Wolfwings: Well, hey, here's your chance to see what happens next! Hope you enjoy.
Penny: Ack, insanities. I'm surrounded by them... no need for more... here, read this...
Happy birthday, Ankh-chan.
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Kyle's Life Points - 2000
Zack's Life Points - 2000
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"All right, then." Kyle looked at the panels of the pedestal in front of him. There were fourteen of them in total, two rows of seven panels each. The format was the same as a dueling mat. The center ten panels were for the cards on the field. The lower right corner panel was for the deck, the one above it for the graveyard; the lower left corner was for the fusion deck (assuming he had one, which he didn't, hence it remained empty), and the one above that was used for field magic cards.
Okay. Just like a normal duel. Except with a load of technology to make it as intimidating as possible.
This is a duel? I was under the impression that all you needed was a flat surface on which to place your creature pictures.
Um... no offense, Theoris, but I'd appreciate it if you toned it down... Kyle winced slightly. If I have any chance at all of doing well at this, much less winning, I need to be able to focus, and the sound of your voice in my head remains disturbing to me.
I understand, Kyle, do not worry. I am content to watch and learn.
I really appreciate it. Kyle took a deep breath. Here goes nothing "I play Shining Abyss (1600/1800) in defense mode," he announced, placing his Shining Abyss monster card sideways on the leftmost monster field panel.
In response, the card recognition technology scanned his card and sent the resulting information to the card database. The database, which worked in conjunction with the holographic simulation systems, provided the holo-tech with the information it needed – the monster, its statistics, and its battle mode – and a moment later, a massive, bejeweled creature wavered into existence, hovering over the massive gray prismatic shade support panels of the battlefield.
Kyle had studied the processes of the workings of this machinery quite thoroughly. Yet all he could think was, Whoa It took him a few moments to remember what his strategy was. "I'll end my turn there."
Zack didn't seem nearly as impressed. As a matter of fact, he seemed a bit surprised. "You played a defending monster face-up and you've got no support for it? That's inviting me to attack it. Don't tell me you don't know that."
"Well, let's see you do better, then," Kyle responded.
"Oh, you'll see plenty of that. I'll also place a monster in defense mode, but unlike yourself, I'm going to put mine face-down. In addition, I'm placing three magic/trap cards face-down."
Opposite Kyle's Shining Abyss hologram, there appeared the image of a larger-than-life Duel Monsters card in a face-down position. Behind that square, three of Zack's field's magic/trap panels began pulsing a soft gold light, indicating an unknown card had been placed there.
"My turn's done. Now show me your best."
"I will, at that." Kyle drew his next card. Awesome. Just what I need. "I play Amphibian Beast (2400/2000) in attack mode."
Next to the holographic Shining Abyss, the manifestation of Amphibian Beast appeared–
"Activate Trap Hole!"
Before it had even fully appeared, the massive bipedal Fish-type monster seemed to fall into a crag that had spontaneously appeared in the paneling beneath its webbed feet. The creature roared defiantly as it was sucked in, but there was no saving it, and it vanished.
The whole exchange had taken less than three seconds.
Kyle stared at the spot his Amphibian Beast had just vacated, a mixture of awe and shock on his face. As easily as that, he takes out my best monster?
"There's plenty more where that came from, Kyle," Zack assured him. "Keep in mind, this duel is no different from a normal duel you'd play out on a table. Only, you get to watch the action. Let me know if you can't handle it. Then we'll both have been wrong about you."
Kyle glared. "I'm not going to give up that easily. Since I can't play another monster, I'll end my turn there."
Zack smirked as he drew his next card. "Good. Surrender is a thing you have to avoid in order to be an effective duelist." He inspected his hand, then nodded in appreciation. "For now, I'll show you just how effective the defensive strategy can be. I place another monster face-down in defense mode"
Another larger-than-life Duel Monsters card appeared next to the one already on the field.
"And then I place another magic/trap face-down, and end my turn."
The center m/t square on Zack's back row re-lit in place of the Trap Hole that had vacated it the previous turn.
I'll have to figure out my strategy pretty quickly Kyle drew, then looked up and announced, "I play Millennium Golem (2000/2200) in attack mode."
A creature comprised entirely of blocks and mortar rose to the field, towering high above the defensive Shining Abyss. The scraping of rock against rock resounded throughout the arena.
"Millennium Golem attacks the first face-down you played," Kyle announced.
Upon those words, Golem pulled its right fist back, stomped forward, and pounded into the card backing on the holo-field. The card flipped over and revealed a delicate yet strong-looking elf-woman.
"Gyakutenno Megami (1800/2000) survives your attack," Zack answered. "Maybe some other time."
"No maybe about it. I'll place one magic/trap on my field and end my turn."
One of Kyle's rear panels began to glow, signifying the presence of his face-down, as with Zack's.
Zack drew, then said, "I activate the magic card Horn of Light and equip it to Gyakutenno Megami, in order to raise her defense points by 800."
A glowing horn sprouted in the center of the fairy's head and grew out until it was almost longer than her head itself.
"That's all for me. Back to you."
Kyle drew. I have to start playing the way he does if I've got a chance of winning this thing. "I place one monster in face-down defense mode."
Next to Golem, there appeared a card backing.
"And Golem will attack your other face-down monster."
Again, Golem stomped forth and struck the face-down card on the field. This time, an ugly, pumpkin-shaped creature with three eyes and an ear-piercing shriek appeared, and shattered like so much broken glass.
"Looks like you've destroyed my Sangan (1000/600)," Zack said cheerfully. "In case you weren't aware, when Sangan goes to the graveyard, I get to pick a monster card from my deck and add it to my hand provided that monster has less than 1500 attack points."
"Then that monster's not going to do much to get back at me, is it?" Kyle retorted.
"We'll see." Zack performed the instructions as given by the Sangan card, and after he made his choice, he shuffled his deck and asked, "Is that all?"
"Yeah, I'm done."
"Glad to hear."
Zack drew his next card, then grinned and glanced up at Kyle. "Here comes what I'm pretty sure is the greatest challenge you've ever faced. I play Sanga of the Thunder (2600/2200) in attack mode!"
The field space Zack's Sangan monster had previously occupied was again taken, this time by a massive red and gold construct. It had no face that Kyle could discern, and the closest thing to an eye would have been the strange orb located in its center, where a Japanese symbol that Kyle couldn't read – though he guessed it stood for "thunder" – was located. It wasn't humanoid by any stretch of the imagination, because it seemed to be comprised only of a dark red torso. Its golden arms looked almost mechanical in nature; its upper arms were narrow, and broadened out into massive forearms that bore claws. It had some sort of golden, semicircular structure sprouting out two small golden orbs on its back, and at the top of this was yet another gold sphere. Electricity crackled all across its form.
The Labyrinth Brother–!
Kyle's hand flicked to his m/t field and he flipped over the one card on it. "Activate Trap Hole!" he declared.
"Not so fast," Zack chuckled. "I'll activate my face-down trap card, Seven Tools of the Bandit. At the cost of 1000 of my Life Points, I can negate the activation of your Trap Hole and allow Sanga's summoning to go through."
The field manifested this play in a most interesting fashion. As the Trap Hole opened up underneath the panel where Sanga was being summoned, a dark perversion of a Swiss Army knife appeared from the golden glow of one of Zack's back row panels, and Zack's Life Points scrolled down to half their original value. It corkscrewed itself into the crag, which promptly sealed up a moment later.
And the creature was still there.
"You'll need more than a simple Trap Hole to take out a Labyrinth Brother," Zack remarked. "Against a creature this important, you need a whole lot more. And I'm not done with my summonings just yet."
Kyle's eyes narrowed. "You can only play one monster per turn."
"Ordinarily, that's true. But not quite so when I activate the trap card Ultimate Offering."
The activation of Zack's trap was followed by the appearance of a rotund goblin-like creature directly behind Sanga of the Thunder. The grin on its face was maniacal.
"At the cost of 500 Life Points, this card allows me to summon another monster. And since it's a continuous trap, I can use it as many times as I like, provided my LP doesn't run out from it."
"You only have 1000 LP left."
"I only need 500. Observe. I pay 500 Life Points to play Ceremonial Bell (0/1850) in defense mode!"
As Zack's LP counters descended to 500, an arch composed of white brick rose up alongside Sanga. Within the arch was a massive golden bell.
Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to scare me?"
"It ought to, since its special effect forces both of us to reveal every card in our hands to each other as long as it's on the field." Zack smirked. "The only card in my hand is another Gyakutenno Megami. How about you?"
Kyle glanced down as his hand and mentally whacked himself upside the head. Man, he's getting me at every turn! "Firewing Pegasus, Vorse Raider, Mechanicalchaser, Neo the Magic Swordsman, and Wall of Illusion."
"All monsters." Zack whistled. "Wow. Your deck isn't being very kind to you today."
"I have all the defenders I need," Kyle retorted.
"Maybe, but you also have one attacker, and it's much weaker than my own. Sanga of the Thunder, attack Millennium Golem!"
Sanga brought its claw-like hands up and next to each other, and between them there appeared a sphere of electrical energy. A massive streak of lightning was loosed from the glowing orb and speared straight through Golem, which subsequently vanished.
Kyle's Life Point counters scrolled down to 1400.
"I'm finished, for now," Zack said. "Take your best shot."
"I think not," Kyle responded, as he drew his next card.
"Remember Ceremonial Bell's effect. I get to know what that card is."
Kyle frowned. Damn. "Kiseitai."
"Hm. All right, continue."
"I will. Your Bell may force me to show you what's in my hand, but it doesn't make me play my monsters face-up. So I place one monster face-down and end my turn."
"Fair enough. I draw... Gift of the Mystical Elf, if you want to know. Then I place one magic/trap and one monster face-down. Sanga, attack his Shining Abyss."
Another blast of lightning incinerated Kyle's Shining Abyss.
"End turn."
"And I draw... Weather Report," Kyle responded. He stared at Sanga for several moments. How am I supposed to beat that thing? I don't have any monsters with an attack factor that high, and even if I did attack it, my monster's attack power would turn to zero and I'd lose all of my LP in the counterattack. That thing could take on any monster and win!
He sighed and scanned his hand. I've got Kiseitai face-down. He knows that, and he won't attack Kiseitai because I'll get a Life Point gain every turn if he does, and he only gets one attack per turn. There's no point in wasting the rest of my monsters until I absolutely have to. "I'll pass this turn."
"I draw Skull Guardian," Zack announced. "And I'll also end my turn without playing a card."
"Then I draw Magician of Faith." Kyle pursed his lips at the Ceremonial Bell situated beside Sanga. I need to destroy that, or else he'll spot a strategy before I even try to put it into motion. He looked his hand over. Firewing Pegasus can take care of that. Sanga will blow it away next turn, but I can afford the monster and the Life Points. And I need the privacy.
"I play Firewing Pegasus (2250/1800) in attack mode," he declared. A stomping white horse with wings of red flame appeared on the field and whinnied loudly.
"Pegasus, attack Ceremonial Bell."
The ivory horse snorted, then whinnied again – and a streak of white fire blasted from its mouth and washed over Ceremonial Bell. The bricks fell apart from the sudden gust of heat and the bell cracked from the temperature change.
Behind the wreckage of the Ceremonial Bell, there stood a Mystical Elf bearing an orb of white light, a peaceful expression on her face. Kyle frowned. "What...?"
"I activated my trap card, Gift of the Mystical Elf," Zack responded, "while there were still six monsters on the field – your two and my four. For each monster on the field, regardless of battle position, this card gives me three hundred extra Life Points."
In support of Zack's statement, his LP counters shot up from 500 to 2300.
Great, now he's got more Life Points than when we started. But there's nothing I can do about it right now. "I end my turn there," Kyle said.
Zack nodded appreciatively as he drew his next card. "Destroying my Bell to hide your hand. Very good. But since your Life Points are wide open through your monster, I'd be foolish not to attack. So I'll do so. Sanga, attack Firewing Pegasus."
Another devastating electrical blast rendered Kyle's monster to smoke and ash. Kyle's LP lowered to 1050.
"I'm done. Your turn."
Kyle drew, then announced, "I place one monster and one magic/trap face-down, and that ends my turn."
Zack raised an eyebrow as he drew. "Now we're getting into the more interesting plays. Good to see. Wonder what that magic/trap is, but I guess I'll find out soon enough. For the moment, I play Change of Heart on your face-down Kiseitai."
"What good will that do?" Kyle asked, even as the face-down card on his field switched to his opponent's.
"Tremendous good. Kiseitai's effect only works as long as it's face-down. So if I flip it face-up to attack mode, like so..."
The card abruptly flipped over and revealed the worm-like, one-eyed Kiseitai (300/800).
"...its effect is negated and nothing happens when I destroy it. Which I can assure you will happen next turn. Meantime, Sanga, attack his face-down monster."
This time, Sanga's attack shot through Kyle's Wall of Illusion (1000/1850). "Now Sanga has to go back to your hand as per my Wall's special effect."
"He won't be off the field long. I haven't made a normal summon yet this turn, so I'll put him right back, in attack mode. And that ends my turn."
Kyle drew and sighed. He's gonna stick with Sanga as long as he possibly can. All I can do is defend myself until I get something worth using. "I switch Kiseitai back to defense mode, then place one monster face-down and end my turn."
"Fair enough." Zack drew. "I place one magic/trap face-down. Sanga, rid the field of Kiseitai, please."
Sanga was only too happy to oblige, and the worm-like fiend shrieked indignantly as it was incinerated.
"End turn."
Kyle drew. "One monster face-down, end turn."
Zack followed up with a draw and, "Sanga, attack the last face-down he played."
Kyle's Vorse Raider (1900/1200) was thrown to oblivion. "End turn."
"Another monster face-down, end turn."
Zack narrowed his eyes. "We're gonna have to put a stop to the face-down plays, they're getting tiresome. One magic/trap face down. Sanga, attack the last monster he played."
This time, it was Kyle's Mechanicalchaser (1850/800) that bit the electric bullet. "End turn."
Kyle sighed. I'm gonna run out of cards before I can fight back, at this rate! All I can do is defend! "Another monster face-down–"
"Activate trap card, Light of Intervention!" Zack interrupted. The lighting around the arena instantly increased, almost to the point that they had to squint to see each other. "This continuous trap card forces both players to place their monsters face-up on the field, and no matter what position you put them in, they're considered summoned monsters."
And therefore vulnerable to Trap Holes of several varieties. "Fine. The monster I'm placing is Aqua Madoor (1200/2000) in defense mode. And you don't get to see my face-down."
"I'm not terribly concerned with your face-down, for all the luck you've been having so far," Zack responded. "Is that all?"
"Yeah, I'll end my turn there."
"Good." Zack drew, but barely paid attention to the drawn card. "Sanga, attack his face-down monster."
Dark Zebra (1800/400) whinnied loudly in protest as it was fried. "End turn."
Kyle grit his teeth as he drew his next card. What am I going to do now? Every monster I bring out, he wrecks, and every good card I draw, he counters! With his level of experience, he knows what I'm going to do before I know it myself! I can't win this duel!
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Kyle's Life Points - 1050
Zack's Life Points - 2300
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To Be Continued