Mira: Ha! That's good, Madison's supposed to be a freaky character. Though as old as she is, I wonder if she wouldn't have been suited with a Zombie deck. No, probably not. And nope, two days per chapter is the absolute fastest I'll be doing this; it'll go back to five after a while. And the card effects? I'm confused why they would bug you. These are real cards with real effects, and the duels were even played all the way out; the duels I write are totally real. They just happen to have serendipity at certain points. That's the way it happens. Sorry if it bugs you, but it's all genuine.
Wolf: I suppose Orca Mega would be appropriate for this duel, but considering Kyle's ability to turn a duel around, Madison trying to put the supplementary fish on the field might not be such a good idea. Nevertheless, you'll see what happens soon enough.
Skraku: Oy, this'll work for my creative juices! If my arteries don't harden first...
Pheonica: Goes with the territory of aspirations to be a writer. I have to stay busy. Plus my finals are about halfway over, and I'm gonna do well on the remaining ones meantime. No worries!
Eusine: Looks like you're late on the hyperness warning... but I won't push it. It's only temporary, yes yes yes yes yes, only temporary-ary-ary...
-------
The monster that rose up from the remains of its tributes looked as if it had been forged from the water itself. It stretched up out of the face of its holographic card, flowing up as fluidly as the element it was reputed to guard. It was almost snake-like, except that now it was free of the card, it expanded outward until it was attached to the entire face. A pair of clawed hands extended from the "front" of the snake-like column of water, and then a face followed soon after. In its qualities, it wasn't unlike Levia-Dragon: it bore razor-sharp teeth and an elongated snout which only served to accentuate the teeth. It growled menacingly.
Madison was now laughing appreciatively. "Mr. McCraine, you may be a decent duelist... I'll admit that... but there's no way now that you could match the power of my Suijin. You couldn't even comprehend it!"
Kyle couldn't help but laugh aloud at that declaration.
Her laughing, by contrast, vanished, and she narrowed her eyes at him, her giddiness gone. "What are you laughing at, you little whelp?"
"You!" Kyle exclaimed. "You think I don't know the power of a Labyrinth Brother! That's laughable! You're the one who has no comprehension, Madison... you don't have a single clue."
Her eyes narrowed further. "Oh, don't I?"
"Not at all," he asserted. "Shows you don't know my deck half as well as you seem to think you do."
"What, did you think I wasn't aware you have Sanga of the Thunder?" Madison snorted. "Please, Mr. McCraine. I may not know all of your deck's cards, but I do know that much, at the very least."
"You still don't have a clue."
"Well, then, I'm in good company," she answered. "Crab Turtle, attack his Wall of Illusion!"
Why would she go to all the trouble of summoning Crab Turtle, just to have it sent back to her hand? Kyle wondered, even as his Wall was finally destroyed under Crab Turtle's barrage of heavy blows.
She still has Suijin on her field even after Crab Turtle returns to her hand. No doubt she intends to attack your Life Points.
She won't even get close.
Madison collected Crab Turtle back to her hand upon completion of Wall of Illusion's destruction, looking quite pleased with herself. "Now you'll know the true power of a Labyrinth Brother," she said. "Suijin, attack his Life Points directly!"
"Activate Widespread Ruin!"
Suijin's attack was impressive, to say the least; it was conjuring a tidal wave from the depths of its own fluid body and apparently was intending to send that wave hurtling towards Kyle. However, the attack was aborted quite suddenly by the activation of Kyle's trap card, which send a huge mushroom of fire billowing toward Suijin.
The monster and its tidal wave were evaporated in the onrush of flame.
Kyle imagined the look on Madison's face to be priceless -- and indeed, several thousand people in Los Angeles were finding it to be just that. Some of them had been recording it the entire time, eager to see what tactics the tourney finalists were wont to use... now they were seeing Madison's shock and rage that her monster had been so easily defeated.
She finally shook her head slowly. "Not like that," she uttered. "No. I won't let it all end like that. Not so easily as that."
"For the moment, unless you have a revival card, you're going to have to," Kyle responded. "If you're going to have a Labyrinth Brother, the least you can do is afford it protection long enough for you to actually make it useful. Until I try to attack it, it's just another normal monster."
"What would you know about Labyrinth Brothers?" she snapped. "It's not like you appreciate the power a Labyrinth Brother has--"
"That's where you're wrong," Kyle calmly stated. "Because I know fully well the powers of the Labyrinth Brothers. And I know their limits, too. They're strong, but they're not all-powerful, and most definitely not immune to destruction by trap cards. In the meantime, it's still your turn, so do you intend to do anything else for it?"
She finally regained enough of her composure to scowl gamely out the window. "Yes, come to think of it. I'll place one magic/trap face-down, and then end my turn."
Probably bluffing. She'd have put it down earlier.
She may not be. It might be a protective measure that she felt no use for before. After all, she was on the offensive.
Well, I guess we'll see. Kyle drew his next card. "I play Crass Clown (1350/1400) in attack mode," he announced.
On the field, his chunky, scythe-bearing Duel Monster shimmered into being and laughed in sadistic joy.
"Crass Clown, attack her Life Points!"
With a mighty toss, Crass Clown let its scythe fly directly for her LP counter. The blade struck the counter dead center and cut her Life Points in half, taking the count down to 1350. The scythe then flew back to the hand of its master, who waited patiently for its next opportunity.
One more direct attack like that one and I'll win!
You are aware she still has Gagagigo in her hand, and that its attack power is higher than that of Crass Clown?
Fully aware. But she's got to be worried by now. And I have a backup plan. He surveyed the field in front of him and smirked. "Your move."
"That it is." She drew her next card -- and began giggling in delight. "Well, Mr. McCraine, it seems that a Labyrinth Brother won't be done away with so easily, after all. I play Monster Reborn to bring Suijin back from the grave, in attack mode!"
Once again, Suijin shot up from its card face and took residence atop it, growling all the while. Kyle vaguely wondered if it was indignant that it has been so quickly destroyed before even getting an attack in.
"And now I replay Gagagigo (1850/1000) in attack mode!"
Also in a repeat performance, the bipedal reptilian appeared on the field, ready to fight.
"Hey, Madison!"
She glared up at Kyle from across the field, rather annoyed that he hadn't addressed her in such proper fashion as "Ms. Madison", which she much preferred. "What do you want, you little whelp?"
"To win, of course," Kyle sneered.
"Unless you begin to do so, which I highly doubt, you will treat me with the respect I deserve, or you will not speak to me at all. Do I make myself clear?"
Kyle ignored the demand. "On this field, we're both equals."
At this, her beady eyes narrowed. "You, young child, will never be my equal, on this field or any other."
"Then prove it and win the duel. And if you hear me out, you might just end up winning something more."
She raised an eyebrow. "If you have something to say, boy, spit it out and be done with it."
"Just a simple business proposal. Interested?"
"Only if you stop wasting my time."
Time, Kyle thought, is not so rare a commodity for me as it is for you, you old hag.
I am most appreciative of your self-restraint, Kyle, for if you had said that out loud, you surely would have been disqualified here and now.
Thanks... I think. "All right, then, here it is." Kyle pointed at Suijin, who was still glaring and displaying its huge razor-sharp teeth most prominently. "I propose we up the ante. If you wager that card, I'll wager my Sanga of the Thunder."
She scoffed loudly. "You can't possibly be serious, my boy."
"You keep proving yourself ignorant." Kyle shook his head in disappointment. "What a great shame."
She blinked, and then frowned. Were they closer, she'd have perused his gaze to see if he was truly serious. "You're being awfully foolish."
"Possibly. Now... are you interested, or shall we drop it here and now? Because either way, you're going to see Sanga of the Thunder in this duel. And it will be one hell of a showdown."
"You're all talk," she sniffed. "Gagagigo, destroy his Crass Clown!"
With that order, Gagagigo raced across the field and slugged Crass Clown -- hard. It cried out and fell back, then toppled and shattered like a porcelain vase hitting concrete. The holographic shards dissipated but a moment later.
Kyle's Life Points, meantime, had dropped down to 850.
And he was still smirking. "I guess you weren't listening before. Perhaps it has something to do with getting older, you become harder of hearing -- whatever the reason, I'm going to say it again. I'm willing to wager my Sanga of the Thunder on the chance that I win this duel if you're willing to wager Suijin on the chance that I lose."
A frown creased her already craggy features. "This proposal is one of the most preposterous I have ever heard. You have only two magic/traps on your field, which I am quite sure are desperate bluffs, since they were apparently incapable of stopping me from attacking and destroying your monster. Meanwhile, you have absolutely no monsters whatsoever to protect you."
"Oh, I know precisely what I have and don't have," Kyle responded. "So think about it. Your Life Points are higher than mine, you've got a Labyrinth Brother on your field, and even if I did bring out Sanga, you could bring out A Legendary Ocean and Suijin would be more powerful."
"This is ridiculous."
"Is it?" Kyle's smirk widened. "Are you afraid?"
Her jaw set at that one. "What... did... you... say?"
"I said, 'Are you afraid?' It's quite a simple question, really. Look at all your advantages! Higher LP, better monsters... what have you got to lose by accepting?"
"You have something up your sleeve, boy."
"And what if I do? Does it look like I'm in a position to stop you this turn?"
"Appearances can be deceiving."
"But the offer is genuine. If you win, I'll hand over my Sanga of the Thunder to you... but if I win, you hand over Suijin to me."
She stroked her chin. "A tempting offer... a tempting offer indeed. But it sounds to me like you are attempting to lure me into a trap. Either that, or you are the most reckless and desperate duelist I have ever met."
"So that means we have a deal, right?" Kyle turned to either side and gestured to the mounted cameras. "Take a look, Madison. You've got all this delicately set up so that you'll look like a ruthless businesswoman and I'll look like a doddering fool. But instead the doddering fool has stayed calm, manipulated this duel like any professional would, and he's issued you a challenge. You gonna back down? And in front of your superiors? Somehow I doubt Kaiba isn't going to see this; likewise with your CEO."
She flushed slightly. "My superiors' interests are none of your affair."
"Nope, you're right," Kyle agreed. "Just dueling you, and making a proposal or two along the way. But if that doesn't satisfy you, I've got something even more substantial in mind."
"I am already having enough difficulty as it is--"
"What I have in mind," Kyle interrupted, "is that the loser of this duel forfeits the Semi-Finalist earnings to the winner. In effect, the winner gets fifteen grand and three-fourths of the lottery you forced us to put cards in... the loser walks away with nil, and the shame of being humiliated on public television."
Her glare was becoming more pronounced by the second. "You, child, are a brainless idiot."
His words were grim and sure. "No, just incredibly daring. And you should probably take a couple lessons from me in that, too, because in my experience, you don't get ahead in the corporate world by being careful about how you conduct business. You have to be reckless once in a while, I would imagine. This is one of those times. Double or nothing, Madison. What's it going to be?"
Her eyes narrowed to slits. "I'll tell you what it's going to be. Suijin, attack his Life Points directly!"
Kyle's smirk didn't vanish. "Not quite, but nice try. Activate Ultimate Offering!"
Kyle's trap manifested itself as a goblin on his m/t row, grinning maniacally -- the grin almost daring Madison to continue her attack.
A burst of red sprayed from its right ear and congealed into a pool of dark fluid -- it took Madison a moment to register the substance as holographic blood -- and formed a face-down monster card on Kyle's field.
"I've sacrificed 500 of my remaining Life Points," Kyle stated, "in order to play one monster face-down. And now, because the number of monsters on my field has changed, Suijin's attack has been halted. If you want, you can call the attack again."
Madison raised an eyebrow. "And I assume you've retracted your offer by now."
"My offer still stands," said Kyle.
"Oh, does it? Even after I activate my face-down Meteorain trap card?" she asked, in a falsely sweet voice. "I'm sure you know what it does, as you've already made it so far in this tournament."
"Of course," he answered blithely. "It lasts one turn, and if the defense of my monster is less than Suijin's attack power, the difference in damage is inflicted on my Life Points."
"Indeed," she replied. "And by this point, I doubt there's a single low-level monster in your deck that has a defense power that could even begin to stand up to Suijin's attacks. So..." She leered. "Does your offer still stand, even now?"
"It does," he responded. "Winner take all. That's the challenge."
Her mind shouted at her. He's got nothing! Accept, then blow him away!
She saw him leaning up against the glass of his control booth's window.
And across the distance... she saw his wink.
Oh, that was the bottom line. He could call her "Madison", he could taunt her all he liked verbally...
But he was not going to wink at her like some call-girl.
"Then I accept!" she shouted. "But it doesn't matter, because Suijin will destroy you! 350 Life Points are nothing, and so are you! Suijin, attack his monster now!"
Suijin's tidal wave built up once more, and this time it crashed unchecked across the dueling field, washing over Kyle's field entirely...
She looked out the window, her eyes suddenly desperate to look at his Life Point counter--
And that counter was holding at 350.
Her eyes widened. "How...?"
And over the intercom, Madison could hear Kyle's laugh.
The answer poked an eyestalk out of the water and looked around in curiosity for a moment... then snaked underneath what was left of the wave and rose up in front of Suijin. The worm-like creature squealed at it, then wrapped its long body around Suijin's form and pierced its shapeless border with its opposite end, staring at the water guardian all the while with its single eye.
"You attacked my Kiseitai (300/800)," Kyle chuckled. "And when it's attacked, it equips itself to its attacker, then gives me Life Points equal to half the equipped monster's attack power for every one of your turns it stays there."
"A parasite!" Madison spluttered. "But why don't your Life Points show any damage?"
"When Kiseitai's attacked, damage calculations are canceled." He grinned. "C'mon, you didn't expect me to just sit here and take a beating, did you?"
She growled. "You'll still take a beating when I'm through with you!"
"Not likely. Your Battle Phase is over and Meteorain's effect isn't in operation anymore."
Madison gnashed her teeth in frustration. "End turn, then, but don't expect to survive next turn."
"We'll see whether I survive," Kyle muttered, as he drew his next card. Nevertheless, he knew she was right. This next card is either going to help me win or usher me to a loss...
Sight of it gave him pause. Or not... maybe it'll be the next three, instead. Here goes...
"I play Graceful Charity," he announced. C'mon, give me some luck...
And, amazingly, his deck did just that.
Whoa. This could do it. This could very well do it.
He looked back up to the field and grinned. "Ready or not, here I come."
"You haven't discarded two cards yet," Madison sniffed.
"True, I haven't. But I'll bet you'll like what I end up getting rid of. I'm discarding Mad Sword Beast and Sanga of the Thunder."
Madison pursed her lips. "How is it possible, anyway, that you have a Labyrinth Brother in the first place?"
"By the graceful charity of a friend of mine," Kyle answered, grinning widely. "But that's not all. If there's one thing I've learned about Labyrinth Brothers, it's that they won't be discarded so easily... so I play Monster Reborn to revive Sanga of the Thunder (2600/2200) in attack mode!"
And with that, Sanga appeared on the field in all its resplendent static glory, yellow currents running all over its red-and-gold body.
In thousands of L.A. homes, collective gasps could be heard. Whatever those families had been expecting (and most of them had expected a futile attempt to defend his Life Points with yet another face-down monster), this was most definitely not on that list.
Kyle, for his part, simply smiled in pride. All right. Now I can really go for the gusto. "In addition, I play one monster face-down," he said. "And now... Sanga, attack Gagagigo!"
Sanga's orb of thunder appeared between its hands and loosed a golden bolt upon the murderous reptilian. It roared defiantly, but was scorched all the same, and it vanished under the attack.
Madison's Life Points plummeted to 600.
"And that ends my turn," said Kyle. "What was that you were saying about surviving to next turn?"
"We'll see who survives," Madison snarled, drawing.
"I dunno, it just occurs to me that I'm getting better at it, what with the Life Point gain I'm getting from Kiseitai."
Madison's frantic eyes scanned his LP counter and saw it shoot up from its measly 350 to a much higher 1600. She snarled again, this time incoherently, and then said, "I play Heavy Storm to rid the field of all magic/traps... including that disgusting little worm!"
Kyle chuckled to himself as he discarded Ultimate Offering, Kiseitai, and his yet-unused (and at this point useless) Reverse Trap. On the holographic field, the view was much more spectacular; the photon arrays emitted bursts of lightning that crackled across his entire m/t field, and each m/t touched exploded violently.
"Now, Suijin, destroy his face-down monster!"
Suijin's tidal wave was easily avoided by Sanga, especially since Sanga wasn't the intended target. The face-down wasn't so lucky, and the dark waters overcame it easily. At the last instant, the monster card flipped over and revealed a minuscule spellcaster cowering under the tsunami.
"Looks like you've destroyed my Magician of Faith (300/400)," Kyle noted. "So now I get to collect one magic card from my graveyard."
Madison's lip curled. "End turn."
Kyle drew his next card, but didn't pay much attention to it. The time is now. This duel's over.
"I play Change of Heart," he announced, "to take control of Suijin!"
Her eyes widened. "No!" she shouted.
But there was nothing she could do. The Change of Heart card was represented on the field in the form of an attractive female whose left side was angelic, while the right side was demonic. It flapped its mismatched wings and flew straight into Suijin, phasing into it -- and the aquatic Labyrinth Brother snaked obediently to Kyle's side of the field.
"It's times like this," Kyle advised, "when it's safe to say the duel's finished. And this duel is most definitely finished. Sanga, attack her Life Points directly!"
Sanga flung its lightning orb at Madison's control booth... where it crashed unhindered.
And when Kyle -- and the audience in Los Angeles -- was able to see her Life Point counter, he simply stood there for a moment, not quite sure he believed what he was seeing.
It read 0.
It's over. ... I won. ... I actually won.
He slumped over his pedestal and let out a heavy sigh. "I won," he muttered. "I won..."
"Kyle?"
He perked slightly and looked under his right arm, too exhausted now to even expend the energy of turning around.
Monica was climbing up the steps into the booth. And this time, instead of confusion, mistrust, or displeasure, she had a smile on her face.
Kyle let out a small scoff and turned back to his close-up view of the pedestal's card reader plates. "How's that? I actually won a Duel Monsters tournament... all on my own. Bet you never expected that, huh?"
She touched his back, then leaned down and looked into his eyes, her brow rising as if to emphasize her next words.
"I'm proud of you," she said simply.
He responded to that with a smile of his own. "Thanks," he said, just as simply.
Her smile widened. "C'mon. Let's go home."
-------
The dueling may be over, but Kyle's still got a few things to work out... and maybe he can improve on a relationship through some of the prizes he earns. Stay tuned and find out what happens, in two days!