Chapter Eight
The audience members slowly refilled the otherwise empty arena, after mingling in the lobby and snack areas, to watch the remainder of the tournament. In five minutes, the final round would begin. Figuring that it would be impossible to fight their way through the crowd in time, Josh and Dave had stayed in their seats. Josh leaned back in his chair, shuffling his new deck with his left hand, while Dave looked over something on his Card Analyzer.
"Kaiba has three copies of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in his deck. So that means he has a three out of forty chance of drawing it, assuming his deck has forty cards that is…"
Josh stopped shuffling and leaned forward. "Remember what we said earlier, right?"
Dave looked to his friend. "I know. One more round to go. But like I said, I'm not too worried about that Adam guy."
"Are you sure? He seemed really good from what I can tell." Although, he had to admit that he didn't know much about this game to begin with.
"Yeah, I figured out his strategy during the last round." He put his Card Analyzer on his lap and crossed his legs. "He tries to send his monsters to his Graveyard with his Spell Cards, then he tries to outsmart you with his Trap Cards. It's a good strategy too. But most of his tactics are so unorthodox that they're obvious when you really pay attention. I just need be wary of his tricks and I should be set."
Josh leaned back again. "Alright." He smiled. Dave knew what he was doing. He could trust that.
Once the stadium was repopulated, the lights went out and a spotlight shone on center stage. The announcer, who seemed to appear out of the floor, gave a two-minute warning and told the finalists to proceed to the stage. Josh bumped Dave's fist as he passed him by, watching him make his way to the meeting spot.
"Good," the announcer whispered to Dave. "Now we just need to wait for your opponent and we can begin."
Dave nodded. Hopefully he wouldn't take too long.
Near a private entrance, Kaiba and his brother, Mokuba, waited in the shadows for the finalists to show up.
"Seto, are you okay?" Mokuba asked shyly. Kaiba patted him on the shoulder tenderly.
"I'm fine." He pulled his hand away.
"But what about your deck? How are you going to duel without it?"
Kaiba hesitated, then spoke gravely, "We need to continue with the tournament as if it never happened. Hopefully we can bide our time..."
Mobuka turned to him. "I wouldn't worry about that. These two guys are the best I've seen since Yugi Muto and Joey Wheeler." Kaiba rolled his eyes at the mention of Joey's name. "They'll be able to put on a show long enough for us to find the culprit."
"Let's hope so," he whispered under his breath.
"Mr. Kaiba," the chief said, arriving behind them. "How are things holding up?"
Kaiba nodded. "We should be able to stall long enough for you to find my deck."
Mobuka elbowed him teasingly. "Yeah, hopefully Seto can keep his cool while we wait."
The chief and Mokuba forced a nervous laugh. There was a moment of awkward silence until the chief pointed to the stage.
"Look, that other boy's here."
They looked to the stage, watching the confident teenager somberly walk over to the other duelist. Kaiba stepped forward.
"I have to go up." He glanced at the chief over his shoulder. "If you hear any word about my deck alert me immediately."
The chief gave an assuring nod and stepped back into the doorway. Kaiba took a few more steps; a beam of light exposed him from the darkness. He steadily climbed the stairs, met with the other three, where the announcer handed him a microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen. The duel that is about to take place is destined to be unlike any other." Mokuba chuckled – everyone knew that Kaiba didn't believe in destiny. "In the left corner we have a local duelist known as Dave Litenur and in the right, we an unknown duelist by the name of Adam Prince. Both are equally skilled in varying ways, but one thing we know is that they were able to make it here today."
Kaiba paused to allow both contestants to take their spots on the stage, simultaneously allowing the audience room to applaud. Dave had his back turned to Josh, where he would be able to get a good view of Dave's hand. The two showed off their Duel Disks, but waited for permission to activate them.
"As you already know, both of you already qualify to beta test a brand new line of cards. But that is not enough. In order to gain the title and glory of becoming a champion, you must win this round to have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to duel me."
Dave stared at Kaiba as he gave his spiel. I'll be sure to.
"If you win, then fame is yours. But now let's return to the moment shall we?" He looked to Adam, who stood emotionlessly. Then to Dave, who remained focused on the famous duelist.
Just one more round and my dream will come true…
"Dave." Hearing Kaiba say his name broke him from his trance. Kaiba held out a coin engraved with a dragon's head on one side, fumbling with it. "Since you won with more Life Points during the last round, you get to call the toss."
A formal coin toss. It was rare to see this in casual play, but even throughout this tournament the announcer had predetermined the turn order. He was honored to be left with this choice.
"Heads," he said with confidence.
"Hmph." Kaiba threw the coin into the air, where it flipped distinctively as it fell. When it returned, Kaiba griped it with his right hand, plopped it onto his left and called out the result.
"Tails."
Dave grumbled. But he knew it didn't matter in the long run – it was rare for the turn order to determine the winner.
"Adam, since you won the toss you get to go first."
Adam darkly watched Kaiba step off stage, where Kaiba passed the baton to the announcer.
"Alright! Let the final round begin!"
The crowd cheered; Kaiba disappeared into the darkness. Only two spotlights remained, one on either player, each expanding so that their fields were lit up in a sharp, pale light. Kaiba acknowledged Mokuba as he came close, and the two turned to watch the match unfold.
They better find it. Or else.
Each duelist activated his Duel Disk, clapping the two platforms together and swinging it so that it was facing the other player. They pulled their five cards and their Life Points meters ignited with electronic digits.
Here we go.
[Dave LP: (8000)] [Adam LP: (8000)]
While Adam started his turn, Dave looked over his hand. First card was Black Luster Soldier. He lacked its Ritual Spell Card though, but with his Pot of Greed card he could easily pull it in addition to his normal draw. Then he had Black Luster Sword, Dimension Wall, and Black Luster Guard ready to support it if needed. He couldn't have asked for a better starting hand. This game was good as his.
"I activate Graceful Charity," Adam said. A Spell Card appeared depicting a red-haired angel cupping its hands under a glowing, pale card that floated above it. "This card allows me to draw three cards, but discard two."
So he's gonna dump a Fallen monster into the Grave first thing.
Adam looked over his new cards, then tossed two of them into the red slot of his Duel Disk.
"Next I'll set two cards face-down." Two brown-backed cards flashed a foot ahead of Adam. He pressed a button on his Duel Disk, and an orange card ejected from the red slot. "Now I'll summon my Fallen Koumori Dragon from my Graveyard."
The purple dragon appeared with a burst of flames, its yellow eyes glaring at Dave through the spotlight. (1500/1200)
"Your go."
Dave pulled a card, disappointed to see it was Obnoxious Celtic Guard. He reached for his Pot of Greed card, but one of Adam's face-down cards triggered the second he did.
"I activate Extended Trip-Wire. This lets me pick up cards from my deck until I draw a Trap Card. Then, if it can activate, I can use it immediately and send all the other cards to the Graveyard. Otherwise my picked-up cards go back to my deck."
I see right through that. Dave touched his finger to Pot of Greed, still preparing to use it. His real plan is to populate his Graveyard full of Fallen monsters. It doesn't matter what trap he pulls so long as it works.
Adam drew card after card; Dave counted them as he pulled. An orange card. A green card. Another orange card. A third… he continued until finally drew a purple card and slid it into his Duel Disk. At that point he had seven orange cards, monsters, and three green cards, spells, all of them going into his Graveyard. Now he needed to be prepared for anything.
"Since my Ring of Destruction card was drawn, I'll use it to destroy the only monster out – Fallen Koumori Dragon!"
A metallic tire stuck itself around Fallen Koumori Dragon's neck. The dragon attempted to pry it off but fire shot out of the tire's pores, completely submerging it. In a final effort to escape the dragon spread its wings, shooting the flames at both players. Dave shielded himself with his Duel Disk, while Adam took the hit unflinchingly.
[Dave LP: (8000 - 6500)] [Adam LP: (8000 - 6500)]
Dave lowered his arm, glared at his opponent through the smoke. Adam barely seemed to care about the blast. Dave took his Pot of Greed card, slamming it angrily into a random slot.
"I activate Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two cards." He brought the same hand to his deck.
"I chain Exchange of Spirit!"
No way!
Upon hearing the card's name, Kaiba perked his attention at Adam. He and Mokuba watched the card rise from their corner, each of them stepping forward to get a better view. Dave was completely taken aback. He couldn't believe he fell for this.
"Since I have fifteen cards in my Graveyard, I can pay 1000 Life Points –" [Adam LP: (6500 - 5500)] "– to have our Graveyards switch places with our decks."
Ghosts spewed out the card's hologram, spiraling chaotically around the arena, a few headed for both players. A cluster of ghosts assaulted Dave, absorbing his deck one card at a time. As one ghost moved away, another one took its place, and the previous ghosts squished itself into Dave's Graveyard. He tried to fan them away, but his arm passed straight through. He had no choice but to wait for the madness to finish. By the end of the mayhem, Dave's deck was gone. Since Pot of Greed needed to take effect, Dave was forced to draw. He still had his hand on the empty compartment, pressing his fingers against the cold gray metal.
No… this can't be. Dave's heart became stone. He fell to his knees, found himself paralyzed by trauma.
Audience members shot themselves onto their feet. Despite the impressive move, everyone remained in silent awe, as if expecting more to happen. Even the announcer and, in the dark, Kaiba expressed their amazement. The holograms disintegrated; the platform on Adam's Duel Disk unhinged itself into two separate units. For a moment, the arena seemed to become a place of mourning, as if a murder had just been witnessed.
Josh saw his friend digging his hands into the stage floor. He watched Adam walk over, snapping the announcer out of his trance.
"Dave Litenur has Decked Out. Adam Prince is the winner!"
A delayed uproar filled the stadium, louder than any other before it. Adam held out his hand to Dave, but Dave remained unresponsive. The shock was too much.
Oh Dave… you were so close.
Kaiba, too, stared at the duelists in horror.
"Seto," Mokuba said. "Seto, what're we gonna do now?"
Kaiba hesitated. "How the hell…"
"Seto."
Mokuba looked to his brother, shaking his arm. Kaiba answered with a glare.
"Stall. I need to find the chief."
With that he waved Mokuba away and whipped open the door, his blazer trailing behind him.
Back on stage, Adam crouched so he was eyelevel with Dave. He began to whisper. "Don't worry. You'll get your chance."
Dave finally acknowledged him. Get his chance? What did that mean? Adam offered his hand again, Dave accepted reluctantly. They stood up, the crowd burst into a deafening frenzy.
"Next up we'll have the Championship Round – Seto Kaiba vs. Adam Prince! But first we'll have a fifte…"
A panic-stricken Mobuka sprinted onto the stage. Josh, probably the only person not caught up in the moment, noticed the announcer's astonishment at his arrival. The announcer leaned in to hear what the teenager was whispering in his ear. When Mokuba stepped back, the announcer held up his microphone.
"Erhrm. We'll be having a thirty minute break, then the Championship Round will begin!"
More cheers wisped across the stadium. Josh saw his friend step down the stage's stairs, using his hat to hide his shame.
While the remainder of the crowd headed for the lobby, Dave and Josh stayed behind to talk. Dave looked through his deck again, this time with sullen guilt.
"Dave, you okay?" He waited, but Dave continued to search through his deck. "Don't worry about the loss man, you still get to beta test those cards."
Dave stopped, looked to him. "I was so close!" He started to sloppily shuffle his deck. "I'm never gonna have a chance like this again."
"You don't know that." Josh said reassuringly. Though, from the way Dave sounded earlier, he knew that Dave was probably right.
"Whatever."
Dave shoved his deck back into his Card Analyzer, collapsing in his chair.
"You wanna go home?"
Dave stared at the floor, sulking.
"Yeah. Let's go…"
"What do you MEAN we can't leave?"
The security guard shook his head, holding out a hand to protect himself from Dave's outrage.
"I'm sorry sir. Mr. Kaiba's orders. No one is allowed to leave until the tournament is concluded."
"That's ridiculously stupid!" Dave shouted, waving his arms in exasperation. Josh gave a frightened look to the guard, who retracted his jaw. "What if there was a fire or shooting or something! Why the hell would you keep everyone here against their will!"
The security guard remained firm, but gentle. "If that was the case we would override the order. But until then we have to listen to what he says. I'm sorry."
"Dammit!" Dave kicked a nearby pillar and trudged away. Josh stayed behind to apologize but the security guard simply nodded. With that settled, he caught up to Dave, who had started to push his way through the crowd. Josh followed, but struggled to reach him. People started crossing his path almost immediately.
"Dave! Where are you going!"
Dave didn't hear him – whether it was because of the noise or his withdrawn anger, Josh wasn't sure – and headed for the cafeteria door. Though Josh tried, he could not keep up with him. Eventually he was lost in the crowd.
"Nathan." A voice rang from the police officer's walkie-talkie. He picked it up, quickly trying to fight his way toward the cafeteria door so he could hear it better.
"Yes sir?"
"We have less time than we thought. Please hurry and find that de –"
There was a struggle on the other line, shortly followed by a deafening roar.
"Find that deck NOW!" Kaiba's voice shouted, forcing Nathan to momentarily take the walkie-talkie away from his ear. "If you don't find that deck in twenty minutes I'll be sure to make your life a living hell!"
Nathan's voice started to falter. "On it sir." He hung up just as Kaiba began another barrage of threats. Now he was racing the clock.
He glanced around the crowd at first, waiting to see if he could anyone that looked slightly suspicious. Then he saw him – the same man from before; his gray leather jacket and his black spikey hair contrasting with that single strand of red hair that hung above his nose. This time he wouldn't get away. Nathan silently marched in his direction, only to bump into another man from his haste.
"Ah, I'm sorry," the boy said. It the same kid he had bumped into earlier; the timid one who wore the red sweatshirt.
"It's alright. I'm just in a hurry."
He was about to walk away so the suspect didn't have a chance to escape, but stopped himself. The boy seemed troubled. Nathan cast his gaze at the spikey-haired man, just to make sure he was still there. When he felt secured, he questioned the boy before he left.
"You alright there kid?"
The boy seemed surprised when he asked. "Yeah. My friend just ran off, so I'm trying to find him."
"Oh, I see. Carry on." He nodded, tipping his hat. He was about to pursue the spikey-haired man when the boy started to speak again.
"Hey, can I ask you something?"
Nathan looked again to check if the man had left. He hadn't.
"Sure. What's bothering you kid?"
"What's going on today? I mean, the announcer's acting weird with all these delays and my friend and I weren't allowed to leave before."
Now he was stuck. He needed to think quickly so the boy wouldn't be too concerned. Maybe tell the truth with a detached tone?
"It's nothing. Something valuable was stolen before and the owner was making a fuss about it." He wasn't lying, just leaving out some key details. "Security's playing along just to calm his nerves. There's no need to fret."
"Ah, alright." The boy held out his hand. "Hopefully you find it so we can leave. My friend's angry about his loss and just wants to get outta here."
Nathan accepted the handshake. "Don't worry, you should be able to leave soon."
"Thanks." The boy smiled politely, opened the door to the cafeteria.
Hopefully this thief isn't too dangerous. Nathan looked back to the crowd and, once again, the spikey-haired man was gone.
Shit.
Josh entered the cafeteria, closing the door behind him. Now that there was a break in the tournament, the whole room was flooded with people waiting for the finals. It would definitely be harder to find Dave in here.
He walked straight ahead, thinking about what the cop had just said to him. Something was stolen. That was easy enough to understand. But wait… he never answered why the announcer was acting weird. Could something have been stolen from him? That didn't make much sense. And he remembered before that all of the cops were looking for it. Was it really that important? Something didn't add up.
Eventually Josh found himself at the center of the cafeteria – in between the wide rows of tables that stretched from one end of the room to the other. Not one seat was vacant in here, and every inch of the tables had either trays or cards laid out on them. He cupped his hand over his eyes in search for Dave but he still didn't see him. Maybe he snuck out?
Josh twisted around, thinking that he would be able to find him from a different vantage point, when he slammed into a person dressed in dull business clothes. He heard a feminine grunt. A briefcase fell to the floor, spilling its contents all over the place.
"Ah, I'm so sorry. Let me help."
He leaned down to pick up the small trinkets, including some make-up, a few sheets of paper, and a blue Card Analyzer. He was about to stand up when he noticed that the hinge securing the Card Analyzer's deck slot was opened, a card was sticking out slightly.
A thought flashed into Josh's mind, something he had heard before.
"Nathan, hurry up. We need to find that deck."
Was that what the police officer was referring to? At that moment, another thought hit him.
"I'm sorry sir. Mr. Kaiba's orders. No one is allowed to leave until the tournament is concluded."
Mr. Kaiba… Why would he order to seal the exits if it wasn't a big deal? He slipped the card higher to could read its name. Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Now a new voice rang out in his head. This time it was Dave's.
"They're one of the most powerful Dragon-type monsters in the world. And he owns the only three copies in existence. It's his signature card."
No… this was Kaiba's deck! He sprung up from shock, but the business woman punched him in the gut, loosening his grip of the Card Analyzer. She snatched it away from him, tossed her scattered belongings into the briefcase and fled from the scene. By the time Josh recovered she was already half way across the cafeteria.
"Stop her!" Josh ordered aimlessly. Curious people nearby turned. "She stole Kaiba's deck!"
Silence brushed along the cafeteria like a droplet of water hitting the surface. Josh chased after her. Others stood up to cut her off but she managed to smack them away with her briefcase. Josh was the only one who was able to follow her trail unflinchingly. The business woman rushed for the exit; as she drew close several people stood up with arms outstretched, successfully blocking her path. She had nowhere to run now.
The woman quietly cursed. Josh approached behind her, followed by others.
"Give it up." "You got nowhere to run now lady." "Give us Kaiba's deck back or else."
A minute smirk spread across her cheeks.
"Hand it over," Josh said, gesturing towards the briefcase. He walked closer, finally recognizing the woman's face. "You… you're the receptionist!"
The receptionist's smile widened. "That's right!" She grasped his arm, tugging on it violently. Josh, having no time to react, found himself clung up against her body. A cold, metal circle touched his neck. The others trembled, backing off subconsciously. Josh tried to speak, he failed. He was paralyzed by fear.
"Alright," the receptionist spoke coldly. "Now I'm gonna leave. If anyone follows me out this door, I'm gonna shoot."
The others exchanged fearful glances, eventually giving in. Those blocking the door stepped aside.
"That's right," she said. She pressed the gun's barrel tighter against Josh's neck, walking him over.
So this was how his life was gonna end. All over a stupid deck of cards.
"Oh no you don't."
The receptionist stopped, glancing over her shoulder. Josh, too afraid to move, barely managed to see who was speaking. But he knew the voice. It was Dave.
"What the hell do you want?" She presented Josh, twisted the gun into his skin. Josh winced in panic. "You know what's gonna happen if anyone tries to stop me."
"What if I make you a deal?" Dave said gravely. "I'll challenge you to a duel. If I win, you let him go and return Kaiba's deck."
The receptionist pulled Josh back by his neck. "The hell I am!"
"I'm not done yet." Dave held out his Card Analyzer. How was he able to stay so calm? "If you win, not only will I let you run off with Kaiba's deck, I'll give you my deck as well so long as he's unharmed."
His deck? The one he spent six years putting together for this tournament. And he was willing to surrender it to save his friend.
Me.
"Hmmm…" The receptionist was intrigued. "You were a finalist, am I correct?"
Dave stiffened his lips; he nodded.
The receptionist flung Josh at the people near the door, gun poised at them. "You have yourself a deal!"
She bent down, opening her briefcase to expose a Duel Disk inside (how it fit in there Josh will never know). She fitted it onto her left arm, equipping it with Kaiba's Card Analyzer.
"I'm gonna have fun with this."
The receptionist waved her gun at the crowd, forcing them away as she and Dave climbed atop two tables, each separated by three tables in between them. Everyone cleared the area so that the holograms could appear without interference – though it was more likely because they didn't want to be too close if things went wrong. Josh kept an eye on the receptionist's gun, how she stuffed it in her belt before activating her Duel Disk. If he could sneak behind her and take it, then he may be able to overpower her so Dave wouldn't be at risk. But it was too dangerous, and everyone knew it. All they could do was cower while Dave faced off against the most powerful deck in the world.
[Dave LP: (8000)] [Receptionist LP: (8000)]
"I'll start things off," the receptionist said, drawing gleefully.
Josh recalled what Dave had said to him earlier. Kaiba had three Blue-Eyes White Dragons in his deck, so there was a three in forty chance that the receptionist would draw it. As long as Dave took control before that happened, he might be able to win.
"First I'll summon the Lord of Dragons in Attack mode."
On the table in front of the receptionist, a man dressed in a strange costume materialized. Its helmet was shaped like a spiked, eyeless dragon's head, with the man's face being inside its mouth. The off-white design of the helmet continued all the way down the man's costume, and two dragon claws hooked onto its shoulders, connecting its long, night blue cape with the rest of its armor. (1200/1100) The man, formally known as Lord of D., held out its tree-bark brown hands and glowered at those who dared to make eye contact with it.
"I know that card," Dave said. His voice never changed pitch. "It prevents all card effects from targeting Dragon-type monsters. But it's useless without any dragons out."
"Yes," the receptionist said, picking out a new card. "But that's about to change. I activate The Flute of Summoning Dragon!"
Dave gritted his teeth, tensed his neck. Many people around Josh started murmuring amongst themselves, clinging onto each other. He didn't know what it meant, but he knew it wasn't good. A golden dragon-shaped flute appeared in Lord of D.'s hand. It held the instrument to its mouth, blowing into the tail, emitting a low roar from the flute.
"This allows me to call out up to two Dragon-type monsters from my hand and summon them. And guess which ones I happen to have on me?"
Josh finally understood. Not even one turn into the game and the crowd had already lost hope.
"Come on out, my blue-eyed beauties!"
Sparkles of light flowed out of the receptionist's Duel Disk, spiraling around each other into two twisters on either side of her. They intertwined, creating two white dragons, looming majestically over her head. Their tails whipped around as they roared, incidentally showing of the three-pronged spikes on either side of their cheeks. People crouched down to avoid the windblasts caused by the dragons thrusting their wings at their new enemy – Dave.
Dave gripped tightly onto the five cards in his hand, feeling the force of the wind pushing against his body. The receptionist cackled madly as each Blue-Eyes White Dragon let out another sound-breaking howl. Strain tightened all of his muscles, his heart was pounding heavily. The odds were against him.
Card Analyzer activated…
Accessing Card Database… Searching for Card Data …
… Data Found:
Extended Trip-Wire
[Trap]
When this card is activated, pick up cards from your Deck until you draw a Trap Card. If the conditions allow, activate the Trap Card immediately and send all the other cards picked up to the Graveyard. If not, send the Trap Card to the Graveyard. Return all other cards picked up to the deck and shuffle it.
Fallen Koumori Dragon
Level 4
[Dark]
[Dragon/Tuner]
(1500/1200)
This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can Special Summon itself from the Graveyard. You can only Special Summon 1 "Fallen" monster this way per turn. If a non-"Fallen" monster exists in your Graveyard, you may not Special Summon this card this way. This card's name is also treated as "Koumori Dragon". By destroying 1 face-down card on your side of the field, you can negate an opponent's card effect and destroy it.
