CARD GAMES

[Scarlet Weather]

Achan would later admit that he never quite understood how the holograms had somehow been able to produce concussive force at that exact moment. All he knew was that one moment he was on his feet, trying to hide his embarassment over screwing up- the next, he was on the ground and trying to pull himself to his feet.

Wolfgang and the others began to applaud. "Bravo, Bravo, Herr Smith," Wolfgang commented. "And you as well, Miss Edgeworth. This has been an enjoyable duel- and I hope that the next round is as exciting."

Achan shook his head, gasping for breath as a grin spread across his face. "There's... not... going.... to be.... a next round."

Wolfgang's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about?"

In answer, Achan pointed up.

A massive crack had appeared in the sky, as if somebody had hurled a baseball at a sheet of glass. Apparently Cureru's Spirit Law had done more damage than the Sturm Hunds had anticipated- and no wonder. They hadn't been expecting an actual Low-Judge of the Spirit world to show up, Achan realized. Judai hadn't warned them. And what's more, they weren't anticipating what was coming next.

Aku hovered near the point of impact, glowing with a brilliant light. Oh great gods who gave this world order, I, thy servant, now present this offering. Grant me what is mine by right, the strength of sealing! Break through this world of injustice!

Wolfgang pointed his gun at Achan. "Shoot him!" he ordered.

Too late.

The energy Aku had been storing was released, channeled at the weakest point in the barrier. Ma'at's blazing light!

The energy ripped through the hole that Spirit Law had torn in the barrier, and the formerly invisible dome fell to pieces like a house of glass.

Wolfgang stared in shock at the barrier, then at Achan and Tacey, speechless. "Well played," was all he said. Then he laughed.

Klaus and Ehrez looked at each other, then back at their boss, and shook their heads before raising their pistols. "Alright, cute trick- but if either of you move before we bring the barrier back, you're dead."

Achan shook his head, before pointing directly behind the two bikers. "First of all, it wasn't a cute trick- and second, I think this is checkmate."

 

[Alter Ego]

"Now, now, Inu-Inu-chan; that's just being a poor sport."

Haruko wagged her finger in a would-be scolding way as she strode over to the group, not paying Wolfgang's accomplices any heed even as they abruptly froze on their spots, staring wide-eyed at what seemed to be thin air, guns clattering onto the ground from limp hands.

"And so is that." she continued, peering closer at the shadow duelist, as if trying to see something hidden just a few inches beneath his skin, completely unbothered by the gun that now had her at point-blank rage, "But you know what?" she briefly flicked aside her fringe to stare Wolfgang straight into both eyes, "...little Haruharu can be a poor sport right back at you."

It was at this point that Wolfgang found himself pinned down by a large, uncomfortable mass of suit.

Tacey, meanwhile, simply gaped, the words failing her until finally...

"...Raymond?"

"AT YOUR SERVICE, MA'AM!" the suit boomed, pulling Wolfgang's arm back with rather more force than was necessary.

"By your esteemed mother's orders." Rufus chimed in, showing only marginally less passion with the arm he had seized while the remaining two suits secured the now discarded guns...not that their owners seemed particularly inclined to do anything about it, "And thus, in full keeping with yours."

"TOLD YOU WE COULD BE OF SERVICE, MA'AM!"

"You...idiots..." Tacey managed, shaking her head with an expression somewhere in the middle of amusement, relief, and annoyance.

"See, Neko-Neko-chan?" Haruko joined in, patting down her fringe again and giggling innocently, "Isn't it good to have little Haruharu and everyone around?"

 

[Scarlet Weather]

Wolfgang raged against the arms of his captors, but it was no use. "Verdaamt," he muttered under his breath. "That bastard lied about his team members."

He met Haruko's gaze. "And he didn't tell me anything about a member of his team with such a powerful ability at her disposal- though I suppose he anticipated my immunity to it." He shook his head once again. "Verdaamt."

Achan stared in awe at Tacey's suits. "Thanks, you guys. You really saved us."

He turned to Aku. But... just what the hell did Haruko do to those guys?

Aku shook his head. Her? Nothing. But whatever that spirit is that she's partnered with just mentally destroyed them.

Achan shook his head. First you, then Cureru, and whatever Haruko has. Next thing we're going to find out that everyone on this team has a duel spirit that's got some bizarrely crazy hold on them.

Preeeetttty much.

 

[Alter Ego]

"You're welcome, Kumo-Kumo-chaaan!" Haruko cut in before any of the suits could interject, "Little Haruharu was only doing what was necessary to-"

"What were you doing, anyway?" Tacey cut in, casting a sideward glance at the sturm hunds, "You are a shadow duelist, aren't-"

"Now, now, Neko-Neko-chan." Haruko replied, shaking her head slowly, "Little Haruharu already told you: Haruharu is just Haruharu."

"That's what you say, but I'd like to know precisely what 'little haruharu'-"

"Sorry to interrupt, miss." Rufus cut in, holding Wolfgang up for inspection, "But given the circumstances, Raymond would like to request."

"IF IT IS AT ALL ACCEPTABLE WITH YOUR LADYSHIP," the other suit boomed hopefully, "I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO-"

"Flog him?"

"Well-

"I-"

Tacey treated herself to a small smile, briefly sizing Wolfgang up before giving a small nod, "You should know, Raymond, that sort of behavior is rather disagreeable both from the legal and the social perspective."

"RIGHT," the suit replied dejectedly, "I KNEW IT WOULDN'T BE SOCIALLY-"

"However," the rich girl continued in a would-be ponderous tone, ", if these gentlemen here were to make violent resistance in the process of you apprehending them to hand them over to the appropriate authorities, then it would be quite justifiable for trained professionals like yourselves to use a controlled measure of force to subdue them...no?"

"I-" Raymond paused, revelation slowly spreading across his face, "INDEED, M'AM!"

"He seems like quite a troublesome case." Rufus remarked non-commitantly.

"I SHALL DEFINITELY KEEP MY EYES PEELED FOR ANY...MISDEMEANOR!"

"As well you should." Tacey replied, offering the shadow duelist a parting grin before clapping her hands authoritatively, "Right, you two go on ahead, we'll catch up with you shortly."

"Yes, miss."

"AFFIRMATIVE, MA'AM!"

She made a point of waving their tormentor goodbye as he was dragged off, Raymond administering the first hit to his person as punishment for 'looking too much like someone trying to escape' just before they vanished in between the trees.

"Right." Tacey continued, turning back to the group and making a show of sorting out her hair, "Now that that silliness is over with..." she turned her gaze to Chelsea, "Just who, precisely, is that?"

 

[Phanima]

Removing her hood, the first and shorter Shadow Duellist shook her bubblegum pink hair, flicking her pigtails behind her as she relieved herself from the stifling uniform, before then glancing up to her accompaniment, "Freaking hell! There were actually guards on every floor! I thought you were just taking the piss out of me!"

"They were just sentries," her partner started, pulling back his own cloak as he surveyed their current progress through the building, "but the level of security has definitely increased."

"Well isn't that just peaches."

He didn't approve of the girl's sarcasm, actually, he didn't approve of a lot of her qualities; her impatience, her lack of respect, her constantly running off at the mouth, but even if he could manage to tolerate them, he just didn't have the time. Literally. He had noticed the pangs before but it wasn't enough to warrant any real concern, even though he knew he was already pushing his mental limitations. It was only because of this girl that he was able to come this far, which in respect, was one thing he was grateful for.

"So then, now what?" she piped again, crossing her arms and letting out an irritable huff, eyeing her taller inferior.

"I guess you could start by explaining why you've broken into the building," answered a casually indifferent voice, a familiar smile then gracing their presence as the raven-haired heiress made her entrance, "unfortunately brother, despite our ties, this is still considered breaking and entering. Although, I do hope you stay a while, at least until security arrive."

"You hear that?!" spout the pink-haired mass of crazy, a shaking finger pointing directly at the other girl's smug face, "If we get caught, Big Fat Boss Man's gonna have our souls!"

"This won't take long," came the fallen heir's short and blunt reply, waving the girl off before turning to face his sister's amused gaze, "I just want to talk."

Suppressing a chuckle, Christina shook her head in disbelief before finally acknowledging his request, "By all means, let's."

Stepping aside from the jarred door, the CEO gestured her two guests into the room she had arrived from. Without precaution, Michel stepped lightly into her lead but not before adding over his shoulder, "Stay here, this doesn't concern you."

To say Eri was pissed off would've been an understatement, "DO YOU REALLY WANNA DIE THAT BAD?! You know what happens if we're separated! You'll bloody die in there you dumbass!"

All her words met however, was her partner's back, a light smile from his sister and the brunt of the closing office doors, to which she promptly scarred with a feral fist.

In a slightly more optimistic yet equally dangerous environment...​

Every assumption she had made that day was wrong, but at least in their current case, it was for the better. The recently arrived suits did little to pose any direct threat, seeing as how one of them made it quite clear that they meant no harm, but the moment the glass like barrier showed signs of malformation before promptly shattering around them, the four pretty much broke those words with their assault. Fortunately, their attack remained directed at the three bikers, as one of them, the most conspicuous out of the lot, tackled the leader into submission.

In the end, she really had nothing to worry about at all. That said, the whole situation had gotten her quite riled up, even more so than usual, so she was a little embarrassed at how quickly she flailed under the pressure. She was thankful though, that Kuso and Haruko had been there beside her during the whole ordeal, they're surprisingly strong constitution putting her very much at ease. And not only them, but Achan and Tacey as well, especially since they were the actual victims, but there they stood all composed and indifferent, albeit a little irritated. This Team Seven...they were really something else.

It was at this point that her train of thought burst like a bubble at the mention of her name, the violet-haired vixen having acknowledged her presence. Her face flushed at being put on the spot, the brunette quickly bowed as she racked her brain for words in order to introduce herself, everything that had happened up until now still abuzz in her active consciousness.

"I-I'm Chelsea! Pleased to meet you," she started, a smile pressing her lips as she managed to get the ball rolling, "I was hoping if I could join the team."

 

[Forci Stikane]

Regardless of the threat that the suit had made towards him just moments before, Kuso could not help but smirk at the verbal reprimand that one of the others was quick to give him, although that was unfortunately cut short by Haruko's insistence on always being the center of attention. In fact, he was about to take her up on her request for him to talk by commenting on her...unnecessary attitude when he was interrupted by a rather large cracking sound coming from behind him. He turned to find that the barrier previously trapping Tacey and Achan had shattered, leaving the thugs inside startled enough to drop their guns.

"You three are going to pay for this," Kuso remarked as he reached for his Duel Disk, only to stop when he found the men in black rushing past and immediately subduing the three bikers. Kuso stared on in surprise and relief, but when his self-awareness kicked in, his stare moved down towards his hands and shifted to one of disbelief. "Wait a minute...did I just try to take out three armed men with playing cards?" While he tried to remember exactly what he was planning to do by attacking people with images, his stomach decided to provide an explanation. After grabbing his attention with a loud growl, Kuso settled on his attack attempt being a hunger-induced lapse of judgment. "I must really need to eat something if I actually thought that was a good idea..."

"Just who, precisely, is that?"

Kuso snapped out of it once that question reminded him of the problem still remaining. He was still certain that dragging another person into their situation was the last thing that needed to happen, but if she was not going to take his word for it, then he was going to need to hope that the others would catch on. "This, is Chelsea. She came here expecting to join our team, but I was just...explaining to her how she would be better off otherwise, regardless of how friendly she already is with Haruko." If keeping Chelsea out of danger was not going to influence either Achan or Tacey into not accepting her, then hopefully the thought of having a second Haruko would. Considering how much the attention leech had annoyed him by only being with her for one day, and that the others had apparently dealt with her before, Kuso was betting that neither of them would enjoy the thought of having twice the insanity around. It might have been an underhanded tactic, but by this point, he was completely adamant on keeping Chelsea out. "Isn't that right, everyone?"

 

[Scarlet Weather]

Unfortunately, Kuso's words actually had an opposite effect from his intention. Achan, remembering what Haruko and her... (friend? Partner? Mentor?) Serge had done to Tacey's fan club, AND seeing what she had just done to the two Sturm Hunds made him extremely wary of insinuating that any friend of hers ought to leave the team. "Er, well... actually, if Haruko likes Chelsea so much, she probably ought to stay. You know, since it would kind of be a pity of one of us got- I mean, if something happened to her when she left. You know, can't be too careful with all these crazy shadow duelists all over the place." Beads of sweat appeared on his face as he gave Haruko a sideways glance. Now that he knew Haruko could hack somebody's brain simply by looking at them, he didn't want to provoke her.

Achan... something's up with that girl.

Chelsea?

No, Haruko.

Well, she just mindraped someone. Anyone can tell there's something up with that.

...Can't put my finger on it, but I sensed something about her when she- as you put it- "mindraped" those two thugs. Some familiar presence.

Achan was broken out of his conversation as he realized he had left Kuso hanging. "Come on, Kuso- It's okay. I mean, we need someone to replace Michel, and..." His hand strayed to his PDA. Could it be that...

Dear Team Seven

After the unfortunate incident in Anatolia, we've transferred over another replacement member!

There followed a short description of Chelsea.

"And... it looks like the higher-ups aren't giving us much of a choice. But look on the bright side," Achan commented. "At least we'll have one other duelist to replace..." he trailed off. "You guys- Judai just betrayed the team. I don't know why, but he's the one who set the Hunds on us.

 

[Alter Ego]

Haruko tilted her head quizzically at Achan's manner, though she never relinquished her sunny smile, "Kumo-Kumo-chan is worried about Ata-Ata-chan and little Haruharu?" she asked innocently, "Awww...that's so nice!" giggling, she offered the red-haired teen a pat on the head, "See, Ata-Ata-chan? Told you Kumo-Kumo-chan and Neko-Neko-chan would like you!"

Tacey, meanwhile, simply glared, first at Haruko, then at Achan, then at Chelsea. The heiress's arms remained folded, her mouth a thin line.

"I hope you realize." she said evenly, "That if you turn out to be a shadow duelist in disguise, the owner of a powerful and rare card spirit, an artificial humanoid, a lunatic with some kind of supernatural power, or any other nonsense like that, I will hurt you." she gave a tired sigh, shaking her head, "Until any of that is proven, I suppose you can stay, but remember..." she offered her one last, warning glare, "The threat I just mentioned also applies to if you ever, under any circumstances, refer to me as Neko-Neko-chan. My name is Tacey, miss Edgeworth by preference, and that is what you will address me as. Is this clear?"

 

[Phanima]

To say that the consensus to her induction into the team was overtly positive was only partially true. The boy Achan seemed more than welcoming, almost as much as Haruk-no, Haru-Haru was, surprisingly, which in turn was something she felt incredibly grateful for. The other girl on the other hand, Tacey, still seemed a bit on edge at her intrusion, which was warranted, considering recent events, but inevitably accepted her as a viable replacement after delivering her proposed ultimatum, to which she gladly accepted.

"N-Nice to meet you two."

There was no way she'd try anything to annoy such wonderful people now. They were taking her in as an ally and that was all she could have ever have hoped for. And with a few reassuring words from the over-sized plush toy, her position in the team was more or less set in stone. Well, almost anyway.

Despite the official confirmation from the tournament sponsors, as received by Achan, there was still one person left who needed convincing, and if he was still uncomfortable with the arrangement, she'd have no choice but to leave. After all, the last thing she wanted to do was to drag her own problems into his and anyone else's lives. Becoming a burden was not on her agenda. But then, she had to make sure, especially if they were actually willing to help, and considering her situation, she'd need all the support she could get. So in a completely selfish act, she mustered up the best puppy dog-eyed expression she could before whipping around to face the boy in question, clasping both his hands into hers as she started to plead her case, "Kuso! I know you might not trust me yet, or that you might think I'm getting in over my head, but I know I can be of help to you and everyone else, just like how you're all helping me now. So, will you let me join?" she had gone bug-eyed at this point but stood firm in her case, "I promise I won't become a burden and I'll help you fend off any more crazy chefs and biker people too!"

It wasn't the best proposal in the card gaming world but she made sure to fill it with as much emotion and feeling as she could, and hopefully, that would be enough. After all, there was still the more urgent matter of Judai betraying the team that they had to worry about as well.

 

[Forci Stikane]

"Are they out of their minds??"

Kuso could hardly believe it. The others knew the sort of trouble she would be getting in, and they still wanted to let Chelsea join?! Of course Haruko would remain attached to her new squeeze toy, but he was expecting the others to agree with him, for at least one of the two reasons he had hinted at…unless he had been too subtle about it. Was that the problem? Had they not picked up on what he was really saying? No, there was no way that was the only reason. Achan suddenly looked almost frightened of Haruko for some reason, and Tacey was probably just following along with her boyfriend, since they had just been forced into fighting each other. The announcement from the tournament sponsors naturally did not help any, either.

He was stuck, and he knew it. Kuso had been counting on at least one of the others siding with him, but now that they had all decided to permit her entry, there was no way that he could keep her out. With Chelsea as adamant as ever with her immediate attempt to win him over, there was no other choice but to accept, and so with a heavy sigh, he conceded.

"…Alright, fine…but you're going to need to be able to protect yourself. We can all keep an eye out for each other, but as you just saw, there are going to be times when you'll have to fight on your own. …Which reminds me…" Kuso continued as he remembered what he had seen as well as what Achan had mentioned about Judai, "Yeah, Achan, I noticed him there, too. This is definitely a problem, if we have to worry about fighting him now, too." His increasingly impatient stomach once again made its complaints known, reminding him that there was somewhere else that he had to go. "We should probably get out of here in case he comes back. We must all be getting hungry by now, too, so we should go get something to eat. Come on."

"Leaving so soon…?"

Kuso was about to lead everyone to the restaurant Vhat had mentioned earlier when he was stopped by someone in a black robe. Their body was completely covered with fabric, and their face was hidden under a hood. There was no way to even tell the person's gender, although the voice had sounded like that of an old man.

"And after coming all this way, I find the party already over."

"Who are you?"

"Who, me?" There was a light-hearted, almost playful sound to the voice, but the underlying tone was almost threatening, and almost impossible to ignore. It would not have been surprising to find this to be a relative of Haruko, in fact. "I lurk in the shadows, gathering energy from the light. I thought that I had found such a spectacular source…but it was already used up."

"'Lurk in the darkness'?" Kuso pulled his Duel Disk out to a defensive stance, although he was admittedly fatigued from earlier. "You mean you're a Shadow Duelist?"

"Shadow Duelist…?" The person's hood shifted slightly to the side, as if he or she was confused by the accusation. "…Yes, you can call me that if you like. I only came here after sensing a large burst of energy, only to find some pathetic little thugs being taken out by their own incompetence."

This last statement was finished with a small chuckle. "Those thugs did give me an idea though…" From somewhere within the cloak, the mystery person pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the group, with Kuso still in front of the others. "You see, any kind of energy works for me, whether it be electrical, duel, kinetic, or even life energy, as long as I can collect it. So…why duel when you can kill?" The sweetness to the voice dissolved completely on the last word, as a large bang echoed through the forest.

For the next few moments, it was as though time itself had slowed to a slight crawl. Kuso was stunned as a jolt was sent throughout his body. He only stared blankly as he began to feel a cool wetness spreading on his chest. His free hand slowly and instinctively reached over to feel it, then brought whatever it was up to his eyes, showing a red liquid. It slowly dawned on him just what this was.

Blood. It was blood.

He had just been shot.

There was no pain, though. There were no emotions, no thoughts, nothing. There was only the same blank stare as he slowly turned his eyes towards the cloaked stranger, just before falling to the ground.

The person simply stared at him for a moment before sighing. "Hmm, nothing? He must have been too weak to give me anything, then. Perhaps one of you others will give more energy." He/She pointed the gun at the others and attempted to fire, but nothing happened. Confused, the person looked over the gun briefly before groaning in frustration. "Oh, why did I only bring along one shot!? Now I'll need to go find some more bullets… Oh, well. So long, kiddies!" With this, another portal of energy appeared next to the stranger, as he/she stepped through it and vanished along with said portal.

Meanwhile, Kuso's body had begun to shut down, while his ability to think had returned. There was still no pain, but he just knew…he was going to die. This was not going to be the same as how Michel "died" or how his other friends had "died," either; this was for real, with no way out. He had been unable to do anything before, and now he would never be able to fix that. As his consciousness drained from him along with the scarlet liquid that was now pouring out, only two words were able to surface:

"...You......idiot............"


OOC: Well, since the OOC thread died once again...

Go ahead and consider this my resignation from the RP. This might only be temporary, although most likely not, so go ahead and do whatever you want to with the body and deck. I only ask that they are neither forced into a cremation nor a burial.

...Though, I am not so certain that it matters as much at this point, as this might very well earn me an infraction for necro-posting...