Episode 84. - Taint Water, Extinguish Flame

"Sorry, Remni. I can't really do anything for her..." Christopher Murray now explained, his blue eyes regarding Hikari's mute form with sorrow.

"But you told me that you knew about this Kaijudo stuff, Chris! I figured if anyone would be able to help, it'd be you..." Remni now said, his voice trailing off in a twinge of hopelessness. Chris sighed, and shuffled his deck. Blue cards moving again and again in his hands as he thought about just what to tell his friend in this time of obvious distress.

"Everyone who is able to seriously do this has an 'avatar', Remni. It's... hard to explain, but it's something special. Mine... has disappeared since the KC Worlds..."
He referred to the KirriCorp World Championship Tournament three weeks prior.

"And what's this 'avatar' got to do with if you can help Hikari or not?"

"It's got everything to do with it. Without Sopian, all I can really do is rely on my skill in duels, and defend myself a bit from others who can use the power."

Remni scowled, still apparently not understanding. Chris noticed this, and tried, yet again, to find the right words to convey it.
"You said... that the people you duel just kind of ignore you. Well, that's why. To them, you're not 'real' yet. Right now, they'd treat me the same way, without Sopian for them to see... you get it? Sopian can help her, maybe, but I can't alone."

Remni nodded, accepting the duelist's words, but of course, they brought him no comfort. He now spoke again, partly to himself.
"So if I want to help Hikari myself, I just need an 'avatar' like you guys? That's not so bad. If I choose Jagalzor, then what?"

Chris shook his head, his Kaijudo simply swaying around him like the tide, and attempted to offer even further explanation.
"It doesn't work like that either. You don't just choose it. It sort of... comes out... when you duel enough. Like it is always there, just waiting for you to realize which card it fits into..."

Remni watched as Christopher finally stopped shuffling his cards. The room was quiet. Nearly 'dead' on this Thursday evening. Most people would not come into the card store on a weekday. They had other things to do, and Thursday was least likely since most would just come in on a Friday evening instead. In order to come in, to actually play, on a Thursday, one would have to be fairly desperate for a duel.

The door opened, and an unhealthy looking man stepped in. His eyes searched the room furtively. Hikari, Remni, and Christopher, were practically the only ones there. The other patrons were reading comics, or browsing. One pair, two beginner duelists, were playing at one of the tables, but that was all. The newcomer's gaze fixed on the trio, and the deck in Christopher's hand. He approached them immediately.

"Y-you there. Kettou da."

Christopher looked the new arrival up and down. The man seemed to twitch slightly. Chris moved the fringe of his hair out of his eyes, to get a better look at this potential opponent.
"Christopher Murray. Who are you?"

The man seemed mildly irritated at the formalities, but managed to hide it in his response.
"The name is Roland. Saives. So? What say you, Mr. Murray?"

Chris hesitated. This man was decidedly creepy, but it felt a little silly to turn down a duel, whilst sitting in the dueling section of a hobby store.

"Yeah, okay. Gimme a minute?" Chris replied, gesturing to one of the tables. One that was not particularly near to the trio. Roland took the hint, and nodded, moving away toward the indicated table to wait.

"What's the matter, Chris?" Remni instantly asked. He had been able to immediately sense some shift in his visiting friend.

"I never told you just why I left the tournament that day, did I? It was down to just us... only one more duelist had to fall before the semifinals. I was standing with the other three Cyber Lords... do you remember?"

Remni shook his head. He did not quite understand. He did not even know what Chris meant by 'the other three Cyber Lords'.

"Something happened. One minute I was discussing strategy with Sopian, and then... nothing. No answer. No sign of why. No trace of Sopian in my mind anywhere. The duels I've had since then... I can still feel Sopian, when I draw the card, but... that day, that shock, that empty feeling... that was why I withdrew from the Championship. I'm not sure I could have won it without Sopian, and I'm not sure I'd have wanted to."

Remni shook his head and shrugged. He still did not quite get it.

"I just felt something, Rem. I felt like this duel might finally be the answer to where my avatar is, or if it's changed..."
Chris said this as he rose to his feet, to move to where Roland still twitched impatiently. Remni got up as well, causing Chris to pause and look back at Hikari.

"You sure she'll be alright by herself?"

Remni nodded, the glint of determination in his eyes again.
"She'll be okay. Besides, the sooner I understand this, or Sopian 'comes back', the sooner we can help her stop being like this."

Christopher nodded his acknowledgement of Remni's words, and moved to the dueling table, sliding into the seat opposite Roland. Remni moved into the best position from which he could watch. Almost instantly, he found himself dragged into the mindspace, and Roland Saives' Kaijudo immediately expressed what seemed like deep relief. His twitch stopped, his dark eyes seemed to gain focus, and he sat up straight in his chair. Tendrils of dark Kaijudo snaked out from him, instantly reminding Remni of Taimi.

"Coin flip?" Christopher offered. This was no tournament nor was it particularly important a duel, so they could use the old way of deciding who got the choice of first or second. Roland nodded, and called tails, winning the toss.

"Cryptic Totem to mana then. End turn."
The bubbling sound of a swamp, followed by the croak of what sounded like some large bird, manifested in the minds of the duelists. Christopher's first move was, obviously, the charging of Water mana. An Aqua Surfer. The shift caused water in the far end of that swamp to clear up, and bubble, as if some deep underwater chasm had appeared there.

"Terror Pit to mana. End turn."
The swamp now darkened, black tendrils rising out of it like wiggling reeds. Chris placed his Aqua Jolter into his mana zone, and his mental form appeared over the area of the swamp that seemed to be slowly changing its composition to purer water. As the darkness cleared, one could see down into the water, where the huge underwater facility had appeared. Sopian's base of operations still existed, even if its director could not be found...

"Summon Aqua Trickster," Chris declared. A surge of water from the facility door below, and the Liquid ninja agent barely broke the surface of the 'swamp', its eyes scanning the enemy territory. Of course, this caused Chris to end his turn.

"Cranium Clamp to mana. Summon Bloody Squito. End turn."
Remni watched as the black tendrils seemed to 'investigate' the pure water area, dissipating as they did so. Roland frowned. He could not seem to get anything from this opponent... yet.

"Sopian to mana."
Those words alone made it clear to Remni just what Chris had meant before. Even without the creature on the field, playing it at all seemed to make dormant sections of the facility come into full activation. A new member of Sopian's Liquid People army appeared, and rapid music spread out through the water. The Aqua Strummer.

Chris sighed, and said something to the effect of 'ew' as he looked at the top five cards of his deck. The effect played out in their minds much more like troop movements within the facility, but at the end of it, Christopher still seemed unsatisfied.

Roland drew a Bone Spider, and placed it into mana, summoning Trixo, Wicked Doll. The cackle of the creature echoed out over the stillness of the world, as it floated there, ready to do the bidding of the transparent creature that they could now barely perceive to be floating around Roland's mental form.

Chris considered his options. Without the Bone Spider there, power was a good way to go. With Trixo there, he stood a chance of his creatures being consumed before they got into battle. He made his decision, placing his Aqua Guard into his mana zone.

"Spiral Gate, on your Bloody Squito, and evolve Aqua Trickster into Crystal Spinslicer!"
The blue light shone from the water, and the ice combatant rose out of it, instantly freezing the surface to stand on it. Roland growled under his breath again. This Kaijudo was too strong for him to simply absorb, in his current state. He would need to actually start to dominate the duel before anything much could happen.

"Aqua Strummer, ikei."
The powerful subsonic wave from the creature's heavy strum was all that was required to shatter the first of Roland's shields. It did not trigger. The turn passed to Roland.

"Terradragon Gamiratar, to mana. Cast Death Smoke on your Crystal Spinslicer."
A dank, putrid fog rose out of the swamp now, bubbling up quickly around the icy centaur. It soon sank into the water, and Roland breathed a relieved sigh. Things were about to turn around. Already, some of the energy output from the facility had drained away into the swamp. Now, it was time to continue the effort.

"Trixo, ikei..." The Wicked Doll let out what could only be described as a screech of delight, as it moved forward, sending its dark energy into the water, and shattering the shield. The fragments came under its telekinetic control, and soon the Aqua Strummer was also no more.

"Shield Trigger. Spiral Gate."
Trixo's laughter was cut short as it realized it was now being dragged away into the depths by the power of the spell. A bubble, a gurgle, and it was gone, not destroyed, but certainly returned to the force which had spawned it.

Remni watched the vivid imagery in awe. This was even more intense, to his mind, than the duel he had witnessed between Yodaz and the other dude.
"I... don't think I've ever seen them interact like this before... all the rest of the time it's mostly been my creatures stuck in someone else's world..."

Now, he was subjected to the most vivid imagery of all. The sound of an underwater elevator, the opening of a bubble port on top of the facility, and a creature, wrapped in a mass of hydro-optic cables, shook off some, and rose to the surface. Sopian...

Remni found something very strange at this point. He could perceive Sopian clearly, and the energy the avatar gave off, but Chris did not seem to notice. Almost as if something were blocking the young man's perception of his avatar's presence. Sopian turned, looked wistfully at Christopher's form for a moment, but was instantly snapped back to attention by Roland's summon. A Locomotiver. A Crystal Lancer card lost from Chris' hand. A Bloody Squito was summoned alongside it.

Chris took a quick glance at Roland's mana zone. A Crow Winger had just been placed there.
"Water hate too... I summon Aqua Trickster. End turn."

"I summon Essence Elf, and cast Mana Crisis..."
One of the energy supply lines of the facility was instantly destroyed. The Sopian from mana went to grave. The summoned Sopian seemed to flinch. Chris still did not seem to notice, simply drawing his card and summoning an Aqua Trickster. The tendrils began to close in on the facility more. The lights dimmed, and Remni watched as Sopian became more and more agitated. The avatar seemed to be trying to tell Chris something, but yet again, something was blocking it from reaching Chris. In fact, Remni could not 'hear' what Sopian was trying to convey either, which he found strange. As if somehow, something had muted Chris' avatar.

"Summon Trixo, Wicked Doll. End turn."
Christopher regarded the problem, and summoned an Aqua Guard to deal with it. A moment later, a new Bloody Squito appeared, and Death Smoke engulfed the Aqua Guard. Trixo moved in to strike another shield. The Aqua Trickster was the one to sacrifice itself.

The shield triggered, an Aqua Jolter appearing instantly. Roland's turn ended.

"I summon Aqua Hulcus..." Christopher noted, drawing his card. The Aqua Jolter stood next to Sopian now, and they seemed to be discussing something. Sopian looked at Trixo, and at the Squitos, analyzing their movements, then finally, plugged something into the Jolter, downloading data in a fraction of a second. The Jolter took off into battle then, dodging the efforts of the Squito, to block it, and slashed into Trixo.

The Wicked Doll did not take kindly to this, and gave as good as it got, but soon fell into the swamp with a squeak and a splash. The Jolter soon followed, and Roland seemed to breathe easier as the liquid one's 'corpse' dissipated into the swamp.

Roland's next turn was uneventful, simply a Crow Winger summon. Chris drew his card and charged mana. Another Aqua Surfer, then summoned an Aqua Guard. The Hulcus was now the one to receive Sopian's analysis data, and it streaked through Roland's defenses to break a second shield.

"As I said. Water hate isn't fun..." Chris noted, looking at the Crow Winger disdainfully. A new Trixo appeared, and that Crow Winger descended with a screech on the Aqua Hulcus, destroying it and providing more 'food' for Roland's swamp. They could still barely see the creature floating around near Roland, but now, it spoke, scoldingly.

"There's barely any! No complaining!"
The voice of a Snow Faerie. It surprised both Chris and Remni to hear the admonishing cute female voice. Roland seemed far too creepy and dark a person to have such a 'cute' avatar.

Chris summoned an Aqua Soldier, and ended his turn. Roland's turn made good use of the power of his Essence Elf. The first spell was Mana Crisis, and the Elf's power made up for some of the mana he would have needed, destroying yet another energy line. The lights dimmed again. The Aqua Surfer card went into mana.

The second spell was Proclamation of Death. The Soldier of course, took the brunt of this, disappearing. The Crow Winger broke one shield. Chris immediately summoned the Aqua Soldier again, but it was over. Roland's next card sealed it. A Terror Pit. The tendrils immediately grabbed the Aqua Guard and dragged its flailing form into the swampy blackness. Trixo cackled with glee and moved in against another shield. This one did not trigger. The Essence Elf's power shattered another, and finally, the Crow Winger swooped down on the facility, ending the battle.

Charmilia made what looked like a gesture of respect, to Sopian, who had been left untouched, the only creature remaining. Sopian seemed to give off a grudgingly respectful response. One could not tell if Charmilia received it.

Chris swooned in his chair for a moment. Roland had drained him more than was originally apparent. Remni felt his anger surge. This person was just as bad, if not worse than, Juravis. They literally fed off other people. He could not allow another friend of his to...

"Hey! Kettou da!" he found himself speaking the words before he even knew if this was really something he wanted to get himself into. Still, deep within, he could feel that blazing drive. This was unacceptable behaviour from anyone. Kaijudo did not give you the right to push anyone around, 'break their minds', or 'steal their power'.

Roland grinned, the unhealthy looking gums showing.
"Of course, of course. I was hoping..."

Remni scowled, as Chris moved out of the chair, and into another one nearby, breathing heavily. Remni looked over at him, worried, for a moment, then back at Roland. Roland gestured that Remni should go first.

Remni's first mana card was Bombazar, Dragon of Destiny. Roland looked at the card and smirked slightly, then drew his own sixth card.
"I see. Fine, why not? Charmilia to mana. End turn. You're going to be a quick one, are you?"

Remni placed a Phantom Dragon's Flame into his mana zone, and ended his turn. Roland did the same with a Terror Pit, and summoned his Essence Elf.

"Emeral to mana. Summon Bronze-Arm Tribe!" The Beast Folk's power sent Remni's Crystal Paladin from the top of his deck into his mana zone. Charmilia glanced at the creature and hissed slightly, but returned to simply swirling gleefully around Roland.

"Bloody Squito to mana. Cast Mana Crisis."
Remni found himself a bit disoriented for some reason when the swamp stole the energy from that particular mana card. Bombazar...

"Gonta, the Warrior Savage, to mana. Cast Phantom Dragon's Flame on your Essence Elf!"
Draconic vengeance scorched the Tree Folk out of existence, and a moment later, the Bronze-Arm Tribe moved swiftly through the swamp to break the first shield. The swamp seemed far shallower now that Christopher was no longer Roland's opponent. The shield triggered. Locomotiver. Fortunately for Remni, a Spiral Gate was all he lost.

Roland drew his card and charged mana. Cranium Clamp. A Crow Winger appeared in the swamp, and the Locomotiver slammed into the Bronze-Arm Tribe, both creatures destroyed.

Remni drew his card and charged mana. Comet Missile. He now summoned a new card. A week or so ago, he would have been summoning his own Crow Winger to face that of Roland, but since then he had made a change or two. Now, it was a Torcon that appeared. Roland did not seem worried, he simply summoned the Bloody Squito he now drew and ended turn.

"You're not quite as dangerous as your friend, but you certainly are energetic," Roland smirked as Remni charged an Emeral to mana. Roland responded with a Death Smoke on Torcon. It would seem, to many, to be a bit of overkill, but a moment later the reason why was revealed. Remni placed his Soulswap into mana, and ended his turn. There had been nothing to use it on.

"Patience is my only weapon, kid... Crow Winger to mana. Summon Cryptic Totem."
Remni sighed, and summoned the card he drew as well. Quixotic Hero, Swine Snout. The Cryptic Totem loomed above the swamp, ready to move in at any moment. Roland drew his card, and smirked. He could make use of this. The situation favored it.

"Summon Terradragon Gamiratar!"
Normally the energy of the Terradragon coming into being would be so great that the opponent would be able to harness some to bring their own creature into play. Remni had no cards in his hand. Gamiratar came into the battle zone alone. Huge and intimidating. Roland was, as he said, patient. He did not attack. Remni drew his card and summoned the Emeral.

"In the end, patience is all a duelist like me can truly use..." Roland nodded, as the Swine Snout now charged in to break another shield. It shattered, and triggered. Another Mana Crisis. The energy drained from Remni made his head hurt again. His Gonta disappeared from his mana zone. Roland merely summoned an Essence Elf and a Trixo, and ended his turn. Still patient, even knowing that he was in danger. He did not even try to counterattack the Hero.

Remni drew his card, and cast Soulswap. The Cryptic Totem vanished in a powerful howl of energy, and a Crow Winger was all that came out of the swamp to replace it. Swine Snout charged again, shattering the shield without trigger, and Emeral soon followed. The shield it hit was a Proclamation of Death, and the Emeral itself suffered the effect. The Cyber Lord's death in the swamp seemed to make Roland even more pleased. Now, he was ready.

"I summon Charmilia, the Enticer!"
The power that burst out at Remni from Roland's avatar finally taking form, was unmistakable. Trixo moved in, on Charmilia's command, to shatter a shield, and take down the Swine Snout at the same time. Yet, Roland still did not attack further. Remni drew an Aqua Surfer, and it instantly came into play, a surge of energy driving back Gamiratar.

Roland instantly summoned the card he drew. Locomotiver. There was a faint roaring sound as Remni's Magmadragon Jagalzor disappeared from his hand. Charmilia spun on her snowflake, activating her powers, to bring a Bloody Squito to Roland. Trixo cackled, and moved again.

The shield triggered, but Torcon's efforts did nothing to save the Surfer from Trixo's effect. Again, Roland ended his turn. Again, Roland was patient.

"Hm... I will hope..." he actually said, as Remni summoned a Bronze-Arm Tribe. Roland knew his deck well, and the chances of that final shield being a Terror Pit were just enough to keep him feeling confident.

Torcon made its attack, and the howling darkness that proceeded after the shattering shield, confirmed Roland's faith in his deck. Terror Pit. The Bronze-Arm Tribe was dragged away. There was no need to attack the Torcon directly on his next turn. He smiled at Remni, and a Bloody Squito buzzed into existence. Vines and darkness soon produced the Terradragon Gamiratar yet again. It was not truly that important, however. Roland had been 'patient' enough now.

"Trixo, ikei!" --this shield did not trigger-- "Essence Elf, ikei!" --but this one did. Another Soulswap. The Crow Winger vanished into the vortex, and the Squito buzzed out, but the Locomotiver was already on the move, toward the last shield. It shattered without incident. The final defense was gone.

The shark-like grin now widened on the Snow Faerie's face. She always liked this part.
"Charmilia, the Enticer... todomeda!"

Remni only felt a twinge of his own anger remaining, as Charmilia's swirling magic brought the full power of the swamp to bear, sapping his psionic energy, drawing it out of him, and into Roland's dark world. He struggled to keep his eyes open, looking over at Christopher as his vision blurred, and finally, he simply slumped forward onto the table...