Re: Yu Gi Oh! Dark Messiah
Let's see, where was I...
Oh, yes, I was just about to introduce the chapter with the latest user character!
This character belongs to Blademaster, and is another unique character.
Enjoy this chapter, because after it, things will get a little... intense.
- DS
[B][I]Fire. [B][I]Earth. [B][I]Wind. [B][I]Water.
[B][I]There’s power in those four words. Several cultures, ancient, medieval, Renaissance, and even modern, believed that there was power in the Elements of Nature, the building blocks of all things.
Maximillion Pegasus believed it too. When designing Duel Monsters, he created six Attributes of Monsters, four of which were the elemental forces.
My current opponent seems to favor the other two forces, the “metaphysical” ones of Light and Dark. Unfortunately, those two have always been the most popular, and have spawned the most powerful Monsters. I mean, just look at two members of the Trinity – most of Yugi’s big hitters were Dark, and a lot of Kaiba’s were Light.
Me? I was inspired by Jaden Yuki, the Second King of Games. With his Elemental Heroes, he knew the glory of all the elements…
And I’m going to share that glory with a blast to this goon’s face.
[B][size=3]CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Monday, September 20th, 2106, 5:30 PM
Karen Marianas stepped out of the saloon, looking at her nails.
A lot of girls thought it was hard keeping nails from getting chipped or scratched, or worse, broken, but for a duelist, it was unbelievably hard. You never knew when a brutal hit from your opponent’s Monster was going to knock you down, and breaking a nail was a sad occurrence that occasionally happened.
She hummed as she looked at the setting sun.
“What is it with girls and their fingernails, Karen?” said a voice. “Are all women so vain?”
She turned around and saw someone.
It was a youth who was hard to miss. He was dressed in bell-bottoms, and a pink, ruffled shirt. His hair was slightly long, and dyed light green.
“How’d you know my name?” asked Karen.
“I was under the hair dryer when the manicurist was doing your nails,” said the youth. “These days, my hair doesn’t stay this color on its own very well, and my split ends get terrible…”
“Normally, I’d ask why,” said Karen, “but my mom always told me never to mess with people who were weirder than me…”
She turned to leave…
“Weird?” said the youth, running up to her.
Karen noticed the strange Duel Disk on his arm.
“This from a girl wearing jewelry shaped like rodents?”
“RODENTS?” screamed Karen.
She glared at him.
“Pal, you want to insult my Kuribohs, you’re asking for a beating…”
“Want to put your deck where your mouth is?” asked the youth, crossing his arms.
Karen held her head.
“Do you have a name?” she asked.
He grinned for a second.
“Espa…” he said. “Espa Roba.”
Karen paused for a minute.
“Wait a minute, that sounds familiar…” she muttered.
“Aha!” exclaimed Espa. “I see my reputation as a duelist precedes me…”
“No…” muttered Karen. “Something from Joey Wheeler’s autobiography…”
Espa frowned.
“That was the name of his first opponent in the first Battle City…” she said. “He dueled the guy, and he won his…”
“Is that all I am to everybody?” shouted Espa, angrily. “A mark on Wheeler’s record?”
“Please…” said Karen, “in order to be the real Espa Roba, you’d have to be over a hundred years old, and you’re about as old as I am… So you’re either an imposter or…”
She giggled.
“…some restless ghost who’s going to trap me in some deadly Shadow Game!”
She laughed.
Espa’s eyes narrowed.
“Yeah, that would be the day…” she said.
“Duel me…” he said. “You’ll be a believer soon… And by the way, I’m not going to stop bothering you until you agree…”
“All right, fine…” said Karen, slipping her Disk on her arm. “But if you ruin this manicure, so help me…”
[B]* * * * * * * * * *
It was of course, about twenty minutes before Silver first encountered Bandit Keith, and Fortunado was now keeping an eye on this confrontation.
“Uh, boss?” said Cassius. “I’ll admit that these guys you’re using are… entertaining, but… Uhm…
“Exactly who is Karen dueling right now?”
“Espa Roba,” replied Fortunado. “Or at least a part of him…
“Make no mistake, my… employee can make contact with the spirits of deceased duelists and make them offers in exchange for services. There are a lot of things that spirits would want that the living can offer. Once an agreement is reached, he can manifest these… specters as he calls them. Avatars of sorts, temporary bodies that the spirits can inhabit for a short time.
“Of course, these creatures’ could never give their souls to anyone – not the Orichalcos or anything else, because their souls are already claimed by other forces and are located far away. So they can’t use the Seal. The Seal can’t be used by a duelist with no soul in his body, and these specters left theirs ‘back at home’ so to speak.
“But Shadow Games are easily done by those who have fed on supernatural energies…”
“So what are these… agreements?” asked Cassius.
“Depends,” said Fortunado with a shrug. “A specter can’t be created if the deceased is unwilling to come to the mortal plane. But a lot of these duelists were unsavory characters in life, who just jump at the chance to earn a small reprieve from what’s happening to them in the afterlife…
“As for Espa Roba… He was more moral than most of the ones we’re working with…
“But we convinced him that this would be… fun. And that’s all we needed, apparently.”
[B]* * * * * * * * * *
Karen and Espa stood apart from each other.
[B](Karen: 8,000) (Espa: 8,000)
“All right…” said Karen, drawing five cards. “Now we can… huh?”
Espa closed his eyes and held his fingers to his temples.
“Beem, beem, beem, beem, beem…” he said.
“What on Earth…” muttered Karen.
Espa threw his arms out.
“I feel the energy of the cosmos…” he muttered. “Passing through my body… Becoming one with me! At this time, at this place… I will win this duel! It is destiny… It is the law of the cosmos!”
“You’re weirding me out, buddy…” muttered Karen.
“Oh, sorry,” said Espa. “Were you talking?”
Karen frowned and drew her first card.
“I summon this guy in Attack Mode!” she exclaimed, placing a card on her Disk. “Go, Homunculus, the Alchemic Being!”
In a flash of light, a tall form appeared, resembling a man with rubbery skin and strange symbols on it. (1,800/1,600)
“That will do for my turn…” she said.
“Interesting…” said Espa, holding his chin.
He drew a card.
“I’ll place one card facedown…”
A facedown card appeared.
“And summon Cyber Raider in Defense Mode.”
A tall android dressed in spandex with a strange helmet appeared, kneeling in Defense. (1,400/1,000)
All right… thought Karen, drawing a card. That facedown card worries me… But I have the right cards to hit him hard if I risked it…
“Homunculus!” she shouted. “Transform! Turn from Light, to Wind!”
Homunculus glowed, and then transformed into a cloudy humanoid form.
“How’d he do that?” asked Espa.
“That’s Homunculus’s special ability,” said Karen. “Once per round, I can switch his Attribute to any one that I want.
“And the reason I changed him to Wind is due to the special effect of my next Monster… one of the six servants of Doriado, Element Dragon.”
She threw a card on her Disk, and a small Dragon with orange scales and a mane of fur around its head appeared. (1,500/1,200)
“See,” said Karen, “when there’s a Wind Monster on the field, like there is right now, Element Dragon can attack twice, so long as he destroys one Monster first. So once he takes care of your Monster, both he and Homunculus will take care of you!
“Element Dragon, attack with blazing breeze!”
Element Dragon breathed a cloud of fiery wind at Cyber Raider, and he shattered.
“Now, attack directly!”
The Dragon fired again, and Espa shielded himself.
“I activate… Des Counterblow!” shouted Espa.
His facedown card lifted…
And then the fiery breeze turned back on Element Dragon, and he groaned before he shattered as well!
“What?” asked Karen.
“That may have cost me some Life Points,” said Espa. “But when Des Counterblow is active, any Monster that attacks directly will pay with its life!”
He grinned.
“And by the way, it’s a Continuous Trap…
“Feel free to attack me with your Homunculus if you’d like…”
Karen paused. She frowned.
Darn… she thought. Losing Homunculus at this point would be too costly…
“Well, the same goes for your Monsters if they attack me,” she added.
“I’m not too worried about that,” said Espa, closing his eyes.
“I end my turn…” said Karen.
[B](K: 8,000) (E: 6,500)
“Good,” said Espa, drawing a card.
Oh, look… he thought. I just drew Magical Merchant! Could come in handy…
“I place a Monster facedown in Defense Mode,” he said, placing a card on his Disk.
A facedown Monster appeared.
“I see…” said Karen. “I’ll bet that card has a nasty flip-effect…”
She drew.
“Well, too bad! Homunculus, transform again! Turn from Wind, to Earth!”
Homunculus solidified, and turned into a blocky, muscular humanoid made of stone.
“Now I summon another of Doriado’s servants… Element Soldier.”
She played a card, and a tall soldier in golden armor appeared, holding a sword. (1,500/1,200)
“Sorry to nip your plans in the bud,” she said, “but when there’s an Earth Monster on the field, Element Soldier negates the effect of any Monster he destroys.
“Attack! Mire sludge blast!”
Element Soldier swung his blade, and shot forth a spray of mud and grime. A multi-armed creature appeared on the card and was blown away.
“Magical Merchant?” said Karen, with a smile. “Glad I countered it.
“I’ll place a card facedown, and end my turn…”
A facedown card appeared in front of her.
Espa frowned.
He drew a card.
“Try dealing with this!” he said. “I summon Reflect Bounder in Attack Mode!”
He played a card, and a strange looking robot appeared. It had a space-age looking cranium, wore a cape, and its chest was covered with mirrors. Instead of legs, it was perched on a spire. (1,700/1,000)
“I know what you’re thinking…” said Roba. “This guy is no match for your Homunculus. However…”
“If I attack it, I’ll get blasted for damage equal to the Attack Score of whatever I attack it with,” said Karen. “Yeah, I know how it works…”
“How perceptive…” said Espa. “But it can attack your Monsters easily. Reflect Bounder, attack Element Soldier! Mystery mirror beam!”
Reflect Bounder blasted a ray of light from its chest, and vaporized Element Soldier.
[B](K: 7,800) (E: 6,500)
“So, what do you say to that?” asked Espa.
“You may think I’m afraid of that thing,” said Karen, drawing a card, “but actually, it’s just an annoyance…”
She placed a card on her Disk.
“I summon Element Doom in Attack Mode…” she said.
A Fiend that looked like a cross between a bear, bat, and snake appeared in front of her. (1,500/1,200)
“Now, Homunculus, transform! Turn from Earth back to Wind again!”
Homunculus reverted to its gaseous form.
“And now…” continued Karen, “I activate my Trap Card… Spiritual Wind Art – Miyabi!”
The Trap Card lifted, and a young girl in a brown robe with long, green hair appeared on the field. She carried a staff with a white gem on the end.
“Who in…” muttered Espa.
“Meet Wynn the Wind Charmer!” exclaimed Karen. “The absolute master of all things Wind!”
“I expected such a person to be a little… stronger looking,” said Espa, grinning again.
Wynn gave him a dirty look.
“Don’t joke,” said Karen. “Miyabi is a powerful spell of Wind that she can use to destroy any card on your side of the field if I sacrifice a Wind Monster first.
“Show him what you can do, Wynn!”
The Charmer raised her staff, and it and Homunculus glowed…
Homunculus flew forward, and slammed into Reflect Bounder! Both Monsters shattered!
Wynn crossed her arms and vanished.
“By the way,” said Karen. “When a card is destroyed by Miyabi, it doesn’t go to the Graveyard, it goes to the bottom of your deck. So you likely won’t be using that guy again for a long time!”
“Are you done?” asked Espa.
Karen hesitated. She looked at Element Doom, and then at the Des Counterblow card…
“Yeah, I’m done…” she said with a sulk.
Espa drew.
He looked at the Monster Card.
I may have lost Reflect Bounder, he thought, but she had to sacrifice that annoying Homunculus to get rid of him. Odds are, she’s planning not to attack until she amasses enough Monsters to finish me off…
But she’s in for a surprise…
“I choose to pass this turn…” he said, crossing his arms.
Nuts, thought Karen, drawing. Gotta get rid of that Des Counterblow…
She played a card.
“I summon Element Saurus in Attack Mode,” she said.
A Dinosaur with rocky skin and plates on its back appeared. Puffs of flame spouted from its jaws. (1,500/1,200)
“I’ll end my turn,” she said.
Espa smiled wickedly.
“You fell for it just like I planned!” he said with a laugh.
He drew a card, and then took one from his hand.
“Since you have two Monsters on the field, and I have none, I can summon this guy with no sacrifice,” he continued. “I summon The Fiend Megacyber!”
A huge, hulking Warrior with a fiendish face dressed in bronze armor with blades on his arms appeared! (2,200/1,200)
“Ulp…” said Karen.
“Attack Element Saurus!” he shouted “Mega-slash!”
The Fiend Megacyber swiped with its blades, and cut Element Saurus in two.
“Ugh…” muttered Karen.
[B](K: 7,100) (E: 6,500)
“The laws of Fate are clearly written!” laughed Espa. “You are toast!”
“I don’t believe in fate…” said Karen, drawing a card.
“I’ll play my Pot of Greed.”
She drew two cards.
All right! she thought, looking at the Spell and Trap Card. This doesn’t solve the immediate problem, but now I can bring my star out!
“This duel is as good as mine, Espa Roba!” she said. “And it all starts with this card!”
She held up a card.
“A Ritual Card?” said Espa, confused.
“Yes,” said Karen, “and it’s called Doriado’s Blessing!”
She played the card, and dark clouds started to form overhead…
“And to perform this ceremony, I’ll invoke the power of someone who has Doriado’s Blessing!” she said, holding a card aloft. “Come forth, Aussa the Earth Charmer!”
A bespectacled girl with short hair and brown clothing appeared, holding a staff with a white stone. A small creature that looked like a woodchuck with horns and batlike wings sat at her feet.
Aussa held her staff to the sky, and lightning struck…
Then she vanished.
“I summon Elemental Mistress Doriado!” shouted Karen.
A beam of light broke through the clouds, and a beautiful woman appeared. She had strawberry-blonde hair and deep green eyes. She wore a long, blue robe, and a fancy headdress. (1,200/1,400)
“That’s weak!” said Espa.
“True…” replied Karen, taking a card from her hand. “Weak enough for me to Equip her with this… Heart of Clear Water.”
She played a card. Doriado touched her chest, and a crystal amulet appeared around her neck.
“This can only be Equipped to weak Monsters, but it makes them invincible in battle, and immune to all Spell Cards that target,” said Karen.
“Now, I’ll place two cards facedown…”
She fit her last cards into slots. They appeared.
“And that will end my turn.”
“HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!” laughed Espa.
He drew a card.
“You made one big error, Karen!” he laughed. “Heart of Clear Water may prevent her from dying, but she’s in Attack Mode, and you’ll still lose Life Points if she’s attacked!
“Not to mention the fact that your last move forced you to deplete every card in your hand, while yours truly has a full hand… Who has the advantage now?”
Karen stared at him.
“Fiend Megacyber, attack Doriado!”
The Fiend Megacyber slashed at Doriado! She gasped and fell over.
[B](K: 6,100) (E: 6,500)
“That’s exactly what I wanted you to do, you green haired goon!” laughed Karen. “Since you attacked when I had no hand, I can activate this!”
Her Trap Card lifted, showing the image of a hand holding five cards reaching out of a grave shaped like a cross.
“It’s a rare Trap called Card of Last Will…” she said. “Now I can draw five cards…”
She drew five.
She looked at one of them – a powerful, very exotic-looking Monster.
“Now, about that crack about having the advantage…”
“Big deal!” said Espa. “You still have yet to defeat my Megacyber!”
“Well, it’s my turn…” said Karen.
She drew a sixth card.
“And I play Mystical Space Typhoon!”
She played the card, and the cyclone whipped across the field, blowing away Des Counterblow.
“Next I activate my other Trap…” she continued. “Go, Fuh-Rin-Ka-Zan!”
The Trap lifted, and a kneeling, grim-faced Samurai appeared in the center of the field.
“Fah-Re-what?” said Espa, raising an eyebrow.
Thunder clapped…
“The fabulous phenomenon with the funny name,” said Karen. “This Trap can only be activated when I have an Earth Monster, a Fire Monster, a Wind Monster, and a Water Monster on my side of the field.”
“You don’t even have four Monsters!” protested Espa.
“True,” said Karen, “but Doriado is special. She’s considered to be all four of those Attributes at the same time.
“And Fuh-Rin-Ka-Zan can have four effects… One of which lets me destroy all opposing Monsters!
“So… wipe out his Megacyber!”
The Samurai’s eyes glowed, and The Fiend Megacyber burst into flames! He shattered.
“Well…” muttered Karen. “Now that he’s out of the way…
“Element Doom, attack with diabolic sandstorm!”
Element Doom blasted forth a stream of sand and grit, hitting Espa directly! He staggered back.
Continued…
