Okay, I'm back with a brand-new episode of my series! Once again, I
apologize for that long interruption. I don't have much to say this time
around, other than enjoy the show!
Disclaimer: I don't own characters from Yu-gi-oh, Cardcaptors or Pokemon. I'm simply borrowing them for my fanfic. These cartoons belong to 4 Kids Entertainment, Kids Wb, and whoever else.
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Duelists of The Future- Season 1- Episode 08, 'Let The Duels Commence' (1/27/2003)
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Two days had now passed by. Everyone (except Ash and Jasmine) had been relaxing and enjoying their stay on the luxurious cruise ships. But the ride was finally over, and the ships had taken their place at the docking ports. It was 0900 hours (9:00 am) as guards helped guide the passengers off the boat and onto the island. As Joey, Yugi and Misty stepped down the descending stairs, Joey's mouth dropped open.
"Hey, why the heck did we come out to a empty island to duel for?! I thought we were gonna stay on the boat for sure!"
"Pegasus said that we were gonna duel out here in the interview, but I don't know why," Misty chimed in response to Joey's question. "I hope you two packed a tint to sleep in."
"But me and Joey didn't pack anything like that. Just some clothes, our toothbrushes, that sorta thing," Yugi said, then shrugged. "We'll figure something out. And about the whole 'dueling on this island' thing, well, maybe we'll find out."
Guards continued to usher the duelists and guests off the ship, guiding them toward the shoreline of Emerald Island. On the shore stood two men with a large stack of boxes behind them. Tristan was curious as to what was inside the boxes, but he didn't dare approach them. Once everyone had been escorted off the boat and onto the shore, one of the men began to speak. "Hey, listen up everybody, especially duelists, because we've got some news for you which you would wanna hear!"
Everyone paused and watched as the other man started to speak. "Guess what? The brand new, Portable Holo-Duel Simulator Systems from Kaibacorp. has just been released for duelists everywhere!" he announced, which drew a lot of gasps from the crowd. "These babies boast many enhancements over the Virtual Holochip Dueling Consoles we've all come to know and love! First off, they're portable, meaning they are easier to transfer, and you can now have duels in your house, too! Never again shall you have to go outside to have Holo-duels. Now, you can have them in your own bedroom! Of course, you'll have to engage the new mode installed onto the systems, which shrinks the sizes of the monsters to suffiently fit inside a house without eclipsing outside."
The crowd of duelists were too astonished to say anything. "Secondly, these new systems possess huge graphical enhancements over the Holochip consoles and the monsters look and act more realistic than ever before! Kaibacorp. has put in a lot of hard work to make sure duelists from all over the world are not dissappointed. Next, the integration of 'fields' places brand new strategies and tricks at duelists' fingertips!" the man continued, and lots of duelists were aweing and gossiping about the new systems.
"Wow, Kaibacorp. never fails to please," chirped Meilin.
"For example: if you play a water-type card on a field with a large mass of water, that monster gets a field power bonus which can be used to your tactical advantage. Another thing is that you can use the battlefield around you to your advantange as well. Example: if there is water all on the field, and you play a monster with electrical capabilities, then it gets a field power bonus, and if the opposing monster is hiding in something, like a Labyrinth Wall, then the water can guide the electrical attack straight to the monster and obliterate it!"
"Hey!" shouted Joey to the man. "What the use in telling us this? We're still gonna use Holochip systems anyway, right?!"
"On the contrary," the other man said, then opened a box and pulled out a black, metallic device. The device was shaped like a rounded rectangle, and a small gap near the bottom of it allowed a person to slip it onto their wrist. There was ten card slots mounted on top of the rectangle arranged in two, horizontal rows. Three small holo-emitters tubes were installed right in front of the card slots. Two small shelves extended from under card slots two and four. These were the graveyard pile and deck keeper slots. Two small bars strapped around the arm of the man. This was the life point and the attack and defense point meters, which served their respectful purpose of telling the attack and defense points of the current monster(s), and the life points of the current duelist(s). The other man also strapped a white Holo-duel simulator onto his arm, then they both walked a good distance away from each other. After getting themselves set, they turned back around to face each other.
"Holo-duel systems, power up!" they both shouted, and the holo-emitters on the machines turned on. Red, yellow, and green lights flickered through the systems, indicating that it was powered. The men inserted their decks into the deck keeper slots and held up their arms.
"This looks pretty cool," murmered Surge, who was standing as far away from Tristan as possible without looking suspicious.
"Duel!" the men yelled, and suddenly a beautiful field grid appeared on the land in front of them. They were color coordinated with the systems, which meant that the first man's grid was composed of black lines, while the second man's grid was made of white lines. Their life points set to 2000, and the first man drew five cards from the deck, forming his hand.
"Allow me to give you duelists a demonstration of the graphics these small systems can muster. Reaper of The Cards, in attack mode!" he slapped down his first card onto a slot (3). A gorgeous, holographic version of the card first appeared in the slot, then white lights began rising into the air, thus loading a immensely realistic, holographic version of the aforementioned monster which put the Holochips consoles to shame. It snarled and the crowd gasped in amazement. "Behold the new generation of dueling!"
ATK: 1380 DEF: 1930
"Whoa! The Reaper of The Cards has never looked so real!" Brock exclaimed in sheer astonishment. Everyone else were also amazed at the details and realism projected into the monster. The other man formed his hand, then took two cards from it and placed it onto a slot.
"I counter with Flame Swordsman, in attack mode! And I'll place one extra card face-down." A holographic face-down card loaded into the slot to intimidate the opposing duelist, then the Flame Swordsman's holocard appeared and the monster jumped out of it, taking a fighting stance. Everyone was still amazed at the beautiful graphics.
ATK: 1800 DEF: 1500
"Allright, Flame Swordsman, attack the Reaper of The Cards, now!" the man commanded. The Flame Swordsman sword was engulfed by flames eminating from it, then it charged straight at the reaper. Everyone looked on as Flame Swordsman sliced Reaper of The Cards with its fireblade, thus shattering the monster.
First Man's Life Points- 1580
Some large, black holo-numbers even displayed after the destruction of the monster, to allow everyone easy viewing and tracking of the life points bin. "Holo-duel systems, power down!" the two men stated, then the various holograms dissappeared. The machines powered down and they unstrapped them from their arms.
"This is what you'll be using for the duration of the tournament, and afterwards," stated the first man. "Since we're so grateful for your attendance, Maximillion Pegasus had allowed all participants to get one of these systems free of charge. Oh, and as a personal bonus, Kaiba Corporation has even included tons of different colors for your personal specifications. Come and get them in an orderly fashion," he announced. All the excited duelists approached the boxes to get their own Portable Holo- Duel Simulator System. Within moments, every duelist on the island had picked one up. There were still plenty of them left, because Pegasus wanted to make sure each and every duelist got the color they wanted.
"Now, in 30 minutes," the second man spoke up, "the duels shall begin. Use this time to shape and refine your deck to the perfect configuration. When the sky light up with fireworks in the form of Pegasus, the sub-competition shall be underway. Maximillion Pegasus also bids good luck to all the duelists who are present," he finished and walked off with his acquaintence. All the duelists began scrambling about to make sure their decks were perfect.
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Misty had separated herself from Yugi and Joey, and was now heading out to find a quiet meadow to set up her camp, which was to be her home for the next several weeks. She knew she had no time to play around. Her sisters and John were depending on her to win the prize money and get Yelola's cooperation. With the stakes of their lives in her hands, Misty knew she had no room for error. As she continued walking along, she had no idea she was being spied on by Ronnie. He eyed her carefully and glanced at her butt often. After walking for a little while, Misty stumbled upon a nice, quiet meadow and looked around. A small hot spring was naturally built into the ground, and Misty's face lit up.
"This is the perfect spot for me to camp," Misty said to herself and accessed her device. She transported her folded tint out of it. Then, she pressed a button on the tint, which made it automatically began constructing itself into a tint. After a few seconds, it was complete. Misty was about to crawl inside when a voice stopped her.
"This is a nice little camp you've got going here, girl," the voice, belonging to a young woman, spoke. Misty turned around, slightly startled.
"Yeah, I guess so," she answered while standing up. "Who are you?"
"Please, don't be so alarmed; I come in peace," the blonde chick told her, then strolled over to one of the sturdy rocks next to the hot spring and took a seat. "You seem like a pretty nice girl. What's your name?"
"Why don't you tell me your name first? After all, you're the one who stumbled into my little camp."
"Allright, then. My name is Mai Valentine," she stated.
"Misty Chase, nice to meet you," Misty said and extended her hand for Mai to shake. She did so, then they returned their hands to their side. "So, I take it you're a contestant in the tournament, right?" wondered Misty.
Mai nodded. "Yep. This is my first time ever competiting in one, though. I'm kinda nervous."
"Nervous? From my general impression of you, I'd think you weren't the nervous type," Misty quipped and Mai chuckled.
"Looks can be deceiving. Are you in the tournament?"
"Mm-hmm. I'm going for the gold," she told her.
Mai got off the rock and started to walk away. "I guess we'll meet up again sometime later, hmm?"
"I'm sure we will."
Something caught Mai's eye. She turned around and stared at Misty's shoes, then gasped. "Wow! Are those Prodda shoes you're wearing?!"
"Oh, yeah," Misty replied.
"I've been looking all over the place for those shoes! Where'd you find them at?"
"At this little store called 'Woman's Source.' It's around my neighborhood."
"Really? I'll have to go down there myself one of these days," Mai said and walked back toward Misty. "Don't Prodda make the most gorgeous fashions..."
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Brock walked through the immense island, also looking for a place to set up camp. Tristan decided to split in order to find some delicious fruits for his enjoyment. Since the new duel systems introduced field types into dueling, Brock was attempting to locate a lake so his thunder-based cards would get a field power bonus when played. But so far, he hadn't had any luck in finding one. As Brock started walking up a pretty steep hill, he began thinking about the tournament. How strong would the competitors be? Was he ready to face them? Did he have the skills to win the tournament and claim the prize money for his father? Brock believed that he could win the tournament, but he knew it wasn't going to be an easy task, especially when the main contest started. By then, all the weaker duelists would be eliminated, and there would be nothing but strong, defiant duelists left. Would he be able to handle them? Brock may be the champion of his neighborhood, but he hadn't ever faced off with duelists of the elite. Brock finally reached the end of the hill, and below him was a valley with a huge lake in the center. This was the perfect spot he was looking for! Brock darted downhill and headed straight for the lake. Once he got there, he immediately accessed his Subspace Computer Terminal and began transporting his tint, along with other things, out of it. After setting up his campsite, he began heading back toward the docks. He had told Tristan that once he found a campsite, he was going to meet him there so he could lead Tristan to it.
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The thirty minutes finally passed by, and the sky suddenly lit up with fireworks shaped like the Duel Monsters creator, Maximillion Pegasus. The fireworks signified the beginning of the tournament, and duelists started challenging one another for stars. Joey and Yugi walked along the shore in search of Misty. "I know I saw her run off in this direction," said Joey.
"Are you sure? We haven't seen any sign of her yet. I hope you don't think something's happening to her, because I'm pretty sure Misty can take care of herself."
"No, it's not that, Yugi. I'm just trying to find out where she set up her camp," Joey responded, then sighed. "Ah, it's no use. I don't see any kind of tint anywhere. I really wish I knew where to find her because I wanted to see if she would trade one of her cards with me."
"What card are you planning on trading, Joey?" Yugi inquired.
"Oh, this trap card called 'Kunai With Chain'. I can't seem to figure out how to make it work."
"'Kunai With Chain'? Don't get rid of that, Joey. That card can be used in conjunction with a card such as 'Axe Raider' to trap your opponent's monster," Yugi explained to him.
"Oh, I see," Joey mused and stared at the card. "How exactly does it work?"
"If you use it with Axe Raider, it'll wield a special chain which can be used to ensnare an attacking monster and drain its attack strength. Oh, before I forget, I wanna give you something," Yugi said, then began accessing his terminal.
"What'cha doin', Yuge?" Joey wondered as Yugi retrieved his deck of cards. He searched through them until he found the card he was looking for, then pulled it out of the deck and handed it to Joey. "What's this? The Summoned Skull? Why are you showing me this, Yugi?"
"Because, I'm giving it to you," Yugi announced.
Joey's jaw dropped open. "Yugi... that's really nice and all, but I can't take your card. This is your Summoned Skull, and I know it's among your top five favorite cards of all-time. Why are you trying to give it to me?"
"I want you to have it. If you fuse that card together with your Red Eyes Black Dragon, you'll obtain a really strong card called the Supreme Black Skull Dragon. Go ahead and take the card, Joey. You deserve it."
"No, I don't. I don't deserve anything, especially one of your most treasured cards. Here, take it back," Joey said and attempted to give back the card, but little Yugi refused to accept it. "What's the matter? Why won't you take the card?"
"I told you, I want you to have it. I obtained another one at my Grandpa's card shop, and I don't need two of them. So, I'm letting you have the extra one. Here's the other one I have," Yugi fished through the deck until he came across it, then showed it to Joey. "See?"
"I see. Well, in that case, I'll take the card," he chimed.
"Oh, before I forget, add this card to your deck too. It's called Heavy Storm, and it's special ability is to destroy any magic or traps cards currently on the field."
Joey graciously took the card from Yugi and smiled. "Thanks, man. It seems like you're always helping me out. You're the best friend I ever had," he said and was about to add it into his deck when someone called him.
"Hey, you! Blonde dweeb, think you can handle a duel?" a high-school jock ran up to him and whirled him around. His medium brown hair was done in an ugly lop-over style. He was a tall, bony guy who wore some gray sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt. His hazel eyes looked into Joey and glared at him. "What'da you say, little guy? Think you can take me?"
"Hey, did you just call me 'little guy'?" Joey began to get a little angry at this crude, insensitive jock. The jock cocked his head and replied, "What, are you deaf or something? Yeah, I called you a 'little guy'. Look at you, just truely pathetic looking."
"Who asked you?! How dare you call me little, stupid punk! And look at you, you're one to talk! Your hairdo is absolutely atrocious, and if I didn't know any better, I'd assume there was nothing but bones under those clothes of yours. Maybe I should hit you and see if you crumble," Joey threatened and pounded his fists together.
"You wouldn't dare," the jock shot back, then laughed. "How about we settle this in a official duel. It could be an all-out match, meaning we risk all the stars we have. What do you say? Gonna duel me like a man or coward behind that midget companion of yours?"
"Shut up, punk! And yes, I accept your challenge. We're gonna have an all- out match. Whoever wins get everything and the loser goes home and rot. Guess what? I plan to be the winner here. You're goin' home," Joey said.
"Fat chance! It is I who shall emerge victorious. I've never lost a duel in my entire dueling career, and I don't plan to lose to you," the jock answered, but Joey laughed.
"Who was your opponents, some worms?" he jeered, and the jock frowned.
"Shut your gob! We.. will.. duel! Get out your duel system!" he yelled while transporting his device.
"Shut up and wait! I'm not rushin' for you, little punk," Joey shot back and surfed through his device until he reached his system. He transported it out of subspace, then firmly attached it to his wrist. The jock did the same and looked out at Joey. Both of them powered up their systems via their voices. The same lights flashed through the metal to indicate it was ready, then they shouted, "Duel!" The color-coordinated holographic field grid appeared in front of the two duelists. Joey's was flame red to match his flame red system, and the jock's was a cool blue.
"By the way I'm Joey, what's your name?" asked Joey.
"Devon, now let's get this show on the road."
"Likewise!" shouted Joey.
**************************** *Joey's/ Devon's Life Points- 2000* ****************************
"I shall make the first move to get the duel started," Devon stated and drew five cards to form his hand. He looked them over, then picked two up and slammed them onto the card slots. "I'll play Stone Soldier in defense mode and another card face-down," he said and watched the holocards appear in the slots. The face-down card loaded first (face-down), then the Stone Soldier's holocard appeared and released the massive rock monster onto the field.
ATK: 1300 DEF: 2000
Joey reached out to draw his first five cards. Once done, he looked them over. Polymerization, Axe Raider, Kunai With Chain, Summoned Skull and Salamandra made up his hand. He pulled up the Axe Raider and threw it down. "First, I play Axe Raider in attack mode, then I'll lay out another card for later," Joey does this and watched as his holocards loaded into battle. Axe Raider jumped out of the card and growled.
ATK: 1700 DEF: 1500
"Go, Axe Raider! Attack the Stone Soldier with Wind Blades!" Joey commanded. The Axe Raider ran toward the Stone Soldier with its blade raised in the air. Upon reaching the monster, it slashed the soldier in the midsection and cut it the monster in half. It, along with the holocard it stood on, erupted into pieces. "Good job!" commented Joey.
"Whatever. You think you've done something, but this duel is just getting started. I got a whole lot of tricks to pull," Devon quipped and drew another card from his hand, then placed it down. "I'll play yet another monster in defense mode, Armed Ninja!" the ninja loaded onto the field in a kneeled position.
ATK: 300 DEF: 300
"Ha! Is that all you can do? Axe Raider, give it a good slicin'!" Joey yelled. His monster complied by slicing the Armed Ninja in half, therefore shattering it. "C'mon, is this the only thing you know how to do, throw monsters in defense mode? You gotta be kidding me."
Devon chose to ignore Joey this time around. He drew the next card from his deck and slapped it onto the card reader. "Enough defending, I'm going on the attack. Dark Magician Girl, in attack mode!" Dark Magician Girl rose out of its holocard and glared at Axe Raider while taking a stance.
ATK: 2000 DEF: 1800
"Dark Magician Girl, do away with Axe Raider! Dark Magic Attack!" She raised her staff into the air and fired a large, pink energybeam at Axe Raider. But Joey was already prepared.
"Not so fast, dork! Kunai With Chain!" chimed Joey, and Devon was surprised.
"No, my magician!"
"Yes, my trap card worked just like Yugi said! My Kunai With Chain has ensnared your Dark Magician Girl, and that's sets the stage for my next move," Joey said and drew a card from his deck, along with one from his hand. "I call out the Flame Swordsman, in attack mode! And with the magic of Salamandra, its attack power will be increased by 700 points!" When Joey placed the two cards, they appeared in the duel. Flame Swordsman growled and clutched its powered up sword tightly.
ATK: 2500 DEF: 1500
"Attack the Dark Magician Girl with Salamandra Flame Strike!!" Dark Magician Girl instantly got cooked when the fire dragon struck it.
Devon's Life Points- 1500
"Allright! Dark Magician Girl got toasted!" exclaimed Joey, who then looked over to Yugi.
"Keep it up, Joey. But, don't get carried away. Something tells me that Devon's not gonna go down without a fight. Be prepared," advised Yugi, and Joey winked.
"You got it."
"You were just lucky, that's all. Don't let it go to your head," Devon retorted, and Joey scowled at his remark.
"Hey, that wasn't luck, that was pure skill! You should consider yourself lucky that you've lasted this long against me!" Joey shot back, but all he received was an airhead laugh from Devon.
"And who are you supposed to be, the Supreme Duelist of the world?"
"Not yet, but I sure plan to be!"
Devon laughed yet again, which made Joey scowled once again. "Dream on, nimrod. Your little 'fantasy' will end when I crush you," he said and reached down for a new card. Upon looking at, he smiled and giggled. "This card'll crush those monsters of your for sure! (slaps it down) Kazejin, in attack mode! And I play this magic card, Black Pendant, to raise it's attack power 500 points! (places it down)" The holocards loaded the supercharged monster into the duel.
ATK: 2900 DEF: 2200
"Ah!" gasped Joey. (I don't know Kazejin's real attack, but based off of its card description, I've got a good idea)
"Now, Kazejin, attack the Axe Raider with Solar Wind Blast!" The red box launched a powerful wind gust aimed at Axe Raider. The Axe Raider tried to, but couldn't withstand the attack; it was lifted off the ground and blown all the way back to where Joey stood, where it shattered violently.
Joey's Life Points- 800
"Aah! He took away over half of my life points in just one move!" Joey yelled, and Devon laughed in delight, obviously enjoying his moment of devastating triumph.
"That's the result of playing against a champ like me! After your turn, I'm gonna obliterate your Flame Swordsman, then K.O anything else you decide to play out of that wimpy deck of yours. Make a move."
Joey growled, then switched his Flame Swordsman to defense mode. "Ha! I guess that's the only strategy you can muster in that puny brain of yours. (jeering tone) When things get rough, retreat!" Devon laughed hilariously, much to Joey's disgust. "Not gonna take defeat like a man, hunh? C'mon Kazejin, blow that Flame Swordsman away!" he ordered, and Kazejin struck with another strong wind gust. The Flame Swordsman was tossed aside and destroyed.
"Another wipeout," Joey muttered, then drew a card from his deck. (slaps it down) Garoozis, in defense mode!" The monster loaded and snarled at Kazejin and Devon.
ATK: 1800 DEF: 1500
"Still goin' defensive, hunh, wimp?" Devon taunted.
"Don't listen to him, Joey! You still have a chance to win this duel!" Yugi encouraged.
Devon pointed his finger at Yugi. "Hey, brat, shut up and stay out of it! This is between me and Joey, and no puny shorties are allowed, got it?!"
"Hey, leave my friend alone!" snapped Joey, and Devon laughed out again.
"(mimicking tone) 'Hey, leave my friend alone'! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! You should listen to how pathetic you sound, Joey..."
"Listen up, you dick, in case you haven't noticed, you can't call anybody puny! Just look at you; truly the most hideous thing I've ever seen! You look like you smoke crack, your hair is by far the ugliest hairstyle I've ever seen, your breath smells like horse manure, and I bet you've got a penis the size of a noodle, not that I'd really wanna know! (Devon frowns) Now, you gonna stand around spitting insults at people, or are you gonna duel?" shouted Joey, and Devon clenched his fists in anger.
"Yeah, you tell him, Joey!" exclaimed Yugi.
"You're going to regret EVER insulting Devon Chavez like that! Kazejin, strike with Solar Wind Blast!!" Devon screamed. Kazejin obeyed and fired its powerful gust straight at Garoozis. Although it tried, Garoozis couldn't withstand to the attack and it wound up soaring through the air before shattering right beside Joey. "Take that!"
"Oh, man, what am I gonna do? Kazejin's attack power is 2900, and even my strongest beast, Red Eyes Black Dragon, can't compete with that. What do I do?" Joey pondered. He thought for a little while before he got an idea. "Oh yeah, I forgot the cards Yugi gave me a few minutes ago. They could be my ticket out of this mess. If only I can draw the neccessary cards," he mused and reached to draw. When he picked up the card, it turned out to be the Red Eyes Black Dragon. His face lit up with glee. "Allright! I just drew the card that nearly clintches this match for me. Red Eyes Black Dragon, in attack mode!" (monster loads)
ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000
Devon burst out into laughter. "You're delusional. There's no way that wimpy Red Eyes Black Dragon can stand up to the might of supercharged Kazejin. Why don't you make an intelligent play and concede the match? Everyone knows there isn't a monster in your deck that can take down my Kazejin."
"If you would just shut up and let me finish my turn, you'll see my strategy," Joey quipped, then drew two cards out of his hand and placed them onto the console in front of him. "Now, I bring out the Summoned Skull, also in attack mode!" Yugi smiled as his former card's holocard loaded his monster into battle.
ATK: 2500 DEF: 1200
"Still acting dopey, aren't you..."
"And now... I play this polymerization card to combine these two powerful creatures into one, ultra-kick butt monster!" Joey yelled, and Devon couldn't help but gasp. Bright light illuminated from the field and winds blew the duelists, and even Yugi. Once the process was complete, the mighty dragon Yugi previously told Joey about stood on the field. "Behold, the Supreme Black Skull Dragon!"
ATK: 3200 DEF: 2500
"Oh, no!" Devon looked at the massive monster in complete astonishment.
"Oh, yes! But, before I attack, I'm allowing my turn to end," annouced Joey, which forced the gasps of Yugi and Devon.
"Joey, what are you doing?" question Yugi.
"Don't worry. I've got it all in control."
"You lunatic! You had the chance to take out my monster and you didn't?! You are a serious nutcase!" Devon exclaimed and drew a card. "Since you allowed me this turn, I'm gonna take full advantage of it and lay out this card face-down!" he did this, then the face-down holocard appeared to intimidate Joey. But Joey was hardly intimidated. He reached down to draw another card, and got just what he wanted.
"This is just perfect, for now I play Heavy Storm!" he slapped it down, and Devon gasped yet again. "Surprised, Devon? I knew about the hidden effect Black Pendant has when you play it on a monster, and that's why I delayed my attack. If I had've attacked when you expected me too, you would've been able to inflict direct damage to my life points. But, since I waited, I now get to destroy your Black Pendant, along with any other magic or trap cards you had waiting, therefore giving me a clean attack!"
"Whoa, that was some good planning, Joey," commented Yugi, and Joey winked at him. Devon frowned in frustration as lightning bolts descended from the sky and obliterated all both his face-down cards (this is a guess as to what the card's animation would be, because I've never seen it in the show).
ATK: 2400
"Now, Black Skull Dragon, attack with Molten Fireballs!" Joey commanded. Devon slapped his forehead and watched as the multiple fireballs slammed straight into Kazejin and exterminated from the field. A huge explosion erupted afterwards and knocked Devon over because he wasn't expecting it.
Devon's Life Points- 700
"Ohh.. my life points, they're below yours!"
"And I intend for it to stay that way. Looks like the tide of this battle is turning, now you're the one who doesn't have a strong enough monster to beat me," Joey chuckled and winked at Yugi. Devon just rolled his eyes and snarled.
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Surge walked through along the shore of the island, flipping through his deck of cards. It was all perfect, except for one thing: The Gamma Dragons were missing. His most powerful cards were taken away from him and given to his now worst enemy, Tristan Taylor. And it was all his father's fault. Robert was the one that gave Tristan the cards in the first place, and it was a very big mistake for Tristan to accept those cards. Surge was determined to get them back into his clutches, no matter what it took. But what was he going to do? How was he going to take the cards back? He tried brute force before, and it left him quite soar.
(Flashback)
"Hello, Tristan!" Surge greeted. "Long time no see, eh?"
"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in jail!" Tristan yelled while standing up.
"Supposed to be... but I'm not. The sheriff let me off on a technicality, Tristan. After I got to him and had a nice 'talk' to him, he let me and my lackies out. Now... enough chitchat. Let's jump to the chase," Surge slowly approached Tristan, still grasping the pole in his hands. "Tristan, you caused me to get locked up, my Gamma Dragon cards were taken from me, and that just doesn't sit well with me, you know? No one's ever made a fool of me and lived to tell the story."
"Guess I'll be the first." Of course, they went at each other for quite a while. When Surge put the knife at Tristan's throat, Tristan stomped on Surge foot as hard as could, making Surge drop the knife. He picked up Surge and threw him onto the counter, and Surge fell onto the dishes and made them fall onto the floor with him and break. Surge slowly got up, and looked at Tristan. Both of them were full of bruises and breathing heavily.
"This isn't over, Tristan, I will be back!" Surge said and darted out of the back door.
(End Flashback)
All that furious fighting and it brought him no closer to getting the dragons. So what was left to do? Surge was snapped out of his thoughts as he saw Brock approaching Tristan at the docks. Immediately scampering off behind some nearby rocks, Surge watched the two young men carefully. He was too far away to hear exactly what they were saying, but eventually they ran off heading toward the forest areas. Surge decided to follow them to see what they were up to. Brock and Tristan unwillingly led Surge to their campsite, and Surge smirked deviously. An idea had just came to his mind...
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Off in the western corner of Emerald Island, walked a lonely Ash. He was here now, and was ready to attempt the task of winning 15 stars in 2 months. Ash was ready to win the entire championship, and face-off with Pegasus. And once he beat him, he was going to personally deliver the deadly blow. Ash walked up to a apple tree and sat down. He rubbed his hands through his head and sighed deeply. He looked up to gaze at the beautil trees when suddenly, a lightning bolt struck down a nearby orange tree. Ash gasped in surprise, already knowing what it was. His powers were arousing more and more without his being aware. What was he going to do? They were getting more uncontrollable by the day, and Ash didn't know how to keep them in check. His powers already nearly tipped over the cruise ship he and a few other duelists were traveling on, and it took everything within him to dispel them.
(Flashback)
He (Ash) could hear the deep rumble of tidal wave getting ever closer to the ship, and that made him concentrate even harder. Ash opened his eyes to find the tidal wave still charging for the ship. He frowned and tried cooling himself down by forgetting about what happened. He began to think about pleasant thoughts, like the times he spent with Delia at the park, and others. The tsunami finally began to fizzle out as it began shrinking down into the ocean below. Ash sighed in relief as the tidal wave dissappeared and he waters returned back to normal. His power were beginning to become a problem. He had to find out how to control them, and soon.
(End Flashback)
As he sat there, a woman walked toward him. Her footsteps got his attention, and he looked up to see who it was. She was dressed in a flashy magneta leather dress, and matching high-heel sandals. Her deep brown eye stared into his and she moved closer to him. All sorts of jewelry jingled and rattled about due to her walking. She kneeled down beside him and smiled.
"Ohh... look at you. Aren't you Delia's son Ash Ketchum? Remeber me, your Auntie Selena?" she spoke with a somewhat southern accent. "I use to babysit you while your mother was at work, remeber?"
"Yeah... I remeber. Oh, Auntie Selena, it's good to see you," Ash managed to crack a smile as he hugged her, something he hadn't done in quite a long time. After hugging for a little while, they stopped and looked at each other. "Auntie, what are you doing way out on this island?" he inquired.
"Oh, that. What? I can't come see my favorite nephew?" she joked, and Ash let out a gentle laugh. "Now, seriously, I've come because I need to talk to you about something."
"Talk to me about what?"
Selena sighed before continuing. "Don't take this the wrong way, but... I've kinda been spying on you. Now, don't be freaked, but I've been watching you because I fear that you're gonna lose control of your powers, which you are. Your mother told me about 7 years ago that, should anything bad happen to her, she wanted me to keep an eye on you and see if you discover your powers. And if you found them, she told me to help you control them if you can't," she told him.
"So... what you're telling me is that you knew I've had these powers since I was a little kid, and that you've been watching me for 9 years?"
"No, I haven't been looking after you until recently. Your mother wanted you to have a 'guardian angel' to watch you if something happened to her, and she chose me. I've seen that you've been having some trouble keeping your powers at bay, so I'd like to help train you. I dabble in this sort of stuff all the time, so I've got some experience. I.. could help you learn to seize control of this 'gift'. What do you say?"
Ash didn't waist any time pondering. This was the exact miracle he had been hoping for: someone to help him control and wield his powers to their fullest extent. He replied, "Yes, I'd love it if you could help me, Auntie. It would mean a lot to me."
"Allright. Meet me at this location at 1200 hours tomorrow," Selena said and handed Ash a map of Emerald Island. There was a big green 'X' marked on the cliffs overlooking the sandy coast. Ash smiled and hugged Selena.
"Thank you, Auntie Selena," he whispered and she smiled.
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**************************************** *Joey's Life Points- 800//Devon's Life Points- 700* ****************************************
Meanwhile, the duel between Joey and Devon raged on. Joey was currently in the lead by 100 points, and with his Black Skull Dragon out on the field, Joey was extremely confident and sure that this duel was in the bag. Devon didn't know what to do, and Joey's Skull Dragon roaring ferociously made it worse. He didn't have a monster strong enough to defeat the Black Skull Dragon off hand. His only chance was to try and weaken the monster. Devon drew a card from his deck and put in down onto a slot.
"Witch of The Black Forest, in defense mode!" (it loads)
ATK: 1400 DEF: 1200
"Ah, now look whose 'chickening'," Joey taunted. "You're not even man enough to stand up and admit defeat. Instead, you're cowering and putting up defenses. Sound familiar?"
"Oh, shut up and move already!"
"Allright, if you insist. Black Skull Dragon, attack!" Joey commanded. His monster complied and dished out three fireballs aimed at the witch. They all struck her and exploded upon contact, therefore destroying her. "Bull's eye for the Skull Dragon!" exclaimed Joey.
Devon drew yet another card and played in defense mode. "I play Reaper of The Cards, defense mode!" The ghastly ghoul took its place on the field.
ATK: 1380 DEF: 1930
"Defense mode again, hunh? Skull Dragon, obliterate it!" The dragon carried out Joey's command, utterly destroying the Reaper with a few blasts of fireballs. Devon was quaking in his boots now. There was only so many cards he could keep playing in defense mode. His trap had to show up soon. He drew another card from his deck and looked at it. It wasn't the card he needed, either.
"Hmm... I'll pass this turn," he stated.
"Let's see, here," Joey murmered as he drew the Time Wizard. "Hmm... I don't need it, but it won't hurt to put it out on the field. I'll lay out the Time Wizard, in defense mode!" Joey slapped down his card and watched it pop up onto the field. Devon drew another card from his field, but it turned out to be the Kourmori Dragon. He sighed heavily and placed it down onto the console, loading it onto the field.
"Kourmori Dragon, in defense mode!"
ATK: 1500 DEF: 1200
"Ha! Allright, Black Skull Dragon, obliterate it!" And that's exactly what the large beast did. With a few fireballs spewed from its mouth, Kourmori Dragon was nothing but dust and smoke, nothing more. "Hey, Devon, why don't you call it quits. It's becoming quite obvious that you have nothing to beat my Black Skull Dragon."
"I'll never give in to the like of you! I'd rather die first," Devon countered and drew another card from the deck. The Swords of Revealing Light wasn't the card the needed, but it would definitely stall Joey and give him time to draw the right card. He placed it down onto the field. "Well, Joey, see how you'll handle this. I play The Swords of Revealing Light!"
"Hunh?" Joey was a bit surprised as the golden swords rained out of the sky and imprisoned his monsters, but he shook it off. "Swords of Revealing Light, eh? I guess it'll help stall your defeat for three turns. Go ahead and make a move."
Devon drew a card from his deck and looked at it. [No! This still isn't the right card! This can't be happening to me! I can't lose to that dense dweeb over there! I need to draw Monster Recovery, or else, I'll never win this duel!] He discarded the card in his hand and passed his turn to Joey. Since Joey didn't have anything to do, he passed it back to him. This was the second of his three free turns, and Devon hoped he would get the right card this time around. After drawing, Devon saw that it still wasn't the card he needed. He discarded the card to the graveyard and passed it back to Joey, who just passed it right back to him since he didn't have any moved to make. This was the last of his free turns, and Devon hoped that the card would show up this time around. He drew a card, and to his surprise, it was Monster Recovery!
"Hmm... what did you get this time, another throwaway?" Joey wondered.
"Not this time! This card will bring you down for sure! I play Monster Recovery!" Devon announced, and Joey gasped. "This card will let me pull all the cards back into my deck, reshuffle it, and then I can draw five new cards! Pretty awesome, wouldn't you say?" Devon smirked as he did the aforementioned actions. After reshuffling the deck, he put it back into the deck keeper and drew five new cards. Looking them over, he had just the cards he needed in his hand. He drew one and placed it down.
"First, I'll use the magic of Monster Reborn to bring back an old friend who died to see you. Behold, the triumphant return of Kazejin!" Devon laughed in delight as his favorite monster found its way back onto the field.
ATK: 2400 DEF: 2200
"And secondly, I play another Black Pendant, which raises my monster's attack power up to 2900! (this happens) And last, but not least, I'll lay out this little card called Rush Recklessly, which powers up Kazejin even further!" Devon slapped down the card.
ATK: 3400
"Let's see your Black Skull Dragon stand up to this! Kazejin, attack it now!!" Devon shouted. Kazejin blew out its strong gust of wind which managed to lift the dragon into the air and toss it right at Joey's feet. It exploded into pieces, and of course, Joey lost some life points.
Joey's Life Points- 600
Kazejin's attack points dropped back down to 2900 after the effects of Rush Recklessly wore off, but Devon didn't care. "I don't see you smiling and cracking jokes about me now. The tide of this battle is turning, Joey! Mark my words: at the end of this match, you will have fallen!"
"Fat chance!" Joey shot back and drew a card from his deck. It was a De- spell card, which caused Joey to crack a smile upon looking at it. [I forgot about this De-spell card I got from a trade on the boat. I can use this to power down Kazejin.] "Allright, Devon, I play this card, De-spell!"
ATK: 2400
Devon's Black Pendant dissappeared off Kazejin, along with the holocard."No! You got rid of my Kazejin's attack point boost! I'll make you pay by eradicating your Time Wizard! Go, Kazejin!!" Time Wizard was blown back about 4 yards by Kazejin's attack. It instantly shattered upon hitting the ground. "Now, cough up the last of your defenses so I can win the duel."
After drawing a card from the deck, he placed it down on the reader. "Monster Reborn, which I'll use to resurrect the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" The holocard turned into a Red-Eyes holocard, which then loaded the previously destroyed monster into battle.
ATK: 2400
"What good is that gonna do? Red-Eyes Black Dragon's attack power is equal to that of my Kazejin. But not for long, because I've got another magic card in my deck to use on it. All I've gotta do is draw it," Devon quipped and drew a card. "I'll place this face-down in defense mode and end my turn."
The face-down holocard loaded up and concealed the monster underneath it. Joey drew a card from his deck, then smirked and looked it Devon. "Well, Devon, you dueled pretty good for a dick, but it's over now. I'm gonna play this, Dragon Nails, which increases my dragon's attack points by 600!" Joey slammed down the card and laughed as Devon cringed.
ATK: 3000
"Oh, no!"
"Say goodbye to Kazejin! Red-Eyes Black Dragon, attack with Inferno Fire Blast!!" Joey screamed out at the monster. It immediately complied and launched a powerful fireball at Kazejin. The fireball impacted with Kazejin and ignited in flames and explosions, thus obliterating the monster.
"Aah!! My Kazejin has been destroyed again!" Devon exclaimed in disgust.
Devon's Life Points- 200
"This is just bad. I almost won this duel, but you managed to pull out that blasted Dragon Nails card to power up your dragon to 3000 points. My defense card is nowhere near powerful enough to defeat your dragon, and I don't have any more Monster Recovery cards. I'd rather not see my defense card get destroyed, so... I... give up," he stated and powered down his system. Joey was caught off-guard by Devon statement, but he wasn't surprised. Joey powered down his system also, causing all the monsters to dissappear.
"Ha! I told you I'd be claiming victory. Now, cough up your two stars like we agreed, dick," Joey told him. Devon reluctantly complied and gave Joey his two stars, then began to walk away with his head lowered. He stopped and turned around to face Joey.
"Listen up, Joey, just because I lost to you today doesn't make you a better duelist! Someday, I'll be back to give you crushing defeat!" he stated and walked off.
"Dream on," Joey calmly replied, then faced Yugi. "Yugi, can you believe it? I just won my first duel in the tournament! Aren't you proud of me?!"
"Of course I am, Joey. You've improved a whole lot since you first started dueling, and I bet that you'll get really far in this tournament, if not win it!"
"Yeah..." his voice trailed off. "This is so exciting! I won my first duel of the tournament!" he shouted, then began to clam down afterwards. "But, I never could've beat Devon if it hadn't been for you, Yugi. The training lessons you gave me a while back proved invaluable in my duel. And, I might've lost if you hadn't been generous enough to give me some of your cards to strengthen my deck. Like, Heavy Storm, for example. Without that card, I never would've been able to take away Kazejin's Black Pendant and avoid 500 points of direct damage to my life points. The other cards you handed me also helped me win the duel. You the greatest friend I ever had, Yugi, and I feel like I owe you a great debt," Joey finished telling Yugi his message, and Yugi cracked a smile.
"Nah, you don't owe me anything, Joey. And it wasn't just my cards and lessons that helped you win the duel; it was you and your determination. I'm proud of you, Joey," Yugi said. The two boys then slapped hands with each other and chuckled, then began walking away while conversing.
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After talking with Misty for a little while, Mai had left her campsite to find her own. It didn't take her too long to find a site that appealed to her liking. She set up her campsite right next to a large pond. A hotspring was nearby, and a small canal of water connected the two aqua masses together. She set up her tint on the grass and began unpacking the numerous things she brought with her. Makeup, nail polish, nail filers, exspenive shoes and clothes, among other stuff. After she finished setting up her campsite, she decided to take a swim in the pond. She stripped down to a revealing, two-piece, french-cut swimsuit and dove into the water. She re- emerged on the surface and began to swim about gracefully. Oblivious to her, someone else had entered the water and submerged themselves so she couldn't see them. Mai continued swimming through the water, enjoying the cool, surprisingly clean, refreshing feel of the water brushing against her body. The person was gaining on her, but she had no idea they were down there. After taking a few more strokes, Mai stopped swimming and simply floated about. The water felt so good to her, but the calm, relaxed feeling she once had vanished when something suddenly snatched her underwater. She was a bit confused and surprised, but it turned out to be Tori. She, along with him, surfaced and Tori began taking some deep breaths.
Mai hit him on the arm and yelled, "Tori, where'd you come from?! And why the heck did you just do that?! Some of that water got in my mouth!!"
"Sorry, sorry, chill out. I was just trying to get your attention, plus it was funny to me," he answered.
"You call that funny?! What if it was you who was relaxing peacefully, then suddenly gets yanked underwater by surprise?! Would you like it?!"
"Uh, I guess not. Anyway, moving on. Mai, I just came out here to see how you were doing. I meant no harm."
"Well, I was doing fine," she replied and began swimming back toward her campsite, and Tori followed her.
"Look, I'm sorry for the joke, okay? I thought you liked surprises, and I thought I'd give you one, but obviously, it was not the kind of surprise you like. Mai, I was just playing, nothing more," Tori explained.
"Fine, I accept your apology. But if you do anything like that again..."
"I know, you'll beat me into a pulp, got it. So, are you comfortable with the fact of staying on a remote island participating in a tournament?"
"Not really. I'd much rather have stayed on the boat, but this'll do. It's something different, for one," Mai responded. When they reached the end of the pond, both of them climbed out and headed into the tint she had set up. They both entered and sat down opposite to each other. "Well, I should start putting my clothes on so I can begin earning stars."
"Yeah, you're right. The sooner we can get to Crystal Kingdom and complete our mission, the better. Is your deck fully assembled?" Tori wondered.
"Of course, doofus. It's been prepared for the last few days," Mai replied and sighed. "Now, get out. I'm about to put on some clean clothes, and you're not allowed to look," she ordered.
Tori got up and bowed. "(with sarcasm) Of course, your majesty," he said and walked out of the tint. Mai zipped it closed began to ponder about what she should wear.
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Meanwhile, at the secluded central Palace of Crystal Kingdom, Maximillion Pegasus was standing outside on his posh balcony thinking. [Hmm... the Sub- Competition has finally come to a start. In two months, every duelist who obtains fifteen stars in two months shall determine how the main championship lineups shall be prepared. Hopefully, this Sub-Competition shall flush out all the weak, dueling filth, so that when the real shindig being, there will be nothing but strong, defiant duelists who shall give a very entertaining tournament. And hopefully, one of those duelists will be the new and improved Ashton Ketchum. I've already sent that disguised aunte of his to help him harness his powers. Then, when he arrives here, I shall capture him and take him to the secret labs to scrutinize his powers and learn how to transform the young man into the perfect killing machine. He should be perfect for eliminating the presidents of competing corporations and causing the enterprises to tumble into oblivion... (laughs)]
"Master Pegasus, a thousand pardons for interrupting your private time, sir, but I've come to tell you that Morty's Millenium Key still refuses to detach itself from the host," Croquet spoke with a flat tone of voice.
"You've told me this before, Croquet. In fact, you've been telling me this ever since we kidnapped the man. So, why are you still reporting this news, instead of telling me that you've succeeded in getting it off?!" Maximillion spun around and gave Croquet a nasty glare.
"Sorry, sir, but I am not the one in control of the research. I simply supervise. The simpletons who are studying this has yet to figure out how to remove it. I thought you'd want to know our current situation."
"Well, then, I guess I have nothing else to do except have another crack at our guest. Take me to him, please," Pegasus commanded. After grabbing a few things, Croquet obeyed diligently and quickly brought the Duel Monsters creator down the underground floors. He led Pegasus through the numerous corridoors and to Morty's cell. Morty's grease burns had been somewhat treated, but there were still obvious burn marks on his bare chest and feet. He had been given a little food and water, but just enough to keep him alive. He was still very weak, especially after the last tortue session Pegasus gave him. Croquet lowered the force field and Pegasus stepped into the cell once again, determined to make Morty fess up on the secret of getting the Millenium Key away from his neck. Pegasus approached Morty and clapped his hand loudly to wake him. Morty slowly came to and the first things his eyes set sight on was: a platinum-haired Maximillion Pegasus. He scowled at him in anger.
"Well, well, come back to beg of my cooperation?" he said in a raspy voice.
"Beg? No, no, I don't plan to beg at all. I don't beg to anyone, Morty. When I want something, I get it at all costs. It's always been that way for me, and it's not going to change with you. Now, tell me, how do you get the key to release itself from you?" he inquired.
Morty hesitated to answer for a moment, then spoke, "Why should I tell you?"
"Because, if you knew what was in store, Morty-boy, you wouldn't be so resistant." He clasped his hands on Morty's neck and began squeezing it. Morty began to choke and cough as Pegasus spoke. "Have you ever heard of the saying 'Resistance is futile'? It's something an alien species known as the Borg used to say when those Star Trek tv shows were airing. What the Borg says applies to you too, Morty. Resistance is futile, and its only a matter of time before you give in and I claim my prize: your Millenium Key," he finished and released Morty's throat, thus allowing Morty to breathe.
"Resistance.. is what'll stop you... in your tracks," Morty said through coughs. Without further ado, Pegasus punched Morty in the face.
"Tell me the secret, now!" he demanded, but Morty didn't say a word. Instead, he began to chuckle. "What's so funny?"
"It's you, Pegasus," answered Morty. "All the power you have in your possession. You can get almost anything you want, whether it be a new car, a card exclusive to you only, mansions situated all over the world. You've even got pretty good experience in witchcraft; I heard some of the guard talking outside. They say you can do a lot of stuff. You can get anything you want; you can do anything you want, and you're a pretty powerful wizard, but even with all that power at your fingertips, you can't even get one teeny little man to spill a secret about an artifact. It's pretty funny if you ask me."
"No one asked you!" Pegasus snapped and punched him in the mouth. "Just tell me the secret, and I'll let you go. You don't have to be in here any longer. You're free to walk out of that threshold and waltz your way right out of this palace, if you just tell me what I need to know. Give me the Millenium Key," Pegasus said, but Morty refused.
"There's no way I'm gonna let a family heritage get corrupted by an evil dick like you."
Pegasus punched Morty in the mouth quite harshly. A small amount of blood began to trickle out of his mouth and Morty coughed and gagged off the rising blood in his throat. "Any more talk like that and I'll dig your heart out. Now, we're gonna do thing my way," Pegasus stated and pulled out some pliers. He then clamped them right above Morty's navel and began to pull back on the skin. It eventually began to tear and a hole was formed. Morty held in the scream but his face showed he was obviously in immense pain. Pegasus then took the pliers and began to stretch the skin further apart.
"Aah!!" Morty couldn't hold it in any longer. He screamed in agony and Pegasus continued pulling the skin apart.
"Will you tell now, Morty-boy?!"
"No..."
"Curse you!! What do it take?!" Pegasus punched Morty's neck seven times and sighed. "Hmm... maybe, maybe if I kill you the connection to your Millenium Key will be shattered. thus allowing me to take it."
"You wouldn't dare..." Morty's voice trailed off as fear began to grow inside him.
"On the contrary, Morty, yes I would. But, there is the possibility that if I kill you now, you'll never be able to tell me what you know, then I'll lose the only chance of getting my prize. So for now, I'll let you live," Pegasus told him, then he approached him until their faces were inches apart. "But, I don't have much patience left, Morty-boy. Sooner or later, I'll take the risk, and I'm sure you wouldn't want that, now would you?" Pegasus threatened, then he turned and walked out of the cell. A nearby doctor walked inside to patch up Morty's wound.
[Jasmine... it's been a long time, but... I know you'll come and rescue me. Please, come and get me soon...]
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Back on the island, a man's facial expression was filled with dissappointment as a Cannon Soldier prepared to shoot him. It raised its cannon and fired out a yellow beam, which plastered against the man himself. He screamed as wind blew against and the blinding light forced him to shut his eyes. After the beam stopped firing, he opened them and witnessed the result.
Man's Life Points- 0
"Well, well, I win," said a woman, who went by the name of Jasmine Cortez. She powered down her system and gladly accepted the two stars she won from the match. "It was a great duel," she told the man.
"Thanks, and good luck in the tournament," he replied and shook her hand. Afterwards, he walked away. Jasmine looked up toward the sky and pictured Morty's face. She was determined to find him and rescue him, wherever he was. She would not fail her love.
"Don't worry, honey, I'm coming. I won't let you down..."
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What did you think? Be sure to tell me. I have a new e-mail address, and it's called "TheMusicianKing@hotmail.com" If you have any questions or comments, by all means, send them, but don't send any flames if you don't like the episode. Constructive critism is fine, but no flames! Well, 'till next time.
Disclaimer: I don't own characters from Yu-gi-oh, Cardcaptors or Pokemon. I'm simply borrowing them for my fanfic. These cartoons belong to 4 Kids Entertainment, Kids Wb, and whoever else.
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Duelists of The Future- Season 1- Episode 08, 'Let The Duels Commence' (1/27/2003)
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Two days had now passed by. Everyone (except Ash and Jasmine) had been relaxing and enjoying their stay on the luxurious cruise ships. But the ride was finally over, and the ships had taken their place at the docking ports. It was 0900 hours (9:00 am) as guards helped guide the passengers off the boat and onto the island. As Joey, Yugi and Misty stepped down the descending stairs, Joey's mouth dropped open.
"Hey, why the heck did we come out to a empty island to duel for?! I thought we were gonna stay on the boat for sure!"
"Pegasus said that we were gonna duel out here in the interview, but I don't know why," Misty chimed in response to Joey's question. "I hope you two packed a tint to sleep in."
"But me and Joey didn't pack anything like that. Just some clothes, our toothbrushes, that sorta thing," Yugi said, then shrugged. "We'll figure something out. And about the whole 'dueling on this island' thing, well, maybe we'll find out."
Guards continued to usher the duelists and guests off the ship, guiding them toward the shoreline of Emerald Island. On the shore stood two men with a large stack of boxes behind them. Tristan was curious as to what was inside the boxes, but he didn't dare approach them. Once everyone had been escorted off the boat and onto the shore, one of the men began to speak. "Hey, listen up everybody, especially duelists, because we've got some news for you which you would wanna hear!"
Everyone paused and watched as the other man started to speak. "Guess what? The brand new, Portable Holo-Duel Simulator Systems from Kaibacorp. has just been released for duelists everywhere!" he announced, which drew a lot of gasps from the crowd. "These babies boast many enhancements over the Virtual Holochip Dueling Consoles we've all come to know and love! First off, they're portable, meaning they are easier to transfer, and you can now have duels in your house, too! Never again shall you have to go outside to have Holo-duels. Now, you can have them in your own bedroom! Of course, you'll have to engage the new mode installed onto the systems, which shrinks the sizes of the monsters to suffiently fit inside a house without eclipsing outside."
The crowd of duelists were too astonished to say anything. "Secondly, these new systems possess huge graphical enhancements over the Holochip consoles and the monsters look and act more realistic than ever before! Kaibacorp. has put in a lot of hard work to make sure duelists from all over the world are not dissappointed. Next, the integration of 'fields' places brand new strategies and tricks at duelists' fingertips!" the man continued, and lots of duelists were aweing and gossiping about the new systems.
"Wow, Kaibacorp. never fails to please," chirped Meilin.
"For example: if you play a water-type card on a field with a large mass of water, that monster gets a field power bonus which can be used to your tactical advantage. Another thing is that you can use the battlefield around you to your advantange as well. Example: if there is water all on the field, and you play a monster with electrical capabilities, then it gets a field power bonus, and if the opposing monster is hiding in something, like a Labyrinth Wall, then the water can guide the electrical attack straight to the monster and obliterate it!"
"Hey!" shouted Joey to the man. "What the use in telling us this? We're still gonna use Holochip systems anyway, right?!"
"On the contrary," the other man said, then opened a box and pulled out a black, metallic device. The device was shaped like a rounded rectangle, and a small gap near the bottom of it allowed a person to slip it onto their wrist. There was ten card slots mounted on top of the rectangle arranged in two, horizontal rows. Three small holo-emitters tubes were installed right in front of the card slots. Two small shelves extended from under card slots two and four. These were the graveyard pile and deck keeper slots. Two small bars strapped around the arm of the man. This was the life point and the attack and defense point meters, which served their respectful purpose of telling the attack and defense points of the current monster(s), and the life points of the current duelist(s). The other man also strapped a white Holo-duel simulator onto his arm, then they both walked a good distance away from each other. After getting themselves set, they turned back around to face each other.
"Holo-duel systems, power up!" they both shouted, and the holo-emitters on the machines turned on. Red, yellow, and green lights flickered through the systems, indicating that it was powered. The men inserted their decks into the deck keeper slots and held up their arms.
"This looks pretty cool," murmered Surge, who was standing as far away from Tristan as possible without looking suspicious.
"Duel!" the men yelled, and suddenly a beautiful field grid appeared on the land in front of them. They were color coordinated with the systems, which meant that the first man's grid was composed of black lines, while the second man's grid was made of white lines. Their life points set to 2000, and the first man drew five cards from the deck, forming his hand.
"Allow me to give you duelists a demonstration of the graphics these small systems can muster. Reaper of The Cards, in attack mode!" he slapped down his first card onto a slot (3). A gorgeous, holographic version of the card first appeared in the slot, then white lights began rising into the air, thus loading a immensely realistic, holographic version of the aforementioned monster which put the Holochips consoles to shame. It snarled and the crowd gasped in amazement. "Behold the new generation of dueling!"
ATK: 1380 DEF: 1930
"Whoa! The Reaper of The Cards has never looked so real!" Brock exclaimed in sheer astonishment. Everyone else were also amazed at the details and realism projected into the monster. The other man formed his hand, then took two cards from it and placed it onto a slot.
"I counter with Flame Swordsman, in attack mode! And I'll place one extra card face-down." A holographic face-down card loaded into the slot to intimidate the opposing duelist, then the Flame Swordsman's holocard appeared and the monster jumped out of it, taking a fighting stance. Everyone was still amazed at the beautiful graphics.
ATK: 1800 DEF: 1500
"Allright, Flame Swordsman, attack the Reaper of The Cards, now!" the man commanded. The Flame Swordsman sword was engulfed by flames eminating from it, then it charged straight at the reaper. Everyone looked on as Flame Swordsman sliced Reaper of The Cards with its fireblade, thus shattering the monster.
First Man's Life Points- 1580
Some large, black holo-numbers even displayed after the destruction of the monster, to allow everyone easy viewing and tracking of the life points bin. "Holo-duel systems, power down!" the two men stated, then the various holograms dissappeared. The machines powered down and they unstrapped them from their arms.
"This is what you'll be using for the duration of the tournament, and afterwards," stated the first man. "Since we're so grateful for your attendance, Maximillion Pegasus had allowed all participants to get one of these systems free of charge. Oh, and as a personal bonus, Kaiba Corporation has even included tons of different colors for your personal specifications. Come and get them in an orderly fashion," he announced. All the excited duelists approached the boxes to get their own Portable Holo- Duel Simulator System. Within moments, every duelist on the island had picked one up. There were still plenty of them left, because Pegasus wanted to make sure each and every duelist got the color they wanted.
"Now, in 30 minutes," the second man spoke up, "the duels shall begin. Use this time to shape and refine your deck to the perfect configuration. When the sky light up with fireworks in the form of Pegasus, the sub-competition shall be underway. Maximillion Pegasus also bids good luck to all the duelists who are present," he finished and walked off with his acquaintence. All the duelists began scrambling about to make sure their decks were perfect.
-----------------------------------------
Misty had separated herself from Yugi and Joey, and was now heading out to find a quiet meadow to set up her camp, which was to be her home for the next several weeks. She knew she had no time to play around. Her sisters and John were depending on her to win the prize money and get Yelola's cooperation. With the stakes of their lives in her hands, Misty knew she had no room for error. As she continued walking along, she had no idea she was being spied on by Ronnie. He eyed her carefully and glanced at her butt often. After walking for a little while, Misty stumbled upon a nice, quiet meadow and looked around. A small hot spring was naturally built into the ground, and Misty's face lit up.
"This is the perfect spot for me to camp," Misty said to herself and accessed her device. She transported her folded tint out of it. Then, she pressed a button on the tint, which made it automatically began constructing itself into a tint. After a few seconds, it was complete. Misty was about to crawl inside when a voice stopped her.
"This is a nice little camp you've got going here, girl," the voice, belonging to a young woman, spoke. Misty turned around, slightly startled.
"Yeah, I guess so," she answered while standing up. "Who are you?"
"Please, don't be so alarmed; I come in peace," the blonde chick told her, then strolled over to one of the sturdy rocks next to the hot spring and took a seat. "You seem like a pretty nice girl. What's your name?"
"Why don't you tell me your name first? After all, you're the one who stumbled into my little camp."
"Allright, then. My name is Mai Valentine," she stated.
"Misty Chase, nice to meet you," Misty said and extended her hand for Mai to shake. She did so, then they returned their hands to their side. "So, I take it you're a contestant in the tournament, right?" wondered Misty.
Mai nodded. "Yep. This is my first time ever competiting in one, though. I'm kinda nervous."
"Nervous? From my general impression of you, I'd think you weren't the nervous type," Misty quipped and Mai chuckled.
"Looks can be deceiving. Are you in the tournament?"
"Mm-hmm. I'm going for the gold," she told her.
Mai got off the rock and started to walk away. "I guess we'll meet up again sometime later, hmm?"
"I'm sure we will."
Something caught Mai's eye. She turned around and stared at Misty's shoes, then gasped. "Wow! Are those Prodda shoes you're wearing?!"
"Oh, yeah," Misty replied.
"I've been looking all over the place for those shoes! Where'd you find them at?"
"At this little store called 'Woman's Source.' It's around my neighborhood."
"Really? I'll have to go down there myself one of these days," Mai said and walked back toward Misty. "Don't Prodda make the most gorgeous fashions..."
-----------------------------------------
Brock walked through the immense island, also looking for a place to set up camp. Tristan decided to split in order to find some delicious fruits for his enjoyment. Since the new duel systems introduced field types into dueling, Brock was attempting to locate a lake so his thunder-based cards would get a field power bonus when played. But so far, he hadn't had any luck in finding one. As Brock started walking up a pretty steep hill, he began thinking about the tournament. How strong would the competitors be? Was he ready to face them? Did he have the skills to win the tournament and claim the prize money for his father? Brock believed that he could win the tournament, but he knew it wasn't going to be an easy task, especially when the main contest started. By then, all the weaker duelists would be eliminated, and there would be nothing but strong, defiant duelists left. Would he be able to handle them? Brock may be the champion of his neighborhood, but he hadn't ever faced off with duelists of the elite. Brock finally reached the end of the hill, and below him was a valley with a huge lake in the center. This was the perfect spot he was looking for! Brock darted downhill and headed straight for the lake. Once he got there, he immediately accessed his Subspace Computer Terminal and began transporting his tint, along with other things, out of it. After setting up his campsite, he began heading back toward the docks. He had told Tristan that once he found a campsite, he was going to meet him there so he could lead Tristan to it.
-----------------------------------------
The thirty minutes finally passed by, and the sky suddenly lit up with fireworks shaped like the Duel Monsters creator, Maximillion Pegasus. The fireworks signified the beginning of the tournament, and duelists started challenging one another for stars. Joey and Yugi walked along the shore in search of Misty. "I know I saw her run off in this direction," said Joey.
"Are you sure? We haven't seen any sign of her yet. I hope you don't think something's happening to her, because I'm pretty sure Misty can take care of herself."
"No, it's not that, Yugi. I'm just trying to find out where she set up her camp," Joey responded, then sighed. "Ah, it's no use. I don't see any kind of tint anywhere. I really wish I knew where to find her because I wanted to see if she would trade one of her cards with me."
"What card are you planning on trading, Joey?" Yugi inquired.
"Oh, this trap card called 'Kunai With Chain'. I can't seem to figure out how to make it work."
"'Kunai With Chain'? Don't get rid of that, Joey. That card can be used in conjunction with a card such as 'Axe Raider' to trap your opponent's monster," Yugi explained to him.
"Oh, I see," Joey mused and stared at the card. "How exactly does it work?"
"If you use it with Axe Raider, it'll wield a special chain which can be used to ensnare an attacking monster and drain its attack strength. Oh, before I forget, I wanna give you something," Yugi said, then began accessing his terminal.
"What'cha doin', Yuge?" Joey wondered as Yugi retrieved his deck of cards. He searched through them until he found the card he was looking for, then pulled it out of the deck and handed it to Joey. "What's this? The Summoned Skull? Why are you showing me this, Yugi?"
"Because, I'm giving it to you," Yugi announced.
Joey's jaw dropped open. "Yugi... that's really nice and all, but I can't take your card. This is your Summoned Skull, and I know it's among your top five favorite cards of all-time. Why are you trying to give it to me?"
"I want you to have it. If you fuse that card together with your Red Eyes Black Dragon, you'll obtain a really strong card called the Supreme Black Skull Dragon. Go ahead and take the card, Joey. You deserve it."
"No, I don't. I don't deserve anything, especially one of your most treasured cards. Here, take it back," Joey said and attempted to give back the card, but little Yugi refused to accept it. "What's the matter? Why won't you take the card?"
"I told you, I want you to have it. I obtained another one at my Grandpa's card shop, and I don't need two of them. So, I'm letting you have the extra one. Here's the other one I have," Yugi fished through the deck until he came across it, then showed it to Joey. "See?"
"I see. Well, in that case, I'll take the card," he chimed.
"Oh, before I forget, add this card to your deck too. It's called Heavy Storm, and it's special ability is to destroy any magic or traps cards currently on the field."
Joey graciously took the card from Yugi and smiled. "Thanks, man. It seems like you're always helping me out. You're the best friend I ever had," he said and was about to add it into his deck when someone called him.
"Hey, you! Blonde dweeb, think you can handle a duel?" a high-school jock ran up to him and whirled him around. His medium brown hair was done in an ugly lop-over style. He was a tall, bony guy who wore some gray sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt. His hazel eyes looked into Joey and glared at him. "What'da you say, little guy? Think you can take me?"
"Hey, did you just call me 'little guy'?" Joey began to get a little angry at this crude, insensitive jock. The jock cocked his head and replied, "What, are you deaf or something? Yeah, I called you a 'little guy'. Look at you, just truely pathetic looking."
"Who asked you?! How dare you call me little, stupid punk! And look at you, you're one to talk! Your hairdo is absolutely atrocious, and if I didn't know any better, I'd assume there was nothing but bones under those clothes of yours. Maybe I should hit you and see if you crumble," Joey threatened and pounded his fists together.
"You wouldn't dare," the jock shot back, then laughed. "How about we settle this in a official duel. It could be an all-out match, meaning we risk all the stars we have. What do you say? Gonna duel me like a man or coward behind that midget companion of yours?"
"Shut up, punk! And yes, I accept your challenge. We're gonna have an all- out match. Whoever wins get everything and the loser goes home and rot. Guess what? I plan to be the winner here. You're goin' home," Joey said.
"Fat chance! It is I who shall emerge victorious. I've never lost a duel in my entire dueling career, and I don't plan to lose to you," the jock answered, but Joey laughed.
"Who was your opponents, some worms?" he jeered, and the jock frowned.
"Shut your gob! We.. will.. duel! Get out your duel system!" he yelled while transporting his device.
"Shut up and wait! I'm not rushin' for you, little punk," Joey shot back and surfed through his device until he reached his system. He transported it out of subspace, then firmly attached it to his wrist. The jock did the same and looked out at Joey. Both of them powered up their systems via their voices. The same lights flashed through the metal to indicate it was ready, then they shouted, "Duel!" The color-coordinated holographic field grid appeared in front of the two duelists. Joey's was flame red to match his flame red system, and the jock's was a cool blue.
"By the way I'm Joey, what's your name?" asked Joey.
"Devon, now let's get this show on the road."
"Likewise!" shouted Joey.
**************************** *Joey's/ Devon's Life Points- 2000* ****************************
"I shall make the first move to get the duel started," Devon stated and drew five cards to form his hand. He looked them over, then picked two up and slammed them onto the card slots. "I'll play Stone Soldier in defense mode and another card face-down," he said and watched the holocards appear in the slots. The face-down card loaded first (face-down), then the Stone Soldier's holocard appeared and released the massive rock monster onto the field.
ATK: 1300 DEF: 2000
Joey reached out to draw his first five cards. Once done, he looked them over. Polymerization, Axe Raider, Kunai With Chain, Summoned Skull and Salamandra made up his hand. He pulled up the Axe Raider and threw it down. "First, I play Axe Raider in attack mode, then I'll lay out another card for later," Joey does this and watched as his holocards loaded into battle. Axe Raider jumped out of the card and growled.
ATK: 1700 DEF: 1500
"Go, Axe Raider! Attack the Stone Soldier with Wind Blades!" Joey commanded. The Axe Raider ran toward the Stone Soldier with its blade raised in the air. Upon reaching the monster, it slashed the soldier in the midsection and cut it the monster in half. It, along with the holocard it stood on, erupted into pieces. "Good job!" commented Joey.
"Whatever. You think you've done something, but this duel is just getting started. I got a whole lot of tricks to pull," Devon quipped and drew another card from his hand, then placed it down. "I'll play yet another monster in defense mode, Armed Ninja!" the ninja loaded onto the field in a kneeled position.
ATK: 300 DEF: 300
"Ha! Is that all you can do? Axe Raider, give it a good slicin'!" Joey yelled. His monster complied by slicing the Armed Ninja in half, therefore shattering it. "C'mon, is this the only thing you know how to do, throw monsters in defense mode? You gotta be kidding me."
Devon chose to ignore Joey this time around. He drew the next card from his deck and slapped it onto the card reader. "Enough defending, I'm going on the attack. Dark Magician Girl, in attack mode!" Dark Magician Girl rose out of its holocard and glared at Axe Raider while taking a stance.
ATK: 2000 DEF: 1800
"Dark Magician Girl, do away with Axe Raider! Dark Magic Attack!" She raised her staff into the air and fired a large, pink energybeam at Axe Raider. But Joey was already prepared.
"Not so fast, dork! Kunai With Chain!" chimed Joey, and Devon was surprised.
"No, my magician!"
"Yes, my trap card worked just like Yugi said! My Kunai With Chain has ensnared your Dark Magician Girl, and that's sets the stage for my next move," Joey said and drew a card from his deck, along with one from his hand. "I call out the Flame Swordsman, in attack mode! And with the magic of Salamandra, its attack power will be increased by 700 points!" When Joey placed the two cards, they appeared in the duel. Flame Swordsman growled and clutched its powered up sword tightly.
ATK: 2500 DEF: 1500
"Attack the Dark Magician Girl with Salamandra Flame Strike!!" Dark Magician Girl instantly got cooked when the fire dragon struck it.
Devon's Life Points- 1500
"Allright! Dark Magician Girl got toasted!" exclaimed Joey, who then looked over to Yugi.
"Keep it up, Joey. But, don't get carried away. Something tells me that Devon's not gonna go down without a fight. Be prepared," advised Yugi, and Joey winked.
"You got it."
"You were just lucky, that's all. Don't let it go to your head," Devon retorted, and Joey scowled at his remark.
"Hey, that wasn't luck, that was pure skill! You should consider yourself lucky that you've lasted this long against me!" Joey shot back, but all he received was an airhead laugh from Devon.
"And who are you supposed to be, the Supreme Duelist of the world?"
"Not yet, but I sure plan to be!"
Devon laughed yet again, which made Joey scowled once again. "Dream on, nimrod. Your little 'fantasy' will end when I crush you," he said and reached down for a new card. Upon looking at, he smiled and giggled. "This card'll crush those monsters of your for sure! (slaps it down) Kazejin, in attack mode! And I play this magic card, Black Pendant, to raise it's attack power 500 points! (places it down)" The holocards loaded the supercharged monster into the duel.
ATK: 2900 DEF: 2200
"Ah!" gasped Joey. (I don't know Kazejin's real attack, but based off of its card description, I've got a good idea)
"Now, Kazejin, attack the Axe Raider with Solar Wind Blast!" The red box launched a powerful wind gust aimed at Axe Raider. The Axe Raider tried to, but couldn't withstand the attack; it was lifted off the ground and blown all the way back to where Joey stood, where it shattered violently.
Joey's Life Points- 800
"Aah! He took away over half of my life points in just one move!" Joey yelled, and Devon laughed in delight, obviously enjoying his moment of devastating triumph.
"That's the result of playing against a champ like me! After your turn, I'm gonna obliterate your Flame Swordsman, then K.O anything else you decide to play out of that wimpy deck of yours. Make a move."
Joey growled, then switched his Flame Swordsman to defense mode. "Ha! I guess that's the only strategy you can muster in that puny brain of yours. (jeering tone) When things get rough, retreat!" Devon laughed hilariously, much to Joey's disgust. "Not gonna take defeat like a man, hunh? C'mon Kazejin, blow that Flame Swordsman away!" he ordered, and Kazejin struck with another strong wind gust. The Flame Swordsman was tossed aside and destroyed.
"Another wipeout," Joey muttered, then drew a card from his deck. (slaps it down) Garoozis, in defense mode!" The monster loaded and snarled at Kazejin and Devon.
ATK: 1800 DEF: 1500
"Still goin' defensive, hunh, wimp?" Devon taunted.
"Don't listen to him, Joey! You still have a chance to win this duel!" Yugi encouraged.
Devon pointed his finger at Yugi. "Hey, brat, shut up and stay out of it! This is between me and Joey, and no puny shorties are allowed, got it?!"
"Hey, leave my friend alone!" snapped Joey, and Devon laughed out again.
"(mimicking tone) 'Hey, leave my friend alone'! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! You should listen to how pathetic you sound, Joey..."
"Listen up, you dick, in case you haven't noticed, you can't call anybody puny! Just look at you; truly the most hideous thing I've ever seen! You look like you smoke crack, your hair is by far the ugliest hairstyle I've ever seen, your breath smells like horse manure, and I bet you've got a penis the size of a noodle, not that I'd really wanna know! (Devon frowns) Now, you gonna stand around spitting insults at people, or are you gonna duel?" shouted Joey, and Devon clenched his fists in anger.
"Yeah, you tell him, Joey!" exclaimed Yugi.
"You're going to regret EVER insulting Devon Chavez like that! Kazejin, strike with Solar Wind Blast!!" Devon screamed. Kazejin obeyed and fired its powerful gust straight at Garoozis. Although it tried, Garoozis couldn't withstand to the attack and it wound up soaring through the air before shattering right beside Joey. "Take that!"
"Oh, man, what am I gonna do? Kazejin's attack power is 2900, and even my strongest beast, Red Eyes Black Dragon, can't compete with that. What do I do?" Joey pondered. He thought for a little while before he got an idea. "Oh yeah, I forgot the cards Yugi gave me a few minutes ago. They could be my ticket out of this mess. If only I can draw the neccessary cards," he mused and reached to draw. When he picked up the card, it turned out to be the Red Eyes Black Dragon. His face lit up with glee. "Allright! I just drew the card that nearly clintches this match for me. Red Eyes Black Dragon, in attack mode!" (monster loads)
ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000
Devon burst out into laughter. "You're delusional. There's no way that wimpy Red Eyes Black Dragon can stand up to the might of supercharged Kazejin. Why don't you make an intelligent play and concede the match? Everyone knows there isn't a monster in your deck that can take down my Kazejin."
"If you would just shut up and let me finish my turn, you'll see my strategy," Joey quipped, then drew two cards out of his hand and placed them onto the console in front of him. "Now, I bring out the Summoned Skull, also in attack mode!" Yugi smiled as his former card's holocard loaded his monster into battle.
ATK: 2500 DEF: 1200
"Still acting dopey, aren't you..."
"And now... I play this polymerization card to combine these two powerful creatures into one, ultra-kick butt monster!" Joey yelled, and Devon couldn't help but gasp. Bright light illuminated from the field and winds blew the duelists, and even Yugi. Once the process was complete, the mighty dragon Yugi previously told Joey about stood on the field. "Behold, the Supreme Black Skull Dragon!"
ATK: 3200 DEF: 2500
"Oh, no!" Devon looked at the massive monster in complete astonishment.
"Oh, yes! But, before I attack, I'm allowing my turn to end," annouced Joey, which forced the gasps of Yugi and Devon.
"Joey, what are you doing?" question Yugi.
"Don't worry. I've got it all in control."
"You lunatic! You had the chance to take out my monster and you didn't?! You are a serious nutcase!" Devon exclaimed and drew a card. "Since you allowed me this turn, I'm gonna take full advantage of it and lay out this card face-down!" he did this, then the face-down holocard appeared to intimidate Joey. But Joey was hardly intimidated. He reached down to draw another card, and got just what he wanted.
"This is just perfect, for now I play Heavy Storm!" he slapped it down, and Devon gasped yet again. "Surprised, Devon? I knew about the hidden effect Black Pendant has when you play it on a monster, and that's why I delayed my attack. If I had've attacked when you expected me too, you would've been able to inflict direct damage to my life points. But, since I waited, I now get to destroy your Black Pendant, along with any other magic or trap cards you had waiting, therefore giving me a clean attack!"
"Whoa, that was some good planning, Joey," commented Yugi, and Joey winked at him. Devon frowned in frustration as lightning bolts descended from the sky and obliterated all both his face-down cards (this is a guess as to what the card's animation would be, because I've never seen it in the show).
ATK: 2400
"Now, Black Skull Dragon, attack with Molten Fireballs!" Joey commanded. Devon slapped his forehead and watched as the multiple fireballs slammed straight into Kazejin and exterminated from the field. A huge explosion erupted afterwards and knocked Devon over because he wasn't expecting it.
Devon's Life Points- 700
"Ohh.. my life points, they're below yours!"
"And I intend for it to stay that way. Looks like the tide of this battle is turning, now you're the one who doesn't have a strong enough monster to beat me," Joey chuckled and winked at Yugi. Devon just rolled his eyes and snarled.
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Surge walked through along the shore of the island, flipping through his deck of cards. It was all perfect, except for one thing: The Gamma Dragons were missing. His most powerful cards were taken away from him and given to his now worst enemy, Tristan Taylor. And it was all his father's fault. Robert was the one that gave Tristan the cards in the first place, and it was a very big mistake for Tristan to accept those cards. Surge was determined to get them back into his clutches, no matter what it took. But what was he going to do? How was he going to take the cards back? He tried brute force before, and it left him quite soar.
(Flashback)
"Hello, Tristan!" Surge greeted. "Long time no see, eh?"
"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in jail!" Tristan yelled while standing up.
"Supposed to be... but I'm not. The sheriff let me off on a technicality, Tristan. After I got to him and had a nice 'talk' to him, he let me and my lackies out. Now... enough chitchat. Let's jump to the chase," Surge slowly approached Tristan, still grasping the pole in his hands. "Tristan, you caused me to get locked up, my Gamma Dragon cards were taken from me, and that just doesn't sit well with me, you know? No one's ever made a fool of me and lived to tell the story."
"Guess I'll be the first." Of course, they went at each other for quite a while. When Surge put the knife at Tristan's throat, Tristan stomped on Surge foot as hard as could, making Surge drop the knife. He picked up Surge and threw him onto the counter, and Surge fell onto the dishes and made them fall onto the floor with him and break. Surge slowly got up, and looked at Tristan. Both of them were full of bruises and breathing heavily.
"This isn't over, Tristan, I will be back!" Surge said and darted out of the back door.
(End Flashback)
All that furious fighting and it brought him no closer to getting the dragons. So what was left to do? Surge was snapped out of his thoughts as he saw Brock approaching Tristan at the docks. Immediately scampering off behind some nearby rocks, Surge watched the two young men carefully. He was too far away to hear exactly what they were saying, but eventually they ran off heading toward the forest areas. Surge decided to follow them to see what they were up to. Brock and Tristan unwillingly led Surge to their campsite, and Surge smirked deviously. An idea had just came to his mind...
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Off in the western corner of Emerald Island, walked a lonely Ash. He was here now, and was ready to attempt the task of winning 15 stars in 2 months. Ash was ready to win the entire championship, and face-off with Pegasus. And once he beat him, he was going to personally deliver the deadly blow. Ash walked up to a apple tree and sat down. He rubbed his hands through his head and sighed deeply. He looked up to gaze at the beautil trees when suddenly, a lightning bolt struck down a nearby orange tree. Ash gasped in surprise, already knowing what it was. His powers were arousing more and more without his being aware. What was he going to do? They were getting more uncontrollable by the day, and Ash didn't know how to keep them in check. His powers already nearly tipped over the cruise ship he and a few other duelists were traveling on, and it took everything within him to dispel them.
(Flashback)
He (Ash) could hear the deep rumble of tidal wave getting ever closer to the ship, and that made him concentrate even harder. Ash opened his eyes to find the tidal wave still charging for the ship. He frowned and tried cooling himself down by forgetting about what happened. He began to think about pleasant thoughts, like the times he spent with Delia at the park, and others. The tsunami finally began to fizzle out as it began shrinking down into the ocean below. Ash sighed in relief as the tidal wave dissappeared and he waters returned back to normal. His power were beginning to become a problem. He had to find out how to control them, and soon.
(End Flashback)
As he sat there, a woman walked toward him. Her footsteps got his attention, and he looked up to see who it was. She was dressed in a flashy magneta leather dress, and matching high-heel sandals. Her deep brown eye stared into his and she moved closer to him. All sorts of jewelry jingled and rattled about due to her walking. She kneeled down beside him and smiled.
"Ohh... look at you. Aren't you Delia's son Ash Ketchum? Remeber me, your Auntie Selena?" she spoke with a somewhat southern accent. "I use to babysit you while your mother was at work, remeber?"
"Yeah... I remeber. Oh, Auntie Selena, it's good to see you," Ash managed to crack a smile as he hugged her, something he hadn't done in quite a long time. After hugging for a little while, they stopped and looked at each other. "Auntie, what are you doing way out on this island?" he inquired.
"Oh, that. What? I can't come see my favorite nephew?" she joked, and Ash let out a gentle laugh. "Now, seriously, I've come because I need to talk to you about something."
"Talk to me about what?"
Selena sighed before continuing. "Don't take this the wrong way, but... I've kinda been spying on you. Now, don't be freaked, but I've been watching you because I fear that you're gonna lose control of your powers, which you are. Your mother told me about 7 years ago that, should anything bad happen to her, she wanted me to keep an eye on you and see if you discover your powers. And if you found them, she told me to help you control them if you can't," she told him.
"So... what you're telling me is that you knew I've had these powers since I was a little kid, and that you've been watching me for 9 years?"
"No, I haven't been looking after you until recently. Your mother wanted you to have a 'guardian angel' to watch you if something happened to her, and she chose me. I've seen that you've been having some trouble keeping your powers at bay, so I'd like to help train you. I dabble in this sort of stuff all the time, so I've got some experience. I.. could help you learn to seize control of this 'gift'. What do you say?"
Ash didn't waist any time pondering. This was the exact miracle he had been hoping for: someone to help him control and wield his powers to their fullest extent. He replied, "Yes, I'd love it if you could help me, Auntie. It would mean a lot to me."
"Allright. Meet me at this location at 1200 hours tomorrow," Selena said and handed Ash a map of Emerald Island. There was a big green 'X' marked on the cliffs overlooking the sandy coast. Ash smiled and hugged Selena.
"Thank you, Auntie Selena," he whispered and she smiled.
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**************************************** *Joey's Life Points- 800//Devon's Life Points- 700* ****************************************
Meanwhile, the duel between Joey and Devon raged on. Joey was currently in the lead by 100 points, and with his Black Skull Dragon out on the field, Joey was extremely confident and sure that this duel was in the bag. Devon didn't know what to do, and Joey's Skull Dragon roaring ferociously made it worse. He didn't have a monster strong enough to defeat the Black Skull Dragon off hand. His only chance was to try and weaken the monster. Devon drew a card from his deck and put in down onto a slot.
"Witch of The Black Forest, in defense mode!" (it loads)
ATK: 1400 DEF: 1200
"Ah, now look whose 'chickening'," Joey taunted. "You're not even man enough to stand up and admit defeat. Instead, you're cowering and putting up defenses. Sound familiar?"
"Oh, shut up and move already!"
"Allright, if you insist. Black Skull Dragon, attack!" Joey commanded. His monster complied and dished out three fireballs aimed at the witch. They all struck her and exploded upon contact, therefore destroying her. "Bull's eye for the Skull Dragon!" exclaimed Joey.
Devon drew yet another card and played in defense mode. "I play Reaper of The Cards, defense mode!" The ghastly ghoul took its place on the field.
ATK: 1380 DEF: 1930
"Defense mode again, hunh? Skull Dragon, obliterate it!" The dragon carried out Joey's command, utterly destroying the Reaper with a few blasts of fireballs. Devon was quaking in his boots now. There was only so many cards he could keep playing in defense mode. His trap had to show up soon. He drew another card from his deck and looked at it. It wasn't the card he needed, either.
"Hmm... I'll pass this turn," he stated.
"Let's see, here," Joey murmered as he drew the Time Wizard. "Hmm... I don't need it, but it won't hurt to put it out on the field. I'll lay out the Time Wizard, in defense mode!" Joey slapped down his card and watched it pop up onto the field. Devon drew another card from his field, but it turned out to be the Kourmori Dragon. He sighed heavily and placed it down onto the console, loading it onto the field.
"Kourmori Dragon, in defense mode!"
ATK: 1500 DEF: 1200
"Ha! Allright, Black Skull Dragon, obliterate it!" And that's exactly what the large beast did. With a few fireballs spewed from its mouth, Kourmori Dragon was nothing but dust and smoke, nothing more. "Hey, Devon, why don't you call it quits. It's becoming quite obvious that you have nothing to beat my Black Skull Dragon."
"I'll never give in to the like of you! I'd rather die first," Devon countered and drew another card from the deck. The Swords of Revealing Light wasn't the card the needed, but it would definitely stall Joey and give him time to draw the right card. He placed it down onto the field. "Well, Joey, see how you'll handle this. I play The Swords of Revealing Light!"
"Hunh?" Joey was a bit surprised as the golden swords rained out of the sky and imprisoned his monsters, but he shook it off. "Swords of Revealing Light, eh? I guess it'll help stall your defeat for three turns. Go ahead and make a move."
Devon drew a card from his deck and looked at it. [No! This still isn't the right card! This can't be happening to me! I can't lose to that dense dweeb over there! I need to draw Monster Recovery, or else, I'll never win this duel!] He discarded the card in his hand and passed his turn to Joey. Since Joey didn't have anything to do, he passed it back to him. This was the second of his three free turns, and Devon hoped he would get the right card this time around. After drawing, Devon saw that it still wasn't the card he needed. He discarded the card to the graveyard and passed it back to Joey, who just passed it right back to him since he didn't have any moved to make. This was the last of his free turns, and Devon hoped that the card would show up this time around. He drew a card, and to his surprise, it was Monster Recovery!
"Hmm... what did you get this time, another throwaway?" Joey wondered.
"Not this time! This card will bring you down for sure! I play Monster Recovery!" Devon announced, and Joey gasped. "This card will let me pull all the cards back into my deck, reshuffle it, and then I can draw five new cards! Pretty awesome, wouldn't you say?" Devon smirked as he did the aforementioned actions. After reshuffling the deck, he put it back into the deck keeper and drew five new cards. Looking them over, he had just the cards he needed in his hand. He drew one and placed it down.
"First, I'll use the magic of Monster Reborn to bring back an old friend who died to see you. Behold, the triumphant return of Kazejin!" Devon laughed in delight as his favorite monster found its way back onto the field.
ATK: 2400 DEF: 2200
"And secondly, I play another Black Pendant, which raises my monster's attack power up to 2900! (this happens) And last, but not least, I'll lay out this little card called Rush Recklessly, which powers up Kazejin even further!" Devon slapped down the card.
ATK: 3400
"Let's see your Black Skull Dragon stand up to this! Kazejin, attack it now!!" Devon shouted. Kazejin blew out its strong gust of wind which managed to lift the dragon into the air and toss it right at Joey's feet. It exploded into pieces, and of course, Joey lost some life points.
Joey's Life Points- 600
Kazejin's attack points dropped back down to 2900 after the effects of Rush Recklessly wore off, but Devon didn't care. "I don't see you smiling and cracking jokes about me now. The tide of this battle is turning, Joey! Mark my words: at the end of this match, you will have fallen!"
"Fat chance!" Joey shot back and drew a card from his deck. It was a De- spell card, which caused Joey to crack a smile upon looking at it. [I forgot about this De-spell card I got from a trade on the boat. I can use this to power down Kazejin.] "Allright, Devon, I play this card, De-spell!"
ATK: 2400
Devon's Black Pendant dissappeared off Kazejin, along with the holocard."No! You got rid of my Kazejin's attack point boost! I'll make you pay by eradicating your Time Wizard! Go, Kazejin!!" Time Wizard was blown back about 4 yards by Kazejin's attack. It instantly shattered upon hitting the ground. "Now, cough up the last of your defenses so I can win the duel."
After drawing a card from the deck, he placed it down on the reader. "Monster Reborn, which I'll use to resurrect the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" The holocard turned into a Red-Eyes holocard, which then loaded the previously destroyed monster into battle.
ATK: 2400
"What good is that gonna do? Red-Eyes Black Dragon's attack power is equal to that of my Kazejin. But not for long, because I've got another magic card in my deck to use on it. All I've gotta do is draw it," Devon quipped and drew a card. "I'll place this face-down in defense mode and end my turn."
The face-down holocard loaded up and concealed the monster underneath it. Joey drew a card from his deck, then smirked and looked it Devon. "Well, Devon, you dueled pretty good for a dick, but it's over now. I'm gonna play this, Dragon Nails, which increases my dragon's attack points by 600!" Joey slammed down the card and laughed as Devon cringed.
ATK: 3000
"Oh, no!"
"Say goodbye to Kazejin! Red-Eyes Black Dragon, attack with Inferno Fire Blast!!" Joey screamed out at the monster. It immediately complied and launched a powerful fireball at Kazejin. The fireball impacted with Kazejin and ignited in flames and explosions, thus obliterating the monster.
"Aah!! My Kazejin has been destroyed again!" Devon exclaimed in disgust.
Devon's Life Points- 200
"This is just bad. I almost won this duel, but you managed to pull out that blasted Dragon Nails card to power up your dragon to 3000 points. My defense card is nowhere near powerful enough to defeat your dragon, and I don't have any more Monster Recovery cards. I'd rather not see my defense card get destroyed, so... I... give up," he stated and powered down his system. Joey was caught off-guard by Devon statement, but he wasn't surprised. Joey powered down his system also, causing all the monsters to dissappear.
"Ha! I told you I'd be claiming victory. Now, cough up your two stars like we agreed, dick," Joey told him. Devon reluctantly complied and gave Joey his two stars, then began to walk away with his head lowered. He stopped and turned around to face Joey.
"Listen up, Joey, just because I lost to you today doesn't make you a better duelist! Someday, I'll be back to give you crushing defeat!" he stated and walked off.
"Dream on," Joey calmly replied, then faced Yugi. "Yugi, can you believe it? I just won my first duel in the tournament! Aren't you proud of me?!"
"Of course I am, Joey. You've improved a whole lot since you first started dueling, and I bet that you'll get really far in this tournament, if not win it!"
"Yeah..." his voice trailed off. "This is so exciting! I won my first duel of the tournament!" he shouted, then began to clam down afterwards. "But, I never could've beat Devon if it hadn't been for you, Yugi. The training lessons you gave me a while back proved invaluable in my duel. And, I might've lost if you hadn't been generous enough to give me some of your cards to strengthen my deck. Like, Heavy Storm, for example. Without that card, I never would've been able to take away Kazejin's Black Pendant and avoid 500 points of direct damage to my life points. The other cards you handed me also helped me win the duel. You the greatest friend I ever had, Yugi, and I feel like I owe you a great debt," Joey finished telling Yugi his message, and Yugi cracked a smile.
"Nah, you don't owe me anything, Joey. And it wasn't just my cards and lessons that helped you win the duel; it was you and your determination. I'm proud of you, Joey," Yugi said. The two boys then slapped hands with each other and chuckled, then began walking away while conversing.
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After talking with Misty for a little while, Mai had left her campsite to find her own. It didn't take her too long to find a site that appealed to her liking. She set up her campsite right next to a large pond. A hotspring was nearby, and a small canal of water connected the two aqua masses together. She set up her tint on the grass and began unpacking the numerous things she brought with her. Makeup, nail polish, nail filers, exspenive shoes and clothes, among other stuff. After she finished setting up her campsite, she decided to take a swim in the pond. She stripped down to a revealing, two-piece, french-cut swimsuit and dove into the water. She re- emerged on the surface and began to swim about gracefully. Oblivious to her, someone else had entered the water and submerged themselves so she couldn't see them. Mai continued swimming through the water, enjoying the cool, surprisingly clean, refreshing feel of the water brushing against her body. The person was gaining on her, but she had no idea they were down there. After taking a few more strokes, Mai stopped swimming and simply floated about. The water felt so good to her, but the calm, relaxed feeling she once had vanished when something suddenly snatched her underwater. She was a bit confused and surprised, but it turned out to be Tori. She, along with him, surfaced and Tori began taking some deep breaths.
Mai hit him on the arm and yelled, "Tori, where'd you come from?! And why the heck did you just do that?! Some of that water got in my mouth!!"
"Sorry, sorry, chill out. I was just trying to get your attention, plus it was funny to me," he answered.
"You call that funny?! What if it was you who was relaxing peacefully, then suddenly gets yanked underwater by surprise?! Would you like it?!"
"Uh, I guess not. Anyway, moving on. Mai, I just came out here to see how you were doing. I meant no harm."
"Well, I was doing fine," she replied and began swimming back toward her campsite, and Tori followed her.
"Look, I'm sorry for the joke, okay? I thought you liked surprises, and I thought I'd give you one, but obviously, it was not the kind of surprise you like. Mai, I was just playing, nothing more," Tori explained.
"Fine, I accept your apology. But if you do anything like that again..."
"I know, you'll beat me into a pulp, got it. So, are you comfortable with the fact of staying on a remote island participating in a tournament?"
"Not really. I'd much rather have stayed on the boat, but this'll do. It's something different, for one," Mai responded. When they reached the end of the pond, both of them climbed out and headed into the tint she had set up. They both entered and sat down opposite to each other. "Well, I should start putting my clothes on so I can begin earning stars."
"Yeah, you're right. The sooner we can get to Crystal Kingdom and complete our mission, the better. Is your deck fully assembled?" Tori wondered.
"Of course, doofus. It's been prepared for the last few days," Mai replied and sighed. "Now, get out. I'm about to put on some clean clothes, and you're not allowed to look," she ordered.
Tori got up and bowed. "(with sarcasm) Of course, your majesty," he said and walked out of the tint. Mai zipped it closed began to ponder about what she should wear.
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Meanwhile, at the secluded central Palace of Crystal Kingdom, Maximillion Pegasus was standing outside on his posh balcony thinking. [Hmm... the Sub- Competition has finally come to a start. In two months, every duelist who obtains fifteen stars in two months shall determine how the main championship lineups shall be prepared. Hopefully, this Sub-Competition shall flush out all the weak, dueling filth, so that when the real shindig being, there will be nothing but strong, defiant duelists who shall give a very entertaining tournament. And hopefully, one of those duelists will be the new and improved Ashton Ketchum. I've already sent that disguised aunte of his to help him harness his powers. Then, when he arrives here, I shall capture him and take him to the secret labs to scrutinize his powers and learn how to transform the young man into the perfect killing machine. He should be perfect for eliminating the presidents of competing corporations and causing the enterprises to tumble into oblivion... (laughs)]
"Master Pegasus, a thousand pardons for interrupting your private time, sir, but I've come to tell you that Morty's Millenium Key still refuses to detach itself from the host," Croquet spoke with a flat tone of voice.
"You've told me this before, Croquet. In fact, you've been telling me this ever since we kidnapped the man. So, why are you still reporting this news, instead of telling me that you've succeeded in getting it off?!" Maximillion spun around and gave Croquet a nasty glare.
"Sorry, sir, but I am not the one in control of the research. I simply supervise. The simpletons who are studying this has yet to figure out how to remove it. I thought you'd want to know our current situation."
"Well, then, I guess I have nothing else to do except have another crack at our guest. Take me to him, please," Pegasus commanded. After grabbing a few things, Croquet obeyed diligently and quickly brought the Duel Monsters creator down the underground floors. He led Pegasus through the numerous corridoors and to Morty's cell. Morty's grease burns had been somewhat treated, but there were still obvious burn marks on his bare chest and feet. He had been given a little food and water, but just enough to keep him alive. He was still very weak, especially after the last tortue session Pegasus gave him. Croquet lowered the force field and Pegasus stepped into the cell once again, determined to make Morty fess up on the secret of getting the Millenium Key away from his neck. Pegasus approached Morty and clapped his hand loudly to wake him. Morty slowly came to and the first things his eyes set sight on was: a platinum-haired Maximillion Pegasus. He scowled at him in anger.
"Well, well, come back to beg of my cooperation?" he said in a raspy voice.
"Beg? No, no, I don't plan to beg at all. I don't beg to anyone, Morty. When I want something, I get it at all costs. It's always been that way for me, and it's not going to change with you. Now, tell me, how do you get the key to release itself from you?" he inquired.
Morty hesitated to answer for a moment, then spoke, "Why should I tell you?"
"Because, if you knew what was in store, Morty-boy, you wouldn't be so resistant." He clasped his hands on Morty's neck and began squeezing it. Morty began to choke and cough as Pegasus spoke. "Have you ever heard of the saying 'Resistance is futile'? It's something an alien species known as the Borg used to say when those Star Trek tv shows were airing. What the Borg says applies to you too, Morty. Resistance is futile, and its only a matter of time before you give in and I claim my prize: your Millenium Key," he finished and released Morty's throat, thus allowing Morty to breathe.
"Resistance.. is what'll stop you... in your tracks," Morty said through coughs. Without further ado, Pegasus punched Morty in the face.
"Tell me the secret, now!" he demanded, but Morty didn't say a word. Instead, he began to chuckle. "What's so funny?"
"It's you, Pegasus," answered Morty. "All the power you have in your possession. You can get almost anything you want, whether it be a new car, a card exclusive to you only, mansions situated all over the world. You've even got pretty good experience in witchcraft; I heard some of the guard talking outside. They say you can do a lot of stuff. You can get anything you want; you can do anything you want, and you're a pretty powerful wizard, but even with all that power at your fingertips, you can't even get one teeny little man to spill a secret about an artifact. It's pretty funny if you ask me."
"No one asked you!" Pegasus snapped and punched him in the mouth. "Just tell me the secret, and I'll let you go. You don't have to be in here any longer. You're free to walk out of that threshold and waltz your way right out of this palace, if you just tell me what I need to know. Give me the Millenium Key," Pegasus said, but Morty refused.
"There's no way I'm gonna let a family heritage get corrupted by an evil dick like you."
Pegasus punched Morty in the mouth quite harshly. A small amount of blood began to trickle out of his mouth and Morty coughed and gagged off the rising blood in his throat. "Any more talk like that and I'll dig your heart out. Now, we're gonna do thing my way," Pegasus stated and pulled out some pliers. He then clamped them right above Morty's navel and began to pull back on the skin. It eventually began to tear and a hole was formed. Morty held in the scream but his face showed he was obviously in immense pain. Pegasus then took the pliers and began to stretch the skin further apart.
"Aah!!" Morty couldn't hold it in any longer. He screamed in agony and Pegasus continued pulling the skin apart.
"Will you tell now, Morty-boy?!"
"No..."
"Curse you!! What do it take?!" Pegasus punched Morty's neck seven times and sighed. "Hmm... maybe, maybe if I kill you the connection to your Millenium Key will be shattered. thus allowing me to take it."
"You wouldn't dare..." Morty's voice trailed off as fear began to grow inside him.
"On the contrary, Morty, yes I would. But, there is the possibility that if I kill you now, you'll never be able to tell me what you know, then I'll lose the only chance of getting my prize. So for now, I'll let you live," Pegasus told him, then he approached him until their faces were inches apart. "But, I don't have much patience left, Morty-boy. Sooner or later, I'll take the risk, and I'm sure you wouldn't want that, now would you?" Pegasus threatened, then he turned and walked out of the cell. A nearby doctor walked inside to patch up Morty's wound.
[Jasmine... it's been a long time, but... I know you'll come and rescue me. Please, come and get me soon...]
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Back on the island, a man's facial expression was filled with dissappointment as a Cannon Soldier prepared to shoot him. It raised its cannon and fired out a yellow beam, which plastered against the man himself. He screamed as wind blew against and the blinding light forced him to shut his eyes. After the beam stopped firing, he opened them and witnessed the result.
Man's Life Points- 0
"Well, well, I win," said a woman, who went by the name of Jasmine Cortez. She powered down her system and gladly accepted the two stars she won from the match. "It was a great duel," she told the man.
"Thanks, and good luck in the tournament," he replied and shook her hand. Afterwards, he walked away. Jasmine looked up toward the sky and pictured Morty's face. She was determined to find him and rescue him, wherever he was. She would not fail her love.
"Don't worry, honey, I'm coming. I won't let you down..."
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What did you think? Be sure to tell me. I have a new e-mail address, and it's called "TheMusicianKing@hotmail.com" If you have any questions or comments, by all means, send them, but don't send any flames if you don't like the episode. Constructive critism is fine, but no flames! Well, 'till next time.