Legal Disclaimer: This story follows the same rules as "Rise of the Deckmasters".
Battle Between The Sexes
Chapter 36: On the Front Line
Tristan and Mokuba stood up and headed toward the stage. Within minutes, they arrived on opposite sides of the stage.
"Ready to duel?" asked Rose.
"Definitely, " said Tristan.
"Let's do this, " said Mokuba.
"Choose your deckmaster, and you may begin, " said Rose as Tristan and Mokuba pulled their decks out of their Duel Disks.
They searched through their decks and found their monsters.
"I choose Flame Ruler as my deckmaster, " said Tristan.
"I choose Enraged Battle Ox as my deckmaster, " said Mokuba.
Tristan and Mokuba exchanged, shuffled, and cut their decks. They quickly gave their decks back to each other and placed them back into their Duel Disks.
"Let's duel!" they both exclaimed.
Their Duel Disks activated and moved into position. Tristan and Mokuba pressed blue buttons on their Duel Disks. The left edge slots immediately opened up. Tristan placed Flame Ruler on his slot while Mokuba placed Enraged Battle Ox on his slot. Afterwards, they both closed up. First, Flame Ruler appeared next to Tristan. (1,500/1,000) Next, Enraged Battle Ox appeared next to Mokuba. (1,700/1,000) They both drew five cards.
Tristan: 8,000
Mokuba: 8,000
"I'll go first, " said Tristan as he drew a sixth card. "I summon Kinetic Soldier in attack mode."
Tristan placed it on top of his Duel Disk. Kinetic Soldier appeared on Tristan's side of the field. (1,350/1,800)
"I place one card and end my turn, " said Tristan as a facedown card appeared behind Kinetic Soldier.
"My move, " said Mokuba as he drew a sixth card. "I summon Gale Lizard in attack mode."
Mokuba placed it on top of his Duel Disk. Gale Lizard appeared on Mokuba's side of the field. (1,400/700)
"Gale Lizard, attack Kinetic Soldier with Tornadic Blast!" exclaimed Mokuba.
Gale Lizard fired a column of fast-moving air from its mouth at Kinetic Soldier, shattering it into pixels. Tristan moved Kinetic Soldier from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard.
Tristan: 7,950
Mokuba: 7,750
"I end my turn, " said Mokuba.
"My move, " said Tristan as he drew a card. "I summon Command Knight in attack mode."
Tristan placed her on top of his Duel Disk. Command Knight appeared on Tristan's side of the field with her attack strength changed. (1,600/1,900)
"Command Knight, attack Gale Lizard with Inferno Blade Slash!" exclaimed Tristan.
Command Knight used her attack to slice Gale Lizard in half, shattering it into pixels. Mokuba moved Gale Lizard from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard.
Tristan: 7,950
Mokuba: 7,800
"I end my turn, " said Tristan.
"My move, " said Mokuba as he drew a card. "I play Snatch Steal to take control of Command Knight."
Tristan moved Command Knight from the top of his Duel Disk and gave her to Mokuba, whom placed her on top of his Duel Disk.
"Next, I sacrifice Command Knight to summon Swordstalker, " said Mokuba.
Once Mokuba moved Command Knight from the top of his Duel Disk and gave her back to Tristan, whom placed her into his Graveyard, she vanished from the field. Next, he placed Swordstalker on top of his Duel Disk. Swordstalker appeared on Mokuba's side of the field. (2,000/1,600)
"Swordstalker, attack Tristan's Life Points directly with Vengeance Blade Strike!" exclaimed Mokuba.
"Not so fast. I activate my facedown card, Call of the Haunted, to bring back Kinetic Soldier, " said Tristan as a facedown card flipped up.
Tristan moved Kinetic Soldier from his Graveyard to the top of his Duel Disk. Kinetic Soldier reappeared on Tristan's side of the field, causing a replay. (1,350/1,800)
"Since I know that monster's special ability, I place two cards facedown to end my turn, " said Mokuba as two cards appeared behind Swordstalker.
"My move, " said Tristan as he drew a card. "Flame Ruler's deckmaster ability, Summon Fire, allows me to summon Gadget Soldier in attack mode."
Tristan placed it on top of his Duel Disk. Gadget Soldier appeared next to Kinetic Soldier. (1,800/2,000)
"Kinetic Soldier, attack Swordstalker with Energized Static Laser!" exclaimed Tristan.
Kinetic Soldier's stats changed. (3,350/3,800) Kinetic Soldier used its attack to blast Swordstalker, shattering it into pixels. Mokuba moved Swordstalker from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard.
Tristan: 7,950
Mokuba: 6,450
"Gadget Soldier, attack Mokuba's Life Points directly with Blaze Rocket Barrage!" exclaimed Tristan.
"Not so fast. I activate one of my facedown cards, Magic Cylinder, " said Mokuba as a facedown card flipped up.
Gadget Soldier fired its attack to Mokuba; however, Magic Cylinder absorbed the attack and fired red energy toward Tristan, causing him to twitch.
Tristan: 6,150
Mokuba: 6,450
"I end my turn, " said Tristan.
"My move, " said Mokuba as he drew a card. "I play Scapegoat."
Four Scapegoat tokens appeared on Mokuba's side of the field. (0/0)
"Next, I sacrifice my tokens to activate my facedown card, Crop Circles, " said Mokuba as a facedown card flipped up.
"How does it work?" asked Tristan.
"Crop Circles allows me to special summon a monster with Alien in its name from my deck whose level is equal to the total levels of the destroyed monsters, " said Mokuba as he pulled his deck out of his Duel Disk.
Mokuba searched through his deck, found a monster, and returned his deck to his Duel Disk.
"Since the total levels of the Scapegoat tokens are four, I summon Alien Warrior in attack mode, " said Mokuba as he placed it on top of his Duel Disk.
Alien Warrior appeared on Mokuba's side of the field. (1,800/1,000)
"Alien Warrior, attack Kinetic Soldier with Cosmic Claw Strike!" exclaimed Mokuba.
Alien Warrior used its attack to slash Kinetic Soldier from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard.
Tristan: 5,700
Mokuba: 6,450
"I end my turn, " said Mokuba.
"My move, " said Tristan as he drew a card. "I set one monster in defense mode and switch Gadget Soldier in defense mode."
Tristan turned Gadget Soldier sideways and placed one card facedown and sideways on top of his Duel Disk. Gadget Soldier got on its knees and rested with its arms crossed. A set card appeared next to Gadget Soldier.
"I end my turn, " said Tristan.
"My move, " said Mokuba as he drew a card. "I summon Mystic Horseman in attack mode."
Mokuba placed it on top of his Duel Disk Mystic Horseman appeared next to Alien Warrior. (1,300/1,550)
"Next, I activate Enraged Battle Ox's deckmaster ability, which is called Jungle Rampage, " said Mokuba. "By removing one card from my hand from play, I can give any Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged Beast-type monster I control trample ability."
"That wasn't a good idea. Mystic Horseman isn't strong enough, " said Tristan.
"Don't be so sure. I play Wild Nature's Release, " said Mokuba.
Mystic Horseman's attack strength changed. (2,850/1,550)
"Mystic Horseman, attack Gadget Soldier with Centaur Staff Strike!" exclaimed Mokuba.
Mystic Horseman used its attack to swipe Gadget Soldier, shattering it into pixels. Tristan moved Gadget Soldier from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard.
Tristan: 4,850
Mokuba: 6,450
"Alien Warrior, attack that set monster with Cosmic Claw Strike!" exclaimed Mokuba.
Alien Warrior used its attack to slash the set monster. Tristan turned his set card upright on top of his Duel Disk. Witch of the Black Forest appeared on Tristan's side of the field and shattered into pixels. (1,100/1,200) Tristan moved Witch of the Black Forest from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard.
"Witch of the Black Forest's special ability activates, " said Tristan as he pulled his deck out of his Duel Disk.
Tristan searched through his deck, found a monster, and shuffled and returned his deck to his Duel Disk.
"I end my turn, " said Mokuba as Mystic Horseman shattered into pixels.
Mokuba moved Mystic Horseman from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard.
"My move, " said Tristan as he drew a card. "I summon Machiner's Soldier in attack mode."
Tristan placed it on top of his Duel Disk. A dark green humanoid machine with one red eye, which was wielding a dagger on its left hand, appeared on Tristan's side of the field. (1,600/1,500)
"Machiner's Soldier has a special ability. When it is alone on my side of the field, I can special summon another monster with Machiner's in its name from my hand excluding itself, " said Tristan. "Therefore, I special summon Machiner's Sniper in attack mode."
Tristan placed Machiner's Sniper on top of his Duel Disk. Machiner's Sniper appeared next to Machiner's Soldier. (1,800/800)
"Next, I play Block Attack, " said Tristan as Mokuba immediately turned Alien Warrior sideways on top of his Duel Disk.
Alien Warrior rested on its knees with its claws crossed.
"Machiner's Soldier, attack Alien Warrior with Steel Dagger Slash!" exclaimed Tristan.
Machiner's Soldier used its blade to slice Alien Warrior, shattering it into pixels. Mokuba moved Alien Warrior from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard.
"Since Machiner's Soldier destroyed Alien Warrior, it is equipped with 2 A-Counters, " said Mokuba as two A-Counters appeared on the shoulders of Machiner's Soldier.
"Machiner's Sniper, attack Mokuba's Life Points directly with Quickfire Blast!" exclaimed Tristan.
Machiner's Sniper used its attack to blast Mokuba, causing him to twitch.
Tristan: 4,850
Mokuba: 4,650
"I end my turn, " said Tristan.
"My move, " said Mokuba as he drew a card. "I play Swords of Revealing Light."
Light swords rained down on Tristan, surrounding him and his monsters.
"Next, I summon Battle Ox in attack mode, " said Mokuba as he placed it on top of his Duel Disk.
Battle Ox appeared on Mokuba's side of the field. (1,700/1,000)
"Machiner's Sniper has a special ability as well. When other monsters with Machiner's in their name are on the field with Machiner's Sniper, you can only attack Machiner's Sniper, " said Sniper.
"No problem. I play Shrink, " said Mokuba.
The attack strength of Machiner's Sniper changed. (900/800)
"Battle Ox, attack Machiner's Sniper with Axe Crusher!" exclaimed Mokuba.
Battle Ox used its attack to slice Machiner's Sniper in half, shattering it into pixels. Tristan moved Machiner's Sniper from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard.
Tristan: 4,050
Mokuba: 4,650
"I place one card facedown, ending my turn, " said Mokuba as one card appeared behind Battle Ox.
"My move, " said Tristan as he drew a card. "I set one monster in defense mode and place two cards facedown."
Tristan placed one card facedown and sideways on top of his Duel Disk. A set card appeared next to Machiner's Soldier. Two facedown cards appeared behind Machiner's Soldier and the set monster.
"I end my turn, " said Tristan.
"My move, " said Mokuba as he drew a card.
"I activate one of my facedown cards, Dust Tornado, to destroy Swords of Revealing Light, " said Tristan as a facedown card flipped up.
A tornado surrounded Tristan and shattered the light swords. A facedown card appeared where Dust Tornado was originally.
"I summon Alien Hunter in attack mode, " said Mokuba as he placed it on top of his Duel Disk.
Alien Hunter appeared next to Battle Ox. (1,600/800)
"Battle Ox, attack Machiner's Soldier with Axe Crusher!" exclaimed Mokuba.
"I activate my other facedown card, Call of the Haunted, to bring back Machiner's Sniper, " said Tristan as a facedown card flipped up.
Tristan moved Machiner's Sniper from his Graveyard to the top of his Duel Disk. Machiner's Sniper appeared next to Machiner's Soldier, causing a replay. (1,800/800)
"I end my turn, " said Mokuba.
"My move, " said Tristan as he drew a card. "I flip summon my set monster, which is Machiner's Defender."
Tristan turned his set monster upright on top of his Duel Disk. A dark blue humanoid tank with four cannon turrets on its sides appeared next to Machiner's Soldier. (1,200/1,800)
"Machiner's Defender has a special ability as well. When it is Flip Summoned, I can add a "Commander Covington" to my hand, " said Tristan as he pulled his deck out of his Duel Disk.
Tristan searched through his deck, found Commander Covington, and returned his deck to his Duel Disk.
"Next, I summon Commander Covington in attack mode, " said Tristan as he placed it on top of his Duel Disk.
A red humanoid robot with green eyes, a golden belt around its waist, and golden rings around its arms appeared next to Machiner's Defender. (1,000/600)
"Commander Covington also has a special ability. I can sacrifice Machiner's Sniper, Machiner's Soldier, and Machiner's Defender to summon Machiner's Force, " said Tristan.
Tristan moved all three monsters from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard and placed Machiner's Force on top of his Duel Disk. Suddenly, all three monsters separated into pieces and recombined into a monster with its upper torso made from Machiner's Sniper, its head and knees made from Machiner's Soldier, and its shoulder cannons, lower torso, and feet made from Machiner's Defender. (4,600/4,100)
"That monster is stronger than Blue Eyes, " said Mokuba.
"Machiner's Force, attack Battle Ox with Militant Laser Barrage!" exclaimed Tristan.
Tristan: 3,050
Mokuba: 4,650
"What happened to your Life Points?" asked Mokuba.
"Machiner's Force has a nasty side effect. It costs me 1,000 Life Points to attack with it, " said Tristan.
Machiner's Force used its rifle and shoulder cannons to fire several laser beams at Battle Ox, shattering it into pixels. Mokuba moved Battle Ox from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard.
Tristan: 3,050
Mokuba: 1,750
"I end my turn, " said Tristan.
"My move, " said Mokuba as he drew a card. "I set one monster in defense mode and switch Alien Hunter into defense mode."
Mokuba placed one card facedown and sideways and turned Alien Hunter sideways on top of his Duel Disk. Alien Hunter rested on its knees with its arms crossed, and a set monster appeared next to Alien Hunter.
"I end my turn, " said Mokuba.
"My move, " said Tristan as he drew a card from his deck." I equip Commander Covington with 7 Completed to increase its attack strength."
Commander Covington's attack strength changed. (1,700/600)
"Commander Covington, attack Alien Hunter with Leadership Fist!" exclaimed Tristan.
Commander Covington punched Alien Hunter from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard.
"I end my turn, " said Tristan.
"My move, " said Mokuba as he drew a card. "I flip summon my set monster, which is called Cobra Jar."
Mokuba turned his set monster upright on top of his Duel Disk. A curved jar with a green snake emerging from inside of it appeared on Mokuba's side of the field. (600/300)
"Cobra Jar has a special ability. When it is Flip Summoned, I can special summon a "Poisonous Snake Token to the field, " said Mokuba.
Suddenly, a miniature copy of Cobra Jar appeared next to its big brother. (1,200/1,200)
"Next, I play Monster Reborn to bring Gale Lizard back, " said Mokuba as he moved it from his Graveyard to the top of his Duel Disk.
Gale Lizard reappeared next to Cobra Jar (1,400/700)
"Then, I sacrifice both Cobra Jar and Gale Lizard to summon Insect Queen, " said Mokuba.
Once Mokuba moved both cards from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard, they both vanished from the field. Next, Mokuba placed Insect Queen on top of Duel Disk. Insect Queen appeared next to the Poisonous Snake Token. (2,200/2,400)
"Don't forget about Insect Queen's special ability, " said Mokuba.
Insect Queen's attack strength changed. (2,400/2,400)
"I sacrifice the Poisonous Snake Token so Insect Queen can attack, " said Mokuba.
The Poisonous Snake Token shattered into pixels.
"Insect Queen, attack Commander Covington with Royal Acid Blast!" exclaimed Mokuba.
Insect Queen used her attack to blast Commander Covington, dissolving him. Tristan moved Commander Covington from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard.
Tristan: 2,350
Mokuba: 1,750
"I place one card facedown, ending my turn, " said Mokuba as two facedown cards appeared behind Insect Queen. "Don't forget Insect Queen's second ability.
An Insect Monster Token appeared where the Poisonous Snake Token was originally, changing Insect Queen's draw strength. (2,600/2,400)
"My move, " said Tristan as he drew a card. "I place one card facedown."
A facedown card appeared behind Machiner's Force.
"Machiner's Force, end this duel and attack Insect Queen with Militant Laser Barrage!" exclaimed Tristan.
"I activate one of my facedown cards, Negate Attack, " said Mokuba as a facedown card flipped up.
Tristan: 1,350
Mokuba: 1,750
Machiner's Force used its attack to blast Insect Queen; however, Negate Attack's force field dissipated the attack.
"I end my turn, " said Tristan.
"My move, " said Mokuba as he drew a card. "I play Fissure, allowing me to destroy a monster on your side of the field whose attack strength is the lowest. Since Machiner's Force is the only monster on your side of the field, I'll destroy it."
"Not so fast. I activate my facedown card, Imperial Order, " said Tristan as a facedown card flipped up on his side of the field.
"I counter that with my facedown card, Mystical Wind Typhoon, " said Mokuba as a facedown card flipped up on his side of the field.
Imperial Order shattered into pixels. Tristan moved Machiner's Force from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard.
"Machiner's Force has a special ability. When it is destroyed, I can special summon Machiner's Sniper, Machiner's Soldier, and Machiner's Defender from my Graveyard, " said Tristan as he moved all three monsters from his Graveyard to the top of his Duel Disk.
Machiner's Force separated into pieces and reformed into their original forms. Machiner's Sniper reappeared on Tristan's side of the field.(1,800/800) Machiner's Soldier reappeared next to Machiner's Sniper. (1,600/1,500) Machiner's Defender reappeared next to Machiner's Soldier. (1,200/1,800)
"Thanks to the special ability of Machiner's Sniper, you can only attack it, " said Tristan.
"Next, I summon Giant Rat in attack mode, " said Mokuba as he placed it on top of his Duel Disk.
Giant Rat appeared next to Insect Queen. (1,400/1,450)
"I sacrifice my token so Insect Queen can attack, " said Mokuba.
Once the Insect Monster Token shattered into pixels, Insect Queen's attack strength changed. (2,400/2,400)
"Insect Queen, attack Machiner's Sniper with Royal Acid Blast!" exclaimed Mokuba.
Insect Queen used her attack to blast Machiner's Sniper, dissolving it. Tristan moved Machiner's Sniper from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard.
Tristan: 0750
Mokuba: 1,750
Another Insect Monster Token appeared where the original token was, changing Insect Queen's attack strength. (2,600/2,400)
"Giant Rat, attack Machiner's Defender with Massive Crunch!" exclaimed Mokuba.
Giant Rat bit Machiner's Defender, shattering it into pixels. Tristan moved Machiner's Defender from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard.
Tristan: 0550
Mokuba: 1,750
"I end my turn, " said Mokuba.
"My move, " said Tristan as he drew a card. "I play Change of Heart to take control of Insect Queen."
Mokuba moved Insect Queen from the top of his Duel Disk and gave it to Tristan, whom placed it on top of his Duel Disk. Insect Queen moved next to Machiner's Soldier. (2,600/2,400)
Just like you, I sacrifice Machiner's Soldier so Insect Queen can attack, " said Tristan.
Once Tristan moved Machiner's Soldier from the top of his Duel Disk to his Graveyard, it vanished from his side of the field.
"Insect Queen, end this duel and attack that token with Royal Acid Blast!" exclaimed Tristan.
Insect Queen used her attack to dissolve the token, sending Mokuba to his knees.
Tristan: 0550
Mokuba: 0000
The monsters and the field instantly vanished. Every card remaining on the Duel Disks were removed and were placed back into Mokuba's and Tristan's decks.
"Proceeding to the next round, we have Mr. Tristan Taylor, " said Rose as the crowd applauded and cheered. "I'm sorry to say that Mokuba Kaiba has been eliminated."
"I'm impressed. You didn't back down when you faced my Machiner's Force, " said Tristan as he shook Mokuba's hand.
"Yugi and Joey would be proud of you. Good luck in the next round, " said Mokuba as he shook Tristan's hand.
They immediately headed offstage. Rose reappeared onstage.
"May I have everyone's attention please?" asked Rose.
The crowd quieted down and turned toward the stage.
"Kitamori Reiko and Tristan Taylor, you will both receive a 20-minute break. Afterwards, your duel will begin, " said Lily.
Deckmaster Abilities
Enraged Battle Ox - [Jungle Rampage]: Remove one card from your hand from play to give any Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged Beast-type monster you control trample ability.