-Chapter 21-
From Pendulum to Mirror
Ash laughed evilly like a maniac. "With solid defense, I add two cards face-down and then end my turn!" He threw out two face-down cards, ending his turn.
"Finally it's my turn. I draw!" Yusuke exclaimed, drawing his card.
"Trap Card Open: Self-Destructive Draw!" One of his set cards flipped up, showing an image of a Duelist drawing his card and when he did, an explosive device near him exploded, scaring the living out of him. "This card is activated when my opponent draws a card. During his or her Draw Phase, he or she will be inflicted with 200 points of damage."
"Say what?!" Yusuke gasped before he got exploded in front of him. He slammed hard on the ground with his back.
Yusuke's LP: 2100
"This Trap Card is a Continuous Trap, so it will be staying on the field for a while…until your demise!" Ash laughed again.
"Crap! This is not good!" Yusuke thought.
"Yusuke, are you alright?" His mirror-self asked.
"Yeah, but this is not a good situation. This guy is a fan of effect damage," he stated.
"His Deck most likely focuses on burn effect. Be careful, Yusuke." His other-self warned him.
Yusuke looked over the cards in his hand. None of them could help him as of now. Yusuke gritted his teeth, revealing his hint of frustration.
"Yusuke…" He looked to his mirror-self. "Remember that man, Katsuo-sensai's words."
"Remember these words, Yusuke, and to you both, too; believe in yourself and in your Deck. That is a way to victory"
"Believe in yourself and in your Deck. That is a way to victory," he repeated. He clenched his hand over his heart, closing his eyes for a moment and then opened it.
"Right. I can't give up! If I stop believing in myself, then I am over!" he thought in his mind. "OK! First, I normal summon Thorny Drago!"
A lizard that had a size of retriever dog appeared on his side. "Battle! I declare it to attack your monster!"
Thorny Drago jumped for an attack. "Ha! Fool! You know that it won't destroy it!" Ash exclaimed.
Thorny Drago bitten on his Mirror Monster, which waved the lizard off, but it landed on its feet without getting hurt.
"Thorny Drago's effect activates! Any Battle Damage that I get during battle involving this card is dealt to my opponent instead!"
Thorny Drago let out a mighty roar, like a real dragon. It hit Ash, causing him to scream and landed on his butt.
Ash's LP: 2600
"Well done, Yusuke," his mirror-self said as Yusuke gave him a thumb-up.
"Curse you!" Ash growled as he got back on his feet. "You'll pay! Trap Card Open: Reflect Damage!"
His face-down revealed to be two Duelists being blown away by equal force of the explosion. "When I took a Battle Damage from one attack, you take the same damage I took!"
The Trap card let out the same roar, like Thorny Drago's roar at Yusuke.
"Gaaahh!" he yelled.
Yusuke's LP: 700
"I set two cards and end my turn," Yusuke finished.
"My turn, I draw!" Ash drew his card wildly. "I set a card and end my turn."
"Wait, huh?! You're not going to attack or summon anymore monsters?!" Yusuke asked. He never had someone skipped his or her turn during a Duel before.
"I don't need to when I have my Mirror Monster on my side of the field! Thanks to its effect, if I did not declare it to attack during my Battle Phase, it can inflict 400 points of damage during my End Phase!"
"What!?" Yusuke gasped horrifically.
The three-headed beast dog blasted out three fireballs. Yusuke hesitantly dodged the impending attacks, but the third one hit him successfully.
Yusuke's LP: 300
"Yusuke! Are you OK?" His mirror-self asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but this is NOT good!" Yusuke cringed.
"Not good indeed. This man's Mirror Monster has an effect that can inflict damage by not declaring it to attack during his End Phase. With 2800 Defense points, it won't be destroyed unless Yusuke can summon a monster with 3000 or more attack, but even so, that face-down card makes me worry. Not to mention, the Self-Destruct Draw will inflict 200 points of damage during Yusuke's Draw Phase. If Yusuke don't draw the right card…."
"Hey, yo…" His mirror-self snapped out from his thought and looked at Yusuke. "Are you alright, dude? You're like staring in space."
"Hmph. I wasn't staring in space, but thinking. Yusuke, I do not want to say this to make you nervous, but if you don't draw the right card, then…"
"Hey, cheer up, man! I'm pretty sure we'll make this through…as long as we believe in my Deck!" Yusuke exclaimed, with his fist pumped and clenched strongly.
"Yusuke…" he sighed. "Right, of course. I shouldn't forget what your teacher said even though I'm the one who reminded you his words."
"Hey, weirdo! Stop talking to yourself!" Ash yelled. "I end my turn."
"You got it, dude!" Yusuke showed him a thumb-up. "Now…" He laid his finger on the top of his Deck.
"Let's…" His mirror-self putted himself in the same pose, like Yusuke. "Do…" Yusuke said. "This…" His mirror-self said. "THING!"
Their voice synchronized while they drew the card together, showing off in a bright arc of light. Yusuke turned his card around to see the face.
Yusuke's LP: 100
"Hey, this card...!" He realized, giving him a flashback.
-Flashback-
Yusuke walked down the hallway before he was stopped by Kuro.
"Hey, Yusuke!" she yelled at him.
"Yeah?" he turned around to see her.
"Um…" she wiggled her fingers. "That was a great Duel you showed, and congratulations for winning."
"Thanks!" He smiled. "It was really fun."
"It really looked like that way. As a way to show my gratitude for showing me such a good duel, I want you to have this card," she said as she handed him one card.
"What is this?" He asked.
"Well, it is an old card that I found when I picked it up on the street while I was going to grocery store. Someone must have dropped it, and since I'm really not a Duelist and all, I thought that maybe you should have it and take good care of it," she explained.
"Sure thing! Thank you, Kuro," he thanked her.
-Flashback Ends-
Yusuke looked at the card he drew, and decided what to do with it.
"It looks like this card was destined to be drawn and used in this particular duel, especially in the predicament we are in," his mirror-self thought aloud.
"Yeah, I think you're right, my other me," Yusuke nodded. "OK! I set a card and end my turn here."
"Huh? Seriously? So, I see you're giving up!" Ash chuckled. "Well, it's been good to know you, kid! I draw!"
He snickered evilly as pumped his fist. "Just to be nice and all, I'll switch my monster, Volcarage Triple-Hound Dog to Attack position and let it attack you for this turn. Go, Triple Burn Finisher!" He declared.
His monster unleashed powerful flamethrowers in red, blue, and green colors at Yusuke. The fire consumed him.
"Yusuke!" Sasuke yelled.
Ash laughed evilly, thinking that he really finished him off. However, he soon found something odd. "Huh….Wait, what?!"
When the fire cleared, there was something in front of Yusuke that protected him and Thorny Drago from his monster's attack. A figure with dark purple robe with a hood stood there, protecting Yusuke from the attack. The figure revealed to be a young girl, who looked to be around mid-teen, with one eye missing, but she had a left eye, glowing in silver color. Her skin was blue, but it looked like she was stitched up like if she was a Frankenstein. Her hair was dark red. She wore black high-heels, a combat skirt with mix of black and red colors, and the most notable feature about her was the giant crimson red scythe she held that looked a bit mechanical. She reminded me of Ruby Rose from RWBY.
"Wha…What is that thing?!" Ash asked, with surprised expression.
"This is my new monster! Please meet my new friend, Undead Violet," he welcomed his new monster.
Undead Violet-Level 2, DARK, Zombie/Effect, 500 ATK, 500 DEF.
"OK, now I know your monster, but how the hell did you survive?!" He asked.
"You see, when my Life Points would become zero from damage, I can reveal this card from my hand to reduce the damage to zero, and then I Special Summon her from my hand," he explained.
Ash gritted his teeth; feeling tricked and never predicting that. "Damn you! I should've not attack!"
"You should've, but hey, no worry. Everyone makes a mistake sometimes," he said.
"Grrrrrrrghh! I end my turn," he growled.
"Alright, my turn…I draw!"
"HAH! Even though I couldn't finish you off by attacking, at least my Trap Card finishes you!" Ash pointed out.
"That won't do it, either," he replied.
"What?!" Ash gasped.
"You see, by banishing Undead Violet from my side of the field, any damage I would take during this turn is negated," he explained as his new monster disappeared along with the winds of violet petals, stopping the effect of the Trap Card.
"Why you!" Yusuke's opponent gritted his teeth, showcasing his frustration.
Sasuke stared as he felt amazed that even with 100 Life Points, Yusuke managed to avoid effect damage.
"Here we go! I play the Spell Card, Graceful Charity! I draw three cards and then I discard two from my hand," he explained as he drew three new cards and discarded two from his hand. Two of the three cards he drew were the Pendulum Cards; Dawn Sage and Dusk Knight.
"Alright, here we go! I, using Scale 1 Dawn Sage and Scale 8 Dusk Knight, complete the Pendulum Scale!" he declared as two monsters rose through the pillar of light.
"He's going to Pendulum Summon!" Sasuke thought.
"Swing, pendulum of my soul! Draw the arc of light to show my determination, my hope! Pendulum Summon, my monster partner!" Only one beam of light popped out of the portal.
"Go, Rookie Witch!" A cute, little witch appeared as she cheered happily to be fighting alongside her owner.
"Huh? Just one monster? How that pipsqueak could defeat my Mirror Monster?" Ash asked mockingly.
"You'll see! I activate Rookie Witch's effect. She can be treated as two monsters for a Tribute Summon of a Spellcaster-type monster. I tribute her…" Rookie Witch disappeared in a flash of light. "…to summon my ace monster, Masquerade Caped Crusader!"
His ace monster appeared, replacing where Rookie Witch was as he made a spectacular appearance, like if he is on a stage show.
"With Dawn Sage in my Pendulum Zone, any Spellcaster and Warrior-type monsters I control gain 500 ATK," he added as his ace monster became stronger with higher ATK. "Battle! I declare Masquearde Caped Crusader to attack while activating its effect! When this card attacks a monster with 2000 or more ATK, that monster is destroyed and you'll be inflicted with half of the destroyed monster's ATK as damage to your Life Points! Magic Beam!"
His ace monster shot out its signature attack, aiming at the Mirror Monster.
Ash smirked. "Not as fast, boy! I activate the Trap Card; Negate Attack. I negate your attack, which also stops the effect since it requires to attack to activate it!"
An invisible barrier stopped the Spellcaster's attack, including its effect. "It looks like your Battle Phase is wasted!" Ash exclaimed as he laughed evilly.
"That's alright, because it is part of my plan. First, I am going to use my Caped Crusader as a material for Mirror Summon!"
His ace monster turned into an orb of light before being swallowed into the blue mirror portal.
"This is…!" Sasuke exclaimed.
Yusuke turned over his mind and soul to his other self, replacing him as he performed the summoning chant.
"What the? Is Yusuke…looked a bit more serious now?" Sasuke asked.
"Mirror, mirror, hear my wish. Reveal my monster's true color and strength! Bring out the dark crusader of justice who fights from the shadow. Mirror Summon! Come forth! Shard 7! Dark-Sealed Avenger!"
His ace Mirror Monster appeared in all of its glorious physical appearance. "Wait?! You're Mirror Duelist, too?!" Ash exclaimed.
"Mirror Duelist…hmph," Yusuke huffed. "Since I own this card, then yes, I am. Next, I activate the Trap Card; Willpower Surge."
This card showed Battle Gargoyle all damaged, striking fast with its fist out in a fiery, red aura at the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.
"When my Battle Phase had ended by a card effect, then this card allows me to declare my monsters to attack again with their ATK reduced by half, meaning I can declare the Battle Phase one more time!" he explained.
"What?! No, it can't be!" Ash gasped. "But, even so, your monster is not strong enough to destroy mine!"
"You think so?" When he said that, Ash looked a bit confused. "When Dark-Sealed Avenger targets a monster with 2000 or more ATK during the Battle Phase, that target's ATK is reduced by half and that other half is increased to Avenger's ATK."
Dark-Sealed Avenger leaped into the air, with its hand gripped into a fist as dark flames emanated it, with its new 2550 ATK.
"Even so, it is still not enough!" Ash pointed out.
"Have you forgotten that my Dawn Sage's effect? Let me remind you; when I control a Spellcaster or Warrior-type monster, it gains 500 ATK! My Mirror Monster's ATK still increases!" Yusuke pointed out as his Mirror Monster's ATK increased to 3050.
"No way…!" Ash looked scared now.
"Attack! Charged Fist of Justice!" he declared as his Mirror Monster attacked with its powered up fist. It punched the three-headed hound dog, making it shatter into pieces like a mirror.
"Then, Thorny Drago attacks you directly!" he added. The little lizard had bitten his hand, making him cringed in pain when it was released off from his hand.
Ash's LP: 1200
"Well, at least my Life Points are safe. At least, I'll still have some.…" "I activate the Trap Card; Strike of the Dummy Ninja!" Yusuke interrupted.
The flipped card revealed a Dummy Ninja, holding its shurikan as it slashed Red-Eye Black Dragon in half.
"When my opponent has more Life Points than mine, then I target one monster on my side of the field. Then, you're inflicted with damage equals to that target monster's ATK reduced by half. I target my Mirror Monster, Dark-Sealed Avenger," he explained.
"No, it can't be possible!" Ash screamed.
The dummy ninja appeared out of the Trap Card, throwing its shuriken at Ash. Dark-Sealed Avenger added its fire to the shuriken, making it into burning shuriken in dark flames. It struck through him, although not killing him as his Life Points drained down to zero.
Ash's LP: 0
Yusuke Wins.
"No, I fail…Sorry, my mas…ter…Ir…" Ash fainted without finishing his sentence. The duel wave field disappeared, along with the monsters.
Suddenly, a flash of memory appeared in Yusuke's he sees was that same beautiful woman, turning around her head as she smiled at him.
"Hello,…. How are you?" she asked.
"I feel good….Lady Evie."
Yusuke turned back to his normal self, but he also fainted, too.
"Yusuke!" Sasuke yelled. He checked him to make sure if he's alright.
"Oh good. He fell asleep," he said as Yusuke snorted while sleeping. "But, now I have to carry him…oh well."
He picked the naïve boy over his back. He looked at the fainted Ash, but decided to leave him like that as he carried Yusuke and headed back home.
Meanwhile, the muscular man in a military-designed clothes appeared out of the shadows. He saw the whole duel.
"The puppet played his role well. I must report this to Master Iris immediately," he decided as he disappeared in a flash.
New Cards Cheat Sheet for Chapter 20 and 21
Puff-Cloud Fist of Judgement-Type: Counter Trap Effect: Negate an attack. Then, remove from play 1 Puff-Cloud monster in your Graveyard; inflict damage equals to that banished monster's ATK by half to your opponent.
Volcarage Triple Hound Dog-Shard 4, FIRE, Beast/Mirror/Effect, 2300 ATK, 2800 DEF. Effect: After 1 turn this card was summoned, by making this card not attack during your Battle Phase, inflicts 400 points of damage to your opponent during each of your End Phase.
Self-Destructive Draw-Type: Continuous Trap Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on the field, inflicts 200 points of damage to your opponents during their Draw Phase.
Reflect Damage-Type: Normal Trap Effect: If you took a Battle Damage, inflict the same amount of damage to your opponent.
Undead Violet-Level 2, DARK, Zombie/Effect, 500 ATK, 500 DEF. Effect: When you would take damage that reduces your Life Points to zero, reveal this card from your hand, negate the damage, and then Special Summon this card from your hand. Banish this card from play from your side of the field to negate the damage you would take that reduces your Life Points to zero. You can only control 1 "Undead Violet" on your side of the field.
Dawn Sage-Effect: All Spellcaster and Warrior-type monsters you control gain 500 ATK.
Willpower Surge-Type: Counter Trap Effect: When your Battle Phase is ended by a card effect, make all monsters you control from your side of the field to attack again, but with its ATK reduced by half, until the End Phase.
Strike of the Dummy Ninja-Type: Normal Trap Effect: When your opponent has more Life Points than yours, target 1 monster you controls on your side of the field; your opponent then receives damage equals to that target's ATK by half.
New chapter is up, and I hope it does not have that many mistakes. If it does have one, please let me know through PM or in your review. What do you guys think of "Undead Violet"? She is inspired by two sources; Ruby Rose from RWBY (plainly obvious since I referenced it) and OPFan37's Kurizero from his fan-fic, "Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-VOC".
I have 4, but maybe 5 more chapters before I make a big announcement. I don't want to rush this story for that big announcement, but maybe I will get a big chapter, and two shorter chapters in the upcoming days. Expect another chapter this week...if I get to it, that is.
Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you soon. I am going to eat lunch and work on my school stuff...even though I am in my Spring Break. Plus, play Fire Emblem Fates! See you guys again.