Finally, we have a duel! Enjoy!
*Chapter 5: First Duel*
Hope: 8000
Rue: 8000
Hope activated her Duel Disk in response. "I'm as ready as ever."
"You do know our Soul Monsters are also our Deck Masters?" Rue asked.
"I read that," Hope said. "You up for it Gaston?"
"I wouldn't have it any other way," Gaston assured her.
"Since I don't really know much about dueling, can you go first so I can see?" Hope requested.
"Fine by me," Rue said. He drew his six cards and smirked. "This has got to be one of the best hands I've gotten in a while. Ok, my first move will be to summon the Skilled Black Magician! (1900/1700) His effect lets me give him a magic counter whenever one of us plays a magic card, max of three. So I will play Jar of Greed, draw my two cards, and give him a magic counter."
Hope frowned. "What do magic counters do for him?"
"You'll see in just a second. I play Angel's Gift. I draw three cards, and then discard two. I discard Killer Snake (300/250) and a Black Magician. (2500/2100) Then I play Early Burial! By paying 800 Life Points, I get any monster I want from my Cemetery in attack mode. I choose Black Magician, obviously. Now I can use my Skilled Black Magician's ability. I sacrifice him and the three counters to special summon a Black Magician from my deck! After laying a card facedown, I will end my turn."
Hope: 8000
Rue: 7200
Hope stared. "Wow! That was really quick."
Rue shrugged. "Black Magician decks are built for speed. So it is easy to get out a Black Magician first turn."
Hope grimaced. A steady stream of Black Magicians was going to be difficult to keep up with. She drew her card for the turn, and nodded. This card was strong enough to kill one of them. She would have to wait another turn before getting rid of the other.
"I summon Buster Blader in attack mode! (2600/2300)" Hope declared.
Rue facefaulted. "Let me guess; you bought an N-Gage."
"What did I do wrong?" Hope asked, confused.
"Do you see the level on that card?" Gaston said. "The stars up on top of the card."
"Yeah," Hope said. "Why, does it make a difference?"
"The monster's level is how many stars it has. You can only normally summon monsters that are level four or lower. Level five and six monsters require you to sacrifice a monster already on your side the field for it, and level seven and eight require two sacrifices," Gaston explained.
"So I have to sacrifice two monsters for Buster Blader?" Hope inquired.
Gaston nodded.
"Then it's nearly impossible to play these!" Hope complained.
Rue shook his head. "This is going to be a long duel…"
"Well… oh, here's a level four monster!" Hope said. "I summon Iron Knight: Gear Freed in defense mode! (1800/1600)"
"Forget my previous question; I KNOW you bought an N-Gage," Rue retorted.
"You can only summon monsters in face up attack, or face down defense," Gaston said before Hope asked.
"Oops!" Hope said, blushing. "Sorry! Then in that case, I'll just lay a monster in defense mode. Then I lay one magic or trap card. I guess that's all I can do."
"I draw. And now I'll get my Killer Snake from the Cemetery."
"Wait!" Hope exclaimed. "How?"
"Killer Snake has one of the best effects in the game. Whenever he is in the Cemetery on my standby phase, I can return him to my hand. So in other words, he's almost impossible to stop!"
"But it's so weak," Hope said, puzzled. "Why would anyone want to play it?"
Rue sighed. "Because many cards state you have to discard cards for their effect. So it's kind of like paying off every debt a card requires."
"I see."
"I also have a bigger reason for using it, but I'll explain that later. For now, I will attack with my Black Magician! Destroy her Iron Knight… I mean, face down monster that I have no idea of what it is!" Rue said sarcastically.
"Very funny," Hope grumbled. "I activate my face down card, Change Of Heart! I order your Black Magician to attack your other one!"
Rue's patience snapped. "That's it. I am not continuing like this!" He threw a rule book at Hope, hitting her on the head. Ignoring her yelp of pain, he said, "Read that rule book, and then we will continue!"
Hope muttered insults under her breath, then began to read. After about an hour of questions and answers, she was ready to continue.
"Now, as I was saying, I attack with Black Magician to destroy your monster, and then attack you directly with my other one!"
Hope: 5500
Rue: 7200
"I lay one monster face down, and end my turn."
"My turn." Hope drew her card.
Gaston looked at her hand. "Do you know your deck well?"
"No," Hope confessed. "I wanted to make a Warrior Deck, but my sister helped me find the cards for it." She read one of her cards carefully. "Cool! This monster will work. I can special summon Magical Giga Cyber when you have two more monsters than me, so I will! (2200/1200) Then I equip him with the card Thunder Sword! That raises his attack by 800! (3000/1200) He will attack one of your Black Magicians! Then I lay one card face down."
Hope: 5500
Rue: 6700
"Not bad," Rue said. "You got rid of my Black Magician, which is more than many duelists have ever done. But I'm afraid he'll only keep coming back. For now though, I will flip my face down monster; Tenacious Old Magician! (450/600) His effect allows me to destroy one monster on your side of the field!"
"Drat!" Hope growled. "I only had Giga Cyber!"
"That's right. Now, Black Magician, direct attack!"
The Black Magician raised its staff to strike down a painful magic attack on Hope, when suddenly chains sprang out of thin air and tied him down.
"I activate Curse Of Darkness, which stops your monster from attacking and lowers his attack points by 700!" Hope said. (1800/2100)
"Good job!" Gaston praised her.
"Not bad," Rue said. "I'll attack your Life Points with my Tenacious Old Magician."
Hope: 5050
Rue: 6700
"I lay one card down, and end my turn."
Hope examined the card she drew. "Wow! This is a level four monster? But it's so strong!"
"It may be, but that's because of its effect," Gaston said. "It's worth trying anyway."
Hope nodded. "I summon Goblin Strike Team! Attack Black Magician!"
"I'm afraid that won't work," Rue said. "I use Cyclone on your Curse of Darkness, returning my Black Magician to 2500! Counter attack!"
The chains vanished, and the Black Magician leapt up and let loose a huge wave of black magic, wiping out the Goblins.
Hope: 4850
Rue: 6700
"That sucks. I lay two cards face down and end my turn."
Rue drew his card, and smiled. "If you are hoping those face down cards will protect you, think again. I summon Magic Warrior-Breaker! (1600/1000) When he is summoned, he gets one Magic Counter. While I could keep this counter, and let it raise his attack by 300 points… (1900/1000) I have bigger plans. I remove his Magic Counter to destroy your face down card on my left!"
Breaker ran forward and sliced Hope's Imperial Decree in half. (1600/1000)
"I will switch Tenacious Old Magician to defense mode, then attack you directly with Breaker and Black Magician!"
"Not today," Hope said. "I activate Cry of the Living Dead! Goblin Strike Team returns!"
Rue swore. "Looks like I chose the wrong trap… Black Magician attacks your Goblins and Breaker attacks you."
Hope: 3050
Rue: 6700
"I'll summon my second Goblin Strike Team! Destroy his Breaker!"
Hope: 3050
Rue: 6000
"I will just attack your Goblins with Black Magician."
"I play Jar Of Greed too!" Hope examined the cards she drew. Wow, this effect is awesome! Maybe this will give me the edge… "Now I play a monster in defense mode."
Rue looked at the card he drew. "This duel is over. I play Raise Dead! Come forth Black Magician! Attack her set!"
The Black Magician's magic attack dissolved the set easily. Suddenly, a ring of grenades appeared around the second Black Magician, and destroyed it.
"There's no way!" Rue protested. "You had no Trap cards down!"
"You attacked and destroyed my Executioner Makyura," Hope explained. "When sent to the Cemetery, he allows me to play one trap card from my hand, so I chose Destruction Ring! It eliminates one monster on the field and deals us both damage equal to its attack."
Hope: 550
Rue: 2500
Rue smirked. "Good play. I should have been more careful. But you still can't win. I'll just lay two cards facedown and end my turn."
Hope looked carefully at what she drew. "I also have Angel's Gift in my deck. I play it now!" She drew her three cards and grinned. "Perfect! I discard Buster Blader and Falcon Knight. Now I play Raise Dead on Buster Blader!"
"Hate to destroy your last hope-pardon the pun-but I use Torture Wheel on your Buster Blader! In two turns, you are dead!"
"Or am I? I use Cyclone! There goes your Torture Wheel. Buster Blader, attack Black Magician now!"
Hope: 550
Rue: 2400
Rue drew. "NOW it's game over. I summon Skilled Black Magician! And then I activate my face down card, Black Power Stone! It generates three magic counters. I can move on of these counters each turn, so I move one to my Skilled Black Magician!"
"That's a waste of time," Hope pointed out. "Even if you get a Black Magician out, you can't kill me with one attack."
"Just watch. I also activate Sealing Swords of Light. This card stops you from attacking for three turns, but all I really needed was the magic counter. Now I activate Miraculous Revival! By removing two magic counters, I get to special summon either a Buster Blader or Black Magician from my Cemetery! So my Black Magician returns! And then I equip it with Power of Teamwork, raising his attack and defense by 800 for every monster! Since I have two, that's 1600 more attack! (4100/3700)"
Hope shook her head. "He's right… that wipes me out."
"Go, Black Magician! Attack her Buster Blader!"
Hope: 0
Rue: 2500
Gaston shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry I couldn't help more."
"That's fine," Hope reassured. "You were great, thanks!"
"Good playing for your first match," Rue congratulated. "You have potential. Now that you have fulfilled your end of the bargain, I will take you to town. Then you can do some serious dueling."
To be continued…
Note: If you don't get the N-Gage joke, then this is why Rue said that: It's an inside joke that N-Gages suck, and that if you buy one, you are a BIG idiot. So I hope that helps. _
