Title: Duel
Author: Shin Willow
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Xander and Andrew. Joss, Fox and Mutant Enemy do that—I no do that.
Summery: Sure, Andrew's kinda wimpy and scatter-brained, but his games? Andrew takes his games very seriously. Xander's about to find that out.
A/N: Just for fun, an explosively geeky exercise.
Xander had no idea; no idea at all Andrew was this tough an opponent. Had he known would he have challenged the supposedly simple man? Xander shook away those doubting thoughts and concentrated on the task at hand.
It was clear this was no ordinary duel. Xander's tension level was high, and sweat lightly moistened his brow in fear. It was embarrassing to say the least. Andrew made his next move, a brilliant maneuver setting Xander immediately on guard. What is he up to? Xander took his time before making his next play, choosing to study the move Andrew enacted. Until that move Andrew had been on the attack, ruthlessly obliterating everything Xander put up as defense, it was all Xander could do to protect himself from any real damage. But now Andrew suddenly switched to defensive play, after gaining relatively unchallenged control of the match. Xander brought his pensive gaze up from the board to his nemesis--yes, nemesis--finding nothing but stone-like features, and cold, calculating eyes staring back at him.
Xander swallowed undercover before placing his gaze back on the field, then to his hand and attempted to work out a strategy that had a chance of withstanding whatever Andrew had planned.
"I set these two cards, and then set this monster card face down in defense. I end my turn," Xander said.
The smart thing to do would have been to attack the face down monster, get whatever Andrew had planned out of the way abortively. But Xander was leery. Andrew was like freaky with the anticipatory.
A Nobleman of Crossout was what he needed, but he hadn't drawn one yet. Defense seemed to be the best bet Xander had to make. Hopefully, the magic and trap cards he set would protect him.
Andrew smiled sinisterly and drew a card from his deck, looked at it then at Xander as he added it to his hand. Then he said in a voice so cold Xander gulped, "I summon this card, Marauding Captain in attack mode." Xander couldn't stop it from being successfully summoned and Andrew went on to say, "I use its effect and special summon another monster to my side of the field." Andrew pulled another card from the four in his hand and placed it face up on the board in attack mode between the Marauding Captain and the face down monster. It was a Hayabusa Knight.
Xander couldn't stop the Hayabusa's summon, either.
"Now I play this magic card, Book of Taiyou."
"Oh no," Xander whispered. The monster he set had a defense high enough to fend off an attack from both Andrew's face up monsters. And from what Xander could tell so far, Andrew wasn't using equip cards to boost his monsters, his deck appeared to be a straight Warrior-Beatdown. Powerful in it's own right in the current environment without boosts.
But Book of Taiyou allowed Andrew to flip one face down monster card face up in attack mode. That was bad for two reasons: one, Andrew could basically summon another monster outside his main phases. Two, the monster couldn't be Trap Holed or Bottomless Trap Holed if it was a strong monster—not that Xander had either of those cards on his side of the field anyway, and Andrew knew it. But that didn't matter, because Xander knew Andrew wouldn't bother using Book of Taiyou on a beatstick. It was all about strategically activating a flip effect to cause the most damage.
After waiting several moments to give Xander time to activate a trap or quick magic card, Andrew flipped his face down monster up, and Xander wasn't surprised to see it was a Penguin Soldier. "I use Penguin Soldier's effect to send your face down card back to your hand," Andrew said.
Xander picked up his Gravekeeper's Guard and waited for Andrew to declare an attack on his life points.
"I use Hayabusa Knight to attack your life points," Andrew said.
"I activate Waboku," Xander responded quickly, turning over his trap card. Praying Andrew had no counter.
He didn't.
"You're only delaying the inevitable, Xander," Andrew said.
Xander pressed his lips tightly together briefly before he said, "Are you gonna end your turn or not?"
"Certainly, but first I set this card then I end my turn."
Smug little so and so! Xander thought sourly.
He needed to draw something incredibly useful, or it was all over for him. Raigeki would help, but at this point even that would be a defensive move, since Xander had nothing to follow it up with. Sure he'd clear Andrew's monsters away, but it'd still be a delaying tactic, Andrew already depleted more than half his life points. At this rate it wouldn't take much more to wipe Xander out. He needed to go on the offensive if he wanted a chance to win against Andrew.
Xander drew a card from his deck… no good! Necrovalley… the best he could hope for was to pump up his Gravekeeper's Guard's defense and continue to let Andrew draw more options. He could try and attack Andrew's monsters with Gravekeeper's Guard, pumped up from Necrovalley's field magic effect—none of them had a higher attack than 1500—but there was no way Xander believed Andrew couldn't draw something stronger. Even a Fissure or a Trap Hole could screw him over right now. There was still the magic card he set last turn, but… Damnit!
"I set this monster card face down in defense," Xander declared resigned. There was nothing to do but throw up a wall. "And play this field magic card, Necrovalley, then end my turn."
Andrew smiled. "I knew you would," he said. Andrew drew a card and his smile grew into a grin. He slipped the new card into his hand, then played another. "I play this magic card, Change of Heart," though Xander's expression showed he clearly had no counter, Andrew waited an appropriate length of time before continuing, "and take control of your monster card."
Again Andrew waited for Xander to counter and again Xander had nothing.
"I tribute the monster to activate this trap, Crush Card."
Crush Card's effect went through without a fight from Xander. He had no monsters in his hand or on the field with attacks higher than 1500. But destroying Xander's monsters under those conditions hadn't been Andrew's goal in the first place. His goal was over-kill. His goal was just in case.
"I use Hayabusa Knight to attack your life points directly," Andrew declared.
"I activate this magic card, Scapegoat," Xander replied, waited, then flipped over the magic card. Andrew smirked and shook his head. Xander ground his teeth together, and turned his face down as he placed four goat tokens on his side of the field.
"More stalling. Fine. Hayabusa Knight attack a Goat Token… Hayabusa attack another token." Xander removed two tokens from play. "Penguin Soldier attack a Goat Token… Marauding Captain attack the last token."
In one fell swoop Xander's field was cleared of his last line of defense. His chances of surviving past Andrew's next turn were slim to none if he didn't draw either Waboku, Raigeki, Black Hole, or Monster Reborn. If he drew a monster with an attack over 1500 it was automatically destroyed for his next three turns.
Xander drew a card… Fiber Jar!
Xander tried not to show his elation, and then with utmost repose he said, "I set this monster face down in defense mode."
He was saved. If he got Fiber Jar's effect this duel was far from over. In fact, Fiber Jar would make it a whole new ball game.