Tournament of the Millennium!
Joey sighed contentedly and rubbed his stomach as he downed his fifth hot dog, covered in peanut sauce. Now that he'd had lunch, he was ready to roll. Admittedly, he was still a bit worried about the book Yugi had received about the Millennium Items, but he couldn't do any more than what he did best. And what he did best was duel. And eat. But he'd covered eating, so now it was time to duel.
Joey raced out of the food court into the sunny streets, eager to find someone to duel. Looking around, Joey couldn't see anyone with a DuelDisk or a translator, so he trudged back into the food court, to a noodle stand up on the second-floor balcony. From that vantage point, he'd be able to see any duelists who passed through the food court searching for a meal. He trotted up the escalator, to the noodle stand, and sat down at a table. He tried to focus on watching for duelists, but after 5 minutes began to lose focus. The noodle stand behind him was wafting delicious smells his way. Joey couldn't stand it. After another minute of sitting surrounded by wonderful aromas, Joey groaned and stood up. He had to eat!
Joey slid his chair in and pulled his wallet out. He glanced in at his current monetary status. Two bucks. He studied the menu. He could get some noodles and a sauce to drench them in, but only a snack. Strangely enough, his eyes were drawn to another item on the menu. A Thai stir fry. It sounded so good. And it was $4. He wanted it. Oh, how he wanted it.
He looked up at the board again and then around the small food court. There were two people eating. An old guy and a young woman. She looked about 20, with flowing honey-blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. Joey's eyes lit up and he strolled over to her, then leaned casually on her table.
"Hi. How are you?" Joey asked as smoothly as possible.
The woman looked curiously at him, puzzled. Then it clicked in Joey's mind. She didn't speak Japanese. He sighed in defeat. He didn't know any English.
Suddenly the woman's face lit up and she reached into here bag to pull out a KaibaCorp translator earpiece. Joey squeaked in surprise. That meant she was a duelist. And now he didn't have to ask for money.
"Yes, what is it you were saying?" asked the woman innocently. Joey looked around for something to say and spotted her DuelDisk tucked behind her bag.
"I saw your DuelDisk and was hoping I could duel you. I've got three pieces of Exodia, the right arm, right leg and left leg. So I was wondering if you'd accept my challenge for, say, two pieces?" Joey casually offered. The woman pulled out her pieces and looked at them.
"I have three as well, but I have a double of the head. How about I swap the head for your Left Leg, then all I need are the Right Arm and Right Leg?" she proposed the trade.
Joey nodded in accord.
"As long as you put your two Left pieces up for offer, I'll agree to that. Oh, and instead of putting your rarest card up for offer, I was thinking maybe if I won you could bye me lunch… cause I'm broke," Joey finished lamely.
The woman facefaulted, then laughed airily.
"I don't see why not. I don't particularly feel like losing this duel, but sure. My name is Sarah, by the way."
Joey's eyes lit up. He had just what he wanted. Qualification for Round 2 and lunch, all in one neat package.
"Well, nice to meet you Sarah. My name's Joey. So, should we get this started?"
"How about we go downstairs and find a clearer area first?"
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Joey stood at one side of the mall's clear centre, while Sarah stood at the other. Joey started to flick through his deck to try and decide on a DeckMaster.
He stopped at his Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Maybe it was time for him to use it. But then again… Joey put the card back and continued looking.
'Okay. I think I'll go with something a little bit… different. Swordsman of Landstar. Perfect. Okay then, little buddy, you and me now.'
Joey looked over at Sarah. Behind her was a strange priest with the head of a falcon. Interesting.
Sarah looked at him with determination.
"Let's get this going. Since you challenged me, I get to go first," declared Sarah. She drew her sixth card and smiled. She added it to her hand and pulled another card from it.
"I'll set one monster face-down and end my turn."
Joey glanced at his starting hand and groaned. He had no low-level monsters. But wait, he did have something.
"I'll activate Dangerous Machine Type-6 and then play Added Preparations. This allows me to simulate a second Standby Phase, so I can activate my Dangerous Machine Type-6. It lets me roll a die and an effect activates according to what I roll. So, go, dice roll!" Joey called as a holographic die bounced around and stopped on a 3.
"Yes! Draw 1 card! Excellent," Joey drew his card and placed it on the field.
"Summon Battle Warrior (700-1000) in Attack Mode! Attack the face-down card!"
The blue warrior leapt forward and swung one of his powerful fists at the facedown card. It swung up, to reveal a mime that caught the warrior's fist and threw him backwards. Joey's Life Points fell to 7700. Sarah laughed.
"You've attacked Mimic of Darkness Lv 1 (100-1000). When flipped, it allows me to draw a card."
Sarah added a card to her hand and then drew her card for her turn.
"Now, during my Standby Phase, I can sacrifice Mimic of Darkness Lv 1 in order to level him up to a stronger form, Mimic of Darkness Lv 3 (1000-1000)!"
In front of Sarah, the mime grew more muscled and threatening. Joey gulped. His monster had 300 less Attack than that monster.
"Next, I'll set two cards facedown and summon Mystic Swordsman Lv 2 (900-0) in Attack Mode! And now Mystic Swordsman Lv 2 will destroy your pathetic Battle Warrior! And my mime will attack directly!"
The swordsman, who looked similar to Link from the Zelda series, Joey thought, except clothed in blue, leapt forward and skewered his warrior. Joey's Life Points fell to 7500 and shortly after the mime punched him in the gut, it fell again, to 6500.
Joey was just about to draw his card when Sarah shook her head.
"Not so fast Joey. First, when Mystic Swordsman Lv 2 destroys a monster in Battle he can level up to the powerful Mystic Swordsman Lv 4 (1900-1600)!"
The elf-like swordsman grew taller and sleeker, with a long broadsword in hand.
Joey drew his card and glanced at it. He smirked. Definitely useful. But first he had to roll for his machine. He rolled a 6 and the machine exploded. Sarah laughed as Joey looked a little perturbed.
"What's the matter Joey? All broken?" teased Sarah. Joey smirked.
"Not today, cause I've got The Norseman Berserker (3000-0)! Summoned in Attack Mode!" A huge, fierce Viking appeared, swinging a deadly battleaxe.
"If I have other monsters on the field there's a chance Norseman Berserker will attack them, but since I have no others on the field, there's nothing to worry about. So, Norseman Berserker, attack that pathetic mime!" called Joey.
The Viking charged forward and decapitated the mime in one slash. Sarah's Life Points fell to 6000, but she smiled.
"Because you destroyed my Mimic of Darkness Lv 3, I get to draw 2 cards."
Joey looked at his hand again and smiled once more.
"Now I'll play Foolish Burial to place a monster from my deck into my Graveyard. Then I'll follow it with Shallow Grave so we can each set 1 monster facedown from our graveyard. Now it's your turn."
Sarah smirked as she drew her next card.
"Perfect. I'm activating Memory Erasure. If you have 3 or less cards in your hand you must shuffle it back into your deck and draw an equal amount of cards," explained Sarah, as Joey grabbed two cards, "then I activate Invalidate and Greed! If an effect causes you to draw cards, you have to discard the cards you drew because of the effect! So now you have no hand! And to add to that, Greed inflicts 1000 Life Points of Damage to you." cheered Sarah brightly. Joey mumbled something about stupid traps.
"Next, I'm activating Focal Point of Four Dimensions to shuffle my Mimic of Darkness Lv 3 and Mystic Swordsman Lv 2 back into my deck. Then I'll set 2 Traps facedown to use later. And finally, I'll activate Ectoplasm and summon Doll of Demise (1500-1700) in Attack Mode!"
Sarah looked at her side of the field. It looked pretty good. She was feeling good about this duel.
"Okay, Mystic Swordsman Lv 4, attack his facedown monster!" called Sarah commandingly. Joey smirked. His monster's defense was too high for Sarah to scratch… which is why the swordsman cut straight through it like a knife through hot butter.
"Wha-!? My Red-Eyes! What happened?" yelled Joey in shock.
Sarah smiled sweetly as she explained.
"Well, my Mystic Swordsman is able to instantly cut through any facedown monster, even those with Defense higher than his Attack. Oh, and now I can transform it into Mystic Swordsman Lv 6 (2600-2000), since he destroyed a monster."
The swordsman didn't change very much, except his armour became sleek golden mail and his sword turned into an enourmous zweihander. He smirked at Joey with maddening superiority.
"And of course, because it's the end of my turn I can activate the magic of Ectoplasmer. This allows me to tribute 1 of my monsters each turn to do Life Points of damage to you equal to half it's Attack Strength. So I'll sacrifice Doll of Demise, doing 750 Life Points of damage to you, reducing you to 4750. And by it's own effect, Doll of Demise returns to the field for later use."
Joey groaned. He was in a bad situation.
"I draw and I'll activate Sanctuary! This lets me draw so that I have 6 cards in my hand!" called Joey cheerfully.
"And because Greed is a Continuous Trap, you lose 3000 Life Points, while I lose 2000. So now you only have 1750 Life Points left. Oh, and I activate my second Invalidate so you have to discard them all. Too bad."
Joey cursed. He still had no cards in his hand, and his only card on the field was Norseman Berserker.
"Ohh, Joey!" called Sarah charmingly.
"What?!" Joey still wasn't in a good mood.
"I'm also activating my other Trap card Cemetery Bomb, to deal 1500 Life Points of damage to you. Looks like you only have 250 Life Points left."
At this Joey began to panic. He could only destroy one of her two monsters. So she'd just use the other to sacrifice to Ectoplasmer and bam! He was gone.
Oh man, what do I do now? I have no options left!
Beside Joey a squeaky voice piped up. Joey jumped in fright.
"Ahh! Shish kabobs!" It was his Swordsman of Landstar.
"Joey. I have an effect to lend to you. Make good use of it, cause this can save you if you use it right."
"Yeah? What is it? C'mon, tell me!"
The little toy whispered in his ear and Joey looked at him, puzzled. Then his eyes lit up.
"Aaaaooooowwwwwwww. I get you. Okay, thanks buddy." He turned to Sarah and pointed at her. When he spoke, his voice was clear and confident.
"I'm activating my DeckMaster effect. It lets me put any one card from my deck into my hand. And that card is… Heavy Storm! So now I can destroy Greed and Ectoplasmer!"
Joey smirked as his Viking warrior hefted his axe up and pointed at the wooden doll.
"Norseman Berserker, turn that Doll of Demise into woodchips!" yelled Joey excitedly.
His warrior charged forward, head butted the doll and slapped the broad side of the axe into its head, which burst into splinters. Sarah's Life Points fell to 2500.
Sarah scowled slightly as she drew her next card. When she saw what it was, her scowl transformed into a confident smile.
"Yeah, now I can call out my best monster. Prepare yourself, Joey, for the most fearsome dragon in existence!" declared Sarah. Joey's face became slightly clouded. That didn't sound good. Sarah pulled two cards from her hand.
"Now, I'll sacrifice my Mystical Swordsman Lv 6 to summon my powerful Black Flare Dragon of Horus (2300-1600) in Attack Mode! And using the magic of Level Up! I can morph it into the legendary Black Flare Dragon of Horus Lv 8 (3000-1800)! As strong as a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, this beast is something to be feared!" taunted Sarah.
Joey took one look at it and began to shake. It was huge, black and scaly, except that it had the head of a falcon, and large feathery falcon's wings instead of traditional dragon wings.
"Since it's strength is equal to that of your Norseman Berserker, I'll place 1 card facedown and end my turn."
Joey drew his card and looked at it. His face lit up. He set it on the field facedown immediately and then glanced at his Norseman Berserker. He knew what would happen now.
Hisberserker, having no other target, charged towards the vicious dragon and slammed his axe down on its neck. Sarah's facedown Trap swung up to reveal itself and then the dueling field began to warp and spiral, as the berserker hefted his axe off the dragon's neck and charged backwards to his starting position.
"I've activated Time Slip! It negates the attack, protecting my beast. Now, it's my turn."
Sarah grabbed her card and slipped it into one of her Spell/Trap zones.
"I'm activating Mountain! This powers my dragon up to 3200, so I can destroy your berserker, leaving you with 50 Life Points!" called Sarah. Her dragon roared and razor-sharp feathers whirled around the Viking, slicing him up. Joey smiled weakly as it happened.
"Well, I may only have 50 Life Points left, but it's my turn now. So I'll draw and then I'll activate my Trap card, Treasure of Destiny! I get to roll a die and draw cards according to the number I rolled. So I roll and… 6! Yes! I get six cards to add to my hand, but in return I have to remove the top six cards of my deck from the game."
Joey glanced quickly at the cards he removed.
'Jinzo, Monster Reborn, Graceful Dice, Die of Fate, Exponential Explosion of Epic Proportions in Your Galaxy and Mystical Refpanel. Damn, they were good cards! Guess I'll have to work with what I've got."
Joey glanced at the seven cards in his hand and smiled as he grabbed one from his hand.
"I'll summon Dark Dragon Hatchling (800-500) and then I'll use its effect to turn it into Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400-2000)! And then I'll play Fissure! That'll destroy your Black Flare Dragon of Horus so I can attack you directly!" cheered Joey happily. Sarah shook her head and giggled.
"Sorry Joey, but my dragon's ability allows me to negate any of your Spell cards, so I'll stop it. So what do you have now?"
Joey looked at his hand with worry. Sighing, he set his remaining four cards on the field.
Joey slumped slightly. Only his facedown cards could save him now. Then he looked at his field. He had to protect his Red-Eyes! It could win this duel for him, but only if he had some protection. Then he brightened. He had it! The perfect protection!
"Now I'll call my Swordsman of Landstar (500-1200) to the field in Defense Mode!" called Joey with determination. His little soldier stared nervously at the big dragon in front of him.
"Um, Joey, is this a good idea?" it squeaked worriedly. Joey looked at him confidently.
"Don't worry. I've got this duel won."
Sarah laughed loudly at this. She raised an eyebrow and began her turn.
"I'm sorry Joey, I thought you just said you'd win this. And yet I'm just about to slay your pathetic toy and end this. Oh, and just in case you plan on using those traps, my DeckMaster prevents my Black Flare Dragon of Horus from being destroyed by card effects. Now, attack his Swordsman of Landstar!" called Sarah passionately.
"Activate One Silver Dollar! This prevents any monster with 1000 or less Attack from being damaged this turn! Now it's my turn!" Joey drew his card and tossed it aside.
"I don't need that card, cause now I'll activate Mythological Age and The Haunted's Cry! They allow me to revive two of my monsters and I'll revive two monsters, one of which you forced me to discard with Invalidate!" cried Joey with a smug look. The look on Sarah's face was classic.
"Say hello to Battle Warrior (700-1000) and Knight of Aquasky (600-1100)! They may not be very strong, but now I can activate my final Trap card," Joey smirked slightly, then flipped up his last Trap.
"Activate Overwhelming Forces! When Swordsman of Landstar, Battle Warrior and Knight of Aquasky are on the field I can get rid of all your cards on the field!" yelled Joey exuberantly. "And that includes your dragon!"
Sarah chuckled indulgently again.
"Poor Joey, weren't you listening? My Servant of Horus prevents it from being destroyed!"
Joey simply stood steady and watched as his three warriors hacked, slashed and beat the huge dragon into non-existence.
"Hmm… Well then, it's lucky that Overwhelming Forces removes the cards from the game, isn't it?"
Sarah's mouth fell open in shock. Her greatest monster had just been annihilated and she had nothing left to protect her Life Points. Then her look of shock dissolved into a defeated smile.
"Well done Joey. You got through a monster I thought was just about unslayable. You deserve this win." Sarah congratulated him softly.
Joey looked gratified.
"Okay. Thanks. You were a great challenge. One of the toughest duels I've fought. I won't forget it easily." He then swept his hands over his monsters as he gave the final command of the duel.
"Red-Eyes Black Dragon! Knight of Aquasky! Attack and finish this!" shouted Joey triumphantly. His dragon launched a flaming burst at Sarah, followed by a swift charge from the horse-mounted knight. As his attack finished, he faded into nothingness, along with all the rest of Joey's monsters. The DuelDisks gave a final whir as they shut down, then a small whistle and a beep signified the end of the duel.
"Alright! Lunchtime!"
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Joey finished up the last of his second bowl of stir-fry and sighed contentedly.
"So you came third in your state regional tournament? That's pretty impressive Sarah."
"Second in Duelist Kingdom and fourth in Battle City isn't too shabby either you know."
Joey and Sarah were getting to know each other better but alas, it was time for Sarah to leave. She still had 1 piece of Exodia, so she still had a chance to qualify. As she stood up, she pulled a piece of paper out of her bag, scrawled something on it and dropped it in front of Joey. She scratched her head and blushed slightly.
"There's my e-mail, Joey. In case you want to keep in contact."
Joey grinned and tucked the piece of paper into his pocket.
"Will do. Well, been nice talking with you. Guess I'll see you around?" Joey asked uncertainly.
"Maybe. Guess I'll have to see how it goes. See ya!" Sarah waved goodbye and walked away. Joey watched her for a moment, then went back to finishing off his noodles. He tossed the empty bowl into a bin and jumped up, excited.
"Oh yeah! Round 2, here I come!"