo noted, seeming proud of himself. Bernadette smiled. Even in the face of defeat the boy had learnt something and seemed happy. She liked that.

"Bat Doctor, ikei--"
The surge of rushing energy swept back her Cragsaur, instantly surprising her, and causing the crowd to gasp. The Aqua Surfer had bought the young boy at least one more turn. It would not do the defending creature any good, though. Just like its predecessor, this one found itself under immediate attack from a Ruthless Skyterror, and perished just as easily...

"Interesting. You did that without ever searching your deck to know it was there... but I guess you figured at least one of them had to be something to stop me... but what now, hun? I'll get through soon, I promise you that..."

"Now I do this! Summon Swine Snout, and evolve it into Fighter Dual Fang! Now, Swine Snout, attack the Bat Doctor--" the creature's energy seemed to surge, in passing, and the defeated Cragsaur from before, groan and stir-- "Craze Valkyrie, ikei!"

Nothing triggered.

"Dual Fang, ikei!" and again, nothing triggered...

"Miele, Vizier of Lightning, todomeda!"