Remember this duel for the special that follows this book. I might copy myself there and basically reuse this premise with a different pair of characters, though neither of them is quite as angry as either of these guys.
Oh, yeah, and it's worth noting that Karen's new ace monster, "Allure Queen LV10", was created by me for the character. She's a beautiful woman with a control deck, and "Allure Queen" is a beautiful woman with mind control powers. The fit seems obvious, but the actual most powerful card in the line, "Allure Queen LV7", just isn't very great, so I upgraded her while still keeping her balanced.
Chapter TenKaren vs. Ria
Karen went first. She isn’t usually very pushy, but she wasn’t really acting like herself at the moment. And, just to be straight with you guys, I kinda liked it.
“I’m gonna show you what I do with trash, Ria,” said Karen malevolently.
Ria seemed ready to respond, anger in her eyes, but I cut her off, “Be civil, ladies.” They seemed to calm down, if only for a while.
“I summon my ‘Queen’s Bodyguard’,” said Karen. A swordsman in a red suit appeared (ATK: 1700). “Too bad his sword’s only a hologram. I set a card and end my turn.”
“Swords are nothing to me,” said Ria. “I’m a black belt. I can snap swords with my bare hands, and so can my monsters.” She placed a card on her Duel Disk, and a young man appeared at her side, wearing simple garbs.
“Meet my ‘Monk Fighter’ (ATK: 1300). My monster’s weaker than yours, but in my hand is a Spell card that’ll change all that. My ‘Kaminote Blow’ might not raise my monster’s Attack, but it will allow my monster to automatically destroy any monster it battles this turn, just as easily as I’m going to destroy you!”
That’s when Karen responded with a word that I can’t repeat in good conscience.
And Ria responded with a series of words that I wouldn’t repeat in bad conscience.
“Hey!” I snapped. “I said be civil, or I’ll make you be civil.”
I have no idea what I meant by that, but it sounded good.
“Fine,” said Ria, “but only because I still have to attack.” She gestured to her monster to change and commanded, “Go, smash it!”
‘Monk Fighter’ ran at ‘Queen’s Bodyguard’ and punched, just as the ‘Bodyguard’ stabbed with his sword. Both monsters were destroyed.
“Thanks to my monster’s effect,” Ria explained, “my Life Points are safe. And thanks to my Spell card ‘Return of the Doomed’, I can discard my ‘Combo Master’ to return ‘Monk Fighter’ to my hand. I set two cards and pass.”
“It doesn’t matter how many cards you set,” said Karen. “I reveal the Spell card ‘Monster Reborn’ and revive my ‘Queen’s Bodyguard’.”
As Karen’s monster emerged from a supernatural red light, Ria said, “In response, I reveal my Spell card, ‘Quick Summon’, to summon back my ‘Monk Fighter’. I also reveal the Trap card ‘Swift Dodge’, which prevents my ‘Fighter’ from being destroyed in battle or by card effects this turn!”
“I don’t plan on destroying your monster,” said Karen, her voice dripping with pride, “I plan on taking your monster. I summon ‘Allure Queen’ in her Level Three form, and I use her effect to entice your ‘Monk Fighter’ to her side.”
‘Allure Queen’, an attractive young woman in a dark reddish dress appeared (ATK: 500). She summoned up a dancing flame. It circled the ‘Fighter’’s head and then floated back to the ‘Queen’’s side. ‘Monk Fighter’ followed, becoming a living shield devoted to protecting his new mistress.
“I attack,” said Karen, and both her ‘Queen’ and her ‘Bodyguard’ struck (4000-1700-500=1800). “Go.”
“I’m behind,” said Ria, “but I’m far from losing this duel.”
“You only have one card,” Karen spat.
“Not for long,” said Ria, a bit tauntingly. “I play ‘Pot of Greed’ to draw two cards from the top of my deck. And I’ll follow up with ‘Bottom Draw’, drawing the bottom two cards of my deck as well.”
Two cards slid from the bottom of Ria’s deck, and she added them to her hand.
“Now,” said Ria, “I summon ‘Combo Fighter’, and I equip him with ‘Gust Fan’, raising his Attack by four hundred.”
A young, shirtless man appeared, wearing baggy pants with zigzagged stripes down the legs and a sash for a belt. He wore a headband bearing the same zigzag as his pants, and he carried the magical ‘Gust Fan’ tucked into his belt (ATK: 1600+400 =2000).
“‘Combo Fighter’,” Ria commanded, “attack ‘Allure Queen’.”
‘Combo Fighter’ flung himself through the air, kicking fiercely, but the ‘Allure Queen’ was calm. Moments before ‘Allure Queen’ would have been hit, ‘Queen’s Bodyguard’ threw himself between her and her assailant. He was soundly defeated by the attacker (4000+1700-2000=3700).
“Face-down,” said Ria. “Come and get me, estupido.”
“Don’t think I won’t,” said Karen. “As I draw, I sacrifice your ‘Monk Fighter’ to level up my monster.”
‘Monk Fighter’ disappeared, and the ‘Allure Queen’ grew a few years older, more mature, and more enticing (ATK: 1000).
“Your deck’s kinda slutty, poonta,” said Ria.
“Come on,” I said, exasperated, “I told you to be civil.”
“I play ‘Graceful Charity’,” Karen continued, ignoring me and Ria, “to draw three cards, and then discard ‘Toon Alligator’ and ‘Comic Hand’.”
Ria smiled the way that a Duelist does when they’ve caught their opponent in a Trap. “Reveal,” she said, “the Trap card ‘Mirror Draw’! I pay five hundred Life Points (1800-500=1300) to draw as many cards as you just did!”
Ria drew three cards as well, the difference being that she didn’t have to discard anything after the fact.
“Anyway,” Karen said, annoyed, “now that my monster has leveled up, she can charm another monster.” ‘Allure Queen’ summoned up more fireballs, charming ‘Combo Fighter’ and drawing him over to Karen’s side of the field. Ria looked unhappy. Of course she’d been unhappy, so it was a little hard to tell.
“Now,” said Karen, “my ‘Allure Queen’ attacks.”
‘Allure Queen’ released a barrage of fireballs that pelted Ria (1300-1000=300). Karen was close to victory. She knew she was close, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew as well as I did that this duel could easily reverse at any moment. So Karen came prepared.
“One face-down card,” Karen declared.
“Good,” said Ria sardonically, “I wouldn’t want you to seem easy. I draw, and I play my own ‘Graceful Charity’. I draw, and I discard ‘Legendary Black Belt’ and ‘Master Monk’. Next I play ‘Monster Reborn’ to revive the ‘Combo Master’ that I discarded turns ago.”
An older, more muscular incarnation of ‘Combo Fighter’ appeared (ATK: 2200).
“But I’m not finished,” said Ria. “I play ‘Cost Down’, discarding ‘Invigoration’ to lower the Levels of monsters in my hand by two during this turn. I tribute ‘Combo Master’ to summon my ultimate card, ‘The Ultimate Fighter’!”
‘Combo Master’ was replaced by a young man wearing an over-sized hoodie and a championship belt, standing in a strong fighting stance. He reminded me of a character that you might see in a fighting game (ATK: 3000).
“Once per turn,” Ria explained, “I can remove a Level Six or lower Rock or Wind monster in my Graveyard from play to give ‘Ultimate Fighter’ the removed monster’s effect.”
Ria took a card from her Graveyard and placed it in her pocket.
“Now my monster attacks!”
“‘Combo Fighter’ protects his ‘Queen’,” Karen explained as the enticed warrior jumped in and absorbed ‘The Ultimate Fighter’’s powerful kick.
“You still take the hit,” said Ria, mockingly (3700+1000-3000=1700), “and because the monster I removed was ‘Master Monk’, ‘Ultimate Fighter’ can attack again. You lose little girl!”
‘Ultimate Fighter’ spun and punched right through the ‘Queen’’s torso, but Karen was unconcerned. She stood calmly with her arms crossed casually.
“Reveal,” said Karen, “the Trap card ‘Spirit Barrier’, reducing damage to my Life Points to zero.
“Now, I think it’s about time we ended this,” Karen continued. “My ‘Allure Queen’ may be gone, but she’s not forgotten. I play ‘Level Modulation’. You draw two cards, and in exchange I get to summon my ‘Allure Queen LV5’ back from the Grave. And I follow up with ‘Level Up!’, evolving my monster to her Level Seven form.”
‘Allure Queen’ reappeared, changing again along the same lines as her last transformation, once again aging and growing more physically appealing.
“But I’m still not finished,” said Karen. “I tribute ‘Allure Queen LV7’ to summon my most powerful monster,” ‘Allure Queen’’s dress changed slightly in some places and more obviously in others. Her hair fell free, flowing in an artificial breeze. Living flames danced around her, “Allure Queen LV10’ (ATK: 1700)!”
Ria took a deep breath. She knew it was over, but she wasn’t in any position where her pride would allow her to admit it.
“My monster can charm a monster of any level,” said Karen. “She charms yours.” Living flames appeared, dancing over to Ria’s field and lightly embracing the ‘Fighter’ in their warmth. When the flames started back toward their summoner, the ‘Fighter’ gladly followed.
“‘Allure Queen LV10’ is a little different than her previous forms,” Karen explained. “Where in her lower level forms she could only command the enticed monsters to defend her, ‘LV10’ can command them to attack alongside her as well, effectively increasing her Attack by three hundred plus the level of the enticed monster times one hundred (1700+(100x8 )=2800).
“Now that your field is clear,” Karen said, “I attack for the win.”
‘Allure Queen’ released a wave of living fire, and ‘Ultimate Fighter’ moved in close to deliver a powerful kick (300-2800=0).
Karen was proud. Ria looked more embarrassed than anything. I, however, was impressed. Ria had lost, and she wasn’t strangling anyone. She was just standing there with her head down. It went against everything I’d learned about her in the short time since we’d met.
Oh man, I thought, I hope she doesn’t start crying or something. I’m not even good with people I know who start crying.
I walked over to her, leaving Karen to revel in her victory. “Ria, you okay?” I asked, ready to bolt if things got too weird.
“Damn,” said Ria. She looked up at me, and I could see that she had something heavy on her mind. “I really did think that I was the only girl good enough for you. But now it looks like I could be wrong.”
“Yeah,” I said, “Karen’s something special.” By now Karen had moved and was standing just behind me, though I didn’t know it. “She’s smart and strong. I’m not gonna lie, I’m glad she won, but I’d also be glad if you’d agree to spend some time with Karen and I and our friend Thomas. Try being my friend instead of my fan.”
“I guess I could live with that,” said Karen, though her response was less than enthusiastic.
“See,” I said, “everyone likes the idea. What do you say?”
Ria smiled, a silent yes. Then her face hardened abruptly and her cockiness returned, “Don’t be loco! Why would I wanna hang with her. Johnny, when you’re ready to be with a real woman, come find me.”
She turned and walked away, “This ain’t over!”
“Weird girl,” said Karen.
“Yeah,” I agreed, “weird.”
“Hey,” I heard Thomas call from behind me, his voice muffled. He stepped up beside us and over to the bleachers to my right, carrying three bags of potato chips in his teeth and balancing five various cafeteria deserts awkwardly in his arms. “My duel already happened. I won. Got bumped up to Mid Dorm. Heard you guys just went. Did I miss anything?”
He set all that he was carrying down on the bleacher bench, picked up one of the bags of chips, and pulled it open. I snatched it from him, grabbing a chip and popping it into my mouth.
“Man,” I said, “you have no idea.”
Card of the Day:
Allure Queen LV10
Played by: Karen
Because look at it, it's awesome!
Original Cards in This Chapter:
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