Yu-Gi-Oh!
Duel for the Souls
WEBS OF DECEPTION III:
Insecticide
Last Time:
Yugi is challenged to a duel by Weevil Underwood, and tricked the bug duelist into wagering both of his locator cards for Yugi's new Exodia set. As the duel begins, though, it looks like Weevil will be taking the prize, as he methodically sets up his defenses and prepares to unleash his strongest monster.
Yugi combats the first line of defense well, and barely manages to catch up to Weevil, but then he is tricked into attacking a Parasite Paracide card. In a matter of turns, he draws it. Now, with Weevil's Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth on the field, t looks like his first duel of the tournament will be his last . . .
"It looks to me like I'm going to win this in a matter of turns, considering that each time I draw, you lose life points and I gain them," the mysterious teenager said. Maximillion Pegasus watched with growing interest as the duel unfolded.
It was already the beginning of the teenager's second turn, and his child opponent was at a mere 4400 life points. Once he drew a card, his Solemn Wishes would increase his life points by 500—and Fire Princess would deduct another 500 from his opponent. The kid was through, obviously.
"I won't give up!"
"I know. That's part of your problem. Your unwillingness to accept defeat, or a good offer, is why you're in this mess. And why, at the end of this duel, I'll take all five of those locator cards." The teen smiled. "And, for my turn, I'll play Heart of Clear Water, to protect my Fire Princess from all attacks. Your move."
"I play Vorse Raider, and attack—"
"Heart of Clear Water will prevent any attack on my Fire Princess, leaving you with two options, both in face-down defense mode." The teen grinned widely. "Do you pass this turn?"
"No! I'll take out both of your monsters. Since your Fire Princess can't take damage, as soon as you're out of monsters, I can attack directly."
"That may be so, but remember what you just attacked? My other two Nimble Momonga cards, raising my life points another two thousand, and lowering yours another thousand. So, my life points stand at 11500, while you're clinging to 2900. And that sets the stage for the rest of my plan."
"Make your move. I'm not afraid!"
"You will be, boy. You will be."
Ah, what an excellent duelist, Pegasus thought. He knew, from experience, that duel monsters was not played just with cards—it was also a war of minds and willpower. And this teenager was playing psychological games the whole time. Pegasus saw how it started, with the teen acting weak and tentative, asking to duel for fun instead of locator cards.
His first move had been nothing short of astounding. He used the trap card Ultimate Offering to summon two monsters, Fire Princess and his first Nimble Momonga. Then, he played a pair of Ookazi magic cards, sapping 1600 life points from his opponent. The addition of a Tremendous Fire dealt an extra 1000 points of damage, but cost the teen another 500 life points. It was all made up for in the end, with a Dian Keto card, which, that's to Fire Princess, dealt the child even more damage.
The destruction of Nimble Momonga was adding insult to injury—it summoned two more, raised the teen's life points by 1000, and dealt 500 points of damage to the child. By destroying both of the other Nimble Momonga cards, it was just salt in the wound.
"Now, I draw again, costing you another 500 life points because of the excellent combination of Fire Princess and Solemn Wishes. Now, I'll end my turn by setting one card."
"My turn! I draw—"
"Hold on. I have a trap card I'd like to activate."
"What is it, a Drop Off?"
"No. Just a card called Minor Goblin Official. I can only activate it when you've got less than 3000 life points. And it seems you have 2400."
"But what's it do?"
"We'll see, in your standby phase. Which starts . . . Now!" The teen barked a cruel laugh. "And it removes yet another 500 life points from you. You have a measly 1900 life points left. And it's your turn."
"I summon Slate Warrior, and attack with all three of my monsters!" He grinned broadly. "I just took you down to 5700 in one move!"
"Yes, and it will soon be avenged. I draw, and you lose 500 while I gain 500. Now, I activate Reckless Greed, to draw two more cards, gaining me an extra 500, while it lowers you to 900. Now, I'll sacrifice two of your monsters as part of the special ability of my best monster in this deck!"
"My monsters? How?"
"It's the special ability of a monster that has the strength of a Blue-eyes White Dragon. And I'm summoning it to your side of the field."
"Gee, thanks."
"But that's not all! I then activate the magic card Ekibyo Drakmord, so that my all-mighty Lava Golem cannot attack!"
"What's the catch?" the boy asked.
What a fool! This mere child has led this infant duelist through the whole game! He's about to win, and his younger opponent doesn't even know it yet. He thinks that removing that last 6200 life points will be easy with a card that strong. He probably has a way to get around that Drakmord.
But he won't even get a chance to play it, because I designed Lava Golem to be a very dangerous card. Otherwise it wouldn't have the stats of a Blue-eyes White Dragon.
"The catch is that, during each of your turns, you lose 1000 life points. Since you only have 900 now as it is, I'd say that I've won this duel. My turn is over now, by the way."
"What?" Out of reflex, the boy drew a card. "Wait! Oh, oh no! No!" he cried, as the Lava Golem reached out and squeezed the last of his life points from him.
"That'll be five locator cards, please," the teenager said. He held out a hand, and the child's shaking hand dropped all five in it. He slipped them into a special carrying case in his duel disk.
"Bravo, bravo," Pegasus said, clapping. No easy feat, with a duel disk on your wrist, mind you. The things were very heavy. "Excellent show. Now, how about facing a real duelist?" Pegasus said to the teen.
"Maximillion Pegasus? It's an honor to meet you, but I'm afraid that I'll have to turn down that challenge."
"Oh. And why is that?"
"I never pick a fight that I can't win. I know that you created this game, and you know everything about it." He paused. "I'll face you if you ever make it to the finals, but no sooner." He nodded politely. "Have a nice day."
"You, too." That little brat! He was my meal ticket to getting back my Millennium Eye! If I don't get it back, I'll never bring back my dear Cecilia!
That was the whole reason Pegasus had come out of his self-inflicted confinement. It was the offer to duel for that Millennium Eye that brought him here. With it, he would become ever closer to reviving his long-dead wife.
Well, he'd have to win the last four locator cards he needed from someone else.
"Give it up, Yugi! There's no way you can beat my Ultimate Great Moth!" Weevil chortled.
"Is that so? Then why is it getting weaker?" Yugi grinned. I forgot all about my Beast of Gilfer's special ability. It can lower the attack power of one monster by 500 points while it's in the graveyard. That gives me a chance to turn this whole thing around.
"What's happening?" Weevil cried. "It's supposed to have an attack of 4000! Why did it drop to 3500?"
Yugi knew just what he had to do to regain control of this match. Weevil was winning in life points; Yugi would win the psychological battle being waged. "Didn't you know?"
"Know what?" a frustrated Weevil Underwood demanded.
"About my Beast of Gilfer, of course." Yugi said it as though it had been obvious.
"What about it?"
"It has a special ability, but I thought you knew that, and expected it."
"What does it do?"
"You destroyed Gilfer as a monster, but it comes back as a magic card, to weaken one of your monsters. Don't bother destroying it; each time it is sent to the graveyard, it will return as a magic card to weaken your cards again."
"But, I thought I—"
"You thought it was gone?" Yugi laughed. "You thought your 'all-powerful' Ultimate Great Moth had destroyed it? Well, Weevil, understand this: It will only be fully destroyed if I choose not to use it to weaken one of your cards. There's no way to end its effect, unless I choose to do it!"
Hopefully that would keep Weevil scared long enough for Yugi to plan a counterstrike.
"I have nothing left to do this turn," Weevil said, sounding defeated even though he was winning. "It's your turn."
"Fine. First, I draw—" Swords of Revealing Light! This can hold Weevil's Great Moth off long enough for me to get out my secret weapon. I just hope he doesn't have a way to counter it! "I play Swords of Revealing Light!"
White-glowing daggers surrounded the blue-haired insect-lover. "That can keep me from attacking for three whole turns!"
"That's right. I'll end my turn by summoning Alpha the Magnet Warrior in defense mode."
"I summon Gokibore in defense mode."
"Good. This duel is far from over. Now, for my turn, I set one card, and summon Beta the Magnet Warrior, also in defense mode."
"I'll summon another Petite Moth, and equip it with another Cocoon of Evolution. In six turns, I'll have a full-power Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth to destroy you!"
"You think so? Well, Swords of Revealing Light will wear off at the end of your next turn, so I might as well get this over with now. I summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior in attack mode, and activate my Magnet Warrior trio's special ability."
"What's that?"
"Wait and see, as I summon one of the most powerful monsters in all of Duel Monsters!"
"But you can't!"
"And why is that?"
"My Parasite Paracide prevents you from sacrificing any monsters to form a tribute summon!"
"Who said my monster was summoned through sacrifice? No, this creature is a fusion enabled by my three magnet warriors. They break apart, and re-form, as Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!"
"Oh, no! That thing's attack power is equal to my Ultimate Moth's!"
"Not quite. Remember my Gilfer Beast card? It's still weakening your monster. And, because Valkyrion is an EARTH monster, it gains the 500 attack points from my Gaia Powered magic card."
"But my Parasite card will still infect it!"
"Oh, no!" Yugi cried, as he finally saw the flaw in his own plan.
Wait, Yugi! Yami said. Don't lose faith! Look at your hand!
What? Yugi asked the ancient spirit of his Millennium Puzzle. Oh, I see. Exchange and Mammoth Graveyard. So what?
Yami indicated Exchange. Remember what Joey told us about his duel against Weevil, and how Weevil used an Eradicating Aerosol card to destroy his own Pinch Hopper?
Yes?
What if he has Eradicating Aerosol in his hand?
So what, Yami? What if he doesn't?
We have to try! Yami insisted.
All right. I'll do it! "I play the magic card Exchange!" The hologram flipped up. "It allows both of us to look at each others hand, and take one card. I only have a Mammoth Graveyard in mine, so you get to use it for the rest of the duel. However, I get one of your cards, too."
Weevil, looking very angry, stalked over. "Fine, take one!" he shouted.
Yes! It's Eradicating Aerosol! "I'll take that one," Yugi said, plucking it out of Weevil's hand. "Thank you for helping me win this!"
"I can't believe this," Weevil grumbled as he went back to his place.
"Now, Weevil, prepare to lose! I activate your Eradicating Aerosol card, destroying your Parasite Paracide card!"
"Oh, no!" Weevil cried. "My plan, up in smoke!"
"Now, I attack your Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth with Valkyrion the Magna Warrior. Since its attack power is now 4000, and Ultimate Great Moth only has 3500 attack points, I'm afraid that I win this round. And, since my Gilfer was sent back to the graveyard, he'll infect your second Cocoon, weakening its defense power by 500 points. Dark Magician Girl, attack!"
"Not so fast, Yugi. I activate a pair of trap cards, Time Machine and Shift. Time Machine will bring back my Great Moth, fully regenerated, while shift will change your little girl friend's attack to target it!" Weevil chortled in delight. "Now you lose another 2000 life points, leaving you at a mere 2000! I've won this duel, Yugi, because there is no way you can defeat my Great Moth again!"
"Is that so? Well, sorry to disappoint you, Weevil, but I know your greatest weakness in this. So, I'll play a magic card called Horn of the Unicorn!"
"What, to power up your Valkyrion?"
"No—to power up your Great Moth card!"
"What?" Obviously Weevil didn't expect that!"
"Now, I'll reveal why. I activate the magic card I played face-down before using Exchange: Eternal Rest!"
"But that destroys all cards with a card equipped to them!" Weevil said. Then, he gasped. "My Great Moth and my Cocoon!"
"That's right! They're both gone. And, Gilfer will now take over and weaken Gokibore. That only sets the stage for my next move.
"Valkyrion, destroy Gokibore, so that it will weaken your Cockroach Knight, and end my turn."
"I activate Graceful Charity to draw three cards, and then use Jar of Greed to draw another. First, I'll play Heavy Storm to clear away all magic and trap cards on the field."
"Gilfer is indestructible, so now it infects your Cockroach Knight again."
"That's not all I'm doing. I activate Premature Burial to bring back Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth again, at the cost of 800 life points. I'll finish by activating the magic card De-fusion, breaking Valkyrion back into three monsters."
"Oh, no!"
"Now, my great beast, finish off Yugi's Alpha the Magnet Warrior, and bring his life points down to 900!" The many-colored wings of the great insect whipped up a tornado that blew away Yugi's monster, and dropped his life points again.
"Well-played, Underwood. But, I still need Yugi in this tournament, so, if it appears that you're going to win, I will have to take control of your mind." The spirit of the Millennium Ring grinned. "And then lock you in the Shadow Realm, of course."
"Master, if you want Yugi to win, why did you allow Weevil to duel him in the first place?"
"It's quite simple, Ken. Weevil's burning hatred of Yugi is the kind of thing that will bring him down in the end. But, until that end comes, it will wear down Yugi. When the time comes for him to face me, then I will defeat him with ease. Marik Ishtar never managed to wear him down—because of Kaiba's rules at Battle City, Yugi only got stronger.
"He would have been worn out, too, if not for winning that Egyptian God card. Only that managed to sustain him through his ordeals in Battle City."
"But, master, what if he gets the God cards again?"
The spirit turned to his servant. "He won't—because I have already made plans to secure them, once and for all!"
"I switch all of my cards to defense mode, and set one card face-down." Yugi sighed. "That's all I can do."
"That's right. Now, prepare to lose, Yugi. Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth, destroy Gamma! Hyohyohyo!" The whirlwind broke the pinkish magnetic fighter into pieces.
I have to destroy that Cockroach Knight. If I do that, Gilfer will return to weaken that Great Moth enough for me to kill it.
Wait a second! I know how I can win! That Magical Mist card I just played, when I used Summoned Skull, was how I beat Weevil the first time. Well, he's about to get a real blast from the past, if I can draw the right cards.
He drew a De-spell card. This is perfect. With it, I can destroy Gilfer, and bring it back again! "I play De-spell, and use its magic-destroying properties to take out Beast of Gilfer once again, and revive it again on your Ultimate Great Moth!"
"So what if you lowered its attack power down to 3000? It's still more powerful than any card in your deck, and now it's going to finish you off!" He laughed yet again. "Destroy Beta, his last defense!"
Oh, no! I'm all out of monsters! There's no way I can win this now!
Be strong, Yugi! Yami ordered. We can still hold him off for a little while. Remember, you have Multiply in your hand. Use it!
But I don't have any monsters weak enough to do that!
Trust in the heart of the cards, Yugi, and we will win this still!
Okay. Here it goes . . .
Yes! It's Kuriboh! With this, we can still win!
Play it, then!
I will, Yami. Weevil's never faced anything like this before!
"I summon Kuriboh, in attack mode!"
"Kuriboh?" Weevil cried out in shock. "That monster is too weak to deserve a spot in anyone's deck!"
"Is that so? Well, it won't be so weak when I activate this magic card, Multiply, making one Kuriboh into five."
"I'll destroy them one by one, then!" Weevil pointed at one of the copies. "Great Moth, destroy it!" The tornado hit, and Kuriboh exploded. But, in its place, two more brown hairballs appeared. "What?" Weevil asked, surprised.
"I forgot to mention that each time a multiplied Kuriboh is destroyed, two more take its place. It's an ever-expanding wall of furry defenders, and not even Kaiba's Blue-eyes Ultimate Dragon has penetrated it!"
"Then it is up to me to find a way to," Weevil said.
"Is that so? Well, prepare to be disappointed."
"And why is that?" Weevil asked.
Yugi only grinned in response.
"What do you have planned, Yugi?"
Little did Weevil know that his words were being echoed in the private office belonging to the spirit of the Millennium Ring. The spirit had learned, after sealing the souls of Tristan Taylor and Tea Gardner in blank Duel Monsters cards, that his powers could not penetrate into either Yugi's or Yami's minds. Sealing away two of his friends had blocked his powers!
"What do you intend to do now, Yugi?" He knew, from the digital feed, that the face down card Yugi had played was Makyou the Magical Mist. What that card would do was beyond the spirit.
The Kuriboh, however, was an excellent stall strategy. Bakura had witnessed it holding off Seto Kaiba's strongest monster, Blue-eyes Ultimate Dragon, at Duelist Kingdom. He knew, from Marik Ishtar, that it also saved Kaiba at Battle City during the two-on-two match against Umbra and Lumis.
How the spirit hated those pathetic balls of hair! It was a Kuriboh that Yugi used to defeat the ghost of Dark Sanctuary. It, in a combo with Collected Power and Exile of the Wicked. Collected Power drew the Dark Sanctuary ghost into Kuriboh, and then Exile destroyed Kuriboh with the ghost.
Seeing it used against Weevil was a minor consolation. The spirit had always hated that little worm.
"We'll see what you have planned, Yugi. I'm very patient, after all."
"You see, Weevil, the original Kuriboh is still in play. It's just hidden. But, since all you see are copies, you don't know which one it is. But, It won't be here long, because I intend to sacrifice it!"
"Sacrifice it? For what?"
"The monster that defeated you at Duelist Kingdom, Weevil: My Summoned Skull!"
Weevil waved a hand dismissively. "So what? Its attack strength is still too low!"
"Not for long. First, I activate my face-down magic card, Makiu the Magical Mist!" A thick fog rolled in, soaking everything. "Its dampness increases the power of my Summoned Skull's electric assault. And, your overgrown moth is so waterlogged that it has become a giant lightning rod!"
"What? Oh, no, not again!"
"I'm not done yet, Weevil. Now, I activate the magic card in my hand, United We Stand, raising Summoned Skull's attack and defense 800 points for each monster I control. Since there are five of my copied Kuriboh cards still in play, United We Stand raises his attack and defensive power by another 4800 points. And, since his attack, thanks to Makiu the Magical Mist, is 3500, that gives my Skull a total attack of 8300. Your monster has a mere 3000 attack points, meaning my attack will deal 5300 points of direct damage to your life points. And that will win me the duel, Weevil!"
"Oh, no!" he whimpered again, sagging to his knees.
"Now, Summoned Skull: Lightning Strike!" Yugi shouted, pointing at Weevil's soaked insect. Electricity crackled around the winged field, and the twin curling horns on it head began to glow.
A bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, striking its head. The power flowed through its body, and out of its bare-bone arms. Streams of electricity danced through the moist air, meeting in one point: Weevil's monster. A final, giant, bolt of lightning struck it, and disintegrated it instantly.
Weevil fell back, resting on his knees and heels. His arms were dangling loosely at his sides. His eyes had a haunted look in them, and holographic smoke still rose from him.
"Your Battle City days are through once again, Weevil. Now, hand over those two locator cards, as we agreed."
With a little cry of despair, Weevil handed over the two cards, then scampered off as fast as he could.
"Now we're one step closer to the finals," Yugi said out loud to Yami.
Yes, the spirit of the ancient pharaoh agreed in their mind link. One step closer to saving our friends.
"Man, I wonder what Yugi's doing now," Joey Wheeler said as he nursed a Pepsi—he hated the junk, but it still gave him the sugar and caffeine he needed to stay awake at this hour—in the diner on the outskirts of the Domino City Public Park. It was the fourth day of the tournament, and Joey had only been involved in one duel, and gave away the locator card he got from it. Well, he couldn't exactly complain, since he gave it to Mai Valentine, and got a hug and a kiss from it. Not to mention Rex Raptor's favorite card, the rainbow dragon Seiyaryu.
He looked out the window, and a flash of light drew his eye. Off on the sidewalk, across a busy highway, a duel was going on. And, judging from the brightness of the flashes, something big just happened.
He watched as a pair of monsters—a Dungeon Worm and Monster Tamer, by the looks of things—vanished into shining particles, and reformed themselves in a giant wooden box. That can only mean . . . Joey thought.
He watched as the double duel cycled to the team who'd played the hidden monster again. Two more monsters, Shadow Ghoul and Wicked Worm Beast, dissolved to form yet another box.
On the turn of the player who played the first box, two more monsters were sacrificed, and a third box materialized. All three began to shake violently, and bright light was emitted from each. The first box released a pillar of yellow energy; the second a beam of blue, deep and dark as the ocean itself; the final box's blast was a pale green, like grass swaying in the wind.
"Guardians of Thunder, Water, and Wind," Joey whispered, remembering when Sanga of Thunder, Suijin, and Kazejin were first unleashed upon him. It was his last match before the Duelist Kingdom finals began, when he won his tenth star chip. It had been a double duel, when he and Yugi had teamed up to take down the freakish rhyming Paradox Brothers.
But that was over two years ago, and Joey hadn't even heard of the Paradox Brothers since. Then again, Yugi had told Joey of a greater duelist team, the Rare Hunters Umbra and Lumis. While Para and his younger brother Dox tried to overwhelm an opponent with their shifting Labyrinth Wall maze and the second-strongest card in duel monsters—Gate Guardian—the Rare Hunter team used a varying strategy to weaken their opponents before taking them down.
Yugi and Joey beat the Paradox brothers by fusing Joey's Red-eyes Black Dragon and Yugi's Summoned Skull. They then powered it up with Joey's Copycat card—which copied the magic effects of the Paradox's Riryoku magic card—and moving it into attack position with Yugi's Shift. It had been difficult, to say the least, but they managed, and both Joey and Yugi won their last star chips.
Now, though, Joey wasn't interested in dueling. He wanted to finish his dinner, a hamburger and fries. He hadn't run into anyone he knew today, and no duelists to face, either. It was a waste of a day, but that's how fortune works. Maybe there'd be some late-nighters out who would be looking for a challenge.
But, if he didn't find someone by eleven o'clock, he'd head home. Hs dad never cared if he got home late—he was usually asleep by eight anyway. After he paid for and finished eating his meal, Joey got up and walked out. The duel with the Paradox Brothers had ended spectacularly—one attack from their all-powerful Gate Guardian, and it was all over.
"Master, the target has left the diner, and is moving towards the park," Panik reported into the small microphone hidden in his shirt collar. "Shall I move into position?"
"Yes, simpleton." His master seemed angry about something, but he didn't know what. It probably wasn't his business, anyway.
"Fine. Arkana and the others are already in position, waiting."
"That's great. Now, hurry up. I want Wheeler removed from this tournament for good!"
"As you wish, boss. I'll keep you posted. And soon Wheeler will be nothing but a painful memory!"
"Brother, look over there!" Dox said, sounding distressed.
"What is it?" Para demanded, looking where his younger brother pointed.
"It's Joey Wheeler! Lets follow him, so he can lead us to Yugi Muto."
Para thought about it. Yugi Muto and Joey Wheeler were the only duelists to defeat Para and his younger brother while they were employed as Duelist Eliminators at Duelist Kingdom. Since then, they hadn't lost, and had greatly improved. Now all that was required was a duel against those who beat them.
And if following the blond runt would bring them back to their former glory, Para was willing to do it.
"All right, let's see where he goes," Para conceded.
"Wait!" Dox hissed.
"What?"
"We won't be the only ones following him," Dox whispered. "Our old friend Panik has taken interest in him as well."
"Panik lost to Yugi, and hasn't gotten over it. A mind like his wants revenge. We may end up needing to defend young Wheeler."
"Why is that, brother?"
"Because, if we defend Wheeler, then we shall have a bargaining chip, which may lead us to a duel against Yugi and Joey."
Dix nodded in acceptance. "Good plan. Now, let's hurry, before he goes. And I think we can enjoy stalking the stalkers!"
TO BE CONTINUED . . .