Time to Duel! [Fukari!]

[Ayen]

Tori felt the wind in her hair, the cool breeze touching her body as their was a sudden weight on her right arm. When her eyes opened, the redhead realized that her feet was no longer on the ground. While standing in what looked to be a fairly size battle arena colored gray, it stood atop a large blimp slowly flying through the air of a mystery city she has never seen before. Unaware of what was going on Tori began to panic, heights being something of a weakness to the woman.

“Wh-where am I!?”

Tori’s emerald green eyes looked down at the duel disk found on her arm, a deck of cards from within it. When she drew a card she turned it to see some blond in armor called “Neo the Magic Swordsman” and blinked. What did all of this mean? She looked around the surrounding area and called out for anyone who may hear her.

“Hello!? Is anybody there!?”

Tori looked back down at the card.

“What does this mean?”

[Alex]

"It means you're trapped."

As the words left her lips the wind shifted into the opposite direction, blowing more swiftly through the form of Tori Jacobs as a woman in pink walked up to the battle arena wearing an identical duel disk to her own, brown eyes looking the redhead over as the arm blade was now aimed towards Tori, showing five slots and five more underneath it.

"And I'm your only ticket out of here. If you can beat me, that is."

Taking her deck of cards she began to shuffle and cut the deck before putting it back into her duel disk.

"I trust you know how to play."

[Ayen]

“Y-you’re kidding me right?”

Tori couldn’t believe what she was hearing. They were in the middle of nowhere on a blimp and this woman wanted to play cards? This was a dream, this had to be a dream. So certain a simple pinch would bring her back to the comforts of her home Tori pinched herself, but after feeling the light pinch Tori still found herself on the blimp. Pinching harder until she actually let out a yelp the realization began to sink in. This was real and it took the cake compared to everything else she has experienced in Moon Valley, and that was really saying something.

“Who are you? Why am I here? Answer me!”

[Alex]

"You're my prisoner, Ms. Jacobs. As such I am not obligated to answer any of your questions. I'm afraid you'll have to play my little game if you want to find out."

Tori would soon find four green digits on the narrow black screen at the center of her duel disk displaying the number "8,000" with "LP" found at the end. LP standing for Life Points. Once those numbers reached 0 everything was over but something told Fukari she didn't have to explain that part.

"You may address me as Shizuka."

Fukari drew one more card after her Life Points lit up giving her a total of six. After taking a moment to look at her hand she picked out one card from it, her eyes lingering over it's picture before bringing it up to one of the five slots on the arm blade.

"I set one card face down in defense mode."

Seconds after announcing this move a giant holographic figure of a card appeared, the front of it concealed as only the red and black designs on the back could be seen by Tori's eyes.

"Your move."

[Ayen]

“No,” replied Tori in defiance of her captor, “I’m not doing anything you say.”

Tori closed her hand into a fist and shook it towards Shizuka in a fit of pure rage.

“You can’t just kidnap people and bring them to the middle of nowhere so you can play some stupid game. I won’t be your guinea pig!”

[Alex]

"Then you forfeit."

Fukari brought up her right hand, a single index finger pointing to the air five feet behind Tori's position. A black vortex opened up in the spot where Fukari pointed, a thousand eyes visible on the other side of the vortex as it threatened to drag Tori through it's threshold in a world of pain and sorrow.

"And I will have your soul. It's a fairly simple choice, Ms. Jacobs. You either fight for the chance to live or don't and die. There's a reason those numbers on your duel disk are called "life points" after all."

[Ayen]

Tori suddenly felt something dragging her backwards from behind. She turned her head just enough to see the vortex that has opened up and the eyes now staring her down. Tori could feel the strain on her body every second the portal remained open, struggling just to keep herself from being pulled into it already. It appeared she had no choice, more was at stake here than she first realized.

“All right! All right! I’ll play your damn game just close that thing!”

[Alex]

Fukari closed her hand into a fist and the vortex yield to her authority over it, closing up and releasing Tori of the grip it had over her as now she could focus more on the duel at hand. People, no matter what they were; human, devil, vampire, god, they were all stubborn when it boiled straight down to it and Tori was no exception. They always had to be shown just how futile their efforts to avoid fate really were no matter how obvious it may be to the beholder.

"Now make your move."

[Ayen]

Tori could finally breathe again. Taking that moment to inhale sharply, her emerald green eyes now narrowing over her captor. This was unheard of to her, putting everything on the line by playing some card game and she came from a world where zombies and superheros in blue tights were the norm. But there was nothing else she could do except play this game and win. The numbers on her duel disk was life points and it looked like she had to make Shizuka’s life points reach zero first in order to win. Sounds simple enough.

Tori shuffled her deck and then drew five cards, drawing an extra one during the drawing phase for a grand total of six in her hand. So far, so good. Her eyes scanned over each card, reading its description and watching out for anything that can be of use to her. Setting her sights on the face-down card by Shizuka it occurred to Tori that she had to wipe the field of any monsters her opponent had so she chose the card she thought would be able to get the job done.

“I summon the Celtic Guardian in attack mode!”

In a flash of white light a blond elf in green armor holding a long sword in his hands appeared ready to do battle as he glared over to Shizuka.

“Celtic Guardian, attack the face-down monster!”

The Celtic Guardian charged forward, leaping up through the air and holding his blade up over his head before bringing it down towards the back of the face-down card.

[Alex]

Tori would notice 600 points subtracted from her Life Points, with it a part of her very life force, as the face down monster was revealed as the Mystical Elf. A tall blue lady elf who defense were stronger than that of the Celtic Guardian's attack. One move and already Fukari had the advantage over her opponent. Just like in life where the "Blind Assassin" had set traps for the enemies to fall in, this card game would prove no different. Unfortunately for Tori she didn't know how well versed Fukari was in the art of setting up traps.

"My move. I set one card face down and one card face down in defense mode to end my turn."

[Ayen]

LP: 7,400

Tori’s eyes widened as the numbers dropped down, her hand instantly clenching her chest as she felt herself growing weaker, trembling on her feet while looking out to see Mystical Elf still standing there unphased by her warrior’s attack. Now there were even more things to worry about on the field. The pain finally started to subside as she could focus more on what to do next.

“I summon the Beautiful Headhuntress in attack mode! Headhuntress, attack the face-down monster!”

[Alex]

8000

Fukari only watched as the Beautiful Headhuntress came to behead yet another victim with her sword, but this time her blade would be unable to cut through the neck of the monster made of stone that lied from within the card. The Giant Soldier of Stone got up to one knee, costing Tori 400 more of her Life Points. You'd think after how well the last attack went Tori would be discouraged in attacking head on like this but no, no she did the same exact move again expecting a different result and naturally, she received the same. At this rate Fukari will never have to launch an attack. Tori would do herself in.

"How does it feel to slowly have your life wither away?"

Fukari would smile at her next draw as she slipped it into the second trap/magic card slot of her duel disk.

"I activate the magic card Pot of Greed allowing me to draw two more cards from my deck!"

Picking up two cards into her hands she looked them over before returning her attention to Tori.

"I sacrifice my Mystical Elf to summon Dark Witch in attack mode! Say goodbye to your guardian, Ms. Jacobs."

The last thing Tori would see before Fukari ended her turn was the sight of her Dark Witch tearing her guardian apart.

[Ayen]

6600

Tori cried out in agony as she dropped down to her knees. Who woulda thought a simple children card game would hold the keys to her life in its hands. Stupid Pot of Greed, giving her two more extra cards. They should ban the stupid thing! Tori, using what was left of her strength, pulled herself back up to her feet refusing to die without a fight.

“All right, that’s it. I’m sick of you!”

Attacking her head on wasn’t going to work so she needed another form of attack. So far Shizuka didn’t have a scratch on her, figuratively speaking of course, while she was being hammered on every side.

“I play the magic card Red Medicine restoring my life points by five hundred points! And then Dian Keto the Cure Master to restore it up by one thousand!”

That was Tori way of spitting in Shizuka’s face. In just one turn she had undone all the damage inflicted upon her life points and she wasn’t done yet.

“I place one card face-down and now I summon Mysterious Puppeteer in attack mode; his special ability grants me five hundred life points for every monster you normal summon or is flipped while he’s face-up on the field. I also switch Beautiful Headhuntress to defense mode. Your move.”

[Alex]

8000

"Good to see you're capable of intelligent thought."

Tori would witness a giant feather duster dusting the face down card from the field before disappearing as Fukari continued on speaking.

"Harpie's Feather Duster. It allows me to destroy all the magic and trap cards on your side of the field. This also means there's nothing to protect your miserable Puppeteer. Dark Witch, attack!"

[Ayen]

7300

Just when she thought things were finally looking up everything falls back on its ass. Tori grunted and gritted her teeth in pain as she braced the destruction of yet another monster right in front of her.

I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

She drew another card and looked at her hand for anything she could use, thinking over her next more carefully now. Thankfully there wasn’t a time limit so she could take her time with this. One card in particular stood out and she was quick to summon it to the field in attack position.

“I summon Vorse Raider to destroy your Dark Witch!”

This had to work. It had to. One hundred points may not seem like much but it was better than nothing right? Right?