Now, I'm going to have to fit two duels in this chapter, which is going to be interesting. The deck I picked for Steven is going to be REALLY annoying to fight. Darn those warriors and their immense card descriptions!
Oh, and my other favorite character, Mai, has finally made her appearance! As you have probably realized, this story is completely AU, because Duelist Kingdom is not even going to occur. Pegasus will show up later. Him and his stupid eye. I'm not even sure Raphiel can beat that stupid Toon deck.
Disclaimer: I have no intention of stealing this franchise for my own. I couldn't even if I wanted to, because then Florence would hit me with an Egyptian Lazor Beam!
DUAL DUEL DUAL DUEL DUAL DUEL DUAL DUEL DUAL DUEL DUAL DUEL DUAL DUEL DUAL DUEL DUAL
"Your Duelist Code is as good as mine, Raphiel-kun!" Steven declared recklessly. I snorted in derision. If this guy's deck was as bad as his attitude, then this duel would only take three seconds.
"I suggest you keep silent and focus on the duel," I advised coldly. Steven looked surprised, as if he didn't expect me to tell him to shut up. Well, when someone goes, "Mwahahahahahahahaha I'm going to win," what did you expect?
I looked at the apparatus that was in the stand with me. It looked like a playing field, only it seemed to be made of fiber optic cables. I guess that would allow it to read what was on the card and replicate it. There was also a screen showing my opponent's playing field.
Then, we drew our five cards. I took the first card and grinned. I had a better hand this time. It was Nuvia the Wicked, a strong level 4 monster with 2000 attack.
My next card was the Black Magician, a particularly badass level 7 card with an attack of 2500. However, it required two tributes. No good right now.
I drew another card to reveal another Nuvia the Wicked. This was really good! I had TWO good monsters this time; Well, compared to the last two times I dueled.
The next one was the Summoned Skull, a monster just as strong as the Black Magician, only requiring one less tribute. It seems I was pretty set for monsters.
My last card was a very useful magic card, Beckon to Darkness, which could instantly destroy any monster on the enemy field.
I looked up to see Steven finish drawing his cards. He smirked as he beheld them and then looked at me confidently.
"You start," I told him, because as I said before, I liked going second.
"Very well! I will place a card down on the field," Steven began, doing so. A face down card appeared on the screen in my stand, and one of the magic card slots on the huge playing field began to glow yellow. "And then I will summon the Celtic Guardian in attack mode!"
I sighed as an elvish warrior clad in green and silver armor appeared on Steven's field. It glared at me defiantly and raised its longsword. I glared back, although I knew it was just a hologram. The Celtic Guardian only had 1400 attack, but I couldn't kill it with anything that had an attack of 1900 or above. That meant I had to waste a valuable magic card on it.
"My turn," I announced. "I will place a card on the field."
Now, how do you do this? I took Beckon to Darkness from my hand and set it on the apparatus. A rainbow light emanated from under the card for a split second. Then I looked up to see a magic card slot begin to glow yellow.
"Then I will summon Nuvia the Wicked in attack mode!" I said, placing the card down face up. In a flash of light, a banded blue worm with a demonic face that was bedecked in jewels and pink tentacles appeared, floating slightly above the field. I looked upon my monster in admiration. This was one of the proudest moments in my life. Yeah, that sounds cheesy, but for Nuvia had always served me well, and to see it now in 3-D was truly awe inspiring.
Nuvia turned to me and gave me a smile, which I returned. Steven was grinning, because he knew I couldn't kill his Celtic Guardian. Speaking of which, the warrior had spotted Nuvia and his expression turned to one of determination.
"Hmph, you should have picked a weaker monster," Steven gloated as he drew a card. "Now I will use my set card. LIGHTNING VORTEX!"
I knew the card, and I was angered as three massive bolts of lightning slammed into Nuvia, destroying her instantly.
"N…nuvia! Steven-kun, you bastard!" I shouted. Steven grinned, throwing another card on the field.
"I summon another Celtic Guardian to the field!" Steven declared, and a knight identical to the other appeared. Only to my surprise, his armor was blue and silver instead. The two Celtic Guardians glanced at one another and nodded.
"He's toying with you, Raphiel-kun! You can easily destroy him!" Bakura encouraged me, and I shot him a smile. I drew another card to reveal a Dark Elf, a powerful female warrior with 2000 attack.
"I will summon Dark Elf to the field in attack mode!" I announced. A tall, dark haired woman dressed in blue robes and golden armor appeared. She held out one of her hands and a ball of dark flames appeared. "Then I will activate my set magic card, Beckon to Darkness!"
Steven gasped as he heard my card. The green Celtic Guardian looked around in confusion, and then a giant, demonic hand erupted out of the ground, carrying him up with it. At the apex of its climb, it closed its fist around the warrior and then dragged it under ground, killing it.
"You…that was one of my favorite cards!" Steven cursed.
"Tough," I countered. "That's what you get for killing my Nuvia."
Steven cursed again and began his turn. He saw his next card and sighed. Obviously it wasn't that good.
"My turn is over," he said. I grinned as he passed his turn. I drew another card. When I saw it, I smiled widely.
"Do you have a good card, Raphiel-kun?" Bakura cried to me. I showed him the card secretly. Bakura saw it and cheered. For I had my trump card, Thousand Eyes Restrict, in my hand. Now I could dispose of that pathetic Celtic Guardian.
"Thousand Eyes Restrict! Attack mode!" I yelled, slamming the card down. Steven's and Mai's eyes widened as a bizarre, legless monster with two huge arms, a gaping orifice in the middle of its body, and an evil eye for a head. Dotting its body were thousands of eyes.
"How do you have such strong monsters?" Mai demanded as she looked at my side of the field. Dark Elf grinned evilly as the lone Celtic Guardian shook in terror.
"Absorb the Celtic Guardian!" I ordered. The orifice on Thousand Eyes Restrict opened wide and air began to zoom into it. The Celtic Guardian was swept of his feet. Dropping his sword, the warrior flew towards the orifice. He tried to hang on to the floor of the playing field, but he soon fell into the orifice.
After a second, the Thousand Eyes Restrict shimmered and disappeared, to be replaced by a corrupt version of the Celtic Guardian. Instead of blue and silver, the warrior was now black and red, and its skin was gray. It glared at Steven malevolently.
"What have you done to my monster?" Steven demanded. I merely smirked. I had this duel under control the whole time.
Thanks to Thousand Eyes Restrict's effect, the ghostly Celtic Guardian's attack rose to 2000.
"Your turn, Steven-kun," I sneered. I knew that this amateur had no chance. Steven grunted and drew a card. He grinned, which can't have been good.
"I summon, Marauding Captain to the field in attack mode!" he cried. A heavily armored warrior with a red cape and two swords stepped out of nowhere, facing my two monsters. "And due to his effect, I special summon Goblin Attack Force to the field!"
I sighed as the captain turned around and whistled. Three armed goblins appeared next to the captain and screeched. Marauding Captain had an attack of only 1200, but the goblins' was 2300. Now he could kill one of my monsters.
"Goblin Attack Force! Destroy the Thousand Eyes Restrict! TRIANGLE STRIKE!" Steven shouted triumphantly. I growled as the three goblins all attacked the ghostly Celtic Guardian. My warrior grunted and rushed to meet them. He blocked a strike from one of the goblins, and then whirled around and stuck down another that was trying to sneak up on him. Then my warrior kicked the third goblin in the gut and then impaled it. As he was extricating his sword, the last goblin struck him over the head, killing him. My life points fell to 1800.
Although I was pissed that my Thousand Eyes was dead, I thought that it was awesome that our monsters fought like that. I watched as the remaining goblin went back to its space and went into defense mode. That was its effect. Too bad it only had a defense of 0. I could kill it next turn.
However, I still had to deal with that Marauding Captain. Due to its effect, I couldn't attack any other monsters but him until he was destroyed. A mere nuisance really.
"It's my turn," I said. I drew a card and looked at it. It was my trusty Torrential Tribute. Then I took out Summoned Skull. Dark Elf looked at me. I locked eyes with it, and we both nodded.
"I will place a card on the field, and then I will tribute Dark Elf to bring out the Summoned Skull!" I announced. Dark Elf smiled as she disappeared. Replacing it was a giant, demonic skeleton, with two skeletal wings. Lightning crackled around its body, and it let out a roar. "Destroy that Marauding Captain!"
The Marauding Captain hefted his swords and let out a battle cry. However, before it got halfway across the field, it was struck with a bolt of lightning unleashed from Summoned Skull. Steven gulped as his life points fell to 700. Steven drew a card, since it was his turn now.
"I will now activate the Warrior Returning Alive to resurrect the Marauding Captain!" Steven declared. The captain appeared again, and then he pointed his swords at me in anger. "Then I will sacrifice them both to bring out Gilford the Legend!"
I gasped as the goblins as well as the captain disappeared only to be replaced by a massive, well built warrior wielding a giant sword. It was heavily armored, and its long blonde hair swept in a nonexistent wind. It had an attack of 2600, which was higher than my Skull.
"Kill his Summoned Skull!" Steven ordered. Gilford nodded and hefted his blade. Then, with a roar, the knight charged straight for the Summoned Skull.
"Gotcha!" I interrupted, holding up my trap card. "Torrential Tribute!"
"Not so fast!" Steven said as a giant waterfall began to fall upon Gilford as he ran. "I will use Dark Bribe!"
I sighed as the waterfall was stopped by an invisible barrier. As part of the card's effect, I drew a card, which was Yami.
Gilford reached Summoned Skull, ducked under a blow from the demon's claw, and cleaved straight through my monster, destroying it. My life points fell to 1700. Mai, Bakura, and Luna all watched in complete silence as the epic duel unfolded.
Now that it was my turn, I drew another card, which turned out to be an Acid Trap Hole. Good.
"I will place a card on the field, and then summon Nuvia the Wicked to the field in attack mode!" I announced. Nuvia reappeared on the field, hissing at Gilford, who shook his fist at her. "Then I will activate Yami, which turns the field to darkness!"
A dark shroud of mist descended on the field. Nuvia hissed in pleasure as her attack rose to 2300.
"Your set card is a trap card, most likely!" Steven conjectured, pointing at me. I did not grace him with an answer. "Well, I won't fall for it! I'll pass this turn."
Good. His "intelligence" gave me just what I needed. I drew my next card to reveal Monster Reborn. Good. Now this duel was back in my hands.
"I will use Monster Reborn to resurrect my other Nuvia the Wicked!" I shouted. Another Nuvia descended and entwined itself with the other. "Then I will tribute them both to bring out the Black Magician!"
Steven took a step back as the purple armored magician stepped out of a swirling black vortex, its staff held high. Its attack, thanks to the darkness, rose from 2500 to 2800.
"Destroy Gilford the Legend! BLACK MAGIC!" I shouted, and then I realized what I had done. Damn you Luna and Kaiba! Now you have ME doing it!
The Black Magician let out a grunt and pointed its staff at Gilford, who covered his head with his hands. A bolt of pure darkness poured from his staff and flew straight at Gilford, enveloping the warrior.
When the darkness dissipated, Gilford was gone and Steven's life points had fallen to 500. Steven cursed as his turn began. He drew his next card and laughed.
"I summon Exiled Force to the field in attack mode!" Steven declared. Three tanned warriors wielding spears appeared. They had an attack of 1000. I cursed, because I knew what that monster's effect was.
"You have GOT to be kidding me," I whispered.
"Then I will tribute it in order to destroy your Black Magician!" Steven yelled. The three warriors grinned and then threw all of their spears at my magician.
Right before the spears hit, the Black Magician raised his staff and annihilated the Exiled Force. Then it was pierced and perished.
Now this was just plain annoying. My monsters were amazingly strong, but Steven kept destroying them. The difference in our life points was huge, but Steven just didn't want to give up.
I drew my next card, which happened to be a Flash Assailant. It had an attack of 2000, and was good enough to go on the field.
"I summon Flash Assailant in attack mode!" I declared, placing the card on the fiber optics. An Arabian man dressed in assassin clothing appeared, wielding a large machete. Its attack power then rose to 2300. Steven ignored it and started his turn by drawing a card. He immediately placed it on the field.
"I will now bring out Goblin Attack Force in attack mode!" Steven said. I cursed as I saw the three annoying goblins. However, our attack was the same, so I wasn't worried as the teen ended his turn.
I drew my next card and sighed in relief. Now I could end this damn duel so I could watch Bakura and Mai fight. I had the King of Yamimakai in my hand.
"I will now tribute Flash Assailant in order to bring out the King of Yamimakai!" I shouted excitedly. I laughed in delight as I saw Steven's face go pale.
The Arabian assassin sunk into the ground, and one of my favorite monsters appeared. It stood way taller than any of the others. Its skin was brownish and all covered in sinewy muscles. It was protected at the vital points such as the head and joints by thick, dark green armor. It opened its mouth and roared, revealing its sharp fangs. Its attack power rose from 2600 to 2900.
"King of Yamimakai, finish this duel!" I commanded. The King nodded to me and charged. The three goblins could only stare in terror for one second before the King was among them. With a few strong punches, the goblins were history.
Steven slammed his fist onto his playing field is anger, sending his cards flying. I watched in satisfaction as his life points fell to 0.
"Woohoo Raphiel-kun!" Bakura cheered, waving happily at me. I was grinning triumphantly. I stepped back on the platform and let it take me to the ground. Steven did the same, avoiding Mai's gaze. Speaking of Mai, she was shaking her head in exasperation.
"You can't even win when I fixed your deck for you? You are pathetic," she scolded him. I ignored her and walked over to Steven.
"Your Duelist Code, please," I demanded. Steven cursed and showed me his slip of paper. I gazed at it intently. Then I took out my cell phone and saved the code under notes.
"Good job, Raphiel. You've won your first duel!" Luna complimented me. I acknowledged her with a quick nod. Bakura came over to me, grinning happily at my victory. He spotted my cell phone.
"Hey, Raphiel-kun, do you want to trade cell numbers? You know, just in case we get separated?" Bakura asked suddenly. I glanced at him, debating with myself on whether to give it to him. I had no numbers on my cell phone other than my father's, since I deleted all of the ones I used to have. I never called my father since we didn't speak much, so the only reason I had a phone was for calendar events and notes.
"I understand if you don't want to," Bakura mumbled after I was silent. The disappointed look on his face was too much to bear, even for someone as cold as me.
"No, I'll do it," I told him hastily. His expression grew happy again, and he pulled out his silver cell phone. I showed him my black phone, which had my number displayed on the screen.
"Thank you so much, Raphiel-kun!" Bakura cried, his eyes glistening. I looked away, embarrassed. Just what what is with this guy? Getting so emotional over a phone number…what next?
"Hey! Bakura-kun!" Mai called impatiently. "Are we going to duel or not?"
Bakura stood silent, his eyes facing the ground. His hand moved to place his cell phone back in his pocket. Then I saw a sinister grin stretch its way across Bakura's face. Suddenly I remembered the same grin appearing back at the airport.
The blonde seemed to grow taller right before me, and then he shook his hair back. His white hair seemed to grow spikier. Then to my great surprise, Bakura's pendant that I saw back in my dorm phased straight through his shirt and laid to rest on his chest!
I rubbed my eyes in surprise, only to see the pendant still there. I dismissed it as a trick of the light though, since the setting sun was glaring in my eyes. Bakura must have pulled it out of his shirt.
"Hey, Bakura-kun! Are you listening to me?" Mai demanded, taking a step forward. Bakura raised his head. His expression was no longer shy, instead replaced by one of calm, almost evil confidence. This change in Bakura's demeanor was kinda freaking me out now.
"Of course we will," Bakura hissed, which was not like him at all. "But you must be willing to accept the…consequences…if you lose."
I shuddered as Bakura said "consequences." He was acting like this was a duel to the death! I looked over at Luna, and she seemed just as confused as I am.
"Yes, I know I have to give you my Duelist Code if I lose. But I won't!" Mai replied. Bakura shook his head and snickered evilly.
"What the hell is up with him?" I whispered to Luna. "He is starting to really freak me out!"
"I know, it's scaring me too," the blonde replied.
Bakura and Mai stepped on their respective platforms, which then raised them to their stands. Bakura took his deck out of his pocket and placed it on his playing field, and Mai did the same.
"What is that necklace?" Mai asked curiously, staring at Bakura's chest. Bakura looked up at her, that same evil look on his face.
"This?" the blonde asked, lifting his pendant. "This is my Millennium Ring. It is…a good luck charm, if you will. It will bring me victory!"
"That's absurd! No trinket can help you against me!" Mai snapped. Bakura laughed aloud at her reply, flustering her.
"Are you laughing at me?" Mai demanded, looking angry.
"Let's begin this duel," Bakura declared, ignoring her indignant outburst. Mai growled and drew her five cards. I watched the life point meters scroll up to 2000.
Bakura, that creepy grin still on his face, drew his five cards and glanced down on them. He let out a low, evil laugh as he saw them.
"What is wrong with you, Bakura-kun!" I shouted up at him. Bakura glanced askance at me, as if I was a bug that had appeared in his sights.
"Do not interrupt my duel," Bakura commanded, before turning back to his cards. My mouth dropped open for a second, and then it closed in pure rage. Nobody spoke to me like that. NOBODY!
I began to stomp forward, heading straight for the duel ring. My fists clenched and my eyes were focused on Bakura.
"Raphiel-kun, stop!" Luna pleaded, stepping in front of me. I swept my hand forward, attempting to push her out of my way. Luna grunted and then blocked my hand with hers. My eyes widened as I felt the strength within her lean arms. Girls can't be strong, it's…not possible!
I pushed against her with all of my might, but she wouldn't budge. I grunted and took a step back. I was still fuming at Bakura and Luna for stopping me, but right now the sensible option would be to step out of the picture to see what occurred.
"I'll start!" Mai declared. She chose a card out of her hand and delicately placed it down on her field. "I summon Beautiful Headhuntress on the field in attack mode!"
A very…sexy I might say…woman dressed in a blue kimono appeared on Mai's side of the field. She wielded a large, one sided blade that was made for forceful slashes, rather than blocking. Her attack power was an average 1600. Bakura glanced at it and snickered again.
I was really getting freaking out with Bakura. How the hell did he turn from a shy, dependent person to this confident, almost evil one?
"Is that it?" Bakura asked. Mai glared at him. "I guess it is. My turn. I will summon Gyroid in attack mode."
A strange, almost cartoony helicopter appeared on Bakura's side of the field. It took off and hovered slightly above the field. I glanced at it curiously, since I had never seen the card before. I thought Bakura had lots of undead in his deck. Did Bakura switch decks when I wasn't looking?
Its attack power was a pathetic 1000, so what was Bakura attempting to gain?
Mai laughed aloud as she scanned the strange monster.
"You think you can beat my Headhuntress with that pathetic monster?" she demanded. Bakura said nothing, merely grinning in that strange way. Mai snorted at his silence and drew a card.
"I will set a card face down on the field," Mai stated, doing so. A Magic Card slot began to flash yellow. "Then I will summon Sonic Maid to the field in attack mode!"
Another beautiful girl appeared next to the Headhuntress, only this one was dressed in red and wielded a scythe in the shape of a musical note. Her attack power was 1200.
"Headhuntress! Strike down Gyroid!" Mai commanded. The female samurai nodded and let out a cry. The Headhuntress charged forward and slashed down on Gyroid. Bakura laughed again, and suddenly the weird helicopter monster swooped out of range. Headhuntress grunted in frustration.
"What?" Mai exclaimed as her attack failed.
"You fool. Gyroid can avoid an attack once a turn," Bakura explained. Although helpful, Mai could now destroy it with her other monster.
"Fool, am I? Sonic Maid, destroy Gyroid!" Mai ordered. The red cloaked woman hefted her scythe and charged. This time, Gyroid could not avoid the attack, and Sonic Maid was able to cut right through it. Bakura expression remained confident even as his life points fell to 1800.
"It is now my turn," Bakura announced, drawing a card. "I will summon Dark Resonator on the field in attack mode!"
A really freaky looking creature that looked like a fat hooded man appeared, wielding a tuning fork. It had a weak attack power of 1300. Where the hell did Bakura get these cards?
"Now, destroy Sonic Maid!" Bakura commanded, pointing at his target. The Dark Resonator emitted a high pitched laugh and then struck its tuning fork. A powerful sonic wave traveled across the field, hitting the Sonic Maid squarely in the face. The poor creature could not withstand the wave and disappeared, dropping Mai's life points to 1900.
"That was one of my favorite monsters," Mai growled. She drew her next card, and her expression lightened up considerably. "Yes! It's your time to shine, Harpie Lady! Attack mode!"
Now this card I knew. A beautiful, blue skinned woman with long red hair and two blue wings appeared. Her weapons were her sharp claws, which had an attack power of 1300.
"Destroy the Dark Resonator, Beautiful Headhuntress!" Mai ordered. The female samurai acknowledged her order with a nod. Then the Headhuntress charged forward and brought her blade down on the Dark Resonator. However, Bakura's monster blocked the strike with its tuning fork.
"Again?" Mai cried, her face livid. Bakura laughed.
"My monster has the same effect as Gyroid," the blonde informed her. Mai slammed her fist down on the side of her platform in frustration.
Normally, I would be cheering for Bakura, but at this time, I didn't feel like cheering. I knew that whoever…or whatever…was standing up there on that stand, it wasn't Bakura. It was not the kind, gentle Bakura that was my friend.
"Now it is my turn again," Bakura stated, drawing another card. He snickered as he saw it.
"I will now use Enemy Controller!" the blonde declared, holding up the magic card. I remembered this card. It had two effects, but I didn't know which one Bakura was going to use. "I will now put your Beautiful Headhuntress in defense mode!"
"You…why don't you stop using cheap cards and fight me fairly!" Mai demanded as the Headhuntress knelt down and held her blade in front of her. Her defense was only 800.
"Dark Resonator! Destroy the Headhuntress!" Bakura ordered. The creature again struck its tuning fork, and a wave of sonic energy annihilated the female samurai. Mai cursed as it disappeared from her field. Since it was now her turn, she drew her next card. She smiled as she saw it.
"I will now equip Harpie Lady with the Rose Whip!" Mai declared, placing the magic card on the field behind the monster. "Her attack and defense points all rise by three hundred."
I nodded appreciatively at the combo as a thorny whip appeared in Harpie Lady's hand and her attack shot up to 1600. Now she could kill the Dark Resonator.
"Have you forgotten?" Bakura demanded. "You cannot hurt my Dark Resonator! Not when Harpie Lady is your only monster!"
"Who said it was my only monster?" Mai shot back. Bakura grunted in surprise as Mai threw down another card. "I summon Blue Winged Crown in attack mode!"
A large blue bird with a red crown-like crest on its head appeared next to Harpie Lady, who petted it fondly. It had an attack of 1600.
"My wind monsters! Attack together!" Mai cried, waving her arms dramatically. Harpie Lady nodded at the blue bird, and with a screech, they flew straight towards the Dark Resonator.
Bakura's monster managed to fend off the Blue Winged Crown, but it could not defend itself in time before Harpie Lady's whip scored a hit, destroying it. Bakura's life points fell to 1500.
I crossed my arms as Bakura continued to do badly. I knew what Bakura was trying to do, if he still was using his Destiny Board deck. He was just waiting to draw the Destiny Board card, and then the duel would end in a victory for him in 4 turns afterwards.
"You should just give up, Bakura-kun! You can't win against my Harpy deck!" Mai cried triumphantly.
"You are right," Bakura said. Mai's eyes widened. I was too confused at his statement. Was Bakura going to give up? "I've underestimated you, Mai-san. It's time I corrected this mistake!"
Bakura drew his next card, looked at it, and then put it in his hand.
"I will then summon Earl of Demise to the field in attack mode!" Bakura declared. I acknowledged the power of this card with a nod. A fearsome zombie dressed in rotting aristocratic clothing appeared where the Dark Resonator once stood. It wielded a thin saber for its weapon. It had no effect, but its attack was 2000, which was considerable.
What comforted me was that it was an undead fiend, unlike the other two monsters Bakura played. I guess he just hadn't drawn his undead cards.
"Then I will strengthen it with Megamorph!" Bakura continued, placing another card down. Mai took a step back as the Earl grew stronger, its strength rising to 2300. "Now, my powerful Earl, destroy the Blue Winged Crown!"
The undead Earl shambled over to Mai's monster, which tried to fly out of ranged. However, the zombie could draw upon powers unattainable by living creatures, so it leaped up high and impaled the bird on its saber, destroying it. Mai's life points plummeted to 1200.
I smiled grimly as Bakura took the lead with his powerful fiend. At this rate, he may not even need to use Destiny Board to win!
"Come on, Mai-san! You can win this still!" Steven cheered for his friend/idol/crush/I don't care what their relationship is. Mai said nothing, staring at the Earl of Demise with hatred. She drew her next card, since Bakura couldn't do anything else in his turn.
"I will attack Cyber Shield to my Harpie Lady!" Mai announced. The Harpie Lady grinned as golden, spiked armor appeared on her body, increasing her attack power to 2100. However, it was still not enough to defeat the Earl of Demise. "Then I will use De-Spell on your Earl of Demise to remove its Megamorph!"
Bakura sighed as the attack power of his Earl of Demise fell back to 2000. In fact, he didn't seem to care.
"Harpie Lady! Attack the Earl of Demise!" Mai ordered. The Harpie Lady cracked her whip and flew towards Bakura. The Earl snarled in defiance before Mai's monster annihilated it with her thorny whip. Bakura's life points fell to 1400.
"Tsk Tsk," Bakura chided her. "If you think you can beat me by brute force, you are wrong."
"Do not lecture me, kid!" Mai shot back. Bakura laughed at her outburst, and then he drew his next card.
"Let me start off my turn by using the Pot of Greed, so that I may draw two extra cards," Bakura began. A large, ugly green pot appeared on the field for a second. A light shone out from the opening, and then it vanished. Bakura then drew his two cards.
"Now, I will summon Archfiend Soldier to the field in defense mode," Bakura continued. A large, armored demon wearing a green cloak appeared. Then it kneeled down and covered itself with its cloak.
It seemed Bakura was playing defensive again, since Mai's Harpie Lady was growing in strength steadily. Archfiend Soldier was a decent card, with a defense of 1500.
"Hiding from me, are we?" Mai teased as her turn began. "That will never get you anywhere."
Bakura only snickered as Mai drew her next card. She immediately placed it on the field.
"I will now use Elegant Egotist on my Harpie Lady, tripling it!" Mai declared. The Harpie Lady split into three, slightly different Harpies, also known as the Harpie Lady Sisters. It had an attack power of 1950, but with the addition of the Rose Whip and Cyber Shield, it rose even higher to 2750. If Bakura didn't deal with this card soon, he was in trouble.
"Harpie Lady Sisters, attack the Archfiend Soldier!" Mai ordered. The three sisters screeched and flew forward. The Archfiend Soldier attempted to block them, but as he was contending with one of the Harpies, the other two flew behind it and sliced the demon to pieces. "Give it up, Bakura-kun. None of your monsters can even come CLOSE to the power of my Harpie Lady Sisters!"
Bakura ignored her taunt and drew his next card. The blonde froze as he saw his next card, and then an evil grin slowly spread across his face.
"I'm sorry, Mai-san. Despite your powerful cards, your fight is over. As of now, you have four turns left before your defeat!" Bakura announced, and then he laughed maniacally. Mai recoiled in surprise and disbelief as she heard his prediction.
"Impossible! Nothing can defeat my Harpie Lady Sisters!" she cried skeptically. Bakura wagged a finger at her.
"Really? I will now activate Destiny Board!" Bakura shouted, slamming the card down. I smiled, because this duel was practically over if Mai didn't defeat him.
A giant black "F" appeared in the air in one of Bakura's Magic slots in a flash of light. A white aura emanated from the giant letter.
"D-destiny Board?" Mai stammered. "What is that?"
"You don't know what Destiny Board does?" Bakura asked condescendingly. "Then allow me to fill you in. Destiny Board is a trap card that allows me to draw one Spirit Letter card from my hand or my deck each turn and place it on the field. Once the ultimate word has been spelled out, I win."
"You WHAT?" Mai cried, not believing what she just heard. "An instant win?"
"Yes, that is an accurate description," Bakura said. "In four turns, your soul will belong to me!"
I stopped thinking as soon as he said that. Did…did he just say he was going to take her soul once he won? How is that even possible? Maybe he was just bluffing, because no human has the power to steal souls.
"Did you just hear that?" I said to Steven and Luna.
"Nobody can take souls, it's not possible!" Steven replied, although he was looking worried.
"I don't understand what Bakura is trying to prove by saying that," Luna answered. We all looked at Mai, who was looking pale.
"Now I will summon Dark Hunter to the field in defense mode!" Bakura finished. A cloaked, bird-like demon appeared on the field. It then kneeled and hid itself with its cloak. It was an okay monster with a formidable effect, but it was useless in defense mode, since it only had 400 defense. Her hands trembling, Mai drew her next card.
"I will summon Harpie's Brother to the field in attack mode," Mai said, placing the card down. A particularly badass-looking man appeared next to the Harpie Lady Sisters. He was dressed in a biker outfit, and he had two reddish black wings. He was equipped with a sword and a gun. Its attack power was a reasonable 1800.
"Harpie Lady Sisters, destroy the Dark Hunter!" Mai cried. The three flying woman again flew towards Bakura and sliced his monster apart.
"My turn," Bakura said confidently. "Due to the effect of Destiny Board, Spirit Letter 'I' appears on the field. You have three turns left to live."
Mai blinked as a giant black "I" appeared next to the "F." Now, the word "FI" was floating in midair. Then Bakura drew his next card.
"I will summon another Dark Hunter to the field in attack mode," Bakura continued. Another bird-like demon appeared, wielding two sharp knives. "Since there are more than 2 dark monsters in my graveyard, its effect allows its attack to rise to two thousand."
"To finish off my combo, I will use Megamorph on the Dark Hunter!" Bakura finished, and the demon's attack rose to 2300. "Now, Dark Hunter! Destroy Harpie's Brother!"
The demon roared and charged forward. The Harpie saw it coming and took out his gun. It fired several times, but the Dark Hunter nimbly dodged them. When they were close enough, Harpie's Brother unsheathed his sword and engaged in battle against the Dark Hunter.
However, the demon was too quick for the Harpie, so it soon tore it to pieces with its knives. Mai's life points fell to 700. Mai cursed.
"Take her down, Bakura-kun!" I cheered, my friendship with Bakura finally overcoming my anger at his new demeanor. Bakura looked over at me, and a look of confusion passed over his stern face. It was as if he hadn't expected me to root for him. Idiot, you may be acting like a total ass right now, but I'm still your friend!
Bakura's expression then turned to one of pain, and the blonde forced himself to look at the duel. It now seemed to me that something seemed to be forcing the blonde to duel.
Mai drew her next card, sweat beginning to appear on her forehead.
"Destroy the Dark Hunter, Harpie Lady Sisters!" she shouted. The demon could not move faster than the three women, so it soon followed its predecessors to the graveyard. Bakura's life points fell to 950.
"Since it is now my turn, Spirit Letter 'N' appears!" Bakura declared, his voice wavering slightly. Another enormous letter appeared next to the other two, so that the word now read "FIN."
"Now, I will place a card on the field, and then summon Headless Knight to the field in defense mode!" Bakura added. A knight dressed in holy silver armor, but missing a head, appeared on the field. It knelt down and held its sword out protectively. Behind it, next to the forming word, a Magic slot began to glow yellow.
"My turn," Mai said, drawing her next card. When she saw it, she began to laugh hysterically. "Bakura-kun, your Destiny Board strategy is finished!"
"Really?" Bakura asked skeptically. It seemed that Bakura had anticipated a counterattack, so he was calm.
"I will activate Harpie's Feather Duster! Now it will destroy all of your Magic and Trap Cards, including your Destiny Board!" Mai shouted, grinning like a madwoman. One of the Harpie Lady Sisters flew towards the glowing word, her wings stretched out wide.
"Not so fast," Bakura interrupted, suddenly discarding a card in his hand. "I will now discard a card in order to activate Magic Jammer!"
Mai recoiled in fear as a large pentagram appeared under the incoming Harpie and stopped it in place. It was forced to go back and join the other Harpie Lady Sisters.
"Did you really think I'd let you destroy my winning strategy so easily?" Bakura demanded, grinning. Mai just gasped as she began to come to terms with her inevitable defeat.
"H...Harpie… Harpie Lady Sisters…destroy the Headless Knight!" Mai mumbled. The kneeling knight then was sliced to pieces by Mai's powerful Harpies.
"And now Spirit Letter 'A' appears!" Bakura cried triumphantly. Now the word spelled "FINA." "Mai, you have one turn left to live! I will end my turn without summoning monsters!"
Mai drew her next card, and then she fell to her knees on the stand, the cards in her deck flying everywhere.
"No…how could my Harpies lose…" she mumbled. Bakura glanced at her in disdain.
"Since you aren't making any actions, you pass your turn," Bakura said. He drew his next card. "Now, your soul is…ah!"
Bakura stopped his sentence when he saw his next card. I looked at him, confused, wondering what could have possibly stopped him from finishing the duel.
"Y…Yami…" Bakura muttered, his speech jerking as if he was in great pain. I saw him collapse, holding his hands to his head. "N…no…you…will…not…ahagh!"
"Bakura-kun, are you all right?" Luna cried out worriedly. I too was worried about Bakura, since he seemed to be having some kind of seizure.
"I…urgh…RAPHIEL-KUN!" Bakura screamed loudly. I started as I heard my name fly out of his mouth.
"Bakura-kun! I'm coming!" I shouted, running towards the stand. Bakura continued to cry out as I approached. Ignoring the platform, I climbed up the stand until I reached Bakura. I knelt down beside him and held him tightly as he yelled. Something was wrong with him, so I was determined to give him the mental support of my presence. "I'm here, Bakura-kun!"
I ignored the cheesiness of my words. The only thought in my mind was Bakura's safety. After all of the friends I've lost over the years, I was NOT going to let the world take another from me!
"Raphiel-kun…I…AH!" Bakura yelled, and then I felt a blast of air emit from his body. It tried to push me back, but I planted my feet firmly on the ground. Bakura went limp in my arms.
"Bakura-kun!" I cried desperately. The blonde made no noise for a few seconds, and then he opened his eyes and looked up at me.
"Raphiel-kun!" Bakura cried, and then he embraced me suddenly. I recoiled for a second. Normally, if a guy friend of mine just walked up to me and hugged me, I'd think he was gay. But Bakura had just gone through some sort of mental battle that I know nothing about, so I guessed he wanted the presence of somebody friendly. Not that I qualify for friendly.
After he let go of me, I helped him stand and face the playing field once again.
"Finish the duel, Bakura-kun," I whispered. The blonde nodded weakly and began to search his deck for the last Spirit Letter.
"Thank you for dueling with me, Mai-san," Bakura said to the equally traumatized Mai as he placed Spirit Letter "L" on the field.
Now that the word "FINAL" was on the field, there was a huge flash of light. A black hole leading to somewhere deep in the depths of Hell appeared where the word used to be. It sucked the Harpie Lady Sisters right inside, destroying them and dealing 8000 points of direct damage to Mai's life points. Needless to say, the duel was over.
I helped Bakura to the platform, which then lowered us to the ground. Luna ran over to us, and Steven ran to Mai.
"Is he okay?" Luna asked, a scared look on her face.
"Yeah, I think I can walk now," Bakura said. I let go of him and let the blonde stand up. The three of us then walked over to Mai, who was standing up straight as well.
"It seems I have far to go before I can even think about facing Kaiba," Mai told us, handing her Duelist Code to Bakura. "Because if I can't beat you, then I stand no chance against him."
"It was fun, Mai-san! Thank you for the challenge," Bakura replied graciously, recording the code in his phone.
"Well then, Bakura-kun, Luna-chan, Raphiel-kun, I guess we'll say farewell here," Mai said, facing us all. "Steven and I still have several Duelist Codes left to collect."
"I guess so. Goodbye, Mai-san," I replied. Mai shook hands with each of us, and then her and Steven began to walk away. The duel had taken longer than I thought, so it was now dark.
"Why can't you pick duelists that are WEAK?" Mai demanded of Steven when they were farther away.
"I don't have ESP you know!" Steven retorted indignantly. "What do want me to do, walk up and ask if they're weak duelists?"
"No, but I'M picking the next targets!" Mai shot back. The three of us laughed to ourselves as the quarrelling duo disappeared from sight.
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Since it was dark, we began to settle down for the night. Luna had wisely brought a tent in her suitcase, so we worked to set it up together.
Once it was finished, we all spread out inside of it and lay in silence for a couple minutes.
"Okay, Bakura-kun? I need an explanation, now." I said, breaking the silence. "What the hell happened back there?
"It…It's hard to explain," Bakura mumbled shyly.
"Well, you need to try. I can't go walking around the isle not knowing when you will turn scary on me again," I shot back.
"It's just that…I think that there is someone else inside of me, that surfaces when I duel," Bakura attempted to explain.
"You mean some spirit inside of you possesses you when you duel?" I rephrased skeptically, not believing it. I mean, it explained a lot about what happened back there, but come on, spirits?
"I'm not really sure. It's just that I have memory lapses every now and then, and people always get hurt afterwards. It's why I keep transferring schools," Bakura continued.
"Then why didn't it hurt Mai-san?" I demanded.
"Because the other me's hold was weakened somehow, and I became somewhat conscious. Then you must have helped me break free," Bakura answered. I thought about this. This other Bakura seemed very unbelievable, but it did explain why he began having a seizure or something when he saw the card I gave him. I don't know why my Yami card would weaken the other Bakura's hold. Maybe, if I dipped into cliché, the Yami card reminded him of me, and our friendship weakened the evil Bakura. OF course, that seemed incredibly cheesy, but it did make sense.
"I would have told you before, but I was afraid that you wouldn't want to be friends with me afterwards," Bakura murmured. I sighed heavily. Spirit or not, I couldn't bear to see the blonde so down. I guess I would have to say another cheesy TV line in order to cheer him up.
"Bakura-kun, I'll always be your friend," I told him. Bakura gasped happily when I said this. God, who would have known how much these cliché lines work!
"Thank you so much, Raphiel-kun!" the blonde exclaimed. I looked over at Luna to see how she was taking it. She looked back at me with a worried expression on her face. I held a finger to my lips, telling her to be silent.
"We'll discuss this later," I mouthed to her. Luna nodded.
"Now, we should all get some sleep. We have a lot of Duelist Codes to collect in the morning," I suggested.
"Good idea! I'm really tired," Bakura agreed. Gee, I wonder why.
"Good night," Luna said to us all. I replied in turn and then we all laid there in silence, until we all fell asleep.
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Don't expect another chapter as long as this. I just wanted to fit both duels in, since just the Raphiel-Steven duel wouldn't have been long enough to qualify for a chapter. But I didn't realize the Bakura-Mai duel would take so long!
I understand the last bit was kind of cheesy, but I've never been good at cheering up/angst scenes. Maybe If I had a freaking Beta Reader…but never mind that.
I've already gotten a Raphiel drawing, but it wasn't to my liking, so I'm still accepting more! Oh, and I will still be taking complaints and/or praises for this story in reviews! I would love to hear your feedback!
