This story was done in collaboration between me, Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and DaveMan1000 (both here and on DeviantART), and we own the OCs that are used in the story. AaronCottrell97 (known as stevecottrell on DeviantART) provided the Duel Layouts and additional ideas. 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
Gundam SEED characters, Orb, Blue Cosmos, M1 Astray, Strike Rouge, Murasame (c) Sunrise
Character of Lisa Drake (c) DaveMan1000
Character of David Xadashi (c) DaveMan1000
WARNING: Once again, this story is rated T for violence, some blood, suggestive themes, and some language. Reader discretion is advised.
WARNING 2: If you haven't read "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles Season 2", "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles Season 4", "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles (Pyramid of Light", "David Xadashi", "Lisa Drake", or "Team 4D's", you might want to do so before reading this story
UPDATE: There were some spots in the duel that I was left unsatisfied with, so I went back and made some heavy edits and cuts to fix it up
Title: Blackwings of a Black Feather
Opening up inside a garage, James R. was busy looking over his Deck one last time before boarding his Duel Runner, Blackbird, and heading for the arena. Visiting the brown-haired young man at the moment were both Matt and Michael.
"You be careful out there," warned Matt, "We all saw how dangerous Clotho is when he dueled Misty, and there's a good chance Shani might have a few surprises of his own to use on you."
"No sweat," reassured James R., not looking up as he focused more on his Deck, "Whatever Shani tries, I'll be ready."
"You'd better be right," said Michael firmly, "One mistake is all it takes for an opponent to begin taking advantage of."
Soon, James R. finished looking over his Deck; he inserted it into his Deck holder and slipped on his helmet. Climbing aboard Blackbird, James R. revved it up and drove out of the garage, leaving Matt and Michael both behind until their friend was long gone.
"C'mon, mate. Let's return to our seats," requested Michael.
"Yeah," agreed Matt, before looking outside one more time, "James…"
(elsewhere…)
Back in the stadium, the crowd was roaring as they waited for the next duel to commence.
"Ladies aaaaand Gentlemen!" declared the MC, "May I present our next pair of duelists set to do battle in this magnificent new Duel Monsters tournament! The first of those duelists isssss…James Hogan!"
The gateway on the left side of the stadium opened up, and Blackbird, ridden by James R., emerged as it drove down the track for a quick lap. Almost immediately, the crowd began cheering and clapping for the brown-haired young man.
"Man, I can never get enough of the public," James R., grinning proudly, told himself, "Even then, I can't let it go to my head; everybody knows what happens when one lets a little thing called fame get the best of them."
Soon, Blackbird made a stop at the starting line, and it was right around then the MC announced the second duelist…
"And now, the second representative of Blue Cosmos!" he announced, "Shani Andras!"
The gateway on the right end of the stadium opened up, and the dangerous-looking Forbidden, ridden by Shani, came roaring out until it was on the track. Although the audience mostly cheered over seeing it, some audience members actually had some comments to make about Forbidden…
"That Duel Runner…looks more like a weapon than a vehicle for Turbo Duels," remarked Janice nervously.
"Mommy…" whimpered Gabriella, clearly frightened.
"Man, it looks so high tech!" admired Sean without thinking, before being elbowed in the side by Janice, "OUCH! I-I mean… Who in their right mind would make such a Duel Runner?"
"Not one with a passion for sportsmanship, clearly," said David sarcastically.
Back on the track, Forbidden eventually pulled up to a stop next to Blackbird.
"Heh! So, that's your Duel Runner," spat Shani.
"It sure is," confirmed James R., not bothered by the rude comment, "And is that your Duel Runner, or is it more of a weapon?"
Shani was not amused, "It's no weapon," he retorted, "Like how Clotho rides the Raider and Orga rides the Calamity, this is my custom designed Duel Runner - the Forbidden! And it's going to send you and your Deck directly to Hell!"
"Well, I'd like to see you try," challenged James R., "My 'Blackwings' and 'Assault Blackwings' are more than a match for you and your little bully squad."
"Before we begin, I'd like to ask you a 'friendly' question," cut in Shani, "I've heard rumors that you're known for never swearing or using vulgar language. What kind of person are you for never using those kinds of words?"
"A decent human being, thank you very much," replied James R., narrowing his eyes a bit, "After all, there is no excuse for 'anyone' to be using vulgar language. If you ask me, I truly believe that the whole world would be a far better place without it!"
"Well, if you ask me, it sounds pretty hypocritical of you," dismissed Shani harshly, "After all, you have a few friends that curse, yet it never bothers you when they do it. When people like 'me' do it, you get offended."
James R. frowned in response. In the stands…
"How dare that guy!" complained Lisa, who overheard James R.'s response to Shani's question, "Decent human beings don't use vulgar language?! Who the hell does he think he is?!"
"Easy, Lisa…" soothed Juri.
Just then, Carlie approached the Orb representatives…
"Oh, hi, Carlie," greeted Mayura politely, "Did you come to watch the duel with us? If so, take a seat."
"I overheard Lisa's outburst," explained Carlie, sitting down beside Juri, "I take it she's not too happy about James calling out people, like her, who curse?"
"Usually she doesn't care about what other people think of her," replied Juri, "What she hates, however, is when people like James claim that the world is better off 'without' the use of profanity. Considering Lisa's blunt, tough attitude, that would be a not so good thing for her. I'll admit that once upon a time, Mayura, Asagi, and I did mind her foul mouth. Ultimately, we got used to it."
"Though James is not wrong about that," agreed Asagi, who was managing to recover after her heartbreaking loss to Sherry, "Although he can't really stop people from swearing if they want to. Hell, even I, as you heard right about now, curse sometimes."
"If everyone received a penny for each day they went without cussing," commented Carlie, "James would be the richest person in the world. Maybe even richer than Discord J. Crawford himself."
"If that were true," deadpanned Lisa, "then my Uncle would be flat broke," She shook her head, "But whatever, let's see if James can put that douchebag Shani in his place."
Back on the track, James R. and Shani both looked at each other as they revved their Duel Runners up.
"And now, let's get the Action Cards out there!" yelled the MC, "Action Field, on! 'Crossover Acceleration'!"
This caused the dueling track around them to glow as several Duel Monster cards began to appear floating in little balls of light all around the track. Not only that, both James R. and Shani pressed a button on their respective Duel Runners.
"Duel Mode, engaged," came a computerized voice aboard the two, respective Duel Runners, "Autopilot activated."
"Let's do it," thought James R..
"I'll destroy you," thought Shani.
At last, the final countdown on the nearby board started up. Once the five ticks counted to three, the MC gave the ultimate word…
"Turbo Duel… ACCELERATION!" he announced, once the three remaining ticks ran out.
As expected, both Duel Runners took off down the track. Blackbird soon overtook Forbidden in the race, but Shani was far from being worried about falling behind.
"What a joke," The light green-haired boy muttered to himself, before pressing a few buttons on the dashboard of his Duel Runner, "Time to turn up the heat!"
Before everyone's eyes, Forbidden started to mechanically transform into its High-Speed Assault Form. In that form, Forbidden's speed increased dramatically (though not to the same extent as Raider in its own alternate form), allowing it to catch up to Blackbird and pass it.
"Move it, loser!" taunted Shani, looking at James R. for a moment.
Was James R. cross over that devious trick? Not at all. Instead, he smiled over seeing it.
"Not a bad trick you pulled there," The brown-haired young man thought to himself, "I'm actually looking forward to seeing what else you try out in this duel."
Before long, Forbidden crossed the finish line first, with Blackbird crossing a few seconds later. Once he was the winner of the race, Shani turned his Forbidden back into its Duel Runner form before drawing a card.
"Alright, now to do some damage!" jeered Shani, "It's my turn!"
Turn One: Shani Andras (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Ascending Soul", "Gishki Chain", "Evigishki Tetrogre", "Gishki Abyss", "Sea Lord's Amulet", and "Grisaille Prison"
Action Card: N/A
After looking at his card for a few seconds, he placed it into his hand (which contained 'Ascending Soul', 'Gishki Chain', 'Evigishki Tetrogre', 'Gishki Abyss', 'Sea Lord's Amulet', and "Grisaille Prison') before picking another card ('Gishki Chain') to play.
"I'll start by Summoning 'Gishki Chain' in Attack Mode," began Shani, placing his card onto his Duel Runner.
Appearing onto the speeding field was a humanoid sea creature armed with a chain and hook-like weapon (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1000).
"I activate 'Gishki Chain's' special effect!" continued Shani, drawing the top three cards of his Deck and looking at them, "If this card is Normal Summoned: I must look at the top 3 cards of my Deck, I can reveal 1 Ritual Monster or 1 Ritual Spell among them and add it to my hand, also after that, I must place any remaining cards on the top of my Deck in any order."
The three cards were 'Gishki Beast' (Effect Monster Card), 'Gishki Aquamirror' (Spell Card), and 'Card of Sanctity' (Spell Card). Noticing what he wanted, Shani took the 'Gishki Aquamirror' Spell Card and held it out.
"The Ritual Spell I've revealed is 'Gishki Aquamirror'," explained Shani, before adding the card into his hand, "Next, I'll shuffle the remaining cards back onto the top of my Deck in any order I see fit," He then took another card from his hand, "With that done, I'll activate a Continuous Spell from my hand…"
The light green-haired boy placed the card onto his Duel Runner, which resulted in a Spell Card called 'Ascending Soul' to materialize face-up on the field beside him (on his left).
"…'Ascending Soul'! Once per turn, when a Ritual Monster(s) is Ritual Summoned: I can target 1 monster in my GY that was Tributed for the Ritual Summon; I must add that target to my hand."
James R. grunted, waiting to see if anything else would be done this turn. Well, that thought was about to get an answer…
"It's time for a Ritual Monster to appear!" declared Shani, holding one of his new cards out, "I activate the Ritual Spell 'Gishki Aquamirror'! This card can be used to Ritual Summon any 'Gishki' Ritual Monster. I must also Tribute monsters from the field or my hand whose total Levels equal the Level of the Ritual Monster I Ritual Summon," He took another card from his hand, "The monsters I'll Tribute will be the Level 4 'Gishki Chain' on my field…"
'Gishki Chain' faded away in a blue streak.
"…and the Level 2 'Gishki Abyss' from my hand!" finished Shani, taking a card ('Gishki Abyss') from his hand and sending it to the GY.
On cue, another monster briefly appeared before vanishing in blue streaks.
"I'm sensing some major déjà vu right now…" whispered Lisa, recognizing several of the combos and cards Shani used once before.
And she should…
"I Ritual Summon 'Evigishki Tetrogre' in Attack Mode!" announced Shani, placing his card onto a Monster Field Zone on his Duel Runner.
Appearing onto the speeding field was a familiar humanoid, aquatic-looking sea creature with hair and equipped with armor (Level: 6/ATK: 2600/DEF: 2100).
"A Level 6 monster with an ATK of 2600…" mumbled James R..
"From the effect of 'Ascending Soul'," continued Shani, taking a card ('Gishki Chain') from his GY and adding it into his hand, "I'll target one of the Tributed monsters in my GY and add it into my hand."
"This is wonderful!" declared the MC, "Shani has Ritual Summoned a Level 6 monster with an ATK of 2600! You don't see those often enough!"
And in the stand, Lisa wished she didn't see 'Evigishki Tetrogre' again since it gave her a few problems before she was able to overcome it.
"From my hand, I'll activate a Continuous Spell - 'Sea Lord's Amulet'!" exclaimed Shani, just as the mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field behind Forbidden, "WATER monsters I control cannot be destroyed by my opponent's card effects. I bet this will make it far harder for you to get rid of my monsters!"
"A card like that must have drawbacks though," James R. pointed out.
"You're right, it does have a drawback," acknowledged Shani, "I must send this card to the GY during my opponent's 3rd End Phase after activation. Am I worried about that? Of course not. It will have served its use by that time. Right now, I'll activate 'Evigishki Tetrogre's' effect! Once per turn: I can declare 1 card type (Monster, Spell, or Trap); my opponent can discard 1 card to negate this card's effect, otherwise both players send 1 card of the declared type from their Main Deck to the GY."
In the stands…
"Shani used that effect against me in our duel," recalled Lisa in disgust, "And besides, only a fool would allow it to go through without interruption."
"Discarding a card may negate the effect temporarily, but it would still put James at a disadvantage since he would have one less card in his opening hand," added Asagi.
Back on the track…
"You know, I think I'll discard a card and negate your monster's effect," decided James R., sending a card ('Blackwing - Auster the South Wind') from his hand to the GY, "There! Now you and I can't send any card type from our Decks to the GY this turn."
"I had a feeling you would choose that option," frowned Shani, before grabbing an Action Card and looking at it, "However, you can't escape this Action Card!"
"Action Card?"
"Yes, Action Card," As the light green-haired boy spoke, he turned his Action Card over and revealed what it was, "'Fire Gem'! I must inflict 600 damage to my opponent."
A stream of fire shot out from the 'Fire Gem' Action Spell Card, striking both James and his Blackbird.
"Yeouch! That's hot!" wailed James R., slapping on the left arm of his jacket with his right hand to try and rid it of flames (LP: 4000 - 3400), "Phew… That's much better."
"Finally, I'll Set one card and end my turn!" finished Shani, placing a final card onto his Duel Runner.
A face-down card materialized on the speeding field beside Forbidden (on Shani's left) before fading away for later use.
"So, it's your turn now, 'Blackwing' user!" dared Shani, "Show me how good of a duelist you are!"
"Don't mind if I do!" grinned James R., drawing a card, "It's my turn!"
Turn Two: James R. Hogan (LP: 3400)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (5): "Blackwing - Steam the Cloak", "Blackwing - Festival", "Black Whirlwind", "Blackwing - Bora the Spear", and "Blackwing - Aurora the Northern Lights"
Action Card: N/A
His drawn card was a Monster Card called 'Blackwing - Aurora the Northern Lights', which broadened the grin on his face.
"I think I'll start up my turn by activating the Continuous Spell 'Black Whirlwind'," began James R., just as the mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field beside him (on his right), "When a 'Blackwing' monster is Normal Summoned to my field: I can add 1 'Blackwing' monster from my Deck to my hand with less ATK than that monster."
"Add another from your Deck?" scowled Shani.
"That'd be about right," confirmed James R., before taking another card from his hand and placing it onto a Monster Field Zone on his Duel Runner, "Now, I'll Summon 'Blackwing - Steam the Cloak' in Attack Mode!"
Appearing onto the speeding field was a small bird-like monster with purple feathers, a yellow mask, and was dressed as a ninja of sorts as steam swirled around him (Level: 3/ATK: 800/DEF: 1200).
"Now I'll add another 'Blackwing' monster from my Deck into my hand," continued James R., as a card slipped out of his Deck and he took it, "Of course, it has to have less ATK than 'Steam the Cloak'."
The card was a Monster Card called 'Blackwing - Etesian of Two Swords', and it did have less ATK.
"From there, I'll activate the effect of the 'Blackwing - Bora the Spear' in my hand!" continued James R., taking a card from his hand, "If I control a 'Blackwing' monster other than 'Blackwing - Bora the Spear', I can Special Summon this card (from my hand)," He placed the card onto his Duel Runner, "I Special Summon 'Blackwing - Bora the Spear' in Attack Mode!"
Appearing onto the speeding field was another bird-like monster. This one, however, looked more human-like and carried a large, black spear (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 800).
"If you think I'm gonna let you Synchro Summon a strong monster, you're wrong!" snarled Shani, just as his Set card reappeared on the field beside him (on his right), flipped face-up, and revealed itself, "I activate a Trap - 'Grisaille Prison'! If I control a face-up monster that was Tribute, Ritual, or Fusion Summoned: Until the end of my opponent's next turn, neither player can Synchro or Xyz Summon, Synchro and Xyz Monsters cannot attack, also their effects are negated."
"What?!" gasped James R., but regained his momentum quickly, "Heh, that's actually a pretty good move on your part."
"Your point about that?" snorted Shani.
"If I 'was' going to Synchro Summon, you would have messed that up for me," James R. replied, "However, I have 'other' ways to Summon powerful monsters."
"Like how?"
"Like 'this'," With that said, the brown-haired young man held his right hand out, "I'll offer my two 'Blackwing' monsters as a Tribute!"
From there, 'Blackwing - Steam the Cloak' and 'Blackwing - Bora the Spear' vanished in blue streaks.
"Show yourself - 'Blackwing - Aurora the Northern Lights'!" commanded James R., holding another card ('Blackwing - Aurora the Northern Lights') up.
Appearing onto the speeding field was a bird with black feathers, a large, pink feather on its head, and an aurora hovering above it (Level: 10/ATK: ?/DEF: 0).
"It cannot be Normal Summoned/Set," explained James R., "It must be Special Summoned (from my hand) by banishing 2 face-up monsters I control (1 'Blackwing' Tuner and 1 non-Tuner) and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways."
"It has an unknown ATK," dismissed Shani.
"Yes, but it won't remain that way for too much longer," grinned James R., "You see, 'Aurora the Northern Lights' has a special ability. But first, I have another effect to go over for 'Aurora the Northern Lights'… This card's Level becomes the combined Levels of the monsters banished for its Special Summon. My Level 3 'Blackwing - Steam the Cloak' and Level 4 'Blackwing - Bora the Spear'!"
The two mentioned 'Blackwing' monsters reappeared on the field briefly before turning into small orbs of black light and merging with 'Blackwing - Aurora the Northern Lights', modifying its Level (Level: 10 - 7).
"Plus, there's also 'Blackwing - Steam the Cloak's' special ability for you to worry about," James R. went on, "Just watch what I mean by that!"
From there, a small creature made entirely out of steam, wearing a pair of goggles, appeared onto the field (Level: 1/ATK: 100/DEF: 100).
"If this face-up card leaves the field: I must Special Summon 1 'Steam Token'," explained James R..
"'Steam Token'? Pathetic!" huffed Shani, not impressed in the slightest.
"Oh, don't you underestimate it. Now to use the main ability of 'Aurora the Northern Lights'!" announced James R., "Once per turn: I can banish 1 'Blackwing' Synchro Monster from my Extra Deck; until the End Phase, this card's name and original ATK become that monster's, and replace this effect with that monster's original effects."
From there, a card slid out from James R.'s Extra Deck.
"I've picked this guy - 'Blackwing Armor Master'! This will give 'Blackwing - Aurora the Northern Lights' an ATK of 2500 and a new set of effects to use!"
From there, the aurora behind 'Blackwing - Aurora the Northern Lights' began to change shape, replicating the spirit of 'Blackwing Armor Master' (ATK: ? - 2500).
"Nice try, but it still isn't strong enough to battle my 'Evigishki Tetrogre'!" growled Shani.
"Well then, why don't we see about that?" suggested James R., entering the Battle Phase, "'Aurora the Northern Lights', attack 'Evigishki Tetrogre'!"
'Blackwing - Aurora the Northern Lights' obeyed, flying towards 'Evigishki Tetrogre'.
"Idiot!" snapped Shani, "Weren't you listening to me?!"
Suddenly, the vision of 'Blackwing Armor Master' punched 'Evigishki Tetrogre' right in the chest and flew back safely.
"What the-?!" cried Shani, "Was that 'Blackwing Armor Master'?"
"You'd better believe it," confirmed James R., "Like I said, "Aurora the Northern Lights' doesn't just gain the banished monster's name and ATK, he also gains that monster's abilities, too. 'Blackwing Armor Master' has some pretty nasty effects that I don't think you'll like too much. It cannot be destroyed by battle, and I take no battle damage from attacks involving this card. The worst effect, however, is as followed… At the end of the Damage Step, if this card attacked a monster: I can place 1 Wedge Counter on that monster."
From there, Shani looked closer and gasped. There, sticking out of 'Evigishki Tetrogre's' chest, was a large, wooden splinter of sorts.
"A Wedge Counter?!" The light green-haired boy cringed.
"Yup," confirmed James R., "Now to inflict damage upon you!" He held a card ('Blackwing - Etesian of Two Swords') out and sent it to the GY, "I activate the effect of the 'Blackwing - Etesian of Two Swords' in my hand! If a 'Blackwing' monster I control battles an opponent's monster, and my opponent still controls that monster at the end of the Damage Step: I can send this card from my hand to the GY; I must inflict 1000 damage to my opponent!"
From there, the spirit of another human-like bird creature appeared, carrying two swords on its back. Suddenly, it flew straight towards Shani and slashed its blade at him, causing Forbidden to sway on the track a little as Shani yelled out (LP: 4000 - 3000).
"Next, I'll remove that Wedge Counter from 'Evigishki Tetrogre'!" continued James R..
From there, the large splinter turned to light and faded away, causing 'Evigishki Tetrogre' to grow weaker (ATK: 2800 - 0).
"I can remove all Wedge Counters from my opponent's monsters; the ATK and DEF of those monsters that had Wedge Counters become 0 until the end of this turn!" said James R., "However, I'll also activate 'Steam the Cloak's' final effect. If a 'Steam Token' is face-up on the field when the ATK of an opponent's monster becomes 0, that monster is banished! In this case, your 'Evigishki Tetrogre'."
From there, 'Evigishki Tetrogre' became overwhelmed by steam and vaporized.
"My 'Evigishki Tetrogre'!" exclaimed Shani, "Grrr! How dare you!" He then spotted another Action Card up ahead, "An Action Card!"
Quickly, Shani picked the Action Card up, looked at it, and held it out.
"'Energy Biscuits'!" he announced (LP: 3000 - 3500), "I must gain 500 LP!"
James R. grunted, "More LP won't save you!" he pointed out, "'Steam Token', attack Shani directly!"
'Steam Token' obeyed, flying over the speeding field and breathing some steam in Shani's face, causing him to yell out (LP: 3500 - 3400). The attack had left his face burnt red, much to his frustration.
"Well, how's that for blowing off a little steam?" joked James R., before placing his last card onto his Duel Runner, "I'll place one card face-down and call it a turn."
A face-down card materialized onto the speeding field, just as 'Steam Token' evaporated as it was the End Phase.
"Well, you're really not as good as I heard you were," berated Shani, drawing a card, "It's my turn!"
Turn Three: Shani Andras (LP: 3400)
Deck: 52
Current Hand (2): "Gishki Chain" and "Card of Sanctity"
Action Card: N/A
Sea Lord's Amulet: Two Standby Phase(s) Left
"And now, I'll activate the Spell Card 'Card of Sanctity'!"
Upon placing the card on his Duel Runner, the mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field behind Forbidden.
"Each player draws until they have 6 cards in their hand," explained Shani, drawing five cards.
James R. merely drew a full hand without a word. Shani noticed that his new hand contained 'Gishki Chain', 'Gishki Beast', 'Evigishki Soul Ogre', 'Gishki Aquamirror', 'Supremacy Berry', and 'Gishki Psychelone'.
"Well, well, this new hand looks pretty good," thought Shani deviously, before taking one of the cards and placing it onto his Duel Runner, "I Summon 'Gishki Beast' in Attack Mode!"
Appearing onto the field was a fish-like beast (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1300).
"'Gishki Beast's' effect!" announced Shani, "When this card is Normal Summoned: I can target 1 Level 4 or lower 'Gishki' monster in my GY; I must Special Summon that target in face-up Defense Position," He took a card ('Gishki Abyss') from his GY and placed it onto his Duel Runner, "I'll Special Summon 'Gishki Abyss'!"
Appearing onto the speeding field was an aquatic creature with the head of an entire shark (Level: 2/ATK: 800/DEF: 500).
"When this card is Summoned: I can add 1 'Gishki' monster with 1000 or less DEF from my Deck to my hand, except 'Gishki Abyss'," continued Shani, drawing a card ('Gishki Shadow') and adding it into his hand.
"Well, now it's my turn to use a Trap Card," cut in James R., before pointing to his right, "I activate a Trap - 'Blackwing - Festival'!"
The Set card reappeared on the field beside him (on his right), flipped face-up, and revealed itself.
"You wanna know what it does?" joked James R., "Yes? Alrighty! Watch this!"
Appearing onto the speeding field was a trio of birds with trumpet-like beats (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0) x3.
"When a monster(s) is Special Summoned to my opponent's field while I control a 'Blackwing' monster: I must Special Summon 3 'Blackwing Tokens'!"
"Hmph! Pointless," scoffed Shani, before holding another card out, "Ritual Spell - 'Gishki Aquamirror', activate! Using my second copy, I'll send the Level 4 'Gishki Shadow' from my hand to the GY! However…"
"However, what?" frowned James R..
"This is where 'Gishki Shadow's' effect activates!" replied Shani, "If I Ritual Summon exactly 1 WATER Ritual Monster with a card effect that requires use of monsters, this card can be used as the entire requirement. You know what that means, don't you?"
"That means the monsters on your field get to stick around," said James R..
"That's not my main reason," denied Shani, "The main reason is I can Ritual Summon ANY high Level 'Gishki' monster," To prove his point, he took and placed another card onto his Duel Runner, "Ritual Summon! Come forth! Level 8 - 'Evigishki Soul Ogre'!"
Appearing onto the field was a huge, standing on two legs, aquatic monster with two, powerful-looking arms (Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2800). Lisa was dismayed to see that monster again, since it gave her some problems when she dueled with Shani that one time.
"Once more, I'll add one of the Tributed monsters in my GY into my hand," Shani went on, adding a card ('Gishki Shadow') from his GY into his hand, "As for 'Evigishki Soul Ogre', it cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. It must first be Ritual Summoned."
"Isn't that technically the point of Ritual Monsters?" asked James R. in an annoyed tone.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that pointless comment of yours," said Shani rudely, "Now, I'll activate the effect of 'Evigishki Soul Ogre'! Once per turn: I can discard 1 'Gishki' monster to target 1 face-up card my opponent controls; I must shuffle that target into the Deck."
"Oh great…" groaned James R., not liking where this was going, "I already know which card you're going to target!"
"Really?" grinned Shani, sending a card ('Gishki Psychelone') from his hand to the GY, "Then would you care to tell me what it is?"
"My 'Blackwing - Aurora the Northern Lights'!"
"You catch on real fast," The light green-haired boy teased viciously, "That's right! Your 'Aurora the Northern Lights' will be returned to your Deck!" He gave a command to 'Evigishki Soul Ogre', "Go forth, 'Evigishki Soul Ogre'! EXTREME TIDAL SURGE!"
'Evigishki Soul Ogre' obeyed, summoning some water and sending it across the track. From there, 'Blackwing - Aurora the Northern Lights' was hit by the water and got swept away before turning to a ball of light and returning to James R.'s Deck.
"Now, I'll activate the next effect of one of the two 'Gishki Aquamirrors' in my GY," announced Shani, "I can shuffle this card from the GY into the Deck to target 1 'Gishki' Ritual Monster in my GY; I must return that target to my hand."
Two cards ('Gishki Aquamirror' and 'Gishki Psychelone') ejected from the GY, and he took one ('Gishki Aquamirror') and shuffled it into his Deck, while taking the other ('Gishki Psychelone') and adding it into his hand.
"You wanna play?" hissed Shani maliciously, entering the Battle Phase, "Well, my two monsters do! 'Evigishki Soul Ogre' and 'Gishki Beast', tear into those 'Blackwing Tokens'!"
The two monsters obeyed, slashing at two of the 'Blackwing Tokens', causing them to explode.
"How's that?" bragged Shani, "I end my turn here!"
"Back to me!" declared James R., drawing a card, "I draw!"
Turn Four: James R. Hogan (LP: 3400)
Deck: 46
Current Hand (7): "Blackwing - Ghibli the Searing Wind", "Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame", "Black-Winged Strafe", "Blackwing - Abrolhos the Megaquake", "Blackwing - Jetstream the Blue Sky", "Blackwing - Gladius the Midnight Sun", and "Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow"
Action Card: N/A
His new hand contained 'Blackwing - Ghibli the Searing Wind', 'Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame', 'Black-Winged Strafe', 'Blackwing - Abrolhos the Megaquake', 'Blackwing - Jetstream the Blue Sky', 'Blackwing - Gladius the Midnight Sun', and the drawn 'Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow'.
"Well, would you look at that?" James R. told himself, just before taking one of the cards ('Blackwing - Gladius the Midnight Sun') and placing it onto a Monster Field Zone on his Duel Runner, "Now, since I control only a single 'Blackwing' monster, I'll Special Summon 'Blackwing - Gladius the Midnight Sun' in Attack Mode!"
Appearing onto the speeding field was a bird-like monster dressed in armor with two short swords (Level: 3/ATK: 800/DEF: 1500).
"Now that I have two monsters, I'll sacrifice them both!" continued James R., removing both cards from his Monster Field Zone and replacing them with a new card, "Let's get to it - 'Blackwing - Abrolhos the Megaquake'!"
Appearing onto the field was a rather strong-looking 'Blackwing' monster carrying a two-sided clubbed bat (Level: 7/ATK: 2600/DEF: 1800).
"Now I can add another 'Blackwing' monster with less ATK from my Deck into my hand," reminded James R., taking another card ('Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind') from his Deck, "Okay, I'm well aware that 'Abrolhos the Megaquake' has 200 less ATK than 'Evigishki Soul Ogre'. Instead, I'll continue building my field," He then took his newly added card and placed it onto a Monster Field Zone on his Duel Runner, "If I control a 'Blackwing' monster other than 'Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind', I can Special Summon this card (from my hand)!"
Appearing onto the speeding field was a bird-like 'Blackwing' with blue feathers on its body except for the green ones on its head (Level: 3/ATK: 1300/DEF: 400).
"Are you done yet?" yawned Shani boredly.
"Not even close," With that said, James R. held another card ('Black-Winged Strafe') out, "I activate the Spell Card 'Black-Winged Strafe'!"
The mentioned Spell Card materialized on the field beside him (on his left).
"I must send 1 'Blackwing' monster from my hand to the GY to target 1 Defense Position monster my opponent controls: I must send that monster to the GY," explained James R., taking a card ('Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame') from his hand. He then discarded the card, "The monster that will be sent packing will be your 'Gishki Abyss'!"
From there, a spirit of 'Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame' appeared and dove towards 'Gishki Abyss', striking the monster and causing it to explode.
"Now I can focus on weakening 'Evigishki Soul Ogre'," continued James R., "I can do that with 'Gale the Whirlwind'. Go get 'im, 'Gale'!"
'Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind' obeyed, conjuring up two balls of great wind, and thrusting them towards 'Evigishki Soul Ogre', causing it to grow weaker (ATK: 2800 - 1400).
"What?!" exclaimed Shani.
"That's 'Gale the Whirlwind's' special ability," explained James R., driving up beside his opponent, "Once per turn: I can target 1 face-up monster my opponent controls; that target's ATK and DEF become half its current ATK and DEF."
Shani fumed with fury, but then noticed an Action Card up ahead.
"Go forth, 'Blackwing - Abrolhos the Megaquake'!" ordered James R., "Take down that 'Evigishki Soul Ogre'!"
'Blackwing - Abrolhos the Megaquake' obayed, swinging his club about and charging towards 'Evigishki Soul Ogre'. Not about to lose his monster, Shani desperately reached out and grabbed the Action Card, spent half a second looking at it, and then holding it out.
"Your attack is about to backfire!" he yelled out, "'Double Attack'! I must target 1 monster on the field; its ATK becomes double its current ATK during each Battle Phase this turn."
'Evigishki Soul Ogre' regained its lost strength (ATK: 1400 - 2800).
"Close, but no cigar!" taunted Shani.
"Oh no!" cried the MC, "James is attacking a stronger monster! Will this be the end of 'Blackwing - Abrolhos the Megaquake'?"
From there, 'Blackwing - Abrolhos the Megaquake' and 'Evigishki Soul Ogre' got closer and closer to clashing. Thankfully, it was not that easy to put a stop to James R. or his monsters…
"Not so fast!" declared James R., taking a card from his hand, "During either player's Damage Step, when a 'Blackwing' monster I control is attacking or being attacked: I can send 'Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow' from my hand to the GY; that monster gains 1400 ATK until the end of this turn!"
From there, 'Blackwing - Abrolhos the Megaquake' grew much stronger (ATK: 2600 - 4000).
"Bastard!" panicked Shani.
"Don't worry, you won't lose your monster," reassured James R. falsely, "'Abrolhos the Megaquake' cannot destroy monsters by battle!"
'Blackwing - Abrolhos the Megaquake' struck 'Evigishki Soul Ogre', knocking it back some as Shani glowed red and took battle damage (LP: 3400 - 2200).
"Oh, wait, you WILL lose your monster!" corrected James R. cheekily, "Not by battle, but by card effect! If 'Abrolhos the Megaquake' battles a monster, after damage calculation: I must return that monster to the hand."
From there, 'Evigishki Soul Ogre' turned to a ball of light before flying back to Shani's hand.
"But… but…" protested Shani, trying to bring up the effect of his 'Sea Lord's Amulet' Spell Card.
"Card effects can't 'destroy' your monsters," countered James R., "'Sea Lord's Amulet' doesn't say 'return to your hand'."
Shani growled in frustration.
"However, I'm nowhere near done yet," James R. went on, picking up an Action Card of his own, "Yes! I will activate 'Miracle Fire'! This card's effect becomes the same as 1 Action Card that was activated this turn! I think I'll copy your 'Double Attack', targeting my 'Gale the Whirlwind' for its effect, for good measure…"
'Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind' grew stronger (ATK: 1300 - 2600).
"And now, attack 'Gishki Beast'!" ordered James R., "BLACK SCRATCH!"
'Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind' obeyed, flying towards 'Gishki Beast' and forming a strong gust of wind. The gust blew 'Gishki Beast' away and destroyed it, reducing Shani's LP even further (LP: 2200 - 1100).
"Shani, quit messing around!" shouted Orga, "Take that guy down!"
"Annihilate him!" added Clotho, before easing up unhappily, "Tch… I'll admit that James guy is good."
"Got that right."
Back on the track, Shani scowled in annoyance over his opponent getting the best of him. With the Battle Phase now over, 'Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind's' ATK returned to normal (ATK: 2600 - 1300).
"With that, I shall end my turn!" finished James R., "And from there, the effect of 'Kalut the Moon Shadow' wears off!"
'Blackwing - Abrolhos the Megaquake's' ATK returned to normal (ATK: 4000 - 2600). Not only that, the effect of Shani's' Trap Card, 'Grisaille Prison', wore off.
"It looks like we can Synchro Summon and Xyz Summon again," grumbled Shani, before smiling maliciously, "And that's good… REALLY good!"
"You think it's good?" quizzed James R., "Do you have some sort of secret monster waiting in the wings?"
In the stands…
"A secret monster?" pondered Lisa, "I always thought that 'Evigishki Soul Ogre' was Shani's deadliest monster."
"So did we," agreed Asagi.
Back on the track…
"I can assure you that you and everybody else will find out what it is soon enough," snickered Shani, drawing a card, "It's my turn! Draw!"
Turn Five: Shani Andras (LP: 1100)
Deck: 46
Current Hand (6): "Gishki Shadow", "Gishki Chain", "Evigishki Soul Ogre", "Supremacy Berry", "Gishki Psychelone", and "Ritual Foregone"
Action Card: N/A
Sea Lord's Amulet: One Standby Phase Left
Adding the card into his hand, he picked another ('Supremacy Berry') and held it out.
"From my hand, I'll activate 'Supremacy Berry'!" continued Shani, "If my LP were lower than my opponent's when this card was activated; I must gain 2000 LP. If my LP were higher than my opponent's; I must take 1000 damage."
"Your LP are lower than mine, meaning you'll gain 2000 LP," grumbled James R., "It'll make your LP go all the way to 3100!"
The silence from the smirking Shani as his LP rose (LP: 1100 - 3100) signaled that he was enjoying this game way too much.
"From there," As he spoke, Shani placed another card onto his Duel Runner, "I'll Summon 'Gishki Chain'!"
Appearing onto the speeding field was a humanoid sea creature armed with a chain and hook-like weapon (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1000).
"If this card is Normal Summoned: I must look at the top 3 cards of my Deck, I can reveal 1 Ritual Monster or 1 Ritual Spell among them and add it to my hand, also after that, I must place any remaining cards on the top of my Deck in any order," explained Shani, drawing the top three cards of his Deck and looking them over, "Now, let's see…"
The three cards were 'Aquamirror Meditation' (Trap Card), 'Gishki Emilia' (Spirit Monster Card), and 'Gishki Aquamirror' (Spell Card).
"I got a Ritual Spell," announced Shani, adding the former two cards ('Aquamirror Meditation' and 'Gishki Emilia') back on top of his Deck while revealing the final card ('Gishki Aquamirror'), "'Gishki Aquamirror'! I bet you know what it does by now, don't ya?"
James R. said nothing, but it was possible he knew where this was leading to. Sure enough, Shani took and sent a card ('Gishki Shadow') from his hand to the GY. Seeing as the Monster Card was 'Gishki Shadow', that meant Shani could use only it for the Ritual Summon.
"And now," declared Shani, as he placed his next card ('Evigishki Soul Ogre') onto his Duel Runner, "I'll Ritual Summon 'Evigishki Soul Ogre' once more!"
Reappearing on the field was 'Evigishki Soul Ogre' Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2800).
"And we can't forget about 'Ascending Soul', can we?" Shani pointed out, taking a card ('Gishki Shadow') from his GY and adding it into his hand, "However, this time I'm going to get rid of your 'Abrolhos the Megaquake' without attacking it."
"By not attacking?" repeated James R., before realizing… "Ngh… Oh yeah…"
In the stands…
"Crap… Shani's gonna use that really annoying effect again," winced Lisa.
Back on the track…
"I activate 'Evigishki Soul Ogre's' effect!" declared Shani, discarding a card ('Gishki Psychelone'), "Once per turn: I can discard 1 'Gishki' monster to target 1 face-up card my opponent controls; I must shuffle that target into the Deck," He then gave a command to his monster, "EXTREME TIDAL SURGE!"
'Evigishki Soul Ogre' obeyed, summoning some more water and sending it across the track. 'Blackwing - Abrolhos the Megaquake' was washed away before turning into an orb of light and returning to James R.'s Deck.
"Now, I'll shuffle 'Gishki Aquamirror' from my GY and back into my Deck," Shani went on, adding a card ('Gishki Aquamirror') from his GY into his Deck. He then took another card ('Gishki Psychelone') from his GY, held it out, and added it back into his hand, "This will allow me to add 'Gishki Psychelone' into my hand again."
"What a duel!" The MC was saying, "Shani and James both are giving it all they've got! Nevertheless, Shani looks like he still has a few tricks left!"
"And now," continued, Shani, taking yet another card from his hand, "I activate 'Ritual Forgone'!"
"'Ritual Forgone'?" repeated James R..
The mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the speeding field behind Forbidden.
"I must pay 1000 LP; I must Special Summon 1 Ritual Monster from my hand, but it cannot attack, also I must destroy it during the End Phase," explained Shani (LP: 3100 - 2100), before holding another card out, "By paying 1000 LP, I'll Special Summon 'Gishki Psychelone' from my hand!"
Appearing onto the field was a red-haired woman wearing the armor of an aquatic beast (Level: 4/ATK: 2150/DEF: 1650).
"I activate the effect of 'Gishki Psychelone'!" declared Shani, "Once per turn: I can declare 1 Monster Type and Attribute; I must look at 1 random card in my opponent's hand, and if it is a monster of the declared Type and Attribute, I must shuffle it into the Deck. Otherwise, I must return it to the hand. Before you say anything, I already know which Type and Attribute I'm gonna pick - Winged Beast and DARK!"
James R. winced at this, looking at his hand with great concern.
"Now, time to see a random card from your hand!" continued Shani, "Show me the one on the far left!"
James R. turned over the selected card, causing a Monster Card called 'Blackwing - Jetstream the Blue Sky' to materialize face-up on the field in-front of Blackbird.
"'Blackwing - Jetstream the Blue Sky'…" mused Shani, "And it's a DARK Winged Beast monster, too… In that case, that card gets shuffled into your Deck, James!"
From there, James R. reluctantly returned the card to his Deck.
"I hope you're ready to lose, because have I got a real treat for you and everybody else!" sneered Shani, "I overlay the Level 4 'Gishki Chain' and 'Gishki Psychelone'!"
From there, the two monsters turned to blue energy and flew into the Overlay Network in the center of the arena.
"Xyz Summon!" announced Shani, "Rank 4 - 'Evigishki Merrowgeist'!"
Appearing onto the field, as the Xyz Summon sequence ended, was a winged mermaid wearing green armor and wielding a scepter in her hand (Rank: 4/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1600).
"Could that be the secret weapon Shani was talking about?" pondered Mayura.
"Beats me," shrugged Lisa, "But I still think Shani was hyping it up to make us all worried."
"I guess we'll find out soon," finished Carlie.
Back on the track…
"BATTLE!" exclaimed Shani, entering the Battle Phase, "'Evigishki Soul Ogre', take out 'Gale the Whirlwind'!"
'Evigishki Soul Ogre' obeyed, swimming forth and creating a flood to wipe out 'Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind'.
"'Gale the Whirlwind'…" grimaced James R. (LP: 3400 - 1900).
"I hope you're ready to be destroyed!" Shani hissed yet again, "Whenever I face an enemy, I always destroy them!" He then gave a command to 'Evigishki Merrowgeist', "'Evigishki Merrowgeist', attack the opposing player directly and end this duel!"
'Evigishki Merrowgeist' obeyed, swimming forward to strike Blackbird with her scepter. The audience, except for the remaining two Bio-CPU boys plus Azrael, watched in horror. But just when it looked like it was all over…
"I Summon 'Blackwing - Ghibli the Searing Wind'!" announced James R., placing a card onto a Monster Field Zone on his Duel Runner (sideways).
Appearing onto the field was a small bird-like creature with three sets of black and white wings, three feathery tails, and a red hairdo (Level: 3/ATK: 0/DEF: 1600). From there,
"What?!" demanded Shani.
"When my opponent declares a direct attack: I can Special Summon this card from my hand," explained James R., that means I'm safe and sound.
Due to this, 'Evigishki Merrowgeist' was forced to strike down 'Blackwing - Ghibli the Searing Wind' instead.
"Why you-!" threatened Shani, before easing up to reveal his Xyz Monster's effect, "After damage calculation, if 'Evigishki Merrowgeist' destroys an opponent's monster by battle: I can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; I must shuffle the destroyed monster into the Deck instead of sending it to the GY."
From there, the 'Blackwing - Ghibli the Searing Wind' Monster Card ejected from James R.'s GY to be shuffled back into the Deck.
"Huh! I suppose it wouldn't be much fun if I defeated you while you controlled no monsters," said Shani dismissively, "Of course, it won't matter, since I'm in a position to win. You've survived my turn now, but come my next turn, you will be out of the tournament!"
"When you put it that way," thought James R., knowing that this guy meant business. He started to draw a card, "Playtime has come to an end!"
From there, he performed the ever miraculous Destiny Draw.
"It's my turn! Draw!"
Turn Six: James R. Hogan (LP: 1900)
Deck: 46
Current Hand (1): "Against the Wind"
Action Card: N/A
James R. looked at the card he had just drawn ('Against the Wind'), and grinned.
"It's here!" he declared, before placing the card onto a Spell/Trap Zone on his Duel Runner, "I activate the Spell Card 'Against the Wind!"
From there, the mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field beside Blackbird (on its right).
"I must target 1 'Blackwing' monster in my GY: I must take damage equal to the ATK of the targeted monster, and add it to my hand. Seeing where I am at the moment, now I know I can't afford to play around anymore."
"You, getting serious?" inquired Shani, "God, you're so full of it."
James R. ignored the petty remark. From there, a card ('Blackwing - Auster the South Wind') slid out of James R.'s GY, and he took hold of it before revealing it.
"The 'Blackwing' monster I picked is 'Blackwing - Auster the South Wind'!" announced James R., "I now take damage equal to its ATK!"
"So be it," accepted Shani, "The more you damage yourself, the easier it'll be to finish you off!"
James R. glowed red a little bit and took the effect damage (LP: 1900 - 600).
"That did hurt, but it was worth it," he grimaced.
"Worth it?" scoffed Shani.
"You betcha!" As he spoke, James R. placed his card onto his Duel Runner, "I Summon 'Blackwing - Auster the South Wind'!"
Appearing onto the speeding field was a small, yellow hatchling with colorful wings (Level: 4/ATK: 1300/DEF: 0).
"As with 'Black Whirlwind', I can add a 'Blackwing' monster with less ATK from my Deck into my hand," reminded James R., taking a card ('Blackwing - Ghibli the Searing Wind') from his Deck and adding it into his hand, "Now, I'll activate 'Auster the South Wind's' effect! When this card is Normal Summoned: I can target 1 of my banished Level 4 or lower 'Blackwing' monsters; I must Special Summon it in Defense Position," He then made a card appear above his right hand, "And I pick…'Blackwing - Bora the Spear'!"
From there, the spear carrying 'Blackwing' returned to the field in a kneeling defensive position (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 800).
"You can't win!" insisted Shani, "You have no more cards in your hand and only have two monsters on the field that can't do anything to defeat my own!"
"When I get serious, it means I'm going to pull all stops and bring my best monster out," retorted James R., causing Shani to ease up slightly, "I'm Tuning my Level 4 Effect Monster, 'Blackwing - Bora the Spear', with the Level 4 Tuner monster, 'Blackwing - Auster the South Wind'!"
'Blackwing - Auster the South Wind' flew into the sky before turning into four Synchro Rings, which 'Blackwing - Bora the Spear' dove into while becoming four orbs of light. The symbols 4 plus 4 equals 8 were shown briefly as a Summon Chant came about…
"Darkened whirlwind, reveal hidden wishes on your wings!" chanted James R.. From there, as the four orbs within the four Synchro Rings turned into a beam of light, he swept his right arm about with determination, "Synchro Summon! Soar - 'Black-Winged Dragon'!"
Two large bird-like wings started coming out of the huge beam of light, much to the anticipation of the audience. Finally, appearing from the disbursing green light, and flying above its user, was a mighty black dragon. Its mouth looked like a bird's beak, its wings had white feathers, and three lone feathers came behind it (Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 1600).
"And so, James brings his dragon out," admired Discord.
The vast majority of the audience was likewise amazed to see 'Black-Winged Dragon', and this included the MC, who looked like he would blow a gasket (in a good way). Some audience members, however, were much more shocked and upset to see one of the Signer Dragons. The specific upset ones were…
"I can't believe that James bastard uses 'Black-Winged Dragon'!" complained Orga, clearly not a happy camper over witnessing the new monster, "Why did he have to pull out that monster of all times!?"
"That means Shani isn't going to last for much longer!" put in Clotho.
Azrael stared with interest, "So, James uses 'Black-Winged Dragon'…" he thought to himself, "Normally I should be angry at seeing a new, powerful monster about to possibly defeat one of my best students, and I am—but this also has me…curious."
The shocked ones were…
"I-I-It can't be…" stammered David.
Over with Lisa…
"Holy crap!" The pink-haired girl gasped silently.
Back over with David and his friends and family…
"It's one of those dragons; the one that gave me 'Life Stream Dragon' and birthmark…" thought David, "James-kun actually uses it!"
Over with the Orb representatives again…
"Am I seeing things?" thought Lisa, "That dragon was in that dream I had when I got 'Ancient Fairy Dragon' and that birthmark—or was it even a dream?"
Well, talk about a coincidence if there ever was one. Back on the track, Shani was too stunned to make a stinging comment about 'Black-Winged Dragon'. Over near the stadium exit…
"Did you see that, everybody?" reported Megan, speaking into the camera, "James Hogan has Synchro Summoned his ace monster - 'Black-Winged Dragon'."
(elsewhere…)
Inside city hall's main office, the TV was showing the broadcast of Megan's reporting of the new Duel Monsters tournament.
"As we all know, alongside both 'Blackwing Armor Master' and 'Assault Blackwing - Raikiri the Rain Shower', 'Black-Winged Dragon' is the main headliner for James's whole Deck," The image of Megan went on, "According to the rumors, there only seems to be one copy of it in the whole world, and it belongs to him."
Sitting at his desk watching the broadcast was Rex, resting his elbows on the surface of the desk. Although silent throughout, there was a look of deep interest on his face over seeing James R. Synchro Summoning 'Black-Winged Dragon'.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the stadium, both Blackbird and Forbidden roared down the track for yet another lap. James R., meanwhile, was ready to win the duel.
"I activate the special ability of the 'Auster the South Wind' in my GY!" he announced, as a card ('Blackwing - Auster the South Wind') ejected from his GY, "I can banish this card from my GY to activate 1 of the following effects."
These were the effects in-question:
-"I must place Black Feather Counter(s) on 1 'Black-Winged Dragon' I control equal to the number of card(s) my opponent controls."
-"I must place 1 Wedge Counter on each face-up monsters my opponent controls that does not have one."
"Which one will you pick?" seethed Shani, dreading the answer.
"I'll pick the first choice," continued James R., "Based on the number of cards my opponent controls, Black Feather Counters will be placed onto 'Black-Winged Dragon' in response."
From there, feathers on 'Black Winged Dragon's' wings began to turn red and black.
"You currently have four cards out," James R. pointed out, "As a result, four Black Feather Counters will be equipped to 'Black-Winged Dragon'," He then revealed an effect of his ace monster, "This card loses 700 ATK for each Black Feather Counter on it."
From there, 'Black-Winged Dragon' grew much weaker as a result of the Black Feather Counters on it (ATK: 2800 - 0).
"'Black-Winged Dragon' gets weaker for every Black Feather Counter on it?" blinked Lisa, "That doesn't seem like a good move at all!"
"What's James thinking?" put in Juri.
"Oh, you'll see," reassured Carlie, while Zack nodded in agreement.
"Hmm…" mused Ms. Simmons, "I wonder…?"
Back on the track, Shani snickered quietly to himself before bursting into loud laughter.
"You really are a fool!" he proclaimed, being unaware of 'Black-Winged Dragon's' true power, "Initially, 'Black-Winged Dragon' and 'Evigishki Soul Ogre' shared the same ATK. Furthermore, you could have attacked and destroyed my 'Evigishki Merrowgeist' while damaging me slightly, though it wouldn't matter too much. Now? Now your ace monster is a sitting duck for both of my monsters! One attack from either on my turn, and you're beaten!"
"Are you sure about that?" asked James R., quoting the ever popular catchphrase.
"What?!"
"As of this moment," The brown-haired young man went on, "I'll activate 'Black-Winged Dragon's' effect! Once per turn: I can remove all Black Feather Counters on this card, then target 1 face-up monster my opponent controls; that target loses 700 ATK for each Black Feather Counter I removed, and if it does, I must inflict damage to my opponent equal to the ATK lost by this effect," He then pointed upward at 'Black-Winged Dragon' still flying above him and Blackbird, "'Black-Winged Dragon' is equipped with four Black Feather Counters, meaning when I unequip them, 'Evigishki Soul Ogre' will lose 700 ATK for each Counter and you'll take damage equal to the ATK lost!"
"Four Black Feather Counters equals 2800!" realized Shani, growing horrified (LP: 2100), "Not only will 'Evigishki Soul Ogre' lose that much ATK, but I'll also take that much damage!"
"Correct!" confirmed James R., before again pointing upward at 'Black-Winged Dragon', "'Black-Winged Dragon', use your special ability to hit 'Evigishki Soul Ogre' with your Black Feather Counters! BLACK BURST!"
'Black-Winged Dragon' obeyed, channeling a powerful burst from its red and black wings before, with a roar, firing it towards 'Evigishki Soul Ogre', who got hit by the attack and lost all of its ATK as a result (ATK: 2800 - 0).
"Since 'Evigishki Soul Ogre' lost 2800 ATK," reminded James R., before pointing at his opponent, "you, Shani, will take damage equal to that amount!" He then clenched his right hand into a fist, "This duel…is done!"
Shani's eyes (or, again, eye) widened as he helplessly watched the remains of 'Black-Winged Dragon's' effect come straight for him and Forbidden before finally colliding.
*KABOOM!*
An explosion ensued from the collision.
"What an attack from 'Black-Winged Dragon'!" cried the MC, "Without actually attacking, James has dealt Shani a fatal blow!"
When the smoke finally cleared away, Shani, with a look of disbelief on his face, slowed his Forbidden to a complete stop as it emited steam and his LP ran out (LP: 2100 - 0).
DUEL RESULTS: James R. Hogan wins!
That meant the duel had ended.
"What a duel!" The MC whooped on, "After a couple of…weird turns…from James, he managed to turn things around and defeat Shani despite having few options in his final turn!"
From there, the crowd began to cheer.
"As ever, underneath that humorous, creative attitude of his, when push comes to shove James is still as good as ever," smiled Michael, folding his arms proudly.
"You can say that again, Mike," agreed Matt.
Over with David, his family, and friends…
"Such power…" thought David, amazed at how deadly 'Black-Winged Dragon' could be, "Something tells me it will be a tricky monster to deal with if I were to face James-kun."
"I may have never seen a monster like that before, but I sure am glad it won James the duel," remarked Sean.
"That combo totally wrecked Shani," agreed Janice.
"James-senpai!" cheered Gabriella.
"That's right, Gabriella," agreed Ren, "He won."
Over with the Orb representatives…
"Very impressive," commented Ms. Simmons, clapping.
"James's usage of 'Black-Winged Dragon' is definitely something to watch out for," added Mr. Kisaka, "If you give it even a single Black Feather Counter, it would end up weakening your own monster and damaging you in the process if James were to remove it."
"Wow! Did you guys see James?!" rejoiced Asagi.
"He managed to stick it to Shani," added Juri.
"If you mean kicking his ass to the curb, then you can say that again!" put in Lisa.
Mayura, meanwhile, stared long and hard at the victorious James R. as he did a victory lap on his Duel Runner, admiring how he managed to defeat Shani without actually attacking him. That 'Black-Winged Dragon' was really something, and the 'Blackwing' monsters that were played during the match were pretty cool, too. The tomboyish, red-haired young woman began to think about how she might have misjudged James R. back when they first met. Over with the Blue Cosmos representatives, they were far from being happy with how the duel ended…
"Dammit, Shani!" swore Orga, slamming his right fist onto the railing.
"He had an easy job; defeating that annoying 'Blackwing'/'Assault Blackwing' duelist, yet he blew it so easily!" fumed Clotho.
Azrael, likewise, didn't look very happy over Shani being eliminated from the tournament this quickly, but he still remained reassured that Orga and Clotho both could make it all the way. Not only that, he was also now quite intrigued in 'Black-Winged Dragon' after seeing it in action, wondering if there were any more monsters like it out there.
"I wouldn't worry too much, you two," reassured Azrael, standing up from his seat, "Shani might be out now, but you still have a chance to show this country, and the world, that you're truly the best," He then looked to his remaining students, "Clotho has already advanced, and you have a shot at winning in the first round as well, Orga."
With that said, the Headmaster of Blue Cosmos left the area for a drink at the food court.
"What's with Headmaster Azrael?" pondered Clotho.
"Beats me," shrugged Orga, "Although he looks like he's less mad that Shani's out, and more intrigued by something from the duel."
Both Bio-CPU boys then wondered what it could be. Back on the track, James R. finally stopped Blackbird a good distance from Shani and Forbidden and climbed off. He took off his helmet and shot Shani a teasing grin.
"You know, I promised your two friends I'd knock you out in the first round," cracked James R., "And I 'never' go back on my word."
He then started to wheel Blackbird away. Shani, meanwhile, was left to seethe as he glared at the person who defeated and humiliated him in the first round with nothing but anger and hatred written all over on his face.
"This isn't over…" Shani growled bitterly, getting off Forbidden, "I'll get my revenge on you if it's the last thing I do!"
Initially claiming James R. to be an enemy of his to get an excuse to destroy him in a duel, Shani now genuinely hated the brown-haired young man and was determined to get even with him for the defeat one of these days.
(elsewhere…)
Minutes later, James R. was back in the same garage from earlier on, doing some mechanic work on Blackbird after the rough duel. Eventually, a familiar female voice echoed from outside…
"Hey, James, are you in here?"
James R. looked up to see Mayura coming in.
"Mayura!" greeted James R., standing back up as he carefully set his wrench down and grabbed a wet towel to clean the grease off his hands, "What brings you by these neck of the woods?"
"I came here to congratulate you for winning against Shani," answered Mayura, smiling kindly, "And once again, I also want to thank you for defending me from Clotho and Orga's harassment earlier on. After watching how you dueled and seeing how much you care for your friends, I think I might have misjudged you after we had our first meeting before the tournament began - you're actually pretty cool."
Blushing in response, James R.'s eyes immediately turned into hearts once again, believing that he might actually have a chance with Mayura after all.
"You really mean that?" swooned James R., which earned him a nod from Mayura, "Then…does this mean…you will go out with me?"
Alas…
"Ha! Nice try, buddy," scoffed Mayura, rolling her eyes though still managing to crack a smile, "You still have a long way to go for me to get 'that' interested in you."
"Aww!" groaned James R., disappointed.
Oh well, it was still a very nice try, wouldn't you agree?