This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author AaronCottrell97 for a few ideas and character suggestions (especially the duel layout for the story). Everything else belongs to their respective owners:
Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel
The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry
Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami
Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown
WARNING: Again, this story is rated T for fantasy violence, suggestive themes, and some mild language.
Opening up inside the Boxford Land Stadium, it had been at least one-half hour since the epic duel between Thomas and Matt had ended with the former's victory. It was widely considered a match for the ages.
(elsewhere...)
All over the world, kids and Duel Monsters fans were excited over how awesome the duel was.
"'Enlightenment Paladin'!" Some kids cried out, who have been watching the duel on a TV on sale somewhere in 'Sydney - Australia'.
(elsewhere...)
"'Enlightenment Paladin'!" cheered a bunch of other kids inside the living room of a home within 'Hong Kong - China'.
(elsewhere...)
Within Time Square of New York City, lots more people had been watching from a huge TV monitor hung up on one of the big buildings.
"'Enlightenment Paladin' defeated 'Shooting Star Dragon'." The people were murmuring to each other.
(elsewhere...)
Back inside the Boxford Land Stadium, Thomas, Matt, Skiff, Mr. Gresley (Boxford), and Mrs. Gresley (Boxford) were all soon joined by Percy, Discord, and the rest of the group.
"That was amazing, Thomas!" praised Percy.
"Thomas wasn't the only one who was amazing, Matt was amazing, too!" came from James.
"It was a duel nobody here will be forgetting anytime soon!" put in Henry.
"And Thomas even performed his first Synchro Summon." added Edward.
Thomas nodded. "Yeah, I did..." He was currently looking at his newest Monster Card. "'Enlightenment Paladin'."
"We're all really proud of you both for such a powerful duel." smiled Ashima.
"'Shooting Star Dragon' was an amazing and graceful monster." Toby pointed out. "Of course, we can't forget that 'Enlightenment Paladin' was also wonderful to see."
"And best of all-" Emily had to bring up. "-you've regained your passion for dueling, Thomas."
"Yes, I have." agreed Thomas. "My last duels were a start, but this one... This one was what finally did it."
He embraced Emily in a hug.
"Aww... Isn't that sweet, Matty?" gushed Ashima, embracing her own boyfriend.
"Is sure is." Matt agreed, wrapping an arm around the black-haired Indian girl's shoulder.
"Thomas, that was a wonderful duel!" came the excited voice of Philip, who ran up to the group. "You and Matt both did great!"
"Hi, Philip." greeted Rosie. "You're up next to duel, yes?"
"I sure am." The young green-haired boy cast a quick glance to the nearby stands. Sitting in one spot within the audience was Frieda. "And it's against...Frieda."
"Be careful out there." warned Percy.
"Huh?" Philip blinked. "How come, Percy?"
"Because Frieda's not one to be taken lightly. She messes with your head, and even attempts to-"
"If we recall, Percy, you lost because of your own anger." Ryan reminded.
"He's right." agreed Liz.
Before anything more could be said, Frieda suddenly showed up (having gotten up from her seat and walked over). She was glaring at the large group of teenagers and young adults.
"Frieda!" gasped Thomas.
"What's she doing over her?" wondered Axel.
"Friedaaaaa!" squealed Gordon, looking extremely happy to see the young German woman. "I take it she wants to ask me out!"
"Oh, brother..." groaned James, facepalming at his friend's immature action.
Frieda didn't say a word to the tall, blue-haired boy. Instead, she turned to look at Philip to speak to him...
"You're Philip, yes?"
"Y-Yeah, I am." The young green-haired boy confirmed.
"Ve are scheduled to duel, now." continued Frieda. "Let us go and take our positions."
Realizing what time it was, Mr. and Mrs. Gresley (Boxford) both turned to look at Thomas and his friends.
"Sorry, kids, but I'm afraid we have another duel to prepare for." apologized Mr. Gresley (Boxford).
With that said, the two adults set off. From there, Thomas and the likes went off to take their seats in the stand (Skiff went and joined them). Philip, however, stayed behind.
"Thomas..." he thought to himself. "I..."
Meanwhile, Frieda, waiting patiently for the duel to begin, stood in her spot without saying a word. Mr. and Mrs. Gresley (Boxford) both walked to the center of the field and addressed the roaring audience.
"The final match of the Semi-Finals is about to begin!" announced Mrs. Gresley (Boxford). "Philip Altoona against Frieda Krupp!"
Philip waved to the cheering audience, while Frieda kept her arms folded (yet a smile was still on her face). Over with Thomas and the others, a certain someone was taking the cheering for the latter duelist a bit too far...
"YEAH! WHOO! GO FRIEDA OF GERMANY! I LOVE YOU! KICK SOME BUTT!" Gordon loudly hollared, managing to stand up in nothing but pure joy for Frieda. Suddenly, because he wasn't using his crutches, he slipped and fell down. "Ow..."
"Sheesh..." sighed Ashima.
"How embarrassing..." came from Mavis.
"I hear you, sister." Carlie pointed out.
Just then, before anything else could be said or done, the sound of a helicopter was heard through the sky.
"What's that?" asked Rosie.
"It sounds like a..." Michael started to answer, but didn't get a chance to finish.
Everyone looked to the sky to see one of Boxford Corps' helicopters hovering above the stadium. There was somebody handing down one of the craft's ladders.
"Is that...?" began Zack.
"Spencer?" finished Henry.
Yup, it was the silver-haired boy himself. He was being lowered into the area by the helicopter.
Title: Ahead of the Game, Part 1
Lowering into the stadium was a Boxford Corp-style helicopter, and hanging onto a ladder was Spencer.
"Big Brother!" called Skiff.
As the helicopter lowered itself further, Frieda was looking up with a smile on her face.
"Vell, vell, vell..." she thought to herself. "Look vho's come to vitness my triumph. So, you've finally found out ze truth..."
Once the helicopter was low enough (but still several feet in the air), Spencer let go of the ladder and dropped to the ground. Despite the long drop, the silver-haired boy landed perfectly on the floor without getting hurt.
"That's the end!" Spencer shouted, with his tone sounding authority-like. "As the main organizer of the tournament, I officially cancel this duel!"
This left everyone surprised... and lots of angry fans booing.
"What the hell?!" James freaked out. "Why is Spencer canceling the match?!"
"What's going on?" wondered James R..
Back in the duel field...
"C-Cancelled?" blinked Philip. "But... why?"
Frieda, meanwhile, did not say a word. From there, Spencer turned and pointed at the surprised Philip.
"As a result, I hereby declare Philip Altoona to be the winner! He will advance to the final battle against Thomas Billinton!"
The young green-haired boy was surprised. "M-Me?" he peeped.
Over with the audience, it was becoming more and more confusing for tons of people on why Philip was declared to be the winner before the duel could even start. More importantly, why was Frieda even disqualified?
"Hey, Skiff, what's going on?" demanded Michael, speaking to Skiff. "Why's Spencer disqualifying Frieda?"
"I wish I knew why." The young boy answered, looking just as confused.
"WHAT?!" raged Gordon. "Spencer's disqualifying Frieda for no reason?! That's outragous!"
"Shh! Quiet, Gordon!" scolded Discord, looking back to continue watching the scene. "I think there might be a reason for it."
And, indeed, there was...
"Vell... could you please explain vhat is going on, Herr Spencer?" asked Frieda, closing her eyes and smiling. In her mind... "I've a feeling vhat you're about to say to me..."
"There's no need for me to explain." frowned Spencer. "You should know more than anyone else here, Frieda Krupp... No..." With that said, he pointed at the blonde-haired young German woman accusingly. "Frieda von Schroeder!"
Even though her true identity was exposed to everyone, Frieda never lost her smile. The rest of the audience, however, reacted in complete shock over what they were hearing.
"Schroeder?" blinked Henry.
"How did Spencer know that Frieda faked her last name?" asked James.
"More importantly, Schroeder?" came from Zack. "I could swear I've heard of that last name from somewhere..."
"You should." said Discord. "They're the number one entertainment industry in all of Europe. And they're well known across the world... Did Spencer-boy mean that when he said Schroeder?"
Emily realized something... "Then, they're a rival company of Boxford Corporation?"
"It would seem that way."
"But why would Frieda enter the tournament with a false last name?" questioned Edward.
"I think we're about to find out the answer." answered Matt.
Back in the duel field...
"Hmph! To think that the leader of Schroeder Corporation would use a fake name, and join in a tournament held by Boxford Corporation." continued Spencer, just as images from several previous incidents played out inside his head. "And strange incidents kept happening one after another. I've seen through everything, but I wanted a complete investigation of the reason behind it." He then pointed at Frieda once more. "But, Frieda... your unknown background, and you using a fake name are the undeniable truth. Just this alone is enough reason to disqualify you from this tournament!"
Just then...
"H-Hey! Get your hands off of me, you *&%^#s!" shouted a familiar voice (male).
The audience looked around, wondering who yelled. There were soon punching sounds coming from one of the exits, causing several members of the audience to turn towards where the sounds were coming from. Before long, Vinnie came running out, down the stairs, and into the arena.
"Frieda!" Vinnie cried out. "The pigs caught up with me... The jig is up!" He then tripped and fell down. Upon getting onto his hands and knees, the blue-haired young man froze when he looked up and saw the cold, hard stare of Spencer. "Oh crap!"
"And so, your little flunkie has shown himself." smirked Spencer, before resuming speaking to Frieda. "Vinnie Montreal... No... Vinnie von Schroeder, your husband!"
"HUSBAND?!" Thomas and the others cried out at once.
"Husband?" gasped Gordon, hearing the word loud and clear.
"You were the one who was directing Vinnie from behind the scenes." explained Spencer coolly. "Many of his actions were extremely violent and outright destructive, meaning he would have been the perfect one to suspect! However..."
"However, what?!" seethed Vinnie. "How the hell did you know?"
"That's easy; I realized that something was up during your little duel with Emily, namely when you showed surprise when some of the cannons went off - almost as if you weren't expecting them to." Spencer answered sternly. "To me, that meant there was another saboteur in the works." He cast another heated look back to Frieda. "And that so happens to be her."
Frieda still said nothing. Over in the audience...
"Frieda... She's married, and the true mastermind behind the...hackings...?" spluttered Gordon, feeling heartbroken. "She was the one who...got my leg...broken?"
"Gordon?" asked Scott, looking sorry for his younger brother. "Are you...okay?"
"Oh, Gordon, we're so sorry." said Liz sadly.
From there, Gordon put on a pouting face, folded his arms, and sulked bitterly. He only uttered two simple words on the matter...
"Love stinks."
"Poor Gordon." sighed Rosie.
Back in the duel field, Frieda, after what seemed like forever, started to snicker quietly before bursting into loud laughter at Spencer.
"So, it took you zis long to piece together vhat I've been doing?" she asked. "Vell, you're correct, Herr Spencer. I vas ze true mastermind behind zis act of sabotage. However, I had specifically instructed Vinnie not to hurt anybody. Yet countless times, he deliberately disobeyed me! I may be out to ruin you, but I vould never stoop to zat type of low."
"Then why'd you try to kill me and my friends?" Gordon called out angrily, referring to James and Henry.
"To answer your question, it vasn't my intention to hurt any of you." answered Frieda. "You vere just at ze vrong place at ze vrong time." She then turned to face Spencer once more. "Even zen, I certainly did not expect ze leader of Boxford Corporation to be so petty."
"What?!" Spencer growled out.
"Zat ze potential vinner of 'The Great International Duel Cup' vould be me, ze leader of Schroeder Corp, seems to have given you quite ze scare."
The silver-haired boy said nothing, and this caused Vinnie to laugh in response.
"Ooooh, she burned you good!" he howled. "Besides, the entire conversation here is being broadcast live all over the world, right? I am most certain dueling fans all over the world would agree with what Frieda is saying. That the great Spencer Gresley is afraid of my wife, Frieda... And wants to kick her out of this competition."
"Quite right, Vincent." agreed Frieda, before directing her attention back to Spencer. "Surely you von't do somezing like zat to me, vould you?"
Spencer smiled smugly. "Who said anything about kicking you out?"
"Vhat?" The blonde-haired young German woman gasped. "Zen vhy-?"
"I'm going to prove to everyone that you aren't strong enough to reach my abilities. I know I promised myself that I wouldn't duel in something like this, but now that you're here, the plans have officially changed!"
With that said, Spencer lowered his metallic briefcase onto the floor, opened it up, took out and equipped his Duel Disk. Realizing what was going to happen instead, the audience began to cheer once again.
"Spencer's Duel Disk?" blinked Carlie.
James R. gasped. "Does this mean-?"
"Spencer-boy and Frieda are gonna duel each other!" announced Discord.
"This has taken an unexpected turn." commented Mavis.
"I bet it'll be an exciting match, either way." added Toby.
Back in the duel field...
"Oh? So, you vish to be my opponent?" teased Frieda.
"That was your motive from the start..." retorted Spencer. "Wasn't it, Frieda?"
"Quite so... Instead of dueling vith Philip, I can instead personally humiliate you in front of everyone as payback for ruining everyzing for me!"
Back in the audience...
"So, Spencer will face Frieda..." mused Thomas.
"I wonder who will win." wondered Emily.
"My Big Brother, that's who!" exclaimed Skiff. "There's no way he would lose to someone like Frieda!"
Back in the duel field, Frieda and Vinnie both watched as Spencer took out his Deck from his coat pocket and readied it.
"What's wrong? Perhaps you're the one who's afraid?" The silver-haired boy taunted, watching as Vinnie walked over to his wife.
"Hardly ze case." said Frieda, not losing her smile. "It's my honor to fight you, Herr Spencer."
"You'd better watch yourself, Spencer! My lovely wife is gonna kick your sorry a-!" began Vinnie, but was cut off.
"Now, now, dear, let's not get vulgar." interrupted Frieda, gently stroking the side of her husband's face. She then turned to her opponent. "I vill be sure to make zis a good battle."
Vinnie giggled in response to his sexy wife's soft hands touching his face. From there, Spencer and Frieda both walked to the center of the duel field. From there, they handed each other their respective Deck to shuffle.
"I'm on to your tricks." warned Spencer, shuffling Frieda's Deck. "Don't try anything underhanded."
"Hmhmhmhm... I vouldn't dream of it." giggled Frieda, shuffling Spencer's Deck.
Once both opponents handed the other their Deck, the blonde-haired young German woman took out a coin from her jacket pocket.
"The vinner can decide if he or she vants to attack first or later."
"Whatever." huffed Spencer. "I choose tails."
Frieda flipped the coin into the air. Once it handed on her hand, she covered it for a moment. From there, the blonde-haired young German woman lifted her hand and saw what the coin landed on.
"I vin." she remarked, showing the coin. "It vould appear zat fate is still on my side."
Spencer snorted. "Talking about fate just because you guessed a coin toss correctly?" he dismissed. "Enough of the chit-chat. Which will it be?"
"I choose to attack later."
"Fair enough." Spencer grumbled, turning around and walking back over to his spot of the field.
Philip, seeing Spencer approaching, walked away from the area towards the stands. Frieda, meanwhile, shooed Vinnie away so she and Spencer could begin their 'friendly' little duel. Arriving at the seats where Thomas and the likes were, Philip decided to greet his new friends.
"Hi, guys." he greeted. "I guess you and I are gonna duel in the finals, Thomas."
"That, we are." nodded Thomas.
"Still... I didn't expect to fight with you in a manner like this."
"But isn't it your dream to be able to duel with Thomas, Philip?" asked Emily.
Philip nodded. "That's correct, but..."
The young green-haired boy took a seat next to Rosie, who merely smiled and added something of her own to say...
"So, it doesn't really matter." The cherry red-haired girl was saying. "No matter how you won, Philip, you're the one who was given the right to duel Thomas."
"You really think so?" asked Philip hopefully.
"Of course, I do!" insisted Rosie.
The young green-haired boy smiled. "Thanks, Rosie."
"But listen..." Percy spoke up, getting the attention of his friends. "Even if that Spencer jerk is full of confidence as usual, Frieda is no pushover of a duelist." As the green-haired boy spoke, images of Frieda's last duels were shown. "She stomped Diesel and Dennis in one turn, and defeated me, just as well."
"Right." agreed James.
Back in the duel field...
"Herr Spencer... Duel Monsters fans around ze vorld are vatching zis." Frieda thought to herself, activating her Duel Disk. "I plan to completely crush you so zat neither you nor Boxford Corporation vill stand up again. You and your family vill pay for ruining my life's vork!"
"Frieda... I won't let you have your way." Spencer thought to himself, activating his Duel Disk. "I want you to know very clearly that going up against me is a foolish thing to do."
After what seemed like forever, the duel had finally commenced.
"DUEL!" Spencer and Frieda both announced at once (LP: 4000) x2.
With the duel beginning came a roar from the excited crowd.
"Another duel to remember is about to begin." announced the voice of Mr. Gresley (Boxford), just as both duelists drew their opening hands. "Spencer Gresley versus Frieda von Schroeder!"
"Let the battle commence!" finished the voice of Mrs. Gresley (Boxford).
"It's my turn!" announced Spencer, drawing a card. "Draw!"
Turn One: Spencer Gresley (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): ?, ?, "Negate Attack", ?, "Magical Trick Mirror", and "X-Head Cannon"
His drawn card was the 'X-Head Cannon' Monster Card.
"I Summon 'X-Head Cannon' in attack position!"
The blue robotic monster with twin cannons appeared onto the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500).
"Finally, I'll set two cards facedown!" Spencer went on, slotting two cards into separate Spell/Trap slots on his Duel Disk. On cue, two facedown cards materialized on the field behind 'X-Head Cannon'. "I end my turn!"
"Zen it's my turn, yes?" offered Frieda, drawing a card. "I draw!"
Turn Two: Frieda von Schroeder (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): ?, "Valkyrie Erste", "Valkyrie Zweite", "Valkyrie Dritte", "Mischief of the Time Goddess", and "Ride of the Valkyries"
Taking a look at her card, she gave a disappointed sigh at what it was.
"Well, Herr Spencer... Ze prologue to destiny does not always start quietly." The blonde-haired young German woman commented. "It vill sometimes carry with it a storm upon opening ze curtain on vhim."
"Pah! I don't have time for such boring lectures." insulted Spencer. "Hurry up and play a card, so I can defeat you!"
"But, of course." smiled Frieda, soon readying her drawn card. "Even zen... My beautiful maiden warriors have begun laughing at you..." She ended her sentence with a rather dark... "...as zey wait to assault you."
Everyone in the audience had a feeling what Frieda was about to play. From there, the young German woman made her big play...
"From my hand, I vill activate a Spell Card - 'Ride of the Valkyries'!"
The mentioned Spell Card soon flipped face-up and revealed itself, causing a swirl of pink flowers to fill the field as one familiar classical theme tune as before played. The audience gasped with shock as the face-up 'Ride of the Valkyries' Spell Card took effect.
"Thank to zis, I can Special Summon all of ze 'Valkyrie'-named monsters in my hand." explained Frieda.
"What?!" Spencer cringed.
"Come forth - 'Valkyrie Zwei', 'Valkyrie Erste', and 'Valkyrie Dritte'!"
Appearing onto the field in a storm of rose petals were the three 'Valkyries' Frieda had mentioned; 'Valkyrie Zwei' (Level: 5/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1600), 'Valkyrie Erste' (Level: 6/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1800), and 'Valkyrie Dritte' (Level: 4/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1600).
"From zere, I vill activate ze special ability of 'Valkyrie Zweite'!" Frieda went on. "When Summoned successfully, ein monster on ze opponent's field is destroyed."
'Valkyrie Zweite' slashed her blade at 'X-Head Cannon', striking and destroying it easily.
"And in addition, I vill also use ze effect of 'Valkyrie Erste'... By removing ein monster from my opponent's Graveyard from ze game, she can take on ze Attack Power of ze banished monster for ze duration of battle!"
'Valkyrie Erste' had her Attack Power changed (ATK: 1600 - 1800).
"Zere is more!" Frieda went on. "I activate 'Valkyrie Dritte's' effect! She gains more 100 Attack Points for every ein of my opponent's monsters zat are removed from ze game."
'Valkyrie Dritte' grew stronger (ATK: 1000 - 1100). Over in the audience...
"Frieda Summoned three 'Valkyries' at once!" exclaimed Percy.
"Spencer also has no monsters on his field." added Thomas. "If Frieda direct attacks him with all three at once, Spencer will be defeated!"
"Big Brother!" cried Skiff.
Vinnie smirked. "Too bad... I guess Spencer wasn't such a tough duelist, after all."
Back in the duel field...
"It looks like ve are already proceeding to ze finale without ze prologue." sighed Frieda. "Lebewohl, Herr Spencer!" She entered the Battle Phase. "My 'Valkyries'... First up will be 'Valkyrie Zweite'... Attack the opposing player directly!"
The horse carrying the pink-haired 'Valkyrie' took off towards Spencer. Once she got close enough, 'Valkyrie Zweite' started to slash her sword down on her target.
"Facedown card, open!" announced Spencer, just as his first set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be... "'Negate Attack'! It negates the opponent's attack and ends the Battle Phase!"
'Valkyrie Zweite' found herself being forced back onto Frieda's side of the field.
"Alright!" Thomas rejoiced. "With that, the 'Valkyries' Special Summoned this turn using 'Ride of the Valkyries' will return to the Deck when this turn ends."
Back in the duel field...
"Heh! What a short prologue." teased Spencer. He then saw that Frieda's monsters were not going anywhere. "What are you doing?! Shuffle those 'Valkyrie' monsters back into your Deck!"
"Ive not yet finished my turn." Frieda pointed out, gesturing to a face-up Spell Card she had on the field. "Besides, I've just played something..."
Spencer gasped. "That is...!"
"Herr Spencer, ze prologue has ended long ago. And we have already moved on ahead into ze zuerst chapter." The blonde-haired young German woman went on. "'Valkyrie Zweite', attack Herr Spencer directly!"
"WHAT?!"
"But that's illegal!" objected Rosie.
"Those 'Valkyries' should have also returned to the Deck!" came from Stanley.
"Why?!" demanded Mavis.
Scott stared at the face-up Spell Card on Frieda`s side of the field. "I think I know why... You know of that card... Right, Discord?"
"Indeed." The jolly man confirmed. "It forces Spencer-boy to skip a turn."
"SKIP A TURN?!" Much of the gang exclaimed at once.
"I've never even heard of a card that can force a turn to be skipped." put in Percy. "What's it called?"
Back in the duel field...
"Zis is ze effect of a Spell Card known as 'Mischief of the Time Goddess'." explained Frieda. "I can skip ein turn and go directly into my next Battle Phase."
Vinnie grinned. "Pretty powerful, wouldn't you say?"
Spencer remained silent. From there, 'Valkyrie Zweite' continued with her attack. Once close enough, she raised her blade and brought it down on her target.
"Time to give you a taste of your own medicine!" announced Spencer, just as his second facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "Trap Card - 'Magical Trick Mirror', activate!"
A mechanical mirror device appeared to the field.
"This card allows me to activate one Spell Card in the enemy's Graveyard! The card I choose to activate is 'Mischief of the Time Goddess'!"
"You vhat?!" cried Frieda, just as a reflection of the familiar Spell Card was shown in one of the machine's mirrors.
"Now your own Spell Card is being used against you." said Spencer, pointing at his opponent. "That means your turn is skipped, and I get to take mine in peace."
Valkyrie Zweite', again, was forced to back off from attacking, much to Frieda's anger.
"Gottverdammt...!" she thought to herself, swearing in the German language. Luckily, the young German woman quickly recovered a little bit... "Nice play, Herr Spencer..."
The crowd burst into loud applause for Spencer's successful play.
"So, this time, Frieda's turn was skipped, and it's back to Spencer's next Battle Phase." commented Michael.
"Talk about a relief." added Ryan.
Back in the duel field, Spencer readied one of his cards.
"I have no monsters on the field. As a result, I can't attack during the Battle Phase." The silver-haired boy said, just before playing the card onto a Monster Field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways). "But I can still Summon new monsters in the Main Phase 2."
On cue, the familiar 'Z-Metal Tank' Monster Card materialized face-up on the field.
"I Summon 'Z-Metal Tank' in defense mode!"
The yellow tank-like monster appeared from the face-up card and onto the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1300). In addition, Spencer readied another card from his hand.
"Next, I'll Special Summon 'Clone Dragon' from my hand in defense position..." he declared, placing the mentioned card onto his Duel Disk. "This card can only be Special Summoned whenever a monster is Summoned successfully."
The 'Clone Dragon' Monster Card materialized face-up on the field beside 'Z-Metal Tank'."
"And it will take on the stats of that monster and become a clone copy!"
Appearing out of the face-up Card and onto the field, was a glowing dragon-like creature. Turning towards 'Z-Metal Tank', 'Clone Dragon' fired a rainbow-like beam from its eyes and struck the tank-like monster, becoming an exact copy of it.
"My turn has ended!" Spencer finished.
The audience immediately resumed their cheering for such an intense and wonderful duel between Spencer and Frieda.
"Amazing." breathed Philip. "It's just beginning, and already it's such an intense fight."
"But it feels like Spencer is on the losing end..." frowned Gordon.
"Not only that, there are still three 'Valkyries' on Frieda's side of the field..." Thomas added, looking over to Frieda's side of the field.
Back in the duel field...
"Struggle against my cards all you vant, Herr Spencer." teased Frieda. "Because I have skipped ze first turn's End Phase, the 'Valkyries' I have out are not returned to ze Deck and remain on ze field." She let loose a prissy laugh. "Looks like ze 'Death God' is still hanging around you."
"What a load of junk." growled Spencer. "Take your turn, now!"
"As you vish." The blonde-haired young German woman sighed, drawing a card. "My turn, draw!"
Turn Five: Frieda von Schroeder (LP: 4000)
Deck: 53
Current Hand (2): ? and "Valkyrie's Embrace"
"From my hand, I vill activate 'Valkyrie's Embrace'!"
She slotted the drawn card into her Duel Disk. On cue, the mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field. Not only that, Frieda reached for the 'Valkyrie Dritte' Monster Card on the Monster Field slot on her Duel Disk, and switched it sideways.
"First, zis vill switch 'Valkyrie Dritte' into defense position." explained Frieda, just as 'Valkyrie Dritte' went into a defensive stance. She then pointed forth towards the 'Z-Metal Tank' on Spencer's side of the field. "By switching a 'Valkyrie' into defense position, it allows me to remove ein of ze opponent's monsters from ze game."
As expected, 'Z-Metal Tank' vanished into thin air.
"With ein additional monster removed from play-" Frieda went on. "-'Valkyrie Dritte' gains another 100 Attack Points."
The red-haired 'Valkyrie' received another power boost (ATK: 1100 - 1200). From there, the blonde-haired young German woman entered the Battle Phase.
"Bury zat fake!" Frieda pointed forth at 'Clone Dragon'. "'Valkyrie Erste', take down 'Clone Dragon'!"
The aqua-haired 'Valkyrie' obeyed; charging into battle on her horse, and slashed the copy of 'Z-Metal Tank' clean in-half with her sword. The copy briefly returned to its original form before shattering into shards of glass.
"Now, 'Valkyrie Zweite', attack my opponent directly!"
The pink-haired 'Valkyrie' obeyed, and, once she got close enough, struck Spencer with her sword. This caused a flash of white light to envelope around the silver-haired boy's side of the field.
"Big Brother!" called Skiff, looking worried.
When the light faded away, Spencer had his arms folded with a look on his face saying he wasn't scared or concerned despite the Life Point loss (LP: 2400).
"Spencer..." whispered Thomas.
"Spencer lost almost half of his Life Points from that attack." added Emily.
"That's Frieda's true strength." came from Rosie.
"No, that's just a warm-up." Percy corrected.
Back in the duel field, Spencer simply brushed his left arm of any dust it collected from the attack.
"It's my turn!" he shouted, drawing a card. "Draw!"
Frieda smirked. "Oh? You still look so calm despite eating a direct attack."
"Maybe you're just pretending to be confident!" called out Vinnie, speaking directly to Spencer. "When deep-down, you're afraid of the 'Valkyries'!"
Turn Six: Spencer Gresley (LP: 2400)
Deck: 53
Current Hand (2): "Flat Lv 4", and "Pitch-Dark Dragon"
"I don't have the time to bother with those useless attacks of yours, Frieda." scoffed Spencer, placing his drawn card onto a Monster Field slot on his Duel Disk (sideways). "From my hand, I'll Summon 'Pitch-Dark Dragon' in defense mode!"
A small black dragon appeared onto the field in a defensive position (Level: 3/ATK: 900/DEF: 600). From there, a facedown card materialized on the field behind the newly Summoned dragon.
"Finally, I'll set this card and end my turn."
"It's my turn, now!" announced Frieda, drawing a card. "Draw card!"
Turn Seven: Frieda von Schroeder (LP: 4000)
Deck: 52
Current Hand (2): ? and ?
On cue, 'Valkyrie Dritte' went back into a battle position.
"I switch 'Valkyrie Dritte' back into attack mode." From there, Frieda entered the Battle Phase. "And zen, I vill send 'Valkyrie Zweite' to attack 'Pitch-Dark Dragon'!"
'Valkyrie Zweite' obeyed, charging and slashing 'Pitch Dark Dragon' in two with her sword, destroying the weaker monster easily. Thomas and the others were getting very worried about Spencer's performance thus far.
"Spencer's monster was destroyed again." groaned Toby.
"Will he be okay?!" came from Carlie.
"Since it's Spencer we're talking about, he must be planning something." Edward pointed out. "Well, at least...I hope he does."
Back in the duel field, Spencer's trap had been sprung.
"Facedown card, open - 'Flat Lv 4'!" declared Spencer, just as his facedown card flipped up and revealed itself. "This card is activated when a monster I control gets destroyed. Both players must Special Summon one Level 4 monster from their respective Decks."
On cue, the familiar Monster Card known as 'Y-Dragon Head' materialized face-up on the field.
"Come forth - 'Y-Dragon Head'!"
The robotic dragon monster appeared onto the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1600). Frowning, Frieda simply placed her added card onto her Duel Disk.
"In zat case, I vill Special Summon another copy of 'Valkyrie Dritte' in attack mode."
A second copy of 'Valkyrie Dritte' appeared on the field and joined her fellow 'Valkyries' for battle (Level: 4/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1600).
"Because zwei monsters are banished-" explained Frieda. "-'Valkyrie Dritte' gains 200 additional Attack Points."
'Valkyrie Dritte' grew stronger (ATK: 1000 - 1200).
"You should feel zankful zat I refrained from offing you so soon, Herr Spencer... I end my turn."
Back with the audience...
"Spencer..." whispered Skiff.
"Four 'Valkyrie' monsters... Two that get stronger the more monsters that get removed from the game." added Edward.
"Is there a way Spencer can turn that to his advantage?" questioned Henry.
"There's one card that can-" Thomas pointed out. "-but we'll have to wait and see if Spencer draws it."
Back in the duel field...
"My turn!" cried Spencer, drawing a card. "Draw!"
Turn Eight: Spencer Gresley (LP: 2400)
Deck: 51
Current Hand (1): "Pot of Greed"
Almost immediately, he held the drawn card out.
"I activate 'Pot of Greed' from my hand!" As the silver-haired boy spoke, he drew two more cards from his Deck. "I draw two additional cards from my Deck!"
Two more cards were added to Spencer's hand, and he immediately took and held one of them out.
"Then, from my hand, I'll activate 'Dimension Fusion!" The silver-haired boy went on, taking a big Life Point hit (LP: 400). "By paying a total of 2000 Life Points, I Special Summon all of the monsters I lost earlier in the duel!"
'X-Head Cannon' and 'Z-Metal Tank' both returned to the field.
"Vhat?!" panicked Frieda.
"D-Don't tell me-?!" came from a shocked Vinnie.
In the audience...
"Spencer is gonna fuse his monsters together for a combo!" rejoiced Matt.
"But it still cost him most of his Life Points." Molly pointed out. "2000 is a big price to pay."
Back in the duel field...
"Before I do anything more-" said Spencer, taking another card from his hand and holding it out. "-I'll activate the Continuous Spell 'Soul Absorption'."
The mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field.
"Now every time a Monster, Spell, or Trap Card gets removed from the game, I gain 500 Life Points."
Frieda scowled. From there, the three 'XYZ' Monsters started sparking and combining together.
"Next, I'll remove 'X-Head Cannon', 'Y-Dragon Head' and 'Z-Metal Tank' from the game by fusing them as one monster!" announced Spencer, holding three cards and allowing them to fade away into oblivion. "This is the 'Ultimate Fusion Combo' of the 'XYZ' Monsters!"
The Fusion Summon sequence soon finished, just as the silver-haired boy regained 1500 of his Life Points (LP: 1900). When it was finally over and done with, in the place of 'X-Head Cannon', 'Y-Dragon Head' and 'Z-Metal Tank' on the field was their combined, ultimate form (Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2600).
"'XYZ-DRAGON CANNON'!"
The audience once again roared with applause. In the crowd, Edward smiled at Spencer's skillful play.
"That's a good move." he was saying to the others. "By using the Summoning Requirements for 'XYZ-Dragon Cannon', he was able to replenish the Life Points he used as a cost for 'Dimension Fusion'."
"Truly a strategy only the former reigning champion in Duel Monsters, Spencer-boy, would think of!" put in Discord.
Back in the duel field, Frieda was not looking too pleased with the comeback play as the Battle Phase then commenced...
"Here I come, you phony duelist!" boomed Spencer dramatically, pointing forth at his enemy. "'XYZ-Dragon Cannon', attack one of the 'Valkyrie Dritte'!"
'XYZ-Dragon Cannon' obeyed and started to charge up an attack.
"CANNON FIRESTORM!"
The blast was fired, striking and vaporizing the poor 'Valkyrie' in an instant.
"Scheisse...!" hissed Frieda, uttering a strong German swear word whilst taking major damage (LP: 2500).
"Great job, Big Brother!" cheered Skiff.
"Amazing! He brought everything back to level playing ground with just one attack!" smiled James. "As expected of Spencer!"
"Teach that German floozy a lesson!" called Michael.
"My Big Brother is always one step ahead of the competition!" finished Skiff boastfully.
Overhearing those words ("One step ahead.") made Frieda grit her teeth in anger.
"One step...ahead?"" she thought to herself, with an eye twitching from growing fury. "How dare zat brat mention zose vords..."
A flashback ensured.
FLASHBACK
Inside a hallway, an 18-year old Frieda was running down a hallway inside of Industrial Illusions with a briefcase in her hands.
"Almost zere..." she thought to herself. "Mr. Crawford is just going to love my ideas for his company. Zanks to my new boyfriend providing new ideas, we can fix ze crisis Schroeder Corp is under."
Up ahead were a pair of doors. Upon opening them, Flashback Frieda happily looked up ahead, and her happiness and dreams were immediately wiped clean.
"Va-?"
A 16-year old Spencer and his parents were currently speaking with Discord J. Crawford and signing a contract to construct not only holographic Duel Arenas, but for also Duel Disks for playing Duel Monsters. Flashback Spencer didn't seem to trust Flashback Discord at first, but his hostile look soon softened.
"Wonderful, Spencer-boy!" cried Flashback Discord, happily standing up from his seat. "You won't be disappointed at all."
Flashback Frieda could not believe what she was seeing and hearing... Flashback Spencer and his parents had used the same ideas SHE had come up with, AND beaten her to the punch!
"But... but..." The blonde-haired young German woman spluttered, falling to her knees. Her briefcase opened up and spilt its contents. "Just one step... I vas only one step too late...?"
Flashback Frieda was so devastated that her new plans to save Schroeder Corp would no longer work, that she could only do one thing about it... She stood up and raced out of the room in tears... Down a hallway, the poor blonde-haired young German woman was crying so hard that she couldn't see where she was going...
*CRASH!*
...and Flashback Frieda knocked over a 20-year old Vinnie. Unfortunately, Flashback Frieda could only fall down to her knees once more and cry.
"Watch where you're going!" snapped Flashback Vinnie. He then realized who it was. "Oh, Frieda! How did the meeting go?"
"Zere... zere vas no meeting..." Flashback Frieda wept.
"No meeting?! What happened?"
"Zat Spencer Gresley and his parents got zere before I could." The blonde-haired young German woman struggled to say through her sobbing. "Zey made a deal with Mr. Crawford before I could..."
Flashback Vinnie then got an evil idea. From there, he knelt down and embraced his new girlfriend.
"Don't you worry about a thing, babe." The blue-haired young man comforted. "We'll get even with that silver-haired showoff. Besides, maybe he and his crooked parents stole our ideas."
Flashback Frieda looked up. "S-Stole?"
"You heard me." insisted Flashback Vinnie. "How else would he have known about the whole holographic monsters thing?"
Flashback Frieda, beginning to believe that Boxford Corp stole her plans for the Battle Box arenas, slowly grew bitter and vengeful towards Spencer and the likes.
END FLASHBACK
The flashback came to an end.
"I swore from zat day, I vould get my revenge on ze whole Boxford Corp Family for destroying my life's vork." Frieda thought to herself, remembering everything that happened on that day. "I vill rebuild Schroeder Corporation back to its prime as ze number ein company in ze whole vorld."
Within the audience...
"Huh?" Thomas blinked, noticing the look on Frieda's face. "The expression on Frieda's face has changed... It's not confident, smug, or anything... It's just filled with anger and hatred towards Spencer, and Spencer alone."
"Serves her right!" snorted Gordon.
"Anger and hatred..." whispered Emily. "But why's that the case?"
Back in the middle of the duel field...
"It's my turn!" announced Frieda, drawing a card. "Draw!"
Turn Nine: Frieda von Schroeder (LP: 2500)
Deck: 50
Current Hand (3): ?, ?, and "Nibelung's Treasure"
As soon as she saw her drawn card, the blonde-haired young German woman looked up and at her opponent, regaining her smile.
"Herr Spencer, I zink it's time I introduced you to a card I've used once before against zat boy..."
In the audience...
"Once more... against that boy?" blinked James, before realizing something... "Percy, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Oh yeah." Percy nodded in response. "And I don't like it, at all."
Back in the duel field, a familiar Spell Card materialized face-up on the field and behind 'XYZ-Dragon Cannon'.
"I activate ze Equip Spell Card 'Nibelung's Treasure'!" announced Frieda. "'Nibelung's Treasure' can equip 'Nibelung's Ring' onto one of ze opponent's monsters on ze field."
A large ring appeared around the neck of 'XYZ-Dragon Cannon's' torso.
"That's the card Frieda used against you in the previous match, Percy!" Liz said in realization.
"It sure is." Percy grimly confirmed. "And it doesn't exactly bring back pleasant memories, either."
Back in the duel field, Frieda had just drawn five cards from her Deck.
"In addition, I get to draw fünf fresh cards." she went on. "Due to ze effect of 'Nibelung's Ring'... Ze player cannot control ze monster zat's equipped with ze ring."
Spencer scowled in response. Back with the group in the stands...
"And that's not all it does..." Percy was explaining the effect of 'Nibelung's Ring' to the people who don't know much about it. "During all of his Draw Phases, Spencer will be forced to draw two cards instead of one. If there's a Monster Card among the cards, he'll be forced to discard that card to the Graveyard."
"That's not fair!" protested Emily.
"Believe me... it's fair." insisted Discord grimly.
Back in the duel field...
"In addition-" Frieda continued, just as 'Valkyrie Dritte' faded away in a blue streak. "-I vill also offer ze second copy of 'Valkyrie Dritte' to Tribute Summon somezing entirely new!"
Spencer blinked. "Something new?" he repeated.
At first, nothing appeared in place of 'Valkyrie Dritte'. Just then, the familiar classical theme piece began to play as the galloping sound of horses was heard. Everybody in the stadium looked up and gasped.
"What is that?!" demanded a surprised Spencer.
Running along the thin air were two horses pulling a chariot. After a quick lap around the area, the new monster immediately stopped on Frieda's side of the field.
"Zis...is 'Fortune Chariot'!" announced Frieda. "And it's here to cart you and Boxford Corp into total ruination!"
"Ruination, you say?!" growled Spencer. "What does it even do?"
'Fortune Chariot' stood ready to attack on command (Level: 6/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2000).
"Zat's easy, Herr Spencer... I can target one 'Valkyrie'-named monster I control and equip zis card to zat target! Like so..."
'Valkyrie Zweite' leaped off of her horse and landed in the chariot.
"With zat done, I vill declare an attack!" continued Frieda, pointing forth at her opponent. 'Fortune Chariot' immediately took off. "Oh, and don't zink I vill be attacking your trapped 'XYZ-Dragon Cannon'!"
"What do you mean by that?" exclaimed Spencer.
The blonde-haired young German woman laughed. "Once more, zat's an easy explaination... Vhen a 'Valkyrie'-named monster is equipped to 'Fortune Chariot', ze monster vill lose half of its Attack Power!"
'Valkyrie Zweite' got weaker (ATK: 1600 - 800).
"However... ze attack vill zen become a direct attack on your Life Points!"
'Fortune Chariot' started to go off again, seemingly approaching the motionless 'XYZ-Dragon Cannon'. Just then, however, 'Valkyrie Zweite' made the horses and chariot jump high into the air and over the powerful 'XYZ' Monster.
"STURM!" commanded Frieda in German.
With a loud battle cry, 'Valkyrie Zweite' raised her sword and slashed Spencer across his chest. The silver-haired boy cried out as his Life Points sustained another hit (LP: 1100).
"Not good!" exclaimed Thomas.
"Spencer!" called out Mr. and Mrs. Gresley (Boxford), both at the same time.
Frieda was not done yet. "Zat's not all... From my hand, I vill also activate ze Spell Card 'Mystical Space Typhoon'!" She took and held out a rather familiar-looking Spell Card. "Using it, I vill target and destroy your 'Soul Absorption' Spell Card!"
A large cyclone swept across and destroyed Spencer's face-up 'Soul Absorption' Spell Card. Without it, he couldn't restore anymore Life Points if a card were to be removed from the game.
"Finally-" Frieda concluded, slotting another card into her Duel Disk. A facedown card materialized on the field behind two of her 'Valkyrie' Monsters. "-I set zis card facedown, zus finishing my turn."
Spencer scowled in response.
"As 'Soul Absorption' vas destroyed, you can't regain Life Points anymore." teased Frieda. "Also... so long as 'Fortune Chariot' remains on ze field, I can continue to execute direct attacks on ze player by halving ze equipped monster's Attack Points."
Vinnie started laughing. "Man, this is rich! A girl is seriously kicking a boy's booty! Now tell us who's one step ahead, 'Herr' Spencer?"
"Herr Spencer... Ze curse of ze 'Valkyries' has only yet begun." Frieda added, as she and her monsters loomed over Spencer. "Zis is no longer a duel... zis is outright war!"
Man, this looking bad for Spencer. Isn't it? Can he pull it together and win, or not?
To be Continued!