Ladies and gentlemen! Put in those earplugs because our next contenders are ready to roar!
We only have one pair of duelists left for the quarter-finals, and both of them are masters of tyrannical lizards!
Up first is everyone's favorite CEO/Professional Duelist: Seto Kaiba!
And his opponent? None other than Rex Raptor, the Dinosaur Duelist who proves natural selection wrong!
Let's see who will be moving on to the semi-finals…
Will Kaiba earn the chance to take on Yugi again?
Or will Rex pull out a victory against impossible odds?
Fossilized
"I am so dead…" Rex thought to himself as he saw his picture appear next to Seto Kaiba's with a five-minute timer attached. "Is this some sort of cruel joke?"
"What a waste of time," Kaiba grumbled as he began to look through his cards. "I'm not even going to need five turns to take Raptor out…"
Rex clenched his fist, and watched as his own cards displayed themselves before him. He began to sift through them carefully, thinking over his strategies.
"Kaiba…Talking about me like I'm not even here…" Rex growled in his mind, clenching his teeth. "Compared to him, I might as well not be…NO! The days of walk-all-over-Rex Raptor are done! I may lose this fight, but I'll lose with the skills of the champion I used to be!!"
Rex angrily began shifting cards between his deck and side deck, smiling as a few plans came to mind.
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The reason for the five-minute delay this time was not an argument. This time, Mokuba was marching along from one programmer to the next, glaring over their shoulders at their screen to ensure that everything was proceeding as it was supposed to.
"Good…Good…Turn down the pain level a bit, I don't it like it that high…" Mokuba commented as he moved from computer to computer.
He paused behind one worker who was gazing absent-mindedly at his screen as he played Solitaire. Mokuba cleared his throat, and the technician snapped out of his game-induce daze and closed the window with the card game in it.
"Uh…I can explain sir…" the technician stammered out.
"We're supposed to focus on my brother's game, not yours," Mokuba scolded, a stern glare cast at the shuddering tech. "Get back to work!"
The programmer began typing furiously, data flying across his screen at top speed. Noah was watching from the back of the room, a slight grin on his face as he observed Mokuba's progress.
"I have to say Mokuba, I'm impressed at how well you control the situation when Seto is busy," Noah said as his step-brother returned. "How do you do it?"
"Years of practice," Mokuba said as he sat in his chair at the main computer. "After Battle City, Seto started trusting me with bigger and bigger projects. I've handled everything from press conferences to…Well, to running this tournament."
Noah nodded his head, and looked back up at the screen.
"So, you think there'll be anything more to worry about?" he asked.
"There'd better not be," Mokuba said, his volume increasing a bit so all the techs could hear him.
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"Well, I'm down here and Tim is up there," Brian sighed, looking up to the box seats. "Who's going to stop my brother from pissing of Kaiba now?"
"Relax, I'm sure someone will hit him if he gets to annoying," Celeste assured him.
"In the meantime, we get to watch Seto Kaiba defeat a duelist who is has been almost unknown since Battle City," Ronaldo said, looking up to the jumbo screen overhead. "Huh…Somehow this match seems one sided."
"Gee, you think?" Kevin asked. "I calculate Rex's odds of winning to be…Less than .5 percent."
"They were zero against me," Espa pointed out with a grin.
"Yeah, but didn't I hear something about a radio transmitter?" Celeste asked him.
"Um…No comment," Espa said sheepishly.
"Well, Kaiba has enough fans," Celeste said. "Who wants to join me and cheer for Rex?"
The other four looked at each-other, shrugged, and nodded.
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"Hmm…" Weevil mused, looking at the screen. "As much as I'd love for Kaiba to finally find out what it feels like to be knocked to the bottom, I'd have to say that I want Rex to lose this duel."
"Any particular reason?" Richington asked, shining his monocle.
Weevil opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off as Mako cleared his throat.
"Let's not forget that Rex beat Weevil in their last duel," Mako pointed out.
"Ah yes, of course," Richington nodded as he replaced his eye-wear. "Well I say, go Kaiba! Show everyone why the upper-class is truly the best class!"
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"Who are you going to cheer for, big brother?" Serenity asked as she turned to Joey.
Joey was looking up at the screen, his eyes crossing as he tried to make his decision. He finally shook his head and pulled at his hair.
"Argh! I don't want either of them to win!" Joey fretted as dropped his hands to his sides. "I'm not gonna have the chance to take 'em out afterwards!"
"You can't get everything in life," John sighed. "Why not give some thought to the Kingdom of Heaven…"
"I don't think this is the best time," Bakura cautioned the young preacher as Joey turned a glare toward him.
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"Yahoo! Go Rex!" Mary shouted, jumping up from her seat.
"Young lady, please sit down and calm yourself," Ruby said, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"Yeah dueling!" Zeffie called out, bouncing up and down on Gold's shoulder. "Funfunfunfunfun…"
Gold just chuckled a bit as Zeffie continued to bob in place. He settled back as far as he could go without knocking Zeffie from her perch, and prepared to enjoy the match.
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Out on the arena floor, Roland raised his hands overhead as the countdown hit zero. The ground beneath him began to shake and roll, sections of it pushing upward.
"It's time for our final fight of the quarter-finals!" Roland announced. "And what a fight we'll have! It's been said that dragons and dinosaurs may have evolved side-by-side. Though the dinosaurs died out long before the rise of mankind, dragons somehow managed to survive and become a part of cultures around the globe."
The sections of floor continued to rise and reveal stripes of different types of stone as they climbed higher. In each different layer was a collection of bones and sea-shells, all of them obviously from prehistoric creatures of one species or another. Two sections in particular were rising higher than the rest. The first one contained a perfectly preserved T-rex skeleton, towering almost twenty feet tall.
The second one, on the opposite side of the arena, held a massive skeleton of about the same height. This one sported a framework of wings extending from the back, plus a long neck and tail. In front of this draconian fossil fell a ring of silver light, and Roland raised one hand.
"And here today, to settle which one was truly the superior giant lizard, are our combatants!" Roland shouted. "Give it up for Seto Kaiba…"
The light vanished, but nothing else happened. No one stood where the light had been but a moment before, and Roland nervously tapped at his ear.
"Um…Rei? We have another issue…" Roland whispered.
"What now? The arena is there…" Rei responded.
"But the duelists aren't," Roland hissed.
Confused murmurs began to spread around the audience, and Roland hastily lifted one hand for silence.
"Don't worry folks, just a few moments and our duelists should…" Roland began.
Another ring of light fell in front of the dragon skeleton, and out of it stepped Seto Kaiba to a thundering wave of applause. He crossed his arms as he cast a glare at Roland, who hurriedly waved toward the young CEO.
"Right then! Presenting the master of the Blue-Eyes White Dragons: Seto Kaiba…" Roland called out, panting for a second to catch his breath.
A second ring fell to the ground in front of the T-rex skeleton, and from this one stepped Rex, adjusting his hat as he glared at Kaiba.
"…And his challenger, Rex Raptor!" Roland called out, pausing to take a deep breath before he continued. "Which one of these two duelists will win, and who's going to wind up fossilized? Let's find out, select your deckmasters!"
Kaiba held one hand out to his side with a grim look in his eyes.
"I want to get this over with fast, Raptor, so let's keep this simple," Kaiba warned. "There are duelists that are actually worth my time here! I choose Kaiser Sea Horse for my deckmaster."
In a pulse of light, the blue-skinned warrior jumped up next to Kaiba, brandishing his spear in anger. Rex just growled a bit as he reached for his own deck.
"You know Kaiba, Joey is my most hated duelist, and Weevil is second," Rex said as he pulled his cards loose and began to search through them. "But you're a close third!"
Rex snatched one of the cards before putting the rest back, and he held the card over his head.
"Let's see what this guy can do. I choose Gilasaurus for my deckmaster!" Rex announced.
A cloud of dust blazed three laps around Rex before coming to a halt on his right. The dust fell away to reveal the small predator, tapping its toe-claw against the ground as it turned to Rex.
Rex blinked in surprise as a voice sounded inside his head. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then smiled as he opened them again and turned to his deckmaster.
"Gilasaurus, you and me are going places." Rex assured his monster.
"The only place one of you is going is the audience once this duel is done!" Roland warned as he lifted into the air on one final patch of rising stone, "And now that our Fossil Canyon is ready, and I'm safely out of the way, let's begin!"
Kaiser Sea Horse and Gilasaurus both walked out to the area between their controllers. Gilasurus spun around and attempted to knock his foe down with a quick tail sweep, only for the Sea Horse to jump over the blow. As Kaiser Sea Horse landed, he swung the butt of his spear into the chest of the dinosaur before him and sent it sailing back to Rex's side, where it skittered to a stop on the ground.
"Guess we'll be letting Kaiba go first," Roland nodded as Kaiser Sea Horse returned to his master, "Now draw your cards and begin!"
Rex and Kaiba both pulled their opening hands from their decks and cast each other one last, stern gaze.
"LET'S DO THIS!" they both shouted.
Kaiba: 8000
Rex: 8000
As Kaiba reached to draw his first card of the game, Rex cleared his throat.
"What, you want to give up already?" Kaiba asked.
"Hardly," Rex grinned as his deckmaster shimmered with green light, "I just need to let you know that my deckmaster power activates right now."
Kaiba raised one eyebrow as Rex took the top card from his deck and faced it toward the ground.
"It's called rapid evolution, here's how it works…" Rex began. "My deckmaster…"
"Let's you take the top card from your deck right at the start of the duel after you draw your first five cards," Kaiba recited, closing his eyes as he did so. "If it's a spell, trap, or any monster other than a Dinosaur, it goes to the bottom of your deck. If it's a Dinosaur-type monster, it's removed from play for the rest of the game and all Dinosaurs in your deck, hand, and field have the removed monster's star-level taken out of their level."
Rex lowered the card he had drawn, and stared at Kaiba as the he opened his eyes with an un-amused gaze.
"I worked with the person who designed this system, I know almost every deckmaster available," Kaiba explained, "Now let's get this over with, what did you draw?"
Rex cleared his throat and looked at the card. A grin spread over his face as he turned the card around. On it was the image of a Pterodactyl with black scales and red eyes.
"I got Black Ptera, a three-star monster," Rex boasted, the card fading from his hand. "So that means I can summon monsters that would usually be up to level seven without a sacrifice!"
The green glow surrounding Rex's deckmaster moved over his deck. The sound of a distant roar echoed across the canyon, shaking loose several small rocks and bone fragments from the walls. Kaiba's deckmaster seemed a bit worried, raising his spear and jerking his head about to try and spot where the roar had come from, but Kaiba himself seemed unfazed.
"If you're done," Kaiba said as he drew his first card, "I'd like to get on with my turn. I summon X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) in attack mode."
Kaiser Sea Horse shakily raised his weapon and tapped the end of his spear on the ground. A spark of light floated from the spear's head and absorbed itself into one of the rock pillars that had lifted up. Several cracks appeared in the pillar, spreading out from the point where the light had absorbed, and then a large section of the stone exploded outward leaving a sizable hole.
From the hole emerged a blue robot balancing on a spiked orb. A pair of large cannons adorned its shoulders, and both of them were trained on Rex. Behind it appeared a brown card as Kaiba slid one of his cards into his disk.
"I'll also set this facedown, your move," Kaiba announced.
Rex drew, swiftly taking one of the cards from his hand and setting it onto his disk.
"I can't afford to take an 1800 point hit this early in the duel," Rex said to himself as a facedown monster appeared before him.
"One monster in defense mode, that's all," Rex affirmed.
"That's pathetic, but I didn't expect much better," Kaiba belittled as he drew another card. "Time to move along the alphabet a little, I summon Y-Dragon Head (1500/1600)."
A metallic screech sounded from above as Kaiba set the monster onto his disk. From the top of the rock behind him leapt a red machine with a glowing-blue visor. As it plummeted to the ground, it spread a pair of wings from its sides and fired a set of jets from its underside. It slowed to a halt, hovering about five feet from the ground.
"Now then, X-Head Cannon, attack his monster with fusion cannon!" Kaiba signaled with a pointed finger.
The cannons on the blue robot readjusted their aim, pointing themselves away from Rex and toward his facedown monster. Blue energy charged within the cannons, causing them to glow red-hot as the power built up. Finally, with a cataclysmic burst of noise, the energy tore loose from the weapons and slammed against Rex's monster, only for it to be dispersed in every conceivable direction (including back to Kaiba's chest, leaving a smoking spot of burnt fabric there.)
On Rex's field, his facedown monster turned itself over to reveal a white egg at least a foot taller than Rex himself. He smiled as he patted the shell of the monstrous egg, a resounding thud echoing from it.
"Sorry Kaiba, but to get at my life points you'll need to get through my Miracle Jurassic Egg (0/2000) first," Rex taunted. "And since neither of your monsters is strong enough to do that, I guess you're out of luck."
Kaiba opened his mouth for a comeback, but stopped as the sound of cracking stone drew his attention. He looked down to his feet and watched as his black shoes slowly turned to grey stone with a few small cracks running through them.
"Rex manages to draw first blood and reveal the fate of the loser of this match!" Roland barked. "As your life points drop in this duel, your body will begin to turn to solid stone, leaving the loser as a real-live fossil!"
Kaiba: 7800
Rex: 8000
Roland paused for a minute, and then smirked as he added, "Though maybe 'live' isn't the right word…"
"End turn…" Kaiba growled.
Rex drew his card with a wary grin on his face. He held up the spell he had drawn before putting it into his disk and a bright light appeared over his head.
"I'm activating Graceful Charity," Rex announced as a glorious angel floated down from above him.
The angel gently tapped Rex's disk, and three cards slid from the disk into Rex's hand. He looked them over, then took two of them and placed them into his grave slot. The angel smiled as she flew away, while Rex's egg began to tremble as though something inside was trying to emerge. On the side of the egg appeared four small holes, from which came the sound of something breathing.
"Now onto my egg's effect: It gains two counters for every Dinosaur that gets sent to my graveyard, and I just discarded my Uraby and Crawling Dragon #2," Rex went on, pointing at his monster, "That gives this little guy four counters total, so I can sacrifice it to summon a Dinosaur from deck with up to four stars."
"And what four star monsters do you have that can help?" Kaiba challenged, clenching a fist.
"Thanks to my deckmaster, plenty," Rex told him as he removed the card from his disk. "So I'll use its power to summon my Frostosaurus (2600/1700)!"
A cold wind began to blow from the holes in the egg, which swelled larger and larger until it was at least as tall as the fossil behind Rex. Ice began to cover it as the temperature in the arena plummeted, inviting snow to begin to fall over the rocks and bones. With a shuddering crash, the egg fell apart to reveal a giant reptile with a long neck, formed completely from solid ice. It let out a low moan, indicating that it was indeed a living creature and not a sculpture of one, and Rex laughed as he began to shiver in the presence of the monster.
"Most folks think dinosaurs died out during the Ice Age," Rex explained as he tried to make his teeth stop chattering. "But this one evolved to not just live in the cold, but to become it!"
Kaiba seemed unaffected by the temperature change. He had crossed his arms again, but he showed no signs of shivering or trembling. The cold air began to seep out over the audience, causing those in the front row to immediately need to deal with runny noses and uncontrollable shivers since most of them were dressed for summer.
"It's about to get a lot colder in here folks!" Rex warned as he pointed to Kaiba's monsters. "Attack the Y-Dragon Head with glacial rampage!"
The massive ice monster moaned again and began to stomp forward, lifting a massive foot to crush the robot in a single step. Kaiba responded by pointing to his facedown card.
"I activate Negate Attack, stopping your monster and ending your battle phase," Kaiba announced, a barrier of energy flying over his field.
Frostosaurus slammed its foot down on the barrier, with little success. The shell held firm even under the titanic monster's weight, and the creature stumbled back with a third moan. Rex, still shaking from the cold, took another card from between his trembling fingers and set it onto his disk.
"O-O-One monster f-f-facedown…" Rex said as his teeth continued to chatter. "That's it."
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"Check the safeties, Rex is feeling the cold pretty bad in their," Mokuba ordered.
Sota typed a few commands into his keyboard, a series of numbers and readings appearing on his screen.
"All safeties and realty programs are normal, sir," he reported. "Then again, Frostosarus was never really tested in the arena at this late stage, so perhaps it really that cold in there."
"Mr. Kaiba doesn't seem to have a problem," Rei pointed out.
"That's because he's always wearing that jacket of his," Sota pointed out. "Plus, he's not standing right next to that walking glacier like Rex is. No wonder he's shaking like a leaf."
"Just keep on eye on them, no coffee breaks until this duel is over," Mokuba cautioned.
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Kaiba drew his card, bringing his hand to five. He plucked one of the cards from his hand, setting it down next to the first two.
"Now then, let's complete the set," Kaiba declared. "I summon Z-Metal Tank (1500/1300)."
The ground behind Kaiba began to crumble and fall away, leaving a large hole in the earth from which burst a yellow machine with tank treads. Its lone eye focused on Frostosaurus, and the chilly winds given off by the monster began to form a thin layer of ice on it.
"Now then, before I go any further, I'll activate Soul Absorption," Kaiba announced, sliding a card into his disk. "This grants me 500 life points for every card that's removed the game from now on."
A glowing ball of rainbow colored flames appeared on Kaiba's field, hovering in front of his deckmaster. It shimmered, slowly melting the ice beneath it, as Kaiser Sea Horse shouldered his spear and warmed his hands in front of the fire.
"Now then, I remove all three of my monsters from the game…" Kaiba vocalized.
"Oh no…" Rex groaned as the three machines shot into the air.
Y-Dragon Head disengaged its wings, allowing them to fall to the ground and become buried under the snow. It landed on top of Z-Metal Tank, settling between the treads, and X-Head Cannon forced itself onto the back of the red mechanism. Bursts of steam flew from the points of contact between the three monsters, and the now unified creature floated down to the ground. At the same time, three small fires colored blue, red, and yellow broke off from the mass of flame on Kaiba's field and floated into his body.
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"Hey, it's the Power Rangers!" Tim joked as he saw Kaiba's monster. "Go Go…"
"Please don't sing any more of that theme song," Victor begged, looking a bit drained. "Everyone I know does the same thing when they see that monster…"
Tim frowned, and looked at his feet.
"Another franchise I can't use down the tubes," Tim grumbled.
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"…By removing those three, I summon my XYZ Dragon Cannon (2800/2600)!" Kaiba affirmed, brandishing two cards from his hand. "Now for each card I discard, I can destroy one card on your field. So I'll discard two of them to get rid of Frostosaurus and your facedown monster."
The XYZ machine charged energy within the cannons mounted on the part that was once X-Head Cannon. From each gun fired a burst of energy, the first of which ripped apart Rex's facedown monster. It appeared for a brief moment as a green stegosaurus with red plates on its back, which roared in pain as it burst apart.
In the meantime, a series of cracks spread across Frostosaurus's body from where the blast had struck it. It moaned for one final time before toppling over and shattering into a cloud of ice crystals which were blown away by a strong breeze. The temperature in the canyon began to return to normal, and Rex stopped shivering as the snow that was gathering on his body started to melt.
"Okay, Frostosaurus wasn't a good idea," Rex muttered under his breath.
"Now then, let me help warm you up a little," Kaiba offered as he pointed at Rex. "Attack with de-fission lasers! Maximum power!"
A searing blast of blue, red, and yellow plasma fired simultaneously from the guns mounted on the shoulders and inside the mouth and eye of the mighty machine. Rex screamed as the light energy converged on his body in a blinding flash of heat and pain. When it cleared away, no visible damage was left on his body.
"Oh that wasn't so…" Rex trailed off as his legs tightened up against his will.
He looked down and bit his lip to keep from screaming as his legs from roughly mid-thigh down turned hard and gray like the fossils around him. Watching his legs as they turned to rock only made the sensation more unpleasant, forcing Rex to turn his gaze back up to Kaiba.
"It's all virtual, it's not real, don't panic…" Rex coached himself.
Kaiba: 9300
Rex: 5200
"And Rex takes a massive hit that costs him more than a quarter of his life points!" Roland shouted, clutching at his glasses in the wake of the attack.
The audience, now recovered from their brush with the Ice Age, began to cheer again, several members chanting Kaiba's name as he nodded to Rex.
"That ends my move." He decided.
Rex picked up a card from his deck and began to look over his options. He tapped his disk, opening up the field zone on the end of the tray, and slid a card into it.
"Okay Kaiba, I'll start by taking us even further back with my field spell," Rex announced as slow, dramatic music began to swell around the players, "I activate Jurassic World!"
The walls and columns of rock and fossils began to shift and sink back down into the floor. The music played louder, causing trees and ferns to sprout up from the ground along with a carpet of thick, green grass. The air became hot and muggy, and beautiful flowers unlike any seen by man sprouted from the ground around the arena. The massive fossils behind Rex and Kaiba vanished into the ground with their fellows, each of them replaced with a massive tree.
"I'm waiting to be impressed," Kaiba yawned.
"Well don't worry, I've got just the thing!" Rex shouted as he placed a card onto his tray. "Thanks to my deckmaster, this monster went from seven stars to four, so here's my Black Tyranno (2600/1800)!"
Gilasaurus tilted back its head and unleashed a strange cry that sounded much like a screech with several short yelps. The call was answered by heavy footsteps that caused the ground to shake. Several trees of to the side of the arena were bent aside as a Tyrannosaurus Rex covered in black scales and red scars smashed its way through. It stopped in front of Rex and began to take in its surroundings.
"And let's not forget that my field spell gives all dinos a boost of 300 attack and defense points," Rex pointed out.
Black Tyranno (2900/2100) roared triumphantly as it glared down at Kaiba's machine with a hungry look in its eyes…
"Black Tyrrano, it's lunch time!" Rex bellowed. "Tear open his tin can with Jurassic bite!"
The Dinosaur charged forward and brought its head down low. Several members of the audience let out calls of approval as Rex's monster proceeded to bite the top half from Kaiba's machine, scattering wires, sparks, and circuits in every direction. Kaiba didn't even flinch as what remained of the XYZ Dragon Cannon exploded right in front of him, searing him with hot air and leaving a smoking crater on the ground.
Kaiba: 9200
Rex: 5200
"Okay, that's all I want for this turn," Rex said, pointing to Kaiba. "Go ahead."
Kaiba drew his card and then held up the one that had remained in his hand after his last turn.
"I activate Card of Demise, letting me draw five cards now on the condition that I discard them all in five turns," Kaiba announced.
As he drew five cards, a whistling sound came from over Kaiba's head. He looked up just in time to see a boulder at least half his height stop about five feet over his head as it became entangled in the vines that hung from the trees around the field. He took another card from his hand and set it into his disk with a half-concerned, half-amused look at the boulder.
"I'll admit, the boulder is new, but that's important now," Kaiba observed. "I activate Emergency Provisions, letting me destroy my useless Soul Absorption to gain 1000 life points right now."
A small dinosaur, roughly the size of a chicken, covered in green scales poked its head out from behind a bush. It sprinted forward toward the ball of fire on Kaiba's field, and let out a curious chirp. The fire faded, leaving a large chunk of roasted meat which fell to the ground in front of the dino. It chirped happily, and immediately began to chow down on the gift, swallowing chunks that were almost the size of its head. In roughly thirty seconds it had eaten the entire thing, and it ran off back into the forest, leaving a cloud of sparkling dust which floated over Kaiba.
"Well, that's new too," Kaiba commented. "Note to self: give a large bonus to whoever programmed this field spell."
"Are you going to finish your move or admire your holograms all day?" Rex asked, stretching his arms. "I'm getting stiff over here you know."
Ignoring Rex, Kaiba took another card from his hand and set it onto his disk. In front of him appeared a facedown monster, and he sighed as he waved one hand.
"That's all, your move," Kaiba declared.
Above his hand, one of the vines holding the boulder snapped. Only four were left, causing the rock to shift down a bit in its containment.
Kaiba: 10200
Rex: 5200
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"Has Kaiba flipped?" Brian asked, staring at the field. "Doesn't he know what that Black Tyranno does?"
"I don't know what it does," Kevin said, looking confused. "What does it do?"
"There's an old saying around that monster," Espa explained as he pointed at it. "It goes 'When offense monsters you be lacking, Black Tyranno comes attacking...'"
"That doesn't sound so…" Kevin began.
"…Directly," Espa finished.
"Oh…" Kevin realized.
"Maybe Kaiba has lost it," Ronaldo nodded. "Or perhaps he has a strategy in mind. Maybe he desires to protect that facedown monster for some reason."
"Tribute bait," Celeste blurted out. "He doesn't want it destroyed, he wants to tribute it for something."
"Guess we'll find out soon enough," Brian said, his eyes on Rex as he drew.
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Rex was laughing as he drew his card, and he pointed directly at Kaiba with a twisted grin on his face.
"Do you have any idea how dumb that was?" he questioned. "Or didn't you know that when you only have defense position monsters on the field, my Black Tyranno can make a direct attack?"
Kaiba didn't answer. He just gave both Rex and his monster a cold glare. Rex's laughter caught in his throat, and he gritted his teeth together as he pointed at his opponent.
"I don't like that look Kaiba, you should look more scared," Rex warned.
"I never get scared," Kaiba said simply. "Why, are you afraid that you can't beat me? You're right you know…"
"Shut up!" Rex shouted.
"You were lucky to get this far…" Kaiba began.
"Black Tyranno, make him shut up!" Rex shouted, pointing at Kaiba. "Jurassic bite!"
Black Tyranno roared and began to charge forward, forcing Roland (Who had lowered to the ground with his column) to his knees as the ground beneath him shook.
"If Kaiba was trying to psyche Rex out, I'd say it backfired big time!" Roland shouted, bracing himself against the ground. "For once, I'm glad that I'm not Kaiba!"
Kaiba took a step back, a grimace on his face as the giant dinosaur brought its jaws down on him and picked him up in its huge maw! Rex let out a roar of his own as his monster picked Kaiba up, still hanging half out of his mouth, and shook its head back and forth a few times before spitting the young CEO back down to the forest floor. Kaiba landed in a crumpled heap, covered with dino-slobber with a thoroughly angered look on his face as he got back up.
Just as he found his footing again, Kaiba winced as he felt his feet and ankles turn to solid rock as his life points fell below eight-thousand once again
Kaiba: 7300
Rex: 5200
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"Whoa, that was awesome!" Joey cheered, laughing as he watched Kaiba hit the ground. "Do it again Raptor!"
"Joey, calm down," Serenity pleaded as she uncovered her own eyes. "I don't I think I wanted see that at all, let alone again."
Joey blushed a bit and nodded to his sister.
"Yeah, sorry about that Serenity," Joey apologized.
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"Alright! That was a great shot Rex!" Mary cheered from the audience.
"So, Mary…Uh…You dueled Rex today, right?" Gold asked.
"Yeah," Mary responded, nodding to her father.
"That's all, right. He didn't…" Gold began.
"Dad!" Mary shouted, looking scandalized.
"Don't forget Julius, I'm the one with custody," Ruby reminded her ex-husband. "But seriously Mary, all you two did was duel, right?"
"Mom, not you too!" Mary gasped, a shocked look painting her expression.
Zeffie, watching all this, tilted her head in a confused manner.
"Grown ups are weird," she thought.
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Rex was laughing triumphantly as his monster returned to him, still licking its chops after biting down on Kaiba.
"Still think I'm afraid?" Rex challenged. "Nothing scares me!"
"We'll see about that, are you done?" Kaiba queried.
Rex just nodded his head, and Kaiba drew his card.
"Now then, I'll tribute my facedown Saggi the Dark Clown (600/1500)," Kaiba intoned.
Kaiba's facedown card transformed into a clown in loud clothing with white make-up spread across its face. It laughed insanely as it faded away, and Kaiba's deckmaster began to pulse with yellow light.
"Now, thanks to my deckmaster, I can summon any creatures of light I choose for one less sacrifice than I usually need," Kaiba explained, slapping down another card. "So come forth my Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!"
"WHAT!" Rex shouted, his eyes going wide.
A roar echoed through the jungle, and from behind the tree that Kaiba stood before burst the glorious, silver dragon. It landed before Kaiba, growling at the opposing monster with a glare of hatred in its cobalt eyes.
"You wanted me to attack directly!" Rex realized.
"Oh, did you figure that out yourself?" Kaiba taunted. "Let me remind you that you aren't worth my time. I'm finishing this duel as fast as possible. Blue-Eyes, white lightning attack!"
The dragon reared back its head, charging energy between its massive jaws. Rex and his monster both took a step backwards, fear showing in their eyes. The head of the dragon snapped forward, unleashing its payload of surging power which struck Black Tyranno right in the chest. The dino roared in pain as it was blasted into fragments of scale and bone in an instant, all of which faded from the field along with a bit more feeling from Rex's legs as the stone curse worked its way up his body.
Kaiba: 7300
Rex: 5100
"It's your turn…" Kaiba grinned as another of the vines above him snapped, leaving three to support the boulder.
Rex felt his whole body tremble as he drew, almost dropping his cards in the process.
"One monster facedown…" Rex stammered out, sliding a card onto his tray. "That's all I can do."
In front of Rex appeared the hidden monster, and Kaiba drew his card. Blue-Eyes cast its gaze on the hidden monster, looking almost insulted at the idea of it standing in its way.
"Blue-Eyes, decimate his pathetic monster with white lightning!" Kaiba commanded.
The dragon didn't hesitate for a second. It charged up its breath weapon and fired it off within the span of fifteen seconds, revealing a small dinosaur covered with blue scales and green stripes. The terrified dino huddled down with its tail between its legs just before the blast of energy struck home and wiped away any sign of its existence.
"Trakodon (1600/1100)? If that's the best you can do then your monsters won't last long enough to become fossils," Kaiba teased. "But go ahead and make your move…"
The third of the vines snapped away, causing the boulder to drop that much closer to Kaiba's head. He didn't pay any attention to the giant rock though, he only watched with an amused look as Rex drew his newest card.
"I'm not out of this yet, but your dragon has had it!" Rex called out, holding up the card he had just drawn. "I activate Smashing Ground, destroying the monster on your field that has the highest defense!"
Kaiba's eyes went wide as the ground began to tremble. Blue-Eyes roared as the clouds overhead parted, and from them burst a massive meteorite which crashed into the creature. It roared in pain as the heat of the falling stone began to scorch its scales, and the dragon shattered to pieces.
"And Rex takes out one of Kaiba's strongest monsters! Unbelievable!" Roland gasped, the audience calling out their approvals and detractions in response.
"I'm not done. I summon Sabersaurus (1900/500)," Rex announced, holding up another card.
The ground shook once more, and several of the trees gyrated as a red triceratops with steel horns, sharpened into blades, trampled its way to Rex's side. It stopped where it was, and knelt down to munch on the grass that had grown from the ground, looking very pleased with the battle arena (2200/800).
"Attack Kaiba's life points directly with saber charge!" Rex roared.
The dinosaur let out a bellow of rage, dropping its mouthful of grass, and charged straight ahead, lowering its head as it did so. Kaiba gasped as he was lifted up on the horns of the monster, the protrusions piercing through his skin and clothes before the creature shook its head and tossed him back to the floor. Kaiba got back to his feet with a grimace as he felt more of his body transform into rock.
Kaiba: 5100
Rex: 5100
"Take your turn Kaiba, you won't beat me that easily!" Rex laughed.
Kaiba drew, not paying attention to Rex's taunt, and slid a card onto his disk. A monster appeared facedown in front of him.
"One facedown monster, and I'll lay three cards facedown," Kaiba decided as three more cards appeared behind his first one. "That's it."
Above him, the boulder sank even further, now held by only a single vine. Rex smiled as it swayed dangerously close to his opponent's head.
"Feeling the pressure Kaiba? I'm about to press it down even harder," Rex threatened. "I summon Hyper Hammerhead (1500/1200)!"
The ground split apart, and from the crack burst a yellow dinosaur with a long tail. It spun around showing off its head which, as the name suggested, was shaped much like a hammer. The dino let out a strange barking noise as it took in its surroundings (1800/1500).
"Now then, down to business. You probably just want to save those facedown cards so you won't lose them to your Card of Demise," Rex reasoned, jabbing a finger toward Kaiba's facedown monster. "I bet they'll never stop my attack. Sabersaurus, go!"
The red dino stomped its feet on the ground, preparing to charge, when Kaiba's facedown monster turned itself over. A golden oil lamp on four thin legs rose up from the card, shimmering with a strange light.
"Allow me to present my Ancient Lamp (900/1400)," Kaiba introduced. "It takes the attack of your monster and redirects it to any other target I choose…Even if it's one of your cards. Sabersaurus, obey my commands and attack Hyper Hammerhead!"
Sabersaurus growled and spun ninety-degrees toward the monster next to it. Hyper Hammerhead gave a cry of surprise as his former comrade suddenly charged right at him and speared him upon the horn protruding from his nose. Hyper Hammerhead gave a weak cry and shattered to bits, Rex sneering as he saw this.
"Fine, my monster's effect only bounces enemies so Sabersaurus stays put," Rex declared, his monster shaking its head and looking around with a confused expression. "I'll lay this card facedown and that'll end my turn."
Kaiba drew, the vine overhead giving a warning creak as he looked over his hand.
"I tribute my Ancient Lamp now, to summon Luster Dragon #2 (2400/1400)," Kaiba spoke out as he switched the card on his disk for one from his hand.
The lamp faded away, replaced by a massive sharp of pure emerald. The crystal cracked, and then shattered to bits releasing a dragon that stood almost as tall as the Blue-Eyes had. This one was covered with glittering green scales and chunks of emerald adhered to its legs.
"Now my dragon, attack his monster with emerald flames!" Kaiba barked.
The dragon obeyed, opening its mouth and releasing a torrent of green fire. The flames washed over Sabersaurus, which roared in anguish as it vanished into smoke and ash. Rex pointed to his facedown card, and it flipped over to reveal the image of a jungle in the midst of a massive earthquake.
"Nice move, by destroying my monster you set off my Seismic Shockwave trap card," Rex grinned.
The ground began to shake once more, rolling violently underneath the feet of the duelists. Roland struggled to stay upright as trees around them began to buckle and fall under the stress. Two large holes opened up on Kaiba's field, one on either side of his facedown cards, while next to Rex a crack appeared in the ground and began to grow wider.
"This trap is a little complicated, so let me explain," Rex offered, "It activates when you destroy a Dinosaur of mine. Then it renders up to three of your spell and trap zones unusable for three turns. After that, you get your spell and trap zones back, and I get a Dinosaur from my graveyard to come back to my hand."
"Like I care," Kaiba responded, waving one arm. "I end my turn…"
"And thanks to your spell, you lose your hand!" Rex cheered.
The final vine snapped, releasing its payload. Kaiba let out a shout of pain and surprise as the boulder slammed down on him and sent his last three cards scattering in every direction. Rex watched in interest as Kaiba's Gadget Soldier, his second Blue-Eyes, and Flute of Summoning Dragons floated away into their master's grave. The rock faded away, and Kaiba picked himself up, dusting off his jacket as he did so.
Rex just smirked as he drew his card. Next to him, the hole widened a bit as the ground trembled with an aftershock from the first quake.
"Let's see…Well this works," he said with a condescending tone. "I summon my Dark Driceratops (2400/1500)!"
A screech rang out, and from above fell the massive bird-dinosaur hybrid. It flapped its feathery wings and clicked its beak in an angered manner as the jungle around it boosted its strength to (2700/1800).
"Now my fine feathered friend, attack his dragon with…" Rex began.
"I hate to interrupt, but no," Kaiba argued, tapping his disk. "I activate Zero Gravity, forcing all monsters on the field to change their battle positions right now!"
The trap lifted, and a pulse of green energy flew outward. Both monsters on the field were flung into the air with roars of surprise. They attempted to right themselves using their wings, and just managed to get themselves upright as the natural laws of physics reinstated themselves and both monsters landed in defense mode with a pair of heavy crashes.
"Shoot…I set one card facedown and end my turn," Rex grumbled, another card appearing before him.
"Very well," Kaiba said as he drew. "I'll start this turn with my facedown Pot of Greed."
The second of Kaiba's cards flipped over, revealing the giggling pottery. It smashed into pieces as Kaiba took his extra draws, bringing his hand to three cards.
"Now I summon my Luster Dragon (1900/1600) in attack mode," Kaiba went on, a blue shard of rock bursting from the jungle floor.
The rock fell away, leaving behind a dragon much smaller than Luster Dragon #2. It looked toward its older counterpart and let out a friendly growl as Kaiba turned a card on his duel tray.
"Next I'll move Luster Dragon #2 back to attack mode," Kaiba continued as the green dragon rose back to his full height and spread his wings. "And then I activate my final facedown card: Dragon's Rage!"
The last of the cards Kaiba had placed down lifted up, and the eyes of both his dragons began to glow red. The Luster Dragon pair let out angered roars toward Rex, who braced himself against a wave of noise and dragon breath.
"This trap grants all Dragon monsters the power to damage your life points even if they battle a monster that's in defense mode," Kaiba explained. "And that's what's about to happen! Luster Dragon #2, emerald flame attack!"
The larger of the two dragons released a monstrous gout of green fire from its maw. Dark Driceratops screeched in pain as the flames struck it and it vanished into a burst of digital input. Rex cried out as the remainder of the flames splashed over him, turning more of his body to solid granite.
"Luster Dragon, sapphire fire burst!" Kaiba ordered with a grin.
The smaller dragon opened its mouth to fire off its blue flames…
"Guess again shrimp! I activate Fossil Excavation!" Rex shouted at the dragon, his own facedown card turning over for a change.
From the trap emerged four clay dolls, each one a different color (green, yellow, red, and blue). Each one wore a helmet and carried a pick axe which they hefted over their shoulders. The red doll looked over to Rex, who took the last card from his hand and moved it into his graveyard. The red figure then waved one hand forward, and all four began to dig into the ground, vanishing into a large hole in only minutes.
"With this trap, I need to give up one card from my hand," Rex instructed. "But it's worth it to bring back a Dinosaur from my graveyard…"
A roar echoed from down in the hole, followed by a series of loud crunching noises.
"Rise again my Black Tyranno (2600/1800)!" Rex called out.
The ground trembled, forcing Luster Dragon to back away as from the hole burst the pitch-black carnivore. It let out a terrible growl, bits of red, yellow, green, and blue clay raining from between its teeth as the magic of Jurassic World came over it (2900/2100).
"Black Tyranno is back folks!" Roland announced, taking a step away from the still hungry dino. "I would not want to be in his way!"
"That's all for my turn…" Kaiba grimaced.
Kaiba: 5100
Rex: 4500
Rex picked up his card, the hole growing wider as he did so. A muffled snarl could be heard from the hole, and Rex looked to it with a satisfied smirk.
"Just one more turn, till then it's dino-feeding time!" Rex shouted. "Black Tyranno, eat up his Luster Dragon!"
The massive meat-eater charged forward and scooped up the blue-scaled dragon in its jaws. It brought its teeth together with a loud crunch, and Luster Dragon vanished in an instant. Kaiba winced as he watched what remained of his legs turn to stone, stopping just below his waist.
"That's all from me, go on," Rex commanded, pointing at Kaiba.
Kaiba: 4100
Rex: 4500
Kaiba scowled at his bossy opponent, but drew his card. He gave a grumble of frustration before turning the monster on his disk once again. Luster Dragon #2 crouched low to the ground, bringing its wings in closer to its body.
"I move my dragon to defense mode, and set one more monster facedown," Kaiba declared, a brown card appearing alongside the dragon. "That's all I can do."
"Great, then here comes my dino!" Rex shouted in jubilation.
The hole next to Rex grew wider still as he drew his card. From the hole emerged another card which floated into the duelist's hand. He smiled as he immediately slapped the card onto his disk, and Dark Driceratops (2400/1500) burst forth from the hole. The opening slammed itself shut, as did the holes in Kaiba's spell and trap zone. Dark Driceratops and Black Tyranno looked at one another and nodded as the former adjusted its attack score (2700/1800).
"Time to go prehistoric on your life points," Rex announced. "Black Tyranno, get his dragon with Jurassic bite!"
The carnivore roared once more and charged forward, grabbing the emerald dragon's neck between its jaws. The audience screamed as the dino brought its teeth together, separating the poor beast's head from its body before both parts vanished.
"And I shouldn't need to remind you that Dark Driceratops can do the same thing your dragons do when Dragon's Rage is on the field," Rex taunted. "Attack his facedown monster with opteryx assault!"
The winged giant leapt into the air and hovered on its feathery limbs until it was directly over the facedown monster. From under the card peeked a clown in bright clothes and a feathered hat, which let out a nervous gulp as two tons of Triassic terror plunged down on top of it. The dino landed right on top of the unfortunate clown, which laughed weakly as its hat flew into the air as it burst apart.
"When Peten the Dark Clown (500/1200) goes to the graveyard, I can remove him from play to summon another to the field," Kaiba elucidated, taking the card and putting it into his pocket.
From the hat that had been blown aside sprouted the clown again, laughing as he landed on the field in a crouching position. Dark Driceratops lumbered back to his controller, and Rex smiled as he watched more of Kaiba's body turn to stone.
"You're just giving me more targets, Kaiba," Rex pointed out. "Just be glad that Fossil Excavation erases the effects of my Black Tyanno, or I could have just blown away your Dragon's Rage and gone in directly."
Kaiba: 2600
Rex: 4500
"Go on," Rex challenged.
Kaiba added his third card to his hand. A victorious look appeared in his eyes as he placed the card into his disk.
"I activate Soul Exchange, letting me tribute one of your monsters in place of one of mine!" He called out. "And thanks to my deckmaster one is all I need. I summon none other than my final Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) by using your Black Tyranno!"
Rex gasped and stumbled back as a vortex of silver light flew around his monster. Kaiser Sea Horse tapped his spear on the ground, and Black Tyranno gave one last roar before disappearing. On Kaiba's field, the silver light gathered and intensified into the form of his giant dragon, roaring its victory cry to the heavens.
"Fortunately for you, I can't attack this turn due to my spell," Kaiba smiled. "You have one turn before my dragon tramples all over you. Use it wisely…"
"Oh crud…" Rex fretted to himself as he drew his card.
"I…Shift my Dark Driceratops to defense mode…" Rex stammered out, his feathery monster falling closer to the ground and folding its wings. "That's all from me…"
Kaiba chuckled as he drew his card, a look of malice in his eyes now.
"You panicked Raptor. You forgot all about the card I have on the field," Kaiba taunted.
"What are you…" Rex started to ask, before noticing the trap in front of Kaiba. "Oh no…Your Dragon's Rage!"
"That's right, it's still in play," Kaiba shouted. "Now to shut you down! I summon La Jinn, the Mystical Genie of the Lamp (1800/1000)!"
A cloud of green smoke rose up next to Kaiba, transforming into the evil genie floating on his cloudy legs. He chortled as he turned his gaze upon Rex, who stumbled back in fear.
"And next, I'll switch Peten the Dark Clown to attack mode," Kaiba went on, the clown standing up and taking a dramatic bow to the cheering audience. "Now my Blue-Eyes, destroy his dinosaur with white lightning!"
The dragon opened up its mouth, releasing its devastating beam of energy which plowed clean through Dark Driceratops and into Rex! The young man screamed as the pain splashed over his body, deadening greatly as more of his form turned to solid rock.
"At least turning into a fossil means I don't feel the blows as hard…" Rex realized as Kaiba's other monster moved in.
"La Jinn, attack with disastrous desires!" Kaiba went on.
The genie nodded and pointed at Rex, a spark of energy flying from his finger tip. Rex stumbled back, the stone curse affecting the area up to his chest now, rubbing at his stomach as though he'd been struck by a bullet.
"Peten, macabre humor!" Kaiba finished.
The clown spun around with a laugh, vanishing into thin air. He reappeared behind Rex, clutching a dagger in his hand, and smiled as he drove the blade into his target's back. Much to Peten and Rex's surprise though, the blade snapped in half and clattered the ground. Curious, Rex ran a hand across the small of his back and shuddered as he felt nothing but cold stone. He shuddered even more as he felt his shoulders begin to stiffen up.
"That's all that I'll do for now," Kaiba broadcasted. "Next turn, it's over."
Kaiba: 2600
Rex: 1000
Rex drew his card, grunting as he struggled with his rocky joints. He managed to slide the card into his disk, and breathed a sigh of relief as it appeared facedown.
"One facedown card, that's all," Rex said decisively.
"Looks like it's all over for Rex," Roland observed, pointing toward Kaiba. "He's completely at Kaiba's mercy!"
Many members of the audience simultaneously thought, "He's doomed."
Kaiba drew his card with a maniacal grin. He looked at the spell in his hand, then toward Rex's facedown card.
"Hmm…While I doubt an amateur like you could have a card in his hand that could threaten me, I'd rather not take chances," Kaiba said. "I activate Confiscation, paying 1000 life points to look at your hand and make you discard one card."
Next to Rex appeared a soldier in full battle armor. He roughly grabbed Rex by the wrist and turned his hand so that Kaiba could see the cards. They were Raise Body Heat, Ultra Evolution Pill, A second Jurassic World, and Ultimate Tyranno.
"Well this is an obvious choice," Kaiba shrugged. "Drop your Ultimate Tyranno, now."
The soldier grabbed the card from Rex's hand and shoved it into his graveyard. He then released the duelist and faded away as Kaiba's life points took a short dip.
"Now my Blue-Eyes, finish him!" Kaiba commanded.
The dragon unleashed its roar again and leaned back, snapping its neck forward to release its devastating payload. The audience gasped as the attack closed in…
Rex smirked, tapping his disk and moving his hand next to his graveyard…
The energy blast struck Rex full-on, and the sound of his life point counter adjusting could barely be heard over the roar of the audience.
"And this duel is done!" Roland shouted.
"Wrong again Roland!" Rex's voice called out as the energy from the dragon faded.
Rex was still standing, smiling as he shoved a thin stack of cards into his pocket. His body had actually become less statue-like, and his life point counter displayed LP 2400. On his field had risen a trap card with the image of several dinosaurs taking shelter as fire rained from above.
"I set off my Survival Instinct trap card, which lets me remove as many Dinosaurs from my graveyard as I want and gain 400 life points for each one," Rex explained to the open-mouth Kaiba. "And thanks to your Confiscation card, that's eleven. So I removed them all for 4400 extra points."
"And a lucky turn of events keeps Rex Raptor in the game!" Roland gasped. "Will his luck holdout long enough for a victory?"
Kaiba gritted his teeth together and pointed at Rex.
"Peten! La Jinn! Attack!" he barked.
The genie and the clown both waved their hands, sending a wave of dark energy toward Rex. He stumbled back as the shadowy blast washed over him, and his body petrified further than it had before. Soon he was only capable of moving his arms and face, and with quite a bit of difficulty at that. Still, he summoned the strength to smirk at Kaiba.
Kaiba: 1600
Rex: 100
Kaiba cleared his throat and slid his last card into his disk, attempting to recover his composure.
"End turn," he stated simply.
Rex drew with much more groaning than last time, but a smile stayed stuck to his lips as he saw his new card.
"Okay, now I'm gonna smash you with a monster that's even stronger than your dragon," Rex threatened.
"Oh, I'm shaking. Bring it if you can Raptor," Kaiba challenged.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," Rex growled as he managed to drop the monster into place on his tray. "I summon Tyranno Infinity (?/0)!"
The ground rocked violently as from the trees burst yet another T-Rex. This one sported horns on the top of its head for some reason, along with scales that shimmered with an iridescent hue. Several blue fireballs floated up around it, slowly fading into its body as it leered down at Kaiba's monsters.
"Now then, for every Dinosaur-type monster that I've removed from the game, this bad boy gets 1000 attack points," Rex declared. "And in addition to the eleven I just removed, I lost one at the start of the game thanks to my deckmaster. That's twelve in all, plus my field spell…"
Up in the audience, Kevin choked as he gulped in fear. Kaiba's eyes went wide as Tyranno Infinity released a powerful bellow that blew the tree behind Kaiba into a pile of splinters! (12300/300)
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"What is that thing's attack score?" Victor shouted, staring at the screen.
"It's over TWELVE-THOUSAND!" Tim shouted, clenching a fist.
"Didn't you already use that joke?" Yugi asked.
"Yeah, but I'm running out of material," Tim admitted.
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Ronaldo was thumping Kevin on the back as he coughed, while the other three stared at rex's monster.
"That thing…Is almost twice as strong as my Great Maju Garzett was when I beat you, Celeste," Brian choked out.
"Yeah…Rex just smashed your record," Celeste nodded.
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"No way can Kaiba get out of that," Joey said, shaking his head. "That thing could beat an Egyptian God Monster!"
"Looks like it won't have to," John pointed out.
"Well, I didn't see this coming," Bakura stated.
"That makes two of us…" the ring spirit chimed in.
"Weren't you asleep?" Bakura wondered, turning his thoughts towards his mind's unwelcome guest.
"Could you sleep through this racket?" challenged the dark soul. "Besides, this is getting interesting."
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Back on the field, Rex was breathing hard due to sheer excitement and the fact that it was tiring holding up his rocky body.
"Tyranno Infinity…Attack his dragon with unending rage!" Rex managed to cry out.
The dinosaur unleashed another bellow, this one filled with the anger of its fallen comrades. The onslaught of prehistoric power rippled the air as it sailed toward Kaiba's monster, only to be stopped cold by an invisible barrier that flew up around Kaiba's field.
"If one Negate Attack helps, then why shouldn't two?" Kaiba asked as he held up the trap. "That's one attack that won't finish me."
"End turn…" Rex wheezed out.
Kaiba drew, now beginning to feel the pull of his own stiffened body, and he reluctantly shifted all three of the monsters on his disk. La Jinn crossed his arms in front of himself, as did Peten. Blue-Eyes fell to all fours and brought down its wings with a low snarl.
"I move all my monsters to defense mode. End turn," Kaiba grimaced.
Rex drew once again, and placed the card onto his disk.
"I summon Two-Headed King Rex (1600/1200)," Rex stated, placing the card down.
Next to his Tyranno Infinity rose the giant purple dinosaur, with two heads and a pair of leathery wings. Both heads nodded to the stronger dino on the field, even as the power of Jurassic World coursed through its veins (1900/1500).
"Tyranno Infinity, get the Blue-Eyes…" Rex gasped. "King Rex, destroy La Jinn!"
The horned rex unleashed its roar again, the waves of sound from its voice ripping Kaiba's favorite dragon to pieces and scattering them across the field. Two-Headed King Rex lunged forward grabbing La Jinn in one of its mouths and swallowing the genie whole.
"That's all…" Rex said, stopping to catch his breath again.
Kaiba drew his card, and set it into his disk with a half-hearted smirk.
"This card facedown, and that's all," he announced. "Come and get me."
As Rex drew, he looked at the facedown card with an angered glare.
"Must be his Crush Card Virus. It's the only thing that could save him now," Rex thought to himself. "And if he thinks that I'm dumb enough to attack then he has another thing…"
"I activate Crush Card Virus!" Kaiba shouted, jamming his finger on the disk's button and turning the facedown card over to reveal a filthy red spore on it.
"What!" Rex shouted, breathlessly. "But how…I didn't attack!"
"You didn't need to Rex. In the last few months, Pegasus released a new version of the Crush Card, one that let's me sacrifice a monster to use it instead of waiting for you to attack," Kaiba smiled. "The good news is, it only affects monsters on the field and in your hand, and your next three draws, so your deck is safe. The bad news is that all monsters on your field are vulnerable to it right now, so I use Peten as the carrier!"
Peten nodded and took a deep breath. He blew into his thumb, and his body slowly began to inflate like a balloon. He bloated up bigger and bigger, until he finally burst into a cloud of red particles which spread across the field. Both of Rex's dinosaurs fell over within seconds, gasping as they succumbed to the vicious plague and shattering to pixels as they did. Kaiba removed the Peten he had just lost from his graveyard, and the third Peten rose fell from above and landed in a perfect handstand before moving down into a defensive crouch (500/1200).
At the same time, the cloud of viruses floated over Rex's hand, reducing the Granadora he had just drawn into a puddle of slime that slithered into his graveyard. The audience was going nuts as Rex stared blankly at the useless spells that made up his hand.
"Mr. Raptor, it's still your turn…" Roland called out over the audience's cheers.
Rex remained silent, and Roland nodded.
"I'm taking his silence as a sign that he passes the remainder of his turn, so feel free to make your move Mr. Kaiba," Roland judged.
Rex looked up weakly as Kaiba drew his card and gave it a smirk.
"Well, I could just move Peten to attack mode and finish you, but I have a better idea," Kaiba decided, holding up the spell he had drawn. "You seemed to think it would be fun to finish me with a high powered monster, so I'll let you lose to one. I activate Dragon's Mirror!"
A shiny mirror with a framework that looked like a curled up dragon appeared next to Kaiba, who removed three cards from his graveyard.
"Using this spell, I can summon any Dragon-type fusion monster by removing the components from my graveyard," Kaiba explained, turning the cards around. "Guess what I'm summoning…"
Rex let out a frightened squeak as he saw Kaiba's three Blue-Eyes White Dragon vanish into the mirror. The reflective surface began to crack as a silver portal opened overhead. The mirror shattered apart, and from the portal burst a massive dragon, covered in silver scales, with three terrible heads, all of which had their gaze on Rex.
"Behold my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800)!" Kaiba shouted. "Now you disappear! Neutron blast!"
All three heads of the massive beast released a burst of pure power. Rex's shoulders slumped in defeat as he turned his gaze down and away from his inevitable loss.
The attack washed over Rex, much to the delight of the spectators. The trees and grass of Jurassic World were burnt away, leaving a statue of Rex standing in the midst of a scorched wasteland.
"Guess we know how the dinos went extinct now! Seto Kaiba wins!" Roland shouted as his employer's body reverted to normal.
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Rei's computer screen suddenly began to flash with another red warning light, and her fingers flew over the keyboard.
"No…Not again…" She moaned, struggling to find what had gone wrong.
"What's wrong now?" Mokuba shouted.
"It's the safety mechanism again…It shut down just as the duel was ending and the alarms didn't catch it until just now!" Rei called back frantically. "This worse than Noah's…Rex is going into shock, we need to eject him now!"
Striking a series of keystrokes, Rei crossed her fingers as the Rex statue faded away. She got to her feet, along with Mokuba who had his gaze on her.
"For your own sake, and Rex's, he'd better be okay…" Mokuba warned as they ran from the control room.
Watching them leave, Sota turned to his own computer as Kaiba vanished from the big screen.
"What is up with the system, it shouldn't malfunction like this," he wondered. "We ran at least a thousand tests without one glitch, and now everything seems to go to Hell in a hand basket?"
"It's weird…I wonder though..." Jackson said, rubbing his chin. "Both times this happened; it was during one of Mr. Kaiba's duels…"
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In the chamber within the Domino City Kaiba Dome in Kaibaland, Rei and Mokuba entered to find an employee tending to Rex who was on the floor next to the virtual pod as he coughed and gasped for breath.
"Ugh…What…" Rex moaned weakly.
"Don't try to talk," the employee warned. "Help is on the way, just take deep breaths…"
Mokuba glared at Rei, who was shaking with fear for, not only Rex, but her career.
"I swear sir, this will not happen to your brother…" she started.
"Rei, it's normally Kaiba Corp policy to have no tolerance for mistakes," Mokuba warned. "But all the warnings so far seemed to go off too late for anything to be done. I'm going to give you one last chance: For the rest of the finals, you yourself are to watch for any sign that the system is anything less than one-hundred percent safe."
"Yes…Yes sir," Rei stammered as two emergency medical technicians ran into the room with a stretcher.
Both Mokuba and Rei watched as Rex was loaded onto the stretcher and carried out of the room.
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In the Virtual Arena, Mary looked around with a slightly disappointed sigh.
"I was kind of hoping Rex would land here…" she thought.
The quarter-finals are finally over!
Now onto the semi-finals!
Only four duelists remain, and only one will come out on top!
And next time, it's a battle of family honor as Tim takes on Yugi.
Will he succeed where his brother failed?
Find out in
Overheat
Be there, or else!
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Original Deckmaster
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Gilasaurus
Dinosaur
EARTH
Three star
1400 attack
400 defense
Rapid Evolution: At the start of the duel, look at the top of card of your deck. If it is a spell, trap, or any monster other than a Dinosaur-type, place it on the bottom of your deck. If it is a Dinosaur-type monster, remove it from the game. For the remainder of the duel, all Dinosaur-type monsters in your deck, hand, and on your field have their star level lowered by an amount equal to the star level of the removed monster (To a minimum of 1).