The two walked for several more minutes. Martin walked quickly. He wanted
to put as much distance between himself and that freaky duel behind him as
possible.
"Martin, I think we need to stop. You need to relax," said Defiance. She was starting to get worried about him. Although she hadn't seen the last duel it sounded bad enough. It had really shaken Martin.
Defiance and Martin stopped walking. Martin leaned against a tree then slid down it until he was sitting. Then he pulled his legs to his chin, buried his face in his knees, and didn't move.
Defiance stood nearby wondering how she could help Martin. She never had been good with people. Or was it people had never been good with her? She always seemed to be on the outside. No one had really accepted her until she met Luther. Then, through Luther, she met Martin. They were the only two people to even treat her like another living person.
Defiance choked. "Why do I always think about such morbid topics? I can't change the past. Luther is in the past. I cannot change that. I need to move on. Right now I am in a major Duel Monsters tournament. Martin needs a few minutes to chill. Then we are going to find more duelists to duel. The longer we last the later we return to the group home."
"Hey you!" a loud voice shook Defiance out of her thoughts.
"Yeah, you. You're a duelist. Let's duel," he said.
"So much for subtleties," thought Defiance, "Awfully eager aren't you. You aren't even going to give me a name?"
"I'm Collin," he replied. He was on the tall side, but incredibly gangly. He had on an oversized T-shirt of some rock band. He also wore khaki shorts. He had a ball cap on backwards.
"Call me Defiance," she extended her name.
"Defiance? No, really. What is your real name?" Collin asked.
"It is Defiance," she said again, grinding her teeth. Again the bitterness about her name rose.
"Well are you going to duel me or not?" Collin asked again.
"I should teach this rude creep a lesson," she thought.
"How many star chips?" she asked, making up her mind.
"I only need three more to enter the castle. Three star chips," he said.
"Fine three star chips," Defiance agreed, "I hope it was just a fluke he has so many star chips."
Martin rose to his feet, a tired look in his eyes. He wasn't looking forward to another duel, especially if it turned out to be like the last one. He was also still shaken up by the strange things he saw in the duel where Yu-Gi beat Kaiba's "ghost".
"Let's see, there is a holo-field that way," said Collin as he pointed in the direction Defiance and Martin had just come from. It was the field where Yu-Gi had just dueled. Collin started to walk towards it.
"Let's go Martin. We can rest after this," said Defiance softly. Martin began to lead her after Collin.
"What! Do you need someone to hold your hand?" taunted Collin looking back. Defiance pursed her lips together and said nothing. Martin looked at the ground. They made their way to the holo-field.
"Here's my deck, let's shuffle," said Collin. They exchanged decks.
"What the screw!?" exclaimed Collin when he was handed her deck. Defiance turned to face him, sunglasses off, with her hands on her cocked hips.
Collin opened his mouth and a little squeak came out, but nothing else.
"I'm blind, O.K.?" said Defiance, with a note of defiance in her voice, "Let's get on with it." She took her deck back and walked towards her platform. It was the same one Yu-Gi had used.
"Let's duel. You can go first," said Collin when they were both in their place. Defiance drew and examined her hand.
"I play the Goddess of Whim in attack mode," declared Defiance as she placed her card down. The goddess appeared on the field. Her hair was actually long leafy vines. She wore a sleeveless blue dress. When she played she yawned and stretched like she didn't care that she was in a duel. Her attack was 950 and defense 700.
"Martin, what is the field?" asked Defiance.
"Light," he answered. Light is the default or normal field. No monsters received a field advantage or disadvantage on a Light field.
"Then I play Dragon Statue in attack mode," declared Collin as he played his card. The Dragon Statue appeared on the field. It was a statue of a dragon (obviously) that was the color of sandstone. It held a shield and sword and didn't move. It was actually a warrior type, and was on the smaller end of size for a dragon. It's attack was 1100 and defense 900.
"Attack Goddess of Whim," yelled Collin. The Dragon Statue slowly made its way to Defiance's fairy type. The Goddess was dreaming and didn't appear to realize the danger until the Dragon Statue swung its sword. The Goddess of Whim was destroyed and Defiance lost 250 life points. Defiance drew her next card.
"I play the Enchanting Mermaid in attack mode," said Defiance as she place her card in the place her Goddess of Whim had just been. The mermaid had an attack of 1200 and a defense of 900. She had a long pink tail that matched the little shirt she was wearing. Her orange hair clung to her blue skin.
"Mermaid attack his Dragon Statue!" yelled Defiance. She listened as Collin lost 100 life points.
"For my next turn I will play the Darkfire Dragon in attack mode," said Collin in a loud voice. The Darkfire Dragon was a long sinusoidal monster made solely of flames. It had smoky black eyes that glared at its prey.
"Attack," ordered Collin and the dragon slithered to her mermaid.
"Not quite," said Defiance. "The Darkfire Dragon is also a Pyro type so my Fish-Aqua type has an advantage." The holo-field raised the Enchanting Mermaids attack by 300. With their attacks equal both monsters were destroyed in the clash, but no life points were affected.
"Now it is my turn," said Defiance as she drew her card. "I play Fairy's Gift in attack mode." The monster appeared on the field. It had two enormous wings that resembled a swallow tail butterfly. Her skin was a light blue and so was her dress. Her dark blue hair was blown around as she flapped to stay airborne. Her stats were 1400 and 1000.
"I also play a magic card to end my turn," said Defiance.
"Then I play the Koumori Dragon in attack mode," said Collin. Its stats were 1500 and 1200. It was a dark violet color with wicked claws. The ends of its wings were bright red. It was about half the size of the really powerful dragons, which means it was still taller than most people.
"Koumori attack!" ordered Collin.
"Wait!" yelled Defiance, "I played a trap card. I activate the Bear Trap. It destroys any attacking monster with an attack less than or equal to 1500. You monster just meets that requirement." The Koumori Dragon disappeared with blazing lights.
"And now I play The Snake Hair," said Defiance. The Snake Hair, with the stats of 1500 and 1200, was her ugliest monster. She was a gorgon with royal blue skin. The zombie's lower body was a snake and she wore a black flowing shirt.
"I counter with my Blackland Fire Dragon," said Collin. The dragon was summoned on to the field. It was a green stereotypical dragon with an attack of 1500 and a defense of 800.
"Attack Fairy's Gift," cried Collin. The dragon blasted a huge flame at the fairy and she disappeared with a high shriek. Defiance lost 100 life points which brought her down to 1650. Collin had 1900.
"Since their attacks are the same I play the Beautiful Beast Tamer in attack mode," declared Defiance. The Beautiful Beast Tamer was the female counter part to the male Monster Tamer card. She had an attack of 1750 and a defense of 1500. She wore a silky full-body suit that someone might see on an acrobat. Out of her wavy dark green hair poked two cat like ears. She cracked her whip at the Blackland Fire Dragon.
"Beautiful Beast Tamer destroy Blackland Fire Dragon," ordered Defiance. The Beautiful Beast Tamer stepped forward and used her whip the beat the dragon. The dragon collapsed and Collin lost 250 life points.
"I play Meteor Dragon, attack mode," declared Collin. His next dragon appeared on the field. It looked like a turtle with dragon appendages and head. Two tiny bluish-black wings poked out of its molten lava colored shell. It's purple head snapped at the Beautiful Beast Tamer's cracking whip. The dragon's attack and defense were 1800 and 2000.
"Meteor Dragon attack the Beautiful Beast Tamer," decreed Collin. The monster moved forward, the air around it blurred with the heat the dragon produced. The Meteor Dragon snapped its head towards the beast tamer and she disappeared with a blaze of light. Defiance's life points were reduced to 1600.
"I play the Rogue Doll in attack mode," said Defiance in a loud voice. The Rogue Doll was a spell caster whose stats were 1600 and 1000. She had a pale face that was half covered by the large violet hat she was wearing. The hat strangely resembled the pope's hat, if it came past the ears. The Rogue Doll's violet dress also rapped around her head. She looked like a package with a face in the middle.
"I also use the Book of Secret Arts to power up her defense and attack by 300 points," declared Defiance as she played her magic card.
"Rogue Doll attack Meteor Dragon," said Defiance and doll cast a spell that obliterate the Meteor Dragon. Collin lost 100 life points.
"I play the Sky Dragon in attack mode," said Collin. The Sky Dragon was a pink dragon with two sets of dark wings. It's tail whipped back and forth as it prepared to attack. Its stats were 1900 and 1800.
"You didn't move your zombie to defense mode so Sky Dragon attack The Snake Hair," ordered Collin. The Sky Dragon took off and attacked the zombie from above. Defiance lost 400 life points. Defiance now had a total of 1200 life points and Collin had 1550. Defiance had her powered up Rogue Doll and Collin had his Sky Dragon, who were equal in attacks.
I play the Spirit of the Harp in defense mode along with a magic card," said Defiance. The Spirit of the Harp appeared beside the Rogue Doll. She had on a sunny yellow robe and matching saggy hat. She strummed on a harp that appeared with her. Her attack was 800 and her defense was 2000.
"For my next turn I play Seiyaryu," said Collin as his monster took shape on the field below. It was a strange dragon. Pale pink in color, it resembled an origami bird more than a dragon. It's wings/arms were held behind its back. Its narrow, pointed head and beak swiveled around, looking at Defiance's two monsters. It walked, more like hopped on two feet. It was a formidable opponent with an attack of 2500 and a defense of 2300.
"Seiyaryu attack the Rogue Doll," order Collin.
"No it won't. My magic card is the Trap Hole. It destroys any monster with an attack of 1000 or more," said Defiance as she played the trap. The Seiyaryu disappeared in a fissure that the holo-field created.
Collin groaned.
"I play this card face down in defense mode," said Defiance as she laid down her Angelwitch. "If he keeps pulling cards like that I'm going to need a better hand. Why didn't I put my Pot of Greed in? Oh well. I'll have to trust my deck and handle this duel with what I have."
"Your move," said Defiance.
"I play the Aqua Dragon in attack mode. I also power it up with Invigoration," said Collin. His new monster appeared on the field. It was an ocean blue dragon with a teal belly. It raised itself on to its back legs. It towered over Defiance's monster ready to strike. Because of Collin's magic card its stats were 2750 and 2400.
"Aqua Dragon attack Rogue Doll," ordered Collin. The Aqua Dragon shot a beam of ice at the Rogue Doll and it collapsed, causing Defiance to lose 850 life points.
Defiance was down to 350 life points and Collin had 1550. Collin had his Sky Dragon and powered up Aqua Dragon in attack mode. Defiance had her Spirit of the Harp and Angelwitch, still face down, in defense mode.
"This is not good. I need something, anything," thought Defiance, "I hope this next card will be what I need." She drew her next card. It was Dian Keto the Cure Master, a magic card. Defiance thought for a moment.
"I play these two magic cards face down," she declared, playing her new card and one from her hand.
"First I use Dian Keto the Cure Master to restore 1000 life points," she said. The holo-field raised her back to 1350.
"Then I play the Dark Hole," continued Defiance as she turned her last card over. A black void appeared in the middle of the field, sucking it clean. The monsters on the field tried to escape, but it was to powerful. When the holo-field was done not a monster or magic card was left. Hers and Collins, they had all been destroyed. Defiance picked up her in play cards and put them in the graveyard.
"You turn," said Defiance.
"You destroyed your own monsters!" exclaimed Collin.
"Just go," said Defiance impatiently.
"I play this card face down in attack mode," said Collin.
"I'll play my Spirit of the Winds in attack mode," said Defiance, hoping it was a good move. The Spirit of the Winds was a transparent monster with a blue tint. She was a spell caster whose attack was 1700 and defense was 1400. She wore what looked like pale green strips of cloth, but they faded into a breeze once they were six inches away from her body.
"I play Stone D. and attack your Spirit of the Winds with my Black Dragon Jungle King," said Collin, turning the card over, "Attack!" The Black Dragon Jungle King strongly resembled a tyrannosaurus-rex that was completely black. Its stats were 2100 and 1800. It destroyed the spell caster with a swing of its tail and Defiance lost 400 life points. She had 950 left.
The Stone D. was another sinusoidal dragon, even though it was a rock type. The head resembled the Great Stone Dragon from Mulan. (Again, not mine, but the comparison is perfect.) The Stone D. was completely black like the jungle king. Its attack, 2000. Defense 2300.
"Then I play the Mystical Elf in defense mode," declared Defiance, "And I power her up with Elf's light. The Mystical Elf was a fairy type in pale green dress that showed off her collarbone. It had a silver collar and long blonde flowing hair. A silver tiara sat on her head. She now had an attack of 1300 and a defense of 2500.
"I play the Kaiser Dragon in attack mode," said Collin. The Kaiser Dragon was straight out of Chinese mythology. It looked like the golden dragon in all their artwork. It had an attack of 2300 and a defense of 2000, the opposite of the Stone D.
"Since I can't beat your Mystical Elf yet, it is your turn," said Collin.
"I play the Beautiful Head Huntress in attack mode," said Defiance. The warrior appeared next to the Mystical Elf. Her attack was 1600 and defense 800.
"Why did you do that?" asked Collin.
"Because I am also going to play my Swords of Revealing Light to freeze all your monsters for three turns," said Defiance as she played her magic card.
"Fine, it will give me the chance to make my team unstoppable. First I move my Stone D. to defense mode.," said Collin after a row of shining swords encased his monsters.
"I play Serpent Night Dragon in attack mode and a magic card," said Collin. The Serpent Night Dragon was a psychedelic sinusoidal dragon. It was a rare card. Defiance knew this to mean that he had won a major tournament before. With an attack of 2350 and a defense of 2400 Defiance knew she would need a magic card to beat him. And fast, because she only had two more turns for him to be frozen.
"I play my Dark Elf in attack mode," said Defiance, "And I also power her up with Elf's Light. The Dark Elf was the counterpart to the Mystical Elf. The only visible difference between the two was the long jet black hair if the Dark Elf. Her attack had been raised to 2500 and her defense was 1300, the exact opposite of her counter part.
"And because I played them together their stats are raised by 250 points," finished Defiance. It was now Defiance with 950 life points, a Dark Elf in attack mode with an attack of 2750, a Mystical Elf in defense mode with a defense of 2750, and the Beautiful Head Huntress in attack mode with 1600 points. Collin had his Stone D. in defense mode at 2300, a Serpent Night Dragon in attack mode at 2350, Kaiser Dragon at 2300 attack, and the Black Dragon Jungle King in attack mode at 2100. He had 1550 life points left, but he was also under the Swords of Revealing Light still.
"I attack your Serpent Night Dragon with my Dark Elf," said Defiance, "Attack!" The elf charged the paralyzed dragon.
"My turn for a trap," said Collin as he picked up his magic card. "I played Waboku." Waboku reduces any attacking monsters attack to 0 for that turn. The holo-field showed a ring of sages appear, which shielded the Serpent Night Dragon, preventing the Dark Elf from scratching him.
"For my turn," continued Collin, "I play another magic card. One more turn and beware."
"Then I play my Warrior of Tradition in attack mode," said Defiance, beginning to grow more confident. The Warrior of Tradition appeared next to the Beautiful Head Huntress, her counterpart. They looked a lot alike, but the Warrior of Tradition had darker hair, a red and green kimono, and a large ax, well butcher's knife. Her attack was 1900 and defense was 1700. Because they were on the field together the Beautiful Head Huntress's stats were 1850 and 1050, and the Warrior of Tradition was at 2050 and 1950.
"I also play the magic card Shadow Spell," said Defiance. "It let's me chose one of your monsters and decreases its stats by 1000. And I chose the Serpent Night Dragon."
"I knew you might try something like that so I played a Reverse Trap card," said Collin arrogantly, "It changes it from -1000 to +1000." The holo- field raised the stats of the Serpent Night Dragon to 3350 and 3400.
"I attack your Kaiser Dragon with my Dark Elf," ordered Defiance. The elf easily disposed of the dragon. Collin lost 450 life points bring him down to 1100.
"In one more turn my monsters will be free to attack you. Tick-Tock you are done for," gloated Collin. "And since it is my turn I play the Twin- Headed Thunder Dragon in attack mode and power it up with Dragon Claw, just to make sure you don't win." It stats went from 2800 and 2100 to 3300 and 2600.
"Even if you want to risk destroying my Black Dragon Jungle King or Stone D., you'll have to leave that card in attack mode, and then it is all over," finished Collin.
"How did that happen?" wondered Defiance, "I had him. And now I am back down to my only hope being the next card I draw. Please, let this be a winner." She picked up the top card on her deck. It was the Change of Heart magic card.
"Hhhm," thought Defiance.
"Get on with it," said Collin.
"I play a magic card," said Defiance, removing it from her hand and placing it on the field.
"First I play the Change of Heart and take over your Serpent Night Dragon," said Defiance. The holo-field showed a humanoid with one angel wing and one demon wing rush for the dragon. There was a flash of light and the Serpent Night Dragon was hers to control for the rest of her turn.
"No!" cried Collin as his monster joined Defiance's feminine creatures.
"And since I'm not the one affected by the Swords of Revealing Light the Serpent Night Dragon is free to attack," taunted Defiance. "Serpent Night Dragon attack the Black Dragon Jungle King." The monsters charged each other. The Serpent Night fired rays of darkness at the jungle king and he went down with a resounding thud. The holo-field subtracted the rest of Collin's life points.
"Wow, you're really good," said Collin after they had exited the field. "How many tournaments have you won?"
"None, this is my first tournament ever," replied Defiance, a little surprised at his friendly behavior.
"So I was beaten by a rookie? Oh well, you won't stay a rookie for long," said Collin. He began to walk away.
"Do you know that your only the second person to beat me in a tournament?" he added, turning around.
"No, I didn't know," she answered.
"Yeah, the only other person who beat me was this girl named Mai," said Collin. It took Defiance a few seconds to place the name.
"I've heard about her. Isn't she claiming to be psychic?" asked Defiance.
"Yeah. It was really freaky. She played all her cards without even looking at them," said Collin.
"You just played another duel like that. I didn't see any of my cards," said Defiance in a monotone voice.
"Well, she had no other way to read them. But she only won because she psyched me out. Oh well, I guess I need to find more people to duel," he said and walked away.
"Bizarre," thought Defiance, "This Mai, she seems like the kind of person I need to eliminate. I think we'll go and find her."
"Hey, Martin," said Defiance. Martin turned around. He had been watching Collin leave.
"Let's find some place quiet for a break," said Defiance, "I think we earned it." Martin smiled, took her hand, and they went and sat under a tree.
"Martin, I think we need to stop. You need to relax," said Defiance. She was starting to get worried about him. Although she hadn't seen the last duel it sounded bad enough. It had really shaken Martin.
Defiance and Martin stopped walking. Martin leaned against a tree then slid down it until he was sitting. Then he pulled his legs to his chin, buried his face in his knees, and didn't move.
Defiance stood nearby wondering how she could help Martin. She never had been good with people. Or was it people had never been good with her? She always seemed to be on the outside. No one had really accepted her until she met Luther. Then, through Luther, she met Martin. They were the only two people to even treat her like another living person.
Defiance choked. "Why do I always think about such morbid topics? I can't change the past. Luther is in the past. I cannot change that. I need to move on. Right now I am in a major Duel Monsters tournament. Martin needs a few minutes to chill. Then we are going to find more duelists to duel. The longer we last the later we return to the group home."
"Hey you!" a loud voice shook Defiance out of her thoughts.
"Yeah, you. You're a duelist. Let's duel," he said.
"So much for subtleties," thought Defiance, "Awfully eager aren't you. You aren't even going to give me a name?"
"I'm Collin," he replied. He was on the tall side, but incredibly gangly. He had on an oversized T-shirt of some rock band. He also wore khaki shorts. He had a ball cap on backwards.
"Call me Defiance," she extended her name.
"Defiance? No, really. What is your real name?" Collin asked.
"It is Defiance," she said again, grinding her teeth. Again the bitterness about her name rose.
"Well are you going to duel me or not?" Collin asked again.
"I should teach this rude creep a lesson," she thought.
"How many star chips?" she asked, making up her mind.
"I only need three more to enter the castle. Three star chips," he said.
"Fine three star chips," Defiance agreed, "I hope it was just a fluke he has so many star chips."
Martin rose to his feet, a tired look in his eyes. He wasn't looking forward to another duel, especially if it turned out to be like the last one. He was also still shaken up by the strange things he saw in the duel where Yu-Gi beat Kaiba's "ghost".
"Let's see, there is a holo-field that way," said Collin as he pointed in the direction Defiance and Martin had just come from. It was the field where Yu-Gi had just dueled. Collin started to walk towards it.
"Let's go Martin. We can rest after this," said Defiance softly. Martin began to lead her after Collin.
"What! Do you need someone to hold your hand?" taunted Collin looking back. Defiance pursed her lips together and said nothing. Martin looked at the ground. They made their way to the holo-field.
"Here's my deck, let's shuffle," said Collin. They exchanged decks.
"What the screw!?" exclaimed Collin when he was handed her deck. Defiance turned to face him, sunglasses off, with her hands on her cocked hips.
Collin opened his mouth and a little squeak came out, but nothing else.
"I'm blind, O.K.?" said Defiance, with a note of defiance in her voice, "Let's get on with it." She took her deck back and walked towards her platform. It was the same one Yu-Gi had used.
"Let's duel. You can go first," said Collin when they were both in their place. Defiance drew and examined her hand.
"I play the Goddess of Whim in attack mode," declared Defiance as she placed her card down. The goddess appeared on the field. Her hair was actually long leafy vines. She wore a sleeveless blue dress. When she played she yawned and stretched like she didn't care that she was in a duel. Her attack was 950 and defense 700.
"Martin, what is the field?" asked Defiance.
"Light," he answered. Light is the default or normal field. No monsters received a field advantage or disadvantage on a Light field.
"Then I play Dragon Statue in attack mode," declared Collin as he played his card. The Dragon Statue appeared on the field. It was a statue of a dragon (obviously) that was the color of sandstone. It held a shield and sword and didn't move. It was actually a warrior type, and was on the smaller end of size for a dragon. It's attack was 1100 and defense 900.
"Attack Goddess of Whim," yelled Collin. The Dragon Statue slowly made its way to Defiance's fairy type. The Goddess was dreaming and didn't appear to realize the danger until the Dragon Statue swung its sword. The Goddess of Whim was destroyed and Defiance lost 250 life points. Defiance drew her next card.
"I play the Enchanting Mermaid in attack mode," said Defiance as she place her card in the place her Goddess of Whim had just been. The mermaid had an attack of 1200 and a defense of 900. She had a long pink tail that matched the little shirt she was wearing. Her orange hair clung to her blue skin.
"Mermaid attack his Dragon Statue!" yelled Defiance. She listened as Collin lost 100 life points.
"For my next turn I will play the Darkfire Dragon in attack mode," said Collin in a loud voice. The Darkfire Dragon was a long sinusoidal monster made solely of flames. It had smoky black eyes that glared at its prey.
"Attack," ordered Collin and the dragon slithered to her mermaid.
"Not quite," said Defiance. "The Darkfire Dragon is also a Pyro type so my Fish-Aqua type has an advantage." The holo-field raised the Enchanting Mermaids attack by 300. With their attacks equal both monsters were destroyed in the clash, but no life points were affected.
"Now it is my turn," said Defiance as she drew her card. "I play Fairy's Gift in attack mode." The monster appeared on the field. It had two enormous wings that resembled a swallow tail butterfly. Her skin was a light blue and so was her dress. Her dark blue hair was blown around as she flapped to stay airborne. Her stats were 1400 and 1000.
"I also play a magic card to end my turn," said Defiance.
"Then I play the Koumori Dragon in attack mode," said Collin. Its stats were 1500 and 1200. It was a dark violet color with wicked claws. The ends of its wings were bright red. It was about half the size of the really powerful dragons, which means it was still taller than most people.
"Koumori attack!" ordered Collin.
"Wait!" yelled Defiance, "I played a trap card. I activate the Bear Trap. It destroys any attacking monster with an attack less than or equal to 1500. You monster just meets that requirement." The Koumori Dragon disappeared with blazing lights.
"And now I play The Snake Hair," said Defiance. The Snake Hair, with the stats of 1500 and 1200, was her ugliest monster. She was a gorgon with royal blue skin. The zombie's lower body was a snake and she wore a black flowing shirt.
"I counter with my Blackland Fire Dragon," said Collin. The dragon was summoned on to the field. It was a green stereotypical dragon with an attack of 1500 and a defense of 800.
"Attack Fairy's Gift," cried Collin. The dragon blasted a huge flame at the fairy and she disappeared with a high shriek. Defiance lost 100 life points which brought her down to 1650. Collin had 1900.
"Since their attacks are the same I play the Beautiful Beast Tamer in attack mode," declared Defiance. The Beautiful Beast Tamer was the female counter part to the male Monster Tamer card. She had an attack of 1750 and a defense of 1500. She wore a silky full-body suit that someone might see on an acrobat. Out of her wavy dark green hair poked two cat like ears. She cracked her whip at the Blackland Fire Dragon.
"Beautiful Beast Tamer destroy Blackland Fire Dragon," ordered Defiance. The Beautiful Beast Tamer stepped forward and used her whip the beat the dragon. The dragon collapsed and Collin lost 250 life points.
"I play Meteor Dragon, attack mode," declared Collin. His next dragon appeared on the field. It looked like a turtle with dragon appendages and head. Two tiny bluish-black wings poked out of its molten lava colored shell. It's purple head snapped at the Beautiful Beast Tamer's cracking whip. The dragon's attack and defense were 1800 and 2000.
"Meteor Dragon attack the Beautiful Beast Tamer," decreed Collin. The monster moved forward, the air around it blurred with the heat the dragon produced. The Meteor Dragon snapped its head towards the beast tamer and she disappeared with a blaze of light. Defiance's life points were reduced to 1600.
"I play the Rogue Doll in attack mode," said Defiance in a loud voice. The Rogue Doll was a spell caster whose stats were 1600 and 1000. She had a pale face that was half covered by the large violet hat she was wearing. The hat strangely resembled the pope's hat, if it came past the ears. The Rogue Doll's violet dress also rapped around her head. She looked like a package with a face in the middle.
"I also use the Book of Secret Arts to power up her defense and attack by 300 points," declared Defiance as she played her magic card.
"Rogue Doll attack Meteor Dragon," said Defiance and doll cast a spell that obliterate the Meteor Dragon. Collin lost 100 life points.
"I play the Sky Dragon in attack mode," said Collin. The Sky Dragon was a pink dragon with two sets of dark wings. It's tail whipped back and forth as it prepared to attack. Its stats were 1900 and 1800.
"You didn't move your zombie to defense mode so Sky Dragon attack The Snake Hair," ordered Collin. The Sky Dragon took off and attacked the zombie from above. Defiance lost 400 life points. Defiance now had a total of 1200 life points and Collin had 1550. Defiance had her powered up Rogue Doll and Collin had his Sky Dragon, who were equal in attacks.
I play the Spirit of the Harp in defense mode along with a magic card," said Defiance. The Spirit of the Harp appeared beside the Rogue Doll. She had on a sunny yellow robe and matching saggy hat. She strummed on a harp that appeared with her. Her attack was 800 and her defense was 2000.
"For my next turn I play Seiyaryu," said Collin as his monster took shape on the field below. It was a strange dragon. Pale pink in color, it resembled an origami bird more than a dragon. It's wings/arms were held behind its back. Its narrow, pointed head and beak swiveled around, looking at Defiance's two monsters. It walked, more like hopped on two feet. It was a formidable opponent with an attack of 2500 and a defense of 2300.
"Seiyaryu attack the Rogue Doll," order Collin.
"No it won't. My magic card is the Trap Hole. It destroys any monster with an attack of 1000 or more," said Defiance as she played the trap. The Seiyaryu disappeared in a fissure that the holo-field created.
Collin groaned.
"I play this card face down in defense mode," said Defiance as she laid down her Angelwitch. "If he keeps pulling cards like that I'm going to need a better hand. Why didn't I put my Pot of Greed in? Oh well. I'll have to trust my deck and handle this duel with what I have."
"Your move," said Defiance.
"I play the Aqua Dragon in attack mode. I also power it up with Invigoration," said Collin. His new monster appeared on the field. It was an ocean blue dragon with a teal belly. It raised itself on to its back legs. It towered over Defiance's monster ready to strike. Because of Collin's magic card its stats were 2750 and 2400.
"Aqua Dragon attack Rogue Doll," ordered Collin. The Aqua Dragon shot a beam of ice at the Rogue Doll and it collapsed, causing Defiance to lose 850 life points.
Defiance was down to 350 life points and Collin had 1550. Collin had his Sky Dragon and powered up Aqua Dragon in attack mode. Defiance had her Spirit of the Harp and Angelwitch, still face down, in defense mode.
"This is not good. I need something, anything," thought Defiance, "I hope this next card will be what I need." She drew her next card. It was Dian Keto the Cure Master, a magic card. Defiance thought for a moment.
"I play these two magic cards face down," she declared, playing her new card and one from her hand.
"First I use Dian Keto the Cure Master to restore 1000 life points," she said. The holo-field raised her back to 1350.
"Then I play the Dark Hole," continued Defiance as she turned her last card over. A black void appeared in the middle of the field, sucking it clean. The monsters on the field tried to escape, but it was to powerful. When the holo-field was done not a monster or magic card was left. Hers and Collins, they had all been destroyed. Defiance picked up her in play cards and put them in the graveyard.
"You turn," said Defiance.
"You destroyed your own monsters!" exclaimed Collin.
"Just go," said Defiance impatiently.
"I play this card face down in attack mode," said Collin.
"I'll play my Spirit of the Winds in attack mode," said Defiance, hoping it was a good move. The Spirit of the Winds was a transparent monster with a blue tint. She was a spell caster whose attack was 1700 and defense was 1400. She wore what looked like pale green strips of cloth, but they faded into a breeze once they were six inches away from her body.
"I play Stone D. and attack your Spirit of the Winds with my Black Dragon Jungle King," said Collin, turning the card over, "Attack!" The Black Dragon Jungle King strongly resembled a tyrannosaurus-rex that was completely black. Its stats were 2100 and 1800. It destroyed the spell caster with a swing of its tail and Defiance lost 400 life points. She had 950 left.
The Stone D. was another sinusoidal dragon, even though it was a rock type. The head resembled the Great Stone Dragon from Mulan. (Again, not mine, but the comparison is perfect.) The Stone D. was completely black like the jungle king. Its attack, 2000. Defense 2300.
"Then I play the Mystical Elf in defense mode," declared Defiance, "And I power her up with Elf's light. The Mystical Elf was a fairy type in pale green dress that showed off her collarbone. It had a silver collar and long blonde flowing hair. A silver tiara sat on her head. She now had an attack of 1300 and a defense of 2500.
"I play the Kaiser Dragon in attack mode," said Collin. The Kaiser Dragon was straight out of Chinese mythology. It looked like the golden dragon in all their artwork. It had an attack of 2300 and a defense of 2000, the opposite of the Stone D.
"Since I can't beat your Mystical Elf yet, it is your turn," said Collin.
"I play the Beautiful Head Huntress in attack mode," said Defiance. The warrior appeared next to the Mystical Elf. Her attack was 1600 and defense 800.
"Why did you do that?" asked Collin.
"Because I am also going to play my Swords of Revealing Light to freeze all your monsters for three turns," said Defiance as she played her magic card.
"Fine, it will give me the chance to make my team unstoppable. First I move my Stone D. to defense mode.," said Collin after a row of shining swords encased his monsters.
"I play Serpent Night Dragon in attack mode and a magic card," said Collin. The Serpent Night Dragon was a psychedelic sinusoidal dragon. It was a rare card. Defiance knew this to mean that he had won a major tournament before. With an attack of 2350 and a defense of 2400 Defiance knew she would need a magic card to beat him. And fast, because she only had two more turns for him to be frozen.
"I play my Dark Elf in attack mode," said Defiance, "And I also power her up with Elf's Light. The Dark Elf was the counterpart to the Mystical Elf. The only visible difference between the two was the long jet black hair if the Dark Elf. Her attack had been raised to 2500 and her defense was 1300, the exact opposite of her counter part.
"And because I played them together their stats are raised by 250 points," finished Defiance. It was now Defiance with 950 life points, a Dark Elf in attack mode with an attack of 2750, a Mystical Elf in defense mode with a defense of 2750, and the Beautiful Head Huntress in attack mode with 1600 points. Collin had his Stone D. in defense mode at 2300, a Serpent Night Dragon in attack mode at 2350, Kaiser Dragon at 2300 attack, and the Black Dragon Jungle King in attack mode at 2100. He had 1550 life points left, but he was also under the Swords of Revealing Light still.
"I attack your Serpent Night Dragon with my Dark Elf," said Defiance, "Attack!" The elf charged the paralyzed dragon.
"My turn for a trap," said Collin as he picked up his magic card. "I played Waboku." Waboku reduces any attacking monsters attack to 0 for that turn. The holo-field showed a ring of sages appear, which shielded the Serpent Night Dragon, preventing the Dark Elf from scratching him.
"For my turn," continued Collin, "I play another magic card. One more turn and beware."
"Then I play my Warrior of Tradition in attack mode," said Defiance, beginning to grow more confident. The Warrior of Tradition appeared next to the Beautiful Head Huntress, her counterpart. They looked a lot alike, but the Warrior of Tradition had darker hair, a red and green kimono, and a large ax, well butcher's knife. Her attack was 1900 and defense was 1700. Because they were on the field together the Beautiful Head Huntress's stats were 1850 and 1050, and the Warrior of Tradition was at 2050 and 1950.
"I also play the magic card Shadow Spell," said Defiance. "It let's me chose one of your monsters and decreases its stats by 1000. And I chose the Serpent Night Dragon."
"I knew you might try something like that so I played a Reverse Trap card," said Collin arrogantly, "It changes it from -1000 to +1000." The holo- field raised the stats of the Serpent Night Dragon to 3350 and 3400.
"I attack your Kaiser Dragon with my Dark Elf," ordered Defiance. The elf easily disposed of the dragon. Collin lost 450 life points bring him down to 1100.
"In one more turn my monsters will be free to attack you. Tick-Tock you are done for," gloated Collin. "And since it is my turn I play the Twin- Headed Thunder Dragon in attack mode and power it up with Dragon Claw, just to make sure you don't win." It stats went from 2800 and 2100 to 3300 and 2600.
"Even if you want to risk destroying my Black Dragon Jungle King or Stone D., you'll have to leave that card in attack mode, and then it is all over," finished Collin.
"How did that happen?" wondered Defiance, "I had him. And now I am back down to my only hope being the next card I draw. Please, let this be a winner." She picked up the top card on her deck. It was the Change of Heart magic card.
"Hhhm," thought Defiance.
"Get on with it," said Collin.
"I play a magic card," said Defiance, removing it from her hand and placing it on the field.
"First I play the Change of Heart and take over your Serpent Night Dragon," said Defiance. The holo-field showed a humanoid with one angel wing and one demon wing rush for the dragon. There was a flash of light and the Serpent Night Dragon was hers to control for the rest of her turn.
"No!" cried Collin as his monster joined Defiance's feminine creatures.
"And since I'm not the one affected by the Swords of Revealing Light the Serpent Night Dragon is free to attack," taunted Defiance. "Serpent Night Dragon attack the Black Dragon Jungle King." The monsters charged each other. The Serpent Night fired rays of darkness at the jungle king and he went down with a resounding thud. The holo-field subtracted the rest of Collin's life points.
"Wow, you're really good," said Collin after they had exited the field. "How many tournaments have you won?"
"None, this is my first tournament ever," replied Defiance, a little surprised at his friendly behavior.
"So I was beaten by a rookie? Oh well, you won't stay a rookie for long," said Collin. He began to walk away.
"Do you know that your only the second person to beat me in a tournament?" he added, turning around.
"No, I didn't know," she answered.
"Yeah, the only other person who beat me was this girl named Mai," said Collin. It took Defiance a few seconds to place the name.
"I've heard about her. Isn't she claiming to be psychic?" asked Defiance.
"Yeah. It was really freaky. She played all her cards without even looking at them," said Collin.
"You just played another duel like that. I didn't see any of my cards," said Defiance in a monotone voice.
"Well, she had no other way to read them. But she only won because she psyched me out. Oh well, I guess I need to find more people to duel," he said and walked away.
"Bizarre," thought Defiance, "This Mai, she seems like the kind of person I need to eliminate. I think we'll go and find her."
"Hey, Martin," said Defiance. Martin turned around. He had been watching Collin leave.
"Let's find some place quiet for a break," said Defiance, "I think we earned it." Martin smiled, took her hand, and they went and sat under a tree.