Disclaimer: (sounds of struggle come from behind a bathroom door) (random lawyer knocks) Um...Mr. Machine, we need you-
Ugggghhhhhhhhh...bleeeehhhhhhhh!...not mine...all credit to Kazuki Takahashiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...
Well now that i got that out of my system (made me sick to my stomach, ya know?) lets move on. Jamie, at the end of the previous chapter, made himself a finalist and Terry got a little more info about the Millennium Items in general. Let's catch up with Jamie first before seeing Terry engage Jurvicious Stone.
Hope you enjoy the story!
Yu-Gi-Oh! Future History
Chapter 14: Terry vs. Stone: A New Kind of Game
TOURNAMENT TIME 2:50 PM
Jamie pressed the trigger that was glowing on his Duel Disk and watched as a little mini-menu came up on the hologram of the map he had. Just what he was looking for!
The menu read 5 different options, 1. MAP, 2. FINALISTS, 3. PUZZLE CARDS, 4. PROFILES, 5. EXIT Each one of those options corresponded to a Spell/Trap trigger on Jamie's Duel Disk. He pressed the trigger for Finalists.
There was one other person that has their 6 Puzzle Cards and the tournament hasn't even been going on for half a day yet. Wonder if it could have been one of the guys...
Unfortunately, when the listing of registered finalists for Battle City tournament came up, there wasn't any kind of identifying information. All it stated was the duelists' rank and that that person had made it. Jamie recognized his number, 26, and saw the time that he had registered, his number and the other duelists' numbers that he had defeated. Well in a sense anyway since these Puzzle Cards were given to him. He took a look at the other already registered duelist. Whoever they were, they were ranked at No. 11. But this person had beaten a lot of people from around the same duelist ranking. They beat people from the rankings of 13, 23, 42, 12, 7, and even 4. So there was a duelist there that was seriously powerful. Jamie didn't find out what Knowledge's and Terry's rankings were before they set out but he figured they ought to be pretty high.
Jamie set his Duel Disk back to its resting point and walked from the alleyway where he was hiding back into the sunlight of the afternoon. Instead of heading to the North-East section of downtown where the finals were, he made his way south, heading for the Flats.
I'm already registered for the finals and there's only one person there ahead of me. So there's no rush to get there. I think ill head down to the Flats and get in some practice duels. I know just the girl that can maybe help me out with that.
TOURNAMENT TIME 3:10 PM
Terry was still shaken up from the words Stone had said to him about the Millennium Items. Every duel in a Game of Darkness runs the risk of the loser being killed? Scale's duel against him made a lot more sense. Had he kept on going, he possibly could have been killed if not by the monsters attacks but by the end result of the game.
"Nervous?" asked Stone.
Terry looked at him but didn't answer him. Stone got up from the table and walked toward the kitchen's burners and ovens, his back to Terry's face.
"Ever seen a restaurant kitchen when its at its busiest? When there are orders coming in twice as fast as you can prepare just one?" he asked.
"What's that have to do with anything?" replied Terry.
"You'd maybe have to see it to realize how much pressure it is. Orders for things that are as simple as boiling pasta to making medium rare fillet mignon with burgundy mushrooms. Cooks yelling all around you, servers screaming for this and that, fires and ovens creating intense heat. Normal people would lose their minds. But there's something to be said about that 'chaos'. People that are good enough can find their own focus in that chaos. Chefs can zone in on their work, they can center in on what they need to do and not be bothered with the situation that is around them."
"Again, what's that –"
"If you're as good as your reputation precedes," cut in Stone, "Then you'll have no problem accepting my challenge."
"No problem," said Terry, getting up from the table and reaching into his pocket for his deck.
Stone wheeled around with his Millennium Rod in his hand and the Anhk tied to his neck. He had the rod raised to the air and the eye on it glowed. Suddenly, the lights died out and a black and purple cloud began to surround them and block out the kitchen they had been sitting in.
"A Game of Darkness…" Terry said aloud. What kind of game will this be like? And what is the penalty?
"I've designed this game just for the Guardian of Future History. To see if he can handle himself. And the pressures that get placed on him with that responsibility."
"Pressure?" asked Terry.
"Yes, you've got a whole world in your hands. That's intense pressure but you haven't gotten to the worst of things yet. And I'm not convinced that you can frankly take it. You're too young and naïve."
"What?" growled Terry through clenched teeth.
"You don't inspire confidence in me. I don't trust you enough to even let you work in my restaurant."
"So what?"
"So this is the deal, I'll wager both of my items in this duel. You win, you take them both and these two Puzzle Card things. But if I win, I want your Millennium Puzzle."
"What!" shouted Terry.
"There isn't anything that says that only you can be Guardian of Future History. Only that the owner of the Millennium Puzzle has that responsibility. If you can't handle it, turn it over to someone that can. Someone serious. Then you can go home and play games with your friends and stuff."
"Stop joking with me and listen carefully," said Terry, "Get it through that deep-fried head of yours that I take this extremely seriously. And I don't or ever will tolerate someone belittling my heart, my drive, my compulsion."
"I just did, so what will you do now?" asked Stone.
Terry slid his Duel Disk into position and slapped his deck into its holder. 4000 Life Points blinked to life on his LP counter and he smoothly took five cards from the top of his deck and fanned them into his hand.
"I'm going to teach you what it means to question my heart! Bring on the noise! Duel!"
"Duel!" called back Stone and drew his starting five cards as well.
"And ill start," said Terry, "Draw! Ill summon my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (1400/1200 in defense mode."
Terry's monster materialized to the field, down to one knee on a virtual version of its own monster card.
"And ill set 1 reverse card and end my turn there." said Terry. A face down card appeared just to his right.
"My turn. Draw." said Stone calmly. "But before I move further, I want to explain something to you."
"Hmm?" wondered Terry aloud.
"This game, this Game of Darkness is specially prepared for you. Pressure is its key. Pressure causes problems, creates anxiety, forces mistakes. Can you operate under pressure?" he asked.
"Not a problem." smirked Terry, "I've been in tough duels and played against very strong opponents."
"The Game of Darkness isn't just some special type of duel…" said Stone, picking up two cards out of his hand, "I'll set two reverse cards." Two cards appeared to either side of Stone. "And ill summon this monster. Z-Metal Tank (1500/1300) in defense mode."
Defense mode? Obnoxious Celtic Guardian can only be destroyed by a monster with an attack of 1900 or less and he chose to set it in defense? And with 2 reverse cards with it?
"That ends my turn." said Stone.
"My tur-!" Terry tried to say but didn't finish. He could feel a sharp pain that skittered around the left side of his temple. The skittering disappeared as quick as he sensed it and it was replaced with a dull throbbing. Like a headache just to the left side of his head.
"Problems Terry?" asked Stone.
Terry looked at him and could feel that headache still throbbing around in his head, but even through that he looked at him and started chuckling.
"This is a joke…your idea of testing how I work under pressure is to administer annoying headaches?" laughed Terry.
"You could learn some humility as well." Stone just said. "Make your move."
"Draw!" called out Terry, "I'll show you a little pressure, Stone. I'll summon Gear Fried the Iron Knight (1800/1600) in attack mode and change Obnoxious Celtic Guardian to attack position as well. Celtic Guardian (1400/1200), attack his Z-Metal Tank (1500/1300!
Celtic Guardian, who was on one knee but now standing fully, unsheathed its sword and made a leap into the air, its sword raised above its head and set to fully slice Z-Metal Tank in half.
"Reverse Card Open!" called out Stone, his arm sweeping to the reverse card to his left side.
A trap? Thought Terry.
"The Reliable Guardian!"
A warrior dressed in a pretty simple almost loincloth looking garb came out of the now upturned Spell Card. A wide sword was sheathed at its side but it had a great big shield that blocked his whole body. And he pointed it upwards at Terry's Obnoxious Celtic Guardian from the top of Stone's Z-Metal Tank. Celtic Guardian's sword came down with a hard metallic clang but the shield held on.
"Reliable Guardian allows me to increase the defense points of a monster by 700 points for one turn." said Stone.
"Z-Metal Tank's original defense points were 1300…" started Terry.
"And from my card's effect, it goes to 2000."
Terry and Stone watched as the reliable Guardian, who still had its shield raised defending the Z-Metal Tank, push off against Celtic Guardian's sword and send him back to Terry's side of the field. Then it disappeared.
"In that attack, you take 600 points of damage. But at that moment…" Stone said, his arm now sweeping toward his reverse card to his right.
"Another trap?" exhaled Terry.
"Reverse Card, Open! Cross Counter!"
A Trap Card turned itself upward from Stone's field and it just glowed for a brief moment before it faded away. What effect does it have? wondered Terry. On an impulse, he looked at his field for any changes and saw none. But he did notice something. His Life Points were now at 2800! He lost 1200 Life Points!
"What the hell?" Terry said, looking at his LP Counter.
"Cross Counter's effect lets me double the amount of damage you take from attacking one of my defense position monsters in the turn that it's activated. Not only that, but it has another effect. That monster that attacked is destroyed at the end of the battle!"
"You…" growled Terry.
TERRY: 2800
STONE: 4000
"Z-Metal Tank! Cross Counter! Metal Tank Charge!" called out Stone, pointing to Terry's Celtic Guardian. The horizontal image of the Z-Metal Tank that it had been 'standing' on disappeared as it geared up and its treads started to move and carry it quickly toward Terry's monster. Celtic Guardian drew its sword again and tried to brace itself for the charge but it was pointless. The sword offered no protection as the tank slammed into him and literally pulverized him.
Terry watched the tank roll back noisily to Stone's field and then become quiet. He had just been played for a fool.
"So what's your move now kid?" quipped Stone.
"Trap Card, Open! Ultimate Offering!" called out Terry, pointing down toward his own card that was now vertical and face up on the field. "This Continuous Trap Card lets me have an extra summon or set at the cost of 500 Life Points per monster or per set."
"Heh, you're gonna dwindle away your Life." murmured Stone.
Terry stopped dead. Much as he didn't like him, he made a good point. By using the effect he would drop himself down to 2300 Life Points in the course of one turn. And that's too low, he needed to conserve some Life for the long run.
But even as he thought about whether to use it or not, that pain returned to his head, but this time it was much fiercer. Like a kick to the side of his head now instead of a little love tap like last time. He actually grunted out loud from the surprise of it and the force. And this time, it didn't seem like it was going to go away.
"What did you do to me, Stone!"
"I did nothing," he said, his arms crossed. "This is the nature of the Game of Darkness. Pressure is its key, didn't I say that? You're feeling pressure, or you're being pressured. I made this game so that pressure would become a physical presensce. And it becomes painful and tormenting. Eventually you will make mistakes, make unnecessary strategies and destroy yourself in this duel."
Terry had a hand resting against his head where that pain was centering. He had to rethink the way he looked at this guy. He definitely knew what he was doing and was all business here. But so was he. The pain wasn't that bad and he still felt like he wasn't losing control like Stone said he would.
"Ill end my turn." said Terry.
Stone, on the inside, smiled to himself. Looks like it's started some already. He could have attacked with his Gear Freed and destroyed my monster. Now I'll show him something to really rattle him.
"Draw!" said Stone.
Knowledge and his new running mate Janet Rush were walking out of a Burger King not too far from the main square where Knowledge had beaten her for 2 Puzzle Cards. Now he was in search of a new challenger to get some more Puzzle Cards and get into the finals.
"Uh, Catravious?" asked Janet.
Knowledge, who was walking along with her, bristled at the use of his real name. He much preferred Knowledge to Catravious. "Yeah?"
"Just who do you plan on challenging next?" she asked.
Knowledge shrugged his shoulders.
"That means…" she lead on.
"Just whoever looks like they will be a challenge, not a pushover. It's no fun to play against someone dominant or someone not even to your caliber."
"Then I think I have an idea of where you might find some good challenges."
"Really?" asked Knowledge, getting excited, "Where?"
Janet walked on, right toward a bus station just a block from where they were and lead him silently onto the bus. Knowledge didn't catch where it was going to. The bus itself was fairly crowded, a few duelists on there as well. Janet took a seat pretty near the back and Knowledge sat down next to her.
"We're heading for The Flats, I know of a place." said Janet as the bus pulled away from the stop and rolled away.
Stone took a look at his current hand Negate Attack, X-Head Cannon (1800/1500), Fake Trap and his newly drawn card Y-Dragon Head (1500/1600).
I've got all my pieces and an open shot too. Let's see what he's made of...
Stone picked up a card from his hand. "I'll summon this monster. Y-Dragon Head! (1500/1600)"
Terry knew what was going to come next. He will get the last part of the XYZ puzzle to the field next. The X-Head Cannon. But ill stop him before he gets the chance.
What happened next surprised Terry. No sooner had he seen the Y-Dragon Head summoned on the field, X-Head Cannon appeared next to it. All three of the original 'Union' Monsters on the field and it only spelled trouble.
"How did you summon two monsters in one turn?" demanded Terry.
Stone said nothing but show Terry his Duel Disk. He saw the three monsters on his field and an explanation. Stone's Life Points had dropped to 3500.
"Ultimate Offering's effect isn't limited to you. I can use that effect as well. And I use it to buy an extra summon for my X-Head Cannon."
TERRY: 2800
STONE: 3500
"Now, X, Y, Z, Combine!" called out Stone.
Terry and Stone watched as all three of Stone's monsters began to exude some yellow lightning like energy. Y-Dragon Head's wings folded away and into its own body as it hovered over the tank. X-Head Cannon was hovering over the top of both of them. Then X and Y just dropped and joined with Z simultaneously.
"XYZ Dragon Cannon (2800/2600)!" Stone exclaimed with some pride in his voice. "And now, XYZ Dragon Cannon (2800/2600), attack his Iron Knight 1800/1600!"
XYZ Dragon Cannon didn't make any kind of flashy moves. On Stone's command, it simply started to charge its many cannons. Terry's side of the field began to glow with a mix of yellow and blue light, the light of the energy powering up in XYZ's cannons.
"XYZ Hyper Cannon!"
Stone called the attack and it came instantly. Just like a wall of yellow and blue just rushing toward Terry. It overtook his Gear Freed easily and kept on coming, closer to him. Terry crossed his arms in front of his head and braced for the impact. It came improbably stronger than he would have guessed. The impact, which was like a dozen sledgehammers beating onto his forearms at the exact same time, only lasted a second. It was quickly replaced by a large explosion. The force of that explosion took him very clear off his feet and he landed hard on his back. Very hard, and his head snapped back toward the ground too and it hit against the ground as well. The headache that was there only got stronger from that shock and his hands grabbed the back of his head.
TERRY: 1800
STONE: 3500
"Now, get up! This duel isn't going to stop!" said Stone.
The PAIN! It hurts! Terry thought to himself. This Game of Darkness is gonna make me lose my mind! He looked up over his chest at Stone who was waiting for him to get up. If I don't get killed by him first...
Terry rolled over to his side and could 'hear' more badgering by Stone but it wasn't all registering. Like he couldn't comprehend what he was saying at that moment. He took his time, his head was rolling with throbbing. When he got up to one knee he saw the cards he had dropped from his hand to protect himself. He picked them up and gingerly, very gingerly got back up to his feet. His head didn't hurt as much from this position but his balance was off.
"Come on Terry! Teach me what it means to make fun of your heart! Show me!"
Terry locked eyes with Stone and he could see in Stone's eyes that he wasn't going to let up until he gave him something to worry about. He looked in his hand, which had nothing that he could really use, Reload, Kaiser Sea Horse 1750/1650, Poison of the Old Man and Snatch Steal. Snatch Steal would grant him control of XYZ Dragon Cannon but Stone could chain to the activation of that Spell Card and destroy it. The next card would be critical.
"My turn!" he said, fingers on his deck.
Come on, give me something to fight back with...
"Draw!" he said, and looked down on his drawn card.
And he smiled.
"Ill summon my Kaiser Sea Horse (1750/1650) in defense mode. Kaiser Sea Horse has an effect where if its sacrificed in a sacrifice summon with a Light-Type monster, it can count as two sacrifices." He said as he held another card in his hand.
"What are you going on about?" asked Stone.
"I wont keep you waiting. I will use the effect of Ultimate Offering," he said and Stone indeed watched as Terry's Life Points dropped from 1800 to 1300. "Which will let me have an extra summon this turn. And I choose to summon this monster!"
TERRY: 1300
STONE: 3500
When Terry slapped that monster onto his Duel Disk, he jumped when some of his own yellow lightning started coming out of his card and Duel Disk. Kaiser Sea Horse, which was already on the field, glowed white and then separated into two white dots that just took off skyward. Both duelists looked up to see the darkness of their Game of Darkness part for what looked like a normal nighttime skyline but they both watched as a certain group of stars started glowing too. Stone immediately knew what constellation that was, the one that represented Scorpio of the Zodiac. The glow cast down on a round section on Terry's field. Then a monster started materializing into view in the light.
It was the type of dragon that was had small legs and arms and was mostly all body. A lot like a Thunder Dragon or for better recognition, Osiris. But this monster was deep purple opposed to red like God. It had a tan looking underbelly but that dark purple covered its backsides. Where the underbelly and top of the monster met, it was a jagged white and purple pattern that led up from the tail to the head. Along the body though were spots of white that apparently signified stars. The head was slender and angular like a triangle. The mouth pointed slightly upwards like a Scorpion tail would and rows of small teeth lined its jaws. The eyes were fair sized and thin, great blue eyes with white around the pupils with great puffy eyebrows. There was a horn that pointed from the back of its head backwards toward the rest of its body and a little hood of skin that reached from its head back toward that horn. From somewhere under that hood, what looked like hair flowed down the back of its head, dominantly grey with some touches of purple in it.
"Take a look Stone, my Deck's greatest weapon, Scorpio Dragon! (2950/2500)"
And for the first time since he had met the man, Terry thought Stone looked nervous.
"Scorpio Dragon (2950/2500), attack his XYZ Dragon Cannon (2800/2600)! Twilight Burst Stream!"
The monster now revealed to be Terry's own Scorpio Dragon, one of the promotional X Cards, let out a shrill roar then closed its mouth. Its spots on its back started to glow and cast a little light over Terry's field. Then the light began to fade and when Scorpio Dragon opened its mouth again, a blue stream shot out of its mouth. It dropped toward the ground and traveled close to the ground, tearing up the ground as it passed before it started to climb toward Stone's XYZ Dragon Cannon.
"Reverse Card, Open!" Terry heard Stone call out over the noise from the attack. He watched the beam hit home and exploded in an honestly beautiful explosion of white lights that illuminated the area like little candles before burning out. Unfortunately when the dust cleared, XYZ Dragon Cannon was still on the field, completely intact.
"Heh heh, just so you know, I activated this Trap Card." he said, jerking his thumb to a card Terry saw almost hiding behind XYZ Dragon Cannon.
"Grrr….Negate Attack…" said Terry.
"Exactly right," laughed Stone, "Negate Attack lets me negate the attack of your monsters and at the same time, ends your Battle Phase."
"Tch…" exclaimed Terry. Now I'm open. XYZ Dragon Cannon's special effect can kill my Scorpio Dragon before I even get to use it again.
"My turn isn't over yet. Ill set two reverse cards and end my turn."
Stone eyed Terry down. Lucky on my part. The kid isn't bad at all, ill have to play it smart. This Game of Darkness preys on the mind. Worry, doubt, indecision all play parts in creating that pressure that preys on him. I have to keep him in suspense...
"My turn! Draw!" said Stone. "From my hand, ill play this Spell Card. Coins from Heaven."
"That card…" started Terry, his mouth falling open. He recognized it as another of those X Cards, extremely rare and pretty powerful.
"This card allows both players to draw cards until they have 6 cards in their hands."
Terry said nothing and drew 5 more cards to add to his hand. Stone drew 5 more cards and from Terry's point of view, looking over Stone's body language, he seems to have something good.
"Knowledge is a very good thing right Terry? So how about I give some to you."
Terry raised an eyebrow about that but stopped, the pressure still hadn't passed. He watched Stone take two cards out of his hand and just hold them at about his eye level. Then he turned them toward Terry. He was showing him cards!
TOURNAMENT TIME 3:30 PM
Knowledge and Janet stepped off the bus at its last stop, the place she had taken Knowledge to find an opponent. The Flats. The Flats was an interesting place. It was a little community of its own in the Downtown area. A river split between the area but on both sides of the river banks, business thrived with all kinds of party clubs, stores and restaurants. There were even boat 'taxi's' that carried people across to either side of the Flats. But Knowledge had known this place as more for parties, not for duels. He saw Janet walking down the street and hurried to catch up.
"Janet, where are we going?" asked Knowledge.
"To go see a friend of mine, she runs a clan that likes to hang out down here lately. Her name is Natasha. Natasha Chapel"
"Natasha Chapel…doesn't ring any bells…" said Knowledge, scratching his head.
"She's really good, she been a regular attendant to the state championships and has a few national appearances."
"Still not ringing…"
Janet sighed. "Don't bother, anyway we're here." she said.
Knowledge saw they had stopped outside of a stretch of a strip mall that they had been walking along. But the one that they had stopped outside of was empty. It was a vacant store lot but he could easily see through the glass where there were probably about eight duelists, Duel Disks as well, that were walking around and talking and laughing. Looked like a fairly mixed age group, mostly boys but there were some girls there too.
Janet knocked on the glass door and all their eyes turned toward the door. Knowledge looked nervous but Janet was all smiles. Two of the three girls there rushed to open the door and mobbed Janet in the street. Knowledge sidestepped away from the girl hug and just looked inside the window at the guys that were watching too. Knowledge and the other guys just shrugged their shoulders. Guy code for 'that's how those girls are…'
Janet however, wasn't nearly as giddy as her two new friends. She smiled and laughed but wasn't talking much. When the giggle fit died down, the two new girls, both blondes but one looked dyed, turned their attention to Knowledge.
"Jan, whos he?" asked one of them, the natural blonde.
"That's Catravious." said Janet.
Knowledge leaned against the glass window and just nodded his head toward the girls. Play it cool, playa.
"Hmm…I guess he's too 'cool' to introduce himself right." said the other one, the bleached one.
"Looks that way, Mr. GQ." chimed in the natural.
"Ugh…" exhaled Knowledge. What's my deal, can't I catch ONE break?
"So whats up Janet?" asked the natural, turning back toward her.
"Well, I wanted to ask Natasha for a little favor on my friend's behalf." she said.
Both girls looked at Knowledge and then the bleached one said, "That stick in the mud? He looks like a complete washout."
"He's not bad, he beat me." said Janet.
"Really?" the two girls said together.
"What's up you guys?" called another female voice from inside the store. Knowledge turned and looked inside the window. He had to double-take at what he laid eyes on. A stunning blonde with her hair in curls that framed her face and brown eyes. The rest was just as stunning, tan capris with low top Reeboks or K-Swiss', he couldn't tell from where he was. That led up to a midriff shirt, white, with the word 'dreamy' across it. Knowledge's only problem was that she certainly looked at least 21 or 22.
"Hey, Natasha!" called out Janet.
THAT'S the Natasha! I'd thinks I'd remember someone that looked like that from state and nationals.
"Hey girl! Hasn't been that long, so what brings you back, Jan?" asked Natasha.
"I brought a friend that was looking for a challenge." she said, gesturing to Knowledge. Knowledge, this time, walked toward her from the window and offered his hand in a handshake but instead she gave him the once over. Checking him over to see if he was worth anything, like her time.
"Hi." said Knowledge, withdrawing his hand. From out of his eye, he saw the other two blondes just roll their eyes.
"Hi. What's your name?"
"Knowledge." he replied.
Natasha looked at him funny, then at Janet who just shrugged her shoulders and said his real name. The other two blondes started snickering to each other. Knowledge knew he and these two girls were not going to get along easily.
"He hates it when you call him that." someone called out.
All eyes turned down the street to a figure walking down the street toward them, hands in his pockets. He wore a blue vest and white jeans and a Duel Disk.
"Jamie!" called out Knowledge.
"What's up man?" said Jamie, embracing his friend in a hug.
"When did you get out of the hospital?" asked Knowledge.
"You were in the hospital?" asked Natasha.
"Yeah, Natasha. But I just got out today."
Knowledge looked at his friend and jacked a thumb at Natasha, "Wait a sec, you know her?"
"Yeah, she's a friend of mine." said Jamie.
Knowledge pushed him away from the group for a moment. Jamie looked down at him confused. Knowledge looked back at the rest of the girls then back to his friend.
"How come you never told me about THAT?" jacking his head in the direction of Natasha.
Jamie smiles and crossed his arms. "Come on man, you can't handle that. You're just jailbait to her."
"Well, Catravious and Jamie." said Natasha, "Welcome. And meet my clan, Clan Prime." and she led Janet, Knowledge, Jamie and her two blonde friends inside.
TOURNAMENT TIME 4:00PM
Terry stood looking carefully at two cards Stone had just shown him for absolutely no reason. They were both Trap Cards, Begone, Knave and Draining Shield.
"You know the effects of both of these Trap Cards right, Terry?"
"Yeah," he said.
"Then watch." Stone said. He took the rest of his hand and slipped them into a pocket on the breast of his chef coat. The two cards, which he had turned so Terry was seeing the backs of them, were shuffled and he slid them into his Duel Disk to set them on the field. Terry was dumbstruck.
"So you know what I have on the field right? But I think ill just play one more reverse card to make it a bit more interesting. That ends my turn."
"What!" yelped Terry. Stone had a monster that could destroy any card on the field by discarding one from his hand, including his stronger Scorpio Dragon and he didn't use the effect? What kind of –
"Ugghhh…." groaned Terry. It was happening again, the rule of this Game of Darkness. And then it made sense to him, Stone was trying to push him into a corner. But by now, the pain wasn't just in his head anymore. His stomach was starting to feel funny. Like the classic butterflies in your stomach nervousness except with a headache beyond measure backing it up.
Stone looked on, knowing full well what was going on in Terry's head. "You cant take the pressure? Look at yourself. So full of bragging and confidence before we began about how you were going to teach me something. You still haven't shown me anything except that you're just beginning to learn more than just how to play this game."
"Beginning?" asked Terry.
"Right, someone might be a great strategist, a masterful deck maker, a keen tactician, but it's all useless if you can't handle the mental aspects of this game. Trap pressure, knowledge of opponent's cards and possible moves, even trash-talking. You can't take it. And to top it off, there's a simple way to overcome this."
Terry was still hearing what Stone was saying but he had kept his eyes on those set cards of his and continued to feel terrible.
"Show me you're not as naïve as you're showing me, Terry. Now make your move."
Terry silently drew his next card thinking about what Stone had said. 'a simple way to overcome this?' How can he find some simple way to beat this pressure?
He looked over his hand quickly and saw nothing that could help his current situation. But he knew his deck had a card that would help out some.
"Reverse Card, Open! Reload!" said Terry.
"Reload?" asked Stone.
"Yes, Reload allows me to take my current hand and shuffle it back into my deck…" and as he said it, Terry removed his deck, placed the cards from his hand on top and started to shuffle. "And then redraw the same amount of cards that I put back. So I can draw seven cards." Terry finished shuffling his deck and placed it back into its holder. He drew his seven cards and fanned them in his hand. He took one out of his hand.
"Ill summon Breaker the Magical Warrior 1600/1000 in defense mode."
Stone saw what Terry was up to.
"Breaker's special effect – when it is summoned normally, it has one Magic Counter equipped to it. While that counter is equipped, the attack of Breaker goes up 300 points. But by removing that counter, I can destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field."
Terry saw his kneeling Breaker's sword start glowing and he stood up from his kneeling position. He took his sword in his hand like a spear and then let it fly toward one of Stone set cards.
Draining Shield, Begone, Knave and an unknown set card. Draining Shield will negate the attack of one of my attacking monster and add its attack strength to Stone's Life Points. Begone, Knave will return any monster that inflicts Battle Damage to an opponent's Life Points back to their player's hands. And one card that I don't know.
Terry saw the sword go and impale the left most set card on Stone's field. The card stood up and Terry saw his Breaker had hit Draining Shield. The card exploded into polygons and the sword zipped back to Breaker's hand.
"By removing that Magic Counter, I can destroy one Spell or Trap Card on your field. But that also decreases the attack power of Breaker by 300 points. It's attack power is now at 1600. But your Draining Shield is gone."
"And?" asked Stone.
Terry hung his head, "That ends my turn."
"My move! Draw!" said Stone.
"You still haven't learned…So ill activate the effect of XYZ Dragon Cannon. Ill discard 1 card from my hand to destroy 1 card on your field."
Terry looked over his own field. He had his Ultimate Offering Trap Card on the field, Breaker the Magical Warrior (1600/1000), and his Scorpio Dragon (2950/2500).
"XYZ Dragon Cannon, destroy his Scorpio Dragon, and then attack his Breaker the Magical Warrior!"
XYZ Dragon Cannon fired a flurry of rapid fire shots from its cannons that just started dropping like explosive rain all around Terry's field. The ground and the air was totally lit up from the explosions and the racket from firing. Breaker didn't stand a chance. But Terry had to watch his Scorpio Dragon, which he had finally gotten a chance to see in a duel, destroyed. It tried to duck and dodge a few shots but they started raining in on its whole body and it just let out one final roar before dropping to the ground in an explosion of polygons.
TERRY: 100
STONE: 3500
Terry watched it happen and he looked at his favorite monster got crushed. He didn't get a chance to draw it dueling Scale and Stone destroyed it while mocking him.
"I'll set one card and end my turn." said Stone.
"Stone, I wont forgive you for this." growled Terry.
"Shut up, I don't need your forgiveness. I need you to wise up and become something a lot better than what you're showing me."
"Better!" he yelled. He felt some heat rising to his cheeks and more insistent headaches drumming his head but he ignored them.
"Im tired of your riddles!" he screamed. Just then, his Millennium Puzzle started to glow and jump around his neck. Terry more felt than saw the dark energy that was starting to gather around him, like the greater his anger went, the more intense that energy that formed around him. A brief flash from the past on how he had said manipulating dark energies was a matter of imagination and he thrust out his hand, imagining just pure energy would knock him down. Just as Terry thrust out his hand, ready to let loose something to hurt Stone, he hesitated. He debated if he really wanted to do what he was about to do. But in that one second Terry hesitated, Stone stretched out his hand as well and he focused a shot of his own and Terry just fell back onto his butt, stunned by what had just happened. Frustration overtook his thoughts and he scuffled back to his feet and tried to stand up but Stone knocked him down again. He got up again, but Stone didn't knock him down this time.
"Look at the great Guardian of Future History. So consumed with anger and frustration. Use your head! Look at you!" said Stone.
Terry didn't listen. His Millennium Puzzle started bouncing around again and he felt it jump up toward his face. It was right then he caught his reflection in the side of the puzzle. The most noticeable change was that Eye of Annubis that had appeared on his forehead. But he could not notice his eyes. Bloodshot and veiny. Almost evil-looking. He didn't look anything like the Terry Hairston he knew. He wasn't himself.
Stone was right all along. And I couldn't see it. He's been stringing me along like this to teach me. All right, lets figure this out...
Terry let his arms fall to his sides and he looked at his surroundings. What was it that Stone said about this? Pressure is its key. Pressure... Pressure... Well if it's happening to me, it has to be happening to him too. But through this whole duel, he hasn't said anything about problems, headaches or anything like that. I know that this thing affects us both, how does he... Then Terry's eyes lit up like stars. That's it!
And as soon as he figured it out, his whole body felt more relaxed, more calm, more focused. He had found his 'focus in the chaos'. And he had to smile for feeling like an idiot for not realizing it sooner.
"What's got you so cheery?" asked Stone, a small smile on his knowing face.
"It's funny how you can laugh at yourself for the stupid mistakes you make. I had the answer to this pressure issue right in front of my face. The answer, the key, on how to beat pressure is that you can't. Pressure is unavoidable. It's how you work around that pressure or with that pressure to complete what you set out to do. I realized that from seeing you duel this whole time. You never lost focus, never lost your cool. That's the real key to it."
Stone just nodded with a proud smile on his face, "So you do have some intelligence in there. But face your reality too. XYZ Dragon Cannon has wiped your monsters out and nearly your Life Points."
Terry just chuckled, "That's fine. Because I know now that if I kept letting those pressures control me, I would have lost this duel from losing my focus. Let's see how I can do now. My turn! Draw!"
Whoo, that was a long chapter. And like i said, my chef aint no pushover!
I wanted to point something out at this point in the story. Any of you reading this might be familiar with online dueling with programs like YGO Vitrual Desktop. They have clans in them but as far as i've seen, they don't translate to real life. So i thought i'd like to make one in real life with some of my characters. Initially, i wanted to broaden it more but for the sake of keeping my story straight, I left it pretty minimal. Though I think i will do something with it down the line.
And yes, there's another+20 year old character in my story playing the game. Meh, what canI say.But she and Jamie seem to know each other?Hmm...
Wellone more chapter in the books. 14down, who knows how many more togo and my Battle City is just about halfway done. It'll be interesting to read next chapter, we get to this story's first Tag-Team Duel. I'lltell you Knowledge and Jamie will be in it challenging two people out of Clan Prime but just who? Natasha? Janet? Someone else? And with Terry, only having 100 Life Points, how can he turn the tide of the game? Check in soon for my next chapter, simply titled Double Duel.
Hope you enjoyed the story!