Ryu-Hikari and Nikki had already drawn heir cards and had just begun to duel.
Nikki 8000/Ryu-Hikari 8000
"I'll start with Gemini Elf in attack mode!" 1900/900. The Elvin twins stood alert on Nikki's field. "Now I place one card face down and end my turn."
"Not a bad move," Ryu-Hikari said. "I'll set a monster and end my turn."
"I summon Goblin Attack Force in attack mode!" Nikki declared. 2300/0. The large force of goblins snickered as they prepared for battle. "Now attack his set monster, Gemini Elf!" The elves rushed forward and hit the monster but were knocked back.
"That's my Dragon Dwelling in the Cave," Ryu-Hikari told her. "It has 2000 defense points so you lose 100 life points."
Nikki 7900/Ryu-Hikari 8000
"Well then, Goblin Attack Force, attack his dragon!" The goblins charged at the large green dragon and smashed it several times. They all fell asleep as Nikki switched them into defense mode. "I end my turn."
"Well for my turn, I set another monster along with two other cards face down." Ryu-Hikari said.
"Well, you aren't attacking? Guess I'll have to." Nikki drew. "I sacrifice Goblin Attack Force and Gemini Elf to summon Dark Magician!" 2500/2100. The mage descended onto the field ready to attack. "Now I play the magic card Thousand Knives which allows my Dark Magician to destroy one monster on the field!" Many knives appeared in the Dark Magician's hands and he threw them at the set monster, destroying it. "Now attack directly, Dark Magician!" Picking up his staff again, the magician fired a blast of energy at Ryu-Hikari.
"I activate Numinous Healer!" As he was hit with the force of the blast, a female angel wearing the clothes of a doctor appeared and began chanting a spell. "I gain 1000 life points so I only take 1500 points of damage." Ryu-Hikari grinned.
Nikki 7900/Ryu-Hikari 6500
Stop toying with her and finish this, Raijouta thought. You're the only one who can beat Ryu-Yami at his own game...
"Well then I end my turn."
"My move," he said. "I play Polymerization to fuse my Time Wizard and Baby Dragon in my hand to form Thousand Dragon!" 2400/2000. A large, old dragon of faded orange with a long white beard appeared. "Now I equip it with Dragon Treasure!" A small dragon stature inset with a large sapphire adorned the dragon's back. 2700/2300. "Now I'll set a monster and have Thousand Dragon attack!" With a huge breath, the monster fired a flame that engulfed and destroyed the magician.
Nikki 7700/Ryu-Hikari 6500
"My turn now," Nikki said as she sadly lost her best monster. "All right! This just might work. I play Monster Reborn to revive my Dark Magician!" The mage appeared once again on her field. "Now I play another card, Autonomous Action Unit!" A large machine appeared and began to dig up the field, unearthing the Time Wizard that formerly belonged to Ryu-Hikari. "At the cost of 1500 life points I revived one of your monsters. Now go Time Roulette!" The small clock like monster began to spin the spinner on its staff. The crowd watched in awe as it began to slow..."Time Magic!" Came the cry of the small monster. The air began to swirl and clocks appeared everywhere. The Thousand Dragon began to become ever older. He slowly turned to a skeleton, then to dust and blew away as did Ryu-Hikari's set monster. "But that's not all that happened." The Dark Magician had also become older. His armor was made broader; his staff was now made of wood inset with emeralds. Also, he had a long gray beard and sat in a position of meditation. "This is Dark Sage!" 2500/3200. "When he's play I add any magic card I want to my hand." Nikki rooted through her deck and took one. "Now attack directly Dark Sage and Time Wizard!" Both wizards raised their staves and shot blasts that hit Ryu-Hikari.
Nikki 6200/Ryu-Hikari 3500
"Great move," Ryu-Hikari said. "However, now it's time to show you my best monster. I play my second Polymerization to fuse my Summoned Skull and Red-Eyes Black Dragon to create Black Skull Dragon!" 3200/2500. The massive dragon roared as it came onto the field, flexing its massive wings. "Now destroy her Time Wizard!" The dragon fired a ball of red fire that burned the small monster to cinders.
"That's right, I left it in attack mode..." Nikki said glumly.
Nikki 3500/Ryu-Hikari 3500
"Now we're even," Ryu-Hikari declared.
Nikki drew praying for a card to save her. She was sadly disappointed. "I switch Dark Sage to defense mode, set a monster and end my turn."
"I'm sorry it has to end like this," Ryu-Hikari sighed. "I activate Dragon's Rage. This means my dragons do damage even if the monster is in defense mode. Next, I set a monster. Now attack her set monster Black Skull Dragon!" The fire burned away at the Giant Soldier of Stone, still reducing Nikki's life points.
Nikki 2300/Ryu-Hikari 3500
"I'm not going to lose..." Nikki said. "I'll set a card and end my turn."
"This duel is over," Ryu-Hikari said. "I play Change of Heart on your Dark Sage." The wizened old magician floated over to serve Ryu-Hikari. "Now I switch him into attack mode. Attack her directly my two monsters!" Dark Sage and Black Skull Dragon let loose their full fury depleting Nikki's remaining life points.
Nikki 0/Ryu-Hikari 3500
"Awesome duel!" Came the call from the other contestants as they congratulated both of the duelists.
"I trust you can beat Ryu-Yami," Raijouta whispered to Ryu-Hikari.
"I am having some doubt..." he began to say.
"Open your hand," Raijouta placed a card in Ryu-Hikari's hand.
He studied it for a moment. "Thanks. This could defeat him."
"One thing, this is a loner so you're going to have to return it after your duel."
"I will," Ryu-Hikari said walking off to get ready for his duel.
"Now without any delay let's start our final round!" Ryu-Yami cried. "Myself against Ryu-Hikari!"
HES: An interesting twist, huh? Yup, Nikki may be the heroine but it doesn't mean she always wins. Anyway, expect about three to four more chapters of this story unless something happens to change that. Thanks again to all my readers. Please keep reading and reviewing.
Next time on Amateur Duelist: It's a battle of the dragon masters. Both duelists use extremely powerful monsters to hit the other. Who will win? What is the mysterious card given to Ryu-Hikari? You'll just have to read to find out.
A/N: The final duel is set to be about three parts sort of like in the show.
