Female Fortitude GX (F, 1/4)

[Blah!?]

Two years ago today, I did a thing. I've wanted to do another thing this whole time since then, but I could never find the motivation. Once I noticed I was coming up on the two year anniversary of the thing, however, that finally gave me the kick in the pants I needed to do the thing again.

If you haven't, I recommend you read the first thing first:

This isn't a direct sequel, but it takes place in the same universe and follows the same rules. I think I did a better job of explaining the game in the first story, and since I didn't want to spend too much time on setting that all up again this time, I figured I'd just roll with it and link people back to the beginning.

Once again, no reason to make you wait any longer. So, here we go.

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Part 1 - A Friendly Snob

Aggie Newton sprang out of bed promptly at 5:30 in the morning. She smiled brightly as she dressed herself, though she made an effort to stay quiet so as not to disturb her roommate. Leaving her navy blue tracksuit jacket unzipped, Aggie slipped out of her apartment and into the great outdoors of the Silver Creek University campus. The chilly morning air made Aggie shiver, but she smiled as she briefly rubbed her arms. Then, she stepped onto the sidewalk and took off on a morning jog.

 

With a long, open stretch ahead, Aggie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, filling her broad nose with the friendly aromas of trees and grass. A few stray grains of flower pollen made her scrunch up her face, but she promptly shook her head and carried on. After looping all the way around campus twice, Aggie jogged in place for a second before cutting through the quad to head back to her apartment.

 

Passing by a series of admittedly pretty flower beds, Aggie held her fingers flat and rubbed them back and forth under her wide nose. She felt a sneeze coming on, and just for fun, she challenged herself to get home before it forced its way out. Her eyes began to narrow as she turned off of the sidewalk, and she pressed her flaring nostrils against the back of her hand just as she reached the door.

 

“Hn’Choo!”

 

Aggie’s head bobbed forward with a soft, partially-stifled sneeze while she was still half in the doorway. She smiled to herself and shrugged, deciding to call it a draw. No longer concerned with being quiet, Aggie skipped to the bedroom and burst through the door.

 

“Good morning, Sarah!” Aggie cheered, waving a hand in the air. Miraculously Sarah continued to snore. Giggling softly, Aggie squatted down beside her roommate’s bed.

 

“Hey!” she whispered, reaching a finger toward the blankets, “wake up!”

 

Aggie poked roughly where Sarah’s belly should have been. The sleeping girl twitched and gave an inelegant snort, but she still refused to awaken. Deciding she had no other choice, Aggie placed one hand on Sarah’s chest, the other on her waist, and then she began to violently rock her roommate back and forth. Sarah emitted a low whine that gradually grew louder and louder until Aggie could hear it over her snickering.

 

“Hi Sarah!” whispered Aggie as she leaned down toward her friend. Sarah heaved an enormous yawn, smacked her lips, and finally gazed up at her friend.

 

“What time is it?” she moaned, struggling to keep her eyes open. Aggie reflexively glanced at her bare wrist before turning to the clock on her bedside table.

 

“6:26.”

 

“What day is it?”

 

“Saturday.”

 

Sarah narrowed her eyes and wrinkled her freckled nose in utter disgust.

 

“How dare you?”

 

“It’s also the day where we need to sign up for regionals,” Aggie reminded, wagging a finger in the air. Sarah stared blankly at the ceiling for a few seconds, and then she unceremoniously peeled herself off her bed and lumbered into the bathroom.

 

Aggie hopped up onto her bed to pass the time until she could take a post-jog shower of her own. She smiled sympathetically as she overheard Sarah loudly blowing her nose, but it wasn’t long before she grew too restless to simply sit and wait. Kneeling beside her bed, Aggie reached underneath and retrieved a small, metal case. After entering a quick combination on the case’s keypad, it sprung open to reveal hundreds of Fortitude cards. Aggie ignored most of them and removed her primary deck, already packaged in its own box.

 

Both she and Sarah were quite skilled, but neither of them had given much thought to playing in a proper tournament before. They hadn’t even joined the university Fortitude club, though they played against several of its members from time to time. This year, however, the regional league announced it would be adding a doubles tournament for the first time. Once they heard the news, Aggie and Sarah decided to team up and see how far they could go.

 

Once she realized she no longer heard the shower running, Aggie slipped her deck into her jacket pocket. She shed her outerwear, laid it out on her bed, and then headed for the bathroom. Sarah stepped out just as Aggie arrived. She was already dressed in cut-offs and a novelty t-shirt, but her auburn hair was still an untamed mess. Aggie smiled as Sarah pulled her towel over her shoulders and scurried back to the bedroom, and then she grabbed a towel of her own and began to freshen up.

 

After eating breakfast and finishing the rest of their morning routines, Aggie and Sarah were ready to head out. Aggie gathered her damp brown hair up into a small ponytail, and then she returned to her tracksuit jacket out of equal parts comfort and hurriedness. Meanwhile, Sarah grabbed a soft cardigan and her favorite hat: a faded black baseball cap with a multicolored “Quiznak!” logo across the front. Stopping at their front door, the two roommates high-fived each other before departing.

 

The moment she set foot outside, Sarah threw her arms around herself and shivered. She forced herself to press on when Aggie stepped past her, but she couldn’t resist the urge to complain.

 

“It’s chilly,” Sarah grumbled, sounding subtly more congested than before. Aggie began to jog in place, turning her head to look back at her friend.

 

“Let’s run! That’ll warm you up!”

 

Sarah stuffed her hands into the pockets of her cardigan and pouted. She sniffed sharply, scrunching her nose to the side, and then she resumed walking. Aggie continued to bounce from one foot to the other until Sarah caught up to her, and then the two carried on together. Sarah watched silently as a familiar-looking luxury car drove past, heading toward the university campus. Then, she and Aggie both tensed and whirled around at the sound of screeching tires. By the time the roommates were able to turn and look, the car had performed a surprisingly agile u-turn in the middle of the street and pulled up alongside them. Well aware of what was about to happen, Aggie and Sarah stepped onto the grass between the sidewalk and the road and waited for the car’s rear side window to roll down.

 

“Oh my, if it isn’t Agatha and Sarah,” greeted the car’s well-to-do passenger. Sarah sniffed again and waved.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Ah, good mornin’, Regina!” said Aggie, giving a friendly nod. “What made you want to come to campus this early on a weekend?”

 

“Why, you two, of course!” replied Regina, flinging her hands up through the car window. She then clumsily pulled herself inside, opened the door, and stepped out properly. Regina’s pristine white dress and curly black hair fluttered in the faint morning breeze, and as soon as the car door shut behind her, she deployed a lace parasol to shield herself from the still-dim morning sun.

 

“I just couldn’t let you run off and sign up for the doubles league without wishing you luck first!”

 

“Aw, thank you!” giggled Aggie, clasping her hands over her chest. Sarah sniffed a third time and nodded.

 

“Thanks.”

 

“And I thought you two were such hooligans when you wouldn’t join the club! Look how responsible you’ve become, saving up for the entry fee on the side!”

 

Aggie’s eyes widened and she broke out in a cold sweat.

 

“There’s… There’s an entry fee?”

 

Regina’s face twisted from playfully amused to downright smug. Turning her head to the side, she held the back of her free hand beside her mouth, and Sarah surreptitiously covered her ears in anticipation of what was to follow.

 

“OOOOOOOOOH HO HO HO HO! Oh, Agatha! Of course there’s an entry fee! In fact, the entry fee for the doubles league is double the usual amount! So that you might split the winnings with your partner! Sarah, surely you’ve been saving?”

 

Sarah jerked her head to the side and looked down, using the brim of her hat to block Regina’s eyes.

 

“Oooooh Ho Ho! It seems you two are in quite the predicament!”

 

Aggie sighed heavily, but she forced herself to smile.

 

“It’s… It’s alright. We can try again next year. Besides, nothin’ wrong with gettin’ in some more practice.”

 

Regina closed her eyes with a smirk, placing her fingertips on her forehead.

 

“Oh, Agatha. I refuse to believe you’d give up so easily. No matter. As president of the Silver Creek University Fortitude Club, I am fully prepared to stake you in this endeavor. Now-”

 

Aggie grabbed the collar of her shirt in one hand and held the other out to Regina.

 

“Oh, no, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

 

“I could,” Sarah interjected, her eyes practically glowing as she snapped to attention. Regina grinned as she examined her fingernails, simultaneously giving a pleased hum.

 

“You’ve repeatedly bested my club members. If anyone from Silver Creek has the moxie for such a tournament, it’s you two.”

 

Aggie smiled, loosening her grip on her shirt.

 

“A… Are you sure?”

 

Regina turned up her nose and waved a hand at her friends.

 

“Pish posh. You’ll be in no debt to me and you’ll have no obligation to share your winnings. All I ask is that you please reconsider joining the club, regardless of the outcome. And, that you best me in a game of our own!”

 

Aggie’s smile widened as she reached into her jacket pocket for her deck.

 

“Now that sounds like somethin’ I can agree to. Regina Moreno, I challenge your Fortitude!”

 

“Magnificent.”

 

Regina snapped her fingers, and then she held her free hand beside the driver’s side window of her car. The window rolled down and the driver deposited a Fortitude deck into the young woman’s hand, and then a pair of identically-dressed butlers burst from the car. The men ran to the trunk, and then they began to assemble a portable Fortitude arena in the field beside the road. Once everything was in order, the butlers bowed out of the way and Regina stepped up to one of the arena’s two podiums. Aggie took her place as well, and then both players slotted in their decks simultaneously.

 

A gradient life bar and a blue mana counter flashed into existence in front of each player. Both decks were shuffled automatically, and then two hands of five cards each spread across the podiums. After examining their starting hands, Aggie and Regina locked eyes.

 

“Begin,” said Regina, sweeping a hand over the field. Aggie shook her head and smiled.

 

“You’ve been polite enough already. You go first, I insist.”

 

Regina closed her eyes and gave a nod.

 

“Very well.”

 

Sacrificing a card, Regina increased her mana pool to 1. Then, she played a second card to summon a Young Dryad. A green-skinned woman appeared before her on the field, gently swaying back and forth with the breeze. Small flowers sprouted from her leaf-like hair, and patches of bark covered her body in place of clothes.

 

Regina ended her turn, and Aggie absently rubbed her fingers back and forth under her nose as she pondered her initial hand. Without taking too much time to decide, she sacrificed two cards to raise her mana to 2, and then ended her turn without further action.

 

“Agatha,” sighed Regina, pinching the bridge of her nose, “you’re not about to try the same old strategy, are you?. Don’t be so sure it’ll work on me again.”

 

“I don’t know, I am pretty lucky,” Aggie replied, drawing a finger across her nostrils once more. Regina smiled, drawing two cards to return her hand size to five. She immediately sacrificed one for a total of 2 mana, and then she jabbed a finger toward her opponent.

 

“Go forth!”

 

The Young Dryad elegantly skipped toward Aggie, twirling once as she positioned herself. Then, she twisted away to wind up before swinging her arm at the opposite podium. In the span of only a second, the creature’s right arm transformed into a long vine that lashed across Aggie’s torso before returning to normal.

 

“Agh!” yelped Aggie, more out of shock than pain. The green end of her life bar had shrunk, but only by a sliver. With her turn beginning, she drew two cards. Like Regina, she sacrificed one, bringing her mana pool up to 3, and then she played the first spell card of the game.

 

“Magic Missile!” Aggie commanded, reaching a hand toward Regina’s creature. A ball of yellow light shot out from behind Aggie’s podium and struck the Young Dryad in the chest. 200 damage was enough to defeat the creature outright, and she disintegrated into a cloud of blue particles before disappearing completely.

 

“Now, now, that wasn’t very nice,” Regina lightly scolded, drawing two cards to start her turn. Just as before, she sacrificed one and played another. This time, a Forest Spirit flashed into existence, taking the form of a glowing green ball. It emitted a faint shimmering sound, but otherwise it seemed to be inert.

 

Well aware that the Forest Spirit was harmless on its own, Aggie began her turn. She drew two cards and sacrificed one, and then she grinned confidently. Finally able to summon a creature of her own, Aggie tapped the card and emphatically cast her hand out toward Regina.

 

“Street Samurai!”

 

Another young woman appeared on the field, though this one was a human. She was dressed in a plain leather jacket, jeans and sneakers, but Regina’s eyes were immediately drawn to her short, neon-orange hair. Despite her Samurai moniker, the woman then drew a claymore from her back and held it at the ready in both hands.

 

“You always bring the most interesting cards, Agatha,” said Regina, examining the two she had just drawn herself. After raising her mana pool to 4, she spent all of it to play a new card.

 

“Carpet of Flowers.”

 

The grass covering the playing field grew slightly longer, and then a variety of large, colorful flowers began to spring up until the entire space was filled. The Street Samurai was unaffected, but the Forest Spirit seemed to grow ever so slightly larger. Aggie, on the other hand, was the least fortunate of all. The sudden sweet smell of flowers made her recoil, and she barely had enough time to bring a hand up to her face before…

 

“Hh’Choo!”

 

“Bless you.”

 

“Choo! Hn’Choo! Ih-Choo! Choo! Hh-CHOO!”

 

Aggie rocked forward with each sneeze, her nostrils pressing against the back of her hand until her nose couldn’t squish any further. After one final big sneeze, she managed to stop and give a relieved “Whew!” Keeping her eyes gently shut, Aggie rubbed her fingers back and forth under her tickly nose before looking back up at her opponent.

 

“Bless you!” repeated Regina, stealing a glance at Aggie’s life bar. Unfortunately for her, the gradient was just as green as before.

 

“Are you feeling alright?”

 

“Yeah,” Aggie said with a nod, pushing her knuckles across her nostrils. “I don’t mind a little sneezin’.”

 

“How lucky you are indeed,” chuckled Regina. At the start of her turn, she summoned another Young Dryad, and again the Forest Spirit grew ever so slightly larger. Regina then ended her turn surprisingly quickly, and Aggie decided to launch an attack. After sacrificing one more card for mana, she set her Street Samurai upon the newly arrived Dryad. The woman swung her sword clean through the Flora, once again dealing enough damage to destroy it in a single blow.

 

As the Street Samurai returned to her resting position, the two players locked eyes. Before either could utter a word, however, Aggie felt another tickle in her nose. Her oval-shaped nostrils flared, prompting her to bring her fingers up to her face. She rubbed back and forth under her nose, but after a moment she suffered another sneezing fit nonetheless.

 

“Choo! Hah’CHOO! Hn-Chooooooo!”

 

Pausing to catch her breath, Aggie unconsciously drew out the sound of her sneeze. After rubbing her nose for a second, she looked back up at Regina to find her holding in a laugh.

 

“Bless you. Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked. Aggie nodded again.

 

“I’m fine. My nose was still ticklin’.”

 

“If you say so.”

 

Regina didn’t play any cards on her next turn, but she did sacrifice one for mana, and she finally ordered her Forest Spirit to attack. A bolt of green energy shot forth from the spirit, dealing 100 damage to Aggie’s Street Samurai and also triggering her counter ability. She leapt forward and swung her sword through the enemy creature, though the Forest Spirit remained unharmed. With the ‘Ethereal’ tag, it could only be damaged by spells, or by summoned creatures with the ‘Sorcerer’ tag. Aggie knew she didn’t have any magic-type creatures in her deck, so she’d need to wait until she drew another offensive spell. In the meantime, she at least had more creatures to play.

 

“Bear!” Aggie declared, summoning what appeared to be an unremarkable grizzly bear. The animal lumbered up beside the Street Samurai, though neither of them acknowledged each other. Regina remained unfazed, though she couldn’t help but smile as Aggie bobbed forward with another soft “Choo!”

 

“Bless you.”

 

“Thanks!”

 

“Alright, it’s time I accelerated my plans,” Regina chuckled, smirking at the cards she had just drawn to start her hand. After sacrificing one of her fresh cards for mana, she summoned a Verdant Valkyrie alongside her Forest Spirit. This creature resembled the Young Dryads Regina had summoned previously, but she was tougher, more mature, and armed with an elegant green sword. As Regina ordered her Forest Spirit to give a quick zap to the newly-summoned Bear, all Aggie was able to notice were the exotic flowers sprouting from the Verdant Valkyrie’s hair.

 

“Oh… Ah… H’Choo! Nn-Choo! Choo! CHOO! Ah-CHHOO!”

 

Aggie wrinkled her nose and desperately rubbed her fingers back and forth underneath, unable to escape the sweet, tickly scent of the flowers inundating the arena. Regina opened her mouth to offer her customary blessing, but she suddenly stopped. She wasn’t sure how she had failed to notice it for all this time, but the obvious finally dawned on her. Her face twisted into a smug grin, and while her eyes remained locked on her opponent, her head tilted slightly to the side.

 

“Oh dear, Agatha. Are you allergic to flowers?”

 

Aggie sniffed and nodded sheepishly, keeping her fingers pressed against the underside of her nose.

 

“Just a little.”

 

Regina’s lips parted with a tiny chuckle, and soon she was unable to contain herself.

 

“OOOOOOOOOOOOH HO HO HO HO! Oh, how nature itself has forsaken you! I’m sure you couldn’t possibly have failed to notice by now that nearly every last card in my deck only brings with it more flowers! You have already been overrun, and with my Carpet of Flowers, it will be only too easy to call forth even more! I can summon any of my flora-type creatures for one less- Oh. Oh my. I… This is embarrassing. I’m dreadfully sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”

 

“It’s… Hh’Chooo! Ih-it’s okay.”

 

Regina fanned herself with her free hand as Aggie began her next turn. She sniffed lightly and rubbed her nose back and forth as she looked over her new cards, and she put on a subtle smile as she saw she had drawn a second Street Samurai. Aggie played the card without announcing it, and a new leather-clad warrior appeared beside the first. Their appearances were similar, though the second wielded a simpler longsword, and she wore her bright cyan hair in a slightly longer bob cut.

 

“Ooh, first edition,” Regina cooed, placing her fingertips over her mouth. “You and I may need to have a trade.”

 

“Aw, but I can’t split them up!” replied Aggie, gesturing to the pair of Street Samurai. “Aren’t they cute?”

 

“Very. I-”

 

Regina’s eyes widened as the orange-haired summon suddenly darted toward her. As the holographic sword passed through her, 400 points drained from her life bar.

 

“Oh, this is out of character for you, Agatha,” Regina said with a cough. “Well, if you’re going to play dirty, I may just have to respond in kind. It would be a waste to use a Hay Fever curse on you, but your lovely minions aren’t so lucky.”

 

As Regina played her aforementioned card, Aggie’s cyan-haired Street Samurai suddenly wrinkled her nose. She unconsciously loosened her grip on her sword, and then she awkwardly raised her left arm and tucked her face into her elbow.

 

“Hih! Hhh-! Eh-SHOO!”

 

After sneezing, the Street Samurai dragged her nostrils across her forearm and resumed her fighting stance. Aggie wished she could have given the virtual woman a tissue, though at the same time she realized she didn’t have any for herself either. Regina’s Verdant Valkyrie lashed out at her, causing her to stagger back in shock. Feeling a bit overwhelmed, she rubbed her nose as she began her turn, and she felt a rush of relief when she saw she had drawn another attack spell.

 

“Magic Mihh… Hih! Choo! Hh’Choo! Choo! CHOO! Hh’CHHOOOO!”

 

Aggie successfully managed to cast the spell at Regina’s Forest Spirit, but to her surprise, the creature remained when she opened her eyes. A Magic Missile should have dealt enough damage to destroy it, but as Aggie rubbed her nose for a moment longer, she remembered its life and strength had been bolstered by Regina’s other summoned cards. The Forest Spirit was likely on its last legs, but once again Aggie had no means of harming it.

 

“Bless you, Agatha! This is my first time facing you with my Flora deck, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you sneeze so much before! Perhaps you’re more allergic than you thought,” teased Regina, remaining completely unfazed as one of Aggie’s Street Samurai attacked her again. Aggie gave a genuine but tired chuckle, gently massaging the sides of her nose with her thumb and forefinger.

 

“Maybe you’re right. I never used to get allergies before, but ever since I got in here, flowers are always makin’ me sneeze. I guess I just- Holy smokes…”

 

Aggie’s eyes widened as Regina began her turn by summoning three new Young Dryads all at once, and at no mana cost thanks to her Carpet of Flowers. The Forest Spirit grew even larger, and Regina ordered it to fire another bolt of energy at Aggie’s first Street Samurai. The orange-haired woman vanished as her life was depleted, but Regina wasn’t done yet. Her Verdant Valkyrie leapt forward and swung its sword at the Bear, dealing more than enough damage to finish the creature off. Finally, Regina ended her turn, leaving Aggie with only her allergic Street Samurai standing.

 

“Ah-Ahh-Ahhh-SHOOO!”

 

“Choo! Nh’Choo! Hh-CHOO!”

 

The summoned woman and her player sneezed simultaneously as a renewed wave of pollen washed over them. Both of them desperately rubbed their noses to stave off further sneezes, prompting Regina to throw back her head and cackle.

 

“OOOOOOOOOOOH HO HO HO HO! Did you think I wasn’t going to take this seriously, Agatha? You can’t always rely on your precious luck to save you!”

 

Aggie desperately wanted to make a witty comeback, but she could barely manage to keep herself from launching into another sneezing fit. She alternated between rubbing back and forth under her nose and gently massaging the sides of her nostrils as she looked over her cards. Somehow she had been lucky enough to draw another Magic Missile card so soon after the previous, but the ethereal Forest Spirit had already grown enough to be able to withstand the attack anyway. The Street Samurai took another direct swing at Regina, shaving another chunk off her life bar, but the giggling young woman still had plenty of life left.

 

“HA-SHHOOOO!”

 

Aggie smiled sympathetically as her weakened Street Samurai doubled over with a powerful sneeze. The fringes of her cyan hair swished back and forth as she furiously rubbed her nose on her forearm, and she suddenly gave another helpless “Ah-SHOO!”

 

“H-Hah… Hh’Choo! H-hang ih-in thehh... W’hih… Choo! Nh’Choo! Hnn’CHOO! Hang in there… We’re almost… A-almost… Hh-CHOOO!”

 

Barely able to speak as she continued to sneeze, Aggie decided to make a desperate play. With no instant-use cards available, she sacrificed her entire remaining hand, both to increase her mana pool and in an admittedly reckless attempt to draw something useful on her next turn.

 

Regina smirked as she began her turn. She immediately sacrificed all the cards she had just drawn, and then she summoned the most powerful creature in her deck. Throwing back her head, Regina gave a characteristic “OOOOOOOOH HO HO HO HO!” as another plant-like woman appeared before her. Her skin was once again green, but it was noticeably paler than the Young Dryads and Verdant Valkyrie. Long, dark brown hair fell over her face, obscuring her left eye, and she was clad in a flowing green dress and a crown made of twisting branches. Once her body was fully formed, she produced a whip made of thorny vines and pulled it taut between her hands.

 

“OOOOOH HO HO! Meet my ultra-rare Queen of Thorns!”

 

A wave of sparkling green energy cascaded across the playing field as the Queen of Thorns empowered all of Regina’s other creatures. With what little mana she had left, she sent her now-massive Forest Spirit to attack Aggie directly. Her life bar was reduced all the same, but Aggie didn’t seem to notice the shock through her continued sneezing.

 

“Choo! Hh’Choo! Choo! Choo! Hn-CHOO!”

 

“Oh, my. You’re still… You’re still sneezing. Well, take your time, Agatha.”

 

Aggie gave a shaky thumbs-up, and then she seemed to finally regain herself after an unexpectedly loud “Hh-CHOOOO!” She vigorously rubbed her nose, and then she was finally ready to begin her turn. Drawing a fresh hand of five cards, Aggie looked them over one by one. Then, despite her continuing need to sneeze, she managed a smirk of her own.

 

“Looks like your luck’s run out, Regina… Ah… Ah-CHHHoo!”

 

After interrupting herself with another sneeze, Aggie blushed and giggled softly. She rubbed her nose for a moment, and then she cleared her throat and returned to the game. Sacrificing all but one card, Aggie placed her fingertips on the one that remained and made the power play she’d spent the last several turns hoping for.

 

“Enemies Explode!”

 

Before Regina had time to react, her entire half of the playing field burst in a massive jet of flame. Her Young Dryads and Verdant Valkyrie were wiped out in an instant, and even the Forest Spirit had taken enough damage previously to succumb to the fire. The initial blaze passed quickly, leaving only the Queen of Thorns behind. She had clearly been singed, but she still had some fight left in her. Regina could only watch in stunned silence as Aggie spent the last of her mana to order her Street Samurai to attack.

 

After swinging her sword through the Queen of Thorns, the cyan-haired warrior tensed up and sneezed an unconsciously defiant “Ah-SHOO!”  right in her enemy’s face. With a disgusted scowl, the Queen of Thorns drew back her arms and shoved the Street Samurai. The young woman tumbled head over heels before landing on her rear, where she simply sat and resumed frantically rubbing her nose on her forearm until protocol drew her back to her idle position.

 

“Oh, Agatha,” Regina said with a chuckle, placing her fingertips on her forehead. “To have come so close. If only you could-”

 

As Regina began her turn, the residual flames from Aggie’s spell suddenly surged again. The damage-over-time effect sapped the last of the Queen of Thorns’ life, causing her to disintegrate. Regina gawked, loosening her grip on her parasol until it blew away in the gentle breeze, and then she clutched the sides of her head and gave a high-pitched, girly shriek as her final summon disappeared entirely.

 

“Alright, that’s enough! My remaining cards are worthless! I forfeit! You win!” sobbed Regina, sinking to her knees.

 

Sarah rolled her eyes at her friend’s theatrics, and then she turned her attention to Aggie’s side of the arena. Noticing her audience, the Street Samurai clasped her hands behind her back and bashfully kicked at the ground before turning and giving Sarah a wave.

 

“Woohoo,” Sarah cheered in a deadpan voice, returning the summon’s wave as she disappeared. As the arena shut down, Regina instantaneously resumed her usual persona, but Aggie was still in the midst of a sneezing fit. Still, she managed to stumble over to Sarah just as Regina came to present their winnings.

 

“Dear, dear, Agatha. Perhaps your luck truly is limitless,” said Regina, producing her phone. After logging into her bank account, she transferred the funds necessary for both Aggie and Sarah to enter the doubles league.

 

“Choo! Hh’Choo! Choo! CHOO!”

 

Sarah glanced back and forth between Aggie and Regina as her partner continued to sneeze.

 

“She means ‘thanks.’”

 

“Of course she does. And, er… Agatha, you look like you could use one of these, too,” Regina continued, producing a lace handkerchief. “Consider it an apology for taking advantage of your allergies.”

 

“Hh-CHOO! Choo! Nh’Choo!”

 

Regina held out the handkerchief, but Aggie was still too busy sneezing to notice it. Sarah stole a glance at her again, and then she suddenly gave a harsh sniff of her own. Wrinkling her freckled nose, Sarah snatched the handkerchief from Regina and clutched it tightly.

 

“I’ll… I can take it.”

 

Sarah unceremoniously cradled her nostrils with the handkerchief meant for Aggie. Regina raised no objection, but she put on a faintly annoyed face as Sarah loudly blew her nose. After gently wiping her nostrils, Sarah crumpled up the used handkerchief and dropped it back into Regina’s hand.

 

“Whew, thanks. I needed that.”

 

“...Right. Anyway, best of luck to you two! And remember our deal! OOOOOOOOOOH HO HO HO HO!”

 

Barely giving Sarah enough time to blink, Regina darted back to her car and laughed heartily as she drove off. Sarah whirled around to the arena to find it already gone, and as she looked back at Regina’s car, she spotted two of her butlers chasing the vehicle into the distance, pieces of the disassembled play area tucked under their arms.

 

“Dammit! Couldn’t we have… Gotten a ride?” Sarah moaned, slumping over in defeat.

 

By then she had also managed to filter the sounds of Aggie’s constant sneezing into the background, but a sudden splitting “Ack-CHOOOO!!!” made her jump.

 

“Whew! The flowers are gone but I just couldn’t stop sneezin’!”

 

Sarah puffed out her cheeks, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

 

“You know, you should really try antihistamines sometime.”

 

“Aw, but they make me sleepy! Anyway, let’s go! We’re gonna be late!”

 

Aggie and Sarah didn’t even reach the end of the block before another vehicle pulled up on them. This time it was a motorcycle, and it wasn’t one either of them recognized. The roommates wordlessly agreed to ignore it and continue on until it suddenly shut off and the rider called out to them.

 

“Hey! Which one of you is MacIver?”

 

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Now the less fun part is I don't exactly have a planned release schedule for the rest of this. I mostly wanted to put this out for the anniversary of the old story and then whip myself into shape for the rest of it, but I still have some work to do. I feel a special connection to this world and these characters though, so I really don't intend for this to be another thing that I update once and then drop forever. Basically, there may be delays, but this will get finished.

 

Thanks for reading, and as always, I hope you enjoyed!

[47Bears]

Wait, a card game. And a motorcycle. CARD GAMES ON MOTERCYCLES? Well, either way, this was a fun read. You did a really good job on it (and there’s no way it’s a coincidence that you released this on the same day as the latest YGO abridged episode. I call shenanigans)

[Sneezingnonstop]

I always loved the yugioh series as a kid, and your reinterpretation of this one is great, absolutely loved it, cant wait to read more!!!

[Captain Carol]

Um! Yes please!! I loved the first series, and I can’t wait for more from this one