Episode 80. - Onslaught Your Enemy With Fury

Remni sat there for awhile, not because he was unable to move, but because something in him kept clearly making him feel as if chasing after Juravis would be pointless. Physical ability would clearly mean little or nothing in a clash between them, and it was clear that his mental capacity for 'combat' was quite a bit below that of his adversary. So now he sat, brooding, planning his next course of action, if there even was one. His anger seethed, but there was nowhere to direct it. That is, until the door burst open and another man, seemingly in his late twenties, stormed in.

"Where's Allen!?" he boomed. Remni instantly spun, sensing another source of smoldering Kaijudo, and the person's 'greeting' had caught his attention as well. Now, he found himself looking at a well built man with light brown hair, a well-trimmed beard and mustache, and wearing a tan shirt and brown jeans. He got up and immediately stormed over to the man.

"Juravis just left. You know him? Kettou da."

"Who are you?" the man asked, rather taken aback by Remni's apparent abruptness. He had no way of knowing the anger that swirled within the youth, and even less knowledge of what was generally going on.

"Remni Yokura. I just dueled him. He left right after."

"I see... Name's Steve... Steve Gyrus. So you want a game, huh? I guess if Allen's not here, I can duel you instead. Heh."

Remni nodded, his current reasoning quickly giving him the feeling that if he wanted to find out more about Juravis or how to deal with this, he would have to duel the man's friends as well. The two crossed to the table Remni had just been sitting at. Steve sat in the chair Juravis had been in, and squirmed slightly.

"Oh right... Allen was sitting here, I guess..."

Remni nodded. His eyes asked the question for him, and Steve obliged with answer.
"He has a sort of... er... aura to him. You can tell where he's dueled. Weird, I know, but--"

"I know exactly what you're talking about..." Remni said, his voice deadly calm. Steve seemed confused again, but simply deployed his cards and let his warm Kaijudo settle, assuming simply that he had encountered another user of the skill. He simply went first by assumption, since Remni had been the one to challenge.

"Shaman Broccoli to mana. End turn," Steve said, running a hand through his low cut hair. Something about Remni was throwing him off, and they had not even started yet. Remni charged Water mana, an Aqua Hulcus, and ended his turn.

"Bombat, General of Speed, to mana. Summon Shaman Broccoli. End turn."
Now Remni was the one feeling slightly confused. This energy that was now pricking the edge of his consciousness did not feel at all like what he would expect from a friend of Juravis', but more like what he had, on occasion, felt from his own beloved Hikari.

"Then again, on the other hand," he noted to himself, "I'm kinda friends with Taimi too, and she's almost as bad as Juravis once she gets started..."

He now charged more Water mana, a Spiral Gate, and cast another one on the Shaman Broccoli. Steve's thoughts seemed to become rife with confusion. An enemy who would use a Spiral Gate on the very first creature...

"That's the kid with the speed that just beat Juravis..." one of the spectators warned Steve.

"Speed, huh? I'll tell you, you normally need more than speed to take that guy out. Cavalry General Curatops to mana. Summon Missile Soldier Ultimo."

Remni seethed again as he drew his card. A Bronze-Arm Tribe. He considered summoning it for a moment, almost putting one to mana in order to summon the other, when he remembered. He knew this 'move'. Juravis had used it on Hikari. He was not about to fall for that. It was almost assured that a deck like this one would have Pyrofighter Magnus.

"Comet Missile to mana. Cast Phantom Dragon's Flame on your Missile Soldier Ultimo."

Steve's brow wrinkled. More early removal. He placed his Shaman Broccoli into his mana zone and summoned his Bakkra Horn, the Silent. The power around him finally shimmered, dragging Remni into the mindspace. He found himself in a jungle, but unlike the dark forest that he had momentarily sensed when Hikari had dueled. Now, this one was full of sounds and heat.

Remni placed his Bronze-Arm Tribe into his mana zone, and summoned an Aqua Hulcus, drawing a new card and letting his own energy shift the heat around him. Steve looked carefully at his situation, and then made his decision, adding more Nature mana to his mana zone and summoning Bombat, General of Speed. The Dragonoid raced right past the Bakkra Horn, the energy from its appearance causing another mana card to be added to Steve's reserves. His Kaijudo shifted strongly when the card was revealed. Lava Walker Executo.

"Doesn't matter that I ended up here. Don't think you'll need me. Overrun the kid."

Remni could hear the exchange, and the feeling of another avatar speaking to a duelist enraged him further. This person was definitely like Juravis. Bombat broke his shield an instant later. It did not trigger.

"Crow Winger to mana. Summon Gonta, the Warrior Savage, and Quixotic Hero Swine Snout. Aqua Hulcus, ikei!"

The shield shattered without trigger, and Steve ran his hand through his hair again after drawing his next card.
"Hmm... you gave me a tough one here, kiddo."

"Good," Remni said coldly, confusing Steve even more.

"But I guess the best thing to do is what I always do. Fight. It'll probably work out in the end unless you draw something really great."

"You all made her suffer. Now I'm going to make you suffer..." Remni growled.

Steve heard him, but did not respond right then. He was too busy moving into the mental imagery for what was necessary next. He placed a Snip Striker Bullraizer into his mana zone, and summoned his Pyrofighter Magnus, causing the Quixotic Hero to whoop excitedly, and a second Snip Striker to go into his mana zone.
"And now... let's rumble!"

The pun was clear. The spell was cast. Bombat blasted into battle with Gonta just as Pyrofighter became a red blur around the Quixotic Hero. The Bakkra Horn had it easiest. It defeated the Aqua Hulcus without much trouble, almost calmly so, as the battle of blasts and clashing weapons surrounded it. At the end, it was the only creature to survive, and it let out a mournful sound at the fall of its Dragonoid comrades.

Steve now ended his turn, and as Remni placed his Mana Nexus to mana, he finally responded to the last thing Yokura had said.

"Hey now, kid, I don't know exactly what's going on, but whatever it is I think I'm on your side. Allen Juravis is no friend of mine..."

Remni's Aqua Surfer swept away the Bakkra Horn, but Steve was not really bothered by this. It was all that could be done on that turn, and now Steve could retaliate.
"I'm just saying you can't take him out this way. Bakkra Horn, and Missile Soldier Ultimo."

The summon added another Lava Walker to his mana zone. He cringed slightly at this. Losing one that way was not a problem, but two could easily be. He ended his turn, and his jungle came to life with sounds and energy. Not much could seriously dent his plans now. Remni would have to draw something like...

"Magmadragon Jagalzor! Aqua Surfer, ikei!"
This turned things strongly. The jungle quieted in response to the roar of the great volcano dragon as it came into being. The Aqua Surfer gave the larger creature a thumbs up, confusing Remni slightly. The imagery seemed to be his, and yet not his. Something else was providing the energy that made it so vivid.

The Aqua Surfer then surged in on an invisible wave, spinning its prismatic board to shatter the shield. The sound seemed to awaken a power within the sleepy looking Magmadragon Jagalzor, and it roared again, then its gaze fixed on the location of the Aqua Surfer. Even through thick jungle it could sense the shields, and the ally that had broken the first. All it needed to do then... was breathe...

The Surfer swiftly got itself out of the way as Jagalzor's superheated flare burst from its mouth and flew down into the jungle, shattering two more of the shields, neither of which triggered. Steve scoffed, but there did not seem to be any true malice in the sound.

"You're good at making it tough. That's for sure..." Steve noted, drawing a new card. This time, it was a Dimension Gate he had drawn, and his mind began to rapidly calculate just what he could manage to do with it that would take his opponent out.

"It's all part of the deck..." Remni muttered, still not at all convinced that this person was not just playing with his mind the way Juravis had done to Hikari.

"Heh. Well said. Cavalry General Curatops to mana. Cast Dimension Gate, to bring my Pyrofighter Magnus!"
He instantly summoned that as well, and the Bakkra Horn, still calmly assisting its Dragonoid allies, generated new mana, in the form of a Slaphappy Soldier Galback card. Steve did not hesitate to actually summon one of those as well, and it generated more nature mana for him. Taking no chances now, he ordered the first attack.

"Pyrofighter, attack the Surfer. Ikei!"
Again, the jungles hid the movements of the red blur. It shot past the Surfer once, twice, then destroyed the Liquid one on the third pass. In a moment, control could, conceivably, switch back to Steve Gyrus' jungle forces. Remni knew what was about to happen to his Magmadragon. The Bakkra Horn moved forward to strike...

"Shield Trigger, Aqua Surfer!"
Steve groaned as Remni announced it, and the wave swept away his creature. It was not Ultimo that was swept away, but rather, Galback. Steve found himself rather confused at this, but Executo's words came quickly to the fore.

"He knows that we have searched the deck, and probably assumes that we believe ourselves defended. Galback is more of a danger to him by far. If he thinks our last shield is trigger, he may lose Jagalzor on the attack."

Steve still did not quite get it, but he was still glad. This boy had seemed to have just the right card every time, so it was a small break to him not to have to worry about this particular part of the plan being ruined.

"Ultimo, ikei! Destroy Jagalzor!"
This command led to the most epic battle many had ever 'seen'. The Missile Soldier's power seemed to have been greatly augmented by the entire situation, and now it leapt into action, surging into the air in a superhuman leap to grab onto the Magmadragon and literally wrestle it into the equivalent of a chokehold. Ultimo's considerably lesser size did not seem to deter it in any way from this method of attack, and it quickly latched onto Jagalzor's throat, clamping it tight. The Dragon began to heat its body from within, but the hardy Dragonoid ignored the searing temperature, holding on tightly and not giving up.

Finally, the unexpected occurred. Jagalzor's superheated body finally gave into its own internal pressure, and the Volcano Dragon's chest practically exploded in a huge fireball, which consumed Ultimo completely. Jagalzor's corpse now descended from the sky to crash into the jungles as well, setting one section ablaze. Steve cringed, both because of the image, and because of his apparent 'misfortune'. He ended his turn, and hoped Remni was not fortunate enough to draw anything that could attack instantly. It would be quite a disappointment to him if, after all his effort, he found himself facing another...

"Magmadragon Jagalzor! It ends here!"

"You've got to be kidding me..." Steve groaned, as the new Aqua Surfer repeated the action of the first, riding in on the invisible wave and shattering his shield with a quick flip of the board. The shield could have, indeed, triggered, but Steve had no use for the Dimension Gate at this point. The Magmadragon sent its blast of searing heat down upon him, engulfing him, and the duel was over.

Steve grudgingly extended his hand to shake Remni's. Remni accepted it equally grudgingly. He still did not trust Steve at all.

"Well, that worked out well for you, didn't it now. Still, something worries me about the way you move around, kid..."

This statement did not help Remni's level of 'confidence' in the man sitting opposite him.
"And just what is it exactly about me that worries you involving 'the way I move around'?"

"You talked about beating Juravis, but I don't quite see how you did. He could hold you in one spot a lot better than I could, and for much longer too. Also, your trigger saved you, and I'll bet the same thing happened against him, right?"

"I could have handled you even if it didn't trigger just then. There's always one or two. I may have drawn Jagalzor but you were finished anyway."
He showed Steve the last card in his hand. His Pyrofighter Magnus.

"Heh. That wouldn't have saved you, kid. You needed that trigger right then, I'm almost sure of it. You really are lucky, man."

"You lost, and you're just trying to psych me out. Don't bother. I had you, trigger or not."

Steve shook his head again, smirking. Then he showed his hand. The Bakkra Horn and Slaphappy Soldier did not matter too much, but the other cards were Pyrofighter Magnus, a Dimension Gate, and a card that made Remni shiver slightly when Steve triumphantly revealed it, with a surge of his Kaijudo. Even in defeat, this hand seemed to give him some satisfaction. Furious Onslaught, he held in his hand now. Remni's mind quickly calculated... was it possible that he would have had enough mana?

Executo seemed to sense what the young duelist was thinking.
"It's easy, kid. One Pyrofighter gives me one mana, get one more out of the deck with Dimension Gate and summon it, that's another. Makes thirteen. Just enough to transform both of them, and Galback, into Armored Dragons, and tear you apart."

"Then I'd just have needed two triggers instead of one!" Remni's mind retorted strongly. He knew it was not the 'strongest' of comebacks. He had put one Spiral Gate to mana and cast another, played one Surfer, and the one that had triggered would have been almost enough, but not alone...

Still, his resolve did not fail. He had defeated this man as well. His dueling was definitely a match for both this 'Steve Gyrus' and Allen Juravis.

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Steve admitted with a sigh, "But luck doesn't hold, you know? And whatever it is I keep feeling from you, it seems like you've got a pretty big grudge against Allen for some reason. If you beat him before, then why?"

"That bastard hurt someone close to me. I'm going to get him for it," Remni said now, not caring about those around or their opinions. He would most likely never see any of them again anyway. It did not matter if they knew. In fact, it could even be helpful if they were willing to help him take down Juravis.

"Like I said... luck doesn't hold. I don't know how you plan to 'get him', but if it involves dueling..." Steve's voice trailed off here, and Remni could barely sense the jungle Kaijudo surrounding him, observing him, gauging his potential...

"Luck... tends to desert you just when it's really important... or sometimes, your opponent's luck is just better than yours. If you're dueling for something really important... you can't rely on it, or you're really just gambling..."

"I can handle myself. And I can handle him."

"I guess I'll hope I'm wrong. For your sake. Don't get me wrong. You're good. The luck just helps... but you're not like... leagues beyond me or Allen or anything. More importantly, he and I are both fairly average..."

Remni scowled slightly.
"That's what he said too. That he was just average. Still, he, and you also, can do things I can't do. So I don't see how that's true."

"Yeah, well, as you've just seen, what we can 'do' doesn't really change how cards come or how duels play out. Not too much. I'll just hope that your luck doesn't turn on you when you really need it... however that is."

Steve got a curious expression on his face, then pulled Remni into the mindspace again. Remni felt slightly intimidated now, as the powerful dragonoid marched confidently up to him. Lava Walker Executo.

"So you can't do this at all? I can't meet the other you, either?"
Remni found himself hesitating. Now that he was thinking about exactly how one went about answering, it was much harder to actually do. Finally, he relaxed and seemed to find the way to mentally respond to the towering Dragonoid.

"No. I can't. I don't even know what 'other me' you're talking about. What is it with you guys? Juravis did the same thing, only he was much worse..."

"Oh, you've met Azaghast, then, have you. I think I'm beginning to get the picture of what happened here then. The Tyrant tortured someone close to you, you said?"

Remni's rage surged again, but the heat from it did not seem to bother Executo in the slightest. When it settled slightly, he was able to compose himself and answer.

"He did something to my girlfriend. My friend... she knows about these things... she said that he 'broke her mind'. I don't know exactly what that means but I know there has to be some way to fix it! I know Hikari is still in there! I have to find a way to save her!"

"Do you know what your friend is... like me... do you know the other her? It seems to me that you might be able to get more help from her in this than by just chasing Allen down."

Remni seemed to consider this for a moment. He had, rather, jumped into this a bit headlong, but at the time it had made the most sense, back when victory seemed as though it would have been the solution to the problem. Now, it was much clearer that his failing was not in his ability to duel, but in his ability to see beyond the duel.

"More help... from my friend. She said she didn't know how to undo it..."

"But maybe she can help you find someone else who can. I'll let you in on a little 'secret'. We all know each other... All of us who can do this... and for every five duelists you meet there's a good chance at least one of them can. We just don't use it on you guys that don't have it yet cause it can mess with you..."

Remni nodded. That much was clear. There were bound to be a whole lot of people out there who could do what Juravis did and use their 'power' in unscrupulous ways. It could easily get a lot of the nicer ones into trouble if they used their own too openly. Now that he thought of it, he had never seen Taimi put hers to use in a duel again, since that one day long ago, and the person she had used it on had never come back to duel again.

Executo, again, seemed to sense his thoughts, and, more importantly, seemed to pull his memory of Taimi's dueling straight out of his head.

"Oh, so that's your friend. Know her. Scary girl. If anyone can either handle Juravis or teach you how to, it'd be her. I suggest you go back and find her. Maybe you can talk her into smacking Allen around a bit for you. But there's no point in staying here. You can't do what you want to do against him... you need help. Go home, and ask your friend..."