Since the next day was Sunday, Yugi, Joey, T a, Tristan, Duke, Melody, and Taro were hanging around the game shop, Yugi digging through the Kame Game Shop's large collection of cards, seeing what they could use for T a's Deck. Remembering some of the things she had used before, T a gathered up also new cards with the help of her friends.
Taro scratched his head at one card he had pulled from the pile. "Blade Skater? Hey, I remember this! This card can make a Fusion with Etoile Cyber! Yuge, you said you gave that to T a last night, right?"
"Yeah! Good thinking, Taro!" Yugi grinned, handing Blade Skater to T a. "Here you go!"
"Thank you, Yugi." T a smiled.
Duke was able to find one good card and said "Hey, this one could be good! Fusion Recovery, to work with that!"
Melody giggled as she held up Cyber Blader's card. "I got Cyber Blader right here!"
"Hey, Mel... what Level IS Cyber Blader? I got Fusion Weapon here, but it's gotta be Level 6 or lower Fusion Monsters that it works for..." Joey blinked.
"It's Level 6, Joey. So that should work too." Taro added.
After more rummaging, Tristan took another card and said "Double Passe. That could work too! OK, how much more?"
"Almost done..." Yugi grinned, whipping T a's Deck, after grabbing some of the cards everyone suggested, remembering some contents T a had used before, then the new additions, Yugi then slamming the Deck down. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a completed Deck!"
T a smiled. "Wonderful! Now all I need is a Duel Disk to use!"
"You can borrow mine, so we can see how this Deck works! But, um... who is gonna get to Duel T a?" Taro smiled, then blinked.
"I'll do it. I already said I'd do it, so I'm gonna do it." Yugi smiled, standing up.
"Yugi..."
"You don't mind, do you?"
T a smiled, taking her Deck and nodding. "Alright. Let's get that all set up." 'Oh, great... Dueling Yugi... I'm screwed... I can just tell!'
Once outside, Joey, Taro, Duke, Tristan, and Melody were all sitting down, as Duke said "Can you guys say utter mismatch? Yugi's the friggin' Duel King, and not to mention, the one who beat all 3 God Cards and T a... well..."
Melody looked at Duke and huffed. "Duke-kun, how can you say that about T a-chan!? She'll do just fine! After all, I did alright in my first Duel with Taro!"
Taro nodded. "Yeah, and Yugi's, like, better than me to the tenth power, so T a should do well... as long as she remembers the rules and such."
T a looked over and said "Hey, Taro, I've seen Yugi and Joey do this a thousand times or so. I can handle it. Yugi! You ready?"
"Yeah!" Yugi smiled, both he and T a getting their Duel Disks into the ready positions, both smiling as they said "Duel!"
Yugi LP - 4000 T a LP - 4000
Both Duelists drew their first five cards, as T a smiled. "You know what they say. Ladies first! Draw!" Looking over her hand, T a had to think of the best method of attack. Taking one card from her hand, T a smiled and said "I play Spirit of the Breeze in Defense Mode!"
Appearing in a gust of wind, kneeling down, was a beautiful elven-esque girl with light green skin, a light yellow dress, light blue hair, as well as similiar colored lips, and two small wings, her arms crossed over her body, her eyes closed as she smiled.
SPIRIT OF THE BREEZE Wind/Angel/3/0 ATK/1800 DEF Effect: As long as this card remains on the Field in face-up Attack Mode, you gain 1000 Life Points during each of your Standby Phases.
"Next, I'll set a card face-down. Turn end!" T a smiled.
"My turn! Draw!" Drawing his next card, Yugi looked at the six cards in his hand. "I'll start by playing the Magic Card, Brain Control! At the cost of 800 Life Points..." Yugi smiled softly, his Life Point counter rolling from 4000 to 3200. "I can take control of 1 face-up Monster on my opponent's side of the Field! So that means I get control of Spirit of the Breeze!"
In a flash of light, Spirit of the Breeze appeared on Yugi's side of the Field. T a smiled and said "It's not that simple, even if you do plan to Sacrifice for another Monster! Trap Card, activate! Hallowed Life Barrier!"
HALLOWED LIFE BARRIER Normal Trap Card Effect: Discard 1 card from your hand. During this turn, any damage you take from your opponent becomes 0.
"When Hallowed Life barrier is activated, I discard 1 card from my hand, and all damage my opponent does is dropped to 0 during this turn." Taking a card from her hand, T a slid it into her Graveyard slot.
Yugi smiled and said "Well, I'll still at least get ready! I Sacrifice Spirit of the Breeze and summon Curse of Dragon in Attack Mode!"
In a flash, in place of Spirit of the Breeze appeared a yellow dragon with a long tail, as well as long wings, but none as long as its' tail, as it also had a horn on its' face, as well as spikes protruding from its' stomach and at the back, near the tails as it roared, its' red eyes glowing red.
Curse of Dragon ATK - 2000
"Turn end." Yugi smiled.
"My turn! Draw!" T a drew her next card, looking at her hand and took one Monster, setting it face-down horizontally on her Duel Disk. "I'll set a Monster face-down and end my turn!"
"My turn. Draw!" Yugi drew his next card, and said "Next, I play Silver Fang in Attack Mode!" In a flash of light, a beautiful silver wolf with yellow eyes appeared on Yugi's side of the Field next to Curse of Dragon, howling, then snarling.
SILVER FANG Earth/Beast/3/1200 ATK/800 DEF
"Silver Fang, attack her set Monster!" Yugi cried out. Silver Fang howled, charging forward, its' four paws padding the ground. With a push of its' paws, Silver Fang leapt into the air, then slashed across T a's set Monster, revealing Skelengel. T a smiled and said "Now I can activate Skelengel's Flip Effect, allowing me to draw 1 card!" Drawing her next card, T a had 4 cards in her hand.
"But your Life Points are still open! Curse of Dragon, attack T a directly!" Curse of Dragon's mouth began to ignite with a golden flame. "Dragon Flame!" The heated flames spiralled out from Curse of Dragon's mouth, smashing T a, causing her to cry out, falling backwards, coughing softly.
T a's Life Points = 4000 - 2000 = 2000
"Next, I'll set a card face-down. Turn end!" Yugi added.
Standing up, T a shook herself off. "Whoo! That was a good move, even if it hurt... OK, my turn! Draw!" Smiling a chipper smile, despite the fact her Life Points were half their original value.
"Now I'll set 2 cards face-down..." T a smiled, now having 3 cards in her hand. Looking at her 3 other cards, she took a card from there and showed it to Yugi. "Magic Card activate! Pot of Greed!" Drawing 2 cards, T a smiled, getting Etoile Cyber, the card Yugi had given her. She also had another card set and said "Now I play Etoile Cyber in Attack Mode!"
In a flash, a beautiful woman with long brunette hair spiralled in front of T a, arms at her sides. Along her hips was what appeared to be a halved tutu, and around her arms, white sashes, spiralling around the wrists. Her hands and the sides of her torso were covered in read, the rest, including her face, were of a light blue-ish white, as well as 2 metal buckles on the sides, above the halved tutu, and her legs, save for her mid section in red, with yellow arrowhead-like shapes above the knees, and a red sash around her left eye, and a golden neck brace of sorts.
Taking another card, T a exhaled and said "Now I'll set one other card face-down. Turn end!"
Etoile Cyber ATK - 1200
'I wonder what her set card is. OK, I'll take a chance!' Yugi smiled. "My turn! Draw!" Drawing his next card, Yugi nodded. "Curse of Dragon, attack Etoile Cyber! Dragon Flame!" Curse of Dragon shot its' Dragon Flame attack outward at Etoile Cyber, but T a smiled and said "Time to take a page from your book, Yugi! Trap Card, activate! Draining Shield!"
Suddenly, a green barrier appeared, blocking Curse of Dragon's attack, and raising T a's Life Points by 2000 points to 4000 once again. "As you know, when Draining Shield is activated, it negates the attack of 1 Monster and raises my Life Points by that Monster's attack points. So now I'm completely refreshed."
"Even if this is a big mistake on my part to suicide a Monster, but... Silver Fang, attack Etoile Cyber!" Silver Fang charged, leaping up into the air as T a smiled. "Trap Card, activate! Double Pass !" Silver Fang suddenly was jerked past Etoile Cyber, then slashed across T a, who groaned a bit, her Life Points rolling down from 4000 to 2800.
"Huh?!" Everyone all said, Yugi blinking.
"Double Pass . Whenever a Monster of mine is an attack target of one of your Monsters, I can redirect that attack from my Monster to my own Life Points. Then, the Monster attacked will strike back at my opponent's Life Points. So, I will let Etoile Cyber attack you directly! And with that, her effect kicks in!" T a smiled.
DOBLE PASSE Normal Trap Card Effect: Activate this card when your opponent attacks a Monster on your side of the Field. You can allow that attack to be a direct attack. Afterwards, the attacked Monster can attack your opponent's Life Points directly.
Etoile Cyber spiralled forward, right at Yugi as Joey said "Oh, crap! Etoile Cyber's ATK is gonna be 1800 if she hits Yugi with Double Pass 's effect!"
"She had that all set up from the moment she had Double Pass set! You go, girl!" Melody smiled.
Etoile Cyber pulled her leg back then kicked Yugi in the jaw, knocking him to the ground, dropping his Life Points from 3200 to 1400 in one shot. T a smiled and said "Next up, I'll activate my set Trap Card, Jar of Greed, to make up for me haivng to set another card. With Jar of Greed, I get to draw 1 card from my Deck." Pulling a card from the top of her Deck, T a looked at it, smiling.
JAR OF GREED Normal Trap Card Effect: Draw 1 card from your Deck.
"Alright." Yugi smiled. "Turn end!" Keeping his set card just a set card.
"My turn! Draw!" T a smiled, getting Polymerization! She also had Blade Skater in her hand and said "Here I go! I summon Blade Skater in Attack Mode!"
Skating across the field appeared a woman right next to Etoile Cyber. This woman had two skates on her feet, and also blades attached to her wrists, a halved tutu much like Etoile Cyber along her hips, a golden yellow line along her stomach, as well as a golden hoop earring in her left ear. Blade Skater's body was white and purple, with white along the top of her head, along her left hand, her upper left arm, chest, stomach, lower body, upper left led, middle right leh, and left foot, and part of the left side of her face, purple everywhere else.
BLADE SKATER Earth/Warrior/4/1400 ATK/1500 DEF
"Now I play the Magic Card, Polymerization! Etoile Cyber, Blade Skater, Fuse!" Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater leapt into the air, resting back to back, spiralling. In a flash of light, in their place came a lovely diva, with red lips, a red visor over her eyes, flames along her chest and upper arms, as well as covering her legs, except for the knees. Her hands and feet were purple, while the rest of her body was a whitish-purple, and her raven black hair blowing in the breeze. This was T a's diva of the stage; Cyber Blader!
CYBER BLADER Earth/Warrior-Fusion/6/2100 ATK/800 DEF "Etoile Cyber" + "Blade Skater"
Effect: A Fusion Summon of this card can only be conducted with the above Fusion Material Monsters. If your opponent has exactly 1 Monster on his/her side of the Field, this Monster cannot be destroyed as a result of Battle. If your opponent has exactly 2 Monsters on his/her side of the Field, double the ATK of this Monster. If your opponent has exactly 3 Monsters on his/her side of the Field, negate the effects of all Magic, Trap, and Effect Monster Cards controlled by your opponent.
"Cyber Blader..." Taro blinked. "Whoa."
"And T a also gets one of her effects if I remember correctly." Duke added, rubbing his chin softly.
"I remember hearing that too..." Tristan added. "She gets effects for the number of Monsters her controller's opponent has..."
"Yeah!" Melody nodded. "I read her card. If it's 1, she can't be destroyed in battle. If it's 2, her ATK is doubled, if it's 3, then she negates her opponent's Monster, Magic, and Trap Cards' effects..."
"That's right, guys, and that means Cyber Blader's ATK is now 4200 since Yugi has Curse of Dragon and Silver Fang on the Field! That means if I attack, it's all over." T a smiled. Cyber Blader's body began to glow a light purple, her ATK going up from 2100 to 4200.
"Cyber Blader, attack Silver Fang!" Cyber Blader slid across the ground, everyone looking on, Yugi slashing the air with his hand. "Counter Trap Card, open! Negate Attack!!"
Suddenly, before Cyber Blader could kick, a barrier knocked her back to T a's side of the Field.
"Negate Attack not only negates the attack of one of my opponent's Monsters, it also ends the Battle Phase outright." Yugi smiled. "Sorry, T a, but I'm not gonna make it that easy for you so soon."
"Aw, well!" T a smiled. "Turn end!"
"My turn. Draw!" Yugi looked and smiled. "Now I play my own Pot of Greed!" Drawing two cards, Yugi took another one and said "I will next Sacrifice Silver Fang and Curse of Dragon for something now! Come out, Dark Magician of Chaos!"
In place of Curse of Dragon and Silver Fang stood a man in black leather, with light pink rings around the upper area of his blackish blue leather clothes, black straps with pink buckles, 3 on each wrist, as well as 4 pink knuckle coveres on the hands, a 2 horn-curved style headress with a green gem in the center with pink around it, as well as pink marks around the headdress, as he held a staff of black and light pink in his hand, with a green gem at the end of it, his face light blue with black hair down near his back, yellow-irised eyes with red pupils, and black marks down under his eyes.
DARK MAGICIAN OF CHAOS Dark/Spellcaster/8/2800 ATK/2600 DEF Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned or Special Summoned successfully, you can add 1 Magic Card from your Graveyard to your hand. A Monster that is destroyed by this Monster as a result of Battle is removed from play instead of going to the Graveyard. When this card is destroyed or removed from the Field, it is removed from play.
"When Dark Magician of Chaos is Normal Summoned or Special Summoned, I can use his first effect to add 1 Magic Card from my Graveyard to my hand! So now I get Pot of Greed back!" Yugi grabbed Pot of Greed as it slid out of his Duel Disk's Graveyard slot, now Yugi having 6 cards in his hand.
"I won't reactivate Pot of Greed now, but I know with the effect of Cyber Blader, her ATK is now back to 2100, but she can't be destroyed in battle since I have exactly one Monster on my side of the Field. But that still doesn't mean I can't hurt your Life Points! Dark Magician of Chaos, attack Cyber Blader!"
Dark Magician of Chaos cried out, leaping into the air, pulling his staff back behind him, his staff beginning to produce a green spark.
"Incantation of Destruction - DEATH ULTIMA!" Yugi cried out the name of Dark Magician of Chaos's attack as Dark Magician of Chaos fired, blasting Cyber Blader, who cried out, T a crying out from the sparks as they traveled across the ground to shock her, dropping her LP from 2800 to 2100.
"Turn end!" Yugi added, exhaling.
"My turn! Draw!" T a drew her next card and smiled as she said "Yugi, this is going to hurt a lot! I play the Equip Magic Card, Fusion Weapon!"
'Uh-oh!' Yugi thought, a spark of energy cracking around Cyber Blader's left arm, Fusion Weapon appearing right on her left arm, sparking brightly, as her body began to also glow, a sign of Fusion Weapon's effect kicking in.
Cyber Blader's ATK/DEF - 2100/800 + 1500 = 3600/2300
"Now, Cyber Blader is 800 points stronger than Dark Magician of Chaos! Cyber Blader, attack Dark Magician of Chaos!" Cyber Blader placed her right hand on her left wrist, Fusion Weapon sparking brightly, then shot a green blast of light right at Dark Magician of Chaos, blowing him away as he screamed out.
Yugi cried out also, his Life Points rolling to 600 points, panting. "And since Dark Magician of Chaos has been destroyed or removed from the Field, he's removed from play..."
"Well, Yugi. It looks like I may win this practice Duel. Turn end!" T a smiled sweetly. Yugi stood up slowly. "My turn. Draw!" Yugi drew his next card, looking to see he had drawn Zaborg the Thunder Monarch! But he had no Monsters on the Field to use his effect. But he then remembered... he had Pot of Greed! Maybe he'd get lucky and get a card he needed. He nodded and took Pot of Greed, showing it to T a.
"I will now activate Pot of Greed! With it, I draw 2 cards!" Yugi drew his two cards and smiled as he said "And look what I drew!" Yugi held up Watapon's card, smiling. "When I get Watapon from my hand by the effect of a Monster, Magic, or Trap Card, it can be Special Summoned!"
Appearing on the Field, Watapon smiled, letting out a cute chirp of "Watapon!" as it appeared in front of Yugi, in Attack Mode.
Watapon ATK - 200
"But Watapon has an ATK of 200... could that mean you're gonna use it as a Sacrifice!"
"Yep!" Yugi smiled. "I now Sacrifice Watapon..." In a flash of light, Watapon disappeared, as Yugi held up his next card. "And I Sacrifice Summon Zaborg the Thunder Monarch!"
Crashes of thunder echoed from the sky, as Yugi slapped Zaborg's card onto his Duel Disk. Crashes of thunder exploded loudly as Zaborg appeared on the Field, roaring, his fists clenched, in Attack Mode, thunder sparking around his body.
Zaborg ATK - 2400
"Now I will activate Zaborg's Trigger Effect! Since I successfully Sacrifice Summoned Zaborg the Thunder Monarch, he can destroy one Monster on the Field, T a. My target of choice is Cyber Blader! Zaborg, use your effect! Sparkling Bolt!"
Zaborg raised his right hand up, a blast of thunder smashing down on Cyber Blader, destroying her, and leaving T a wide open. "Now, Zaborg, attack her Life Points directly! Imperial Thunder!" Zaborg pulled his hands back, lightning and thunder sparking around them as he pushed the newly formed ball forward, blasting T a who cried out, but smiled.
T a LP - 0
"Aw, well... I may have lost, but that was still very fun! Thanks again, Yugi... this new Deck seems to be that much stronger."
"It's not just the Deck that's strong, T a." Yugi smiled. "You are, and always have been. I overheard you, when you told Atem you didn't get why he wanted to Duel against Kaiba, after what Marik did to Joey... you were concerned, and that was your great strength. Your kindness and concern for your friends. So, thank you... for that, and for the great Duel!"
T a smiled, blushing a bit, while Yugi grinned, everyone clapping their hands as both Yugi and T a took a bow, smiles on their faces. T a looked at Yugi, smiling. 'It's like you know what it means deep down to be a True Duelist in your own heart, Yugi. Well, I'll do my best to live up to that same feeling...'
T a just exhaled, but smiled, looking at the Duel Disk on her arm, pulling her Deck out as she set it down, and then unstrapped the Duel Disk, giving it to Taro, smiling again as she looked at Yugi, who was still grinning, a joyous grin on his face. She knew she would have to work hard to be a True Duelist like how Yugi felt one was... and she hoped someday to be as strong of one as he was.
-[To Be Continued...]-