Fortunately for Tucker he is fighting Lawrence, who I love to humiliate. Unfortunately for Sarah, she is fighting Max, who has the advantage of being Max.
Round One;
Lawrence vs. Tucker, and Sarah vs. Max
Tucker
John beat Karen. I’d expected as much. What was really unexpected was how into it Karen had gotten. She never seemed to care much about dueling anymore. I wasn’t at all surprised that Rocky had beaten Christopher. The last time Rocky and I’d dueled, he’d creamed me, and I could tell from the way that he’d been carrying himself that he’d improved a lot. I had no idea which of us was stronger at that point.
Either way, it was my turn to duel, and against Lawrence no less. I’d considered Lawrence a rival ever since the first time he and I had faced off, and I’d wanted to face him again for a while. I didn’t know if could win, but I wouldn’t give up.
I left the plush, comfy waiting room and walked out onto the stadium floor. I walked between John and Karen as they made their way back. I could literally feel the sparks flying between them. I turned and looked back at them. They had stepped to one side of the doorway to let Sarah, Max and Lawrence out, in that order. John put his arm around Karen, but only subtly. I smiled and then took up my position at the closer end of the right side duel platform. Sarah and Max stepped up onto the opposite platform, and Lawrence stepped up across from me.
“I’ll try to go easy on you,” Lawrence said, “but I can’t make any promises.”
I smiled, “Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you.”
Sarah
The last and only time that I’d ever dueled Max it was with John at my side, and while Max was only testing us. I had seen very little of his more recent strategy first hand. I knew a lot about his deck though. I knew that he had only been beaten by two Duelists in his entire life, and I knew that many of the Duelists that he defeated were beaten so quickly that Max barely broke a sweat. My new Atlantis Deck was powerful, but I had no way of knowing if it would be powerful enough. Still, that didn't mean that I wasn't going to try my best.
Tucker
“I’ll start,” I declared.
“Go ahead,” said Lawrence. “It won’t change anything.”
I scowled at his arrogance, “I summon ‘UFO Turtle’ in defense mode.” A green tortoise appeared, a flying saucer situated on his back in place of a shell (DEF: 1000). “I also place three cards face-down and end my turn.”
Lawrence seemed unconcerned, “Oh, you’re finished already? Then let’s make this quick. I summon the powerful ‘Kaiser Seahorse’ in attack mode,” a blue-armored fish man appeared holding a deadly spear (ATK: 1700), “place two cards face-down, and attack.” The ‘Seahorse’ swung his spear, slicing my ‘Turtle’ in half from head to tail.
“When my ‘Turtle’ is destroyed,” I declared, “I can summon a Fire monster with fifteen hundred Attack or less from my deck. Also, I activate my continuous Trap ‘Backfire’. Now, every time a Fire monster I control is destroyed, you take five hundred points of damage.”
A pocket of air exploded in Lawrence’s face (8000-500=7500), just as my replacement monster appeared: a dark skinned man adorned with tattoos, with fire surrounding his fists. “I summon,” I explained, “my ‘Flame Ruler’ (ATK: 1500).”
“Another weak monster for me to knock down,” said Lawrence.
“You shouldn’t make assumptions,” I said. “You have no idea what I have planned.”
Lawrence grinned, “Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you.”
“In fact,” I continued, ignoring his taunting, “I think it’s time that I took the lead. I tribute my ‘Flame Ruler’, activating his effect, treating him as two tributes for the summoning of a Fire monster. That means I can summon my rarest monster, ‘Tyrant Dragon’!” As I spoke, the man disappeared and was replaced by a large bronze dragon with a green crystal in his forehead (ATK: 2900).
“Now I attack your ‘Kaiser Seahorse’,” I commanded, “with Tyrant Burst!” My dragon expelled a fiery wave from his mouth, incinerating Lawrence’s monster in less than an instant (7500+1700-2900=6300).
“I thought that you’d be able to beat my ‘Seahorse’,” said Lawrence, still acting confident, though his expression told me that he’d begun to take the duel more seriously, “so I was ready with this. I activate ‘Monster Reborn’ to summon him back from the dead.” A red ankh appeared and flashed. From its light emerged the oceanic warrior.
“I tribute ‘Kaiser Seahorse’,” Lawrence declared, “treating him as two tributes for the summoning of a Light attribute monster.”
Here it comes, I thought, chewing my lip nervously, the ‘Blue-Eyes’.
But to my surprise, in ‘Kaiser’’s place appeared a gold and brown dragon with a strong, pointed jaw and fierce eyes. “Introducing,” Lawrence announced, “my spirit, ‘Felgrand Dragon’!” The dragon roared (ATK: 2800).
I was confused, even more so when Lawrence commanded, “’Felgrand Dragon’, attack his monster!”
“Are you kidding?” I asked. “He can’t beat ‘Tyrant Dragon’.”
“He can if I use this,” said Lawrence. “Activate ‘Shrink’, cutting your monster’s Attack in half.” My monster shrunk to half his original size, and his offensive strength decreased accordingly (2900/2=1450).
“In that case,” I countered, “I reveal ‘Ring of Destruction’ to destroy your monster and deal us each damage equal to his Attack.” A ring of live grenades attached to the ‘Felgrand Dragon’’s neck and exploded. Fire from the explosion washed over both of us, but only Lawrence took damage (6300-2800=3500).
“What-?”
“Reveal,” I announced, “the Spell card ‘Ring of Defense’.” The fire cleared, revealing a spinning collapsible shield hanging in the air just in front of me, holding the fire back from my body and protecting my Life Points.
I smiled, “It looks like you underestimated me twice already. Let’s see if we can make it three for three.”
Sarah
“I’ll make the first move,” said Max. He looked at me like I was his enemy, rather than a team mate. It's just how he is. If someone stands against them, he treats them as an enemy. While such a thing might have made anyone else nervous, my stubborn side kicked in, and I glared back at him, unflinching.
“I set a card," Max declared, "and I summon ‘Spirit Reaper’ in attack mode.” A puff of smoke appeared, taking the form of a hooded, ghostly grim reaper (ATK: 300).
I scoffed, Well it’s pretty obvious that his face down card is ‘Spirit Barrier’. He always plays those two cards together.
But on the off chance that it’s not, I have to attack. I can’t miss this chance to gain an early lead. And attacking a monster as physically weak as the 'Spirit Reaper' while it's in attack mode would give me that lead.
“I start things off,” I announced, “with the swift warrior/messenger of the Lost City, ‘Amazon of the Seas’.” A mermaid appeared at my side, carrying a simple blade (ATK: 1300).
“Attack the ‘Sprit Reaper’,” I commanded. My monster obeyed. She struck with her sword, but Max’s famous invulnerable ‘Reaper’ was unharmed.
“Reveal,” said Max, “my ‘Spirit Barrier’, preventing damage to my Life Points.”
Thought so, I thought with a steadying breath. My heart was racing. I trust Max now. I even like the guy, believe it or not, but fighting him reminded me of when I'd had to fight against him for my life. When I'd had to fight against this same combo for my life. I tried to put it out of mind as I declared, “Then I’ll end my turn with a face-down card.”
Max pulled the top card of his deck enthusiastically, and decalred “Draw! I start my turn by tributing my ‘Spirit Reaper’ to summon ‘Vampire Lord’.” The ‘Reaper’ disappeared, and in his place appeared a suave, pale-skinned man in a cape (ATK: 2000). I was instantly on guard. If Max was so willing to tribute his ‘Reaper’, it meant that he had a plan for that ‘Vampire’, and Max with a plan is the worst kind of Max.
“I attack the ‘Amazon’,” Max decalred. The ‘Vampire Lord’ spread his cape, unleashing a red wave that sliced my ‘Amazon of the Seas’ in half (8000+1300-2000=7300).
“Now my ‘Vampire Lord’’s ability activates,” Max explained, “forcing you to discard a monster from your deck.”
“I chain my ‘Numinous Healer’,” I countered, “restoring one thousand of my Life Points."
I thumbed through my deck, choosing a monster and discarding it, even as my Life Points recovered (7300+1000=8300).
“I set a card,” Max concluded, unconcerned by the fact that I was technically stronger than when the Duel had started, “and I end my turn.”
“Then I activate the effect of the ‘Sinister Serpent’ that you sent to my Graveyard with the ‘Vampire’’s effect,” I declared, undoing even the damage that Max had done to my deck. “During my Standby Phase, the ‘Sinister Serpent’ in my Graveyard is returned to my hand. Next I remove ‘Amazon of the Seas’ from play to summon my favorite monster, the ‘Aqua Spirit’!” A pillar of bubble spewed from the ground at my side. The bubbles popped, revealing the blue-skinned water sprite, ‘Aqua Spirit’, within them (ATK: 1600).
“I activate my field card ‘A Legendary Ocean’,” I declared, the scenery changing until Max and I found ourselves deep under holographic water, the glimmering lost city of Atlantis visible behind me. “This lowers the level of my next monster by one, meaning that I can summon it with one sacrifice.” ‘Aqua Spirit’ disappeared, and from the depths arose a silver-scaled sea serpent with blue and pink fins, “Introducing ‘Levia Dragon-Daedalus’!”
The water all around my monster swirled together and then erupted out. “Special ability, Oceanic Eruption!” I called as the water swallowed up the ‘Vampire Lord’, and then disappeared as it was scattered to far to flow back together. “Now I attack directly with Tidal Burst,” I declared, and the dragon breathed a blue beam down on Max from its place above the battlefield (ATK: 2600/8000-2600=5400).
Now to take care of that pesky ‘Vampire’ when it returns to the field, I thought. “I place a card face-down. Make your move.”
“Alright, I draw,” said Max, still looking at me as fiercely as ever, “and at the start of my Standby Phase I activate ‘Mystical Space Typhoon’ to destroy your face-down card.” A gust of wind lifted my card into the air, revealing it as ‘Bottomless Trap Hole’, and then destroying it.
“Clever,” said Max, “setting a Trap which wouldn't just destroy my monster, but remove it from play. I'm lucky that I drew my Spell when I did."
It was in that moment that I saw his expression change slightly. I didn't know what it means, and I didn't have time to guess, because Max's turn had only just started.
“But I did draw it, and now my ‘Vampire Lord’’s effect kicks in,” Max explained, “and he returns from the dead.” As he spoke, the ‘Vampire’ reappeared at his side.
“I sacrifice and remove my ‘Vampire Lord’ from play,” Max declared, “to summon the most powerful vampire monster, the ‘Vampire Genesis’!” ‘Vampire Lord’ grew larger and more muscular. His skin turned purple, and his once-handsome face became bat like. His cape opened up, becoming fan-like wings. He flexed his muscles and roared (ATK: 3000).
I scowled, Well, that can’t be good.
Tucker
“I finish this,” I declared, “with a direct attack, Tyrant Burst!”
“I counter,” Lawrence countered, “with the Trap card ‘Negate Attack’, ending your Battle Phase.”
I watched, helpless, as my monster’s attack was swallowed up by an invisible force.
“Then my turn’s done,” I said, reluctantly, and Lawrence smiled wide.
“If that’s the case,” he said, “I activate ‘Trade-In’ discarding the Level Eight ‘Blue-Eyes White Dragon’ to draw two cards.” He drew, but paid very little attention to the new addition to his hand. “Reveal,” Lawrence declared, “the Trap card ‘Call of the Haunted’, reviving my ‘Felgrand Dragon’!”
What? I thought. Why would he revive that other dragon when he could revive 'Blue-Eyes' instead?
Unfortunately for me, I was about to get my answer.
“When ‘Felgrand Dragon’ is summoned from the Graveyard,” Lawrence explained as his dragon reappeared, “he gains extra Attack equal to two hundred times the Level of the highest Level monster that's still in my Graveyard. In this case, that's the Level Eight 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon'.”
The ‘Felgrand Dragon’ was wreathed in a menacing golden aura (ATK: 2800+1600=4400).
“I activate ‘Mystical Space Typhoon’,” Lawrence declared, “to destroy your ‘Backfire’ card, and I attack with Eternal Burst!” ‘Felgrand Dragon’ fired his attack, brighter than before, incinerating my dragon with ease (8000+2900-4400=6500).
Lawrence controls the entire field, I realized. I can still turn this around, but I need one more card. This is it, I thought, determined, waves of heat rolling up my body, I’m putting everything I have into this next turn.
Sarah
“My ‘Vampire Genesis’ has a powerful effect,” said Max. “I discard the ‘Despair from the Dark’ to summon a lower Level monster back from my Graveyard. Live again, ‘Spirit Reaper’!” The spectral reaper appeared again at Max’s side, his scythe held out ahead of him as if longing to be swung (ATK: 300).
“Next I play ‘Card of Demise’,” Max continued.
He drew five more cards and when he saw them he smiled a wicked, evil-looking smile.
“It’s over,” Max declared. “I play ‘Book of Life’, removing ‘Aqua Spirit’ in your Graveyard from play and summoning back a Zombie from my Graveyard. Return, ‘Despair from the Dark’!” A massive shadow shaped like an elongated torso rose up out of Max’s own shadow, flexing long, menacing claws (ATK: 2800).
“And,” Max continued, “I summon the undead mistress, ‘Vampire Lady’!” A female vampire appeared, wearing a tight black dress (ATK: 1550).
“I attack with all of my monsters,” Max commanded. ‘Genesis’ summoned up a swarm of bats that ripped my sea dragon to shreds (8300+2600-3000=7900), ‘Spirit Reaper’ slashed with his scythe (7900-300=7600), ‘Vampire Lady’ swiped at me with razor sharp, blood red claws (7600-1550=6050), and ‘Despair from the Dark’ slashed me across the chest (6050-2800=3250).
“Finally I activate ‘Offerings to the Doomed’,” Max concluded, “destroying ‘Despair from the Dark’ and triggering the Spell card ‘A Deal with Dark Ruler’.” Mummy wrappings reached up out of the ground, crushing the massive shadow. It turned to smoke, which reformed into a skeletal brown dragon with long tufts of white hair coming off of the back of its head (ATK: 3500).
“‘Berserk Dragon’,” Max commanded, “Berserk Flame!” The dragon unleashed a wave of fireballs that hit me straight on. I'd lost. I expected Max to be dismissive of me, but surprisingly he walked up to me, and he shook my hand. I might not have been able to beat him, but I'd come closer than either of had expected, and I'd earned Max's respect.
And hey, I can live with that.
Tucker
I pulled my card, my Soul of Fire glowing faintly. It was the perfect draw.
“It’s time that this duel came to an end,” I announced, completely confident.
“You can’t beat me in this turn,” said Lawrence. “You have no monsters in play, no set cards, and I control a monster with over four thousand Attack!”
“You always underestimate me, Lawrence,” I said. “Even after Jen and I beat you, you thought you were better than us. Well, you’re wrong. You’ll never get stronger until you learn to stop belittling your opponents. I play ‘Monster Reborn’.”
Lawrence scoffed, “There aren’t any monsters in your Graveyard that can help you now.”
“You’re right,” I said, “but there’s one in your Graveyard that just might.”
The red ankh flashed, and from its light emerged a brilliant white dragon with piercing blue eyes. It spread its wings and roared. “I summon, the legendary ‘Blue-Eyes White Dragon’ (ATK: 3000)!
“But the dragon won’t remain for long,” I continued, as the white dragon was swallowed up by a growing blue flame. “I tribute your monster to activate ‘Incandescent Ordeal’!” the flames took the form of a man wearing a jacket made of crimson fire, blue armor, and carrying a staff and a dagger. “Summon forth, ‘Legendary Flame Lord’ (ATK: 2400)!”
“Not that monster,” Lawrence protested, his confidence wavering. “I won’t lose to that monster. Not again.”
“I beg to differ,” I replied. “I play ‘Pot of Greed’ to draw two cards and place a Spell Counter on my monster.” I drew two cards, and the flames around my monster flared up. I looked at my new hand. Perfect.
“Next,” I said, “I activate the Spell cards ‘Dark Room of Nightmare’ and ‘Meteor of Destruction’ dealing you thirteen hundred damage!” A fireball fell from the sky, surrounding Lawrence with flames (3500-1300=2200). “Now I remove three Spell Counters from my monster,” I declared, “triggering his ultimate attack, Annihilating Inferno!” A dome of fire erupted out from my monster, incinerating the ‘Felgrand Dragon’.
“Now I attack,” I commanded, “with Surge of Fire!” My monster crossed his dagger and his staff, summoning flames which poured down over my opponent, ending the duel, and settling my old score with Lawrence once and for all (2200-2400=0).
I walked over to Lawrence, who looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown, and I said, "Listen, man, I don't like you too much, but I can read people, and I know you aren't the jerk you pretend to be. So, like, get tougher, and we'll fight again."
I offered Lawrence my hand. To my surprise, he actually collected himself, and shook it.
Card of the Day:
Legendary Flame Lord
Played by: Lawrence
I want to show off some of Sarah's cards here, but, quite frankly, Tucker's duel is just more impressive, and his victory, where he uses Lawrence's ace monster to summon this one for the win is, if I do say so, pretty great. Lawrence hasn't grown much yet over the course of the series, but he has grown, and considering how far ahead of Tucker he was in Book One, Tucker's concise victory over Lawrence here is a true testament to how much more powerful he has become.
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