Now it's Tucker who gets a chance to prove himself against John's rival. We also get some of his backstory, and it's pretty depressing, if I do say so myself.
Chapter ElevenRound Two;
Tucker vs. Christopher Johnson
John
I was waiting in the entrance to the Competitors’ Box when Max returned from his latest duel.
“So it was him,” I said.
“Yeah,” Max replied. He walked past me and sat down quietly, hanging his head. It was at that moment that Tucker stepped up to my side. Christopher had already left the box and taken up his position on the nearer of the two duel stages, and Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba had taken up their positions as well. Tucker stretched his arms and said, “You better watch my duel. I’m gonna surprise you.”
“You up for fighting Christopher?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’m up for fighting him and beating him. And seriously, I know you wanna see Yugi duel, but you gotta watch mine.”
“Okay,” I said, “I will, don’t worry.”
He nodded and ran to the duel stage as the announcer came over the speakers and announced the next matches. The competitors faced their respective opponents, shuffled their decks, and began their duels.
Tucker
“I remember you,” said Christopher. “You’re the hothead from the exhibition duel who used Fire Monster Beatdown. You must have updated your deck a lot to have made it this far in such a high level tournament. But either way, you lack the skill to give me a real challenge.”
“Don’t underestimate me,” I said. “I know this game, and I worked hard on my deck. I know I’m not as skilled as some Duelists, but I’ve got spirit, and that makes up for it.
“I play ‘Pot of Greed’,” I declared, drawing two cards. “Next I summon the ever-trusty ‘UFO Turtle’ in defense mode.” A green turtle with a flying saucer for a shell, the size of a large dog, appeared at my side. “I’ll also set a card and end.”
“Your strategy seems simple enough to decipher,” said Christopher. “I saw part of your last duel. You use a burn deck now, right? Well, I’ve faced many different burn decks, and I’ve beaten them all. One version of my deck is a burn deck, and a powerful one, too. Your deck is limited because you only use Fire Attribute burn monsters. Your strategy is easy to predict.
“I summon a monster that can cool your deck down, my ‘Blizzard Dragon’,” Beside Christopher appeared a blue-gray-skinned dragon with pterodactyl-like wings. It stood about a head taller than its master (ATK: 1800).
“My ‘Blizzard Dragon’ attacks with his ice breath attack,” Christopher commanded, “destroying your ‘Turtle’.”
‘Blizzard Dragon’ attacked, and my monster was blown away.
“Reveal,” I declared, “the Continuous Trap card ‘Backfire’. As long as I control this card you take five hundred damage for every Fire monster that’s destroyed.”
There was an explosion near Christopher (8000-500=7500).
“Also,” I continued, “because my ‘UFO Turtle’ was destroyed by battle, I get to Special Summon a Fire monster from my deck in attack mode.” The bare-chested, jacket-wearing ‘Flame Ruler’ appeared, his fists ablaze (ATK: 1500).
“I end my turn,” said Christopher, “with one face-down card.”
“Then it’s my move,” I said, drawing a card. “I place two cards face-down and tribute my ‘Flame Ruler’, who is treated as two tributes for the summoning of a Fire monster, to summon my ‘Flame Ogre’!”
A huge, muscular giant rose up behind me, taking my ‘Flame Ruler’’s place on the field. Flames rose up and curled around my ‘Ogre’’s body (ATK: 2400).
“When ‘Flame Ogre’ is Normal Summoned I get to draw a card,” I explained. I drew, “and now my ‘Ogre’ attacks you ‘Blizzard Dragon’!” ‘Flame Ogre’ struck with a fiery fist (7500 +1800-2400=6900).
I smiled, “Two more face-downs, and I end.”
“Then as your turn ends,” said Christopher, “I reveal ‘Call of the Haunted’, summoning ‘Blizzard Dragon’ back from the Grave,” his dragon reappeared (ATK: 1800), “and I tribute ‘Blizzard Dragon’ to summon ‘Mobius the Frost Monarch’!”
A warrior in silver and blue armor appeared (ATK: 2400), summoning a gust of cold wind that froze my two most recent face-down cards. “‘Mobius’ destroys two Spell or Trap cards as soon as he’s Normal Summoned,” Christopher explained as my ‘Mirror Force’ and my ‘Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell’ shattered into tiny bits of ice.
“Next I activate ‘Megamorph’, doubling the Attack of my ‘Monarch’ for as long as I have fewer Life Points than you,” a glowing ring appeared beneath Christopher’s monster, and it doubled in size and strength (ATK: 4800).
“But I’m not even close to finished,” Christopher continued.
I scowled, I had a feeling that I wouldn’t get off that easily.
“I activate ‘Frontline Base’," Christopher continued, "letting me Special Summon ‘Burning Beast’ from my hand,” a beast made of molten lava and intense flames appeared (ATK: 1500), “and ‘Monster Reborn’, letting me Special Summon ‘Blizzard Dragon’ from the Graveyard,” the gray dragon appeared on the field for a third time (ATK: 1800).
“Now, ‘Mobius’, attack ‘Flame Ogre’!”
‘Mobius’ summoned a cold wind to freeze my monster. He shattered under his own weight (8000+2400-4800=5600).
“Now I attack directly with my remaining monsters,” Christopher commanded, and his beast and dragon pelted me with ice and flames (5600-1500-1800=2300).
“One face-down card,” Christopher concluded, letting his lack of interest show. “Go.”
I drew, and I smiled, “I play ‘Card of Sanctity’. We both draw until we draw six cards.”
We did just that, and I found myself with a chance to turn the duel around.
“I remove ‘UFO Turtle’ from play,” I declared, “to Special Summon ‘Inferno’.” As I spoke, a large face made of flames appeared in the air. “Next I summon ‘Gaia Soul the Combustible Collective’, tributing ‘Inferno’ to increase its strength.”
A flaming ball of flesh appeared, absorbing ‘Inferno’ into its body (ATK: 2000 +1000=3000).
I played well, I thought, but this duel’s been just as disorganized as usual. Still, it’s nowhere near as disorganized as my life was before John showed up in it. That’s why I have to fight him. I have to show him how far I’ve come!
I remembered back to the day when mine and John’s friendship began. Back then I was no more than a bully and a thief. I grew up in a rough part of town, and because my dad, my only family, never really took part in my life, I was forced to join up with whatever strong group I could. My gang, for lack of a better word, and I went to what was John’s school at the time. I stuck close to them, especially our leader Harrison, but my heart would always be somewhere else. The day that John saved me, the others were pounding on some kid behind the school while I stood back and clicked my lighter. That’s when John appeared. He stood up to all five of us at once, “Leave that kid alone!”
I was stunned. I’d never seen someone stand up for others like that, except on TV.
“Hey,” said one of the guys (I never bothered to learn all of their names), “that’s the guy that beat me up last week when I snatched some kid’s wallet.”
Harrison sized John up and then let the kid that he'd been beating go. “Okay,” he said, “I let him go, but in exchange we get to break all of your ribs.”
“Let me fight him Harrison,” said a big, dumb kid named Mitch as he cracked his knuckles. “I could use a real workout.”
Harrison nodded, and Mitch stepped forward, striking up a boxing pose. John stepped back into a back stance, a martial arts thing. Mitch punched, and in less than a second John popped Mitch’s arm out of its socket, elbowed him in the gut, spun, and swept his legs out from under him, dropping him hard. Mitch was left rolling on the ground in severe pain.
“You’ll pay for that,” said Harrison. His two remaining thugs stepped forward. They were both tough, and together they were able to get in several good hits, finally wrestling John to his knees. He looked up at Harrison with fury in his eyes, his face bruised, and his lip busted and bleeding.
I’d never seen such a strong person in my life. Even in the face of certain defeat he remained defiant.
Harrison stepped forward, taking a set of iron knuckles from his pocket and putting them on his right hand. He raised his fist to strike, and I saw a way out of this life. I stepped forward and grabbed Harrison’s arm, stopping him. He looked over at me and smiled a wicked smile, “You finally ready to throw a punch, Tuck?”
“Yeah,” I said, and I punched Harrison in the face with everything that I had, breaking his nose and knocking him out cold. The two lackeys were shocked. They loosened their grip, and John pulled free, springing to his feet and spinning, kicking them both in the head, dropping them as well.
I took a deep breath and crossed my arms. John turned to me, “Nice punch.”
“Nice Kung Fu,” I replied.
We began to laugh uncontrollably, and just like that it was like we’d been best friends our entire lives. John was the first person ever to show me what a real friend was. He was the first person to ever show me proof that there were people that you could depend on unconditionally in real life. He saved me from a life that almost definitely would have gotten me either incarcerated or killed. I owe him my life, literally.
“I won’t lose to you Christopher,” I said. “I have something that I need to do, and you’re in my way. I still have two face-down cards. I could have used them before, but I had a feeling that if I waited they would give me the means to beat you, and I was right.
“I activate the Continuous Spell card ‘Dark Room of Nightmare’,” I declared. “This card increases each instance of burn damage that you take by three hundred points. Next I reveal ‘Ring of Destruction’ and ‘Barrel Behind the Door’.”
A ring of active grenades appeared around my ‘Gaia Soul’. The ring exploded along with my monster, spreading fire over both Christopher and me. A golden pistol appeared in my hand, sucking all of the fire on my side of the field into its barrel. I shot that fire at Christopher as well, aiming straight through the flames that already surrounded him.
“This combination deals you seventy-four hundred damage,” I explained, and I waited for Christopher’s Life to reach zero.
Yes! John, here I come.
Christopher’s Life Points fell (6900-3400=3500).
“No way,” I exclaimed, “how’d you do that?”
“I revealed ‘Reverse Trap’,” Christopher explained, “lowering the attack of your monster from three thousand to one thousand before your Trap cards went off.
“Now I draw, and I activate ‘Dark Hole’," Christopher announced, like he hadn't just escaped my most powerful combo, like it was nothing, "destroying ‘Mobius’, ‘Blizzard Dragon’, and ‘Burning Beast’.”
A black hole appeared above the field, drawing Christopher’s monsters inside before closing up.
“Now I remove my three monsters from play to summon my favorite monster,” said Christopher, a two-headed dragon formed of fire and ice appearing behind him, “my ‘Frost and Flame Dragon’ (ATK: 2300). Attack!”
Christopher’s monster breathed fire and ice down on me, and my Life Points disappeared (2300-2300=0). I looked down, disgraced. Christopher walked over to me.
That’s right, I thought, the ante. I pulled two cards from my deck, “Here’s ‘Tyrant Dragon’ and ‘Legendary Flame Lord’,” I said, “my best cards.”
“Keep ‘em,” said Christopher, and I looked up into his face. He was smiling. “You’ll need those cards to fight me next time we meet. I only hope John hasn’t improved as much as you have, or I might be in trouble.”
He offered me his hand, and I shook it. I realized that, despite the way it had seemed during our Duel, Christopher really did respect his opponents, and that somehow made me feel better about losing to him.
Well, I did my best, I thought, and even though I didn’t win, I don’t feel like it’s the end of the world. John, I’ll fight you one day in a real duel, and then you’ll see how strong I’ve become first hand!
I smiled, And when you do, I’ll finally be able to thank you.
Card of the Day:
Reverse Trap
Played by: Christopher
Max used this card first, but Christopher used it here to defeat what is literally Tucker's most damaging combo. Remember, this is the combo that Tucker used to bring Guardian Ruler to his knees. This puts Christopher on a tier above the second strongest of the Dark Duel Force, and the Duelist who most recently defeated him. Which basically puts Christopher on par with John...just like he's been this entire series...
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