Disclaimer: I don't own "Yu-Gi-Oh!", or anything from the trading card game, or anything related to THAT, and stuff and junk and stuff...
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters - Birthday Battle
Chapter 6 - Party Time!
Outside the residence that was Téa Gardner's house, three teenagers stood outside nearby chatting casually. Joey, Bakura, and Tristan were also waiting for Téa, who was inside calling Yugi's house. Yugi was late arriving for the birthday girl's celebration, and they all wondered where he was.
"I wonda what dis new arcade's like! I bet it's gonna be sweet!" Joey exclaimed.
Before either of the other two boys could reply, they noticed a blue convertible pulling up towards their position. The female driver had a half-grin on her face. The boys weren't quite sure who it was at first, but once they saw the driver's long blonde hair, it was a no-brainer.
"Mai! Great ta see ya! How goes it?" Joey happily quipped.
The girl kept smiling and lowered the sunglasses she was wearing just enough so that her eyes peered through. Mai stepped out of her car, and then totally removed her shades.
"Well, well...hey there, you three cuties! Long time no see!" Mai said, leaning against the side of her car.
"Indeed," Bakura agreed.
"But why'd you bring your car?" Tristan asked.
"Why not?" Mai shot back. "Why should we walk all the way into town when I can simply drive us there?"
"Good call," Tristan replied, giving her a thumbs-up.
The other two boys looked at each other and nodded, just as Téa exited her house.
"Téa," Mai said, smiling and nodding once (in acknowledgment) at the birthday girl.
"Oh...hey, Mai!" Téa happily replied.
"Looks like the gang's all here..." Mai noted, looking at everyone who has arrived. "...except for that 'Yuge-ster'. Where is he?"
"I wish I knew," Téa said, her smile slowly disappearing. "I'm getting worried. I called his house, and his grandpa said that he left a while ago."
"Well, perhaps something came up," Bakura suggested.
"Or maybe Yugi got sidetracked," Tristan added. "But all the same, we should get moving. Since we're taking Mai's car, we 'll have a better chance of running into him, anyway."
"Yeah, Téa! And besides...I'm hungry!" Joey firmly stated.
"Typical," Mai quipped, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.
"Well...okay," Téa said with some reluctance. "It doesn't feel right leaving without him, but I'm probably worrying about nothing. Let's go."
"All right!" Joey cheered. "I got shotgun!"
"Sorry, hon," Mai said firmly, putting her hand out in front of Joey's face. "But since Téa's the birthday girl, she gets to sit in the front. Hope that's okay with you."
Joey thought it over briefly, but the fact that it was his friend's birthday was undeniable.
"Ah, fair enough," Joey said, shrugging.
And without any further delay, the five friends got into the blue convertible and drove off.
Meanwhile at the Millennium Arcade, tensions were rising from two raging teenagers deterined to defeat each other at all costs. The match of Duel Monsters between Brutus Malone and Yugi Moto was well under way. Thankfully, it was Yugi's turn to try to tip the duel in his favor.
Drawing another card from his deck, Yugi thought over his options and formulated a stategy in his mind.
"You're sorely mistaken if you believe that I've wronged you, Brutus!" Yugi hollered to his opponent from across the dueling arena.
"Is that so?" Brutus clamly asked, suavely flicking back a small strand of his black hair out of his vision.
"It is! I'm afraid that you have things backwards! You bullied me and my friends, and you're also responsible for stealing Téa's birthday gift! As far as I'm concerned, you're the only one at fault here!"
"Wrong again, Moto! I told you...this is revenge, pure and simple! And since you and your friends were nice enough to get me in trouble, I'll make sure that what I do to you will be MUCH worse!"
"Saying you'll do so is one thing...actually doing it is another! Now let's continue this duel! I'll set one card face down, as well as a monster in defense mode!"
"Just another weak wall of protection for my monster to pound through!" Brutus angrily stated. "Soul of Purity and Light...SICK 'IM!"
"My monster's not going anywhere this turn!" Yugi fiercely retorted, flipping his facedown card. "Activate Spellbinding Circle!"
Brutus almost gasped as he watched a glowing circular shaped seal appear across the playing field, which immediately attached itself around his monster's waist.
"What th-"
"Your attack has been blocked by my trap card!" Yugi said, holding the card up briefly for his opponent to see. "It also depletes 700 points of your monster's total attack strength! And now that it's weaker, I'll flip my facedown monster into attack mode! Go, Rude Kaiser!"
As soon as the words exited Yugi's mouth, the monster upon the designated card appeared on the field before him. The ferocious (blue and grey armor-wearing) reptile roared at his counterparts on the opposite side of the dueing field, brandishing the sharp blades attached to the gauntlets on its arms.
(Rude Kaiser - (1800/1600)
But Brutus didn't seem worried in the least as Yugi's reptile attacked...
"Nice try, but your attack allows my monster's special ability to kick in! It can easily weaken your Rude Kaiser by 300 attack points!"
Yugi for a split second glanced at his console and saw that the reptile's attack score did indeed drop slightly.
"My creature's power may have decreased to 1500, but it's still stronger!"
"Wrong again, 'YUCKY' Moto!"
"What?"
"I activate my magic card...Shrink!"
Yugi was at a loss for words as he watched his own monster become smaller until it was about half the size it originally was.
"What have you done?" Yugi asked, enraged.
"Quite simple, really...my magic card cut the remaining attack power of your monster in half, reducing his strength count to 750! And as I'm sure as you can see...he's much too weak to take down my monster, even under your paralysis spell!"
Brutus was right, as the (extremely) weakened Rude Kaiser tried to attack the Soul of Purity and Light. One of its blade gauntlets crumbled to bits as soon as it slashed the opposing monster. The Rude Kaiser then tried to punch its adversary with its fist, but its efforts were in vain as the reptile glowed upon contact, and immediately shattered into pieces among pieces of itself, like fragments of a glass window pane.
"Not only is your monster gone, but you lost some serious Life Points as well!" Brutus said, pointing at Yugi and then laughing.
Yugi glared at his opponent and at the scoreboard (that displayed HIS Life Point count) as it dropped to 1450. He tightly clenched his fists before speaking.
"That may be so, but I haven't lost yet! This match is still on!"
Less than a few blocks away from the Millennium Arcade, Yugi's five buddies were all set to chow down on some delicious looking plates of food. Mai had managed to drive Bakura, Tristan, Joey, and Téa to the restaurant in record time. Téa walked off to a corner and tried calling Yugi's house again on her cellular phone. Meanwhile, the lunch orders had been brought to the table where everyone else was sitting.
"Heh, heh...come ta papa!" Joey grinned, while rubbing his hands together at the sight of the double cheeseburger and fries set down in front of him.
"It'd probably be a good idea to get back, people," Tristan jokingly warned. "The 'Joey Jaws' are about to feed!"
"Since it's Téa's birthday, I'll let dat one slide...and I'll only eat at half the speed I usually do!" the blonde male retorted.
"Disgusting," Mai said, frowning. She tried to block that nasty image from her brain as she sipped some soda from her glass.
Everyone stopped talking when they saw Téa returning.
"Well, any news about Yugi?" Bakura asked.
"None," Téa said, shaking her head and sitting down in the booth with everyone else. "I tried calling his house again, but no luck. Yugi's nowhere to be found."
"I wouldn't worry too much, honey..." Mai said, smiling. "...that Yugi is a good guy. I'm sure he would have an equally good reason for not showing up."
"Maybe..." the birthday girl responded in a somber tone. "I'm just really concerned. Yugi wouldn't have missed this for anything."
Mai continued to be optimistic, and put a comforting arm around her friend's shoulder.
"Look...I know that the gang's NOT all here, but it IS your birthday and there's no reason why such a perfectly good occasion like this should go to waste."
"Exactly," Bakura kindly adeed. "We may as well try to make the most of things while we're together."
"Okay...we'll figure out where Yugi is later," Téa agreed, and starting to smile. "Let's eat and then head over to the new arcade!"
"YEAH!" the other four people around her cheered in unison.
Back at the dueling site, the furious duel continued. Although Yugi's monster had been destroyed it was still his turn. Brutus was already thinking over his next move, but he made it a point to keep an eye on Yugi all the while, who kept quiet for the next few seconds, also thinking hard.
Brutus keeps overwhelming me at every turn! There's not much else I can do at this point...I'll just have to keep my defenses up until an opening for an attack presents itself...
"This should do the trick! Mammoth Graveyard, defense mode!" Yugi annouced.
Yugi's opponent showed absolutely no facial response at the skeletal remains of a gigantic mammoth, doing its best to stare him down from across the playing field.
(Mammoth Graveyard - 1200/800)
"Pathetic," Brutus growled, drawing a card from his deck. "Hmm...now it's time to show you what my athletic skills can really do in the game of Duel Monsters! But first things first! Ultimate Baseball Kid, step up to the plate!"
The picture on the card came to life as soon as it was slapped down on the dueling console. Yugi watched in partial confusion at the new monster made its debut. Unlike Brutus's previous tough-looking creatures, this one was short in height, with a round head, and was dressed in large red and yellow sneakers, as well as a red baseball uniform and cap. To complete the picture, the monster weilded a huge purple bat with spikes sticking out of it.
(Ultimate Baseball Kid - 500/1000)
"Next, I'll switch my Battle Footballer into attack mode!
It didn't take much to figure out where that Footballer was targeting its attack. That Mammoth didn't have nearly enough defensive points to stand up to anything.
"My monsters'll smash through whatever you put in my way! Starting with that Mammoth of yours! Footballer, send that zombie back to its grave! CHARGE!"
The football-related monster rammed itself into its target with near-lightning speed. Its metallic elbow smashed the Mammoth's bones to brittle pieces instantly.
"But we're not through yet!" Brutus added. "Now my it's other monster's turn to take a swing! I'll activate its special ability by sacrificing my Battle Footballer! It's necessary if you wanna win a game! He's taking a hit for the team, as it is!"
The Battle Footballer began to glow red and then vanished from sight. In its place was a floating red sphere of flame, about the size of a baseball. The Ultimate Baseball Kid began to glow red as well.
"What are you up to?" Yugi asked.
"Just sit back and enjoy the show! Ultimate Baseball Kid, you have your teammate's engery at your disposal! Smack a homer into Yugi's Life Points!"
The monster's eyes burst into flames for a split second, and it then immediately nodded at the duelist's command. The "Kid" swung its spiked baseball bat at the flaming ball hard. Yugi's gritted his teeth and his eyes widened as the fireball sped towards him with acceleration and accuracy, leaving a faint trail of flame in its path. It burst into a wide explosion of flames for a moment as it hit the outside of Yugi's blue console. The bright light generated from the fiery attack forced Yugi to shield his eyes. Brutus's menacing laugh echoed as the flames dissipated, while Yugi's score weakened by 500 Life Points.
"Your score's been beaten down to 950! I've taken the lead now!" Brutus snarled. "So...I'll just play one card facedown and see you at the finish line, chump!"
"We'll see about that!" Yugi declared, drawing a card. He only glanced at it once, and decided to use it now. "I'll attack with Silver Fang!"
The deep, yet wild howl of a wolf made its way into everyone's ears, matched with the sight of a beastly snow wolf, with an extremely pale olive fur.
(Silver Fang - 1200/800)
"Go, Silver Fang! Attack the Ultimate Baseball Kid!" Yugi ordered.
"You forget that my Soul of Purity and Light is still on the field!" Brutus reminded Yugi. "Your puny wolf loses 300 of its attack points!"
"It's still powerful enough to destroy your monster!"
Silver Fang made another howl as it lept towards its target, but before the attack went through, a flash of light appeared and stopped the wolf in its tracks.
As the light dissipated, Yugi expression a look of suspicion as he saw a long staff encrusted with jewels pointing towards his monster. Atop the staff was a round yellow sphere with small red eyes, and wings attached to its sides, and a sharp point attached to the head. Yugi's Silver Fang was frozen and its body became surrounded by an aura of light which seemed to trasnfer to the stange looking object.
"What's happening?" asked a shocked Yugi.
"I decided it was time for a javelin toss! An Enchanted Javelin, that is!" Brutus replied. "Once this card is activated, my magical staff traps your monster in place briefly! Then it clones its attack strength, which is added to my Life Points before your attack is completed!"
At that moment, the Enchanted Javelin that was absorbing the strength of Yugi's wolf, turned and pointed at Brutus's dueling console. The energy surrounded the javelin was focused into a thin beam and fired. Brutus's score increased by 900.
Both players watched this little scene play out. The Javelin vanished from sight, and Yugi's monster finally came out of its frozen trance. The beast-type monster completed its attack, raked its sharp claws across the Ultimate Baseball Kid, destroying it instantly.
"My Baseball Kid may be outta the game, but my score's still higher, thanks to my Enchanted Javelin!" Brutus noted.
The athletic teen was correct. The destruction of his monster cost him 400 Life Points, but the truth was that he gained much more than he lost, quite literally. Brutus's score was now noticeably much higher than Yugi's. The score was 1900 to 950, respectively.
"Ahhhh...man, oh, MAN! Did I ever eat!" Joey sighed, tenderly rubbing his seemingly inflated stomach.
"Yeah...we saw," Mai groaned.
Bakura and Téa lightly chuckled to themselves, while Tristan just rolled his eyes.
"Well, are we ready for some real fun now?" Téa asked.
"You better believe it!" Tristan declared.
"Umm...could you guys wait like five minutes?" Joey added. "I had three large sodas and I gotta run to da John!"
"Joey, you knucklehead!" Mai almost yelled, raising her fist. "This is Téa's birthday! Can't you act civilized for ONE day?"
"It's cool, Mai..." Téa said, nervously smiling (and sweating). "Five minutes is okay."
Besides, she thought. I'm more worried about Yugi...where IS he? This isn't good...
"This isn't good..." Yugi growled to himself.
"That's right, punk," Brutus agreed. "After everything said and done, I've ultimately lost a measly 100 Life Points! That puts me in a strong lead and places you at a enormous disadvantage!"
The eyes of both players narrowed into slits, with one pair of pupils staring ferociously into the other.
"I've given as good as I've gotten so far!" noted Yugi. "And I'll continue to do so until the end!"
"Which I have no doubt will come very soon!" Brutus shouted. "You might've made it past my first hurdle of hazards, but my team is full of other competitive creatures that'll finish you off! Get ready to lose fast and HARD!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
Not a bad chunk of dueling action, if I do say so myself! You all got what you wanted (for now), so be kind and give me the feedback I want! Otherwise, it's Judgement Day for all of us! WA, HA, HA!