The Dragon Duelist
Prologue- Duel of the Dragons
"This battle for the Duel Monsters championship will now begin. The finalists, Seto Kaiba and Ansem Jaeger will now begin their match." The announcer told the fans surrounding Kaiba's personal arena. "The winner will be crowned the uncontested champion!"
Kaiba and Ansem stared each other down from opposite ends of the arena. The massive duel arena's holographic projections came to life, as 2000 life points appeared at both duelist's respective stations, and a veil of silence fell over the scene.
"Duel." Ansem and Kaiba said together. Upon saying this, each competitor drew five cards from their deck, glancing at one another to decide who would go first.
"I'll start this duel with Battle Ox!" Kaiba declared, summoning the axe-wielding Beast-Warrior monster onto the field (1700/1000).
"Not bad." Ansem noted as he drew a card from the top of his deck. "I'll play one card face-down, and summon a monster in defense mode."
Two rectangles of light appeared on Ansem's side of the dueling area, placing a protective wall around his life points.
Kaiba drew a card- the Rude Kaiser. "I'll also play a monster in defense mode." Kaiba stated, playing a monster from his hand. "And I'll have Battle Ox attack your defense monster!"
"Big mistake, Kaiba." Ansem said, flipping over his defense monster. "My monster is Prevent Rat (500/2000)! Your attack isn't high enough to defeat him!"
Kaiba grimaced as he lost 300 life points, ceding the proverbial first blood of the duel. "It appears I've underestimated you."
"Indeed." Ansem nodded. "Now I'll summon Koumori Dragon in attack mode!" Upon saying this, a small purple dragon emerged, glaring at Battle Ox. Unfortunately, its stats weren't quite enough (1500/1200) to match the Battle Ox. "And I'll play a Magic Card, Dragon Treasure! It increases the Attack and Defense of any Dragon-type monster by 300 points!" Sure enough, the Koumori Dragon's power was elevated (1800/1500). With the additional boost, Koumori Dragon shot at Battle Ox, and proceeded to rip it to shreds.
Kaiba growled as his LP dropped to 1600. "Well-played." He drew a new card. "But not good enough! Go, Swordstalker!" The monster appeared on the field (2000/1600). "Now, my Swordstalker… destroy the Koumori Dragon!" With a swing of the monster's blade, Koumori Dragon was no more.
Ansem's LP dropped to 1800. He seemed indifferent to this, as he drew a new card from the top of his deck. "I'll play another monster in defense mode and end my turn."
"Not quite good enough." Kaiba smiled. "First I'll play this card- Sogen! It boosts the attack power of all Warrior and Beast-Warrior type monsters by 200 points!" Swordstalker's power was elevated (2200/1800), moving up high enough to cripple both of Ansem's monsters. "I'll also summon the Rude Kaiser, who gets an equal power boost- (1800/1600- 2000/1800). I play another magic card- Stop Defense!" Sure enough, both of Ansem's monsters were forced into Attack position- revealing their stats. Prevent Rat was the more easily vulnerable choice (500/2000) and Ansem's other monster, another Koumori Dragon (1500/1200) wouldn't last too long either. "And my Swordstalker will repay your Prevent Rat for that stunt you pulled."
"No!" Ansem cried, watching in horror.
"Yes!" Kaiba laughed. The Swordstalker charged forward, cutting Prevent Rat to pieces, as his LP took the long drop down to 100.
Growling, but unwilling to give up- Ansem drew a card from the top of his deck. His frown changed to a sinister smile, as he pulled two cards from his hand. "First I'll play one card face-down…"
"You'd be better off admitting defeat!" Kaiba mocked.
"Not quite." Ansem replied, placing his second card down. "I summon my most powerful monster- Tri-Horned Dragon!"
A collective gasp went out from the crowd, as the massive dragon appeared on the field. Amongst its intimidating blue carapace and triple-horned head, the duel fans could make out its incredible attack and defense power (2850/2350) and how the match had suddenly shifted into Ansem's favor. A massive burst of flame from the Tri-Horned Dragon incinerated the Sword Stalker, bringing Kaiba's LP down to 950.
Kaiba drew a card from the top of his deck, and shrugged. "I can't do anything- except win this duel, that is! Rude Kaiser, destroy the Koumori Dragon!"
The twin-bladed reptilian charged forward, preparing to hack Koumori Dragon to pieces… when a small troupe of soldiers suddenly materialized around the purple beast, protecting it and negating the attack.
"Your attack activates my trap- Reinforcements!" Ansem smiled. "It boosts
any selected monster's attack by 500 points!" The Koumori Dragon was now
powerful enough to match Rude Kaiser's attack power (2000), leaving the
battle at a stalemate. "And, as an added bonus- my Tri-Horned Dragon can
now destroy your monster!" Another raging fireball incinerated Kaiba's
monster, bringing his life points down to match his adversary.
"It appears I've settled the score."
Kaiba at first seemed enraged- but slowly formed a grin. "Quite the opposite…this duel is over. Powerful as your dragon is- mine is virtually invincible!" Kaiba drew a card from his hand and slammed it down onto the dueling area. "I summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" From the virtual duel systems in the arena, a massive white beast emerged… roaring triumphantly as it appeared on the field before its adversary- dwarfing even its high attack power (3000/2500). "Now, obliterate the Tri-Horned Dragon! Show which monster is truly the most powerful!"
The Blue Eyes let loose a massive burst of light energy, which literally ripped the Tri-Horned to pieces, draining away Ansem's remaining life points- winning the duel then and there.
The announcer waited until the ending had set in, and pointed towards Kaiba. "Your winner- Seto Kaiba: the new undisputed champion of Duel Monsters!"
Various crowd members cheered. Others remained indifferent. Ansem climbed down from the arena as Kaiba let out a triumphant laugh. The fans crowded around him, and he basked in their glow.
Ansem placed his deck in his pocket, staring at his Tri-Horned Dragon. Knowing the beast to be inferior to the Blue Eyes in anyway, he pocketed the monster alongside his other dragons.
"I have no right to call myself a champion." Ansem said to himself.
"Nor can I call myself a dragon duelist. Not until I can control the strongest
Dragon-type monster there is." He raised one arm, and knowing no one could
hear him, proclaimed: "I will defeat Seto Kaiba! And I shall claim the
Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"