//------------------------------// // Episode 14: Haunting Hunting: Part 2 // Story: Yu-Gi-Oh E-Quest: Malefic Wars // by DakariKingMykan //------------------------------// EPISODE FOURTEEN And so, the duel was on… Slade LP: 8000 Dick LP: 8000 “Let the hunt begin.” hissed Slade “And speaking of “hunt” I summon forth ANCIENT GEAR HUNTING HOUND.” (Atk: 1000) This creature resembled that of a mechanical canine, which growled and gnashed its metal teeth at Dick. Dick, having never actually dueled Slade in his dreams before, glared at the monster looking unamused. “Now, now, Robin, you should know better than to show your teeth at the beast.” said Slade “Especially when I use Hunting Hound’s special ability… since it was Normal Summoned, you automatically are dealt 600 points of damage.” Dick winced in shock, and watched as the hound leapt clear over to him and bit his arm; thankfully it was just a hologram. Dick LP: 8000 -----> 7400 “But that’s the least of your problems now.” said Slade “I activate my hound’s second ability, which lets me fuse it along with another Hunting Hound in my hand.” “A Fusion Summon?!” cried Dick. He watched as the two hounds merged into the air, and a larger mechanical hound with two heads appeared. “I Fusion Summon DOUBLE ANCIENT GEAR HUNTING HOUND.” (Atk: 1400) The double-headed creature growled at Dick and Slade complimented “Two heads really are better than one.” Dick still remained unamused. “You always were one to keep a straight face in dire times.” Hissed Slade “But let’s see how you like this… I activate the Field Spell, FUSION RECYCLING PLANT.” The area around the two men began to warp and transform, placing them in the midst of a dark and eerie facility with machinery, power units, and everything. “What’s this card do?” asked Dick. “I’m glad that you asked.” Slade said as he place one card facedown. “Now I will end my turn, which allows to use the power of my Recycling Plant, for it allows me to retrieve one monster I used in a Fusion Summon, and add it to my hand. So now, my Ancient Hear Hunting Hound is back with me, and you can bet it is raring for another bite at your life points.” Dick groaned softly. “Now go ahead, O’ Hero. Show me you still have what it takes to stop the villain.” “Don’t push me!” Dick growled as he drew his card. “I summon PERFORMAGE TRICK CLOWN.” (Atk; 1600) “My Double Hound’s special ability now activates!” shouted Slade. “What?” “When you summon a monster, my hound places one Gear Counter on it.” Right then and there, a small glowing cog-gear appeared above the clown’s head. Dick remained undeterred. “It’ll take more than a little cog to get at me Slade.” Then he ordered his clown to attack. “Your second mistake!” hissed Slade “When a monster with a Gear Counter on it attacks, that monster is instantly destroyed.” Dick’s eyes widened behind his mask, and he could only watch as his clown exploded into sparkles just like that. “That’s what you get for being so reckless.” taunted Slade. “You’ve lost your touch, Robin. A good hero always plans ahead before rushing into action.” Much as he was correct in some ways, Dick was actually grinning, “Yes… but other times, the best to learn about traps you’ve never seen before is to set them off.” Slade’s eyes narrowed at him behind his mask. “Now that I know how your Hunting Hound works, I can also activate my Clown’s ability. By paying 1000 life points…” Dick LP: 7400 -----> 6400 “I can summon him right back to the field, but he’ll lose all his attack and defense points.” His clown reappeared. (Def: 0) “And now I activate the continuous spell BUBBLE BARRIER!” His card appeared, and magically cast a load of magical bubbles on the field, entrapping his clown inside of one. “Now, once per turn, my Performage monsters can’t be destroyed, and also, I take no damage from attacks made against my Performage monsters.” Slade seemed impressed for a man who’s features were covered. “Very impressive, but this duel is far from over.” Dick placed a card facedown and said “Then make your move and we’ll see who beats whom.” “Very well…” agreed Slade, “Now I draw…” He had three cards in his hand. “Now I once again summon forth my Hunting Hound.” (Atk: 1000) The hound growled as fiercely as it did before. “You do remember what happens, don’t you?” Dick flashed a small grin, “Sure do… You’ll sick it on me to deal me more damage.” Slade nodded and snapped his fingers for his hound to pounce. “Not this time!” snapped Robin “I discard PERFORMAGE DAMAGE JUGGLER from my hand to activate its ability; which stops your hound from dealing me damage and destroys it just like that!” The hound stopped in midair, just a few feet away from biting him again, and it exploded. Slade showed little concern. “Figures you’d try that, which grants me exactly what I need.” “Huh?” “I now activate my trap card, CALL OF THE HAUNTED, and just like that, my hound returns once more.” (Atk: 1000) Dick was really starting to grow annoyed with all these dogs. “And now, while I could activate my hound’s special ability to Fusion Summon, I have a much better idea. …I activate the spell POWER BOND!” Dick gasped, “I’ve heard of that card!” “Good for you.” teased Slade “Then you should know it allows me to fuse my Hound with my Double Hound.” The two machines merged together, forming a larger and even more powerful machine with three canine heads. “I Fusion Summon TRIPLE ANCIENT GEAR HUNTING HOUND!” (Atk: 1800) The triple-headed mongrel growled loudly at Dick, blowing gales of its breath at him, and forcing him to struggle to keep his balance. “And since you claimed you know my Power Bond…” said Slade “You also know that it double the attack of my machine.” (Atk: 1800) -----> (Atk: 3600) Dick scoffed “I also know that come the end of your turn you’ll take damage equal to your monster’s original attack points.” “…A mere minor setback.” Slade assured him. “It’s my Hunting Hound that should concern you, for it has the power to make three attacks, and your spells and traps cannot be activated in battle!” Dick growled nervously and then thought. “Just great, well lucky for me, I have a plan, and by the end of this turn he’ll take 1800 points of damage anyway.” “Now…” shouted Slade “Go my hound, attack that clown!” The dog growled and out from its three mouths emerged three small cannons which began to charge up. “Fire one!” POW!! The blast shot the clown hard, and the resulting explosion billowed shockwaves clear at Dick nearly knocking him off of his pillar, but he still held strong, and so did his monster. “You forgot about my Bubble Barrier. It protects my clown, and I take no damage from your attack.” “I am aware.” sneered Slade “But I still have two more attacks, and here comes the second bout!” He ordered his dog to attack again, and Dick’s monster was brutally blown up, but Dick still took no damage and still held his ground on the pillar. “I activate my Clown’s ability!” he shouted. “I pay 1000 life points…” Dick LP: 6400 -----> 5400 “Then my clown returns to the field with a defense of zero.” (Def: 0) “And I doubt your third attack will be enough to break him this time.” Slade was not concerned in the least. “It makes no difference to me. After all, you lowered your own life points for me.” Dick gnashed his teeth. Slade didn’t bother attack as it wouldn’t help, and he had something much better in mind as he entered his Main Phase 2. “I now activate a spell to really damage you. Behold the power of ANCIENT GEAR EXPLOSIVE.” Another card Dick had never heard of, and he was almost too afraid deep down to ask, “What does it do.” Slade held out his arm, “It destroys my Hunting Hound, that’s what it does, and then it deals you damage equal to its original attack points, which is 1800.” “Ah!” cried Dick, and he watched as the dog gave three mighty howls as it exploded in a big fireball, and the flames billowed right at him. Dick LP: 5400 -----> 3600 This time he fell off the pillar, but managed to hang onto the ledge and pull himself back up. “I can’t believe you would do that!” he bellowed “You just up and sacrificed your monster to deal me damage?!” “All things come with a price.” protested Slade. “Even things that seem free or easy will always come with some sort of catch, or task that needs doing. The question is can you pay it? Are you willing to pay it? Are you willing to sacrifice anything in order to do what must be done, or to get what you want?” Well I certainly am. Thanks to my clever dueling I’ve already reduced your life points to less than half, and I’ve barely broken a sweat. That’s what it means to be ruthless… …Something you know too well when you sold the people out.” Dick felt stabbed in the heart again, being reminded of his foolish acts in the past which forced people to lose their jobs, their homes, and he didn’t realize it until it was too late, and would lead to the decline and decay of Jump City. “Like you said,” Slade continued to taunt “…Even if you win this duel, you won’t change the people’s minds about you. They no longer believe in you. They no longer want you. So either way, Robin… you will lose it all.” Dick was beginning to tremble deep down; remembering how the people treated him and shunned him. “No!” he snapped “I won’t let it happen! I know… I’ve made some mistakes, and I regret them dearly, but at least I can still struggle and try to make things right.” Slade shook his head in dismay, “A pity the people still won’t let you. I certainly wouldn’t let you. As far as I see, Robin… you haven’t the right, the privilege, or even the very permission to make up for what you’ve done. There are some mistakes that are completely unforgivable. You’re officially like me, Robin… and nothing you say or do will undo it.” Dick growled and stomped his foot down. “I won’t give up and that’s final!” “If you insist.” said Slade. “Meanwhile, it is still my turn, and I activate the spell ONE DAY OF PEACE. We now each daw one card, and until my next turn, neither of us can be damaged, and of course… that means even my Power Bond card won’t harm me.” Dick could hardly believe the way he was dueling. “Amazing.” he said in thought “He’s managed to damage me a lot, and now he’s avoided his own damage and he’s ensured that he won’t get hurt on his next turn.” “Now I’ll place my last card facedown.” said Slade “And as I end my turn, thanks to my Fusion Recycling Plant, my Ancient Gear Hunting Hound returns to my hand once more.” He said nothing more. His turn was done. “It’s my draw!” said Dick, and he drew his fifth card. He knew he couldn’t damage Slade this turn, but it was safe to know he couldn’t be damaged either. He looked deeply inside him for what he was about to do, thinking of the souls of his parents for guidance. “Mom… Dad… Please help me get through this. Guide me with you spiritual talents.” He held up his hand declaring, “Now, I activate Damage Juggler’s ability from the graveyard; by banishing it, I’m allowed to add a “Performage” monster from my deck to my hand. …I choose Plushfire.” Now he had a full hand of six cards, and stood ready for action. “I set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 2 PERFORMAGE REVERSAL DANCER, and Scale 5 PERFORMAGE PLUSHFIRE.” His two monsters leapt up high into the light. “Now I can summon as many monsters from levels 3 and 4 as I want. …I Pendulum Summon!” Two shots of light rained down from above as his monsters appeared. “PERFORMAGE MIRROR CONDUCTOR…” (Atk: 600) “PERFORMAGE BALL BALANCER…” (Atk: 1000) His performers all stood together, showing off and striking a pose. Slade just stood where he was with his arms folded, and didn’t make any references or taunts or anything. Dick scoffed and continued his move… “I now activate Mirror Conductor’s special ability! It’s about to cast a reflection of your monster.” His monster aimed its large mirror chest so it reflected the hunting hound perfectly, which made the dog monster growl and glow. Dick grinned, “And with that, your monster’s attack points now swap with its defense points!” Slade narrowed his eyes. (Atk: 3600) -----> (Atk: 1000) Normally, Dick would then lose 500 life points, but he was safe thanks to One Day of Peace. “Now I overlay my Level 4 Mirror Conductor with Level 4 Ball Balancer, in order to build the Overlay Network!” The portal appeared as the two monsters dipped into it, and from out if leapt Dick’s faithful performer on a trapeze swing. “I Xyz Summon PERFORMAGE TRAPEZE MAGICIAN.” (Atk: 2500) Looking up at his monster swing, he could practically see his father’s face again. Then he ordered the monster attack and destroy Slade’s monster. The magician swung down hard, and gave the hunting hound a strong kick to the face, smashing it to pieces in its weakened state. Slade took no damage, and just stood casually as the shockwaves sped past him, which did frustrate Dick a little, but he still felt he had the advantage. “I’ll place one card facedown, and end my turn.” The magician swung back to right behind, and Dick couldn’t help but look up at his “Father’s” face again. “Now it’s my turn.” hissed Slade, and he drew a card giving him two. “And now, I shall activate my trap card, ANCIENT GEAR REBORN. Since I control no monsters, I can resurrect an “Ancient Gear” creature from my graveyard, and increase its attack power by 200.” His graveyard began to glow, and a beam of bright light shot onto his field. “…I revive Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!” (Atk: 1800) -----> (Atk: 2000) “And now I summon an old faithful companion of mine, the Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!” (Atk: 1000) Dick was starting to really get annoyed with playing the same monster over and over again. “Now you can say goodbye to another 600 of your life points.” The hound leapt over and bit Dick on the arm again! Dick LP: 3600 -----> 3000 Dick growled. “And now…” hissed Slade “I activate CARD OF DEMISE, which permits me to refresh my hand with five cards, as long as I discard my entire hand in five turns, but it shouldn’t take that long to defeat you, with only 3000 life points remaining.” Dick kept his cool. “I now activate the spell CYBERNETIC FUSION SUPPORT. By trading half of my life points…” Slade LP: 8000 -----> 4000 “…I am now able to enhance the Fusion capability of my Hunting Hound-- I can Fusion Summon by banishing the correct monsters from my hand, field, or graveyard.” Dick sweated softly. “Now, with the power of my Hunting Hound, I shall fuse it, along with my Double Hunting Hound in the graveyard, and two other Hunting Hounds in my hand.” “Four monsters?!” cried Dick, and he watched as the spirits of the four machines merged together. “Prepare to face the most powerful creature I can manufacture!” called Slade “I Fusion Summon ULTIMATE ANCIENT GEAR GIANT!” (Atk: 4500) Dick had never seen such a giant machine before, and its attack points were off the charts too. “Yes, take a good look at it.” said Slade “This monster will be the end of you, for it is impervious to the effects of your spells and traps, and your monsters are unable to use their own powers when in battle.” Dick’s eyes widened behind his mask with worry! “And I should also mention, I am able attack all your monsters.” Dick’s mouth hung open! “Of course there is still a matter of your Bubble Barrier, and I won’t approve it any longer, so I play DE-SPELL.” “No!!” shouted Dick, but his beloved Bubble Barrier was busted, and all his monsters were no longer shielded from monster attacks. “Quite sad, isn’t it?” taunted Slade “And one final thing I should mention; when my Gear Giant attacks a monster in defense mode, you’ll still take damage.” Dick winced. “My clown has zero defense points! I’ll lose the duel!!” he paused as he looked up at the huge monster, but then he remembered what Slade had said about it… “Gear Giant is unaffected by your spells and traps, and you cannot use your monster’s abilities during battle.” “That’s it!” he cried “I will destroy you, with the help of my Trapeze Magician’s special ability, which I can use during either player’s Main Phase 1!” His magician leapt up onto his swing and bowed majestically. Dick smiled up at him. “Now, but using one Overlay Unit, I can target your Gear Giant!” The magicians swung on in, and gave the Gear Giant a taste of his magical dust, which made the huge steel hulk sparkle and glow. “And this is supposed to frighten me… how?” asked Slade. “Because…” snapped Dick, “Your monster is now allowed to attack twice in one turn--even though it already is a multiple-attacker-- but at the end of this turn, your monster will automatically be destroyed. Slade’s eyes widened, but only for a moment. “That’s very clever, but still not enough, because you won’t survive by the end of this turn.” He entered his battle phase, and his gear giant began to power up its huge laser cannon, and targeted Trick Clown. “FIRE!!” POW!! The large burning blast headed straight for the defenseless clown. “Hold on!” shouted Dick “I activate the trap DEFENSE DRAW.” Slade couldn’t believe this as he narrowed his eyes in anger as Dick began glowing. “This trap makes it so I don’t take any damage from the attack…” Dick called to him, and he braced himself as the blast hit, destroying his precious clown, and while he wasn’t able to bring him back this time due to Gear Giant stopping him, his life points were safe. “Whew!” he said. “After that’s done, I also draw one card.” “So you got lucky and outwitted my giant.” said Slade “I applaud you for it, but don’t think you’re out of the woods yet.” He had his sights now set on Trapeze Magician, which really turned Dick’s stomach. The thought of seeing his monster go down would only bring back memories of his parents and how they were murdered before his eyes. “Gear Giant, attack!” shouted Slade. POW!! The laser fired again…! Dick shut his eyes really tight so as not having to see it as his “Father” was consumed in the burning energy field that consumed him and vaporized him into nothing… …But still Dick didn’t take any damage. With a heavy heart, and his body trembling in the air of his dead monster, Dick told him, “Guess you didn’t realize… I don’t take damage if the amount is less than that of my father’s attack points.” Slade only shook his head in dismay. “Poor, pitiful Robin… That card is not your father, and you should be quite thankful it isn’t either. I don’t really think he’d be proud of you to see what you’ve become…” “Now don’t start THAT with me again!” “You’re right, I won’t… especially seeing as you’re wide open, and I have one other monster to strike you with… my Triple Hunting Hound.” Dick growled. He knew he couldn’t stop the attack this time. Even though he would havd been able to summon his Plushfire from the Pendulum Zone thanks to its ability, the Gear Giant would be able to attack and wipe out all of his life points. He couldn’t risk it, and had to take what was coming to him. Slade ordered his monster to attack! The hound opened all three of its huge mouths and blasted him directly, giving him a full 2000 points of damage! Dick LP: 3000 -----> 1000 Dick glared at Slade viciously, with burning flames in his eyes behind his mask. “Like I said…” taunted Slade “A good thing your father isn’t here to see you as you are-- a disgraced hero, and poor duelist, and hopeless optimist with no real light at the end of the tunnel. …And you still wonder why the people kicked you out and why they will continue to do so?” Dick’s fist was clenched so hard, it almost felt as if he would puncture his palm with his fingers. “Well then…” Slade said “Allow me to prove myself all the more right by activating this spell card… …WINGS OF DIMENSION.” “Huh? What’s that card do…?” asked Dick, but he got his answer when Slade ended his turn… and the Gear Giant lost the sparkling glow, and wasn’t destroyed. “No…!” “Oh, yes.” hissed Slade “I was able to negate the destruction of my monster, so he stays around and ready to finish you off on my next turn. So make your final move, and for your sake, Robin… I hope it’s a good one.” Dick was really in a fix now. With no monster in play and that Gear Giant staring him down, he wasn’t sure how to beat it… until he realized. “Wait a minute. Maybe I don’t have to beat it?” he thought, and he had a plan. “I draw!” He now had three cards in hand, and he liked them a lot. “I activate PENDULUM BACK. Since I have two monsters up in my Pendulum Zones, I can retrieve two monsters from the graveyard if their levels are in between the two scales. So I’ll add Mirror Conductor and Ball Balancer back to my hand, and just time… …I Pendulum Summon.” Four shots of light rained down as his monsters appeared. “PERFORMAGE MIRROR CONDUCTOR…” (Atk: 600) “PERFORMAGE BALL BALANCER…” (Atk: 1000) “PERFORMAGE FIRE DANCER…” (Atk: 1400) “PERFORMAGE OVERLAY JUGGLER…” (Atk: 1200) His four performers stood by him, two on each side, almost like his family and friends from the circus. “That’s a charming assembly.” said Slade “But they don’t near come to be a great as my Gear Giant.” Dick shot him a sinister grin and said, “…I know they don’t, which is why I plan to make them do more. I activate Mirror Conductor’s ability, which lets me swap the attack and defense points of your monster like before, but I’m not going after your Gear Giant.” Slade turned and gawked at his other monster-- his Triple Hunting Hound, and once again, it’s attack and defense were swapped. (Atk: 2000) -----> (Atk: 1000) “And now, everything into place for the next trick I have.” called Dick “I overlay Mirror Conductor and Overlay Juggler… so I can Xyz Summon another PERFORMAGE TRAPEZE MAGICIAN!” (Atk: 2500) His monster appeared, swinging in on his trapeze, and he shot Dick a thumb-up. “But why stop at one, when I do it again.” hollered Dick “I overlay Fire Dancer and Ball Balancer to summon my third Trapeze Magician.” (Atk: 2500) The two magicians swung together, and though they were both male monsters, Dick couldn’t help but see the faces of both his mother and father on each of them. He held his heart, feeling their spirits guiding and strengthening him. “Now I activate their abilities! They each use an Overlay Unit, and then cast their magic upon each other!” The magicians each gave power to each other, making their bodies glow and sparkle brightly. “Now they each get to attack you twice! Oh, but before they do, I still have one last card to play. …MIST BODY!” Slade’s eyes actually widened and watched as a powerful mist enveloped his hound’s body from heads to feet. “What is the meaning of this?” Dick smirked, “Whichever monster is equipped with the Mist Body cannot be destroyed in battle.” Slade stepped back in actual horror for the first time. “And since your monster can’t be destroyed, I’m free to attack it up to four times.” said Dick “Your monster will survive, but the same won’t be said for you, Slade!” Slade could only growl angrily, and Dick called to his two magicians, “Bring down the house, and attack that Hunting Hound!” The two magicians bowed and swung over to other side of the field, each firing two blasts each at the hunting hound, engulfing it in fiery explosions. Slade covered his eyes as the shockwaves of the explosion billions right at him as his life points dropped to zero. The rock pillar he was standing on began to crumple in the force of the blasts, Dick’s pillar crumpled too. Dick jumped to safety, but Slade fell down and into the lava pool, and his body began to spark and short circuit, for it was just another one of his old robot clones. As the robot sank slower into the lava it commended at Dick. “You did well to defeat me, but that’s as far as it goes. It’ll take much more than a mere victory for you to restore yourself from disgrace.” Then he was gone-- completely melted away, and worse than that, the cavern was beginning to collapse from all the stress of the duel. Rocks and boulders came crashing down all around, and there was no way out. “No…!! NOOOOOOO….!!” “Dick…? Dick! Wake up!” Kori said as she softly shook him. Her husband slowly opened his eyes to find himself back in the hollowed rock and looked up into his wife’s big green eyes. He lay back and sighed in relief, but not really too much being back in the Malefic World where it was dangerous and all that. The girls were still asleep, he hadn’t awoken them. “Having another nightmare?” Kori asked. Dick nodded shamefully, “And a ridiculous one at that.” he paused and realized “…Slade’s never dueled before… has he?” Kori could only shake her head in dismay over her husband’s constant nightmares.