Episode 003 ~ The Forbidden One

The platforms were strange and unorthodox to both Lex and Thomas. Both of them had heard the rumors of these hi tech dueling fields, but had never actually seen them. Thomas could see the nervousness and uneasiness in Lex.

"The dueling field is no strange thing. All the rules are the same. The only difference is the holographic features. Don't worry, all will be explained during the duel," said Celsial.

"All right, lets get this started," Lex shuffled his deck thoroughly, then placed his deck in its respective place.

"Ok, I'll start it off, since your just getting familiarized with this new dueling field," said the brown eyed girl as she drew her top six cards. She studied them for a while, and then, seeming to make up her mind, she went into action.

"For my first turn I set this card in defense mode!" She yelled from across the field, making sure her opponent could hear her. As soon as she placed it down, a huge image of a card in a horizontal position appeared on her side of the holo field. "And I declare the end of my turn."

"Hmm, defense mode huh?" Lex said as he drew the top card from his deck, "Then I'll attack with my Harpie's Brother!"(ATK/1800 DEF/600) Lex picked a card from his hand, and placed it on his field. Lex watched as the image inducers began to glow. In seconds, his own card had come alive. The winged creature had a long red claw-like weapon attached to his right arm, giving him incredible strength. A flock of wild brown hair along with a red mask covered his face, giving it a mysterious but ominous look. Attached to his back, two long brown wings with red tips flapped rhythmically, keeping him afloat.

Lex looked at his creature, amazed at how life-like it looked. It breathed, tensed, moved, everything. Lex looked at his opponent, trying to see at how amazed she looked at seeing such a strong creature. But all she was doing was staring at him, as if nothing had happened.

"All right, Harpie's Brother, attack her creature!" Commanded Alex. As if on cue, the flapping winged beast dove forward, its long attached red claw coming in strong. Before the Harpie arrived, the image of the creature appeared, and then shattered into a million pieces as the red claw slashed it in half.

"Look's like you've attacked my Sangan! Giving me the chance to search for a creature in my deck with an attack of 1500 or less. And I choose," Celsial scrambled through her deck, "The Left Arm of the Forbidden One!"

"What!? That's ridiculous! There's only two sets of the Forbidden One, you can't possibly have a complete set!" Exclaimed Lex.

Thomas was amazed as well. He had never thought he would meet anyone with Exodia, but here he was, looking at one right in the eyes. Thomas looked over at the glowing human, who only watched in complete silence. He had so many questions, but the fear of speaking to a glowing human kept him quiet.

"Now you know I have one piece of the Forbidden One. But who know how many I have in my hand," taunted Celsial.

Damn! She's right. She's got a huge advantage over me! Thought Lex, as he watched the brown haired girl draw a card.

"This turn, I'll activate my magic card, Pot of Greed! This card allows me to draw two more cards from my deck!" Celsial placed the card in her Magic and Trap card zone, letting its effect take place. On the field, a huge green and blue pot with an evil looking smile, and red eyes appeared. Its laugh echoing around the darkened room. As soon as the large pot disappeared, Celsial drew two more cards from her deck, and smirked.

Oh no! She probably got another piece!

"All right, I'll end my turn by placing this next card in defense mode!"

Ending her turn, Lex began his. He drew a card.

"Let's see. If your really playing with Exodia, then I can't let you get all five pieces in time. So, I'll have to take you out quick and painful. First, I play Tribute to the Doomed! Discarding one my cards from my hand, to destroy any creature on the field. And that creature will be your face down creature!" Lex placed his Tribute to the Doomed on his magic card zone, in the mean time, he discarded one of his cards from his hand to the graveyard. On the field, strange things were happening. Out of nowhere, a large mummy walked over to the face down card, forcing it to flip over.

"Well, you've chosen wisely. You've flipped my Witch of the Black Forest," replied Celsial.

The mummy grasped the young black witch, embalming her in bandages with incredible speed. With one last tug, the witch was shattered in pieces, just like the creature before her.

"And, because my Witch of the Black Forest has been sent to the graveyard, I am once again allowed to search my deck, but this time, for a creature with a defense of 1500 or less. And guess what I choose," she searched through her deck, then finally satisfied, pulled a card out, "that's right, I choose, the Right Arm of the Forbidden One!"

Urg! I knew it! Oh well, I had planned for this, thought Alex, as he prepared for his next move.

"I'm fine with that, for now. But I will deal damage this turn. Since you have no monsters to protect your life points, and you have no magic or trap cards on the field, your wide open!" Yelled Lex. Celsial winced at her predicament. She didn't expect for her opponent to be so wise. She knew well about his ranking, but that meant nothing to her. For all she knew, he probably cheated. But she saw her miscalculation now.

"Next, I'll summon Harpie Lady!(ATK/1300 DEF/1400)" On the field, a beautiful but deadly half-female half-bird appeared. It had bird like claws and feet, along with a mane of red hair. Attached to its back were two blue wings, flapping just like her brother. "For my next brilliant move, I'll use Elegant Egotist, allowing me to search my deck for another Harpie Lady and summon it the field!" It was Lex' turn to search for a card. As soon as he spotted his second Harpie, he placed it in face up attack on the field. "Now my Harpie's... Attack!!"

The three bird/humans moved in unison. The attack almost looked synchronized. The Harpie Ladies raked with their claws, while the Harpie's Brother slashed with its attached weapon. After the attack, Celsial's life points dramatically decreased. Her life points dropped from 8000 to 3600.

"Ha, I knew I could win!"

"Your getting way ahead of yourself," said Lex' opponent as she drew a card. She sighed in relief as she quickly activated it, "I play Swords of Revealing Light! Stopping your creatures from attacking for three turns!" On the field, three large white swords slashed down from above, encircling all three Harpie's.

"If you think a couple of flashy swords will stop me, your sadly mistaken! Three turns it is, I'll beat you in three turns!"