A/N: Chapter 13 is here! Enjoy.
Mira: Glad you're enjoying the dueling so far. So here's another one for you!
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Kyle scanned the sidewalks on each side of the road he trod, trying desperately to find some sign of the people he was told to battle. Just come out, you cowards, and get this overwith! he thought miserably. I need to know that she'll be all right!
Be patient, Kyle, said Theoris.
How can you expect me to be patient when the one person I care about is in danger?
She may not be in nearly as much danger as you believe, Kyle. The magicians are using her as bait. You and I both know that. They may not hurt her as long as they still have you to worry about.
If they do anything to her, I swear I'll rip out their intestines through their nostrils and feed them straight back...
Anger will only make you lose focus. Calm yourself. Then you will see that it is rather simple to comply with the demands of the magicians.
They've got to have a catch behind all this. They've got to be covering their butts somehow.
No doubt. Perhaps you will find out what that insurance is.
From what you've told me, I think we can pretty much count on it. Kyle walked quickly, but he didn't run. I'm fast enough that if one of those duelists tries to get to me from behind, they may not reach me.
As it turned out, he had less to worry about behind him and more to worry about in front. Since he was looking more to his right and left to try to find a duelist that might be one of the three he was looking for, he was paying almost no attention to what was directly in his path.
The next thing he knew, he found himself falling, face-first, on top of a teenage brunette. He just barely stopped his head from smacking against hers, and he desperately tried to come up with some kind of apology.
The girl looked up at him and smiled awkwardly. "I don't think I've known anyone to be so forward."
Oh, cripes, Kyle thought, as he pushed himself up and off of her. "Sorry... dope that I am, I wasn't watching where I was going."
"Obviously," she responded, extending a hand up to him. He took her wrist and pulled her to her feet. She smoothed out her clothes and brushed some stray dust off her pants. "Handsome guys usually stay away from me."
Kyle blinked, unsure of how to respond. He suddenly felt an urge to avert his eyes from her gaze, and that was when he noticed the duel disk on her left arm. He frowned and glanced back up at her. "You're a duelist?"
"I wouldn't be in Battle City otherwise," she responded wryly. She tucked a lock of long, unruly brown hair behind her ear. "And you wouldn't be here, either, I think, if you weren't a duelist."
"True enough," he responded. "But if you'll excuse me, I have to be going..."
She laughed. "What's the rush?"
"Looking for a duelist."
"There's one standing right in front of you," she huffed, "in case you hadn't noticed."
"One in particular," Kyle responded, stepping around her and continuing up the street. "Or three?"
That made Kyle stop dead in his tracks.
The girl stepped up to his back and leaned forward, so that her mouth was right next to his ear. "Trust me... I wish I could help you... but I'm here to stop you."
Kyle slowly turned around as she pulled away from him. A mottling of emotions was evident on his face, the most prevalent ones being shock and disgust.
The girl took several steps backward and looked at his with an apologetic expression.
"Who are you?" Kyle uttered.
"My name is Samantha Cross. And I hereby challenge you, Kyle McCraine, to a duel."
"The stakes?" Kyle asked.
"The rarest card in my deck, if you win. If I win, that shield and Sanga of the Thunder. And you'll get your friend back."
"Accepted."
Four holographic projectors shot out to form the corners of an otherwise invisible square of a field on the empty street. The radio transmitters on the duel disks themselves made contact with each other and the orbiting KaibaCorp satellites.
The sections of their duel disks locked together and formed the miniature versions of the fields they would use, and their life point counters activated and set themselves at the default 4000.
"You challenged me," said Kyle, drawing his first five cards, "so I'll make the first move."
He drew his first card, and couldn't help but mentally roll his eyes. He didn't dare make any physical move, for fear of his opponent interpreting it, but he was annoyed at the hand he currently had. This isn't going to do me any good for defense this turn.
You can stop an attack for next turn.
Yeah, yeah... "I place four magic/trap cards face-down and end my turn."
Samantha narrowed her eyes as she drew her first card. "No defense? Maybe you're hiding something."
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't be playing face-down," Kyle retorted.
"Well, then, I'll just have to draw you out." She slipped a magic card into one of the open slots of her disk. "I activate the ritual magic card, Resurrection of Chakra."
A ritual monster on her first turn? How is that possible?
Anything's possible... but the odds should have been against her on that one...
"And then I tribute Crab Turtle (2550/2500) from my hand..."
A fleeting hologram of her Crab Turtle appeared on the field, but was just as quickly removed.
Kyle's eyes widened. Crab Turtle's a ritual monster, too... is this her strategy?
"... to play Chakra (2450/2000) in attack mode."
Suddenly, Kyle found himself confronted by a hovering, horrific, one-eyed creature that looked as if it had lived a previous life as a totem for the depths of the underworld. The cry it emitted only seemed to corroborate that. It was covered in pulsating red flesh and razored bone-claws, and its single, throbbing eye seemed to stare directly at Kyle.
"Don't worry, Kyle," Samantha said. Her tone was almost sympathetic... as if she somehow understood Kyle's plight. "I don't think they have any reason to hurt your friend. Once they have what they want, they've got no reason to keep her. And this duel will be over soon enough."
"What do you care?" Kyle snapped. "You're just here to get in my way. And the sooner you're out of my way, the better. Are you going to attack or not?"
She sighed, almost as if in disappointment. Her voice had a depth of sadness to it. "Kyle, if you understood, you would know that I know what you're going through." Her voice hardened after a moment of silence. "But as for the attack, may as well. Chakra, attack his Life Points!"
Chakra began to swivel in midair, and spun the spear-like projectile at the bottom of its form at Kyle.
Kyle pushed in one of the cards on his magic/trap field, activating it. "Never let someone bait you like that, Samantha. Activate Negate Attack!"
A swirling vortex of dark clouds appeared on Kyle's side of the field and engulfed Chakra. It turned into a tornado, and swept Chakra back to Samantha's side.
Samantha snorted. "Going to prolong the inevitable, are you? Fine, I'll place one more card face-down and end my turn."
Kyle ground his teeth as he drew his next card. This'll do. "I place one monster face-down on the field, and then I activate the magic card Raigeki."
Samantha's face scrunched up, and Kyle thought he could hear her curse under her breath. He didn't worry about it too much, though; he pushed in on Raigeki's button, and the holoprojectors made it appear as though a massive lightning bolt was surging down from the sky. It wrapped about Chakra and obliterated it completely, leaving only wisps of smoke behind.
Those holoprojectors are nothing if not gaudy.
I hear that. Kyle pushed in on another one of his face-down cards. "And you might enjoy this little number... Monster Reborn."
The all-too-familiar card of revival also flipped face-up on the holo-field. It's a shame I can't bring Crab Turtle back, since it wasn't summoned properly. On the other hand...
Chakra was. And is therefore susceptible to Monster Reborn. I know the rules, Kyle.
Hey, is it my fault you can hear my obvious thought processes? "I revive Chakra," Kyle announced. The voice-recognition systems in the complex technology of the disks was all too eager to process his commands, and the holoprojectors complied with his desires by making the grotesquely hideous creature reappear on Kyle's field.
That thing's even less attractive from the back than it is from the front!
What did you expect? It is a Shadow creature. Not all of them are as beautiful as Wingweaver or Mystical Elf. You cannot appreciate monsters simply for their beauty all the time.
Kyle ignored Theoris's retort and instead focused on the duel. Now's as good a time as any. He tried to avoid the creeping sense of deja vu as he declared, "Chakra, attack her Life Points!"
Again, Chakra began to spin in place, and it tilted into a diagonal position. It looked like a whirling spear, ready to lodge itself in Samantha's chest.
A moment later, it shot down and forward, striking her sternum. She was violently thrown back by the forcefields surrounding the tip of the spear, created to add to the realism of the duel. Fortunately, the forcefields were not so sharp as the spear-end appeared as though it should be.
She groaned as she got to her feet, her Life Points having rapidly dropped to 1550. The forcefields might not be sharp, but being hit by them was still not a pleasant experience, and neither was falling to your rear end in the middle of a street.
Kyle watched as she wiped at her eyes with the back of her right hand, and he frowned. Is she crying?
It appears more as if she is trying to stop herself from doing so.
She cleared her throat, and then asked, "Are you going to stand there gawking, or are you going to finish your turn?"
Kyle raised an eyebrow. "I'm done with my turn."
"Good." She drew her next card, then glanced up at Kyle. "Good thing you made use of Chakra when you did, because you're about to lose it. I activate Black Luster Ritual."
Kyle's eyes went wide again. Black Luster Soldier?! One of the hardest ritual monsters to come across, and she's got it?
"And then I tribute Zera the Mant (2800/2300) from my hand to accommodate the required eight level stars..."
As had been done with Crab Turtle, a hologram of the fiendish Zera the Mant appeared for a fleeting instant, and then just as quickly disappeared.
"...to play Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500) in attack mode."
A direct contrast to Chakra, Black Luster Soldier's appearance was such to make any male with a love for medieval times jealous of the dark armor he wore, not to mention the intricately carved shield and long scimitar. The hologram emitted a short grunt, as if to acknowledge the presence of enemy creatures.
"Black Luster Soldier, attack Chakra!"
Black Luster Soldier obediently charged forward and swung his jagged weapon at the demonic creature Kyle had stolen. Chakra shrieked upon the strike, then shattered into millions of shards – forcing Kyle's Life Points to fall to 3450.
Again... gaudy.
Duh.
"That ends my turn," said Samantha. There was no trace of smugness about her voice, an absence which was noticeable to Kyle and Theoris.
You'd think she'd be the least bit proud about what she just did. She knocked out some of my Life Points in the process of destroying the most powerful monster on my field.
Perhaps she is not proud because it was her own monster she destroyed. You, of all people, should know about taking pride in your own cards.
Or maybe she is proud and isn't showing it.
The bottom line is that neither of us knows, and at this point, it does not really matter.
Hear, hear. Kyle drew his next card. Hmm. No good now. I'll save this for later.
"I flip Magician of Faith (300/400)," Kyle announced, "and activate her flip effect to move Raigeki back to my hand."
There was a pained look on Samantha's face as the realization of this maneuver hit her. Guess she was expecting something different of my face-down... but now she knows there's nothing she could've done about it, anyway.
Kyle pulled Raigeki from his graveyard slot, and then slipped it into the magic/trap field again. "I activate Raigeki to destroy your Black Luster Soldier."
As it had been with Chakra, a great bolt of lightning streaked down from the sky – or simply the limit of the projectors' range; Kyle suddenly didn't feel so sure – and wreathed around Black Luster Soldier.
The armored Duel Monster let out an angry roar, but there was nothing he could do but simply remain in place.
The lightning incinerated him.
Better to just blow away her LP now and not let her come up with a defense. "Then I sacrifice Magician of Faith to play Millennium Golem (2000/2200) in attack mode."
Kyle could see Samantha grinding her teeth from across the field... but he could also see that she was activating the lone card on her magic/trap field, the one card she still had in her control.
"You should know better than that, Kyle. Activate Trap Hole."
The moment Millennium Golem appeared on the field, a holographic illusion of a massive crevice appeared beneath it and swallowed up the stone creature.
This time it was Kyle's turn to grind his teeth. "Fine, end turn." She's right, that was a stupid mistake. Should've played him face-down.
Her Life Points are still lower than yours, and she does not have any cards in her hand. She needs at least three to perform another ritual. That means you have at least three turns before she can summon another monster.
Yeah, but she's sure to have other defenses at her disposal, not just Trap Holes. Losing Chakra to me was more serendipity than anything else, and she's already demonstrated that she's got monsters much more powerful than Chakra. If she revives Soldier, I'm in trouble.
Meanwhile, Samantha had already drawn. A small grin crept across her face. "Okay, then. I play Pot of Greed and draw two cards."
This could be trouble.
Samantha pulled the next two cards off the top of her deck, and suddenly the small grin wasn't so small anymore. "I place one magic/trap face-down, then activate Monster Reborn on my Black Luster Soldier."
Kyle, one might hope that the next card you draw will save you...
Oh, you're a big help.
Black Luster Soldier reappeared on the field, as shiny and ready for battle as ever.
"Black Luster Soldier, attack Kyle's Life Points!"
Samantha's ever-feared warrior charged forth and thrust his scimitar at Kyle. Kyle flew back , skidded across the ground, and nearly struck a telephone pole with his head. He groaned; the hit had undoubtedly been more painful than Chakra's attack on her Life Points earlier. The force of the attacks were specifically designed to cause more pain the higher the attack power was.
And this one has just taken his Life Points down to 450.
He got back to his feet and spotted Samantha activating the card she'd just played face-down.
"Activate the magic card Sebek's Blessing," Samantha announced. "This fun little quick-play number increases my Life Points by the amount of Life Points I just deducted from you."
Just what I need, Kyle fumed as he watched her Life Points ascend to 4550. Her Life Points are higher than when we began dueling, and now I'm just barely hanging on to what's left of mine.
The duel isn't over yet, Kyle. Keep playing until it is.
"And that'll end my turn," Samantha finished.
Kyle drew his next card, his eyes clenched shut. C'mon, deck, pull me through...
His flicked up at Samantha, then down to the card.
"I play one monster face-down and end my turn," he announced.
Samantha sighed and gazed across the expanse. "Kyle, if you want to give up the duel, I'd understand. Then the loss wouldn't be so painful for you."
"No one ever said anything about giving up," Kyle retorted. "We're dueling to the death, here."
Those words seemed to strike Samantha. Her eyes suddenly held an emotion that Kyle couldn't immediately recognize.
She asked a question, but so quietly that Kyle couldn't hear her. He frowned. "What?"
"I said, 'Do you know?'"
"Know what?"
She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "Guess not. And how could you? Not like you knew me before today. Not like you would've cared."
His frown deepened. "What're you talking about?"
She shook her head. "Nothing. Let's get on with it."
Kyle blew his breath out his nose. "It's your turn." Whatever was on her mind, she'd almost been ready to tell him about it. Was it something I said?
You said "We are dueling to the death." That was when her manner changed.
Something to do with death, then? Is her life in danger?
Perhaps. Or perhaps it is the life of another.
She drew, then looked up. "Black Luster Soldier, attack his face-down monster!"
Black Luster Soldier raced forward once more and hacked at the holographic representation of a face-down Duel Monsters card. His scimitar struck the card, but didn't cut it in half, as would have happened with most others. Instead, the card flipped face-up and revealed a pink, snake-like creature in the picture. The creature appeared in 3D on the field, squealed, wrapped around Black Luster Soldier, and jammed its tail into the warrior's side.
Kyle smiled grimly. "That'll bring my Life Points back up."
"Kiseitai (300/800). Gross." Samantha shook her head. "I end my turn."
Kyle drew his next card with anxiety. What've we got? Ahh... this'll do. "I place one monster face-down, then play Swords of Revealing Light."
Samantha could do nothing but glare at Kyle as swords conjured of pure light surrounded her and Black Luster Soldier.
That'll keep my monsters safe, for the moment, and bring my Life Points back up at the same time. I rather like this arrangement. Kiseitai's not really worth anything in the way of a maintained defense, but...
You take what you can get. Understandable.
"And that'll end my turn," said Kyle.
Samantha drew her next card as Kyle's Life Points increased by half of her Soldier's attack points, bringing them up to 1950. She looked up at her opponent. "I'll end my turn."
Kyle drew. "I place another monster in defense mode and end my turn."
Samantha drew, and again, Kyle's Life Points increased, this time to 3450. "I play Graceful Charity."
Of course... there's no better card for someone who needs to draw the right thing at the right time.
Samantha pulled the top three cards from her deck, inspected them a moment alongside the other two in her hand, and then made her choice. "I discard Chakra and Turtle Oath, and end my turn."
Two turns gone. One more, and then my defenses'll be wiped out. At least my LP is still rising.
Kyle drew, then glanced at the one other card in his hand. Hmm... how much are you worth to me in my hand, and not on the field? Not much. He then glanced at the one he just drew. And you, you could help me or hurt me. And with an opponent like this one, your use is vital to one of us... but which one?
He glanced back at the one that had been in his hand. At this point, you're a bit more valuable. To the field you go.
"I sacrifice my two face-down monsters, Muka Muka (600/300) and Mystical Elf (800/2000), to place another monster in defense mode," Kyle announced. "And then I end my turn."
A smile flickered across Samantha's face. "Must be a Labyrinth Brother. Wonder which one it could be. But I suppose we'll find out soon enough."
"What makes you think it's even a Labyrinth Brother?" Kyle asked reasonably. "I've got other monsters in my deck that need two sacrifices."
"No monster with two sacrifices has the defense rating necessary to stop Black Luster Soldier's attack. That's all that really matters at this point."
"Well, not just that." Kyle offered a grim grin and tilted his Life Point counter toward her – his score had become 4950. "Kiseitai's still powering me up. You're gonna have to really go at it to knock me back down."
"Oh, yes, that." Samantha wrinkled her nose in annoyance of the parasite wrapped around her monster. "I'm loathe to do anything about it, but I suppose it has to happen sooner or later. I play Black Luster Ritual and sacrifice the Soldier on my field in favor of the one in my hand... happily pest-free."
The hologram of the infested Soldier disappeared, to be replaced by one almost identical to its predecessor, but sans the parasite.
Kyle clenched his fist in frustration as he discarded Kiseitai. She's gonna keep putting these high-powered monsters on the field until the cows come home! There's got to be some way to put a stop to it, but I don't have anything in my deck fast enough to stop the activation of a Magic card. And I can't Trap Hole any of her monsters, either.
You do not need to stop her from playing the monsters. All you need to do is put them back where they came from.
Easier said than done, when I've got about fifty cards to go through, yet.
Your deck has come through before. It will not fail you now, as long as you believe.
"And that ends my turn," she finished.
The Swords of Revealing Light vanished from the field, and Kyle moved that magic card to his graveyard slot.
This is where things are going to get interesting.
He drew his next card, and very nearly snorted in open derision. Trap Hole?! Allrighty, Deck, if you're trying to give me an excuse to play the other one, this was about as clear a signal as I'm ever going to get.
"I'll place another monster face-down and end my turn," he announced.
Samantha eyes him, her gaze suspicious. "You've got something up your sleeve. I can tell. I know that look."
"What look?"
"Don't be coy. You're waiting for something to turn the tide." She drew. "I place two magic/traps face-down, then attack the monster you just played."
Black Luster Soldier charged forth once more and sliced at the holographic card.
The card flipped at the last instant and revealed a face made of shadow, an unholy grin, and a single, glowing red eye.
"Let's see if my Morphing Jar does anything for either of us," said Kyle. He discarded Trap Hole and drew five new cards from the top of his deck.
Samantha, on the other hand, only needed to draw five cards. She'd already placed her entire hand on the field.
Kyle almost grinned at his new cards. This is good. This is really good.
Samantha shrugged. "It did okay for me." She pressed in one of the magic/traps she'd played earlier in the turn. "I'll activate Dark Magic Ritual from the field and sacrifice another Crab Turtle from my hand to bring out Magician of Black Chaos (2800/2600) in attack mode."
Just as Black Luster Soldier was the greatest ritual warrior to fear, Magician of Black Chaos was the greatest ritual spellcaster. The hologram that appeared on the field certainly backed up that claim. Magician's dark clothing hugged his form tightly; he held his long staff in one hand loosely, but also at the ready for any opposing monster. His yellow eyes glowed brightly, contrasting against his blue face and black garments. His arms were crossed in a display of contempt for his opponent. He hovered next to Soldier, waiting for his opportunity to attack.
Come next turn, he'll get his chance.
"That finishes my turn," said Samantha.
Kyle drew his next card. Doubly handy. "I place one magic/trap face-down and another monster in defense mode, and end my turn."
Samantha drew, her eyebrow rising. "Bolstering your defense?"
"What's it to you?"
She shrugged. "It makes little difference to me, really. Magician of Black Chaos, attack the monster he just played!"
Magician suddenly snapped out of the trance-like stare he'd fixed on Kyle, raised his staff high into the air, and leveled its business end at Kyle's second face-down monster. A blue bolt of energy emanated from the staff and snaked across the field.
Kyle pushed in the magic/trap he'd placed the previous turn. "Ah-ah. Activate Waboku."
The three-dimensional representation of the trap appeared as a crowd of white-haired magicians standing in the way of the bolt.
She shrugged again. "Fine, but I still get to see it."
"That you do. Reveal Sangan (1000/600)."
An ugly, pumpkin-shaped creature with three closed eyes appeared on the field, curled into a fetal position amongst its anorexic limbs.
Samantha chuckled. "Maybe you should've waited on that Waboku, Kyle. There are many monsters with useful effects which have an attack power of 1500 or less."
"I wouldn't be one to complain about it too much," Kyle stated. "Especially not when your opponent is depriving himself of that particular advantage."
"Who said I was complaining? But I'll end my turn there."
Kyle drew his next card. Something makes me feel like she's holding back.
How do you believe she is holding back?
This entire time, she's been hacking away at me with both monsters and magic/traps. Suddenly, she's not using them, and she's got something waiting on her field.
Maybe she is simply looking for the right opportunity.
Yeah, well, if it's a Trap Hole, my face-down is screwed over. Could very well be why she didn't attack it; she's waiting for me to flip it so she can destroy it with one well-placed trap. The monsters on her field are too powerful for me to make a single error.
You will not know them as errors until you play the game. So play. Whatever happens is whatever happens.
Forgive me if I take that as small comfort. "I place another magic/trap face-down and one monster face-down."
Here goes nothing...
"I switch Sangan to attack mode."
Sangan opened its three yellow eyes and uncurled. It raised its claws, as if to ward off its much taller, much more powerful enemies.
Samantha snorted. "Oh, please. Not even Megamorph has the strength to power Sangan up high enough to destroy either of my monsters. Don't mock me."
"And don't mock me by implying Megamorph would do me any good while my Life Points are higher than yours," Kyle retorted.
"Getting back to the point, how can you think putting Sangan in attack mode will help your case any?"
"This is how." Kyle slipped a card into one of his open magic/trap slots and activated it. "Take a look at Riryoku."
Her eyes widened.
You are going to cut the attack power of Black Luster Soldier in half and add that lost power to Sangan?
Kyle's response was to both Theoris' and Samantha's reactions. "Yep." Then, to benefit Samantha, he continued, "And I choose to call its effects on Black Luster Soldier and Sangan, respectively."
The 3D Riryoku card suddenly developed two tentacles. One glowed a blazing white, while the other was black and seemed to absorb all light cast in its direction. The black tentacle whipped across the field and wrapped around Black Luster Soldier.
The powerful warrior seemed to grow feeble, his armor and weaponry brittle and ready to shatter under a well-placed blow – his attack points had fallen to a mere 1500.
The brilliant tentacle encircled Sangan, meanwhile, and the ugly little monster appeared to grow to almost twice its size. Its thin limbs bulged with newfound muscles, and its eyes glowed with an inner power that only a card like Riryoku could have brought out as its attack grew to 2500.
Kyle spoke the words, even though to any other duelist's ear, they would have sounded utterly insane. "Sangan, attack Black Luster Soldier!"
Sangan obediently moved forward, though its method was curious, to say the least; instead of walking or floating, it rolled across the field, using the shape of its round body to its advantage. When it stopped in front of the impaired Soldier, it rose to its feet, brought one clawed fist back, and let it fly.
The fist caught Soldier squarely in the midsection, and the feared ritual monster became so much holographic broken glass.
Pro: She loses a thousand Life Points in the process.
Con: The effects of Riryoku only last to the end of your turn, and you cannot switch Sangan to defense mode.
"That ends my turn," Kyle announced, ignoring Theoris's smart remark.
Samantha snorted as she drew her next card. "My Magician could eat you alive now."
We'll see about that.
"Hm." She looked her hand over, then shrugged. "Might as well. I activate Change of Heart on the last face-down you played."
Kyle tried very hard to not clench his eyes and fists and groan. Unfortunately for him, he failed in avoiding all three of these actions.
The second 3D face-down card on Kyle's field transferred to Samantha's side. She glanced up and saw the consternation on Kyle's face; curious, she announced, "All right, I'll flip it face-up."
Kyle managed to restrain his reaction to a quiet round of grumbling, but he clearly was not happy with what she was doing with his monster.
A moment later, it became apparent to her why that was.
"Magician of Faith?" Samantha's tone was one of surprise. "I don't know what I'd been expecting, but that wasn't it."
"Whatever," Kyle mumbled. "Gonna use her effect, or what?"
"I think I will, now that you mention it," she responded. "And I'll bring back my Change of Heart card, to use once again on your other face-down monster."
Kyle groaned loudly as his other face-down went to her side. Samantha laughed. "Come on, Kyle, you should expect the best from me."
"Not that. I expect better of myself."
"You should. I flip this one face-up, too." Samantha's smug grin only widened when the card was revealed – Sanga of the Thunder (2600/2200). "I knew it was a Labyrinth Brother. And it's the strongest one, no less."
"So go ahead and use him and just get it overwith," Kyle snapped.
Samantha's look was one of annoyance. "You know, Kyle, you're not the only one here who's impatient about all this. I'd love for this duel to be finished this instant, but as long as you put up a fight, that's not going to happen."
"I could say the same for you," Kyle barked. "But at least I'm still holding to my values, instead of doing some crazy man's work for him. Ever thought that you might be on the wrong side of this conflict?"
"I didn't take sides, Kyle. I got caught in the middle."
"Yeah, right."
Samantha's face darkened, and she spat out a curse. "Believe what you want! But you, of all people, ought to be able to understand what I'm going through." She held up one of the five cards in her hand, its back facing Kyle. "And if you have any doubts about how determined I am, just you watch. I sacrifice both Magician of Faith and Sanga of the Thunder to play this!"
She violently slapped a monster card face-up on her duel disk.
Kyle discarded Sanga and Magician to his graveyard, frowning in confusion as her announcement rang in his mind. I thought she used ritual monsters. Now she's playing normally? Or did she forget to use a ritual card?
I do not think so, Kyle... lay your eyes upon the monster she is summoning.
Kyle did so.
His eyes widened.
"That's right, Kyle," Samantha uttered, her tone possessed of a grim finality. "This is the last Duel Monster you'll ever need to set eyes on. The Duel Monster that will save my brother."
Kyle didn't – couldn't – respond.
She shoved a finger in Sangan's direction, and shouted out her command.
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500), destroy Sangan!"