Yugi approached the mansion, concerned that Edric must've seen him coming yet didn't spring any traps. Why?
"You're worried that Edric hasn't made any move against us," Yami guessed.
"I am," Yugi confirmed.
"He might be setting a trap for us inside the mansion."
"We have to get in; it's the only way we're going to save Tea."
"Then let's do it!" The Millennium Puzzle started to glow as the two fused their souls into one. Yami-Yugi reached the front door of the mansion but the double doors opened automatically.
I better be ready for anything, Yami-Yugi thought as he entered the mansion. The interior was painted in dark blue with white stripes giving it a futuristic feel. A little robot on treads rolled up to Yami-Yugi.
"Welcome, Yugi Moto," it said in a digitized voice. "Please follow me; I will take you to my master." The robot led Yami-Yugi to an elevator located within the kitchen. They rode below ground. They got off in a long metallic corridor. "My master is located at the end of this corridor."
"Thank you," Yami-Yugi said and slowly walked to the other end of the hallway.
The room that Yami-Yugi emerged into was incredibly huge. The floor was black tile with orange lines running in a checkerboard pattern. Tea was mounted on a wall towards the other end of the room.
"Tea!" Yami-Yugi cried.
Tea smiled and her eyes were moist with happy tears. "Yugi, I'd just knew you would come for me."
"Hold on, I'll have you out in a minute." Yami-Yugi moved to rip the metal clamps off of her body.
"Well, Yugi Moto, I must say I'm surprised to see that you survived that fall." Yami-Yugi turned and saw Edric Masters wearing his Gamma Tech. Duel Disk. "But to tell you the truth, I'm glad you did; because if you did die, then we wouldn't be able to have a rematch."
"Listen, Masters," Yami-Yugi said practically growling. "I came here for one thing and one thing only and that's to rescue Tea. I couldn't care less about dueling you."
"Oh please, Yugi, we all know the truth, you're just a glory-hog who would do anything to make sure he moves up in the Dueling world."
"That's where you're wrong, Masters," Yami-Yugi said taking Edric by surprise. "I would gladly trade all my victories, all my titles, if it meant assuring the safety of a friend."
"Oh drop the noble hero act, Yugi, I already told Tea that she means nothing to you! And besides, why did you wait four days to come and rescue her? Even being the incompetent fool you are, it should've taken you two days to figure out where I lived and come."
"It's true, I regret that I didn't come sooner," Yami-Yugi admitted. "But losing to you, made me lose the fire in my heart. I believed that by failing at helping her, I failed being Tea's friend." Tea gasped, unaware of how guilty Yugi felt. It made her feel honored. "It took the rest of my friends... and a rival, to help me regain that fire and now that it's burning brighter than ever, I'm ready to do whatever it takes to get Tea back!"
"Yugi," Tea said happily. "I knew you cared."
Edric was rapidly losing his cool. "Fine then, if you want to free her, you'll have to duel me!"
"I already told you, Edric, I have no interest in dueling you."
"Yugi, duel him!" Tea called. Yami-Yugi looked at her with a shocked expression. "Yugi, please, duel him for me, and prove to him of the value of friendship and caring. I know you can do it, Yugi, you have the heart of the cards... and you have my heart. You've always had it, ever since we first met. And no matter what your real feelings for me may be, you'll always have my heart. So go out there, Yugi, and kick his butt!"
Yami-Yugi stared into Tea's blue eyes. And when she winked and smiled at him, he gave her a nod and a smile in return. He turned to Masters. "Fine, Masters, I accept your challenge. If I win, you promise to let Tea go free."
"Fine, but if I win, the punishment for you will be very... very severe," Masters said, his tone dropping with the final three words.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We've broken through the last layer of defenses that Masters' network has," the female computer reported. "We have free access to his network."
Joey, Tristan, and Bakura looked around the control room in awe. "Whoa, this place is like something out of a science fiction movie," Tristan commented.
"Hey, uh... Kaiba, not for nothin', but you sure you can infiltrate Masters' computer without being noticed?"
"What kind of stupid question is that?" Kaiba retorted. "This is the very same computer that I used to infiltrate Pegasus' computer network. If any computer can do it, this one can."
"If I had cheeks, I would be blushing," the computer commented.
"There's nothing that my Big Brother can't do," Mokuba said proudly.
"Except maybe say thank you," Tristan whispered to Bakura.
"I heard that." Tristan winced.
"We have something," Mokuba reported. "I'm putting it on audio now."
"First thing you should do is get rid of that pansy toy Duel Disk of yours," came Edric's voice over the speakers.
"Fine," Yugi replied.
"Looks like Yugi's going through with the duel after all," Mokuba said.
"Yeah, but... what about Tea?"
"Hey wait a minute, didn't Edric just told Yugi to get rid of his Duel Disk?" Bakura asked.
"What? Then how're they going to duel?"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Why do you want me to get rid of my Duel Disk?" Yami-Yugi asked.
"You are in my home, Yugi Moto, so you play by my rules. And rule number one is we must duel using Gamma Tech.'s superior Duel Disks."
Yami-Yugi cast a side glance at Tea. She nodded and he nodded back. "Fine, we'll play by your rules." The little robot that met him at the door came up and this time it had another Gamma Tech. Duel Disk. Yami-Yugi ejected his deck and removed his Duel Disk. The Gamma Tech Duel Disk felt heavier than the Kaiba Corp. one.
"As you can see, two extra slots for monsters and spell and trap cards have been added. The more, the merrier, I always say. Besides, don't you think that the design has a much sleeker feel than that baby toy you normally use?"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaiba slammed his fists on the control panel. "How dare he insult my designs like that! I hope Yugi beats him because if he doesn't, I'll take him on personally."
"Seto's really proud about his designs," Mokuba commented.
"Down, boy," Joey told Kaiba. "Hopefully, it won't come to that."
"Take your hand off of me, Dog Face."
Joey was about to retort but Tristan and Bakura stopped him.
"Let's duel!" Yugi and Edric shouted.
(Y: 8000)
(E: 8000)
As they each drew six cards, Edric suggested, "I have an idea on how we should decide who goes first. We each summon one normal monster card and whichever monster's destroyed, the controller will go second. Is that acceptable?"
"It is."
"Fine, then." They each held out the card they were going to use. "I summon Guardian of the Throne Room!" A large, more mean-looking version of the robot that greeted Yami-Yugi appeared. It had missile launchers and laser arms.
Name: Guardian of the Throne Room
Level: 4
Type: Machine
Attribute: Light
ATK: 1650
DEF: 1600
"Neo, the Magic Swordsman!" Yami-Yugi's monster was human with unkempt blond hair dressed in medieval clothing and carrying a sword appeared.
Name: Neo, the Magic Swordsman
Level: 4
Type: Spellcaster
Attribute: Light
ATK: 1700
DEF: 1000
The Guardian fired its lasers and missiles. Neo set up a forcefield to block the attack then charged. He energized his sword and thrust it into the Guardian's head. The Guardian was destroyed and Neo was able to leap to safety.
(Y: 8000)
(E: 7950)
"Well done, Yugi. The first turn honor shall be yours."
"All right, then, I summon Queen's Knight in attack mode!" Yugi's new monster looked like a playing card picture come to life.
Name: Queen's Knight
Level: 4
Type: Warrior
Attribute: Light
ATK: 1500
DEF: 1600
"Queen's Knight, attack him directly!" Queen's Knight swung her sword across Edric's mid-section. To everyone's surprise, Edric's Duel Disk crackled with electricity.
"I guess... I should warn you now... that whenever we lose life points, we'll be shocked. And it goes for both of us."
(Y: 8000)
(E: 6450)
"And I end my turn."
Edric drew a card. "I summon Mechanicalchaser in attack mode!" An orb with jet wings and multiple claws carrying multiple weapons appeared.
Name: Mechanicalchaser
Level: 4
Type: Machine
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 1850
DEF: 800
"And I equip it with Machine Conversion Factory raising its attack and defense power by 300."
(MC: 1850---2150, 800---1100)
"Mechanicalchaser, attack Queen's Knight now!" Mechanicalchaser thrust its sword five times. The first four times, it missed because the Queen's Knight dodged it but the fifth time was the fatal blow.
(Y: 7350)
(E: 6450)
"Now I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."
I wonder if that face-down card was the Inferno Tempest card. I better be ready for anything. Yami-Yugi drew a card. "I switch Neo the Magic Swordsman into defense mode and play Premature Burial to bring back Queen's Knight in defense mode.
(Y: 6550)
(E: 6450)
"I also summon King's Knight in attack mode!" The King's Knight was dressed in colorful armor like his female counterpart.
Name: King's Knight
Level: 4
Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Light
ATK: 1600
DEF: 1400
"And now that both King's Knight and Queen's Knight are on the field, I can special summon Jack's Knight in attack mode!" Jack's Knight had blue armor and looked like a cross between King's Knight and Queen's Knight.
Name: Jack's Knight
Level: 5
Type: Warrior
Attribute: Light
ATK: 1900
DEF: 1000
"And with that, I end my turn."
Summoning so many monsters yet he does not attack. I bet he's thinking my face-down card is the Inferno Tempest card. Boy, will he be surprised.
Edric drew a card. "I'll sacrifice my Mechanicalchaser in order to summon Needle Burrower in defense mode." His Needle Burrower was a mechanical scorpion with blades all around it including a half-moon shape axe blade for a tail.
Name: Needle Burrower
Level: 5
Type: Machine/Effect
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 1700
DEF: 1700
"I also reveal my face-down card: Zero Gravity!"
"You mean your face-down card wasn't the Inferno Tempest?" Yami-Yugi asked.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Inferno Tempest card was the card Masters used to trounce Yugi last time," Joey said.
"We know that already, Wheeler," Kaiba said. "Why don't you say something useful for once?"
Joey was about to retort when a new voice came from the door. "Hey, hope nobody minds, but I let myself in." It was Mai.
"Apparently, I'm a magnet for losers," Kaiba complained.
Mai ignored Kaiba's snide remark. "The old man at the Game Store said I could find you all here. So, what did I miss?"
"Well, the duel just started," Joey said. "Yugi has four monsters on the field while Edric only has one. But Edric just played... uh... hey Mokuba, what does Zero Gravity do?"
"It switches the battle position of all the monsters on the field," Mai said before Mokuba could answer.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mai's assessment was correct. Neo and Queen's Knight were changed to attack mode while King and Jack Knight were switched to defense mode.
"Needle Burrower, attack Jack's Knight with Spike Shot!" The blades fired from Needle Burrower's body destroying the level 5 knight. "When Needle Burrower destroys a monster, an amount of life points equal to the destroyed monster's level times 500 points is removed. Jack's Knight was a level 5 monster which means you lose 2500 life points."
(Y: 4050)
(E: 6450)
I can't allow that Needle Burrower's effect to happen again. But how do I defeat it? Jack's Knight was the only monster capable of destroying it and now he's gone. I have to keep him from attacking, at least for a little while. Yami-Yugi drew a card and breathed a sigh of relief. All right, this spell card has never let me down before. And I have a feeling it won't let me down here either. "I play Swords of Revealing Light!"
Edric grunted as three golden swords surrounded him and his monster. "You won yourself a brief reprieve, Yugi Moto, but remember, your swords only last for three turn."
"That's all I need," Yami-Yugi said. "I switch Neo and Queen's Knight back into defense mode." The two monsters genuflected again. "I also set one card face-down and end my turn."
The next card that Edric drew was Snatch Steal, a spell card. If it had been the Inferno Tempest, all of Yugi's monsters would be removed from the game. But then again, he still would have had those remaining Knights and that Magic Swordsman plus whatever monsters he still had in his hand. He still has enough power to defeat me. I need to set up a defense "I summon Robotic Knight in defense mode."
Name: Robotic Knight
Level: 4
Type: Machine
Attribute: Fire
ATK: 1600
DEF: 1800
"I activate my trap card: Solemn Wishes! You'll find that getting rid of me is not as easy. Now I can increase my life points to keep up with yours."
"What rotten luck. Very well then, I end my turn."
Yami-Yugi looked at his hand. He had only three cards: Earthquake, Dark Blade, and Curse of Dragon. He drew a card.
(Y: 4550)
(E: 6450)
"I play Pot of Greed which allows me to draw 2 cards." Yami-Yugi's life points went up by another 1000, 500 points for every card drawn.
(Y: 5550)
(E: 6450)
The cards Yami-Yugi drew were Gaia, the Fierce Knight, and Axe of Despair. He played them in a combo. "I sacrifice my two remaining Knights so I can summon Gaia, the Fierce Knight!" A red and blue armored man on a purple horse and carrying two large lances appeared in defense mode.
Name: Gaia, the Fierce Knight
Level: 7
Type: Warrior
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 2300
DEF: 2100
"And I equip him with the Axe of Despair, raising his attack power by 1000!" Gaia sheathed his lances into holsters on his horse as the axe appeared in his hand.
(GtFK: 2300---3300)
"I also play Earthquake!"
"You wouldn't!"
"Watch me."
Wow, Yugi looks so sure... but it's not cockiness, his eyes don't show it. Maybe he reorganized his deck to counter Edric's. I've never seen him use that Magic Swordsman or that Solemn Wishes card before. I wonder what other cards he has.
Edric was thinking along the same lines as Tea, but on a more sinister level. "You think you're so confident," Edric sneered. "But I'll prove that you are nothing and I am everything!"
"You're the one who's acting confident," Yami-Yugi countered.
"Hey Yami," Yugi called. "Maybe we should be careful with using up all our cards. Don't forget, somewhere in Edric's deck is his Inferno Tempest card if he hasn't drew it already."
"You're right, Yugi. Also, a Duelist can lose if he has no more cards in his deck. We should use the cards we already have on the field for now and restock our hand. We should try to see if we can draw a card that can counter the Inferno Tempest card. It may be powerful, but it's also only a spell card and I do have cards that can stop spell cards."
Yami and Yugi returned their attention to the duel. "Let's see, where was I? Oh yeah, I was playing Earthquake. Earthquake behaves like your Zero Gravity card changing the battle position of all face-up monsters on the field like your Needle Burrower." All of the monsters were changed into attack position. "Now, everything is set. Gaia, attack Needle Burrower now!" Gaia charged towards Needle Burrower. As he passed the machine, he swung his axe, cleaving it in two.
(Y: 5550)
(E: 4850)
"And with that, I end my turn."
While those Swords of Revealing Light are out, I can't attack his monsters. But maybe I can get past them. "Yugi, get ready to feel pain unlike any pain you have ever felt. First, I summon Roboyarou to the field." A blue armored robot appeared.
Name: Roboyarou
Level: 3
Type: Machine
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 900
DEF: 450
"Next I activate Mass Driver."
"Mass Driver?" Yami-Yugi asked as a large metal cannon appeared.
"That's correct. Mass Driver lets me turn one of my own monsters into cannon fodder, which I can then fire directly at my opponent causing 400 points of direct damage." Roboyarou leaped into the cannon and a blue flash of light was fired at Yami-Yugi. Yami-Yugi held his Duel Disk up and the blast struck it. Yami-Yugi gritted his teeth as he was shocked, more painfully than it was last time.
(Y: 5150)
(E: 4850)
"And in case you didn't get the message the first time, I'll sacrifice my Robotic Knight as well." This time, a red-orange shaft of energy was fired directly at Yami-Yugi.
(Y: 4750)
(E: 4850)
"Once again, technology proves triumphant over all," Garrick declared. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."
I better be careful, Edric must have the Inferno Tempest card either face-down on the field or in his hand. Yami-Yugi drew the Shift trap card.
(Y: 5250)
(E: 4850)
Not what I was hoping for but it could be helpful. "I'll also set a card face-down and I'll end my turn there."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What's Yugi doing?" Joey asked. "He should've attacked."
"For once, I agree with Wheeler," Kaiba said. "Yugi should've attacked with his super Gaia."
"He must be worried about the Inferno Tempest card," Bakura figured. "Yugi told us that the Inferno Tempest card was instrumental in defeating him. He probably figures that he has it in his hand."
"Kaiba," the computer called. "I'm able to finally gather enough data to project a virtual display of the dueling field." The cards that each player had on the field were displayed on a seven by four grid set vertically in the center of the screen. Towards the bottom were how many life points they had.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"It's my turn and your Swords of Revealing Light are gone now." The swords disappeared. "Which means that I can attack you now." Edric drew a card. "And here it comes. First, I summon Cyber Raider in attack mode." Another blue-armored machine but this one more flashy-looking appeared.
Name: Cyber Raider
Level: 4
Type: Machine/Effect
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 1400
DEF: 1000
"And next, I'll activate Cyber Raider's special ability to steal an Equip Spell card from you. And I choose your Axe of Despair." Cyber Raider fired a mechanical tentacle which grabbed the axe from Gaia's hand. As Gaia's attack power went down, Cyber Raider's went up.
(GtFK: 3300---2300)
(CR: 1400---2400)
"Cyber Raider, use Axe of Despair on Gaia!" With a fierce kick, Gaia's horse was knocked down and Gaia thrown from his saddle. Gaia pulled himself onto one knee just in time to see Cyber Raider swing the axe down on his head.
(Y: 5150)
(E: 4850)
"But I'm not done with you yet. I also choose to sacrifice my Cyber Raider to inflict 400 points of Direct Damage towards you!" Cyber Raider inserted himself into the cannon and fired directly at Yami-Yugi.
(Y: 4750)
(E: 4850)
"How can you keep sending your monsters to the slaughter like that?" Yami-Yugi asked, gasping for breath in the wake of the electric shock. "Have you no respect for them?"
"You talk as if they're real monsters and not playing cards, Yugi. I think you're too sentimental for your own good."
"Well I don't think you're sentimental enough," Yami-Yugi said drawing a card.
(Y: 5250)
(E: 4850)
I can't have him keep direct attacking me like this; I need to get rid of his Mass Driver. The card he drew was Dust Tornado. And this card would do it, but what if he chooses to bring out his Inferno Tempest card? I wouldn't have any defense against it. Wait... Neo! I forgot he's still on the field. Perhaps I can have him attack Edric directly. Yami-Yugi looked at his Magic Swordsman who nodded his head as if he wanted to be sent into battle. "Fine, then. I switch Neo, the Magic Swordsman, into attack mode!" Neo stood up. "Then, I'll have him attack you directly!" Neo sliced through Edric causing him to convulse in shock.
(Y: 5250)
(E: 3150)
"This is where your lucky streak ends, Yugi Moto." Edric drew a card. "Just like you, I'll play Pot of Greed." Edric drew two cards. "I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."
This is great, Yami-Yugi thought. If I keep attacking him directly like this, I'll win in no time. I'll have to act quickly though, before he can play that Inferno Tempest card. Yami-Yugi drew a card.
(Y: 5750)
(E: 3150)
"Neo, attack him directly again!"
"Not this time," Edric cried. "Reveal trap card: Draining Shield! Now, it's my life points that are increasing.
(Y: 5750)
(E: 4850)
Oh no, that Draining Shield increased Edric's life points by Neo's attack points. And because I didn't summon a monster during my first Main Phase, I can't attack him again. "I end my turn."
"Then I'll begin mine." Edric drew his card and smiled. "I summon Robolady!" A pink armored companion to Roboyarou appeared.
Name: Robolady
Level: 3
Type: Machine
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 450
DEF: 900
"And that'll do it for me."
"Fine, then I'll go." Yami-Yugi drew a card.
(Y: 6250)
(E: 4850)
"Neo, attack Robolady!"
"Do you like falling into traps, Yugi Moto? You seem to have fallen for them ever since we first met. Like this one for example: Reveal: Mechaguardian!"
"Mechaguardian?"
"Must I repeat myself? I'm an expert in technology-related cards and something like this is right up my alley. For only 50 life points, I can have a Mechaguardian deflect an attack at a machine monster from a non-machine monster."
(Y: 6250)
(E: 4800)
A robot carrying a riot shield appeared in front of Robolady and blocked Neo's sword. It then disappeared again.
"Done? Because it's my move now." Edric drew a card. "First, I equip Robolady with an equip card called Megamorph. It doubles her attack power."
(RL: 450---900)
"Next, I activate Secret Pass to the Treasure which allows my machine to attack your life points directly!" Robolady jumped over Neo and attacked Yami-Yugi.
(Y: 5350)
(E: 4800)
"Now, I'll activate my Mass Driver again." Robolady disappeared into the cannon and was fired at Yami-Yugi.
(Y: 4950)
(E: 4800)
"Why don't you give-up now, you might save Tea a whole lot of misery. For you see, by dueling me, you're risking her life as well. That's right, if you lose, you'll not only lose the pride and honor you Duelists love so much, but the person you cherish so much will lose her life! That's the severe risks I was talking about!"
This only makes it more vital for me to win, Yami-Yugi thought. If I don't, Tea could die! And... if I'm reading Masters right... so will I!
"It's your move."
Yami-Yugi started his turn.
(Y: 5450)
(E: 4800)
"He now had six cards and they were just the cards he needed. "I activate the Spell Card Heavy Storm to destroy every spell and trap cards on the field." A huge gust of wind destroyed the Mass Driver and Solemn Wishes card. "Next, I'll sacrifice my Magic Swordsman so I can summon Dark Magician Girl! And I equip her with the Book of Secret Arts raising her attack points by 300!"
(DMG: 2000---2300)
"Next I'll activate Morale Boost which raises her attack points by another 1000."
(DMG: 2300---3300)
"Dark Magician Girl, attack with Burning Magic attack!"
Edric just smiled.
(RL: 900---1900)
(Y: 5450)
(E: 3400)
As the attack subsided, Yami-Yugi and the Dark Magician Girl both noticed that Robolady was still standing. "What, how is that possible?"
"Mechaguardian."
"But I destroyed that card with Heavy Storm!"
"So you did, but whenever Mechaguardian is destroyed by a spell or trap card, it allows the machine monster it protects to remain on the field for one turn. However, damage calculation is still applied. And before you say so, the reason my life points only went down a little bit is because Morale Boost works for both sides of the field."
Yami-Yugi cursed.
"My turn again." He drew a card. "I'll play the spell card Cyber Disposal Unit. You must discard one trap card from your hand." Yami-Yugi placed the Dust Tornado card in his graveyard. "Next, I'll play Snatch Steal which I'll use on your Dark Magician Girl." The Dark Magician Girl's eyes closed and she floated over to the other side of the field, her head down, in a trance.
"No, you can't!"
"The spell card says I can. But don't worry; I won't have her attack you... this time. Instead, I think I'll sacrifice her along with my Robolady to summon Launcher Spider!" A large mechanized spider with two huge rocket launchers on its back appeared.
Name: Launcher Spider
Level: 7
Type: Machine
Attribute: Fire
ATK: 2200
DEF: 2500
Yami-Yugi was still trying to accept the fact that he took control of Dark Magician Girl just like that. So he was unprepared for the intense shock. It threw him to the floor.
(Y: 3250)
(E: 3400)
"Yugi, get up!" Tea shouted.
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In the control room, most of the others breathed a sigh of relief.
"At least Tea's safe," Mokuba said speaking for them all.
Yes, but for how long? Kaiba questioned.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What's wrong, Yugi Moto? Are you tired? You must be tired of having monsters turn on you. First your Black Luster Soldier and now your Dark Magician Girl. If you had a machine card like me, then there's a lesser chance for cards like Snatch Steal to work but because you rely on your weak, foolish, emotional organic monsters, my superior technology will dominate you."
"Now while I still have life points," Yami-Yugi said struggling to draw a card. "I play Even Ground. By discarding my remaining two cards, I can bring both of our life points to half of what we started with."
(Y: 4000)
(E: 4000)
They both were panting. Each direct attack felt like a real attack for both of them. "I... I'll tell you what..." Edric turned off his Duel Disk. "I'll give you a five minute break to say good-bye to your 'friend.'" The way he said it was like saying a disgusting word. He turned and left.
I guess he was in just as much pain as I was, Yugi figured as he returned to normal.