Jen finally fights James, who has accused her of being undeserving of what she's earned. It turns out that he isn't the only one, either, and that Jen plans to use this opportunity to reassure herself that none of that matters, because all that matters is what she thinks about herself. Also, despite how awful James has been to her, she still tries to help him improve.
Rival Match!
Jen vs. James
Jen
I followed Max, and the ex-Card Professor Reiko Kitamori, into room number four, full of determination. Despite the high stakes, I had my own battle to fight today. I was tired of it. Despite being a relatively accomplished Pro Duelist even before joining Team Beatdown, James hadn’t been the only one to criticize my appointment to the team. Some critics made logical arguments, boiling down to the fact that I didn’t have the experience in Team Duels that James did. That kind of stuff started to settle down once it became clear that my strategies for the team had begun to push us to new heights. But others were less civil.
I followed Max, and the ex-Card Professor Reiko Kitamori, into room number four, full of determination. Despite the high stakes, I had my own battle to fight today. I was tired of it. Despite being a relatively accomplished Pro Duelist even before joining Team Beatdown, James hadn’t been the only one to criticize my appointment to the team. Some critics made logical arguments, boiling down to the fact that I didn’t have the experience in Team Duels that James did. That kind of stuff started to settle down once it became clear that my strategies for the team had begun to push us to new heights. But others were less civil.
They were pissed off because a woman replaced a man, or accused me of manipulating my way onto the team using, let’s say, my feminine wiles. I knew that their words weren’t worth listening to, but, to be entirely honest, there was a part of me which couldn’t help but feel the impact of those words. A part of me which had started to believe them. I wanted to, needed to, prove to myself, as well as to James, that I deserved my position. It was the only way to move past all of this once and for all.
As Max and I stepped into the room which would be our stage for our coming battles, and the number four door closed behind us, I found myself face-to-face with James. Tall, gangly James with his messy brown hair and angular face. He stood slightly hunched, but as I drew closer, he straightened up. Max stepped up across from another of the Card Professors: a young man with dark hair, and even darker eyes, with black eyeliner around them, dressed as goth as I was. “I’m Pete Coppermine,” the young man began, launching into detail about the set-up in the room. The floor panels, and the fact that none of us could leave until we dueled, but I moved all of that to the back of my mind. I met James’ fierce eyes, and stepped fearlessly onto the trigger panel at my feet.
“Jen,” James said pompously, waving his hands grandiosely, and then clapping them together, “It’s good to see you!”
“Hello again, James,” I replied, in my best “no shits given” tone.
“You look well-,” James began, but I cut him off before he could go into full melodrama mode.
“Oh, shut up with the condescending monologues. I’m not your enemy. I’m just a player who replaced you on a team. I’m under the impression that you were told this already, but in case I’m wrong, you should know that when Christopher brought me on, and cut you loose, he did what he thought was best for everyone concerned. Even you. Otherwise he would have kept you on as a reserve.”
“He offered to let me stay on as a reserve,” James countered, his gaze darkening, “but I refused. I wouldn’t be snubbed like that. I have too much pride.”
“That’s just selfish,” I told him. “It proves that you don’t care about the team as a whole, only what you personally can get out of it. The truth is, Christopher couldn’t afford to keep you as a first string member anymore. You weren’t up to the level of the others. You weren’t up to the level of your opponents. And you wouldn’t listen when Christopher told you so. The only way he could think of to help you improve was to cut you loose and force you to learn for yourself. And from what you told me at the hotel, that’s exactly what happened.”
James was fuming now, as he said, “Don’t you dare try to convince me that Christopher was looking out for me. He almost ruined me! It was sheer dumb luck that I found the Card Professors, and that they were actually in need of a new member.”
I sighed, He’s still so angry. It’s like he can’t see anything past the end of his own nose.
“Fine,” I told him, “I’ll stop trying to convince you with my words, and I’ll convince you with my dueling instead.”
I drew my opening hand, “I set three cards, and I summon a monster that you should recognize, my ‘Pinch Hopper’, in defense mode.”
James smiled condescendingly, “Still using the same tactics, huh?” As he spoke, my dog-sized green grasshopper appeared at my feet (DEF: 1200). “Well, my tactics have improved dramatically. Watch and learn!”
He drew his opening hand, “I begin with ‘Graceful Charity’, drawing three cards, and then discarding two. I discard ‘Raise Body Heat’ and ‘Light Serpent’, and because ‘Light Serpent’ was discarded from my hand, it is Special Summoned.”
A gleaming, silvery snake appeared across from my insect, hissing menacingly.
“I also play ‘Hand Destruction’,” James continued. “We each send two cards from our hand to the Graveyard, and then each draw two cards.”
I did as I was told, making the most of the situation.
“Next,” said James, “I play ‘Pot of Greed’ to draw two more cards.”
James had just finished drawing, and already he was drawing again. I’ll admit, I was mildly impressed. He added his newest two cards to his hand, and smiled a toothy smile.
“I summon,” James declared, “the swift raptor, ‘Black Veloci’, and when he’s summoned, I can also Special Summon the shadow lizard ‘Kagetokage’.”
A fierce black dinosaur, that looked far more like the velociraptors in the Jurassic Park movies than anything that ever actually existed appeared on James’ field as well (ATK: 1800). From his shadow emerged a completely flat reptile, as black as night, with glowing red eyes.
“I set one card,” James continued, “and activate ‘Ultra Evolution Pill’, transforming ‘Light Serpent’ into one Dinosaur-type monster in my hand, the mighty ‘Ultimate Tyranno’!”
The silvery snake grew, mutating into a huge tyrannosaurus with spines down its back, which let out a powerful roar (ATK: 3000).
I frowned slightly, He’s right, he’s definitely gotten stronger, but he’s using the same kind of swarm tactics as he used last time he and I dueled. It might seem like I’m using the same strategy, but I’m not. Because I’m not too caught up in myself, and my own pride, to do anything original.
“But I’m not even finished yet!” James exclaimed. “I play ‘Card of Demise’. I draw five cards, but in exchange, I have to discard my hand in five turns.”
He drew yet again, and his face lit up even brighter.
“Perfect! I Special Summon two ‘Gilasaurus’ with their own effects.”
Two more of the raptors, brown in color but otherwise very similar to the last, appeared alongside the 'Veloci'.
“And finally, I play a second ‘Ultra Evolution Pill’, transforming ‘Kagetokage’ into the most powerful Dinosaur, ‘Super Conductor Tyranno’.”
An even larger, chrome-skinned tyrannosaurus appeared, electricity running along its body.
“I equip my ‘Conductor Tyranno’ with ‘United We Stand’, increasing his Attack for each monster I control.”
Gold bracers wrapped the Dinosaur’s arms, and energy poured from the other monsters on James’ field into him. His power skyrocketed (ATK: 3300 -> 7300). Altogether, his monsters were more than powerful enough to defeat me this turn, even with the effect of ‘Pinch Hopper’ to save me from some damage, and James knew that as well as I did.
“My monsters attack!” James commanded, and his Dinosaurs moved against me as one. I sighed, but otherwise I didn’t react. I didn’t even flinch. I was more than prepared for something like this. Even as the Dinosaurs lifted their claws and bared their teeth to strike, they transformed. Their bodies swelled, and suddenly various eyes and appendages were replaced by insectoid counterparts, and all five monsters were stopped by a web of crisscrossing, glowing yellow ribbons.
“You just don’t learn,” I told James. “I reveal ‘DNA Surgery’, changing all monsters on the field into Insect-types by mutating their genetic code. And I activate my face-down ‘Insect Barrier’ with the Trap card ‘Alert’, preventing your Insect monsters from attacking.”
“What?!” James demanded. “My monsters can’t be restrained so easily!”
“Just because you want it to be true, James,” I told him, “it doesn’t mean it is. Your swarm tactics are strong, sure, but do you really need to deal more than ten thousand damage? You would have just won the duel is you’d had the foresight to include something along the lines of ‘Mystical Space Typhoon’ in place of one of those Dinosaurs, or one of you ‘Evolution Pills’. You can’t just rely on brute force and nothing else.”
“That’s so cute,” James mocked, “you actually think that I want your advice.”
“You really should take it,” I retorted. “I draw, and I play the Spell card ‘Eradicating Aerosol’, destroying every insect in play, which just happens to be every monster on the field.”
A can of bug bomb appeared, and sprayed its poison over the entire field. Every monster was caught up in it and melted away, including mine.
“Because ‘Pinch Hopper’ was sent to the Graveyard,” I explained, “I can summon any one Insect from my hand. I choose to summon ‘Ultimate Insect LV5’.”
My monster, a giant beetle with a silvery shell and forelegs that came to a point, appeared beside me. It rose up onto its lower legs, and raised its upper legs like weapons (ATK: 2300).
“I set a card,” I concluded, “and I attack you directly.”
My monster swiped at James, and his Life Points fell (8000 -> 5700).
“I’m not afraid of some bugs!” James exclaimed. “I play ‘Premature Burial’, giving up eight hundred Life Points (5700 -> 4900) to revive ‘Super Conductor Tyranno’!”
The silvery-skinned Dinosaur reappeared, only to once again mutate into a half reptile, half insectoid monstrosity. James seemed surprised.
“Did you forget about my ‘DNA Surgery’ Trap already?” I asked.
James gritted his teeth in frustration.
“That’s exactly your problem,” I told him, “you know your deck, and your own combos have a lot of power behind them, but you ignore your opponent’s cards completely. I have a cousin who is also more concerned with her combos than she is her opponent’s, but she at least has the foresight to design her deck around clearing her opponent’s Spell and Trap cards away. If you would just pay attention, you would be an incredibly dangerous Duelist. But as it stands, you’ve probably improved more than I have since we fought last, and yet, I’m still winning.
“Your monster still can’t attack through my ‘Barrier’, so your turn is over. I draw, and my ‘Ultimate Insect’ evolves into its Level seven form.”
My ‘Insect’ grew larger, its silvery shell reflecting a more wide array of colors. It opened its shell, and spread glossy wings (ATK: 2600).
“You can’t really see it,” I explained, “since it’s pretty dark in here, but right now there’s a cloud of corrosive, poisonous spores spreading from my monster’s wings, to your side of your field. They have the power to weaken every enemy monster by seven hundred Attack.”
‘Super Conductor Tyranno’ let out a pained roar, and slumped over far enough to make it clear that it was in pain (ATK: 3300 -> 2600).
“Of course, as things stand,” I told James, “I can’t destroy your monster without losing mine, so I reveal ‘Shadow Spell’, hindering your monster’s movements and weakening it further.”
The Dinosaur monster’s shadow came alive, forming black chains that rose up and wrapped around its arms and legs. The ‘Tyranno’ struggled feebly (ATK: 2600 -> 1900).
“‘Ultimate Insect’,” I commanded, “attack ‘Super Conductor Tyranno’. Send it back to the Graveyard where it belongs.” My monster rose into the air, and lunged forward, slicing the larger creature apart (4900 -> 4200).
“I end my turn.”
James drew his next card. He scowled, his eyes flashing with anger.
“I set a card,” he declared, “and pass.”
I’m in a pretty good place, I thought. He set a card. I doubt that it’s anything that will affect my monster, but it could very easily be another card to summon his Dinosaur back from the Graveyard. That could be a problem during his turn, but if I’m right, it can’t hurt to attack.
“‘Ultimate Insect’, attack him directly again.”
“Then I reveal,” James countered, his wide, wicked smile returning, “‘Call of the Haunted’, to summon ‘Super Conductor Tyranno’ yet again!”
“In that case,” I told him, calmly, a little disappointed that I’d been so on the money, “I halt my attack.”
The mighty Dinosaur monster appeared again with a roar, and my ‘Ultimate Insect’ stopped in, just out of its reach, hovering in the air. Once again, the two monsters faced off as equals.
“Then it’s my turn again,” James declared, as he drew. “I play ‘Pot of Avarice’, shuffling five monsters in my Graveyard back into my deck, in exchange for drawing two cards.” His expression changed. He wasn’t just showing off anymore. He looked like someone who had everything that he could ever want, and that made me nervous. What had changed with his latest draw?
“I set a card,” James continued, and for just a second, he looked right at my ‘DNA Surgery’ card. I was right. I’d read the situation incorrectly. I had to be careful. I knew what his card was, and I knew what he had planned.
“I end my turn,” James told me, trying to hide a grin.
I drew my next card. I had an idea, but I wanted to be sure I could end the duel with only one more big move. “I’ll take the opportunity to deal you some more damage. I play ‘Half Shut’, cutting the Attack of your monster in half, but making him invulnerable to battle damage for the turn (ATK: 2600 -> 1300). Of course, you still take damage yourself.”
My ‘Ultimate Insect’ lunged forward, and sliced the weakened reptile. It roared painfully, but it didn’t fall. James’ Life, however, did (4200 -> 2900).
“You’re still gonna lose,” James gloated.
As my only response, I declared, “I set a card, and end my turn.”
“Then I activate my face-down card now! You were wrong, I did put cards in my deck to destroy my opponent’s Spells and Traps. Cards like ‘Dust Tornado’!”
A dust devil picked up out of nowhere, swirling across the field, shredding the hologram of my ‘DNA Surgery’ Trap on the field, ending its effect. The insectoid parts fell off of James’ monster and turned to dust, revealing regenerated reptile anatomy beneath them. ‘Super Conductor Tyranno’ roared with renewed pride.
“I attack with 'Super Conductor Tyranno',” James commanded, his monster taking a step toward mine, “and I restore him to his former glory with the Spell card ‘Rush Recklessly’!”
The strongest Dinosaur-type charged (ATK: 2600 -> 3300).
I smiled, “That’s exactly what I was waiting for. I reveal ‘Fairy’s Hand Mirror’, reflecting your Spell card to steal its power and give it to one of my monster’s instead.”
An ornate mirror appeared, an image of James’ Spell reflected in it, and just before his Dinosaur could reach my monster, it lost its momentum, and its extra power. Instead, my monster shot forward at high speed (ATK: 2600 -> 3300), and cut James’ monster down to size once and for all (2900 -> 2200).
“This duel is over, James,” I told him, “but by now you have to see that it was a good thing that Christopher booted you off the team. Twice during that duel, you almost had me. A year ago, that never would have happened. Your place was never on that team. All it ever did was stunt your growth.”
I could practically hear the duel replaying in James’ head, and his eyes soften as he realized that I was right. Frustration and anger melted away, becoming a kind of reluctant understanding. I smiled, Good for you James, really.
I drew my last card, “My monster attacks.”
The ‘Ultimate Insect’ reached forward and slashed James across his chest (2200 -> 0).
As Max and I stepped into the room which would be our stage for our coming battles, and the number four door closed behind us, I found myself face-to-face with James. Tall, gangly James with his messy brown hair and angular face. He stood slightly hunched, but as I drew closer, he straightened up. Max stepped up across from another of the Card Professors: a young man with dark hair, and even darker eyes, with black eyeliner around them, dressed as goth as I was. “I’m Pete Coppermine,” the young man began, launching into detail about the set-up in the room. The floor panels, and the fact that none of us could leave until we dueled, but I moved all of that to the back of my mind. I met James’ fierce eyes, and stepped fearlessly onto the trigger panel at my feet.
“Jen,” James said pompously, waving his hands grandiosely, and then clapping them together, “It’s good to see you!”
“Hello again, James,” I replied, in my best “no shits given” tone.
“You look well-,” James began, but I cut him off before he could go into full melodrama mode.
“Oh, shut up with the condescending monologues. I’m not your enemy. I’m just a player who replaced you on a team. I’m under the impression that you were told this already, but in case I’m wrong, you should know that when Christopher brought me on, and cut you loose, he did what he thought was best for everyone concerned. Even you. Otherwise he would have kept you on as a reserve.”
“He offered to let me stay on as a reserve,” James countered, his gaze darkening, “but I refused. I wouldn’t be snubbed like that. I have too much pride.”
“That’s just selfish,” I told him. “It proves that you don’t care about the team as a whole, only what you personally can get out of it. The truth is, Christopher couldn’t afford to keep you as a first string member anymore. You weren’t up to the level of the others. You weren’t up to the level of your opponents. And you wouldn’t listen when Christopher told you so. The only way he could think of to help you improve was to cut you loose and force you to learn for yourself. And from what you told me at the hotel, that’s exactly what happened.”
James was fuming now, as he said, “Don’t you dare try to convince me that Christopher was looking out for me. He almost ruined me! It was sheer dumb luck that I found the Card Professors, and that they were actually in need of a new member.”
I sighed, He’s still so angry. It’s like he can’t see anything past the end of his own nose.
“Fine,” I told him, “I’ll stop trying to convince you with my words, and I’ll convince you with my dueling instead.”
I drew my opening hand, “I set three cards, and I summon a monster that you should recognize, my ‘Pinch Hopper’, in defense mode.”
James smiled condescendingly, “Still using the same tactics, huh?” As he spoke, my dog-sized green grasshopper appeared at my feet (DEF: 1200). “Well, my tactics have improved dramatically. Watch and learn!”
He drew his opening hand, “I begin with ‘Graceful Charity’, drawing three cards, and then discarding two. I discard ‘Raise Body Heat’ and ‘Light Serpent’, and because ‘Light Serpent’ was discarded from my hand, it is Special Summoned.”
A gleaming, silvery snake appeared across from my insect, hissing menacingly.
“I also play ‘Hand Destruction’,” James continued. “We each send two cards from our hand to the Graveyard, and then each draw two cards.”
I did as I was told, making the most of the situation.
“Next,” said James, “I play ‘Pot of Greed’ to draw two more cards.”
James had just finished drawing, and already he was drawing again. I’ll admit, I was mildly impressed. He added his newest two cards to his hand, and smiled a toothy smile.
“I summon,” James declared, “the swift raptor, ‘Black Veloci’, and when he’s summoned, I can also Special Summon the shadow lizard ‘Kagetokage’.”
A fierce black dinosaur, that looked far more like the velociraptors in the Jurassic Park movies than anything that ever actually existed appeared on James’ field as well (ATK: 1800). From his shadow emerged a completely flat reptile, as black as night, with glowing red eyes.
“I set one card,” James continued, “and activate ‘Ultra Evolution Pill’, transforming ‘Light Serpent’ into one Dinosaur-type monster in my hand, the mighty ‘Ultimate Tyranno’!”
The silvery snake grew, mutating into a huge tyrannosaurus with spines down its back, which let out a powerful roar (ATK: 3000).
I frowned slightly, He’s right, he’s definitely gotten stronger, but he’s using the same kind of swarm tactics as he used last time he and I dueled. It might seem like I’m using the same strategy, but I’m not. Because I’m not too caught up in myself, and my own pride, to do anything original.
“But I’m not even finished yet!” James exclaimed. “I play ‘Card of Demise’. I draw five cards, but in exchange, I have to discard my hand in five turns.”
He drew yet again, and his face lit up even brighter.
“Perfect! I Special Summon two ‘Gilasaurus’ with their own effects.”
Two more of the raptors, brown in color but otherwise very similar to the last, appeared alongside the 'Veloci'.
“And finally, I play a second ‘Ultra Evolution Pill’, transforming ‘Kagetokage’ into the most powerful Dinosaur, ‘Super Conductor Tyranno’.”
An even larger, chrome-skinned tyrannosaurus appeared, electricity running along its body.
“I equip my ‘Conductor Tyranno’ with ‘United We Stand’, increasing his Attack for each monster I control.”
Gold bracers wrapped the Dinosaur’s arms, and energy poured from the other monsters on James’ field into him. His power skyrocketed (ATK: 3300 -> 7300). Altogether, his monsters were more than powerful enough to defeat me this turn, even with the effect of ‘Pinch Hopper’ to save me from some damage, and James knew that as well as I did.
“My monsters attack!” James commanded, and his Dinosaurs moved against me as one. I sighed, but otherwise I didn’t react. I didn’t even flinch. I was more than prepared for something like this. Even as the Dinosaurs lifted their claws and bared their teeth to strike, they transformed. Their bodies swelled, and suddenly various eyes and appendages were replaced by insectoid counterparts, and all five monsters were stopped by a web of crisscrossing, glowing yellow ribbons.
“You just don’t learn,” I told James. “I reveal ‘DNA Surgery’, changing all monsters on the field into Insect-types by mutating their genetic code. And I activate my face-down ‘Insect Barrier’ with the Trap card ‘Alert’, preventing your Insect monsters from attacking.”
“What?!” James demanded. “My monsters can’t be restrained so easily!”
“Just because you want it to be true, James,” I told him, “it doesn’t mean it is. Your swarm tactics are strong, sure, but do you really need to deal more than ten thousand damage? You would have just won the duel is you’d had the foresight to include something along the lines of ‘Mystical Space Typhoon’ in place of one of those Dinosaurs, or one of you ‘Evolution Pills’. You can’t just rely on brute force and nothing else.”
“That’s so cute,” James mocked, “you actually think that I want your advice.”
“You really should take it,” I retorted. “I draw, and I play the Spell card ‘Eradicating Aerosol’, destroying every insect in play, which just happens to be every monster on the field.”
A can of bug bomb appeared, and sprayed its poison over the entire field. Every monster was caught up in it and melted away, including mine.
“Because ‘Pinch Hopper’ was sent to the Graveyard,” I explained, “I can summon any one Insect from my hand. I choose to summon ‘Ultimate Insect LV5’.”
My monster, a giant beetle with a silvery shell and forelegs that came to a point, appeared beside me. It rose up onto its lower legs, and raised its upper legs like weapons (ATK: 2300).
“I set a card,” I concluded, “and I attack you directly.”
My monster swiped at James, and his Life Points fell (8000 -> 5700).
“I’m not afraid of some bugs!” James exclaimed. “I play ‘Premature Burial’, giving up eight hundred Life Points (5700 -> 4900) to revive ‘Super Conductor Tyranno’!”
The silvery-skinned Dinosaur reappeared, only to once again mutate into a half reptile, half insectoid monstrosity. James seemed surprised.
“Did you forget about my ‘DNA Surgery’ Trap already?” I asked.
James gritted his teeth in frustration.
“That’s exactly your problem,” I told him, “you know your deck, and your own combos have a lot of power behind them, but you ignore your opponent’s cards completely. I have a cousin who is also more concerned with her combos than she is her opponent’s, but she at least has the foresight to design her deck around clearing her opponent’s Spell and Trap cards away. If you would just pay attention, you would be an incredibly dangerous Duelist. But as it stands, you’ve probably improved more than I have since we fought last, and yet, I’m still winning.
“Your monster still can’t attack through my ‘Barrier’, so your turn is over. I draw, and my ‘Ultimate Insect’ evolves into its Level seven form.”
My ‘Insect’ grew larger, its silvery shell reflecting a more wide array of colors. It opened its shell, and spread glossy wings (ATK: 2600).
“You can’t really see it,” I explained, “since it’s pretty dark in here, but right now there’s a cloud of corrosive, poisonous spores spreading from my monster’s wings, to your side of your field. They have the power to weaken every enemy monster by seven hundred Attack.”
‘Super Conductor Tyranno’ let out a pained roar, and slumped over far enough to make it clear that it was in pain (ATK: 3300 -> 2600).
“Of course, as things stand,” I told James, “I can’t destroy your monster without losing mine, so I reveal ‘Shadow Spell’, hindering your monster’s movements and weakening it further.”
The Dinosaur monster’s shadow came alive, forming black chains that rose up and wrapped around its arms and legs. The ‘Tyranno’ struggled feebly (ATK: 2600 -> 1900).
“‘Ultimate Insect’,” I commanded, “attack ‘Super Conductor Tyranno’. Send it back to the Graveyard where it belongs.” My monster rose into the air, and lunged forward, slicing the larger creature apart (4900 -> 4200).
“I end my turn.”
James drew his next card. He scowled, his eyes flashing with anger.
“I set a card,” he declared, “and pass.”
I’m in a pretty good place, I thought. He set a card. I doubt that it’s anything that will affect my monster, but it could very easily be another card to summon his Dinosaur back from the Graveyard. That could be a problem during his turn, but if I’m right, it can’t hurt to attack.
“‘Ultimate Insect’, attack him directly again.”
“Then I reveal,” James countered, his wide, wicked smile returning, “‘Call of the Haunted’, to summon ‘Super Conductor Tyranno’ yet again!”
“In that case,” I told him, calmly, a little disappointed that I’d been so on the money, “I halt my attack.”
The mighty Dinosaur monster appeared again with a roar, and my ‘Ultimate Insect’ stopped in, just out of its reach, hovering in the air. Once again, the two monsters faced off as equals.
“Then it’s my turn again,” James declared, as he drew. “I play ‘Pot of Avarice’, shuffling five monsters in my Graveyard back into my deck, in exchange for drawing two cards.” His expression changed. He wasn’t just showing off anymore. He looked like someone who had everything that he could ever want, and that made me nervous. What had changed with his latest draw?
“I set a card,” James continued, and for just a second, he looked right at my ‘DNA Surgery’ card. I was right. I’d read the situation incorrectly. I had to be careful. I knew what his card was, and I knew what he had planned.
“I end my turn,” James told me, trying to hide a grin.
I drew my next card. I had an idea, but I wanted to be sure I could end the duel with only one more big move. “I’ll take the opportunity to deal you some more damage. I play ‘Half Shut’, cutting the Attack of your monster in half, but making him invulnerable to battle damage for the turn (ATK: 2600 -> 1300). Of course, you still take damage yourself.”
My ‘Ultimate Insect’ lunged forward, and sliced the weakened reptile. It roared painfully, but it didn’t fall. James’ Life, however, did (4200 -> 2900).
“You’re still gonna lose,” James gloated.
As my only response, I declared, “I set a card, and end my turn.”
“Then I activate my face-down card now! You were wrong, I did put cards in my deck to destroy my opponent’s Spells and Traps. Cards like ‘Dust Tornado’!”
A dust devil picked up out of nowhere, swirling across the field, shredding the hologram of my ‘DNA Surgery’ Trap on the field, ending its effect. The insectoid parts fell off of James’ monster and turned to dust, revealing regenerated reptile anatomy beneath them. ‘Super Conductor Tyranno’ roared with renewed pride.
“I attack with 'Super Conductor Tyranno',” James commanded, his monster taking a step toward mine, “and I restore him to his former glory with the Spell card ‘Rush Recklessly’!”
The strongest Dinosaur-type charged (ATK: 2600 -> 3300).
I smiled, “That’s exactly what I was waiting for. I reveal ‘Fairy’s Hand Mirror’, reflecting your Spell card to steal its power and give it to one of my monster’s instead.”
An ornate mirror appeared, an image of James’ Spell reflected in it, and just before his Dinosaur could reach my monster, it lost its momentum, and its extra power. Instead, my monster shot forward at high speed (ATK: 2600 -> 3300), and cut James’ monster down to size once and for all (2900 -> 2200).
“This duel is over, James,” I told him, “but by now you have to see that it was a good thing that Christopher booted you off the team. Twice during that duel, you almost had me. A year ago, that never would have happened. Your place was never on that team. All it ever did was stunt your growth.”
I could practically hear the duel replaying in James’ head, and his eyes soften as he realized that I was right. Frustration and anger melted away, becoming a kind of reluctant understanding. I smiled, Good for you James, really.
I drew my last card, “My monster attacks.”
The ‘Ultimate Insect’ reached forward and slashed James across his chest (2200 -> 0).
Card of the Day:
Fairy's Hand Mirror
Played by: Jen
It's not a card that Jen has used before, but with the extensive possible uses for a card like this, it definitely seems like the kind of card that she would use. In fact, I've planned to have her use it somewhere for a while now. And it certainly made its splash in this duel, didn't it?
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