Chapter 11- The Duels Continue!- Keith vs. Bastain

"Go get him Keith." Flynn said.

"Right. Okay, I'm good." He said, and walked up the stairs to the stage.

"He'll be fine. He got the highest score on the entrance exam in the entire entering class!" Drake said.

"Actually, he didn't, but that doesn't make too much of a difference." Matt said. "I did."

"Really?" said Julie, who had followed him over. "What did you get?"

"A perfect 100." He said, as though such a score was worth all the contempt in the world. "I believe I remember that Keith got a 97. That's still pretty good. Though I must admit, his first duel wasn't particularly good. We'll just have to see."

"Are you ready to begin?" asked the one called Bastian.

"Always." Responded Keith.

"Let's duel!"

Bastian: 4000

Keith: 4000

"I'll begin!" said Keith, and drew his card. "I set a monster in defense mode, and end my turn!"

"Very well, then." Bastian said. He drew. "I summon Oxygeddon (Wind/Dinosaur/Effect, 1800/800) in attack mode. I will also set one card face-down. Oxygeddon, destroy his face-down monster!"

"Thank you. That was my Big Eye! When he is flipped, I get to look at the top five cards of my deck and re-arrange them however I see fit." Keith pulled the top five cards from his deck and shuffled them around a bit. When he was finished re-arranging his cards, he put them back on top of his deck and waited. "Are you done?"

"Yes, I am."

"Fine, then! And my first card is…" Keith drew the card from his deck and instantly threw it onto his duel disk. "My Brain Control Spell Card! Now, by paying 800 life points…

Bastian: 4000

Keith: 3200

"…I'm allowed to take control of one of your face-up monsters! Now, I'll sacrifice it to summon my Summoned Skull (Dark/Fiend, 2500/1200)! Now, Summoned Skull, Lightning Strike!"

Bastian: 1500

Keith: 3200

"I'll set a card face-down and end my turn."

"Very well, then, it is my turn!" said Bastian. He drew a card.

"So far, so good." Matt said. "He's up, but can he turn his advantage into a win…?"

"Perhaps not!" Bastian said. "I play my Hydrogeddon (Water/Dinosaur/Effect, 1600/1000) in attack mode. Then, I'll activate Graceful Charity, to draw three cards and discard two. Then, I play Monster Reborn to bring back another Hydrogeddon. Then, I activate my face-down, Fossil Excavation! With it, I discard one card and Special Summon one Dinosaur-Type monster from my graveyard. Then, I activate Bonding H20. With it, I can combine my two Hydrogeddon and one Oxygeddon to special summon my Water Dragon (Water/Sea Serpent/Effect, 2800/2600) from my deck. Now, obliterate his Summoned Skull!"

Bastian: 1500

Keith: 2900

"Your turn."

"Right. I draw…" Keith thought for a little while. "Then, I activate my trap card, Call of the Haunted! This will allow me to bring back my Summoned Skull in attack mode. Then, I'll activate my Dark Energy Spell Card, which gives him 300 extra attack and defense points. Now, Summoned Skull, destroy the Water Dragon!"

"Ha! Now that you've destroyed him, I get to Special Summon all of his components. So, I'll bring back two Hydrogeddon and Oxygeddon."

"I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"Very well, then. I'll just draw… and attack to end this duel."

"No! I play my Waboku Trap card, which will prevent all damage to my life points this turn."

"So you survive for one more turn. That's fine. I'll get you next turn."

"Right, I'll just draw then…" Keith drew his card, stared at his hand, and thought some more. "Hmm. Too many choices. I'll summon my La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp (Dark/Fiend, 1800/1000) in attack mode, then use him to destroy your Hydrogeddon."

Bastian: 1300

Keith: 2900

"Alright, I'm done."

"Very well, then. It is my turn." Bastian drew his card. He smiled. "I summon another Hydrogeddon. Then, I will activate another Bonding H2O. I'll combine my two Hydrogeddon and one Oxygeddon to form another Water Dragon!"

"Great. Just when you thought you were safe from the most plentiful compound on Earth…" said Drake.

"…it reforms to kick your ass." Flynn said.

"Now, Water Dragon, eliminate that Genie!" said Bastian.

Bastian: 1300

Keith 1900

"Alright. Now he's back in that rough spot he was in a few minutes ago. Except this time, he doesn't have a trap set to bail him out." Matt said.

Keith drew a card. "Okay. What to do… what to do…"

"What he needs right now is something like D.D. Assailant, so he can remove the dragon and stop it from splitting up." Matt said. "Even if he plays a card that will destroy it, its components will come back to annoy him. Though that might be a risk he should take."

"I set one card face down. That will do."

"I hope it's a good one. For your sake." Bastian drew his card. "I set a card face down. Then, I attack you directly!"

"I block the attack with Kuriboh!"

"Oh, that little fuzzball. I suppose I will end my turn."

"I draw… then I will set a monster in defense mode and end my turn-"

"I activate my trap card, Dust Tornado, which will destroy your face-down card!"

"Crap."

"Now it's my turn. I activate my Nobleman of Crossout Spell Card! Now, your face down monster is removed and I have a clear shot at your life points. Now, Water Dragon, defeat him at last!"

Bastian: 1300

Keith: 0

The crowd cheered again. Keith turned and walked down the stairs on the side of the duel arena.

"Damn." He said. "I thought I had him."

"Ah, don't worry too much. We're not out of it. We can still win this little game." Drake said.

"And with that, the third duel of the inter-Duel Academy meet is complete! The home team is up 2-1. Can the other Duel Academy pull out a come-from-behind win?" Shepherd said.