Episode 116: Salia and Koga's First Duel
Across town, Salia is scrubbing dirt stains off a plate.
Salia: Jeez….work just sucks now. I miss Seth already.
Arnold: There's nothing to be done. Until he comes back we'll…
Man: Excuse me, can I order now!?
Arnold: Right sorry, that's a burger with two sides of fries right?
Man: Yeah! Hurry it up already!
Arnold: Fine, fine. Koga, get his dinner ready. Salia, a clean plate and soda please.
Salia: Right.
Koga starts flipping the burger, Salia starts filling a soda and Arnold counts money as all three sigh.
Koga, Salia, and Arnold: Things were better with Seth.
Opening
After work, all three sit down at a booth and sigh. Koga is eating a burger as Salia wipes something on her hands and Arnold flexes his wrists.
Salia: No matter how many pairs of rubber gloves I wear, my skin always peels after work.
Arnold: At least you have something to do. I just sit there down all day taking ungrateful fat slobs' orders for disgusting and greasy food. I never want to see another yen as long as I live…
Koga: Look on the bright side; we get all the free food we can eat.
Salia: That's not the point! Ever since Seth left, we've been left in the dark! Yusuke and the others never bothered to even come into contact with us! It's almost like we only were allowed along because of Seth!
Arnold: Well it's not like we ever did anything major. If anything, we just supported Seth.
Salia: So what!? We've still been there through thick and thin! We were there for Pandora! For Armen! There's no way we'll being left out of this one too!
Koga: But what are we supposed to do about it?
Salia: Simple! We're going to march right up to them and tell them we want….no, we need more respect! Come on!
Arnold and Koga: Right!
They all prepare to stand up.
Boss: Your lunch break is over.
Arnold: …After work.
Elsewhere, everyone is sitting around their booth. Axel is eating a piece of pie and looking around nervously as everyone looks down.
Axel: So…
Tamika: Shut up.
Axel: I didn't even say anything!
Tamika: It was probably going to be something obnoxious.
Axel: Well EXCUSE me for showing some sympathy over what happened with Dex! What, we're just going to wallow in self- pity?
Alicia: It's just…what could have happened? Where would he have disappeared to?
Yusuke: I…I just don't know. But the Brotherhood has to be behind it! They HAVE to be! There's no other possible explanation!
Tamika: We can't just say that. There's that Baron guy. And that Dante person as well. There are a lot of suspects.
Yusuke: No…it was the Brotherhood! I know it for a fact!
Axel: Yeah? Even if they were, what can we do? Other than their name, what do we really know about these guys? Nothing, zilp, zilch, nada. What can we really do?
Yusuke: Well…I don't know! But we can't just sit here doing nothing! We've got to fight back somehow right?!
Axel: I'm not disagreeing with you. But if we don't have a plan, there's no way we can win. These guys are serious. If we're not, we definitely won't win. That's all. Otherwise, we'll have more sacrifices.
Yusuke growls and shatters his glass. Alicia stands up in a hurry as Yusuke rubs his bleeding hand.
Yusuke: …Fine.
In a dark room, 11 of the 12 seats are taken.
Dog: Looks like Rooster isn't back yet.
Pig: What's wrong Dog? Miss her?
Dog: No. I just care about what happens to my comrades.
Pig: Hmph. If she got herself erased, that is her own fault. Good riddance.
Ox: Yo, new Rat, how about speaking up? You've been awfully silent. How about contributing something?
Rat: ….Huh?
Ox: Ugh, forget it! Like talking to a wall!
Vergil: Now, leave our new member alone. He needs some time to get acquainted with our new world. Soon he'll be ready though. On to the topic at hand though, the ones who wield the Fate Crystals are going to be a nuisance.
Rasputin: I agree. The sooner we get rid of them, the better off we'll be.
Horse: But how, if you don't mind me asking, do you expect us to do that? After all, Guardando could not succeed. Should we really risk the safety of another one of our High Order?
Vergil: Hm….excellent point Horse. …Perhaps we could call Vlad and Dracul. They've been asking for a chance to show themselves.
Rasputin: Are you sure they can be trusted though?
Vergil: How can we know unless we give them a chance? I say let's go for it and see how things are done.
Elsewhere, Salia and Koga rush quickly down the street as Arnold slowly follows.
Arnold: Are you sure about this?
Salia: Of course! We need to let them know how we feel! We're not keeping out of this battle, no matter what they say! They should even have asked us if we wanted to…
Arnold pulls her back as Tamika and Axel are talking.
Tamika: I've nee thinking. Salia, Koga, and Arnold. Don't you think we should…I dunno, at least consult them?
Axel: Why bother?
Tamika: I don't know. We owe Seth for all he's done. And he seems to trust them…
Axel: Absolutely not. Dex has already vanished; we don't need those losers getting involved.
Salia: Who are you calling…?!
Arnold covers her mouth as he struggles in anger.
Axel: Besides, Seth isn't here right now. If those guys get in trouble, he won't be there to get them out.
Tamika: So? Even if they can't help, shouldn't they at least know what's going on?
Axel: You kidding? That'll just make things worse. It's better just to leave them in the dark. They wouldn't be of any real help anyway. Seriously, have they ever made a difference?
Koga and Arnold look down. Tamika clenches her fist and snarls and slaps Axel across the face. He falls back and rubs his face.
Tamika: You can be such an a ss sometimes you know that?!
She storms off. Axel looks confused and races off.
Axel: What's with her?
Koga, Salia, and Arnold all collapse into fetal positions.
Arnold: So….useless, are we?
Koga: We're dumb. Why would they need our help? We only know them through Seth…
Arnold: Maybe we should just go back to the burger joint. Maybe they'll pay us overtime at least…
Salia: Guys…we can't give up. If they think we'll useless…then we'll prove them wrong! Tonight we find out what's going on!
Koga: But they said…
Salia: Who cares what they said?! If they don't think highly of us, fine. But we think highly of ourselves. And besides, we need to make this town safe for when Seth comes back home. And I don't know about you, but I'm willing to fight to make that happen!
Arnold: …Good show!
Koga: Let's go for it!
Tamika is racing down the road and looks at her hand.
Tamika: He's such a moron….and a jerk too. So….why am I…?
She shakes her head and keeps moving. Elsewhere, two men are sitting at a table.
???: Too damn bright. Come on sun, set already! Vlad wants to get hunting!
Vlad: I want to get hunting? Please Dracul; you're the one acting crazy. Don't worry, the sun will set soon. And soon it will rise no more.
Vlad: Yeah. Once we Harvest the souls of everyone here.
They snicker. That night, Yusuke is looking at a photo album with Alicia.
Alicia: Poor Dex…I hope he's okay.
Yusuke: Yeah…
Alicia: Hey…don't you think we should call Seth back? Sure, he said he wanted a break, but this is serious.
Yusuke: No. Seth deserves the chance to be a regular person. The fact is I'm King, even if the City hasn't held matches. This is our city, not his. He shouldn't have the burden of saving it. That's up to us.
Alicia: But…
Yusuke: Don't worry. I'll save Dex. And I'll protect all of you, no matter what. But still…
Baron: The way you are now, you will never be able to defeat them
Yusuke's mother: Are you two okay? Would you like something to eat?
Yusuke: No! We're fine!
Yusuke's mother: Well…okay….
Alicia: It must be nice to have your mother back. I see. You want to protect her from the darkness especially.
Yusuke: ….Yeah.
In town, Salia looks from behind a building and signals. She runs off with Arnold and Koga trailing behind her.
Koga: Where are we going anyway? We've been running around in circles all night. I'm tired. And hungry.
Salia: We're scoping out the town. You never know when someone's going to take their chance to strike.
Arnold: You two are moving too slow. Tell you what, you can go your way, I'll go mine.
He runs off as Salia and Koga pout.
Salia: Jerk. Fine, we'll make our own path.
They walk off. Elsewhere, two black sensors glow. Vlad and Dracul grin.
Vlad: Time to get to work.
Salia and Koga keep walking when fog sets in.
Koga: Where'd this fog come from? Maybe we should turn back, it's getting dark.
Salia: What? Come on, don't tell me you're scared of a little fog!
Vlad: You should be…
Out of the fog, Vlad and Dracul jump out. Koga and Salia freak out when they land. Dracul and Vlad clap their hands together.
Both: Shadow Game!
A dark ring is drawn and black fog covers the arena. Salia and Koga look around in shock. All the Fate Crystals glow as everyone looks down.
Yusuke: No…
Alicia: Someone else now?!
Axel: Damn…
Arnold: No…Salia! Koga!
Koga: What is this?!
Salia: You…you're the bad guys.
Dracul: "Bad guys?" You don't even know our names? Hey, are these guys really Fate Crystal holders?
Vlad: Who knows? The signal went off. But this can't be right.
Salia: I'll have you know we are! We won't let them escape!
Koga: Y-Yeah. We uh…left them at home!
Dracul: Huh? Look, there's probably a misunderstanding here so…
Vlad: I don't mind. Even if they aren't telling the truth, they'll be nice warm-ups.
Dracul: Eh…I suppose. Alright, bring it!
All 4 activate their Duel Disks.
All 4: Duel! [Koga LP = 4000][Salia LP = 4000][Vlad LP = 4000][Dracul LP = 4000]
Salia: I'll start things off! Draw. I've been taking dueling lessons from Seth. Time to see if they paid off! I summon Gellenduo in defense mode [ATK 1700/DEF 0 LV 4]. I set two cards and end my turn. Shadow Game…what did those guys mean?
Dracul: My turn! Here's how things are gunna work. We'll following Separate Tag Rules. Basically, you're my opponent, and Vlad's fighting that pudgy friend.
Vlad: You have separate fields and life, but you can choose to help each other out.
Dracul: Not like it'll do any good. I summon Hellfire Spearman Ghost Lancer [ATK 2000/DEF 0 LV 4]. Now I place five cards face down and end my turn.
Koga: Here we go! D-Draw. I can't believe Salia got me caught up in this…but I guess I'll have to go through with it. I summon Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke [ATK 1800/DEF 1000 LV 4]. I set two cards and end my turn.
Vlad: Here we go, draw.
Dracul: Trap card, Interdimensional Matter Transporter. Now my monster is removed from play.
Salia: Eh?
Vlad: Since my opponent or opponents in this case, have two more monsters than I do, I can summon Power Invader right to the field [ATK 2200/DEF 0 LV 5]. I set three cards and end my turn. At this time, my friend's Hellfire Spearman comes back [ATK 2000/DEF 0 LV 4].
Salia: Don't really see the point, but whatever. Draw! Yes! Ritual Spell, Dawn of the Herald. This lets me send the proper amount of Ritual Material monsters to the graveyard whose total levels equal 6. From my hand, I send Herald of Orange Light and Herald of Green Light. Trap card, Double Load. From my deck, I can send Ritual material monsters to the graveyard as well [Freya, Spirit of Victory and Kuribon].
A ritual appears and all four are absorbed.
Salia: Come forth, Herald of Perfection [ATK 1600/DEF 2800 LV 6]. As there are four Fairy type monsters in my graveyard, I can Special Summon Archlord Kristya [ATK 2800/DEF 2300 LV 8]. Using his effect, I take a Fairy monster and place it in my hand. I then change Gellenduo to attack mode [ATK 1700/DEF 0 LV 4]. Battle! Archlord Kristya attacks your Hellfire Spearman!
It punches the monster as it blows up. Dracul laughs slightly [Dracul LP = 3200].
Salia: Go, direct attack!
Dracul: Trap card, Negate Attack!
The attack is blocked.
Salia: But...why now? Turn end.
Dracul: Draw! I can't Special Summon monsters. But we'll fix that. Trap card, Fiendish Chain! This negates the effect of Kristya and prevents it from attacking.
Salia: Herald of Perfection's effect! I discard a card and negate your Trap.
Dracul: Fool! You emptied your hand! Trap, Fiendish Chain!
Salia: Another one?!
Dracul: Using this, I negate the effect of Herald of Perfection. Then, since its effect is negated, it no longer affects the Chain working on Kristya!
Salia: No way…
Dracul: You emptied your hand. When running a Herald deck, that's a big mistake. Come on, Hellfire Sleeping Beauty, Ghost Sleeper [ATK 1300/DEF 0 LV 3]. Set card, Ghost Fusion. This lets me combine Ghost Sleeper with the Hellfire Spearman in my graveyard.
He laughs as they fuse. A door appears and creaks open.
Dracul: Open, gates of the Underworld. Bypass Hades and Thanatos and wreak havoc on the living. Fusion Summon! Underworld Dragon Dragonecro [ATK 3000/DEF 0 LV 8].
Salia: What…is this?
Dracul: Card of Darkness. Battle! Underworld Dragon Dragonecro attacks! Soul Crunch!
It bites into Kristya. Salia screams in pain [Salia LP = 3800].
Salia: Huh?
Dracul: You're not off the hook! Any monster that Dragonecro battles has its soul ripped out [ATK 2800/DEF 2300 LV 8]. Your monster is now a soulless husk that can't attack or be destroyed [ATK 0/DEF 0 LV 8].
Salia: Oh no!
Dracul: Battle! Archlord Kristya Dark Soul attacks.
It rams into Archlord Kristya. Salia screams in pain again from the force of the attack and vomits blood [Salia LP = 1000]. She falls face forward.
Koga: Salia!!
Dracul: Looks like the Card of Darkness is too much for her. Turn end.
Koga: You…you'll pay! Here we go, I draw! Man, this isn't good. Salia…I summon Goe Goe the Gallant Ninja [ATK 1500/DEF 1000 LV 4]. From my hand, I add on Fuhma Shuriken. Sasuke gains 700 attack points [ATK 2500/DEF 1000 LV 4].
Vlad: No you don't lardo! Trap card, Spellbinding Circle! The monster equipped with this can't attack or change its Battle Position! I choose your Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke.
Koga: That's not a problem! I can just do this! I Overlay my level 4 Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke and level 4 Goe Goe the Gallant Ninja.
Sasuke and Ninja fly into a portal as a galaxy spirals, causing an explosion.
Koga: Exceed Summon! Show yourself, Armored Ninja- Blade Heart [ATK 2200/DEF 1000 RANK 4]. Since Fuhma Shuriken was destroyed, you take 700 points of damage.
It swings back and slices him [Vlad LP = 3300].
Koga: Reverse card, Armed Regeneration. This puts Fuhma Shuriken back in my hand. I equip it back to my monster [ATK 2900/DEF 1000 RANK 4]. Battle! I attack Power Invader.
Vlad: Trap card, Waboku! This negates your attack and ends the Battle Phase.
The attack is blocked.
Koga: Um, okay, no big deal. I set a card and end my turn.
Vlad: These guys are such amateurs. They hold the Fate Crystals? Hm. As if! Draw. I summon Zombyra the Dark [ATK 2100/DEF 500 LV 4]. And now….a new kind of summoning!
Both monsters vanish and spiral around. Koga steps back in shock as the spiral becomes a galaxy and another door appears. It shatters and light pours out.
Vlad: Show yourself….Galaxy- Eyes Photon Dragon [ATK 3000/DEF 2500 LV 8]. This monster can only be summoned by removing two monsters with 2000 or more attack points.
Koga: No way….
Vlad: This is my Card of Darkness! Battle! I attacked Armored Ninja- Blade Heart. Photon Stream of Destruction.
Koga: Trap card, Mirror Force. This negates your attack and destroys your…
Vlad: Galaxy- Eyes Photon Dragon's effect! When a card is activated as he is battling, I remove both monsters from play. Counter- Trap, Photon Ray! When a Galaxy- Eyes Photon Dragon is removed from play, its attack points are dealt as damage.
A ray of photons shoots down and hits Koga. He screams in agony [Koga LP = 1000].
Koga: Fuhma Shuriken's….effect…
It swings back around hits Vlad [Vlad LP = 2600].
Vlad: Eh. No problem. Now both monsters come back [ATK 2200/DEF 1000 RANK 4] [ATK 3000/DEF 2500 LV 8]. But this time, your monster lacks Overlaid cards. Photon Dragon's secondary effect! After his effect, he gains 500 attack points for every Overlaid card my opponent had on an Exceed monster [ATK 4000/DEF 2500 LV 8].
Koga: No way….an attack of 4000?
Dracul: You might as well just give up and surrender your souls.
Vlad: It'll save you all the pain!
They begin laughing. Koga falls to his knees as Salia twitches on the ground. Everyone is running towards the duel as both Dragons roar.
To be continued
Baron: Today we'll be going over Underworld Dragon Dragonecro. This is a Fusion monster that steals the souls of monsters it battles. In addition, the soulless shell can be attacked and won't be destroyed.
Dracul: That's not all it does. It also really helps when you want to get ketchup out of an almost empty bottle.
Dragonecro bites the bottle and ketchup comes out as Baron blinks.
Narrator: As the battle rages on, the darkness becomes ever stronger. Can they escape the influence of not one, but two Cards of Darkness? Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! Riders of Fate: Episode 117: Two Cards of Darkness