John and Karen finally duel again, and while not as exciting as their last duel, it is pretty neat, I think. Also Rocky duels Christopher and probably loses. I don't remember.
Chapter FourRound One;
John vs. Karen and Rocky vs. Christopher Johnson
I looked into Karen’s eyes, as I’d done a hundred times before, as we stood there together in the arena. I could see her competitive spirit again, for the first time in a long time. I decided then and there that I would treat Karen as a true opponent. I’d treat her with respect, but I wouldn’t let our relationship, whatever it was, get in the way of the duel. After all using your full strength in a duel is the greatest sign of respect that a Duelist can show.
“You ready Karen?” I asked.
“More than you’d believe,” she replied.
“Then here goes, ’cuz I’m goin’ all out from the start! I summon ‘Giant Orc’!” A massive fifteen-foot goblin with a club in hand appeared at my side (ATK: 2200).
“You’re too predictable,” said Karen. “I’ve seen you use that card plenty of times before, in the first turn, too.”
“Maybe,” I said, “but you’ll see soon that I’ve still got a few surprises up my sleeve. I place one card face-down, and I end my turn.”
“Alright,” said Karen, “but I’ll be going all out as well. I summon my new key card, the ‘Allure Queen LV 3’.” A young woman in a black skirt and a rather revealing top appeared. She carried a short staff and held her spare palm to the sky, summoning several small flames that floated around her hand and arm (ATK: 500).
“My ‘Allure Queen’, at level three, ” Karen explained, “can use her unique powers to mesmerize one monster of her level or below once per turn and move it from your side of the field to mine to shield her from harm. So I combine her ability with the Spell card ‘Demotion’, lowering your ‘Orc’’s level by two, making him a level two monster.”
‘Allure Queen’ blew on the flames and they flew to my side of the field, circling the ‘Orc’’s head. He was instantly hypnotized into following those flames back to Karen’s side of the field where he fell into a sitting position and stared at the circling flames, grinning like a three year old.
“Next I play ‘Graceful Charity’,” Karen continued, “letting me draw three cards, as long as I discard two cards from my hand afterwards.”
She drew and then discarded.
“Finally I play ‘Monster Reborn’,” she declared, “to Special Summon the monster I discarded for ‘Charity’’s effect, my ‘Queen’s Bodyguard’. This swordsman is sworn to protect his queen with his life.” A swordsman in a mask emblazoned with the symbol of an eye appeared, standing in front of ‘Allure Queen’ with his sword drawn, ready to take any hit meant for her (ATK: 1700).
“Now I attack with both monsters,” said Karen. ‘Allure Queen’ summoned several more flames that combined into a magical fire. It floated at me, hitting me in the chest, moments before the swordsman slashed me with his blade (8000-500-1700=5800).
Karen continued on, “I place two cards face-down and activate ‘Mirage of Nightmare’. Now I’ll draw four cards during your Standby Phase, and discard four during mine.”
Okay, I thought. I have no monsters, but if I draw one I can combine it with my face-down card to retake the field.
I drew, and I smiled. Perfect. When I activate my face-down ‘Skill Drain’ the ‘Queen’’s effect will be negated and I’ll regain control of my ‘Orc’. Then I’ll summon ‘Strike Ninja’ and attack with both, and I’ll control the field again. I didn’t want to activate ‘Skill Drain’ so early on, since it will cancel out my monster effects as well, but it looks like I don’t have a choice.
“Like I said before,” Karen announced, “I get to draw.” She drew four cards.
“And I begin my turn by activating ‘Skill Drain’,” I countered, “paying one thousand Life Points (5800-1000=4800) to free my ‘Orc’ from your control.”
“Ah,” said Karen, “but you know as well as I do that I can anticipate every move that my opponent makes, and it helps that I’ve seen you use that card too. Reveal ‘Seven Tools of the Bandit’, paying one thousand of my own Life Points to negate your Trap and destroy it (8000-1000=7000).”
I smiled, “Then I’ll simply summon the ‘Strike Ninja’ (ATK: 1700),” a black clad ninja wearing a red sash appeared at my side, “place two cards face-down, and end my turn. Don’t forget to discard four cards from your hand.”
“I won’t have to,” Karen countered. “I reveal ‘Emergency Provisions’, sending ‘Mirage of Nightmare’ to the Graveyard to recover the one thousand Life Points that I paid (7000+1000=8000).”
But of course I’d known that was coming.
This is it, I thought. This is the Karen that I want to fight. It’s time to settle things once and for all so we can move on.
Rocky
I’d never met Christopher before today, but I knew him by reputation. From what I’d heard, I knew him to be a skilled problem solver with impressive deductive reasoning and resource management skills. I had to stay at least one step ahead of him if I was going to have even the slightest chance of winning. Alright, this is it. This deck is closer to me than any I’ve ever built. It’s time to let it loose.
I pulled the six cards that would make up my opening hand, chose four of them, discarded three, and placed the fourth on the Duel Disk. “I send ‘Alpha the Magnet Warrior’, ‘Beta the Magnet Warrior’, and ‘Gamma the Magnet Warrior’ from my hand to the Graveyard to summon one of my most powerful cards,” three monsters made of various magnet-themed parts appeared, splitting up into base components and recombining into one tall warrior with horns, wings, and a shield and sword in hand, “my ‘Valkyrion the Magna Warrior’ (ATK: 3500).
“I place one card face down,” I concluded, “and end my turn.”
“Lucky draw,” said Christopher, who was either not intimidated by my monster, or skilled at hiding it.
“Luck,” I replied, feeling the spirit of my deck resonating with me, “had nothing to do with it.”
John
“During my Standby Phase,” Karen declared, “in addition to regaining Life Points, I sacrifice your ‘Giant Orc’ to level up my ‘Allure Queen’ to Level Five.” My ‘Giant Orc’ disappeared, and the ‘Allure Queen’ grew a few years older, her outfit growing more elaborate as she grew more beautiful. “Now she can mesmerize and control monster at or below level five.”
‘Allure Queen’ summoned her flames again, sending them to dance around my ‘Strike Ninja’. He walked to Karen’s field where he stood protectively over his new queen.
“I attack with ‘Allure Queen’,” said Karen. A flame hit me in the abdomen (4800-1000=3800).
“Next I attack with ‘Queen’s Bodyguard’,” Karen continued.
“Not so fast,” I countered. “I reveal ‘Enemy Controller’, changing your ‘Queen’s Bodyguard’ to defense mode.” An oversized game controller appeared. A cord extended from it, attaching to the ‘Bodyguard’’s chest. “See, I can control your monsters too,” I said as the soldier was forced to drop to one knee and lower his sword.
I smiled, Sorry Karen, but I’m not going to lose this duel.
“I draw,” I declared, “and since you control at least two more monsters than I do, I can Special Summon my favorite card, ‘The Fiend Megacyber’.” There was a flash of black and yellow static, and a black and yellow armored warrior appeared, his fists alight (ATK: 2200).
“Next,” I declared, “I reveal my face-down card ‘Call of the Haunted’ to bring my ‘Giant Orc’ back from the dead.” The massive goblin returned to the field, standing at my side (ATK: 2200).
“I attack ‘Queen’s Bodyguard’ with ‘Giant Orc’, Club Slam attack!” ‘Giant Orc’ raised his club and ran at the much smaller warrior. ‘Bodyguard’ tried to parry the strike with his sword, but it shattered and the warrior was crushed under the weight of the blow. ‘Giant Orc’ raised his club, stumbled back, and fell over (DEF: 0).
“Now, ‘Fiend Megacyber’, attack ‘Allure Queen’ with Megacyber Impact! My ‘Strike Ninja’ will absorb the blow, and then you won’t have any monster to sacrifice in order to level your monster up next turn.”
My ‘Fiend Megacyber’ ran straight at the ‘Allure Queen’, and something truly unexpected happened.
Rocky
“You’ve summoned a powerful monster,” said Christopher, “but sadly for you, it won’t be around for long.”
I only smiled.
“I activate,” said Christopher, “the Spell card ‘Painful Choice’. You should know what it does.”
“Of course,” I replied. “Which five cards do you choose?”
Christopher smiled and flipped through his deck, selecting five cards. He placed them on his Duel Disk, and holograms of them appeared above his head. They were two Water-Type ‘Blizzard Dragon’ cards, and three Fire-Type ‘Solar Flare Dragon’ cards. ‘Solar Flare Dragon’ was weaker in terms of attack, but his effect could be trouble, but ‘Blizzard Dragon’’s effect was tricky as well.
“Add ‘Solar Flare Dragon’ to your hand,” I commanded, “and discard the rest. Also, I chain the Trap card ‘Rock Bombardment’. I send ‘Giant Soldier of Stone’ from my deck to the Graveyard to deal you five hundred points of damage.”
The massive stone warrior, ‘Giant Soldier of Stone’, appeared in the air above my head. His body shattered, becoming hundreds of small sharp stones that bombarded Christopher like bullets (8000-500=7500).
“That won’t make a difference,” said Christopher, “because this duel is about to turn a full one eighty. I remove two ‘Blizzard Dragons’ and one ‘Solar Flare Dragon’ in my Graveyard from play to summon my most powerful card, my ‘Frost and Flame Dragon’!”
A pillar of water and a pillar of fire rose up and swirled together. The water froze, and then both the fire and ice merged, taking on the form of a massive icy blue and red dragon with two heads. It let out a powerful roar (ATK: 2300).
“My ‘Frost and Flame Dragon’ has an ability,” Christopher explained. “I discard a card to destroy one of your monsters.” He sent a card to the Graveyard, and the two heads of the ‘Frost and Flame Dragon’ attacked in succession, destroying ‘Valkyrion’ in an instant.
“Now I attack directly,” said Christopher, and the Dragon breathed ice and fire down on me from above (8000-2300=5700).
“I place one card face-down,” said Christopher. “This duel is over.”
I almost smiled, He has no idea.
John
‘Megacyber’ held his fist high and charged at the ‘Queen’, and the hypnotized ‘Strike Ninja’ moved to absorb the blow. But before ‘Megacyber’’s attack could hit, Karen herself jumped in the way, taking the attack full on (8000-2200=5800)!
“Reveal,” she said smugly, “the Trap card ‘Absolute End’. This card lets me defend my monsters this turn, instead of the other way around.”
“Gutsy move,” I said, “but brilliant as usual.”
“Thank you.”
“I place one card face-down,” I concluded, “and end my turn.”
“I draw,” Karen announced, “and I tribute your ‘Ninja’ to increase my monster’s level once again.” ‘Strike Ninja’ disappeared, and the ‘Allure Queen’ grew a few years older yet again, her outfit becoming even more extravagant, her face growing more beautiful (ATK: 1500).
“Because my ‘Allure Queen’ has reached her final, Level Seven form,” Karen explained, “she can finally affect monsters of any level. So I’ll bring your ‘Fiend Megacyber’ over to my side.” ‘Allure Queen’ released a wave of dancing flames, guided by the magic of her staff. But as soon as they reached my monster, he disappeared. Karen, who had been interrupted just as she’d gotten going, looked surprised, “W-what happened?”
“I activated ‘Interdimensional Matter Transporter’,” I replied, “Removing my monster from play and allowing him to dodge your effect. He won’t return until the End Phase.”
I smiled, “Looks like you can’t predict all of my moves.”
Karen wasn’t happy with herself for letting my move get past her, especially since I'd used a move much like it to similar effect against her once before, but she did a good job of hiding it. “In that case,” she said, “I attack and destroy your ‘Giant Orc’ with Hypnotic Blaze.” ‘Allure Queen’ summoned up a fireball and launched it at the unconscious goblin, destroying him.
“And finally,” she continued, acting hastily, “I pay one thousand Life Points (5800-1000=4800) to open the door to ‘Toon World’.” A green book appeared, fluttering open. Pink smoke appeared from within its pages.
“I summon ‘Toon Mermaid’,” Karen announced, a caricatured mermaid archer lying in an open oyster shell appearing by her side, “and I tribute both of my monsters to summon the most powerful Toon, ‘Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon’!”
The smoke increased, and both ‘Toon Mermaid’ and ‘Allure Queen’ were swallowed up by the book. From the smoke emerged a white cartoon dragon with big, expressive round blue eyes. He let out a lighthearted roar and flipped in midair (ATK: 3000).
Smoke poured from the book again, and eight cartoon goblins emerged, each one carrying a club. “I finish my turn by summoning my ‘Toon Goblin Attack Force’,” Karen announced. “Next turn I’ll attack directly with both monsters. This duel is over.”
“My ‘Megacyber’ returns,” I declared, “and I begin my turn with ‘Pot of Greed’ to draw two more card.” I drew and said, “You’re right, this duel is over.”
Rocky
“I begin my turn,” I announced, “with ‘Heavy Storm’, destroying your face-down card.” A powerful wind picked up, carrying Christopher’s card into the air. It was revealed as ‘Negate Attack’ for just a moment before it was torn to shreds.
“Next I activate ‘Card of Sanctity’,” I declared, “allowing us both to draw until we each hold six cards.”
My hand was empty, so I was able to draw six new cards. Once I was done, I chose and activated another Spell, “I pay eight hundred Life Points to activate ‘Premature Burial’, summoning my ‘Giant Soldier of Stone’ back from the Graveyard.”
The massive stone swordsman appeared behind me (ATK: 1300), and I wasn’t finished yet.
“Next,” I said, “I tribute my soldier for the mighty ‘Guardian Sphinx’.” ‘Stone Soldier disappeared, and behind me appeared a massive stone sphinx. It was so large that its stone paws reached around the entire field (ATK: 1700).
“But that’s not all,” I announced. “Watch and learn. I sacrifice a monster with ‘Sphinx’ in its name to summon my most powerful card, the very face of my Soul, the mightiest shield, the God of Defense, ‘Exodd, Master of the Guard!”
‘Guardian Sphinx’ disappeared, and a massive stone statue appeared in its place. It was shaped like a man made of living rock. The clothing and Headdress carved into the stone of its body was patterned after those of the famous monster ‘Exodia the Forbidden One’. His body was a light golden color. His hands were connected together at the knuckles, and he towered over the entire stadium floor (ATK: 0/DEF: 4000).
Christopher swallowed nervously and I saw bead of sweat form on his brow. “I-I’ve never seen that card,” he said.
“It’s not surprising,” I replied. “Most duelists ignore it because they can’t see its true power. Lucky for me I’m not most Duelists.” I smiled, “Lucky for me, unlucky for you. Watch as the ultimate shield becomes the ultimate sword, with the Spell card ‘Shield and Sword’!”
The ‘Master of the Guard’’s huge stone fists broke away from each other. Bits of stone fell from the joints along his body as his usually motionless form came to life (ATK: 4000/DEF: 0).
I smiled again, “Don’t forget that your ‘Dragon’’s stats also switch (ATK: 1600/DEF: 2300).”
I took three cards from my Graveyard and placed them in the pocket of my vest, “I remove ‘Alpha’, ‘Beta’, and ‘Gamma’ in my Graveyard from play to summon the powerful ‘Megarock Dragon’.” The three magnet monsters appeared, broke into chunks of stone, and merged together into a large, stone, wingless dragon (ATK: 2100).
“Finally,” I said, “I equip ‘Exodd’ with the Spell card ‘Megamorph’, doubling his strength.” A glowing ring appeared below my monster, and he grew even larger (ATK: 8000). “‘Megarock Dragon’, attack!” I commanded, and my dragon raised his stone claws and cut ‘Frost and Flame Dragon’ to pieces (7500+1600-2100=7000).
“I finish it,” I declared. “‘Exodd’, attack with Guardian’s Might!” ‘Exodd’ raised his fist, wreathed in golden light, and brought it down on Christopher from above (7000-8000=0).
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Finally my deck was as strong I knew it could be. All I could hope was that the Duelists Elite were watching, and that they could see that too.
John
“I begin my next move,” I declared, “with the Spell card ‘Painful Choice’. I take five cards from my deck, and you choose one for me to keep. Then I discard the rest.” Even as I spoke, I flipped through my deck and chose five cards. The Field slot on my Duel Disk opened, and I placed the five cards on my Duel Disk: four in the remaining Monster Zones, and one in the Field Zone. Holograms of the five cards appeared above me. They were ‘V – Tiger Jet’, ‘W – Winged Catapult’, ‘X – Head Cannon’, ‘Y – Dragon Head’, and ‘Z – Metal Tank’.”
“I’ll let you keep ‘W – Winged Catapult’,” Karen said, though I’m pretty sure she realized how much it really didn’t matter. I added ‘W’ to my hand and sent the rest to the Grave.
“Then I activate,” I announced, “the Spell cards ‘Soul Release’ and ‘Dimension Fusion’. I remove ‘X’, ‘Y’, and ‘Z’ from play, and then I pay two thousand Life Points (3800-2000=1800) to Special Summon them to the field.”
The sky seemed to open up, and three monsters emerged: the blue torso ‘X – Head Cannon’, his shoulder-mounted cannons charged, ‘Y – Dragon Head’, the robotic red dragon, and the small yellow tank with the stalk eye, ‘Z – Metal Tank’.
“I remove my three magnet monsters from play,” I announced, “to combine them together into one.” ‘Y’’s wing’s broke away, and a panel on his back opened. The sphere that made up ‘X’’s base settled into the red dragon’s back. ‘Y’ settled down on the back of the ‘Metal Tank’, and the process was complete. “Introducing,” I declared, "‘XYZ – Dragon Cannon’ (ATK: 2800)!
“I discard ‘W – Winged Catapult’ to activate my monster’s effect,” I explained, “destroying ‘Toon World’.” Energy lanced from the three-part monster, vaporizing the book. The explosion consumed the two Toon monsters as well.
“Attack,” I commanded, “with Cannon Firestorm.” ‘X’’s and ‘Z’’s cannons fired, and energy poured from ‘Y’’s mouth. Karen was hit, and her Life Points fell (3800-2800=1000).
“Now I finish,” I commanded, “with Megacyber Impact.” ‘The Fiend Megacyber’ struck, and the battle ended.
As the field cleared, I walked over to stand with Karen. "See," I told her, "you let a little more of your old self out, and it wasn't the end of the world."
She looked at me, surprised. I laughed, "You think I don't know why you hold yourself back, but I do. I know something about having a part of yourself that you don't like, that you worry about, and I can tell you, having that part of yourself doesn't make you bad. It just makes you you."
Karen frowned, "You're probably right. Somehow you usually are. But I can't let this all go so easily. I can't tell you that this one game is going to get me past all of my misgiving, but I can say this."
She smiled up at me happily and said, “I’ll get you next time.”
Card of the Day:
XYZ - Dragon Cannon
Played by: John
The "XYZ" monsters were added to John's deck to fuel the Light half of his chaos-themed cards and strategies while still being cool on their own. I eventually stop using them in his duels as often, but there is no denying that they are awesome while they last.
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