Episode 88. - Other Pole, Magnetic Personality

There was a pause, a long silence between the men Allen Juravis had asked to guard his 'new toy', and the two duelists that had decided to make their bid for escape. Then, almost simultaneously, the smaller man burst out laughing, and the larger mumbled...

"You're kidding, right?"
Kaithar fixed him with a cold glare, and began to shuffle her deck.

"Now I am sure you both know that detaining someone against their will is a serious offense..." she began, "And furthermore, if we attempt to escape and you restrain us with force, especially particularly powerful force, it will count as assault, which will be an even more serious crime in the eyes of the state..."

Remni found himself grinning at the way this was going. She definitely could turn even simple things into complex logic.

"Therefore I strongly suggest that you both simply duel us, as I know you can, and at least then you have a chance of managing to detain us here without further sullying your criminal records. I don't think you want to be 'known by the authorities' over this, do you?"

The two men looked at each other, then reluctantly shook their heads at Kaithar. As if on command, both of them took cases out of their pockets, one from jeans, the other from jacket, and flicked them open. Kaithar smiled.

"We're going first, though!" the smaller man declared, shuffling his deck rapidly. The bigger man handed his own to the smaller to shuffle as well. He did so quite quickly, as if he were used to doing it far more than most.

"Deploy shields."
Upon Kaithar's words, they all did so, and immediately, the disorienting feeling of three other sources of Kaijudo in such a small space swept over Remni Yokura's mind. His opponent charged water mana. An Aqua Strummer. A quick glance to his right revealed that Kaithar's opponent had charged nature mana. An Ambush Scorpion.

"Aqua Hulcus to mana," Kaithar declared. Remni said nothing, but placed a Ten-Ton Crunch into his mana zone. Kaithar looked across at him.

"You didn't gain any power from that. Try declaring it... it helps beginners visualize," she said softly to him, as she watched her opponent now draw a Galek, the Shadow Warrior, and place it into his mana zone.

"They're not doing it," Remni pointed out, as his own adversary drew and charged practically the opposite card. Aqua Skydiver. Kaithar drew her next card, and placed a Crystal Lancer into mana, also without declaring it.

"They're not beginners to Kaijudo. Allen trains them both. I am simply giving you the benefit of the knowledge they already have. Declare, and visualize."

Remni sighed, and made a face, but nevertheless...
"Quixotic Hero to mana. Summon Quixotic Hero. End turn."

The pig came bounding out of his forest, rider at the ready. It's hoof pawed at the sandy shoreline, and both swine and rider eyed the enemy warily.

Kaithar's opponent seemed to sense this, but paid little attention.
"Xeno Mantis, to mana. Summon Gray Balloon, Shadow of Greed."

The ghost swirled into being, but before Remni could even feel the chill of its presence, his own opponent made their declaration of...
"Aqua Surfer to mana, summon Aqua Strummer!"

The notes blasted into Remni's mind immediately, instantly making him wish that he could somehow silence it as the effect took place. With no such luck, he could only wait for his opponent to finish rearranging their cards and end their turn. Meanwhile, Kaithar had already made her own next move, charging light mana and summoning her Aqua Hulcus.

Remni swayed slightly, wondering why his opponent suddenly seemed to be giving off nearly twice as much Kaijudo as they had a moment before. The Strummer did not seem to be their avatar, yet something had caused that incredible increase. He drew his card.

"Magmadragon Jagalzor to mana. Summon Bronze-Arm Tribe!"
The summon only barely made his own psychic energy push against his opponent's currently overwhelming force. One of his Pyrofighter Magnus went to his mana zone by the effect of the Bronze-Arm Tribe, and as usual, Remni did not hesitate.

"Quixotic Hero, ikei!"
The shield shattered without trigger, and his turn ended. Kaithar's opponent had already charged their own mana. Bombazar, Dragon of Destiny, but Remni had not even noticed.

"Pierr, Psycho Doll, to mana, and I evolve Aqua Hulcus into Crystal Spinslicer!" Kaithar now laughed, sending the ice warrior into battle immediately, "Now summon Pierr, Psycho Doll! Spinslicer, ikei!"

"Gray Balloon, block the attack..."
Remni could not focus on that. His own opponent's move had caused his entire body to tremble for a moment with the sheer weight of Kaijudo it had sprung upon him. They had not attacked his Quixotic Hero nor removed it. Instead, they had placed one Tanzanyte, the Awakener, into their mana zone, the instant surge of power revealing it to be their avatar... and then gone one better. Transmogrify.

Now, rather than the little Aqua Strummer, the huge Spirit Quartz loomed just off his sunny shore. His opponent's turn had ended, but Remni found himself feeling almost completely paralyzed. He placed a Ten-Ton Crunch into his mana zone, but just before his fingers left the card, he felt the presence of Bombazar...

Swiftly, the young duelist's mind reviewed his options, even as Kaithar's opponent revealed the reason why they had blocked the attack. A double summon. Ancient Horn, the Watcher, and an Ambush Scorpion.

"Lucky Ball to mana!" Remni declared now, "Cast Soulswap on my Bronze-Arm Tribe, to bring out my Magmadragon Jagalzor! And cast Spiral Gate on your Tanzanyte!"

The Kaijudo reversal in that instant was so extreme that it caused Kaithar to squinch her face as if a very loud noise had gone off in her left ear. She paused her own next turn to let Remni's full move play out.

"Quixotic Hero, ikei... Jagalzor, double break! Ikei!"
He barely needed to pause. This duel was under his control after all, and probably going to be an extremely quick finish. Kaithar placed her Hide and Seek into her mana zone, and summoned another Aqua Hulcus.

"Spinslicer, ikei." The shield shattered again without any trigger. Her opponent placed another Ambush Scorpion into their mana zone, and summoned another Gray Balloon. For a moment they seemed to contemplate attacking somehow, but Pierr danced wildly before their creatures. At least one was sure to meet death at the hands of the Psycho Doll. Turn ended.

"Swamp Worm to mana. Summon Aqua Skydiver. End turn."
Remni smiled at this. For his opponent to declare their moves indicated strongly that they were in need of focus and power.

"It's too late for you though. Gonta, the Warrior Savage, to mana, and cast Ten-Ton Crunch on your Aqua Skydiver! Quixotic Hero, ikei--"

"Shield trigger. Aqua Surfer!" The Liquid one swept away the mighty Jagalzor just as Kaithar's Aqua Hulcus evolved into the mighty Crystal Lancer and followed the Spinslicer in, to deliver an attack that shattered three shields total. No triggers.

"We're going to defeat them. And swiftly. This is good."

Melnia answered Bombazar with little more than a shake of the head to indicate that it might not, after all, be that simple. Remni's opponent now drew a card and placed it into mana. Aqua Skydiver. More importantly, they cast a spell. An insidious spell. One that reached into Remni's very core, and yanked the Dragon of Destiny right out of him. Slash Charger.

"And now, Aqua Surfer, destroy that 'Hero'. Ikei."
The Surfer's board slashed into Remni's Quixotic Hero as the wave brought the liquid one up onto the beach. With no allies, and no new enemies, Swine Snout was at the Surfer's mercy.

Remni squeezed his eyes shut in pain, but it was no use. The psionic effect was inescapable. He barely noticed the spike in Kaijudo when Kaithar's opponent cursed, then placed an Ancient Horn into their mana zone. His attention was captured a moment later, though...

"I summon Bombazar, Dragon of Destiny! Bombazar, destroy the Crystal Spinslicer! Ikei!"
The blast of flamebreath was blocked at first. The Spinslicer immediately went into action, flinging bladed discs of metallic ice at the great Dragon, but Bombazar's wings took the strikes easily, giving him enough time to send another huge blast of breath down at the Spinslicer and finish it. Remni's mind spun. The person had just summoned the very card he had lost, and yet, even in that, he could not sense the power of an avatar.

"What's the matter, kid? Not taking your turn? Giving up already?" the young Asian laughed at him. He turned back to his opponent with a furious glare.

"I never give up like that! Scarlet Skyterror to mana! Summon Magmadragon Jagalzor!"
The mighty roar once again filled the sky, and Jagalzor was instantly back. His opponent chuckled a little, and made his move.

"Aqua Hulcus to mana. Summon Thrash Crawler to retrieve my Aqua Skydiver, and just to make sure you don't get any strange ideas, I'll summon the Skydiver too. End turn."

Kaithar had not hesitated to summon her own avatar, but the energy she gave off did not exactly comfort Remni nor make him feel any more stable. Just a few minutes before, he had been dueling her, even if she did seem different now, it was still a bit too soon for him to draw any comfort from Melnia's appearance in the adjoining battle zone. Kaithar went straight for her opponent's final shield, rather than attacking Bombazar at all. No trigger.

"I don't need 'strange ideas'," Remni said confidently, "I have a deck that is pure speed and power. I summon a second Magmadragon Jagalzor, and attack with the first! Ikei!"

The Aqua Skydiver easily got in the way of the great Dragon, and Remni found that his opponent was clearly not 'finished'. Kaithar's, on the other hand, seemed to be on the ropes. There was nothing they could do to stop the Crystal Lancer, nor Melnia, directly.

"Ugh. One mana short. You're crazy, you know that, Naz?" he grumbled.

"Kaithar," she corrected, as he made what was almost sure to be his final move of the duel. A Wind-Axe, Warrior Savage, appeared, and its axe cleaved right through Pierr with no fuss. A new mana card appeared, and he used it for his final desperate tactic. He knew full well that there was a chance of her mustering the level of power needed to disable him at the end of this duel, and his instructions were to keep Remni there no matter what.

"I summon... Mykee's Pliers!"
The surge of energy befitting of an avatar swirled up around him now in a powerful barrier, as his Bombazar moved in against the first two shields. One shattered without incident. The other revealed an Aqua Skydiver. No matter what he had done, it was over. Yet he did not let up. His Ancient Horn charged, smashing right into that Skydiver as it blocked, and the Ambush Scorpion quickly sliced into the next shield, followed closely by Wind Axe. No more triggers. Regardless of all else, he was now sure that he had managed to put up enough of a fight that she could not overwhelm his mind.

He was wrong.
"Isn't this cute... Vile Mulder, Wing of the Void, to mana! Summon Aqua Guard, and evolve it into Crystal Lancer! Melnia! Todomeda!"

The image of Melnia rushing forward with two of the most powerful incarnations of Liquid People in the Water Civilization, was enough to lay her opponent out cold, completely. She grinned, exactly as Nazca had, and turned to Remni. With only one guard now, and it being the smaller of the two, they could easily escape.

Remni was too deep into the duel, now. The mental link between him and the other duelist was far too strong for her to even push her own thoughts in, directly.
"He's not going to be able to just stop... maybe we should just grab him... but will he be in any condition to drive away from here if we do?"

"Summon Aqua Skydiver, and Thrash Crawler, to return my Slash Charger to my hand..." the youth grumbled. He had been wanting to summon two Skydivers, but there had not been enough mana for that play.

"I summon Quixotic Hero! Jagalzor, ikei!"
The Aqua Skydiver blocked the first attack, escaping back to the hand of the duelist, but the second Jagalzor's flame easily incinerated the Thrash Crawler that now kept it from its goal.

"Phal Eega, Dawn Guardian, to mana. Summon Aqua Skydiver one, and two!" the young man panted, his Kaijudo dipping perceptibly. Bombazar would finish this in an instant if he were to appear, and both of them knew that.

"You won't get away!" Remni declared, "Summon Missile Soldier Ultimo! Jagalzor! Ikei!"

Again, the Skydiver got into the way, and Remni's attempt at getting his opponent into a position advantageous to him by attacking with the Swine Snout on the next attempt, got him nowhere. The Thrash Crawler gladly ate the Beast Folk up, and the second Skydiver interfered when the second Jagalzor dove in to scorch the body of the Earth Eater.

"You can only stall for so long. I will inevitably come for you, and I will end this."
The other duelist visibly shuddered at the commanding voice of Bombazar, but a response soon came. A response in a voice carrying the timbre of shards of falling glass...

"Your little luck with your spell saved you from my own wrath, or this scuffle would have been long since over, Dragon. Do not forget that!"
Between their minds, one could hear Bombazar scoff. Remni's opponent drew a new card, and summoned his Skydivers again.

"I summon Gonta, the Warrior Savage! Jagalzor, ikei!"
Again, the Skydivers got in the way of the mighty dragons, but the situation left Remni's opponent feeling only one thing...

"There's no way I can last long enough without Tanzanyte or something insane happening... so... gotta be crazy and hope..." he drew his next card, and placed the Phal Eega into his mana zone, "Magic, don't let me down now... Transmogrify!"

The Aqua Surfer, which had been sitting patiently watching the battle since it had dealt with the Quixotic Hero, now underwent a gruesome shift, to become...

A Thrash Crawler.

"Agh! So close! One more mana and you'd be held! But I'm no idiot. There's no way I'm letting you knock me out too. Cast Slash Charger!"

In terms of game tactics, this made no sense at all, but in the wider scope of things, Remni's opponent was now displaying remarkable foresight. The card that the darkness spell practically ripped out of Remni's mind, was his other Bombazar, Dragon of Destiny...

Remni choked, and staggered. Victory was unmistakably, undeniably his, and yet, he had been robbed of something precious within. There was silence in his mind.

"Time... to end this..." he gasped, drawing his card. He did not declare the attacks. His creatures moved forward together in unison in their minds, and finally, his opponent felt the vengeful heat of Magmadragon Jagalzor.

"Come on!" Kaithar urged now, swiftly gathering up Remni's cards for him and ushering him around the table. He moved sluggishly, weakly, but his opponent was not in much better shape. A powerful kick to the side of the knee, from Kaithar, and the man went down easily, groaning in pain. Together, they heaved their weight against the door, and on the second such attempt, it flew open, causing them both to stumble out into bright daylight again.

"Can you drive?" she asked, the urgency in her voice piercing through the haze of his mind.

"I-I think so..." he stammered, but his slight speech slurring did not inspire any confidence in Kaithar at all, regarding the factual level of that statement.

"We'll have to go in my car!" she decided instantly, but halfway there, a figure stepped out from beside Remni's 3000 GT and a wave of Kaijudo stopped them both instantly.

"That's far enough..." came the slightly rasping voice, "I'll take him. I've come to help."
Remni found himself looking at the newcomer in a slight daze. He could feel a strong familiarity in this person, both in appearance and in Kaijudo...

"What, you expect me to just believe that and hand him over to you? What would possibly make you think I'd believe you could be trusted?!"

The dark-haired one sighed softly and said, "Nothing, but you know quite well that an ally of Allen's is going to be right there with you if you take him. The enemy within."

"How do you... how do you even know about her?!"
Now, Kaithar found herself confused. This character was already exceedingly suspicious, and yet she found herself feeling the need to trust him, despite every logical reasoning to the contrary. She quickly calculated mentally, weighing her options.

"There's no time for that!" came the cry, the dark rasping undertone in the youth's voice again, "Even if you can hold her off, eventually she will betray you both to Juravis! He's coming with me!"

With some reluctance, Kaithar nodded, helping Remni to the passenger side of his own vehicle. The other young man reached over the car, with only the imperative "Keys!"

To Kaithar's surprise, Remni did not hesitate to hand them over. Within seconds, the door was unlocked, they were both safely inside the vehicle, and the engine had started.
"Oh, and one more thing, Miss Weaver..." came the voice of he who was now driver of the black car, "It would be safer for both you and us if you forgot what happened once you came out that door... to prevent... information leaks."

"It's no use. She'll remember. She'll tell him everything that happened if he asks."

"Oh. You misunderstand me. I was just warning you."
With that, she felt a powerful Kaijudo penetrate her mind, then the sound of a rasping growl, and a hiss, then, blackness.

When Nazca Weaver came to, fifteen minutes later, she found herself sitting on the ground near where Remni Yokura had parked before following her into the building.
"He's gone? How is that... possible?"

Within her, both sides of Melnia instantly began to search for the answer. For the memory that would explain what they were doing sitting outside in the dust, but soon, Nazca's thoughts crystallized as the truth became clear...

"Nothing... We got the door open, stumbled outside... and then... I don't remember! Impossible! That kid was totally out of it! There's no way his power, whatever it is, could have done this to me without a fight! He's just a..."

"Dragon of Destiny..." Kaithar finished, the echo in her mind. Nazca growled, got up, dusting herself off, and flicked open her cellular phone, dialing furiously, then growling as it rang...

"Hello, Allen? It's Naz... your 'Dragon' has escaped from the 'dungeon'..."