Can even Jen defeat the powerhouse that is Hiro? Jen has the advantage of being a badass (of the Badass Bookworm variety), but Hiro is basically a living Deus Ex Machina!
Chapter ElevenRound Three;
The Forest vs. the Heavens
Jen
“Get ready,” the announcer called over the speakers once the short (and uneventful) break between rounds had ended, “because the first semi-final duel is about to start! For the semi-finals the pairings have been made using our computer to ensure complete randomization. And the computer has made its first pairing: Jen, the Forest Duelist against Hiro, the mysterious Duelist with the Judgment Deck! We’ve seen both of these Duelists pull off some amazing combos today, and I can’t help but wonder, what combos will they use against each other?”
The crowd cheered.
I knew I’d end up facing Hiro, I thought. Just as well. This is the perfect chance to prove just how good I am.
Hiro was already halfway to the duel platform when I stepped through the doorway and onto the stadium floor. By the time I reached the platform, Hiro was already there waiting.
“Do you care who goes first?” I asked. Hiro shook his head. “Good,” I said, “then I’ll go.” I drew my opening hand, Well, I guess this will have to do.
“I summon ‘Pinch Hopper’ in defense mode,” I declared, “and place a card face-down.” A grasshopper the size of a large dog appeared next to the hologram of my face-down card (DEF: 1200).
“Then I’ll summon my ‘Royal Knight’,” said Hiro, and the angelic knight from Hiro’s last duel appeared at its master’s side, its sword raised (ATK: 1300). “My monster destroys your ‘Hopper’,” Hiro declared, and the knight slashed, cutting my ‘Hopper’ in half. “This activates my monster’s effect,” Hiro explained, “increasing my Life Points by an amount equal to the destroyed monster’s Defense (8000+1200=9200).”
“It also triggers my ‘Hopper’’s effect,” I said, “letting me summon any Insect monster from my hand. I choose ‘Petit Moth’!” A pale green worm appeared (DEF: 200).
Hiro stifled a laugh, “Really? No way that's the best you can do.”
I smiled a confident smile that would have made my cousin proud, “I know what I’m doing.”
But the truth was, I hadn’t drawn any stronger monsters. ‘Petit Moth’ really was the best I had.
“I end my turn,” Hiro declared, “with two face-down cards.”
“Then I reveal,” I countered, “the Spell card ‘Mystical Space Typhoon’, summoning up a powerful gust strong enough to destroy the face-down card on your right.”
A bust of wind tore at the face-down card. Come on, I thought, hit a Counter Trap. The card was torn apart, a moment after it was revealed as the Counter Trap card ‘Seven Tools of the Bandit’. I smiled.
“Now,” I continued, “I activate the Spell card ‘Smashing Ground’, destroying you monster.” A hologram of my Spell card appeared, and a ring of light appeared below it.
“Reveal,” said Hiro, “the Counter Trap ‘Magic Jammer’, discarding one card to negate and destroy your Spell card.” He sent a card to the Graveyard, and the ring flashed, causing my Spell card to fade into the light and disappear.
“Good,” I said. “I managed to clear away your Traps with my decoys. That means I can play ‘Insect Imitation’, tributing my ‘Petit Moth’ to summon another Insect in face-down defense position.” My ‘Petit Moth’ disappeared, and a hologram of a set card took its place.
“I set another card,” I concluded, “and end my turn.”
Hiro drew his next card. “Then I tribute ‘Royal Knight’,” He declared, “to summon ‘Majestic Mech – Ohka’.” The beast-like mech angel appeared in place of Hiro’s knight, letting loose a mighty roar (ATK: 2400).
“‘Ohka’,” Hiro commanded in a matter-of-fact tone, “Attack the face-down monster.”
‘Ohka’ raised his claws, but his strike was repelled by an energy field, summoned up by a trio of priests in blue robes.
“‘Woboku’ protects my monster from battle damage this turn,” I explained, “but my monster is still flipped up, revealing it as the deadly ‘Parasite Paraside’.”
A green, many-legged, multi-tentacled insect appeared, emitting a hissing sound.
“When ‘Parasite Paraside’ is flipped face-up it’s added to my opponent’s deck face-up," I explained. "Then, when my opponent draws it, it’s Special Summoned to their field, infecting their monsters and turning them into insects.”
There was a flash of green light, and the hologram of ‘Parasite Paraside’ disappeared. I picked up the card, walked over and handed it to Hiro. He set it on top of his deck and then removed his deck from his Duel Disk, ready to shuffle.
“Don’t bother with that,” I said, smiling. I drew a card to begin my turn, and I took another card from my hand, showing it to Hiro. “My ‘Jade Insect Whistle’ forces you to add an Insect monster from your deck to the top of your deck, and I figure that ‘Parasite Paraside’ is the only one. I’ll also activate ‘Insect Barrier’, for when ‘Paraside’’s effect kicks in next turn.”
I turned to walk back to my side of the arena. As I passed half way, a mesh of yellow threads made of light rose up between me and my opponent. I turned to face him, crossing my arms, displaying unwavering confidence, but I knew that my combo wasn’t as fool proof as I was making it sound. I still had a ways to go, but I had no choice but to feign confidence. If I didn’t, my opponent would run me over.
Hiro drew, adding the ‘Parasite Paraside’ card to his hand. “The effect of ‘Parasite Paraside’ activates,” he said. “It’s Special Summoned to my side of the field, and I take one thousand points of damage (9200-1000=8200).”
“Don’t forget,” I added, as the bizarre insect appeared again under my opponent’s control, “that my ‘Parasite Paraside’ infects your monsters with Insect-type DNA.” ‘Paraside’’s tentacles reached out, sliding under ‘Ohka’’s ceramic armor, and from the crystal underneath the armor ‘Ohka’ sprouted insect legs and tentacles of its own.
“Your plan is good,” said Hiro. “Trying to stall by turning my monster’s into Insect-types with ‘Paraside’’s effect and then putting up an ‘Insect Barrier’ is really good, but it’s not nearly good enough. I tribute ‘Majestic Mech – Ohka’ and ‘Parasite Paraside’ to summon the unstoppable ‘Majestic Mech – Goryu’!”
The two monsters were replaced by the massive angelic dragon. The gaps between his body segments emitted a bright light, and he roared (ATK: 2900).
I’m out of stall tactics, I thought as the mighty beast loomed overhead. But this is the monster I wanted to fight. Out of all the monsters that Hiro’s summoned so far today, this one’s the strongest.
“‘Goryu’,” Hiro commanded, “attack!” The dragon’s mouth glowed, and it breathed light down on me, tearing through the mesh of yellow strands and hitting me square in the chest (8000-2900=5100).
“Now,” said Hiro, “I play ‘Card of Sanctity’, letting us both draw until we hold six cards.”
We refilled our hands. Hiro looked over his cards and said, “I end my turn.”
I’d drawn, but I hadn’t looked at my cards yet. I closed my eyes, contemplating what to do next.
John
This is it, I thought. I’ve known Jen my entire life. She’s my cousin, but she’s also one of my closest friends. I know she can do better than this. In Duel Monsters or in real life, Jen’s strong. I want to see just how strong with my own eyes.
I could tell that Jen was debating whether or not to look at her hand. She’d been excited to face Hiro, but ‘Goryu’ is one of the strongest monsters in the game. Even from my place just outside the waiting room, I could tell how hopeless she felt.
Come on Jen, I thought. If anyone can defeat Hiro, you can.
She opened her eyes, and she looked over at me, looking into my eyes as if she could feel my encouragement. I nodded, and she smiled and nodded back.
Jen
Things were looking bad. I was thinking of giving up when I felt a wave of confidence washing over me. I looked back toward the waiting room. John was standing there, watching. I respect my cousin. No matter what, I can’t stand to let him down. He nodded to me, and I knew that I had to keep trying. I nodded back, and turned back to opponent.
“Alright Hiro,” I said, “I may have had some pretty bad luck so far, but that’s about to change!” I turned over my hand and looked at the seven cards, and I smiled.
Now that’s what I’m talking about!
“I might not win,” I said, “and frankly, I never really expected that I would, but ever since I saw this dragon of yours, I’ve wanted to fight it, to prove that I’m at least near your level. So I’m gonna put up one hell of a fight!”
I ejected three cards from my Graveyard and placed them in my pocket.
“I remove ‘Pinch Hopper’, ‘Petit Moth’ and ‘Parasite Paraside’ from play,” I declared, “to summon ‘Doom Dozer’ and ‘Aztekipede the Worm Warrior’!”
To either side of me the ground opened up, and two massive centipedes emerged. One was red, and the other was green. Both had Aztec-style markings carved into the shell segments on their backs (ATK: 2800/ATK: 1900).
My monsters roared, emitting a hissing sound, and I crossed my arms in defiance. “Get ready Hiro,” I said, “because here I come!”
Card of the Day:
Majestic Mech - Goryu
Played by: Hiro
It's almost as powerful as the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", has a piercing effect, and a built-in method of summoning it easily. Yeah, this monster is pretty intimidating.
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