CHAPTER NINE: Let the Finals Begin! Never-Ending Rivalry!
CJ and Shaylene stood in North Castle Town, not far from Hyrule Caste. Shaylene (LP: 1800) was in a duel with a brown-haired, brown-eyed, tan-skinned young man (LP: 800). On the young man's field was a dragon covered in multicolored rare gems (ATK: 2000), and on Shaylene's field were three different dragons: One was red, had an orange underside that resembled flowing lava and wore a red robe (ATK: 2000). The second was blue, had an underside resembling flowing water, and wore a blue robe (ATK: 1800). The last dragon was brown, had a flowing white beard that looked like puffy white clouds, had blue stripes that appeared to light up from time to time, and wore a yellow robe (ATK: 1900).
"Now... I sacrifice Guardian Dragon Eldin, Guardian Dragon Faron and Guardian Dragon Lanayru to summon Hylia, the White Goddess (ATK: 4300)!" Shaylene said, as her three dragons began to glow and their energies combined and formed into a beautiful blond-haired, azure-eyed maiden in a glowing white gown. "And thanks to Hylia's ability, I can banish 5 cards from your graveyard... Not that I need to. Hylia, attack Alexandrite Dragon and bring an end to this!" The boy watched in defeat as his monster was destroyed (LP: 0).
"That was a good duel, Shaylene." The boy said.
"Thanks, Aaron." Shaylene responded. The boy then held out 4 Locator Cards and a monster card bearing a picture of a dragon with diamonds covering its back.
"Here. My 4 Locator Cards and my Hyozanru." The boy, Aaron, said.
"Thanks." Shaylene said.
"Good luck in the finals!" Aaron said, before running off.
"Awesome!" Shaylene cheered excitedly. "Now we're both in the finals!"
"Yeah." CJ said. "Come on, let's go drop this mirror of in the castle."
A short time later, CJ and Shaylene walked up to a large underground room in Hyrule Castle. The walls were solid stone and the entry door was made of steel and consisted of multiple entry ID systems, including an access code, key card access and something that resembled a handprint scanner.
"How is an access code, key card and a handprint scanner gonna keep someone out?" Shaylene wondered. "Couldn't they steal the key card and code and just use magic to transform into someone with the appropriate hand?"
"It doesn't scan a person's handprint." CJ said. "That device detects a person's magical signature. Watch." He snapped his fingers and was surrounded by a magic aura. When the aura died down, he looked identical to Bandit Keith. He placed his hand on the scanner.
"King CJ detected..." A computer voice declared. "Access granted." The disguise vanished and CJ returned to normal as the door opened.
"See?" CJ said. "Even though I looked like Bandit Keith and had his handprint, the computer still knew it was me. So, even if someone disguises themselves as you, me or Stacey, unless they find a way to copy our magical signature, they're not getting in." The two walked in to the room and CJ placed the Dark Mirror in a glass case. The two then walked out and the door closed behind them.
"Now what?" Shaylene asked.
"Simple." CJ said, pulling out his Locator Cards and placing them on his Duel Disk: 5 in the monster zones, 1 in the field card zone and 2 in the Spell and Trap zones. It then projected a map of Hyrule, and a golden arrow revealed the location of the finals. "KaibaCorp Stadium. Downtown Castle Town. The location of the finals. Let's swing by Hyrule Castle and pick up Stacey on the way."
A short time later...
CJ, Stacey and Shaylene walked into a large stadium in southern Castle Town as the sun was beginning to set over Castle Town. Waiting for them were Jennette, Alex, Dayan, Danielle, Yugi, Joey and Kaiba.
"Good... All the finalists are all here..." Kaiba said. "Welcome to Hyrule's Kaiba Corp Stadium."
"Hiding the finals in plain sight..." CJ said. "Who would've thought?"
"Quite brilliant, if I do say so myself." Kaiba smirked. "Now, let's get these finals underway. No field power bonuses. Each of you has been assigned a number. We'll shuffle up those numbers and randomly decided who faces who in the finals." Two KaibaCorp employees rolled out a machine from a nearby doorway that resembled the head of a Blue Eyes White Dragon. In its mouth was a glass orb filled with eight small balls marked with numbers 1 through 8. On either side were two claws, which doubled as openings for the balls to fall out of. Kaiba activated the machine and watched as two balls fell out.
"The first match of the finals will be Duelist #6 – Alex Logan vs Duelist #5 – Dayan Lindor!" A KaibaCorp employee said.
"No big surprise there..." Alex said.
"It seems like we always get paired up against each other." Dayan said, as the two activated their Duel Disks and shuffled their decks.
"We'll decided the start of the match by a coin toss." The KC Employee said. "Heads – Dayan begins. Tails – Alex begins." He tossed a coin. "Tails."
"First turn honors are mine." Alex said. "I lay three cards face down and summon Green Gadget (ATK: 1400)!" Then, a green machine composed of gears appeared on Alex's field. "And thanks to Green Gadget's effect, I can add Red Gadget to my hand. Your move."
"First, I use the Simple Soup spell card to give myself a 500 point boost (LP: 4500). Next, I lay two cards face down, activate the Umiiruka field spell, and summon Chilfos, Guard of the Ice Temple (ATK: 1900), who gains a 500 point boost from my field spell (ATK: 2400)." Dayan said, summoning a frozen, skeletal-like soldier wielding an ice spear. "Attack Green Gadget!"
"Activate Dust Tornado and Limiter Removal!" Alex said. "First, Limiter Removal doubles my Gadget's attack power (ATK: 2800)! Next, Dust Tornado destroys your Umiiruka and lowers your monster's points (ATK: 1900)."
"Lucky for me, my Guard isn't destroyed once per turn." Dayan said, as his Guard's spear shattered. "But I do still take damage (LP: 4500 – 900). And that's the end of my turn."
"And because of Limiter Removal, my Green Gadget is destroyed." Alex said, drawing a card. "And for my move, I lay a card face down and set a monster in defense mode. Go."
"I summon another Chilfos, Guard of the Ice Temple!" Dayan said.
"I activate my trap card: Swarm of the Scorpions!" Alex said. "Thanks to this, your monster is destroyed, since it's not an Earth monster."
"Chilfos, attack that defense!" Dayan commanded his second monster. Alex watched as a monster composed of red gears was destroyed. "Your move."
"I summon Ancient Robot (DEF: 1200)." Alex said, summoning a small robot wearing a metal helmet. It had large hands that were connected to it by a beam of electricity. "Next, I tribute Ancient Robot, activating its effect and allowing me to add a Timeshift Stone from my deck to my hand. Go."
"Since I control an Ice Temple monster, I can Special Summon White Wolfos, Beast of the Ice Temple (ATK: 1800) from my hand." Dayan said, summoning a snowy white wolf. "Next, I use Call of the Haunted to bring back my other Chilfos! White Wolfos, attack!"
"Activate Negate Attack!" Alex said.
"Your move." Dayan said.
"I summon Inactive Beamos (ATK: 0)!" Alex said, summoning a rusted robotic cube-shaped creature. "Next, I activate Timeshift Stone!" Then a small blue stone appeared on the field and illuminated the stadium in a blue light. Dayan watched as the rusted cube lost its rust and now stood atop a metal pillar. On each side of the robot's cube-shaped head was a red and green fan shaped object. In the center of the head was a glowing blue-green "eye" jewel. "Thanks to Timeshift Stone, my Inactive Beamos regains its ancient status, becoming simply Beamos (ATK: 2200)! And since it was summoned by Timeshift Stone, I can draw a card. Next, I activate the Sand Ship field spell!" The stadium then changed to a large wooden ship in the middle of a vast desert. "Now, all my Earth-attribute machines gain 500 attack points (ATK: 2700)! And when they attack, you can't activate Spell or Trap cards! Beamos, attack White Wolfos!"
"Thanks to White Wolfos's effect, when it's attacked, I can banish it until the End Phase, saving it from destruction!" Dayan said, as the ground beneath his wolf changed to snow. White Wolfos then dove into the snow and vanished.
"Your move." Alex said, as the Wolfos returned to the field.
"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Sand Ship, returning your Beamos's points back to its original 2200!" Dayan said. "Next, I summon Ice Keese, Defender of the Ice Temple (ATK: 900)!" Then, a small blue bat surrounded by an icy aura appeared on the field. "Now, I'll tune my Level 2 Ice Keese with my Level 4 Chilfos to summon Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier (ATK: 2300)!" Then, Dayan's Ice Keese and Chilfos vanished into a pillar of light which vanished to reveal a serpent-like ice dragon. "Next, I'll discard a card to return a card on the field to my hand, and I choose my own Call of the Haunted! Brionac, attack! White Wolfos and Chilfos, attack directly!" Alex braced himself as a rush of icy air froze his field (LP: 4000 – 3800). "Your move."
"I activate Card of Sanctity, so we each draw until we have 6 cards." Alex said. "Next, I activate Swords of Revealing Light and Polymerization! I fuse Ancient Gear Golem and the two Ancient Gear Knights from my hand to summon Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem (ATK: 4400)!" Alex smirked as a mechanical, primitive robotic centaur appeared on his field. "Attack Brionac!" Dayan braced himself as his monster was destroyed (LP: 3600 – 2100). "Go."
"I switch both my monsters to defense mode (Chilfos: 1400) (Wolfos: 1300) and summon Blizzard Dragon (DEF: 1000)." Dayan said, summoning an icy blue dragon. "Now, I'll use Blizzard Dragon's effect to freeze your Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, preventing it from attacking or switching its battle position until the end of your next turn. Finally, I lay two cards face down. Go."
"I summon Technoblin (ATK: 1700) and equip it with Tough Beetle!" Alex said, summoning a red, armored goblin-like creature wielding an electrified sword. In its hand appeared a strange golden metallic beetle-like object. "Now, any monster my Technoblin battles is automatically destroyed at the end of the Damage Step. Technoblin, attack Chilfos! Of course, neither of us will take any damage, but at the end of the Damage Step, Chilfos will be destroyed."
"Not quite, dude." Dayan said. "I activate Magic Cylinder."
"What?!" Alex gasped.
"Thanks to this, as you know, your attack is turned against your Life Points." Dayan said.
"Crap." Alex said (LP: 0), as Dayan's trap took effect, ending the duel.
"And the winner is... Dayan Lindor!" One of the KaibaCorp employees proclaimed. The stadium lights then turned on as darkness began to fall on Castle Town.
"We'll resume the finals tomorrow!" Kaiba said. "Prepare your decks for your opponents." He then motioned to a large screen, which showed a small 8-person tournament bracket. In the first match were Dayan's and Alex's pictures. The KC employees then activated the shuffler and chose the rest of the matchups.
"The next match of the finals will be Duelist #1 – Mr Kaiba vs Duelist #3 – King CJ Francis!" One of the KC employees shouted.
Kaiba wants the Triforce Destiny Cards? He'll get to see their full strength for himself. CJ thought.
Perfect. Kaiba smirked. A chance to crush CJ and take the Triforce Destiny Cards for myself.
"Followed by Duelist #2 – Yugi Moto vs Duelist #8 – Joey Wheeler!" The other KC employee stated.
"Duelist #8?! Kaiba rigged this number system!" Joey exclaimed.
"Don't be ridiculous, Wheeler." Kaiba said. "If I rigged anything, you wouldn't even be in the finals."
"Kaiba!" Joey shouted, raising his fists. "You wanna piece of me?! Let's go!" Tristan and Tea quickly grabbed Joey and pulled him back. "Come on, Tristan! Lemme at him!"
"The final match of the first round of the finals will be Duelist #4 – Shaylene Johnson vs Duelist #7 – Jennette Johnson!"
I have to face Jennette in the finals? Shaylene thought. Uh oh...
Great... The last person I wanted to face was Shay... Jennette thought. I want to go easy on her because she's my sister, but... I know I shouldn't...
CJ looked at the girls and smiled a little.
I'm glad those two can have a little bit of a sisterly fight with each other knowing that the world isn't at stake. I just hope that Jennette doesn't go easy on Shay. Same goes for Shay. If they both try their hardest, this will be a great way to test their skills. CJ thought.
"Everyone return here tomorrow at 9:00 AM sharp!" Kaiba said. Everyone then left the stadium and returned home.
Later, at Moto Game Shop...
Yugi and his friends were gathered around the living room, watching TV.
"Yug, I hope you don't plan to go easy on me tomorrow in the finals." Joey said.
"Not a chance, Joey." Yugi said. "You're an accomplished duelist. You've come a long way since the day Gramps began teaching you about Duel Monsters."
"You really mean that, Yug?" Joey asked.
"Of course I do, Joey." Yugi said.
"Yeah Joey." Mai said. "You've always been a great duelist. Even as long ago as Duelist Kingdom. I'll never forget our first duel. That was an amazing move you used to beat my Harpie Ladies. And I still can't believe how you saw through my aroma strategy... unfair as it was."
"And you certainly gave Marik a run for his money in Battle City, Bro." Serenity said.
"Yeah... I did, didn't I? I mean, I almost won that duel. If I had just succeeded in that one attack." Joey smiled as an image flashed into his mind.
Joey stood face-to-face in a duel with a tan-skinned, sinister-looking young man with insanely spiked silver hair and cold purple eyes. He wore a purple muscle shirt, tan pants and a long purple cape. On Joey's field was a muscular warrior in a silver helmet, red tunic and red cape (ATK: 2800).
"I activate the Magic Card, Monster Reborn to bring back Ra!" Marik shouted. "Show yourself, my great beast of the sky!" Everyone gasped as the ancient golden dragon appeared on the field (ATK: 0). "This is the last monster you'll ever see, Little Joey!"
"But Marik's monster has zero attack points..." Yami said. "What kind of strategy is that? Ra takes on the attack points of the monsters that are sacrificed to summon it. But since Marik didn't make any sacrifices, his monster has no attack points."
"First, I'll activate Ra's ability of Instant Attack so it can attack now." Marik said. "But that's just the beginning of your troubles!" Suddenly Ra began to cloak itself in flames.
"Someone wanna fill me in here?" Joey questioned.
"It looks like Ra is transforming!" Yami said.
"Behold the true form of Ra!" Marik called out.
"What? Tell me what's going on here!" Joey said. "Cuz where I'm from, giant flaming birds are not a good thing! So give it to me straight!"
"My Winged Dragon has taken on the form of Egyptian God Phoenix!" Marik said. "In this mode, Ra is unstoppable!"
"It's awesome!" Mokuba said.
"Hm... Yes and soon it will belong to me." Kaiba smirked.
"Now my beast is ready! Ready to feed you to the shadows!" Marik laughed maniacally. "Pharaoh! Kaiba! Take heed! For one of you will have to realize your darkest nightmare and face my Winged Dragon of Ra in the next round! Once Little Joey has been disposed of that is."
"Hold on! Last I checked, this duel was still on, Psycho Boy." Joey said confidently. "I still got my Gilford the Lightning up at bat, and he's got 2800 attack points with your name on 'em! Meanwhile, your over-sized flame-broiled chicken doesn't have any!"
Marik laughed. "You still don't get it, Little Joey! Like I said, Ra has powers beyond your understanding. And unfortunately for you, I'm about to activate yet another of my creature's special abilities!" "Say what?" Joey gasped. "Not another one!" "Yes! In its Phoenix Mode, Ra can instantly disintegrate your monster, even though it has zero attack points! All I need to do is give up 1000 of my Life Points, then Ra will be free to banish you into the darkness!"
"So what if your feathered friend can use some secret ability to wipe out my Gilford?" Joey said, trying to mask his fear. "Your monster still doesn't have any attack points, which means that I'm not gonna lose any Life Points!"
"Don't you know? Losing Life Points should be the least of your worries now!" Marik said. "Look down. Thanks to that energy stream, when Ra attacks, you will be drained of all your strength. In a few short moments, every ounce of energy in your body will be gone for good. You'll be rendered completely useless at the hands of The Winged Dragon of Ra! The time has come! I'm moments away from claiming my victory! The Phoenix rises tonight!"
Joey stood there, frozen with fear.
"Winged Dragon of Ra, destroy his monster and drain his soul!" Marik shouted. "There is nothing that can prepare you for the devastation you are about to endure! There's no escaping the fury of the most supreme Egyptian God!" Joey cried out in pain as Ra's attack struck his Gilford.
"Fight it Joey!" Yami exclaimed.
"Can you feel every ounce of energy leaving your body?" Marik laughed.
"We've got to help him!" Tea cried out.
"Whoa... This is nuts." Mokuba said. "Marik's gone over the line this time. We've gotta stop this duel now before things get any worse."
Joey hunched over in pain as Gilford was destroyed.
"Your Gilford is gone, and you're about to follow, Little Joey." Marik said. "So return to me, my great beast! Your task is now complete! When the smoke clears, you'll be nothing but a motionless shell. And without your inner strength, the Shadow Realm will easily consume your mind and your soul. At least your friend Mai won't be alone. You'll be wandering the shadows together!" Marik gasped as he realized that Joey was still standing. "It can't be! No one can withstand the devastating fury of an Egyptian God monster! No one!"
"No way!" Duke gasped.
"Joey!" Tristan called out.
"He's standing!" Yami exclaimed.
"But for how long?" Tea questioned.
"No! You can't! You should be wiped out by now!" Marik shouted.
"In... your... dreams..." Joey said weakly. "Time to... put an end... to Marik's evil..."
"No! If he succeeds in attacking my Life Points, I'll lose the duel... and my Egyptian God Card!" Marik mumbled.
"All right... This... is it. It's... my turn now." Joey said, drawing a card as Ra vanished. "You're... wide open."
"This can't be happening!" Marik gasped.
"Oh yeah!" Duke exclaimed. "Joey beat Marik at his own game!"
"All he needs now is a monster with enough attack points!" Duke said.
"Yeah! And then Joey will make it to the final round of the tournament, guys!" Tea said.
"This is awesome!" Mokuba called out. Kaiba stood there in shock.
"How did he withstand Ra?" He questioned.
"Make your move Joey! And end this madness now!" Yami called out.
"Here goes nothing!" Joey said, as he placed a card on his Duel Disk.
"What card did he draw?" Tristan questioned.
"All right, Marik! I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight (ATK: 1800)!" Joey said.
"No! This can't be possible!" Marik said, eyes wide with fear.
"Hurry up and call your attack, Joey!" Yami shouted, as Serenity ran out from a doorway atop KaibaCorp Tower.
"I..." Joey weakly stumbled over his words.
"Joey, no!" Serenity cried out.
"Oh no!" Tea exclaimed. Everyone gasped as Joey collapsed to the ground and Gearfried shattered.
"Joey!" Yami called out.
"Get up man! Get up!" Tristan shouted.
"You fought well, man." Tristan said. "And as far as I'm concerned, you won that duel."
"Yeah... I guess I did." Joey said. "If I hadn't been for Marik's Shadow Game tricks, I would have won." He smiled. "I'm looking forward to our duel, Yug."
"Me too, Joey." Yugi said.
In Hyrule Castle...
CJ, Shaylene, Stacey, Alex, Dayan and Danielle were gathered a large living room on one of Hyrule Castle's upper floors.
"Hey, thanks for letting us crash here, CJ." Dayan said.
"Of course." CJ said. "I wasn't about to send you guys back home just to come back here in the morning. By the way, congrats on advancing in the finals, dude."
"Thanks." Dayan said.
"So CJ... What happened with Seeker?" Stacey asked.
"Well, after you called me, I hunted down Seeker, and ended up finding him and Arkana at the Great Bridge of Hylia." CJ said. "I didn't realize that Arkana had defeated Layla and taken the Princess of Destiny."
"So... I assume you beat them both?" Stacey asked.
"It wasn't just me." CJ said. "Shaylene helped."
"Oh..." Stacey said. "Well, thanks, I guess..."
"You're welcome...?" Shaylene said.
"Um... Yeah, well, after defeating Seeker and Arkana, I... convinced them to tell me who they worked for." CJ said. "And it turned out to be Bandit Keith."
"What? Why?" Stacey questioned.
"I'm not really sure." CJ said. "But he was in possession of an ancient artifact called the Dark Mirror, which is known to bring out the darkness in a person's heart. He used to it transform the Hero of Time and the Princess of Destiny into darker versions of themselves."
"But CJ was able to kick his butt like the evil cards were nothing!" Shaylene said with a smile.
"Nice." Stacey said. "So... what did you do with the dark cards?"
"I locked them away with the Dark Mirror in the castle's vault." CJ said. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna hold on to the Hero of Time. If I have all three Triforce Destiny Cards, I have a better chance of making it to the final match."
"Yeah, that's fine." Stacey said.
"And Shay..."
"Yeah?" Shaylene asked.
"If you and I face each other, I'm not gonna go easy on you." CJ said.
"I wouldn't expect you to." Shaylene said.
"All right guys, let's get some rest." CJ said.