Chapter Three
Larry found that even with Ludwig's strict instruction and the trying dueling of the day, he simply could not sleep. He tossed and turned in his bed, trying to ignore the loud snoring of Morton coming from just beyond the wall and Wendy's music that she insisted on playing from her chamber opposite his, but he just could not.
Larry glanced at the clock. 1:15. Ugh. At this rate he would never get to sleep. Throwing back the covers he donned his shell and spiked bracelet, combed his hair and compulsively straightened the room. He ordered a cup of strong rosehip and Fire Flower tea from the ship's galley over his room's intercom, a potent combination that was supposed to allow a person to get up with great energy and fervor, but always made him exceedingly sleepy and lethargic. Intending to go for a walk, he also donned a thick cloak Clawdia had knitted for him; he unintentionally was flooded with memories of her.
'Mom… you've always been there for me… when Roy stomped over all my tomato plants when I was four… when I broke my leg in that horrible attempt at the Mushroom Kingdom… now, I have to help you out. DAD, don't let me mess up… I don't want to lose you.' Making as little noise as possible, he stepped out into the dark corridor. He obtained his tea from the late-shift galley workers, a skeleton crew of Boom Booms and Magikoopas, and stepped out into the wind-swept upper deck.
Another figure, leaning and swaying ever so slightly with the wind, was peering over the railing at the onrushing clouds and ocean. Larry crept closer, trying to make out who it was, and saw that the person, whoever it was, was standing on something to get tall enough.
"Hi, Lemmy." Larry went over to his older brother, perched on his favorite green ball, rocking back and forth to keep his center of gravity in line with the ship's.
"You couldn't sleep either, Cheatsy?" Lemmy seemed rather fatigued, as if he had been bearing a huge weight the entire day and had only just let it off his shoulders.
"Yeah," was Larry's only reply. Gripping his cup of steaming tea, he and his older brother stared off into the clouds and sea for about ten minutes, watching the gulls and the tiny archipelagos below drift by. At last, it was Lemmy that broke the downcast silence.
"Larry, I don't know about you, but I have a feeling that you probably feel the same way I do- we're completely helpless." Lemmy was not his usual happy-go-lucky self now. He seemed more grave, more serious than he had ever been. "Dad's not exactly gone, but he may as well be. So long as he's in Nick's hands, the duties of kingship are already on us, and especially on Ludwig. None of us are quite ready for that yet, and I know that none of us are ready for Mom and Dad to be gone yet. No one ever is ready for that." Larry couldn't think of anything uplifting to say, so he kept silent for a moment. Then, something came to him.
"Big brother… we do still have a chance at getting them back, you know. We have to win this tournament and beat Nick at Duel Monsters, then he'll be forced to-" Lemmy only shook his head sadly.
"Iggy and I talked about that already. Nick will never give in, not even if we force him. I also have a feeling that he's not going to play fairly. How would he? He has every card known in the game, and probably some others that we don't know about. There's not going to be any margin for error. I really don't think that it's possible to defeat Nick." Lemmy paused here, thinking. "Sorry. I really didn't mean to be so glum." Larry sipped his tea, then swallowed it.
"It's perfectly understandable and probably right to be so. But you are right, big brother… however, we do have the close bond of family, which is something Nick doesn't have. Working together, I know that we can defeat him, even at his own game! Sorry if I sound a little clichéd, but I do think that." Lemmy smiled.
"Yeah… Larry- no, Cheatsy," Larry began to listen very closely here- ironically, Lemmy only used nicknames when he was very serious or very bored. "Let me tell you something that not even Ludwig told you before- he only told me when we were both really young. When Dad's finally gone and he becomes king, he's going to step down and let the rest of us rule as regents… except for me."
"Why's that?"
"He intends to make me the king."
There was a long, stunned silence. The two brothers caught each other's gaze and stared into the other's eyes for what seemed like ages.
"Y-you, Lemmy? Why?"
"I have all of the 'leadership qualities', as Ludwig once called them. That's a lie if I ever heard one. All Ludwig really wants to do with his life is learn the sciences and invent. Now do you see why I'm so distraught?"
"I-I guess so…" Larry was caught completely off guard. He had never known that about his brother! Now it really made sense.
"We've got to win against Nick, Larry. I've got enough trouble ruling Ice Land alone as it is! I would have to serve as king for five years at least, and, if we do fail, we're not going to exactly be on Nick's good list, if I know him well enough." Lemmy was silent, staring off into space. Larry didn't bother him, and it was another minute or so before he spoke again.
"Oh! I was watching your dueling earlier Larry, and I have to say I'm very impressed. I had been meaning to give this to you…" Lemmy rummaged about a bit in his own coat, finally locating what he was looking for in one of the inner pockets. "I got this Time Troopa in my box and I thought you could really use it." Larry looked at the picture on the card- an odd Koopa Troopa holding a book and a starred wand, which was pointing like the hand of a clock at a part of the background, almost like a timeline. "It really should help you out in a pinch."
"Gee… thanks, Lemmy. I'll put it into my deck… Lemmy, do you know what time it is?"
"Around 1:45 by now- uh oh." The regular
watch, coordinated for all doomships, would be coming up to search the
deck in a minute or two. If they were caught up on deck, Ludwig would catch
them for being out of bed, and Ludwig when he was under stress was not
the nicest person to be around, expecially if you did something against
his wishes. "I-I'm going back now. Sorry, Larry, but this is to save my
own hide!" Lemmy rolled away as fast as his legs could keep up, whizzing
out of sight before Larry knew it. Both being as quiet and stealthy as
possible, they made their way to their corridors. This time, whether because
of the tea or the conversation with his older brother, Larry fell fast
asleep.
Later at 6:00 AM, Ludwig was back at the helm of the Amadeus, sipping a mocha and eating a plate of sugared lox while manually steering the bulky craft to a hover over Yoshi's Island, in particular over the landing area set up in the pine forests of the island; after all of this was over, Ludwig would enjoy doing a systematic study of the diverse climates found all around the relatively large island. Through many precise instrument measurements and the help of his engineer Goombas, Ludwig managed to land the aircraft with minimal impact.
Ludwig went around to all of the bedchambers, rousing everyone for breakfast and telling them not to forget anything. One by one, his siblings hobbled into the dining hall, Roy first and Wendy last- having put on makeup- rubbing their eyes. Many groaned as they entered, for the smell of lox was rather pungent, and that was the opposite of what everyone except Ludwig wanted in the morning. (If Ludwig had any vices, it was that he was a bit of a glutton.) As soon as all had congregated, all stood up.
"I haff received a radio transmission from Nick detailing ze exact rules of zis tournament. Vonce ze tournament begins, ve vill not be able to switch cards out of our decks, nor vill ve be able to retrieve anything zat ve may haff forgotten. Zerefore, take only vat is necessary, and do not take food, as food is plentiful on zis island, from what I hear. Now, eat!" His siblings needed no second bidding.
After the meal, the appointed duelists returned to their rooms to get their decks and make last-minute preparations, as well as to stash a few things in their shells. Lemmy and Iggy donned the gloves, Lemmy on his right hand and Iggy on his left, looked at each other, and nodded, rolling and rushing out the door. Only afterwards did they realize that was a bit pointless. Larry put a few specimen jars in his shell and some flavorful herbs, thinking that he might want to collect a few seeds while they dueled around the island. Ludwig, like in mind, brought along a notebook and pen. Karma only took along a spare hair ribbon. Afterwards, they all met on the gangway, Ludwig rushing madly around, making last minute orders for maintenance and whatnot.
"Hey, Kooky…" asked Karma.
"Vhat?"
"Where are we going, exactly? You never said."
"It matters not. Nick has said to me zat he vill project his announcement to all corners of ze island, so it does not matter where we are." The Koopalings nodded their relief and assent at not having to climb up a bunch of stairs or anything of the like. They exited the doomship and started off.
At first, the expedition began normally, Wendy complaining about her feet hurting, Roy wanting to beat up on his siblings, the usual. Larry stopped on one occasion to get a pinecone, but that was it. It was not until they had all made their way in their hike to a clearing with many rock walls that the announcement finally came. Off in the distance, a lonely fortress stood, and the voice of Nick seemed to be projecting from there.
"Well, well, greetings, all duelists! It is an honor to see all of you here, the champions of my game, in person. I am Nicholas Koopa, your host, and this island now belongs to me! Around the island you will find specially crafted dueling arenas, and I daresay don't be alarmed if you happen to find one in an unusual place.
"Each participating duelist has been given a dueling glove for his or her own use. In this gauntlet you will find two cherry tokens, which you will wager in each of your duels. Once a duelist has gained a total of ten cherry tokens, a Starman will appear. These are the only Starmen on the island, so do not think I will be fooled. Present this Starman at the gate of my castle, the highest castle on the island, and you will gain entrance, and the opportunity to duel me in a special match- as well as the 5,000,000 koopabit grand prize!
"Duelists, I give you one final hour to make preparations. Once the tournament begins, no deck changing is allowed. When you see fireworks burst over my castle, that will be the cue to begin!" The magically amplified voice cut itself off here. Karma turned to Ludwig.
"So, where do you think we should go?"
"Zat certainly is not Nick's castle. Knowing him, it vill be the most inaccessible castle on ze island. Ve vill know in due time. Until zen, I suggest ve find a conclave of duelists and gather together for some easy opponents."
"I agree!" said Iggy, as usual.
"Y'know, for once, I have to agree with him," said Roy, almost under his breath.
The Koopalings set off again toward the large towering structure in front of them, arriving at the gates in about ten minutes. Ludwig's assumption turned out to be quite correct, as a large crowd of people, from every single race of Plit, had gathered, waiting anxiously for the fireworks.
"Woah! Where'd they all come from?" asked Lemmy, amazed at how many had gotten there. He thought for sure that he saw some familiar faces, but he could not be sure because of the number gathered.
"I've no idea. Nick might haff had some transportation arranged."
"Who's going to duel first?" inquired Larry.
"Lemmy, Iggy, you'll pave ze vay for us. Try to find an amateur opponent and vin zeir cherry tokens, as Nick has taken ze liberty of supplying us vone per glove."
"And what until then, what do we do, arrange, especially for those of us who are not going to be dueling but came along anyway…" Ludwig cut off Morton's excessive talking with a direct order.
"Ve vait!"
The duelists broke their lethargy when the first explosions of fireworks were heard. Everyone looked up into the sky expectantly, and found a cloud of blue sparkles, directly in the image of Nick. Lemmy shook his head.
"What a showoff… well, at least now we know it's in the mountains," he muttered. The castle gates swung open, startling many there, but nothing emerged. The crowd began to disperse, with some going into the castle, some going out into the forest, and some lingering, unsure of where to go. The Koopalings sought a quick conference and it was decided to chase after the group going into the forest. They quickly set off after them, but they only found one green-clad duelist, who seemed oddly familiar…
"Hey you!" shouted Morton. "We wish to duel, skirmish, have a match, play a game of Duel Monsters with you, your personage-"
"Shut up Morton!" The figure laughed an all-too-familiar chuckle and lifted its head, eliciting a growl from a few of the Koopalings.
"Luigi?!" shouted Larry.
"Number One!" The green Mario brother spun around and flashed a quick victory sign, to which Ludwig muttered something about idiocy.
"You are hereby challenged by the Koopa Twins, Luigi Mario," shouted Lemmy, being all-too-official, a joke in and of itself.
"Okay," said Luigi. "Follow me!" Strangely, without another word he took off. Growling in frustration, Iggy and Lemmy rolled and ran after him with their siblings close behind. As the Koopas ran along the path, however, they noticed a rather odd smell.
"Sniff… what's… puff… that?" gasped Wendy as they rushed along.
"It appears to be… mushroom spores? Vhy…?" Ludwig panted, running alongside. Eventually, the run broke when the Koopalings came to a space, perfectly leveled out, and absolutely covered by various kinds of mushrooms. In the center of it all stood a monolithic arena, on the side of which read, "NWK-035".
'That… that cheating… He has been building arenas for this tournament and I never received money for it!' Ludwig thought angrily to himself.
On the blue side of the arena stood Luigi, deck ready, gloved hand all ready to draw the cards. "Let's-a go!" he said.
Lemmy gave Iggy his ball to hold while he took the deck, and they both ascended the ladder of the red platform. Once at the top, Iggy asked, "Standard rules?"
"What-a standard rules? This-a tournament has-a all new rules, or did you-a not know that already?"
"Nick really didn't tell us anything, which I think he did intentionally," whispered Lemmy anxiously into his twin's ear. "I don't know anything about these rules, do you?"
"Nope. We'll have to play it by ear, I suppose." Turning back to Luigi, Iggy shouted over, "Of course we knew! Let's just get this started."
"Ladies and Koopas first," Luigi shot back. The twins frowned. He'd pay for that remark.
The life point counters ticked to 2000 and the duel began. Lemmy and Iggy noticed that the field looked… different somehow.
"We summon the-" started Lemmy.
"Huffin Puffin Mama (1500/1300) in Attack Mode!" finished Iggy. A large, overly fat duck with suspenders materialized on their own side of the field, breathing heavily. "And once per turn, it can call its children to it from our hand-"
"So we summon a Huffin Puffin Kid (500/500) in Defense Mode!"
"We end," they said in unison.
"Why-a bother?" said Luigi as he drew. "Poison Mushroom (1500/100) in-a Attack Mode!" Quite abruptly, a large, purple mushroom without eyes popped out of the ground on Luigi's side of the arena. Lemmy and Iggy were quite surprised, however, when the attack and defense power of it began to climb, stopping at 2025/625.
"What gives?" the twins shouted back.
"I-a got a copy of-a da new rules before anyone else here, and I-a know all about-a the field-a power bonuses!" Luigi looked smug, but Lemmy and Iggy took note of what he said.
"Hey, Hip, doesn't this arena look an awful lot like where we're standing? Half mushroom grove, half forested clearing?"
"Yeah… evidently certain monsters will get powered up on their own field. By… 35 percent it looks like," Iggy replied.
"Now-a I attack you with Poison Mushroom! Allergen Blaster!" Unlike its entrance, the attack of Luigi's large mushroom warrior was quite impressive. It created a cloud of spores around itself, and upon it appeared two eyes, sloped maliciously. It shot forward at the Huffin Puffin Kid, destroying it and causing the Mama to look very angry.
"Unfortunately, attacking with-a the Poison Mushroom decreases its attack-a points by half every time, so I'm-a gonna place one card-a face down." Luigi's Mushroom looked decidedly smaller, and it shrank back to his side of the field, looking decidedly tired, or as tired as a mushroom could be.
"You forgot, we think-" Lemmy started, grinning.
"About Huffin Puffin Mama's special effect! When one of her kids is sent to the card graveyard-"
"It increases her attack by 500! Counterattack, Huffin Puffin Mama!" The enormous bird waddled forward and gave the mushroom a powerful belly bounce, sending it flying and disintegrating. Luigi quickly turned over his trap card, however.
"Waboku. No battle damage is-a dealt to me-a this turn. And-a I have three of them."
"Go, then," Lemmy said, irritably.
"I draw my card- and-a it's-a good one! Ooze Fungus (600/900) in Attack Mode, and it-a powers up to 810/1110! Next-a, I will-a play Fissure, to-a destroy Huffin Puffin Mama!" A large hole opened up under the Huffin Puffin Mama, who looked confused as it stuck in the opening, trying to get out.
"Heh. Huffin Puffin Mama has-" Iggy snickered.
"A second effect!" giggled Lemmy. "As long as one of its kids are in the card graveyard, we can remove it from the graveyard and put both back into play when you use a Magic Card on it!" One of the little ducks, struggling and sweating madly, came out of the hole its mother had fallen in, struggling madly to pull her up, and both sat on the spaces at the side, looking tired out.
"I-a end my turn," Luigi announced. He looked like he was thinking of something else, probably pasta.
"We place one card face-down-" Lemmy laid down the card in the Magic zone, where the covered area emitted a white light.
"And sacrifice the Huffin Puffin Kid to bring out Jolt Troopa (1300/1500)," said Iggy, laying the monster down. A yellow-shelled Koopa Troopa with an iron rod materialized onto the field in place of the Huffin Puffin Kid. The Huffin Puffin Mama looked sad, but not angry.
"Attack with Jolt Troopa!" they announced. The Koopa Troopa raised its metallic rod, gathered a ball of electricity on the tip, and launched it at the Ooze Fungus. However, it seemed to have no effect whatsoever.
"Attacks that-a come from magic effects have-a no effect on monsters on their-a own field!" Luigi replied to the Koopalings' confusion, in a far too chipper way.
"Luigi still zeems to be holding back…" Ludwig muttered to the others on the sidelines. "Zere seems to be more to zese new rules zan I had anticipated."
"Yeah, but can they win?" asked Larry, nervously. "I never thought that Luigi of all people would be here. He must be at least fairly good."
"Ve… vill have to see…" Ludwig answered, none too confident after considering that.
Back in the duel, Luigi had begun his turn and covered one face-down card. He also laid down Spore Cap (700/500) in Attack Mode, and it received a bonus from his field, making it 945/745, but that wasn't all. "I-a lay down Fungal Growth, which will-a make the monster I-a equip it to a mushroom, and-a increase its attack by 700! But, since-a it was-a already a mushroom, the attack rises by-a 1000 (1945/745)!"
"You've got to be kidding me…" Larry muttered from the sidelines, while Lemmy and Iggy looked equally as nervous. "That thing's huge!"
"And-a for every monster I destroy with my mushrooms, it raises the attack power of-a all my mushrooms by 300 each time!" He looked smug. Roy honestly wanted to slug him, but something held him back, namely Ludwig.
Iggy growled. "You still aren't going to defeat us with that thing-"
"For we cannot be bested by you Mario Brothers here!"
"I-a doubt it," Luigi replied, grinning like an idiot… no, grinning like the idiot that he was. "With-a Fungal Growth I have to-a skip attacking this-a turn, so it's-a your go."
The twins drew and thought. "Hmm… Lemmy, do you think he has-"
"A trap card down? Definitely. For now, put out that in Defense Mode."
"Kuriboh (300/200) in Defense Mode!" they announced together. The small, fuzzy little creature bounded up out of the arena and took its place on the forest clearing. Luigi blinked, then started to laugh as only an Italian could.
"Kur-kuriboh in defense mode! Oh! That's funny. What weirdos!"
"And you are not…" Ludwig muttered. None of the others could see, but he believed he saw a plan forming.
"We shift all of our monsters into defense mode, then end," they announced. As they passed, though, they noticed the field beginning to do something strange. The trees surrounding their forest clearing area were starting to rot, and the fungus on the floor of the arena started to move forward.
"My-a turn! Shitake Colossus (1800/2300)
in attack mode, and I lay down another Fungal Growth to it!" In addition
to the field power bonus, the gargantuan mushroom's attack power climbed
to massive proportions as it dwarfed everything else on the field, reaching
taller than the trees surrounding the mushroom clearing. It ended at 3430/2930,
and things started to look very grim for the twins, who were faced with
the most powerful monster they had ever seen…
Will Lemmy and Iggy lose all hope of
ever seeing their father again? Will Luigi prevail in Mario Brothers' style
yet again? Or is the stage ripe for an upset? Stay tuned!
"I'll attack you now with my Scholar of Antiquities," Nick announced, depleting the last of his opponent's life points. "I believe that is game."
"Wow!" his opponent, a guard troopa named Trusdale, who always seemed to be hanging around the palace gardens, said. "I guess you're not the creator for nothing! You wiped the floor with my plant deck!"
"Don't feel bad. You won't have to give up a card to me. I have them all anyway." Trusdale looked highly relieved, but Nick then smiled.
"However… I still like to be rewarded for my wins. Would you do something for me?"
"I'd do anything for you Master Nick, even if I hadn't lost!" Trusdale replied, in that high, annoying tone of his.
"Close your eyes for a minute, then, would you?" Trusdale looked puzzled but then did so. Quick as a flash, Nick whipped his wand out of his shell and performed the same spell he had performed on Bowser and that detestable wife of his, but with one slight variation. Trusdale's body screamed as his mind was forcibly ripped away from his turtle-like frame and into the blank card that Nick held up, looking as if he gained sick pleasure from it. Finally, Trusdale's body went limp and the card Nick held was now completed, picture, attack, defense, and effect- all there. Nick motioned for his two faithful servants, a blue Shy Guy and Snifit that rarely spoke and asked no questions.
"You! Take this wretch's body and throw it to the Piranha Plants- make sure there's nothing left by the time they're done- and you, go slip this card into my cousin Larry's deck." The Shy Guy and Snifit bowed, then the Shy Guy (Nick never did know their names) took the card and the Snifit bore the body away.
Nick turned the throne back to the monitors that showed the duels around the island, glad to be rid of that distraction at last, and watched with rapt interest the duel between the twins and Luigi…
Chapter 4
Lemmy and Iggy's hands were none too steady as they drew their next card. Lemmy sighed.
"This might stop him for a little while, but how long can we hold out?"
"It'll be enough, I hope. Lay it down, Lemmy." The twins straightened up to announce their next move. "Expert Magikoopa (2500/2100) in Attack Mode, and we will place one card face-down, and we attack your Ooze Fungus!" The purple-clad Magikoopa brought his long wand up in a high, sweeping arc, sending waves upon waves of geometric shapes at the hapless puddle, which shattered into holographic shards; the twins were looking a bit smug until Luigi turned over another trap card.
"Another-a Waboku. No damage." The three figures, Familikoopian priests who stood imposing on the battlefield, held their hands out, daring any more of the Twin's monsters to attack, and Luigi's life points remained at 2000.
"We-we end…" they said, unsure. As they ended, the ground, which had been rotting, growing mushrooms and creeping ever closer, began to hem in on their monsters, who gathered in a cluster on one of the few grassy parts left.
"Now I-a go! Shitake Colossus, strike their-a Jolt Koopa!" The lumbering mushroom raised a massive foot, then brought it crashing down upon the yellow-shelled troopa, who even as a hologram looked horrified before it shattered.
"And-a now-a I will attack your Huffin Puffin Mama with-a da Spore Cap-a!" Luigi looked positively rapturous as his massive mushroom shot out a piece of itself, a rather sizeable chunk, which crushed the Huffin Puffin Mama, shattering the hologram, returning to rest atop of the fungi's head. "I'm-a not attacking your little puffball. I-a think it's-a too cute to-a kill just-a yet."
"You won't be killing it," Iggy snarled, claws gripped into a fist, resting upon the holographic sensory plate, which registered a shadow on the field for a moment before it recognized the object.
"For we have a plan!" Lemmy growled, gripping the cards very tightly.
"You-a cannot defeat my mushrooms! For-a when you end-a your turn, my Fungal Growth will finally consume all of-a your monsters, draining their energy by half, and-a making them-a mine!"
"Don't be so sure…"
"Why do you think we played Kuribo a turn earlier?" the elder smiled, realizing what possibilities existed with what he just drew.
"For we now play the magic card that shall be your undoing! Collected Power!" the twins collected shout echoed.
"You know, that is really starting to get annoying," Roy whispered to Ludwig.
"Vat can ve do? Zey are our brothers."
The little fuzz ball was writhing, in obvious agony as the fungus that was permeating the field soaked into it, putting out hyphae into it, making it a part of itself. Some of the onlooking Koopalings felt rather sorry for the thing. It ended hardly recognizable, with an attack power of 1795. The fungus that was rotting the playing field receded, except for a small patch upon which Kuribo stood.
"Collected Power takes all Equip Magic Cards and focuses them into one monster of our choosing. That means that your Shitake Colossus is no longer the mammoth it once was (2430 attack). It makes it weak enough to be destroyed by our Expert Magikoopa! And, this time, you have no Waboku to help you." Lemmy and Iggy wore grins the size of Ice Land on their faces as they ordered the Magikoopa hologram to attack once again. Luigi gripped his cards angrily as one of his most prized monsters was so completely destroyed.
'Why?! That attack was magical, why didn't it fail?! Unless… oh, no… they're on a fungus field! The types match!'
"And don't think that we've forgotten about your Spore Cap and Poison Mushroom, either," Lemmy remarked. "Kuribo, attack the Spore Cap!" The little fungus-ridden furball leapt forward and exploded upon its collision with the mushroom, bringing both to nothing but little shards of light. Luigi's moustache quivered as his life points dropped further.
Twins: 2000
Luigi: 1080
"Hey! Alright Lemmy!" Larry cheered from the sidelines.
"Don't I get any credit?" Iggy asked, sharing a laugh.
"It is your turn, Luigi Mario. Make your move, before we lose our patience," Ludwig ordered calmly from the sidelines.
"I'm-a not quite defeated yet! You may-a have destroyed all of-a my monsters except-a one, but you won't beat my last one! I'll-a play one card face-down first, and-a place Expanding Puffball (200/300) in-a Attack Mode. I will then place-a Stone Wall Magic Card around it." The tiniest possible of mushrooms appeared on the field, squeaking a bit pathetically, but was then immediately surrounded by a large flagstone wall, covered in ivy and moss. Strange noises emanated from the center- long, wailing cries, almost mournful. "In a few-a turns, you will-a know what it means to know terror by fungus!"
"I don't think so!" shouted out Iggy. "Reveal the Trap Card…"
"Earthshaker!" The holographic arena immediately began to quiver, and the holograms all began to look a bit jarred.
"What- what is-a this?!" Luigi asked, very worried.
"Well, not only will Earthshaker destroy all fortresses and walls on the field if not constructed to the entire field, but-"
"-it also forces you to choose a monster attribute on the field to destroy!" Lemmy finished, grinning at the winning play. "But that is not all- we now play this- the Indecisive Troopa Guard, to make our Expert Magikoopa an Earth monster as well! So now you're forced to destroy all earth monsters." Luigi sighed and with a wave of his hand conceded, but not before laying one last card face-down. The wall surrounding his tiny little mushroom crumbled, and the Magikoopa vanished away under the pressure. The Earthshaker card had also left the forest field completely split, which would make a physical attack useless coming from the Koopalings' side. Luigi thought himself safe as he motioned for the twins to go.
"You lose-" Iggy announced, business-like as he drew the last card.
"For we play…"
"Electric Dry Bones (2500/1200) in Attack Mode!" The relatively large skeleton troopa materialized onto the field, crackling slightly with electricity.
"Electric Dry Bones can attack you even from this distance, so don't think you're safe, Luigi Mario!" Iggy shouted.
"Wow! Nice play, huh, Ludwig?" Larry asked from the sidelines.
"More like nice card. I vonder how zey got it…"
The crackling skeleton turtle was beginning to gather a ball of electricity in its shell, so much so that a terrific odd feeling was beginning to come from the hologram, as if it were real. Luigi was visibly sweating as the turtle shot out the ball of electrical energy at him, but just as it was before his eyes, he remembered his Trap Card.
"My-a Waboku!" His hand quickly darted to it, but could not turn the card over in time, and the electricity contacted him, depleting his life points to naught.
Twins: 2000
Luigi: 0000
"Yeah! Alright, go Iggy! Go Lemmy!" Larry shouted out, ecstatic at them having finally bested one of the Mario Brothers. Luigi grasped his head, weeping at having been defeated by such scum. He had descended the ladder and was surrounded by the Koopalings.
"But-a how? I was-a the Fungus Champion of the Mushroom Kingdom! There-a was no-a higher rank!"
"Tough luck!" Roy said, knocking him hard on the back of the head, then delivering a strong uppercut to Luigi's jaw, knocking the younger Mario unconscious. "You've got no idea how long I've wanted to do that to you Mario Brothers."
"And now we get the cherry tokens!" Lemmy said, removing the two in the gauntlet, one for Iggy and one for himself. He slipped the metallic disc into one of the slots on his own glove, then the twins held up their hands in what they believed was a dramatic pose.
"I hope zat you realize how silly you both look doing zat," Ludwig said, rolling his eyes at his brothers' antics.
"Don't know-"
"Don't care!"
They all shared a laugh that only siblings
could, and started off back to the castle they had spotted, two more tokens
in hand, leaving the unconscious Luigi to whatever fate awaited him.
'Hmm… Well, that was certainly an invigorating match by the twins. I wonder what's going on in the mountains, though?' Nick thought, flipping through the duels to see what his cameras and computing systems all throughout the island brought him. One in particular caught his eye.
"What in DAD's name…" he muttered, giving the statistical sheet he had just scrolled by a closer look. One of his invitees, a young female Magikoopa student he had hardly given a second thought to, had already managed to win six cherry tokens, making a total of eight, and the stunning part was that she did it in one duel.
"Gah! My eliminators must be slacking…" Nick ran a quick locator scan on her position, finding her to then be descending from the Sunset Mountains to the Pine Forests, where his siblings currently were. He grabbed his deck holster and his wand and thus created a portal not far from her position. He popped out in the fragrant pine woods, amidst smells of resin and aromatic leaves. One of his favorite arenas was nearby, and he would lure his charge there.
'This competition won't be any fun if we have someone climbing the ranks that fast… She'll pay the price for her impatience…' Nick forced his face to look as benign as possible, then hastened off to find the girl.
To Be Continued...
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