"You should have attack my monster," Serena said.
"And why is that?"
"Because now I've got the card to bring down that abomination that you created out of my Blue Eyes. I activate the White Dragon Descent ritual card, offering my Four-Faced Beast to summon the White Dragon Paladin (1900/1200) and then sacrifice it to summon another of my Blue Eyes White Dragons (3000/2500) from my deck.
"Impressive."
"I'll lay one more card face down and then I'll attack with my Blue Eyes White Dragon by playing Quick Attack. I'm going to take both of our monsters down together! Blue Eyes White Dragon attack the Blue Eyes Toon Dragon!"
The contrast was obvious. On Serena's field stood the magnificent and magestic Blue Eyes, roaring proudly and flaring its wings, lording over the entire field. On Jaina's side, the devilishly cute and demon-eyed Blue Eyes Toon Dragon, its sharp teeth shaping themselves into an wickedly evil cartoon grin. The two monsters unleashed their attacks simulataneously, electrifying the field with White Lightning. A powerful explosion rocked the field throwing up a cloud of smoke and dust in the wake of the awesome display. Serena and Jaina both squinted in a vain attempt to gaze through the blanket and see what had happened. Finally the dust settled.
The Blue Eyes Toon Dragon sat there and giggled manaically.
Serena's expression instantly turned from that of hope and strength to one of horror and shock. "There's no way!"
"You didn't honestly expect to beat my powerful Toon monster did you?" Jaina asked smiling.
"Both of our monsters should have been destroyed."
"Toon monsters can't be defeated by a simple monster attack. As long as Toon World is on the field then my Toons can't be destroyed. Are you finished?"
"My turn is over."
"And so is this game. I'll pay another 500 Life Points to have my monster attack you directly once more and wipe out your remaining Life Points."
"Activate Waboku!" Serena shouted. A trio of robed maidens shimmered into place in front of Serena blocking the Toon Dragon's attack and absorbing the White Lightning.
"You keep hiding and being defensive Serena," Jaina said. "You just don't have what it takes to win."
"That's wnough Jaina. I'm not going to take any more abuse from you. I am a good duelist as much as you'd like me to believe otherwise. Is this how you get your kicks Jaina? Trying to destroy the self-esteem of your opponent?"
"I'm trying to make you open your eyes and your mind. You're still riding on the coat tails of Seto Kaiba. You aren't him so stop pretending to be him. I told you before we started that without a reason to duel you will never be a good duelist. Those who fight without a purpose are doomed to fail. So I'll ask you again; do you know why you duel?"
Serena lowered her gaze to the ground.
"You've put so much time and energy into trying to live out the missions of your family name that you haven't even found yourself."
"Why do you duel Jaina?" Serena asked.
"A valid question. My answer may be shallow but it is simple. I duel to find out who murdered my grandfather so I can bring his soul to peace. Revenge may not be glamorous but it gives me purpose. Can you say the same? At least before you had a reason, even if it wasn't your own, to get the last two Blue Eyes back for your grandfather. What now? You already have the three dragons, so why did you bother to enter the finals?"
Serena looked up and met Jaina's eyes. "I have something to duel for Jaina."
"And what is that?"
"I duel for me. I duel to prove something to myself. I duel because I have to, becasue I'm supposed to. You're the granddaughter of a famous duelist just as I am so you have to understand what it is that I've gone through. You think that I'm living in Kaiba's shadow, you may be right but it is not a shadow that I chose to live in, it was one that was forced upon me by my birthright. You confuse riding his coat-tails with honoring his memory. Seto loved his Blue Eyes cards and I could never allow them to remain in the hands of criminals. Now I'm going to win this duel."
"You are a strong girl Serena. And you've finally found your prpose but it's come too late. You will not win."
"You're wrong Jaina. Soemthing that I've learned from dueling Fader and watching him duel is that believing in yourself and in your cards will yeild powerful results. nothing is impossible. And this duel isn't over unitl my Life Points hit zero." Serena, closed her eyes, drew her card and then looking at hte card said," Toon World is an incredibly powerful card and makes your monsters unstoppable cartoons but you've left yourself wide open and vulnerable to your Toon's greatest weakness."
"Weakness? You're not serious. My Toons are invincible."
"Maybe they are. But you said it yourself they are invincible as long as toon World is on the field. And your magic card is wide open to attack."
"What?"
"I play the Magic Efect Arrows. They destroy all face up Magic cards that you have in play and deal you 500 points of damage for each. You Toon World is destroyed and your Toon monsters go with it. Now I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Blue Eyes White Dragon and attack you directly. I win Jaina."
Serena: 1050, Jaina: 0.
"I knew you would," Jaina said smiling.
"What? What about all that 'you can't win' garbage you've been saying this entire match."
"I told you that I was trying to open up your mind so you could find your purpose. Until you found it you couldn't win, but as soon as you did, victory was yours for the taking. You've made the first step."
"First step?"
"You think that the Battle City finals are the end? You couldn't be more mistaken. This is just the beginning."
"The beginning of what?" Serena asked.
"Something that you won't realize has happened until it's already gone."
"You and your damn riddles." Serena turned and entered the elevator.
"Don't you want your prize? Toon World is all yours."
"No it isn't. I could never have won that card. It wasn't yours to bet. It is your grandfather's. I don't need it anyway. I have something better."
"And what is that?"
"The knowledge that I can win," she said as the doors began to close. Justy before they shut completely Serena caught something that Jaina tossed to her at the last second. She managed to hear Jaina's last words.
"Here's a consolation prize then. I think you might be able to find some use for it. Or someone who can."
Serena opened her hand at the piece of the Millennium Puzzle. The elevator then ascended to the next level.
Jaina turned from the elevator and smiled. She removed the Millennium Necklace form beneath her shirt and played with it with her fingers. "She finally understands."
"And why is that?"
"Because now I've got the card to bring down that abomination that you created out of my Blue Eyes. I activate the White Dragon Descent ritual card, offering my Four-Faced Beast to summon the White Dragon Paladin (1900/1200) and then sacrifice it to summon another of my Blue Eyes White Dragons (3000/2500) from my deck.
"Impressive."
"I'll lay one more card face down and then I'll attack with my Blue Eyes White Dragon by playing Quick Attack. I'm going to take both of our monsters down together! Blue Eyes White Dragon attack the Blue Eyes Toon Dragon!"
The contrast was obvious. On Serena's field stood the magnificent and magestic Blue Eyes, roaring proudly and flaring its wings, lording over the entire field. On Jaina's side, the devilishly cute and demon-eyed Blue Eyes Toon Dragon, its sharp teeth shaping themselves into an wickedly evil cartoon grin. The two monsters unleashed their attacks simulataneously, electrifying the field with White Lightning. A powerful explosion rocked the field throwing up a cloud of smoke and dust in the wake of the awesome display. Serena and Jaina both squinted in a vain attempt to gaze through the blanket and see what had happened. Finally the dust settled.
The Blue Eyes Toon Dragon sat there and giggled manaically.
Serena's expression instantly turned from that of hope and strength to one of horror and shock. "There's no way!"
"You didn't honestly expect to beat my powerful Toon monster did you?" Jaina asked smiling.
"Both of our monsters should have been destroyed."
"Toon monsters can't be defeated by a simple monster attack. As long as Toon World is on the field then my Toons can't be destroyed. Are you finished?"
"My turn is over."
"And so is this game. I'll pay another 500 Life Points to have my monster attack you directly once more and wipe out your remaining Life Points."
"Activate Waboku!" Serena shouted. A trio of robed maidens shimmered into place in front of Serena blocking the Toon Dragon's attack and absorbing the White Lightning.
"You keep hiding and being defensive Serena," Jaina said. "You just don't have what it takes to win."
"That's wnough Jaina. I'm not going to take any more abuse from you. I am a good duelist as much as you'd like me to believe otherwise. Is this how you get your kicks Jaina? Trying to destroy the self-esteem of your opponent?"
"I'm trying to make you open your eyes and your mind. You're still riding on the coat tails of Seto Kaiba. You aren't him so stop pretending to be him. I told you before we started that without a reason to duel you will never be a good duelist. Those who fight without a purpose are doomed to fail. So I'll ask you again; do you know why you duel?"
Serena lowered her gaze to the ground.
"You've put so much time and energy into trying to live out the missions of your family name that you haven't even found yourself."
"Why do you duel Jaina?" Serena asked.
"A valid question. My answer may be shallow but it is simple. I duel to find out who murdered my grandfather so I can bring his soul to peace. Revenge may not be glamorous but it gives me purpose. Can you say the same? At least before you had a reason, even if it wasn't your own, to get the last two Blue Eyes back for your grandfather. What now? You already have the three dragons, so why did you bother to enter the finals?"
Serena looked up and met Jaina's eyes. "I have something to duel for Jaina."
"And what is that?"
"I duel for me. I duel to prove something to myself. I duel because I have to, becasue I'm supposed to. You're the granddaughter of a famous duelist just as I am so you have to understand what it is that I've gone through. You think that I'm living in Kaiba's shadow, you may be right but it is not a shadow that I chose to live in, it was one that was forced upon me by my birthright. You confuse riding his coat-tails with honoring his memory. Seto loved his Blue Eyes cards and I could never allow them to remain in the hands of criminals. Now I'm going to win this duel."
"You are a strong girl Serena. And you've finally found your prpose but it's come too late. You will not win."
"You're wrong Jaina. Soemthing that I've learned from dueling Fader and watching him duel is that believing in yourself and in your cards will yeild powerful results. nothing is impossible. And this duel isn't over unitl my Life Points hit zero." Serena, closed her eyes, drew her card and then looking at hte card said," Toon World is an incredibly powerful card and makes your monsters unstoppable cartoons but you've left yourself wide open and vulnerable to your Toon's greatest weakness."
"Weakness? You're not serious. My Toons are invincible."
"Maybe they are. But you said it yourself they are invincible as long as toon World is on the field. And your magic card is wide open to attack."
"What?"
"I play the Magic Efect Arrows. They destroy all face up Magic cards that you have in play and deal you 500 points of damage for each. You Toon World is destroyed and your Toon monsters go with it. Now I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Blue Eyes White Dragon and attack you directly. I win Jaina."
Serena: 1050, Jaina: 0.
"I knew you would," Jaina said smiling.
"What? What about all that 'you can't win' garbage you've been saying this entire match."
"I told you that I was trying to open up your mind so you could find your purpose. Until you found it you couldn't win, but as soon as you did, victory was yours for the taking. You've made the first step."
"First step?"
"You think that the Battle City finals are the end? You couldn't be more mistaken. This is just the beginning."
"The beginning of what?" Serena asked.
"Something that you won't realize has happened until it's already gone."
"You and your damn riddles." Serena turned and entered the elevator.
"Don't you want your prize? Toon World is all yours."
"No it isn't. I could never have won that card. It wasn't yours to bet. It is your grandfather's. I don't need it anyway. I have something better."
"And what is that?"
"The knowledge that I can win," she said as the doors began to close. Justy before they shut completely Serena caught something that Jaina tossed to her at the last second. She managed to hear Jaina's last words.
"Here's a consolation prize then. I think you might be able to find some use for it. Or someone who can."
Serena opened her hand at the piece of the Millennium Puzzle. The elevator then ascended to the next level.
Jaina turned from the elevator and smiled. She removed the Millennium Necklace form beneath her shirt and played with it with her fingers. "She finally understands."