Before Raizou could attempt to speak, Phil snapped his fingers, the abrupt ‘clicking’ sound ringing out against the sparse clusters of trees behind the cafeteria. Once he had his opponent’s attention, Phil spoke in a calm, almost monotone voice.
“I’ll go first, please and thank you. No need to let this take longer than it needs to. There is no future in which you win, and I made a promise to myself back in New York. No one. Else. Dies. I draw.”
Phil didn’t even need to glance at the card he drew, nor take a second look at his hand. Every action he took with this deck, every play, every strategy, it all felt as natural as breathing. It was a pair of shoes that fit perfectly, it was a coat that sat snugly around his shoulders the moment he tried it on in the store.
“Ending draw phase. Standby phase. Main phase. Activating Pot of Desires! By banishing ten cards face down from the top of my deck, I can draw two cards! Next up, I discard Dupe Frog to special summon Swap Frog (1000/500) from my hand! Swap Frog, show off your effect! He’s gonna let me send one level two or lower water aqua-type monster from my deck to the graveyard. That’s gonna be Ronintoaden, of course!”
Raizou took an involuntary step back as Phil launched into a series of blistering plays as soon as his turn began, not even appearing to pause in order to think, instead letting each action flow naturally into the next like he was a human river rushing down a mountain. Ten cards were carefully set to the side face down in return for drawing two, and from those two cards the multicolored horned frog, Swap Frog, leaped onto the field with a dull, disinterested croak of greeting. Yet, Phil was far from done.
“Ronin’s effect activates in the graveyard, banishing Dupe Frog to bring him back from the great beyond. Attack or defense position, it hardly matters, because now I have two level two monsters on the board. I overlay Swap Frog with Ronintoadin to XYZ summon the monster I know you cannot fucking defeat, the winning card wrapped up in a package consisting of two toads with a peach on their back, Toadally Awesome (2200/0)!”
Phil kept up his steely composure as the colossal stack of pale toads leaped onto the field with a series of overjoyed ribbits from the bottom toad, noises of which the top toad evidentially decided to provide some contrast by screaming incoherently to the point that a handful of the closest trees exploded in bursts of bark and sap shrapnel.
“I set five cards and pass turn!” Phil shouted over the ear-rending uproar of noise from the toads.
“Hmph. Parlor tricks, all of it!” Raizou snarled and wiped off a handful of gooey tree sap from his cheek. “All are made equal under the gaze of the Light! I draw!”
“Standby phase!” Phil roared, halting his opponent right in his tracks. “I activate Toadally Awesome’s effect, detaching Ronintoadin to special summon Dupe Frog (100/2000) from my deck in defense position.”
The boy fell silent for a moment, and then he snickered.
“Maybe I can’t beat your stupid toad yet. But didn’t that oaf Crowler ever teach you that strong monsters hardly matter if your life points go to zero before they can be used? I summon Gravekeeper’s Curse (800/800) in defense mode! When he’s summoned, I get to inflict 500 points of damage to your life points!”
Phil shrugged, half-watching his life point counter go down from the corner of his eyes. The damage, both in life points and in terms of his physical health, was barely noticeable compared to the strikes he’d endured over the summer. “So?”
“But wait, there’s more!” Raizou flashed a maddening grin across his face and slammed a series of cards down onto his duel disk. “I activate the continuous spell card Wave-Motion Cannon! The continuous spell card Toll! The continuous spell card Dark Snake Syndrome! And one face down card!”
Phil clicked his tongue in annoyance. He knew each of those cards. They were all classic burn cards that he’d seen in his locals back on Earth many times before. Heck, he’d even played some of them himself. Wave-Motion Cannon put the game on a time limit, with Raizou being able to send it to the graveyard during any of his own main phases in return for dealing 1000 points of damage to Phil for each of Raizou’s standby phases that had passed since the card was activated. That meant a four-turn time limit at the moment. Toll was far simpler. All that card did was force anyone who wanted to attack to pay 500 life points per swing.
Dark Snake Syndrome was a potential problem, but in all honesty, it would probably just end up letting Wave-Motion Cannon kill him a turn or two early, or finish the job if the cannon was destroyed prematurely. The only difference between that card and the cannon was that Dark Snake Syndrome would inflict damage to both players during each of Raizou’s standby phases, instead of damaging only Phil. The damage would start small but would double each turn. Then there was the face down, which knowing burn decks was either another burn card or some sort of trap to prevent Phil from attacking. His current bet was either Gravity Bind, Thunder of Ruler, or Threatening Roar.
However, the fact was still that there was nothing on Raizou’s board that was an immediate threat. Rookie. Mistake. His opponent simply did not know how fast Phil’s deck was about to go starting this turn.
“Still, not a bad strategy for a GX deck.” Phil acknowledged with a stiff nod as his turn began. “If you were dueling literally any other student on the island, you’d probably have a fair chance at winning. Against me? What a fucking joke. Draw phase, entering standby phase. Toadally Awesome’s effect activates, detaching Swap Frog to special summon a Swap Frog (1000/500) from my deck in attack position. Swap’s effect activates to send a Dupe Frog to the graveyard. Next up, here’s one of my face down cards, brought to you by the glorious realization that the ban list in this era is practically fucking nonexistent. My trap card, Sixth Sense, activates! This card allows me to choose two numbers between one and six. My choices will be five and six, of course. Then you’ll roll a six-sided die. If you roll one of the numbers I chose, I get to draw that many cards. If not, then I send cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard equal to the result.”
Raizou cocked his head slightly to the side in confusion, but ultimately the boy slipped a white six-sided die out of his pocket, casually tossing it on the ground and calling out the result with a sneer.
“Four. Looks like your trap card isn’t very lucky today.”
Phil shrugged. “Dang, that really sucks. Anyways, I get to mill four cards. Now that I have some nice free graveyard advantage, I activate another one of my face down traps, Paleozoic Olenoides! Its effect lets me destroy your face down card.”
Phil waited a moment to see if Raizou had any response, but upon seeing the Obelisk Blue remain silent, he tapped his graveyard knowingly.
“Since a trap card was activated, I can activate the graveyard effect of Paleozoic Marrella, which I milled earlier through Sixth Sense. It’s gonna special summon itself as a level two monster with 1200 attack and zero defense.”
Raizou’s trap was destroyed, revealing the rapidly disintegrating holographic net of Gravity Bind as the card faded from the field. Meanwhile, a green, almost plant-like sea creature floated out from Phil’s graveyard to settle next to Swap Frog, who sent a ribbit of greeting to the ancient lifeform, who rippled its body in response to its aquatic comrade.
Phil gritted his teeth in anticipation. His training over the summer made him more than capable of handling what was to come next, but the strain of XYZ summoning was still nothing to joke about, and even though the effect damage he’d taken already was only 500 points, that damage combined with the summoning still felt like someone had lovingly tapped his ribs with a sledgehammer.
“I overlay the level two Swap Frog with the level two Paleozoic Marrella to XYZ summon Paleozoic Opabinia (0/2400) in defense position! Opabinia, show off your effect! I detach Swap Frog from it to add one Paleozoic trap card from my deck to my hand. That’s going to be another Olenoides, of course. Then, I activate Paleozoic Olenoides from my hand to destroy your Toll card!”
“Wait a moment!” Raizou snapped out, “Trap cards have to be face down for a turn before activation!”
“Normally yes.” Phil conceded, but then he reached forward and patted the burnt-orange head of his new XYZ monster. The creature’s tubelike mouth rippled as Opabinia made a strange purring noise at Phil’s touch, leaning into Phil’s fingers as he began to scratch the monster’s head like the good monster it was.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“However, Paleozoic Opabinia allows me to bypass that restriction as long as he is on the field, though only for Paleozoic trap cards. Other traps do indeed still need to wait a turn before being used. Anyways, chaining to my activation of Olenoides, I activate the graveyard effect of the Olenoides I used earlier, special summoning it as a monster with the same stats as Marrella had. Ronintoaden’s effect activates, banishing Dupe Frog from the graveyard to special summon himself in defense position.”
Phil’s field was now covered in a chorus of dull croaks, Dupe Frog and Ronintoaden singing into the midday air while the top toad of Toadally Awesome muttered incoherent threats toward the sky and the two Paleozoic’s floated aimlessly next to each other.
“Thus is the power of Sixth Sense. I win.” Phil stated the words like it was a pure fact that everyone except for Raizou was fully aware of. “I overlay my three level two monsters, those being the Dupe Frog I summoned during your turn, Ronintoadin, and Paleozoic Olenoides to XYZ summon the strongest Paleozoic, the ancient threat of the deep, Paleozoic Anomalocaris (2400/0)!”
Contrasting the orange, beady-eyed, and toothy-mouthed length of Opabinia, Paleozoic Anomalocaris seemed more like that of a strange cross between a bug, a crab, and a fish. It had curled, threatening claws, beady, bug-like eyes, and a lengthy finned tail that beat against invisible currents in the air to float next to the other monsters. Phil could literally feel his heart skip a single beat from the strain, but he forced his legs to remain steady, only pausing in his plays to wipe a thin, barely visible trail of blood from the corner of his lips.
"Anomalocaris has quite the interesting effect," Phil explained. “Once per turn, as long as it has a trap card as material, I can detach a material to destroy a card on the field. I’ll send away Dupe Frog to the graveyard to destroy your Gravekeeper’s Curse.”
“Wha-“ Raizou’s mouth gaped open like a surprised fish. In the span of a single turn, not only had Phil summoned multiple powerful monsters, but he’d also destroyed any final chance of Raizou winning the duel. The Obelisk Blue had no monsters or face down cards left to protect his own life points, and even his Toll card, which would have limited Phil’s attacks, was nothing more than dust in the wind.
“Entering the battle phase. Anomalocaris, attack directly. Toadally Awesome, finish him, but keep my opponent alive and conscious. If you don’t, I will feed you alive to D.3.S. Frog. I do not give a shit if losing you handicaps me in the future. Don’t test me on this.”
A streak of purple shot forward as Paleozoic Anomalocaris slammed Raizou into one of the few trees still left standing through a casual flick of its claws, while Toadally Awesome visibly shuddered in response to Phil’s words. The bottom toad’s mouth still sat in its usual lopsided grin, but the Top Toad spoke in ominous, almost reverent tones as the creature steadily advanced toward where Raizou fought to recover from the impact of hitting the tree.
“It is as the master commands. All light shall be devoured, not by the formless snake birthed by the abyss of the world, but by the formless toad that hops into the sky to consume all that dare oppose the master’s agenda. Only then shall the times change and the year of the frog begin. From ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and croak to croak. The light shall fall and the frog shall take its place. As it has been said, so it shall be done – not through fire and sword, but through piercing teeth and gaping maw.”
Raizou’s body shuddered, his mouth convulsing as something appeared to try and shoot out of it with each colossal step Bottom Toad took. He let out an ear-piercing scream. Yet, as his mouth opened wide enough for Phil to hear his jaw creak, Toadally Awesome was too fast, faster than the slip of light that escaped Raizou’s mouth.
Phil: 3500 Raizou: 0
It was like watching a frog capture a perfectly juicy insect in its slimy tongue. Bottom Toad chewed with relish, completely ignoring the boy that slumped shaking and panting against the tree. Phil rushed over, kneeling down and placing his hands on Raizou’s shoulders.
"Hey, hey! Talk to me, mate!"
Raizou blinked and looked at Phil with faded, exhausted eyes.
“A… Ra Yellow?” He noted, glancing at Phil’s jacket without any hints of recognition toward him. “I feel… terrible. Like someone took a jackhammer to my chest.”
“Shit.” Phil muttered. Raizou looked like hell, but as Phil carefully patted the boy down to check for injuries, there was nothing he could find other than some serious-looking bruises from Anomalocaris’s strike. “Right. Let’s get you to the infirmary, and then I have some questions.”
“I…” Raizou muttered and held his head with both hands while Phil helped him to his feet. “Was this a dream? Or… did I really try and do those things? Please… please tell me it was just a terrible nightmare. Please.”
Phil didn’t have a response to that.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Sartorius’s long, black hair rippled as the man’s head snapped abruptly upwards to gaze at the sky, his eyes wide in fanatical fervor. The connection had snapped in a brutal way that left him feeling like a limb of his own had been hacked off with a dull axe, but the pain was well worth it. The pain of sacrificing a pawn was nothing compared to the excitement he felt about finally being able to lock onto the Magician past all the interference around the boy. Of course, he still couldn’t look for long for fear of violent retribution from the truly ancient and unfathomable duel spirit accompanying the Magician, but what information he had now was far more than he had to work with before.
“Yes… yes. I… can see you now. A trap deck. X…YZ? How interesting. Cards that should not exist at this point in time. As the Light wills, it shall be done.” Sartorius reverently bowed toward the heavens, taking a moment to compose himself before walking over to a nearby phone booth, one that had been painted entirely in white.
His fingers danced against the keypad in a flurry of strikes, and eventually, the phone began to ring. One single ring was all that came out before the woman on the other side picked it up. She didn't say a single word, letting the unspoken air of expectant curiosity do all the work for her.
"The final unknown is now known. Spread the word to prepare for a rather competent trap deck… along with an entirely new type of summoning from the extra deck called 'XYZ'. The Magician is not a man who can be dealt with by ordinary means. In fact, I am of the belief that a battle between the two of us is fated, perhaps even before I triumph over the Fool. Please, if you would, allow the believers a chance to soften him up. Only when a man is stretched thin, like too much butter over too little bread, can the truth of his being be fully extracted to become a faithful champion of the Light.”
The woman remained silent. A short pause followed, nothing more than a way for her to confirm Sartorius was finished speaking, and then with a ‘click’ the woman hung up. Sartorius gracefully turned away. The ninja had her peculiarities, but he was the one who went out of his way to recruit the ninja and her associate in the aftermath of Tragoedia's defeat in New York City. As long as she continued to do good work, he would allow those peculiarities. Besides, it had been years since he’d felt this excited. Not since… hm, not since he’d first picked up the stray Phoenix boy. It was a pity that Aster Phoenix failed to prove himself as a champion. But… if all went well on the island…
He could pick up a new champion of his own.
“As the Light wills it.” Sartorius shivered, walking away from the phone booth to head deeper into Domino City. There was still a slight bit of time left to fill before the assault could begin in earnest, and what better way to spend that time than to gather more unknowing lambs into the fold in the dark streets of this foul city? Perhaps if he was lucky, he could find a few diamonds in the rough. Diamonds with enough mettle to perform as a backup squad to the next part of his plan.
The Light willing, he would not need them, but that alchemist was a tricky sort. One could never be too prepared when dealing with types like those.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The classroom trembled. Nearly imperceptibly, but ever since he and Phil concluded that an enemy was lurking on the island, Bastion had made sure to stay highly alert at all times. During class, when he was eating, even while sleeping Bastion readied himself. A tiger had already dragged him off into the night once before in the past. No need to let that happen again. That alertness was how he noticed something was wrong. Bastion looked around, but everything in the classroom looked normal. Jaden, Syrus, and Chumley were happily exploring dreamland. Princess Rose was doodling pictures of knightly-looking frogs surrounded by hearts in her notebook. Chazz was considering the card ratios in his deck. Alexis was dutifully making notes over Professor Stein’s lecture, just like he was doing a few moments ago.
Then it struck him, right around the same time his strained ears picked up an extremely faint, almost nonexistent sound of… frogs croaking. He turned to Alexis and softly tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.
“Alexis. Have you seen Phil come back yet?”
Alexis furrowed her brows in thought. “No… I don’t think so. Why?”
"I have a bad feeling," Bastion whispered, glancing at the door. "Did you feel the room tremble slightly? I can also hear what sounds to be frogs in the distance. Either that or I've gone a bit strange in the head."
A soft ‘click’ registered in his hearing, temporarily drowning out the faint croaking as Alexis sat her pencil down and strained her ears to see if she could also hear it. A full minute passed until Alexis nodded her head.
“Yes. I think you might be right. Do you think something serious is happening?”
“I don’t know.” Bastion mumbled. He stroked his chin in thought. Phil went to the cafeteria to grab some coffee. He said he would join them at class after. Of course, Bastion didn’t put it past his friend to skip class without a care in the world, but there were too many odd things happening while Phil was not only absent from class, but also while there was a potential evil cult messing about on the island. It could be nothing but his own paranoia… but if Phil was in trouble…
He poked Chazz, earning a glare back that was filled with halfhearted annoyance for the interruption.
“Phil’s been gone a bit too long and I keep feeling the classroom tremble slightly. I want to check on him and make sure this commotion is a separate event. Would you mind coming with me as backup?”
Chazz nodded, putting his scattered deck back together and quietly standing up so as to not disturb the class. Meanwhile, Alexis whispered that she’d both fill them in on what they missed after class and let the others know where Bastion and Chazz went off to if they woke up.
Bastion flashed her a grateful smile before he and Chazz carefully slinked out of the door. This way his paranoia could be soothed, he’d have backup just in case, and Jaden and the rest wouldn’t get concerned to see them missing.
Now he could only hope that Phil was just taking his sweet time to savor the aroma of his coffee.