Blargh! A Blog!

Here it is, folks. The next chapter, and the climax and aftermath of the Duel.

Guess That Card!



Normal Spell Card
Effect: Destroy all monsters on the field.

Chapter Two: The Fateful Night, Part 2.

I don't know how long I have been out. It felt like a while, but I heard that it was only a few minutes.

I had a dream when I fainted. Nothing prepared me for this. I ended up in a different realm. Anyone who knew Norse Mythology would later tell me....I was on the Bifrost Bridge. The Bridge that connected the mortal realm....to Asgard.

-----

Sarah wakes up on what seemed to be a multicolored bridge. She looked around only to find light mist and mountain peaks. "Where am I?" Not much later did she wait after getting up when a small winged-entity -- about a bit shorter than her -- descended slowly. The upper portion of her dress was covered in red plates for protection. She had a sheath on her lower back that contained a blade, making Sarah think she had ended up in some sort of mystical, medieval land. The woman's blue eyes gazed down on Sarah until she was close enough to speak to her. "Greetings, mortal."

"W-who are you?! And can you tell me where I am?!" Sarah braced herself for the woman's answer. The woman continued to slowly hover above her, and Sarah had yet to see if the woman was friendly or hostile. She wasn't sure if she was dreaming at the time.

"I am a Valkyrie. We are part of a group you mortals call the...'Nordic Ascendants.'" The woman said straight away. She wasn't going to beat around the bush, and Sarah noticed right away.

"THE Valkyrie? And the Nordic Ascendants? The ones who serve Odin in the Duel Monsters game? I must be dreaming."

"Rest assured, you are not." The Valkyrie continued. "You stand in a different dimension, between the human realm and the monster realm."

"The monster realm?"

"Yes. Many years ago, the great Pharaoh rose again to destroy the Great Leviathan."

"Ah, yes." Sarah interrupted. "That giant snake in the sky. Ever since the time of Yugi Muto, people believed there was a dimension where Duel Monsters do exist. Is this true?"

"Yes. Are you frightened?"

"Not at all. In fact, I'm amazed." Sarah couldn't help but smile. She had heard different stories of the past before. But one of her favorites was the one where, long ago, an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh saved the world from an evil creature that threatened his land. And further reading led her to believe that, thousands of years later, the same Pharaoh rose again to destroy a giant snake in the sky that not many people knew about. Even now that decades had passed, some people claim that the snake was no hologram. Sadly, the Valkyrie had some sad news.

"I'm afraid you will not be amazed for long. There is a great evil out there that claims we are long overdue....in the battle known as Ragnarok."

"Ragnarok?" Sarah had learned about Ragnarok from the books she has read on Norse Mythology. It was an apocalyptic war that would herald the end of the world. Sarah was not one to believe in any gods, but seeing the Valkyrie in the flesh had her thinking if the Aesir also existed in the monster realm. "You mean the huge war that has been mentioned in Norse Mythology for generations?

"Yes. If this war were to happen, the Aesir will surely die, and we'll remain without leaders. No Einherjar will enjoy the halls of Valhalla any longer. They would pick up a sword, and fight until they could fight no longer."

"That's terrible! Who would enjoy an eternity filled with violence?"

"This is the fate evil itself would impose on us, unless we acquire every valuable ally and end the war before it starts. And we must definitely move with haste in collecting the cards holding the most powerful of creatures: the DIVINE."

"But....why am I dragged into this?" Sarah hesitantly pointed out.

"There is only one reason." The Valkyrie continued. "The man you are dueling right now is filled with greed. If he were to win the cards he cheated to obtain, we'd have no hope in the battle of Ragnarok. I plead to you, as our Nordic brethren.....do not let him win."

Sarah had trouble believing that Cliff, a mere street thug, would bring the end of the world if he won the Duel. Her cards quickly materialize in front of her, each holding her Nordic monsters. Sarah then remembered that Cliff wanted her Nordic cards, and if Sarah lost there wasn't much she could do to prevent the holy war that the Valkyrie was beginning to fear. "I wasn't planning to lose. But....it isn't long until he wins. There is nothing I can do."

"Your match has already been decided. Your next draw....is the card based on myself. However you use it is up to you. But your cousin has already done you a huge favor. I ask that you not let his efforts be in vain. Do not do this for me, but also for the fate of all Duel Monsters." More cards materialize in front of Sarah, and the spirits of the monsters in them suddenly appear behind the Valkyrie. They were the images of the monsters Sarah had already lost to the card Graveyard; Super-Nimble Mega Hamster, Tanngnjostr, Des Kangaroo, Big Koala, and the Master of Oz. They nod at Sarah, confirming the credibility in Valkyrie's story.

"You guys want me to fight? I'll do it! For your sake and theirs!" Sarah affirmatively replied with a nod. What surprised the Valkyrie is that Sarah was quick to believe her story. Whether it was a dream or not, Sarah loved Norse Mythology thanks to the books she would store in her room back home.

Holding out her arms, the Valkyrie concluded her mission. "Then you must win this battle. Once you win, I shall tell you how to impart the power of the three Aesir. Farewell." The Valkyrie had begun ascending back to the sky, as the Aurora Borealis began to emit its lights in the sky. t was a beautiful sight, but the Valkyrie and the monster spirits were gone within seconds.

"The three Aesir? Wait! Wait!!!!"

-----

Sarah wakes up, back in the duel. She was feeling a warm sensation, and soon realized that Leon was on top of her, in his fruitless attempts to wake her up. His face was soaked in tears, and Sarah soon saw why he cried. She saw something that terrified her. "Shreds of paper on the floor? No...they can't be-!"

"I figured your nap was going to take a while, so I decided to snatch the kid's Deck as collateral." Cliff began. He and his underlings all smiled at one another, one of them revealing a gap that was obviously missing a tooth. The other makes a smart remark about it, and the two start bickering to each other. One cough from Clff was enough to silence them. "Hm. You've only been out for four minutes. And yet you missed the real fun."

The thugs looked at each other before giving off a playful shrug. "The kid's Deck sucks! I was expecting Inzektors or Gishki at least. But Spirits?!"

Cliff then stared at Sarah seriously. "The brat wouldn't let go of one card, but we tore up the rest! He has no reason to go around with his lame-o Deck!" Sarah could see one card on the floor, still intact. It was Honest, the card she advised Leon to hold on to. She then looks up and sees Leon's Spirit monsters floating away. They were led by the Valkyrie, who would probably lead them to the halls of Valhalla. Cliff and his posse look up, but they saw nothing. Only Sarah could see it. "You.....what?" Sarah said in an angered tone in her voice. "How...dare you?!! It was the only thing left in his life besides me!"

The main thug couldn't help but chuckle at Sarah's reaction. It was what he had been waiting for. "I like the fire in your eyes! That's exactly what I was hoping for!"

She was mad now. Sarah didn't care anymore if anyone saw her display a strong emotion. She wanted to make Cliff pay for destroying something with great sentimental value. "You're going to pay! I'm going to win this Duel and humiliate you in the worst way possible!"

"Then the Duel is still on!" Cliff said. Sarah stands back up as the duel resumes. She was at 1000 Life Points while Cliff beat her by 100. Grapha was the only monster on the field, and since it just attacked Sarah knew she was safe for one more turn. "I'll end my turn by placing this card face down. Time to lose!"

Sarah prepares to draw her next card. With the whole Duel riding on this draw, she is about to say the line that will be her signature in crucial moments like this. "It's either this....or Ragnarok!" Everyone stood in silence. Leon still sobbed, but even he looked at his cousin just moments later. Sarah looks at her card, and just like the Valkyrie mentioned in their conversation...."It's her! The card I need! I'm not used to her effect, but let's see what she does! I summon Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant!" The winged Valkyrie then descends from the sky, ready to fulfill her duties as Sarah's partner not only in this Duel, but all of the ones to come as well. Silently staring at Grapha, the Valkyrie is quick to draw her sword and stands unafraid. Even though Grapha was much stronger and let out a threatening roar, the warrior woman felt she had nothing to fear.

Cliff, however, was quick to point out one important detail. "You do know that's a Normal Summon, right? Anything after this has to be a Special Summon!"The rules of Duel Monsters only allowed one Normal Summon, and that's what Sarah just did. The Valkyrie only had 400 ATK Points, and unless she summoned a monster by Special Summon she wasn't going to get much done.

"A Normal Summon, you say? Thanks for reminding me." Cliff stepped back n surprise at Sarah's choice of words."Because that's where her usefulness reaches its peak! When Valkyrie is Normal Summoned, she calls forth two Einherjars to fight along with her, at the cost of two Nordic monsters from my hand! And I choose Mara of the Nordic Alfar, and Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts!" Once Sarah places the said cards in the Banished zone, the Valkyrie raises her sword and summons the spirits of Guldfaxe and Mara, in the form of Einherjars. They both stood at 1000 in both ATK and DEF.

Cliff was still doubting the usefulness of Sarah's moves. "Is that all? My Grapha can still wipe the floor with any of them!"

Sarah took a moment to look at her Extra Deck pouch. "I'm not done. C'mon, something good!" Sarah pulls out the cards in her pouch. She was surprised to find, as we all expected, the three Aesir! "I don't believe it! L-Leon, how did you-"

"Just go ahead and beat him, Sarah! Let him know what he's up against!" Leon said, wiping his tears away. It was then that it dawned on Cliff that the Valkyrie was a Tuner Monster, the main component needed for a Synchro Summon. But it was too late.

"Gladly." Sarah said responding to Leon. "My Level 2 Valkyrie will tune with both of my Level 4 Einherjars!"

"But that adds to Level 10!" Cliff said in disbelief, unable to believe at the sudden twist of fate.

"I'm pretty sure I'm right." The Valkyrie then transforms into two green rings, while the Einherjars turn into stars. Enveloped in a ray of light, they all ascend to the sky, which briefly emits the Nordic Lights. And while no summoning needed a chant, Sarah felt doing one now seemed like the right time. "Nordic Lights, guide the Valkyrie and her Einherjars to Valhalla! Use their power to call forth the mightiest god in Asgard! I Synchro Summon.....Odin, Father of the Aesir!"

The Nordic Lights begin to shine brightly, catching the attention of anyone inhabiting the nearby buildings. Houses, apartments, even shops that were about to close. Sarah places the card on the Duel Disk, and surely enough, the mighty Odin materializes behind her. The enormous Odin was big enough to scare Cliff's posse away, as he was taller than the city's tallest building.

Odin, Father of the Aesir
DIVINE/Divine Beast
Level 10
ATK 4000/DEF 3500

Author's note: I know in rl, Odin is a LIGHT/Fairy. I'm going by the anime stats, thus adding more DIVINE cards in future chapters.

Sarah stood in awe. The mighty Odin stood behind her not as a foe, but as a powerful being ready to fight for her. And that was not the only thing that made her happy. "I did it! My first Synchro Summon!"

"Just keep in mind I won that card before your kid cousin took it away!" Cliff wasn't ready to lose. His thugs were watching and he had a reputation to uphold. He wasn't about to lose to some girl. He truly believed he was going to win, and the reason behind his confidence seemed to be that face down card he placed earlier. " I got nothing to worry about. Once she attacks, her monster will be removed from the game!"

Sarah didn't hesitate move on with her turn. She points at the Nordic Lights u above as she yells her command. "Now, Odin! Use your hidden power, and become the most powerful being on the field!" The Father of the Aesir followed his master's order by raising the Gungnir, the holy spear of legend. Odin begins to glow in a great golden aura before he lowers his spear. "Then I play Monster Reborn, allowing me to bring back a monster from the Graveyard!"

"That means-?!"

"You got it! Tanngnjostr, come back to me!" The power of Monster Reborn then brings back Sarah's Tanngnjostr of the Nordic Beasts, who had fallen earlier.

Tanngnjostr of the Nordic Beasts
EARTH/Beast
Level 3
ATK 800/DEF 1100

"Is that it? Ha! What's a pathetic monster like him gonna do to me?"

Tanngnjostr was quick to react with an anger cross on the face and a loud snort, and bleats angrily at Cliff's insulting remark. "It's all part of my plan on humiliating you. Destroy his Grapha now!!" Pointing the Gungnir at Grapha, Odin prepares to strike him down with a lightning blast. However, Cliff was ready.

"Hold on! Reveal face down Trap!" Cliff said as he pushed a button on his Duel Disk. "Dimensional Prison!! If one of your monsters even thinks about attacking, my Dimensional Prison removes it from the game!"

"What?!"

"Adios, Odin!" The Dimensional Fissure opens up in front of Grapha, and attempts to suck Odin in. However, a golden aura around Odin began to glow and he remained unaffected. Something was up. "What is this?!"

"Apparently you don't know much about other cards." Sarah said with a sly grin.

"What are you talking about?!"

"I activated Odin's effect before I attacked. Wanna know what it does?"

"Tell me!"

"Odin grants himself the power to become immune to Spells and Traps! So your Dimensional Prison is useless!" The massive Odin continues the attack, as the Dimensional Prison fails to suck him in and thus destroys itself. Sarah then calls out the attack. "Odin, continue the attack! Sacred Scepter Slash!!" Having charged up the spear, Odin slices Grapha with it with little effort, destroying the dragon fiend. Cliff's Life Points go down to 100, and there's one more monster that needed to attack. It was all over for him.

"No! Grapha is supposed to be invincible! How did this happen?!"

"Serves you right for hurting others! And now...I'll let Tanngnjostr finish you off!" The black Nordic goat Tanngnjostr then rushes to attack Cliff directly, and does so by tackling him right on the gut, taking away the remainder of his Life Points.

WINNER!

The Duel was over. Sarah was quick to approach Cliff, who was lying on the ground. His posse, scared off by Odin, the leader could do nothing but look up as his opponent grabs his Dark World deck. "Go ahead, do it! Rip it to shreds like I did to the kid!"

"No." Sarah replies as she drops Cliff's deck to the ground, scattering the cards everywhere. "Everyone was wrong about you on the cheating part. But you hurt my cousin. He has hardly anything left in this world. Lucky for you, you learned a painless lesson on the consequences of hurting others. She was quck to grab the sack that Leon worked so hard to protect from the thugs. "I'll take this as part of the deal."

"Hold on a sec! You're letting me go?" Cliff said in surprise. The thug seemed surprised that he was at the mercy of a girl that was letting him go. A girl he had made suffer.

"I'm going to be clear on one thing, okay? I'm only doing that because Leon and I had enough suffering for one night. Now I really suggest you get lost. And if I catch you hurting my family again....you won't get off so easily."

Standing up after hearing Sarah's excuse, Cliff resumes giving off that overconfident smirk on his face. "You won one duel and you suddenly get an ego boost. Fine." Collecting his cards, Cliff is quick to leave the scene. As she goes to console Leon, Sarah is approached by many people.

"Was that really Odin?"

"I didn't think Dark Worlds could be beaten!"

"Nah, that thug's skills ain't good. There are people who can make better Decks, but this girl was still able to take down a Grapha!"

"Oh, I can't take all the credit. Sarah smiles as she grabbed Leon's hand. "He helped too! Right?"

"All I did was make you the Extra Deck with just a mishmash of monsters. He just so happened to have the three-"

"You chose to add them, Leon. If it wasn't for you..." An older man suddenly approaches the children from amongst the growing crowd, and by the look on Leon's face, Sarah could guess it was the shopkeeper he was helping out. The man appeared to be balding, and his clothes didn't make him look any different from any shop clerks who still dressed like the old days.

"Thank goodness you're okay! I didn't really care about the cards! Your safety came first, kid! It was dangerous, and it was reckless of you to run off after them like that!" The shopkeeper, as glad as he was to see Leon safe, was apparently in a mood to scold him. Leon prepared to apologize, and would have done so if Sarah hadn't stepped up in his defense.

"Lay off, okay? He recovered the cards." Sarah said as she handed over the sack of cards and her Extra Deck ouch that she used during her Duel.

The shopkeeper rummaged through the pouch, and was more surprised to see that all his cards where there. "I don't believe it! You even got the three Aesir I waited for!"

"Yeah. They did good in my Nordic deck." Sarah said in a proud pose. Had she been any more arrogant her nose would definitely have grown.

"You own a Nordic deck? And what did you mean by that, little lady?"

"Well, she just beat the leader of that gang of punks that stole those cards from you!" Leon casually pointed out. "I'm her cousin, and she came to my rescue!"

"Kids these days! Why don't you think twice before heading into danger?!" The shopkeeper said with a palm to his face. But he quickly calmed down, relieved to see that both kids were okay. "But I really owe you for returning those cards. The guy practically took my whole store in that bag. I would be out of business if it weren't for you. That shipment of cards had just came in." A boy then gets past from the crowd, and the shopkeeper is the first to greet him. The boy's hair was colored red and wore a blue jacket with red pants. Sarah and Leon recognized him right away. "There you are, Roger. If you keep getting left behind-"

"Hold on, Dad! Those are the two guys I talked to you about!"

"Hey, you're the guy from earlier!" Leon shouted.

"And that's the girl who gave me that Dark Simorgh!" Roger pointed at Sarah, who couldn't help but blush a little.

"Oh, really? Sarah, you are a good kid. My boy has been looking for that card ever since he started dueling! I tell you what. I'll give you kids a good batch of rare cards for really saving my business, and making my boy happy."

"Dad...."

"I know. Just come on over to my shop. You'll be able to find something you may like."

"I'm sorry to be rude, but I have to go. My father is waiting." Sarah then holds Leon's hand, much to his chagrin. He didn't want to leave yet, not so soon anyway.

"Hold on, cuz! Today's Saturday, right?"

"Oh, yes. Dad would always leave the house and not come back 'til morning." Sarah closes her eyes to think for a minute, and inside her mind she sees the image of the Valkyrie, who greets her.

"Don't be afraid of them. The All-Father has granted me a portion of his wisdom, and the man possesses a kind heart. What's more, he also has a powerful monster who is capable of helping us."

It was truly her. Sarah was meeting once again with the warrior from her dreams. With not much else on her plate, Sarah was quick to accept. "So it wasn't a dream. Then I'll help you if you help me."

"Very well. Follow them and see for yourself the monster you must recruit. It is not one of the DIVINE, but every ally will be valuable."

"Then let's do this. To prevent Ragnarok from becoming a reality." Leon was quick to interrupt Sarah's thoughts, but by then she had already made her decision. She looked at the shopkeeper with a smile on her face. "Okay, sir. I can't wait to see these cards of yours."

"Oh, good. The shop is closed right now, but it's also my house. It'll always be open for you kids. It is the least I can do." The shopkeeper walks off, followed by Roger and Leon. Sarah was last, and distracted herself by looking at the night sky. She could see the Nordic Lights, but they had gotten no one else's attention.

Not a lot of people would follow a stranger under the promise of new cards. But the Valkyrie assured me that he had a kind heart. And a monster that would help in the long run. And Leon must be pretty excited too. This night didn't just change my life. It also changed his.

"Hurry up, Sarah!"

"Coming, Leon!" The girl quickly runs off, giving chase after Leon and Roger, who were obviously racing each other as the shopkeeper looked on. Although Leon made a foolish and dangerous choice that night, she was smiling that everything turned out to be alright. "Thank you, Leon."

-----

Chapter 2 Preview

"Hi, everyone! I'm Leon!"

"And I'm Sarah."

"We're just getting started with this story. That old man has a bunch of crazy stories to tell us, and it's all gonna lead to another duel!"

"Um, y-yeah. Another d-d-duel...."

"Sarah, you're blushing."

"You'd be too if your next opponent spent half the duel flirting with you!"

"Whatever. And we'll see you guys next time in...."Fairy Madness!" See ya then!"

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