No Such Duel

Chapter 7: The Masque

A week later, in a dark alley way,

Darcy was seen running away from someone or something, but came across a dead end. She desperately looked around for a way out, but to no avail. She turned back, and saw an older kid walking towards her, "Alright twerp, make with the rare cards, and this won't get ugly!" he demanded.

"B-But I just got them!" Darcy exclaimed.

"And now we want them, so cough 'em up!" he yelled. Just then, a powerful wind blew through the alley way, causing Darcy and the bully to shield their eyes from the debris. When the wind dissipated, there, between Darcy and the bully, was a mysterious masked person, "Move along, freak! This doesn't concern you!" the bully demanded.

"If you wish to bully someone, then try bullying me, if you can," the masked person said, as he whipped out a Duel Disk, and attached it to his arm. His voice sounded like he was using a voice modulator, to make his voice sound deeper.

"A Duel? Heh, why not? But what's in it for me?" the bully asked.

"If I win, you leave this one alone, but if you win, then I'll give you one of MY rare cards," the Masked Duelist said.

"Sounds reasonable... Alright, you got a deal!" the bully said, attaching his Duel Disk to his arm, "By the way, you got a name?"

"You may simply refer to me as 'Masque'," the Masked Duelist replied.

"Wow, real creative," the bully commented sarcastically.

Masque: LP 8000 Hand: 5

Bully: LP 8000 Hand: 5

"Enough stalling! Call the coin toss!" Masque said, as the virtual coin appeared, and was tossed into the air.

"It's heads!" the bully said. The coin landed heads side up, "Sweet! That means I get to go first!" he exclaimed, as he drew his first card, "I summon Vorse Raider in Attack Mode!" he said, as he summoned an orc like creature.

Vorse Raider

Attribute: DARK

Level: 4

Type: Beast-Warrior / Normal

Attack / Defense: 1900 / 1200

"And I'll add to his power with the Axe of Despair and the Bashing Shield!" the bully said, as he played to equip spells, which gave his monster a new battle-ax and a shield.

Vorse Raider

Attack : 1900 + 1000 + 1000 = 3900

"Since I'm not allowed to attack on the first turn, that'll do for now," the bully said.

Bully: Hand: 3

"Very well. My move, and I draw!" Masque said, as he drew his card, and examined his hand, "For my first move, I'll summon Saggi the Dark Clown in Defense Mode, followed by two face downs. That will do for my turn," Masque said, as he summoned a clown in defense mode.

Saggi the Dark Clown

Attribute: DARK

Level: 3

Type: Spellcaster / Normal

Attack / Defense: 600 / 1500

Masque: Hand: 3

"That's all?! A pathetic clown like Saggi couldn't help his way out of a paper bag! This will be too easy! I draw!" the bully said, drawing his card, "I summon Alligator's Sword in Attack Mode!" the bully said, summoning an anthropomorphic alligator wielding a sword to his side of the field.

Alligator's Sword

Attribute: EARTH

Level: 4

Type: Beast / Normal

Attack / Defense: 1500 / 1200

"Now I can start whittling away at your Life Points! First, my Vorse Raider will take out your clown!" the bully said, as Vorse Raider went in for the attack.

"I think not! Reveal Face Down Trap Cards! Crush Card Virus and Skull Invitation! By Tributing a DARK Monster with less than 1000 Attack Points, this card can infect all the monsters in your hand, on your side of the field, and up to three in your Deck that have 1500 or more Attack Points, then send them all to the Graveyard, and Skull Invitation will deal 300 points of Damage to both of us for every one of our own cards that are sent to the Graveyard," Masque explained, as Saggi was absorbed into Masque's Crush Card Virus Trap Card, which then spewed out a purple mist, that caused the bully's monster's to disintegrate, alone with two of the cards in his hand, and three from his deck.

300 X 9 = 2700

Bully LP: 8000 – 2700 = 5300 LP Remaining

Masque LP: 8000 – 300 = 7700 LP Remaining

"Ack! My Life Points!" the bully exclaimed.

"Now do you see that a Monster's true value doesn't come from how strong it it, but rather how you play it?" Masque asked.

"Whatever! I don't have any other moves I can make, so I'm ending my turn here!" the bully snarled.

Bully: Hand: 2

"You sound an awful lot like that athlete who got her family into trouble here a few days ago. What was her name... Lynn Loud JR.?" Masque commented.

"Oh yuck! Don't even compare me with that wannabe! She's too full of herself to ever be a real winner!" the Bully said.

"Well, at least now we know something we can agree upon. But for now, It's my turn, and I draw!" Masque said, as he drew his next card, "First, I activate the Spell Card known as 'Temple of the Kings', which allows me to activate a Trap Card in the same turn it was played. Next is the Card of Demise. I draw five more cards from my Deck, then, at the end of my fifth turn after activating this card, I must discard my entire hand," Masque explained, as he drew five more Cards.

Masque: Hand: 7

"Now I set one card face down, then activate it right away! Go, Ultimate Offerings!" Masque said, as his trap card revealed itself as a picture of some chubby green creature with a red slime of some kind coming off of it, "This Trap Card allows me to pay 500 Life Points for each additional Summon I choose to make during my turn. But wait, there's more! I also activate Spell Economics! This Spell allows me to forgo paying Life Points to activate Spell Card Effects," Masque said.

"That mask must to too small for your head... Ultimate Offering is a Trap Card, not a Spell Card," the Bully said.

"True, my Spell Economics card only works on other Spell Cards, which is why I have this Mausoleum of the Emperor Field Spell. Now, both of us may now Normal Summon higher level monsters without sacrificing monsters, so long as we pay 1000 LP for each Tribute needed," Masque said, as the area around them morphed into an alter of some kind.

"Uh oh," the Bully said.

"'Uh oh' is right, for now I can call upon this three card combo to call upon X Head Cannon and Aitsu!" Masque said, as he summoned X Head Cannon, and a little red man, ridding a paper airplane.

Aitsu

Attribute: FIRE

Level: 5

Type: Fairy / Normal

Attack / Defense: 100 / 100

"Next up will be the Tannhauser Gate Spell Card, which makes both of my Monsters have the same total Levels. X Head Cannon is Level 4, and Aitsu is level 5, so their Levels will now become 9!" Masque said, as his Monster's Levels increased.

"Two monsters with the same Level must mean...!" Darcy exclaimed.

"Indeed, I overlay Level 9 X Head Cannon and Aitsu, in order to build the Overlay Network!" Masque said, as both his monsters turned into balls of yellow and red light respectively, and were drawn into the Overlay Network, "I XYZ Summon Phantom Fortress Enterblathnir!" Masque said, as an Aircraft Carrier then appeared.

Phantom Fortress Enterblathnir

Attribute: WIND

Rank: 9

Type: Machine / XYZ / Effect

2 Level 9 monsters
Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, then activate 1 of these effects;

Banish 1 card your opponent controls.

Banish 1 random card from your opponent's hand.

Banish 1 card from your opponent's Graveyard.

Banish the top card of your opponent's Deck, face-up

Attack / Defense: 2900 / 2500

"Now I'll activate one of my Phantom Fortress' Special Abilities! By using one overlay unit, I can banish one card from your Graveyard or from your Deck, and I think I'll banish the Bashing Shield Spell Card from your Graveyard," Masque said, as his Fortress absorbed one of it's Overlay Units, and took one of the Bully's cards from his graveyard, "And to wrap up my turn, my Phantom Fortress will now attack your Life Points Directly!" Masque said, as his monster unleashed an attack on the Bully.

Bully LP: 5300 – 2900 = 2400 LP Remaining

Masque LP: 7700 – 300 = 7400 LP Remaining

Masque: Hand: 1

'This guy's good! I haven't even gotten at his Life Points, and he's brought me down to only less than 2500 LP already. I need to turn this Duel around. Let's see, his monster only has 2900 Attack Points, so I need a monster that has at least 3000 Attack Points, but the odds of drawing one is stacked against me,' the Bully thought, "Alright, my turn, and I draw!" he said, as he drew his card. He then looked at his card, "ALRIGHT! This card just might turn this duel around for me! I use Mausoleum of the Emperor's effect, and pay 2000 LP, in order to summon Rabidragon!" he said, as he summoned a dragon that looked like a rabbit.

Rabidragon

Attribute: LIGHT

Level: 8

Type: Dragon / Normal

Attack / Defense: 2950 / 2900

Bully LP: 2400 – 2000 = 400 LP Remaining

Bully: Hand; 2

"Quite the gamble you're going for. Let's see if it'll pay off," Masque said.

"Oh, it will, because now I attack with my Rabidragon!" the bully said, as his monster went on the attack, and destroyed Masque's monster.

Masque LP: 7400 – 650 = 6750 LP Remaining

"Sweet! Now thing's are looking up for me!" the Bully said.

"This Duel is far from over," Masque said.

"Whatever, I end my turn," the Bully said.

"Very well. I draw!" Masque said, as he drew his card, "I activate the Spell card Red Eyes Fusion, to fuse my Red Eyes Black Dragon and Summoned Skull, that are situated in my Deck, in order to Fusion Summon the Black Skull Dragon!"Masque said, as he took two cards from his deck, and sent them to his Graveyard, and summoned a more powerful looking Dragon Monster that also looked to have the build of a Demon.

Black Skull Dragon

Attribute: DARK

Level: 9

Type: Dragon / Fusion / Normal

Attack / Defense: 3200 / 2500

Masque LP: 6750 – 600 = 6150 LP Remaining

"A Fusion Monster too!? And this one is way stronger than mine!" the Bully exclaimed.

"Now, I attack with Black Skull Dragon!" Masque said, as his monster blasted Rabidragon off of the field.

Bully LP: 400 – 550 = 0 LP remaining.

Winner: Masque

"No way, I lost!" the Bully said, as he ran off.

"Whoa, this guy isn't just good, he's really good!" Darcy commented. Masque then turned to face Darcy, causing her to flinch. He then pulled out an envelope, and gave it to her.

"Use these wisely," Masque said, as a powerful gust of wind blew through the alley way again, causing Darcy to cover her eyes. When the wind died off, she saw that Masque was gone.

"Darcy! Where are you?" Darcy could hear Jenny calling out to her, and quickly rushed off to find her sister, "There you are! What happened?" Jenny asked.

"I was being chased by a bully, but some guy called 'Masque' showed up, and beat him in a Duel. He then gave me this," Darcy said, showing the envelope.

"What could it be?" Jenny asked, as her sister opened the envelope, and revealed five cards. Darcy pulled them out, and both sister's jaws dropped, "WHOA! These are some the rarest cards in all of Duel Monsters!" Jenny exclaimed.

"He said to use them wisely," Darcy added.

"Well, in any case, we need to get to the Rec Center and help the others out," Jenny said, as the two of them made their way to the Rec Center. Meanwhile, Masque was on top of one of the nearby buildings, looking at the Rec Center, where the Loud Sisters were training for their Duel against their brother.

"The biggest group of the most hypocritical bullies, all in one place. This is too perfect," Masque said, as he set his sights on the Rec Center.

Meanwhile, in the Rec Center,

Jenny and Darcy had just arrived, and walked in to see Lynn, engaged in training Duels with Tabby, "Hey guys, how have things been with their training?" Jenny asked.

"Apart from Lynn, they've all shown great improvements over the past few days. They're playing their cards a lot better, as well as defending their LP and attacking their opponent's LP more efficiently, but they're still a bit rough around the edges," Cookie replied, as Lynn's Duel against Tabby ended in a defeat for the former athlete.

"Looks like yet another win for me," Tabby commented, as the machinery around the two of them deactivated.

"No way! One more round! I have to win!" Lynn yelled.

"Get to the back of the line Junior. You've had your turn," Ross said. Both he and Randy had the day off, and were helping to supervise the practice duels.

"But Uncle Ross, I..." Lynn was cut off.

"Do not make me repeat my self," Ross sternly said. Lynn did as she was told, and hated it. She and the rest of her sisters liked getting their way, and hated it when no one gave it to them.

"Alright, next up will be Lori," Tabby said. Just then, a powerful wind blew through the building, causing everyone to shield their eyes. When the wind died off, Masque was standing in the center of the room.

"Who's this clown?" Lola asked.

"That's Masque! He's the guy who saved me from that bully!" Darcy exclaimed.

"Really? But why is he here?" Jenny asked.

"Simple... I came here to see how the Loud Sisters are coming along," Masque replied.

"You mean in a Duel?" Clyde asked.

"Alright! Then I'm going to take you on!" Lynn exclaimed, jumping into the fray.

"Junior, you've had your turn already!" Randy yelled.

"It's alright officer. Unlike with the rest of Lincoln's friends, I'll be dueling her for real," Masque said, accepting Lynn's challenge.

"But before we begin, take off that dopey mask!" Lynn demanded.

"Now why would I do that?" Masque asked.

"I face all opposition face to face, and that mask of yours is getting in the way of that," Lynn explained.

"Hmm, I tell you what... we'll play by the same rules Lincoln put into place for your Duel against him. If you're able to reduce my Life Points by half, using your own cards, then I'll take my mask off. In addition, you aren't allowed to do any of your phony good luck rituals during this match," Masque said.

"Eh, fine. I guess I'll make an exception in your case," Lynn said, as the machinery around the activated, and they attached their Duel Disks to their arms.

Lynn Loud Jr: LP 8000 Hand: 5

Masque: LP: 8000 Hand: 5

"Now for the coin toss. Call it in the air," Masque said, as the holographic coin was tossed into the air.

"It's gotta be heads!" Lynn exclaimed, only for the coin to land Tails side up, "Do over!" Lynn said.

"No. The coin toss landed in favor of me, so I'll go first! I draw!" Masque said, drawing a card, "My first move will be to activate the Spell Card 'Chaos Distill'." Masque said, as a large, strange looking machine appeared behind him.

"What's that card?" Ross asked.

"Chaos Distill is a card that removes all cards that would normally go to my Graveyard from play," Masque explained.

"Hold on, why do that?" Lynn quizzed.

"Why? So that I can activate these three Spell cards, 'Steel Lamp', 'Bronze Scales', and 'Silver Key'! When these cards are played while Chaos Distill is one the field, I'm allowed to special summon from either my hand or my deck Alchemy Beasts Salamandra the Steel, Ouroboros the Bronze, and Moonface the Silver!" Masque said, as his three Spell cards were absorbed into the big machine, and replaced with a metallic dragon, a silver rock creature, and a bronze snake.

Alchemy Beast - Salamandra the Steel

Attribute: FIRE

Level: 3

Type: Rock / Effect

Cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This Card cannot be Special Summoned except with "Steel Lamp". This card can attack your opponent directly.

Attack / Defense: 500 / 500

Alchemy Beast – Ouroboros the Bronze

Attribute: LIGHT

Level: 3

Type: Rock / Effect

This Card can only be Special Summoned with "Bronze Scales", and cannot be summoned by other means. This card can attack your opponent directly.

Attack / Defense 500 / 500

Alchemy Beast – Moonface the Silver

Attribute: DARK

Level: 3

Type: Rock / Effect

This card can only be Special Summoned with "Silver Key", and cannot be summoned any other way. This card can attack your opponent directly

Attack / Defense: 500 / 500

"Three monsters at once?! That's got to be cheating!" Lynn exclaimed.

"If it were an illegal move, my Duel Disk would not register it," Masque said.

"This why I say Spell and Traps should be against the rules! They offer unfair advantages to the opposing Duelists!" Lynn exclaimed.

"The rules will never change just because YOU don't like them, Lynn. Speaking of rules, I'll explain my Alchemy Beasts special rules; While they can't be summoned through the traditional sense, they are able to attack your LP directly, even if you have a monster on the field. Since I went first, I am forbidden to attack, so I'll end my turn with this face down," Masque said, placing a card face down.

Masque: Hand: 1

"I'll show you some rules! One of them being that I get a win, regardless of scores! I draw!" Lynn said, drawing her card.

Lynn Loud Jr: Hand: 6

"I summon Masaki, the Legendary Swordsman, in attack mode!" Lynn said, summoning a samurai to her side of the field.

Masaki the Legendary Swordsman

Attribute: EARTH

Level: 4

Type: Warrior / Normal

Attack / Defense: 1100 / 1100

"Now my Samurai can now attack one of your Alchemy Beasts!" Lynn exclaimed, as her monster drew his sword, and charged at Salamandra.

"That's what you think. Reveal Trap Card; Elemental Absorber! By banishing one monster in my hand, I can stop any attacks from your monster, so long as it's the same attribute. Since Masaki is an EARTH attributed monster, all I have to do is remove this Acrobat Monkey from play, and Masaki, and ALL EARTH monsters you summon are now unable to advance on any of my creatures," Masque explained, as a machine appeared, with one of the spikes on top of it glowing yellow. When it did this, a wall of mountains then appeared between Masque's monsters, and Lynn's Samurai.

"Tsk, I have no more moves to make, so I'll have to end my turn," Lynn said, disappointed at not being able to attack.

Lynn Loud JR; Hand: 5

"Then it's my turn! I draw!" Masque said, looking at his newly drawn card.

Masque: Hand: 1

"I now activate 'The Card of Sancitiy', which requires us both to draw until we each hold six cards," Masque said, as he and Lynn drew their cards.

Masque: Hand: 6

Lynn Loud JR; Hand: 6

"My next two Spell Cards are known as 'Mercury Hourglass' and 'Lead Compass', which allow me to summon Alchemy Beasts Ekanas the Mercury and Leon the Lead," Masque said, as he then summoned a metallic looking fish, and a lion.

Alchemy Beast – Ekanas the Mercury

Attribute: WATER

Level: 3

Type: Rock / Effect

Cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. Can only be Special Summoned with 'Mercury Hourglass'. This card can attack your opponent directly.

Alchemy Beast – Leon the Lead

Attribute: EARTH

Level: 3

Type: Rock / Effect

Cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. Can only be Special Summoned with 'Lead Compass'. This card can attack your opponent directly.

"I'll now attack your LP directly with all five of my Alchemy Beasts!" Masque said, as his three monsters waged their attack on Lynn.

Lynn Loud Jr: LP: 8000 – 2500 = 5500 LP Remaining

"That will do for my turn," Masque said, ending his turn.

Masque: Hand: 4

"This doesn't bode well," Lisa observed.

"What do you mean?" Luna asked.

"That Card of Sanctity Spell allowed both of them to draw enough cards to have a total of six in each of their hands. If Lynn summons a Monster that has an attribute other that EARTH, Masque can and will most likely use the effect of his Trap Card to block that particular Attribute from attacking at all," Lisa explained.

"If that happens, then all attacks are basically impossible, right?" Luan asked.

"Correct, unless Lynn has a Monster in her deck that can stop the effects of Trap Cards," Lisa replied.

"There's only one Monster I know of that can stop Elemental Absorber, but I don't know if Lynn has it in her deck," Clyde said.

"What monster is that?" Leni asked.

"It's called 'Jinzo', and it's special ability allows it to prevent trap cards from activating, and negates all their effects as well," Clyde explained.

"It's my move, and I draw!" Lynn said, drawing her card.

Lynn Loud JR; Hand: 7

"I summon Root Water in attack mode!" Lynn said, summoned a sea-serpent to her side of the field.

Root Water

Attribute: WATER

Level: 3

Type: Fish / Normal

Attack / Defense: 900 / 800

"Now I attack with Root Water! And I think I'll take out that Bronze Snake of yours!" Lynn said, as her monster went on the attack.

"Not so fast! I activate Elemental Absorber's affect! By Banishing the WATER Attribute Legendary Fisherman from my hand, I can now stop the attacks of ALL WATER monsters," Masque said, as another spike started glowing blue, and a wall of water deflected Root Water's attack.

"That Trap is getting on my nerves! Get rid of it!" Lynn demanded.

"Find me the OFFICIAL rule that forbids me from using this or any Trap Card, and I'll gladly stop," Masque replied.

"Gah! Whatever, I end my turn!" Lynn said.

Lynn Loud Jr; Hand: 6

"Good. Now it's my turn! I draw!" Masque said, drawing a card.

Masque: Hand: 5

"First up, all five of my monsters attack your LP directly!" Masque said, as once again, his monsters attacked Lynn directly.

Lynn Loud Jr.: LP: 5500 – 2500 = 3000 LP Remaining.

"Now for some fun! I overlay ALL Five of my Level 3 monsters, in order to build the Overlay Network!" Masque said, as his monsters were sucked into the Overlay Network, "I XYZ Summon Shark Caesar!" Masque said, as a shark monster then took to the field, with five lights orbiting it.

Shark Caesar

Attribute: WATER

Rank: 3

Type: Fish / XYZ / Effect

3 or more (max. 5) Level 3 monsters

Once Per Turn: You can detach one XYZ Material from this card, and place 1 Shark Counter on it. If this card Attacks or gets attack, it gains 1000 Attack Points for every Shark Counter on it during the Damage Step only.

Attack / Defense: 1800 / 2000

"But Masque's Alchemy Beasts could attack Lynn directly! Why summon that thing?" Lola asked.

"My guess is that he feels the need to show Lynn there's more than one way to Duel," Liam commented.

"I end my turn by using one of Shark Caesar's Overlay Units to give it a Shark Counter! It's your move, if you can even make a proper one," Masque said, as one of the lights surrounding was absorbed into his Shark Monster, and a shark guppy appeared over his monster. This really irked Lynn.

Shark Caesar: Shark Counter Count: 1

"What was that?" Lynn sounded like she was loosing her temper again.

"The way you duel is as sloppy and predictable as your athletic prowess. I've seen metal pipes that are more flexible than you. You're just relying on brute force and luck to win, instead of thinking strategically or using your own skill. If this kind of amateurish Dueling is what you're planning to take to your Duel with your brother, then you may as well accept the penalty for defeat. After all, what else but defeat could everyone expect from a fake winner like you?" Masque said. Lynn was really loosing her cool now.

"Take... that... BACK!" Lynn screamed.

"Why? Afraid to face the harsh reality of the world? Afraid to own up to your own mistakes and admit you're wrong? The way that I see it, and everyone probably does by now, is that you're unfit to call yourself a winner because of your selfishness! You care more about winning an empty, gold-plated trophy cup than you do your family, friends and teammates! Of course, I would be the same way you are if I had won a bunch of fixed sports games," Masque said.

"What do you mean 'fixed games;?! I've won all my sporting events up until Stinkcoln ruined that Softball Game with his bad luck!" Lynn yelled.

"True, you THINK you won all those sports games, but how do you know any of them were real wins? For all anyone knows, your team could've paid off all your opposing teams just so they can use the bathroom quicker, or the opposing teams could've thrown the games out of pity, given how poorly you treat your teammates," Masque said.

"What would you or anyone else know about how my sports games are played?! I won all those games because of my skills and luck!" Lynn yelled.

"Your 'victories' as you call them were all based on lies made by your teammates to placate to your selfish desire to be number one, or are no doubt the result of dumb luck, not good luck. After all, how can a third-rate wannabe athlete like you actually win anything legitimately?" Masque spat. This was the final blow to Lynn's ego, that caused her to go ballistic, and charged at Masque.

"Junior, no! Don't do anything stupid!" Ross yelled, as he and Randy got up, and rushed down to restrain their niece, who held Masque by his collar.

"I'LL SHOW YOU THIRD-RATE!" Lynn yelled, getting ready to throw a punch, when...

Physical Assault Penalty: 50% Life Point Damage

Lynn's Duel Disk then sent out a powerful shock that caused her to stumble back a few feet, "What... was that?" Lynn questioned, trying to shake off the numbness.

"It's one of many penalties that are administered during a Duel if a Duelist tries to break certain rules. In this case, you got hit with the 'Physical Assault Penalty', which not only reduced your LP by 50%, but you're turn is automatically skipped until after my next End Phase. Of course, this time around is just a warning. If you attempt that again, then your Duel Disk will administer an electric shock strong enough to render you unconscious, and your LP will automatically be dropped to 0," Masque explained.

Lynn Loud Jr.: LP 3000 / 2 = 1500 LP remaining

"Is that true?" Lori asked.

"It is. All Duel Disks, even the Rental ones you guys are borrowing are equipped with a device that delivers an electric shock to keep things safe between Duelists," Girl Jordan replied.

"What's more, there are several other penalties, including Intrusion Penalty and the Out of Turn Penalty. The Intrusion Penalty only deals 2000 Points of Damage if you barge in on a Duel when you aren't Dueling, while the Out of Turn Penalty reduces your LP by half, and forces you to skip your next turn, if you try to make a move when it's not officially your turn," Clyde explained.

"Since you loose this and your next turn, I'll make my move! I draw!" Masque said, drawing a card, "I activate Shark Caesar's Special Ability, and remove one Overlay Unit to give it another Shark Counter," Masque said, as Shark Caesar absorbed another Overlay Unit, and another shark guppy appeared over it.

Shark Caesar: Shark Counter Count: 2

"And now, my Shark Caesar will go on the offensive, and it's special ability gives it an additional 1000 Attack Points for each Shark Counter that's on it," Masque said.

Shark Caesar: Attack: 1800 + 2000 = 3800 Attack Points

"With Attack Points that high, Lynn's Monsters don't have a chance!" Lana exclaimed.

"And it doesn't matter which Monster Masque attacks with, since the Attack Point Difference is just that much greater," Rusty said.

"Now, I attack Root Water with my Shark Caesar!" Masque said, as his monster attacked and destroyed Root Water.

Lynn Loud Jr.: LP: 1500 – 2900 = 0 LP Remaining

Winner: Masque

"Whoa, talk about one sided!" Lucy commented.

"I've heard Masque was a strong Duelist, but he didn't even loose a single LP," Zach said.

"No... how did I loose?!" Lynn yelled, pounding the floor.

"Do you even need to ask such a ridiculous question, especially when the answer is so painfully obvious? You just kept attacking repeatedly, with no strategy, no understanding of my card, or even your own. You might as well swallow your pride and publicly apologize to Lincoln for this whole mess YOU started," Masque said.

"I didn't start anything! Stinkcoln ruined my game with his bad luck and..." Lynn was cut off.

"'Bad Luck' this, 'Bad Luck' that! Your excuses are about as predictable as your athleticism. When are you going to learn that it isn't luck that wins games, but rather skill and strategy? The way I could tell by your predictably sloppy Dueling, Lincoln's victory over you and the rest of your sisters is assured!" Masque said.

"We could never loose to that twerp!" Lori exclaimed. The sisters in the stand also shared her sentiments.

"I'd rather give up sports forever than ever apologize or loose to Stinkcoln!" Lynn proclaimed.

"Hmm, are you willing to make that a wager?" Masque asked.

"What do you mean?" Lynn asked.

"It's not a difficult question to answer. Are you willing to stake your future in sports on this Duel?" Masque asked.

"Ha! Seeing as how I won't loose to that jinx, I'll gladly bet on it!" Lynn proclaimed.

"Whoa, things are getting real now," Clyde commented.

"What do you mean?" Leni asked.

"He's saying that Lynn has placed her sporting hobby on the line, and if she looses, she has to give it up completely," Lisa explained.

"You're all free to join in this little betting pool if you so choose," Masque said to the rest of the Loud Sisters.

"I think I'll sit this bet out. I like getting down and dirty too much to give it up," Lana commented.

"As I am not one to gamble, I too shall refrain from taking part in this bet," Lisa added.

"I would put my comedy on the line, but this seems a bit much," Luan commented.

"Same here. I don't think betting my music on a simple card game is worth it," Luna added.

"I'm not going to throw away anything to do with my beauty pageant career if we loose!" Lola screeched.

"If Lincoln is as good as everyone says he is, then I'll choose to remain in the darkness," Lucy added.

"I'm literally not giving up my future in golfing," Lori added.

"What would I be betting?" Leni asked.

"Most likely your love of fashion," Lisa replied.

"Eek! Then I'm out too!" Leni decided.

"What are you guys talking about? It's Stinkcoln we're up against! We can't possibly loose!" Lynn said.

"We're thinking ahead for either outcome, Lynn. We're playing it safe, rather than sorry," Lori said.

"But what's the point of playing it safe? You guys sound like we're actually going to loose!" Lynn yelled. Just then, a powerful gust of wind blew through the building.

"I'll inform Lincoln of these developments. You should consider apologizing while there's still time!" Masque's voiced echoed.

"Pfft, why do I need to apologize? I'm the one who was wronged, not Stinkcoln!" Lynn said.

"Junior, all the evidence shows that you are the one in the wrong for starting this mess! Sure Lincoln shouldn't have lied about being bad luck, but that didn't give any of you the right to kick him out," Ross said.

"Except he DIDN'T lie! Stinkcoln IS bad luck!" Lynn yelled.

"And that's another thing; From now on, NONE of you is to call him 'Stinkcoln'. Anyone who calls him that will be grounded for a month after you get released from your sentences," Randy said.

"But that's not fair! That little twerp literally deserves every bit of what we have to dish out, and more!" Lori complained. The other sisters started proclaiming similar sentiments alongside the eldest sister.

"No, he doesn't! He already got FAR MORE than enough punishment from you girls, and your parents!" Randy yelled.

"And it's high time your girls felt what it's like to be on the receiving end having everyone turn against you for this whole 'bad luck' garbage!" Ross yelled. This got the Loud Sisters to all quiet down.

"Um, Officers?" Clyde cautiously said.

"Yes Clyde?" Ross asked, sounding a bit calmer talking to his nephew's best friend.

"Are we to continue with the girl's training? They've come to understand the cards in their own individual decks, but the terms of the Duel said that ALL nine of them were to face Lincoln at the exact same time. To do that, they'll need to learn how to use their own cards in combination with the cards in the rest of their decks," Clyde explained.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Ross said.

"I've already called my Dad to arrange for transportation to the Duel Dome. The next part of their training will take place there," Girl Jordan said.

"What's the next part?" Lucy asked.

"You'll see when we get there. Until then, try coming up with strategies to use your own cards with each your sister's cards," Girl Jordan said, as they all filed out of the Rec Center. Meanwhile, from a nearby alleyway, Masque could be seen, watching the large group.

'They aren't ready, and if they play the way Lynn did, then they'll never be ready to take on even the weakest of opponents,' Masque thought to himself.

Royal Woods Duel Dome

The Loud Sisters were in awe at how massive the Duel Dome was. Since their father forbade any of them from doing anything that has to do with Duel Monsters, they never went near the Duel Dome, "This place in ginormous!" Lana exclaimed. As she was right. The main stage they were all standing on was about the length of a football field, and the stands looked to be at least 200 ft high, and was encircling the stage.

"Alright, you girls know how to use your E Decks, and more or less know how the E Cards in each other's decks can be used. But now you have to plan out new strategies to incorporate into your Dueling style, because when the time comes for your match against Lincoln, you'll have to learn how to use Action Fields," Girl Jordan explained.

"What are 'Action Fields'?" Lisa asked.

"They're holographic environments, created by the Augmented Reality Combat System, or ARC for short, in which Duels are played nowadays. Each Duelist has access to ALL the benefits that each Action Field Spell Card can grant them. You girls will need to learn how to Duel in one of these environments," Clyde explained.

"I really need to see about eviscerating this technology for more productive uses," Lisa said to herself.

"In any case, you girls will each face nine of us so you can get feel for what to expect from the Action Fields," Rusty said, as he, Clyde, Zach, Liam, Girl Jordan, Haiku, Jenny, Kat, and Cookie stepped forth.

"I'll activate the Action Field Spell. How does 'Giga-Robo Factory' sound?" Ronnie Anne asked.

"Sounds good," Clyde replied. Ronnie Anne then imputed the data, which then activated the ARC system. A massive factory, with giant robots being built materialized all around them.

"This Action Field is fully interactive. You can climb the ladders, swing on hanging chains, etc.," Kat explained. Lana went over, and touched one of the desks that the ARC system generated.

"It feels like an actual desk," she said.

"Alright, now we'll begin the next part of your training," Clyde said, as he and the others activated their Duel Disks, as did the Loud Sisters.

"Here's how this training for the next few days will go down. You girls will be working together to take each of us out of the Duel. You won't win until you reduce ALL of our Life Points to 0. The same rule will apply to us," Girl Jordan said, as the Duel began.