Yu-Gi-Oh: Virtual Disaster

[starjake]

Chapter 2 - Queen of Autumn Leaves

You know, I thought, I’ve been Bryan’s best friend for years now; you’d think I would know how stubborn he is.

I had been badgering him for the past ten minutes about what his new Deck contained, but the mouth that had so loudly proclaimed its owner’s last victory was now clamped shut, and determined not to spill any secrets. Eventually, I decided to stop; after all, I had been his best friend for years now, and I did know how stubborn he was.

Kara’s slight Irish accent trilled through the shop: “Five minutes remain!” I suddenly realized that I hadn’t turned in my win/loss slip and took it out of my pocket; Norman had signed it while I was gathering my cards. Bryan looked at the sheet of paper quizzically and asked what it was.

Shoot, he doesn’t know about these either; I forgot. “This is a win/loss slip; you mark who won and both players sign it. Do you have yours?”

Bryan’s eyes darted from side to side as he thought. “Um…I didn’t even know I had one.”

In contrast to his eyes, my own eyes rolled. “The slip of paper sitting in the middle of your Duel didn’t pique your interest?”

“What are you talking about? There wasn’t one!”

I stopped short. “What do you mean there wasn’t one? Did Kara forget to give you one or something?”

“Don’t get all fired up over nothing,” responded a voice that sounded supremely bored. “I already took care of it.”

My eyes narrowed. Oh, great, I thought. I know that voice; it can only be –

“Krystal?” asked Bryan, unknowingly finishing my thought. “What do you mean you took care of it?”

She was behind me, so I turned to face her. Her cold, grey eyes were almost slits as she sighed dramatically. “What I mean is, I already signed it, marked that you won, and gave it to Kara. Anything else I need to explain?”

“Hey,” I interjected. “Give him a break; he’s still new to this.”

“Obviously,” she continued. “That’s why I moved the slip out of the way before the game started. I didn’t want him to worry about yet another thing he didn’t know.”

It never failed to amaze me how she could do someone a favor and yet still hurt them in the process.

“But he had to sign it, too!”

“I signed for him.”

My jaw dropped. “That’s illegal!”

This seemed to confuse her. “What? I didn’t lie about who won. I haven’t done anything wrong. You’re the one who whisked him away before he could do what he needed to do, so it’s really your fault.”

I opened my mouth to retaliate, but Bryan – who had been merely watching our banter – finally spoke up: “Let it go, Jake.”

Krystal’s face switched to a triumphant grin as she turned and paraded out of the shop. My face, however, still consisted of a dropped jaw.

“Let it go? Why?”

He shrugged. “It’s not worth fighting over. I mean, she shouldn’t have signed the slip and all, but at least she didn’t lie.”

I wanted to keep going, but Bryan’s expression told me not to. “Look, it’s just a slip of paper. Pick your battles, man.”

There was a pause that lasted until Kara’s voice rang out again. “Time is up! Are there any tied scores?”

There were none, so she got up from behind the counter and walked around, collecting the slips that had not yet been turned in. Then, she took all the slips, walked over to the sheet of paper she had first taped up detailing who the first-round pairings would be, and turned it over.

I did a slight double take. She had drawn a pairings tree on this side, starting with all sixteen people who had signed up and whittling itself down to a single line, reserved for the winner of the tournament. She started writing in the appropriate names, and I noticed – with a mixture of both happiness and disappointment – that Bryan and I were in separate blocks; we wouldn’t even be able to duel each other at all unless it was at the very end.

“The next round will begin in five minutes,” Kara called out. I turned to wish Bryan good luck, but he was already sitting across from his new opponent: a short, stocky little boy with a deck as big as my fist – and none of the cards were sleeved. I grew slightly nervous when ! saw a duelist’s greatest nemesis sitting next to the boy: a woman wearing an old-fashioned dress and a stern expression. Just going by their faces, I could tell they were mother and son.

Oh no, I worried. Bryan’s never had to deal with soccer moms before; they can really distract you. Sure, a lot of them are fine, but some of them assume that every move you make is illegal, and they drive you nuts!

“Jake! Oh, Jaaa-aaaake!” came a loud, singsong girl’s voice.

Speaking of being driven nuts, I thought to myself as I noticed the owner of the voice – a girl my age wearing a tan, leather jacket and a long, blond ponytail – rushing over to me. I closed my eyes and braced myself.

“Jake! You’re here! Oh, this is gonna be so much fun; it’s been ages since you and I dueled – are you still using a Fire deck? I still have my plants and bugs – I wanna be an entomologist, you know, and a botanist, too! Do you know where we’re sitting? Who was that guy you were talking to; isn’t he on the football team or something? Do you know who that Kara girl is? Oh, listen to me go on and on; I haven’t even let you say hi to me yet!” She then proceeded to hug me.

Her little speech would have taken most people about two minutes to say, but – as usual – she had relayed it in about ten seconds. I knew not why, but it always seemed as though Heather had been born with her vocal cords permanently set on fast-forward.

I turned back around to look at the pairings tree and saw that it did indeed say “Jake Forester” on one line and “Heather Starlette” on the line above it (I took a quick glance down the side of the page and saw that “Bryan Stormack” was paired against “Jimmy Dalton”). I turned back to Heather.

“Hi, Heather. It looks like we’re at table 3.”

Heather and I had been in school together since kindergarten, and she had always been incredibly friendly and outgoing. Bryan liked to tease me by saying that she liked me and I should go out with her; he said this because he knew I would rather walk on sharp tacks than date one of the Chipmunks.

It’s not that she had no good qualities. She was smart, well-intentioned, a good card player and a talented actress. But the voice…the voice I could not handle.

And I’m gonna have to handle it, I thought as we sat down, Heather jabbering away about…something. If I can’t, there’s no way I’ll win, and Bryan would really never let me live that down.

We settled ourselves at table 3. On the other end of the table sat a little boy, even younger than Jimmy Dalton. He wore a plain yellow shirt, denim shorts, and a backwards baseball cap. His opponent was a girl I knew by face but not name; I knew she and I went to school together, but that was about it.

“Like, why do I have to deal with you?” said the girl to her opponent with a scoff, tossing her bleach-blond hair and absent-mindedly admiring her perfectly-manicured nails. “I’m here to duel, not babysit!”

Well, this is going to be a pleasant duel, I thought sarcastically. Little Miss Sunshine in front of me and Little Miss Airhead to my left. I’m surrounded by Valley Girls.

“Begin!” Kara’s voice rang throughout the shop. Heather and I had already shuffled and cut.

“Ladies first,” said Heather and the mystery girl in perfect unison, though neither one acknowledged the fact. I decided to ignore the girl to my left as best I could; listening to one girl was difficult enough, but listening to two was something my brain just couldn’t handle.

“Hmm…” muttered Heather, scanning over her six cards, then choosing one and laying it on the field face-down and sideways. “A face-down monster. Your move, Jakey.”

I shot her a quick glare, and she cringed slightly; trying to cute-ify every name she came across was a bad habit that she couldn’t seem to break, but it drove me crazy.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” I replied, now scanning over my own six cards.

Moving right along…most of her monsters are weak and cutesy, but they have decent effects. My best bet against her is to play hard and fast. “Familiar-Possessed – Hiita,” I declared, laying out the monster card (1850/1500). “And I’ll attack your mystery monster.”

Heather grinned. “Oops! My mystery monster is Prickle Fairy, and your Hiita can’t even scratch it!”

She flipped the monster over, revealing stats of 300/2000.

“And, not only do you lose 150 Life Points, but Prickle Fairy’s effect means that your Hiita switches to Defense Position now! I am soooooo good!”

I was tempted to massage my temples, but held back. Turning my Hiita monster sideways and selecting another card in my hand, I said, “Alright then, I’ll finish with one card face-down. Your move.”

“Yay!” she responded, drawing a card and immediately playing it: Graceful Charity. Her eyes bright, she quickly drew three cards, then plucked two out of her hand and showed them to me: two Grass Phantoms.

Nodding, I thought, Oh, great. She always follows this up with –

“I’ll summon my third Grass Phantom in Attack Position,” she said happily (1000/1000). “And since two others are in the Graveyard – “

“It gains 1000 ATK, I know,” I muttered, wondering how I could have forgotten about this card of hers, which was neither weak nor cutesy. “Well, go ahead and attack.”

“But I’m not done yet,” she retaliated, pulling another card out of her hand and playing it. “My Forest Field Spell gives Grass Phantom 200 more ATK and DEF, so now I’ll attack with it.” (2200/1200)

Gotcha. “Backfire,” I stated, flipping my face-down card over and moving Hiita to the Graveyard. “You destroyed a Fire monster, so you take 500 damage.”

She pouted. I took a mental note that our Life Points were 7850 to 7500, in my favor. “Fine, it’s your move,” she said, still looking upset.

I drew…only to hear “JUDGE!” from the other side of the room, the side in which Bryan and Jimmy were dueling. My back was turned to them, but I didn’t even need to turn around to know what had happened: Jimmy’s mother was pulling the typical soccer-mom routine and calling Bryan out on what was most likely a perfectly legal move.

Then again, I thought, Bryan’s still new to the game and doesn’t know all the intricacies yet…she might take advantage of that! Maybe I should go over and –

“Jaaa-aaake!” came Heather’s voice. “It’s your turn, remember, silly? Go ahead and draw a card; I wanna keep going!”

I shook my head slightly and came back to my senses. What am I thinking; I can’t go over there! I’m busy over here! And with that, I drew.

Hmm…this Cyber Phoenix is the only monster in my hand, so I need to Summon it…but I also have Creature Swap. Let’s see…if I use Creature Swap, I could get her Grass Phantom, which would lose 1000 ATK because there aren’t any copies of it in my Graveyard, putting it at equal ATK with Cyber Phoenix. If that happens…I’ll have it attack Cyber Phoenix, which will destroy both of them and let me draw a card. But…if she gives me Prickle Fairy…well, then I’ll have a strong defender. I win either way! “I Summon Cyber Phoenix in Attack Position, and use Creature Swap to give it to you,” I said aloud, placing the two cards on the table (1200/1600).

Heather barely blinked before saying (at the speed of light), “I’ll give you Prickle Fairy in exchange.”

I was a little disappointed; I had been hoping for Grass Phantom. But, after rethinking it, I realized that having a monster with 2200 DEF was a good thing, especially since I had no monsters in my hand. Not to mention Prickle Fairy’s effect, I thought as we switched monsters. “I’ll lay this face-down and end my turn,” I finished, putting me at two cards in my hand.

“Alright, Jake,” said Heather with a mischievous grin, “you’re really gonna regret that move. I’ll sacrifice your Cyber Phoenix to Summon Fairy King Truesdale.”

Heather hadn’t been kidding when she said it had been a while since we had dueled; I had completely forgotten about the monster she laid on the table as I put Cyber Phoenix in my Graveyard (2200/1500).

“And my Forest card puts it at 2400 ATK; 200 more than Prickle Fairy’s DEF, so say good bye to your last monster!” she cried out happily, pushing forward on the holofoil monster.

“Prickle Fairy doesn’t have to survive the battle in order for its effect to activate,” I countered grumpily, moving the card into her Graveyard. “Fairy King switches to Defense Position now.”

“And I’m so glad it did! It has to be in Defense Position in order to apply its effect; an effect that gives 500 more ATK to every Plant monster I have…like my Grass Phantom!”

I was slightly stunned; she had taken my edge and turned it against me! With all the power-up effects on the field right now, Grass Phantom has 2700 ATK; that means I’m down to 5150. “Nice move, Heather,” I said, slightly impressed.

“Thank you, Jake! Now I’ll give you a chance to make one.”

I’d better; all I have right now are two Spells I can’t use at the moment! I drew.

“One monster face-down,” I said confidently. “Your turn.”

She drew her card, then frowned slightly and added it to her hand. Picking another card, she said, “Neo-Spacian Glow Moss.” And she laid it on the table (300/900).

I thought I was going to fall out of my chair; out of all the moves I was expecting, this was not one of them. It took me a minute to remember that this Neo-Spacian was, indeed, a Plant monster.

Meaning, I realized further, that it gets 700 more ATK from Forest and Truesdale…she’s gotten better!

“I’m going to declare an attack with Glow Moss, which means its effect activates, so you get to draw a card now and show it to me, and its Type will determine what happens next, alright?”

At least it’s a free card. I drew one card, then grinned and showed it to her: Pot of Greed.

She then matched my grin. “That’s a Spell Card, so this attack becomes a direct attack! Go get him!”

I looked at her strangely. “It’s just a card, Heather…you know that, right?”

“Oh, come on, lighten up, Jake! You play so seriously; have some fun!”

Another annoying “JUDGE!” call from behind me interrupted my train of thought. Poor Bryan, I worried to myself. It’ll be a miracle if he gets out of this duel without a headache.

[starjake]

“Don’t forget my Grass Phantom; he’ll attack your mystery monster!”

I snapped back to reality. “UFO Turtle,” I said curtly, flipping it over and then pointing to my Backfire trap. “You lose 500 and I gain a Solar Flare Dragon.”

Finding the card in my Deck I wanted, I placed the Dragon on the field and reshuffled (1500/1000). I offered the Deck to Heather to cut it, but she declined.

OK, things have changed slightly. She still has 7000 Life Points to my 4150, and she’s got a monster that can destroy any of mine in battle and a monster that can attack directly…but only if I draw Spells! The Trap effect switches it to Defense Position, so its attack will be cancelled, and the Monster effect ends the Battle Phase outright if I remember correctly.

It was my turn, so I drew a card: Lava Golem.

“Since you were so nice to let me draw Pot of Greed, I’ll play it,” I started, drawing two more cards.

“My pleasure, Jake!”

Alright! “I sacrifice your Phantom and Fairy King for Lava Golem.”

She actually pouted as I placed the cards on the appropriate sides of the field. “I always hated this move. That Golem looks so ugly.”

I rolled my eyes. “Moving along…Solar Flare Dragon attacks Glow Moss.”

She seemed to wait for something. When it didn’t happen, she said, “Well? Draw a card.”

I blinked. “The effect activates when it’s attacked, too?”

“Yep.”

I wasn’t sure what surprised me more: her monster’s effect or her one-word response. I drew Barrel Behind the Door.

“That Trap Card switches Glow Moss to Defense Position, so I don’t lose any Life Points now! Yay, I’m good!”

At least it’s still destroyed. “Fine. To end my turn, I’ll play Swords of Revealing Light to stop your monsters from attacking,” I said, laying the Spell Card on the table, “and then Solar Flare Dragon’s effect burns you for 500.”

“My move, then!” she called out, drawing a card with somewhat of a flourish.

Automatically, I said, “Lava Golem’s effect – “

“Takes away another 1000 Life Points; I remember. It might have been awhile, but we have dueled before, you know. Anyways, I’ll Set a monster face-down and call it a turn; go ahead, Jake!”

I drew a card and instantly grinned. “Another Solar Flare Dragon,” I said proudly, laying the card I had just drawn next to its twin on the field.

Heather just looked at me. “How do you do that?” she asked.

I didn’t really know why, but – for whatever reason – if I had a Solar Flare Dragon on the field, the chances of my drawing another one were very good.

Focusing on the field, I thought, Alright, I basically have control of the field. After Heather’s next Standby Phase, she’ll be down to 3500 thanks to my Golem and my Dragons. My two Dragons protect each other from attacks, and even if she gets past them, I still have Swords of Revealing Light out, so she can’t attack anyway. To top it off, I still have My Body as a Shield that I Set a few turns ago, so my Dragons are safe from card effects. “Your move, Heather.”

“Thank you, Jake.” She drew a card and didn’t even look at it; she had apparently already planned out her strategy. “I’ll flip the monster I Set last turn into Attack Position.”

She did so, revealing a card I had never seen her use, but a card I nonetheless was very familiar with.

“That’s Fiber Jar!” I called out, taken aback.

“That it is, Jake! Every card we have is sent back to our Decks, and we each start fresh with a new five-card hand! So all your damage effects are gone!”

Fiber Jar doesn’t destroy anything; it sends cards to the Deck, so My Body as a Shield is useless…she broke all my locks! I thought, panicking ever-so-slightly as I remembered the standard elimination rules. We each added our hands, Graveyards, and cards on the field to our Decks, shuffled, and then drew five cards.

“Still my turn…so I’ll summon Pinch Hopper in Attack Position and attack you with it!”

She laid the card down (1000/1200) and pushed forward on it, leaving me with 3150 Life Points. She then took two other cards from her hand, laid them face-down, and ended her turn.

I drew, and then looked over my new hand. “Ooookay…UFO Turtle,” I decided, laying the monster out (1400/1200), then playing a Spell Card. “And my Molten Destruction field gives it 500 more ATK, at the cost of 400 DEF.”

“Yeah, I know, Jake. Remember? We’ve dueled before?”

If I destroy Pinch Hopper, she gets to Summon any bug from her hand, like that Insect Princess she always uses. I looked at the rest of the cards in my hand. Hopefully, I can burn her Life Points up before it gets too powerful. “UFO Turtle attacks,” I declared, pushing forward on the card.

“I might lose 900 Life Points,” Heather started, sending the defeated monster to her Graveyard, “but I get an Insect from my hand to replace it. You’ll remember my Insect Princess, right, Jake?” she continued with a smile, plucking the card out of her hand and laying it on the field (1900/1200).

Yeah…I remember. “One card face-down, and that’ll do it. Your Princess and my Turtle both have equal strength, and if you destroy my monster, I get a new one from my deck.”

“I guess it’s a good thing that I’m not planning on attacking your monster then, isn’t it?” she replied, drawing, then flipping over one of her face-down cards. “I’m gonna be attacking these little guys.”

Ojama Trio? I thought. Then, flashbacks of my duel with Norman crossed my mind as I realized, She has another face-down…oh, this is not good for me.

“I’ll also activate my other down card: DNA Surgery! To turn everything into an Insect, of course,” she added.

I obviously didn’t have cards to represent the three Ojama Tokens produced by her Ojama Trio, but I could almost envision the three little critters hogging up three of my Monster Card Zones (0/1000 x3). And, I thought, Insect Princess switches every bug on my side of the field into Attack Position, and DNA Surgery turned my three Ojama Tokens into bugs!

“I’ll also Summon Skull-Mark Ladybug in Attack Position (500/1500). Insect Princess, attack his Ojama Yellow Token!”

I started to say something regarding the fact that none of the Tokens were physically on the field, so there was obviously no Ojama Yellow to attack, but I suddenly saw the Ojama Yellow – in my mind’s eye, of course – cowering and shaking as an insectoid, fairylike creature showered the poor thing with sparkling dust. The eyestalked Beast cried out and vaporized into particles as –

“You know, you’ve been spacing out a lot today, Jake, are you feeling OK? My mom told me about this sickness once that…”

As she babbled on, I jerked out of my trance and processed her first sentence. She’s right; I am out of it. I’ve never imagined the creatures on the cards actually coming to life and fighting each other. That’s for anime freaks and crazy people. These are just cards!

“JUDGE!”

“WOULD YOU SHUT UP?” I suddenly hollered, whipping around in my chair and glaring at the woman, no longer able to contain my anger. “Bryan’s not cheating, so stop telling him that he is and stop bothering everyone else here!”

Speaking of everyone else, they were dead silent and staring at me. Mrs. Dalton looked bewildered and mildly terrified, a look which I was actually rather pleased to see. Bryan looked highly embarrassed, and muttered, “Dude, relax…she’s just – “

“I know what ‘she’s just’ doing, Bryan,” I snapped. She’s just angry that her kid’s losing and trying to psych you out by making you think – “

“For your information, she’s not making me think anything. Parents always try to coach their kids from the sidelines; it happens all the time during games. Just let it go.”

“Since when is that your answer for everything? You’ve always had to win at everything!”

“When it comes to games, yeah, I want to win, but I know when to fight and when to cool it, and you need to cool it!”

“EXCUSE ME!” came Kara’s surprisingly commanding voice. I jumped; I had completely forgotten she was there.

She walked to the center of the room, equidistant between me and Bryan, and continued, “Jake, your friend is right. I realize that you are only trying to help, but please allow me to handle the situation. As for you, Mrs. Dalton –“ the boy’s mother jumped slightly at being addressed “- Jake is also right. You are disturbing the other players in the store and you are having an effect on Bryan’s playing, even if only slightly. Please call me over only if you are absolutely positive that something is amiss.”

“Now, the clock has ten minutes remaining. Please finish your duels so we can move on.” And she walked away…but not before glancing at me with a look I could not completely read. It was almost…analytical. I was expecting her to be upset, or even downright mad, but not curious.

My God, why did I do that? I wondered. I could’ve gotten kicked out of the store…if I had kept escalating things and gotten Bryan angry, HE could’ve gotten kicked out of the store! Why is it that I can’t control my own temper? It’s like Krystal said: I get fired up over nothing, and then I end up in trouble.

“Um…Jake?” asked Heather in a timid voice. “Are you OK?”

“Like, I can answer that,” responded the bleach-blond girl sitting to my left. “And he’s totally not OK. I mean, doesn’t he know how to, like, mind his own business?”

Heather rounded on her. “Why don’t you be an example to follow, and mind yours!” she snapped. “Finish your duel and butt out!”

“But the duel’s done,” replied the little boy in the backwards baseball cap. He had a thick Brooklyn accent, which seemed out-of-place coming from his mouth. “I totally blasted her. She’s just to busy looking at her nails to get up and leave.”

“I was, like, totally not! I was…watching them duel!”

The boy snickered. “Yeah, sure, girlie.”

This angered the girl. “Hey, don’t talk to me like that! Didn’t your parents teach you to respect your elders?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were elderly!”

The two continued to bicker as I thought, It’s happening again…everyone else is getting ticked off and angry because I couldn’t control myself!

“Ignore them, Jake,” said Heather, in a soothing tone and – astonishingly – a normal-paced tempo. “Let’s finish our duel so we can get up and leave.”

I blinked my eyes and shook my head, attempting to clear it. She’s right; focus on the duel now. Let’s see…

Deciding to worry about my angry outbursts later, I focused on the field. It’s Heather’s turn, and she’s attacking two of my Ojama Tokens with Insect Princess and Skull-Mark Ladybug. The Tokens have no ATK, so I’m taking…2400 Battle Damage, and each Token burns me for 300 when it’s destroyed, so that’s another 600, for a total of 3000, which means I have…150 Life Points left. Hmm…maybe focusing on the duel was not the best way to calm my nerves. I relayed all this to Heather, except for the calming my nerves part, and she nodded. “I don’t have anything else, so it’s your turn.”

I drew a card, and was happy to see it. This’ll stop her Insect Princess from attacking…but I can get some Life Points back first. Adding the new card to my hand, I laid a new monster out on the table. “Fushi No Tori, in Attack Position (1200/0). Since Molten Destruction is still out, it goes up to 1700 ATK, and I’ll attack your Ladybug.”

Heather nodded, placing the defeated card in her Graveyard. “And Fushi No Tori raises your Life Points by the amount of Battle Damage it inflicts, right?”

“That it does, and your Ladybug gives you 1000 Life Points when it’s destroyed.”

Heather thought for a minute, doing math in her head; I was doing the same. “So…I have 2400 Life Points, and you have 1350?”

I nodded, and then laid the card I had drawn face-down. Then, I said, “Fushi No Tori is a Spirit, so it comes back to my hand. Your move.”

As Heather drew, I thought to myself, The Ojama Token that Insect Princess destroyed was a bug thanks to DNA Surgery, and Insect Princess gets an ATK boost whenever it destroys an insect, so it has 2400 ATK now.

I was interrupted by Heather laying out the card she had just drawn: Dreamsprite (300/200). In the meantime…”Insect Princess, attacks your last Token.”

“I’ll respond with Nightmare Wheel,” I countered, flipping the card I had Set last turn. “Now your Princess can’t attack.”

“That’s true, but my Dreamsprite can! It’ll attack your last Token, and that will finish my turn.”

This puts me at only 750 Life Points, I thought. I looked at my hand, which consisted of H – Heated Heart, Premature Burial, and Fushi No Tori. But, she never did destroy my UFO Turtle, and I still have a face-down card. I drew.

Card Destruction…I can’t attack her Dreamsprite, because its effect will redirect the attack to Insect Princess, and it’s too strong for me to beat in battle. I could wait her out, since my Nightmare Wheel also burns her for 500 each time she starts her turn, but then I’ll be risking her drawing something that can destroy my Nightmare Wheel, and that’s all that’s protecting me right now. With 750 Life Points left, I can’t afford to risk that, so… “I’ll play my Card Destruction.”

I discarded my three cards, she discarded her one, and we both redrew.

Hey…she only has 2400 Life Points left; I can win right now! “I Summon Hand of Nephthys in Attack Position,” I called out, my confidence restored (600/600). “I immediately use its effect, so I can Tribute itself and one other monster to Special Summon Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys from my hand!”

I didn’t know why, but I always got a thrill whenever I Summoned this monster. Once again, I could almost see a miniature, golden, armored phoenix floating in the air in front of me (2400/1600 -> 2900/1200).

“Finally, I’ll activate my face-down card: Spiritual Fire Art – Kurenai, Tributing my Phoenix and hitting you for its original ATK, 2400, which is exactly what you have left.”

Heather blinked, and then said, “Wow. You really came from behind there, Jake, I’m impressed. Good game.”

We shook hands, and then started gathering up our cards. We each signed the win/loss slip (I frowned as I remembered Krystal’s stunt earlier). And, all of a sudden, I once again heard that familiar voice yell, “ALL RIGHT!!! I WON!!!”

Which was the precise instant that we all heard an electrical “BZZT!” noise, and all the lights in the shop went out.




Jake's halfway through the tournament...or, he thinks he is. It wouldn't make much sense to have the story be half over at Chapter 2, would it? Fortunately, it's not even remotely halfway over, and both Jake and Bryan have a surprise coming up. Find out what that surprise is in Chapter 3 - Different Dimension Gate!

[Dark Sage]

Whoa, Jake has a Sacred Phoenix now?

I'm guessing that Jake is the type of guy who doesn't do "nice". But the story is progressing nicely.

Keep up the good work, and I'll keep reading.

[Shuppet Master]

Heather had been born with her vocal cords permanently set on fast-forward.

Actually, I know this guy called raocow, who uses the term "chipmunk time" as such a term - it means a really fast voice, but it sounds so high-pitched and annoying it sounds like Alvin the Chipmunk. If you watch his videos on DailyMotion, you might get it.

Anyways, I liked the addition of the soccer mom. I've been at Sneak Previews and I haven't had that sort of experience(thank God!), but I know how it is. I liked how Kara handled the situation. You also started to point out Jake's anger management issues and getting into trouble, which sort of foreshadow his destiny.

I'm glad you added Hiita to his deck, the Charmers are my favorite cards.

And it looks like we're going back into the special breach, if anyone here has read the last incarnation of this fic. I can't wait.