Disclaimer: No I don't own Yuugiou or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters or Yuugiou: Duel Monsters Genex or anything related except for a few stories I wrote and so cards I made up. Glad we're clear on that.
Chapter 7: Lover's Struggle
"Heads!" Jou said excitedly as the coin landed on the table. "That means your attack is negated. So my 'Axe Raider' is safe."
"So he is," Julie (3900) replied, "Your luck's as good as ever."
"Sure is," Jou (4000) said.
"I end my turn," Julie said.
"Watashi no turn, draw," Jou, said. "My 'Fairy Box' requires 500 LPs for upkeep each turn, so I'll send it to the graveyard. Then sacrifice 'Axe Raider' to summon 'Total Defense Shogun' (1550/2500) in attack mode."
"Why sacrifice for a weaker monster?" Julie asked. "It has decent DEF, but that's useless in attack mode."
"True," Jou said, "But when this shogun is Normal Summoned, he automatically switches to defense mode." He turned the card sideways. "And I'll use this Magic card, 'Death Meteor'. This card will inflict 1000 points of direct damage to your LPs."
Julie (2900), "1000?"
"That's right," Jou said. "And because I played it when you had a monster on the field, I can command that monster to attack me. So 'Harpy Lady 1' (1800/1600), attack my shogun."
"So I loose another 700 LPs?" Julie (2200) asked.
"'Fraid so," Jou confirmed. "I'll cover one card and end my turn."
Julie drew, "'God's Blessing' gives me 500 LPs (2700). I play the magic card 'Tough Love'. Now I pick up 5 cards and show them to you." She picked 5 cards from her deck and held them so Jou could see them. 'Female Warrior of the Moon', 'Harpy Lady 3', 'Amazon Archer', 'Cyber Bondage', 'Giant Trunade'. "Now I pick one to put in my hand. I choose…'Harpy Lady 3'." She placed it with the rest of her hand. "Now, you choose two and send them to the graveyard."
"Alright," Jou said, "discard 'Cyber Bondage' and 'Female Warrior of the Moon'."
Julie placed the cards in the graveyard. "And the last two are shuffled back into my deck." She placed them on top of her deck and shuffled. "I summon 'Harpy Lady 3' (1300/1400) in attack mode. And because of my other two cards, 'Harpy Lady 1' and 'Harpy's Hunting Ground', her stats rise (1800/1600). And also, I now have to destroy a Magic or Trap card, so I choose your facedown card."
Jou nodded, smiling, as he placed 'Bottomless Trap Hole' in the grave. "Anything else for your turn?" he asked.
"Yes," Julie replied, "I activate my facedown continues magic card 'Power of Faith'. This card lets me Special Summon one monster from my graveyard. 'Female Warrior of the Moon' (2100/1400), awakens." She placed the card back on the field. "End of turn."
"My turn," Jou said as he drew, "I play the 'Precious Coins from Above'. Now we each draw until we both have 6 cards in hand." Jou drew 4 cards.
"But remember Jou," Julie said, "since I'm drawing cards, I gain 500 LPs from 'God's Blessing'," Julie (3200) said, drawing 6 cards."
"Then I'll play this Magic card," Jou went on. "'Gathering Troops'. Now I have to Special Summon as many level 4 and lower monsters from our hand as possible. I summon 'Gearfried the Iron Knight' (1800/1600), 'Exiled Force' (1000/1000), 'Little-Winguard' (1400/1800), and 'Command Knight' (1200/1900) in attack mode. Then I play the Continuous Magic card 'The A. Forces', giving all my Warriors 200 ATK for every Warrior and Spellcaster I have on the field, so that's 1000 each. Plus, 'Command Knight' gives all my Warriors on the field another 400 ATK."
"So all your monsters gain 1400 ATK points!" Julie asked, shocked and overwhelmed.
"That's right," Jou said. "Power up guys." Total Defense Shogun: 2950/2500, Gearfried the Iron Knight: 3200/1600, Exiled Force: 2400/1000, Little-Winguard: 2800/1800, Command Knight: 2600/1900. "But because of 'Gathering Troops', I have to skip my Battle Phase this turn. So my turn ends."
"Watashi no turn, draw," Julie drew. "I gain 500 LPs from 'God's Blessing' (3700). And then…"
"The effect of 'Gathering Troops' activates," Jou interrupted.
"Nani?"
"During your Standby Phase, 'Gathering Troops' activates for you. So you must summon monsters at the cost of your Battle Phase."
"My Battle Phase?" Julie questioned, only to get a nod from Jou in response. "Curse you. Well then, I summon 'Rocket Warrior' (1500/1300) and 'Harpy Lady 2' (1300/1400). 'Harpy Lady 2' powers up (1800/1600) and then destroys 'The A. Forces'. So all your monsters loose 1000 ATK."
Jou placed his card in the graveyard. Total Defense Shogun: 1950/2500, Gearfried the Iron Knight: 2200/1600, Exiled Force: 1400/1000, Little-Winguard: 1800/1800, Command Knight: 1600/1900.
"Then," Julie went on, "I activate my 'Deal-Making Devil' Magic card. I know you're a gambler Jou, so you'll love this. We each choose one of the following to wager. 1000 LPs, one card from our hand, one card from the top of our deck, or control of one of our monsters."
"I choose a card from my deck," Jou decided.
"Then I choose 1 from my hand," Julie said.
"Now what?" Jou asked.
"Now I flip a coin," Julie replied, "And you call it. If you get it right, you win the wager. If you get it wrong, I win."
"Simple enough," Jou said.
Julie picked up the coin Jou had used and flipped it.
"Heads," Jou called as the coin spun through the air.
It landed with a small clink and jumped back a forth a moment. And then…
"It's tails!'" Julie exclaimed.
"No way, how can I have lost?" Jou inquired.
"That's how it goes," Julie said, "So send the top card from your deck to the graveyard."
Jou picked up the card and looked at it. He froze, staring at the card in sadly.
"What is it Joey?"
Jou shook his head a little before placing the card in the graveyard. Julie looked at it and suddenly felt guilty. Staring at her from the depths of the monster underworld were two ruby eyes, staring out of a midnight colored, reptilian-like head. Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
'My best card,' Jou thought. 'Sent to the graveyard by my own lover. Ah, I need to get over it. It's a duel and that's how it goes.'
"Joey I…"
"It's still your turn," Jou interrupted with a smile.
Julie started to apologize but realized Jou was serious and continued the duel. "Right. I sacrifice 'Rocket Warrior' and 'Female Warrior of the Moon' in order to summon my favorite and most powerful monster. 'Night's Lover, Aria' (1200/2600)."
"Only 1200 ATK?" Jou asked.
"Did you forget already, silly?" Julie replied. "Her ATK increases by the original ATK of the monsters I used to summon her. So she gains 1500 ATK from 'Rocket Warrior' and 2100 from 'Female Warrior of the Moon', increasing her ATK by 3600 (4800/2600)."
Jou's expression sank even further at the sight of the powerful monster before him.
"But thanks to 'Gathering Troop's' card, you get to survive for now," Julie said. "I cover 1 card and end my turn."
"Watashi no turn, draw." He looked at the card he'd drawn. It was pink with a green background on the picture with a robotic-looking thing on it. 'Metalmorph, this'll come in handy.' "I cover one card. 'Gearfried the Iron Knight' (2200/1600) attack 'Harpy Lady 1' (1800/1600)."
"Reveal facedown card, 'Harpy Lady – Suzaku Formation'," Julie said. "This card will activate when you try to attack one of my 'Harpy Lady's' while I have more than one on the field. It'll block all attacks for this turn."
Jou let out a little growl. "I switch all my other monsters to defense mode and end my turn."
"Watashi no turn, draw. My LPs increase from 'God's Blessing' (4200). I summon 'Element Magician' (1500/1200) and cover 1 card. 'Harpy Lady 1' (1800) attack 'Exiled Force' (1000)."
Jou placed the monster in the graveyard.
"Then 'Night's Lover, Aria' (4800) will attack 'Gearfried' (2200). Meaning I finally damaged your LPs," Julie said while Jou placed the monster in the graveyard and reduced his LPs. "My turns done."
Jou (1400) drew. "Yes! This is the card I need!" he exclaimed, causing a few people in the café to look at him. "I play 'Monster Reborn', reviving my 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon'."
"You activated the other effect of my 'Power of Faith' card," Julie interrupted.
"That thing's still there?"
"Yes, and because you revived a monster from your graveyard, you get a Magic card back as well."
"Really?" Jou picked up his graveyard and searched through. 'Not many choices,' Jou thought. 'I've got 'Legendary Sword', 'Death Meteor', 'Precious Coins from Above', 'Gathering Troops', 'The A. Forces', and 'Monster Reborn'. I guess I'll go for the best bet.' "I choose 'Monster Reborn', then use it to revive 'Gearfried the Iron Knight' (1800/1600), who'll power up from 'Command Knight'. And I'll switch all my monsters to attack mode."
"You forgot to get another Magic card back," Julie interjected.
"Did I?" Jou asked, holding up a card. "I think I'll use it, 'Precious Coins from Above'. So we draw till we have 6 cards each." He drew 6 cards.
"You activated 'God's Blessing' as well," Julie said, drawing 5 cards. "So my LPs increase to 4700."
"Big deal," Jou said, "I activate my facedown card 'Metalmorph', powering up my 'Red-Eyes' by 300 points (2700/2300). Next I activate 'Knight's Title'. This card will make one of my non-Warrior monsters count as a Warrior, so I choose 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon'. I guess you could say he's 'Red-Eyes Black Knight' now. And since my 'Red-Eyes' is a Warrior now, 'Command Knight' powers him up (3100). And now I play the Magic card 'Slashing Swords Star Formation'. This card will reduce the ATK of all my Warriors by 500." Total Defense Shogun (1450), Command Knight (1100), Little-Winguard (1300), Gearfried the Iron Knight (1700), Red-Eyes Black Knight (2600)
"Why weaken all your Warriors?" Julie asked.
"Because now my Magic card will let me battle them all against one of your monsters. I choose 'Night's Lover, Aria'."
A look of complete shock overtook Julie; she'd never seen a card like that before. "Let's see. 1450 1100 1300 1700 2600 8150 – the 4800 ATK of 'Aria' and I'll take 3350 damage."
"Close," Jou said, "But 'Red-Eyes Black Knight' is equipped with 'Metalmorph'. And if a monster with 'Metalmorph' attacks they gain ATK equal to half the ATK of the monster they're battling. Since 'Aria' has 4800 ATK, my 'Red-Eyes' gains 2400 ATK."
Julie took a second to add things up in her head. "That's 10550 ATK total, that means I'll loose 5750 LPs."
"Sorry koibito, but it ends now. Attack my warriors." A huge smile crossed Jou's face at his victory. 'I'm sorry Julie-chan, but I just won.'
"Reveal facedown card," Julie said. "'Demon's Dice'! I trust you know this card, I roll a die and the roll will divide one of you monster's ATK. I choose 'Red-Eyes Black Knight'."
Jou rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a die. "Good luck," he said, handing the die to Julie.
"Arigatou, Joey," Julie said before rolling. 'Please…'
Ryu: Time for more quick notes on cards.
Kioku: Just so you know, the chapter is over, the rest is all card stuff for you dueling fans. So you can skip over it if you want.
Ryu: Anyway, first is 'Death Meteor'. The version in here is the version that appeared in the anime. Here's the differences.
Death Meteor (Anime version)
Normal Magic
EFT: Inflict 1000 points of direct damage to your opponent's LPs. If your opponent controls a monster or monsters you must command one to attack you.
Death Meteor (Real version)
Normal Magic
EFT: Inflict 1000 points of direct damage to your opponent's LPs. If your opponent has 3000 or less LPs you cannot activate this card.
Ryu: Next is 'Tough Love', which is another of my originals. This fic has the original version but if you read LLD then it's the updated version.
Tough Love (Original)
Normal Magic
EFT: Pick up the top 5 cards from your deck and show them to your opponent. Select 1 and add it to your hand. Your opponent then selects 2ne and sends them to the graveyard. The remaining 2 are shuffled back into your deck.
Tough Love (Updated)
Normal Magic
EFT: Pick up the top 5 cards from your deck and show them to your opponent. Select 1 and add it to your hand. Your opponent then selects one and sends it to the graveyard. The remaining 3 are shuffled back into your deck.
Ryu: My next one is 'Power of Faith', another original.
Power of Faith (SR)
Continuous Magic
EFT: When this card is activated, Special Summon one monster from your graveyard. Afterwards, whenever a player revives a monster from their own graveyard, they may also add one Magic card from their graveyard to their hand.
Ryu: Here's one you may recognize from the anime. The card 'Precious Coins from Above' that is used in here is known as 'Card of Sanctity' in the anime. But the real 'Card of Sanctity' is crap, so I took the original effect and changed the name.
Card of Sanctity/Precious Coins from Above (Anime version)
Normal Magic
EFT: Each player draws until they have 6 cards in their hand.
Card of Sanctity (Real version)
Normal Magic
EFT: Remove all cards in you hand and on your field from play. Draw until you have 2 cards in your hand.
Ryu: Here's another of mine, 'Gathering Troops'.
Gathering Troops (UR)
Normal Magic
EFT: Special Summon as many Level 4 or lower monster's from your hand to the field in face-up attack mode as you can. You must skip your Battle Phase for this turn. During your opponent's next Standby Phase, they must Special Summon as many Level 4 or lower monsters as they can from their hand to the field in face-up attack mode. They may not enter a Battle Phase during that turn.
Ryu: Guess what, I came up with 'Deal-Making Devil'.
Kioku: You're so full of yourself.
Ryu: So what, here's the stuff on this card.
Deal-Making Devil (SR)
Normal Magic
EFT: You and your opponent both agree to wager one of the following that they can fulfill (player's choose):
-1000 LPs
-1 card from the top of their deck.
-1 random card from their hand.
-Control of one monster on their side of the field.
The owner of this card flips a coin and their opponent calls heads or tail. If your opponent calls right, they get what this cards owner wagered. If they call wrong, this cards owner gets what their opponent wagered.
Ryu: Here's 'Harpy Lady –Suzaku Formation', English name 'Harpy Lady – Sparrow Formation'. It's not a real card, it only appears in the anime, used by Mai in the Doma arc.
Harpy Lady – Suzaku Formation
Normal Trap
EFT: You can only activate this card when your opponent declares an attack on one of your face-up 'Harpy Lady' monsters while you have more than one on the field. Negate the attack and end your opponent's Battle Phase.
Ryu: This next one will take a bit. The effect of 'Knight's Title' was changed when it was released. The version in here is the anime version.
Knight's Title (Anime version)
Normal Magic
EFT: Change one monster on your side of the field into a Warrior type.
Knight's Title (Real version)
Normal Magic
EFT: Sacrifice one 'Black Magician' on your side of the field. Special Summon one 'Black Magician's Knight' from your hand or deck.
Ryu: Now, I liked the idea of a Warrior type 'Red-Eyes', but since 'Knight's Title' only works on 'Black Magician' I had to create these two cards.
Red-Eyes Black Knight (UR)
7/DARK/Warrior/EFT
ATK: 2400 DEF: 2000
EFT: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This monster can only be Special Summoned by the effect of 'Knighting Ceremony'. When this monster is Special Summoned you may add one Trap card from your deck to your hand.
Knighting Ceremony (C)
Normal Magic
EFT: Sacrifice one 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon' on your side of the field. Special Summon one 'Red-Eyes Black Knight' from your hand or deck.
Ryu: /sigh/ Here's another one that I made, 'Slashing Sword Star Formation'.
Slashing Sword Star Formation (UR)
Instant Magic
EFT: This card can only be activated if you have 5 face-up attack position Warrior monsters on your side of the field. Reduce the ATK of all monsters on your side of the field by 500 until the end of this turn. During the Battle Phase of this turn you may select one monster on your opponent's side of the field and battle it against all monsters on your side of the field. After the Damage Step, the Battle Phase for this turn ends.
Ryu: Okay, here's the last one, butI didn't do it. It's 'Demon's Dice', known in the English version as 'Skull Dice'. But has 2 different effects, 1 anime and 1 real.
Demon's Dice (Anime)
Normal Trap (dub)/Instant Magic (sub)
EFT: Select one of your opponent's face-up monsters and roll a six-sided die. Divide the selected monster's ATK by the roll.
Demon's Dice (real)
Normal Trap
EFT: Roll a six-sided die. Reduce the ATK and DEF of all monsters on your opponent's side of the field by 100 times the roll until the end of the turn.