Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh!
Author's Note: I think I'll be including a 'Quote of the Chapter' in each chapter from now on. I'll be taking various quotes from different sources to put here. I hope you like em'. This first one is intended as a jibe towards the whole idea of problems being settled through a card game as they are in Yu-gi-oh. Not that I mind for without that what story would I have. It is also a salute to an author who while I don't perfectly enjoy his work, I find him to be a brilliant man and quite funny.
Chapter Fifteen: A Change of Decks
"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him." -Mark Twain
Yugi and Yami were deep in conversation. They weren't in the middle of watching a duel because Kaiba had to bring a clean up crew before the next duel could continue. The CEO had informed them that there was no possible way to stop the tournament, so they had to continue for everyone's good.
"Something doesn't seem right Yami, and I'm not talking about the lunatic out there killing people. Its about what Shadi mentioned when he first visited us...that all the Millennium Items were onboard...but he said they were on board "in a manner of speaking". What did he mean?"
The former Pharaoh 'sat' across from his partner, rubbing his chin in contemplation. He had been considering that very thing for a while now, but particularly since seeing Shadi dead. He could account for the Puzzle of course, and Shadi had possessed the Scales and Ankh. Presumably Taichi had taken those. Bakura had the Ring, but since nobody had seen him in a while Taichi probably had that as well. Isis had the Tauk, but she should still be back in Domino. Pegasus had the eye, so that was accounted for. Malik had the....
"The Rod! After Dalin defeat Malik we completely forgot about the Millennium Rod! Taichi must have that as well now! If that's the case...then he has four of the seven items. His power grows with each opponent he defeats. Soon he'll be too strong to stop!"
Their fears starting to come together, the two duelists continued contemplating Shadi's words, unaware of how devastatingly true they were, and how it would soon effect them all. Nor were they aware that every hour that passed by was another hour closer to end of all things.
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Roughly twelve hours, that was how long was left. In just about twelve hours something would happen that would end the world. Dalin had been counting, and with every minute that was used up cleaning away Shadi's body was another minute closer to losing everything. It was his duel next and they had to get it out of the way!
He paced his room, waiting for the moment when Kaiba would announce the beginning of the duel. He had to do something before he went crazy! Letting out a cry of frustration he dropped into a chair and snatched his deck off the table. He flicked through it until he came across Ra. He had considered adapting his deck to fit Ra, but had quickly realized that his deck was just as suited to Ra as Malik's had been, but in a different way.
He knew that Malik's deck was a cemetery recursion deck, designed primarily to get his heavy hitters in the grave and keep bringing them out. In Malik's case the monster he had designed his deck to recycle in and out of his cemetery was Ra, specifically by recycling his Monster Reborn.
Dalin's deck on the other hand was perfect for Ra's life point draining ability. With the number of life points he could quickly gain he could make Ra an unstoppable force quite easily. As for sacrifices, once he had his key card in play then it would be simple to get and keep the monsters he needed.
He searched through the deck again, and came across the two cards he had been looking for. The same two cards that had been given to him by Rishid before Dalin had faced Malik. Both cards were useful...and in certain cases could prove to be extremely powerful. There was just one card that was missing to complete the combo...and if he was correct then he had purchased that card on instinct while in Egypt.
Perhaps fate was on his side. "Will Mai Valentine and Dalin Sumatin report to the dueling ring immediately? I repeat, will Mai Valentine and Dalin Sumatin report toe the dueling ring immediately?"
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Two teenagers, one seventeen and one eighteen, were in the middle of an argument. Should the argument lead to fists it would be a display of great skill on both sides, and probably end with broken bones. Fortunately they weren't angry enough for it to lead to that.
"I tell you it was Malik who left those cards for us!" This man, the seventeen year old, was Ryu Shigeru. His experience with gangs and his experiences with the Rare Hunters during Battle City had him certain that it was Malik who had left the twelve locator cards with their names on them. The cards that allowed the two to compete in the tournament, even though both were defeated in the first round.
"It was that psycho freak Taichi, not your psycho freak. I don't know why he did it but I'm certain he's the one who left those locator cards for us!" This other man, the eighteen year old, was Takuya Shinomori, also known as Kensai. An experienced member of the Geokigo Dojo and one of the highest ranking martial artists in the world in his age division.
Kensai felt that he was right because he possessed what he called "warrior's instinct". He also said that Malik had no reason to be interested in himself, since the psycho hadn't ever heard of him. Taichi might have, so he was the more likely candidate.
The girl listening from the room opposite theirs, Hinata Donovan, saw things from a different angle then the other two. At sixteen she had lived through a number of things, including the death of her brother in a gang war. She was also better educated then the two older men, making her believe that she had it right.
In her educated opinion, the one who had supplied those locator cards for them was none other then the tournament coordinator himself. Seto Kaiba. She felt that the person who could have gotten those twelve locator cards the easiest was the same person who had created them. She could also see reasons for Kaiba to supply them both with the cards into the tournament.
Kaiba had vast resources, and he could most likely track all the cards that were played in the tournament. If that was the case then he knew that another Blue Eyes had been played, and that it had changed hands to Ryu...at least he probably knew. That would be his reasoning behind his giving locator cards to Ryu. Being the card obsessed rich snob that he was, Kaiba would want the Blue Eyes himself, to get rid of any competition.
As for Kensai, that was most likely a similar reason. What she had seen of the duel between Kensai and Drake had shown her that Kensai had a monster with a strength equal to the Blue Eyes. Antyhing that powerful Kaiba would definitely want to add to his collection, so he gave Kensai the cards so that eventually Kaiba might take the card from him in the tournament.
"I don't get why they argue. Its not like they can ask Malik and find out. They can't ask Taichi either because he's so freaking pyscho he'd probably attack em for no reason. Kaiba they can ask, and I bet if they do they'd found out I'm right. But no! They can't even think far enough ahead to consider asking someone!"
The sudden silence alerted her that something was up. Those two had been arguing back and forth with no progress for so long now that it didn't seem like they'd just stop yelling and quiet down without good reason. "Uh-oh..."
"Thanks Hinata! Your suggestion was really helpful! Stay busy while we go ask Taichi whether he gave us those locator cards!"
Hinata stared blankly ahead for a second before she managed to take it all in. They were going to ask the murderous psycho if he had given them their locator cards?! They really were idiots! "If I don't go stop them those idiots are going to get themselves killed!"
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Dalin stopped at his spot in the dueling arena, and readied his duel disk. Casually he took his deck out and started to shuffle it, he's hands moving at incredible speeds. Anyone looking closely couldn't have kept track of his hands and the cards that he shuffled.
At the moment he was the only of the two duelists here. Mai had yet to show up, and she only had a few minutes left before he was declared the victor by default. It seemed Kaiba was going to enforce such things because of the time that had been taken up in clean-up.
Dalin turned as the elevator door opened and the blond duelist stepped out, duel disk at the ready. He saw her eyes go completely wide as she saw how fast he was shuffling his cards. At that moment a light went off in her head, and she rushed over to Kaiba, who was standing passively to one side waiting for the duel to get started.
"Kaiba, you have to cancel this duel and kick this guy out!" Those present gasped in surprise and Dalin turned a furious gaze upon the smaller woman. How dare she! What did she think she was doing, trying to get him out of the tournament like that!
"On what grounds?" As she started speaking, Dalin hopped down from the ring, and approached the two. He was fully aware that as muscular and tall as he was, and with no sleeves he'd look even more imposing then he usually did. With spike back golden-blond hair he certainly appeared dangerous, and he added to that effect by glaring at the blond woman.
"Just now, when I saw him shuffling his deck, I remembered something that's been bothering me for awhile. The name Dalin Sumatin. I finally remembered hearing about a grifted who tore up Vegas a few years back. A Thai-American who was a dealer at over a dozen casinos before people started to catch on that he never lost because he was so fast at shuffling that nobody could see him arrange the deck to his liking. After that he took on duel monsters and took all sorts of duelists apart, always winning because his deck was always arranged like he wanted it."
All eyes were now turned upon Dalin Sumatin, now suspected grifter. If that was truly the case, then it would explain why he was able to crush Malik so easily. It would also mean that he'd be kicked out of the tournament for sure...if it was true.
Dalin rolled his eyes, staring the two down with his cold blue eyes. He turned his gaze upon Mai, a sneer on his face. "I may or may not be that person who you said, but I remember nothing of that time. All I remember is what Malik has told me, and brief flashes of the past. It was Malik who discovered me after I awoke in Egypt, and it was he who told me who I am. So I have a proposition to make."
The blond arched an eyebrow at him, Kaiba merely looked him in the eyes, meeting him glare for glare. In that brief moment Dalin realized that Kaiba had not merely delayed the duel for clean-up, he had been hoping for something to happen, and he was now upset because it hadn't. "Okay Dalin, what proposition might that be?"
The golden-blond haired duelist raised his arm and pressed a special button on top of the deck slot. With a click the holder raised up and his deck was ejected, allowing him to pick it up. He grabbed the deck and extended it to the woman in front of him.
"You don't trust me to shuffle, and I don't think you'll call for your own shuffling being enough. So I propose that you use my deck and I use yours. With no knowledge of specifically what cards you have or where they might be I have no way of shuffling the deck to my liking. The summary, we swap decks."
Mai stared hard at his extended deck, then back at the deck in her duel disk. After several moments of this she looked up and gave him a small smile. "I've always liked a challenge, and this seems like a fair one to me. I accept."
The two duelist swapped deck and shuffled those decks. Each of them handed their "new" deck to Kaiba, who cut each deck three times before handing them back. Satisfied they both took their decks and took their places on the dueling field.
With a click their duel disks activated, shifting into dueling position. The life point counters rose to four thousand on each one and the field's holographic projectors activated. The ref raised one arm into the air to declare the start of the duel. With the practiced action of professionals the two duelists drew their opening hands and announced their start. "Duel Start!"
Mai grinned as she took the opportunity and the privilege of going first. She slipped the top card of her, or rather her opponent's deck, out from under the holder. She quickly added it to her hand and assessed her options. She spotted two cards that seemed highly usable for the moment...one of which seemed like it didn't fit in a man like Dalin's deck.
"I'll start this duel off by setting up one card and then summoning Dancing Faeries(17000/1000) in defense mode!" The face down card appeared, and soon after the out of place card appeared as well. A large rose materialized on the field, and then opened up, revealing its precious contents.
Three tiny little girls with angel wings sat in a circle inside the rose, playing some kind of game with each other. Two of them had red hair and the third had dark blond hair. They certainly didn't seem menacing. The sheer cuteness factor of the card produced a sweat drop from everyone present, except for the two duelists. "End turn!"
Dalin smirked and then placed the top card from Mai's deck into his hand, watching as the deck holder dropped down to hold the rest of his, or rather her, cards carefully. He didn't know a lot about her deck strategy, but just by reading the effects of the cards in his hand he was able to get a general idea of what his first move should be.
"I'll begin by summoning Cyber Harpy(1800/1300) in attack mode! Next I'll equip her with Arrow Claw to boost her attack strength by three hundred!" Appearing in front of Dalin was a monster that was far more impressive then the defensive monster in front of Mai. However Dalin knew quite while that the monster's effect made up for its lackluster appearance. He just hoped Mai never got his key card.
The harpy with its blue wings and skin had a body armor on it, making it more fearsome looking then the regular Harpy Lady. It was the same kind of armor that would appear on Harpy Lady when equipped with Cyber Shield. However now the monster was equipped with a sharp claw that extended nearly a foot out from its hand.
"I'll continue by playing the magic card Ten Thousand Reflections, to triple my harpy and to create her sisters!" As the rest of those present had seen several times before, the harpy shimmered for a moment before distorting. Soon two different harpies flanked the original, looking just as deadly as the first. Like the first they had a boosted attack rating of 2100, making them a fearsome army.
(A.N.-I chose to use Ten Thousand Reflections as a statement to one simple fact. Elegant Egotist has nothing to do with what the card actually does! Therefore I stuck with the name that made more sense. If anyone is offended by my use of the japanese card's name...I don't care.)
"I'll set up one card and then end my turn. I have to say Mai, your deck is pretty clever. I'm impressed." Despite the fact that he knew Dancing Faeries' effect, he was forced to abstain from attacking this turn, as per the effect of the Ten Thousand Reflections card. Now, the instant Mai drew a card she'd get a boost in life points, putting her farther ahead of Dalin. But then again, that was to be expected from his deck. He'd just have to smash her quickly.
Mai smirked as she picked up another card and placed it into her hand. Then the effect of her angel monster activated. The three little angels turned and giggled as they blew rose petals at her. They whirled about her body created a gentle and refreshing breeze, particularly refreshing to her life points. (MLP: 5000)
"I'll start this turn off by summoning Zolga(1700/1000) in attack mode!" Mai's newest monster was essentially a flying geometric shape with a cape. Despite its strange appearance the monster was actually an angel sub-type, leading her to believe that all of his monsters were except for a rare few. Seemed strange to see a man using angel monsters.
"Open face down card, Reflective Mirror! Now I'll get two more Cyber Harpies!" Mai gasped as one of her better trap cards flipped up, revealing a mirror that had three parts to it. Its effect would allow Dalin to special summon harpy tokens equal to the number of monsters she had on the field. The harpy tokens would take on the attributes of one Harpy Lady or Cyber Harpy that was on the field.
Now Dalin had an army of five Cyber Harpies, each with a respectable attack strength of 2100. If he was able to get rid of her defenses then he'd be able to cut through her life points in one turn. She'd just have to prevent that. "I'll now activate my own face down card, Altar For Tribute! I'll sacrifice my Zolga to increase my life points by seventeen hundred!"
The floating geometric shape was placed onto a giant alter, and then shattered with a pulse of energy. All that remained was a floating orb of the purest nature, and in seconds that orb had shot forwards and collided with Mai, not damaging her but instead giving her greater health. (MLP: 6700) "I'll set a single card face down and then end my turn. Back to you Dalin."
With the card he had just drawn Dalin now had three cards in his hand. Two of them he could play right now to make this duel much easier. Mai certainly had a way with her cards. It appeared that she was an expert duelist and an expert deck builder in her own right. "I'll sacrifice two of my five harpies for Harpies Pet Dragon(2000/2500)! With three harpies on the field its attack is boosted to 2900 and its defense to 3400, making it more then a match for any monster you can summon. Trust me, I know."
The dragon was big and a pinkish color. Its long, leathery wings ended in curved talons capable of easily rending flesh from even the toughest of creatures. Its long ears twitched briefly as one of the harpies stroked its head. Another one of the harpies gladly took up the long thick chain that trailed from its neck. This was the ultimate weapon of a harpy deck, the servant of the harpies.
"Now its time for me to cut down your defenses without attacking, I play Phoenix Formation!" Mai gasped as one of her deadliest magic cards was activated. She had no way to stop it either! In moments her monster would be gone and she'd be virtually defenseless!
The three harpies leapt into the air and formed a triangle formation. A bright fire ignites behind them and then engulfs them. Forming from the fire is the massive shape of a burning phoenix. The phoenix formation surged higher into the air and then came diving down, colliding with the rose and its inhabitants, burning them to cinders in mere seconds. (MLP: 5000)
The fire extinguished itself and the three harpies touched down, briefly patting the head of their pat before turning their eyes upon their former master's unguarded life points. Due to the effect of Phoenix Formation Mai had lost the attack strength of the monster that was destroyed, but now the three harpies couldn't attack. "Harpie's Pet Dragon, attack Mai directly with Blazing Flame!"
The large dragon reared up and set its sights on Mai. Then it lunged its head forward and belched out a gout of flame. The fire streaked towards Mai's unguarded life points, only to strike upon a metal shield. Extending out from the shield was a field of energy that sent funnels of blue flame running down into Mai's duel disk. "My...or should I say your trap card Drain Shield negates the attack and gives me my dragon's attack strength. Thanks Dalin, you just helped me out."
(MLP: 7900) Mai quickly pulled the first card off her deck, knowing she had to come up with something good or else in the next turn she'd be finished. She started looking carefully at the effects of each of the cards in her hand, trying to come up with a good strategy that could keep her from getting taken out. After nearly a minute of thinking it through the cards connected, and she realized what she could do.
"I'll summon Venus, Angel of Creation(1600/0) in attack mode!" As Dalin started considering what sort of move she might be taking, putting an obviously out powered monster in attack mode, he realized she might have his key card. If she did then it was as good as over for him. He barely even noticed as the blond angel appeared on the field, wings extended, arms crossed over her chest. The three spheres that circled her, one red, one blue, one purple, all swirled ominously, portending something dangerous to come.
"Now I'll play these two magic cards to seal your fate! Demotion and Camouflage Armor!" The angel that stood its ground on Mai's field was surrounded by a pure white light as the two equip cards started to take effect. With a flicker of power the angel vanished into thin air, leaving only the three glowing spheres behind. However the shape of the angel could vaguely be made out.
On the side lines several of the onlookers tried to figure out exactly what was going on. To do so they turned to who the knew to be the most knowledgeable source, Yugi. Tea stepped up behind him and voiced everyone else's question. "What's that combo do Yugi? Why is Mai so confidant that its going to win the game for her?"
Yugi stared hard at the field for several seconds in deep thought. Suddenly he let out a gasp as he made the connection, and whirled to face the others. The look on his face was enough to tell them that Mai's confidence was well founded.
"I just remembered what Camouflage Armor did from when Dalin used it in his last duel. It allows any one start monster to attack directly. Demotion decreases the level of the monster it's equipped on by two. Playing them in combination means a three star monster like Venus, with a fairly high attack strength, can attack directly, even if Dalin has monsters on the field!"
Mai smirked and raised on dainty arm to point at her opponent, then she gave the command to her angel. "Venus, attack your former master's life points directly!" The invisible angel got to work immediately. A bright blue glow of energy swirled between the three colorful spheres, and then at its peak of energy a reaction occurred. A beam of that same blue energy spiked out from the space between the spheres and struck Dalin in the chest, doing major damage to his life points.
(DLP: 2400) The blond beauty plucked the last card from her hand and set it in the slot coinciding with Venus' monster zone. "I'll set my remaining card behind Venus. Now back to you grifter-boy."
Dalin grimaced and snatched the first card off of his new deck and then took a look at its effect. At the moment he had few options, so he'd have to work fast to get rid of Venus. Otherwise in two more attacks he'd be finished for sure! "I play the magic card Zone Expansion, to allow me to play monsters in my magic zones and magic and trap cards in my monster zones!"
He let out a deep breath and then slammed his next card down onto one of his monster zone's, the one to the right of his pet dragon. "I summon Cyber Harpy(1800/1300) and have her attack Venus!" The new harpy, this one not equipped with the Arrow Claw like the other three, took flight immediately after it appeared on the field. With its presence the pet dragon was powered up to 3200, and once it cleared the way he'd be able to go on a full-scale offensive.
The harpy swooped down upon Venus and swept its claws down to strike the angel. However at the last moment a red barrier of energy appeared in front of it, stopping its strike and sending ripples throughout the barrier. Unable to get through the harpy returned to Dalin's side of the field and floated next to its sisters. "The Energy Absorption trap card negates your attack, increases my life points by half of your monster's attack, and then ends your battle phase!"
(MLP: 8800) Dalin groaned in frustration as he was forced to end his turn, unable to make any other move. Now Mai had another free attack, and with it she could nearly wipe out his life points. The blond woman smirked and put a new card in her hand. She looked down at it and immediately played it on the field. "I'll set a monster in defense mode. Now Venus will attack your life points again!"
A brown-backed monster card shimmered into place next to the invisible angel. Then the angel charge its blue heavenly energies between its three faithful partners, the Holy Shine Spheres, gathering its energy for one tremendous blast. Finally the heavenly energies lept from between the spheres and sent Dalin staggering. (DLP: 800)
The golden blonde duelist let a small smile cross his face as he played his newly drawn card. In moments he would have new options of attack. "Activate magic card, Card of Sanctity, allowing us both to draw cards until we have six in our hands."
Each duelist quietly slipped the six cards from their respective decks and then unfurled them like a fan. For the next several seconds the two duelists inspected their new cards, considering the options that had been opened to them with their new hands. "I play Ten Thousand Reflections, to bring out two more of the more powerful harpies!"
One of Dalin's powered up harpies, not necessarily the original, was taken under the effect of the magic card, and in moments two more hovered behind that one, each with a different style of hair and a different coloring to it. With the addition of these two harpies the pet dragon got a boost to 3800.
Dalin started to command one of his harpies to attack Venus, but when he got no response he realized exactly what the monster was that Mai had face down. The Guardian Angel, whose effect would keep Dalin from attacking it or any other angel sub-type monster as long as there was at least one other angel-subtype on the field with it. "I know what you're hiding...so I'll get around it with Magic Shard Excavation, discarding two magic cards from my hand to retrieve one magic card from the cemetery!"
He slipped the two magic cards into his cemetery and then ejected one of his other cards. Grinning he activated his newest card in order to get rid of the immediate threat, Venus. "I play my recovered magic card, Phoenix Formation!"
The six powerful harpies let out a shrilling shriek as they flew into the air, arranging themselves in a specialized formation. A spark ignited between them, and in moments they were engulfed by the blazing image of a fiery phoenix. The phoenix swooped down from the sky and crashed into the female angel.
The feminine angel let out a quick cry as the flames of the phoenix consumed her, but even her heavenly powers were unable to save her from being burnt to a cinder. Soon even the dust had been burned away, leaving no trace that the angel had ever existed. (MLP: 7200)
"Now, Harpies Pet Dragon(3800/4300), attack and destroy Mai's last defense!" The massive dragon, now joined once again by its harpy owners, reared its head back in preparation for the strike. With a quick whipping motion it shot its head forward and breathed forth a cloud of flame that easily consumed the Guardian Angel, leaving little trace.
"I now play the magic card, Second Blow! At a cost of half my life points one of my monsters may attack a second time during this turn. So Harpies Pet Dragon, direct attack!" Recovering from its previous attack, the dragon took in a huge breath, and then let it out in one thick stream of fire that cascaded around Mai, leaving no room for escape. (MLP: 3400, DLP: 400)
As soon as Dalin's turn was over Mai drew her seventh card and then started a quick strategy. She needed to quickly regain control over this duel, otherwise she'd quickly be finished. Luckily she had a strategy that could make quick work of that. "I set one monster in defense, and then I play Monster Reborn, to revive my Guardian Angel(0/2500) in defense mode!"
Next to the floating defensive card appeared a large and well-built male angel. He wore merely a loin-cloth and each arm held a fair sized shield. However it was his wings that were the true defense. Each wing was like a thick plate of solid steel, shining in the sun as a virtually impenetrable wall as he closed them about his body, protecting himself from harm.
"I'll set up two cards and then end my turn." The two brown-backed cards blinked into view, one behind each monster card. The two cards were the bulk of her strategy, so she had to hope that Dalin didn't already have or didn't draw her Harpie's Feather Duster card.
Dalin glanced at the single card in his hand and grimaced, noting that it wasn't what he needed. Knowing the sort of deck she used, he knew she would have the rare and powerful Harpie's Feather Duster. If he drew that he'd probably be able to cut straight through her strategy.
He drew and then tried not to show his disappointment. According to the effect on the card it was useful, but it wasn't he had been hoping for. He'd just have to make do. "I'll set a monster in defense mode, and attack Guardian Angel with my Pet Dragon!"
His dragon unleashed a blossom of expanding fire at the angel's defensive wings, hoping to clip them out from under it. But at the last moment one of Mai's face down cards flipped up. "Activate Soul Bubble!" The dragon sagged, a small cloud of vapor issuing from its mouth and wafting over to be absorbed into Mai's duel disk. Guardian Angel however was not so lucky, as it was vaporized by the powerful flames. By the effect of the trap card, Mai would now gain half his monster's attack strength. (MLP: 5300)
"If that's how this will work, I'll just send my weakest harpy to attack your face down monster. Harpy Claw!" The weakest of the Cyber Harpies flew away from its companions and proved itself by slicing through Mai's defensive monster. Dalin groaned as a flying squirrel appeared for a brief second before vanishing in a cloud of holographic dust. (MLP: 6300)
She grinned triumphantly as she used the effect of Nimble Momonga, the monster he had destroyed, to raise her life points by 1000 and special summon the other two in defense mode. Now to open the way he'd have to increase her life points by 2000 more...but it would have to be done to cause any real damage. "I'll send two more harpies in to attack and finish of the Nimble Momongas!"
Two of the powered up harpies, his most recent two, swept down upon the defending squirrels and crushed them with their equipped talon, sending motes of light scattering across the field. Of course Mai reaped the reward of the destruction of the two squirrels, greedily soaking up her new life points. (MLP: 8300)
Clenching his ringed hand in front of him he gave his harsh command to the remaining three harpies, his original three from the first turn. Now was his chance to deal some damage and cut Mai's life points down, it had to be done. "Harpy Lady Sisters(2100/1300X3), attack Mai's life points directly!"
"Activate Nutrient Z!" Dalin grimaced as her life points shot up by four thousand all the way to 12300 just before the three harpies struck. Each taloned blow knocked Mai backwards a few feet, the final one nearly knocking her over the edge of the platform that they stood upon. Unfortunately for Dalin he had been unable to gather any serious damage, and Mai had successfully recovered from his previous turn. (MLP: 6000)
The female duelist placed a card in her hand as soon as she was certain that Dalin was finished. There weren't too many moves she could make, but she had one that would be devastating too him. Not only could she stall for time to draw a good card, but she could protect herself as well. "I'll just set up one card, and a monster in defense mode."
Dalin nodded and slipped another card out from underneath the deck holder. The card he had drawn would work perfectly with his face down monster, though it would have been better to have been another card. "I'll flip my face down Harpy Summoner, who when flipped lets me sacrifice him to special summon one Harpy Lady or Cyber Harpy from my hand, deck, or cemetery to the field in his place!"
Mai groaned as the little witch doctor harpy vanished and was replaced by the monster Dalin had just drawn, the third and final Cyber Harpy(1800/1300). Worse yet was the effect that it had on the current situation. With a total of seven harpies on the field the pet dragon was receiving a massive boost in both attack and defense strength. Its stats now stood at an awe inspiring 4100 attack and 4600 defense. She could only think of two monster's off the top of her head that could beat that kind of attack strength. She doubted this deck had one of those.
"Cyber Harpy number seven, attack and destroy her defense monster!" The newest harpy flapped its powerful wings and rose into the air. Then it streaked across the field to attack Mai's defense monster. However it was met by Mai's face down card.
"Reveal Racial Trial! Its effect lets me keep any of your monsters of a stated sub-type from attacking, and I'll choose winged beast to keep those seven harpies from going all out on me. All I need to do is discard one card from my hand each standby phase and I'll be set."
With a snarl of frustration Dalin gave the command for his only available attacker, Harpie's Pet Dragon, to attack Mai's defense monster. When the flame struck the monster it failed to destroy it, and a worm like monster launched itself at the dragon and wrapped around the dragon's head. "Damn it! Its Kisetai!" He pounded one fist into his thigh in a display of frustrated anger, and then motioned for Mai to take her turn.
She drew, and thanks to the effect of Kisetai she gained half the attack strength of his pet dragon to her life points. Now she'd recover quickly while he remained unable to attack with his other monsters. (MLP: 8050) She smirked and discard one card from her hand to pay for Racial Trial. "I'll set one monster in defense mode. That'll be all."
Dalin drew his card and suddenly realized the bind that he had found himself in. There were two ways he could open up the way for the attack. The first was for Mai to be unable to discard for Racial Trial in her next turn, though that didn't seem likely since she still had one card in her hand.
The second was for him to use a magic removal card, but that option was no longer valid. He had trapped himself using her combos. On his field were a total of eight monsters, one equip card, and the magic card Zone Expansion that made it all possible. The problem was that with all ten of his zones taken up he had absolutely no way of using a magic removal card, or any other new card for that matter. He had no options at all!
"Harpy's Pet Dragon, attack and destroy Mai's defense monster!" His only usable monster, the pet dragon, unleashed a long stream of flame that consumed Mai's defense monster. Upon seeing what it was Dalin wished he hadn't attacked, because he recognized the monster he had destroyed. He let out a groan as bright ball of light rose up between the two and then exploded, knocking both of them off their feet.
As the two pulled themselves to their feet, Mai got her chance to gloat at the fallen fellow. "I guess you recognize the effect of your own monster, Angel of Despair(1000/1000). Because your life points were lower then mine when it was destroyed we both lost life points equal to half of your total before it was destroyed. For me that's hardly anything, for you that's almost everything!" (MLP: 7850, DLP: 200)
Mai smirked as she drew and watched her life points soar to a point higher then they had reached ever before in this duel. At least reached and stayed there for more then a second. (MLP: 9900) She slid a single card into her cemetery pile, but found that she was unable to make a move. She sighed as she realized that her hard earned life points were about to take another dip. "End turn."
Dalin smirked as he hastily drew his next card. It was another formation card, this time a trap, but in his current position he couldn't use it. Not that it mattered as he had a clear path to her life points. Now was not the time to dally, now was the time to attack! "Pet Dragon, burn her life points with your deadly flames!"
The dragon happily belched out its flame attack, sending it in a spiral that surrounded and burnt Mai. Though it seemed like the flames were hot, in reality they were merely holographic, and therefore she wasn't actually hurt. Her life points on the other hand had been reduced by nearly half. (MLP: 5800)
With a single draw Mai undid most of the damage that Dalin had done just moments before. Exactly half of what he had just accomplished was a memory now, unimportant in the current scheme of things. (MLP: 7850) She casually discarded one of her two cards, and then made an important choice. If she could single tribute monster, and she could keep her monsters out long enough, then she'd be able to finish Dalin off by destroying his weaker harpies. "I set a monster face down and end my turn!"
The muscular duelist added a fourth card to his hand and immediately called out his only option. To attack with the pet dragon. Its fire attack struck the defense monster, revealing a man in monk robes with short wings popping out of his back. "Sorry Dalin, but by destroying Ascending Man(500/1200) you let me summon another one in defense mode, and my life points increase by 500!" (MLP: 8350)
"I know that! Its my card! Grrr...I'll switch each of my harpies to defense mode, to protect them. End turn!" Mai let out a quiet groan as he saw through her plan, keeping her from winning even if she drew a sacrificeable monster. Now she had to hope for some sort of direct damage card...and soon. With no cards in her hand, the instant she drew she'd have to discard what she drew or face losing Racial Trial. Unless it was good she couldn't afford to do that.
"Draw!" (MLP: 10400) Her life points soared, but the card she had drawn wouldn't be able to help her. Sadly she discarded it, keeping Racial Trial in play for another turn at the very least. Hopefully with the help of Ascending Man she'd be able to get what she needed.
Once Dalin saw the signal to start his turn he drew, but finding no way to get rid of his current lock he was forced into the only available move. The move he had been using far too often over this past turns. It was starting to get old. For the second time in as many turns his dragon scorched an Ascending Man, letting me summon the final one in defense mode and increase her life points yet again. Dalin was starting to understand how annoying his deck could be. (MLP: 10900)
(MLP: 12950) The female duelist tried not to tear her hair out as she got yet another card she couldn't use. Sure it was a good card, but it wasn't worth keeping just to lose her only true defense. Grimacing she sent it to the cemetery, and passed her turn.
Despite having six cards in his hand, Dalin was still out of options. Hell, he didn't know any way he could get out of this bind. He just had to hope he was able to get past Mai's ever increasing life points before she could finish him off with a direct damage card of some kind.
As the last Ascending Man vanished under a sea of scorching hot flames Mai knew that she was just about out of time. With no monster to guard her and her only remaining defense being Racial Trial she had to get something to finish the duel in this turn, or else she'd start to take a serious beating.
She plucked free her next card and slowly turned it over to reveal...a one tribute monster! Of all the times to get what she had hoped for earlier why now? She dropped it into the cemetery and signaled the end of her turn. (MLP: 15500)
Dalin took a deep breath and drew his next card. He glanced down at it and then slowly turned his gaze up to Mai. Her eyes widened in fright as she saw the confidant look on his face. Now was his chance to take up the mantle of victor. He would win!
"Thank you Mai. Not only have you let me prove myself, you've also given me a chance to improve myself by dueling with cards I'm not used to. Also, I want to thank you for helping me win this duel. Because I was beginning to think you had only one monster that required sacrifices. Turns out you have two, though they are both one and the same! Watch and learn as I tribute my two weakest harpies for Harpie's Pet Dragon(3500/4000) in attack mode!"
With a crash of thunder a second massive dragon appeared beside the second. The two snapped at each other before a quick tug on the chains that hung around their necks stopped their fussing. Both mighty dragons pressed the heads against their respective handlers, receiving a calming pat on the head in return. "Because this monster requires two tributes it helped me open up one of my zones, and that will allow me to play Harpie's Feather Duster!"
Mai let out a sharp gasp as the magical wind blew out from the wings of the five harpies on Dalin's field, blasting her Racial Trial and Kisetai away. The blond duelist gulped as she slowly counted up attack points and compared them to her remaining life points. The answer wasn't a very happy one.
"Now my harpy family, finish this duel!" Mai hung her head in defeat as twin columns of flame and a blast of wind crashed into her, knocking her off her feet and obliterating the last of her life points. On one hand she felt happy for such a great duel, on the other she was upset that she had lost. For all she knew she might have gotten those same cards if she hadn't switched decks with him. (MLP: 0)
She looked up in surprise as a strong hand took hers and helped her up. With the other hand Dalin handed her the deck she had worked so hard to create. It looked like he had even shuffled in the cards that had gone to his cemetery.
Smiling she slipped Dalin's deck out of her holder and then added the cards in her cemetery to it, making it a complete deck. Satisfied she handed it to the taller man and received a big grin in response. "Dalin...sorry for misjudging you."
He shrugged his shoulder and turned away, heading towards where the others had been watching. For the next match he too would be a spectator. The next duel would most likely be an exciting one. "Dalin! Are you going to take one of my rare cards for winning?"
The tall duelist held up a single card over his shoulder, giving Mai a good view of her Harpie's Feather Duster card. She sighed and started to follow the man who had just beaten her. 'Oh well," she though, 'At least now I'll have a use for that spare.'
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"You were the one who gave us them weren't you!" The two fighters, Ryu and Kensai, had found and confronted Taichi in the manner they knew how. They threatened him and got loud. Throughout the entire thing Taichi hadn't even been bothering to hide the fact that their antics amused him. And as he finally gave them a nod in the affirmative, an even wider grin broke out on his face.
As Ryu had asked the last question it was now Kensai's turn to ask their other question of the psychotic duelist. The only other question they had for him actually. "I don't get it...why give us the locator cards to get in? It doesn't make any sense!"
Taichi erased all emotion from his face for the few moments necessary to make the two fighters wonder exactly what he was thinking...and then he gave them his biggest grin yet. "I'd think it would be obvious. Seeing you two idiots bumble in your duels was just plain funny as hell! That's why I did it!"
The two fighters surged forward to attack him in their anger, but with a flash of golden power Taichi sent to the two of them crashing to the ground. Manhandling these two with the great power he possessed was like a bull dog fighting a kitten. However...he had one more use from these fools. "Offended are you? Why not show me what you're capable of. I challenge both of you to a two on one duel!"
Ryu brushed past his companion and activated his duel disk. It slid into position with a loud clank as he stepped forward, duel disk held aloft and ready for action. He fixed Taichi with the deadly stare of one who has faced death and all sorts of bodily harm many times...and he returned Taichi's grin with one of his own.
"We accept."
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Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you'll leave a review for me.
Original Cards
Dalin's Deck: Energy Absorption, Guardian Angel, Soul Bubble, Angel of Despair, Ascending Man
Mai's Deck: Zone Expansion, Second Blow, Harpy Summoner
Next Time: The final duel of the quarter finals commences, and its Drake and Autumn in a furious battle of great skill on both duelist's part. The double duel with Taichi commences and he unveils exactly how much he was holding back on Kirani, and the true deadly nature of his deck. Do his opponents stand a chance, or will they suffer the worst fate of all?
Author's Note: I think I'll be including a 'Quote of the Chapter' in each chapter from now on. I'll be taking various quotes from different sources to put here. I hope you like em'. This first one is intended as a jibe towards the whole idea of problems being settled through a card game as they are in Yu-gi-oh. Not that I mind for without that what story would I have. It is also a salute to an author who while I don't perfectly enjoy his work, I find him to be a brilliant man and quite funny.
Chapter Fifteen: A Change of Decks
"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him." -Mark Twain
Yugi and Yami were deep in conversation. They weren't in the middle of watching a duel because Kaiba had to bring a clean up crew before the next duel could continue. The CEO had informed them that there was no possible way to stop the tournament, so they had to continue for everyone's good.
"Something doesn't seem right Yami, and I'm not talking about the lunatic out there killing people. Its about what Shadi mentioned when he first visited us...that all the Millennium Items were onboard...but he said they were on board "in a manner of speaking". What did he mean?"
The former Pharaoh 'sat' across from his partner, rubbing his chin in contemplation. He had been considering that very thing for a while now, but particularly since seeing Shadi dead. He could account for the Puzzle of course, and Shadi had possessed the Scales and Ankh. Presumably Taichi had taken those. Bakura had the Ring, but since nobody had seen him in a while Taichi probably had that as well. Isis had the Tauk, but she should still be back in Domino. Pegasus had the eye, so that was accounted for. Malik had the....
"The Rod! After Dalin defeat Malik we completely forgot about the Millennium Rod! Taichi must have that as well now! If that's the case...then he has four of the seven items. His power grows with each opponent he defeats. Soon he'll be too strong to stop!"
Their fears starting to come together, the two duelists continued contemplating Shadi's words, unaware of how devastatingly true they were, and how it would soon effect them all. Nor were they aware that every hour that passed by was another hour closer to end of all things.
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Roughly twelve hours, that was how long was left. In just about twelve hours something would happen that would end the world. Dalin had been counting, and with every minute that was used up cleaning away Shadi's body was another minute closer to losing everything. It was his duel next and they had to get it out of the way!
He paced his room, waiting for the moment when Kaiba would announce the beginning of the duel. He had to do something before he went crazy! Letting out a cry of frustration he dropped into a chair and snatched his deck off the table. He flicked through it until he came across Ra. He had considered adapting his deck to fit Ra, but had quickly realized that his deck was just as suited to Ra as Malik's had been, but in a different way.
He knew that Malik's deck was a cemetery recursion deck, designed primarily to get his heavy hitters in the grave and keep bringing them out. In Malik's case the monster he had designed his deck to recycle in and out of his cemetery was Ra, specifically by recycling his Monster Reborn.
Dalin's deck on the other hand was perfect for Ra's life point draining ability. With the number of life points he could quickly gain he could make Ra an unstoppable force quite easily. As for sacrifices, once he had his key card in play then it would be simple to get and keep the monsters he needed.
He searched through the deck again, and came across the two cards he had been looking for. The same two cards that had been given to him by Rishid before Dalin had faced Malik. Both cards were useful...and in certain cases could prove to be extremely powerful. There was just one card that was missing to complete the combo...and if he was correct then he had purchased that card on instinct while in Egypt.
Perhaps fate was on his side. "Will Mai Valentine and Dalin Sumatin report to the dueling ring immediately? I repeat, will Mai Valentine and Dalin Sumatin report toe the dueling ring immediately?"
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Two teenagers, one seventeen and one eighteen, were in the middle of an argument. Should the argument lead to fists it would be a display of great skill on both sides, and probably end with broken bones. Fortunately they weren't angry enough for it to lead to that.
"I tell you it was Malik who left those cards for us!" This man, the seventeen year old, was Ryu Shigeru. His experience with gangs and his experiences with the Rare Hunters during Battle City had him certain that it was Malik who had left the twelve locator cards with their names on them. The cards that allowed the two to compete in the tournament, even though both were defeated in the first round.
"It was that psycho freak Taichi, not your psycho freak. I don't know why he did it but I'm certain he's the one who left those locator cards for us!" This other man, the eighteen year old, was Takuya Shinomori, also known as Kensai. An experienced member of the Geokigo Dojo and one of the highest ranking martial artists in the world in his age division.
Kensai felt that he was right because he possessed what he called "warrior's instinct". He also said that Malik had no reason to be interested in himself, since the psycho hadn't ever heard of him. Taichi might have, so he was the more likely candidate.
The girl listening from the room opposite theirs, Hinata Donovan, saw things from a different angle then the other two. At sixteen she had lived through a number of things, including the death of her brother in a gang war. She was also better educated then the two older men, making her believe that she had it right.
In her educated opinion, the one who had supplied those locator cards for them was none other then the tournament coordinator himself. Seto Kaiba. She felt that the person who could have gotten those twelve locator cards the easiest was the same person who had created them. She could also see reasons for Kaiba to supply them both with the cards into the tournament.
Kaiba had vast resources, and he could most likely track all the cards that were played in the tournament. If that was the case then he knew that another Blue Eyes had been played, and that it had changed hands to Ryu...at least he probably knew. That would be his reasoning behind his giving locator cards to Ryu. Being the card obsessed rich snob that he was, Kaiba would want the Blue Eyes himself, to get rid of any competition.
As for Kensai, that was most likely a similar reason. What she had seen of the duel between Kensai and Drake had shown her that Kensai had a monster with a strength equal to the Blue Eyes. Antyhing that powerful Kaiba would definitely want to add to his collection, so he gave Kensai the cards so that eventually Kaiba might take the card from him in the tournament.
"I don't get why they argue. Its not like they can ask Malik and find out. They can't ask Taichi either because he's so freaking pyscho he'd probably attack em for no reason. Kaiba they can ask, and I bet if they do they'd found out I'm right. But no! They can't even think far enough ahead to consider asking someone!"
The sudden silence alerted her that something was up. Those two had been arguing back and forth with no progress for so long now that it didn't seem like they'd just stop yelling and quiet down without good reason. "Uh-oh..."
"Thanks Hinata! Your suggestion was really helpful! Stay busy while we go ask Taichi whether he gave us those locator cards!"
Hinata stared blankly ahead for a second before she managed to take it all in. They were going to ask the murderous psycho if he had given them their locator cards?! They really were idiots! "If I don't go stop them those idiots are going to get themselves killed!"
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Dalin stopped at his spot in the dueling arena, and readied his duel disk. Casually he took his deck out and started to shuffle it, he's hands moving at incredible speeds. Anyone looking closely couldn't have kept track of his hands and the cards that he shuffled.
At the moment he was the only of the two duelists here. Mai had yet to show up, and she only had a few minutes left before he was declared the victor by default. It seemed Kaiba was going to enforce such things because of the time that had been taken up in clean-up.
Dalin turned as the elevator door opened and the blond duelist stepped out, duel disk at the ready. He saw her eyes go completely wide as she saw how fast he was shuffling his cards. At that moment a light went off in her head, and she rushed over to Kaiba, who was standing passively to one side waiting for the duel to get started.
"Kaiba, you have to cancel this duel and kick this guy out!" Those present gasped in surprise and Dalin turned a furious gaze upon the smaller woman. How dare she! What did she think she was doing, trying to get him out of the tournament like that!
"On what grounds?" As she started speaking, Dalin hopped down from the ring, and approached the two. He was fully aware that as muscular and tall as he was, and with no sleeves he'd look even more imposing then he usually did. With spike back golden-blond hair he certainly appeared dangerous, and he added to that effect by glaring at the blond woman.
"Just now, when I saw him shuffling his deck, I remembered something that's been bothering me for awhile. The name Dalin Sumatin. I finally remembered hearing about a grifted who tore up Vegas a few years back. A Thai-American who was a dealer at over a dozen casinos before people started to catch on that he never lost because he was so fast at shuffling that nobody could see him arrange the deck to his liking. After that he took on duel monsters and took all sorts of duelists apart, always winning because his deck was always arranged like he wanted it."
All eyes were now turned upon Dalin Sumatin, now suspected grifter. If that was truly the case, then it would explain why he was able to crush Malik so easily. It would also mean that he'd be kicked out of the tournament for sure...if it was true.
Dalin rolled his eyes, staring the two down with his cold blue eyes. He turned his gaze upon Mai, a sneer on his face. "I may or may not be that person who you said, but I remember nothing of that time. All I remember is what Malik has told me, and brief flashes of the past. It was Malik who discovered me after I awoke in Egypt, and it was he who told me who I am. So I have a proposition to make."
The blond arched an eyebrow at him, Kaiba merely looked him in the eyes, meeting him glare for glare. In that brief moment Dalin realized that Kaiba had not merely delayed the duel for clean-up, he had been hoping for something to happen, and he was now upset because it hadn't. "Okay Dalin, what proposition might that be?"
The golden-blond haired duelist raised his arm and pressed a special button on top of the deck slot. With a click the holder raised up and his deck was ejected, allowing him to pick it up. He grabbed the deck and extended it to the woman in front of him.
"You don't trust me to shuffle, and I don't think you'll call for your own shuffling being enough. So I propose that you use my deck and I use yours. With no knowledge of specifically what cards you have or where they might be I have no way of shuffling the deck to my liking. The summary, we swap decks."
Mai stared hard at his extended deck, then back at the deck in her duel disk. After several moments of this she looked up and gave him a small smile. "I've always liked a challenge, and this seems like a fair one to me. I accept."
The two duelist swapped deck and shuffled those decks. Each of them handed their "new" deck to Kaiba, who cut each deck three times before handing them back. Satisfied they both took their decks and took their places on the dueling field.
With a click their duel disks activated, shifting into dueling position. The life point counters rose to four thousand on each one and the field's holographic projectors activated. The ref raised one arm into the air to declare the start of the duel. With the practiced action of professionals the two duelists drew their opening hands and announced their start. "Duel Start!"
Mai grinned as she took the opportunity and the privilege of going first. She slipped the top card of her, or rather her opponent's deck, out from under the holder. She quickly added it to her hand and assessed her options. She spotted two cards that seemed highly usable for the moment...one of which seemed like it didn't fit in a man like Dalin's deck.
"I'll start this duel off by setting up one card and then summoning Dancing Faeries(17000/1000) in defense mode!" The face down card appeared, and soon after the out of place card appeared as well. A large rose materialized on the field, and then opened up, revealing its precious contents.
Three tiny little girls with angel wings sat in a circle inside the rose, playing some kind of game with each other. Two of them had red hair and the third had dark blond hair. They certainly didn't seem menacing. The sheer cuteness factor of the card produced a sweat drop from everyone present, except for the two duelists. "End turn!"
Dalin smirked and then placed the top card from Mai's deck into his hand, watching as the deck holder dropped down to hold the rest of his, or rather her, cards carefully. He didn't know a lot about her deck strategy, but just by reading the effects of the cards in his hand he was able to get a general idea of what his first move should be.
"I'll begin by summoning Cyber Harpy(1800/1300) in attack mode! Next I'll equip her with Arrow Claw to boost her attack strength by three hundred!" Appearing in front of Dalin was a monster that was far more impressive then the defensive monster in front of Mai. However Dalin knew quite while that the monster's effect made up for its lackluster appearance. He just hoped Mai never got his key card.
The harpy with its blue wings and skin had a body armor on it, making it more fearsome looking then the regular Harpy Lady. It was the same kind of armor that would appear on Harpy Lady when equipped with Cyber Shield. However now the monster was equipped with a sharp claw that extended nearly a foot out from its hand.
"I'll continue by playing the magic card Ten Thousand Reflections, to triple my harpy and to create her sisters!" As the rest of those present had seen several times before, the harpy shimmered for a moment before distorting. Soon two different harpies flanked the original, looking just as deadly as the first. Like the first they had a boosted attack rating of 2100, making them a fearsome army.
(A.N.-I chose to use Ten Thousand Reflections as a statement to one simple fact. Elegant Egotist has nothing to do with what the card actually does! Therefore I stuck with the name that made more sense. If anyone is offended by my use of the japanese card's name...I don't care.)
"I'll set up one card and then end my turn. I have to say Mai, your deck is pretty clever. I'm impressed." Despite the fact that he knew Dancing Faeries' effect, he was forced to abstain from attacking this turn, as per the effect of the Ten Thousand Reflections card. Now, the instant Mai drew a card she'd get a boost in life points, putting her farther ahead of Dalin. But then again, that was to be expected from his deck. He'd just have to smash her quickly.
Mai smirked as she picked up another card and placed it into her hand. Then the effect of her angel monster activated. The three little angels turned and giggled as they blew rose petals at her. They whirled about her body created a gentle and refreshing breeze, particularly refreshing to her life points. (MLP: 5000)
"I'll start this turn off by summoning Zolga(1700/1000) in attack mode!" Mai's newest monster was essentially a flying geometric shape with a cape. Despite its strange appearance the monster was actually an angel sub-type, leading her to believe that all of his monsters were except for a rare few. Seemed strange to see a man using angel monsters.
"Open face down card, Reflective Mirror! Now I'll get two more Cyber Harpies!" Mai gasped as one of her better trap cards flipped up, revealing a mirror that had three parts to it. Its effect would allow Dalin to special summon harpy tokens equal to the number of monsters she had on the field. The harpy tokens would take on the attributes of one Harpy Lady or Cyber Harpy that was on the field.
Now Dalin had an army of five Cyber Harpies, each with a respectable attack strength of 2100. If he was able to get rid of her defenses then he'd be able to cut through her life points in one turn. She'd just have to prevent that. "I'll now activate my own face down card, Altar For Tribute! I'll sacrifice my Zolga to increase my life points by seventeen hundred!"
The floating geometric shape was placed onto a giant alter, and then shattered with a pulse of energy. All that remained was a floating orb of the purest nature, and in seconds that orb had shot forwards and collided with Mai, not damaging her but instead giving her greater health. (MLP: 6700) "I'll set a single card face down and then end my turn. Back to you Dalin."
With the card he had just drawn Dalin now had three cards in his hand. Two of them he could play right now to make this duel much easier. Mai certainly had a way with her cards. It appeared that she was an expert duelist and an expert deck builder in her own right. "I'll sacrifice two of my five harpies for Harpies Pet Dragon(2000/2500)! With three harpies on the field its attack is boosted to 2900 and its defense to 3400, making it more then a match for any monster you can summon. Trust me, I know."
The dragon was big and a pinkish color. Its long, leathery wings ended in curved talons capable of easily rending flesh from even the toughest of creatures. Its long ears twitched briefly as one of the harpies stroked its head. Another one of the harpies gladly took up the long thick chain that trailed from its neck. This was the ultimate weapon of a harpy deck, the servant of the harpies.
"Now its time for me to cut down your defenses without attacking, I play Phoenix Formation!" Mai gasped as one of her deadliest magic cards was activated. She had no way to stop it either! In moments her monster would be gone and she'd be virtually defenseless!
The three harpies leapt into the air and formed a triangle formation. A bright fire ignites behind them and then engulfs them. Forming from the fire is the massive shape of a burning phoenix. The phoenix formation surged higher into the air and then came diving down, colliding with the rose and its inhabitants, burning them to cinders in mere seconds. (MLP: 5000)
The fire extinguished itself and the three harpies touched down, briefly patting the head of their pat before turning their eyes upon their former master's unguarded life points. Due to the effect of Phoenix Formation Mai had lost the attack strength of the monster that was destroyed, but now the three harpies couldn't attack. "Harpie's Pet Dragon, attack Mai directly with Blazing Flame!"
The large dragon reared up and set its sights on Mai. Then it lunged its head forward and belched out a gout of flame. The fire streaked towards Mai's unguarded life points, only to strike upon a metal shield. Extending out from the shield was a field of energy that sent funnels of blue flame running down into Mai's duel disk. "My...or should I say your trap card Drain Shield negates the attack and gives me my dragon's attack strength. Thanks Dalin, you just helped me out."
(MLP: 7900) Mai quickly pulled the first card off her deck, knowing she had to come up with something good or else in the next turn she'd be finished. She started looking carefully at the effects of each of the cards in her hand, trying to come up with a good strategy that could keep her from getting taken out. After nearly a minute of thinking it through the cards connected, and she realized what she could do.
"I'll summon Venus, Angel of Creation(1600/0) in attack mode!" As Dalin started considering what sort of move she might be taking, putting an obviously out powered monster in attack mode, he realized she might have his key card. If she did then it was as good as over for him. He barely even noticed as the blond angel appeared on the field, wings extended, arms crossed over her chest. The three spheres that circled her, one red, one blue, one purple, all swirled ominously, portending something dangerous to come.
"Now I'll play these two magic cards to seal your fate! Demotion and Camouflage Armor!" The angel that stood its ground on Mai's field was surrounded by a pure white light as the two equip cards started to take effect. With a flicker of power the angel vanished into thin air, leaving only the three glowing spheres behind. However the shape of the angel could vaguely be made out.
On the side lines several of the onlookers tried to figure out exactly what was going on. To do so they turned to who the knew to be the most knowledgeable source, Yugi. Tea stepped up behind him and voiced everyone else's question. "What's that combo do Yugi? Why is Mai so confidant that its going to win the game for her?"
Yugi stared hard at the field for several seconds in deep thought. Suddenly he let out a gasp as he made the connection, and whirled to face the others. The look on his face was enough to tell them that Mai's confidence was well founded.
"I just remembered what Camouflage Armor did from when Dalin used it in his last duel. It allows any one start monster to attack directly. Demotion decreases the level of the monster it's equipped on by two. Playing them in combination means a three star monster like Venus, with a fairly high attack strength, can attack directly, even if Dalin has monsters on the field!"
Mai smirked and raised on dainty arm to point at her opponent, then she gave the command to her angel. "Venus, attack your former master's life points directly!" The invisible angel got to work immediately. A bright blue glow of energy swirled between the three colorful spheres, and then at its peak of energy a reaction occurred. A beam of that same blue energy spiked out from the space between the spheres and struck Dalin in the chest, doing major damage to his life points.
(DLP: 2400) The blond beauty plucked the last card from her hand and set it in the slot coinciding with Venus' monster zone. "I'll set my remaining card behind Venus. Now back to you grifter-boy."
Dalin grimaced and snatched the first card off of his new deck and then took a look at its effect. At the moment he had few options, so he'd have to work fast to get rid of Venus. Otherwise in two more attacks he'd be finished for sure! "I play the magic card Zone Expansion, to allow me to play monsters in my magic zones and magic and trap cards in my monster zones!"
He let out a deep breath and then slammed his next card down onto one of his monster zone's, the one to the right of his pet dragon. "I summon Cyber Harpy(1800/1300) and have her attack Venus!" The new harpy, this one not equipped with the Arrow Claw like the other three, took flight immediately after it appeared on the field. With its presence the pet dragon was powered up to 3200, and once it cleared the way he'd be able to go on a full-scale offensive.
The harpy swooped down upon Venus and swept its claws down to strike the angel. However at the last moment a red barrier of energy appeared in front of it, stopping its strike and sending ripples throughout the barrier. Unable to get through the harpy returned to Dalin's side of the field and floated next to its sisters. "The Energy Absorption trap card negates your attack, increases my life points by half of your monster's attack, and then ends your battle phase!"
(MLP: 8800) Dalin groaned in frustration as he was forced to end his turn, unable to make any other move. Now Mai had another free attack, and with it she could nearly wipe out his life points. The blond woman smirked and put a new card in her hand. She looked down at it and immediately played it on the field. "I'll set a monster in defense mode. Now Venus will attack your life points again!"
A brown-backed monster card shimmered into place next to the invisible angel. Then the angel charge its blue heavenly energies between its three faithful partners, the Holy Shine Spheres, gathering its energy for one tremendous blast. Finally the heavenly energies lept from between the spheres and sent Dalin staggering. (DLP: 800)
The golden blonde duelist let a small smile cross his face as he played his newly drawn card. In moments he would have new options of attack. "Activate magic card, Card of Sanctity, allowing us both to draw cards until we have six in our hands."
Each duelist quietly slipped the six cards from their respective decks and then unfurled them like a fan. For the next several seconds the two duelists inspected their new cards, considering the options that had been opened to them with their new hands. "I play Ten Thousand Reflections, to bring out two more of the more powerful harpies!"
One of Dalin's powered up harpies, not necessarily the original, was taken under the effect of the magic card, and in moments two more hovered behind that one, each with a different style of hair and a different coloring to it. With the addition of these two harpies the pet dragon got a boost to 3800.
Dalin started to command one of his harpies to attack Venus, but when he got no response he realized exactly what the monster was that Mai had face down. The Guardian Angel, whose effect would keep Dalin from attacking it or any other angel sub-type monster as long as there was at least one other angel-subtype on the field with it. "I know what you're hiding...so I'll get around it with Magic Shard Excavation, discarding two magic cards from my hand to retrieve one magic card from the cemetery!"
He slipped the two magic cards into his cemetery and then ejected one of his other cards. Grinning he activated his newest card in order to get rid of the immediate threat, Venus. "I play my recovered magic card, Phoenix Formation!"
The six powerful harpies let out a shrilling shriek as they flew into the air, arranging themselves in a specialized formation. A spark ignited between them, and in moments they were engulfed by the blazing image of a fiery phoenix. The phoenix swooped down from the sky and crashed into the female angel.
The feminine angel let out a quick cry as the flames of the phoenix consumed her, but even her heavenly powers were unable to save her from being burnt to a cinder. Soon even the dust had been burned away, leaving no trace that the angel had ever existed. (MLP: 7200)
"Now, Harpies Pet Dragon(3800/4300), attack and destroy Mai's last defense!" The massive dragon, now joined once again by its harpy owners, reared its head back in preparation for the strike. With a quick whipping motion it shot its head forward and breathed forth a cloud of flame that easily consumed the Guardian Angel, leaving little trace.
"I now play the magic card, Second Blow! At a cost of half my life points one of my monsters may attack a second time during this turn. So Harpies Pet Dragon, direct attack!" Recovering from its previous attack, the dragon took in a huge breath, and then let it out in one thick stream of fire that cascaded around Mai, leaving no room for escape. (MLP: 3400, DLP: 400)
As soon as Dalin's turn was over Mai drew her seventh card and then started a quick strategy. She needed to quickly regain control over this duel, otherwise she'd quickly be finished. Luckily she had a strategy that could make quick work of that. "I set one monster in defense, and then I play Monster Reborn, to revive my Guardian Angel(0/2500) in defense mode!"
Next to the floating defensive card appeared a large and well-built male angel. He wore merely a loin-cloth and each arm held a fair sized shield. However it was his wings that were the true defense. Each wing was like a thick plate of solid steel, shining in the sun as a virtually impenetrable wall as he closed them about his body, protecting himself from harm.
"I'll set up two cards and then end my turn." The two brown-backed cards blinked into view, one behind each monster card. The two cards were the bulk of her strategy, so she had to hope that Dalin didn't already have or didn't draw her Harpie's Feather Duster card.
Dalin glanced at the single card in his hand and grimaced, noting that it wasn't what he needed. Knowing the sort of deck she used, he knew she would have the rare and powerful Harpie's Feather Duster. If he drew that he'd probably be able to cut straight through her strategy.
He drew and then tried not to show his disappointment. According to the effect on the card it was useful, but it wasn't he had been hoping for. He'd just have to make do. "I'll set a monster in defense mode, and attack Guardian Angel with my Pet Dragon!"
His dragon unleashed a blossom of expanding fire at the angel's defensive wings, hoping to clip them out from under it. But at the last moment one of Mai's face down cards flipped up. "Activate Soul Bubble!" The dragon sagged, a small cloud of vapor issuing from its mouth and wafting over to be absorbed into Mai's duel disk. Guardian Angel however was not so lucky, as it was vaporized by the powerful flames. By the effect of the trap card, Mai would now gain half his monster's attack strength. (MLP: 5300)
"If that's how this will work, I'll just send my weakest harpy to attack your face down monster. Harpy Claw!" The weakest of the Cyber Harpies flew away from its companions and proved itself by slicing through Mai's defensive monster. Dalin groaned as a flying squirrel appeared for a brief second before vanishing in a cloud of holographic dust. (MLP: 6300)
She grinned triumphantly as she used the effect of Nimble Momonga, the monster he had destroyed, to raise her life points by 1000 and special summon the other two in defense mode. Now to open the way he'd have to increase her life points by 2000 more...but it would have to be done to cause any real damage. "I'll send two more harpies in to attack and finish of the Nimble Momongas!"
Two of the powered up harpies, his most recent two, swept down upon the defending squirrels and crushed them with their equipped talon, sending motes of light scattering across the field. Of course Mai reaped the reward of the destruction of the two squirrels, greedily soaking up her new life points. (MLP: 8300)
Clenching his ringed hand in front of him he gave his harsh command to the remaining three harpies, his original three from the first turn. Now was his chance to deal some damage and cut Mai's life points down, it had to be done. "Harpy Lady Sisters(2100/1300X3), attack Mai's life points directly!"
"Activate Nutrient Z!" Dalin grimaced as her life points shot up by four thousand all the way to 12300 just before the three harpies struck. Each taloned blow knocked Mai backwards a few feet, the final one nearly knocking her over the edge of the platform that they stood upon. Unfortunately for Dalin he had been unable to gather any serious damage, and Mai had successfully recovered from his previous turn. (MLP: 6000)
The female duelist placed a card in her hand as soon as she was certain that Dalin was finished. There weren't too many moves she could make, but she had one that would be devastating too him. Not only could she stall for time to draw a good card, but she could protect herself as well. "I'll just set up one card, and a monster in defense mode."
Dalin nodded and slipped another card out from underneath the deck holder. The card he had drawn would work perfectly with his face down monster, though it would have been better to have been another card. "I'll flip my face down Harpy Summoner, who when flipped lets me sacrifice him to special summon one Harpy Lady or Cyber Harpy from my hand, deck, or cemetery to the field in his place!"
Mai groaned as the little witch doctor harpy vanished and was replaced by the monster Dalin had just drawn, the third and final Cyber Harpy(1800/1300). Worse yet was the effect that it had on the current situation. With a total of seven harpies on the field the pet dragon was receiving a massive boost in both attack and defense strength. Its stats now stood at an awe inspiring 4100 attack and 4600 defense. She could only think of two monster's off the top of her head that could beat that kind of attack strength. She doubted this deck had one of those.
"Cyber Harpy number seven, attack and destroy her defense monster!" The newest harpy flapped its powerful wings and rose into the air. Then it streaked across the field to attack Mai's defense monster. However it was met by Mai's face down card.
"Reveal Racial Trial! Its effect lets me keep any of your monsters of a stated sub-type from attacking, and I'll choose winged beast to keep those seven harpies from going all out on me. All I need to do is discard one card from my hand each standby phase and I'll be set."
With a snarl of frustration Dalin gave the command for his only available attacker, Harpie's Pet Dragon, to attack Mai's defense monster. When the flame struck the monster it failed to destroy it, and a worm like monster launched itself at the dragon and wrapped around the dragon's head. "Damn it! Its Kisetai!" He pounded one fist into his thigh in a display of frustrated anger, and then motioned for Mai to take her turn.
She drew, and thanks to the effect of Kisetai she gained half the attack strength of his pet dragon to her life points. Now she'd recover quickly while he remained unable to attack with his other monsters. (MLP: 8050) She smirked and discard one card from her hand to pay for Racial Trial. "I'll set one monster in defense mode. That'll be all."
Dalin drew his card and suddenly realized the bind that he had found himself in. There were two ways he could open up the way for the attack. The first was for Mai to be unable to discard for Racial Trial in her next turn, though that didn't seem likely since she still had one card in her hand.
The second was for him to use a magic removal card, but that option was no longer valid. He had trapped himself using her combos. On his field were a total of eight monsters, one equip card, and the magic card Zone Expansion that made it all possible. The problem was that with all ten of his zones taken up he had absolutely no way of using a magic removal card, or any other new card for that matter. He had no options at all!
"Harpy's Pet Dragon, attack and destroy Mai's defense monster!" His only usable monster, the pet dragon, unleashed a long stream of flame that consumed Mai's defense monster. Upon seeing what it was Dalin wished he hadn't attacked, because he recognized the monster he had destroyed. He let out a groan as bright ball of light rose up between the two and then exploded, knocking both of them off their feet.
As the two pulled themselves to their feet, Mai got her chance to gloat at the fallen fellow. "I guess you recognize the effect of your own monster, Angel of Despair(1000/1000). Because your life points were lower then mine when it was destroyed we both lost life points equal to half of your total before it was destroyed. For me that's hardly anything, for you that's almost everything!" (MLP: 7850, DLP: 200)
Mai smirked as she drew and watched her life points soar to a point higher then they had reached ever before in this duel. At least reached and stayed there for more then a second. (MLP: 9900) She slid a single card into her cemetery pile, but found that she was unable to make a move. She sighed as she realized that her hard earned life points were about to take another dip. "End turn."
Dalin smirked as he hastily drew his next card. It was another formation card, this time a trap, but in his current position he couldn't use it. Not that it mattered as he had a clear path to her life points. Now was not the time to dally, now was the time to attack! "Pet Dragon, burn her life points with your deadly flames!"
The dragon happily belched out its flame attack, sending it in a spiral that surrounded and burnt Mai. Though it seemed like the flames were hot, in reality they were merely holographic, and therefore she wasn't actually hurt. Her life points on the other hand had been reduced by nearly half. (MLP: 5800)
With a single draw Mai undid most of the damage that Dalin had done just moments before. Exactly half of what he had just accomplished was a memory now, unimportant in the current scheme of things. (MLP: 7850) She casually discarded one of her two cards, and then made an important choice. If she could single tribute monster, and she could keep her monsters out long enough, then she'd be able to finish Dalin off by destroying his weaker harpies. "I set a monster face down and end my turn!"
The muscular duelist added a fourth card to his hand and immediately called out his only option. To attack with the pet dragon. Its fire attack struck the defense monster, revealing a man in monk robes with short wings popping out of his back. "Sorry Dalin, but by destroying Ascending Man(500/1200) you let me summon another one in defense mode, and my life points increase by 500!" (MLP: 8350)
"I know that! Its my card! Grrr...I'll switch each of my harpies to defense mode, to protect them. End turn!" Mai let out a quiet groan as he saw through her plan, keeping her from winning even if she drew a sacrificeable monster. Now she had to hope for some sort of direct damage card...and soon. With no cards in her hand, the instant she drew she'd have to discard what she drew or face losing Racial Trial. Unless it was good she couldn't afford to do that.
"Draw!" (MLP: 10400) Her life points soared, but the card she had drawn wouldn't be able to help her. Sadly she discarded it, keeping Racial Trial in play for another turn at the very least. Hopefully with the help of Ascending Man she'd be able to get what she needed.
Once Dalin saw the signal to start his turn he drew, but finding no way to get rid of his current lock he was forced into the only available move. The move he had been using far too often over this past turns. It was starting to get old. For the second time in as many turns his dragon scorched an Ascending Man, letting me summon the final one in defense mode and increase her life points yet again. Dalin was starting to understand how annoying his deck could be. (MLP: 10900)
(MLP: 12950) The female duelist tried not to tear her hair out as she got yet another card she couldn't use. Sure it was a good card, but it wasn't worth keeping just to lose her only true defense. Grimacing she sent it to the cemetery, and passed her turn.
Despite having six cards in his hand, Dalin was still out of options. Hell, he didn't know any way he could get out of this bind. He just had to hope he was able to get past Mai's ever increasing life points before she could finish him off with a direct damage card of some kind.
As the last Ascending Man vanished under a sea of scorching hot flames Mai knew that she was just about out of time. With no monster to guard her and her only remaining defense being Racial Trial she had to get something to finish the duel in this turn, or else she'd start to take a serious beating.
She plucked free her next card and slowly turned it over to reveal...a one tribute monster! Of all the times to get what she had hoped for earlier why now? She dropped it into the cemetery and signaled the end of her turn. (MLP: 15500)
Dalin took a deep breath and drew his next card. He glanced down at it and then slowly turned his gaze up to Mai. Her eyes widened in fright as she saw the confidant look on his face. Now was his chance to take up the mantle of victor. He would win!
"Thank you Mai. Not only have you let me prove myself, you've also given me a chance to improve myself by dueling with cards I'm not used to. Also, I want to thank you for helping me win this duel. Because I was beginning to think you had only one monster that required sacrifices. Turns out you have two, though they are both one and the same! Watch and learn as I tribute my two weakest harpies for Harpie's Pet Dragon(3500/4000) in attack mode!"
With a crash of thunder a second massive dragon appeared beside the second. The two snapped at each other before a quick tug on the chains that hung around their necks stopped their fussing. Both mighty dragons pressed the heads against their respective handlers, receiving a calming pat on the head in return. "Because this monster requires two tributes it helped me open up one of my zones, and that will allow me to play Harpie's Feather Duster!"
Mai let out a sharp gasp as the magical wind blew out from the wings of the five harpies on Dalin's field, blasting her Racial Trial and Kisetai away. The blond duelist gulped as she slowly counted up attack points and compared them to her remaining life points. The answer wasn't a very happy one.
"Now my harpy family, finish this duel!" Mai hung her head in defeat as twin columns of flame and a blast of wind crashed into her, knocking her off her feet and obliterating the last of her life points. On one hand she felt happy for such a great duel, on the other she was upset that she had lost. For all she knew she might have gotten those same cards if she hadn't switched decks with him. (MLP: 0)
She looked up in surprise as a strong hand took hers and helped her up. With the other hand Dalin handed her the deck she had worked so hard to create. It looked like he had even shuffled in the cards that had gone to his cemetery.
Smiling she slipped Dalin's deck out of her holder and then added the cards in her cemetery to it, making it a complete deck. Satisfied she handed it to the taller man and received a big grin in response. "Dalin...sorry for misjudging you."
He shrugged his shoulder and turned away, heading towards where the others had been watching. For the next match he too would be a spectator. The next duel would most likely be an exciting one. "Dalin! Are you going to take one of my rare cards for winning?"
The tall duelist held up a single card over his shoulder, giving Mai a good view of her Harpie's Feather Duster card. She sighed and started to follow the man who had just beaten her. 'Oh well," she though, 'At least now I'll have a use for that spare.'
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"You were the one who gave us them weren't you!" The two fighters, Ryu and Kensai, had found and confronted Taichi in the manner they knew how. They threatened him and got loud. Throughout the entire thing Taichi hadn't even been bothering to hide the fact that their antics amused him. And as he finally gave them a nod in the affirmative, an even wider grin broke out on his face.
As Ryu had asked the last question it was now Kensai's turn to ask their other question of the psychotic duelist. The only other question they had for him actually. "I don't get it...why give us the locator cards to get in? It doesn't make any sense!"
Taichi erased all emotion from his face for the few moments necessary to make the two fighters wonder exactly what he was thinking...and then he gave them his biggest grin yet. "I'd think it would be obvious. Seeing you two idiots bumble in your duels was just plain funny as hell! That's why I did it!"
The two fighters surged forward to attack him in their anger, but with a flash of golden power Taichi sent to the two of them crashing to the ground. Manhandling these two with the great power he possessed was like a bull dog fighting a kitten. However...he had one more use from these fools. "Offended are you? Why not show me what you're capable of. I challenge both of you to a two on one duel!"
Ryu brushed past his companion and activated his duel disk. It slid into position with a loud clank as he stepped forward, duel disk held aloft and ready for action. He fixed Taichi with the deadly stare of one who has faced death and all sorts of bodily harm many times...and he returned Taichi's grin with one of his own.
"We accept."
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Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you'll leave a review for me.
Original Cards
Dalin's Deck: Energy Absorption, Guardian Angel, Soul Bubble, Angel of Despair, Ascending Man
Mai's Deck: Zone Expansion, Second Blow, Harpy Summoner
Next Time: The final duel of the quarter finals commences, and its Drake and Autumn in a furious battle of great skill on both duelist's part. The double duel with Taichi commences and he unveils exactly how much he was holding back on Kirani, and the true deadly nature of his deck. Do his opponents stand a chance, or will they suffer the worst fate of all?