Chapter 4: Coming to an End…

Announcer:  "Now that the intermission has concluded!! Let us begin with our next match!!  Yugi Mutou versus Joey Wheeler!!"

Joey:  "Well…looks like we're next. Let's have a great duel pal!"

Yami:  "Right.  Let us enter the arena Joey."

            They both enter to their proper places in the arena; shuffle their decks as their Life Points are set to 8000.

Announcer:  "Duelers, BEGIN!!!"

Joey:  "I'll go first!"  (He draws his hand as he smirks slightly.)  "I'll summon Panther Warrior in attack mode!"  (He summons his monster with an attack of 2000.) "Next, I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn Yugi!"  (He sets 2 cards on the field as their image appears in the arena.)

Yami:  "It's my move!"  (He draws a card into his hand.)  I'll set a monster in defense mode-!! Huh?!

Joey:  "Activate trap card! "Acid Trap Hole!" (He activates his trap, destroying Yugi's defense monster, which was "Stone Soldier".)

Yami:  "Tch…good move Joey.  I'll also set one card on the field and end my turn!" (He plays a card on the field.)

Joey:  "Okay, now I'll go!"  (He draws a card and plays one of his face-down cards, "Dust Tornado!")  "I'll use this to destroy your face-down card!  (His trap card destroys Yugi's face-down Magic Cylinders card)

Yami:  "Damn! My trap card!"

Joey:  "Now, I'll summon "Gearfried the Iron Knight" to the field!" (He summons his monster in attack mode.)  "Now, I'll attack you directly with Gearfried!!" (The monster slashes at Yami directly dealing 1800 LP damage.) "Next, I'll offer Gearfried as a tribute so my Panther Warrior can attack you!" (He sacrifices his monster as Panther Warrior attacks Yami directly for 2000 LP damage.)

Yami:  "Arghhh!!!!" (The shocking pain surges throughout his body from the lost in Life Points.)

Joey: " Yug'!  Are you okay buddy?!"

Yami:  "I'm fine…continue your move Joey."  (He shakes his head slightly from the pain.) 

Joey:  "I end my turn bud!"

Yami:  "Right, now I'll draw a card…"  (He draws from his deck, his life value at 4200 from Joey's attack, as he smirks and plays a magic card.)  "I'll play the magic card, "Change of Heart!"  (He activates his magic card, which can control one of the opposing monsters on the field.)  "I'll control your Panther Warrior and offer it as a sacrifice for my "Summoned Skull"!  (He destroys the Panther Warrior for his Summoned Skull.)  "Now, I'll activate the "Curtain of Black Magic" to summon my Dark Magician to the field by paying half of my Life Points!"  (He activates his Curtain of Black Magic card and special summons Dark Magician to the field in attack position, leaving his life value at 2100.)  "Now, I'll add his magic card, "United We Stand", and equip on my Dark Magician!  By the effect of this equipment card, my Dark Magician will increase 800 Attack and Defense points for each face up monster on my side of the field, so my all-powerful Dark Magician increases his attack strength to 4100!!  Now, your field is clear for a direct assault Joey!!  Now my Dark Magician and Summoned Skull will attack you directly!"  (Dark Magician and Summoned Skull attack Joey directly for 6600 Life Points.)

Joey:  "Aaahhhhhh!!!!! It Huuurrrtttttsss!!!!"

Yami:  "Tch…I'll also set one more card face down and end my turn Joey."

Joey:  "Damn Yugi…*panting*…That smarts…"(His life value standing at 1400 points.) "Ok, now I'll draw and trust my deck to fight back against this situation."  ( He draws a card and looks at his current hand.)  "Hmm…I drew "Goddess with the Third Eye"…she can count as a substitute within a fusion…I also have Red Eyes and Polymerization in my hand as well…but my new monster won't be strong enough to destroy his Dark Magician…unless this combo works to turn things around…gotta go for broke sometime!  (He smirks slightly as he plays his magic card Polymerization.)  "I'll use this card to fuse my Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Goddess with the Third eye as a substitute to bring forth…the almighty Meteor Black Dragon!!"  (His three used cards go to the graveyard as his fusion monster appears, with an attack force of 3500 in attack position.)

Yami:  "What a powerful beast…! My Summoned Skull can't withstand an attack from that monster…none other…!

Joey:  "Right!  If I destroy that monster, then by the effect of your equipment card, your Dark Magician will become weaker!  Now, I'll play "Monster Reborn" to revive my Panther Warrior to the field, and offer him as a sacrifice, to bring forth my "Warrior of the Sun"!  (He sacrifices his revived Panther Warrior to bring forth Warrior of the Sun with an attack of 2100.) 

Yami:  "Warrior of the Sun…it can go up 500 attack strength when it goes to the battle with Dark type monsters!"

Joey:  "Now buddy! Go Warrior of the Sun and attack his Summoned Skull!!"  (Warrior of the Sun strikes down Summoned Skull with an increased 2600 attack strength, doing 100 LP damage to Yugi.)

Yami:  "Now my Dark Magician will lose 800 attack strength going down to…3300 attack strength!" ( His Dark Magician weakens to 3300 attack strength.)

Joey:  "Now my Meteor Black Dragon will destroy your Dark Magician and do 200 damage to your Life points!"  (The dragon destroys his Dark Magician doing 200 damage to Yugi.)

Yami:  "Damn!!"  (His life points now standing at a low 1800.)  "A great move Joey…I commend you."

Joey: "Thanks pal! I'll also set one card face down and  I end my turn Yugi!" (He sets one card face down as it appears in the arena.

Yami:  "Hmm…your skills have grown so much Joey…you tipped the duel in your favor again in one smooth combination…I respect your skills and your deck my friend…"

Joey:  "Likewise Yug'…but I know this is far from over…"

Yami:  "Alright, now I'll draw!"  (He draws a card from his deck and adds it to his hand.)  "Hmm…I drew "Raigeki"…and my only other cards is the "Retrained Celtic Guardian"…Joey didn't seem to fall for my bluff face-down card…my "Stone of the Wise" magic card…but it's useless right now.  The only way is to use Raigeki and go for the finishing blow!!"  (He activates the magic card as Joey' monsters are all destroyed.) 

Joey: "No!! My monsters!!"

Yami:  "Now, I'll summoned my "Retrained Celtic Guardian" in attack mode and-! Huh?!"  (He summons his monster in attack mode with 1400 attack force.)

Joey:  "Now, I'll activate my face-down card, which is Scapegoat!  It will special summon 4 defense monsters on the field instantly!"  (He activates Scapegoat as 4 monsters appear in defense mode with a defense force of zero.)

Yami:  "Hmm…Well, my Celtic Guardian will slay one of your Scapegoats!"  (Yugi's monster strikes down one of the defense monsters.)  "It's your move Joey."

Joey:  (He draws a card into his hand and ends his turn.)  "Go ahead Yugi, there is no move I can make right now…"

Yami:  (He draws into his hand one card and stares at it or a moment.)  Hmm…I'll set one card face down, and have my Celtic Guardian destroy another Scapegoat!  (Another of Joey's monsters is defeated.)  "It's your move Joey."

Joey:  "Alright deck…give me a card to fight back!"  (He draws a card from his deck.)  "I'll summon my "Loyal Goblin" in attack mode!"  (He summons the Loyal Goblin, with an attack force of 1800.)  "The special effect of this monster is that the control of this monster cannot change by any other card!"

Yami:  "Hmm…its attack is below 1900…it bypasses the special effect and can destroy my monster…"

Joey: "Hmm…I'll end my turn Yugi…"

Yami:  "Huh…? Very well Joey…"  (He draws from his deck as his eyes widen to the card he drew.)  "I'll sacrifice my Celtic Guardian, for the Dark Magician Girl!"  (He offers the monster to the graveyard to summon Dark Magician Girl in attack mode with an attack force of 2000, but it increases to 2300 attack by the Dark Magician being in the graveyard.)  "Next, I'll reveal my first set card, "Stone of the Wise"!  It allows me to special summon  a Dark Magician when I have Dark Magician Girl on the field!"  (He special summons his second Dark Magician from his deck in attack mode.)

Joey:  "Oh man…this isn't good…"

Yami:  "Now, my trump card shall now activate! Reveal "Diffusion Wave" and grant its power to Dark Magician!"  (He activates Diffusion wave toward Dark Magician.)  "By this card, it allows my Dark Magician to attack every one of my opponent's monsters in one single attack!"

Joey:  "No way!! With one strike…my field will be cleared…and that means…."

Yami:  "I'm sorry Joey…Dark Magician, use the power of Diffusion Wave to attack and destroy all of Joey's monsters!  (Dark Magician uses the Diffusion Wave, sending all of Joey's monsters to the graveyard.)  "Now, my Dark Magician Girl shall attack you directly for 2300 Life Points!"  (The Dark Magician Girl attacks Joey directly depleting the rest of his Life Points.)

Joey: "Aaarrrgggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!"  (He howls in pain from the current of electricity as his life value drops to zero.)

Announcer:  "Yugi Mutuo is the winner!!"

Yami:  "Are you alright Joey…?"  (He runs over to him to help him up.)

Joey:  "Yeah, I'm cool…that was an excellent finish Yugi.  I just knew you'd probably turn it around." (They both leave the arena as Seto walks over to them.)

Seto:  "Hmph…you're still the weak duelist Joey.  You're still the puppy I made you into…"

Joey:  "Kaiba!  Why don't you keep your mouth shut! I'm tired of your shit!"

Seto:  "Well, the puppy has a temper. I won't waste my precious time with a weakling like you…"

Yami:  "That's enough Kaiba!"

            As they continue to argue, Lee walks into the arena silently and waits for his match quietly.

Lee:  "Hmm…not a bad show…but they have no idea what they are up against…and the first to feel the power of the ancient pharaohs is none other than the legendary Seto Kaiba…"

Seto:  "…Lee…let me witness your strength of your deck…" (Seto walks into the ring to meet him.)

            The announcer steps up to the podium to announce the beginning of the second match.

Announcer:  "Now, it's time for the second round of the semi-finals!! Our champion Lee Gilford, versus Seto Kaiba! This is gonna be a good one folks! Keep your eyes on this one or you'll miss out big time!!! Now duelists, BEGIN!!!"

            They both draw their starting hand of five cards.

Seto:  "I'll start!" (He draws a card for his turn and smirks slightly.)  "Now I'll summon a monster in defense mode, and set 2 cards face down." (His cards appear in the arena.)  "I end my turn, now show me your power!"

Lee:  "Hmm…let's see what I can do…"  (He draws for his turn.)  "Hmm…this is interesting. Well, let's start things off with "Heavy Storm"!" (He activates Heavy Storm, which destroys all magic and trap cards on the field.)

Seto:  "Tch…damn you…" (He grits his teeth angrily.)

Lee:  Hmm…fair enough. Now I'll play "Pot of Greed" to draw two cards from my deck…"  (He draws his two cards from his deck.)  "Now, I'll play the magic card "Change of Heart", to take control of your monster!"  ( His magic card activates as Seto's monster becomes his.) 

Seto:  "Damn!!"

Lee:  "Heh…a "Cyber Jar" eh? Next, I'll play another magic card, the "Devil's Sanctuary"!" (He activates his magic card as a small devil monster is special summoned to the field in attack mode with zero Attack points.)

Seto:  "Devil's Sanctuary…it allows you to special summon a devil monster that can be tributed. As well…if I attack that monster, I take the battle damage directly to my Life Points…does he…?"

Lee:  "Right you are Seto…I'll sacrifice your face-down Cyber Jar and the Devil token to bring out the all-powerful "Jackal Paladin!!!" (He sends the two monsters to the grave as the Jackal Paladin appears in attack mode with 2700 attack strength.)

Yami:  "Kaiba's field is clear for a direct assault! This doesn't look good for him!! He should not have underestimated Lee!

Lee:  "Hmph…I've expected better. Now my Jackal Paladin, give him a direct attack he'll never forget!!"  (The Jackal Paladin attacks Seto directly for 2700 LP.)

Seto:  "Argghhhh!!!!!" (His life points drop to 5300.)

Lee: "Now, I'll set two cards face-down and I end my turn." (His two cards appear in the arena.)

Seto:  Ughh…now, I'll draw for my turn."  ( He draws his card and adds it to his hand.)  "You'll pay for that!  I'll summon "Vorse Raider" in attack position!" (His monster appears with 1900 attack points.) "Next, I'll equip him with the "Axe of Despair", increasing his attack points by 1000!!" (He activates "Axe of Despair" as it increases Vorse Raider's attack strength to 2900.)

Lee:  "Quite a monster you got there…hehe…"

Yami:  "Hmm…Lee isn't even worried about Kaiba's monster…he must have some traps waiting for him…Seto must use caution or else he'll play right into Lee's hand…"

Seto:  "Now…I want to attack, but should I…? He has two face-down cards…but, I have no trap cards in my hand right now for protection…I can't let him keep the field control…I must make him feel the power of my cards!!

Lee:  "Hmph…I'm hardly amused Seto…so don't keep me in suspense."

Seto: "Vorse Raider, attack the Jackal Paladin!!"  (Vorse Raider rushes at Lee's monster.)

Lee: "A powerful monster can't win you duels…I was expecting a more strategic move from you Seto.  Now, I'll activate the quick-play magic card, "Mystical Space Typhoon!!" (He activates his face-down card, which destroys one magic or trap card on the field.)

Seto:  "What?!"

Lee: "Hmm…now, I'll destroy your Axe of Despair during Vorse Raider's attack, dropping his attack back down to 1900, and my Jackal Paladin will counter-attack and destroy your monster!"  (Jackal Paladin destroys Vorse Raider, doing 800 LP damage to Seto.)

Seto: "DeMint…I played right into his trap…"( He looks through his hand full of monsters.) "I…end my turn."

Lee:  "Fine…it's my move now, so I'll end this duel now." (He draws a card from his deck and smirks.)

Seto:  "Lee…I'll make you pay for this embarrassment.  I've never been defeated by an obstacle in my life except Yugi…"

Yami:  "….."

Lee:  "Yes we know…I'll put you out of your misery since you didn't meet my expectations.  I'll summon the "Grave-keeper Spearman" in attack position!"  (His monster appears in attack mode with 1500 Attack strength.) "Now my monsters will attack you directly, dropping your pathetic life value to a measly 300 points!!  (Both monsters attack Seto directly depleting his life value down to 300 points.)

Seto:  "ARGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" (The electric voltage surges through Seto's body painfully from his extreme amount of LP lost.)

Lee:  "Hmph…I'm so sorry Seto.  You were never a match for the power of my Pharaoh's deck…now, you must face a much crueler reality in which you sealed your fate to lose…I end my turn Seto."

Seto:  "Ughhhhhh….damnit…I…can't lose here…."

Lee:  "Now you must face defeat Seto…your deck is already locked by my Jackal Paladin!"

Seto:  "What…?"

Lee:  "The very rare and powerful Egyptian Jackal Paladin has the powerful effect that all monsters destroyed by him are sent back to the top of your opponent's deck! So, the next card you will draw was your defeated Vorse Raider!! Hahaha!!!"

Seto:  (He stumbles to his feet wearily and picks up his current hand.)  "It's my move, and I'll draw now!"  (He draws his card as his eyes widen, as the card is his Vorse Raider.)

Lee:  "Hmm…you thought I was lying Seto…?  You can't beat me…not even your Blue-Eyes White Dragon can't touch the holy ground of my Egyptian Pharaoh's deck…"

Seto:  "Tch… what can I do…?"  (He looks through his bad hand full of monsters, as he continues to talk to himself.)  "I have no monster to stop the power of that Paladin…it'll become an infinite loop of locking the drawing from my deck…but I still have a "Sangan" in my hand…it could really bring me a monster that can change the tide in my favor, and then that will be sent to the top of the deck."

Lee:  "You can surrender you know…"

Seto:  "Never…I'll summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn…" (His monster appears in face-down defense mode.)

Lee: "You fell right into the trap Seto…you worried about my Jackal Paladin, but you forgot about my Grave-keeper Spearman…"  (He draws for his turn.)  "This monster has the ability to do battle damage through defense mode monsters by the difference in attack and defense!"

Seto:  "What?!  I…I only have 300 Life Points left…and my defense monster…"

Yami:  "Kaiba…you REALLY made a grave mistake underestimating and disrespecting your opponent….

Joey:  "Wow Lee…Kaiba couldn't even touch your Life Points…"

Lee:  "Now my Grave-keeper Spearman, attack his defense monster!! (Lee's monster attacks Seto's face-down "Sangan", which has a defense of 600, doing 900 LP damage to Seto, depleting his Life points.)

Seto:  "WHAT?!!? NO!!!  AAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!" (A huge current of electricity surges through him from his depletion of Life points.)

Lee:  "You lose…Seto…"  (He walks calmly out of the arena, leaving Seto to face his humiliating defeat alone.)

Yami:  "Kaiba!!"

Lee:  "Yugi…you are next…the final round of this tournament will be interesting, and I hope you can meet my expectations, unlike Seto Kaiba…

Yami:  "…We shall see."

Joey:  "Lee….

Seto:  "Ugh…"  (He staggers to his feet, looking at Lee.)  "Mark my words…I shall beat you down next we meet…You've made a life-long rival this day Lee Gilford…I will make you pay for this humiliation and satisfy my anger…count on it."

Well, sorry for the HUGE delay but college, working at a Yu-gi-oh card shop, and loving a beautiful woman have been taking up all of my time! Thanks for reading!

Ken