Chapter 4: Lockdown vs. OTK
"Team Lockdown is a self-sufficient organization," Numbers Harper explained to her teammates. Numbers was noticeable for her size; she didn't even reach five feet in height and weighed less than a hundred pounds. Because of her size, she wore a small size uniform, hemmed to meet the length she needed. She dyed her hair red, meaning it looked rather burgundy—almost violet—in the light.
"That means constant fundraising. But even though we do things like volunteering for charities and big events in town, the bulk of our money comes from a major program we try to do each semester. Last fall, for example, Team OTK held a city-wide tag team tournament. Last semester, we had a barbecue with sponsorships from a few businesses in town. So we will start this meeting with ideas for this semester's big event."
"Jell-O wrestling," Bryan suggested loudly, emphatically, and immediately before Numbers even finished her final word. "It's easy, cheap, fun, and people will pay through the nose to watch and/or participate."
Lucy quickly reminded him, "There is no way in hell I am wrestling anyone in Jell-O." Not surprising considering she's the one everyone really wanted to see in the ring. "And we don't have enough people for an event like that. What other ideas do we have?" Bryan was disappointed, but mildly amused by Lucy's eagerness to change the topic.
Dahlak Khan asked, "What if we exhibited a dueling tournament?"
Numbers hummed. "It's a bit simple. A duel tournament itself won't draw much attention without some kind of twist, but it's a good starting point. Go with it for the moment. What do you have in mind?"
Dahlak was of Middle Eastern descent, but he was born American and had his own share of ridiculous beliefs to prove it. "Oh. Well, what if we allowed other students or townsfolk the opportunity to buy into a tournament with us? They get the chance to stump a lockdown deck and have a chance at some short-term fame."
"I don't think that will draw enough attention," Numbers told him. "They basically got the chance to be in a tournament against us last year. Team OTK didn't participate in their own tournament, but we did. And we already beat them."
"Um…" Everyone stopped and waited to hear a follow-up to that soft squeak. Bryan wondered if there was a leak in the air conditioning or something.
Numbers knew where to look, though. Evie Petros was an incredibly shy and quiet girl. She usually just sat in the corner, leaning forward as if to assume a seated fetal position. She rarely mustered the courage even to squeak. Her fear showed in her appearance, too; she was pale, her hair was long and wild, and she wore heavy clothes.
"You have a suggestion, Evie?" Numbers asked.
Bryan commented with a smile, "Oh, Evie! I forgot you were even there. Speak up."
That just made her blush. "Um… I read about why Team Lockdown started. Maybe we could do a tournament with Team OTK."
"An interesting idea," Numbers admitted, "but how does it draw attention? What's the big hook for this tournament that we don't see every time the Academy holds placement exams?"
Feeling somewhat persecuted for lack of originality, Evie's reply was barely audible. Ivy Roaks, the bespectacled redhead, heard her and said, "I like that idea." Looking back to the rest of the group, she said, "We make it like a survival duel."
"A survival duel?" Leroy Peterson repeated. "What does that mean?" Leroy was a black sophomore with average height and weight. One of the Yellow Dorm, he had a strong personality and a penchant for ridiculous stories. "You want us to duel standing on one foot or something?"
Ivy narrowed her eyes. "No. I think she just means that we start with one member from each team on the field, and when one of them loses, the winner stays on the field to start against the second member."
"I like that, too," Clinton Ealey threw in. He was much more confident in his ability—a sophomore with a blue jacket—and always hoped to find a big challenge. This seemed about as big a challenge as he'd heard in a while. "It's like playing two duels consecutively, except we should make it so the winner doesn't draw new cards or shuffle his Graveyard with his deck or anything."
Now Bryan perked up. "So the winner is always at a big disadvantage for his second duel? I like the sound of that." He started to list a few more rules they should use.
"Before we get too involved," Numbers said. She looked to Dr. Gabrielle Houtz, the faculty sponsor for Team Lockdown. "Does that sound like a feasible idea?"
"Absolutely," Dr. Houtz replied with a big grin. She was wearing her typical Gothic getup while she sat off to the side to serve as a sounding board for passing ideas through faculty approval. She was often the one who had to remind Bryan that Dr. Lankford would never, ever approve Academy-sanctioned Jell-O wrestling. "I really like that idea."
Numbers came back and said, "Assuming Team OTK goes for the idea, I guess the next big point to make is: How do we choose the order of the duels?"
Lucy suggested, "The obvious option is to send everyone in by Academy rank. You know, our lowest rank duels their lowest rank, and we move up from there." She was aware that would make Bryan their last duelist.
Bryan grinned widely. "We should have a sort of battle royale. We'll all duel against one another at the same time, and the seeds will be selected by the order in which we run out of Life Points."
"I don't get it," Dahlak said. "You want us to lose to each other?"
"No. We all duel, and the duelist whose Life Points hit zero first becomes our 8th Seed player."
"But when your Life Points hit zero, you lose," Dahlak pointed out.
"Normally, that's true."
"I don't want to lose before I even get to play."
Bryan rubbed his forehead. With his chin resting in the palm of his hand, he looked to Lucy. "So explain the rank idea to me again."
As it goes, Team Lockdown's reaction to the idea was equally well received by Team OTK. Cary and Numbers hashed out the details, including agreement for both teams to split the fundraising profits, and that starting the survival round with the lowest-ranked duelists was more likely to offer each person an opportunity to participate than if Bryan or Matt started and took out the entire opposing team. And then they spent a few minutes bemoaning the fact that despite leading their respective teams, they were each only ranked Number 2 on their own rosters. (Despite Matt's Academy rank at the bottom of the Yellow Dorm, Numbers requested and Cary conceded to treat Matt as if he were still Number 1.)
The rules, agreed upon by both teams, were designed to make sure neither team was given favor at any point. Despite the length of the tournament if every player had full Life Points, reducing the total at all gave an obvious advantage to Team OTK. At the end of each turn, the fields were cleared of all cards; otherwise Team Lockdown would win every duel as soon as a player set a lockdown strategy in place.
The progression of play began like a normal duel with the first two players. When one of them defeated the other, the field was instantly cleared and the loser was replaced by his or her next teammate from the lineup. At that point, play continued as if the duel started over, except the winning player did not draw a new hand or shuffle the Graveyard into the deck.
Lidya Biniam was a stark contrast to Evie. Both held high ranks in the freshman dorm, but whereas Evie was too shy to talk freely even to her own teammates, Lidya had a foul mouth and a tendency to let expletives flow freely. She was a good bit taller than Evie and had a well toned, almost bulky body. And the fact that she had even one tattoo on her shoulder was enough for Matt to whistle "Lidya the Tattooed Lady" anytime she was nearby.
Dr. Corbin West, the headmaster of Duel Academy, acted as the judge for the day. Lately he seemed to age even more quickly. His once receding, silver hair and Tom Selleck mustache now looked entirely gray, and his growing belly definitely demonstrated signs of slowing metabolism. He was a walking paradox—able to recite an entire encyclopedia of cognitive duel dynamics, which he co-authored, and yet already suffering from "over-joke syndrome," the tendency for older people to tell the same lame joke repeatedly and find it funny every time. Given how oblivious he seemed half the time, it was not hard to imagine Dr. West retiring in only a few more years.
Bringing the two girls together, Dr. West had them shake hands—despite Evie's reluctance—and requested a friendly competition between them. Following tradition, he witnessed a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. Lidya threw rock over Evie's scissors and earned herself the first turn.
"I'll start with Gilasaurus (3/1400/400)." A tall, bipedal lizard resembling a Velociraptor dashed onto the stadium floor. "But now I'll Tribute my dinosaur to activate Big Evolution Pill." A pile of glowing pills appeared on the field, and Gilasaurus disappeared after eating them. Trying to keep secrets about her Spell's effect, Lidya simply continued with, "I'll set one card and end my turn."
Evie was less confident. Hesitantly, she picked up her card and spent almost sixty seconds staring at it. She reviewed the same play in her head a dozen times before Dr. Arbus prompted her to continue her turn. She blushed heavily response.
"Sorry. Um… I'll use Card Destruction."
Lidya scoffed with loud frustration. "Well, son of a bitch."
"I'm sorry," Evie replied softly. By the rules of Card Destruction, both players discarded their hands and drew new cards. "Um… I'll set one card. I'll also, um… remove Sangan and Raiza from play to summon Dark Simorgh (7/2700/1000)." The giant, god-like bird that descended on the field brought an air of darkness with it. Its feathers were all black, and each flap of its wings prompted the stadium's Solid Vision to send a light breeze out into the stands. Evie wasn't sure whether she should attack given Lidya had a facedown card, but, being the easily swayed person she was, Evie remembered the advice Bryan gave her.
"When in doubt, attack. Worst case scenario: You lose a monster and your opponent loses a Trap. The longer you wait to spring a Trap, the harder it is to recover."
"Dark Simorgh will attack."
"Aw, crap," Lidya groaned as she and the audience felt the effects of Dark Simorgh's violent flapping of its mighty wings. She looked to her teammates in the wings and said, "I figured she'd attack, but not with something so big." With a dismissive wave, she said, "Bah! No big deal. I'll come back from that."
"Okay. Um… My turn's done."
Evie 8000: Lidya 8000 – 2700 = 5300.
"Here we go," Lidya announced excitedly. "Thanks to my Big Evolution Pill, I can summon Sauropod Brachion (8/1500/3000) without Tributes." Her monster was an enormous brachiosaur with a neck the length of a telephone pole and an armored crest atop its head. "I'm also going to play…"
Actually, Lidya was going to play a Spell, but for some reason, it wouldn't activate. She looked up and saw a giant, black cauldron with a spooky grin drawn on the side. The air filled with a sweet smell, which is apparently the kind of smell that stops Spells. Even though she was too shy to speak up, Evie's Anti-Spell Fragrance card forced both players to set Spells before they could be activated.
"Pain in the ass. Fine. I'll set a card." But that didn't work, either. The platform wouldn't accept the Spell at all.
"Actually… Dark Simorgh prevents any cards from being set."
Lidya growled, but remembering Dr. Arbus's warning, she bit her tongue. "Not all cards. Brachion's effect flips it facedown once per turn and switches it to defense mode. Bring it!"
Evie had a clear advantage now. Even her level of introversion couldn't hold her back that much. "I'll set two cards. And Dark Simorgh (2700) will attack." Her winged beast whipped up a whirlwind, but the wind dissipated against Sauropod Brachion's (3000) backside and prompted Brachion to whip its neck and headbutt the giant bird.
"You lose twice the points this time," Lydia told her. "Brachion is a defensive creature, and attacking it in defense mode doubles your damage. Sucker."
Evie 8000 – 600 = 7400: Lidya 5300.
Lidya whipped out her next card excitedly. "Oh, yeah! You screwed me up at first, but now I'm ready to roll again!"
"I'll play my Trap," Evie whispered. Lidya had to ask her to repeat it, but the Trap itself said it all. When Ring of Destruction activated, a ring of stones bursting with flames wrapped around Sauropod Brachion's neck. The flames grew brighter just before the ring exploded, spreading smoke across the field and destroying the dinosaur. Scale shrapnel struck each player—luckily the realism didn't change the fact they were holograms.
"Blasted Ring of Destruction," Lidya grumbled when her Life Points dropped. At least Evie lost the same Life Points, equal to Brachion's (1500) attack points. "Doesn't matter. I'll summon Ultimate Tyranno (8/3000/2200)!" Her monster was a giant tyrannosaur covered with brown spikes and teeth the size of cement bollards. When it roared, the Solid Vision threatened the hearing of everyone in the audience; even Evie flinched at the sound. Fortunately, Solid Vision still didn't advance far enough to cover everyone in dinosaur spit.
"Your lockdown strategy has one big flaw—my Ultimate Evolution Pill. When Ultimate Tyranno attacks, your goose is cooked."
"Um…" That sound was very annoying to Lidya. It always preceded Evie's showing off that she was allowed to set and play cards, and all Lidya had was a facedown Ojama Trio. "I've got Rising Energy." When Evie discarded a card, Dark Simorgh's (+4200) aura grew heavy as it absorbed power from the air around it.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Waiting in the wings, Cary commented, "At least she didn't swear."
Despite the dinosaur's big teeth, the giant bird avoided the attack and retaliated with a violent whirlwind. The Ultimate Tyranno was sliced into tiny pieces until it disappeared. Now Lidya was stuck without a monster and a complete inability to play any Spells or Traps.
Evie 7400 – 1500 = 5900: Lidya 5300 – 1500 – 1200 = 2600.
Evie drew and looked nervous. "Um… I have Dark Simorgh (2700)."
Lidya scoffed, but then she just waved her hand as if inviting Evie to continue. "Go ahead."
With that, Dark Simorgh (2700) unleashed its attack against Lidya's Life Points. The audience got to feel the powerful gusts of wind strong enough to blow baseball caps off a few heads.
Evie 5900: Lidya 4100 – 2700 – 1700 = 0.
There was a moment of stunned silence in the audience—Shy Evie actually beat Loud Lidya?—before half of the spectators started cheering. Although interspersed within the stands, it was clear which half of the audience pulled for a Lockdown victory.
Lidya swore as she shook Evie's hand again and left the arena. Cary patted her on the shoulder and gave her props for a tough duel. She had her OTK strategy almost ready to go from the start, but she just needed her Ultimate Tyranno before she could make it work.
Allen stepped up and told Lidya not to worry. "I'll get our momentum back."
Dr. West introduced Allen as he climbed the stadium steps and shook Evie's hand. Evie shuffled Allen's deck for him, and then Dr. West excitedly announced the start of the second duel.
Allen stepped up and drew his cards. "I'll set one monster and end my turn."
Evie was shocked to see such a simple move, but she didn't have a whole lot to say on the matter; she had only one card except for the one she was just about to draw. She wordlessly summoned Mist Valley Watcher (4/1500/1900), a man wearing a green tunic and blue cape, with talons in place of feet and hands. "Um… I'll attack."
"You flipped my Needle Worm (2/750/600)," Allen informed her gently. A purple worm with needles protruding from each segment of its body wrapped around Evie's deck before it disappeared, making sure to take five of her cards with it to the Graveyard.
"Oh. Well, it's your turn."
Evie 5900: Allen 8000.
Allen set another monster on the field and quickly set two cards behind it. "I'll activate Book of Taiyou, a Spell that flips my Morphing Jar (2/700/600) into attack mode." After a yellow book with a sun crest on the cover opened and shone light on the field, a jar flipped up and produced an amorphous being with a single eye and a wicked grin. As the being scattered across the field, both players discarded their hands and drew five new cards.
"I'll play The Shallow Grave, which lets us each take a monster from our Graveyards and set them in defense mode." With only one choice, Allen chose his Needle Worm. Given a few options, Evie selected her Dark Simorgh. "I have another Book of Taiyou to play on Needle Worm (2/750/600)." When the purple worm flipped up, it wrapped around Evie's deck and took five cards away.
"I've also got Book of Eclipse, which puts all face-up monsters face down instead. And with that, I'll end my turn."
Evie 10 cards: Allen 28 cards.
As soon as Allen ended his turn, Evie's two monsters flipped into attack mode and forced her to draw two cards. With the effect of Morphing Jar giving her five cards earlier, she now had a decent selection of cards.
"I'll play Battle Mania." Allen's card flipped up, and suddenly Dark Simorgh (2700) and Mist Valley Watcher (1500) tensed for battle. "During this turn, you can't skip your Battle Phase, and all your monsters have to attack."
"Really?" Evie gasped. She knew what that meant. Simorgh's powerful wind sliced through the Needle Worm, but not until the worm took five cards from Evie's deck. And then when Mist Valley Watcher attacked the Morphing Jar and spilled its contents around the field again, she was forced to draw more cards than her deck currently had. "I guess… I couldn't last."
Evie 0 cards: Allen 23 cards, 8000 LP.
Allen had a genuinely friendly smile on his face as he shook Evie's hand and congratulated her on her performance. She shyly accepted, and she never moved more quickly than she did as she exited the platform and returned to the hidden area in the wings with her teammates.
"You did well," Numbers complimented her. "Winning the first hand gave us a critical odds boost. Thanks to you, I think we've got a great chance at winning this."
"Especially with me coming up," Leroy agreed. He patted Evie heavily enough to make her flinch and then jogged up to the platform while Dr. West introduced him. "I hope you're ready for this, Empty Jar, because this will be your toughest duel yet."
"Of course."
Leroy was coming in with a fresh hand, but Allen had a full hand, too, thanks to the effect of his Morphing Jar. It was almost like he and Leroy were starting a duel from the very beginning of a duel.
"Here it is," Leroy said. "I'll play Polymerization to fuse Ojama Yellow, Green, and Black into Ojama (6/0/3000)." A trio of oddly-shaped goblins swirled into a giant, indiscernible mass momentarily, emerging once again as a large, egg-shaped goblin wearing red bikini briefs with a snowflake design. The goblin's grin was as wide as its body, which comprised just a head, stubby arms and legs, and two stalks where its eyes were located. Ojama King emitted a burst of electricity on the field, shocking three of Allen's field zones and rendering them useless. "I'll also put a card down."
Leroy 8000: Allen 8000.
Allen realized pretty quickly this duel was going to be tricky. Two in a row is a bit of a stretch, but with the right cards… "I'll set one monster."
Rubbing his hands together, Leroy said, "Alright then. Give me some magic, Sweetness."
Bryan looked to Lucy and asked, "Did he really just call his deck Sweetness?"
"You have a better name for it?" Numbers asked him.
"Of course. Garth Fannysmacker."
Leroy played a card called "Ojama Country. It's a field just for the Ojamas. As long as there is an Ojama monster on the field, all monsters on the field have their attack and defense switched." He grinned at his egg-shaped Ojama King (+3000/-0). "You ready? I'll summon Ojama Yellow (2/+1000/-0)." The yellow goblin had an incredibly thin body to support a massive head, very similar to its egg-shaped ally. All Ojamas were noted for wearing red bikini briefs. "I'll attack your monster with Ojama Yellow."
Allen flipped up his monster, a demon-like creature with tiny wings, green shorts and tank top, and an oddly geriatric face. "When Spear Cretin (2/500/500) is flipped and subsequently sent to the Graveyard, we both take a monster from our Graveyards and either set it in defense mode or summon it in attack mode." Pulling a card from his Graveyard, he said, "I'll set Spear Cretin."
"I see what you're doing," Leroy laughed. "Well, Ojama Green (2/+1000/-0) here wants to fill up my field while I'm at it." Ojama Green, a slightly stouter and greener version of Ojama Yellow, threw an incredibly pathetic punch to destroy the second Spear Cretin (500); Allen revived the first Spear Cretin while Leroy summoned Ojama Black (2/+1000/-0). Leroy continued to attack just for the fun of it.
"This time I'll set Morphing Jar."
"Oh! I see where you're going. I attack that, lose five cards, you revive it, I lose five cards, you keep cycling me through Morphing Jar so I lose faster and then you get to take out a significant portion of my team by yourself. Well, I'll let Ojama King just sit there for a minute then and let you keep your Needle Worm."
"Suit yourself," Allen told him. "I'll Flip Summon my Morphing Jar (2/700/600) right now." The jar from earlier appeared on the field, flipped over and spilled its amorphous contents, and forced both players to draw five cards. "I'll follow-up with Book of Moon." A blue book with a moon crest on the cover opened and shone moonlight on the field, forcing Needle Worm into facedown defense mode once again. "I'll set one more monster plus two cards. Now I'll play Card Destruction."
"Dang, man," Leroy moaned. "You've got all kinds of discard effects, don't you?"
"I do, because I'll chain Serial Spell by discarding the rest of my hand." As Allen emptied his hand, a wizard appeared on the field; channeling magic through the blank Spell hologram, a second copy of Card of Destruction appeared on the field. In short, Leroy had to discard and redraw his hand twice consecutively. And in the act of discarding Ojamagic, he had to draw three more Ojama cards to his hand from his deck.
"Lastly, I'll remove A/D Changer from my Graveyard from play to switch Needle Worm (2/-600/+750) to attack mode." The now-familiar purple worm with the needled segments wrapped around Leroy's deck and took away another five cards. Allen was pleased with how well that worked out. Showing his empty hands, he said, "Now it's your turn."
Leroy 14 cards: Allen 16.
"This kid is pretty damn impressive," Clint said without any sarcasm. "I probably would have used Needle Worm that first time, but then the Card Destruction play wouldn't have worked."
"He's thinking all the way through his moves," Bryan noted. "The last time I saw someone able to think that far ahead so early in his freshman year was Matt." But Bryan knew Allen couldn't possibly have the same cheating strategy as Matt. That meant this Allen kid might be even better than Matt, given time to develop.
Leroy moaned and rubbed his forehead. "I can't believe I messed up this bad. But I think I can come back now. I'll play Ojama Delta Hurricane!" Ojamas Yellow and Black put their hands together; when Green set one foot on their hands, the two pushed him into the air. In that triangular position, all three began resonating with and formed a massive whirlwind that drew in all the cards on Allen's field, destroying them without activating flip effects.
"I feel a little better," Leroy admitted. "Now I'll play Ojamuscle." Ojama King stepped up and ate all three Normal Ojamas, instantly converting them all into sinewy biceps. "Ojama King (+6000) gains 1000 points for each. Take that attack." Ojama King braced himself and charged forward, ultimately tripping over his own legs and stumbling directly into Allen for a direct attack. "I'll also play Ground Collapse and end my turn."
Allen knew what that meant when he looked at his field. Two of his monster zones sunk into the ground, and the other three were still struck with Ojama King's electricity. He couldn't play any monsters; Leroy's field lockdown worked.
Leroy 13 cards, 8000 LP: Allen 16 cards, 8000 – 6000 = 2000 LP.
"I hope this will defend me," Allen said as he drew. He sighed. "At least it wasn't a monster. I'll set a card and end my turn."
Leroy 13 cards, 8000 LP: Allen 15 cards, 2000 LP.
"Then I'll just attack," Leroy said.
Ojama King (-3000) started to run again, but he suddenly stopped and returned to his starting position. Allen played Negate Attack, "Which, uh…" He searched for something witty to say, but all he came up with was, "you know, negates your attack." He cleared his throat to draw attention from himself. "Anyway. My turn, right?"
Leroy 12 cards, 8000 LP: Allen 15 cards, 2000 LP.
"No such luck this time," Allen admitted. "I can't summon any monsters, so I guess this part of the duel is yours."
"'Bout time," Leroy commented. "Ojama King will attack for the game."
Leroy 11 cards, 8000 LP: Allen 14 cards, 2000 – 3000 = 0 LP.
Cary gasped at the stage. "That rat knocked out Allen's Life Points." She rolled up her sleeve and started toward the stage, saying, "I'm gonna knock out his Life Points."
Matt grabbed her from behind and held her back. After struggling against him for four seconds, she craned her neck calmly toward Matt and said, "There's a possibility you were right about my crush on the tall guy."
He simply replied, "I know. That means Bryan owes me a dollar." He looked back at Palmer Deluca, a chubby redhead with a full beard who was most notable for being mute. He never said a word, even as he walked onto the stage. "At least it's Palmer's turn."
"Mr. Fake Sign Language? I wouldn't count on his getting too far."
One thing was sure; Palmer's version of sign language was not one of the commonly accepted forms. Although some of his signs were similar to American Sign Language, his particular dialect was unrecognized anywhere in the world. When Leroy asked him if he was "ready to get beat," Palmer responded by tapping his deck twice and then held up his arms as if getting ready to box.
"What are you doing?" Leroy asked. Palmer pointed to his mouth and then drew his finger across his neck. "Is this charades? Aren't we dueling anymore?"
Palmer rolled his eyes and decided to play his cards without Leroy's comprehension. He placed one monster and two cards face down on the field. In a simple and obvious signal, he motioned an offering to Leroy.
"Quiet dude," Leroy commented. "Anyway. I'll set a monster and end my turn."
Palmer drew, and then he began signing again. He held his arms up and out, making himself look big and wide. He took big, elaborate steps and opened his mouth as if to roar.
Desmond Vele asked, "What's he supposed to be? A duck?"
"No," Matt replied matter-of-factly. "He's a bear."
With a look of bewilderment, Cary asked, "When did you become the expert on psychotic sign language?"
"My step-father was drunk a lot."
The field showed a large and heavy grizzly bear. Mother Grizzly (4/1400/100) roared thickly and lumbered across the field to slash at Leroy's monster, which turned out to be Ojama Blue (2/0/1000), a goblin with blue skin, an enormous head, and red bikini briefs—all that kept the monster from being naked.
"This guy's unique among Ojamas," Leroy smiled. "When he's destroyed in battle, I get to put two Ojama cards in my hand."
Palmer again motioned as if offering Leroy his turn.
"Going quick here," Leroy said. "I'll summon another unique Ojama: Ojama Red (2/0/1000)."
Palmer being motioning again; he pointed from the red, bikini-clad goblin to Leroy to his own mouth and made an X with his forearms. Leroy had no idea what that meant and just looked at Dr. Arbus confused.
With a slight grin, Dr. West explained, "He says that you called Ojama Blue and Ojama Red both 'unique' Ojamas, but the word 'unique' means one-of-a-kind. They can't both be unique." Palmer nodded excitedly with Dr. West's accurate interpretation. Everyone else was shocked Dr. West could understand that, but rather than explain how, he just gave an old-man style grin to amuse himself.
"Whatever, man," Leroy uttered. "My point is, when Ojama Red is summoned, I get to summon any other Ojamas from my hand." He loaded the field then with Ojama Yellow, Green, Black, and Blue (2/0/1000). "I've also got another Polymerization to fuse Blue with the Red in my hand and summon Ojama Knight (5/0/2500)." The swirling fusion energy dissipated and left behind a goblin wearing a full suit of armor and red bikini briefs. Two elderly Ojamas—one Yellow and one Green—appeared on Palmer's field and sat down uselessly. "With Ojama Knight, you lose two of your Monster Zones."
The field mudded over again. "I've got another Ojama Country, which flips the attack and defense of all monsters while an Ojama is on the field. And I'll also play The Big March of Animals." A series of Duel Monsters appeared in the back of the field, all recognizable beast-types. "My monsters gain 200 points for each beast on the field. I'll start with Ojama Knight (+3500) attacking Mother Grizzly (-1000)." Ojama Knight ducked forward behind his pointed shield and dashed across the field without watching his path. He meandered around the field noticeably before finally colliding with the blue grizzly.
Palmer opened his arms again like a bear, and then he crossed his arms over his chest as if dying. But when he saw the clueless look in Leroy's eye, he waved off the field as if to shoe a mosquito. He let the holograms tell the story.
With Mother Grizzly's destruction, a water monster with 1500 points or fewer replaced her. A man wearing ragged clothes, carrying an old-fashioned hoe, and showing an obvious bruise from a whip on his back lumbered onto the field like a malnourished, downtrodden peasant. He was joined in the backdrop by several more Oppressed People (1/+2000/-400).
"Holy crap!" Leroy shouted. "Where'd that come from?"
Palmer signed, and Dr. Arbus translated, that Oppressed People was released a really long time ago in Duel Monsters. It's a very common card, in fact.
"I just thought it was a piece of junk and ignored it. I mean, it's only supposed to have 400 points. Who would have thought it would be worth anything in a real duel?" The entire stadium was dead silent for exactly six seconds as everyone except Leroy noticed the irony of an Ojama user thinking that other cards are useless. Palmer simply pointed to his head, which Leroy misinterpreted. "Yeah, you are pretty smart." Palmer rolled his eyes again. "Well, Ojama Yellow (+2000) will suicide himself against your guy."
A ring of stones spitting fire latched around Ojama Yellow's neck. When the Ring of Destruction exploded, it took Ojama Yellow with it. As a result, all other Ojama (-1800) monsters lost 200 points.
"No way," Leroy complained. "I needed to win with this attack. I've only got seven cards left." Palmer nodded.
Leroy 8000 – 2000 = 6000: Palmer 8000 – 2500 – 2000 = 3500.
Palmer, giving up on trying to communicate with Leroy, simply summoned another Oppressed People (+2000), and then he Flip Summoned a third Oppressed People (+2000). He activated a Spell called Delta Attacker and his three Peoples positioned themselves in a triangular attack formation. When Palmer pointed, all three groups People charged straight past the Ojama army and swarmed Leroy directly, which caused him to flinch and attempt to use his red jacket to protect himself from the holograms.
"Scared me for a second," he commented.
Palmer mimed frightened surprise, and then put his hands together and mimed an explosion. He pointed to the deck and then wiped imaginary sweat from his brow. It was a reminder that with three direct attacks, Leroy's Life Points were all gone.
Leroy 6000 – 2000 – 2000 – 2000 = 0: Palmer 3500.
"Huh," Bryan huffed. "I guess you don't need to be able to communicate to whip somebody else in a duel. Wouldn't you say, Leroy?"
Leroy sighed and shook his head. "Listen, man. I think he's got some kind of psychic power or something. I've never seen anyone play cards like that." He fist-bumped Dahlak and told him, "You're gonna have your work cut out for you."
"And just remember," Lucy added to Dahlak. "He's not The Doctor, so you don't have to threaten to blow up the Earth." The dead silence around her informed her that nobody knew what she just said. "Oh, what? Only Bryan can make jokes about TV shows?"
"Don't worry, Lucy," Dahlak reassured her. "I've seen that show. I got the joke."
Dahlak stepped up, pointed rigidly at Palmer, and said in a strained and wavering voice, "Exterminate!" Palmer winced in confusion, but Dahlak quickly chuckled and said, "I'm just kidding. Let's duel."
He drew his first cards. "I'll set one card and summon Card Guard (4/+1900/500)." Card Guard resembled a manta ray with its wide wingspan. Spikes covered its underside and curved horns topped its head. "It gains a Guard Counter when summoned and 300 points for it."
Palmer motioned that he was setting a card and a monster.
"I'll summon Wattgiraffe (4/1200/100)." A yellow quadruped with light bulbs for ears and conductor rods as antennae jolted onto the field. "This guy gets to attack directly." Electricity charged between the giraffe's antennae when it leaped over Palmer's field and shocked Palmer directly.
When Dahlak's next motion took a motion to start, Palmer pointed to himself questioningly.
"Almost. I'm going to move Card Guard's counter to my Wattgiraffe. That means you won't be able to destroy it without first destroying the Guard Counter. Now I'm done."
Dahlak 8000: Palmer 3500 – 1200 = 2300.
Palmer opened the field zone on his Duel Disk and slipped a card inside. Immediately, the field covered with grass high enough to swallow a cat, and holographic rain started to pour on the field. Luckily, the stadium's Solid Vision found sprinkling the audience a sufficient experience in exception to the horrendous downpour on the field. The Field Spell was Wetlands, and it empowered low-level aqua-type monsters.
And to get one, he activated Monster Reborn; an ankh appeared on the field, and it slowly transformed into the form of the Oppressed People (2/+1600/2000). Palmer also activated Inferno Reckless Summon, which granted his Oppressed People enough spiritual energy to keep the Graveyard open long enough to bring back the other two groups, giving Palmer three Oppressed People once again.
And then Palmer pointed between his monsters and Dahlak, and to his deck. "Oh. I get to use the effect, too?" Specifically, Palmer's opponent got to duplicate any monster already on his field. "I guess I'll summon another Wattgiraffe (1200)." A second giraffe appeared on his field, crackling a bit of electricity with each step.
Palmer motioned aggressively with his right hand as if to swing an invisible sword, then he held his left hand forward in a defensive pose, and then he pointed with each hand toward the other. With the activation of Shield and Sword, all the attack and defense points of monsters on the field switched. Oppressed People (+3200) looked ready to revolt, and that was exactly what Palmer had them do. One man, formerly being whipped, slashed Card Guard (-500) with his hoe, tearing a chunk from its belly; a second slashed Wattgiraffe (-100) with his hoe and cracked the Guard Counter on its back.
"One more would finish it, eh?" Dahlak confirmed. "You're pretty good. But I have one defender left over." As the third and final man attacked the second Wattgiraffe, a scarecrow built from random bits of iron thrown together haphazardly stood up and blocked the attack. "Scrap-Iron Scarecrow negates one attack per turn, and then it gets reset on my field so I can use it again later."
Palmer acknowledged the play and ended his turn.
Dahlak 8000 – 2700 – 3100 = 2200: Palmer 2300.
"That was close," Dahlak admitted. "But now Shield and Sword's effect expires, so both my Wattgiraffes (+1200) can attack with full power again." The two giraffe's charged electricity between their antennae as they leaped past the Oppressed People and collided with Palmer directly.
Dahlak 2200: Palmer 2300 – 1200 – 1200 = 0.
With the conclusion of the fifth duel in the series, Dr. West called for a short intermission. It was akin to having a three-period hockey game, even if the players didn't really need to catch their breath. It was an excuse for the Kaiba Corp. network to throw in a lot of commercial time to support their sponsors.
"Dahlak's tougher than I expected," Cary admitted to Numbers.
"Same with Palmer. I thought for a minute he was going to take down two of my duelists."
Cary grinned. "Well, you're one-up now, but don't count on that lasting. Sean may seem like a vacuum sometimes, but with a little guidance, he's turned out to be a duelist to contend with."
"I'll keep that in mind," Numbers agreed. "But you remember something, too; Dahlak hasn't used his lockdown strategy yet."
The word count for this chapter should tell you something. I thought this was going to be short, but I decided to turn this into a little mini-arc. It will give me a chance to intersperse some interactions between characters who haven't received much focus time yet and introduce characters who haven't appeared yet, plus it will give me more time to make amusing, trivial conversations that will have little bearing on the story as a whole. If my assessment is correct, two more chapters will have Lockdown vs. OTK duels, and the third will contain the finale, which is necessary to the progress of the story. At least this filler material will be pertinent to the story, unlike the Sword Fiend arc. (What a waste of time that was.)
I'd like some feedback about the constant chapter breaks here. I thought it would help ease the organization going from duel to duel, but maybe the result was too choppy. Any opinions?
Likewise, I always appreciate feedback about my style or about the chapter in general. If something doesn't make sense or if you had any nagging thoughts or if you just want to complain for reasons you can't quite pin down, I will listen. Any feedback might help make me a better writer. (The corollary to that is: Point out my typos, but don't weigh them against me too heavily; I don't proofread my own writing very well.)
P.S. For those of you who didn't pick it up, the joke about Dahlak's name was a reference to the Daleks from Doctor Who. I love that show, and when the name popped up on my name generator, I had to take it. I'm shameless that way.
Credits:
Darius Mantzios...tiramisu19
Jason Maxim...Maxim and Knight
Nathan Zislaw...Mavrik Zero
Hillary Delaney...Nodqfan144
Lili Von...Happy2BMe
Carter Jade...Jaden2010
Mitsuro Itachu...Titanic X
Sean Bivins...DarkVestroia2
Ivy Roaks...Mental Panda
Naoto Kurotsuki...Kurotsuki Haru
Hayley Wilson...TeamRocketDiva
Maikeru Stone...onyxshade7
Victor Rocks & Abel Shinzou...Iron-Arm-V
Alister Kazama & Jessica Parks...ZaneKazama001
Synthia Spencer...Madly Chessur
Leila & Linear Lockhart...Windraider
Logan Wilson...MercWithTheMouth13
Allen Tebaro...Nouva17
Tai Ishihara...ZAFT Prime
Everyone else so far...YamiRuss
