Unbelieving, Toshiro blinked dazedly and stared at his life points as they lowered to zero. On the other side, Mai could be seen yelling gleefully.
"All right!" she grinned and leapt down from the dueling platform.
Kyara did the same, but dismounted slowly. The audience roared with excitement, and Kyara could just make out the sight of her friends up in the bleachers cheering along with the rest.
With a sigh, Ray collected his cards and jumped down from his platform. He shook his head sorrowfully at Toshiro. "So much for that. But look at it this way, there's still the championship to win..."
Mai brushed a curl of her long yellow hair out of her eyes. "That was a great duel, Kya." she said. "It certainly brought back some memories."
Kyara nodded and carefully stowed her deck into the holder she had strapped to her belt. She urged Mai along.
"C'mon! I think the others are waiting."
However, upon reaching her friends and fellow duelists, Kyara found that there was one person short. She turned all around.
"Where's Seto?" She inquired.
Joey jabbed at thumb at the far wall. "He got a call from someone and went over there..."
Kyara strode over to where Seto stood. Even before she got there, she could tell that he was slightly peeved.
"...I'm gone one day and the clients say they want to go to Industrial Illusions instead? It can't be that bad can it? What?" Seto scowled and pressed his ear harder to his cell phone. "They know perfectly well that our next line of virtual simulators won't ready until tomorrow...send Yatori over to them and have her sort it out, got that?"
Kyara hung back for a moment, waiting until Seto had finished his call. Finally, the brown-haired duelist shoved his cell phone back into his pocket and groaned. He then caught sight of Kyara.
"K-Kya!" his face cleared. "I didn't see you come..."
"Something wrong?"
"Me?" Seto sighed. "There's some problems at KaibaCorp right now and my exectutives can't seem to handle it without me...idiots, the lot of 'em."
Kyara giggled, but then turned serious. "You shouldn't be worrying yourself at a time like this, Seto." she murmured. "Besides, your second duel is supposed to begin in less than twenty minutes!"
Seto nodded. "I know, I know..."
Kyara peered into his eyes owlishly. "Then what's bothering you?"
"Nothing, I was just thinking about what cards I should use for my first duel."
Kyara groaned and began to guide him back to the others. "Whatever you choose, just make sure three Blue Eyes White Dragons in among them, okay?"
Again, the crowds were growing impatient, and Kyara could hear many complaints of "C'mon! Start the duel already!" and "What's the hold up?!"
It was Seto's second elimination round duel and he wasn't even there! His opponent, a teenager with shoulder-length brown hair, was waiting patiently by the dueling station. Kyara glanced again at the doors. Oh, where was he? She heard Mokuba talking to Yugi.
"I don't get it...where's Seto?"
Yugi frowned. "Maybe he's running late, you know how the crowds out there can be quite unruly."
"Perhaps you're right...wait!" Mokuba bolted up and jabbed an excited hand at the doors. "There he is!"
There was no mistaking the long blue jacket and confident stride. With a stoic face, Seto strode in and approached his opponent. The girl flicked at her hair absently before holding out her hand.
"It's about time." she said with a smile. "I'm Tisha Loewen."
"Seto Kaiba." Kaiba replied, although he didn't shake her hand.
"Yea," Tisha cast her gaze at the surrounding people. "I could tell."
"Excuse me?"
"When you walked in, the crowd got even louder, it wasn't too hard to figure out who you were."
"I see." Seto then began walking over to one side of the dueling station. "Let's get going then."
With a nod, Tisha mounted onto the other side of the station. At once, a judge came over.
"Opponents ready? This is a regulation Duel Monsters match. You shall duel with no Tributes, 2000 LP, and no Direct Damage. And..." the judge paused before speaking. "Now that your decks are shuffled, please reveal your bottom cards!"
Tisha held up her deck. "Red Archery Girl." she declared.
Seto did likewise. "Hitotsu-Me Giant."
The judge nodded. "Right then! Tisha shall go first since Red Archery Girl's ATK is higher than the Hitotsu-Me Giant's. Now let the duel begin!"
"This is gonna be good." Joey mumbled as he leaned forward in his seat. "Who do ya think is gonna win?"
Mokuba scoffed. "What kind of question is that? There's no way that girl can get past Seto's Dragons!"
Tisha smiled and fanned out her hand. "Ready, Kaiba?" she asked.
"Bring it."
"Right. For my first move, I'll throw this Monster face down in defense mode and then lay one card face down."
On Tisha's side of the field, one Monster space and one Magic / Trap card zone glowed to indicate two down cards.
Seto frowned. This girl was already playing her cards in defense. Big mistake. He picked up three cards. "Two cards face down. Then," he slammed his chosen Monster onto the board. "I send La Jinn, the Mystical Genie of the Lamp in attack mode! La Jinn, take out her defense Monster!"
The green-colored Genie attacked. But as Tisha's face down card flipped over, it revealed for a moment a female fingure dressed in magenta robes. Kaiba gasped. "No! It couldn't be!"
"That's right, Kaiba." Tisha said as she dropped her card into the Graveyard. "You flipped over my Princess of Tsurugi! Princess of Tsurugi's effect allows me to deduct 500 points from your LP for each Trap or Magic card you got on the field. And seeing as how you had two on the field, you lose 1000LP!"
This wasn't good. Not even five minutes into the duel and Seto was already 1000 points behind.
"My turn." Tisha said as she drew a card. "And I play this lovely card in attack mode. Rose Specter of Dune! Her attack power is 2000, more than enough to take out La Jinn. Rose Specter, attack!"
Seto grimaced as his Genie was sent to the Graveyard. This was bad. The score was 2000 to 800. He needed a comeback. NOW. Still frowning, Seto drew a card. He grinned broadly when he saw it. Let's see if that Rose Specter of Dune can handle this. He thought.
"Go! Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
There was that distinctive roar. In a flash of metallic blue scales and slashing claws, the legendary Dragon emerged. Tisha winced. This wasn't good.
Seto pointed at Tisha's Rose Specter of Dune. "Blue Eyes, obliterate her beast. White Lightning!"
The Dragon's fanged jaws opened wide and let loose a sudden burst of electricity.
Now the scores weren't that different. 1000 to 800. But Tisha was still in the lead.
Barely.
Seto's opponent flicked at a strand of her sleek manogany hair. The Blue Eyes White Dragon Seto had just played was not very surprising. Everyone knew he played at least two of his three Dragons per duel. But perhaps there was a way for her to get rid of this blue and white menace before he could do further damage to her LP. Well, here goes.
Tisha set a Monster card. "One Monster in defense mode. " She declared. "And then I'll also lay a card to protect it."
Seto glared at Tisha's two latest cards. Face down cards again? This looked strangely like her first move. But was it another trap? Another Princess of Tsurugi? Well, only one way to find out.
"Blue Eyes! Attack her defense Monster. White Lightning!"
Tisha shook her head and grinned. "You fell for my Trap, Seto!" she turned over her down card with glee. "Mirror Wall!"
"What?!"
"That's right! Now your mighty Blue Eyes's attack power has been cut down to a mere 1500. But you already declared an attack on my defense Monster which was..." Tisha flipped it over, but didn't send it to the Graveyard. "My Wall of Illusion! Her defense power is 1850, which means your weakened Dragon wasn't strong enough to destroy her."
Seto groaned. Now his LP had been reduced to 450.
"And that's not all, Seto." Tisha was saying. "Did you forget about Wall of Illusion's special effect?"
"No, I didn't." Seto growled. "The Monster attacking Wall of Illusion is returned to it's owner's hand. And any damange resulting from that attack is calculated normally."
So the Blue Eyes was no longer on the field.
"Aw man! Seto's gettin told!" Joey cried as he watched the duel with obvious relish. "That Tisha girl is good!"
Kyara bit her lip. Come on, Seto... She thought. You're the World Champion. Pull yourself together! I know you can beat her!
"Now, I believe its my turn, Kaiba." Tisha said, and drew a card. "I'll just play my second Rose Specter of Dune in defense mode and end my turn. But you're almost out of LP. This duel is mine!"
"Wrong." Seto snarled as he drew a card from his deck. "This duel is just getting started!"
"All right!" she grinned and leapt down from the dueling platform.
Kyara did the same, but dismounted slowly. The audience roared with excitement, and Kyara could just make out the sight of her friends up in the bleachers cheering along with the rest.
With a sigh, Ray collected his cards and jumped down from his platform. He shook his head sorrowfully at Toshiro. "So much for that. But look at it this way, there's still the championship to win..."
Mai brushed a curl of her long yellow hair out of her eyes. "That was a great duel, Kya." she said. "It certainly brought back some memories."
Kyara nodded and carefully stowed her deck into the holder she had strapped to her belt. She urged Mai along.
"C'mon! I think the others are waiting."
However, upon reaching her friends and fellow duelists, Kyara found that there was one person short. She turned all around.
"Where's Seto?" She inquired.
Joey jabbed at thumb at the far wall. "He got a call from someone and went over there..."
Kyara strode over to where Seto stood. Even before she got there, she could tell that he was slightly peeved.
"...I'm gone one day and the clients say they want to go to Industrial Illusions instead? It can't be that bad can it? What?" Seto scowled and pressed his ear harder to his cell phone. "They know perfectly well that our next line of virtual simulators won't ready until tomorrow...send Yatori over to them and have her sort it out, got that?"
Kyara hung back for a moment, waiting until Seto had finished his call. Finally, the brown-haired duelist shoved his cell phone back into his pocket and groaned. He then caught sight of Kyara.
"K-Kya!" his face cleared. "I didn't see you come..."
"Something wrong?"
"Me?" Seto sighed. "There's some problems at KaibaCorp right now and my exectutives can't seem to handle it without me...idiots, the lot of 'em."
Kyara giggled, but then turned serious. "You shouldn't be worrying yourself at a time like this, Seto." she murmured. "Besides, your second duel is supposed to begin in less than twenty minutes!"
Seto nodded. "I know, I know..."
Kyara peered into his eyes owlishly. "Then what's bothering you?"
"Nothing, I was just thinking about what cards I should use for my first duel."
Kyara groaned and began to guide him back to the others. "Whatever you choose, just make sure three Blue Eyes White Dragons in among them, okay?"
Again, the crowds were growing impatient, and Kyara could hear many complaints of "C'mon! Start the duel already!" and "What's the hold up?!"
It was Seto's second elimination round duel and he wasn't even there! His opponent, a teenager with shoulder-length brown hair, was waiting patiently by the dueling station. Kyara glanced again at the doors. Oh, where was he? She heard Mokuba talking to Yugi.
"I don't get it...where's Seto?"
Yugi frowned. "Maybe he's running late, you know how the crowds out there can be quite unruly."
"Perhaps you're right...wait!" Mokuba bolted up and jabbed an excited hand at the doors. "There he is!"
There was no mistaking the long blue jacket and confident stride. With a stoic face, Seto strode in and approached his opponent. The girl flicked at her hair absently before holding out her hand.
"It's about time." she said with a smile. "I'm Tisha Loewen."
"Seto Kaiba." Kaiba replied, although he didn't shake her hand.
"Yea," Tisha cast her gaze at the surrounding people. "I could tell."
"Excuse me?"
"When you walked in, the crowd got even louder, it wasn't too hard to figure out who you were."
"I see." Seto then began walking over to one side of the dueling station. "Let's get going then."
With a nod, Tisha mounted onto the other side of the station. At once, a judge came over.
"Opponents ready? This is a regulation Duel Monsters match. You shall duel with no Tributes, 2000 LP, and no Direct Damage. And..." the judge paused before speaking. "Now that your decks are shuffled, please reveal your bottom cards!"
Tisha held up her deck. "Red Archery Girl." she declared.
Seto did likewise. "Hitotsu-Me Giant."
The judge nodded. "Right then! Tisha shall go first since Red Archery Girl's ATK is higher than the Hitotsu-Me Giant's. Now let the duel begin!"
"This is gonna be good." Joey mumbled as he leaned forward in his seat. "Who do ya think is gonna win?"
Mokuba scoffed. "What kind of question is that? There's no way that girl can get past Seto's Dragons!"
Tisha smiled and fanned out her hand. "Ready, Kaiba?" she asked.
"Bring it."
"Right. For my first move, I'll throw this Monster face down in defense mode and then lay one card face down."
On Tisha's side of the field, one Monster space and one Magic / Trap card zone glowed to indicate two down cards.
Seto frowned. This girl was already playing her cards in defense. Big mistake. He picked up three cards. "Two cards face down. Then," he slammed his chosen Monster onto the board. "I send La Jinn, the Mystical Genie of the Lamp in attack mode! La Jinn, take out her defense Monster!"
The green-colored Genie attacked. But as Tisha's face down card flipped over, it revealed for a moment a female fingure dressed in magenta robes. Kaiba gasped. "No! It couldn't be!"
"That's right, Kaiba." Tisha said as she dropped her card into the Graveyard. "You flipped over my Princess of Tsurugi! Princess of Tsurugi's effect allows me to deduct 500 points from your LP for each Trap or Magic card you got on the field. And seeing as how you had two on the field, you lose 1000LP!"
This wasn't good. Not even five minutes into the duel and Seto was already 1000 points behind.
"My turn." Tisha said as she drew a card. "And I play this lovely card in attack mode. Rose Specter of Dune! Her attack power is 2000, more than enough to take out La Jinn. Rose Specter, attack!"
Seto grimaced as his Genie was sent to the Graveyard. This was bad. The score was 2000 to 800. He needed a comeback. NOW. Still frowning, Seto drew a card. He grinned broadly when he saw it. Let's see if that Rose Specter of Dune can handle this. He thought.
"Go! Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
There was that distinctive roar. In a flash of metallic blue scales and slashing claws, the legendary Dragon emerged. Tisha winced. This wasn't good.
Seto pointed at Tisha's Rose Specter of Dune. "Blue Eyes, obliterate her beast. White Lightning!"
The Dragon's fanged jaws opened wide and let loose a sudden burst of electricity.
Now the scores weren't that different. 1000 to 800. But Tisha was still in the lead.
Barely.
Seto's opponent flicked at a strand of her sleek manogany hair. The Blue Eyes White Dragon Seto had just played was not very surprising. Everyone knew he played at least two of his three Dragons per duel. But perhaps there was a way for her to get rid of this blue and white menace before he could do further damage to her LP. Well, here goes.
Tisha set a Monster card. "One Monster in defense mode. " She declared. "And then I'll also lay a card to protect it."
Seto glared at Tisha's two latest cards. Face down cards again? This looked strangely like her first move. But was it another trap? Another Princess of Tsurugi? Well, only one way to find out.
"Blue Eyes! Attack her defense Monster. White Lightning!"
Tisha shook her head and grinned. "You fell for my Trap, Seto!" she turned over her down card with glee. "Mirror Wall!"
"What?!"
"That's right! Now your mighty Blue Eyes's attack power has been cut down to a mere 1500. But you already declared an attack on my defense Monster which was..." Tisha flipped it over, but didn't send it to the Graveyard. "My Wall of Illusion! Her defense power is 1850, which means your weakened Dragon wasn't strong enough to destroy her."
Seto groaned. Now his LP had been reduced to 450.
"And that's not all, Seto." Tisha was saying. "Did you forget about Wall of Illusion's special effect?"
"No, I didn't." Seto growled. "The Monster attacking Wall of Illusion is returned to it's owner's hand. And any damange resulting from that attack is calculated normally."
So the Blue Eyes was no longer on the field.
"Aw man! Seto's gettin told!" Joey cried as he watched the duel with obvious relish. "That Tisha girl is good!"
Kyara bit her lip. Come on, Seto... She thought. You're the World Champion. Pull yourself together! I know you can beat her!
"Now, I believe its my turn, Kaiba." Tisha said, and drew a card. "I'll just play my second Rose Specter of Dune in defense mode and end my turn. But you're almost out of LP. This duel is mine!"
"Wrong." Seto snarled as he drew a card from his deck. "This duel is just getting started!"
