******************************* Ch. 2: Giant Issues *******************************
Jeff raced his way up and down the side-walks, Jay-walking whenever he could, and jogged in place whenever there was a *do not walk* light up when cars were pulling in and out from corners. Finally, after around thirty minutes had passed, and Jeff now found himself in front of the large civic center. A large crowd was gathered at the entrance, forcing him to weave in and out of people to get to the line. Which by normal standards were pretty long. Jeff's eyes fell upon Nataro who skipped the entire line and paid the doorman off, making all of those who were waiting (as they were supposed to) quite angry. Of course their anger was ignored and after ten more minutes, Jeff had finally arrived to sign himself up. He looked away from the counter and back over the line of people that continued to extend out of the door. The lady at the front desk welcomed him with a smile, waving her hand over to one of the deck terminals that would shuffle his cards. Simultaneously the machine also recorded the cards and printed out a sheet of paper with all of his cards written out with little check-boxes beside them so as to help the duelists keep track of their cards and to be able to note which ones (if any) were missing. There was also a line of question marks that reads '?-?'.
Jeffery: "Uh... excuse me, but what is this?" He'd ask, pointing to the line of question marks with the check box beside it, showing it to the lady at the counter.
Cheery Woman: "Oh, I think it's a glitch or something. Check your deck and get a supervisor to help you if this list was incorrect, 'kay?~"
After a few minutes, he had checked off each and every card that was on the list. Nothing had seemed to be missing. And other than the line of question marks, everything else was normal. With a shrug, he went to the other side of the arena to a man behind a bunch of cases that was handing out duel discs like those used in the 'battle city' arc of the cartoon. With a click, it fastened around his forearm and also tightened around his wrist as to keep it securely in place. The rest of the crowd who had made it within the civic center were either summoning their ace monsters or gawking at them as the duel discs produced moving holograms with sounds to match. Warriors swung their swords through the air grunting out 'Ruaah' sounds, fairies making echoing and majestic chants, dragons bellowing out their roars, and the many other kinds of monsters ushering out their own battle-cries filled the large domed complex. It was amazing as to how easily these holograms were produced from the previous three years that had passed since Nataro's loss at the U.S. championship. This went on for several minutes while Jeffery stared down at his left arm, peering at the back of his cards with a sigh. "Let's do our best, alright?" He'd ask, not really expecting a reply back. Suddenly, the lights went out bringing his attention to a spot-light shone down on an individual on a raised platform. The person's clothes were blackened out by the shadows of the lights and the distance from Jeffery's current position at the front of the civic center, but he could faintly make out a subtle 'top-hat' design like the announcer of the D.U.E.L. network. The person's arms were held upwards, making their body look like the letter 'Y'. Soon after a man's voice rung outwards."Ladies and Gentleman-... Duelists of ALL ages! I welcome you to the North-East United States' third annual tournament!" As soon as he had spoken those words, everyone's duel discs activated and a single 'star' appeared over everybody's head. "As you can see, each and every one of you have a star hovering over your head. Some of you may already know this but for those who do not, this star indicates your current level. The rules are simple. When you win a duel, you will acquire every one of your opponent's stars until you have accumulated twelve." The crowd started to look amongst themselves as in the dim, dark, atmosphere of the civic center. "-FOR EXAMPLE! Should you have seven stars, and your opponent have six, the loser will only be left with one star." The crowd started to whisper to one another as the first rule was issued. A few of the people started to openly complain that their first match would be all or nothing. Of course shortly after, the announcer's arms slowly straightened out on both sides, making his body into the shape of the letter 'T'. "Which means that half of you will be eliminated within the very first round!" Jeffery's heart nearly jumped out of his chest at such startling news. His mind raced as the reality set upon him that he only had a fifty-fifty chance of making it past the first three rounds. However as his eyes lowered back down to his deck, his heart once again sank. He then thought to himself that fifty percent was a bit too much wishful thinking on his end. And he had assumed he had more of a thirty percent chance due to his own lack of dueling experience. He knew the rules like the back of his hand. And he had collected quite a few cards. But when it came to actually producing a deck, and the vast effort that some people put into their decks that teetered on the side of scientific and mathematical methods, he was at the very bottom. He pieced his deck together with cards that he liked, never giving any thought into such things as 'dead-draws' and 'bad hands'. However his thoughts were interrupted by the announcer's voice once again. And instead of a foreboding tone that he had taken before, this one was full of fire and spirit. "So in short, you must give your all in every duel this evening! Let the duels commence." The man's form lowered as the lights went back out, returning to their previous illuminated state a few moments later, causing a few of the duelists around to muster complaints and shield their face as they re-adjusted to the light.
Almost immediately, several duels kicked up which caused a domino effect where everyone would look around to challenge the person closest to them so long as they were neither friend or people they knew they would have a hard time against. And many people actually came up to Jeffery to ask him for a duel. Of course he didn't see it as such a bad thing, but he declined any offers to duel just yet. He was looking forward to just sitting back and watching some of the other games. He knew his time would come where he would be forced to duel. But whether it was a lack of confidence, cowardice, or even both- he just wanted to enjoy what little time he had here watching. In Jeffery's oppinion, he would imagine that this was the beginning stages of great new champions and their first steps towards stardom. He watched several duelists win their first duels only to see them fail the second. Their losses were both a shock to themselves, and a boost of morale to their opponents. Of course Jeffery would always follow the victors to see how they changed with each victory. Time went on and soon many of the duelists had at least ten stars. Jeffery was suprised to find out just how many people were sitting back like he was after they won their first round. Of course this made him feel quite a bit bad, seeing as how he had turned down every chance to duel thus far and never experienced even the first taste of triumph. He was broke out of his little day-dream of how his first victory would feel as a man with eleven stars walked up in front of him. Jeffery's eyes trailed up the man's boots, pants, shirt, and finally up to the guy's face with a wide-eyed expression of awe plastered over his own.
Jeffery: "Oh... your... god..." His eyes were practically saucers. "You're HUGE!" Saying this got everyone's attention to fall upon the man standing at seven feet tall.
Large-Man: "As a winner should be, of course. The name's Gant. I'll be the one taking your star today." He offered a light grin down at Jeffery which was slightly distorted by the size of the man's large, jutting, chin.
Jeffery: "Well uh-... Couldn't you go duel someone else? I'm still not quite ready yet and-" He was cut off as the man gave a growl down at him, not unlike an unhappy grizzly bear.
Gant: "Listen, guy-" Which was interjected by Jeffery telling him his name. "-... Listen Jeff, you're going to duel me. Right here, right now."
Jeffery: "W-what if I don't want to?" He'd ask with an uncertainty whether he wished to hear the next words from this giant man.
Gant: "Or I will hang you by your pants..." He'd reach up beside one of the audience seating platforms, patting the bottom of it where a large bolt was jutting out from. "...-on this for everyone to see."
Jeffery: "..." He'd close his eyes and started to huff out a puff of held breath in disappointment. "Fine. You don't give a guy very much options, do you?" After opening his eyes, Jeffery looked down at his deck again. "Well- Here goes nothing."
Gant: "I thought you'd see it my way." The man's smirk straightened back out into a serious scowl. "I'll take the first move." He'd raise his duel disc, causing a whirring noise and the people beside them to take a few steps back, giving them their due space. "I draw." He'd pull his card out of his duel disc along with his starting five cards for his hand and squinted his eyes. "First, I activate Catapult Zone." The area around them started to rumble as large boulders jutted up from the ground, encircling them both. Off behind Gant was a large medieval looking catapult with soldiers manning them. "Next, I discard my giant soldier of stone to special summon Power Giant from my hand." A large crystal-like giant erupted out of the ground with flicks of greens, blues, yellows, and red lights shimmering off of his body. Power Giant threw its arms out to the side as the attack indicator rose up, revealing its 2000 attack power. "Next, I normal summon my second Giant soldier of stone in defense position. I end my turn." And like the first monster, giant soldier of stone rose up out of the ground, crossing its arms as it kneeled in defense.
Jeffery: "How the hell am I supposed to top two monsters in one turn?" He'd look at the five cards in his hand, drawing one more card. "Draw. Well I suppose I can try..." Jeffery flips over the card that he drew. "I activate hand destruction. With this card, both of us sends two cards from our hand to the graveyard. But we get to draw two new cards." Jeffery discards a 'Kidmodo Dragon' and a 'Spirit Ryu'. "Next, since Kidmodo was sent to the graveyard, I can special summon one dragon type monster from my hand. I choose Dragonic Knight." Jeffery's monster bursts onto the field as it lands from the sky, swiping its sword from left to right before slamming its shield down in a display of aggression. And despite this, it raises it's shield and pulls its sword horizontally above its own head in a show of skill. The attack points indicator jumping to 2800. "Normally, when I activate Kidmodo's effect, I can no longer enter my battle phase. But with this-.." Jeffery places a spell on his duel disc. The card name being Dragon Pass. "I can target one dragon on the field or in the graveyard. Any effects it has are negated. Now- Dragonic Knight, attack Power Giant." The dragon's sword crashes down, causing a large explosion of greyish-brown dust to fly up and cover the field. And on que, Gant's life points fall by 800. However when the dust settles, Power Giant is seen still standing on the field. "How is that possible?"
Gant: "Simple. When a monster on my side of the field would be destroyed by battle, I can send one rock type monster from my deck to the graveyard instead. The cloud of dust was my last Giant Soldier of Stone that I sent from my deck to intercept your attack."
Jeffery: "Okay... I activate Stamping Destruction to destroy your Catapult Zone spell card. Next, you take five hundred points of damage. I summon Troop Dragon in Defense mode and end my turn."
Duel Update:
Gant - 6700 LP, 2 cards in hand.
Jeffery - 8000 LP, 2 cards in hand.
Gant: "That was a pretty decent turn. But not good enough. I Draw." He'd squint his eyes, looking over his monster before seting two facedown cards in the spell / trap card zone. "I attack your troop dragon with Power Giant." One of the band of three troop dragons blows up as the other two scatter. Of course it was only due to Jeffery summoning a second one via the first's effect. "Annoying. Make this last turn count."
Jeffery: "I'm confused... You said it wasn't good enough- Why didn't you do anything to my Dragonic Knight?" Jeffery's eyes fell upon the two face-down cards as his mind started to race with all of the possibilities of what this giant of a man would have in store for him.
Gant: "You'll see for yourself."
Jeffery: "I guess... Draw." He'd look at the card that he pulled from the top of his deck. "I activate mind control." The card was sent to the graveyard as two large hands waved around in the air creating distortion rings that seeped into giant soldier of stone's head. "This lets me take control of one of your monsters. But it cannot attack or be tributed. But now that it's off of your side of the field, my other monsters will have a direct shot at your life points." He'd look at the two cards left in his hand. "I summon Lancer Lindwurm in attack mode." Jeffery's monster crashed down from the sky, sticking its jousting lance into the ground, standing on the top of it with its wings held open, and the two little Troop Dragons started to rally themselves as they were switched into attack mode. The lance-wielding dragon's attack indicator rose to 1800. "Now Dragonic Knight attacks your Power Giant." The sword came crashing down again, causing another 800 points of damage. "Next, troop dragon attacks directly." The two little dragons slammed their shields into Gant's legs which caused another 700 damage. "And finally Lancer Lindwurm attacks you directly." The dragon used its tail to chuck the lance, striking through Gant and causing another 1800 damage. The lance grew two wings, flying back over to the Lancer Lindwurm's claws. "I end my turn."
Duel Update:
Gant - 3400 LP. 0 cards in hand
Jeffery: 8000 LP. 1 card in hand
Gant: "...Draw." As the giant man's face twisted into a horrific-looking (To Jeff) smirk, Jeffery's face went pale. The giant man still had yet to use his facedown cards. "Since your turn is over, I get my giant soldier of stone back." The giant stone soldier retreated back to its master and kneeled again in obedience. "I activate my two facedown cards. Both of which are Rock Bombardment!" Two large catapults erupted from the ground firing large boulders at Jeffery, dealing a combined 1000 damage. "The cards I've sent were two Mine Golems. Next, I remove them both from play to special summon Gaia Plate the Earth Giant from my hand!" The massive golem bursts from the ground sending a shockwave through the boulder-littered field. The attack points indicator reaching 2800.
Jeffery: "Oh man. That doesn't look good. The only monster I have to put up a fight against that is my Dragonic Knight."
Gant: "Wrong." This one word made Jeffery's face even more pale which was coupled by the Giant soldier of stone assuming a fighting position. "When this card battles a monster, that monster's attack and defense are HALVED." The giant golem loomed its way over to the armor-clad, sword and shield wielding, dragon. Dragonic Knight's eyes went white as it started to hunker down as if it were afraid. "Attack Dragonic Knight and show it just how powerful a real giant can be." The golem's fist came crashing down, covering everything but the dragon's tail and its wings. And as the fist raised up off of it, an explosion occured, causing a fissure to race over and cause jagged pillars of earth to pierce against Jeffery causing 1400 points of damage. The only thing to remain was a sword and shield. Poor Dragonic Knight was nowhere to be seen. "Now, Giant Soldier of stone, attack Troop Dragon." The monolith-like sword crashed into one of the two dragons, leaving the last one to chirp and hiss as it cowered behind its shield. The little explosion the sword caused sent 500 points of damage towards Jeffery, who replaced the card with the last copy of troop dragon. The last of the pack of three on the field. "I end my turn."
Duel Update:
Gant - 3400 LP. 0 cards in hand
Jeffery - 5900 LP. 1 card in hand
Jeffery: "Damn it all... No wonder you have so many stars. Nobody's a match for that thing. Plus you can easily chip in damage wherever you want." He'd lower his duel disc, closing his eyes. "What was I thinking, coming here. My monsters are only getting killed out there." He opened his eyes and looked to the little troop dragon that was left as it waved its spear around in defiance of its comrade's destruction. His eyes blinked as though he had some sort of epiphany. "You're right... We are up against such terrible things." He'd look to the Lancer Lindwurm which gave a growl at the Giant Earthen Construct. "But we will at least fight back for our buddies." He'd pick his duel disc up, "I draw." His eyes lost focus as he allowed himself to daydream about winning this whole tournament with Dragonic Knight hefting him high on its armored shoulder. A goofy looking smile came over his face as he lost himself in the thought.
Gant: "There's no monster you could possibly draw that can outmatch my monster's might. And even if you could draw one, it would need over five thousand six hundred attack points to even match up... Hey, are you even listening?! HEY!" Gant's voice boomed out as he balled up his fist in frustration.
Jeffery: "...Uh?-" Jeffery's eyes refocused themselves. "Ah, right. I am so sorry. Um-..." He'd blink down at the card he drew. "You are right about that. None of my monsters alone have any way of beating that giant. In fact-... He's almost unbeatable. But my Dragon Pass spell has another effect." The shield and sword left over from the destroyed Dragonic Knight started to shine. "I can discard one card to the graveyard to add one dragon type monster in my graveyard to my hand. But to do this, I must also banish Dragon Pass from the graveyard."
Gant: "That's not going to help you any." The giant man watched as Jeffery discarded Warrior Dai Grepher to the graveyard.
Jeffery: "Normally, no. But I also activate Shield and Sword." The giant colossus slowly melded halfway into the ground and put its arms up over its face, changing its 1000 defense with its 2800 attack points. "I remember that your monster has the ability to half the attack of anything it battles... So now that my spell has went through, I sacrifice both of my dragons-" The troop dragon began to chirp and jump up and down happily knowing that the creatures that did in it's comrades was going to bite the dust. The Lance and both dragons dissipated as the armored dragon landed once more, letting out the same whirling slashes it did when it was first summoned. "Attack Gaia Plate the Earth Giant!" With a few hesitations, the dragon's attack points fell to 1400 as if it were unsure whether attacking was safe or not. But with one swing of the sword, the Giant crumbled, and the dragon's bravery was renewed. The pieces of the giant construct crumbled and fell through Gant causing 400 points of damage. "I end my turn."
Duel Update:
Gant - 3000 LP. 0 cards in hand
Jeffery - 5900 LP. 0 cards in hand.
Gant: "How could that have happened?" He'd look over the Giant Soldier of stone that he had left in attack position. Its own vague expression a complete contrast to the deep frown on Gant's face. For what seemed like forever, the man just stood there, eyes tracking back and forth as countless thoughts swam through his mind. All of which were how he could get out of this ordeal. From what Jeffery seemed to think, it didn't seem like the man had any chances now. And with a surprisingly loud *PING*, the timer on the man's duel disc reached zero. The words 'End Turn" appeared above his head, forcing Gant to snap out of this shocked state. "Wait, what?! It couldn't have been three minutes."
Jeffery: "I'm sorry..." He'd draw his card, summoning a second Lancer Lindwurm in attack mode. "Lancer, attack his Giant Soldier of stone." The jousting lance was chucked through the soldier and phased through the still speechless Gant,causing another 500 damage. "Dragonic Knight-" He'd pause, looking over what seemed to be a man growing angrier and angrier each time Jeffery's voice rang outwards. "Attack him directly." With a final slash, the dragon reduced the giant man's life points to 0. And with it, the entire 11 stars that were above the man's head. And in the wake of the attack, Jeffery's stars went from 1 to 12, causing a loud *KERCHING* to pierce the crowd, which started to cheer. Jeffery's face turned a bit red from being embarrassed by all of the people's praise. But this was ended a bit prematurely as the man started to man-handle and push people from between Jeffery and the lumbering, angry giant man Gant. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" He'd turn to try and run but was plucked up from the crowd, held high in the air. Jeffery immediately took a fetal position, gaurding his face. But when the pain didn't come, he peeked through his fingers.
Gant: "...Win. Or you -WILL- be hung by your pants. But not from a bolt-... If you lose now, I am hanging you from the top of this stadium." His angry scowl sending shivers down Jeffery's spine. "Got it?"
Jeffery: "D-d-d-deal! You got it... C-can you put me d-d-down now?" The giant man grinned at him and set him back down. "T-t-thank you! Also for not hurting me? Eheh- heh... heh..." He'd offer nervous laughs to try and sway the guy from rethinking whether to clobber him or not.
The giant man merely patted him on the head, walking towards the spectator seats. He'd stop mid-way there and pointed at his own eyes before using the two fingers he pointed with to point towards Jeff to signal that 'he will be watching'. Jeff gave the most terrified gulp he had ever had to make in his entire life and twitchingly turned and placed his hand on the back of his head. The twelve stars above his head began to spin and glow as they formed a circle. "W-what?" Needless to say he was already on edge and this sudden movement made his heart jump into his throat. The announcer came back over the loud-speakers again. "Hello, Duelists! As you can see, our first duelist with twelve stars has emerged!" The stars slowly began to tighten the circle into smaller and smaller rotating rings. Jeffery was trying to get them to stop as now everyone was looking at him. Especially a few of the duelists around who had eight or more stars over their heads. They, themselves, being completely undefeated. And poor Jeffery did not want their attention. However the announcer continued to announce to everyone despite Jeffery's chagrin. "As you can see, these stars will react and MERGE-..." And as it was said, the spinning group of stars tightened the circular motions they were making as they spiraled inwards into one spot, forming a black ball with a golden single golden star. "Into a RANK! This is where the game kicks up. The same rules apply as the first. But ranked duelists will only be able to duel other ranked duelists. But instead of merely qualifying..." The announcer gave a long dramatic pause. "The first to twelve will win the ENTIRE TOURNAMENT! The race is on!"
****I really had alot of fun making this chapter, and I hope you had as much fun reading****