Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Chapter 13: Double Duel II, Super Monster!
"Paradox brothers?" Sakura asked, recognizing the name. "I've heard of these two before, Yugi told me about how you two were eliminators employed by Pegasus during Duelist Kingdom. I wonder why they're working for the Dark Monarchs now."
"True, for Pegasus we once worked for." Para said.
"But now that Pegasus is no more." Dox rhymed.
"We now make up our new clan's core."
"As Dark Monarchs members five and four!"
"Do you two ever stop rhyming?" Ryo asked impatiently. "Let's get on with the duel already."
The two brothers took out their duel disks, but before activating them, they stared and grinned at their two opponents. "Before we begin the duel." Para began. "You must first hear our rules."
"Because with larger risks we play." Dox continued. "The losers will be in much dismay."
"The Dark Monarchs play with bigger stakes." Sakura whispered to herself as she remembered her first encounter with the robed clan members. "Explosive devices? Not again."
"Explosive grenades will not be used." Para assured. "But the losers will not be excused."
"Instead, they will have to pay." Dox started to explain. "The deck that they have used to play."
"Risk our decks?" Sakura asked as she inserted hers into the duel disk. "Fine, I agree to your terms."
"As do I." Ryo concurred as he did the same. "Though I don't need new cards, it'll be fun to show you guys the greatness of my deck." He turned his head towards Sakura, giving her a wink. "Don't worry, I'm super strong. I'll make sure you're impressed."
"Sure, Ryo." Sakura responded with a tone of skepticism. "Just don't slow me down. Chatting time is over, let's duel!" Four sets of holographic projectors shot out across the streets as the four duelists took their positions at the sides of their partners.
Sakura: 8000
Ryo: 8000
Para: 8000
Dox: 8000
"I will go first to start the show." Para said as he played his first card. "This card will surely frighten our foes. I play Sangan (1000/600) in attack mode!"
"Great, it's the three eyed Kuriboh look alike." Sakura scoffed as she drew her card. "Alright, I'll play Gemini Elf (1900/900) in attack mode." Two holographic women appeared on the field. "I can't attack right now because of the double duel rules, but I can still destroy your monster with this card. I play Tribute to the Doom!" As Sakura discarded a monster from her hand, mummifying bandages wrapped around Sangan and dragged it to the graveyard. "Now you two have no defenses."
"Destroying Sangan was a great mistake." Para informed. "For now, a card from my deck I take. And I choose Cannon Soldier!"
"Right, I forgot." Sakura sighed as she slapped her forehead. "Sangan's special ability allows him to draw a monster from his deck with an attack power of up to 1500 when it is sent to the graveyard."
'But it doesn't matter.' Sakura thought to herself. 'I played Tribute to the Doom because I wanted to discard my Dark Magician to power up my Dark Magician Girl in advance. All I have to do now is draw my favorite monster.'
"Now it is my turn to go." Dox announced. "Against her monster, our defenses are low. But that is why I play this card, to send a monster to the card graveyard. Activate, Foolish Burial!" Upon playing his magic card, Dox searched through his deck, discarding one of his monsters.
"Why would you play that?" Sakura asked. "It destroys one of your own monsters."
"The Foolish Burial you shouldn't scorn." Dox explained as he played another magic card. "It's not so useless with Monster Reborn! From the graveyard now I call." A giant set of complex walls now separated the four duelists. "Onto the field, the Labyrinth Wall (0/3000)!"
"Finally, it's my turn!" Ryo shouted in excitement, not fazed at all by the great defenses of the Paradox brothers' monster. "I'll play this super magic card, Infinite Cards! And I'll follow up with the magic card, Pot of Greed. Now I can draw two cards! I end my turn by playing two cards face down."
"Ryo!" Sakura screamed in distress. "You didn't even play a monster! Are you trying to lose?!"
"Don't worry about it; I don't need to play a monster yet." Ryo assured. "My deck is super strong and won't fail me."
----------
End of Turn 1
Sakura: 8000 (Gemini Elf in attack mode)
Ryo: 8000 (Infinite Cards, 2 cards face down)
Para: 8000 (nothing)
Dox: 8000 (Labyrinth Wall in defense mode)
----------
"Again, my turn to take the stage." Para said as he started his turn. "And I start with the Fusion Sage." Activating his magic card, he searched through his deck to look for the magic card Polymerization. "Now I play the card I drew. Polymerization, make one from two!"
"Polymerization?" Sakura asked. "What's he going to fuse from his hand?"
As if to answer her question, a loud rumbling sound emanated from the labyrinth floor. From the sound came a large vehicle with numerous drills sticking out of it. "Labyrinth Tank (2400/2400)!" Para called out as he pointed to the Gemini Elf in front of Sakura. "Attack her monster!" Upon his order, the giant tank launched its many drills at the Gemini Elf, destroying it with ease.
"Alright, my turn now." Sakura announced, unfazed by the destruction of her monster. "I'll play a monster face down in defense mode and set another card face down. That ends my turn."
"To defeat them with my current hand would surely be hard." Dox said as looked at his cards and started his turn. "So I play Graceful Charity to increase my cards." Playing his magic card, he drew three cards from his deck and discarded two.
"Alright, I was waiting for something like that!" Ryo suddenly shouted with excitement. "I can now activate my two trap cards: Appropriate and Solemn Wishes!" Activating his trap, Ryo drew two cards from his deck. His life points then suddenly increased by 1000. "Appropriate allows me to draw two cards every time you draw out of your draw phase, and Solemn Wishes increases my life points by 500 for every card I draw." He explained.
"Your cheer will be short termed." Dox declared as he played his monster. "For now I summon Giant Germ (1000/100)!" A blob-like creature materialized within the labyrinth walls. "Because in attack points my Giant Germ is lacking, I'll end my turn without attacking."
"So it's my turn and I draw." Ryo said with a smile. "And increase my life points by another 500 because of my Solemn Wishes trap card."
"Who cares about your life points!" Sakura shouted in distress. "Play a monster!" Though it was true that Sakura worried about Ryo's lack of defense, the real reason she wanted him to summon a monster was because she was anxious to see what sort of deck Ryo had.
"Alright, I'll summon the Bistro Butcher (1800/1000) in attack mode then." Ryo said as he played his monster onto the duel disk. "Bistro Butcher attack Dox's Giant Germ!"
"Ryo, wait!" Sakura warned, but it was too late. The muscular monster that had just appeared onto the field leapt at the blob-like creature, slashing its cleaving knives across the midsection and destroying it. But just as soon as the Giant Germ was destroyed, another appeared onto the field. "Don't you know the Giant Germ's special effect? It causes 500 direct damage to your life points once it's destroyed and summons a second Giant Germ onto the field."
"How true." Dox confirmed. "And I draw two cards because your attack went through."
Just as Dox drew from his deck, Ryo also drew two cards with a smile. "500 damage is okay, because I caused him to draw." Ryo said happily. "And because of Appropriate, I can draw two cards too! And my super trap card, Solemn Wishes, activates when I draw, giving me 1000 life points to make up for the 500 that I've lost. I end my turn now."
----------
End of Turn 2
Sakura: 7500 (1 monster face down in defense mode, 1 card face down)
Ryo: 10000 (Bistro Butcher in attack mode, Infinite Cards, Appropriate, Solemn Wishes)
Para: 8000 (Labyrinth Tank in attack mode)
Dox: 7200 (Labyrinth Wall in defense mode, Giant Germ in attack mode)
----------
Para drew as his turn started. Looking at the card he had just drawn, a wide smile appeared onto his face. "Brother, the time comes near." Para told his partner. "Time to put these fools in fear. I play Change of Heart!" Playing his magic card, the face down monster that was once Sakura's now belonged to Para.
"This is the last of your dueling days." Dox cried.
"Indeed, for now I have two monsters in play." Para continued. "I sacrifice them for an unbeatable monster, the ultimate god called Sanga of Thunder (2600/2200)!" Upon the summoning words of its master, the lightning god monster rose onto the field. "Sanga, attack her life points directly!"
'Sanga of Thunder?' Sakura thought to herself as she watched the lightning god monster unleash a large forked lightning bolt at her. 'With an attack power of 2600, that'll reduce my life points by a lot!'
But the lightning bolt never touched the young female duelist.
"Bistro Butcher, defend her!" Ryo quickly ordered as he sent his own monster to take the thunderous blast. Being struck by Sanga's attack instead of Sakura, the Bistro Butcher let out a cry of defeat as it shattered into pieces. Ryo let out a small yelp of pain as the turned attack struck him through his monster.
"Ryo!" Sakura cried out as his monster dissipated into the ground, lowering its master's life points. "Your monster!"
"It's okay." Ryo said as he recomposed himself. "I'm fine."
"You're not fine." Sakura shouted. "You've lost your only monster on the board. Without monsters to tribute, you can't summon high leveled monsters to defeat their Sanga of Thunder."
"Don't worry." Ryo assured.
'In truth, I have no level five or higher monsters in my deck to tribute.' Ryo thought as he reviewed all the cards in his deck mentally. 'Bistro Butcher was my highest level monster. All the others are either also level four or less, the majority being level three. But that's also the reason we can win!'
"I've got many life points to spare." Ryo said as he flashed a smile at Sakura. "I'm just super glad that you're okay."
There was a long pause of silence between the two duelists. "Thank you." Sakura finally whispered. "Alright, you freaks. First I'll normal summon my Sonic Bird (1400/1000) in attack mode so I can draw a ritual card, which I play now. Go Ritual of Black Chaos! Sacrifice a Magician of Black Chaos from my hand to summon the other Magician of Black Chaos (2800/2600) in attack mode!"
"Sakura, hold on!" Ryo warned as he realized that the Paradox brothers were not worried at all.
"Magician of Black Chaos, attack his Sanga of Thunder!" Sakura ordered, unheeding Ryo's shout. As the Magician of Black Chaos neared the Sanga of Thunder, its magical glow started to diminish.
"Sanga of Thunder's effect, activate!" Para declared. "Show the Black Chaos Magician its fate!" Suddenly, the Magician of Black Chaos's speed slowed dramatically as the attack became weakened. Being no match for the great thunder god, Sanga, it quickly perished to the lightning counterattack that Sanga unleashed.
"What happened?" Sakura cried in confusion as her own life points plunged by 2600. "Magician of Black Chaos's attack power is greater than Sanga's though."
"Sanga has the super ability to lower an attack of one monster to zero once per game." Ryo explained.
"Damn." The female duelist cursed at her own carelessness. "Fine, I'll use my face down card right now. Activate Ultimate Offering! This allows me to summon extra monsters at the cost of 500 life points per summon. So I'll summon a face down monster in defense mode now and end my turn." As the monster set itself onto the field, Sakura's life points decreased further by 500.
"When will these fools ever learn." Para smirked.
"I'll show them their flaws, for now it's my turn." Dox replied as he drew. "Ultimate Offering can be used by all players, fool. That mistake will cost you the duel. I first summon three monsters onto the field, giving me five." Having summoned two extra monsters, Dox's life points decreased by 1000. "My next attack you will not survive! For I sacrifice all but my Labyrinth Wall to summon two more creatures of divinity. Suijin (2500/2400) and Kazejin (2400/2200), complete the Gate Guardian trinity!"
"They have all three pieces onto the field!" Sakura gasped. "Once they draw the Gate Guardian, they'll be able to summon it by sacrificing their monsters!"
"How correct you are, but my turn isn't over by far." Dox said. "Kazejin, attack her face down monster!" Inhaling a huge breath, the wind god monster unleashed a large gust of tornados headed for Sakura's face down monster, quickly wiping it out of the field.
"Your turn will be over sooner than you think." Sakura declared as she revealed her face down monster. "When The Unhappy Maiden (0/100) is destroyed, your battle phase automatically ends."
"So it's my turn." Ryo said as he drew his card, increasing his life points again by 500.
"You have to stop them from summoning the Gate Guardian, Ryo!" Sakura shouted.
"I know that." Ryo said, anxious to make his play. "And it's about time that I drew this too. I play the single most super card in my deck, Muka Muka (600/300)" A small monster that somewhat resembled a small rock with claws appeared onto the field in front of Ryo.
"Eh, that's your most powerful card?" Sakura asked, developing a giant sweat drop on her forehead. "That thing is almost as weak as Kuriboh!"
"Look again." Ryo said with a smirk. Suddenly, the rock-like monster started to grow, dramatically increasing its attack points. "Muka Muka has the special effect of gaining 300 attack points for every card in my hand. And because I now hold eight cards, its attack power is a super 3000 now. So now, Muka Muka, attack the Sanga of Thunder! And because Para already used its special effect, he can't use it again." Now grown into a giant lumbering clawed rock, the Muka Muka lunged at the lightning monster and instantly smashed it to pieces with its giant front claws.
"Awesome, Ryo!" Sakura cheered. "Now they can't summon the Gate Guardian."
"I'll end my turn by playing a card face down, even though it will lower my Muka Muka's attack points." Ryo said as his favorite monster's power lowered to 2700. 'Even though my super Muka Muka still has more attack points than Suijin and Kazejin, they still have their special effects at Dox's disposal and can beat my Muka Muka if I attack them.'
----------
End of Turn 3
Sakura: 4400 (Ultimate Offering)
Ryo: 9700 (Muka Muka in attack mode, Infinite Cards, Appropriate, Solemn Wishes, 1 card face down)
Para: 7600 (nothing)
Dox: 5200 (Labyrinth in defense mode, Suijin in attack mode, Kazejin in attack mode)
----------
"Sanga was defeated to our dismay, but I will bring it back into play." Para said as he started his turn with a magic card. "Activate, Premature Burial." The strongest of the three Gate Guardian piece rose from the ground, completing the trinity once again. "Because Muka Muka is still on the field, without attacking, my turn will yield."
"I'm in a difficult position." Sakura whispered to herself. "They have three powerful monsters on the field and that stupid Labyrinth Wall further boasts their defenses. I cannot rely on Ryo to continue defending me. I must play my ultimate monster." As the young duelist placed her hopes on the next card, she drew. "I'll start by summoning the Jurai Gumo (2200/100) in attack mode, it is the same card that I won from Weevil Underwood. But I'll use it for tribute as I activate my Ultimate Offering trap card and summon my strongest monster: the Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)! Because I have a Dark Magician and two Magician of Black Chaos's in the graveyard, my monster's attack power grows to 2900!"
"But you still can't attack." Para informed.
"Correct, our effects are still intact." Dox confirmed.
"That's okay, I'll end my turn then." Sakura said, satisfied that she had managed to unleash her greatest monster.
"Brother, they have two strong monsters in their power." Para said to Dox.
"But to the Gate Guardian, they will both cower." Dox replied.
"You must draw the card we need."
"Indeed." Dox agreed as he started his turn. A wide grin appeared on his face as he drew his next card. "Hah! It is time now, brother." With that, the Paradox brothers leapt into the air, spinning as they chanted.
"Elements of water, thunder, and wind. Suijin, Sanga, Kazejin, begin!" They both shouted in harmony. "Meld your powers in eternal light, show these fools your unstoppable might!"
As the two landed, Dox played the trump card into his duel disk, summoning one of the strongest duel monsters of all time. From the field, the three pieces turned into a bright light and combined into one giant creature of divinity.
The paradox shouted as the most powerful creature in their decks took form. "Gate Guardian (3750/3400)!"