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Aarikku · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 11:45 pm Post subject: Chapter 9 - The Underdog

Shmod
Chapter Nine

“Yeah, she’s here. No, I’m telling you.” The shopkeep pleaded into Stuff N’ Things’ phone. “She’s here. She’s got the cards.” A pause. “A-Are you sure that’s necessary? At least let her – okay, yeah. Sure, yeah. Sounds fair. Thanks. See you soon.” He hung up.

“Your voice sounds better.” Commented a curious Ferali, startling the shopkeeper. “Who were you talking to?”

“No one. Just, er, my boss.” Replied the shopkeep, attempting to regain his raspy voice.

“You’re the only one who works here.” Ferali’s eyebrow rose. “You are your boss.”

“Geez, can’t a guy fake laryngitis and phone someone discretely in the comfort of his own game shop anymore?” The shopkeep rolled his eyes. “Has the game started?”

“They’re shuffling.” Ferali looked at the game. “Incidentally, why’d you call Luke the ‘mystery gamer’?”

“The deck he was using before.” The shopkeep explained. “When he beat Raymond in the first round. It looked like it was basically five packs. It didn’t have a discernable theme. Dragons, ghosts, cards without categories… I think he even used Haunted Cactus.”

“And he won?” Ferali exclaimed.

“Well, Raymond’s no star. But still, the way Luke used those cards was amazing. He’s quite a player. I just hope he’s got himself a better deck.” The shopkeep looked over at the start of the game.

==

“Best of luck, Luke.” Cassandra smiled friendly. You’ll need it. She said silently.

Luke just smiled. Crap-crap-crap-crap-crap. were his thoughts.

“Uh, Luke?” Tyson asked. “Didn’t we discuss this before? The whole ‘age limit’ thing…”

“Only counts for games where there’s gambling involved.” Luke finished quickly, shuffling.

“Let’s roll!” Cassandra cried. The coin flip determined that Luke began.

“I’ll charge Gunner Droid, and tap it for Mechanical Serpent, in defence mode!” Luke declared. The metal beast squirmed; its many segments writhing like a worm. “1400’s its DEF.”

“Nice.” Cassandra drew. “I charge Brightgiant Iguana, who’s both LIGHT and FIRE. And next, I’ll tap it to summon Red Dwarf Gecko!” A red lizard appeared with an oddly large head. It shone with an orange light.

“Yo, Kevin.” Tyson piped up. “What’s with the reptile?”

“That would be Cassandra’s new deck.” Kevin explained. “Solar Lizards – reptiles representing the stages of the universe’s stars.”

“Neat.” Tyson nodded sagely.

“Time to take out the snake. Go, my gecko!” Cassandra ordered. The lizard opened its mouth, and a small burst of fire vanquished the metal snake.

“Thanks for that!” Luke said. “When Mechanical Snake is destroyed by battle, it lets me add a Level One Metal monster from my deck to my hand. I choose R-1.” He showed her a silver card. It depicted a very rectangular robot.

“R-1?” Tyson frowned. “That name sounds famil – wait, really?”

“What is it?” Linlan asked.

“R-1 was an enemy in a video game Luke and I used to play. Well, mostly him. They were immune to ranged attacks, so you had to jump on their heads.” Tyson remembered. “There was something else important about them, but it was so long ago.”

“Your move, Luke.” Cassandra shuffled her hand.

“My pleasure.” Luke drew. “I charge Scorpio. Who, in case anyone was wondering, is a robot scorpion. Next, I tap my two Metal Mana for two R-1’s!” Two copies of the square-headed robot appeared. They had striped, rectangular bodies, double-joined arms and a wheel connected by two axles. Their eyes were giant green spheres, and each had a single, flexible antenna.

“What did I miss?” Kyle asked, finally beginning to watch the game. “Hey, R-1. Neat. I traded Luke some of those for Tetra Dragon.”

“It’s a good thing you did.” Luke said happily. “R-1’s base ATK is 1500, but it gains 500 ATK for each other Metal monster I control. So they’re both at 2000. I’ll attack your Gecko with one…” The robot’s hands flipped into lasers, which blasted the gecko. (Cassandra: 4 Life) “And you with the next!” The other robot blasted directly. (Cassandra: 3 Life) “That’s it for me!”

“Luke’s… winning?” Tyson asked confusedly.

“Not for long.” Cassandra protested. “You see, when Red Dwarf Gecko is destroyed, its effect lets me age the sun it represents. Now, it becomes a White Dwarf, which is represented by an Anole!” Cassandra shuffled through her deck for the card White Dwarf Anole, revealed it, and added it to her hand. “And now for my turn!” She drew. “I charge White Dwarf Anole, and tap my two Mana for a later stage of the sun – Red Giant Snake!” A glowing, red serpent writhed out of the virtual card, hissing. “At 2500, it’s enough to take out either of your robots, so I will.” The snake released a stream of fire, obliterating one of the R-1s. (Luke: 4 Life)

“And with one R-1 gone, the other’s now at a normal ATK strength.” Kevin commented.

“Normal?” Kyle wondered. “It’s at 1500. That’s fairly low.”

“Here’s where it goes downhill for Luke.” Tyson sighed.

“Let’s find out!” Luke was still determined. He drew. “I’ll set one Spell/Trap card, switch R-1 to defence mode and tap one for another Mechanical Serpent in defence mode.” The robot crouched, now joined by a serpent matching the one played earlier. “That’s all for me.”

“Cowering. Pitiful.” Cassandra said harshly, beginning her turn. “Now’s a good time to go offensive. I’ll charge Combustiploder Cannon… I won’t be needing it, and tap two for a second Red Giant Snake. Since I have one Mana left, I’ll harness the sun! By tapping one Mana for Red Giant Snake’s effect, I can destroy a facedown Spell or Trap card.”

“No! My Monster Bash!” Luke cried, as a beam of light shone on the virtual card, crumpling it.

“Now, my Snakes take out Mechanical Serpent and R-1!” The snakes attacked with fire simultaneously, vanquishing Luke’s robots.

“Yeah, well, Mechanical Serpent lets me add another R-1 to my hand.” Luke did so. “And for my turn, I charge another Scorpio. I’ll tap three for Sphere Droid and R-1 in defence mode.” A rolling droid appeared, encased in a steel shell, as did Luke’s classic R-1. “The droid’s the ultimate defence. 2800, to be exact.”

“That is impressive.” Cassandra drew. “I’ll just summon a Burning Tiger in attack mode, and have it attack R-1.” The blazing tiger tore the robot to shreds. “You’re up.”

“Okay. I’ll tap one for Hell Mulligan! I discard my fourth R-1, as well as… this one here. Then I can draw three cards.”

“Okay.” Cassandra nodded, unimpressed.

“Maybe this will wake you up. I use my other two Mana for Magnetic Whirlwind!” Luke smiled. “Here’s how it works. I select four R-1s in my Graveyard, and they combine to form R-4!” As Luke played the card from his C/T stack, the screen showed the four rubble piles that were formerly R-1s. Magnets attracted the parts so that a head landed on two rotated bodies. The bodies connected to a head on the bottom with legs made of R-1’s arms as well as two giant arms made out of entire R-1’s. “R-4’s got 3000 ATK, and gains 1000 for each other Metal card!”

“He actually pulled it off!” Kyle said happily.

“That’s what I forgot. They combined at the end of the level.” Tyson considered.

“Since you didn’t manage to take out my Sphere Droid, you’ve got a 4000-ATK R-4 to worry about.” Luke taunted. “And now, I attack your tiger!” The mechanized giant blasted the burning cat with lasers ten times as big as R-1’s. (Cassandra: 2 Life) “That’s it for me.”

“This isn’t good.” Cassandra’s eyes narrowed. “But, I guess we each get a defending period. I’ll switch my snakes.” She did so, and the virtual images curled.

“Not a fan of my hand right now.” Luke admitted, drawing. “Oh, sweet. I’ll tap one for another Hell Mulligan. I’ll discard three and draw four. Much better. I’ll tap two for another Sphere Droid in defence mode, which means R-4’s up to 5000 ATK. And now, I’ll take out a snake!”

“The snake’s evolution is a good one.” Cassandra explained, looking through her deck. “It evolves into a chameleon. To be more specific, Supergiant Chameleon!”

“Well, good luck with it. It’s your go.”

“I’ll charge Solar Rebirth. Next, I’ll tap three to summon Supergiant Chameleon!” The red lizard appeared, surrounded by a gold glow. “A very nice monster, eh? A shame it won’t be around much longer. I tap one to play Supernova!” The lizard, quite literally, exploded. “It destroys one of my Solar Lizards as well as one of your monsters. I’ll pick R-4!” The robot was caught in the explosion.

“I’ve got one last shot!” Luke declared. “When R-4 is destroyed, I can transform it into Last-Resort Doom Ray!” The robot reconfigured itself again into a ridiculously elaborate laser cannon.

“Sorry. This is a super-giant supernova.” Cassandra explained. “When Supergiant Chameleon is destroyed, even when it’s my doing, all monsters are destroyed. And then, I get to add the ultimate Solar Lizard to my hand.” The explosion continued to spread, consuming Luke’s cannon and Sphere Droids, as Cassandra revealed a gold card from her deck. “Behold – Neutron Dragon. This card will win me the game next turn.”

Luke drew. As he did, the room seemed to darken. A cold voice spoke to him, Luke. There’s still hope. Play the cards I lent you.

“No.” Said Luke. “I’m saving those for Tyson.”

You’re too weak for those cards. The voice mocked. I should’ve lent them to your brother.

“I’ll use them later.” Luke called defiantly.

Use them now. Do you want to be weak your entire life? These cards will prove you’re strong.

“Not listening to you also proves I’m strong. Go away!” He bellowed. Luckily for him, the entire scene seemed to have taken place in his mind, and no one had heard his yell. The darkness faded; he was still in the game. “Just sorta blanked out there for a second.” He explained to Cassandra. “Anyway, I win. I tap two in order to play Re-Fusion!”

Yes! The voice hissed. Summon the cards I lent you. Destroy your foe.

“No. I choose to fuse my four R-1’s, who never left the Graveyard for Whirlwind of Parts!” The giant form of R-4 appeared. “But next, I play Elemental Fissure – splitting R-4 back into its components.” The four R-1’s appeared once more.

“You’re kidding me.” Cassandra groaned.

“No way. R-1’s! Attack for game.” They did so. “And all without your cards.” He added quietly to the voice.

You may defy me now, but you and I both know that Tyson will be unbeatable if you stick with your robots.

“We have our four semi-finalists!” The shopkeep announced. “Tyson Morin, the dragon lord! Luke Morin, the robot warrior! Kyle Hendrix, the master of alchemy! And Zywen Lotus, the blood queen!” Each of the four stood up and took a small bow. Luke looked over at Zywen, with a strange mixture of fear and defiance.

If you’re in my head… Luke thought.

“In the next rounds, Luke and Tyson will have the classic sibling rivalry. Zywen and Kyle will, well, have a card game.” The shopkeep explained.

If I can beat Tyson, that’s all I thought I had to prove. Luke considered. But if Zywen beats Kyle, which I think is reasonable to assume, then I can prove my strength to her as well. Luke looked at his deck; R-4 staring back at him.

You may defy me now, but you and I both know that Tyson will be unbeatable if you stick with your robots. That quote rang in Luke’s mind.

Luke’s really good. Tyson wondered, looking at his own deck. I know I can beat him, but damn, that’s surprising.

==

“Did not see that one coming.” Kevin said, as Cassandra shook her head.

“I know, eh?” Cassandra shuffled her deck. “Maybe it’s me being bad at playing with 5 Life, or using a different deck, but it really seemed like Luke was just really good.”

“It’s going to be neat seeing him against Tyson.” Kevin considered. “That R-4 of his could probably take out Sigma Dragon.”

“Tyson’s little brother?” Cassandra looked at him disbelievingly. “Older, more experienced player versus a newbie?”

“The newbie beat you. Admit it, this next game will be good.”

Card of the Chapter is R-4

Author's Note: This format of Card of the Chapter will be used for cards with pictures. Very few of them actually do.

Also, if the next chapter's later than expected, sorry. I haven't written the next one like I normally do.

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