CARD GAMES

[Phanima]

Duellist: Michel
Life Points: 8000
Hand: NORMAL Armored Core, ORIGINAL Armored Core, Kojima Shield, Double Summon, Cyber Phoenix

Duellist: Christina
Life Points: 8000
Hand: 5

"I may be wasting my breath..." Michel abruptly started, drawing his sixth card without hesitation nor concern for his opponent's readiness, "But what business do you have with this person from my team?"

Surveying his newly formed hand as he awaited an answer, he began laying down his first cards as she processed her response. Without a word, a flattened rectangular projection materialised at his feet, mere seconds passing before a monster of less than dynamic proportions arose in its place. No more than two feet in height, the bipedal machine emitted a cute squeak before bracing an attack position.

"If I tell you right off the bat..." Chris then chirped, eyeing the newly summoned monster, "It would ruin all the fun."

Expecting such a response, Michel proceeded to activate the NORMAL Armored Core's effect, drawing an Armored Core from his deck and adding it to his hand as a result. Then, with a quick shuffle through his new hand, the heir laid down his next card, a spell this time.

"Double Summon." he bluntly announced, quickly continuing with his turn, "I'll then special summon an Original Armored Core by tributing Normal."

In an instant, the initial monster shattered into pixels, its place taken up by his newly summoned machine. Standing at a much more imposing height, several inches above its owner, the almost humanoid monster extended its lightly layered arms out to its side as its plated legs stood firm in place. In comparison to its evolved forms, ORIGINAL Armored Core didn't bear as much armour or fittings, its overall design reminiscent to that of a morphed fighter jet. However, this particular monster's time had expired, it too shattering into thousands of pixels before being replaced by its third stage. Its appearance this time remained relatively the same to its last, bar the added armour and increase in size.

"Tributing Original to special summon Armored Core, I can add one spell card from my graveyard to my hand." flashing the only green backed card having been played, the heir proceeded to wrap up his turn, "I'll end with summoning Cyber Phoenix and setting one card face down."

Duellist: Michel
Life Points: 8000
Hand: Sol Dios Behemoth, Double Summon
Field: Armored Core (2200/1500), Cyber Phoenix (1200/1600), Kojima Shield (face-down)
Graveyard: NORMAL Armored Core, ORIGINAL Armored Core

"As to be expected from the next potential heir of Arma Tech." combining a compliment and insult together, his opponent drew her sixth card in light of her turn's start, "But let's focus on the duel for now. And with that, I shall open by setting one card face down."

In conjunction to his own monsters, a similar rectangular projection materialised on the heiress' side of the field, its orientation lying in the defensive position, its top decorated with the common coffee oval pattern seen on the backs of all Duel Monsters' cards. Following her delayed summoning, Chris further set two additional cards onto the field, taking their place in her spell and trap card zone.

"And I'll end my turn."

Duellist: Christina
Life Points: 8000
Hand: 3
Field: 1 Monster Card (face-down defence position), 2 Spell/Trap Cards (face-down)

Reaching for his next card, Michel glanced over the field. Having not seen his sister in over five years as well as the fact that he had yet to see her duelling prowess, anticipating her style of play was naught possible, let alone what kinds of cards she used. He knew only of several original sets yet on the market, three of his team members hosting such cards, his own having already been publicly distributed. If by chance Chris had acquired her own, he would have to be constantly on guard.

"EN Gauge activate." sliding the card into the rightmost slot, a large glass container rose from the very edge of the ring before erupting onto the field, all manner of wires and attachments exuding from its plated base, "I pay eight hundred life points to increase the attack and defence of my Cyber Phoenix."

At his command, the newly erected machine forcibly connected itself to the mechanised bird, the transparent substance from its container seeping into the monster through the attached wires.

"Then, I'll attack your face down card."

Flapping its red-fanned wings, the mechanical phoenix unleashed an ear piercing screech, the transparent sonic waves cutting into the only monster on his opponent's field. In the midst of the disintegrating card back, he caught sight of an armoured wolf, the sheen of its fur a brilliant white with a tinge of blue. A Lightsworn monster.

Sneering at the revelation of her monster, Chris raised a delicate finger to his Armored Core, said monster shattering in place at her command. Following through with Ryko's effect, the heiress discarded the top three cards from her deck before activating her first face down card.

"In combination with Ryko..." she explained in revealing the magenta backed trap, "Chain of Memories discards the top three cards from your deck as payment for its effect."

Heeding her command, Michel silently topped his deck and ended his turn.

Duellist: Michel
Life Points: 7200
Hand: Sol Dios Behemoth, Double Summon
Field: Cyber Phoenix (1200/1600), Kojima Shield (face-down), EN Gauge
Graveyard: NORMAL Armored Core, ORIGINAL Armored Core, Armored Core, Quick Boost, Anatolia, NEXT Armored Core

"How fortunate." the raven-haired pigtails piped, grasping the first of the three cards discarded from her deck, "Having sent The Chilly Academic, Tower Shield to the graveyard, I can now special summon it."

On cue, the monster arose from its projected hologram, the new machine resembling that of a topsided teardrop shaped shield, bearing all manner of spearheads around its circumference, an overall bladed rim gracing its edges in between. Blue in hue and cast iron in trimming, the singular weapon took up a defensive position on the girl's side of the field.

Seeing the obscure monster, he reasoned his previous suspicion to be correct. It had become clear what her deck archetype revolved around, her even having hinted to it before. Caution still had to be taken however, knowing milling decks to have a reputation for striking hard and fast.

"Let's proceed shall we?" drawing her next card, Chris casually shuffled through her hand before concluding her turn by laying two additional face-downs on the field, "And I'll end with these."

Duellist: Christina
Life Points: 8000
Hand: 2
Field: The Chilly Academic - Tower Shield (0/2200), 3 Spell/Trap Cards (face-down)
Graveyard: Ryko - Lightsworn Hunter, Quillbolt Hedgehog, Negate Attack, Chain of Memories

The backs of the two cards followed her command, her passive play style irking him slightly. Deciding against over analysing the situation, Michel simply drew his next card and overlooked his current options. Now that Armored Core had been destroyed and NEXT being in the graveyard, his chances of summoning Proto-NEXT was slim. Of course, he was never one to rely on a single strategy to accomplish a task, he still had other opportunities.

"Before I conduct my turn..." he suddenly started, catching the girl off-guard from disrupting the momentum of the duel, "I'd like to know this person's name, whoever it is you're after, seeing as how you've yet to explain your reasons for doing so."

A look of genuine surprise graced the girl's features as she processed the request, contemplating whether and just how much she could divulge without giving away her intentions. Pondering the matter for a moment, the heiress responded with a somewhat disgruntled expression, "I see no harm in letting you know their name, although I'm quite sure you'd have guessed their identity by now." pausing, as if debating whether or not revealing the person's identity was the right decision, she soon conceded, "It's that red-headed tourist, Achan Smith."

OOC: First twist activate~! Two more to go. 83

 

[Scarlet Weather]

"So, Judai, can you sense them yet?" Achan asked impatiently.

It had taken Judai and Achan only a few minutes to make their way to the tower, but finding their way to the shadow duelists was more difficult. Judai had taken one look at the barrier and determined that if there were indeed multiple sources of it, trying to break through by brute force would be ineffective. Instead, they decided to search for the other shadow duelists- beyond the one that Michel, obviously, was in the middle of engaging. But after a few minutes, it became obvious that whoever these additional duelists were, they were very good at keeping themselves hidden, so Judai had immediately entered into some sort of trance state and set out in an attempt to sense the aura of the duelists.

"Patience, Achan-kun," Judai replied as he opened one eye just enough to show that his iris had indeed changed from its usual brown to a bright orange. "These duelists are either very good at hiding aura, or of a type I've never seen before because I can't seem to trace their aura."

Achan glanced at the barrier, which flickered high and wild. "What bugs me is that the Shadow Duelists targeted Arma first," he noted. "Tacey and I should have been the obvious targets, and even you and Kuso I could understand a little. But why out of a team composed of several members with duel spirits, at least two of which are unique in the entire game, would this duelist pick the one member of our team who has no ability to see spirits and the least possible interest in this entire affair? It just doesn't fit their M.O."

Achan! Achan!

The teenager clapped a hand to his ear instinctively as the words entered his mind, almost buzzing as they did so. "Aku! What is it?"

The duel spirit materialized over the barrier, holding one of his distinctive signs. "That duelist in there just announced that you're the target."

Achan nodded. "That makes sense, I guess," he admitted, "But they're a little late to the party. I mean, Kaito stole my body already, so what have I got that they don't?"

Besides me, you mean? Aku buzzed in reply. Aside from that, I'm not sure what's going on though. That barrier is kind of making it hard for me to hear through. I wouldn't call it just yet, but I bet the reason that your Supreme King buddy is having trouble getting through to those duelists is because this thing dulls the senses of duel spirits. It's a pretty high-class barrier like that. Spirits on the outside will have trouble seeing or hearing anything on the inside, much less tracking it back to its source. Nice piece of work, if I do say so myself.

"Huh..." Achan muttered. "So... what now then?"

"If we can't break the barrier or find the duelists responsible for it, I think we'll have to depend on Aruma-san for now," Judai decided. "If he can beat the duelist inside, the barrier should be weakened enough for me to find the others. In theory, anyway."

OOC: THIS POST IS CRAPPY, MEANINGLESS FILLER SO THAT PHANI CAN ADVANCE HIS SUBPLOT. NOTHING TO SEE HERE, NOW MOVE ALONG.

 

[Phanima]

For a moment, upon hearing Chris' target being Smith, he wondered if their discussion was audible over the larger scale ring of fire. Scratching the thought almost immediately, he returned his attention to the revelation, himself having thought Edgeworth to be the actual candidate. She had been his initial target, so he assumed on the behest of the company, she would also be his sister's. Yet, that wasn't the case. He just hoped that Kurado was smart enough to keep his mouth shut, even if he was pretending to be Smith, he knew Chris would never let up on a potential lead.

"What has the redhead have to do with Arma Tech?" Michel berated, surprised at his own enthusiasm for acknowledging Smith but remained firm in his exclamation.

"What makes you think his involvement is professional?" Chris shot back in a less heated tone, more amused at his reaction, "And as I've already said, my reasons for targeting him are of none of your concern, so please continue. One of us has a company to run after all."

Gritting his teeth, quite irritated with her response, the heir drew. Forcing himself to concentrate on the ensuing duel, he glanced over the field once more before reverting back to his hand. He had drawn Primal Armor, his options remaining limited. Activating the card, he watched as the usual external pieces and armour fittings materialised around his monster before magnetically latching on, adding its protective effect to the mechanical bird. There was no thought in his mind about attacking, his opponent's three face-downs posing enough of a threat to have him reconsider wasting life points on another attack.

"I switch Cyber Phoenix to defence mode and end my turn."

Duellist: Michel
Life Points: 7200
Hand: Sol Dios Behemoth, Double Summon
Field: Cyber Phoenix (1200/1600), Kojima Shield (face-down), EN Gauge, Primal Armor
Graveyard: NORMAL Armored Core, ORIGINAL Armored Core, Armored Core, Quick Boost, Anatolia, NEXT Armored Core

Summoning her next monster almost immediately, Chris began her turn with another custom card, this time one resembling that of a set of Japanese throwing knives, a golden streak gracing each of their centres, "The Savage Nymph, Kunai. And by discarding one card from the top of my deck, I can reduce the attack of all monsters on the field by eight hundred, not that I'm planning on attacking this turn but I will summon this..."

Flashing the discarded card before placing it atop her disk, the corresponding monster rose to the field, bearing the shape of a thin hilted sword, its blade four times its size in length. The sword sharpened from the edges inward, its tip growing into an additional circular blade, accompanying spearheads dressing its edge. Much like its predecessors, the claymore bore a cast iron coating, strips of yellow and blue running across the course of its frame.

"Now, activating Claymores' effect, I discard the top card from my deck, allowing it to attack you directly this turn." she explained, drawing the card and placing it on the field, confident in it being another special summonable monster, which it invariably was, "The Flurry of Dancing Flames, Chakrams."

Taking the fourth spot in her monster card zone, a pair of hexagonal shaped blades arose, their inner edges dressed in red trimming, the rest resuming their usual iron hue, and much like the others, the new pair bore the same encompassing spearheads. A single hilt ran through the inner edges of each ring, remaining unequipped and suspended in the air.

"Now I'll show you something special, brother." she continued, ending her summoning spree before reaching into her side holster, drawing out two silver backed cards, cards in which he had only heard of but never seen, "I first tribute Kunai and Chakrams and then Claymores and Tower Shield to summon the synchro monsters The Whirlwind Lancer, Ginsu and The Superior, Aerial Blades."

Her calm voice resonated in the crumbling room as she summoned her two new weapons. The first resembled that of a simple elongated spear, the form of its head similar to that of an extended and sharpened dorsal fin. Not only that, it was accompanied by five others, identical in size and shape, all six forming a loose and uneven circle in their respective zone. The latter of the two, comprised of a simple blackened mechanical hilt and a blade triple in size, made up of what appeared to be condensed light and red in hue. This particular weapon also included an identical second blade to create a pair.

"Surprised?" Chris teased, "I'm sure this is your first time seeing such cards, no?"

Michel remained silent despite her claim being true. He had heard of synchro monsters, cards that were still supposed to be in development, so he had never experienced their effects before. How she had gotten a hold of the cards, he could only speculate. Regardless, he was currently in no position to make assumptions, Phoenix's Primal Armor and the new weapons' heightened attacks resulting in a standstill.

"Hmph." she scoffed at his lack of reaction, "I'll end then."

Duellist: Christina
Life Points: 8000
Hand: 2
Field: The Whirlwind Lancer - Ginsu (2250/1850), The Superior - Aerial Blades (2100/2100), 3 Spell/Trap Cards (face-down)
Graveyard: Ryko - Lightsworn Hunter, Quillbolt Hedgehog, Negate Attack, Chain of Memories, The Chilly Academic - Tower Shield, The Savage Nymph - Kunai, The Lunar Diviner - Claymores, The Flurry of Dancing Flames - Chakrams

Reboot. A chance had arose to revive his initial Proto-NEXT strategy, the problem however, was that it would also be adding fuel to Chris' milling fire. And with the lack of options available, he had to make sure he played it at the right time. Sol Dios Behemoth was another option at his disposal but with the current spell card count, he would be leaving himself wide open, not to mention at a bigger disadvantage, his life points already eight hundred points below hers.

"I end my turn."

Duellist: Michel
Life Points: 7200
Hand: Sol Dios Behemoth, Double Summon, Reboot
Field: Cyber Phoenix (1200/1600), Kojima Shield (face-down), EN Gauge, Primal Armor
Graveyard: NORMAL Armored Core, ORIGINAL Armored Core, Armored Core, Quick Boost, Anatolia, NEXT Armored Core

"You're playing quite submissive today aren't you, brother?" making her next draw, the raven-haired heiress promptly examined her next card, a dangerous smile pressing her lips, "It appears we'll be wrapping this up sooner than I expected." pausing to see his reaction and after receiving none in turn, she irritably added, "System Down activate."

Surprised at the revelation of the card and knowing full well of its effect, Michel's previous reluctance in playing Reboot came back to bite him. Conceding to the card's effect, he threw his only monster from the field and accompanying machines from the graveyard onto the cracked ground before awaiting the inevitable. And soon enough, the two weapons pierced his body, reminding him of the very real reality of the duel caused by the disks, something he had surprisingly ignored since the beginning of the duel. He was only fortunate that his condition hadn't affected his reflexes, the first tearing his jacket clean off while the second reflected against his raised disk. It was as if her deck was constructed for the sole purpose of harming the opponent, something not exactly unprecedented considering the source.

Seeing the heir's expression, Chris reeled in his wearing down, ending her turn as she did so.

Duellist: Christina
Life Points: 7000
Hand: 2
Field: The Whirlwind Lancer - Ginsu (2250/1850), The Superior - Aerial Blades (2100/2100), 3 Spell/Trap Cards (face-down)
Graveyard: Ryko - Lightsworn Hunter, Quillbolt Hedgehog, Negate Attack, Chain of Memories, The Chilly Academic - Tower Shield, The Savage Nymph - Kunai, The Lunar Diviner - Claymores, The Flurry of Dancing Flames - Chakrams, System Down

"Now brother, you haven't forgotten the extended conditions of this duel have you?" she asked, her hands returning to her hips, "It'd be dangerous if you dismiss the reality of these cards and we wouldn't want anything to happen to the next potential heir of the company, now would we?"

Huffing, Michel slowly regained his posture, scuffed and worn from the previous repeated blows. Peering through blurred eyes, the heir tore off the remaining scraps of his dishevelled jacket and rolled up his tattered sleeves. It wasn't too long ago that he was in a similar position, although facing a far less domineering opponent mind, and reminisced over how he had dealt with the situation before.

A forced draw. As pride damaging as it were, he would have to consider the option of going through with such a tactic if his next draw failed.

"I already told you..." he breathed, strands of sweat soaked hair fringing his forehead, masking his eyes, "The next heir has already been decided."

"Well, even if that were true, to return in such a state..." Chris motioned to his rugged form, "You must be quite out of it, still standing after taking so much damage."

Lowering his eyes in following his sister's directive, it was then that he noticed the severity of his condition. Having concentrated on and evading the full brunt of the synchro monsters' attacks, he had failed to realise all of his previous actions had inadvertently harmed him. The tributed Armored Cores and the first initial attacks all lodging more than several stray pixel debris into him.

"You can thank Eri for that. It appears going mad dulls your receptive senses, which in your current case is most likely a good thing, no?"

"Don't talk nonsense." he rebutted, resisting the sudden pains having finally acknowledged their existence, "I wouldn't have guessed you to believe in such things, Chris."

"Oh please, you're much too stubborn brother. There are things beyond your imagination that exist in this world. You should quit rejecting reality."

Scoffing at the thought, Michel drew. Seeing the face of his next draw, he wasted no time in placing it on the field. Identical to the very first monster summoned that duel, his second NORMAL Armored Core materialised into its respective monster card zone, allowing him to add a second card from his deck to his hand due to its effect. With the additional draw, he proceeded to activate his only spell before then tributing his previously summoned machine for another, this one bearing a striking resemblance to his Armored Core but much more grounded and compact. The amount of armour plating covering the monster exceeded that of all his Armored Cores, its main frame buried deep within, the oldest model out of the set, his PRIMAL Armored Core.

Raising his hand, signalling his next move, the corresponding card on his field took effect. "I activate EN Gauge. Paying two hundred life points, it'll increase Primal's attack and defence by the same amount." staring down his sister's monsters, contemplating which he would defeat despite the risk of triggering a reverse card, he promptly made his decision as he felt the growing effects of his condition sink in, "I'll then target The Superior, Aerial Blades."

Hunching its back as its heavy legs locked in place while its layered arms crossed themselves in front of its chest, a budding ball of light suddenly sparked into life within its centre. Then, in an instant, the newly summoned machine unhinged its appendages, releasing the condensed energy straight across the field, striking the two crimson blades in a matter of seconds, obliterating them without interruption. His turn ended with the clearing of the destroyed monster's shattered pixels, its owner shielding herself with her previously discarded coat.

Duellist: Michel
Life Points: 2650
Hand: Sol Dios Behemoth
Field: PRIMAL Armored Core (2000/2000), Kojima Shield (face-down), EN Gauge
Graveyard: Quick Boost, Anatolia, Primal Armor, NORMAL Armored Core, Double Summon
Removed from play: Cyber Phoenix, NORMAL Armored Core, ORIGINAL Armored Core, Armored Core, NEXT Armored Core

Throwing the shrapnel riddled coat to the side, the unharmed Chris wasted no time in starting her next turn, sliding a green backed card into her field card slot. The entirety of the ring was then swallowed in the field card's spell, the cracked floor reverting to its polished and pristine state while two rows of columns rose and extended through the ring, encasing the two fields in their bordered path. A circular patch of ceiling directly above the ring also reverted, its concrete surface returning to its smooth and unchipped form.

"Pretty, isn't it?" admiring the rejuvenated space restricted to the ring's perimeter, the heiress concluded her turn by sliding another card face down and initiating her own attack, "Ginsu, if you'd please, rid him of his Primal Armored Core."

In return for the monster's previous assault, the six steel lances paused in place, adjusting their trajectory accordingly before launching towards the exposed machine. Fumbling with the accompanying card slot switch, Michel revealed his saving reverse card, a transparent spherical barrier immediately shielding the Armored Core. Following the activation of his Kojima Shield, the attacking spears struck its tiled surface with a resonating clash before being forced back onto their respective field.

"Not bad." his opponent drawled, "I'll end then."

Duellist: Christina
Life Points: 6900
Hand: 1
Field: The Whirlwind Lancer - Ginsu (2250/1850), Castle Oblivion, 4 Spell/Trap Cards (face-down)
Graveyard: Ryko - Lightsworn Hunter, Quillbolt Hedgehog, Negate Attack, Chain of Memories, The Savage Nymph - Kunai, The Flurry of Dancing Flames - Chakrams, System Down, The Superior - Aerial Blades

Having spent the majority of the duel being dragged through the dirt, he was inevitably growing more fatigued with each passing turn, not to mention his increasing irritation with how everything was playing out.

Scanning the card he now grasped from the top of his deck, a small smile crept into his worn expression. Cocking a curious brow at the heir's change in demeanour, Chris simply watched on as her opponent slid in the drawn card.

"I don't know about you..." he started, his eyes narrowing into hers as the green backed card materialised on the field, "But I'm ready to end this."

Seeing the face of his last card, a mix of surprise and amusement befell the heiress, "You were never one to take things lying down." she jeered, her sincere smile betraying her tone, "So, let's see what you have left up those tattered sleeves of yours."

Realising full well that the duel was over, the shredded suit began his last turn. "I summon Sol Dios Behemoth."

Bracing for another tribute summon and forced discard, the pixel debris of the Primal Armored Core cut into him as his new machine took up its place, its form comprised of a single large reinforced platform, six supporting legs holding it upright. Mounted on top was what could only be conceived as an enlarged orbital canon, its internal structure forming that of a shortened barrel.

Following through, Michel activated his last card, "Heavy Storm."

Silence filled the air as the calmest of breezes picked up through the room. Then, in a blink of an eye, the entire ring was swept within an explosive storm, all manner of very real rain and wind coming down in sleets over the siblings and their fields. Then, as sudden as it started, the storm dissipated, leaving both players' spell and trap card zones wiped clean. At least, that was his initial assumption. His sister on the other hand, had other ideas on exactly how the turn would end.

"I must admit, I'm quite curious as to what you're planning but don't think I'll let you do as you please." her previous face down cards then rose one after another, following her chain of commands, "I'll first activate The Transmigration Prophecy, followed by Hallowed Life Barrier." revealing the first two reverse cards, she returned two cards from her graveyard to the deck before discarding one from her hand, "I'll then end with activating two Furious Shuffles, allowing me to return the same number of cards from my graveyard to my deck, equal to their chain link number, that resulting in seven altogether."

Clearing out her graveyard and topping off her deck with the cards returned, Chris then submitted to the effect of his Heavy Storm, discarding the four reverse cards having finished utilizing their effects.

Having perceived the number of spell cards in both of their graveyards, Michel had totalled his new monster's attack in being more than enough to destroy her only monster and reduce her life points to zero by its effect, invariably concluding the duel in a draw. It wasn't exactly his style of play but considering his opponent, if he was to lose, he'd take her down with him. Unfortunately, Chris always seemed to be one step ahead.

"Oh I see." She chirped, quite amused with his last ditch effort of a plan, "Still, I would have thought you to take your defeat head on, no?"

Michel looked up at his opponent through his usual narrowed eyes, "Considering it's you...I thought I'd make an exception." he huffed through short breaths.

Letting out a light laugh, the raven-haired pigtails tilted her head to get a better look at her brother's hunched expression, "I see. Consider me flattered then."

Directing his monster to attack his opponent's, the giant machine fired off a pure stream of condensed energy at the six lances, destroying them upon impact.

Seeing Ginsu fall, the shrapnel and debris from its shattered form falling around her, Chris watched on as the transparent Hallowed Life Barrier phased in and out of sight, deflecting all manner of stray pixels in coming her way, smiling as her brother's turn came to an end.

Almost immediately, the entire field was then engulfed in an intense and destructive light, the occupants of the ring disappearing from sight as the darkening room lit up from inside. The marked walls and shattered floor crumbled under the pressure of Behemoth's effect heightened by the reality engine of the duel disks. The ring of fire too roared as the energy from the effect fuelled its flames. And in the midst of it all, Chris remained standing, completely impervious to the machine's destruction, her reverse card shielding her without fault. Reaching its climax, the twenty foot wide blast that filled the entirety of the ring, flickered in its last moments of life before finally fading, revealing the destruction it had wrought.

Duellist: Michel
Life Points: 0
Hand: 0
Field: 0
Graveyard: Quick Boost, Anatolia, Primal Armor, NORMAL Armored Core, Double Summon, Kojima Shield, PRIMAL Armored Core, EN Gauge, Sol Dios Behemoth
Removed from play: Cyber Phoenix, NORMAL Armored Core, ORIGINAL Armored Core, Armored Core, NEXT Armored Core

Duellist: Christina
Life Points: 6900
Hand: 0
Field: 0
Graveyard: Castle Oblivion, The Transmigration Prophecy, Hallowed Life Barrier, Furious Shuffle, Furious Shuffle, The Whirlwind Lancer - Ginsu

From the point where the explosive monster had detonated, a crater spanning the diameter of the ring had formed, the cracked tiled ground now completely reduced to rubble. In its wake stood Michel, his form beaten and bruised, his shredded clothes steaming from the explosion's after effect. Having braced the blast with arms crossed, he teetered in place, struggling to stay on his feet as his body reached its limit. Falling to his knees, his cards scattered beneath him.

In the fading afternoon, the clouded skies darkened, casting the room into shadow as the ring of fire diminished. As the final flames died into the ground, the new heiress stepped up to her fallen sibling, a less than amused look on her face.

"How troublesome." she huffed, peering down at his limp form through hardened eyes, "As unfortunate as it is, I can't let you die just yet."

Then, glancing over at the onlooking crowd and scanning their faces, she was surprised to see that her next target was nowhere in sight. Turning back to Michel, she raised a curious brow, "I assumed Achan Smith would be accompanying you." before then adding over her shoulder, "Rosa?"

"The head count of all passengers on board from Duellist Kingdom was conducted as requested." came the prompt and still unfazed voice of the automated escort, "All members of Team Seven were accounted for."

"Sorry..." followed Michel's rattled breath, his head still hung despite his spiteful tone, "But Smith isn't here. We traded up."

The slightest of twitches annoyed her brow as she listened to his explanation, his surprisingly resilient attitude irking her beyond his condition. Submitting to his words however, Chris simply sighed, placing a casual hand on her hip as she looked up at the blackened sky through the lobby's shattered windows, "Fine."

Rising from the darkened room itself, shadows began to swirl around the previous heir who being in the condition that he was, remained unmoved. The darkness immediately surrounded and engulfed him, swallowing whole and leaving not a trace of his existence behind, save for his fallen disk and cards. It was over in a mere matter of seconds.

"Congratulations Christina." Rosa spoke up, "Shall we proceed with the next target?"

Retrieving her shredded coat and relaxing into its sleeve, the new heir of Arma Tech remained standing over Michel's abandoned cards, "It appears we'll have to leave dealing with Achan Smith for another time. So then, our guests are no longer needed."

"Understood." Turning on her heel, her still unflinching smile intact, Rosa addressed the group once more, "If you'd please follow me, I'll escort you outside."

OOC: Bet you didn't see that coming~. *kills joke* And don't worry about the vacant team slot, that'll be remedied en route to Black Forest.

 

[Forci Stikane]

Meanwhile...

"I can't believe they ditched me here."

To say that Kuso was annoyed with this predicament would be an understatement. The "ancient" style was nice and all, but this area looked nothing like a forest. Then some stranger had shown up and left with Michel, with Judai, Achan, and Tacey following, leaving him standing there stuck with guard duty.

"What was it that woman called it? 'Anatolia'? That doesn't sound right... Oh, why did I have to be the one stuck here by myself?!" Kuso turned around from the doorway and walked back to his seat, pounding on it in a fit that would be more characteristic of Tacey or even Achan. That is, until something about the previous headcount popped itself into his head. "Hey, wait a minute, what about the pilot?" Kuso turned to the cockpit, but there was nobody there. He was sure that he hadn't seen anybody come out of there, and there was only the one exit from the helicopter. "Manjoume's not here, either. Where did those two go?"

"Who knows?"

Startled, Kuso turned around to find Judai standing a few feet outside of the helicopter, everybody else as missing as Manjoume was. "Where are the others?"

Judai let his glance fall to the ground, his expression showing a mixture of depression and rage. "Aruma-san and Edgeworth-san were captured. Kurado-san is going after them now."

Kuso nodded and started out of the helicopter. "Then we should go he--" It was then he realized that there was something very wrong with the person standing in front of him. Kuso had already thought there was something strange about his hair and the look on his face, but what he had just said had clinched it. "Wait a minute...'Kurado-san'? He should know who that really is...unless..."

"Show your real face, impostor."

Kuso's suspicions were confirmed as Judai's normal expression faded from the impostor's face, leaving a look that could only be described as insanely amused. "...So you saw through me already? Not bad."

"Oh, please. Can't you people come up with anything original? We've already run into one impostor today..." Something told Kuso that this one wouldn't be leaving quietly, either.

For a moment, there was a slight hint of surprise in the fake's expression, but it quickly faded back into the same look as before. "Oh...so you've run into Arella, I see. Then there's no need for me to keep up with this disguise." As he spoke, a circular shadow formed at his feet. In an instant, the shadow reached up, engulfing the figure and then fading away to show a completely different individual where the fake Judai had been. The new, white-skinned figure stood at about six feet tall, dressed in a large overcoat as pitch black as his hair, outlined by gray lines along the edges. The coat completely covered his torso, but a pair of black jeans still managed to pop out from below. On his left arm was an old-style Duel Disk, but darkened in color to match the rest of the ensemble. "The name is Kolino Takir. I was supposed to take care of the rest of you while Christina has her fun inside, but I come here only to find that most of your group has already gone in."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but we're not exactly the kind to leave something like that alone." Kuso grabbed his duel disk and took a step outside of the helicopter. He knew what was coming next.

"Heh...then I guess I'll just have to settle with you. Prepare yourself!" Kolino lifted the disk on his arm into the usual active position, as Kuso responded with the same. It looked like he was going to get a fight, after all.

 

[Alter Ego]

To say that Tacey was not in a good mood right now would have been an understatement. Being ignored and treated like some form of additional baggage that came with the team was bad enough, finding out that Arma had a sister who was even more obnoxious than him and that said sister was yet another link to the ever growing chain of people who had some sort of agenda for Smith was worse, but most importantly...

Michel shouldn't have lost that duel.

"Idiot." Tacey grit out, her anxiety growing with each amateur mistake Arma made. Over-committing his hand like that and then charging blindly at a face-down he couldn't possibly identify was nothing short of a deathwish, and sure enough, this...Chris immediately punished him for it, brutally. Simply by making such reckless sacrifice, Arma had gone and effectively ruined his own game, and Chris had obviously prepared for just such an occasion - such a type-specific monster removal card was proof enough of her preparations - turning the rest of the duel into one beating after the other, with Michel firmly seated on the receiving end. Each and every one of his decisions, starting from following that disturbing woman and letting himself get dragged into all of this in the first place, had been a bad one...all save one, his stubborn insistence - in the face of all evidence to the contrary - that Achan was Kaito. Even if it was just his stupidity and bullheadedness speaking out yet again, Michel had still managed to protect his team in a way, and no matter how much she still disliked him, Tacey couldn't help crediting him with that.

Besides, no matter how bad the jerk...she would never stand for seeing someone die to this shadow duel hocus pocus, ever. The rich girl may have maintained a vague aspiration to beat her rival-to-be in a duel and publicly humiliate him, but never...never something as extreme as this.

The rich girl quite promptly ignored Rosa's words, just as she ignored the gloating shadow duelist, striding over to her vanished teammate's earthly remains and carefully scooping up the deck before turning a glare of purest hatred to Chris. Oh, how she would have loved to take her on at her own game and grind that flimsy little mill strategy of hers into the ground so badly that it would discourage her from ever even touching the 'novelty card game' again. But seething with anger though she was, somewhere, at the back of her mind, Tacey realized that this was neither the time nor the place for a dramatic showdown. They were still on Chris' playground and there was no telling what other tricks she had in store. Right now, the priority was still on getting Smith and the rest of team seven out of here before the shadow duelists caught a clue and acted on it.

"Don't think." she hissed, "Don't think you're getting away with this that easily. This isn't over by any means. Yuki, Kaito." she gave an imperious nod in Judai's and Achan's directions in turn, "Leaving. Now."

And with that, Tacey promptly turned on her heels and strode out of the distasteful building in her most regal posture, head held high, stubbornly refusing to even look back or betray any other sign of weakness. Rosa she didn't even dignify with a glance.

 

[Phanima]

So this was the Tacey Edgeworth Michel had his eye on. She was quite the uppity and insufferable idol that preceded her glorified reputation. Plus, she was the heiress of the fabled Edgeworth Electronics. It was no wonder her brother was infatuated in participating in the tournament. Regardless, she was nothing to be concerned about despite her chilly threat.

Eyeing the retreating troupe, Chris sighed. She had so wished to confront the redhead, the one responsible for everything that had happened and was all too ready to do so if he were present. But alas, that wasn't the case. In essence, it was all very disappointing. Duelling Michel had turned out to be far less challenging than she had hoped and now she would have to wait until confronting Achan Smith as well. It would be then and only then that she would be able to finally sever her ties with the accursed Shadow Duellists. But despite her own personal agendas, she now had a company to run above all else, a task she was all too eager to pursue.

In retrospect, she would have taken the time to question each of her brother's teammates in order to discern the whereabouts of her next target, but considering her newly appointed schedule and the fact that she would be drawing far more attention from some rather unwanted officials for in turn keeping the returning Team Seven, she would have to put confronting the tourist aside for the time being.

Twisting her shredded coat over herself to accommodate the declining temperature as the night finally settled over the abandoned and decrepit city, the heiress simply retreated into the corner of the crumbling lobby, disappearing into its shadow.

Simultaneously...​

Reaching the edge of the city, it became apparent that not all of Team Seven was present at Michel's defeat. However, that wasn't to say the straggler didn't have an excuse. It appeared that Kuso Sarasi had his own problems to worry about, having to deal with Kolino Takir as it were.

"Oh Kolino, did he already see through your disguise?" Rosa chirped upon arriving at the designated landing area, her eyes squinting through her half-rimmed glasses at the ensuing duel, "I should inform you then that Miss Arma has concluded her meeting tonight and is preparing to leave."

Striding over to the unmanned helicopter, she then promptly unhinged the carriage door and resumed her addressing of the team once again and for the final time that evening.

"Whenever you are ready, you may board and proceed to Black Forest, Germany." she started, despite the duel playing out beside her, "In the case you decide to question our courtesy, you may rest assure that no further harm will befall you or your team. We simply wished to isolate and eliminate Mister Arma. Also, if you discover the whereabouts of Achan Smith, we would appreciate any information provided."

Then, as the automated escort returned to full height, she gave the team the slightest of bows before turning on her heel and proceeding towards the darkened mass of Anatolia.

 

[Alter Ego]

"If you discover the whereabouts of your wits." Tacey grit out at Rosa's parting remark, determinedly facing the other way, her hands still rapidly clenching and unclenching, "I would suggest that you gather them and take your leave now before I forget that I'm a lady and act accordingly. I've seen quite enough of your sleazy little mistress and her assorted flunkies for one day. And that-" she raised her voice by another octave, turning to point an accusing finger and equally piercing glare in Kolino's direction, "includes you. We've already had one failure of a cosplayer harassing this team today and I'm in no mood for another, so kindly take your shadow game hocus pocus, cheap masquerade tricks, and silly evil plots revolving around children's card games and find somebody else to pester!"

She folded her arms, tapping her foot impatiently and glaring daggers at the dueling players for a while before adding, "And Sarasi; don't think you're getting off that easy either. I specifically told you not to do anything stupid, but I leave you out of my sight for a few minutes and you get yourself tangled up in..." she reached out her hands in front of her, searching for words to describe the scene, "...this!" she finished at last, arms once again folding tightly, "I swear, you're all absolutely hopeless!"

 

[Forci Stikane]

Duelist: Kuso
Hand: 5 cards
LP: 8000

Duelist: Kolino
Hand: 5 cards
LP: 8000

Kuso took a quick look at his cards, then glanced over to his opponent. "Since you appear to be so certain that you can handle me, why don't you go ahead and show me what you can do?"

"Certainly. It'll be a treat for you before you're unable to enjoy them." Kolino responded as he took his turn. "I summon Opticlops to the field in attack mode." As the name would indeed imply, the monster stood at least two feet over either duelist and featured only one eye, matching the single horn sitting on its head. Even though the loincloth over its lower torso was something new to the monster, there were no complaints from anyone present. Still, the stench was as horrid as ever, and the bulging muscles all over its body gave the impression that nobody would want to get in its way.

The stats of the monster, however, were not the best, which left Kuso a bit confused. "1800 ATK? Why would you play something like that?"

Kolino just smiled at Kuso's remark, although it was only barely visible due to his hand covering his nose. "Oh, you'll see why. I'll set two cards face-down and end."

Duelist: Kuso
Hand: Shadow Striker, Striker Thief, Dandylion, The Fiend Megacyber, Swords of Revealing Light
LP: 8000

Duelist: Kolino
Field: 2 face-down S/T, Opticlops (1800 ATK/1700 DEF)
Hand: 3 cards
LP: 8000

"Then it's my turn now," Kuso drew his card, and after looking it over, added it to his hand. "Due to our field totals, I Special Summon Striker Thief from my hand."

Kolino immediately moved his arm towards one of his set cards, triggering the effect to activate. "Reverse card open: Bottomless Trap Hole!" A large hole appeared under the cloaked monster just as it materialized and immediately pulled it in, without any chance of reaction of salvation. "Now your monster is removed from the rest of the game."
Kolino smirked as Kuso grimaced at the effect, placing the affected card in his pocket instead of his Duel Disk.

With that effect out of the way, Kuso returned to the duel. "Fine, then. Once again due to out field totals, I Special Summon Shadow Striker from my hand." Kuso prepared himself for another trap to trigger, but seeing no reaction from Kolino, he continued his turn. "By this monster's effect, I can select one card on your side of the field and send it back to your hand…and I select your Opticlops." The energy from Kuso's monster collided into the giant's chest with no interference from Kolino, forcing it back into the Shadow Duelist's hand. "And with that eyesore out of the way, my monster will attack you directly." To be accurate, Kuso was more surprised than anything as his monster's attack cut into Kolino with no interference. Apparently, that face-down card was merely a fake-out. "Your turn."

Duelist: Kuso
Field: Shadow Striker (1900ATK/1200 DEF)
Hand: Dandylion, The Fiend Megacyber, Swords of Revealing Light, Return from the Different Dimension
RFG: Striker Thief
LP: 8000

Duelist: Kolino
Field: 1 face-down S/T
Hand: 4 cards
Graveyard: Bottomless Trap Hole
LP: 6100

"So is that all you can do? Too bad." As Kolino drew his card, a wide grin crept across his face. With an almost ecstatic motion, he immediately placed the card in his Duel Disk, more than happy to activate it. "Spell card activate: Brain Control. With this, I pay 800 Life Points to take control of your monster." Keeping to its namesake, a large brain appeared on the field. From somewhere in the brain stretched a pair of ghost-like arms, grabbing Kuso's Shadow Striker and dangling it in the air above Kolino's field. "Next, I'll tribute it to summon Dark Ruler Ha Des!"

The Striker and the object holding it aloft both disintegrated as they were replaced by a robed figure. The clothing was very ceremonial in appearance, befitting a king of the underworld. It laughed at the sight of Kuso's empty field as it swirled the unknown mixture in the glass in its left hand.

"Go on, Dark Ruler. Attack him directly." Kolino's grin grew even wider as his monster opened its mouth and let out a deafening roar, forcing Kuso to cover his ears in an attempt to drown it out. As the sound ended, Kolino's grin softened to a normal smile. "You can go now."

Duelist: Kuso
Field: empty
Hand: Dandylion, The Fiend Megacyber, Swords of Revealing Light, Return from the Different Dimension
Graveyard: Shadow Striker
RFG: Striker Thief
LP: 5550

Duelist: Kolino
Field: 1 face-down S/T, Dark Ruler Ha Des (2450 ATK/1600 DEF)
Hand: 3 cards
Graveyard: Bottomless Trap Hole, Brain Control
LP: 5300

Kuso had to wait a full minute for the ringing in his ears to stop. He didn't intend on letting that monster hit him directly again, and his draw was going to help with just that. "I set one card face-down, one monster in defense, and activate Swords of Revealing Light." Two perpendicular card backs materialized on Kuso's field, followed by blades of pure light placing themselves all over Kolino's. The shining light produced by them blinded the sole monster, much to Kuso's delight. "Yeah, enjoy having one of your senses overloaded for a while. I end my turn."

Duelist: Kuso
Field: 1 face-down S/T, Swords of Revealing Light, Dandylion (face-down)
Hand: The Fiend Megacyber, Return from the Different Dimension
Graveyard: Shadow Striker
RFG: Striker Thief
LP: 5550

Duelist: Kolino
Field: 1 face-down S/T, Dark Ruler Ha Des (2450 ATK/1600 DEF)
Hand: 3 cards
Graveyard: Bottomless Trap Hole, Brain Control
LP: 5300

Kolino growled as he surveyed the cards in his hand, his reaction to his draw the exact opposite to what it was last turn. "Grr……I summon Opticlops back to the field and leave it at that." The horned beast from before appeared on the field once again, kneeling before its master. It started to let out a roar, but was cut short by the present glare, having an even more adverse effect on this monster than the previous one.

Duelist: Kuso
Field: 1 face-down S/T, Swords of Revealing Light (1 turn), Dandylion (face-down)
Hand: The Fiend Megacyber, Return from the Different Dimension
Graveyard: Shadow Striker
RFG: Striker Thief
LP: 5550

Duelist: Kolino
Field: 1 face-down S/T, Opticlops (1800 ATK/1700 DEF), Dark Ruler Ha Des (2450 ATK/1600 DEF)
Hand: 3 cards
Graveyard: Bottomless Trap Hole, Brain Control
LP: 5300

The roles from earlier in the duel had been switched; it was now Kuso relishing in Kolino's inaction, and he couldn't keep himself from gloating about it. "What, not happy about your draw? Aww, too bad."

"Just go, already, so I can hurry up and finish you."

Kuso shrugged and proceeded ahead with his turn. Only checking the card he had drawn for a brief moment, he immediately placed it in an open slot of his Duel Disk, represented by a second card backing appearing next to the first. "I place one card face-down…" Kuso had to stop and actually think about his next move. He had the cards to go on the offensive here and take out Kolino's Opticlops, but with one mystery card out, it was almost too obvious to not be a trap. Still, that card had never activated when he attacked with Shadow Striker, so he doubted it was something that would trigger on an attack. Besides, with Dark Ruler in play, the effect of his Dandylion would get negated by an attack, anyway, so it would be better to get its effect now while he still could.

"…and I tribute my monster to summon The Fiend Megacyber in Attack Position." As the previous monster faded away, the large warrior that replaced it moved forward to assume a battle stance, ready to attack at any moment. "Since it was just sent to the Graveyard, the effect of my Dandylion also activates, adding two tokens to my side of the field." To each side of the fighter appeared what looked like a ball of fluff on a stem, each one's miniscule stature only emphasized by the monster in between them. "Now, Fiend Megacyber attacks your Opticlops."

At his command, the all-too-anxious fiend rushed forward, its fist slamming directly into the cyclops' torso and sending it flying back, breaking apart as it landed near Kolino. "That ends my turn."

Duelist: Kuso
Field: 2 face-down S/T, Swords of Revealing Light (1 turn), 2 Fluffy Tokens (0 ATK/0 DEF), The Fiend Megacyber (2200 ATK/1200 DEF)
Hand: Return from the Different Dimension
Graveyard: Dandylion, Shadow Striker
RFG: Striker Thief
LP: 5550

Duelist: Kolino
Field: 1 face-down S/T, Dark Ruler Ha Des (2450 ATK/1600 DEF)
Hand: 3 cards
Graveyard: Bottomless Trap Hole, Brain Control, Opticlops
LP: 4900

As soon as Kolino saw the card he had drawn, his personality once again switched to the polar opposite, the largest smile yet plastered on his face. "Haha…HAHAHA!!!" With nothing less than enough excitement to match a full army of energetic children, he practically tossed his card into the matching disk slot. "I activate my Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Swords of Revealing Light!" A whirlwind shot out of the played card, blowing away the swords and destroying the card they had originated from. With the light gone, the monster present on his field regained its eyesight as it glared at the opposing warrior. "Next I'll summon a second Opticlops to my field." Another copy of the behemoth appeared on the field, once again kneeling before its accomplice and successfully letting out a deep roar. "Dark Ruler Ha Des, clear the field of that overgrown muscle man."

As the monster prepared to let out yet another screech, Kuso initiated his backup plan. "I activate my trap: Mirror Force!"

As the barrier formed itself around Kuso's three monsters, the sole response from the opposing duelist was a smirk on his face. "You really think something like that is going to work? Forget it. Reverse card, open: Solemn Judgment!" With another wave of his arm, the card that had been on his field for the entire time showed itself, producing an even brighter ray of light than the swords from earlier had. "I pay half my Life Points to negate your Mirror Force and destroy it, which leaves my Dark Ruler to destroy your Fiend Megacyber!" The transparent energy broke to pieces as the monster let out a second noise, destroying the target and damaging Kuso's eardrums. "Then my Opticlops will destroy one of your tokens." The creature stood upright, and at its master's command, slammed its fists into the tiny puffball, destroying it. "I place one card face-down. Now go."

Kuso had barely reached for his draw when Kolino started acting up again. "Trap card activate: Birthright. With this, I can call my original Opticlops back to the field." The monster image started out only as a faint pair of shins "walking" away from the trap, but slowly became clearer and clearer as the rest of the monster came into view, until the entire beast was standing on the field once again, kneeling before its master.

"Your attempts for salvation are useless. We'll be seeing your defeat on my next turn!"

It was about then that the group returned from the tower. At least, all but one of them did. "Hey, where's Michel?" Everybody's silence was answer enough, but Kuso refused to believe it until the woman showed up again, mentioning something that shocked him.

"Michel's…gone? Another one, just like the others…?" "I can't believe it's happened AGAIN! I was supposed to be able to help, but I…" Fortunately for him, his self-rage had little time to set in before the other part of what she said had sunk in, turning his attention back to Kolino. "Wait just a minute here…you mean that you were never going to 'eliminate' the rest of us?"

"Well……" Kolino turned his head to the side in a sign of guilt, looking as if he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "The exact order was to keep you all occupied, but I like to do things my way. Rosa might intend to let you all off the hook…" As Kolino's line of sight returned to the duel, the characteristic circle of flames flared up around the two participants. Kuso could feel the heat from the dancing flames as they threatened to engulf him from behind. If Kuso had been even a couple feet further back, he would have been roasted then and there. "…But I do not!"

The sudden source of heat had startled Kuso, but the rest of his feelings were already focused in another direction. "Michel's gone…and you think you're also going to take me? To take all of us!??" As he spoke, his voice steadily grew louder and stronger, his anger slowly taking precedence over everything else. There was no way he was going to let himself lose now. "You can forget that, because I'm finishing you right now."

Duelist: Kuso
Field: 1 face-down S/T, 1 Fluffy Token (0 ATK/0 DEF)
Hand: Return from the Different Dimension, Striker's Fury
Graveyard: Mirror Force, Swords of Revealing Light, Dandylion, Shadow Striker, The Fiend Megacyber
RFG: Striker Thief
LP: 5300

Duelist: Kolino
Field: Birthright--Opticlops (1800 ATK/1700 DEF), Dark Ruler Ha Des (2450 ATK/1600 DEF), Opticlops (1800 ATK/1700 DEF)
Hand: 0 card
Graveyard: Bottomless Trap Hole, Brain Control, Mystical Space Typhoon, Solemn Judgment
LP: 2450

Despite the previous action suggesting the opposite, Kuso looked at the field with genuine satisfaction. This duel was about to end in his favor. It was a pity that Kolino had decided to react so quickly, too. If he had just been a bit more methodical in his moves, he might have spared himself.

"I activate my Spell Card: Striker's Fury." The playing card materialized on the field as the normal reverse backing before righting itself to reveal the green card. "With this card, you take 500 points of damage times the number of cards on your side of the field minus the number on mine. That's not all, either--Trap Card, activate: Striker's Miscount." With a wave of his arm, the only remaining card on his field copied the same action its match had made just a moment ago. "With this, the number of cards on your field is doubled, increasing your field count to 8 and making the damage from Striker's Fury 2500. More than enough to finish you."

Kolino's expression turned to one of complete shock as a bolt of dark energy shot forward from the Spell, blazing through his monsters and straight through his body. Kolino reeled backwards before falling to his knees, parts of his clothes still smoking from the energy impact. "Now, I want answers." As the flames around them died down and the card images faded from the field, Kuso started to walk over to Kolino's collapsed form, but before he could get within a few feet of the fallen enemy, the same shadow that had appeared before revealed itself again, inching itself up Kolino's body. "H-Hey, what do you think you're doing!? I said I'm not finished with you!"

As the shadows covered his entire body, Kolino raised his head and gave off a faint smile. "Nor I with you…he-heh. Y-You…you haven't seen the last of…me………"

Kolino's sentence trailed off as the shadows around him swallowed him whole, leaving no trace of the Shadow Duelist where he had stood. Kuso simply stood there for a moment, then let out a sigh of exasperation before turning and walking towards the others, specifically the stranger he assumed to also be a Shadow Duelist. With everything that had happened, he was really in no mood to be nice to this woman, and if the situation had been any different he would have assaulted her then and there. Still, he attempted to muster up the nicest tone of voice that be could before confronting her. "It was because of you people that my previous group disappeared. You're lucky that we have somewhere to go or I would do something more about that…but I have just one question for you." Kuso's fists clenched without him even noticing as he glared into the woman's eyes. "I want to know exactly what happens to the people you lot defeat. I don't mean the generic 'sent to the shadows' answer, either; I want details."

 

[Phanima]

Where did people go after being defeated via means of a Shadow Game? Such a question coming from someone who trembled at the sight of the very people who conducted such rituals, his question came off more forced than brave. Granted, he didn't look nearly as pathetic as he did during Koji and Eri's debut but as it were, she decided to amuse the boy's request.

"I apologise Kuso Sarasi, but unfortunately I do not know the fate of those who befall the loss of a Shadow Game." she replied ever so calmly, having turned on her heel to refute his accusation, "It would be most beneficial to address a Shadow Duellist in concerns to matters like these."

Her eyes unblinking, Rosa concluded her response, "I also give my condolences, in light of your previously disbanded team, however I must correct you in the fact that I am not a Shadow Duellist and was in turn, not responsible for their ill fate. I suggest asking those of more familiarity with expertise on the matter for more information."

She then turned to Tacey Edgeworth, her previous remark breaching blasphemous proportions. "You would do well Tacey Edgeworth, to not insult Miss Arma." her tone icy cold despite her contorted expression, "You were spared an inevitable fate, so graciousness in light of the situation would be most appropriate."

Smiling, her eyes sweeping the dismembered group before closing again following another slight bow, she added, "If there are no more questions, I will be taking my leave."

 

[Alter Ego]

"Oh, one last thing, if you please." Tacey interrupted in her most dangerously sweet voice, a friendly expression that practically screamed 'danger' to anyone who knew the rich girl better dominating her face as she took a step closer to Rosa.

Rather than the question the bespectacled woman might have expected, Tacey brought down her most vicious slap squarely across Rosa's face. Well, truth to be told, slash would probably have been a more appropriate term. Tacey was the kind of person who went to considerable lengths to keep her nails in tip-top shape. Clean, even, but - most importantly - sharp enough to accommodate situations just like this one. Her slapping may have been commonplace, but fewer knew that Tacey was indeed capable of drawing first blood in an argument in more than just a metaphorical sense when she truly desired to.

"Well, don't just stand there, dear." the millionaire heiress chided, as if scolding an exceptionally simple-minded servant, procuring a handkerchief from within the folds of her outfit and dabbing at the traces of red now coating her nails, once again refusing to dignify Rosa with actual eye-contact, "Scamper back to your precious mistress and deliver that message like a good little lapdog should. As for the rest of you." she turned her attention to the remaining members of team seven, "Into the helicopter. Now. We have quite clearly wasted more than enough time conversing with ignorant lackeys already."

Her piece thus said, Tacey promptly turned on her heels and strode into the helicopter in her most regal manner, and though she did not offer as much as a glance backwards, her manner made it quite clear that any further delays on her team's part would not go unpunished.

 

[Scarlet Weather]

Achan didn't understand what was going on around him. One moment, the inferno was still raging and the duel was presumably still under way. The next, an explosion powerful enough to shake the roots of the building shattered the relative silence and blew away the barrier. Achan ran forward, staring in horror at the crumpled mass that had at one point been Michel Arma. "No..."

Judai stared at Michel's body with a look that seemed almost sympathetic. "I warned you, Aruma-san.... these aren't just children's card games. Why... didn't you listen?"

Achan stared at Michel. He had hardly known the business executive during his time in the tournament, and just when he was getting a chance to learn about him he had been killed. This was... unfair. It was bad enough his own body had been swapped and was currently being used in a plot to take over the world. Watching Michel die- and being an indirect cause of his death, he realized- wasn't something he wanted to see. He hadn't hurt anyone. He hadn't asked to be born as an artificial human. Nothing he had done had prepared him for this. It was too cruel. Just too cruel.

Then he heard Michel say it. "Sorry... Smith's not here anymore. We traded out."

"Michel..." Achan groaned under his breath, "Dammit, you didn't have to lie to protect me. You should have saved yourself. There's nothing those creeps could do to me anymore, and I can protect myself now. I didn't... dammit, why didn't you save yourself? I didn't think you cared that... that... DAMMIT!" He turned to Chris Arma just as Tacey delivered her ultimatum and marched out. "You..." he hissed. "If you touch another member of my team, I'll personally be the one to reflect every bit of the pain I'm going through right now onto you." With that, he turned and stalked out.

Judai ran to catch up with him. "Sumisu-kun..."

"I won't do anything stupid, sensei ," Achan replied with just a touch of sarcasm in his voice. "But if we ever meet her again, I will beat her to the ground."

Judai, to his surprise, nodded. "Get in line."

-----------------------​

The results of Kuso's duel were hardly a surprise to Achan. Had they been any different, he probably would have ripped out Kolino's esophagus himself and made him wear it. On any other day he would have commented on the unique strategy and card set he had encountered, but right now he was focused on the fact that he had just watched another man die during the course of this tournament and he wasn't happy about it. Even Kuso's question didn't help lift his mood- he could guess what happened to those who went into the shadows, even if he wasn't one hundred percent correct. Rosa, however, intrigued him.

After Tacey had said her piece, Achan stepped forward. "If you're doing this of your own free will, you deserved that," He said in a measured tone. "But if you're being forced into this... leave, now. Do you understand? Nothing is worth serving a killer like that woman. Nothing. Oh, and tell her..." his eyes narrowed, "Tell her that Achan Smith is searching for her, too."

With that, he boarded the copter. The duel was over. The pilot, apparently under orders to continue the tournament, took off once again. The duel was now headed for Germany.

--------------------------------------------​

The helicopter touched down, and Achan yawned. Even his anger at Chris Arma wasn't enough to keep him awake for a helicopter ride of that length. As he stepped out, he looked at the towering forest in the distance. This place was the start of the next round- Germany's black forest. It was more than just a round, however. If his team didn't find information about Kaito here, chances were that his plans would succeed and he'd successfully achieve world domination. Even if they did find it, Kaito and the Shadow Duelists were formidable opponents.

But first things were first. "Let's see if we can find our way to where the other duelists are gathered," Achan said. "It's time to hear the rules for this round.

OOC: Gah, my posts just keep getting crappier. 0.o

 

[Forci Stikane]

The woman's response took Kuso completely by surprise. If she wasn't a Shadow Duelist, then why in the world was she helping those people? Did she honestly agree with them? He had a strong urge to cause physical harm to her regardless of her occupation or gender, but Tacey beat him to it. There was a bit of satisfaction in seeing another one of these people punished for all they've done, but when Tacey told everyone to get into the helicopter, he took that as a sign to get on immediately or else suffer the same. Kuso turned briefly to the woman with the intention of commenting on her apparent decision, but there was little he could say that Achan hadn't already gotten across a moment ago, so he simply shook his head as he joined the rest of the group.

Achan soon fell asleep, no doubt from fatigue, which left only Judai and Tacey to talk to on the long ride. It was a fact that Kuso did not find solace in, and even less in what he had to ask, but he did have to be absolutely certain. "...I take it that Michel lost his duel while I was dealing with that other Shadow Duelist--who, just so you know," Kuso paused as he turned to Tacey, quite clearly remembering her accusation from earlier, "was planning on attacking all of us. There was nothing 'stupid' about stopping him...at least for the moment." The lack of denial from either person confirmed it beyond any doubt Kuso might have had, but Kolino's last words still lingered in the back of his mind. If there was actually a way to get out of whatever it was that happened to defeated duelists, then there might also be a way to save those people that had been taken, Michel included. "I guess we'll have to find another member, then. Maybe two, since Manjoume's gone missing." Despite the pilot having appeared as suddenly and mysteriously as he had vanished, that left only one member of the group completely missing from the helicopter. He could have gone ahead to their destination, but it still made Kuso worry that one of them might have gone off on his own again.

When they finally reached the right location much later, Achan was the first one to suggest a plan of action. "Agreed." Kuso turned to the others before heading towards the forest. "We'll probably find somebody just outside of there. Let's go."

 

[Phanima]

Something...odd occurred the moment the prepubescent girl's nails tore into her porcelain flesh. It was a feeling she had seldom if ever experienced and in the briefest of instances, the emotion almost overwhelmed her. To think a person of only fifteen could procure such a domineering presence, one almost as intense as well...Christina. Subject to such abuse and an unexpected incentive from the one known as Kaito Kurado, she had simply retained her usual demeanour and saw the group off before returning to her own means of transportation, her next destination all but a few hundred feet underground.

Exactly two hours and seventeen minutes later...​

Brushing through the double glass doors and into the lowset room before taking her newly addressed seat at the end of the table into her curved backside, Chris casually swept over the five other individuals present, her gaze finally setting on the vacant seat offset to her right. As if on cue, light scattered across the night sky behind the glass panned wall adjacent to her seat, illuminating the darkened mass of a city below as a figure constructed of similar material, albeit a little less intense, appeared beside her. The hologram phased into sight in perfect alignment with the empty seat, the projected person's expression one of feigned regret.

"Please excuse my tardiness."

Her seat squeaking under the applied pressure in her leaning back, Chris waved off the late arrival and turned to address the now complete cast of Arma Tech's board of directors. Pursing her lips, the heiress prepared to initiate their scheduled meeting when one of the already present members broke the ice.

"Rosa..." the third seat started, two seats left of the heiress, now addressing the recently arrived hologram, "What happened to your face?"

"Please do not concern yourself with something so trifle." the escort retorted through forced calm, having just become accustomed to her unprecedented influx of emotion, "Please Christina, continue."

The raven-haired pigtails tilted her head, an expression of sympathy gracing her features as she too focused on the woman's wound, such a response surprising Rosa to say the least, accompanied by a mischievous and quite content grin from the initiative board's third seat.

"How uncouth, to stoop so low as to lash out..." the heiress muttered, resting her chin onto a shouldered fist as she eyed the almost feral claw marks, "It must've hurt."

"It is of no concern Christina, please continue with the meeting."

Sighing, the heiress conceded but not before directing her attention to the source of the commotion, "Sienna-"

"Don't worry." the third seat nodded, "I'll patch her up."

Smiling, she then regained her initial composure, embracing the three directors on each side, "Let's get down to business then. First, the Shadow Duellists..."

The next morning...​

"So, this is Black Forest?" the brunette huffed with a merry smile, eyeing the towering trees in the distance as she departed from the generic path and onto the field proceeding her destination, "I guess this is where I'll meet my new teammates."

Everything had happened so quickly. The last thing she remembered was waking up in the middle of Domino City with a brand new spanking duel disk and pocket computer, both courtesy of one Pegasus J. Crawford, one of the leading sponsors of that Duel Monsters tournament everyone was talking about. It was odd though, when did she become a duellist? And not to mention one with her very own custom made deck no less. It was all very perplexing, seeing as how she could not for the life of her remember anything previous to her awakening aside from her own name.

Still, she had seen plenty of duels before, the sport not particularly one so easily missed considering the publicity it often received. But alas, there she had been, in the middle of some foreign country with directions from Industrial Illusions itself, directing her to charter across the greater half of the world and into the borders of the third round. If anything, she was all too eager to comply, considering most of her expenses were to be paid for, let alone having somewhere to actually go. So she decided to utilise her best judgment and follow her instructions, at least until her memory returned, as worrying as that was already, else be damned by her bubbling and carefree attitude.

Stretching to her fullest to work out the kinks from her dormant ride, the brunette took a quick look around to see where to next proceed. Deciding it best to follow the general assembly of other disk wielding persons, she continued on her way, the names and faces of her new teammates gracing the screen of her pocket computer clutched in her hand.

"Judai, Kuso, Achan, Tacey and Jun." she recited, "What funny names. Well, I guess 'Chelsea' might be weird for them too, heh."

 

[Alter Ego]

"There is nothing not stupid about meddling with this shadow game hocus pocus." Tacey snarled as Kuso mounted his little defense, the former clearly annoyed at being interrupted from her private thoughts by the latter as she quickly shoved Michel's deck aside and folded her arms, "You could have just let that twerp think he had you fooled and knocked him out the moment he turned his back on you. Then maybe we could have gotten some answers out of him and maybe this tournament's death count would be one less. But no, you had to prove what a big man you are by challenging him to a duel instead." she scoffed reproachfully, "You boys can be such idiots when you think you have something to prove. And don't trouble yourself over the team member situation," she added with a scowl, "It's not like our 'gracious' host has had any qualms about slipping in his own little additions into our team before. He'll already have raked up some card-playing nutter to take Arma's place, I'm sure. You should know; that's how you got roped into all of this. Besides, Manjoume left a message saying he'd meet us on-site, as you would know if you would actually have checked your PDA."

Her piece thus said, the millionaire heiress retreated back into the sanctum of her private thoughts again, absent-mindedly scanning her nails for any traces of blood still remaining.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
​

"Two turns are up."

Manjoume grit his teeth as the massive dragon on his field faltered, its body rapidly aging under the effect of the spell card that had been a thorn in his side from the very beginning of this duel and finally shattering to dust.

"Trap card activate, Level Reverse! When one of my level monsters is destroyed, I can summon the previous level monster in the sequence to take its place. That means I can call back Armed Dragon LV7!"

With a triumphant roar, a slightly less imposing variant of the previous beast rose up on the duelist's field, the metal armor and various armaments covering its red-scaled body glinttering with the splendor of novelty.

"You summon what you like." the annoyingly juvenile voice of his opponent rang out, his features and identity still concealed by the tightly pulled hood of his sweater and the scarf over his face, much to Manjoume's annoyance, "Thanks to my Effemarity spell card, it won't be around long."

"We'll see." Manjoume snarled, bracing himself in an attempt to remain upright with the very real wounds the game had infilicted on him thus far, "Draw!"

Duelist: Manjoume
Life Points: 2700
Hand: 2 cards
Field: Armed Dragon LV7 (2800/1000)
Graveyard: 2x Masked Dragon, Twin-Headed Behemoth, Armed Dragon LV3, Armed Dragon LV5, Monster Reborn, Armed Dragon LV10, Dragon's Rage, Stamping Destruction, Level Up!, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 4, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 6, Level Reverse

Duelist: ???
Life Points: 7200
Hand: 3 cards
Field: Aether Fairy Skydancer (1200/1000), Effemarity (face-up)
Graveyard: 2x Aether Fairy Swordsman, Final Charge, Aether Fairy Torchbearer, Torrential Tribute, Aether Fairy Guardian, Aether Mayfly, Aether Vanguard, Prince of Aether, Aether Fairy Oracle

"I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4." he announced, a tiny creature most closely resemblant of a steel-plated chicken spawning on his field, "Then I'll activate my spell card Level Up!, raising my Horus to level six."

"Level this and level that." his opponent retorted impishly, betraying no more interest than before as the chicken-like monster's body underwent a considerably growth spurt, "Makes no difference to me."

"We'll see." Manjoume snarled, "Armed Dragon, attack Aether Fairy Skydancer!"

"Skydancer's inheritance effect." his opponent reminded him as the tiny creature held its ground against the onslaught, the pair of beetle wings latched onto its back suddenly extending to cover it from harm, "My Guardian was destroyed last turn, so Skydancer can't be destroyed by battle."

"But." the black-blazered duelist continued, "I can still press through damage. Horus, attack!"

Though the scarf made it difficult for him to tell, Manjoume, couldn't help the impression that his opponent was holding back laughter as the flames from the dragon's attack slowly died down without even singeing him, "Were you expecting something more?" the hooded figure asked with poorly masked glee as his life point counter ticked down.

"Alright, that's enough." the black-blazered duelist hissed, "Who are you?! why are you not affected by the shadow game?! And what is your business with my team?!"

"Now, now." his opponent chided, "If I told you all of that it would spoil the surprise."

"Answer me!"

His opponent merely laughed, the high pitch of his voice more blatant than before, almost...girly, "Does that ever work?" his opponent retorted, "My turn. Draw."


Duelist: Manjoume
Life Points: 2700
Hand: 2 cards
Field: Armed Dragon LV7 (2800/1000), Hours the Black Flame Dragon LV6 (2300/1600)
Graveyard: 2x Masked Dragon, Twin-Headed Behemoth, Armed Dragon LV3, Armed Dragon LV5, Monster Reborn, Armed Dragon LV10, Dragon's Rage, Stamping Destruction, 2x Level Up!, 2x Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 4, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 6, Level Reverse

Duelist: ???
Life Points: 5500
Hand: 4 cards
Field: Aether Fairy Skydancer (1200/1000), Effemarity (face-up)
Graveyard: 2x Aether Fairy Swordsman, Final Charge, Aether Fairy Torchbearer, Torrential Tribute, Aether Fairy Guardian, Aether Mayfly, Aether Vanguard, Prince of Aether, Aether Fairy Oracle

"With two turns passed, Aether Fairy Skydancer is gone." the sweater-clad duelist remarked off-handedly, his monster vanishing in turn, "Now as I was saying, telling you my whole game would be no fun, but..." there was a hint of mischief in the shorter duelist's voice, "...I supposed I could give you a hint. I set three cards...and destroy them."

The shadow duelist burst out into open laughter as his entire field save for the single, green-framed card was rent into pieces, a bright glow enveloping its very center and effectively obscuring an angelic-looking figure at its very center from any closer inspection. Meanwhile, the pitch of the shadow duelist's voice grew higher and higher, dissolving from laught into clear, unmistakable giggles.

"So..." the obviously feminine figure teased as the unreal-looking figure within the light slowly unraveled from its fetal position, extending a grand six pairs of wings into their fully glory and scattering the energy enveloping it to all sides in a massive shockwave that nearly knocked Manjoume off his feet and effectively tore down booth the hood and scarf shielding his opponent's identity, "...is this enough of a hint for you...Jou-jou-kun?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
​

Tacey's mood had not improved much by the time they reached the black forest, the rich girl stepping out from their ride and into what was, to her way of thinking, uncivilized wilderness in a decidedly grumpy way.

"Agreed." she half-snarled at Achan's suggestion, casting a disapproving glance at her surroundings, "And I hope wherever the start of this round is is a bit more civilized than this. This outfit was not intended for wilderness hikes." she demonstratively flicked a piece of imaginary forest dirt from her dress as she continued, this time in Judai's direction, "And Manjoume is late too." she accused, as if this was somehow the red-blazered duelist's fault, "Don't you people have any sense of time management?"

In the distance, the treetops of the forest rattled for the briefest of moments, accompanied by the sound of an explosion helplessly muffled by the distance, a small flock of agitated birds setting off into flight with indignant squawks.

A moment later, all was still again.

 

[Scarlet Weather]

"Don't look at me, Edgeworth-san," Judai replied in even tones. "I haven't seen Manjoume since we landed. I think he's got some business to take care of- even if he is the black sheep of the family, Manjoume is still part of the Manjoume family. And last I heard, his older brothers weren't doing very well themselves."

"Yeah, but it's weird," Achan muttered. "I don't remember Manjoume ever missing out on a chance like this before. He's usually on time when it comes to tournaments- I remember watching some of his matches on TV. A little, anyway," He scratched the back of his head slowly. "Eh, but then again, I don't really remember all that-"

"ATTENTION, DUELISTS!"

Achan's hand fell away and his jaw dropped. "Oh please god, no," he breathed as he stared at the giant blimp that had just appeared over the airport. "Please, don't tell me that it's-"

The blimp lit up, revealing a very familiar face. Achan sucked in his breath. "No, it's impossible! How could he have-"

Judai, too, stared in horror. "But I thought that back on the island-"

Both looked at each other. "It's-"

"ATTENTION, DUELISTS! MY HAIR MAY NOT BE HERE TO WITNESS YOUR DUELS... BUT REST ASSURED, MY HAIR AND I WILL NEVER BE TOTALLY SEPARATED! TOGETHER WE WILL OBSERVE YOUR DUELS WITH PRIDE, EVEN IF WE'RE IN TWO DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD!"

"That...guy..." Achan finished lamely. He turned to Judai, raising an eyebrow. "You worked with him for a while, did you ever find out what his name was?"

"Sorry, I'm afraid not," Judai admitted. "We always just called him 'that one guy with the hair'."

The security guard whose head had formerly been capped with a hairdo voted most likely to be interpreted as a phallic symbol smiled as he looked at the crowd below, gingerly touching his new, shorter haircut. Apparently even a blow from Kuso's Striker Thief had not been enough to completely destroy his self-esteem. At least, not so much that he could not recover. With a stiff bow, he vanished from the screen, and was replaced by an image of Pegasus. "Well, hello there, duelists," he crowed. "Welcome to Round Three of this fabulous tournament! At this point, all of those unfit for the title have been weeded out- as a matter of fact, I'll be sharing a little secret." He grinned and winked before leaning in close to the camera. "There are only eight teams left in the entire tournament- meaning that by the end of this round, we'll have entered the semi-finals. And that means, of course, that four teams have to lose out- at least. So without further ado... here's the man I've comissioned to read the rules for this round... captain of one of Industrial Industries' leading partner businesses, Zigfried Schroider!"

The screen changed again. Pegasus was replaced by... well, Achan had thought that Pegasus was the girliest-looking man he'd ever seen. Unfortunately, this man topped him. He was at least as flamboyantly dressed, possibly more so, but the worst thing about him was...

"He-has-pink-hair..." Achan muttered in an undertone. "Howtheheckdoeshehavepinkhairhowtheheckdoeshehavepinkhair? Agh!"

Judai glanced at him. "Achan-kun, are you all right?"

Achan glanced at him, trembling slightly. "Pink hair..."

"Er, right, of course Achan-kun," Judai replied, slightly unnerved.

Meanwhile, the man on the screen began to speak, a translator covering over his German. "Greetings to all of you! Welcome to Germany. As you may already know, the Black Forest is famous for being the location where many famous fairy tales read the world over are set, among them being Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, and Iron Hans. And what better way to celebrate this than by allowing all of you to participate in these tales? Now, please remove your PDAs."

Achan managed to tear his face away from the screen long enough to remove the PDA from his pocket. He opened it up to see that an e-mail had been sent to him containing just four words: "Little Red Riding Hood". Nothing else was there.

Zigfried's face lit up, as if he was pleased by the puzzled looks of most of the duelists who had received his message. "All of you have received one of four German fairy tales, each with four important characters. And each of you have been assigned the role of one character in your story. Your object is to figure out which character you are based on clues you will be given later, as well as the members of the opposing teams who are the other characters in your story. If you do figure it out... well then, here's how it will work. If you defeat another duelist, you take on the role of their 'character', as well as the roles of any other 'characters' they had. You are not allowed to discuss who you have already beaten or what characters you have with anyone other than your own team mates. Once you have completed a 'story', your objective is to make it to Hohenzollern Castle, which borders the forest, and present yourself as the completed 'story' to the person you will find there. After that, your team will be passed and you can return to business as usual. This process will continue until all four tales have been completed. Remember, you only get credit for completing the fairy tale you were assigned. As for the rest... I wish you the best of luck! Farewell!"

Achan stared at his PDA. "Red Riding Hood, huh..." he muttered. "That one... I know how that one goes. But I wonder which character I got..."

OOC: The other three tales, by the way, are Hansel and Gretel (Hansel, Gretel, Evil Stepmother, Witch), Sleeping Beauty (The Princess, the Prince, The Enchantress, the Good Fairies), and Bearskin (The Soldier, The Devil, The Youngest Daughter, The Older Daughters). Obviously, I'm combining some characters to make room here. On the off chance you want Bearskin and aren't familiar with the story (or either of the others), I can PM you the information. Each of our characters has a different story, so make yer claims right away! And you get to make up the clues as to what character you are~!

Let Round Three Begin! (I actually thought the plot for this round through way ahead of time! Whey, Whey!

 

[Alter Ego]

"Incredible," an expression of utter disbelief dominated Tacey's features as the announcement boomed overhead. The one thing, the single good thing in this she could list, had just been thrown out of the window, "He's still employed?"

Their designated speaker for the round did little to improve the rich girl's mood. Pegasus was bad enough as effeminate men went, but this Ziegfried took it to a whole new level of tacky. It was no wonder, Tacey found herself thinking, that Pegasus had chosen to make this particular person such an important business partner for himself. The actual round sounded a tad childish to her tastes. Fairy tales...no matter what jabs peopled like to take at her deck theme, she had grown out of those when she was ten. But then, she supposed that was meant to be part of the challenge, and with hosts as infantile as this she supposed they had had it coming.

"Bearskin." Tacey read out dispassionately, obviously disapproving of the tale in question but snapping the PDA shut again with a resigned sigh, "How charming. Well, we should be getting right to it then, though we have new teammates to search out yet again." she rolled her eyes, "I swear, if there was even one round where we didn't have to go out of our way to find-"

"Neko-neko-chan is looking for someone again, maybe?"

"You!", the moment the familiar, annoyingly sweet voice caught her ears, the rich girl spun around on her heel to confront its source. And sure enough, there the obnoxious little girl from before was, clad in her usual oversized sweater, nonchalantly dangling her legs back and forth as she observed the group from her perch on a nearby tree branch.

"Me." Haruko replied cheerfully, beaming at the group as she leapt down from the branch with enviable agility, "Did you miss me, Neko-neko-chan?"

"About as much as a toothache." the millionaire heiress hissed back, glaring at the girl, "What are you up to this time?"

"Up to?" the little girl replied with infuriating innocence, "Haruharu has just come to play some card games."

"Like last time, you mean?" Tacey retorted frostily, "I'm sure I speak for everyone here when I say we've had quite enough of you and your tricks."

"Oooh?" the little girl retorted impishly, folding her arms behind her head as she slowly strode back and forth, continuing in a nonchalant tone, "I was also going to say that I know how to bring Make-Make-kun back, but I guess if you're not interested..."

The rich girl's eyes widened, "Wait. Are you talking about...Michel?" she shook her head, her glare gaining a new level of vicious, "Don't you dare joke about that. Michel lost in a shadow game, there's-"

"No way little Haruharu can bring him back?" Haruko finished, giggling and shaking her head, "Of course there is, silly Neko-Neko-chan! As long as the soul is fresh, you can bring it back, if you know where to look." she smoothed out her fringe at this point, giggling once more at some internal joke of her own before turning her attention to Judai, "You know, don't you, Dai-Dai-kun." she crooned, "About the worlds behind the worlds."

Tacey had to restrain a decidedly unladylike growl at the amount of nonsense this irritating little child was spouting, "Well even if you know a way, which - for the record - I don't think you do," she snarled, "why would you tell us and why should we trust you?"

"Oh, that's easy, Neko-Neko-chan." Haruko replied cheerfully, offering them her sunniest smile, "Haruharu would never hurt her teammates."

"Teammates?" Tacey echoed sceptically, and as if on que, her PDA blinked to life, indicating new mail.

'Dear members of Team Seven,

Due to a tragic accident, Manjoume "Sanda" Jun has been forced to resign from the tournament and is currently in intensive care. In accordance with the terms of tournament rules, subsection five, clause three, duelist ID 7952, Haruko, has been assigned to this team as a replacement member. Please treat her with the same trust and respect as you would an original member of the team, as the members of her team (team 13) are victims of a similar incident and were forced to forfeit the tournament as a result.

Further updates on your teammate's condition and possible visiting hours will be forwarded to you as such information becomes available. In the mean time, please rest assured that all possible precautions are being taken to ensure the safety and continued health of all participants and enjoy the remainder of this tournament, hosted in joint venture by Industrial Illusions and Kaiba Corporation, with the most generous sponsorship of Duel Insurance Corp.

Best regards,

- Tournament Staff'

"You." Tacey began slowly, her gaze turning back to Haruko.

"See?" the little girl trilled, smiling innocently, "Haruharu is a good girl now."

 

[Scarlet Weather]

"Hey, you're-" Achan began as he saw Haruko approach the team. Before he could react adequately, however, Tacey did so for him, approaching the girl and unloading a piece of her mind. Achan prepared to do the same, convinced that she had come with an ulterior motive... that is, until she mentioned a way of getting Michel back. Achan stepped in front of Haruko quickly, hoping to separate her from Tacey. "So, Haruko, eh?" He asked. "I've got two questions, and if you answer them right here and now I'll leave you be. If you don't... well... I'll...."

Tear her hair out! Aku suggested helpfully.

"Yeah, tear your-" Achan stopped and swatted the floating spirit. "Stop doing that!"

Doing what? Owowow! The spirit buzzed as Achan flailed at him. All I did was make a suggestion!

"Yeah, and a stupid one! If you think I'm gonna stand for this, you're wrong. Just who-"

"Achan-kun, I think we're waiting for you to ask your questions," Judai interrupted helpfully.

"Er, right," Achan mumbled, rubbing the back of his hair. He stood his ground in front of Haruko again, clearing his throat. "So, right, 'fess up. What are the 'worlds between the worlds' anyway? And where's your buddy Serge? I thought you two were partners or something, and he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd let himself lose to the Shadow Duelists. Unless, of course..." his eyes narrowed, "You asked him to let you lose. You're planning something, and I'm sure I'll figure out what it is enventually. So for now, just..."

Achan's PDA beeped, and he opened it. To his surprise, his first clue had arrived. "Eh? What's this?"

Carries aid to the elderly,
Paragon of duty,
Beloved by all,
Our Hero.

That's who you are!

When you think you have figured out your character, send the words in e-mail to this address. If you are correct, we will send you another clue telling you the number of the next team you'll be facing as well as a hint at which member carries the character from your story.

Best Regards,

The Tournament Staff

"Eh? But my story is Red Riding Hood... what character is that?" Achan mumbled, closing the PDA. "I mean, it isn't the wolf or the granny, but... who else was in the story? What the heck?"

OOC: Kudos to anyone who guesses which of the remaining two characters in Red Riding Hood this is. :3

 

[Forci Stikane]

"What's HE doing back already!??"

What negative feelings Kuso still had from earlier were immediately focused on the blimp above and the face upon it. He had already relieved Saruwatari of that obelisk he called hair, but there he was, still arrogant as ever. "B-but...his hair's gone! And what's he doing still working for Pegasus? What, is he on an anti-betrayal contract or something?" Despite how quickly Kuso had returned the favor, the fact still remained that Saruwatari had attacked them. How Pegasus could still have somebody like that employed was beyond him. At least Saruwatari's face was not on the blimp for very long, though, as he was soon replaced by his employer. Kuso knew that there was no way that Pegasus could hear him from wherever the video was being recorded, but it still made him feel at least a little bit better to complain to the screen. "What do you think you're doing, Pegasus?!? Didn't you see that guy attack us?? For all we know, he could be a Shadow Duelist in disgui--...what?"

Kuso's fruitless complaining was cut short when a very surprising guest took over the screen: Siegfried von Schroider, a person that Kuso hadn't found anything about since researching the second Battle City event, showed up from out of nowhere and announced that the next round would revolve around fairy tales. Kuso's reaction to the announcement immediately shifted from utter frustration to utter shock. He had joined to play children's card games, not pretend he was in a children's fairy tale. If it had been physically possible, his lower jaw would have already ended up lying on the ground, as the PDA that had been completely ignored until Tacey had mentioned it lit up with Kuso's assigned story.

Kuso's mind had to take a minute to absorb everything that had just happened before his hand mechanically pulled out the device, that look of shock only intensifying as the words on it reached his eyesight. "'Hansel and Gretel?' Are you kidding me?" Kuso felt like he was going to have a heart attack. When he was younger, he had never liked that story for everything that had been thrown on the two children, and now he was expected to act it out? "Well...at least I know how the story goes." He had to admit, the story fit rather well to the current situation, with everything that had been tossed at them in the last 24 hours. "But first, we might as well go look for that new me--"

He was cut short by an overly-cheerful girl that apparently had some bad history with the others, but it wasn't until she mentioned being able to bring Michel back that he realized what kind of history. "Bring Michel back...? Does that mean you're a--?!" Kuso immediately took a defensive stance, duel disk at the ready for what he expected to be a Shadow Game, only to find out from a second PDA message that she was actually a replacement for the missing Manjoume. ".....Great. Just great." Kuso exclaimed as he threw his arms up in exasperation, "That's three team members we've lost in the space of a single day, and now we're actually getting teamed up with somebody that, for all we know, is only here to attack us from within. That Pegasus sure has a swell sense of humor. What's next, the entire tournament goes under because the rest of the teams get taken, too?? And as for you," Kuso continued as his fit turned to the newcomer, "if you know how to get one of them back, then tell us right now, or so help me I'll--"

Kuso's ranting was brought to an abrupt end by yet another PDA message, this time delivered to Achan. He expected it to be something about taking back the previous message, but it was just a riddle with added instructions. Apparently they weren't going to have to figure out their characters all by themselves, after all. As the tournament staff was apparently sending out clues to the participants, Kuso took out his PDA expecting a message, but nothing showed up. "Now this thing isn't working anymore, either?"

It was only then that Cyber decided to speak up on the matter. "I...COULD TRY TO ANALYZE THE MESSAGE, TO FIND OUT WHICH CHARACTER YOU ARE."

There was almost a tone of reluctance in its voice, but Kuso shrugged that off as paranoia on his part. Kuso briefly considered the offer, but doing something like that would almost be cheating, since not every participant was likely to have the same ability. "...No, that would be a bit unfair for the others. Besides, there's probably a reason why I haven't received anything else yet." Kuso turned his attention back to Achan and the message he had just received. Granted, he was far from trusting the newcomer and planned to keep an eye on her, but they still had the issue of the tournament to worry about. "Well, that message is probably the best lead we've got in this. We might as well follow along with it." If only one person there was going to get a hint, then that would mean he was going to have an easier time getting his second character than the others would. That would make heeding that message the best course of action they had.


OOC: (Click link for reference)

 

[Alter Ego]

Haruko peered intently at Achan as the redhead's rant unfolded, allowing him to run through ever accusation and question he could come up with before finally speaking up.

"Why'd you change to such a weird body, Kumo-Kumo-chan?" she asked innocently, tilting her head, "Your old one was waaaaay cuter! Oh!" a sly smile spread across her face as she caught Tacey's warning glare, "I see. You did it for Neko-Neko-chan, didn't you?"

"Excuse me?!" Tacey growled, her face reddening, "Just what are you trying to imply-"

"Oh! Who's this?" Haruko interrupted, skipping over to Kuso, whose outburst she had not even acknowledged with a glance thus far, tentatively prodding at him, "I don't think I've seen you before." the girl remarked, a thoughtful frown spreading across her face for a moment, only to dissolve into her sunniest smile yet, "Nice to meet you, Bibi-Bibi-chan!"

"Enough!" Tacey interrupted, the authoritative stamp of her foot finally seeming to catch Haruko's attention, if only for the briefest of moments, "Smith's not the only one who wants answers here." she folded her arms, "I'm not accepting you into this team until you give us a full explanation."

"Aww...but Neko-Neko-chaaan!" the sweater-clad girl whined, unexpectedly latching onto the rich girl's arm, "Full explanations are booooring!"

"Answer me!"

"You're so cruel, Neko-Neko-chan..." Haruko sobbed, theatrically perfect tears streaming out of her eyes, "Little Haruharu came all this way just to help you and-and you're just being mean! It's a wonder Kumo-Kumo-chan even likes someone like-"

"Don't...think you can distract anyone with that a second time." the rich girl grit out, keeping her scowl in place, "If you really want to help us, then answer our questions. What is Serge up to?"

Haruko tried the pleading face for a while more, but receiving no response, she finally harrumphed and folded her arms behind her head, "Kei-Kei-chan is being boring and won't play with me." she huffed, imitating her partner's deadpan, "'If those were the best this pathetic tournament has to offer then I am wasting my time here.'" if the little girl noticed the barely constrained twitch of Tacey's eyebrow, she betrayed no sign of doing so, concluding with a light shrug, "That's what he said and that's all that little Haruharu knows about it."

"Is that so." Tacey replied woodenly, "What about these 'worlds behind worlds', then?"

"What about them?" Haruko retorted, as if the other had just asked why one plus one made two, "They're just that, silly Neko-Neko-chan. Worlds behind other worlds. They're quite pretty, but you should really ask Dai-Dai-kun. He's the one who's been playing around in them; little Haruharu has only been peeking in there. Now, enough questions!" she forestalled Tacey's argument, clapping her hands, "Kumo-Kumo-chan said that I only had to answer those two questions and I did. Now, we start solving tournament clues!" she flipped out a PDA, inspecting the message on it.

"Hey!" Tacey interrupted, recognizing the device, "That's mine! When did you-"

"Neko-Neko-chan's clue." the little girl interrupted, bluntly ignoring any protests once again as she took up an absurdly solemn tone, "Benefactor of another's scheme. Victim of another's charity. Pawn of forces greater than yourself. This is who you are! When you think you have figured out your character, send the words in e-mail to this address. If you are correct, we will send you another clue telling you the number of the next team you'll be facing as well as a hint at which member carries the character from your story." she frowned at the screen for a few moments, as if in deep concentration, before carelessly tossing the PDA over her shoulder for Tacey to catch, "Neko-Neko-chan figures out!" the sweater-clad girl declared, "Haruharu wants to play a card game now!"

 

[Scarlet Weather]

Achan's face turned nearly as red as his former body's hair the moment that Haruko insinuated that he had switched bodies for Tacey. Even worse, she went on to blatantly insinuate that he was crushing on the heiress. Fortunately for Haruko, Judai had grabbed Achan before he could strangle her. Even after he'd calmed down enough that Judai let him go, Achan was still understandably pissed off. "I didn't want to switch bodies with that card-designing lunatic," Achan complained. "I did it because he bated me into a shadowgame and took my body. But really, you're a Shadow Duelist or something... shouldn't you know things like that already? Everyone else seems to." He sighed, then without warning he whirled on Judai. "And Judai-sensei, hurry up and give everyone an explanation. I'm tired of being in the dark about how all this works."

Judai was more than a little bit surprised. "Explain what?"

"The worlds behind the worlds, of course. And where the people who get beaten by Shadow Duelists go. I know that you know, and we need as much background on these guys if we can if we're going to have any chance of beating them and getting Michel back. So hurry up and tell us." Suddenly, Achan snapped his fingers as if he had just remembered something. "Actually, on second thought, tell them. I just remembered something I have to do before we get the tournament round started, and I don't think I'm gonna have time to get it finished later."

Judai looked aghast. "But Achan-kun, the team should stay together, and besides if you leave you'll-"

"Miss the explanation? Hardly." Achan motioned to Akuma Kuriboh, who was still floating over his shoulder. "One of the few things I'm glad about since getting Kaito's body is that he accidentally gave me the ability to hear things in two places at once."

Oh, so is that all I am to you? A spare set of ears? Hmph! Even Kaito treated me better than this, Aku buzzed indignantly, though Achan could tell that the last sentence was a joke.

Achan rolled his eyes. "Oh, hush up. The only reason you're even here right now is that I gave you permission to leech off my duel energy, which makes you a freeloader. And freeloaders earn their keep. And for you, that means listening in." Achan sighed, waving farewell. "Don't worry, I'm not going far. I just need to check something out, that's all."

Judai sighed, watching him march into the distance. "Ah, well. I suppose that I'd better tell you everything, right?" He nodded. "Well, I have been inside the World behind the Worlds more than once. See, there are several alternate universes that exist paralell with our own. I've been to at least three of them. Most of these universes are ruled and populated by duel spirits, including the Spirit Kingdom that most of the duel spirits who choose to contract with humans come from. In fact, at least twelve of these worlds are populated only by duel monsters. As Haou, my responsibilities include keeping balance in these worlds... which is actualy easier than it sounds, because everything there can be solved by finding the right opponent and beating them in a game of duel monsters."

Akuma Kuriboh, still listening, rolled his eyes. So, wait, it's just like this world? Laaaammee.

"But there are other worlds, worlds I haven't been to yet," Judai admitted. "I've known for a long time that the Shadow Duelists have been using their powers to trap the people they defeat in one such world. The problem is, I don't know how to get to it. If I knew where Michel was, I could use my abilities to force open a hole to that world from this one and save him. The problem is that I don't know which world it is... and there are hundreds of Worlds behind Worlds. If I had a hint of some sort to know where to begin..." Judai glanced meaningfully at Haruko.

Meanwhile, Achan had discovered exactly what he was looking for:

"I'll be," he nearly laughed. "I can't believe there's a clothes store on the outskirts of an airstrip!"

OOC: Yes, this is an excuse to get Achan a new appearance. Yes, that was a crappy post. Yes, the next one will be better, because the round will finally get started. And yes, I want a cookie. >.<