Episode 56. - Duelists' Glorious Revelations

Suzanne now sat on the bed in Gene Kirricort's hotel room in Singapore, watching her employer sift through the pile of cards that shared the bed with them now. She reached across to the nearby nightstand and took up the cup of tea, sipping it intently as she watched Gene pick up and place back card after card.

"Nothing..." he said now, "Nearly none of them make me feel anything at all. Still, I haven't felt anything from the inside since I found out what the inside is!"

"Perhaps it was your curiosity that caused it in the first place. Or maybe your attitude towards the card is what causes the disconnect?" Suzanne offered, before returning to sipping her tea.

"Well how do you expect me to feel?! I finally find out what it is, and it turns out to be one of the weakest and most useless cards in the game! You said that Yodaz told you... that the card represents the way you duel. So what does that mean for me? That I duel powerlessly?"

Suzanne picked up a copy of the card to which Gene referred, and contemplated it.
"Perhaps... what it really means, is that you have a pure and simple way of dueling."

"I've been through the analysis data. Even the style I think I like does not suit that card!" Gene fumed.

"Why not?" Suzanne asked, now seeming confused, "The card would fit right in, I would think. It seems to be that type of card to me."

She handed said card, to Gene. Reusol, the Oracle. Gene frowned, but then stopped, staring at the artwork. Suzanne smiled. She could feel his Kaijudo rising.

"Then why... do I feel as if I like the blocker cards..." he muttered, mostly to himself. Suzanne answered anyway.

"You said that you only liked the Light Civilization's blockers, and furthermore, you have not actually found a blocker you like really, even amongst theirs. I presume it is more that you like the civilization, and that your general encounters with it, has been when players use its blockers."

Gene now sifted through the cards with far less frustration in his manner. Slowly, he began to take some of them out. Other light creatures. Other Light Bringers.

"This makes no sense," he muttered, "What I would build... what I would do... it is weak against nearly everything... why did it have to be this card? Why did I have to be small and lacking in effect...?"

Even as he said this, he was sorting cards. Putting the deck together. Halfway through, he paused, and looked up at her, as she finished the last of her tea.
"Maybe I should get Yodaz or Rogers to help me with this..."

Suzanne shrugged. She had been sitting there with Gene for quite awhile. Long enough to build a new version of her own deck. Gene had noted the rise in her Kaijudo as well, but the 'Corile inside her' had not truly disappeared since they had met young Leo Motane.

"I... don't think it works like that. Ultimately it is you that must know how to play it. That is why I could never truly mimic him. His way and my way are different. If I had asked for help, I think I would simply have ended up..."

Her voice trailed off. She was still haunted a bit by the memories.

"But you just made it, didn't you?" Gene asked, leaning forward to look at the cards she had set out in front of herself, "Isn't that what he uses?"

Suzanne shook her head.
"I no longer know what he uses. I know what I would use. If you don't mind, I'd like to keep these with me, actually. It is odd, but I don't feel quite right without carrying the deck around with me..."

"Are you sure you'll be all right doing that?"

Suzanne smiled and nodded. Gene frowned. He had startled himself, or, more accurately, Reusol's concern had startled him both in intensity and expression. The feeling was not like having a second personality, but rather a version of himself on another plane. He did not like that prospect any better than the first.

"I suppose... if I duel some of the event attendees..." he muttered, "It can't be that bad..."

Three hours later, they were at the main event, the last sponsored tournament of the current leg of their tour. Eugene Pradian had won this tournament with a new deck of his, one that seemed to make Suzanne uncomfortable enough to retreat as she had previously.

Again, this left Gene Kirricort to watch the duel and experience the clash himself, alone. The 'Kaijudo Kid' had been the one to go first in this duel, charging water mana in the form of an Aqua Surfer. Pradian put a Terror Pit into his mana zone first, and ended his own turn with a nonchalant grin.

For his next move, Tom drew a card and charged it to mana. Holy Awe.
"Summon Ballas, Vizier of Electrons. End turn."

This simple action filled Gene Kirricort's mind with strange new emotions. The creature was similar to his own. He found himself conflicted. Clearly cards such as that were not totally useless, but at least the one Tom was playing could evolve. Beneath that, there was a third feeling. A sort of strange joy in seeing the high ranked player make a first play so similar to what he personally would enjoy.

Pradian drew his card, and sent a Corile to his mana zone, summoning an Emeral. His turn ended there, making Gene pause. There was at least one other use for being exactly that type of creature. Little things like Emeral could not hurt you outright.

"Aqua Surfer to mana," Tom said, charging his newly drawn card, "Summon Ballas, Vizier of Electrons, number two. First Ballas, break shield. Ikei."

Gene's heart had leapt on this second play also. Almost exactly what he would have liked to have done, were he dueling. Now, he felt a strange exhiliration as he watched Pradian take up the shield card.

"Rumbling Terahorn to mana," Pradian now announced, "Summon Aqua Hulcus. End turn."

"Why does this deck remind me of something?" Tom laughed, drawing and sending a Natural Snare to his mana zone, "Summon Magris, Vizier of Magnetism. Ballas, ikei. Both."

Neither shield triggered. Gene found his heart to still be racing. There was a strange thrill in watching something so close to his own aim, take place. Tom's turn ended there.

"Locomotiver to mana. Summon Bronze-Arm Tribe," Pradian smirked. The effect charged fire mana for him now. A Crimson Hammer. The four forces were now present...
"Aqua Hulcus, ikei."

"Interesting. I suppose there had to be at least one difference..." Tom noted, as the duelists both put their creatures into their respective 'graveyard' areas. Pradian made an inquisitive sound, as he ended his turn, which prompted Tom to continue...

"The person whose deck you appear to be using... as far as I know, he hates that card... Ballas, Vizier of Electrons, to mana. Cast Energy Stream."

As Tom drew his two new cards, Gene felt a strange shift within himself.
"Why didn't he summon it? He surely had the capability..."

"Doesn't seem like luck is with me today," Pradian laughed, as Tom now declared another attack with Magris. The shield triggered this time. A Locomotiver. Not powerful enough for a counterattack, but enough to cause the discard of a Holy Awe. The final shield, shattered by Ballas, was a Terror Pit, which swallowed up Magris.

"I don't know. You seem pretty lucky to me!" Tom laughed, "In fact, that may be an understatement."

Pradian shook his head and sighed, drawing his card. He charged more Water mana. An Aqua Hulcus, and then summoned his next creature. Corile.

Gene felt no serious drop in Kaijudo from Tom, but his own Kaijudo reacted strongly as the card was placed back on top of Tom's deck. Had it been him in that situation, he would have summoned the other small creature, and Pradian would have been finished. That was, at least, his perspective at the time.

Tom drew Ballas off the top of his deck again, and summoned an Aqua Hulcus, and Ballas directly after. Gene found himself nodding in slight approval. This was almost over. Even without a particularly large number of different things happening, or special effects, Tom had managed to bring Pradian down.

"See? It really is not so bad..."

He found himself nodding to the Light Bringer within, as Tom's turn ended and Pradian took the initiative again.
"Energy Stream to mana. Cast Energy Stream... and play Mana Nexus, to place my Terror Pit into my shield zone. Emeral. Ikei--"

This action seemed to make the crowd around take even more notice. It was quite unusual for this sort of deck to mount an attack at this point. Pradian, in his experience, had calculated it to be best. There was not likely to be anything at all that could get through his Terror Pit. Putting cards into Tom's hand was a small price to pay for getting close to victory right then.

"Locomotiver, ikei!"
The first shield had not triggered, and this one did not either. Tom did not seem worried yet. Even when Pradian declared the third attack with the Bronze-Arm Tribe, he seemed unfazed. The final attack came from Corile, and the Natural Snare it triggered, had its effect on that very Corile. This, Gene remembered and understood. Aside from being the only creature there which was not exceeded in power by Tom's, it was also the one that held the most potential to be advantageous to Pradian simply by presence.

"You are extremely lucky," Tom laughed, "I've got like a quarter billion shield trigger creatures to stop that exact move... Oh well."

Pradian laughed, "Yeah, but two are in your mana zone. So--"

Tom did not seem to be listening. In fact, he drew his card and continued as if Pradian's laugh was also one of surprise rather than mirth.
"Yeah, that's why I'm like... 'no triggers? Weirdness!'..."

"No Speed Attacker this round?" Pradian asked, sounding surprised.

"Hmm... not lucky like you. Have to earn my wins. Odd. It still feels like we're in early game, but you have late game moves."

"If you do have an Aqua Surfer trigger you'll still win," Pradian grinned.

"Ballas, Vizier of Electrons, to mana. Summon Rumbling Terahorn. To search for an Aqua Hulcus. Ballas, attack Emeral. Hulcus, attack Bronze-Arm. Ikei."
Gene barely now could sense that, even though neither duelist seemed to be using their Kaijudo actively, the 'battles' still occurred. Tom ended his turn, and a few onlookers laughed at the sad face Pradian made in response to the loss of his creatures.

"Mana Nexus, to mana. Cast Apocalypse Vise. To destroy them all."

"And Vise?" Tom laughed, as Pradian declared an attack with his Locomotiver. For some reason, at this point, Tom's eyes opened wide in shock, as he picked up the shield. Pradian ended his turn.

Tom drew his card, and frowned.
"Okay, that's insanely bad luck for me..."

Pradian's face broke into a wide grin, as Tom continued. Gene felt himself becoming disjointed now. Suzanne had been at least partly right. When the game got to this point, he did not really feel as if he knew what to do, and felt weaker, rather than feeling stronger, as she had claimed to feel.

"Let's see, what else do I got... Magris, to mana. Summon Aqua Hulcus..." he paused here to draw his card, "And evolve it into Crystal Paladin. Attack Locomotiver. Ikei!"

Even watching Tom manage this did not make Gene feel directly better. Something about being this far into it made him feel out of place, and he suddenly found himself desperately wanting to go back to his ambivalence regarding who would win. He had started to wish, quite plainly, that Tom would be victorious.

"I don't want to lose this one," Tom laughed, "I shouldn't. End turn."

"Right... sure," Pradian said, sending his new Emeral to his mana zone, "Summon Rumbling Terahorn, to retrieve my Bazagazeal Dragon, and summon Bloody Squito. End turn."

Tom now drew his card, his confidence spiking, then suddenly seeming to fall away. An Aqua Knight. The ripple could be felt by anyone sensitive enough. Pradian grinned as his opponent sent the Aqua Knight to his mana zone.

"I wish I was as lucky as you. My hand is trash," Tom frowned. Pradian laughed again.

"Don't laugh, I'm serious," Tom said, making a face.

"I've had my fair share of 'trash hand' myself," Pradian grinned. Gene listened intently now, hoping that Tom would share some clues as to why this was so. He could use it for his own deck building.

"Nah. You streamed into Nexus to live. Then I had no triggers which is ridiculous... and you got Tera, Baza, and a Squito..."

Pradian shrugged, "This isn't exactly my normal deck. I built it so that I could get into this tournament and win. I was talking about when I was playing with that."

"Oh. Hah. I mean this game. You have godly hands... and I got slow starts..."

"Gee thanks," Pradian said, "That just makes me feel so good about my own play."

No one seemed to notice anything strange when Tom charged the second card for the turn, a Dava Torey, into his mana zone. Apparently only Gene could feel the strange unnatural increase in energy. Everyone else seemed to be fixated on the conversation between the two duelists. He was just about to say something, to remind Tom that he had played mana already, when Suzanne put her hand on his shoulder.

"Shhh... Be very very quiet..." Corile told Reusol, "Watch. It's over regardless."

"Oh well. I cast Energy Stream... " Tom now declared, drawing two cards as per the effect, "And Holy Awe! Paladin, attack the Terahorn! Ikei!"

Pradian's creature was destroyed, but it did not matter. The final turn was at hand. Pradian needed not do anything besides summon the mighty Bazagazeal Dragon, and declare:
"Todomeda!"

"Yeah... good game..." Tom frowned. Pradian was grinning from ear to ear now.

"Nice try," he said, offering his hand to shake Tom's, but Tom was already engrossed in looking at his mana zone and other cards, and did not seem to notice.

"Um... no it wasn't. I got weak hands, and couldn't do anything against what is basically the former champion's deck..."

Pradian shrugged, as he pulled his hand back, to pick up his own cards. He had won, that was basically what mattered. His intent was fulfilled. Bonus prize. Even more cards from the new set to trade with friends, and sell to those who did not count as friends.

Tom and Pradian were now the center of attention again as the group of onlookers began to buzz with questions and comments. Gene and Suzanne were, as usual, able to slip away from the main throng.

"You seem confused," Corile noted, "What's the matter?"

At this point, Gene felt clearly, that just because Reusol represented the 'duel' within him, it did not mean that the creature understood much more than he did.
"He said... that he got 'weak hands'. But the sort of hand he had was exactly the kind I would want. Does that mean that I am weak after all?"

"The 'weak hand' for each deck is different. It is as simple as not getting any of the cards that you need for a situation. It happens sometimes."

"But..."
The emotion seemed to fade now, as the crowd started to notice them again, as Tom walked towards them. His Kaijudo seemed to shimmer strangely. Gene could swear he felt the presence of a Water creature other than Corile. Which meant that it would have to be within Tom. He ran over the duel in his mind quickly, but Suzanne came to the conclusion far faster than he did.

"The Paladin. Perhaps that was why it was so important... for it to strike the Terahorn..."

"Maybe... he also forgot that he had already played mana? No one else seemed to notice," Gene whispered to her as Tom was delayed by some 'fans' of his.

"Maybe..." she frowned, "Maybe not... But that Terahorn brought Bazagazeal. And Bazagazeal was the way to win the duel... Why is it that no matter how much I play or watch them play, something always seems just a little off...?"

"What do you mean?" Gene asked now, concerned. He was not sure if she had been close enough at the point where Pradian had summoned Corile to remove Ballas. So, he was not at all sure if the thing she spoke of was related to that.

"I... don't know exactly. But... Jasper's not stupid. There must be something that he truly could not see. Certainly, there are the things he chooses to ignore, thinking that we are taking the wrong path, but..."

Her voice trailed off yet again. Her confidence seemed to fade, and Gene got the distinct impression that for some reason she was close to tears. That in itself was not strange. Suzanne's emotions had somehow been 'damaged' in her final duel with Amera-Lynn. The strangeness, in this case, was that Corile did not seem to fade with her vanishing confidence, and, in fact, seemed sad also.

"You're sad," Reusol stated. The Light Bringer was apparently in no way averse to pointing out what was already blatantly obvious. Her answer sounded very much like the sort of answer a young girl would give. The answer came from Suzanne's lips, not from her mind.

"I never really got to learn to play this game. It's kind of sad. It looks like fun. But... I sort of ruined it for myself before I ever got a chance to enjoy it."

Gene felt a strong sympathy stir within. What little he knew of Suzanne's life, made him aware that she was not the sort of person who had ever been able to have much 'fun'.

"You could always play now. Nothing stops you. We're on tour, but when you come to these tournaments you generally just stand around and wait for them to be over. So duel a bit next time. What's the worst that can happen?"

She glared at him, but then her eyes softened in sadness yet again. "A lot, sir... a lot."