Episode 77. - Spectrum Of Possible Reactions

Juliet Charlston sat back in her seat, having just announced the next match, Ryoma versus Angga. Ryoma had left her, obviously, to go face his opponent, and now, she was left with little or nothing to do. There were no more pairings to decide. The outcomes from now on would be decided purely by the skills of the duelists. She decided to put her abilities to a bit of a test, on the premise that she might not get another chance.

Attuning herself to the frequency of the most powerful energy source, allowed her to sense their thoughts. At the moment, she decided to ignore the psychic emanations from those who were yet to play, and focus on those who had already been eliminated, but whose Kaijudo still radiated through the room. Her focus rested first on young Leo Motane...

Leo's thoughts were rather scattered, so it seemed to Juliet. He stood just in front of Yodaz and Libra, seemingly comforted by the presence of the two Cyber Lords. Even unable to see him, the occasional shifts revealed to Juliet that the boy was eating some sort of fruit, and watching the duelists before him prepare for their game. Finally, his thoughts coalesced a bit, as he watched Ryoma play his first mana card and the energy of the duel began to spread through the room...

"It is unclear, but he seems to be thinking about the champion's deck and wondering if he really had a chance..." Cyclolink 'translated'. Juliet nodded. Light mana energy now rose from Angga's side, to equal the power of nature Ryoma had begun with, and Juliet's attention moved on, to the next closest source, the female Cyber Lord behind Leo Motane.

Libra's thoughts were clearer to her, though she could not tell how exactly so...
"So what is it that they have that I do not... speed? Mana growth? Bigger evolution creatures? Mine is just as large... and yet... I don't feel like it's right. The Crystal Lancer doesn't seem at home with us..."

Libra's thoughts then degenerated into what Juliet could only describe as a mass of calculations, and the darkness energy from Ryoma, as well as the casting of his Faerie Life, which in turn added more of it, jarred Juliet's focal point again. She waited for Angga to play his own mana, which, from her sense, would have had to be his Bluum Erkis, Flare Guardian, then let her awareness settle again, this time on Yodaz.

In his case, she got practically nothing but calculations. Amidst it, the few thoughts she could find seemed to amount to Yodaz mentally making adjustments to better suit the new forty card format Gene had introduced. Another addition of mana from Ryoma, a Blazosaur Q, and the summoning of such a card as well, sent a ripple through her consciousness, but not enough to force her to break her link. Her focus moved on, this time to the dark pulsing mass of power that was behind the Cyber Lords... Shu Lon...

Cyclolink had a harder time attuning to the wavelength of Shu's thoughts than that of the previous three. When Juliet finally managed, she caught only a moment of what seemed to be an odd contentment, before Angga's Water mana caused the link to form, and the realm to form, dragging her attention back to the ocean where his Aircraft Carrier now loomed, and an Aqua Hulcus seemed to be scouting ahead...

Ryoma placed a Mana Nexus into his mana zone, and cast Soulswap on his Blazosaur, using the power of the spell to bring out the first mana card he had played, as a creature onto the shore of one of his islands. Factory Shell Q. Of course, searching his deck produced a single creature, known well to all those who knew even a little about the champion and his deck...

"What incredible speed..." Angga mouthed. His own turn was less eventful. From the deck of his carrier, a La Ura Giga and a Pala Olesis deployed. Juliet ignored this and focused on the next person whose Kaijudo seemed to be within range of her mental scanning. Porto Andrew.

"This tournament is great. I can't wait to get back home and see how much all the attention will cause the game to grow. New opponents, new strategies, and new cards! This is going to be so cool!"

Juliet's face formed into a slight pout. She did not fully understand the enthusiasm. As fun as the game did seem to be, the level that these players viewed it at, seemed a little beyond her in terms of attachment to a hobby. Her focus was again jarred when Ryoma made his move, surprising many. He had no Light mana, so there had not been a way to summon Forbos, and the card he drew did not provide any. He played the Forbos to mana, and summoned another Factory Shell. Working in tandem with the first, it allowed him to get two creatures from his deck. One Smash Horn, and a second Forbos.

"The cycle of Survivors..." Angga noted, "Jil Warka, Time Guardian, to mana, summon Petrova, Channeler of Suns! Guardians!"

The illumination reached even Ryoma's distant shore, and Angga's squadron began to arrange itself accordingly. Juliet's mind fixated on that imagery for a moment before pulling itself away to scan another eliminated duelist. This time, she got Shinji Nykahrii.

The coldness of the Kaijudo startled her for a moment. Shinji had seemed to her to be such a nice person. After a moment or two to adjust, she realized that this was probably quite true, and the coldness seemed to come from something else. Shinji was focused on Ryoma's field, and seemingly thinking about what would happen once Forbos appeared. Angga's own avatar would be boosting the power of Ryoma's, quite a strange event in a match where the two were locked in conflict.

The event, when it did happen, caused Shinji's energy to spike in a way that it threw her focus back to the duel. Forbos' arrival from the heavens brought new energy with it on a grand scale. A Holy Awe, a Blazosaur, and the Q-Tronic Gargantua.

"His power does build very fast..." Cyclolink noted to its human half, before assisting her in her continued scan. She did not get to settle on anyone this time. Angga's play was too quick and decisive...

"Dia Nork to mana. Summon Bluum Erkis!"
His declaration was one of confidence and triumph. The squadron leader, perhaps, Juliet found herself thinking. Ryoma drew his card and placed it into mana. Volcano Charger. Then, he stopped to think a bit.

"Blazosaur Q... or will it be the Smash Horn...?" Angga wondered. Juliet paid little attention. Her mind's eye now rested on her employer, but his thoughts did not seem connected to the duel. For him, it seemed to be 'business as usual'. He was watching, though, and some part of him seemed impressed, but there was no calculation...

Ryoma summoned first the Blazosaur, taking from his deck a Terror Pit, another Forbos, and a Smash Horn, then summoned the Smash Horn, taking, apparently, only a Holy Awe. The turn was, by most standards, rather uneventful, as it ended their, the building power only obvious to those who knew Ryoma well.

One of those people was Juliet's next mental target. Sniper Randnum. The duelist seemed to radiate general apathy even now, as his avatar floated in the same mindspace, far off from where the carrier was approaching the shore. He seemed to be scanning himself, and somehow appreciating the mental imagery created by the duel... little more.

"That makes sense..." Cyclolink pointed out to Juliet. It had been in a similar way that her own Kaijudo had developed. The images in her mind when powerful duelists clashed had been interesting rather than frightening, and she was a woman of decidedly singular focus when she chose to be. It had caused her latent ability to unlock, even without a single card.

Angga charged another Dia Nork to mana and summoned a Pala Olesis. With a nod, and a tap of his card, Bluum Erkis made its move, streaking through the sky toward the shore, where its disruptor cannons fired, static engulfing two of Ryoma's shields.

"Come on... trigger... Ah, no!"
Juliet's attention swung back to the duel. She was not fully aware of what Bluum did, but it seemed to her that it succeeded in breaking the two shields, at least. Yet, Angga seemed disappointed. Ryoma inquired then if he indeed, 'got both'.

"Unfortunately..." Angga sighed, "But you probably have all the cards you need, right now, already. Adding two more won't be much of an increase to your power... Especially not those particular two. Aqua Hulcus. Ikei."

He gave a small grin as Ryoma picked up the Bluum-broken shields. Crimson Hammer and Volcano Charger. Against Angga's squadron, little or no use. The third shield broken was also fire, and probably would have been more use, had Ryoma not already been in possession of one Q-Tronic Gargantua. He drew his card and simply cast Terror Pit, the darkness latching onto the Flare Guardian and bringing it down.

The momentary reduction in Kaijudo allowed Juliet to catch a glimpse of the next person. Suzanne Marshall, a woman she had only met after Suzanne had more or less recovered from her little power-trip. As it was, therefore, Juliet found Suzanne quite pleasant, and was surprised to find that the energy from Suzanne was cold, ruthless, and calculating. Much more like Yodaz than what she had expected. Something told her not to look any 'deeper'.

Angga, meanwhile, had summoned a La Ura Giga and attacked with the Hulcus again, breaking another shield. Ryoma seemed quite calm in the face of even this. He charged more mana, played a Smash Horn, retrieved a Mana Nexus from his deck and cast that also, to place a Holy Awe as his shield. The famous shield wall. His forces did not move. Angga's defense was far too great to make any attempt at sinking the carrier immediately, sensible.

Angga simply summoned one of his Jil Warka, and ended his turn. Ryoma drew his own card, and cast the spell he had been setting up for all along...
"Holy Awe."

The blinding light stunned all of Angga's forces, and Ryoma made a quick move, only to have the shield he triggered blast the same effect back at his own creatures. Holy Awe. Everything in the battle zone now stood still, stunned by consecutive super flashes. Angga's forces recovered first...

"Now's my chance! La Ura Giga, evolve into Glena Vuele, the Hypnotic! Squadron, move in!"
First, La Ura and Pala tactically brought down the Smash Horns, reducing the power of the others to the point where the Hulcus could defeat the Blazosaur. Petrova and the second Pala brought the Factory Shells crashing down, and finally, Glena moved in, the only one that was a match for Forbos' increased power...

Ryoma immediately began to rebuild on his own turn, summoning his Grave Worm, to revive one of his Smash Horn, which, when summoned, revived a Blazosaur. Angga frowned slightly. He still did not have much of an attacking force, and the shield in play on Ryoma's side would flash his forces into inaction again.

The crowd gasped when the second La Ura Giga also evolved into Glena Vuele, and Glena swooped right in to break those shields anyway. The Holy Awe's power immobilized them all, but the two Guardians generated two new shields on deck with the energy. This final line of defense made it impossible for even Ryoma's great power, seen in the form of the Blazosaur which appeared, then grew into the great Q-Tronic Gargantua... to bring victory. Gargantua's power, for once, did not reach World Breaker, and manifested as a powerful blast of light and heat instead, a blast which shattered three of Angga's shields. The Grave Worm broke a fourth, but that revealed that even with full power, Ryoma could not have triumphed. For the fourth time, the power of Holy Awe filled the mindspace.

"Aqua Surfer, remove that huge Survivor. Glena Vuele, escort Petrova in. Lady Petrova. Todomeda."

The Channeler of Suns flew in, unimpeded by even the slightest attempt by the Smash Horn or Grave Worm, as the Hypnotic ones destroyed them on the way to the target. Ryoma's Kaijudo held for a moment, then collapsed inward, almost as if into a ball, to protect itself. Angga momentarily wondered if he had damaged the champion's mind, but the following congratulatory handshake made it clear that Ryoma was just conserving any further power, and would not be dueling again for the day...

The receding energy gave Juliet time to get another 'reading' from the group. Jeff Fenrel, in this case. Jeff's thoughts were, as usual, on surfing, and apparently wondering about the size of the wave it had taken to wash away the Q-Tronic Gargantua. His friend Pradian, nearby, seemed to be analyzing how easily his Smash Warrior could tear through Angga's forces, given enough time and a way to be revived, and how likely or unlikely it was that he could consistently defeat whatever could kill Tanzanyte, the Awakener, and yet lose rhythm.

"Even now they're still thinking about the game. They're at the World Championship, made quite the showing, each of them... they won't get another for a year... and they're still thinking about the game..."

Maze Damarona did not seem to be thinking about the game, actually. The only thing Juliet got from her mind was a blast of music. Bernadette, the next nearest person, was watching, rather awed, as the now-defeated champion and the victorious Angga now picked up their cards and moved to make room for Rusty and Phantom.

Angga moved directly into congratulations from Arumisa, who hugged him excitedly, surprising him. Juliet's attention instantly focused there, if only because of the contrast of dark Kaijudo embracing light so happily. Arumisa's thoughts were plain. She was glad Angga had won. She seemed to be one of the people who had been intimidated by Ryoma and his reputation, and felt comforted to know that 'rumors of his invincibility had been exaggerated'.

Cyclolink laughed at this, within Juliet's mind, and also at Angga's surprise at the hug. Her mind managed to pull away from this, toward the twins, Evan and Lucius, who also seemed interested in congratulating Angga.

"Oh, it's because they also use Petrova..." she noted now, as the next duel began at last. Rusty would be going first. To make him start slower than Phantom would, according to the judges, be quite a disadvantage. He placed an Aqua Surfer to mana and summoned an Aqua Guard. Juliet's mind continued to scan Evan and Lucius, who seemed far more excited at the idea that Angga might become World Champion, than what was going on, in the new duel.

Phantom began with light-nature mana, still without any serious rise in energy. Juliet moved on to Luni Matthia, and instantly regretted it. Luni radiated hatred and frustration, and her thoughts formed into words very seldom, mostly into expletives. One thing was clear however. She was upset about bad luck, and convinced that yet again, she had not been memorable. Even her avatar's attempts at comfort seemed to do nothing for her mood, and Juliet quickly found herself both frightened and sickened at the tainted Kaijudo of the otherwise innocent-looking young woman.

Rusty played nature mana. Phantom played darkness. The energy seemed to swirl around his feet. Rusty's power spiked up like ice shards when he played his own next mana card. His Crystal Lancer. Summoning a Bronze-Arm Tribe sent another Lancer to his mana zone. The power spike of frost was incredible, instantly jolting Juliet's attention back to the duel.

Her next analysis was of the woman who now stood behind Phantom, watching Rusty calmly. The emotion from Amera-Lyn Tyler confused Juliet totally at first. She seemed to be interested in Rusty's power, but not as a potential opponent. She seemed actually impressed, and in a strange adoring way...

"Wait... is she... attracted to him? Seriously? From duels?!"
Juliet shrugged mentally. Cyclolink seemed to have 'hit the nail on the head', but it seemed a bit farfetched for a person to develop an attraction for another based on something like that.

Phantom, too, played a Bronze-Arm Tribe, adding another Skysword to his mana zone. Rusty drew his card and laughed, murmuring something about a very strange shuffle. He placed the card to mana. A third Crystal Lancer. The energy spike sent Phantom reeling, mentally, and caused Amera-Lyn to practically swoon. That, of course, confirmed it. The woman definitely was not just interested in Rusty as a duelist. She wanted him.

Rusty seemed to notice this, and smirked at her, with a slight nod. Amera blushed, but did not turn away her gaze nor show any other sign of embarrassment. Trox bowed to the Crystal Lancer, momentarily, and Rusty's energy rose, as his smirk grew slightly. He summoned an Aqua Hulcus, and attacked the first shield of the duel with his Bronze-Arm Tribe. The energy surge was immense, causing everyone but Amera to tense, bracing themselves. Juliet watched, fascinated, as it seemed to have the exact opposite effect on the female military officer...

Phantom did not counterattack with his own Bronze-Arm. Instead, he charged a Holy Awe to mana and cast Soulswap on it, bringing out one of the Skysword, adding a new mana and replacing the lost shield, which turned out to be yet another Skysword. Rusty laughed again.

"Double weird shuffle. Something's messing with the probability in this sector, cap'n!"
The joke sent a ripple of laughter through the audience. Even Phantom smiled, summoning his Ballas, Vizier of Electrons, alongside the Skysword, and ending his turn.

Juliet finally let her mind come to rest on the huge 'ball' of Kaijudo she had been purposely trying to ignore all along. Arielle Dumas.

"This is so exciting! I can't even decide who I want to cheer for! I mean, Rusty's like my hero, but the other guy played so well against me that I kind of hope he wins too, and then whoever does win might even become champion, of course Rusty is already North America champion in the adult division, but then--"

Juliet begged Cyclolink to pull her focus off Arielle, which happened a moment later. The little girl's thoughts, presumably directed at her avatar, were racing a mile-a-minute, and the power she emanated was incredible as it was, and steadily growing. For a moment, Juliet found herself thinking that it might even be a good thing that Arielle had no particular bias as to who she wanted to win...

"Summon Aqua Surfer, to return your Skysword. And Bronze-Arm, ikei."

"Shield Trigger. Holy Awe."
Rusty rolled his eyes and laughed again as his Guard, Hulcus, Tribe and Surfer all tapped. Phantom summoned Skysword again, generating a new shield, and more Darkness mana. Fortunately for Rusty, only Ballas could really do what Phantom wanted done, so only the Bronze-Arm Tribe was lost in the counterattack.

Juliet finally managed to draw her attention away from Arielle, to Nicholas Burner, who seemed to be watching the duel intensely, with a similar emotion to that of Arielle, just not quite as bubbly. He seemed to have great respect for both these duelists, and only the very slight preference for Rusty winning. Rusty summoned a Quixotic Hero and played an Energy Stream, then summoned one of the cards the stream granted him. An Aqua Guard. His Hulcus moved in to break the shield in Phantom's first slot, for the third time that duel. The next two attacks did not trigger anything either. Rusty's turn ended.

"Gajirabute, Vile Centurion, to mana. Summon Sarius, Vizier of Suppression, and evolve it into Craze Valkyrie, the Drastic!"
The whips of light stunned the Aqua Guards, and Phantom's forces moved in to defeat Rusty's now-tapped attackers, Ballas falling in battle with the Aqua Hulcus, but otherwise, no real loss to Phantom.

Rusty drew his card and summoned an Aqua Hulcus, drawing one whoop from his Quixotic Hero, then another Hero alongside it, bringing its power even higher, but not quite high enough to bring down the Valkyrie. It simply struck down Skysword instead, and Rusty's turn ended. Juliet noted that now, she could feel the emotion of Ryoma Echizen, but only barely. He did not seem disappointed, but he did seem to still be trying to conserve energy...

Phantom drew his card, and uttered a 'hm'. The next event made Juliet's head instantly hurt. Nearly no duelist's mind could easily process the event of a creature re-evolving into itself. That is exactly what Phantom did now, evolving Craze Valkyrie into... Craze Valkyrie. Again, the Aqua Guards were immobilized, and Phantom attacked, defeating the Swine Snout.

Rusty summoned another on his next turn, to replace it, and let the other attack another shield. Phantom activated the shield trigger... Soulswap. His Craze Valkyrie, containing even more energy than normal, went into his mana zone, adding three cards, and from it, another Skysword emerged, generating even more mana and another shield. Rusty laughed again.

"I have never seen anything like this, man. Hulcus, ikei."
The broken shield brought another smile to Phantom, and caused Rusty to raise an eyebrow.

Juliet strained her Kaijudo, trying to reach the last duelist, who had retreated to the other side of the room, but their emanations were fluctuating quite a lot, and there was another source near them that was making it difficult. Phantom's next turn did not help her focus any...

"Gajirabute to mana, summon Earth Ripper, Talon of Rage!"
The cards Phantom returned to his hand made Rusty frown slightly. Craze, Terror Pit, Sarius, and yet another Skysword. He summoned the Skysword, generating yet another shield, and the Sarius alongside it. The Talon of Rage attacked the Aqua Hulcus, but was blocked by the Aqua Guard.

"Okay, now this is getting nuts," Rusty laughed, "Evolve Quixotic Hero into Fighter Dual Fang, and summon Torcon! Dual Fang, double break! Ikei!"
Phantom did not block this, but of course, Sarius blocked the final attack that the Quixotic Hero attempted, falling in the battle. Phantom drew his card, and sent his Terror Pit to his mana zone, surprising many, who were expecting it to be used to at least remove Dual Fang.

"Okay! Summon another Skysword, the Savage Vizier! And evolve it into Craze Valkyrie, the Drastic! Valkyrie, attack the Quixotic Hero! Earth Ripper, attack the Aqua Guard, and Skysword, battle the Hulcus!"
The Hulcus and Guard, now at the mercy of their opponents due to Craze's reappearance, put up what fight they could, and the Hulcus managed to bring down Skysword, but not without falling itself.

Rusty scratched his head, amazed at his opponent, then drew his card, and summoned it. Aqua Hulcus. It gave him an Energy Stream, so he played that as well, and summoned the Aqua Guard it gave him. Dual Fang leapt into action against the Craze Valkyrie, and Phantom's avatar fell...

A turn later... it reappeared, evolving from the Miele, Vizier of Lightning, that was summoned first. Phantom's forces again swept in against Rusty's, defeating the Hulcus, Torcon, and Aqua Guard, leaving only the powerful Fighter Dual Fang.

"This... is seriously crazy, you do know that, right?" the Lancer noted to its adversary, its energy practically laughing.

"Crazy is my middle name," the Valkyrie responded, as Rusty played a Dimension Gate to seek out a card from his deck. He spent awhile considering his choices, then, oddly, got an Aqua Hulcus, and summoned it, drawing yet another Energy Stream with this new Hulcus even after his shuffle.

"I thought it was your first name," the Lancer 'laughed' again, before Dual Fang and the Craze Valkyrie again locked in battle, with Dual Fang again emerging victorious. Phantom drew his card, and the dark energy that had remained latent around his feet in the mindspace now writhed and did its duty. Terror Pit, dragging away the Fighter Dual Fang. He then played Ballas, Vizier of Electrons, and followed this with a Soulswap. Gajirabute, Vile Centurion, appeared with a slash, obliterating a shield. The Talon of Rage roared in to break two shields now. Rusty smiled.

"Shield Triggers. Roar of the Earth and Torcon..."
Rusty returned to his hand, not a Lancer, but an Aqua Surfer.

"Gosh..." Phantom exclaimed, "Great..."

Rusty laughed again, his focus actually on Amera-Lyn's contentedly smirking face, and he now summoned that Aqua Surfer, whisking away Phantom's blocker.
"It's all or nothing now, man. Torcon... ikei."

The final shield... did not trigger. Gajirabute knelt, accepting defeat. The crowd went up in a cheer so loud it drowned out Rusty's declaration of his final attack with his Hulcus.

"Congrats," Phantom said, shaking his opponent's hand, his disappointment mostly overshadowed by the incredible power that had built up in him over the course of that duel.

"Ya... damn, that was close..." Rusty noted, his own energy so potent now that he could not even manage to draw it back in. He nodded, and watched as Phantom moved away from his spot, to let Angga move into it. He exchanged a wink with Amera-Lyn, and began to shuffle his cards for what would be the ultimate duel of the day...