Re: Yu-Gi-Oh! Soul of Silicon
Originally Posted by Zorak
What card had the dubious honor of being the first to be on every part of the Restricted List? If you said “Magician of Faith”, you were correctly able to Name that Card!
My name is Daala, the Queen of Xanadu, at least for the time being.
I’ve already admitted to being a terrorist. We’ve gotten that unpleasant business out of the way. Now, most terrorists are motivated by their perverted interpretations of either political or religious beliefs, making them viewed as radical at best, or insane at worst. Thus, they tend to have few allies who aren’t also terrorists, and many enemies.
Now, I have no use for politics, and I don’t pretend to use religion as an excuse for what I’m doing. At least, not one that fits the usual definition of a religion. I’ll keep my motivations concealed for now. But I’m still a terrorist, and I’ve made several enemies.
I may have made a very dangerous one… I may have stirred up the hornet’s nest…
No, worse than that…
I may have brought about the Wrath of the Spider Queen!
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Wrath of the Spider Queen
Sheena opened her eyes.
She was in a large, circular room, with marble pillars on the wall. Light came from odd crystals in the ceiling, thirty feet above.
Ahead of her was a dark portal of sorts.
“I’m in an entrance hall,” she mused. “That portal should be the way into Xanadu proper…
“Well, what am I waiting for?”
Before she could take a step, two glowing, female eyes appeared in the portal in front of her. She stepped back.
Stepping out of the portal was a woman of sinister beauty. She wore a red, low-cut leotard, with bat-like designs over her waist and chest, and blue rune-like markings. Most remarkably, she had horns, and six arms, each of which wore blue, velvet gloves.
“Succubus Knight?” said Sheena.
The Duel Spirit looked at Sheena with an annoyed glance.
“So, you came on your own?” she pouted. “I was hoping for Nicholas… Didn’t expect the head of KaibaCorp to take such an active role.”
“So, are you one of Daala’s servants?” asked Sheena.
“Not right now,” said Succubus Knight with a sigh. “Sadly, my official title at the moment is favored slave.”
“I don’t understand,” said Sheena. “Daala sent a slave to guard the entrance? Sounds like putting a match in charge of dynamite.”
“I’ll explain,” said the Warrior with a smirk. “Ever hear of how criminals once had to serve as indentured servants as forms of reduced sentences?”
“Uh huh,” replied Sheena. “Was popular back when another way of dealing with criminals was to ship them to Australia.”
“Yeah, well, I used to be one of Daala’s henchmen,” purred the Duel Spirit. “I was a bounty hunter. As a Succubus Knight, I made a practice of seducing male victims. Once they fell for my charms, they didn’t resist when I tied them up and brought them in, where Daala could do to them as she wished.”
She chuckled.
“She even rewarded me by giving me a few of them as brainwashed slaves… I lived like a queen for a while…”
“Good lord…” gasped Sheena.
“However,” sighed the Knight, “I made the mistake one day of taking a fancy to Daala’s current lover, a captured and brainwashed member of the resistance. He was so muscular and handsome… I figured a short fling wouldn’t hurt…”
She sighed again.
“I was caught.”
“Not very smart of you,” said Sheena, putting her hand on her hip.
“Indeed,” muttered Succubus Knight. “I was thrown in prison…
“But Daala gave me another chance a couple of hours ago. I simply had to apprehend whoever Sheena sent to Xanadu, and I would be freed. But if anyone got past me, I’d go back to my cell.
“If it were Nicholas, all I’d have had to do was lure him into accepting a kiss, something I could easily do…”
Sheena laughed.
“But you can’t seduce women!” she exclaimed. “Well, just try to stop me. I’ll have you know, I received training as a Duelatopia Centurion, the crème de la crème of security forces…”
Succubus Knight grinned.
“And I am a Warrior-Type Duel Spirit who has survived as one for over six centuries,” she replied with a sneer. “Your training does not impress me.”
Sheena stopped short.
She’s over six-hundred years old? she thought. Even if she only had to fight for her life once a year, she’s defeated over six-hundred enemies…
“We Warrior Spirits have watched humans who have been renowned as fighters,” purred Succubus Knight. “Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Chuck Norrris… They all made us laugh. None of them can hold a candle to any of the Warriors of the Twelve Dimensions. We knew how to fight like champions the instant we were born.”
“So why are you just standing there instead of attacking?” asked Sheena.
A Duel Disk appeared on Succubus Knight’s upper-left arm.
“Because, there are traditions that I have to follow,” she said. “I could just beat you up, sure, but then I’d be thought of as a bully and a poor sport among other Spirits. Among civilized Spirits, there’s one way to handle a conflict between two adversaries.”
“So then,” asked Sheena, “we handle this like duelists?”
“Sure,” purred Succubus Knight. “It might even be fun.”
And with the powerful cards that Daala loaned to me, she thought, beating this human will be a cakewalk.
Sheena loaded her deck. Both Disks activated.
“Game on!” they both shouted.
(Sheena: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Succubus Knight: 8,000)
“I’m drawing!” started Succubus Knight, drawing a card.
She looked over her hand.
“I’ll start by playing the Spell Card, Gold Sarcophagus.”
With a rumble, a solid gold chest with the Eye of Wdjat on the front lifted out of the ground.
In a flash of energy, all of the cards in her deck appeared in a hologram in front of her. She quickly pointed to one.
The Sarcophagus opened, and the selected card lowered inside. The chest shut, and lowered into the ground.
“We’ll get to that later,” she said, as a concealed Monster appeared, “I throw a Monster in Defense Mode, and I’ll leave it at that.”
Sheena drew a card. She looked at it.
She closed her eyes and held the card to her heart.
Siegfried… she thought.
Only a week before he was killed, he had given her two cards. A Ritual Spell, and a Ritual Monster, two cards that he had commissioned Industrial Illusions to make special. They would never be released to the public, and would be for her exclusive use, to be used in future Duelatopia tournaments in her role as the fearsome Eliminator, Shelob the Spider Savant.
These two cards were an expression of his love for her, and the last gift he gave to her when he was alive.
The card she had drawn was the Ritual Spell. Unfortunately, a Ritual Spell is no good without the Ritual Monster, so she couldn’t use it right now.
She chose another one.
“I summon… Chainsaw Insect!” she shouted.
With a roar of chainsaws, a huge beetle with serrated mandibles appeared. (2,400/0)
“And I’m not done,” she continued, as a Spell Card appeared. “I play Double Summon. “This lets me make a second Normal Summon this turn.
“So I’ll also bring out Insect Knight!”
In a burst of energy, the mantis warrior holding his serrated sword and shield appeared. (1,900/1,500)
Succubus Knight fidgeted a little.
“Insect Knight… Attack!”
Insect Knight flew at the facedown card, and Sangan appeared on it. The furry, three-eyed Fiend was cut down.
“I’m sure you know about Sangan’s effect,” chuckled Succubus Knight, looking through the cards in her deck.
She took one, and then held the deck with her lower set of arms.
“Advantage number forty-three of having six arms… It makes shuffling during a duel so much easier.”
Sheena couldn’t deny it as she watched the Warrior shuffle with her extra arms.
“I’m not done with you!” shouted Sheena, as her opponent put the deck back. “Chainsaw Insect, attack directly!”
Chainsaw Insect scurried up to Succubus Knight and chomped its mandibles around her waist. She grunted and sweat, but didn’t scream.
She panted for breath as it let go.
(S: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (SK: 5,600)
“My move…” she muttered, drawing a card.
“I throw down a facedown, and have this defend me.”
A facedown card and a facedown Monster appeared.
“Your move.”
Sheena quickly drew.
“I summon… My Brown Recluse!” she shouted.
In a burst of energy, a huge spider appeared next to Chainsaw Insect. It had a brown exoskeleton, long legs, and a marking on its back resembling a violin. (2,300/0)
“Here’s a quick lesson in arachnid biology,” said Sheena. “The brown recluse, also known as the fiddler spider, is a venomous arachnid whose poison is almost as lethal as the more well-known black widow. Like most spiders, they weave webs… But unlike most, they leave their webs at night to hunt for food, much like mammalian predators do.”
“What is this, a duel or a biology lesson?” snapped Succubus Knight.
“We’ll see who laughs last,” said Sheena. “Brown Recluse, attack!”
The spider scurried at the facedown Monster. Marshmallon appeared on the card, and the spider’s huge mandibles just bounced off of it. (300/500)
Sheena screamed as a red aura surrounded her.
“Didn’t quite go as you planned, huh?” asked Succubus Knight. “By the way, I activate this…”
Her facedown card lifted.
“Solemn Wishes. This grants me 500 Life Points whenever I draw one or more cards.”
“Now, my Brown Recluse moves to Defense Mode,” growled Sheena.
The large spider sat down and shielded itself with its legs.
“I’ll set a card facedown, and end my turn,” she said, as a facedown card appeared in a flash of light.
(S: 7,000) - - - - - - - - - - (SK: 5,600)
Succubus Knight drew a card. A shower of golden motes fell on her, as her Life Points went up.
“First I’ll retrieve the card I put in the Sarcophagus,” she said.
The Gold Sarcophagus rose out of the ground and opened. The card floated out, and she took it.
“Now I play Pot of Greed,” she continued, as the evil jar appeared. “So I gain two more cards, and 500 more Life Points.”
She made two draws, and the gold shower rained on her again.
“Next, I play the Spell Card, Desperado Manager. I can use this if I have at least one card in my hand. Then I get to draw two cards.”
The Spell Card appeared, and she drew twice. The gold shower rained on her again.
“And then I take any three cards from my hand, and place them on the top of my deck.”
She chose three cards in her hand, and placed them on the top of her deck quickly.
“I’m just getting started,” she continued. “I play another Spell called Remove Bomb. This lets me remove the top five cards on my deck from play. And for each one of them that’s a Monster, you lose 300 Life Points.
“So let’s see…”
She took five cards off of her deck and held them up. Three were Monsters (clearly she had put them there herself), and the other two were Mystical Space Typhoon and Tribute Doll.
Three bombs rolled towards Sheena. She braced herself as they exploded.
(S: 6,100) - - - - - - - - - - (SK: 7,100)
The cards that Succubus Knight had held up vanished, but Sheena had seen them quite clearly.
There’s only one reason anyone has those Monsters in her deck, she thought. It’s a very hard trick to pull off, but if she actually manages to do it…
“I’m not done yet,” chuckled Succubus Knight. “Next, I play Foolish Burial. Now I get to send another Monster from my deck to my Graveyard.”
The Spell Card appeared, and she tossed a card into her discard slot.
“But it isn’t staying there. I play The Warrior Returning Alive. Now I can retrieve the Warrior I just sent to my Graveyard.”
She played the card, and the card slipped out of her discard slot. She took it.
“Now it’s time to summon it,” she said, taking another card from her hand. “Wondering what the card was that I put in that chest?
“I play Dimension Fusion!”
So that’s it… thought Sheena.
“It costs me 2,000 Life Points,” said Succubus Knight, as she glowed with a red aura, “but now, Kazejin, Suijin, and Sanga of the Thunder are all summoned to the field.”
In three large bursts of energy, three large Monsters appeared. One was a large green torso with arms, and the kanji symbol for wind on the front. (2,400/2,200) The next was a large, blue torso with claws, a demonic face, and the kanji symbol for water on the front. (2,500/2,400) The last was a large, gold and brown torso with claws, and the kanji symbol for thunder. (2,600/2,200)
(S: 6,100) - - - - - - - - - - (SK: 5,100)
“The Warrior you searched for…” muttered Sheena. “It could only be…”
“That’s right!” exclaimed Succubus Knight in triumph, as the light in the room dimmed. “I sacrifice my three elementals, to summon the mighty, all-powerful, unstoppable Gate Guardian!”
The three deities vanished, and a titanic form loomed above Succubus Knight. Resembling nothing less than its three component Monsters stacked one on top of each other, it glowed with a dark aura of menace as it glared at Sheena with its eyeless face. (3,750/3,400)
“So…” purred Succubus Knight. “Is the great Shelob the Spider Savant impressed?”
Sheena shook her head.
“No, not really,” she said. “Maybe I’m a little impressed with Daala for managing to find out that I was Shelob. The identities of the Duelatopia Eliminators were very closely guarded secrets.”
“WHAT?” yelled Succubus Knight, clearly angry. “I managed to summon one of the hardest-to-summon Monsters in the game!”
“Don’t get me wrong,” said Sheena. “Gate Guardian, is powerful, and it is indeed an icon of Duel Monsters.
“But consider this: What would have given you more of an advantage, Gate Guardian, or keeping Kazejin, Suijin, and Sanga of the Thunder on the field?”
Succubus Knight gave her a dirty look.
“I hate it when my opponent makes sense!” she shouted.
She took the last card from in her hand.
“I Equip Gate Guardian with Fairy Meteor Crush,” she said, placing it in her Disk. “You’ll notice that your Brown Recluse is in Defense Mode, with zero Defense Points.
“Attack her Brown Recluse! Tempest surge!”
What could best be described as a small thunderstorm started to form around the giant Warrior…
“Go, Spell Card!” shouted Sheena, as her facedown card lifted. “Mystik Wok! Now I can sacrifice Brown Recluse before your attack hits!”
Brown Recluse vanished into grains of light, and Sheena glowed with energy.
“Ah, fine,” said Succubus Knight. “Gate Guardian, attack Chainsaw Insect!”
A blast of water charged with electricity shot from the titan, and Chainsaw Insect exploded.
“Since your Bug battled,” she continued, “I get to draw another card, meaning my Trap Card activates.”
She drew a card, and the shower of gold fell on her.
She looked at the card she had just drawn.
“Still my turn,” she said. “And since I haven’t Normal Summoned yet, I’ll set this, and that will be all.”
A new defensive Monster appeared.
(S: 7,050) - - - - - - - - - - (SK: 5,600)
“My move…” said Sheena.
She drew a card.
“I play MY Pot of Greed.”
The jar appeared, and she drew two cards.
“I move Insect Knight to Defense Mode…”
Insect Knight knelt, and held its sword down.
“Then another Monster in Defense Mode.”
A facedown Monster appeared.
“Then I toss this facedown.”
A facedown card appeared in a flash of light.
“And that’s all.”
“Then I draw,” said Succubus Knight, drawing a card. The shower of gold fell on her again.
“Go, Dust Tornado!” exclaimed Sheena, as her facedown card shot up. “There goes your Fairy Meteor Crush!”
The tornado tore across the field, and the Equip Spell blew apart.
“Seems you’ll have to take me out the old fashioned way,” she said with a smirk.
“We’ll see about that,” said Succubus Knight. “I flip my facedown Monster into Attack Mode. Here’s an Insect for you… The Magical Merchant.”
Her facedown Monster flipped up, revealing a humanoid bug with blue skin, wearing traveler’s shorts and carrying a large satchel. It held a collection of odd objects in its six hands. (200/700)
“Due to its Flip-Effect, I get to pick up cards from my deck until I reach a Spell or Trap Card…”
She picked up one card, and then a second.
She grinned as she saw what the third one was.
“…and as for these two Monsters, they go to the Graveyard.”
She discarded an Unshaven Angler and a second Suijin.
“Now, my suggestion to you is, brace yourself. I play the Spell Card that my Merchant gave me… It’s called Unspeakable Cruelty.”
Sheena had never seen the Spell Card that appeared, and she did NOT like the look of it at all. The artwork depicted Demise, King of Armageddon and Ruin, Queen of Oblivion crushing the Earth between their hands.
“I can use this card when I have a Monster whose Attack Score is at least 3,000,” chuckled Succubus Knight. “By sacrificing two other Monsters, it can attack directly.”
Sheena’s eyes opened wide.
Magical Merchant and Marshmallon vanished.
Sheena barely knew what hit her. Gate Guardian’s tempest surge hit her with the force of a sledgehammer, throwing her clear across the room.
(S: 3,300) - - - - - - - - - - (SK: 6,100)
When Sheena got up, her ears were ringing. Or so she thought. Then she realized that Succubus Knight was actually laughing at her.
“To think I thought that seducing men with my powers and enslaving them was the biggest thrill I could ever have,” she laughed. “I had been a temptress for so long, I had forgotten what it was like to be a Warrior Spirit… I had forgotten what a true fight was like! How much it got the blood flowing, the heart pumping!
“The thrill of pounding your opponent to a pulp until she begs for mercy… I had forgotten how satisfying it was!”
Sheena stood up.
“That’s easy to say when you have a Monster with over 3,000 Attack Points backing you up…” she snarled. “I’m taking you and your big lummox down.”
“Oh, we’ll see about that,” chuckled Succubus Knight. “I play a facedown.”
She played her last card, and facedown card appeared behind Gate Guardian.
“My move!” shouted Sheena.
She drew a card.
“I play… Graceful Charity. Since you’re a Duel Spirit, I trust I don’t have to explain such a common card.”
She quickly drew three cards. She looked over them and the other two cards in her hand.
She discarded Saber Beetle and Multiplication of Ants.
“All right!” she shouted. “Now your giant is gonna fall. Reveal… Man-Eater Bug!”
Her facedown Monster flipped up, revealing the savage, four-limbed predatory Insect. (450/600)
The huge Bug drooled. It leapt at Gate Guardian…
“Not so fast!” shouted Succubus Knight.
Her facedown card lifted.
“I activate My Body as a Shield! This lets me pay 1,500 Life Points to protect my Gate Guardian and wipe out your Insect.”
Man-Eater Bug exploded in mid-leap.
“Sure, it’s expensive,” she said, “but when you use a deck where a NOMI Monster plays such an important part, it’s a necessity.
“So what are you gonna do now?”
Sheena sighed.
“I’ll set a Monster, and that will be all.”
A facedown Monster appeared next to Insect Knight.
(S: 3,300) - - - - - - - - - - (SK: 4,600)
Succubus Knight drew, and the rain of gold fell on her again.
“This is like target practice,” she said with a scowl. “Gate Guardian, annihilate her mystery Monster!”
Gate Guardian blasted its tempest surge, and a large, black beetle appeared on the card. It was quickly washed away.
“Thank you,” said Sheena, with a sinister look. “That was my Skull-Mark Ladybug. And when it gets swatted, I gain 1,000 Life Points.”
“I’m beginning to get angry!” snarled Succubus Knight.
She placed a card on her Disk, and a facedown Monster appeared.
(S: 4,300) - - - - - - - - - - (SK: 5,100)
Sheena made her draw and looked at it.
“I set this, and a card facedown, and that will be all,” she said.
A new facedown card and a facedown Monster appeared.
“Humph,” grunted Succubus, Knight, drawing. The shower of gold fell on her again.
She looked at the card.
“Ready for more pain?” she asked. “I play Premature Burial. Think I’ll bring back my Marshmallon.”
Marshmallon appeared again in a flash of light. (300/500)
“Next,” she said, “I flip Magician of Faith into Attack Mode.”
Her facedown Monster flipped up, revealing the female mage with the ponytail and crescent-topped staff. (300/400)
A card slipped out of her discard slot.
“Your Unspeakable Cruelty Spell Card, right?” asked Sheena, with a sinister smirk on her face.
“That’s right,” said Succubus Knight, playing it. “I’m sure you remember how it works…”
Magician and Faith and Marshmallon vanished into grains of light.
“Go, Trap Card!” exclaimed Sheena. “Magic Drain!”
Her facedown card flipped up.
“Here’s the deal, demon,” she said. “If you can discard a Spell Card, your Spell works. Otherwise, it’s a big waste.”
Succubus Knight growled. She clearly had no cards left in her hand, Spells or otherwise.
The Unspeakable Cruelty card shattered.
“Gate Guardian, attack her facedown Monster!” she shouted.
The tempest surge shot forward again. Neo Bug appeared on the card and was blown to bits.
“You can’t keep defending forever,” warned Succubus Knight.
(S: 4,300) - - - - - - - - - - (SK: 4,800)
I just need the right card, and I won’t have to, thought Sheena.
She made a draw.
Hmm, she thought.
“I play a new card facedown,” she said, fitting the card that had already been in her hand into her Disk.
A facedown card appeared.
“Then, I play Card of Demise!”
She played her last card, and the ominous guillotine appeared behind her. She drew five cards.
Still not there, she thought, looking at them. Oh, Siegfried, where are you when I need you?
She placed one of the cards on her Disk, and a new facedown Monster appeared.
Succubus Knight drew a card. Once again, the shower of gold fell upon her.
“I activate Pot of Avarice,” she said, playing it.
Kazejin, Suijin, Sanga of the Thunder, Sangan, and Magician of Faith slipped out of her discard slot. She reshuffled her deck, and then drew twice. The shower of gold fell on her again.
“Not bad,” she muttered. “I summon Kaiser Sea Horse.”
In a flash of light, the armored fish-man with a glossy, blue exoskeleton, holding a spear appeared. (1,700/1,650)
“Kaiser Sea Horse, destroy Insect Knight!” she ordered.
The Sea Horse charged Insect Knight, and speared it with its weapon. The Insect shattered into pixels.
“Gate Guardian, take care of her last Monster.”
As Gate Guardian blasted its tempest surge, an odd Insect appeared on the card. It looked like a big arachnid with a barbed tail, and dragonfly wings. It shattered into shards.
“You just squashed my Flying Scorpion!” laughed Sheena. “And when that happens, I get to Special Summon an Insect from my Graveyard. Except for Flying Scorpion itself, that is. So I’m bringing back Brown Recluse.”
Brown Recluse appeared once again. (2,300/0)
“Whatever,” said Succubus Knight. “It’s your move.”
(S: 4,300) - - - - - - - - - - (SK: 5,800)
Sheena made one draw. One of the ropes on the guillotine snapped.
“I play… my own Pot of Avarice,” she said.
She played the card, and took Neo Bug, Chainsaw Insect, Man Eater Bug, Flying Scorpion, and Saber Beetle from her discard slot. She quickly reshuffled.
She was about to draw two cards.
Then she paused.
Continued…
