Yu-Gi-Oh: Virtual Disaster

[starjake]

Surprised, and slightly disappointed, I drew.

Dang it! Charcoal Inpachi has strong Defense, but it’s not strong enough to hold that thing off! And all the monsters he’s summoned so far have really high Attack for four-star monsters…let’s see, there’s gotta be something else I can do here.

I took a good long look at my hand, then mentally slapped myself on both cheeks when I saw that I had missed one of the cards I was holding. Good grief, Jake, get it together! “I activate Change of Heart on your troll!”

The strangest angel I have ever seen appeared before me. Half of it was snow-white with a dove’s wing, while the other half was much darker with a bat’s wing. It glided over to Griphook’s side of the field and merged with his Giant Orc, and a heart – half-red and half-black – materialized on its forehead. It walked over to my side of the field and turned to face its previous master.

Plucking another card from my hand, I called out, “But I’m not going to attack you; I’m going to bring out something even stronger!”

The by-now-familiar stone altar rose from the cave floor, and Giant Orc sat down on it. Flames erupted from it, completely consuming Griphook’s troll, then the top of the altar slid back.

“I give you Benu Phoenix!”

With a melodious cry, the beautiful phoenix soared out of the altar, which crumbled into dust. It landed on the ground in front of me and spread its wings wide. (2300 / 1800)

“And, let’s not forget about Blaze Magician! Since I summoned a Fire monster, I get to do this!” Her scepter glowed as I drew a card from my deck.

Mirror Force…let’s try again. I drew another. This time, it was Cyber Jar.

How many more? I drew again…and again…and again…and finally drew a UFO Turtle.

About time! Now I just need to discard six cards…

I certainly had plenty to choose from; eleven to be exact. Eventually, I picked six cards and discarded them.

“Since I did that, Benu Phoenix now gains 1800 ATK and DEF points!”

Blaze Magician shot a stream of fire at Benu Phoenix, who crowed as his ATK skyrocketed! (2300 / 1800) –> (4100 / 3600)

I was about to command an attack, but then I noticed something on Griphook’s side of the field. The two men from his Appropriate card were counting something on their fingers.

Crap! I forgot about that; now he gets to draw…TWELVE CARDS?

Sure enough, the two men got up and began pulling cards from Griphook’s deck. He gratefully added all twelve to his hand as the two men sat down amongst their burlap sacks again.

Trying to get over the fact that his hand had just tripled in size, I called out “You’ve used up all your Traps, and you no longer have a monster to defend you, so…Benu Phoenix! Sic ‘em!”

Benu Phoenix soared across the cave and came into a hovering position in front of Griphook, who looked up at him with some degree of worry. With one powerful flap, Benu Phoenix sent Griphook flying backwards. (J: 8000 / G: 3900)

Talk about being blown away. “I end my turn.”

“Then I draw, bringing the number of cards in my hand to nineteen.”

Nineteen cards…how do they all fit when his hands are that small?

“I’ve been in these tunnels for quite some time now, and as you can probably guess, there are plenty of small creatures that live in them. You’re about to meet one of them as I summon Muka Muka to the field in Attack mode!”

Muka Muka?

A centipede-like creature suddenly burrowed its way up from the cave floor and rose on its multiple sets of hind legs. Several geyser-like protrusions ran up and down its back, and it stared at me with its red compound eyes, pincers clicking madly. (600 / 300)

I laughed when I saw the stats. “Why would you summon a bug that weak in attack against my phoenix? You know what birds do to bugs, right?” As though in agreement, Benu Phoenix snapped its beak.

“First of all, Muka Muka is a Rock, not an Insect. Second, search your brain, Jacob. You know the power this creature has, don’t you?”

I started thinking. Wait a sec…he’s right. I HAVE heard of that card…it’s really old though, what did it do again? Something to do with how many cards are in – oh no, I thought as my heart dropped into my shoes.

“It appears you’ve realized the situation you’re in. Muka Muka gains 300 ATK and DEF points for each card in my hand, and there are now eighteen!”

I watched in horror as Muka Muka’s stats started going up and up…and up…and up…(6000 / 5700)

SIX THOUSAND ATTACK POINTS! It was only then that I remembered my Magic Cylinder. OK, Jake, calm down. If he attacks, you win!

“And, to destroy your face-down card, I play Mystical Space Typhoon.”

All I could do was stare as the mighty winds blew my Magic Cylinder to kingdom come. The fact that Muka Muka stats had decreased slightly didn’t make me feel much better. (6000 / 5700) -> (5700 / 5400)

“Muka Muka, attack Benu Phoenix now!”

The rather ugly centipede launched itself into the air, as Blaze Magician and I looked on, horrified. Benu Phoenix screamed as Muka Muka slashed with its rocky mandibles. It gave one final cry before shattering. (J: 6400 / G: 3900)

“I end my turn,” said Griphook, quite calmly.

Several words that I probably shouldn’t repeat were running through my head. I need something that can destroy that oversized boulder, and I need it quick! I drew.

Not what I had in mind, but it will work. “I play Swords of Revealing Light, meaning you can’t attack me for three turns!”

As the card appeared on the field, three large swords suddenly rained from the cave ceiling, dividing the playing field in two.

That should buy me a little bit of time…why did I discard my Cyber Jar and Mirror Force again? Oh well, better defend for now. “I set 1 monster face-down and end my turn.” A horizontal face-down card materialized in front of me. “That ends my turn.”

“Very well. My turn, then.” Griphook drew a card. “Since there are now eighteen cards in my hand, Muka Muka gains an additional 300 Attack and Defense points.” Sure enough, the geyser-like protrusions on Muka Muka’s back shot out wisps of steam as it gained yet more power. (5700 / 5400) -> (6000 / 5700)

“Now I’ll activate my Tribute to the Doomed, allowing me to destroy any monster at the cost of a card from my hand.”

This guy has something for everything!

A mummy appeared on Griphook’s side of the field. It shot a multitude of bandages at my face-down UFO Turtle, completely enveloping it. The mummy dragged UFO Turtle into the floor with its bandages, then disappeared.

And since that wasn’t an attack, my Turtle’s ability doesn’t activate…well, at least my Swords are protecting me.

“Of course, since I used Tribute to the Doomed and discarded a card to do so, Muka Muka loses 600 Attack and Defese points, but that’s not all.”

Muka Muka’s stats did lower – (6000 / 5700) -> (5400 / 5100) – but I was more worried about the soldier standing in front of me.

Of course; I forgot about his Forced Requisition! Now I have to discard a card from my hand… I had five to choose from. I decided to give the soldier my Thing in the Crater, since I didn’t currently have any Pyro-Types in my hand. He threw it into my Graveyard, then marched back over to Griphook’s side of the field.

“Also, since I discarded a card, my Deckmaster allows me to draw another card to replace it.”

Just like the first time, the Goblin of Greed handed Griphook another card. Muka Muka’s stats changed accordingly (5400 / 5100) -> (5700 / 5400)

“Now, to end my turn, I’ll summon Yoi to the field.”

Yoi? What the heck is that?

‘That’ turned out to be a dark green lizard-like creature with six legs and an extremely long tongue. (500 / 500) Since his turn was over, one of the three Swords faded into thin air.

Well, he said that that ended his turn, so I guess I’ll draw. I reached for my deck, but I found it blocked by the tip of a long brown tongue. Looking up, I saw that that lizard-thing was covering up my deck! “What gives?”

“When Yoi is summoned, my opponent is prevented from drawing at the beginning of their next turn,” came the response in that maddeningly calm voice.

Great. “I’ll just end my turn then.”

“Then I’ll draw, bringing my hand total to seventeen.” Muka Muka’s stats once again adjusted. (5400 / 5100) -> (5700 / 5400) “Then, I summon another cave-dweller known as Iperia.”

A new lizard, white this time with a frizzy mane, appeared next to Yoi. (500 / 500)

“When this creature is summoned, I get to draw 1 card from my deck, putting me back at seventeen cards. I’ll shift Yoi to Defense Mode” – the green lizard retracted its tongue and wrapped itself in its tail – “and end my turn.” Another Sword vanished.

[I}Alright, Jake, you’ve only got one more turn before you lose your defense; something good would be nice![/I] My eyes screwed shut, I drew.

Here’s hoping.

I chanced a look at the card.

Ergh…Monster Reborn won’t help me now! Better build up my defenses while I can. “Alright Griphook,” I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. “I set 1 monster in Defense. Go ahead.”

“With pleasure. I draw, bringing my hand to eighteen.” Now Muka Muka was back at 6000 Attack points!

Griphook examined his hand. “Now, I sacrifice Yoi to summon another cave-dweller. Come forth, Enraged Muka Muka!”

ENRAGED Muka Muka? Isn’t one enough?

Apparently not. A dust tornado exploded out of the stone altar, devouring Yoi. Then, the altar slid back, and a creature right out of a science fiction movie crawled out. It didn’t look much like the original Muka Muka at all; more like an orange ball with purple legs on either side and a rocky shell. The red compound eyes hadn’t changed, however, nor had the geysers on its back. (1200 / 600)

I had heard of this card, but was unaware of the specifics. “I assume this guy can power itself up too?”

Griphook nodded in affirmation. “Correct. However, unlike its lower-leveled counterpart, this monster gains 400 Attack and Defense points for every card in my hand instead of 300.”

My eyes widened as its stats started climbing off the charts! It eventually stopped, but not until it was higher than any attack score I had ever seen! (8000 / 7400)

After a while, Griphook stated, “I think I’ll simply end my turn.”

Much to my chagrin, the final Sword faded!

OK, deck. If I ever needed a good card, now’s the time! I drew, then, taking a deep breath, I looked at the card. Then, I examined Griphook’s side of the field.

Hey…if his Goblin of Greed works like I think it does, this just might work! But I need to make sure his next attack won’t wipe me out…hey, here’s a card I haven’t used yet. Let’s see…woah, talk about just what I needed!. “I’m setting 2 cards face-down. That ends my turn!”

“Then I’ll draw, bringing my hand back up to eighteen cards.” I cringed as his rocks grew even stronger! (5700 / 5400) -> (6000 / 5700) ; (8000 / 7400) -> (8400 / 7800)

“Now, Muka Muka! Attack his face-down monster with Stone Centipede Slash!”

Eagerly clicking its mandibles, his rocky bug leapt across the field and slashed my face-down monster in half.

“That was my second UFO Turtle! Your Tribute to the Doomed may have let you avoid its effect last time, but your attack allows me to bring forth any Fire monster with 1500 Attack points or less, and I’m choosing my final UFO Turtle!”

Just like it had many times before, my destroyed Turtle zipped out of my Graveyard and lowered the hatch on its spaceship-shell, allowing another Turtle to take its place. (1400 / 1200)

As I shuffled my deck, Griphook called out, “Your monster has been summoned in Attack Mode! When my Enraged Muka Muka attacks it, you’ll take 7000 points of damage, and you only have 6400 points left! Attack him now, with Boulder Centipede Crush!”

His Enraged Muka Muka sudden;y frog-jumped high into the air and came crashing down on my UFO Turtle, squashing it! The residual shock wave came tearing towards me, throwing boulders in every direction!

I yelled out over the earthquake, “Activate Firewall!”

Suddenly, a wall of fire exploded from the ground in front of me, blocking and melting the boulders threatening to crush the rest of my Life Points.

The fire died down and the earthquake subsided as I explained. “As long as my Firewall remains in play, whenever a Fire monster on my side of the field is destroyed in battle, the Battle Damage is negated! However, in return for such a powerful effect, I instead take damage equal to the original attack points of the destroyed monster,” I said as my Life Points dipped to 5000. “But don’t forget, I get to summon another Fire monster now, and I choose Solar Flare Dragon!”

For the second time, UFO Turtle flew out of my Graveyard and released the snarling snake-dragon from its shell. (1500 / 1000)

Looking highly disappointed – About time he showed some emotion! – Griphook said, “Then my turn is over.”

I grinned. “Not quite; I’ve got a little card to activate. Reveal Mystical Space Typhoon!”

The card lifted, and a huge wind picked up.

“This will destroy your Infinite Cards! And, since I’m activating this at the end of your turn, you have to discard until you have only six cards in your hand!”

The dark vortex sucked in his Infinite Cards, and – for the first time – he looked worried. He started picking out cards from his hand, eventually throwing out eleven!

“And, since you have only a third of the cards in your hand that you once had, your monsters get weaker!”

Much to my happiness, his monsters’ stats lowered to a much more manageable level. (5700 / 5400) -> (2400 / 1800) ; (8000 / 7400) -> (3600 / 3000)

“Of course, you Forced Requisiton means I now have to discard my entire hand” – which I did “ – but now your Deckmaster’s ability activates, giving you that many cards back!”

Griphook looked confused as what I said took place. “Why are you pointing this out to me?”

‘Because it’s still the end of your turn, and since Infinite Cards is no longer on the field, you have to discard again, and then draw again!”

A look of astonishment passed over Griphook’s face as he realized what was going on. “An infinite loop!”

“Exactly! Since your Deckmaster’s ability isn’t optional, you have to draw cards until there are no more in your deck, meaning I automatically win!”

Sure enough, Goblin of Greed handed Griphook the last of his deck, then tried to grab more, but eventually shrugged and clambered back into the Pot of Greed, which flashed its eternally-unnerving grin and vanished.

My cards disappeared from the field as my disk deactivated, and Blaze Magician winked at me and flashed me a thumbs-up before vanishing herself.

“Well done, Jacob!”

I looked down to see Griphook grinning up at me. “You have me convinced; no one likes to use their opponent’s moves against them more than you do! Now, if you’ll just come with me…” He walked over to the large wooden door in the back of the cave.

Hey, that’s right; I forgot all about the ‘valuable commodities’! Following his lead, I went over to the door.

He fiddled with something on the door for a second, then commanded, “Stand back!”

I did so, and the door swung open to reveal…more cave.

“We’ll need some light,” he said to me rather expectantly.

“Oh, um, sure, hang on,” I stammered, re-activating my disk and searching my deck for Blaze Magician. She appeared next to me in a flash.

“We’ll need some light,” I repeated to her. She rolled her eyes and held out her staff, illuminating the path before us.

We walked for some distance, passing doors very similar to the one we had just walked through. “This must be a popular bank; look at all these vaults.”

“Those are not vaults,” came the gruff reply.

“They’re not?” I asked, startled.

“Those are doors leading to more passageways.”

My eyes widened in shock. “This place sure gives new meaning to the phrase ‘advanced network’, doesn’t it?”

Blaze Magician nodded in agreement as we took a left turn through another door…then a right…then another right…and a left…

I was getting tired. “Are we there yet?” I asked, panting slightly.

Griphook suddenly stopped, making nearly fall over him. “Yes.”

He placed a finger in a ridge on the door to our left – the numbers 479 were above it – and gently stroked it. There was a loud series of clicks and clanks, and the door swung wide. I peered in, wondering what I would find. Stacks of money? Piles of cards?

A single spotlight fell on a pedestal inside the vault. On the pedestal were three cards.

That’s it? I fought an intense duel and walked all this way for these?

“Well? Aren’t you going to take them?” came Griphook’s voice, which echoed throughout the cave.

Feeling rather disappointed and a bit stupid, I reached in and grabbed the three cards. It was too dark to examine them closely, so I asked Blaze Magician for some light.

What am I, a flashlight? she asked grudgingly as she held up her staff. I decided to ignore her remark.

Huh…a Monster, Magic, and Trap Card; how typical. Let’s see…the Spell and Trap are nice, but this monster is a pretty weak tribute monster with no effect. Hey…it’s not even a Fire card!

Take it, came Blaze Magician’s ‘voice’.

Startled, I looked at her. Why?

Just a feeling. You might need it.

Raising my eyebrows, I thought, If you say so. “Thanks, Griphook. Can we go back now?”

Griphook nodded his head, then closed the door and started walking us back.

“So, Griphook,” I asked, a question suddenly popping into my mind. “You said these cards were recently brought in?”

“I did.”

“Who put them there?”

Griphook stopped. “I did not get her name. However, she appeared to be about your age, and she wore a tan jacket.”

I looked up in surprise. There was only one girl I knew who matched that description.

Heather?


Goblin of Greed
Dark/Fiend/4 stars/ATK 1000/DEF 1800
DMSA: Whenever you discard any number of cards from your hand, draw a number of cards equal to the number of cards you discarded.

Blaze Magician
Fire/Spellcaster/4 stars/ATK 1900/DEF 1400
DMSA: Whenever you Normal Summon or Flip Summon a Fire monster, draw cards from your deck until you draw another Fire monster. Increase the ATK and DEF of the Summoned monster by an amount equal to the number of cards drawn by this effect x300. Then, discard a number of cards from your hand equal to the number of cards you drew.

Yoi
Earth/Reptile/3 stars/ATK 500/DEF 500
When this card is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned, your opponent skips his/her next Draw Phase.

Iperia
Earth/Reptile/3 stars/ATK 500/DEF 500
When this card is Normal Summoned, Flip Summon, or Special Summoned, draw 1 card from your Deck.
Note: Yoi and Iperia were both used by Ganzly in his duel against Yugi. All creative credit goes to the writers of those episodes.

Firewall
Normal Trap
You can only activate this card when a FIRE monster on your side of the field battles a monster on oyur opponent's side of the field. Negate all Battle Damage done to your Life Points as a result of that battle, then inflict damage to your Life Points equal to the original ATK of the destroyed monster.


Jake's one step closer to the finals, and he's gotten a few new cards out of the deal. However, we need to find out where the heck Bryan and Cecelia ended up after their crazy ide trip to Cecelia's own Toon World, as well as who his next opponent is! It's all in a chapter I like to call Gadget Soldier! Stay tuned...

[Dark Sage]

I get it! Griphook was the goblin banker in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets right? Thus he uses a Goblin for his Deckmaster. Jake ought to read more books...

I remember Yoi and Imperia... They were Monsters that Gansley used in the Virtual Nightmare arc.

Anyway, I thought this was a good duel. Clever thinking, Jake! A certain duel between the King of Games and a guy who also used Infinite Cards comes to mind.

By the way, to anyone reading this reply - in case you're wondering who Bryan's next opponent is, well I know who it is...

But I ain't tellin'.

I await the next chapter!

- DS

[Shuppet Master]

I really enjoyed the Harry Potter reference. And I bet that monster Jake got was Aitsu, which forms a union with Koitsu. Don't call me out if I'm wrong, though.

I had a feeling it was going to be a Muka Muka deck that guy used. But his deckmaster's flaw decked himout. Heh, there are very few duels where the hero wins by any means other than taking down their life points. Glad to see this fic back on-line!

[Dark Sage]

S.M.

Jake said that the monster he got was not a fire monster, so likely what he got, if your theory is correct, is Koitsu, which is a Water Monster. He'll likely have to find Aitsu, which IS fire. These Fairies are hard to use (Koitsu needs two sacrifices, Aitsu needs one), but when combined, they are unbelievably powerful.

Or it may be something completely different...

[Master of Paradox]

I don't know why, but I love Muka Muka strategies. As a one-time Magic: the Gathering player, I have an attraction to any deck stragety that involves large amounts of card drawing, perhaps.

Interesting chapter for the most part. It was fun to see Jake locked in one of the more difficult situations I've ever seen, and his escape was a nice twist on the "deck loop".

I have no clue what cards he got, nor do I know what's coming next. At least now I'll be around to find out.

[Shuppet Master]

Just dragging this zombie up to the top of the heap. Starjake, I seriously hope you aren't suffering from writer's block like I am, because this is a great story.

[mr_pikachu]

One by one, I catch up with fanfics!

Considering that I was quite a few chapters behind, and that I'm far too tired (and, with college how it is at the moment, busy) to do a review of each chapter, I'll just generalize over the chapters since my last reply, if it's okay.

I've enjoyed the various settings you've brought to the duels recently. From the intense action in Norman's lab to the despair in the jungle, from the insanity of Toon World to the dank caves of the Central Mountain Vaults, you've given a bevy of places to experience. Some of them could have perhaps been used a little more effectively, but nonetheless you're doing well with them. I also like the mixture of original characters, Duel Monsters and popular culture figrues that are showing up to duel Jake, Bryan, and Cecelia. It's interesting to see how all their different personalities and styles mesh in this fic.

I do think that you could do with a bit more editing. I found numerous typos and grammar errors throughout the last few chapters. Also, as a general rule, try not to repeat literary techniques. You had Jake drawing again... and again... and again very close to the Muka Muka's ATK score increasing more... and more... and more. As a rule, you should try to have as diverse of techniques as possible. Also, as I mentioned earlier, you might want to use your settings even more. The dark cave was an excellent opportunity to add another layer of intensity to the duel; it would have helped you to avoid the "character acting on a sheet of paper" effect that can develop otherwise. You don't want us to see your characters with an empty, white background, do you? No! You want us to see them in your world! So make us see that.

All in all, though, this is working quite well. The plot itself seems to be slowing down a bit in favor of "filler" duels to bridge the gap to the finals, but that's okay. It's not the best thing, but sometimes you're left with no other choice than to simply speed over a boring part. Just make sure you make those parts as interesting as possible! Use the characters and the relationships you've developed, along with the settings you've crafted, to show us what's really going on! You've got the resources and the talent; use them! Anyway, I'll see you next chapter!

[Dark Sage]

Speaking for Starjake, I want to tell everyone that this fanfic is not dead, merely on hiatus.

His involvement in a college play has forced him to put writing on the backburner. He'll be done with it by the end of October, and hopefully, this fic will see life again.

He's promised me that Virtual Disaster is not dead.

So everyone, keep the faith.

[Shuppet Master]

I wish Starjake luck on his play. I understand the horrors of college drama and promise that he's not alone in the drama department. I will wait for him to return, okay? His characters are great.

[starjake]

The curtain has closed for the last time. Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion are now fond pieces of our memory.

But, hey, let's look at the bright side, shall we? My story is back online, and this one's a biggie!

If you like science fiction, this one's for you.

Chapter 23 – Gadget Soldier

“Any idea where we are?”

“I believe zat zees ees ze Desairt of Tatteene.* But zees ees ‘undreds of miles avay from vair vee vere before…”

Our current locale was entirely lifeless…yet somehow familiar.* It was a desert, but without any forms of life.* No cactuses, no small rodents, no roadrunners; it was if Cecelia and I were the only two living beings for miles, and Cecelia wasn’t even technically alive.* The only things I could see were sand dunes and huge boulders.

“Just to ensure my sanity is still intact, tell me: we were in that field in front of Norman’s lab before that whole Toon World thing happened, right?”

“Oui.”

Why do I feel like I’ve seen this place before?* Those rocks are weird; I’ve never seen boulders colored such a light tan like that.* “You said that we’re in the Desert of Tattine?”

“Oui.* Do you know of zees place?”

I shook my head slightly.* “I feel like I’ve seen it before…but I don’t know where.”

Cecelia cocked her head at me quizzically.* “But you ‘ave nevair been ‘eer before.”

“I know…but I swear I’ve seen this place at some point!”

It was then that I saw it: a small flash of something, out of the corner of my eye.* I whipped around to look at it, but all I saw was another large boulder…

“Vat ees eet?”

Concentrating, I said, “I think I saw something over there.”

Slowly, we started moving in the direction of the whatever-it-was.* I kept my eyes peeled, hoping to see something else.

And I sure saw it.* There was a humming noise, like some sort of machinery was being activated, and then the boulder we were walking towards exploded, sending rocky shrapnel flying in every direction!* I covered my head with my hands and waited for it to hit me…

But it never did.* Surprised, I looked up and saw Cecelia in front of me, and the shrapnel was bouncing off of something in front of her.

What the…wait, she’s an android; is that a force field of some kind?

I didn’t exactly know, but I wasn’t about to complain.* The dust cleared, and standing where the boulder had been was a tall, streamlined figure that I had seen only once before.

“Oh my God…Cecelia, stay back!”

“But vy?”

“I’ll tell you later!”

He was a frightening thing to look at.* He seemed to be made entirely out of black and silver metal, and each of his arms ended in six fingers.* His most frightening feature, however, was his head.* It looked like an inverted teardrop, but with two points on the bottom instead of one, giving him a permanent frown.* The two eyes that stared at us from openings in his metal helmet were completely devoid of emotion.

A high, raspy voice emanated from his direction.* “Why are you here?* I was not expecting visitors.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t aware that we needed a passport!* What do you want with us anyway?”

“Speaking to a superior in that tone is against regulation.* I demand that you show me proper respect.* Do you know who I am?”

“Of course I know who you are!* You’re General Grievous, leader of the Confederacy’s Droid Army!”

There was absolutely no change in his tone.* “Then you do not have an excuse.* Prepare to be deconstructed.”

I sure hope he means duel and not have a lightsaber battle!* “I accept your challenge, Grievous!” I called out, my disk swinging into position.

But then I noticed that Grievous didn’t have a disk of his own.* However, he was fiddling with something on his left arm.

“What are you doing?”

“Making this more enjoyable.”

Suddenly, Cecelia started screaming!* She fell into a kneeling position, and – worst of all – her holographic self began to flicker and die, revealing the steel-and-ivory android underneath!

“CECELIA!”* I ran over to her.* “What’s going on?”

To my surprise, she raised her right arm and grabbed my shirt collar!* Picking me up with superhuman strength, she whirled me around her head and threw me twenty feet away!

After landing very painfully, I slowly rose and got back onto my feet, utterly bewildered and slightly angry.* “What was that for?”

It was only then that I heard the laughter coming from Grievous’ direction.* I whirled to face him.* “You!”

“I am the leader of a Droid Army, as you said.* I therefore have the ability to ensure that all droids will obey me.* Since ‘Cecelia’, as you call her, is an android, I simply thought I’d have a bit of fun.”

Sure enough, ‘Cecelia’ was on her feet and walking over to stand next to Grievous, her hologram entirely vanished.* She did not speak or even look at anything.* It was like she was completely spacing out.

I was no longer bewildered, but plenty angry.* “You wanna play dirty?* Fine; I challenge you to a duel!* If I win, you set Cecelia free!”

Grievous then pulled a move I should’ve seen coming, but didn’t: he held his two arms out, and they split in half, giving him a total of four!* His upper left arm suddenly transformed itself into a Duel Disk.

“It goes against my nature to accept challenges from others, but since life has become quite drab in this desert, I think I’ll play along with your game,” he said, a deck suddenly appearing in his disk.* We each drew five cards as our Life Points rose to 8000 each.

“According to the regulations of this game, we must each choose a Deckmaster.* I choose Robotic Knight.”

A monster appeared next to him.* It looked kind of like a mechanical pirate, colored mostly red with some gold embellishments.* It waved its rapier at me menacingly.

I remember that; Nesbitt used its ability to pummel Duke’s, Tristan’s, and Serenity’s Life Points by discarding Machine monsters from his hand.* This guy must use Machines; figures.* But I need a Deckmaster too…and the ones I’ve chosen in past duels haven’t helped me all that much.* Maybe they used one in the TV show that would help…hmm, I don’t have many of them, come to think of it.* I started ticking them off in my head.* Total Defense Shogun, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Kuriboh, Deepsea Warrior, Dark Magician Girl, Nightmare Penguin, Robotic Knight, Strike Ninja, Super Roboyarou, Goddess with the Third Eye, Flame Swordsman, Judge Man, Lord of D. and – hey, that’s it!* Quickly leafing through my deck, I pulled out a card and called out, “I choose Jinzo!”

Immediately, the card in my hand vanished, and the robed android appeared next to me in a flash, crossing his arms.

“And, when I win, I get to keep Cecelia as my slave, and we will have a true battle,” he said menacingly, a yellow-beamed lightsaber suddenly shooting out of each of his two remaining hands.* I gulped.

I can swing a bat, but a lightsaber is a whole different ballgame!

“I’ll even allow you the first move,” came the raspy voice as the lightsabers vanished.* “After all, I want a challenge.”

He’ll allow me?* Can we say ‘control freak’?* “Gee, thanks, Grievous.”* I drew six cards and he drew five.

OK, Bryan, you can’t win a game if you’re angry.* You need to cool off.* Now, let’s see what I have…* There wasn’t too much to get excited about.* Pulling a card out my hand, I called out, “I set a monster face-down and end my turn!”* The face-down card shimmered into being in front of me.

I looked over to Cecelia, who was still standing motionless next to Grievous.

I’ll get you out of this, I promise.

Drawing a sixth card, Grievous said, “I summon Gradius to the field in Attack Mode.”

A monster card suddenly materialized on the field, and out of it flew a small jet fighter.* It zipped around the field once before hovering in front of Grievous.* (1200 / 800)

“And now, since I have a Gradius on the field, I can Special Summon Gradius’ Option as well.”

A very bizarre contraption appeared on the field, looking almost like some sort of balance.* There were two open glass domes - one on either side - and Gradius flew into one of the domes, which sealed itself.* Suddenly, a scanner beam ran across Gradius’ hull.* Immediately, the second dome sealed itself shut, and another beam started running back and forth across the dome.* Each time the beam ran across the dome, part of a new hologram would appear.* Soon, a second Gradius – identical to the first – was hovering in the second dome.* (1200 / 800)

“To complete my strategy, I’ll add a weapon to Gradius called Cyclon Laser.”

I should’ve known, I thought, as a small laser weapon attached itself to Gradius’ underside.* Wherever Gradius is, Cyclon Laser isn’t too far behind.* And now his Gradius can Trample through my defense monster!* Then I remembered something else as the ATKs of both of monsters started increasing.* Oh, right.* His Laser gives Gradius 300 extra ATK points, and Gradius’ Option’s ATK is always the same as Gradius’, so IT gains 300 ATK as well! (1200 / 800) -> (1500 / 800) x2

“Gradius, I command you to attack his face-down monster.* Open fire!”

His Gradius powered up its new laser cannon and blasted my face-down monster to shreds!* (B: 6600 / G: 8000)

Good thing I’m not totally out of the game, I thought.* A small, furry rodent poked its head out of my Graveyard slot as I said, “You’ve destroyed my Nimble Momonga!* True, it only had 100 defense points, so I lost 1400 Life Points, but now I’m about to gain 1000 of them back, as well as two more Momongas to the field!”

Nimble Momonga began chittering loudly, and my Life Points rose up to 7600 as two cards flew out of my deck and settled themselves onto my disk.* Two holographic cards appeared in front of me as well.

Totally unfazed, Grievous said, “Gradius’ Option, attack one of his Momongas now.”

Gradius’ clone fired its laser as well, blasting one of my new Momongas to pieces.

“Too bad your Gradius’ Option doesn’t gain any effects your Gradius might have!* It can’t scratch my Life Points through Defense monsters!* But you still destroyed Nimble Momonga, meaning I gain another 1000 Life Points!” I called out as my Life Points rose again, to 8600.

Again, Grievous showed no sign that he had even heard me.* “My turn is complete.”

“And so are you!* Look out!” I yelled as I drew a card.

Hmm…not exactly a ton of options.* I can at least protect my Life Points.* “I summon Alligator’s Sword to the field in Attack Mode!”

The reptilian warrior leapt out of its holographic card and deftly landed in front me, sword at the ready.* (1500 / 1200)

“True, you could destroy my Alligator, but then you’d lose your own monster!”

Not even acknowledging the fact that I had spoken, Grievous drew.

“My Gradius’ Option is not serving me well in its current form, so I’ll disassemble it and remake it into B.E.S. Crystal Core.”

The large contraption that housed his two monsters disintegrated into scrap metal, and the hologram of his second Gradius blinked out.

Disassemble it?* Is he Tributing it or something?

That seemed to be the case, because the junkyard that now lay before me suddenly started reforming itself into a very large…thing.* It looked like some kind of oval spaceship, but it was made of what appeared to be ice crystals, and it had two long mechanical tentacles.* Strangely enough, it also was surrounded by a strange shimmer.* I couldn’t figure out what it is was, but I knew I had seen it before

Crap!* Now he can blast through my monsters without destroying any of his own!

“Gradius, attack his final Momonga.”

Once again, the laser-toting jet fighter opened fire, blasting Nimble Momonga to shreds!

Good thing I only lost a total of 400 Life Points I thought, as my Life Points fell to 7200, then rose again to 8200 due to Nimble Momonga’s effect.

“Crystal Core, attack his Alligator’s Sword.”

His battleship slammed one of its tentacles into my Alligator, who screamed in pain before shattering.* (B: 7600 / G: 8000)

So much for that play.* I’d better draw something quick; he’s likely going to summon yet another Machine next turn, and a three-way direct attack would NOT be fun!* “My move!” I yelled, drawing and hoping for a good card.

Battle Footballer!* This guy’s got enough Defense to block his spaceships!* “I set 1 monster face-down, and end my turn!” I called out as a holographic card appeared to defend me.

Drawing a card, Grievous stated, “I activate Pot of Greed, letting me add two more cards to my arsenal.”

The freaky-looking pot appeared on his disk, and one of Grievous’ many hands reached in and pulled out two cards.* The Pot gave a throaty chuckle before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

“Now I activate the ability of my Robotic Knight.* By discarding the two Machines I just drew –“ he showed me Science Soldier and Cyber Soldier of Darkworld “- you automatically lose 1000 Life Points.”

Aw, no!

A high-tech army man and a round purple robot appeared on the field.* Robotic Knight pulled out a sword and pointed it at me, as if to command an attack.* And attack they did: both Science Soldier and Cyber Soldier of Darkworld tackled me to the ground!* (B: -1000)

As I got up, both of his monsters exploded, sending spare parts everywhere and sending me sprawling again.

Trying to maintain a sense of dignity, I slowly pulled myself back to my feet just in time to hear, “Crystal Core, attack his face-down monster.”

A long mechanical tentacle hurled itself through the air and slammed into my face-down card…almost.* A bulky, gloved, mechanical hand shot out of the card and grabbed the tentacle.* The hand was followed by my robotic football player.* (1000 / 2100)

“Sorry Grievous, but my Battle Footballer’s Defense score is too tough for your spaceship to crack!* You’ll have to do better than that!”

“My turn is complete.”

This guy needs to get some emotions.* I drew.

It was only then that I noticed something peculiar.* The shimmer that I had seen surrounding Grievous’ Crystal Core was much dimmer now than it had been.

Wait a sec…now I remember!* That shimmer looks just like Cecelia’s force field!* My eyebrows narrowed as I tried to figure this puzzle out.* OK, think.* That’s a spaceship…and spaceships have shielding systems!* That must be one of those high-tech shields!* But it’s getting dimmer; I would think that means it’s weakening.* Why would it weaken if I haven’t been attacking it?

There was no time to think about it now.* I looked at the card I had drawn.

YES!* This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for!

“First, two cards face-down!” I yelled, as they appeared in front of me.* “Then, I summon my Ultimate Baseball Kid in Attack Mode!”

My faithful little leaguer jumped onto the field, and readied himself for a pitch.* (500 / 1000)

“And let’s not forget about his effect, which gives him 1000 extra Attack points for every Fire monster on the field.* Guess what Battle Footballer is?” I called out, as Ultimate Baseball Kid’s Attack rose to 1500.

Without even asking if my turn was done, Grievous drew a card.

“I summon Heavy Mech Support Platform.”

A new spaceship a bit larger than Gradius zipped onto the field.* It actually was shaped like Gradius too, but more blocky, and was colored gray and purple.* (500 / 500)

“Gradius, attach to the Platform.”

Huh?* That’s a new one.

To my surprise, his Gradius settled itself onto the Platform and a loud series of clanks told me that the two were now attached.* I watched, slightly curious, as Gradius’ ATK started rising.* (1500 / 800) -> (2000 / 800)

“Heavy Mech Support Platform can equip itself to any Machine monster and give that monster 500 extra Attack points.* Now Gradius can destroy your pathetic little boy.”

The souped-up Gradius powered up its laser in preparation to fire.

“Not so fast, tinhead!* I activate DNA Transplant!”

The card on my left rose and out stepped the familiar surgeon, who held his scalpel high.

“This allows me to change the Attribute of every monster on the field to anything I choose, and my choice is Fire!”

The scalpel blazed with flames, and both of Grievous’ machines were suddenly outlined in fire!

“And, since Ultimate Baseball gains 1000 Attack points for EVERY Fire monster on the field, regardless of what side of the field those monsters are on, it’s far too powerful for your Gradius to scratch!* Fight back!”

Gradius fired its laser beam, but Ultimate Baseball Kid – whose Attack had skyrocketed to 3500 – caught the laser on his bat, then hurled the bat boomerang-style right at Gradius in response!

“Gradius, evasive maneuvers.”

Suddenly, there was another series of clicks and clanks, and Gradius zipped away from the Support Platform!* Ultimate Baseball Kid’s bat slammed into the platform instead, shattering it, and Gradius settled back into its original position as Ultimate Baseball Kid caught his bat.

“Heavy Mech Support Platform is a Union monster, allowing forcing you to destroy it instead of the monster it equips itself to.”

Great.* Well, at least it looks like his Life Points still take a dive, I thought as Grievous’ Life Points descended to 6500.* And, since he lost his Platform, his Gradius must lose the 500 attack point bonus.* Sure enough, his Gradius dropped back to 1500 / 800.

“My turn is over.”

“Good.* My move!” I called out as I drew a card.

Hmm…guess it can’t hurt to set Red Archery Girl.* “I set a monster face-down.* Now, Ultimate Baseball kid, melt his Crystal Core!”

Ultimate Baseball Kid’s bat glowed with fire, and he shot a large stream of it directly at Crystal Core!* But, when the steam cleared…

What?* It’s still there? I thought, as his Life Points dipped again, this time to 5100.

“B.E.S. Crystal Core is a battleship, designed for fights in the outer regions of space.* Its powerful shielding system is its main strength, but it must use some of the shielding power when it battles another monster.* As long as it has shielding capabilities, it cannot be destroyed in battle.”

So I was right; it WAS a shield!* And that’s why the shield was weakening; it only has to battle another monster, not necessarily be attacked by one.* And…the shield’s gone now!* “But now there’s no shield left!”

“Correct.* I see that not all humans are as unintelligent as they look.”

I snorted.* “Funny; I don’t remember you being the kind of guy to insult yourself!”

He looked at me with what I assume was a quizzical look.* “I’m not insulting myself, fool.”

“Oh, but you are!* I know what you are, and it sure isn’t an android!* Underneath all that metal plating and high-tech gear is a living, breathing human being, who went through all kinds of upgrades so he could terrify anyone who opposed him!”

His eyes narrowed.* “How do you know these things about me?* Answer me at once!”

I sneered.* “I know all kinds of things about you.* One thing I don’t know is how you’re here right now; last I checked, you were a goner!”

“What are you talking about?* I have never been bested in battle!”

He doesn’t know!* This must be a hologram of him before Obi-Wan Kenobi destroyed him!* “Well, don’t let me spoil the surprise for you.* I end my turn.”

He was visibly upset – quite a change from his original attitude.* “I told you, I have never been bested in battle, and I don’t intend on starting now!* I draw!”* He did so.* “I activate two Magic Cards: Bosh Rush, and Shield Generator!”

The two Magic Cards rose on his side of the field, and…nothing happened.* Um…right.* What’s going on?

“Next, I activate the special ability of my Crystal Core, allowing me to switch any Attack Position monster on your side of the field to Defense Position, like your Ultimate Baseball Kid!”

His crystalline battleship slammed one of its tentacles onto Ultimate Baseball Kid’s head, forcing into Defense Mode!

Dang it!* Its effect doesn’t do anything for its Defense score, so it still only has 1000 Defense points!

“Gradius, I command you to attack Ultimate Baseball Kid!* Open fire!”

Once again, Gradius shot its laser, incinerating Ultiamte Baseball Kid!

And it still has that Cyclon Laser attached to it, meaning I lose 500 Life Points!* I thought in despair as my Life Points sank to 6100.

“B.E.S. Crystal Core, attack his face-down monster!”

Apparently, it really needed its shielding system, because it looked like Crystal Core was going into overdrive.* It started shaking and clanking as it shot both of its tentacles forward, tearing Red Archery Girl to ribbons!* Then, it suddenly exploded!

After picking myself up off the ground for the third time that duel, I heard Grievous talking again.* “Since it battled without any shields, it automatically destroyed itself, but now my two Magic Cards come into play!* First, Boss Rush!”

His left Magic Card glowed, and out of it flew another spaceship!* It looked much like Crystal Core, but minus the ice crystals and the tentacles.* (2300 / 1100)

“Whenever a Battleship monster on my side of the field is sent to the Graveyard, my Boss Rush Magic Card will call another one to the field from my Deck to replace it!* And my Shield Generator will power up its shielding system, making it indestructible and giving it a chance to attack!”

[starjake]

Lovely. Just fantastic.

“Now, Big Core, attack his Battle Footballer now!”

Big Core fired an enormous laser cannon blast at Battle Footballer, who screamed before exploding.

He destroyed every monster I had in one turn!

“I will not be bested in battle; not now, and not ever!”

I looked over to Cecelia, who was still standing there, stiff as a tree.

Sorry, but I don’t back down so easily. “It’s my turn!”

I drew Legendary Jujitsu Master.

Hmm…not too shabby! “I set 1 monster face-down, and end my turn!”

Drawing a card himself, he said, “Since I still have Gradius on the field, I can summon another Gradius’ Option.”

As the large contraption materialized on the field again, I thought, This guy’s deck must be focused specifically on spaceships; he has a ton of them!

The scanning contraption produced a new Gradius hologram, identical to the first. (1500 / 800)

“Gradius, attack his face-down monster!”

Good boy, Grievous. “That’s not going to work…”

My prediction turned out to be correct, as a rocky arm blocked the laser beam. The arm was followed by a muscleman who seemed to be chiseled out of stone. (1300 / 1800)

“Not only is your Gradius too weak to break through my Legendary Jujitsu Master’s defense, but since you attacked while he was in Defense Mode, your Gradius is sent back to the top of your deck!”

Right on cue, Legendary Jujitsu Master leapt across the field and grabbed Gradius by its short, stubby wings. Gradius suddenly turned back into a holographic card, and Legendary Jujitsu Master threw it to the top of Grievous’ deck. (B: 6100 / G: 4800)

“And don’t think I’m so ‘unintelligent’ that I’m unaware of the weaknesses of your Gradius’ Option! Since it no longer has a Gradius to copy, it’s automatically destroyed!”

The contraption began to shake as the second hologram blinked out. It suddenly collapsed into scrap heap, which faded from view.

“And my Legendary Jujitsu Master is still in Defense Mode,” I said with a triumphant grin, gesturing towards my crouching monster, “so, if you choose to attack with your spaceship, it will get sent back to the top of your deck too, since Legendary Jujitsu Master doesn’t have to win a battle in Defense Mode for its effect to activate; it only has to be attacked!”

Grievous paused for the briefest of seconds. “My turn is over.”

“Good. My move then!”

Perfect! Now I can stall long enough to break out my big combo, and I already have three pieces of it in my hand! “I activate Swords of Revealing Light!”

Three large, glowing swords fell from the sky, splitting the field in two.

“You can’t attack for three of your turns!”

No response whatsoever.

Hmph. “I set a monster face-down, and end my turn.”

Grievous drew. “I choose to make no move this turn. I pass.” The Sword to my left faded.

That’s odd. That monster had to be Gradius, so why didn’t he summon it to build up his forces? “Suit yourself. My move!”

Seventh Inning? That’s not a a part of my combo…oh well, there’s still a couple more turns to draw the final piece. “I set another monster face-down, and end my turn again. Now I have three monsters to protect me!”

Drawing again, he merely waved his arm, not even bothering to say that he was passing again. The righthand Sword vanished.

Why won’t he summon something else? Not that I’m complaining or anything… “Fine, don’t make a move. I draw!”

Argh…this guy’s powerful, but he’s not what I need right now! “I set 1 card face-down and end my turn!” I yelled for the third time, as a face-down Trap appeared in front of me.

Grievous drew again. I was expecting another pass, but not this time. “I activate Junk Dealer.”

Junk Dealer? Didn’t Alistor use that?

Suddenly, Science Soldier and Cyber Soldier of Darkworld appeared in front of me again! I watched as their Attack scores dropped. (900 / 900) -> (450 / 900) ; (1400 / 1200) -> (700 / 1200)

Now I remember. That lets him bring back two monsters from his Graveyard with half of their attack points. But why bring back such weak monsters?

“Next, I activate Sky Unit.”

I felt the blood leave my face. Oh no…I remember that card…

Science Soldier and Cyber Soldier both leapt on top of Big Core, then all three rose into the sky, where they exploded into spare parts! The parts multiplied and reassembled themselves into a monstrous ship! Its shadow covered the entire playing field and then some!

This is going to be SO not fun!

It was circular, but the outline was broken up by hundreds and hundreds of turrets and laser cannons! Where the bridge would be was what looked like the head of some action figure. It stared at me with cold, soulless eyes. (2500 / 2500)

“This is one my mightiest war vessels: Air Fortress Ziggarat! However, your last remaining sword still forbids me from attacking, so I end my turn, which activates my Ziggarat’s special effect!”

Suddenly, out of the warship’s ‘mouth’ – it was really just a slab of metal – dropped a monster that looked exactly like some sort of RoboCop action figure. It knelt in defense. (0 / 0)

And, if I remember right, I can’t attack his warship unless there aren’t any of those Toy Robot Tokens on the field. I drew.

Woah, that’s right! I completely forgot about what I have on the field! “Time to eradicate everything you have, and I’ll do it by summoning United Resistance, in Attack Mode!”

The blond-haired peasants that had helped me in my duel against Tate and Liza appeared once more on the sand. (1000 / 400)

“Next, I flip my two face-down monsters into Attack Position as well; meet Oppressed People and People Running About!”

Ten more peasants appeared, five with blue hair and sad, downtrodden expressions, and five with red hair and frantic looks. (400 / 2000) ; (600 / 600)

“Now for the final part of my combo: activate face-down card! Huge Revolution!”

The card lifted, and suddenly a large assortment of axes and spear and the like appeared in all of my peasants’ hands.

“Since all three peasant cards are on the field, Huge Revolution allows them to destroy every card on your side of the field and in your hand!”

All of the peasants eagerly jumped forward and started hacking away at his cards. Soon, his Robot Token was gone, both his Battleship Reinforcement and Shield Generator had shattered, and angry glares from the peasants had forced Grievous to discard his hand. Then, they turned to Ziggarat...

…then turned to me and shrugged with helpless expressions.

Huh? “What’s wrong?”

I heard Grievous start laughing again. “My Air Fortress is so powerful, the effects of your Magic and Trap Cards can’t destroy it!”

The blood fled from my face. And now I can’t switch my monsters to Defense Mode… “I…end my turn.”

“As I thought,” he snubbed, drawing a new card. Barely glancing at it, he threw it on his Disk. “I summon Red Gadget to the field.”

Red Gadget? That’s a new one on me.

A strange machine appeared. It was humanoid, and looked a bit toylike. It looked as though someone had taken a grenade, painted it red and silver, and given it two arms, two large, blocky feet and legs, and a small, dome-shaped head with two googly eyes. To top it all off, an enormous gear sat on the thing’s back. (1300 / 1500)

“As soon as this droid is summoned,” said Grievous, his Deck shooting out a card, “I am automatically allowed to take a new monster from my Deck and add it immediately to my hand.”

That means his hand size won’t decrease by summoning his monsters!

“Red Gadget, attack his water peasants now!”

The gear on the bizarre creatures back began to spin very fast, and the Gadget ran across the field, jumped high into the air, and simply squashed the screaming peasants out of existence. (B: 5200 / G: 5100)

“Now, Air Fortress Ziggarat,” started Grievous.

This is so not cool!

“Attack his United Resitance!”

The behemoth warship powered up its many lasers and aimed its many guns at the quivering blonde-haired people. Several cannon blasts later, they were gone. (B: 3700 / G: 5100)

“I have no more monsters to attack with, so I’ll end my turn,” called Grievous, as a new Robot Token dropped onto the field. (0 / 0) “And, just so you know, your Fire peasants are next on my list of people to crush!”

At this, my People Running About clung together in fear, and then lived up to their name, scattering and running to hide behind boulders, or behind Legendary Jujitsu Master, or behind Jinzo, or simply cowering in the sand, their hands over their heads.

This sent Grievous into peals of laughter. “You have nothing that can defeat my army of droids!”

Grimacing, I drew. I looked at the card.

At least I can protect myself from them.

“I activate Tribute Doll!”

Instantly, a large, cracked statue of a soldier appeared on the field.

“This Magic Card gives me a chance to summon any Level 7 monster in my hand, as long as I sacrifice my new doll and one other monster first. So I’ll Tribute my doll and People Running About!”

The peasants collected themselves as the Tribute Doll glowed. A stone altar with a lightning bolt carved into the side rose underneath my monsters, and a great beam of light completely enveloped them. The light died down, and they had vanished. The top of the altar slid back, and a card floated out of it.

“I give you Sanga of the Thunder!”

The golden deity of thunder materialized out of the card, lightning crackling all over its body. (2600 / 2200)

“Lucky for you, a monster can’t attack during the turn it’s summoned with Tribute Doll, so I’ll set 1 card face-down and end my turn.”

He drew another card and said, “I summon Yellow Gadget to the field.”

A new gear monster appeared on the field next to Red Gadget. It actually looked very similar to its red counterpart, but without the dome-shaped head. It was – obviously – yellow, the gear on its back was split in half and moved to either side of its back so the two halves looked more like wings, and another gear ran vertically through the middle of its torso. Instead of a dome-shaped head, it had one central eye located closer to the center of its body. (1200 / 1200)

“And, like Red Gadget, Yellow Gadget lets me bring another Gadget to my hand when it is summoned,” he declared coolly as another card slipped out of his deck. “One card face-down, and then a Magic Card: Energy Core Shield!”

“Energy what?”

A card appeared in front of him, showing some kind of energy generator, and then a static force field shimmered into being all around him!

“What’s going on?”

“This is a powerful Magic Card that protects all of my cards. As long as this card is in play, the effects of your cards cannot negate the effects of my own.”

My eyes slowly widened as I realized who my Deckmaster was.

“Wait…that means…Jinzo’s ability is ineffective?”

“It is now!” yelled Grievous with a raspy laugh. “And so, since my Trap Cards are now available to me, I’ll set these two cards face-down and end my turn.” Another Toy Robot Token gave him a full five monsters. (0 / 0)

My strategy is ruined! Unless I can find a way of removing that stupid generator from the field…and he didn’t switch any of his monsters to Defense Mode, even though they’re all weaker than my Sanga…those must be Traps to protect them! Unless…he knows I’d think that, so then it could be just a bluff. But if he knows I’d think it was a bluff…ergh, I can’t risk it. He has five monsters on the field, and if that Trap can destroy my Sanga, I’d have nothing to protect myself except my Jujitsu Master… “I draw!”

Nutrient Z…well, it’s better than nothing. “I set one card face-down and end my turn,” I said out loud, a new card joining my other face-down card and my DNA Transplant.

“I am growing quite tired of this,” Grievous mentioned in that raspy voice. “Let’s see if this card can liven things up a bit. Ah, yes, this will do nicely,” he continued, drawing a card and glancing at it. “It’s a handy Magic Card called Pot of Avarice.”

Pot of Avarice? This guy has all kinds of new cards! I thought to myself as a bizarre-looking blue-green jar with a goofy smile materialized in front of Grievous.

“This card is a sort of mixing bowl, combining five monsters from my Graveyard back into my deck, and then letting me draw two new cards.”

He was right; that is a handy card!

Grievous took his deck out of the tray and dumped it into the Pot, then started sifting through his Graveyard, eventually selecting five cards from it and dumping those into the Pot as well. The Pot then started to shake wildly, which I assumed was its way of shuffling the deck. Finally, the Pot floated over to Grievous, who stuck one of his many hands and pulled out two cards, then pulled out his deck and stuck it back in the tray. The Pot gave a high-pitched laugh, then shattered into pixels.

I’m not entirely sure I’ll ever get used to these holograms.

“Now, where was I? Oh, yes. First I’ll use my Deckmaster ability again. You remember what that does, right?” he said with a chuckle, Gradius suddenly materializing behind him.

Not again!

“In case you’ve forgotten, I can discard this Gradius to take away 500 of your Life Points!”

His Robotic Knight thrust its sword forward, and Gradius plowed into me, knocking me down and shattering. (B: 3200 / G 5100)

I’m gonna be sore tomorrow, that’s for sure, I thought wearily as I picked myself up off the sand for the umpteenth time.

“And that’s not all. I’ll use the other card I drew as well: Token Thanskgiving!”

A troll-like creature appeared on Grievous’ side of the field, holding a harvesting basket.

“By sacrificing my two Tokens, I gain 800 Life Points for each.”

I stared at him in disbelief. He sure doesn’t seem to have a problem throwing away his cards, what with his Deckmaster’s ability, and now this Token card. I guess it fits his personality; he never did mind using his droids however he saw fit.

As I was thinking this, the troll-man walked over to each of Grievous’ kneeling Toy Robots and proceeded to club them over the head with its basket, somehow causing them to disintegrate. The troll gathered the pieces into its basket, walked back over to Grievous, and started patching him up with the Robot pieces! Grievous’ armor somehow absorbed the pieces, and his Life Points shot up as the troll walked back into its card and vanished. (B: 3200 / G: 6700)

“Now, I summon Green Gadget to the field.”

And how many of these things does he have in his deck? This is crazy! I thought, as a new monster appeared on the field and yet another card slid out of Grievous’ deck.

This new Gadget was similar to the other two, but green. Its entire torso was a gear with a green center, and it had gears for shoulder pads as well. (1400 / 600)

“And, since I now have all three of my Gadgets on the field, it is an opportune time to activate this! Mobile Fortress Stronghold!”

His left face-down card rose, and the largest robotic hand I have ever seen in my life reached out of it. It was followed by an even larger arm, a dome-shaped head, a torso, and two gigantic legs and feet.

It was enormous! Covered in white metal, it easily stood twenty feet tall, with the same type of rounded body build that the other Gadgets had. It had the same dome-shaped head as Red Gadget (only it was white); in fact, the entire machine seemed to be made only of circles and ovals. (0 / 2000)

Though I was rather afraid, due to its size, that fear quickly vanished when I saw it had no attack power whatsoever! “You went through all that just to summon a monster with zero attack points?”

“No, I did not. Mobile Fortress Stronghold is strengthened by my Gadgets!”

I suddenly noticed that there were three circular indents on the robot’s chest, arranged in an upside-down triangle pattern. Three circles…and he’s got three Gadgets…

Then, each of the three Gadgets jet-propelled themselves into the air! They whizzed about the field a few times before arranging themselves into an upside-down triangle formation and flying into the circles on the Stronghold’s chest!

OK, so…now what?

“Since I have all three Gadgets on the field, Mobile Fortress Stronghold gains 3000 attack points!”

My eyes widened as the Stronghold’s eyes suddenly flashed, and the giant machine whirred to life. (0 / 2000) -> (3000 / 2000)

“And, in case you think you're safe because of your monsters' abilities, take a closer look!”

Very worried, and slightly curious, I looked. My eyes widened in fear as I saw green lightning coursing around both Sanga (this must've been a bad kind of lightning to hurt a Thunder-Type) and Legendary Jujitsu Master!

"What's going on?"

"Perhaps," Grievous said with a smirk in his voice, "I failed to mention my Energy Core Shield's second ability? The one that negates the special powers of all non-Machine-Type monsters on the field?"

That’s not good!

“For my final card,” he proclaimed, taking the last card from his hand, “I activate Seven Completed, to increase the ATK of Red Gadget by 700!”

A large golden 7 appeared on Red Gadget’s chest as its attack rose to 2100.

“Moblie Fortress Stronghold, attack Sanga of the Thunder!”

The behemoth creature leveled a punch that flattened Sanga, shattering it. (B: -400)

“Air Fortress Ziggarat, attack Legendary Jujitsu Master!”

My stone warrior tried to shield itself from the onslaught of laser cannon fire, but simply wasn’t strong enough.

“Now, my three Gadgets, finish him off! Attack directly!”

As the three Gadgets zipped off of the Stronghold’s chest and jet-powered their way towards me, I pointed towards one of my face-down cards.

“Not if I have anything to say about it. I activate Hyper Refresh, and chain Nutrient Z!”

Two of my face-down cards lifted. A bottle topped with a skull and labeled with a Z appeared in my right hand, and a small glass vial appeared in my left.

“Since chains work in reverse, I’ll gain 4000 Life Points from Nutrient Z,” I explained, quickly unscrewing the skull-shaped cap off of the bottle and downing the surprisingly tangy liquid. “Then, I’ll double my Life Points with Hyper Refresh!” I popped off the top of the vial with my thumb and swallowed the sweet water inside. Both bottles vanished…

“Whoa!” I yelled. I felt electrified, like I had drunk a thousand Gatorades or something. This was cloud 9! (B: 14400 / G: 6700)

Of course, that feeling abated a bit when all three Gadgets plowed into me, bowling me over. (B: 9700 / G: 5700)

Leaping back to my feet, I called out, “You’re not gonna be able to keep me down that easily, Grievous! I’m gonna win back Cecelia, and destroy you in the process!” I drew a card.

Monster Reborn.

“I’ve seen your monsters; there’s nothing you can summon that could defeat my droid army!”

“Allow me to prove you wrong! First, my Mystical Space Typhoon will obliterate your Energy Core Shield, meaning monster effects are back in action, and your Traps are history! Do your stuff, Jinzo!" A hurricane-force wind tore across the field, dissipating the green lightning and shattering the Energy Core Shield card. Even better, Jinzo shot a red laser beam from his eyes, aiming right for the Mobile Fortress robot...

...but nothing happened.

"Apparently you need to read the rules a bit more thoroughly. Jinzo's Deckmaster ability negates and destroys Traps only when they're activated. Since Mobile Fortress Stronghold has already been activated - "

"Oh, just shut it, Grievous! It doesn't matter if your big robot is destroyed or not; I can still win this turn!"

Grievous glared at me. "You will not speak in that tone to your superiors! And how do intend to win this turn; you have nothing to protect yourself!"

"Wrong! I now play Monster Reborn, to revive Ultimate Baseball Kid!”

The holy symbol appeared in front of me, and it quickly shifted into Ultimate Baseball Kid. He held his bat in a ready position. (500 / 1000)

Grievous actually started laughing. “You fool! You summoned a monster with only 500 attack points in Attack Mode in front of my droids? Are you trying to lose?”

“Not only am I not trying to lose,” I shot back, pulling another card from my hand, “I’m going to win, and I’m gonna do it before this turn is over!”

“And just how do you plan to do that?”

I threw a card into my disk, and discarded my Seventh Inning. “I activate the Twin Swords of Flashing Light – Tryce!”

Ultimate Baseball Kid’s bat vanished as two thin, electrically-charged rapiers appeared in his hands. (500 / 1000) -> (0 / 1000)

Grievous was incredulous, to say the least. “Why on earth did you do that? You’ve made him even weaker!”

“Observe the cards on my field more closely, Grievous, and you may understand why I did what I did.”

Eyes narrowed, he scanned the field. All I had were Ultimate Baseball Kid, the Twin Swords, a face-down card, and…

[starjake]

Realization dawned on his face. “DNA Transplant! It's still there!”

“Correct! And that turns the Attribute of all of your monsters into Fire, meaning my Ultimate Baseball Kid gains 5000 attack points!” (0 / 1000) -> (5000 / 1000)

Grievous looked shocked for a minute or two, then relaxed. “You still won’t be able to win this turn! My monsters have enough attack points to sheild me, even as strong as your Ultimate Baseball Kid."

“That’s what you think! I still have one card sitting on the bench: Live Drive!”

My face-down card lifted, and suddenly both of Ultimate Baseball Kid’s swords blazed with fire!

“This card can only be used if Ultimate Baseball Kid is in play! I have to pay half of my Life Points to use this card, but when I do, Ultimate Baseball Kid is allowed to ignore your monsters and attack you directly this turn!” (B: 4850 / G: 5700)

And, for the first time in the entire duel, I saw fear in the two very human eyes that peered from beneath Greivous’ metal helmet.

“And, since the Twin Swords allow him to attack twice per turn, this is your last battle, Grievous! Ultimate Baseball Kid, aim for his mid-section and blast him of out of the park!”

Ultimate Baseball Kid held his two swords together, and fired an electrically charged laser that blew past the mechanical giants and hit Grievous directly in the stomach! He howled in agony as he was electrocuted from the inside out, then exploded! The sand and boulders around us flew in all directions from the shock wave!

When the sand had settled, the field was clear of monsters, except for Ultimate Baseball Kid, who walked up to me and gave me a high-five.

“That was killer, Bryan! Looks like that robot-thing got his clock cleaned!”

I grinned. “He sure did. We won! We defeated an evil warlord!”

“And that evil warlord was your fifth win, meaning you’re in the finals now!”

That stopped me for a second. I had completely forgotten about that! “Hey, you’re right! That’s awesome!”

Ultimate Baseball Kid nodded, determination in his face. “Now you need to get to the Central Mountain Vaults.”

“Is that where the semi-finals are?”

He shrugged. “Maybe; I don’t know. I just know that that’s where you’re supposed to go.”

My elation quickly died down as I glanced to my left and saw Cecelia lying on the ground.

“Oh shoot, Cecelia!”

I ran over to where she was, stumbling over the sand and bits of rock. “Cecelia! Are you okay?”

I leaned down next to her. Her hologram was back online, but seemed a little strange. I put my hand up to her arm and was surprised when my hand went through the skin.

“Her force field isn’t up yet…we need to get her some help,” I said. “Any ideas?”

Ultimate Baseball Kid shook his head. “I don’t do mechanical stuff. Do you have a card that can help?”

I looked at my disk. “Nothing that would help a machine; my life-gaining cards work with flesh and blood.”

Suddenly, there was a humming sound, and Cecelia’s ‘eyes’ opened, making me jump in surprise.

“Cecelia! Are you alright?”

She slowly sat up, surveyed her surroundings, then looked at me. “I’ve been bettair. Vat happened? Ze last sing I recall is meeting that strange robot.”

“Well, I defeated him, so we’re safe now. Can you stand?” I asked, offering a hand. She looked at my hand and smiled slightly.

“Bryan,” she said, slowly getting on her feet, “as strong as you are, there ees no vay you vould be able to lift me; I am made of metal.”

I thought about that for a second, then figured she was probably right. “Uh, fine. Anyways, Ultimate Baseball Kid –“ I gestured towards him, and he held out his bat and shook Cecelia’s hand with it – “says that we need to get to the Central Mountain Vaults. Do you know where those are?”

She looked worried. “Yes, but zey are back vair vee vere before ze Toon Vorld mess ‘appened. And vee are novair near zair.”

“Any ideas on how we can get there quickly?”

Thinking for a bit, she took out her deck and began leafing through it. I thought she was going to summon her Benu Phoenix again, but then she held up a Trap Card.

“Interdimensional Matter Transporter? What does that do?”

She said nothing, but slipped it into her disk. Instantly, a strange contraption appeared before us. My immediate thought was that of a shiny, silver Christmas tree, with sharp silver metallic plates jutting out at an angle, one under the other. Cecelia walked over to the machine and began tinkering with something on the ball on top.

“Zair,” she said, finishing. “Zees shall take us back to vair vee started. Readee?”

I looked at Ultiamte Baseball Kid, who shrugged. We both walked over to the machine. Cecelia held her finger poised over a button, and both Ultimate Baseball Kid and I nodded. She pushed the button.

Hang on, semi-finals, I thought to myself as we were surrounded by a brilliant flash of rainbow-colored light. Here we come!



Shield Generator
Continuous Spell
When a Battleship monster is Special Summoned to your side of the field, place 3 counters on it. If the Battleship monster is summoned through the effect of “Battleship Reinforcement”, it is allowed to attack during the End Phase of that turn.

Junk Dealer
Normal Spell
Select up to 2 monsters in your Graveyard whose combined Level Stars equal 7 or less and Special Summon them. Decrease the ATK and DEF of the monsters Special Summoned through this effect by half. During the turn in which this card is activated, monsters summoned through this card's effect can't attack and can't be Tributed for a Tribute Summon.

Sky Unit
Normal Spell
Tribute 3 monsters on your side of the field to Special Summon 1 "Air Fortress Ziggarat" from your hand or Deck.

Air Fortress Ziggarat
Wind/Machine/8 stars/ATK 2500/DEF 2500
This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned by the effect of "Sky Unit". This card cannot be destroyed by the effects of your opponent's Spell and Trap Cards. If this monster battles an opponent's monster with equal ATK, this monster is not destroyed as a result of battle. During each of your End Phases, Special Summon 1 "Toy Robot Token" (Wind/Machine/1 star/ATK 0/DEF 0) in face-up Defense Position to your side of the field. Your opponent cannot attack this card if there are any "Toy Robot Tokens" on your side of the field.

Note: Junk Dealer, Sky Unit, and Air Fortress Ziggarat were all used by Alistor in the two-part episode “Flight of Fear”. Creative credit goes to the writers of those episodes.

Red Gadget
Earth/Machine/4 stars/ATK 1300/DEF 1500
When this card is successfully Summoned, add 1 “Yellow Gadget” from your Deck to your hand. Then, shuffle your Deck.

Yellow Gadget
Earth/Machine/4 stars/ATK 1200/DEF 1200
When this card is successfully Summoned, add 1 “Green Gadget” from your Deck to your hand. Then, shuffle your Deck.

Green Gadget
Earth/Machine/4 stars/ATK 1400/DEF 600
When this card is successfully Summoned, add 1 “Red Gadget” from your Deck to your hand. Then, shuffle your Deck.

Mobile Fortress Stronghold
Continuous Trap
After activation, this card is treated as an Effect Monster Card (Earth/Machine/4 stars/ATK 0/DEF 2000), and is Special Summoned to your Monster Card Zone. (This card is also still treated as a Trap Card.) If “Red Gadget”, “Yellow Gadget”, and “Green Gadget” are all face-up on your side of the field, increase the ATK of this card by 3000.

Note: The Gadget monsters and Mobile Fortress Stronghold are all real cards in Japan that sadly have not yet been released in the U.S.

Energy Core Shield
Continuous Spell
As long as this card remains face-up on the field, the effects of cards that you control cannot be negated by your opponent’s card effects. Negate the effects of all non-Machine-Type monsters on the field. Also, Battle Damage to the controller of a Machine-Type monster on your side of the field from a battle involving that Machine-Type monster becomes 0.

Hyper Refresh
Quick-Play Spell
You can only activate this card when there are no monsters on your side of the field and the total ATK of all face-up monsters on your opponent's side of the field is greater than your total Life Points. Double your Life Points.

Note: Joey used Hyper Refresh in his duel against Ziegfried in “Down in Flames, Part 2”. Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.

Line Drive
Normal Trap
You can only activate this card when “Ultimate Baseball Kid” is face-up on your side of the field. Pay half of your Life Points. “Ultimate Baseball Kid” is allowed to attack your opponent’s Life Points directly this turn.

Robotic Knight
Fire/Machine/4 stars/ATK 1600/DEF 1800
DMSA: Discard 1 Machine-Type monster from your hand. Inflict 500 points of damage to your opponent's Life Points.

Note: Nezbitt used Robotic knight as his Deckmaster in the two-part episode "Mechnical Mayhem". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.

Jinzo
Dark/Machine/6 stars/ATK 2400/DEF 1500
DMSA: When your opponent activates a Trap Card, negate the activation and effect of the Trap Card and destroy it.
Note: Leichter used Jinzo as his Deckmaster is the two-part episode "Settling the Score". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.



Well then! Bryan's got win #5, and he's off to the Central Mountain Vaults to see what's going on for the semi-finals! Kudos to his talent, no?

Next chapter, Jake and Bryan meet up again...but an unwelcome surprise awaits them! Get ready for a duel you've never seen the likes of before; it's all in Chapter 24 - Invader of Darkness!

[mr_pikachu]

Hmm, so it looks like one goal has been achieved. But what now? It'll be interesting to find out about the other competitors, as well as to see Jake and Bryan meet up again.

Nice battle, overall. I liked the bits of backstory on Grievous; it was interesting how you portrayed him. I was impressed with the gradual shift from a totally inhuman robotic lack of emotions to near-panic at the end. Very intriguing. The stakes of the battle helped to add to the emotion, too. Nice job in adding a bit to our knowledge of Cecelia, as well as using the fun little Interdimensional Matter Transporter.

I do think that this could have used some more editing, though. I saw quite a few typos scattered about, and there were also some weird word choices in various parts that I think you would have caught with a closer look. ("Minus" is kind of an odd word for Bryan to use in first-person narration; it'd be a little awkward even in the third-person.) There were various grammatical issues as well, especially dealing with prepositions and other technicalities.

However, as I said, many of the problems were little more than technicalities. Frankly, the plot and characters in this chapter were great. Grievous was portrayed nicely, and you're doing a good job with Bryan and Cecelia, as well. You're also clearly working to use the setting in the action. Very good. If you went over this a little bit more, I think you could make it exceptional. But you're still doing very well; I'm glad this is continuing. Anyway, I'll see you next chapter!

[Dark Sage]

Well, this story is back on track!

I liked the duel, but I did see one little mistake - Grievous's Skill Drain never left the field, so the effect of Bryan's Ultimate Baseball Kid wouldn't have worked. You should fix that.

But otherwise, it was a great chapter. Do more soon!

I look forward to it.

- Brian

[Master of Paradox]

You know... I was fairly disturbed when I saw Grievous would be dueling, as any overt pop-culture borrowing sets off the alarm bells in my head. But that soon didn't matter.

This might be the best duel I've seen in ages.

Part of it is that I love Gradius and the Core monsters, part of it is that you actually used Air Fortress Ziggurat (I always found it neat), and part of it is that this was a sheer down-to-the-wire battle. I can't think of the right words to praise it.

(And I should note I've seen Mobile Fortress Stronghold in another fic somewhere - I never thought it was a real card. The surprises never cease.)

Nice to see another chapter after all this time, even better that it was this good. Can't wait for future installments.

- Master of Paradox, saving the Iron Fist for another day

[Mookie]

ok. I like that characters from books and movies appear as enemies. And I also like their decks. Its a good fic. I like it.

And this chapter. Well, it rocked. It was nice and intense. Atleast for me. Keep up the good work.

[starjake]

Well, thanks to Dark Sage, I fixed my enormous error of ignoring Skill Drain's presence.

I'm glad to see that people liekd this one; I even managed to pull a praise from Master of Paradox. I feel honored.

And, if you thought this duel was intense, wait until you see the next duel (*grins evily*); it's gonna be the best yet.

TTFN,
StarJake

[Shuppet Master]

Actually, I checked Janime.info and Yugi(the real Yugi, not the Pharoah) uses those Gadget creatures and Mobile Fortress in the ceremonial battle vs. the Pharoah.

Great chappie, starjake! I am so glad you're back in the fanfic game! I liked the Star Wars cameo and the machine monsters Grevious used. Nice use of the Gradius monsters too. (Though we didn't see Big Core...) Keep up the good work!

[starjake]

Well, I'd say it's about time, no?

Buckle your seatbelts; this is gonna be a bumpy ride...

Chapter 24 – Invader of Darkness, Part 1

Griphook led me out of the caves of the Central Mountain Vaults without any more conversation, save for a “Good luck!” Then, he sent me on my way.

Why would Heather open some sort of card bank account for me, I thought as I walked through the woods, and leave cards for me there? If she wanted to give me cards, she could’ve given them to me herself; it’s not like it’s been a long time since I saw her last.

Blaze Magician suddenly flamed into existence beside, making me jump a foot in the air. Once I realized who it was, I let out a sigh. “Don’t do that!”

Sorry, she thought back. It’s the only way I can talk to you though, and it gets so boring just being a card…

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, any ideas about what to do next?”

She shook her head. I only know as much about this world as you do. Who knows who our next opponent could be? We’ve encountered so many different people –

“Not all of whom have been actual people,” I interjected, thinking of Griphook the goblin and (I shuddered) Voldemort. “I guess anything can happen around here.”

No sooner had I said this than I heard a familiar voice yell from behind me, “Hey, Jake, wait up!”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a brilliant flash of rainbow-colored light as Cecelia’s contraption transported us to wherever she had programmed. When the light faded, I saw that we were near the mouth of a large cave, above which the letters “CMV” were chiseled into the stone.

“The Central Mountain Vaults, I take it?” I asked. Ultimate Baseball Kid nodded, then gave me a wink as he disappeared in a flash of fire, returning to my deck. The silver Christmas-tree-like contraption also vanished.

Cecelia started speaking. “Pairhaps we should find Jake; ‘ee ees sure to ‘ave gotten eenough weens by now to compete een ze semi-finals.”

“Excuse me,” came a commanding yet polite voice. “Did you mention the name Jake?”

I spun on my heel and looked all over for the source of the voice. After looking down, I realized what that source was: a goblin, straight out of the Harry Potter books.

“Are you Griphook?” I asked, remembering way back to the first book. Griphook had been one of the head goblins that ran Gringotts, the wizard’s bank.

Griphook gave a bow. “Indeed I am. Are you looking for someone?”

“Yeah, a guy named Jake. He has – “

“Short, dirty-blond hair, hazel eyes, stands about 6’1” at roughly 160 lbs, and plays a deck based on the Fire attribute?”

I blinked. “Um, yeah. That would be him.”

“Ah. He just left not ten minutes ago after making a withdrawal. What is your name?”

Unsure of why he wanted to know, I stammered, “Um…Bryan. Yeah…Bryan Stormack.”

Griphook shook his head. “No, I’m sorry, there’s no account here under that name. Would you care to create one?”

Is this some kind of bank? “Uh…no thank you. Could you tell us where Jake went?”

Griphook pointed behind us. “I believe I saw him wander off that way.”

“Thanks, Griphook.”

“You are welcome. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

I shook my head. “Nah, I’m cool. I’ll catch you later. Hey, Jake, wait up!” I yelled, running in the direction Griphook had pointed.

Cecelia stood there for a moment before shaking her head and muttering, “Garçons!” Then, she followed after me.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After seeing who it was who had called my name, I smiled in relief.

Finally…a familiar face. “Hey Bryan! What’s up?”

He ran up to me and we high-fived. “Not much,” he responded. “I mean, I’m only in the semi-finals and all,” he added with a wink and a cocky smile.

Already? “Wow, that’s more than me. I’ve still got one more win before I make it in.”

I slapped my hand to my forehead when I realized that “win” and “in” rhymed. Oh boy, here comes –

“Why, Jake!” said Bryan in mock-surprise. “You’re a poet and you didn’t know it! But your feet show it, because they’re long fellows.”

I groaned as I thought back to the first time Bryan had pulled that on me, and he had forced me to look up who Longfellow was because I didn’t get the joke. “Very funny, Bryan. Very funny.”

He winked at me. “I try. So, what’s with the hold-up?”

I glared at him. “Let’s just say it hasn’t all been fun and games.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not all fun and games? I thought. “What do you mean, ‘not all fun and games?’

“I lost, OK?” he snapped back at me.

“Woah, there. Try an anger management class. Who to?”

I guess I didn’t make sense, since he gave me a quizzical look.

Need to work on those speaking skills. “Who’d you lose to?”

He opened his mouth to snap back at me, but didn’t get the chance to actually form words. The interruption came in the form of a high-pitched, almost whispering laugh that seemed to echo from all directions at once. It was a laugh I instantly did not like.

Looking around, I realized that the woods had darkened considerably from a few moments ago. A dark fog swept around our feet, and the temperature was dropping, to the point where I could see my breath in front of my face. Then I looked up.

A mistake.

Looking up revealed the source of the sudden climate change. Swirling twenty feet or so above us were ten or more creatures that I had seen only in a movie, as well as read about in a certain book. I dearly wished they had remained there.

“Those can’t be…dementors?”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My heart rate skyrocketed as I realized what was happening.

Oh no…not this again!

I heard Bryan exclaim next to me, “Those can’t be…dementors?”

I opened my mouth to reply, but it wasn’t my voice that answered. The voice that did answer was the very last voice I ever wanted to hear.

“I see that you are not as foolish as your friend. You recognize my pets?”

I felt rather than saw Bryan’s eyes widen and his skin pale. “That’s…that’s…it can’t be…”

That awful, nightmarish voice spoke again. “Oh, but it can…”

Out of the mist, about ten feet away, rose the all-too-familiar imposing figure. Cloaked in a black robe, he appeared to hover above the ground instead of stand on it. The only parts of his body I could see were his two spidery hands, each tipped in five unearthly long, pale fingers.

Lord Voldemort was back.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I felt Jake lock up next to me. I had never seen Jake this scared of anything.

Voldemort raised one of his hands in a mock-wave. “Hello again, Jake. It’s been so long since last we met; have you been well?”

Jake managed to say, “Him. I lost to him.”

If possible, my eyes widened even further. “You…you dueled him?” I asked incredulously.

“Mmm…yes. Quite a boring duel it was, too…I was expecting more from the legendary master of Fire.” It was apparently only then that he noticed my presence. “Ah, yes, the new one. I would introduce myself, but…judging from your expression, my reputation precedes me…”

I swallowed. Hard. Then, I realized something.

“Wait…where’s Cecelia?”

A chuckle came from Voldemort’s direction; a chuckle that made my blood run cold. “As advanced as that robot’s technology may be, it is no match for my magical prowess. If you insist on seeing her…” he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers; instantly, a human-sized bubble appeared on the field. Inside the bubble was Cecelia, struggling against invisible bonds. She was shouting something, but the bubble must have been soundproof, for I didn’t hear anything she said.

I started towards the…whatever-it-was that held her captive, but another snap of Voldemort’s fingers made the bubble vanish into thin air. “Let her go!” I yelled angrily.

“Relax…I have no intention of harming her. I simply didn’t want her to interfere, and, seeing as how she’s not technically alive, I couldn’t simply kill her.”

How fortunate, I thought sarcastically. “What do you want, anyway?”

“Power, of course. Elemental magic would increase my own to nearly limitless proportions…I’ve cheated death, yes, but that no longer satisfies me…and your friend here is practically exploding with elemental energy; energy that I plan to take from him!”

As scared as I was, I still felt confused. “But…if you won last time, then why didn’t you get it then?”

I couldn’t see his face, but I felt an aura of annoyance emanate from his direction. “There were…extenuating circumstances. But, enough talk. I would like a rematch…and, hopefully, a worthy one this time…”

I reached over and shook Jake’s shoulder; it almost as though he had turned to stone, he was so rigid. “Jake, wake up! Did you hear what he said?”

Trembling, Jake nodded his head.

I did some quick thinking.

Jake couldn’t win a duel against a toddler in the condition he’s in, let alone a duel against Lord Voldemort! But I’m sure Voldemort wouldn’t accept a duel from just me…I don’t have anything he wants…hey, I’ve got an idea!

“Since you’re such a powerful duelist, why not duel both of us at once?”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had heard the conversation between Bryan and Voldemort in its entirety, but I lacked the willpower to respond – or move at all.

This is the guy who almost killed me! I thought frantically. And now he expects me to try it again! There’s no way I’d go through with it…but I doubt he’ll just let me leave! What do I do?

Then, I heard Bryan say what could be the stupidest thing he’s ever said for as long as I’ve known him: “Since you’re such a powerful duelist, why not duel both of us at once?”

That managed to break me out of my trance. “Bryan, are you crazy? This is between him and me; stay safe and keep out of this!”

“Ah, there’s the Jake I was hoping I would see. And you make a good point, Jake…allow me to remove him from this…permanently.”

And, before I could blink, he had whipped out his wand and whispered, “Avada kedavra” in Bryan’s direction!

On its own accord, my hand rose and shot a stream of white fire, which intercepted the deadly green curse! The two spells ricocheted off each other and zoomed harmlessly into the surrounding woods.

Now it was Bryan’s turn to be frozen. After a second, he flicked his eyes in my direction and muttered, “No powers, huh?” I didn’t have a response.

Voldemort, however, did. “So you want him to stay, do you, Jake? Hmm…I accept Bryan’s challenge. When I win, I lay claim to Jake’s powers…and both of your lives!”

I glared at Bryan. I hope you know what you’re doing! “And if we win, you leave us alone – for good!”

Voldemort bowed his head. “The terms have been settled, then. There is no turning back.” A deck of cards materialized out of the mist and floated into place beside him as several wisps of smoke above him formed into a number: 8000.

Bryan and I both held out our Duel Disks, and the holo-imagers shot out to each side, forming an arena about twenty feet by twenty feet. The Disks swung into place, and our Life Points counters set themselves to match Voldemort’s smoky one.

“Now, since that witch rather inconveniently destroyed my previous Deckmaster, I’ll have to pick a new one…thankfully, I’ve already done so; let’s see what you two come up with first…”

Bryan already had a card in his hand. “This didn’t help me much in my last duel, but I’m gonna give it another shot in this one. Let’s go, Jinzo!”

I was about to make the Longfellow joke back at him, but decided the circumstances weren’t right. That, and I was a bit preoccupied with the sudden arrival of Bryan’s Deckmaster. It hovered above the ground and crossed its arms, its two red eyes glaring angrily at Voldemort.

“And, to go with Jinzo, I’ll choose an old favorite: Legendary Flame Lord!” I yelled, holding my Incandescent Ordeal and the Flame Lord itself high. The noble master of fire appeared next to me in a blaze. After looking at who our opponent was, he sneered and put his hand on my shoulder.

I see this abomination doesn’t know when to quit. Don’t you worry, Jake…he won’t be as lucky this time. And, he added, noticing Bryan and Jinzo to my left, you have more help than you did last time. There’s no way that our combined efforts will fail!

I felt better after his little speech, but quickly lost that feeling after hearing what Voldemort had to say.

“Well, I suppose you tried…unfortunately, your Deckmasters pale in comparison to my new pet…”

It was already dark as night, but we could still see a rift open in mid-air above Voldemort. The rift grew until it was a pitch-black hole; a hole that seemed to swallow everything into itself. I felt rather than saw something stirring in its depths…

Turning to face to hole, Voldemort called out, “I have seen many snakes in my day, but this puts even Nagini to shame! Behold, the snake that Salazar Slytherin himself would have had had he known of its existence!”

Two piercing blue-white lights appeared in the darkness as thunder crashed and the wind threatened to overturn every tree in the forest…

“I summon forth, DIVINE SERPENT!”

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Voldemort’s voice echoed over the hollowing wind and crashing thunder as the outline of a beast I had seen only once appeared in the massive rift in the sky over his head.

That…that just can’t be! Divine Serpent? The same Divine Serpent that Dartz used? He has THAT as a Deckmaster?

Apparently, he did. The serpent was so massive that it didn’t even fully emerge from the rift; all we could see was its head and a few feet of its body. It was at least fifteen feet in diameter, and its two eyes glowed a bluish-white color. To say the creature was intimidating was the understatement of the millennium.

There’s no telling what that creature can do! How on earth can we defeat someone with that much power at their disposal?

It was then that I heard it: a voice that came from nowhere and everywhere, all at the same time.

Do not fear, Bryan.

I looked around wildly for the source, then realized what had happened. Ji – Jinzo?

Yes, it is I, ‘said’ the powerful Machine, floating down and laying a hand on my shoulder. It does not matter how many of them there are, or how powerful they may seem. There are four of us, and we are a team. We have a bond that no amount of magic can shatter. You have the first move; make it with the assurance that it will bring you victory!

If only I had that kind of pep talk from my coaches, I thought to myself as I drew five cards and watched Jake and Voldemort do the same. My team would never lose a game!

“Alright, I’ll make the first move!” I called out. I didn’t get a response, so I added a sixth card to my hand, then examined my cards.

Hmm…I’ve got Sanga, Tribute Doll, Red Archery Girl, Giant Germ, my Jujitsu Master, and Nutrient Z. I could bring out Sanga on this turn…but I don’t know what this guy is capable of. I’d best play it safe with a weaker monster first. “I’m setting a monster face-down and another card face-down,” I called out with as much confidence as I could muster as the holographic cards appeared in front of me. “Then I’ll turn it over to my teammate.”

“Gladly,” came Jake’s voice to my right.

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I looked at my first five cards, and realized I didn’t need to draw a sixth.

“I’m gonna start my turn by activating my Deckmaster’s special ability!”

Legendary Flame Lord glanced at my hand, then nodded in understanding. He started to charge his staff with power, and the gem on the end exploded with fire.

“I can skip my Draw Phase in order to summon any Fire monster with four stars or less from anywhere I like right to the field! So I’m going to have him summon up a Solar Flare Dragon from my Deck in Attack Mode!”

The Master of Fire pointed his staff at a spot in front of me, and the fire in the gem shot forward. The fire turned into the bat-eared, snake-like fire dragon, who snarled as it recognized Voldemort. (1500/1000)

“Hmm,” I noted as I shuffled my deck. “Looks like this was one of the ones you destroyed in our last duel. Guess he didn’t like it, huh?”

No response.

“Well, in case you’ve forgotten, Solar Flare Dragons hate being by themselves, so I’m going to summon one from my hand to join it!”

I placed the card on my disk, and a second dragon appeared, identical to the first. (1500/1000)

“And don’t forget about their protective natures! Your attacks are useless now!”

Still no response.

“Fine then, I’ll set a card face-down and let my Solar Flare Dragons remind you of their second ability!”

Snarling, both dragons flew across the field and passed right through Voldemort. He didn’t flinch, just like last time, but the foggy number 8 above his head shifted into a 7.

I lowered my arm as my two dragons returned to their positions. “Your move.”

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This was the first time I really seen Jake in action, and I was impressed.

He really knows how to utilize his monsters’ powers! That was a powerful strategy.

My mood was dampened, however, when I heard Voldemort speak.

“Pity…all that thought and effort, wasted with one single card.”

I stared as a card floated out of his hand and flipped around…

…and, suddenly, the entire world went into a frenzy! The wind whipped up again, sending dead leaves and branches from the forest floor into a whirlwind of debris! Lightning flashed from the…ground?

I looked down to see that the forest floor had turned into a black vortex! My face-down Giant Germ suddenly appeared and starting spinning in towards the center, as did both of Jake’s dragons! There was a final blast of wind as all the monsters were sucked into the center of the vortex, then everything returned to normal.

Both Jake and I were breathing heavily.

“In case you’re wondering,” came Voldemort’s maddening voice, “I played Dark Hole, meaning that all of your monsters are destroyed.”

“That comes,” panted Jake, “at a price…reveal…Backfire…”

Jake’s face-down card lifted and proceeded to shot a stream of fire at Voldemort!

Straightening, Jake managed to catch his breath. “You destroyed Fire monsters, meaning you lose 500 of your Life Points. And that will happen – “

“ – every time I destroy a Fire monster, yes, yes; I’m aware of the card’s abilities. Are you done? Good…now, where was I…oh, yes. I call to the field a creature I believe you have met, Jake, but only in passing…”

He pushed forward another card, and it flipped around to reveal some sort of three-headed serpent. It was tiger-striped and about six feet long. (1200/0)

“This is a magical serpent known as a Runespoor. A highly intriguing creature it is, with powerful abilities…but first, we mustn’t forget my Deckmaster, who has even more abilities, the first of which is about to activate right now…”

Jake and I both watched as Runespoor’s ATK started to rise!

Figures…Divine Serpent is a creature of the Orichalcos. I wouldn’t be surprised if it had the same abilities as the Seal itself… I didn’t want to finish that thought. (1200/0) -> (1700/0)

“Next, I’ll inform you that Runespoor Serpent is a Dark Attribute creature, allowing me to boost its power with another Magic Card…”

He pushed yet another card forward, and this one started shooting out bolts of electricity, which surrounded the Runespoor.

“Negative Energy doubles the attack power of every Dark monster in play. Since Runespoor Serpent is the only monster on the field, of course, only it gets the benefit.”

Jake and I watched in horror as the three-headed snake quickly outclassed the power of even the Blue-Eyes White Dragon! (1700/0) -> (3400/0)

“I suppose now would be a good time to inform you of my Runespoor’s special ability…notice the three heads? Each of those heads can attack separate from the other two, allowing it up to three attacks per turn…”

Wait…if that thing attacks three times with 3400 attack points, it can wipe one of us out!

continued in next post

[starjake]

“Runespoor Serpent, attack Jake directly!”

Hissing madly, the three-headed tiger snake zipped across the field, the left head extending forward…

I gotta help! “Jake, take this!” I called out, my face-down card rising. A skull-capped bottle appeared in my hand and I threw it to Jake. He looked at it, a bit confused and incredibly terrified.

“Drink it; it’ll help!”

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I looked at the bottle with the menacing-looking skull cap in my hand, then glanced over and saw the even more menacing-looking three-headed serpent headed my way. Thinking the first option the lesser of two evils, I unscrewed the cap and drank the tangy liquid.

Instantly, I felt an energy unlike any I had felt before! I looked down to see my Life Points skyrocketing! (J:12000)

However, the rush of joy turned into a rush of pain as I felt not one, but two sharp bites in my legs.

“OWWWWWW!”

I crouched down and grabbed my legs, gritting my teeth. There was no blood, but the pain was no holographic illusion. (J:5200)

Slowly standing up, I realized something. However, I was in too much pain to make mention of it.

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Thank God I had my Nutrient Z face down…if I hadn’t been able to give it to Jake, he would’ve lost on the first turn! I turned to face Voldemort. This guy’s good!

Then, I realized something. He only attacked twice? But he said that thing could attack three times…

Answering my unspoken question, Voldemort calmly mentioned, “There is one side effect to my powerful serpent…if he uses all three of his attacks in one turn, he must rest in Defense Position at the end of the battle…and with zero defense, he wouldn’t have served me well then, now would he?”

Well, at least that thing does have one weakness. Too bad I don’t know how to abuse it!

Voldemort prodded another card, and it laid itself face-down on the field behind Runespoor Serpent. “That is all.”

OK, then… looks like I’m starting over from scratch. I drew a card.

Why’d he set a card face-down? He knows that Jinzo negates Traps…doesn’t he? Oh, well, at least I won’t have to worry about him springing it on me. I summon Red Archery Girl to the field!”

A whirlpool appeared in front of me, revealing the clam-dwelling mermaid. She looked around in fear at her surroundings. (1400/1500)

“Don’t worry, you won’t have to stay long, because I’m playing Tribute Doll!”

Throwing the card into a slot, the cracked stone doll appeared next to Red Archery Girl. A bright smile lit up her face and she hugged it as an altar rose from the forest floor.

“Now I can summon any Level 7 monster from my hand, as long as I Tribute this doll and my mermaid!”

A brilliant blast of light erupted from the altar, and Red Archery Girl was enveloped by it. When the light had dimmed, the outline of a huge monster appeared in where the altar had been. Sanga held out his arm, and lightning crackled all over his body. (2600/2200)

“Since a monster can’t attack the turn it’s summoned with Tribute Doll, I’ll end my turn there.”

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I stared at Bryan’s new monster.

He’s got THAT in his deck? And he knows ways to get it out quick too…that Tribute Doll was a good strategy! Still wincing from the snake bite, I drew a card and examined my hand.

Well, this should get rid of his snake! “I summon Fushi No Tori!”

The spirit bird appeared on my shoulder with a mystical cry. It rubbed its head against my cheek, encouraging me the best way it could. (1200/0)

“I see you two have nothing that’s powerful enough to defeat my serpent. I’m not surprised…it does have over three thousand attack points…”

My eyes narrowed. “My phoenix might not be able to destroy your serpent, but this sure can!” I called out, inserting a card into my disk. “Go, Incineration!”

Fushi No Tori leapt into the air and blazed with fire! She pointed her beak at the three-headed reptile and let loose a stream of fire…

…which promptly dissipated, leaving Runespoor Serpent unharmed.

My jaw dropped. “Wha – what happened? Incineration destroys any monster – “

“ – on the field, yes. However, my Deckmaster stepped in and saved me. You see, it can destroy any card you play that specifically targets a card on my side of the field. Since your Incineration was targeting my serpent…”

“Your Deckmaster was able to stop it. Well, that’s not the only way I can eliminate your monster; go, Legendary Flame Lord!”

He walked forward and held his staff – now tipped with a bright gold gem – high in the air.

“Since more than three Magic Cards have been played, Legendary Flame Lord can destroy every monster on your side of the field…an effect that doesn’t target! Take it away!”

Grinning, he swung his staff in a wide arc, which cut Runespoor Serpent right in half! It shattered into pixels with a hiss.

“Now, let’s see how you like a direct attack! Fushi No Tori, go!”

Fushi tore through the air, a sign that she really hated her opponent; normally, she didn’t like attacking.

Then, much to my surprise, something happened: Voldemort’s Divine Serpent reached down and snapped Fushi No Tori up like a cat would to a mouse!

I gaped at the spot where Fushi No Tori had been. My Backfire card shot a stream of fire at Voldemort, singeing his robes. I muttered, “Let me guess…another special ability?”

Voldemort chuckled softly. “You catch on quickly…yes, my Divine Serpent instantly destroys any monster which attempts to attack my Life Points directly, no questions asked. So, my fiery friend, are there any more ways in which you wish to humiliate yourself? Or is that all for now?”

I struggled to control my temper. Not only were his insults aggravating, but his Deckmaster was far too powerful! He’s made himself practically invulnerable! And there’s nothing in my hand that can protect me – I’m gonna lose again… “I end my turn…”

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Jake hung his head; there must’ve been nothing in his hand that could help. “I end my turn…” he said weakly.

“Then I believe it’s my turn,” he muttered as a card drew itself from his floating deck and hovered in front of him. “Hmm…what to do, what to do…”

If my knowledge of these things is right, then I can intercept a direct attack on Jake’s Life Points with Sanga since it’s face-up, and since I haven’t used its abilty yet, whatever Voldemort attacks with will be destroyed!

“I think I’ll start off with Book of Moon,” Voldemort announced, the card spinning in midair and revealing a dark blue book sealed with a gold crescent.

Um… “O…K…and that does what?” I asked. I had never seen the card before.

“It lets him turn any monster on the field face-down,” came Jake’s shaky voice. “It’s a pretty strong card.”

The book opened, and a string of ancient runes lit up on the page. Instantly, a stream of magical energy poured out of the page and enveloped Sanga, who howled in pain. When the energy dissipated, the mighty lord of thunder was nothing more than a face-down Defense Mode card.

“Now, to ensure that your so-called powerful monster doesn’t interfere with my plans, I’ll play another powerful card,” Voldemort said, causing another floating card to flip around. The card shone with light, then transformed into a silver-clad knight with long blond hair.

Oh boy, I thought to myself. That one I do know; it’s Nobleman of Crossout, and it can remove any face-down monster from the game!

“Nobleman, remove his Sanga of the Thunder from my sight!”

The knight drew his sword and charged my face-down Sanga, slashing it to ribbons. I sighed as I removed the card from my disk and stuck it in my pocket.

“Next, I summon an old friend…do you remember him, Jake?” he asked with mock-sweetness as his last floating card flipped around to reveal a large orange-furred dog with glowing red eyes. It snarled ferociously, making me jump. (1900/1400) -> (2400/1400)

Jake stepped backward out of fright. “Mad Dog of Darkness!”

Voldemort chuckled. “Correct. I believe it was this loyal pet that played fetch with your…what was it, Blazing Inpachi? Well, you don’t have that on the field…I guess he’ll just have to play fetch with you!” he laughed, pointing one long, pale finger at Jake, who was paralyzed with fear.

The rabid dog charged across the field. Out of self-defense, Jake put up an arm to shield himself, but that didn’t work; the mad dog clamped onto Jake’s arm with its huge jaws, and flung him into a nearby tree! (J: 2800)

“Jake!”

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I was lying on the ground at the base of a large tree, gasping for breath. I looked at my arm; there were no teeth marks, but I was still in immense pain.

{I]I don’t get it,[/I] I thought to myself. How could that dog throw me across the field, but not actually bite me?

Then, I felt someone next to me. Looking up, I saw Legendary Flame Lord kneeling down and offering his hand to me.

You alright? he ‘said’.

Yeah…never better, I thought bitterly, grabbing his hand out of instinct. I was surprised when it closed around mine, solid as the ground I was lying on, and pulled me to my feet; he was strong.

As he helped me back to where I had been, he thought, We’re gonna get through this, Jake…he’s gonna pay for what he’s doing!

But how? His monsters are powerful as they are, and his Deckmaster makes them even stronger! I can’t hold him off long enough to protect myself.

Then, Legendary Flame Lord showed his staff to me, and I saw that the tip on the end was silver.

His monsters might be strong, but our powers are stronger.

Blinking a few times, I nodded, then jumped as a hand slammed onto my shoulder.

“Jake, you ok?”

I shook my head, trying to clear it. “I’ll be fine,” I whispered, unable to find my voice.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I turned and glared at Voldemort.

“You…you…I don’t even have a word for you! You bend the rules so that no one else can win, and you prey on people’s weaknesses! Why didn’t you attack me; my field was clear!”

No response.

“Fine then,” I fumed. “Since there aren’t any cards left in your hand, I assume it’s my turn.” Without waiting for a reply – not that there was one to wait for – I drew.

The only problem is, there’s nothing I can do! All I have are my Jujitsu Master and a Momonga, and my Axe of Despair won’t power them up enough to handle his Mad Dog. Well, at least I can give him a surprise if he attacks me… “I play a monster in Defense Mode!” I called out with all the confidence I could muster.

I looked over at Jake, who was clutching his shoulder and sagging a bit. I could understand why; Voldemort was literally beating him up.

“I end my turn…”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I saw Bryan’s face-down monster appear out of the corner of my eye and heard him say his turn was over.

Looking at my deck, I slowly drew a card.

Hey…this is a random effect, so it should get past his Deckmaster! Raising my Duel Disk, I yelled, “I summon Apollo’s Archer!”

The Greek warrior appeared in front of me in a flash of fire and held his bow at the ready. (1850 / 1000)

“Now I’ll use his ability, which randomly selects a card on your side of the field and destroys it! Fire away!”

Jake, wait! I heard Legendary Flame Lord ‘yell’ in my head, but I was too excited to respond.

The Archer aimed straight up and fired a single flaming arrow into the air. Then, much to my surprise, one of the dementors swirling above us caught the arrow and threw it back…and it pierced Bryan’s monster!

“What?” I gasped as a rocky muscleman appeared briefly, cried out in pain, and then shattered.

As Bryan and I gaped at the spot where his monster had been, I heard Voldemort chuckle.

“Well, well…it looks like you don’t know as much about this game as I thought you did. Your Archer may be powerful, and it may not technically target…but it can affect a card on either side of the field, not just its opponent’s. Someone needs to do their homework…”

I was horrorstruck. “Bryan, I’m…so sorry…I forgot – “

He held up a hand. “Don’t worry about it,” he said in a low voice. “We all make mistakes.”

I sighed in relief.

“Just don’t make it again!” he added with a nervous chuckle.

I nodded, then looked at my hand.

Dang it…I can’t use my Michizure card to protect my Archer, because that stupid snake will stop it! “Just go,” I said.

“Gladly,” came the reply, as a new card floated off of the deck.

“And since I have a monster on my side of the field, my Deckmaster can display another of his abilities.”

“Another one?” Bryan yelled incredulously.

“Yes, another one. At the beginnings of each of my turns, I can gain 500 Life Points for each monster I have on the field…so I’ll take back some of what that Trap Card of yours took from me, Jake…” he said as the wispy numbers above his head changed to say 6500.

Is there anything this snake can’t do? I thought to myself.

And then I heard, “Mad Dog of Darkness, let’s attack Bryan this time!”

What? No, Bryan!

The dog growled savagely again, this time aiming for Bryan’s completely clear side of the field.

Almost automatically, I called out, “Apollo’s Archer, take the hit!”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I braced myself, ready to at least defend against Voldemort’s ravenous beast.

And then…“Apollo’s Archer, take the hit!”

All I could think was WHAT? as Jake’s monster leapt in the way of the oncoming attack. I just stood and watched, helpless, and the dog tore Jake’s warrior to shreds. (J: 2250)

I turned and stared at Jake. “Are you NUTS? I could’ve handled it; I’ve got Life Points to spare! What kind of idiot are you?”

Jake cringed from my outburst. “Well…it’s my fault that there wasn’t a monster to protect you, so I thought…”

It was then that Voldemort actually laughed out loud. I wheeled to face him. “What’re you laughing at?”

“How entertaining! You’re so noble, Jake, taking the hit for your friend. The guilt, the nobility, the anger…it’s like watching one of your Muggle soap operas!”

I just glared at him, unable to say anything.

“My turn’s over, by the way…” he mentioned, a face-down monster appearing next to his Mad Dog.

Jake spoke up. “Hold on; don’t forget that a Fire monster on my side of the field was just destroyed, so you lose another 500 Life Points!”

Not like it matters, I thought grimly as a quick burst of flames brought Voldemort’s wispy life meter to 6000 again. His Deckmaster can just regain them. Grimacing, I drew.

Hey…not bad! “I play Pot of Greed!” I announced, the jar appearing on my deck. I reached in and pulled out two cards. The pot grinned at me, then vanished in a puff of smoke. “Now I set 1 monster face-down, and that’s all.”

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I noted the new face-down monster, made a mental note to not destroy this one, then drew.

Glancing over at Legendary Flame Lord, I saw that his staff was tipped with gold.

“Remember my Deckmaster’s special effect? Three Magic Cards have been played, so I hope you haven’t grown too attached to your monsters!”

Legendary Flame Lord once again sent a fiery wave of energy in Voldemort’s direction, incinerating Mad Dog of Darkness and his face-down monster.

“And, since this worked well for Bryan, I’m going to use it too! Pot of Greed!”

A jar identical to Bryan’s appeared on my disk. And, since I now knew how to access the cards, I reached and grabbed two. The pot turned and the little furry creature that had presented me with the card last time poked its head out, winked, then both the jar and the creature vanished in a puff of smoke.

These cards are getting bizarre. “I’ll set a monster face-down, then play one of the cards I just drew: Flames of Renewal!” I started leafing through my Graveyard. Finding what I wanted, I continued, “Now I can remove – “

“ – Fire monsters in your Graveyard from play to regain Life Points, yes. Must you explain everything?”

I frowned. “I’ll remove Solar Flare Dragon and Apollo’s Archer to regain 1000 Life Points,” I said.

Suddenly, a bonfire erupted around me, and my energy level started to rise. I could actually feel my muscles healing and relaxing! (J: 3250)

“Alright, Voldemort. Bryan still has full Life Points, and I’m slowly getting mine back. And you have no cards in your hand and no monsters on the field!”

“How observant. But I wouldn’t count me out just yet if I were you…” A card floated into his hand, and it immediately flipped around.

Huh? I thought as I saw the picture. Is that a guillotine?

“I may have no cards in my hand now, but I will in a moment, because Card of Demise affords me the privilege of drawing until there are five cards in my hand.”

I heard Bryan shout as five more cards floated up from Voldemort’s deck. “That’s right, but I know the drawback of that card; Kaiba uses it all the time! You have to discard your hand in five of your turns!”

I was about to respond when, all of a sudden, a large structure rose out of the mist in front of Voldemort. It was indeed a guillotine, and the massive blade was held up by five ropes.

“I wouldn’t be worried about that if I were you,” he warned in a sinister voice. “That’s far in the future…and, with the cards I just drew, you should be worried about the present!”

All five of his cards starting swirling through the air…

Bryan and I both took a step back in fear.

I don’t know what he’s planning to do…

…but I don’t think I’m going to like it!



Card of Demise
Normal Spell
Draw cards until you have 5 cards in your hand. During your 5th Standby Phase after this card’s activation, discard your hand.

Divine Serpent
Dark/Reptile/12 stars/ATK inf/DEF inf
This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by the effect of "Orichalcos Shunuros". This card cannot declare an attack unless you send the top 10 cards in your Deck to the Graveyard. If this card is destroyed, you lose the current Duel.
DMSA: This Deckmaster cannot be placed on the field. Increase the ATK of all monsters on your side of the field by 500 points. If a monster on your opponent's side of the field attacks you directly, negate the attack and destroy the attacking monster. During your Standby Phase, increase your Life Points by an amount equal to the number of monsters on your side of the field x500. Negate the activation and effect of your opponent's card that targets a monster on your side of the field and destroy it.



Talk about not going easy! Voldemort's got a Deckmaster that can do almost anything, and Jake's slowly running out of Life Points. What's Voldemort's next move going to be? All I'll tell you is that it has nothing to do with Exodia. For more details, you'll have to tune in to the powerful conclusion to the duel, coming next chapter!

[Dark Sage]

Whoah...

Of all the characters I have seen so far, I kind of expected Voldemort to be the one to use an Orichalcos monster. This is intense...

Clearly, this part of Cerredwin's plans that got away from her.

Hopefully, part two will not take as long to come as part one did. I can't wait to see what comes next. Maybe more of Dartz's custom cards?

Well, we'll have to see. I did find it interesting that Jake was actually able to block Voldemort's infamous death curse, something that is normally believed to be impossible. Clearly, Jake is stronger than we thought.

I await the next chapter!

[Mookie]

OK, that was pretty good!
I liked how you changed the point of views of Bryan and Jake. And the duel is pretty good. With Sanga gone at the moment, there might not be a Gate Guardian appearance this time.
But there was one thing I didnt like.

Divine Serpent.

I mean, yeah. It is powerful. And stuff. But the part about infinite attack and defense.. THAT I dont like. Even in the show, it started to get a bit too far-fetched. I mean, Divine Serpent's infinite attack and (SPOILERS. MAYBE.) them knights(?) also gaining infinite attack and what-not... (/SPOILER)

And the deckmaster ability is powerful. Way too powerful. :biggrin:
But otherwise, it was a great chapter. Waiting for a next one already. (I wonder how they are going to win this thing.)

Keep it up. :biggrin:

[Master of Paradox]

You know, usually I don't get too excited when a villain has the heroes on the ropes, because it doesn't really mean anything in the long run. But here... here I can't think of a single way for them to get out of it.

Starjake, you know how to build anticipation.

Ah, I should talk about the chapter itself now... Well, to be honest, I can't say much because I'll end up babbling. However, I will say that I admire Voldemort's choice of Deckmaster, and I do like his continuous manipulation and taunting of his unfortunate opponents. You've managed to make someone else's creation your own to some degree - nice work.

I'm going to stop now before I lose it and starting kissing your feet, but great work.

How long do we have to wait for Pt. 2?

[starjake]

Dark Sage: Divine Serpent is the only one of Dartz's cards that I have planned for this fic. Voldemort does not use the actual power of the Orichalcos; he likes the fact that Divine Serpent is a snake (he has a fondness for such creatures) and it has abilities that make him invincible - that whole cheating death thing? Yeah...so, no Orichalcos Shunuros, or Mirror Knights, or anything of that sort. That's not to say that there aren't a few more made-up cards on the way...

Mookie: As I said to Dark Sage, Divine Serpent's ability was written so that it would be 'broken'. If you read the books, Voldemort's main goal is to cheat death and be immortal. While Divine Serpent's ability doesn't automatically guarantee that, it does come awful close. The infinite ATK and DEF I can't do anything about; those are the stats from the show.

Master of Paradox: The next chapter should be up in a few days. The reason it isn't up now is because I didn't realize how long this was going to be when written in story form (the duel outline actually seems short, and this was originally intended to be a single chapter). And are you sure you're not coming down with something? You're not one to have no criticisms for a story. Not that I'm complaining...thank you very much for your compliments.

Until next time, then...

[Blademaster]

ARRGH! The cliffhangers...THE CLIFFHANGERS-THEY'RE COMING FOR MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

...

...Nah, they aren't.

This was an interesting chapter, to say the least. You don't see Divine Serpent very often, that's for sure.

Hope the next chapter's up soon. Later.

-Blademaster, the Dark Scorpion Duelist

[Shuppet Master]

This is really getting interesting! Old Voldie's back to wreck havoc and Cerry's unable to do squat.

Of course I was not expecting Dartz's God Serpent to be a deckmaster, considering how broken it is. And its deckmaster abilities are ripped from Dartz's Seal of Orichalcos, Orichalcos Duetros and Orichalcos Triates magic cards, I recognized the effects right away.

Jake was really stupid to try to use Apollo Archer's effect. Didn't he know it might bite him or Bryan in the buttocks?

Can't wait to see what miracle they'll pull out of their arses to save themselves.

[mr_pikachu]

Hm, so it seems your side villain has quickly become a massive threat... intriguing, to say the least. Nice surprise rematch. I feel sorry for Cecelia; she was put under Grievous' control, and now she's been captured by Voldemort! She just can't catch a break...

As for the chapter, nice intensity. I liked how you brought the setting into it with occasional references to the darkening forest, although I actually didn't realize they were in the woods at all until Voldy showed up and you brought the setting into the tension. But good job incorporating that into the mood and the battle (with Jake flying into the tree and all). This foe certainly seems unbeatable; unfortunately, I've seen enough "unstoppable" foes to know they've always got a weakness, and the hero almost always exploits them. It's the enemies that appear deceptively weak who you have to worry about. Like our good friend, "Sara", for instance. But nice dramatics here. I like how everything's coming together.

There weren't too many things to critique in this chapter; there were occasional omissions and a messed-up forum tag, but nothing to be too concerned about in that regard. One logic problem that caught my eye, though, was Bryan wondering if he was at "some sort of bank" right after he remembered that Griphook worked at Gringotts in the Harry Potter series. Also, it might be good to emphasize the setting a little more before it becomes part of the action with Voldemort.

But overall, nice work. This is good action with effective drama. Nice use of the setting, and good character development with Jake's fire powers. Nice to see that Jake and Bryan are respecting each other's talents, too. I wonder what our heroes could possibly pull out of their hats to escape this trap. And what other tricks does Voldy have up his sleeve? I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. Well, see you next chapter!

[starjake]

It's been a while, I know. I went on Winter Break before I got a chance to post it, and it's a good thing; I realized I had made an error with the Life Points and had to rewrite the last half.

But here it is.

I take it I need no introduction.

Chapter 25 – Invader of Darkness, Part 2

Please don’t be Exodia; PLEASE don’t be Exodia! I thought to myself frantically as the five cards in front of Voldemort swirled through the air in a chaotic dance. He had just drawn five cards, and they were apparently all going to be incredibly helpful…

And all the Exodia pieces are Dark monsters, which he seems to favor, I suddenly realized, panicking even more.

“Now,” Voldemort said with a menacing smile. “I’m going to set 1 monster face-down.”

As the cards settled down, I almost laughed with relief. “THAT?” I asked, a bit incredulous. “THAT was your big move? A face-down mon – “

“SILENCE!”

My mouth closed.

“To answer your question, you impotent fool, no; that is not my ‘big move’. However, I have another card to play, which may – as the saying goes – shed some light on the subject…”

A second card flipped around, and I caught a glimpse of a green border before a beam of black light shot out of the card.

“This is a highly useful card called Dark Revelation. Its powerful magic pierces any and all face-down cards on the field and reveals their identities.”

I guess that would be a highly useful card, I thought as the beam of light split into four beams, the first of which revealed my UFO Turtle, legs and head tucked inside its ‘shell’ to show Defense Position (1400/1200). The second beam struck Bryan’s monster, revealing a big, purple blob, which I only recognized when I saw (1000/100) appear over its…self (it didn’t have a head, really).

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Wonderful, I thought bitterly. Now Voldemort can see what we’re trying to hide from him…fitting, I guess.

“This card also reveals cards on my side of the field; you should be thanking me…”

Oh, yeah, of course, I’ll get right to that, I thought as a third beam of light struck the card Voldemort had set some time ago, which revealed itself to be – a pair of glowing red eyes?

But, to my surprise, as I was thinking, Yikes!, Jake was actually grinning.

“I remember that card; it’s your Serpent’s Gaze Trap Card!”

“Very good, Jake.”

Alright! I thought happily. “And since it’s a Trap, Jinzo can destroy it!”

“Sadly, Bryan, that is not the case. You see, Serpent’s Gaze prevents itself from being negated.”

“But, unless I’m much mistaken,” came Jake’s voice, “it does NOT prevent itself from being destroyed! And, since Jinzo both negates and destroys Traps…”

Right on cue, my Deckmaster shot a beam of red light directly between the two glowing red eyes. There was a loud hiss, and then the red eyes faded from view.

Voldemort looked furious. “You may have destroyed my Trap, but now I’m going to destroy everything you’ve managed to acqure with the monster I just set!”

A fourth and final beam of black light revealed the monster to be a large metal jar with a single green eye in the lid. The eye gleamed in the black light (900/900) -> (1400/900).

I saw Jake instantly freeze. “That’s…” he whispered. “That’s…that’s Cyber Jar!”

Another menacing grin from Voldemort. “Yes, Jake, it is. How ironic…had you not played your own Cyber Jar, our duel may have ended quite differently. And now, it’s about to do you in again! But first, we have one small issue to deal with…”

Suddenly, a fifth beam of black light shot out of the card and actually knocked me down! I staggered back to my feet as my Life Points dropped to 7000.

“Care to tell me what that was?” I asked through clenched teeth.

“Of course…you just experienced the secondary effect of my Dark Revelation. It inflicts 500 points of damage to my opponent for every Dark monster it flipped face-up: my Cyber Jar…”

“…and my Giant Germ. Marvelous,” I added.

“And now, to destroy you!” yelled Voldemort as Cyber Jar’s ‘mouth’ opened.

Suddenly, the world went into a frenzy, similar to when Voldemort played Dark Hole. This time, however, the center of the vortex was Cyber Jar, which was slowly but surely sucking in both of the other monsters on the field. When everything had died down and both Giant Germ and Jake’s Turtle had disappeared, the Cyber Jar exploded, knocking both Jake and I to the ground.

When will this knocking-people-down business stop? I thought to myself in frustration, picking myself up off the ground and pulling leaves out of my hair as the wind died down.

“Now, Jake, you were so eager to explain this card’s effect to me last time; why not explain it to your friend, here? I’m sure he’s never seen it before, given how…inexperienced…he is at this game…”

Half of me wanted to throttle Voldemort, and the other half was actually waiting for Jake to speak up; I hadn’t seen the card before. Jake’s expression was unreadable as he explained.

“Now we all have to draw five cards, and any Level 4 or lower monsters we draw are summoned immediately to the field.”

“Why don’t you draw first, Jake? Provide an example to your friend.”

“Look, I’m not a kid, OK? I am here; don’t talk about me like I’m not!”

“Oh, but we know you’re here. If you weren’t, we wouldn’t have to explain the rules, would we?”

I was beginning to understand just why people hated this guy so much. I opened my mouth for a comeback, but Jake’s voice answered instead of my own.

“Just ignore him, Bryan.”

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Bryan looked at me in surprise, his mouth still halfway open. “What?”

“Just ignore him,” I repeated, staring directly at Voldemort. “He’s trying to play head games with us so we’ll play poorly and make his job even easier.”

“You’re one to talk about ignoring him, Mr. Depressed! He’s been playing head games with you the whole duel!”

“I know that; he was too good at it for me to notice until now.”

“Excuse me,” came Voldemort’s voice. “As amusing as this argument may be, I would like to continue my turn. You can keep arguing if you want, but please draw your cards and summon your monsters.”

“Alright, then, I will!” I yelled back, drawing five cards and examining them. “I summon two monsters: one face-down, and Blaze Magician!”

I pulled the two cards from my hand and put them on my disk like I had said; a face-down monster, and my faithful Blaze Magician, whose holographic form appeared on the field, swinging her scepter in a dramatic arc (1900/1400).

“Go ahead, Bryan.”

Bryan drew and looked at his cards.

“I’m going to summon three monsters, and they’re all going to be face-down!” he called out in a strong voice as three face-down monsters appeared in front of him.

“My turn, then, I believe…” said Voldemort in his wispy voice. Five cards floated into his hand.

“Ah, Lady Luck smiles on me again, I see. I gain four new monsters, one of which I will hide from your view –“ he did so “- and three of which I will summon to the field.”

Three frightening creatures rose on his side of the field, only one of which I had seen in our last duel. The Vorse Raider swung his overly large sword and roared in bloodlust (1900/1200) -> (2400/1200). The next monster was one I did not recognize at first; it was certainly a Fiend, armed in bony armor and wearing a cape. Once the stats appeared, I realized it was Archfiend Soldier (1900/1500) -> (2400/1500). The third was a bizarre combination of a tattered purple cape, two spindly green arms, and a white mask; not even the stats helped me (1100/900) -> (1600/900).

O….kay. Well, I guess my monsters are toast.

“Now I activate my Polymerization, to fuse my Versago the Destroyer – “ THAT’S what it is! “- with the Summoned Skull in my hand.”

My eyes widened as I realized what was going on. Bryan, however, was apparently clueless.

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“Uh, Jake,” I asked, utterly clueless as to what was going on, “what’s he doing? Kaiba used Versago once, but never explained its effect.”

The swirling vortex painted on the card suddenly came to life as Versago the Destroyer and the ghost of a Summoned Skull appeared in front of it.

“Versago the Destroyer can be used as a substitute monster in a Fusion. So, right now, he’s really fusing Summoned Skull and – “

Suddenly, Versago started to change shape! The long green arms lengthened even further and turned black; the two purple wings grew larger and black as well, and out of the masked erupted a long, black, draconic head! Two long black legs appeared from nowhere to complete the frightening image of Red-Eyes Black Dragon!

Now Jake looked scared again. “And Red-Eyes Black Dragon.”

I had to think for a second. “That makes…Black Skull Dragon!”

It was too true. The swirling, throbbing vortex sucked both of the terrifying creatures in, and then shot a flash of light that seemed as bright as stadium lights in the darkened forest. The vortex stopped swirling, and out of it came a thick, bony arm. This was followed by an even thicker, bonier leg. A second arm and leg joined the first, then came the snout of the creature, followed by the rest of the head. Two immense wings completed the creature.

And what a creature it was. Easily twelve feet tall, with a wingspan almost twice that, its head was the scariest. It had Summoned Skull’s bone horns on its head, but Red-Eyes’s snout, and the entire creature was covered in whitish-gray bone armor. It roared with a roar that shook the earth! (3200/2500) -> (3700/2500)

Jake and I really had nothing to say. It was one of those moments that leaves you speechless.

“Now,” said Voldemort in a highly satisfied voice, “to deal with your line of defense. Archfiend Soldier, attack Jake’s face-down monster now!”

The bone-armored fiend rushed across the field, eyes gleaming as it raised a large sword that I had not noticed before. It slashed the face-down card; a brief image of a blackened tree-man appeared and gave a low moan as it shattered.

“Hmm…that was your Charcoal Inpachi, was it not? It proved to be quite a nuisance in our last duel…”

“Just move, Voldemort!”

“As you wish!” Voldemort growled. “I’ll destroy your favorite monster with my strongest! Black Skull Dragon, destroy his pathetic firegirl!”

Jake and I looked on helplessly as the enormous dragon shot a fireball from its mouth and electricity from its claws. Blaze Magician screamed as the combination of fire and lightning completely overwhelmed her.

Jake looked away. “I’m sorry,” I heard him mutter.

“I would suggest looking up…after all, your next challenge is not coming from the ground, Jake. It’s coming from directly in front of you!”

Jake didn’t look up as Vorse Raider charged, holding its sword high and roaring. It took me a split second to notice that Jake had nothing to protect him! “Jake!” I yelled, trying to get his attention.

Suddenly, a bonfire erupted in front of him, blocking Vorse Raider’s assault. The flames died down to reveal a large bird, coated in what seemed to be red metal. Its wings were crossed in front of it in a protective stance, and I was shocked when the numbers (0/3000) appeared over its head. I was even more surprised when Vorse Raider angrily swung its sword at the creature; the sword bounced off with a clang.

What is that? I thought to myself.

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“What is that?” Voldemort roared in frustration. “Tell me!”

I slowly lifted my head and smiled. “That is a powerful monster called Phoenix Guardian. If it’s in my hand and I’m attacked directly, it automatically jumps to the field to protect my Life Points. And, as you saw, this infuriates the attacking monster so much that it attacks the Phoenix out of sheer frustration.”

It looked like Voldemort himself was about to follow suit.

“And there’s more! You’ve destroyed three Fire monsters this turn, meaning my Backfire will take out 1500 of your Life Points!”

As soon as I had spoken, my Trap shot three fireballs at Voldemort, causing the smoky Life Point counter above his head to drop all the way to 3900.

“There is a catch, though. When Phoenix Guardian is summoned through its effect, it returns to my hand at the end of the turn.”

“Very well, then,” said Voldemort, who was apparently still restraining himself. “I set 1 card face-down and end my turn.”

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OK, I thought to myself as Jake’s new Phoenix disappeared in a flash of fire. Time for a game analysis. I’ve got three monsters on the field and 7000 Life Points, Voldemort’s got four kick-butt monsters on the field and 3900 Life Points, and Jake’s got nothing and only 1650 Life Points! Hopefully, one of us can come up with something to protect him, because I can’t send face-down monsters to defend his Life Points, and as strong as Phoenix Guardian is, it won’t stand up to that dragon. We need a strategy. Hoping, I drew a card.

Huge Revolution? I can’t do anything with that! “There’s nothing I can do. Your move, Jake.”

Jake nodded, then drew a card.

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Hmm, I thought to myself. No monsters I can summon will help, but my Traps and my Deckmaster sure can! “First, I’m activating my Deckmaster’s ability! Since Plenty of Magic Cards have been played – “ I gestured towards Legendary Flame Lord, whose scepter was topped with a gold gem – “I can use that magical energy to destroy everything you’ve got! Take it away, Flame Lord!”

Nodding, Legendary Flame Lord swung his scepter in a wide arc. A stream of fiery energy shot towards all of Voldemort’s monsters…and was blocked!

I was dumbstruck. Not only had Voldemort blocked my Deckmaster’s power, he had done it with what appeared to be nothing at all! “What did you do?”

“I activated my face-down card, of course. It’s a powerful Magic Card known as Nightmare Shield, and it activates when you use a card effect that would destroy two or more of my Dark monsters. If that happens, this card steps in and negates the effect. Not only that, but take a look at your Deckmaster!”

Bewildered, I did so. The ‘nothing’ that had blocked Legendary Flame Lord’s spell (it was really a dense black fog) had now sealed itself over the top of his scepter!

I whirled around to face Voldemort. “Now what?”

Voldemort clucked his tongue. “Tsk, tsk, Jake. You must learn to exercise patience. However, since I so thoroughly enjoy watching your fear, I’ll indulge you. Not only did my Nightmare Shield negate the effect when it was used, but it negates it for the rest of the duel! Now I do not need to fear your Flame Lord’s destruction effect…not that I really did in the first place. So, go ahead. Absorb all the ‘magical energy’ you want; it won’t get you anywhere.”

I felt a strange combination of anger and hopelessness. Looking at my hand, I said, “Fine then. I’ll set three cards face-down and end my turn.” The cards appeared in front of me, and I waited for Voldemort to make his move…

…however, drastic it might be…

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“Very well,” came that sinister-yet-wispy voice. He drew a card, and a loud snapping noise made me jump.

“Ah, yes. As you mentioned before, Bryan, I must discard my hand five turns after I play Card of Demise. Each of the ropes suspending that blade in the air represents a turn, and once per turn, one of those ropes will snap.”

I had forgotten all about that thing, I thought, staring up at the monstrous blade and wondering how on earth I could have missed something that big. Good thing it won’t let us forget about the discard.

“However, that’s not all that will begin my turn. I hope you two didn’t forget about my Deckmaster…”

Two pinpricks of light suddenly appeared in the dark cloud hovering high above the field, and Voldemort’s wispy Life Point counter suddenly rose all the way to 5900!

Right. If he has monsters on the field at the beginning of his turn, he gains 500 Life Points for each of them.

“Now, onto my move. I activate a Magic Card called Card Destruction.” The card flipped around, and three sinister hands suddenly appeared in mid-air!

“These hands will force all of us to discard our hands and draw new ones. I wouldn’t struggle; they are stronger than they appear…”

Each of the hands floated over to us, swooped down, and grabbed our cards! After throwing the cards into our Graveyards – Voldemort’s hand simply crushed his single card, and it vanished – the hands reached for our decks and drew cards for us. After presenting us with our cards, the hands all snapped their fingers, and they all vanished in three tiny puffs of smoke.

Voldemort looked at the card he had been given. Then, “I believe I’ll save this for later. First, I’ll have my Dragon attack!” He pointed at Jake, and the Dragon took to the sky! The mighty wings flapped and flapped, creating a hurricane force wind that shook the trees and sent all the debris on the forest floor flying everywhere. It charged up its claws with electricity, then shot both the electricity and stream of fireballs at Jake!

“I activate Waboku!” came Jake’s voice over the gale. Three blue-robed priestesses appeared in front of Jake and took the blow, leaving Jake safe. I breathed a sigh of relief; we were safe for the time being.

Voldemort sneered. “You are stalling for time, but you will not succeed. I would suggest not trying my patience, Jacob Forester!”

Ooo, bad move, I thought to myself as Jake’s eyes narrowed to slits.

“Don’t call me Jacob,” he growled, as I’d known he would. He hated his real name. He never told me why, but he hated it all the same. “My move,” I called out loudly, trying to break the tension. Drawing a card, I looked at the new hand Voldemort’s Card Destruction gave me.

Alright! I’ve got my best combo right here! “I summon Ultimate Baseball Kid in Attack Mode!” I called out, throwing the card on my Disk. My trusty bat-wielding Little Leaguer appeared in flash, swinging his bat and readying himself for a pitch (500/1000).

Voldemort looked ready to blow a gasket. “You dare mock me with such a weak monster? I could obliterate that child with any one of my creatures!”

I smiled. “You of all people should be careful of children, Voldemort. I can think of one child that did you plenty of damage. And to think, he was only a year old; he couldn’t even pick up a baseball bat!”

“He had assistance; his power alone was nowhere near enough to stop me!”

I shrugged. “I agree, so I’ll set these two cards face-down. Since my Ultimate Baseball Kid needs assistance and all,” I added, as two face-down cards appeared in front of me. “And with that, I’ll pass things over to Jake.”

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I looked at the three new cards in my hand, then drew a fourth.

Hmm, a couple of new cards…hey, this one definitely needs to be played first! “I activate Apollo’s Blessing!”

The card materialized on the field, and a bright light suddenly pierced through the ceiling of dementors and fog, forcing everyone present to shield their eyes. When my eyes had adjusted, I saw standing in front me a huge man in a horse-drawn chariot! The horses had fiery manes and tails, and the chariot was painted bright red and gold. The man himself was clad in Grecian armor, and glowed like the sun itself!

After recovering my voice, I took my Deck out and started leafing through it. Pulling out Lava Golem, I handed it to the man, which he took; in a flash, the card had disintegrated into ashes! Then, the man leaned over the side of the chariot, drew three cards from my Deck, and handed them to me.

To my surprise, he then looked me straight in the eyes, and a deep voice resounded in my head.

Have faith, young master, said the voice. Trust your knowledge, your partner, and your instincts, and you will prevail against this abomination. Then, with a bow, the horses, the chariot, and he himself vanished in other flash of light.

Still a bit shaken up, I looked at the cards he had given me. Several thoughts ran through my head.

Was that Apollo? As in the Greek God of the Sun? That’s just a little nuts, if you ask me. Then again…whatever. What did I get?

I was surprised to see the monster I had gotten from Griphook. It had no effect and pretty poor stats for being a six-star monster.

Apollo’s words suddenly echoed in my mind. Trust your knowledge.

Wait a sec…I’ve heard of this card. It’s only in Japan as far as I know, but it’s part of a combo…it’s in a lot of the video games…but what does it do?

“Uh, Jake?” came Bryan’s voice from my left. “What are you doing?”

Suddenly, it clicked. I looked at the six cards in my hand and realized I had everything I needed! But I had no monsters, and I needed one to sacrifice…

Trust your partner.

“Bryan, I need to borrow one of your monsters,” I said a bit hurriedly.

He shrugged. “Uh, sure, I guess.”

“Now I sacrifice – “ I started, but then realized that Bryan had three face-down monsters, only one of which I needed. And I had no idea what they were, so I had no idea of how strong they were, and no idea of how much Bryan needed them…

Trust your instincts.

Alright, Apollo. Here goes nothing. “I sacrifice Bryan’s middle face-down monster!”

The monster in question suddenly flipped face-up to reveal a small orange dragon (1200/700).

Baby Dragon? He actually uses that? Well, that’s got to be the weakest monster he has. As I thought this, the stone altar rose from the forest floor, pushing aside leaves, sticks, and dirt as it came. Baby Dragon hopped onto the altar. It squawked as a pillar of fire erupted from the altar, consuming it completely.

“I sacrifice Baby Dragon to summon Benu Phoenix!” I called out, throwing Benu Phoenix’s card on my Disk and watching its counterpart fly out of the altar with a musical cry. It noticed our opponent and glared at him (2300/1800).

“Hmm, it seems that Benu Phoenix never got to thank you for what you did to it last time we met. But, I’ll get to that in a minute; first, I play Monster Reborn!” I called out, pulling a card from my hand.

The holy symbol appeared in front of me as Voldemort commented. “But why? There’s nothing in either of your Graveyards that can help you now.”

“Which is why I’m recruiting a monster from your Graveyard! Versago the Destroyer, to be precise!”

As the symbol shattered and reformed into Versago’s unusual shape (1100/900), Voldemort asked, “Fool. Why would you summon my weakest monster to defend yourself with?”

Continued in next post...

[starjake]

“Because I have one more card to activate, that’s why. It’s a powerful card called Phoenix Tears!”

Benu Phoenix’s eyes shone and something sparkly started falling to the ground, which I soon realized was Benu Phoenix’s tears.

“This card can only be activated if I have a Phoenix monster on my side of the field,” I explained. “If that’s the case, then I can select any card in my opponent’s Graveyard and add it to my hand!”

“And what card do I have that would help you?”

“Probably several, but right now I have my eye on your Polymerization!”

The tears started collecting themselves in my hand and formed into a card. I smiled at it and the monster I had gotten from Griphook.

Voldemort actually started laughing; a chilling sound. “Even with Versago’s help, neither of your monsters are part of a fusion!”

“Maybe. I’m not fusing Versago with a monster on the field, though. I’m fusing it with the monster in my hand!”

“And what monster is that?”

“Versago, transform into Red-Eyes Black Dragon again!” I commanded. Obediently, the strange monster shape-shifted into the ferocious Dragon.

“Gee, Voldemort, it feels kind of good ordering your monsters around!” I laughed. This, of course, sent Voldemort into a seething rage.

“Do not mock me, Jake! The words you speak may be your last!”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyways, I’m fusing my new Red-Eyes with this monster: Meteor Dragon!” I held the card out, and the ghost of what looked like a dragon in a turtle shell appeared.

“Go, Polymerization! Fuse my two monsters together!” The vortex came to life and absorbed both of the monsters.

“Uh, Jake?” came Bryan’s slightly timid voice. “What are you making?”

“I’m making one of the most powerful Fire monsters in the game, one with enough attack points to beat Voldemort silly!”

There was another flash of light as Polymerization finished doing its thing, and an enormous fireball erupted from the card! It shot high into the air, then began falling to earth, burning the entire trip. Just before I thought it would crash to the ground, the meteor – for that’s what it was, not a fireball – suddenly stopped its descent and split in two halves! The halves turned out to be wings, and an enormous black dragon covered in lava lines uncurled itself. It roared, and I was pleased to see Voldemort actually shrink back a bit.

“Presenting: Meteor Black Dragon!” (3500/2000)

There was a slight pause, then came Bryan’s voice. “It’s not strong enough…”

“Be patient Bryan, I’ll get to that in a minute. Right now, I have another Magic Card to play: Salamandra! It fire increases that ATK of any Fire monster by 700 points, and I’m aiming it at Benu Phoenix!”

Benu Phoenix screeched as the dragon-shaped flame surrounded it. (2300/1800) -> (3000/1800)

“Now, this dark forest is a bit too depressing for me, so I’m going to change the terrain with my Molten Destruction!”

The field card slot on my disk flicked open all on its own, and I slid the card in. Instantly, the entire forest started shaking! Legendary Flame Lord grabbed me and Jinzo grabbed Bryan as the crater of an enormous volcano rose out of the forest floor. The dementors in the sky all scattered, and sunlight finally allowed us to see properly.

Bryan and I now stood on two pillars of rock, as did Voldemort. Between and below us lay a lake of molten, bubbling, churning lava; it almost seemed to be alive. The forest we had been in now sprawled down the side of the new volcano. Jinzo and Legendary Flame Lord hovered in place behind us. Voldemort’s Deckmaster, however, was finally visible as what it was. It was a huge snake; so huge, in fact, that we couldn’t see its end. Its back was colored blue, which abruptly changed into a tan underbelly. The head and part of the body jutted out from what looked like a black hole in the sky.

I suddenly felt a hot updraft from the lava below. I have to admit, after being in the cool, damp forest, the hot, dry air felt rather nice.

“Feel that heat, Voldemort? That’s going to be your downfall, because it gives every Fire monster a 500-ATK bonus!”

Sure enough, the numbers above the three Fire monsters on the field started to change. Ultimate Baseball Kid went up to 1000, Benu Phoenix went up to 3500, and Meteor Black Dragon went all the way up to 4000!

“And,” came Bryan’s now-excited voice from my left, “Ultimate Baseball Kid gains 1000 more ATK points for every other Fire monster on the field, and since there are two…” Ultimate Baseball Kid’s expression grew smug as its ATK skyrocketed all the way up to 3000!

“Now, Benu Phoenix,” I called out, “wipe out his Archfiend! Celestial Flare!” My phoenix’s beautiful feathers glittered in the sunlight as it shot a rain of fire from its wings at the rather ugly Fiend, incinerating it.

“And now for your big nasty Dragon…I think mine’s bigger and nastier! Meteor Black Dragon, attack Black Skull Dragon with Dark Galaxy Firestorm!”

This monster’s attack was certainly the most impressive out of all the attacks I had seen so far, especially with the terrain we were on. Meteor Black Dragon shot high into the sky at an incredible speed for something so large. There was a pause of a few nanoseconds, and then the sky darkened as huge meteors started pummeling everything around us! If they didn’t land in the trees – crushing them and setting them on fire – then they slammed into the lava, sending up large geysers of molten rock.

And then came the dragon itself. Its outline appeared high, high above us, wings and limbs fully extended. It shot down to earth, grabbed Black Skull Dragon, then flew back up into the sky, meteors pelting its victim. Curving in a large arc, it shot back to earth, apparently planning to ram Voldemort’s monster into the ground. However, at the last second, it let go, righted itself, and slashed its enemy with both claws just as the largest meteor yet slammed into it from behind. A massive explosion followed, sending lava and rock everywhere!

As the light and debris died down and Meteor Black Dragon took its place back on my side of the field, I thought, With all those dramatics, it’s a shame that he only lost 300 Life Points.

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OK, I thought to myself. That was pretty cool.

And even cooler was that, for the first time, Voldemort looked the tiniest bit scared. Not much, but I had had practice noticing emotions in emotionless enemies.

“I’ll begin my turn with some more Life Points, if you don’t mind…” Divine Serpent’s eyes glowed, and Voldemort’s wispy Life Points rose 5500, and another rope from Card of Demise’s guillotine snapped.

The card that Voldemort next played surprised me. “I play Pot of Avarice!”

Grievous used that! I thought suddenly as a familiar goofy blue jar appeared in midair in front of Voldemort. A lot like last time, Voldemort’s deck floated into the pot, and five cards materialized from thin air and put themselves into the pot as well. The pot shook wildly, shuffling the cards, then two cards floated out and the deck settled back into its original position.

“Now to reveal my face-down monster: King Cobra!”

I saw Jake’s eyes narrow as a black-and-gold cobra rose from the face-down card and hissed wildly (1600/1600) -> (2100/1600)

“I remember that,” said Jake through clenched teeth. “You used that on me last time. It lowers the attack of any monster by 500 points when it’s flipped, right?”

“How true. And I’m going to use its effect on Benu Phoenix, to make its strength a little more manageable.”

King Cobra hissed and its eyes glowed blood-red. Benu Phoenix’s eyes went slightly swirly as its ATK dropped to 3000.

“You may recall my ability to cheat death? This Monster Reborn will allow my Black Skull Dragon to gain that ability as well!” The terrifying dragon soared down from the sky and glared daggers at Meteor Black Dragon. I was surprised that the normal ankh symbol hadn’t appeared.

Maybe he’s just too evil for something that holy and restorative, I thought nervously before realizing something. “Rewind a sec. Why didn’t you use your snake’s effect on Jake’s Dragon? His is still stronger than yours.”

“I could have destroyed it, yes. But I have bigger plans, ones which I’m afraid your simple Muggle brain could never comprehend. Now, back to my move. I remove 3 monsters in my Graveyard from play to summon one of my newest creatures, whose abilities I am very fond of…”

The ghosts of Versago the Destroyer, Archfiend Soldier, and a small robed figure with two electric blue arms all appeared in front of Voldemort. They all started swirling together to form another creature from the cartoon that I had seen only one person ever use.

It was both hideous and enchanting at the same time. It was female, I think, but its blue head was entirely bald. It was clothed in a style I couldn’t recognize; it looked leather-ish, but I wasn’t sure. It cradled a baby doll in its arms, and – to my surprise – it was this that moved and made noise, not the creature itself. (2200/2800) -> (2700/2800)

Dark Necrofear…Bakura’s favorite monster… I thought. This can’t be good.

“For my final card, I will play Mystical Space Typhoon, to rid the field of that Backfire of yours, Jake.”

The torrential winds tore across the field and obliterated Jake’s Trap as I thought, That was one of our best ways of weakening him!

“Dark Necrofear, attack Benu Phoenix now with Doom Gaze!”

The baby doll suddenly fell still and Dark Necrofear lifted its head. It barely moved as a bright blue laser shot from its eyes towards Benu Phoenix. The phoenix, however, was unimpressed, and simply flew over the beam and proceeded to stab Dark Necrofear in the chest with its beak! Without so much as a groan, the frightening creature shattered.

And that accomplished…what? I wondered. It doesn’t look like he’s going to use that field card Bakura did…Dark Sanctuary, was it? What was the point of destroying itself?

“Black Skull Dragon, you attack Benu Phoenix!”

This had more of an effect than the previous attack. The combination of fire and lightning was too much for Benu Phoenix to handle, and it shattered with a loud squawk.

A quick fact came to mind. “Since Jake sacrificed my Baby Dragon to summon his Phoenix, it counts as belonging to both of us, so – “

“So the damage is shared between you, yes. Do you think me unaware of the rules of this game?”

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The sad part was, his insults weren’t the worst things about him. His Dark Necrofear is what worried me most.

That monster’s effect only activates when it’s destroyed, and Voldemort already took care of that for us. Now his Dark Necrofear can –

“I activate the ability of Dark Necrofear.”

“But you can’t; it’s in the Graveyard!” protested Bryan.

“Do you ever shut up? The Graveyard is the only place its effect can activate in! Since it was destroyed in battle this turn, I now get to take possession of a monster on your side of the field…remember when I said I had bigger plans for Meteor Black Dragon?”

A chilling wind picked up; odd, since we were standing atop a volcano. The trees – those that survived Meteor Black Dragon’s last attack, anyway – started to rustle, and I got a very ominous feeling. Then, from the trees to our right came a haunting sound.

“ooooooooOOOOOOOOOOO!”

It was a moan that turned into a wail, and then suddenly I saw Dark Necrofear’s ghost emerge from the trees and sail around the field. It stopped in front of Meteor Black Dragon, who growled at it. Instantly, it threw itself at the dragon, making its new victim roar in agony. As soon as the roar had started, though, it stopped, and a sort of glazed look came over it as it limply spread its wings, soared through the air, and settled itself in front of Voldemort.

“I hate to be the bearer of even more bad news, but now that your dragon…or should I say, my dragon…is on my side of the field, my Deckmaster gives it more power…”

I hadn’t counted on that. I watched, slightly terrified, as its ATK rose from an already impressive 4000 to 4500.

“That ends my turn,” said Voldemort in a highly satisfied voice.

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Hmm. Now he’s got his best monster and our best monster on his team. Not exactly our day, I guess. I drew a card, realized it wouldn’t help at all, then said, “I flip my monster in Attack Mode: go Battle Footballer!”

The card on the field rotated and rose, revealing the mechanical football player (1000/2100) -> (1500/1600). “And, since he’s a Fire monster, he’ll give back Ultimate Baseball Kid those thousand ATK points you stole when you destroyed Jake’s Phoenix!” Ultimate Baseball Kid struck a pose as its ATK power went back up to 3000.

“It might not be enough to take on either of your Dragons, but your snake is a sitting duck! Attack with Fireball Slugger!”

Ultimate Baseball Kid threw a fireball into the air and one-handedly slammed it into King Cobra’s hood. It hissed out a scream before shattering.

Satisified, I said, “My turn’s over.”

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“My turn’s over.”

I’d better draw something useful; I’ve got nothing in my hand I can use! I drew, and smiled.

“I activate my second Salamandra card!”

Once again, the dragon-shaped fire appeared on the field, searching for a target.

“I’m going to use this to increase Ultimate Baseball Kid’s ATK by 700!” As commanded, the ‘dragon’ flew across the field and wound itself around Ultimate Baseball Kid’s bat, raising its ATK to 3700.

“And, since it’s equipped with one of my cards, I can control it as one of my own monsters!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bryan’s expression of slight shock. “That’s right…how did you know that?”

I opened my mouth to answer…and realized I had none. Uh…how did I know that?

I looked over at Bryan. “Um…I don’t know. I just…know, I guess.”

He looked at me a little weirdly, then shrugged and said, “Whatever.”

I was starting to get a bit confused. How was it that these things were happening? Voldemort’s attacks hurt severely but left no marks, yet Legendary Flame Lord was able to physically pull me off the ground…and now information is randomly popping into my head?

Jake, I wouldn’t complain, came Legendary Flame Lord’s ‘voice’. There are times to think about such things, and now isn’t one of them.

He had a point. “Ultimate Baseball Kid, attack Vorse Raider!”

Grinning, Ultimate Baseball Kid aimed its bat at the Beast-Warrior, this time firing the Salamandra flame like a bullet instead of hitting a pitch.

“Hold on, Jake,” called out Bryan. “Let me help you by activating this: DNA Transplant! It turns all monsters on the field into Fire monsters, meaning Ultimate Baseball Kid gains 2000 extra ATK points!”

Bryan’s face-down card lifted to reveal a surgeon holding a scalpel high in the air, which suddenly blazed with fire. Instantly, Vorse Raider’s sword caught fire, as did the rest of its metal armor, and Black Skull Dragon’s wings caught fire as well.

“Of course, that also means that your Vorse Raider gains a few ATK points from Molten Destruction, but it’s not nearly enough to help!”

As if to prove Bryan’s point, Vorse Raider tried to charge Ultiamte Baseball Kid in retaliation, but the Salamandra fire proved too powerful, and it was incinerated.

Awesome…that just took out 2800 of Voldemort’s Life Points, leaving him with only 1500! We might actually pull this off! “I end my turn!”

“Then I’ll start mine with an addition to my Life Points.”

I groaned as those eyes lit up yet again and another rope snapped. Geez, doesn’t this guy ever die?

Bryan, however, was more focused on the rope that had snapped. “Don’t forget about that Card of Demise you played! That blade looks awfully loose!”

He was right. The large blade did seem to strain against the two ropes supporting it now.

“We’ll worry about that when we get there. For now, I’m simply going to switch both of my dragons to Defense Mode and end my turn.”

Both dragons knelt and shielded themselves with both their wings and claws, and the turn passed to Bryan.

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Now why didn’t he attack Battle Footballer? I would’ve lost a ton of Life Points…not that I’m complaining. Barely paying attention to the card I drew, I called out, “First, I’m switching Battle Footballer to Defense Mode!”

He knelt and crossed his arms.

“Now, Ultimate Baseball Kid, destroy Meteor Black Dragon!”

Once again, Ultimate Baseball Kid smashed a line drive into the black dragon, shattering it.

I turned to Jake. “Sorry to destroy your monster, but…”

He waved it off. “It had to be done. That Dark Necrofear’s effect won’t activate again since it wasn’t destroyed as a Monster Card, and I really didn’t want to destroy my own monster anyway.”

I grinned. “Consider it payback for your stunt with Apollo’s Archer.”

“Children, children,” Voldemort interrupted. “Must I constantly remind you that I have a duel to win? My patience grows thinner and thinner as time passes…”

“Well, if you’re that eager,” came Jake’s voice, “don’t let me get in your way. My move!” He started to draw, then stopped. “I’m think I’m going to activate my Deckmaster’s special ability again, to summon Solar Flare Dragon from my Graveyard!”

The serpentine dragon suddenly shot out of the lava below us, spraying the molten liquid all over the place – good thing it wasn’t actually real (1500/1000) -> (2000/600).

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I was happier – and more relieved – than I had been in a long time. He already used up Monster Reborn, and anything he summons will just beef up Ultimate Baseball Kid! And, since both Bryan and I control it, it can attack twice before Voldemort can do anything about it! We’ve got this duel won! “Ultimate Baseball Kid, attack his final Dragon! What was your attack called again…Fireball Slugger!”

One last power-driven fireball burned Black Skull Dragon to a crisp. Ultimate Baseball Kid leaned on his bat and flashed a cocky grin at Voldemort, as if to say, ‘Now what, tough guy?’

“Oh dear,” said Voldemort in mock-worry. “I have nothing to defend me…”

“That’s right! So now, Solar Flare Dragon, atta – “

“Jake, no!”

Both Solar Flare Dragon and I looked over at Bryan. “What?”

In response, he pointed to over Voldemort’s head. I followed his finger and saw Voldemort’s Divine Serpent staring at Solar Flare Dragon, a hungry expression on its face.

I almost forgot, I thought, my stomach sinking slightly. As long as Divine Serpent is his Deckmaster, we can’t attack him directly! “You may have protected yourself from our monster’s attacks, but my Solar Flare Dragon doesn’t need to attack to hurt you! I end my turn!” I called out angrily. Eagerly, Solar Flare Dragon dove into the lava, leapt into the air behind Voldemort, and slammed into his back! And, unlike the previous time, he actually staggered forward a bit, his smoky Life Points dropping to 2000.

Righting himself, he threw out his hand and yelled, “My turn!”

In response to his call, another card floated into his hand from his hovering deck, bringing his hand size to two cards. After rope number four snapped, he prodded his new card onto the field, and a small jar made of some kind of black stone and engraved with runes appeared on the field.

“This is the Vase of Unholy Blight. In exchange for removing one Dark monster in my Deck from play,” he explained, holding out his hand, in which a card with the picture of a frightening Aztec-like statue with a long body appeared – I recognized it as Nuvia the Wicked - and dumping it in the jar, “I get to activate its magical powers.”

The runes carved on the side of the field glowed, and dark energy began coursing around the jar. It floated through the air and landed on top of his deck, and suddenly black-and-violet smoke poured out of the jar and in front of Voldemort. The smoke started to condense, and soon three new cards appeared next to the one that was already there.

So he gets to draw three cards at the cost of removing one from his Deck…that seems a lot like my Apollo’s Blessing, come to think of it…

“Since your dragon is a nuisance, I’m going to bury it with this: Tribute to the Doomed!”

Suddenly, a small mummy appeared on the field.

“All I have to do is discard this,” he said, pushing another card forward, which the mummy took, “and I can destroy any one monster of my choice.”

The mummy held the card high in the air. Suddenly, the card exploded into a multitude of long, white bandages! The bandages all snaked through the air and bound Solar Flare Dragon up tight – they must’ve been fire-resistant. The bandages then pulled the struggling, mummified Solar Flare Dragon down into the lava, and the mummy twirled in the air and spun into nothingness.

“Good, good…now that that’s out of the way, I’m going to set two cards face-down and end my turn.”

Those must Magic Cards that he wants out of his hand…that blade is going to come crashing down next turn, I realized, looking up at the large guillotine blade that was now straining more than ever, with only one rope holding it up.

I looked back at his side of the field. The only things there were the guillotine and two face-down cards.

No monsters…not like it really matters!

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That Deckmaster’s effect is just plain wrong. It has all the effects of Dartz’s three Orichalcos cards combined! And Yugi had a hard enough time going against them when Dartz played them one at a time… “My turn!” I called out, hoping for a card that would let me do something; anything.

Unfortunately…

Man, this hand bites! I’ve got a full hand of good cards, but none of them can do anything now! And… I realized, quickly counting my cards, Dang it, I have too many. Umm…I guess since Baby Dragon’s gone, I won’t be needing Alligator’s Sword anymore. Discarding it, I yelled “I end my turn!”

To my surprise, I heard Jake respond, “Let’s try this again; Legendary Flame Lord, do your stuff!”

His deckmaster obligingly held out its scepter again, and Solar Flare Dragon jumped out of the lava once more, baring its fangs (1500/1000) -> (2000/600)

“I’ll end my turn again, and I probably don’t have to remind you of what happens when I do that!” Jake called out, pointing at Voldemort dramatically. “Go, Solar Flare Dragon!”

The fiery dragon repeated its routine a second time, plowing into Voldemort and reducing his Life Points further, to 1500.

A card rose from Voldemort’s Deck…

There was one loud, final snap, and the guillotine blade fell, quick as lightning, and slashed the card in two. The blade kept going, slicing through the rest of the structure, all the way down into the lava, with the rest of it following.

Once the dust had settled, we saw Voldemort with quite a pleased expression.

Continued in next post...

[starjake]

“That card I just discarded actually helps me.”

I had a split second to think What? before a black-skinned angel with dark wings and dressed in a peasant’s outfit suddenly faded into view, arms outstretched.

“How fortunate of me to draw Marie the Fallen One at that very moment. In my hand, she’s not very useful, but in my Graveyard, she’ll give me 200 Life Points during each of my Standby Phases…and since I discarded her during my Standby Phase, I get the benefit immediately!”

Sparkles started falling from Marie’s wings and landing on Voldemort’s black robe. Instantly, his Life Points grew to 1700. Then, she faded from sight.

“There’s more. The card I discarded for Tribute to the Doomed was a special monster called Sinister Serpent, and it can return to my hand at this time if it’s in my Graveyard…”

A card shot up from the lava below us and into Voldemort’s hand.

“However, I feel no need to summon him to the field…go ahead…”

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I watched Bryan draw another card, look at it angrily, then toss it into his Graveyard. “There’s nothing I can do; go ahead Jake.”

“Sure thing, Bryan,” I replied, pointing to my Deckmaster. “I think I’ll have Legendary Flame Lord summon the other Solar Flare Dragon from my Graveyard!”

He nodded and held out his scepter. Solar Flare Dragon’s twin jumped out of the lava and joined its brother (1500/1000) -> (2000/600)

“That’s all; fire away, Dragons,” I commanded, grinning at my own pun. I saw Bryan roll his eyes.

Obediently, both Dragons flew across the field and attacked from each side, dropping Voldemort’s Life Points to a mere 700.

As both dragons returned to my side of the field, I commented, “Even with Marie’s help, your next turn is your last!”

I felt Voldemort’s eyes boring holes into my head.

“Oh, I don’t think so, Jake…” he whispered mysteriously, as another card rose from his deck.

Marie’s form suddenly faded into sight again, showering Voldemort with her life-restoring sparkles.

Prodding his new card onto the field, he said, “I play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards.” The green, laughing pot appeared in front of him and two cards shot out of it. It exploded into fragments as one of Voldemort’s face-down cards rose.

“The two cards I drew were Magic Cards called Dark Snake Syndrome. However, since my Life Points are too low to use them effectively, I’ll use my face-down Spell Reproduction and discard them.”

I looked to where Voldemort’s face-down card had been and saw that a figure in a purple hooded robe sat behind a round table. On the table was what looked like a crystal ball, flanked by two candles. The robed figure held out a blue-skinned, long-fingered hand, tipped with sharp fingernails. Voldemort placed the two cards in the outstretched hand, and its owner placed each card over one of the candles. The cards quickly turned to ash, and the person took the ash and started sprinkling it over the crystal ball.

“In return for discarding these two Magic Cards, I get to select a Magic Card in my Graveyard and add it to my hand.”

The crystal suddenly flashed with a brilliant light; when the light had died down, a card was floating in midair where the crystal ball had been. The card floated over to Voldemort, and the robed figure raised its head slightly; all I saw under the hood were two white slits, which I assumed were eyes. The creature and the table faded into nothing.

While I was getting over the chills running down my spine, I heard Voldemort say, “I feel no need to keep either of you in suspense as to what I received…I believe you may recognize it…”

The card flipped around…

If the first time Voldemort had played the card was chaotic, then this was pandemonium. Lightning flashed from the card, and the lava swirling and bubbling beneath us turned black! The hot updraft turned into a hurricane force wind, and the last remaining fragments of trees on the sides of the volcano took to the air, flying about and smashing into things. Then – worst of all, all the monsters on the field suddenly dropped into the lava, screaming and roaring (depending on what type of creature they were)!

When all was said and done, every monster was gone.

Catching my breath and raising my head, I sputtered, “I take it you played Dark Hole again.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you Captain Obvious, I thought to myself. After all, that was the only card in his Graveyard that could destroy every monster it came across.

“I hate to be the bearer of even more bad news, but there’s one more move I have to make, and it’s even deadlier than the last one.”

Good God; what else could he possibly do?

Note to self: never ever ask what someone else could possibly do. You don’t want to know the answer.

His final face-down card lifted, and a man with an overly-large moustache and wearing ridiculously-colored clothing walked out of it. His head, however, was the most interesting part of his body; actually, what was on his head. His top hat was striped blue and red, and on top of the hat sat a large thought bubble with a question mark in it.

I looked over and saw Jake’s dumbfounded face.

Well, I feel better now…he doesn’t know what the card is either.

“Bryan, I believe you’re the one who enjoys playing games?”

I blinked a few times. “Um…yeah…why?”

“Because this card is all about games. It's called Reversal Quiz, and it works something like your game shows on television, actually.”

The strangely-dressed man snapped its fingers, and a large podium appeared from nowhere. The front of the podium showed a large circle divided into three colors: one yellow, one green, and one purple. Above the circle sat a black box with the digital number 900 in it.

Then, to my surprise, a similar podium appeared in front of me! On the front, however, there was no circle; just a black box with a digital 6650 written in it.

“Wait a sec…these are how many Life Points we have…”

“Correct. But, first, to play the game. I have to guess whether the top card of my deck is a Monster” - the man displayed the yellow portion of the circle Vanna-White style – “Magic” – he displayed the green portion – “or Trap” – the purple portion. “First, I must discard everything on the field and in my hand…fortunately, that all consists of only one card…” he commented, handing his final card to the man, who inserted the card into a slot on the podium, and it whirred to life. “Now, to guess…hmm…”

He looked at the back of the top card of his Deck, as though he could divine the type of card.

Then again, he just might be able to do that!

Before I could say anything, though, he called out, “My guess is: a Magic Card.”

The man grabbed the top card of the deck and placed it on the podium. The three sections of the circle started glowing in succession, until the glow hit the green portion and a loud dinging noise echoed all over the crater.

“Well, well, what do you know? Perhaps I should try one of these game shows of yours; I appear to be good at it…”

Now I was annoyed. “OK, so you won. Now what?”

“I get a prize for winning. Namely, your Life Points!”

This startled me. “My Life Points?”

He gestured to his podium, on which the numbers started rising. “My Life Points become what yours are now.”

Well, that’s not fun. Now it’s going to be even harder to beat him if he has 6650 Life Points!

“I’m not done. Not only do I receive your Life Points…you receive mine!”

My eyes widened as I realized what that meant. I opened my mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the barrage of electricity that my podium shot at me!

Suddenly, a gloved robotic hand reached in front of me and took the hit! I looked over and saw that Jinzo was protecting me! It absorbed all the electricity, then raised its hand again.

“Uh, thanks.”

He nodded once, then ‘said’, Do not fear for my well-being. I am, after all, a machine; I can handle a power boost.

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“I guess it’s a good thing Bryan chose a cyborg as his Deckmaster, huh?” I asked Legendary Flame Lord, who nodded in agreement.

Unfortunately, Jinzo had been able to block the actual effect of the card; Bryan’s podium now read 900.

Both podiums disappeared. The crazy game show host handed Voldemort the card he had guessed, then vanished himself.

“As you know now,” he continued, as though nothing unusual had happened, “this is a Magic Card. This isn’t any regular Magic Card, however…it’s a particularly powerful one called Dark Barricade, and I’m going to activate it right now.”

The card materialized on the field, and a strange black fog suddenly cut the field in half! It was translucent enough for us to see through…kind of.

I waited for something to happen. When nothing did, I yelled, “Now what?”

“I’m waiting for Bryan to and you to make your next pathetic moves.”

Wait; that’s it? Does the card do anything? Though I doubt he’d just tell us…

“Fine, play your stupid card. My move,” I heard Bryan yell angrily. I could understand his frustration; he had just lost a huge lead. Looking at the card he drew, he said, “I set this card face-down and end my turn!”

A card materialized in front of him, and I debated whether or not to use Legendary Flame Lord’s effect again. Then…

Do it.

I looked over at him. “Do what?”

My effect. Use it; I just figured out a way for you two to win! But Bryan will need your Solar Flare Dragon to do it.

I gave him a skeptical look, then shrugged. “If you say so…I activate Legendary Flame Lord’s effect one last time!” I called out, pointing to the field. Solar Flare Dragon shot up from the lava yet again. (1500/1000) -> (2000/600)

“Since there’s nothing else for me to do, I’ll end my turn.”

Right on cue, Solar Flare flew across the field…slammed into the fog barrier, and flew backwards into Bryan!

What the… “What happened?”

Sinister laughter from Voldemort’s side of the fog told me I wasn’t going to like it.

“Dark Barricade is a particularly useful card that activates whenever Effect Damage is aimed at me. Not only does it deflect the damage back to my opponent, but it gives me the same amount of Life Points I would have lost!”

What? No way! That’s a seriously broken card! “That’s not fair!”

“Let it go, Jake.”

I looked over and saw Bryan back on his feet, his Life Points now at 400. “What do you mean, let it go? We can’t attack him, and now we can’t hurt him with card effects!”

He shook his head. “There’s a way, Jake. Playing sports has taught that no matter what the enemy team throws at you, no strategy is without a flaw. To win games, you have to know the enemy’s weakness. You what my coach does when he’s not coaching us?”

I had no athletic background in the slightest. “What?”

“He spends his time watching videos of the other teams in the league. He watches them over and over and over, until he knows every one of their plays by heart. Then, when we go up against them, we know exactly what to expect, and exactly how to defeat them.”

That would explain why the school’s baseball team has been undefeated for forever.

He nodded his head towards Voldemort. “He’s no different. He might be really powerful, and he might even cheat and use cards that shouldn’t even exist, but there’s a way to defeat him.”

He raised voice. “You hear that? We will defeat you, Voldemort! No one is invincible, not even the people who try to be!”

“Are you done yet?” came Voldemort’s response, almost like a sigh. “I’m getting bored.”

“Fine then,” I yelled. “Make your move!”

I couldn’t really see what he did (though I assumed that Marie raised his Life Points once again, but then I heard him say, “Ah. Yes. This is exactly what I needed. I play Change of Heart!”

I felt the blood leave my face. Oh God…not that!

A strange person floated through the fog. Half of it looked like an angel, while the other half looked like a demon. The creature held in its hand a heart.

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“Even I know what that does,” I muttered to no one in particular. “Bakura said that’s his favorite card…it lets the user control one of their opponent’s monsters for one turn…”

The heart that the angel-demon held started beating, and it floated over to Solar Flare Dragon, who looked at it with a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me expression. The heart touched the tip of its snout and shattered, the pieces actually riving themselves into the dragon’s mouth. It made a gagging sound and motion, and then went perfectly still. The angel-demon creature smiled a soft, menacing smile, then beckoned with its finger. The dragon followed it through the fog barrier with glazed eyes.

“Now, let me see…first, we must take into consideration where your pet is right now…since it’s on my side of the field, my Divine Serpent will increase its strength…”

I couldn’t see anything, but I knew its ATK had risen to 2500.

“Ah, how I have longed to say this…Solar Flare Dragon, attack Jake now!”

Hissing and snarling, it soared through the barrier, ready to strike…

“You’re right, Jake,” Voldemort said with a laugh. “It feels kind of good ordering your monsters around!”

“Sorry, Voldemort, but you’re dueling a team here, and I won’t let my teammate down; I activate my own Waboku!”

Just like they had before, the three blue-robed priestesses, took the hit for Jake, leaving him safe.

Looking up at me, Jake said, “Thanks, man.”

“Anytime.”

Voldemort’s frustration was so strong I could practically fell it. “I’m not done yet; I have it’s effect to activate before I relinquish control of it, and I think I’ll send it your way, Bryan!”

The dragon turned from Jake, and flew towards me, and I realized with a shock that I only had 400 Life Points left…

“Time to repay the favor, Bryan!” called out Jake, his face-down card lifting and an ornate Egyptian-themed gun appearing my hand. Solar Flare Dragon stopped short.

“You want me to shoot your Dragon?” I asked incredulously. That didn’t seem like Jake’s style at all.

“Um…no. The trap I activated is called Barrel Behind the Door, and it takes any Effect Damage that you would receive and shoots it back at your opponent!”

The glaze suddenly disappeared from Solar Flare Dragon’s eyes. It realized where it was, then hung its head.

I smiled. “Here. Lend me about 500 Life Points worth of your fire, would you?”

The dragon perked up, grinned, then somehow loaded itself into the gun.

My eyes widened a bit. That works, too, I thought as I aimed the gun…then lowered it. “What his fog wall?”

“We’ve got rulings in our favor. Damage that’s transferred by Barrel Behind the Door can’t be re-transferred, so we’re safe! Fire away!”

He didn’t need to tell me twice. I aimed at where I thought Voldemort was and pulled the trigger.

Solar Flare Dragon exploded out of the gun and tore through the barrier, slamming into Voldemort and knocking him to the ground. It flew back, quite pleased with itself.

Then…

Bryan!

I looked back at Jinzo. “What?”

He looked back at me. I said nothing.

I looked back down. “Uh…OK.”

Bryan! Over here!

I turned towards Jake.

“Are you going to stand there all day? I grow tired of this fight!”

“Can it, would you?” I hollered back. I looked all over for the source of the voice. Then, I realized who the only other being was that could speak telepathically.

Legendary Flame Lord? I thought.

Yes. Draw your card first.

Sure thing. “My move,” I called out, drawing a card. It was one of my new ones, something called Emergency Rations.

Do you use Polymerization? ‘said’ Legendary Flame Lord.

Yeah, I have it right here, I responded.

I felt a strong sensation of relief. OK. There’s only one way to win that I can think of, but I don’t think you or Jake know about it. Here’s what you have to do.

He gave me list of what cards I needed to play. I looked in my hand and saw that they were all there.

If you say so.

I know so. This will work.

“Alright, here goes!” I called out, pulling my newest card from my hand.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

“What did you say to him?” I asked Legendary Flame Lord.

I told him how to win. He’s going to need your Solar Flare Dragon, though.

“Fine by me. What’s he going to do?”

He smiled. You’ll see.

“First,” proclaimed Bryan, holding out a card, “I play the Magic Card Emergency Rations!”

A lunch box appeared in mid air in front of Bryan.

“This lets me discard any number of cards from my hand; for each card I discard, I gain 300 Life Points in return!”

The lunch box opened, and Bryan pulled four cards from his hand and dumped them in the box. It closed, shook itself violently, then opened again. Bryan reached inside and pulled out a sandwich. He eyed it suspiciously, then took a bite.

“Hmm,” he said, his mouth full of sandwich. “How did it know I like turkey?”

I raised my eyebrows. These holograms were really starting to border on the strange side of things.

When he finished the sandwich, the lunch box disappeared, and his Life Points went up to 1600.

“Now I play another Magic Card: Premature Burial! And I’ll use it to bring back Ultimate Baseball Kid!”

That’s why he raised his Life Points, I realized as Ultimate Baseball Kid jumped out of the lava and readied himself for a pitch. He needed to pay for Premature Burial.

Bryan turned to me. “Jake can I – “

“Do whatever you need to,” I interrupted. “I’m gonna trust that you know what you’re doing.”

“Well, he knows what I’m doing more than I do, but OK,” he said, gesturing towards Legendary Flame Lord.

Turning back to the duel, he shouted, “My final card is Polymerization!”

This startled me. I turned to Legendary Flame Lord. “They fuse?”

They certainly do.

The vortex appeared on the field, and both Solar Flare Dragon and Ultimate Baseball Kid jumped into it.

“I fuse Ultimate Baseball Kid and Solar Flare Dragon to form…Solar Dragon Fighter!”

The vortex erupted in flames, and out of the flames flew a new creature. It looked a lot like Ultimate Baseball kid riding Solar Flare Dragon, but the Baseball Kid had a new uniform. It was clad in medieval armor, complete with a sword and shield. Solar Flare Dragon roared triumphantly as Ultimate Baseball kid…err, Knight…tested out its new ‘bat’. (2000/20000 -> (2500/1600)

Legendary Flame Lord gave Bryan a meaningful look, which I took to mean that he was communicating with Bryan. Bryan mouthed, ‘You sure?’ Legendary Flame Lord nodded, and Bryan said, “I end my turn with that.”

To my surprise, this new monster tried to bypass the fog barrier, but it got blasted back into Bryan, who fell to the ground.

I looked at Legendary Flame Lord. “You have no idea how lost I am right now.”

He laughed, then explained what was going on.

“Oh,” I said, rather lost for words. “But he’s not – “

Remember what Apollo said? Trust your partner; I think I know what he has set.

I looked at Bryan’s face-down card that had actually been there for most of the duel.

“Alright, Voldemort; this ends now!”

“Oh? You can’t inflict any damage to me; how are you going to win?”

“I’ll get to that in a minute; first, I draw.”

I looked at my hand, then looked at Legendary Flame Lord, who grinned when he saw the two cards. How interesting.

“Hey, Voldemort, I’m holding two cards in my hands. Care to guess what they are?”

No response.

Continued in next post...

[starjake]

“Then I’ll tell you: Molten Destruction and Incandescent Ordeal! I’d remember that if I were you, because I’m about to put you through an Incandescent Ordeal by way of Molten Destruction!”

“Your humor is almost as boring as your dueling.”

“Then allow me to make things more entertaining for you,” called out Bryan, pointing to his face-down card. “I activate my Scapegoat!”

Instantly, four small sheep appeared on the field, each a different color. They suddenly all turned fiery orange, and their ATKs started to go up (0/0) x4 -> (500/0) x4.

“And, thanks to my DNA Transplant card, they all become Fire monsters!”

I continued. “Solar Dragon Fighter keeps the effects of the monsters it’s made up of – “

“ – which is why it tried to deal you damage at the end of my turn. Fortunately, I had enough Life Points to withstand the blast from your fog wall.”

“But don’t forget that I gained those Life Points that you lost!”

“I know,” Bryan replied. “But that’s not going to matter, pretty soon! Since Ultimate Baseball Kid is also part of our new monster, he gains 1000 ATK points for each of the Sheep Tokens!”

I could see Voldemort step back as Solar Dragon’s Fighter’s ATK skyrocketed to 6500!

“Now,” I shouted, “since my field is empty, I can summon my Deckmaster!”

Legendary Flame Lord leaped into the air and ‘landed’ on the nothing in front me, stats appearing over its head (2400/2000) -> (2900/1600).

“What is the point of all this?” yelled Voldemort as Solar Dragon Fighter’s ATK capped off at 7500; he sounded both frustrated and frightened. “My Divine Serpent will simply destroy your monster if you try to attack!”

“Normally, yes, but this is no run-of-the-mill monster! Since one of my monsters was fused to make this guy, I get to control him as well as Bryan, so I’m going to activate his special effect!”

“And what is that?”

I pulled out two cards from my Graveyard. “By removing two cards in my Graveyard from play, I can make Solar Dragon Fighter immune to card effects that would try and destroy him! And, for all the might and power your Divine Serpent has, his abilities are still considered card effects!”

I waited for him to realize what that meant.

He figured it out.

“No…no!” came Voldemort’s now-panicking voice. “This cannot be!”

“Oh, it sure can!” I yelled. “I remove the Blaze Magician and Fushi No Tori that you sent my Graveyard from play!”

I held the two cards high, and both of them appeared in flashes of fire, hovering protectively in above Solar Dragon Fighter.

“You wanted the powers of Fire?” I asked as geysers of lava started erupting around us, burning away the fog wall that separated the field. “Here; let me give them to you! Solar Dragon Fighter, attack!” I commanded, pointing at Voldemort as Solar Flare Dragon thrust its snout forward.

Bryan and I looked at each other, then, as one:

“Eruption Vortex Saber!”

Blaze Magician and Fushi No Tori shot a jet of fire at each of Divine Serpent’s eyes, blinding it; it made an unearthly noise, like some combination of a howl, a roar, and a hiss. It flailed about, trying to smell out and bite its two attackers, but it kept missing. Meanwhile, Solar Dragon Fighter reared back and charged as lava geysers erupted all over the field. One of the geysers ignited Ultimate Baseball Knight’s sword, and he leapt into the air. Solar Flare Dragon started twisting in an ever-tighter circle, causing an enormous lava tornado to erupt from the crater! It tore high into the sky, then curved back downward towards Voldemort. The top of the tornado suddenly shaped itself into Solar Flare Dragon’s head, which opened wide as it sped towards its target. Ultimate Baseball Knight landed in front of Voldemort and slashed with its fiery sword as Solar Flare Dragon’s tornado hit its mark.

Our Deckmasters grabbed us and we teleported to the ground far below as an explosion tore the crater apart. And both Bryan and I knew it, without a doubt. Not only was he defeated…

…he was gone for good.


Japanese Cards:
Meteor Dragon
Earth/Dragon/6 stars/ATK 1800/DEF 2000

Meteor B. Dragon
Fire/Dragon/8 stars/ATK 3500/DEF 2000
“Meteor Dragon” + “Red-Eyes B. Dragon”



Made-up Cards:

Apollo's Blessing
Normal Spell
Remove 1 FIRE monster in your Deck from play. Draw 3 cards.

Dark Barricade
Continuous Spell
If Effect Damage would be inflicted to your Life Points, transfer the damage to your opponent’s Life Points. Then, increase your Life Points by an amount equal to the damage you would have received.

Dark Revelation
Normal Spell
Flip all face-down cards on the field face-up. If a Spell/Trap Card(s) is flipped face-up due to this effect, the effect(s) of the flipped Spell/Trap Card(s) activates at this time (if the timing is incorrect, destroy the flipped card(s)). Then, inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the number of DARK monsters flipped face-up x500.

Emergency Rations
Quick-Play Spell
Discard any number of cards from your hand. Increase your Life Points by an amount equal to the number of cards you discarded x300.

Nightmare Shield
Quick-Play Spell
You can only activate this card when your opponent activates the effect of a card that would destroy 2 or more DARK monsters on your side of the field. Negate the effect of the card. Until the end of the current Duel, your opponent's card effects that would destroy DARK monsters on your side of the field are negated.

Phoenix Guardian
Fire/Winged Beast/6 stars/ATK 0/DEF 3000
If there are no monsters on your side of the field and your opponent attacks your Life Points directly, you can Special Summon this card from your hand in face-up Defense Position. The attacking monster must then attack this card. Each time this card is Special Summoned through its own effect, decrease its DEF by 300. During the End Phase of the turn in which you activate this card's effect, this card returns to its owner's hand.

Phoenix Tears
Normal Spell
You can only activate this card if a FIRE/Winged-Beast monster exists face-up on your side of the field. Select 1 card in your opponent's Graveyard and add it to your hand.

Solar Dragon Fighter
Fire/Warrior/7 stars/ATK ?/DEF ?
"Solar Flare Dragon" + Any Warrior-Type monster
This card cannot be Special Summoned from the Fusion Deck except by Fusion Summon. A Fusion Summon of this card cannot be conducted except with the above Fusion-Material Monsters. The ATK and DEF of this card are equal to the combined ATK and DEF (respectively) of the Fusion-Material Monsters used in the Fusion Summon of this card. If, at any time, the Fusion-Material Monsters you used to summon this card are not in your Graveyard, destroy this card. Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can remove 2 FIRE monsters on your Graveyard from play. If you do, this card cannot be destroyed by card effects during this turn's Battle Phase. If either of the Fusion-Material Monsters used in the Fusion Summon of this card have any effects, apply those effects to this card in addition to this card's regular effects.

Vase of Unholy Blight
Normal Spell
Remove 1 DARK monster in your Deck from play. Draw 3 cards.
Note: “Vase of Unholy Blight” was first used by Lucky Seven in Shuppet Master’s fic, Sister of Anasi. Kudos to him for creativity.




They did it.

They actually did it.

Voldemort is gone...but the challenges aren't. No rest for the weary; the semi-finals are about to start, and the tournament is in full swing. And I haven't stopped the surprises yet; if you thought a dust bunny with over ten thousand attack points is impossible...well, think again! OUr heroes get a quick break from dueling as the semi-finals get organized in Chapter 26 - Prepare to Strike Back!

[Dark Sage]

One word - wow.

Although a fusion of one of Jake's and one of Bryan's Monsters was predictable, you created possibly the most vivid, dramatic, exciting scene yet. Although I question whether or not a Deckmaster can actually be disabled (I believed they were indestructable and unalterable unless they are summoned), it was your most exciting duel.

The best part, in my opinion, was when Jake played that Apollo's Blessing. Getting advice from the God of the Sun... Well, let's just say that there are worse places to get advice from.

You also created a pretty despicable villain in Voldemort. I felt pretty disgusted by the nerve of him using some of Kaiba's signature cards. (A sorcerer as evil as him doesn't have the right to use Vorse Raider!) That only served to heighten his hypocricy.

One complaint - you really should tell the readers the card names. I don't think everyone will realize that the card Volemort played was "Reversal Quiz", because you didn't say that it was.

All I can say at this point is...

What's next?

[Master of Paradox]

Confession: I didn't like this one so much as I did the last one. Mostly because it was something of a created-card fiesta. (It robs the story of some potentcy if every other card isn't real.)

That, and I lost track of who was talking halfway through the fic. Given that you switch first-person viewpoints on a regular basis, this made the center of the chapter a chaotic mess, hard to follow and hard to care about.

Still, this wasn't a bad duel. It was interesting to see Meteor Black Dragon (I don't see it often at all), and this is the first time I'd ever seen Reversal Quiz used by anyone ever. Voldemort was also a very interesting villain - one has to like a walking superiority complex.

All in all, though, this was a bit of a letdown.

The next chapter seems... interesting, at the least...

[starjake]

Yay! Master of Paradox has something negative to say!

First off, Dark Sage, I fixed the error you mentioned about Reversal Quiz. I also want to clarify something: in the real card game, you do not draw the card you guess for Reversal Quiz. You simply call it, then look at it. Whether you're right or wrong, the card goes back on top of your deck. However, for purposes of the story, I took a bit of artistic liscence.

Paradox: I can understand why rapidly switching between characters would seem chaotic; I just wanted to display what was going on in everybody's head as the duel progressed. As for the multitude of made-up cards...well, I needed Voldemort to use near-broken cards that fit the Dark theme, and frankly, not many existing cards fit those qualifications. I realize that Jake and Bryan also had their fair share of cards, but going up against someone as powerful as Voldemort, they needed all the help they could get.

Now that I think about it, this chapter was too long. When this story eventually finishes and it gets archived, I'm going to make sure it's edited; I'll probably lengthen the previous chapter and shorten this one (side note: these two chapters together lasted 40 pages in Word). Any thoughts, those of you who are reading?

Next chapter...hmm. There certainly are Fiends involved, but probably not the fiendish Fiends that you specialize in, Paradox. On a happier note, I believe there are no new made-up cards next chapter; if there are, there are no more than one or two.

[Shuppet Master]

Thanks for the use fo my card. After all, I created Pot of Charity and Brian used it a lot, so thanks.

Great duel, as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is finally vanquished. Now on to the semi-finals!

[starjake]

Hello all! It's been a month or so, so I figured it was time to post a new chapter.

So, without further ado...

Chapter 26 – Prepare to Strike Back

A little girl with blond pigtails and a pink dress was in trouble. Her foe, while just as short as she, was clearly older, and clearly more experienced. His glasses glinted in the sunlight, but did not hide the smug expression his face currently wore. He wore a green shirt with the picture of a black beetle imprinted on it, and the wind ruffled his light blue hair, which was cut like a beetle’s shell

“I really should thank you,” he said in a nasal, whining voice; it sounded as though a mosquito were talking. He pointed at the empty space in front of him, where a small and perfectly round egg was spinning. “It looks like that furball of yours actually does have a use, because when it destroyed my Pinch Hopper, I got to activate my bug’s special effect, letting me summon any Insect monster from my hand!”

They may have been in a peaceful meadow - the same meadow, in fact, where Bryan had dueled Cecelia – but there was nothing peaceful about this duel. The little girl readied herself for whatever Weevil Underwood was about to summon. She had 2300 Life Points to his 4000, and his field was currently clear; however, all she had to protect herself with was the ‘furball’ he had just insulted and two face-down cards.

“I hope you’re not scared of bugs, Becky!” he yelled with a maniacal laugh as the egg on his field started growing to monstrous proportions. “Because I summon Insect Queen in Attack Mode!”

The egg grew larger still, until it was three times as tall as either duelist. Suddenly, it exploded, and out of it came an enormous spider-like creature with a woman’s face. It roared, and Becky’s monster cowered in fear. (2200/2400)

“If there’s something else you’d like to do, now would be the time to do it; unless, of course, you’re smart enough to realize that my army of insects can’t be defeated!”

“Any monster can be defeated with the right cards!” yelled the little girl named Becky.

“But I’m not going to let you survive long enough to use any cards! It’s my turn!” he yelled in that aggravating voice, drawing a card.

“I’m going to summon Big Insect in Attack Mode!”

A large black ant burrowed its way out of the earth and stood next to Insect Queen, eagerly clicking its mandibles. (1200/1500)

“But it’s not going to stay, because I’m activating a Magic Card called Multiplication of Ants! This turns my one ant into two!”

The one ant shrunk and divided itself into two separate, smaller ants. (500/1200 x2)

“But now your bugs are weaker! Why do that?”

“You’ll see soon enough! But first, I’m going to play Monster Reborn to bring back an old friend…do you remember my Saber Beetle?”

Becky cringed as a large stag beetle with a glowing horn rose onto the field. She certainly did remember this bug; it had destroyed her Kuriboh.

“But wait, there’s more! Now I remove Big Insect and Killer Needle in my Graveyard from play to summon yet another Insect!”

A stone altar rose from the grassy meadow, and the ghosts of the large ant and an even larger wasp materialized on it. The top of the altar opened up and seemed to swallow the two ghostly insects, and out of the top of the altar shot an insect that was still larger than anything Weevil had yet summoned.

I thought bugs were supposed to be small! Becky thought as the new insect made its appearance. This one was easily twenty feet long - if not longer - and as thick around as a couple of tree trunks. It was purple and had what seemed like thousands of short, spindly legs; a centipede. Its mandibles – each longer than Becky was tall – clicked together furiously in anticipation of a meal. (2800/2600)

“Meet Doom Dozer! Not only does it have twenty-eight hundred attack points, but it destroys the top card of your deck whenever it damages your Life Points! And now you have my Insect Queen’s effect to worry about, which grants her 200 ATK points for each Insect on the field, and I count five!”

Becky looked on rather helplessly as Insect Queen’s ATK rose all the way to 3200!

To make matters worse, he pointed back towards his Deckmaster, which was a very strange-looking, skeletal beetle holding a shield and sword.

“And let’s not forget about my Deckmaster! My Arsenal Bug can destroy your Traps that affect my bugs by Tributing an Insect, and thanks to my Multiplication of Ants, I have the bugs to spare!”

That’s why he weakened his Big Insect; he wanted throwaway bugs.

“Now for the fun part! Doom Dozer, attack her cottonball!”

The oversized worm lunged forward, ready to devour Becky’s monster.

Here goes nothing! “I’m activating my monster’s effect! By sacrificing it, I get to draw five cards from my Deck and discard all the monsters I draw!”

The cottonball Weevil had previously mentioned started glowing and split into five orbs of light, each of which formed into a card that settled into Becky’s hand. Looking at them, she quickly discarded three cards.

“Fine then; Doom Dozer can attack you directly and finish you off!”

“Not quite! I have two face-down cards to protect me, and they don’t do anything to your Insects directly, so your Deckmaster’s effect is of no use to you!”

“What?” Weevil gasped.

“Here’s my first: Kuriboh-Calling Flute!” The card rose, and a small horn speared in Becky’s free hand. She blew into it, and it emitted a sweet, pure note. Sparkles started falling out of the sky.

“This card lets me Special Summon any Kuriboh from my Deck to the field, and I choose a special kind of Kuriboh; a Winged Kuriboh!”

The sparkles eventually formed into exactly what the name described: a Kuriboh with wings.

“It’s just as weak as a regular Kuriboh!” laughed Weevil. “And, since the number of monsters on your side of the field has changed, I get to rewind my Battle Phase, so I’ll Saber Beetle attack it since it can pierce through a defensive monster and still deal damage to your Life Points!”

“Don’t worry; I’m going to strengthen my Winged Kuriboh with my other face-down card: Transcendent Wings!”

A brilliant light enveloped the field as Winged Kuriboh gained new angel wings and a dragon-like armor.

“Now, by discarding the last two cards in my hand, my Winged Kuriboh becomes a Level 10 monster, and it gains a new effect! By sacrificing itself, it can destroy every attack position monster on your side of the field! And, not only that, but the Attack Points of the destroyed monsters will come right out of your Life Points!”

“WHAT? No; my bugs!”

“Go ahead, Winged Kuriboh LV10! Destroy all his monsters and wipe him out!”

With a shrill cry, Winged Kuriboh LV10 beams of white light from its wings which shattered all of Weevil’s monsters!

Yes! Becky thought to herself as the smoke cleared and the dust settled. Now I’m in the finals!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, atop the peak of a mountain, another duel was in progress. The young boy with a backwards baseball cap and a Brooklyn accent – Joey – had a muscular warrior clad in black armor standing next to him and no cards on the field. His opponent, on the other hand – a tall, burly biker wearing an American flag bandana over his blond hair, khaki shorts, tall leather boots, and a leather vest over a red shirt – had a Gear Golem the Moving Fortress; a strange-looking machination composed of gears, spikes, and metal plating. He glared at Joey through large sunglasses.

“Good job, blondie. Not only did you lose 500 Life Points because your Warrior Dai Grepher attacked my monster with 2200 DEF points, but you ran right into my Destruction Punch Trap Card, so now you have nothing to defend yourself with!”

Man, this Keith guy is good; these Machines are tearing me apart! I still have 4300 Life Points left, but he’s got 6100 and a monster that’s hard to crack. Good thing I didn’t summon Warrior Dai Grepher this turn. “I’m gonna defend myself with a face-down monster. Your move, robo-boy.”

“Like that will help you. My draw!” yelled Bandit Keith with a smirk. His face lit up when he saw what he had drawn. “For my first brilliant move, I’m switching Gear Golem to Attack Mode!”

The thing reared up on its tank treads, ready to strike. (800/2200)

“But that thing’s got only 800 Attack Points!”

“Not for long, dweeb! Take a look at my Deckmaster!”

That’s right, I forgot! He’s using –

“My Machine King gives all my Machine monsters an ATK boost equal to one-fourth of their DEF!”

Joey raised his eyebrows. “So, tell me Keith, how much would that be?”

Keith opened his mouth, then shut it again as he tried to think. “Um…well…aw, who cares, the system’ll do it for me!”

Joey rolled his eyes as Gear Golem’s ATK rose to 1350.

Shaking his head as though trying to clear it, Keith yelled, “And the best part is, I’m not done! I play the card I just drew called Weapon Change!”

A knight completely covered in medieval-style armor materialized on the field holding a sword in his right hand and a shield in his left.

“This little number lets me pay 700 Life Points to switch the ATK and DEF of a Warrior or Machine-Type monster until the end of your next turn. So now my Gear Golem gets another power boost!’

As Joey looked on with wide eyes, the knight switched which hands his sword and shield were in. The weapons glowed, as did Gear Golem, and the numbers over it changed from (1350/2200) to (2200/1350).

“And, since its scores have changed, Machine King’s effect kicks in again, making it even stronger than before!” (2538/1350)

“And it gets better! Gear Golem doesn’t just have a high DEF; it has an effect too! By paying 800 of my Life Points, I can have it attack you directly this turn!”

“Say what!” yelled Joey as Keith’s Life Points fell to 4600 and Gear Golem revved its engine.

“Gear Golem, attack blondie’s Life Points directly!”

The mechanical monster tore across the field, sidestepping Joey’s face-down monster completely, and ran Joey over! It returned to Keith’s side of the field as Joey pulled himself up off the rocky terrain.

Now I‘ve got only 1762 Life Points and no cards in my hand! I need a card that will save me, and I need it now!

“Your move, dweeb.”

Joey looked down at his Duel Disk.

Alright Deck…show me some love! Closing his eyes, he drew.

Awesome! “I activate Roll of Fate!”

A six-sided die suddenly feel out of the air and started to spin.

“Now, whatever number I roll is the number of cards I get to draw, as long as I then remove that many cards on top of my Deck from play! So…let’s see what kind of luck I have!”

Both Joey and Bandit Keith watched with baited breath as the die started to slow…and it landed on…

“A four! So, here come four cards!”

Joey drew four cards and discarded four more from his deck as the die vanished. He looked at the cards…

Sweet! “I’m gonna summon Dark Blade to the field!”

A warrior completely covered in black, spiked armor appeared out of thin air and drew two large swords from his back. (1800/1500)

“What good is that pipsqueak gonna do you? My Weapon Change’s effect lasts until the end of your turn, so his ATK is nothing compared to my Gear Golem’s!”

“Eh, can it, robo-boy. I’ve got plans too big for your brain to figure out, and they involve my Deckmaster: Knight of Dark Dragon!”

The warrior standing next to Joey drew his sword and held it at the ready.

“I’m activating his special effect! I’m allowed to summon any Dark Attribute Dragon-Type monster from my hand, as long as I pay 100 Life Points for each Star Level the monster has. So I’ll pay 500 Life Points to summon Kiryu!”

The Knight’s sword glowed with dark energy as Joey’s Life Points dipped to 1262, and the energy formed into a serpentine dragon with large wings and orange scales. (2000/1500)

“That’s still not enough.”

“Shaddup, will you? I’m not done yet; Kiryu is a special monster known as a Union Monster, and I can equip him to my Dark Blade! Your steed awaits!”

Kiryu hunched down, allowing Dark Blade to climb on its back. (1800/1500) -> (2700/1500)

“As you’ve probably noticed, Kiryu gives Dark Blade a 900-point ATK boost when he’s equipped, but he has a second ability I’d like to activate! By Tributing Kiryu, Dark Blade can attack you directly this turn!”

“What? You punk!” Keith yelled angrily as Kiryu transformed into a fiery blaze that surrounded Dark Blade.

“Since Kiryu’s no longer equipped to him anymore, he loses the ATK bonus, but that’s what this guy is for. I’m flipping my face-down Pitch-Dark Dragon into Attack Mode!”

Where Joey’s face-down monster had been appeared a large black dragon whose scales highly resembled Dark Blade’s armor. (900/600)

“This guy can also equip to Dark Blade, and when he does, Dark Blade gains 400 ATK points!”

Dark Blade mounted his new dragon, and his ATK shot up to 2200!

“And, since he’s still under the effect of Kiryu…fly over his toy tank and strike directly!”

Pitch-Dark Dragon took to the sky, and its rider held his two swords aloft. The two dive-bombed Keith, making his Life Points plummet all the way to 2400.

Pulling himself off the ground, he growled, “Nice try, kid, but that didn’t finish me off, and I still have enough Life Points to use my card effects and finish you off next turn!”

“I never said I was done, bonehead! I’m activating my Deckmaster’s ability one more time!” Once again, the sword glowed with magical power. “This time, I’m paying 700 Life Points to summon a seven-star monster from my hand!”

Keith’s eyes widened. “Wait a sec…a Dark Dragon with 7 stars…”

“Hey, it looks like you do know something! And, you’re right: meet Red-Eyes Black Dragon!”

Instead of simply forming into the dragon, this time, the energy shot into the sky, and a low roar echoed over the mountain. Out of the blue soared a dragon covered in black, bony armor; it screeched and made Keith cringe. (2400/2000)

“Too bad you can’t attack with it this turn since you ended your Battle Phase!”

“Wrong! Not only can it attack, it can do the same thing Dark Blade did and attack you! And it’s all thanks to this last card: go Inferno Fire Blast!”

Joey threw the card into his Disk, and Red-Eyes started charging up a fireball made of black fire.

“Inferno Fire Blast lets Red-Eyes Black Dragon go straight for your Life Points as long as it doesn’t attack during that turn’s Battle Phase. And, since the conditions are met…attack! Inferno Fire Blast!”

Flying into the air, the powerful dragon let loose a mighty blaze of black fire, roasting Keith and earning Joey his fifth win.

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I looked over at Jake, who was still staring at the top of the volcano he had created. Our Deckmasters had somehow teleported us down into the forest at the base of the volcano – or what remained of it – when Solar Dragon Fighter’s attack hit, and they held us still as what looked like a small nuclear explosion rocked the crater where we had dueled Voldemort.

Speaking of Solar Dragon Fighter…I looked back up towards the crater in time to see a bright yellow flash zip out of the crater and towards us at an alarming speed. The flash stopped suddenly not ten feet away from us, and there he was.

Jinzo released me as I walked up to the monster that was a result of both Jake’s and my combined efforts. The Fighter was none other than my Ultimate Baseball Kid, but dressed in shining medieval knight’s armor; his steed was Jake’s Solar Flare Dragon. Ultimate Baseball Kid dismounted and ran over to me, sheathing his new sword and removing his helmet. I stopped dead in my tracks to see that his hair was jet-black and cut pretty short; exactly like my own.

I shook my head to clear it as Solar Flare Dragon – now riderless - floated over to Jake, who had just been released from Legendary Flame Lord’s protective grip. Ultimate Baseball Kid, meanwhile, proceeded to tackle my knees in a bear hug. I had to stop myself from laughing; he was no taller than my thighs.

“Wasn’t that awesome?” he cried, now pulling down on my hand so my face – to be more specific, my ear - was more on his level. “We totally kicked evil wizard butt out there!”

Wincing slightly from the excited voice screaming in my ear, I pulled myself free from his grip and straightened up in time to see Jake looking at me with a slightly amused expression on his face.

We looked at each for a brief moment, then he said, “You know, he doesn’t just look like you.” Winking at me, he turned back to Solar Flare Dragon and started stroking its head, flames and all – like it was some sort of pet.

I opened my mouth to retaliate when the whole forest starting shaking! I struggled to maintain my balance, then Jinzo’s strong hand grabbed my shoulder. I looked over to see him hovering a few feet in the air, completely unharmed and unfazed by the sudden earthquake.

“Someone care to tell me what’s going on?” I shouted over the shaking earth. I quickly realized no one needed to answer that, as the volcano Jakes Molten Destruction had created started sinking! All I could really do was watch in wonder as the monstrous mountain slowly disappeared into the earth.

After about five minutes, the volcano had completely vanished, the quaking stopped, and Jinzo let go of my shoulder. Rubbing said shoulder – he had a strong grip – I looked over at Jake and asked, “What now?”

------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What now?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” I responded, having wondered that myself. As major as the duel we had just pulled off was, we were still participating in a tournament.

“Hey, hey! I know what to do! Listen to me! Hey, hey, down here!”

I barely had time to register the voice as being Ultimate Baseball Kid’s before a hand grabbed my own and yanked me down to about my normal waist-level.

Looking into Ultimate Baseball Kid’s overly-large eyes, I said, “Yes?”

“We have to go to the Central Mountain Vaults. Someone will meet us there and tell us what to do; I just know it!”

The Central Mountain Vaults? That’s the name of that bank place where I dueled Griphook… “What sort of someone?” I asked curiously, wrenching my hand from Ultimate Baseball Kid’s grip. All I got in response was a shrug.

“I dunno; I just know that everyone’s meeting there to start off the semi-finals.”

Odd place to meet, but oh well. Then, I realized something.

Oh, man…I don’t have five whole duels yet! “Well, good luck to you, Bryan…I think I still have another duel to fight to complete five wins.”

Bryan laughed. “Dude, I already had five wins, remember? I can give my half of the win to you, Cecelia told me…all about it…”

His eyes opened wide, and Ultimate Baseball Kid spun around to look at him.

“Cecelia!” they cried in voices so identical it was difficult to tell that two people had spoken.

Then I caught on. “Voldemort…captured her, didn’t he?”

“Vell, yes…but I can only assume zat you two ‘ave succeeded een deefeateeng ‘eem, no?”

Everyone present turned towards where the volcano had been. Out of the debris walked Cecelia, her yellow gown fluttering in the slight breeze.

Man, I thought. Robot or no robot, she’s really a knockout…whoever did her holographic system sure knew what they were doing!

Bryan, whoever, had run over and embraced her. “You’re safe! I thought Voldemort had…well, I had no idea what Voldemort did to you, but you’re safe!”

Smiling, Cecelia gently pushed Bryan away, replying, “Oui, I am no longair een dangair, sanks to ze two of you. And,” she continued, turning to me, “Bryan ees quite right. Just as I gave my ween to ‘eem when we dueled Tate and Liza, ‘ee may geeve ‘ees ween to you.”

That’s awful nice. “In that case, then, follow me; I’ve a bit of experience with these Central mountain vaults…”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We followed Jake back the way we had came before the whole mess with Voldemort started. Unlike the last time we had passed through here, sunlight filtered down through the leaves, giving everything a soft green look, and the temperature was warm and pleasant.

Man, it’s really nice around here…at least, when there aren’t any power-hungry evil sorcerers running around. Oh well, better enjoy the view while it –

“We’re here,” Jake announced, standing in front of a large cave. It almost looked like the mountain the cave burrowed through was opening an enormous mouth and getting ready to swallow us.

Then again, I thought to myself, I suppose something like that could happen around here…

Jake looked around at all of us. “I think that those of us who aren’t human or android in nature are gonna have to return to your cards…there isn’t enough room for all of us.”

Jinzo clasped his hand on my shoulder one last time and Ultimate Baseball Kid flashed me a thumbs-up and a wink before vanishing. Two bursts of fire told me that Legendary Flame Lord and Solar Flare Dragon had followed suit. Then, I looked over at Jake and was surprised to see him leafing through his deck. He pulled out a card and summoned it; “Come on out, Blaze Magician!”

The fiery woman appeared, and now that I wasn’t in a duel for my life, I could get a good look at her. She was rather tan, wore a red kimono and had red hair pulled back in a ponytail (red hair and tan skin seemed a little odd, but oh well). I also thought I recognized that face from somewhere…but I couldn’t place it. The gold staff she carried was tipped with a miniature sun, which glowed and illuminated the cave; this must be why Jake had summoned her.

“Lead the way,” he offered, stepping back and allowing Blaze Magician room to enter. She did so, and we followed.

continued in next post...

[starjake]

It wasn’t all that remarkable, as caves go. Although. I thought to myself, I don’t think I’ll ever see a cave that can top Toon World…that was just weird…

Suddenly, we stopped. The cave widened out into a large room, but there was nothing in it, save for the enormous wooden door on the other side.

“Griphook?” Jake called out, making everyone jump. “Are you here?”

“Please stop forgetting that you must look down when trying to find me…I don’t seem to have quite the advantage you humans do in the height department.”

Instinctively, we all looked down, and there he was; the same Griphook that had led me to Jake and had asked if I wanted to open a bank account.

“Sorry, Griphook,” Jake quickly apologized.

“None necessary,” replied the goblin in a serious-yet-polite tone. “Now down to business…I assume you are all here for the semi-finals?”

Jake and I both nodded.

“Very well. If I may examine your Disks for just a moment…”

Jake’s eyebrows rose slightly at this, but he did as he was told, as did I. Griphook took both of the Disks – He’s pretty strong; those things are almost half as big as he is, I thought, impressed – and carried them over to another part of the room. Laying them upside down on the cave floor, he pressed a button on their undersides, and out poked two adapter cords! He proceeded to plug the cords directly into the stone floor, then stepped back.

Above each Disk appeared one of those holographic TV screens that you see in science fiction movies. At first I thought they were just going to display how many duels we had won, but got a surprise: they started playing the end scenes of all our duels.

************************************************** *****************

“Is there something else you’d like to do?” I called to Cecelia.

She gave a frantic look to her hand, then shook her head.

“Then I’ll draw, and play Premature Burial, giving up 800 Life Points to summon Jinzo back to the field!”

As my Life Points dipped (B: 1600 / C: 4375), the ground in front of me split and a mechanical hand shot out. Out of the earth climbed Jinzo (2400 / 1500).

“Then, as every athlete knows, sports players are nothing without equipment, so I’ll give Jinzo this Axe of Despair!” Jinzo’s attack shot up to 3400! “And, finally, I’ll discard my Giant Germ from my hand to give Jinzo the Twin Swords of Flashing Light – Tryce! It decreases his attack by 500 points, but he can attack twice now! And that’s more than 10,000 damage, is enough to finish you off even with your Deckmaster’s ability!”

Each one of my monsters attacked until only Jinzo was left.

“Jinzo, attack once with Cyber Shock Axe!”

Jinzo – who now held a large axe in one hand and a thin electric sword in the other – charged up his axe with psychokinetic power and slashed Cecelia right across the chest!

“Now, finish her off with Psycho Shock Rapier!”

Charging up his other weapon, Jinzo hurled it like a javelin, sending Cecelia flying backwards! (B: 1600 / C: 0)

************************************************** ************

“Now, Bryan!” called Cecelia. “Select one monster from your Deck to defeat Liza’s monstair!”

I quickly ran through my cards in my head, unsure of which to use…then I thought of something. Taking out my Deck, I thought to myself, This will not only take them out, but it will do it by storm!

I held the card high in the air; immediately, massive storm clouds grew out of nowhere as the wind started driving up to hurricane force. Lightning crackled all around me, and rain started coming down in sheets!

“I summon GATE GUARDIAN!”

I slammed the card onto my disk, and the lightning produced a silhouette of a monstrous creature. The earth shook with each step that took him closer to the playing field!

Slowly, he came into view. He was easily thirty feet tall, if not more. His long, muscular arms ended in fingers the size of refrigerators, and in his form you could see the bodies of Suijin, Kazejin, and Sanga of the Thunder. (3750 / 3400)

“Sorry for stealing your line Tate, but, Gate Guardian, OBLITERATE!”

The massive behemoth held up his mighty hand, and all the lightning that had been raining down around us collected on his fist. The wind started spinning around that fist, forming a cyclone, and the rain turned into rock-hard hail as it followed the wind. With a mighty roar, he reached over and slammed his energy-packed fist into Liza’s face-down card, which turned out to be a Giant Soldier of Stone. The Soldier looked up in horror at the powerful punch that quickly slammed into him, causing a massive explosion that sent all of us flying backwards!

When the dust and weather had cleared, there was nothing left but an enormous crater where Liza’s Stone Soldier had been. Liza herself and Tate were spread-eagled on the ground, apparently knocked out. (C: 8000 / B: 7450 / T: 0 / L: 0)

************************************************** ***

“Now, since your Kinetic Soldier is still suffering from my Sanga’s effect, it’s no match for my Gate Guardian even with its power boost!”

“No…not again…” cried Norman in a helpless voice.

“Gate Guardian, attack his Kinetic Soldier! Guardian Tempest!”

My mighty monster raised its fist high as Kinetic Soldier’s ATK rose to 2800. The rain, wind, and lightning started collecting around his fist, until all I could see was a ball of elemental energy!

“Wipe him out!”

Gate Guardian slammed his fist into Kinetic Soldier who gave a robotic cry before exploding! (B: 1300 / N: 0)

************************************************** ****

“I still have one card left: Live Drive!”

The card lifted, and suddenly both of Ultimate Baseball Kid’s swords blazed with fire!

“This card can only be used if Ultimate Baseball Kid is in play! I have to pay half of my Life Points to use this card, but when I do, Ultimate Baseball Kid is allowed to ignore your monsters and attack you directly this turn!”

And, for the first time in the entire duel, I saw fear in the two very human eyes that peered from beneath Greivous’ metal helmet.

“And, since the Twin Swords allow him to attack twice per turn, this is your last battle, Grievous! Ultimate Baseball Kid, aim for his mid-section and blast him of out of the park!”

Ultimate Baseball Kid held his two swords together, and fired an electrically charged laser that blew past the mechanical giants and hit Grievous directly in the stomach! He howled in agony as he was electrocuted from the inside out, then exploded! The sand and boulders around us flew in all directions from the shock wave!

When the sand had settled, the field was clear of monsters, except for Ultimate Baseball Kid, who walked up to me and gave me a high-five. (B: 4850 / G: 0)

************************************************** *****

Jake and I looked at each other, then, as one:

“Eruption Vortex Saber!”

Blaze Magician and Fushi No Tori shot a jet of fire at each of Divine Serpent’s eyes, blinding it; it made an unearthly noise, like some combination of a howl, a roar, and a hiss. It flailed about, trying to smell out and bite its two attackers, but it kept missing. Meanwhile, Solar Dragon Fighter reared back and charged as lava geysers erupted all over the field. One of the geysers ignited Ultimate Baseball Knight’s sword, and he leapt into the air. Solar Flare Dragon started twisting in an ever-tighter circle, causing an enormous lava tornado to erupt from the crater! It tore high into the sky, then curved back downward towards Voldemort. The top of the tornado suddenly shaped itself into Solar Flare Dragon’s head, which opened wide as it sped towards its target. Ultimate Baseball Knight landed in front of Voldemort and slashed with its fiery sword as Solar Flare Dragon’s tornado hit its mark.

Our Deckmasters grabbed us and we teleported to the ground far below as an explosion tore the crater apart. And both Jake and I knew it, without a doubt. Not only was he defeated…

…Lord Voldemort was gone for good.

************************************************** *******

The screen went blank and fizzled into nothing. A general silence in the room told me that everyone present had just watched that final scene with me – and, I could only assume, with Jake.

Finally, Griphook broke the silence. “Well, then…I see that both of you are certainly qualified for the semi-finals. Come with me please.” And with that, he handed us our Disks, walked over to the far side of the room, and opened the large wooden door I had noticed earlier.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gee, that was fun, I thought to myself as we followed Griphook through the now-open door. Let’s never, ever do it again.

Bryan might not have had a problem watching those duels, but I did. Most of them brought back painful and confusing memories; memories that had more of an impact on me than winning the actual duels had.

As Blaze Magician’s staff lit our path, I started to question a few things.

Why is it, I thought, that I’m the only one who thinks something weird is going on here? Granted, Cecelia, lives here, so I guess she’s a little biased, but Bryan’s a regular person, and he doesn’t think anything’s up; heck, it seems like he’s enjoying the whole thing! Then again, he’s not the one having all this mystic mumbo-jumbo being shoved down his throat…but that mumbo-jumbo is starting to come true now! Somehow, I can shoot fireballs from my hands...but that’s not possible! Same with the battles here; how can they hurt and yet not leave marks on my skin? And what’s with this whole ‘other dimension’ world we’re supposedly in? Doors to alternate universes don’t just appear out of a blue sky every day. This is starting to seem less and less like a tournament and more and more like some Star Trek spinoff! Jumping through a wormhole or whatever, getting attacked by living monsters, getting attacked and feeling pain from what should be holograms, but are sometimes solid and sometimes not, controlling the forces of nature…geez, what happened to just throwing a card down on a table and declaring an attack?

My train of thought was brought to a screeching halt by Griphook’s voice. “Wait here,” he said.

I looked up and realized we were deep in the cave system, but in a different place than where he had taken me. “Where are we?”

“Nowhere of importance,” came the curt reply. He clapped his hands twice, and a strange creaking noise made everyone but Griphook jump. Then, I realized it wasn’t just a creaking noise; it was…something rolling?

Into Blaze Magician’s scepter light waddled a rather large mining cart made of wood. It stopped beside us; looking down, I saw that a set of tracks curved towards us and then curved away.

“This is how we shall travel through the mountain,” Griphook announced, then turned to Blaze Magician. “I apologize, ma’am, but there is only room for myself and three others in this cart.”

<No apologies necessary; Jake can use Fushi No Tori to light the way.> Before I could protest, she had vanished, and the spirit phoenix had appeared in her place, hovering in place and giving off a strange glow that I had not noticed before. Then again, we hadn’t been in an area quite this dark before.

Those of us without wings clambered into the cart, and with a jolt, it started its journey forward. Fushi No Tori gliding silently in front of us.

To say the inside of the mountain was enormous was a huge understatement. Fushi No Tori’s glow only pierced the darkness about ten feet in any direction, but we never saw walls or a floor of any kind. For all we could tell, the track we rode on simply hovered in midair. The creaking of the cart’s metal wheels and old wooden frame echoed about, making it sound as though an army of carts were moving instead of only one.

About fifteen minutes later, Fushi No Tori gave a cry that made everyone jump back into awareness. “What is it?” I asked, finding my voice.

In response, Fushi No Tori landed on the cart and focused, causing her glow to strengthen.

‘Hey, look!” shouted Bryan, pointing ahead of us. “A door!”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I could barely contain myself at the sight of an exit.

I HATE dark caves, I thought to myself, shivering slightly. You can’t even see your hand in front of your face. I’ll take light any day.

Soon enough, the front of the cart gently bumped into the ledge on which the door sat. We all managed to get out without too much of a fuss, and Griphook walked over to the large door and took out a small key. Inserting it into a keyhole I would have never seen (understandable, since it was around the level of my lower thighs), he turned it; there was a deafening click, and the door swung outward. Instantly, everyone in the room threw up an arm to shield their eyes from the sun, which was blinding after having spent so long in the near-pitch-blackness of the cave. When my eyes had adjusted, I slowly lowered my arm…

…and quickly dropped my jaw.

We were in some sort of tropical island setting. A warm breeze rustled through my hair and made palm trees sway. I could hear seagulls and distinctly smelled the ocean not too far away.

“Weclome,” came a woman’s voice.

We spun to our right to see the woman who was running the tournament. She was no longer smiling, but looked deadly serious.

“Cerredwin!” I yelled.

She gave me a strange look. “’Cerredwin’? Is that some sort of catch phrase amongst you younger folk?” Before I could retaliate, she continued. “Whatever. Congratulations to the both of you on completing five wins! You are now both eligible to compete in the semi-final round; but before that, you two both deserve a chance a rest and freshen up yourselves…as well as your decks. Behind me – “she gestured “ – lies a tent with hundreds of cards inside. You may use the cards you find there to make any adjustments you deem necessary to your Decks; we want to see the best duels we can when the round starts.”

I opened my mouth again; this time Jake interrupted me. “Sara? Um…when does the next round start?”

“In three hours,” she replied, glancing at her watch. “Until then, you are free do as you like, except,” she added, glaring at me as I tried to speak for the third time, “pester me; I have several things to care of before the matches start.” And, with that, she walked off.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bryan was apparently steamed. I, on the other hand, was psyched.

New cards! Let’s see what they’ve got! “Come one, Bryan! Let’s upgrade our decks!”

Mumbling incoherent words under his breath, he followed me to the tent. Once he saw the vast boxes and bins of cards, however, his mood brightened considerably, and he went off towards the Magic Cards.

Hmm…well, first stop: Fire monsters. Let’s see what they’ve got… I thought to myself, strolling over to the section. I began to examine the cards.

Ugh…some of these are pretty wicked-looking; best stay away from those…hey, a new phoenix monster!

I suddenly felt a weight on my shoulder; startled, I looked up to see Fushi No Tori resting there. I had apparently forgotten about after we left the cave. “Sorry,” I muttered. She blinked at me benignly, then looked at the new cards with me. She extended her beak and touched the one I was looking at.

“Yeah, it’s a phoenix, like you. Do you like it?”

She blinked at me again.

“I’ll take that as a yes. OK…anything else you see?”

She pointed her beak at a trio of monsters over to my right.

“Hmm…hey, you’re right, these aren’t half bad, and they’re great for field presence. Count them in.”

I suddenly felt her tense. How she could tense was beyond me, seeing as how she had no muscles, but still…”What’s wrong?”

She pointed at a frightening creature to our left.

“Oh yeah. Gren Maju Da Eiza. It’s powerful in the right deck, but it’s a little too…meh, I dunno, evil for my taste. I won’t use it; don’t worry…hey, look, it’s a Ritual I haven’t seen before…”

I continued on in this manner for some time until I was satisfied. Then, I headed outside; I needed a rest after recent events, and the beach sounded like a good place to do that.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, what do you think? A good choice?”

“Yeah, that Field would rock in your Deck, Bry. Give it a whirl!”

Ultimate Baseball Kid was standing on his tiptoes, peering over the lip of the card-holding shelves, and occasionally offering suggestions as to what I should add to my Deck.

“Hey, that’s a good card! Oh, so’s that! Woah, they’d make a great team!”

OK, maybe more than occasionally.

“Bry, take a look at these guys!”

Obligingly, I looked to where he pointed.

“Well…” I started, unsure of what to say. “They certainly take the ‘Weirdest Monsters on the Year’ Award.

“Yeah! They got a bunch of support, too…look over there!”

Hmm…he’s got a point. Maybe I should try them out. “You sure?”

“Never been more sure!”

“Alright then,” I finished, scooping up the three monsters and several related Magic and Trap Cards. “It’s settled!”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three hours later…

I had woken from a refreshing nap, and Bryan and I were standing where we had first met Sara. Speaking of whom…

She walked up to us and asked, “You two ready?”

I nodded, as did Bryan. Apparently he was too excited about his upcoming duel to be mad at Sara for…whatever reason he was mad at her for.

I was specifically avoiding the strangeness I had encountered when around her. Right now was tournament time; other things would just have to wait.

As I was thinking this, two familiar faces walked up to us; the other two semi-finalists.

“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Bigshot,” came the young boy’s voice in a heavy Brooklyn accent. “Glad you could make it.”

“Same here, Joey,” replied Bryan; I remembered back to the brawl they had in the store when the power went out. It seemed like so long ago…

“So, had any other encounters with the Skull Servant kind recently?”

I had to look away to keep from laughing, remembering to when a horde of Skull Servants had chased Joey out of the forest, and the little girl had defeated them with a Kuriboh.

That reminded me of something. “Um…what was your name again?” I asked the little girl in the pink dress.

She looked at me cutely and said, “Becky. What’s yours?”

“Uh…Jake.”

She stuck out a hand; the hand that wasn’t clutching a black teddy bear, anyway. I stuck my hand out, too, and we shook. “Nice to meet you,” she said in her little-girl voice.

There’s something weird about this girl. She’s like eight years old, but she was able to fight off five most likely powerful duelists and make it here? I’d better not underestimate her.

“Ahem.”

Sara’s voice cut through our introductions. “Now, to determine who will duel who. If you look to your right – ,” she gestured “ – you will see a screen showing you…oh, hang on, it isn’t down yet…”

I was confused. Not only was there nothing for the whatever-it-was to come down from, but I was having a serious case of déjà vu. That experience continued when she clapped her hands and out of thin air descended a large yet thin computer screen.

“This is the computer that holds your previous dueling records. According to the tree –“ I noticed that we had all been organized into a win/loss tree “ – let’s see here…Jake will be dueling Becky, and Bryan will be squaring off against Joey. We will be holding he duels simultaneously, and we will be holding them on that island.” Following her outstretched finger, we saw that, way off in the distance, a large island was sitting in the middle of the ocean. “On that island is a dueling stadium, divided into arenas; one for each duel. As we have been, we will continue to use the Deckmaster system, so I hope you’ve gotten used to it by now. Oh, and there’s the boat now!”

I looked and saw that Griphook was a goblin of many talents, because he was now steering a motorboat towards the shore. A dock suddenly rose out of the water next to the boat, and we all boarded the vessel. Out of habit, I took out my deck and started shuffling it absent-mindedly.

Here’s hoping I do well!

About half an hour later, we were standing on the island, and in front of us towered an enormous stadium. Walking in through the front archway, we saw that the hall split in two.

“Alright then. Bryan and Joey, if you’ll take the left fork; Becky and Jake to the right, please,” came Sara’s commanding voice. Bryan and I glanced at each other, wishing each other good luck, and then we went our separate ways.

To say the inside of the arena was large was the understatement of the year. It looked like the Roman Coliseum, and surrounding the arena itself were rows upon rows of stone bleachers, filled to capacity with screaming fans!

Must be another hologram. I don’t even know this many people.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was taken aback by the crowd that awaited us.

Do I even know this many people? I mean, I’ve heard of a fan club, but come on…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cerredwin went to Jake’s arena, and Griphook went to Bryan’s. All four duelists went to their sides of the arenas, and raised their arms. Four Duel Disks hummed to life and snapped together as four pairs of holo-imagers formed two battlefields. Cerredwin and Griphook – now both dressed in referee uniforms – each raised two green flags. Four Life Point meters rose to 8000, and four cards were held in the air to serve as Deckmasters. Two referees swung their flags down as four Duelists yelled in unison:

“LET’S DUEL!”


Arsenal Bug
Earth/Insect/3 stars/ATK 2000/DEF 2000
DMSA: If your opponent activates a Spell or Trap Card that affects an Insect-Type monster(s) on your side of the field, you can Tribute 1 Insect-Type monster on your side of the field to negate the activation and effect of the card and destroy it.

Machine King
Earth/Machine/6 stars/ATK 2200/DEF 2000
DMSA: Increase the ATK of each Machine-Type monster on your side of the field by an amount equal to ¼ of their respective original DEF.
Note: Machine King’s Deckmaster ability was created by Dark Sage. Brownie points to him on creativity.

Knight of Dark Dragon
Dark/Warrior/4 stars/ATK 1900/DEF 1200
This card can only be Ritual Summoned with the Ritual Spell Card “Dark Dragon Ritual”. Tribute this face-up card to Special Summon 1 “Red-Eyes B. Dragon” from your Deck. “Red-Eyes B. Dragon” cannot attack this turn.
DMSA: Select 1 DARK/Dragon-Type monster in your hand. Pay a number of Life Points equal to the Level Stars of the selected monster x100. Special Summon the selected monster. The selected monster cannot declare an attack this turn.
Note: Knight of Dark Dragon was first used by Joey in Episode 173 – Fighting for a Friend, Part 5. Brownie points to the writers of that episode for creativity.

Big Insect
Earth/Insect/4 stars/ATK 1200/DEF 1500
Note: Contrary to popular opinion, this card is not even a Japanese real-life card. It has, however, appeared in multiple video games.

Kuriboh-Calling Flute
Quick-Play Spell
Select and activate 1 of the following effects:
- Select 1 "Kuriboh" or "Winged Kuriboh" from your Deck and Special Summon it.
- Select 1 "Kuriboh" or "Winged Kuriboh" from your Deck and add it your hand.
Note: Although Jaden Yuki does eventually use this to summon his Winged Kuriboh (U.S. watchers will have to wait until episode 46 for him to do so), this card has actually been released as a promo in Japan's most recent Premium Pack.

Roll of Fate
Normal Spell
Roll 1 six-sided die. Draw a number of cards equal to the number rolled, then remove an equal number of cards from the top of your Deck from play.
Note: Roll of Fate was first used by Joey in Episode 171 – Fighting for a Friend, Part 3. Brownie points to the writers of that episode for creativity.



No, we're not going to see two duels at once! We're starting off with Jake vs. Becky, and for those of you who recognized what Becky used in her duel against Weevil...well, you have part of her Deck, but not the whole thing! Wait until the you see the surprises Becky has in store for her opponent!

That's not to say that there's just a duel. A couple mysteries rear their heads next chapter, one of which some of you may be wondering about: where did Cecelia go? It's all in Chapter 27 - Petit Angel, coming soon!

[Dark Sage]

Ooh! I know! I know!

Becky was using Yugi's Kuri Bandit! Does she also have Kuribabylon?

Anyway, this was good for a filler. You are a sly one, Randy. Just yesterday you told me the chapter would be delayed, and what do I find when I check my e-mail?

Let's see Jake versus Becky soon. I can't wait!

I love Kuribohs... (Hugs Winged Kuriboh) but I don't doubt that Becky has a lot more surprises in her deck.

- DS

P.S. Thank you for using my Deckmaster idea.

[Mookie]

I thought many days about bumping this thread, because I wanted a new chapter.
Its pretty good. Pretty darn good.
I liked to see Becky's and Joey's duel. Im fond of machines and insects lately.

Good. Keep up the good work.

[Blademaster]

Kuriboh!? A Kuriboh Deck!?!?!?! ALL RIGHT!!!! GO, KURIBOHS! KURIBOHS RULE!!!!!!! AND DON'T YOU FOR-FRICKING-GET IT!!!!!

This chapter wasn't too exceptional, since it was filler, but it was good to have a review of some of the earlier moments of this fic (You post a new chapter so infrequently that I've started forgetting some of them... :redface

Update soon.

-Blademaster