Inspect the cards.

One card has Niki raising up her mace in triumph, and the other is Amara with her hands politely together. Your eyes look to the two girls laying **** in their seats, and then back to your hand. It's definitely them. There's no doubt about it. Just as you feared, your party has become Creature Cards within your deck, which is why she separated them apart. That means Meti only has one bonus creature and you have two.

But I drew them both already.

"You may only play one Creature Card per turn unless stated otherwise," she explains.

So she totally knows what I drew. I gave it away too easily. Time to go full out while her field only has one card down.

First, you place down the vine trap. Then you raise up the Niki card and look it over nervously.

"They will not actually perish. It is not that sort of game," Meti adds. "So worry not."

She better be telling the truth. "I'll play this then!" You slap the card down against the velvet table top, and from it rises Niki herself. She looks around, confused by her perspective. Then she turns to see you and nearly falls over backwards.

"Why are you huge?!" she calls out.

"We're playing a crazy card game, and it looks like I'll be needing your help."

Niki turns back around to the knight. "Ooh. That sounds fun. I didn't know a card game could involve fighting."

"And I'll give you a hand." Next you play the magic armour card. Beautiful silver armour materializes all around Niki's body. It locks around as a perfectly shaped suit of plate, though of course it maintains the aesthetic she prefers. You can't fight without your navel exposed after all. And your legs. Finally, a helmet floats down onto her head, and a wide grin grows across her face.

"Can I go now?" she asks.

"Go kick some ass for me."

"Chaaarge!" Niki charges forwards and the battle commences. First, the Demon Knight slashes forwards, but she raises her shield and takes the full impact with ease. She then ducks under, and drives her mace into its back. Another attack comes her way, but she parries it away before driving her weapon vertically down into its head, caving it in, and dropping it to the ground. The Demon Knight dissolves into a pile of ashes before Meti pulls the card away.

Meti reaches for her deck. "Your allies are stronger than I expected. Even with the powerup you granted her, I did not think she could slay the Demon Knight so quickly. I believe I may be in trouble." She draws and then looks her three card over carefully. "This will have to do for now. My next card, as you can see, shows an hourglass turning over. This allows me to reverse the last turn made, though I am completely unable to attack this turn, nor can I summon any creatures. I will then use this next. It is also a Magic Card."

A man with a sack over his shoulder appears. He moves like lightning. With a dash, he appears behind Niki with her suit of armour stuffed into his bag. Niki screams and covers up her body.

"Noo! Don't undress me!" she shouts.

"Niki. You're still wearing your normal stuff," you say. "What are you, Eva?"

"Yeah, but that armour was awesome. Now I feel naked."

She removed the equipment, but now she only has a single card in her hand. Unfortunately, the Demon Knight is back.

"So, can Niki do anything she can usually do?" you ask.

Meti nods. She then places her final card face-down. "That is what makes such a Creature Card so valuable."

But if I don't do something about the Demon Knight, it doesn't matter if I'm about to out-number her. Amara has Celestial Blast. Is that enough?

"I'll do this first." You hold up the Magic Card you've been holding since the start. Suddenly, a beam of light casts down from the heavens. The hope is that it'll shrink his power, giving Niki the upper hand yet again.

"That was a close call," Meti says. She flips her own trap over. A barrier appears around the Demon Knight, once again protecting it from your attacks. "But now my hand and field are completely empty other than the knight in question."

What do I have? A dragon and Amara. Maybe Niki can take the knight on by herself... What can these girls do combat? Hold on. Wait a minute.

"Amara!" you call out as you placer down her card. "I know this is going to be confusing, but we're playing a magic card game, and I guess you've been trapped in a card. I'm going to need--"

Amara gasps. She turns and casts her eyes up towards you. "Dear me!"

"I need you to help Niki out."

She turns to the girl beside her. "I see. Perhaps this is not so strange when you consider what else has happened to us."

Niki laughs. "I guess so. All I know is we need to beat this knight guy... chick... thing."

That's exactly right, Niki. "I heard you say something earlier, Meti. You called the Demon Knight the Dame of the Abyss did you not?"

"I did," she replies.

"Shine your light on the knight, Niki!"

The jinn looks confused, but then her eyes widen in terror as Niki points her shield at the Demon Knight and bathes it--or should you say her--in a magical red glow. Nothing happens at first, but then you see the suit of metal shake to tremble. The shaking becomes more erratic. Then, the powerful warrior drops to her knees and lets out a surprisingly feminine moan. She grabs her helmet and pops it off her head, and a long flowing mane of raven black locks flow out from within. Her face is flushed red, but she otherwise appears human, apart from a short pair of horns on her forehead.

"What is this?" Meti asks under her breath. "That item. Could it be...?"

"Maybe you recognize the crystals used to craft her shield? I have a feeling you might." You grin. "Now Amara, use your holy magic!"

Your elf raises up her staff, and a divine glow wafts around her. She then throws her hands forward, and from them comes a powerful gold and silver wave of energy that bathes the Demon Knight in a searing strike of purification. "Celestial Blast!" There was more than enough time to charge up the most powerful version of the spell she can muster, and it completely destroys her foe. Of course, it also leaves her rather winded, for more reasons than one. She tugs on her choker and takes a few deep breaths to try to calm herself down.

"Now attack her deck, Niki," you say.

Niki gives a thumbs-up. She then bolts towards the card, leaps into the air, and drives her mace straight down towards it. Her attack crashes over a barrier manifesting around it, but it begins to crack under the weight. She falls back to the floor and returns to your side of the field. "How was that?" she asks.

"Great job," you reply.

"A powerful team," whispers Meti. She draws a card and breathes a sigh of relief. "Ah. You will recognize this one."

She holds it up, and then draws two additional cards into her hand, bringing her total to the same number--two. Then she places a Creature Card down, and it's a surprise who comes out the magic circle.

It's the gentleman from before. He rises up, turns around, and his eyes widen. "Giantess!" he shouts.

Meti smiles down at him. "Indeed. If you best my opponents, I will be ever so grateful."

He turns to face the others. "Best them? I'm not much of a... I mean, sure I will! Or maybe we can all just get along, and have some fun together as a group."

"As a group? How shameful!" Niki shouts back.

You purse your lips and choose not to comment.

"I have one card remaining in my hand remember. This is my final gambit before I am overtaken." She places this card down in the center of the table. "Things are about to become rather strange. Anything can happen now. When this vortex overtakes the battlefield, all Creature Cards are granted special effects related to the kind of being they are. The problem is that I do not even know what my creature's effect will be. Who will figure theirs before the other?"

Shadows spiral out to cover the ground around the feet of all units in play. They look around confused.