Pegasus giving unfair tests to other characters? No way, he's never done that before. This is totally out of character!
Sarcasm mode disengage.
Chapter Twenty-NineA Clash of Wills!
Battle of the Ultimate Cards
“It looks like you’ve realized what kind of situation you’re in,” said Thomas. “John, you’re my friend, and you’re a resourceful player, but you’re pretty straight-forward. It sucks, but you represent a lot of players’ styles. Too many Duelists strong-arm their ways to victory. My deck used to be the same way, just throwing as much of ‘Ignis’’ fire at the opponent as possible and hoping to take them out, but I realized that I didn’t want to be like that.
“So,” he continued, “over the summer I sat down every night and tried to improve my deck, but I just couldn’t do it. Not until I remembered something you said about creating a focus around summoning tokens to fuel my spirit monster’s effect, and I remembered seeing a card in the bottom of my spare cards box, the ‘Graveyard of Wandering Souls’. As soon as I added this card to my deck,” he gestured at the hologram of his Trap, “everything fell into place, and it’s all thanks to you. Now, I can beat you!”
“Our decks aren’t the only thing that matter,” I replied. “A Duelist’s inner strength, his will to fight, matters every bit as much as the cards he plays. Our decks are each built expertly well, and when two experts’ decks clash, it is their wills that will decide the battle in the end.”
“Well,” said Thomas, “let’s see whose will is stronger, once and for all. I begin and end my turn with the Spell card ‘Card of Safe Return’, so that each time you do kill my ‘Fox Fire’, I don’t just deal you damage and summon a Token, I also draw a card.”
“Good move,” I said approvingly. “Here goes. I draw!”
He’s put me in a tough situation. Every time I attack, I increase his advantage, but I don’t have any other method of winning than through attacks. I can’t change who I am, or how I play this game, since it reflects who I am. All I can do is carry on!
“I summon,” I declared, “my ‘Djinn Presider of Rituals’.”
The obese monster appeared, standing at my side (ATK: 1800).
“Summoning an audience to watch me win?” Thomas asked, smiling with pride.
I smiled back, “I attack your monster with ‘Presider’.”
The crowd gasped collectively. “You can’t be serious,” Thomas remarked, shocked by my recklessness, but I only continued to smile.
‘Presider’ slashed the fox in half, and there was another explosion ala ‘Backfire’ (4100-500-300=3300). I ignored it.
“I summon a ‘Fireball Token’,” Thomas declared, and another of the ghostly fireballs appeared.
“I attack it as well, with ‘Red-Eyes Black Dragon’,” I continued, and the dragon snuffed the ‘Fireball Token’ out with his claws.
“And the skull demon attacks directly!” I concluded. ‘Summoned Skull’ summoned lightning to rain down on Thomas, and he took his first real hit (7700-2500=5200).
I don’t have any Spells or Traps to play, I thought, at least not yet.
“I end my turn.”
“Then my ‘Fox Fire’ revives,” said Thomas, “and I draw an extra card.”
He drew two cards, one for his Spell card effect, and one to begin his turn.
“I play ‘Graceful Charity’ to draw three cards,” Thomas declared, “and then discard two. I discard two copies of ‘Hinotama Soul’, which activates ‘Graveyard of Wandering Souls’ twice, summoning two ‘Fireball Tokens’ to the field in defense mode.”
Two fireballs appeared, floating around the head of the elemental fox.
“I place one card face-down, and I end my turn. Give me your best shot.”
I smiled, There are times when this kid really reminds me of me. His whole attitude, he’s like me if I hadn’t been forced to grow up so fast and fight so hard. I was wrong to assume that defeating him would be easy.
“I wouldn’t dream of giving this duel anything but my best,” I said, “and don’t think I’m dumb enough to attack your ‘Fox Fire’ again, when I can’t deal you any damage. Instead, I’ll attack the two ‘Fireball Tokens’ with ‘Red-Eyes’ and ‘Summoned Skull’.”
“And I,” Thomas declared, “counter with the Trap card ‘Negate Attack’!”
Flames and Lightning poured from my monsters, but they were swallowed up by a vortex long before they could reach the targets.
“I change ‘Presider’ to defense,” I concluded, “set one card, and end my turn.”
“This duel is almost over,” Thomas began. He drew another card.
“I begin,” Thomas declared, “with the Spell card ‘Card of Demise’, to draw until I hold five cards.”
He drew again.
“Next, I summon my sprit monster, and the key to my entire deck, and my favorite monster, ‘Flame Spirit - Ignis’!”
The fox-faced, many-eyes fire spirit appeared, floating in the air at Thomas’ side, his arms crossed defiantly (ATK: 1500). Thomas’ stance mirrored that of his monster.
“I tribute ‘Fox Fire’ and two ‘Fireball Tokens’ to cripple you,” Thomas declared, “with a total of twenty-one hundred damage!”
“In that case,” I countered, as Thomas’ other three monsters disappeared, and a barrage of fireballs appeared hanging in the air, in their place, “I use my last act of desperation. I discard ‘D.D. Crow’ to remove ‘Goka, the Pyre of Malice’ in your Graveyard from play!”
Some of the fireballs disappeared, just as ‘Ignis’ let the fireballs fly. They hit me, dealing not twenty-one hundred damage, but a much more manageable eighteen hundred (3300-1800=1500).
“Also,” I continued, “because I discarded a monster, I can also discard ‘Card Gifter’ to draw two cards from my deck.”
I discarded my second monster, and immediately drew two cards.
“A ‘Fireball Token’ is summoned when ‘Fox Fire’ goes to the Grave,” Thomas explained, the ghostly fire appearing, hanging in the air at ‘Ignis’’ side. “I tribute it as well, dealing you another six hundred damage!”
If he’s planning what I think he’s planning, I realized, Then I only have one chance!
“I remove a card in my Graveyard from play…”
I was pelted by more fireballs, smoke surrounding me.
“Now,” said Thomas, “I pay five hundred Life to Special Summon ‘Angel of Holy Fire’,” A living form of fire in the shape of a woman appeared at Thomas’ opposite side (ATK: 1100).
“When my monster leaves the field, she is removed from play,” Thomas explained, “but with two monsters out, I have enough tributes left to finish you off!”
“Not true,” I replied.
“What?”
“When you activated your most recent tribute effect,” I explained, “I took a gamble and activated the effect of the first card sent to my Graveyard this duel, by the effect of ‘Dealings in Darkness’, and it paid off because that card was 'Damage Eater'! Instead of taking six hundred damage, I gained six hundred Life (1500+600=2100)!”
Thomas, frowned, but he insisted, “I still win! I tribute ‘Ignis’ to evolve him into his most powerful form!”
‘Ignis’ transformed. He became more humanoid, with defined legs, wearing red armor and a fiery orange and red sash around his waist, and his black-gloved wrists. He had long, scruffy orange hair, short horns, orange skin covered in glowing tattoos, four piercing red eyes, and a short, fox-like nose. His fingers ended in white-hot claws, and flames danced between them.
“This,” Thomas declared, “is the ‘Fire Elemental – True Ignis’ (ATK: 2700)! Once per turn, he can channel the soul of one other monster on the field into a direct attack, dealing you damage equal to half that monster’s Attack power.”
‘Angel of Holy Fire’ was absorbed into ‘Ignis’, and a fireball appeared in ‘Ignis’’ right hand. He threw it right at me, nailing me square in the chest, flames curing around my body (2100-550-300=1250).
“My ‘Angel’’s effect increases my ‘Ignis’’ power by one thousand until the end of the turn,” Thomas explained, and I looked at ‘Ignis’ and saw that he was right. A portion of the ‘Angel’’s fire lingered in ‘Ignis’’ hand, spreading from his hand across his body to his whip (ATK: 2700+1000=3700).
“Next,” Thomas continued, “I remove the last obstacle to my victory with the Spell card ‘Heavy Storm’, destroying every Spell and Trap in play. This has the added bonus of destroying your ‘Skull’, which was summoned by ‘Call of the Haunted’.”
A massive whirlwind picked up, its destructive force ripping apart ‘Backfire’, ‘Dark Room of Nightmare’, ‘Graveyard of Wandering Souls’, and ‘Card of Safe Return’, as well as my ‘Call of the Haunted’ and my face-down card. ‘Summoned Skull’ faded into wisps of black smoke.
“‘Ignis’ attacks your ‘Red-Eyes’ with Fire Claw!” Thomas commanded. “I win!”
‘Ignis’ slashed with his white-hot claws, right at the dragon’s head, flinging waves of heat and flame right at him, but at the last second, the heat waves were deflected by an invisible barrier, three chanting monks appearing behind it, speaking an imperceptible prayer.
“Sorry, Thomas,” I told my opponent, genuinely sorry, “but just before it was destroyed, I triggered my face-down ‘Waboku’. Me and my monsters are safe from damage for a full turn. Your finishing move has been brought to a halt, and it’s my turn. That means I have one more chance to turn this duel around. In fact, if I fail to make a comeback this turn, I’ll give the duel to you.”
“The only way to truly turn this duel around,” Thomas explained, “would be to destroy ‘True Ignis’, but he has another Special Ability. If he’s destroyed in battle, I can remove two fire monsters in my Graveyard from play to revive him in the next turn! Getting by him is almost impossible.”
“Good,” I said. “I like doing the impossible. I draw!”
When I saw my next card, I was relieved, Finally! Now maybe I’ll be able to draw something worthwhile.
“I play ‘Pot of Greed’,” I declared, “to draw two cards.”
I drew again, and when I would usually have been proud, I wasn’t. I frowned.
“Sorry again, Thomas,” I said, “but I win. I finally have everything I need to summon my ultimate card. I summon ‘D.D. Guide’ to your side of the field.”
The cloaked figure of my monster appeared alongside ‘Ignis’ (ATK: 1400).
“Also,” I continued, “since your ‘Graveyard of Wandering Souls’ was still in effect when your original ‘Ignis’ was removed from the field, you still control a single ‘Fireball Token’. I play ‘Level Value’. I return the Level four or lower ‘Djinn Presider of Rituals’ to my deck to draw cards equal to half his level, rounded up.”
My ‘Presider Disappeared, and I drew more cards.
“Now,” I continued, “because you control at least two more monsters than I do, I can Special Summon ‘The Fiend Megacyber’.”
The yellow and black warrior appeared at my side.
“And I discard two cards,” I continued, “to transform my warrior into ‘The Fiend Omegacyber’.”
Energy built around my monster, and his armor burned away, forming the distinctive white armor that was characteristic of his more powerful form. He stood there, bolts of energy lancing off of him, rolling across his entire body (ATK: 3000).
“I attack,” I commanded, “with ‘Omegacyber’’s Omega Impact!”
My monster charged forward and punched the ‘D.D. Guide’ as hard as he could, saturating him with static energy that blasted him apart (4700+1400-3000=3100).
“You left my ‘Ignis’?” Thomas wondered. “Why?”
“Because I’m not through with you yet,” I answered. “I play ‘Quick Summon’, tributing ‘Omegacyber’ to summon the Dark God, ‘Great Maju Garzett’!”
‘The Fiend Omegacyber’ turned into black smoke, which took on the shape of my monster, a skeletal demon with a brown body and a glowing gem embedded in his forehead and in each of his massive, strong-looking shoulders. Dark flames burned in my monster’s hands as he rose up to his full, towering height of twenty or so feet.
“My monster’s Attack,” I explained, “is twice the Attack of the sacrificed monster (ATK: 6000). I watched Thomas, as the realization of defeat spread across his face, and I realized in that moment that I just couldn’t do it.
“But it’s still possible that you have something in your hand that will defeat me if I attack, so rather than be humiliated, I’ll end on a high note.”
I placed my hand on my Duel Disk, over my Life counter and my deck, “I surrender.”
At first nothing happened. The room was silent. Everyone was shocked. Then our Duel Disks shut down and our monsters disappeared, and the room erupted with cheers.
Pegasus walked back over and stepped up onto the arena alongside a still-stunned Thomas, giving me an approving look. He turned to the crowd and lifted a microphone to his lips, “Both Duelists fought well, but the winner is clear.”
He turned to my friend, and shook his hand, “Thomas, welcome to the Industrial Illusions family!”
Thomas looked at me, and asked, “Why?”
I smiled, “because you’ve learned more here, at this school, than I ever could hope to. You deserve this, not me.”
And in that moment, for the first time, I was sure that I’d made the right choice.
Card of the Day:
Fire Elemental - True Ignis
Played by: Thomas
Let's face it, Thomas is clearly the focus of these two chapters, not John. This is a card I made for Thomas. The more I wrote for him, the more I liked his character, and I wanted him to have a bigger monster to be his go-to guy, and there just wasn't one which fit the theme of Thomas' deck. I've completely overhauled the look of this monster twice. This, the final look for the monster, was made by me using resources I found online and heavy doses of Gimp.
Original Cards in This Chapter:
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