//------------------------------// // Episode 27: Yu-Gi-NO! // Story: I Have No Mouth, and I Must Squee ( A Comment Driven Story) // by Down with Chrysalis //------------------------------// Sunbro4life's Comment At the sight of the card in your hands, there is only one, true thing that you know, deep in your core that you must do. And that thing is... I must become the King of Games! It is the only solution! But where am I going to find an ancient Egyptian artifact that houses a pharaoh that can play the card games for me? Yeah...needless to say the shock of the card’s presence has left you in a bit of hysteria. Which is understandable given how dangerous the implications of yet another magic system finding it’s way into Ponyland is. No wait, focus! You shake your head as you flip the card around and around to study it better, though that doesn’t change the truth at all. Allsmiles's Comment BrownDog's Comment Yu-gi-oh cards. Flippin Yu-gi-oh cards! How in the god damn did they make their way here? You panic a bit as you become unaware of your surroundings and begin to nervously pace back and forth while chewing on your thumb. The little filly and Tina just stare at your nervous pacing in confusion. “What is it Master, do you know what this is?” Tina asks looking at the card. Know it!? I practically had a whole collection of these things back home! I mean, it’s not even a playing card version, this looks like it came from the actual show. Oh god help me if this kid’s brother has the blue eyes white dragon… Since Tina's not a mind reader, she of course has no clue you've answered her question. Instead she just tilts her head even more as your pacing increases. "Is Mr. Skeletor okay?" Tina looks down at the surprisingly calm filly before shrugging and saying, "Tina pretty sure this normal for Master. Just give him a few minutes, and he'll be back to normal...at least Tina thinks he will..." Oh god there's no telling how many different options, all manner of different decks, all kinds of traps and spells and monsters and minions are in Equestria if this isn't the only card or deck! Your mind thinks back to all the episodes from the original show and later, especially the ones when the supposed 'holographic' cards managed to blow up entire buildings or even a certain crazy ass card spirit that tried to destroy the whole world in a twisted love for the main character... Ya know thinking on it, GX was a weird ass series-wait no not the problem right now! Focus! What if Yu-Gi-Oh isn't the only trading card game here!? Magic the Gathering? Pokemon!? Trading card games based off of already popular franchises!? Literally all the other ones that people don't care about!? Sky's the limit Skeletor! Sky's the limit. Though Pokémon wouldn’t be so bad, even with all it’s ghost types being actual souls of the dead and all… “He’s still pacing,” says Inky. “Mmhmm,” Tina nods. “Good thing ponies not that attentive,” she points to the Echo, Lyra and Bon Bon. “So wait, you’re friends with the Element of Magic?” “Well…I mean, we all went to the same classes, but she hangs out with her new friends much more than what she did with us,” Lyra admits. And while they’re busy discussing gossip, you continue your mental ramblings. denneylaw's Comment Okay...okay calm down, let's not panic. You take a deep breath and exhale before continuing that thought, For all I know, it could be a misunderstanding. Maybe Inky’s brother found a duel disk and tried it out then ran off with his girlfriend when the boneheads showed up. That means they’re just shambling and have no complex commands… You consider that illusion for a few heartbeats before shaking your head. Yeah right, considering how crazy this world is I highly doubt it would be that simple. Though if there is a duel disc, I could use it as a good scare tactic for my enemies! You briefly imagine all the pranks you could pull on Foxtrot if that is the case, but you push those thoughts aside. Of course if this really IS the work of the Shadow Realm, than plan B would also involve finding the millennium items as well. Maybe if I'm lucky, I could find the millennium eye, or the millennium necklace so I really would have psychic powers. Then again, what's the point of having future vision if I already know most of the canon by heart now anyway? This train of thought leads you off track yet again. Of course Kaiba also proved to Ishizu that the future could also be changed so who knows? Maybe if I'm really lucky I could find the millennium rod, so I could easily take control of my enemies like that. With practice of course... Nah, on second thought my Havoc Rod-er, Staff is good enough. Of course maybe the millennium-wait no stop it! Maybe your sister was right, medication could have helped keep you focused in day to day life. Oh man this isn't good! What the hell am I supposed to do against the Shadow Realm of all things?! I'm just Skeletor, not freaking Yugi Mo-wait a minute. And like that, an important fact shines to you, a fact that should have been always on your mind, yet your moment of panic caused you to momentarily forget it. What is this fact? Why simply... Allsmiles's Comment CroisSunnyPlay's Comment That you are Skeletor, and Skeletor bows to nothreat! Copying Twilight and Cadence's breathing exercises from the show you start to calm yourself down, which your henchwoman and the little filly notice. Alright, there's a time for blind soul-crushing panic, and there's a time to shove your fears to the side and embrace your inner Skeletor destiny. And by my watch, it’s Nyeh-O’clock! Once you've calmed down enough to not pace like a nervous wreck, you look back to the dog and pony. "Master? Did you have some sort of vision from that card thing? Is that why you got so nervous?" your loyal goon asks. You nod your head, making sure to emphasize this by showing the card and getting that 'far out, cloudy' stare that you've deemed your 'past vision' mode. This causes Tina to nod her head in understanding, while the filly still looks confused. "I don't understand? Did Mr. Skeletor see my family or something when he grabbed that card?" Tina, being the loyal minion that she is, starts to explain to the naïve filly how your 'powers' work. While she is doing this you take this time to think out just what this monster card could mean in the grand scheme of things. Alright, so that means this card and any others are not from this world, or mine. Just like the Stand Arrow and the Alchemy on the Skele-Dog this is somehow real. The question is, did Megan leave this behind? Inky’s brother was on vacation near Neighagra Falls which is a location on our map…but why would the original pegasister even have access to these anime things? As far as I know the only time franchises crossover like this is either a crummy Drug PSA, or bad fanfiction… A few seconds of mental silence hit you after that thought, before a loud crash echoes throughout your mind. Your poor train of thought gets ran over yet again by another train. This passengers try to grab one another as they fly through the air, but sadly it is all for naught. IS THAT WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?! AM I IN THE DAMNED INTERNET?! And, unfortunately for the thought passengers, that particular train of thought gets ran over too. If I am, The Matrix movies got it all wrong. I don’t feel like I’m made up of ones and zeroes, so maybe I’m just jumping to conclusions. Though if I were in the internet then I’d just figure out how to use memes as an energy source and defeat He-Man once and for all! I bet his mind would melt when subjected to the Rick Roll on repeat and-AGH! FOCUS! You slap yourself, and while Tina and Inky flinch, you start focusing more on the task at hand. Okay, so the card I'm holding is a King of the Skull Servants. If this was based off a deck, it's definitely a Skull Servant deck, or rather a 'Wight' deck if this person was a professional... or, well, whoever made it just liked the cards and shoved a few into their deck if they're not. Or it could be just from a package set from the store, which honestly might be the best option given the other ones. But that thinking is more in line with the card game in my world and not the “real” one. You frown at that, wondering if your nerdy background might not be as useful as you thought. The point is, there's skeletal servants affot, and I've got the KING of them, in my hand. I do want an army and what’s more thematically correct for a serving force than the SKULL SERVANTS for lord SKELETOR? You smile your usual crazy scheming grin, but you are quick to tone it down and hold back a laugh as you remember that building an army of skeletons isn't your main priority at the moment. What matters now is figuring out if this filly's family is still okay, what's exactly holding them captive, and if the possibility of more monster cards being involved is a factor. That, and it's definitely not going to be that easy to just make them work for me, because of course it won't be, it never is…but it’s still something to keep in mind. If there are any other cards involved besides these skull guys I'll try and nab them all, and then be responsible with their use... after all, I'm still a bit on thin ice because of that staff thing. Besides... You glance at the filly, who is now staring at you with a look of awe, no doubt due to Tina's explanation of your “gifts.” These guys have already kidnapped ponies for whatever reason, so who knows what kind of damage they'll do once I've got them? It would be better if I just kept them out of ponies hooves so they don't cause more damage in the future, same goes for any of the other stuff I find at these X's. Worst case scenario...well I did always want to see how big a fire could go with nothing but paper fueling it... You smile outwardly, but that has the consequence of the filly currently looking at you in awe to snap out of her trance and take that as a confirmation that you're willing to help. "Oh thank you, Mr. Skeletor! C'mon, I'll show you where the cave is!" She says and grabs your hand and tries to drag you outside. Of course, you're not one to deny children, especially tiny, floofy eared, adorable bat horses, so you let yourself be led outside, much to the annoyance of a certain agent, who seems to have finally noticed the commotion that you've been making with the small filly. “Hey!” she says and even though you don’t turn around, you know she’s glaring at you. Sorry Miss 'Frown-A-Lot'. Not even your glares can compete with weaponized cuteness! Nyeh! You think smugly at her. As you exit the building you notice the jingle of a bell behind you as the café doors open again. "Skeletor! Just where do you think you’re going!? We promised the sheriff we wouldn't cause any trouble!" Bon Bon scolds as she and Lyra catch up to you, Tina, and Inky. Strangely enough your bat pony escort is not following them, despite the fact that she's supposed to be keeping an eye on you all, (specifically you, but who needs the details?). “Nyeh?!” you ask pointing at the guard through the window. “She’s paying the bill, so you should wait right there mister while she-“ “NYEH!” you interrupt and shake your head. “And why the hay not?!” she growls back. "Calm down Bonny, I'm sure he has a good explanation for running off, right Skell?” Lyra mediates. You quirk your eyebrow slightly at the nickname, but you shrug it off and prepare to draw some pictures to explain the situation. "Oh! Mr. Skeletor here is going to help me save my parents from an evil monster!" Inky beats you to the punch. … … … "WHAT!?" You and Tina both lean back at how loud the two mares shocked response was to the fillys simple summary. You can't help but pick your ear slightly to try and get some hearing back as you think, Well, they took it better than I thought they would. I mean I probably should have gotten them right at the start, but hey this works too. "Skeletor, explain. Right. Now!" You can't help but gulp at Bon Bon's tone, and you immediately take out your notebook and start to sketch in order to avoid the mare's wrath. But apparently your fast drawing skills are no match for a filly whose parents are in danger as once again Inky begins explaining for you. The little fillies explanation is the same as the one she gave you in the café, however unlike before the poor thing seems to get choked up half way through. The sight of the teary eyed and shaking bat filly sets alarm bells off in your head, mainly the 'adorable thing is in distress, must make all things good' alarms that all people have in their brains. Without much thought you instinctively start to gently pet the poor thing, making sure to avoid any of the areas the ponies have deemed 'awkward' for one reason or another. You already get scolded, and probably will continue to get scolded for petting behind the ears, so best not do that with a child. Thankfully your gentle pats are not met with enraged glares by the two mares, if anything it’s the opposite as they both look surprised at your gentle display. Well, Bon Bon is at least, Lyra just looks impressed while also sending a smug look towards her. Geeze Bonny, it’s not like the only thing I'm capable of doing is causing messes and loud noises, I can be gentle and quiet when I want to! … Okay, I can usually be gentle and quiet, but that's beside the point. Your mental tangent aside, your comforting of the filly manages to calm her down and she's able to finish her tale to the two mares. When she brings up just where her brother got the cards, Lyra's eyes widen in shock at the fact that they were found near your group’s current goal. "So wait, your brother found some strange cards and the skeleton monster that you saw in the cave looked just like that one here?" she says as she tries to grab the card out of your hand with her magic. Thinking quickly you gently bop the green pony on her head, stopping her magic and causing her to yelp. “Yowch! What the hay?!” she rubs her head. Sorry Lyra, but can't be too careful with this thing. Don't know what might happen if a unicorn touches it, much less your magic. Thankfully Bon Bon seems to share your thoughts on the matter as she glares suspiciously at the card. "Yeah, I think Skeletor has the right idea here. If what Inky said is true, then it’s likely that monster in the cave came from those cards, or at least went after them because of them. We don't want to do anything that might cause...well somethingto happen. As much as I don't like his attitude, it’s probably best for Skeletor to hold onto it for now." "Nyeh!" Hey! what's that supposed to mean!? A Tin Can's Comment Ignoring your annoyed cry Bon Bon gets onto eye level with the filly, currently hugging your leg in comfort, and gently asks her, "Now, Inky was it?" At the filly's nod the mare gives her a gentle smile before continuing, "Okay Inky, is there anything else you can remember? Did your brother bring anything else back from his trip? Anything that might have looked weird or suspicious besides those cards?" You are a bit surprised at how calm and gentle Bon Bon's tone is, but then you remembered the mare’s not-so-secret past. Makes sense, since I bet there were plenty of times she had to interrogate kids on her missions...well if she was a 'more action, less espionage' kind of agent. Maybe she was more Men in Black than James Bond? Before you can get too lost in thought about this, Inky answers. "Well...he did have this weird disk thing too, it was made of metal and looked like you were supposed to put something in these slots on it, but that was it.” Your eyes widen in recognition at the filly's description, and your group seems to notice this. "What is it Skeletor? Do you know what that disk thing Inky mention might be?" Lyra asks noticing your shocked and widened eyes. Resadur164's Comment Oh I know alright, and we're in a far deeper mess then I previously thought. With that thought you call upon your inner Kaiba (cause really he should have won and would have if Yugi did not pull that Exodia out his butt) to help you explain via your amazing drawing skills what the Dueling Disk is, how it works, though trying to explain the lore would eat up time you don’t have, so you just draw a loser getting sucked into the Shadow Realm, which they of course take to mean death (as it should be). "That...that's not good," Lyra mumbles out as a hoof covers her mouth in shock. "Okay, how do you know all this anyway?" Bon Bon asks in suspicion. Before you can defend yourself, your loyal Beastwoman comes to your aid. "Master had vision of card’s past, must be how he knows about these things." "I thought he only got visions from the future?" Bon Bon asks with a quirked brow. "Master does, but if he touches something with history he sees its past, but only if history is valuable to present...at least that what Tina thinks he means." You roll your eyes at Tina's unnecessary ending remark, but before you can 'comment' on it Lyra speaks up again, "If that's the case, then Primer might have been..." Lyra, and by extension you and Bon Bon, glance down at the little filly who thankfully didn't get to see your explanation as she is still holding onto your leg for comfort. You and Bon Bon share an uneasy glance. "It's too early to make that assumption now. Besides it’s just as good a chance that he caused that monster to appear, either on accident or purpose. For now we shou-" "No! My brother may be a bit of a block head but he would never summon some icky monster or hurt his marefriend or his family!" You quickly bend down and start petting the filly once again while sending Bon Bon a brief glare for her accidental callousness, as does Lyra. Okay, clearly my earlier thoughts of her being good with kids might have been a bit preemptive. After a few seconds of calming the filly down once again, Lyra takes a deep breath and speaks up in a calm tone, "Okay, I think the best thing we can do is find the sheriff and tell him what's going on. I'm sure once he knows just how dangerous the situation is, he'll let us help. Or at least get the Princesses involved." Both you and Bon Bon snort and roll your eyes at that, and after a few moments of giving each other weird looks for the accidental stereo Bon Bon says, "Please Lyra, remember what Inky said? That coward of a sheriff knows perfectly well how dangerous the situation is, but he's all set on ignoring it. If there's anything to be done, we have to do it ourselves." You nod at this assessment. Yeah, plus knowing how things work in ponyland that guys gonna give us jail time to keep things all hush hush. That or try to bribe us, but the mighty Skeletor takes no one’s bribe...when lives are involved at least. "But Bonny, you’re usually the first one to say we need to get the guards involved whenever this type of stuff happens,” Lyra points out. Okay, now that needs to be explained. Just what the hell kind of non-canon or canon adventures have you two even been on? The Changeling invasion hasn't even happen yet! "Look Lyra, the only reason I'm even suggesting this is because I highly doubt that sheriff will let us help. He seems like the type to talk big, then run with his tail between his hooves at the first sign of trouble." Ya know the way you say that, it makes it sound like you know from personal experience, you observe. "Well...I trust your judgment Bonny,” Lyra says after a sigh. “Let’s go save Inky's family!" With a bright smile Lyra starts walking off...before turning around and chuckling sheepishly. "Uh, where are the Rum Caves exactly?" You, Tina, Bon Bon, end even Inky both can't help but chuckle at Lyra's eagerness before everyone is cut off by an unamused grunt. "Alright, I've heard enough!" You and the others all look over at the Café entrance in shock as an angry looking Echo exits the door. "Echo! There you are, we were just about to head back i-" Echo holds her hoof up, interrupting Lyra. "Save it, I've heard enough as it is. Sheriff Nocturne has been in charge of this town for twenty years and he's been my mentor since I was a filly! I'm not just going to sit back and watch you badmouth him, nor let you all sneak off just because of some filly's story!" Huh, she's even loyal to a fault despite the obvious...she really is Rainbow 2.0! Damn it! Why couldn't you be my minion, you know how valuable that kind of loyalty is to a hammy villain?! "Now Echo, I know you trust your sheriff, but we have plenty of evidence and past experiences with Skeletor's visions being true,” Bon Bon explains. “We need to get to that cave an-" "And do nothing. I'm sorry, but unless you have any actual physical proof you’re not getting anywhere near that cave. The Sheriff is an honorable stallion and would never purposely let the ponies of this town suffer!" the bat pony says with a glare. As the tension between you all start to increase, Echo's words strike a chord in you, especially in light of Inky’s sad, desperate face. BrownDog's Comment Honorable My Ass! That stupid jerk blocked off those exits just because he saw a bag of bones! Well, I’ve dealt with one skeleton already, so let’s add a few more under my belt! I really hope you will still want to be my minion after I do this Echo… “NNNNYYYEEEHHH!!!” you loudly cry out loud as you kick dust into the bat pony’s eyes drawing the attention of everypony on the street. "AH! My Eyes! It Burns!" she cries as she starts rubbing them furiously. The others look at you in shock, but you just shrug it off as you continue with your plan. “Nyeh!” you throw your hands up, signaling there’s no time to lose as you gesture for Inky to lead you all. “O-oh right! Okay, right this way!” she says ecstatically as she flies down the road. Joestar Technique, Activate! You think in resolve as you chase after the filly. “Wait Skeletor! Don't just run off without us!” Lyra says startled before following your example. "Dang it Skeletor! Nice distraction and all, but next time don't make so much noise!" Bon Bon shouts as she follows after you all, a determined look in her eyes. “Don’t just run off! Get back here!” Echo calls out as she desperately tries to rub the dust out of her eyes, but because ponies don’t have the advantageous and dexterous use of fingers, you’ll have some time. “Get with program bat pony! Lives are at stake!” Beastwoman chides as she sprints after you. As the four of you sprint, Inky eventually lands on your shoulder like Echo did and starts directing you. Though Tina and Lyra fall behind as you dash in and out of trees and houses. The Baron's Comment You whistle loudly for them to hurry up, and you hear them grunt. “Okay!” Tina says from behind you as she doubles her pace. Hmm, You know, with all my skills in whistling and that one time I helped Pinkie with those Parasprites, maybe I could try my hand in musical notation? I mean I know some of the notes back from back in the day, and hey I could even get Lyra involved an-wait no stop it thoughts! Now is clearly not the time! With a shake of your head you put the musical language idea on the backburner as you focus on getting to that cave as fast as possible. BrownDog’s Comment Eventually Inky leads you to the Rum Cave entrance where not only is there police tape, but Sheriff Nocturne is there blocking it with stones. “What the-What are you doing here?” he demands as he sees you running. “He’s here to save my family!” Inky shouts as she flies off your shoulder, very much upset with the stallion. “Y-You’re family’s not here,” he lies badly. “They’ve just gone out to-“ “NNNYYYEEEHHH!!!” You shout in his face as you aim the Havoc Staff right at his chest and send forth a telekinetic punch that sends him crashing right into his stacked rocks. Take that you lying cowardly piece of crap! You don’t deserve your badass looks! Lyra and Bon Bon catch up just after that, and both look at you like you’re crazy. Well...Lyra does at least, Bon Bon just has this strange look of pride and anger. "Dang it Skeletor, we could have interrogated him for more info! Did you have to knock him out so fast!?" Wait, you would have let me knock him out after going Jack Bauer on him? "Bon Bon!" Lyra says aghast. "What? The guy deserved it for trying to abandon Inky's family. Stupid coward..." "I-I mean yeah he should have been punished or something, but Skeletor could get in real trouble if the Princesses found out. I mean, he shot the sheriff!” “Hmmph, but he did not shoot the deputy,” Tina points out and you smirk. Excellent quip there Beastwoman, even though I doubt you realize it, you praise as you give her a pat and look at Lyra. And I appreciate the concern Lyra...because yeah I actually didn't think that one through. I wonder if Celestia will take saving a whole town as outweighing magically blasting one of her little ponies? “Sheriff Nocturne!” Echo cries out in alarm, knocking you from your thoughts, as she zooms past you to check the knocked out stallion. Crap, I was hoping the dust would give us more time! Curse you cartoon logic, why can you never be on my side!? “What the buck is wrong with you all?!” Echo shouts as she gets into a defensive stance and glares you down with eyes that are still a bit watery and red. “NYEH!” you shout and point to the filly on your shoulder. “Get away from him Inky. He is dangerous and-“ “No, he’s trying to save my family! The sheriff was trying to block them in!” she defends. “Why would he do such a thing?” Echo says unbelieving before glaring back at all of you. “Alright, you’re all under arrest! Cooperate and I’ll make sure you get a fair and decently short trial!" The tension is thick between your group and Echo as you all stare each other down. While you’re certain you'd be able to knock her out with the Staff, either through magic or your uncanny ability to knock ponies out on accident, but you'd rather not soil the future minion prospects anymore then you already have. Time seems to slow down as you desperately try to think up of some plan to get Echo to stand down...and once you do you can't help but grimace. Okay, this is either going to work or totally backfire. Let's hope for the former! With that thought you slowly put down the Havoc Staff onto the ground, surprising your companions. "Skeletor! What are you doing!?" You simply wink at Bon Bon before you put your hands up and slowly start walking towards Echo. She tenses slightly, but once it’s clear that you aren't going to attack and are just surrendering she smirks. "That's right big guy, I knew you'd see reason. Now let me just see if I have any cuffs your size an-" You interrupt Echo as, the moment you’re close enough, you quickly reach your arm out towards her. Echo's eyes widen in surprise, but before she can do anything you... Jaro45's Comment Start to scratch behind Echo's big, fluffy ears. Your hope was that, like with Gilda, this might be able to calm her down. That, and they're just too cute not to scratch and you've been looking for an excuse this whole time. "What are you...mmmm" And like with practically every other creature you've done this too, Echo melts into your touch and loses her angry posture from before. She also starts to let out adorable screeching sounds, so an added bonus for you. "Skeletor! Come on man, why do you have to keep doing that?!" "Oh come on Bonny, you have to admit it’s pretty effective." At the two mares comments you turn around to give them a sheepish smile. When you do, you’re surprised to see that Bon Bon is really the only one annoyed by your action. Lyra just looks kinda sad for some reason and maybe a little envious but you can't really tell. Beastwoman however seems locked out of the loop. "Tina don't get it, what so bad about comfy scratches?" The two mares don't answer her, and it is now that you realize that Bon Bon has covered Inky's eyes. At this you can't help but sigh in annoyance before you stop scratching Echo and think, One of these days I will find a pony who will find my scratches to be socially acceptable! One day I swear! The affects of your scratches start to wear off on Echo, but thankfully she seems far more calm than before as she mumbles out, "Aw, why'd you stop? Wait a second, wasn't I doing some-AAAIIIIEEE!!!” she shrieks as suddenly a pair of boney hands wrap around her barrel and pull her into the darkness of the cave while another pair grab the unconscious sheriff and yank him in. “WHAT THE BUCK?!” both Lyra and Bon Bon shout together while Inky screams. SON OF A BITCH! You think in alarm. Acting quickly you desperately try to grab Echo, but it is all for naught as she just barely misses your out reached hand as she's dragged inside. “HELP ME!!!” Echo’s voice echoes as she is quickly dragged further into the cave system. I almost had her damn it! You think angrily as your hand curls into a fist. Suddenly a boney hand curls around your wrist and tries to yank you in as well. That's it, no more mister nice guy! Using your Eternian muscles, you yank your ensnared hand out of the cave, and with it comes the upper torso of a human skeleton clad in purple robes. Your group screams again as the monster seems perplexed that you yanked it out. Before it has a chance to do anything you grip it’s arm in both hands and rip it off of the creature. I lets out a ghostly wail, but you silence it forever as you bring your boot down on it’s head again and again and again, curb stomping it into a million tiny pieces. Panting a little, more so from the intensity of your anger more than exertion, you watch as the remains of the Skull Servant poof out of existence, leaving no trace of it behind. “What in the actual…” Bon Bon gasps in disbelief. “H-He destroyed it,” Lyra says looking at you in awe. “It’s bone monsters again…Tina will be more useful this time!” she says in determination as she levels her spear at the cave entrance. Nodding at your henchwoman’s enthusiasm, you look to Inky, who still looks scared out of her gourd. You point at her and motion for her to stay right where she’s at, and she nods. The last thing I need is to put a kid in danger. Now... You stomp towards your staff and pick it up in anger, snapping the others out of their fear. You turn back towards the cave entrance and begin to head towards it, giving a short whistle for Tina to follow you. “Yes Master!” she obeys.. “Nyeh!” you nod as you raise your staff and begin to enter. No one steals my future minions from me! It’s time to kick some boney skeleton butt! Greatness942's Comment You then twirl your Havoc Staff, magic emitting from the top, as it dances around you like an aura of badassery truly fitting of your identity in what must surely be an inspiring image…until you promptly drop it as the staff hits the top of the cave entrance. "Welp...that killed the mood,” Bon Bon quips and you sigh dejectedly. I still curb stomped a Skeleton to death missy! “Okay Inky, we’ll head inside, but if we don’t come out in 20 minutes, get as many guards as you can,” Lyra instructs the filly. “Okay, please be careful, and please Mr. Skeletor, save my family,” she pleads. You look at her in the cave entrance and hold your thumb up. “Nyeh,” you reassure her. “…” she stares at you blankly. “That means alright,” Tina translates. “Oooohhh,” she nods in understanding and you sigh again as you walk further into the caves. NOW ENTERING DUNGEON: THE RUM CAVES OmnipresentMicroorganism's Comment Jaro45's Comment Ello Calebero's Comment As you all walk, Bon Bon whisper shouts instructions to you. “Alright Skeletor, you can clearly handle these monsters, but there are undoubtedly much more. If we want to find Echo and Inky’s family and not draw attention, we need to keep quiet and stay on alert at all times. That goes for you too Lyra and Tina.” “Nyeh,” you whisper and nod, actually heeding her tactics that she no doubt picked up as a spy, especially since you are the one leading the charge. Which is a good thing since I have the magic rod of blowupness, and you know what they say, there’s no better training than in-field experience. As long as my posse stays a safe distance behind me, the cave is the perfect place to try and test out what does what with the Havoc Staff on some real (for a given value of reality) opponents. Plus it’s a skeleton, so bonus points for no moral dilemma behind them! You give your Havoc Staff a quick squeeze to reassure yourself as you continue to think, Besides, I know Inky said the only other thing her brother brought back besides the cards was a Duel Disk, but even if there was a millennium item, those things are ancient objects and my staff is ancient and should allow me to participate in a Shadow Duel if it comes down to it. Which is a relief because... You glance back at your group behind you in worry, but you quickly shake it off and look forward once again as you finish your thought, No, everything will work out. I just have…to…crap! You think in dread as you hold up a palm to stop your group. Whelp, there’s the missing ponies, you shudder. You and your group have entered a large, chamber like area that's barren all except for at the far end of the chamber. To the left are what look like cages made of bone (thankfully none are recent), holding what looks like to be a good chunk of bat ponies including the knocked out sheriff and surprisingly quiet Echo. You'd figured you'd be hearing her loud insults at her captor given how similar she is to Rainbow, but from the looks of things she's trying to calm down the other trapped ponies. Aside from the cages there isn’t much else in the chamber, except the disturbing skull throne in the center. Again, none of the bones look to be from recent times, however sitting on the throne is a familiar monster. The King of the Skull Servants sits on his throne almost lazily...while a horde of Skull Servants kneel before him. There looks to be at least seven of them, all decked in a variety of armor. Some are wearing helmets, others chest plates, or simply wearing their usual blue robes. You’re thankful there's no sign of any Skull Knights, but you are nervous at how many there are. If I remember correctly, these guys are stronger the more of them that are on the field. Add in that Skull Servant King...yikes. To make matters worse is that, unlike the Skele-Dog, these are all human skeletons. A fact which Lyra goes completely bug eyed at. I bet she’s itching to research them, but sorry Harp Butt, I’m turning them all into dust, you think in resolve as you grip the staff harder. But what you find truly disturbing is that next to the Skull King is who you can presume is Inky's brother given the Duel Disk he has on him. You spot the monster row on his deck which has 8 cards on it, though one of them appears to be shredded. Hmm, does destroying the monster destroy the cards? You ponder since every monster in sight has a correlating card aside from the one you gave the American History X treatment. However an even more disturbing factor hits you. Primer’s eyes are glossed over, and he seems like he's in some sort of trance. Like he isn't really there, or is being controlled by...something. If I had to take a guess, I'd have to say a Card Spirit might be controlling him like in the show. At least I hope that's the case, cause I don't have any other ideas... You then notice as one of the servants walks towards the king and seemingly whispers into where it’s ear would be. The Skull Servant King then looks to the entranced bat pony at the shredded card. “Enemies...approaching…prepare…for…battle…” the thing says aloud in a gravely haunting voice which surprises you. Holy crap, it can talk?! You look to the startled mares and diamond dog and you quickly make a snap decision. You point from them to the captured ponies as you step out from the tunnel entrance making yourself known. “What are you-“ Bon Bon starts but you shout over her so that only you are seen. “NNNNYYYEEEEHHH!!!” Every eye, living and undead look to you as you brandish the staff above your head like a Tusken Raider. All the Skull Servants ready themselves for battle as the King looks down upon you from his throne. “…Inferior…submit…or face…Eternal…Servitude…Bow…to…your…King…” he orders you and your eye twitches at his haunting tone of superiority. millennium item's Comment King?! He dares to think Skeletor is nothing but a lowly Skull Servant!? NO ONE IS THE BOSS OF SKELETOR BUT SKELETOR!!! "NYEHHHHHH!" You angrily growl loudly as you point your Havoc Staff at the monster causing the ram’s head to glow brilliantly. Tina herself growls as she pops out and readies her spear next to you. Still hidden, the others ready themselves for what’s about to happen, and you really hope they get the others out while you battle. I've been looking to test the limits of my staff on someone, and it looks like you just volunteered kingy! The Skull Servant King just stares absently at you before it stands. "A...pity...you...chose...poorly. Embrace...eternity...welcome...the...Silence! The King forcefully throws his arm towards you, inciting a war cry from this minions as they charge. You steel yourself for the coming battle, with only one thought on your mind, I've made up my mind, I'm smashing that duel disk to pieces! No on orders Skeletor around, unless they're his friends! WHAT DO YOU DO?