Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the rights to the Yu-Gi-Oh! TV show or manga, if you think less of me because of that I completely understand.
Well At this point the first chapter has gotten Four reviews. This is my first Yu-Gi-Oh! Story so I don't know if that's a statistically good or bad thing, but I was still very flattered by the responses I've gotten. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, and I hope I can continue living up to your expectations. This chapter will feature a dragon deck, and you guys may see some similarities to Kaiba's, but I'm intentionally trying to stay away from cards and dragons that he uses. There certainly won't be any Blue Eyes, XYZ, or virus cards in this deck. I am thinking about using one of his cards, but I think there's another one that does basically the same thing so I might be able to use that instead.
Seeker of the Soul: I'm glad you were impressed with the dueling, it has been a challenge to write, and I completely agree with you that its way too hard to find any fics with good duels out there. Let me know if you come across any eh? I am trying to stay true to the nature of the characters as I understand them, so thanks for the compliment.
Moses the little gurl: I'm updating, I'm updating lol. I'm really glad you like it.
Bellossom Boy: Yeah, I don't know how long this whole friendly tournament arc is gonna last. It really is starting to look like I'm gonna have to spice up the plot a bit. I've been toying with the idea of throwing in a villain that uses the Millennium Scale, but I'm still not quite sure how it could work. I mean the whole stealing souls thing has been in the series since Pegasus, and I'm not sure what I can do but I'm still feeling it out. I do feel that my Joey/Mai stuff has been a little weak, and I hope to do a little better with that in this chapter. I'm really glad you liked the duel, and its possible that Ken and his Fairy deck will be making another appearance in this fic, but I'm still not sure yet.
IloveJoey: Yes I am a guy, lol. Personally, I'm really not into that whole yaoi thing or whatever the blazes they call it. Nothing against anyone who enjoys writing or reading it, just really ain't my thing. I'm glad you liked it, and I hope I can make the Joey/Mai elements in the story stronger than they have been.
Oh, and I went back and noticed that I made some embarrassing typos in the first chapter, I'll try to screen it better this time around. Just to remind you guys as well, there were some cards that I didn't stay 100 true to in the last chapter, I've been practicing some artistic license in that case to make the duels work out like I need them to. For instance you can use Agent of Judgement's effect as many times in a turn as you can bring it back to the field, and trap of board eraser also makes your opponent discard a card to the graveyard. I don't think I've made any serious alterations to the cards, but of course that's entirely up to you guys. Besides they do it on the show all the time, I mean one time Yugi used a DeSpell card during his opponent's turn which is just right out, and in another instance they changed Lava Golem's effect from inflicting 1000 points of damage per turn to 700 per turn. Like I said little stuff, but its just to make the duels go a little smoother, not in any attempt to detract from the actual cards.
One last note, in the duel in this chapter I'll be referring to Yugi/Pharaoh, as Yami just to make my life a little easier. Yugi and the pharaoh will still converse with each other in their mind, but Yami will be making all of the actions.
The first duel of the tournament proved to be a tough challenge for Joey as he went head to head with Ken Shiro and his powerful Fairy monsters, but in the end Joey was able to walk away with a spectacular win. The second duels of the first round are about to begin and this time its Yugi's turn, but he'll be facing a deck full of powerful dragons that he's never even heard of.
Friendly Competition Chapter 2: The King of Games and the Envoy of the End.
"So Yugi, you ready for your duel?" Tea Gardner looked down on Yugi with a smile on her face.
"Sure! Its been so long since I was able to duel without so much pressure on me, I'm gonna have a great time." Yugi answered with a carefree smile on his face.
"Pressure?" Tristan asked from Yugi's left side. "You mean to say that dueling with the fate of the world and the future of humanity riding on your shoulders isn't any fun?"
The three of them shared a little laugh, "It's not even that I mind the pressure that much. But saving the world is nothing like it is on TV. Its just so much work with none of the benefits!" Yugi began, "I mean sure, saving humanity is great and all, but no one even knows about it! Just once it would be nice to get a free dinner, or a game pass. You know just a little something to know that my hard work was appreciated."
Tea laughed, "Hush, Yugi, what would your grandfather say if he heard you talking like that?"
"Ah give him a break Tea." Tristan cut in with a laugh, "I can see where he's coming from."
"Don't worry Tea, I was just joking." Yugi assured her. "The world is a better place because of what we did, and that will always be more than enough for me."
A moment of silence passed before Tristan spoke up, "I wonder what Joey and Mai are up to."
Tea looked over at him with a sad smile on her face, "I still don't think they've worked everything out yet. I lot of bad stuff went down between them recently, stuff that's hard to forget."
Yugi frowned a little bit, "Yeah, but I'm sure that Joey isn't holding a grudge."
"I know he isn't," Tea answered. "But he still has been acting differently around Mai lately, and she's noticed."
"What are you talking about Tea?" Tristan had a confused tone in his voice, "He's been nothing but nice to her."
Tea hesitated a moment before answering, "I haven't talked to Joey about it yet, so I can't be absolutely sure, but I think he blames himself for what happened with Mai. Now he's afraid to do anything that could push her away. He's been acting like he's walking on eggshells whenever he's around her." Tea turned her gaze to the floor in front of her, " She needs him to be her friend again. She misses him I think."
"I don't get what you're trying to say." Tristan admitted. "Joey's probably the best friend she has."
"Exactly. There's more to being someone's friend than being nice to them." Tea tried to explain. "You have to be able to trust each other, and to be comfortable around each other. Joey and Mai both still feel so guilty about what happened," Tea paused for a moment as her voice took on a sad tone, "They're both still so afraid they'll do something to hurt each other again."
Tristan nodded slowly, "I think I'm starting to see where you're coming from with this Tea. You could be right."
"Wow this is starting to get depressing." Yugi admitted. "I hope that Joey and Mai can work it out."
"Don't worry Yugi. They're both strong." The pharaoh finally added his own opinion to the discussion.
" Well, you're right about that." Yugi answered without much conviction.
"At any rate, worrying about it now won't do us any good. We have a duel to think about." The pharaoh had a smile on his face.
&&&
Mai didn't look back at Joey even once as she lead him by the elbow towards a secluded alcove, with all of the duelists and spectators buzzing about it seemed to be one of the few places available with any degree of privacy.
The silence was absolutely killing Joey, he nervously watched the back of Mai's head as he allowed himself to be towed along. "I screwed up big." He lamented to himself miserably. "I went and made Mai upset again."
Mai finally halted and let go of Joey's arm, her shoulders were slumped and her gaze downcast. She still didn't turn to face him. A cold feeling settled in Joey's gut and a pained grimace was etched across his face. "Look Mai, I'm sorry…"
She quickly spun to face him and Joey was shocked into silence at the agonized expression on her face, "You're sorry?" Her voice was on the verge of cracking as tears gathered in her eyes. "Damn it Joey, every time we've been alone you've done nothing but apologize."
Joey averted his gaze from her face as his chest clenched tightly, "But Mai," he began softly, "I wasn't a good friend ta you when you needed me the most. You were hurtin so bad, and I didn't even have a clue. I let one of my best friends down."
A tear finally escaped and trailed down Mai's face as she pressed her hand over her chest, "So you really think that everything that happened is your fault? Joey, after Battle City I felt so afraid and alone. But that doesn't excuse the choices that I made." She turned away from him, "I took your soul away from you." More tears were trailing down her face, "I wanted to beat you so badly that I didn't care what the consequences were. How can you ever forgive me for that?"
Mai stiffened in surprise when she felt Joey's hands rest on her shoulders, "You're beating yourself up too much Mai. Dartz took advantage of ya, dat Orichalcos stone of his messed with ya head."
Mai's voice was barely over a whisper, "But I let it happen Joey, even after everything you've done for me, I let the seal take over. You've always been there for me, and I betrayed you."
A wave of heat rushed to Mai's face and she let out a surprised gasp as Joey slipped his hands from her shoulders and held her close against him. "Mai, you make it sound like being friends is a game of give and take, but its not. There isn't a running tally, and I'm not keeping score. The only thing dat matters ta me is being dere for ya when ya need me, no matter what. Ya get me Valentine? Ya can't get rid of Joey Wheeler dat easily."
Mai desperately tightened her hold on Joey and sobbed quietly before she responded, "I don't know what I did to deserve having a friend like you."
"Ya gotta stop putting ya self down Mai. Its time for ya ta forgive yourself." Joey was lightly rubbing his hand up and down her back as he assured her.
More hot tears rolled down her face as she answered, "I don't know if I can."
Joey's eyes squeezed shut and it was hard to breathe for a moment, "Don't say things like dat. Mai you're one of da best people I've ever met, and you deserve ta be happy. Whatever I gotta do ta make dat happen, ya just tell me and its done. I promise I'm not giving up on ya no matter what. You're too important ta me, and I don't ever want to risk losing you again."
"Do you…" Mai hesitated a moment and shifted slightly against him, "Do you think we could stay like this for just a little longer?"
A soft smile graced Joey's face, "As long as you need."
&&&
"Oh look! There's the post where your match will be Yugi." Tea pointed out a much larger dueling station than the one Joey and Ken had used.
"Whoa. Looks like the King of Games has a big crowd." Tristan remarked with a bit of awe in his voice as he took in the multi tiered bleachers that surrounded the dueling stage.
Yugi frowned a little bit, "I don't know if I like this. I should be dueling on the same kind of post as everyone else."
"Ah, lighten up a little Yugi!" Tristan clapped him lightly on the back. "Remember, you're the world champ! You're a celebrity here. You draw a bigger crowd than the average duelist."
Yugi wasn't convinced, "I still don't like it."
"Tristan's right, you should just enjoy yourself. Don't even worry about the crowd and have a good time!" Tea encouraged him with a smile.
Yugi's frown finally broke into a smile, "You're probably right Tea. Okay guys, wish me luck!" Yugi waved as he made his way towards the tournament official waiting for him.
"Yeah right, like you'll actually need it!" Tristan shot back with a laugh.
"Show em how its done Yug!" Tea added with a vigorous wave.
Yugi approached a tall man wearing a full three piece suit, "Mr. Moto, it's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Mr. Yoshida, and I'm one of the senior tournament officials. I'll be overseeing this duel."
"Pleased to meet you." Yugi shook his hand with a smile.
"Your opponent for this match will be Draco Zelen, he's the young man right over there." He was at least a head taller than Yugi, his hair was a deep rust red that was slicked back, and his eyes were green. He wore a chain around his neck over his long sleeved black shirt that held an amulet with a roaring dragon etched into its metallic surface. He also wore a dark green vest that matched his slacks.
"I'll just go introduce myself before we get started." Yugi explained as he walked over to Draco. "I'm Yugi Moto." Yugi offered his hand.
Draco had a lazy grin on his face as he accepted the handshake, "The name's Draco. I gotta say, it was quite a shock to hear that my first opponent was the King of Games."
"I don't really pay much attention to titles and things like that, I'm just here to have a good time." Yugi put his hands in pockets.
"Well I'm here to win." Draco answered, "So I'll apologize in advance for taking you out in the first round. I'd much rather be facing you in the finals." Before Yugi even had a chance to answer, Draco turned on his heel and walked away.
"Well he's a pleasant guy." Yugi remarked with his eyebrow raised.
"I wonder…" The pharaoh began, "He certainly is confident in his ability to win. But at any rate we should get this duel started."
"Right" Yugi agreed as the millennium puzzle around his neck flashed with a bright light. When he opened his eyes his features had matured, and he grew in height, the pharaoh had taken over. He calmly assumed his place opposite Draco and placed his deck inside his duel disk.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are very proud to present this round one duel between Draco Zelen, and the King of Games Yugi Moto!" The assembled crowd announced their approval with a deafening roar of applause and cheers. There were easily hundreds of excited spectators occupying the stands. "Gentlemen!" The official continued, "Whenever you're ready."
In perfect unison two duel disks snapped into place, both displaying 4000 life points as the Pharaoh and Draco shouted, "Its time to Duel!"
"I'll take my turn first." Draco announced as he drew his first six cards with practiced ease. He reviewed his cards silently for a moment before looking up at the pharaoh, "I summon Cave Dragon in attack mode." Draco's duel disk hummed for a moment as it generated the image of a massive green Dragon with its head low to the ground. The creature let out a derisive snort as its 2000 attack points were displayed.
Yami's gaze hardened slightly, "This isn't good, its only the first turn of the duel and he already has a powerful monster on the field."
Draco smiled as he noticed Yami's expression, "Don't get too excited just yet. Cave Dragon is impressive but he won't be able to attack unless I have another dragon type monster on the field, so you're safe for now. Before I let you take your turn I'll place two cards face down on the field." By the time he finished speaking his two cards were already on the field in front of him. "That's all for now."
"Very well, my move." Yami answered as he drew his sixth card from his deck. "Well, it doesn't look like we can go on the offensive just yet." The pharaoh mused as he looked over their hand. "But we can put up an effective defense." "I'll place two cards face down on the field." Yami slid the cards into place as he continued, "Then summon a monster in defense mode." By the time the duel disk stopped humming two cards were at Yami's feet and a third one was placed horizontally in from of them. "I end my turn."
Draco shook his head as he drew his card, "Disappointing. I expected much more of a fight."
Neither Yugi nor the pharaoh rose to Draco's bait and calmly waited for him to continue his turn.
"No matter, if you don't want to go on the offensive I'll happily take the fight directly to you." Draco calmly placed a monster card on his duel disk and after a shimmer of light a beast with a long and narrow body covered with leaping flames appeared on the field. The monster let out a vicious hiss as flames leapt from its jaws, the display read 1500 attack points. "I'd like to introduce you to my Solar Flare Dragon."
"I'm not impressed." Yami called back.
Draco let off a few laughs before he continued, "You'll be changing your tune soon enough. My two dragons are going to rip into your life points!"
An amused smile finally graced Yami's face, "You're welcome to try any time."
"What, do you think your two face down cards can protect you? Sorry King of Games," Draco sneered with contempt, "But you're very wrong. I activate Stamping Destruction and Serial Spell!" Draco placed two cards from his hand into his duel disk and with a flash of light they appeared face up on the field. "With Stamping Destruction active, as long as I have a dragon type monster on the field I can destroy any magic or trap card you've played!" Cave Dragon lifted one of its massive legs into the air and let it crash back onto the field with the force of a pile driver.
Yugi watched in horror as one of his face down cards appeared to crack, then he let out a surprised grunt and covered his face as the card shattered, spraying him with the fragments. "This isn't good! His magic card just destroyed our Mirror Force!" Yugi cried out.
"But the fun doesn't stop there." Draco continued, "Because not only does Stamping Destruction destroy one of your magic or trap cards, it also deals 500 points of damage directly to your life points!"
"What?" The pharaoh exclaimed in shock as he looked down at his duel disk, which flashed for a moment before settling on 3500.
"That's not all I'm afraid." Draco lifted a finger to point at his other magic card which depicted a sorcerer lifting his arm to channel a magical force, "My Serial Spell magic card requires me to discard my hand,". Draco placed the last card from his hand into his graveyard, "But its well worth the cost. After all it allows me to copy any normal magic card I've played."
Yami's eyes widened for a moment before he let out a small breath.
Draco laughed, "I can see you've guessed which magic card I'm going to copy. Cave Dragon!" Draco shouted, "Destroy his other face down card with Stamping Destruction!" With a deep roar Cave Dragon lifted it's leg and once again let is smash down to the ground.
Yami winced and let out a grunt as his other face down card shattered before him, leaving behind a large cloud of smoke. His duel disk quickly dropped down to reveal 3000 life points. "You're magic cards may have cost me 1000 of my life points." Yami admitted as he looked back up at Draco, "But its going to cost you much more than you originally thought!"
"Please!" Draco waved him off while shaking his head. "Don't embarrass yourself, you're face down cards are both toast! All you have is a monster to protect your life points, and my Cave Dragon will be taking care of it in just a moment."
"Wrong." Yami shot back with a knowing smile on his face. "Just look!" With a wave of his arm Yami indicated the rising column of smoke where his face down card was.
"What, is my Cave Dragon going to choke to death on your dust?" Draco laughed out loud.
"No, its going to choke on my Dark Coffin trap card!" Yami shouted as the smoke finally cleared to reveal a beautiful sarcophagus encrusted with jewels and brilliantly shining gold.
Draco's smile quickly drained from his face as an ominous creaking noise began emanating from the sarcophagus. His shock only lasted a moment before he challenged Yami with a hot rage, "What kind of trick is this? My magic card destroyed your trap!"
"Exactly." Yami wore a pleased expression as he crossed his arms. "My Dark Coffin trap card is automatically activated when my opponent destroys it. Normally you would have a choice between discarding a card from your hand, or losing a monster, but since you have no cards in your hand my trap card will destroy Cave Dragon!" Yami announced as he lifted a finger to point at the green beast. The top of the sarcophagus flew off with frightening speed and a dark spirit with green eyes and a red smile emerged. The specter dove into Cave Dragon, the monster began shaking its head as if in pain, then let out a roar as it finally shattered.
Draco let out a growl as his jaw clenched tightly. "Don't look so pleased with yourself. I've already taken a fourth of your life points, and now you have no cards in play that can protect your monster!" Draco lifted a finger to point at Yami's last card, "Solar Flare Dragon, attack his monster, Molten Flare!" With a savage roar Draco's monster reared back and let loose a furious spray of fire at Yami's monster.
"I hardly need any trap cards to protect my monster Draco," Yami explained with a serious expression on his face. "After all your Solar Flare Dragon is too weak to destroy Alpha the Magnet Warrior!" The card before Yami flipped over to reveal a metal warrior holding a sword and shield, the display showed 1700 defense points. Yami's monster lifted its shield to catch the full force of Solar Flare Dragon's attack. The shield began to glow with an awesome white light for a moment, but the attack died out without causing any damage.
Draco's eyes narrowed as his duel disk shifted his life point score to 3800.
"What's the matter Draco?" Yami asked. "I thought you said you wanted me to put up more of a fight."
"Snide bastard," Draco silently remarked. "Before I end my turn I'll activate one of my face down cards, Super Rejuvenation." With the touch of a button Draco's card revealed itself, it bore the picture of a Cave Dragon looking down at its injured leg. "When my turn ends this magic card will allow me to draw cards equal to the number of dragon monsters that were sent to the graveyard during this turn. Since I end my turn that means I can draw two cards." Draco ran his finger along his deck and drew his two cards at once.
"Two cards? But only one of your dragons was sent to the graveyard." Yami protested.
"Wrong." Draco replied, "When I played my Serial Spell card I discarded a dragon known as Gray Wing to the graveyard as well. But that isn't what you should be worried about."
"What are you talking about?" Yami asked.
"My Solar Flare Dragon has a special ability, whenever its on the field when I end my turn my opponent automatically looses 500 life points!"
Yami's eyes narrowed slightly and he let out a frustrated sound as Solar Flare Dragon hissed. The monster's flame attack completely bypassed Yami's monster and slammed into him directly. He let out a pained grunt as his duel disk shifted his life point counter to 2500.
"Well now King of Games," Draco began with an air of superiority in his voice, "In only one turn I've almost taken half your life points from you, and all you've managed to do was destroy one of my dragons."
Yami's eyes narrowed slightly as he responded, "I offer you fair warning Draco, you underestimate me at your own peril. This duel is far from over."
"Heh," Draco smiled, "Trust me, I'm not underestimating anyone. You have no idea of the power that my dragons' possess. You thought that my Cave Dragon was impressive? That monster was child's play compared to what's still in store for you."
Yami didn't back down, "I've already faced and defeated the most powerful dragons in all of duel monsters, and I know for a fact that you don't carry any of them in your deck."
Draco burst out into a fit of mocking laughter that completely surprised Yami. "You're referring to Kaiba and his Blue-Eyes White Dragons?" Draco finally calmed himself, but his green eyes seemed to shine with glee, "I promise you Yugi, before this duel is over you'll be facing beasts that make the Blue-Eyes Dragons completely obsolete!"
"You can't be telling the truth." Yami challenged.
"Well why don't we continue this duel so you can find out for sure?" Draco answered back.
"Very well." Yami drew his card and smiled, "First I'll summon Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode!" A figure draped in dark robes and crowned in a large dark hood appeared on the field brandishing a short staff, the display read 1900 attack points. "Then I'll activate Array of Revealing Light!" The slot at the end of Yami's duel disk opened as he deposited a card with in. In moments a large circle of light with an intricate pattern of symbols and runes decorated the duel arena between Draco and Yami.
"As long as this field magic card is in play your Dragons won't be able to attack during the turn they are summoned to the field!" Yami announced with a large smile on his face.
"What's the matter Yugi?" Draco laughed, "Ready to admit that you can't beat my dragons?"
"Hardly," Yami replied. "But this card will give me a turn to prepare myself for whatever powers you boasted your dragons possess. Now then, since Skilled Dark Magician is on the field and I've activated a magic card it receives one spell counter."
"Good for him." Was Draco's sarcastic reply.
Yami's eye twitched slightly in annoyance, "You won't be so nonchalant about my Skilled Dark Magician when he receives three spell counters."
"Don't let him get to you." Yami looked over his shoulder at a translucent image of Yugi, "He's just trying to get us off balance. We're bigger than his taunts, we'll let our cards show him how wrong he is!"
Yami smiled, "You're right." "I'll switch Alpha the Magnet Warrior into attack mode!" Yami shifted the card on his duel disk and his Magnet Warrior stood to its full height and displayed 1400 attack points. "Now, Skilled Dark Magician attack his Solar Flare Dragon, Dark Spell wave!" Skilled Dark Magician wore a frown on its face as it lifted its staff and pointed it towards Draco's monster. A sphere of black energy gathered at its base before billowing out in a massive wave of power.
Draco shielded his eyes from the explosion as his Solar Flare Dragon disappeared from the field, his duel disk shifted to 3400 life points.
"Now, Alpha the Magnet Warrior, attack his life points directly!" On Yami's command
his monster's sword began to glow with a white light, the monster sprang forward and drew its blade back ready to strike.
"Sorry Yugi, but I activate True Loyalty!" Draco pushed the appropriate button on his duel disk to raise his final face down card up. The purple rimmed card bore the image of a dragon rising up from a burial mound roaring a challenge into the sky. As Alpha the Magnet Warrior approached Draco's side of the field, his graveyard flashed with an angry light and suddenly a translucent image of his Cave Dragon reappeared.
"What?" Yami cried out in surprise as the Cave Dragon moved to intercept his Magnet Warrior. With a single sweep of the blade Cave Dragon let out a pained roar as its image softly faded from view once more. Alpha the Magnet Warrior retreated back to Yami's side of the field.
Draco had his arms folded as he regarded Yami, "Once you earn a dragon's loyalty you can call upon it to aid you even after death. As long as my True Loyalty trap card is in play I can bring the dragons in my graveyard back to the field to protect my life points from direct attacks. The only drawback is that they have no defense points and once they are defeated a second time they are removed from play."
"So as long as you have dragons in your graveyard I won't be able to attack your life points directly, very clever." Yami reluctantly admitted.
"Thank you." Draco smiled back. "Now is that all, or are you going to be making any other moves?"
Yami looked over his hand for a moment before addressing Draco, "I'll place one card face down on the field." The card flashed into existence at Yami's feet. "Your move."
"Excellent," Draco drew a card from his deck. "Now I think its time I finally introduced you to one of my most powerful dragons."
"Well, go on then." Yami answered.
"Very well," Draco slid a monster card onto his duel disk. "I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 4 in attack mode!" After the flash of light faded a golden dragon spread its wings and let out a challenging shriek as its 1600 attack points were displayed.
Yami was very wary of the creature, "He can't be talking about its attack rating, what is he up to?"
"It must have a special ability that he's hiding from us." Yugi suggested.
"What do you think? Impressive right?" Draco asked with an amused grin on his face.
"Not terribly." Yami admitted, "But looks can be deceiving."
"Very true." Draco answered. "But the fact of the matter is that the Black Flame Dragon level 4 is only the youngest form of my great monster. It needs a little help to achieve its true power, and I happen to have that help right here in my hand." Draco slid a green card into place in his duel disk, "I activate Level Up!" Draco's dragon was suddenly bathed in a brilliant golden glow as his magic card flashed onto the field. "Level Up! Allows me draw out an even more powerful form of my dragon, say hello to Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 6!"
By the time the light faded Yami and Yugi were facing down a dragon that was at least twice the size of the previous one. It's features were hardened, its wing span was much larger, and its eyes were glowing with a violent ruby red light. It flapped its wings once and let out a roar that echoed painfully in the ears of Yami and the audience as its attack score was displayed.
"2300 attack points?" Yami asked with dread in his voice as he beheld the foe before him.
"Now you're beginning to understand." Draco observed with an evil grin on his face. "My Horus the Black Flame dragon is far more powerful than any mere Blue-Eyes."
Yami's gaze hardened as he shot back, "The Blue-Eyes white Dragons have 3000 attack points, your beast comes no where close to that power!"
Draco let out another laugh, "I already told you, my dragon just has a little growing up to do. After it absorbs the life force from one of your monsters its ultimate power will be unleashed. Then your life points, and this duel will be mine!" Draco lifted his arm to point at Yami's Magnet warrior, "Now my dragon, attack his Alpha the Magnet Warrior, Black Flame!"
"Have you forgotten about my Array of Revealing light Draco?" Yami asked. "Your dragon was summoned this turn so it can't attack!" Yami confidently announced.
"Wrong." Draco replied, "My dragon is completely impervious to magic cards, just watch!"
Draco's dragon lifted itself into the air with one sweep of its wings even as Yami took an unconscious step back, "Oh no, if that dragon destroys our Magnet Warrior we'll lose 900 life points!"
With a shrill cry a pillar of black fire erupted from deep within Draco's dragon ready to completely annihilate Yami's monster.
"We've got to do something!" Yugi cried out in alarm.
"And do something we will!" The pharaoh promised as he pressed a button on his duel disk. "Activate Magic Cylinder!" Yami's face down card sprung into action and quickly spawned two holographic cylinders on the field. "As long as I have a spellcaster monster on the field, this trap card redirects your monsters' attack right back at you!" Yami explained.
Draco looked on with dread as Yami's Skilled Dark Magician began spinning its staff between its fingers. "Go Skilled Dark Magician!" Yami commanded with a sweep of his arm, "Intercept his dragon's attack and send it right back at his life points!" Yami's monster brandished its staff towards Draco as the first of the cylinders captured the black fire of Horus. With a flash of light the second cylinder sent the attack right at Draco.
"Since your monster has 2300 attack points, that total will be taken directly from your life points!" Yami exclaimed.
"Not this time!" Draco called back, "Or have you forgotten about my True Loyalty trap card?" Draco's graveyard emitted yet another bright glow as the translucent image of a small dragon with insect wings appeared on the field. "Go Gray Wing, defend my life points!" A terrible explosion rocked the field as Horus's attack finally met a target, but when the smoke cleared Draco's life points remained at 3400.
Yami let out a small-frustrated growl as his fists tightly clenched, "We were able to protect our monsters, and our life points, but we still couldn't do any significant damage to Draco!"
"This is starting to get interesting." Draco crossed his arms, "You prevented me from destroying one of your monsters and unleashing Horus's true power, but next turn one of your monsters will fall to his Black Flame! I'll place one card face down on the field and end my turn!"
Yami drew his card and reviewed his hand. "Perfect! We'll destroy his dragon before it has the chance to evolve into its true form!" "First I'll play my Pot of Greed magic card to draw two more cards from my deck!" Yami drew his cards with a flourish. "And since I've played a magic card my Skilled Dark Magician receives another spell counter!"
"That's the second time you've gone on about spell counters, are those things supposed to intimidate me?" Draco asked with an arrogant leer to his voice.
"They should." Yami answered with an amused grin on his face. "After all since Skilled Dark Magician has received three spell counters he will have achieved the key to unlocking his true potential and become Dark Magician, observe!" A brilliant glow overtook Yami's monster as it began to grow in height.
A nervous bead of sweat ran down Draco's forehead, "But you've only played two magic cards since Skilled Dark Magician has been in play! You don't have enough spell counters to activate its special ability!"
Before Yami responded his Dark Magician finally appeared and proudly displayed 2500 attack points as it faced down Horus the Black Flame Dragon. "I have you to thank for unlocking Skilled Dark Magicians' true potential Draco. After all your Level Up! Magic card provided the final spell counter I needed to summon one of my most powerful monsters!" Yami lifted his arm to point at Draco's Dragon, "Now Dark Magician, destroy his Dragon, Dark Magic Attack!"
Dark Magician lifted its staff and a wave of dark power gathered at its tip, with an indifferent look on its face Dark Magician unleashed its power. Draco's dragon roared out a challenge as the attack closed in but before it could strike Draco intervened, "I won't let you destroy my dragon so easily! I activate Astral Barrier!" Draco's face down card was revealed depicting a blue spirit leaping in front of a cowering monster. "This trap card allows me to redirect your monster's attack away from my dragon to a new target, me!"
"You would really sacrifice 2500 life points to protect your monster?" Yami's expression was incredulous as Draco's trap card sprung into action.
A blue spirit leapt from Draco's trap card and intercepted Dark Magicians attack, the magic gathered within the spirit for a moment before blasting off at a new target, Draco himself. "Fortunately I won't have to, thanks to my True Loyalty trap card!" For a third time the spirit of one of Draco's Dragons', in this instance his Solar Flare Dragon, was brought back to field to absorb the damage from Dark Magician's attack. A massive explosion wracked the field and Yami covered his eyes as vicious winds whipped past him. However when he looked back up at Draco his life points were completely unscathed.
"Your attack has failed, and my Dragon will feast on the life force of one of your monsters next turn!" Draco laughed gently for a moment, "Prepare yourself for defeat!"
Yami's upper life quivered in frustration for a moment before he answered in a dark tone, "You may have halted my attack, but I assure you that you are no where near close to defeating me!"
"Well then go ahead and end your turn so I can prove how wrong you are!" Draco challenged.
"Before I end my turn I'll place a card face down on the field and switch Alpha the Magnet Warrior into defense mode." Yami responded as his card flashed into existence before him.
Draco drew a card from his deck and immediately slapped it on to his duel disk, "I summon Mirage Dragon in attack mode!" After a brief flash of light a new dragon appeared on the field. This beast had four claws arrayed along its long and narrow body, and it was capped with blue hair that flowed down its back. "My newest Dragon has 1600 attack points." Draco informed Yami with a smile on his face.
"Neither of your dragons have enough power to defeat my Dark Magician!" Yami called back.
Draco smiled, "Not yet at least, but your Dark Magician isn't my target! Horus the Black Flame Dragon, attack his Alpha the Magnet Warrior, Black Flame!" Once again Draco's great dragon reared back and opened its jaws with a mighty cry.
"Not so fast Draco! Reveal Trap Card!" Yami pressed the appropriate button on his duel disk…and nothing happened. "What? How can this be?" Yami cried out in shock as he looked down at his duel disk in amazement. Draco's monster finally unleashed its black flames that completely engulfed Yami's Magnet Warrior. In mere moments Yami's monster had completely melted away, leaving nothing but a puddle of sizzling metal, until that too vanished. "That should not have happened! My duel disk must be broken!" Yami protested as he looked back up at Draco.
"There's nothing wrong with your duel disk Yugi. Just take a look at my Mirage Dragon!" Draco waved his hand to indicate his dragon, which was letting off a bright amber glow from its eyes as it stared at Yami's side of the field.
Yami's gaze hardened as he finally realized, "His Mirage Dragon must have a special ability."
"As long as my Mirage Dragon is on the field," Draco explained as he lifted his finger to point at Yami, "Then you won't be able to activate any trap cards when I declare my attacks! But trust me, you have much bigger problems to worry about than my Mirage Dragon. Even as we speak Horus is absorbing the life force from your Magnet Warrior, preparing itself for its final evolution!" Waves of energy were emanating from the spot on the field where Yami's monster was, and traveling towards Horus. The Dragon opened its jaws to greedily consume the energy and its eyes began spilling an awesome ruby light.
"This can't be good!" Yugi cried out.
"Don't worry, whatever new form his beast assumes we WILL defeat it!" Yami promised
as he looked up at Draco's dragon with a determined expression on his face.
A strong wind suddenly kicked up as Horus let out an angry roar, eddies and small whirlwinds were gathering around it and streaks of energy were flying around the field. Draco raised his voice to be heard over the massive din and spread his arms wide and threw his head back, "I end my turn, now arise Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 8!"
A great pillar of light erupted from the field, completely encircling Draco's Dragon and leaping up into the sky, obscuring it from view. Yami suddenly had to fight the urge to cover his ears as a soul-shattering shriek completely permeated the playing field. None of the audience had the strength of will to help themselves as they turned from the scene and covered their ears.
Finally the pillar of light expanded outwards rapidly, completely filling the field with a blinding glare. After a few moments the light died down and Yami was able to open his eyes to gaze upon a terrifying monstrosity. Draco's dragon towered over the playing field, its wing span reached over the bleachers and stands, covering them in a deep shadow, its red eyes sent a piercing gaze down upon Yami and he shuddered uncontrollable for a moment as his hands began trembling.
"You rightly stand in awe before my great Dragon, behold its power!" Draco shouted as 3000 attack points flashed onto the field. "Whats the matter King of Games?" Draco asked, "Why don't you draw your card! Go ahead and make your move so my Dragon can finish you off!"
Yami finally shook himself from his stupor, "Your Dragon is impressive, but I will defeat it. In my time I've faced and defeated great beasts beyond compare," Images of the Egyptian God cards, and the Great Leviathan flashed inside Yami's mind, "and this duel will be no different!" Yami finally drew his card and reviewed his hand, trying to calm his frayed nerves, Draco's dragon's very presence was simply unnerving.
"What are we going to do? We don't have any cards in our hand that can defeat his dragon!" Yugi pointed out.
"We won't be able to destroy it yet, but we can stall him long enough to summon a monster powerful enough to aid us." Yami responded as he placed a card into his duel disk. "I activate Swords of Revealing Light! Your dragons won't be able to attack for three turns!"
Draco smiled as five great swords of light crashed down onto the field from the sky, completely surrounding his dragons. "Nice try, but completely futile none the less." Horus the Black Flame dragon actually seemed to let out a derisive snort as it gazed down upon the swords. Then it let out a bright light from its eyes, and completely annihilated all of them.
"What?" was Yami's shocked response.
"There is more to my newest dragon than just additional attack points." Draco explained, "His special ability has grown in strength as well. As long as I have him on the field I can completely negate and destroy any of your magic cards that I want! So while I'm at it, he'll also destroy your Array of Revealing Light!"
"No!"
"Afraid so." Draco called back as his dragon annihilated Yami's field magic card. "Do you get it now? You're finished, its over!" Draco shouted with glee.
"I won't be throwing in the towel so easily Draco! Dark Magician, attack his Mirage Dragon, Dark Magic Attack!" Yami's monster spun its staff for a moment before unleashing a massive energy blast at Draco's smaller dragon. With an agonized roar the beast shattered and Draco winced as his life points dropped to 2500.
"That was rather foolish." Draco stated with a dark edge to his voice, "If you switched your Dark Magician to defense mode you might've been able to protect your life points for a little longer. Now when your turn ends my Dragon will unleash its rage."
"Well then I'd hate to keep it waiting. I end my turn." Yami answered back.
Draco drew his card and once again immediately placed it on his duel disk. "I'll summon Komouri Dragon in attack mode." The black dragon flashed onto the field, it had 1500 attack points. "I realize it's a bit anti-climatic compared to my Black Flame Dragon, but once your Dark Magician is gone it'll still be able to take most of your remaining life points! Now, Horus the Black Flame Dragon, destroy his Dark Magician!" Upon Draco's command a massive sphere of pitch-black energy began gathering at his Dragon's jaw. The sphere seemed to be stealing the very light from the sky as the entire area was darkened in shadow.
Yami took a nervous step backwards but still pressed his duel disk, "Now that your Mirage Dragon is gone, there's nothing stopping me from playing my Magical Hats!" The trap card flipped up and quickly covered Yami's Dark Magician in a large top hat with a question mark on it. In an instant three more hats materialized on the field.
Draco's eye twitched in annoyance, "Do you honestly think that your little parlor tricks will save you?"
"There's one way to find out, go ahead and pick a hat." Yami replied.
"This is demeaning, but I suppose I don't have a choice. Horus attack the hat on the far left!" Draco's dragon finally unleashed its dark power, and its explosive forced shook the very ground beneath Yami's feet, but when the smoke cleared there was nothing there. His Dark Magician was still safe. Draco let out a frustrated snort, "I could attack with Komouri dragon as well, but if I pick the right hat It'll cost me 1000 life points. But then his magician would be exposed and Horus will be able to finish it off next turn."
"What's taking so long? Are you going to end your turn or not?" Yami asked.
"No, Komouri Dragon, attack the middle hat!" Draco commanded. A much less impressive attack struck the hat and when the smoke cleared Yami's Dark Magician was revealed.
"That was a costly mistake!" Yami announced, "Dark Magician, counter attack with Dark Magic Attack!" Yami's monster aimed its staff carefully before a wave of power emanated from it. Draco's monster seemed to freeze for a moment before shattering. Once again Draco's life points shifted this time settling on 1500.
Draco was actually smiling, "It may have cost me some life points, but your Magician is exposed. You won't be able to hide it from my Dragon any longer! Go ahead and take your turn!"
"Draco's right, we still don't have anything strong enough to defeat his Dragon." Yugi's voice was laced with worry and concern.
"Have faith Yugi, our deck won't fail us." Yami answered as he closed his eyes and reached for his cards. As he pulled his card he completely extended his arm from his body before brining it before his gaze. He stared at it for a moment before looking up at Draco.
"What's the matter Yugi? Didn't get a good draw?" Draco taunted.
"I'll place one card on the field and end my turn." Was Yami's cool response.
Draco looked completely puzzled, "Without switching your Dark Magician to defense mode?" Draco picked his card from his deck, "That doesn't make any sense, why wouldn't he switch his monster to defense mode? He did play a card face down on the field, does he really think it can help him?"
"What's wrong Draco? Why are you hesitating? I thought your Dragon was unbeatable." Yami folded his arms across his chest.
Draco frowned in concentration, "Is he trying to bait me into attacking? Or is he bluffing?" Draco tried to read his opponent's expression, but Yami's face was an indifferent mask. Draco's dragon let out a roar, venting its frustration as it awaited a command to annihilate the foe challenging it. "Well it seems that my dragon is eager to finish your Magician off."
Yami said nothing as he continued to stare coldly at Draco.
A cold sensation began spreading in Draco's stomach and nervous sweat was beginning to collect on his forehead, "This is ridiculous! Why am I hesitating? My Dragon has more than enough attack points to finish his magician off! Why won't that bastard blink?" Draco's hands began shaking and as he looked down at them he growled in frustration, "I won't let you intimidate me King of Games! Go Horus, attack his Dark Magician!"
Yami finally broke the indifferent mask covering his face as a small smile spread across his features.
Draco actually took a nervous step backwards even as his great Dragon once again gathered its power, preparing to strike. "What is he smiling about?"
Yami answered as if he had read Draco's mind, "I wasn't bluffing. Reveal Spellbinding Circle!" As Yami's trap card lifted itself to the field a great circle of green light covered in runes and sigils sprang onto the field.
Horus finally unleashed its attack, and its dark flame rushed towards Yami's monster with reckless abandon. "My Spellbinding circle will halt your dragon's attack and cut its attack power by 700 points!" The green circle interposed itself between the combatant monsters and easily caught Horus' dark flames on its surface. For a moment it seemed that the flames were in danger of spilling around the edges of the circle, but with a fierce green glow it rushed towards Draco's Dragon, pushing the attack back with great speed.
"No!" Draco protested with a hoarse shout as the circle settled itself around Horus. The great dragon uttered a pained sound and shuddered violently as its attack score plummeted to 2300.
"Now my Dark Magician is strong enough to destroy your Dragon!" Yami declared.
Draco bitterly replied, "I end my turn."
Yami quickly drew his card and smiled down on it. "Go Dark Magician, bring his Dragon down, Dark Magic Attack!" Dark Magician lifted its staff and gathered its power. Draco was completely knocked off his feet as his Dragon detonated, throwing off massive shock waves of power. Draco let out an agonized grunt as he lifted himself off his back, he opened one eye in time to watch his life points drop to 1300.
Draco slowly made his way to his feet, "You're going to pay for that. I promise you you'll pay."
"I doubt it. After all its still my turn, and I have more cards to play!" Yami answered as he placed a card in his duel disk. "Since your Dragon is no longer in play I can play my Emblem of Dragon Destroyer magic card!" The magic card unleashed a sigil carved with gold and jewels surrounded by flames. The emblem shrunk in size as it moved to rest over Yami's deck. "This magic card allows me to bring a powerful warrior to my hand." Yami extracted his deck and spread it out in his hand before selecting the appropriate card. He quickly reshuffled and slapped his deck back in place. "Now then, since my Buster Blader rests in my hand I can create a monster that will end this duel! I activate Polymerization!"
A vortex appeared on the field as holographic representations of Yami's Dark Magician, Buster Blader, and Polymerization cards appeared high above him. A streak of lightning crashed upon the field from the sky and revealed Yami's newest monster. Its robes were similar to Dark Magicians', but were a deep green color that matched its skin. Twin black streaks ran down the monster's face and it let out a deep cry as it brought its massive sword to bear, 2900 attack points flashed onto the field.
Draco was completely silent as he stared up at the monster with a terrified expression on his face.
"Allow me to introduce you to my Dark Paladin! This monster combines the Arcane knowledge of my Dark Magician, with the Dragon Slaying power of Buster Blader! For every single Dragon monster in play my creature gains an additional 500 attack points!" Yami called out as Dark Paladins' attack power shifted to rest at 4400 attack points.
"No, I was so close." Draco lamented to himself as his gaze fell to the floor.
"There isn't a Dragon in all of Duel Monsters that can defeat my Dark Paladin!" Yami announced.
A fire was lit in Draco's eyes as his head snapped back up to Yami, "You're wrong!"
Yami was surprised at the conviction in Draco's voice. "What are you talking about? With Dark Paladin's special ability not even Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon can match its power."
"You can't even conceive the power that my final Dragon possesses. With its strength I'll completely turn this duel around." Draco looked down at his deck, "But I have to draw it this turn or I'm finished!"
"Could he really be telling the truth?" Yugi asked.
"We'll find out soon enough." Yami answered. "Since I've already passed my battle phase for this turn I'll let you make your move."
"Please, come to me. Let me unleash your power and defeat my enemy!" Draco silently prayed as he drew his card. A moment passed in silence before an energetic laugh began bubbling up from Draco's throat. He looked up at Yami and laughed out loud. "Now you'll see, you'll finally be able to understand the full fury of my decks' power!"
"First I'll summon Luster Dragon #1 in attack mode!" Draco announced as he slapped his card onto his duel disk with renewed enthusiasm. A small dragon, not much larger than Draco himself appeared on the field. Its hide was blue and red, and two wings sprung out from its back. 1900 attack points were displayed. "Then I'll activate the Magic Card Dimension Hole!"
"I don't like this, maybe we should discard a card to activate Dark Paladin's special ability." Yugi was worried.
"I can't see how his magic card can hurt us. It actually removes his monster from play." Yami answered.
A black circle appeared on the field and quickly rotated around Draco's dragon, as soon as it completed its third rotation the monster was gone from sight. "Now then, its time."
"Time for what?" Yami asked in a guarded tone.
"Its time for you to learn the true meaning of power," Draco smiled.
An ominous wind suddenly picked up in the arena, and a shudder ran along Yami's spine. "What is this dark energy I'm sensing. Its like nothing I've ever felt before!"
"In order to bring forth my greatest Dragon I must first offer a light monster and a dark monster as tribute!"
"But you have no light or dark monsters on the field to sacrifice!" Yami pointed out in protest.
"True enough, but unfortunately for you I have the monsters I need in my graveyard, observe!" Two translucent images appeared on the field. Mirage Dragon and Komouri Dragon let out a final challenge in unison as they faded into globes of dark and light power. The specters began spiraling around one another before shooting off into the air with blinding speed. The moment the energies collided the dark feeling that Yami had sensed exploded with such ferocity that he barely managed to force his shaking body to stay on its feet.
"What on earth is this force?" Yami was awestruck as a portal opened above Draco, even his Dark Paladin seemed to be unnerved.
&&&
At last Mai gently pulled back from Joey's embrace and looked him in the eye.
He smiled down at her, "All better now?" He asked.
Mai offered him a small smile as a reward as she gently squeezed his shoulders, "Not yet, but I think I'm getting there."
"I'm glad ta hear it." Joey answered. The tranquil and calm atmosphere that the two had encased themselves in was suddenly disrupted when a large gust of cold wind blew past them. "What da heck was dat?" Joey asked in surprise as he shivered slightly.
"Look over there!" Mai pointed out to a dark shape high in the air over the main dueling arena.
"I don't like da looks a dis. Wasn't dat the direction dat Yugi, Tea, and Tristan went?" Joey asked as his smile slipped from his face.
"I think so, we'd better get moving." Mai prodded as she and Joey started to quickly make their way over to the arena.
"I hope Yug's okay." Joey silently remarked.
&&&
"I CALL FORTH CHAOS EMPEROR DRAGON-ENVOY OF THE END!" Draco roared at the top of his lungs his eyes wide, his pupils almost nonexistent his arms stretched out above him reaching for the sky.
For a moment it seemed to Yami that time itself cowered in fear at the dark force emanating from the portal. The wind died, and there was total soul shearing silence as if the world itself was holding its breath. The audience didn't move, didn't utter a single sound, life ground to a halt…but then total Chaos was unleashed.
The sheer violence of the winds ripping throughout the arena completely drowned out any chance Yami had of hearing his friends' concerned voices, his clothes and hair were billowing in random directions as the air was violently displaced. From the portal itself a dazzling array of lights of all colors was flashing ominously as an absolutely stunning monster lowered itself to the field. Where its hide wasn't green, armor shimmering with fantastic colors protected the beast. Its head was completely encased in the same way, crowned with flame red hair and eyes that peered directly through Yami's flesh to stab his soul with terror and panic.
"I can't stop shaking!" Yami's eyes were wide, "Such terrible power!".
When the Dragon opened its jaws the roar that was emitted shook the earth and tore the air. Yami dug his toes into the ground and was still pushed back several feet. The air finally settled, but the crowd was still completely enraptured in the Dragon's terrifying spell. 3000 attack points appeared before Yami's eyes as he continued to gaze at the beast.
&&&
Joey and Mai arrived just in time to watch in awe as Draco's monster settled itself on the field. They were both as completely dumbstruck as the rest of the audience was, unable to tear their gazes away from the great dragon.
Joey managed to find his voice first, and it quivered slightly as he remarked, "I'm glad I'm not facing dat thing!"
"Joey, Mai over here!" Tea's voice called out to them.
Joey and Mai quickly joined Tristan and Tea at the edge of the Arena, "Tea, what in the world is that thing?" Mai asked.
"The guy called it Chaos Emperor Dragon." Tea replied with worry in her voice, "I don't think that they will be able to stop it, just look at that thing!"
Joey quickly surveyed the field taking note of Yami's 2500 hundred life points, his Dark Paladin, his opponent's life point score of 1300, and his massive dragon.
"They were doing so well." Tristan commented bitterly as he looked up at Chaos Emperor Dragon with rage on his face.
"C'mon guys, if anyone can take dat thing down its Yugi!" Joey stated, "Have a little faith here!"
&&&
Yami was still shaking as he gazed up at his enemies final Dragon.
"So, now you finally understand." Draco noted. "You can feel my Dragon's power and its hard to bear. You can barely even stay on your feet!"
Yami's voice quavered slightly as he answered, "Even with the 1000 attack points that my Paladin lost when you removed your dragons from play, it gains another 500 from your newest monster, and thus still has more than enough attack points to defeat your Chaos Dragon!"
Draco was still smiling even as Dark Paladin's new attack strength of 3900 appeared. "You say that, but you don't really believe it. You can feel in your heart that you are doomed, you just don't know how yet. Well I'll be glad to educate you. My Chaos Dragon's special ability will let me finish your Dark Paladin and take most of your life points! By offering 1000 of my life points as tribute I'll empower my dragon with the strength it needs to completely devastate you!" Draco shuddered for a moment as his life points dropped to 300. "Now Chaos Emperor Dragon, activate Emerald Chaos Blast!"
Yami watched with horror as the Chaos Dragon opened its jaws and began gathering power. A streak of energy leapt from Dark Paladin and joined the growing energy wave in front of the beast. Yami's monster sagged for a moment before dropping to its knees and let its weapon slip from its fingers, with a harsh clang the steel hit the ground and Dark Paladin faded from sight.
"What have you done Draco? What has happened to my monster?" Yami demanded.
"Chaos Emperor Dragon is gathering the universal power that exists in every Duel Monsters card in our hands and on the field, destroying them and adding that force together in order to crush you!" Draco lifted his hand to deposit his cards in his graveyard and Yami reluctantly followed suit. "Now for every card that was sent to the graveyard you lose 300 life points!"
The energy was finally released and the Chaos Dragon itself was incinerated under the pressure. A concentrated beam of energy composed of a rainbow of colors leapt and struck Yami directly in the chest. His eyes bugged for a moment in shock before a great pillar of black and green light erupted around him, completely concealing him from view.
&&&
"No! Yugi!" Tea cried out in alarm as cold fists of fear and dread clenched around her heart, as well as Joey's, Mai's and Tristans'.
"Hang in dere Yugi! I know you can do it!" Joey called out at the top of his voice, not knowing that there was no way that his words of encouragement could ever reach his friend.
&&&
When the attack finally faded Yami stood still for a moment before sinking to his knees, he managed to catch himself on his palms before he fell face first to the ground. He was letting out pained gasps and breathing erratically as he tried to compose himself.
"A total of seven cards were sent to the graveyard so you lost 2100 life points!" Yami's life points quickly dropped to 400 as Draco pumped a fist in triumph.
"This…"Yami shakily put one foot underneath him and rose slowly to his feet, "This duel isn't over. As long as I have life points I'll keep fighting! Your Chaos Dragon may have taken most of my life points, but it destroyed itself as well!"
Draco seemed to be amused, "You have no cards in your hand, nor any on the field. In case you've forgotten I had the foresight to remove my Luster Dragon from play, as soon as I end my turn I'll have a monster with 1900 attack points on the field. You'd better pray that you draw a monster strong enough to protect yourself, or your last life points will be gone, and this duel will be mine!"
"I knew we should've stopped him from playing his magic card! We would have been able to prevent him from bringing his Luster Dragon back to the field!" Yugi complained.
"Yes." The pharaoh admitted, "But if his monster card was still on the field his Chaos Dragon's attack would've taken all but 100 of our life points. We still have a chance to win this duel!"
&&&
Joey pumped a fist in the air and gleefully shouted, "Yeah! Our boy is back on his feet! I know he wouldn't let dat dragon get the best of him!" The crowd surged to its feet in approval and let out an energetic roar.
&&&
"Its been fun King of Games, but its time for you to take your last turn." Draco's Luster Dragon reappeared on the field, once again brandishing its 1900 attack points.
"Please, don't fail us now." Yugi silently prayed as Yami reached for the duel disk. The card that Yami drew had the picture of a man draped in white robes and reaching out for something at his side. "I summon a monster in defense mode." Yami called out as he placed the card face down on his duel disk. Within moments a hologram of his card appeared before him. "I end my turn."
"Excellent." Draco replied as he drew his card. He frowned down on it for a moment, "Well this doesn't help unless I have another monster card in my hand."
Yami noticed the expression on Draco's face, "What's wrong Draco? Didn't get the draw you were hoping for? I understand now. Your Chaos Dragon is very impressive, but if you don't defeat your opponent with it when you activate its special ability you put yourself at a disadvantage for the rest of the duel!"
"Don't mock my Chaos Dragon or its power." Draco growled in response, "And you have exactly the same disadvantage I have, except I secured myself a powerful monster. I have a one-card advantage over you King of Games, and I will exploit it. For now however, I'm confident that my Luster Dragon can handle whatever it is you have in defense mode. Luster Dragon attack his face down monster, Sapphire Breath!"
A cone of blue flame erupted from Draco's dragon, but an energy barrier quickly stopped it. "What?" Draco called out in surprise.
"Your Luster Dragon has attacked my Skilled White Magician!" Yami's monster card flipped over and the image of his Skilled White Magician instantly appeared on the field holding both of its arms out in order to ward off the attack. "Since my monster has a defense score equal to your monster's attack score, this battle ends in a draw!" With an abrupt fizzle the battle had concluded and both monsters were left unharmed on the field, and neither duelists life points were altered.
"That monster looks and sounds too much like his Skilled White Magician. I'd better be careful not to let it collect three spell counters, or who knows what he'll be able to summon with its special ability." Draco mused to himself. "You got a lucky draw with that monster, but your luck won't last! Go ahead and make your move!"
Yami didn't answer Draco as he drew his card. He looked down upon a purple rimmed card with a pedestal holding a blue orb upon its surface. "I'll place one card face down on the field and end my turn." Yami called out his play as his card appeared before him.
Draco drew his card and smiled, "Perfect, now I can activate my Monster Reincarnation magic card!"
Yami let out a noise of frustration as Draco's magic card appeared on the field, "As long as I'm willing to send a monster card from my hand to the graveyard I can bring any monster I wish from my graveyard to my hand! Can you guess which Dragon I've chosen Yugi?" Draco asked with a wide grin on his face.
A stunned look flitted across Yami's features, "He's brining his Chaos Dragon back to his hand!" A determined frown quickly came back as he realized, "You may be able to bring your Dragon back to your hand, but you don't have the proper monsters in your graveyard to summon it!"
Draco smiled as he drew his card from his graveyard, "Not yet anyway, but trust me when I say that there are plenty of cards in my deck that can change that in a big hurry. Since it makes no sense for our monsters to battle a second time I'll end my turn.
Yami drew his card and immediately played it to the field, "I summon another monster in defense mode." The card appeared as Yami continued, "I end my turn."
Draco drew his card and couldn't contain his ecstatic laughter. "This is just too good, just the card I was hoping for!"
Yami's expression hardened as he waited for Draco to continue his move.
"I play Miracle Dig!" Suddenly three men with pick axes and shovels appeared on the field behind Draco, they seemed to be digging into the ground searching for something. "Since exactly five of my dragons have been removed from play I can return any three of them to my card graveyard!" A bright light emanated from Draco's graveyard as he continued, "I choose Komouri Dragon, Mirage Dragon, and Cave Dragon!" Images of all three cards appeared above Draco's head as they reappeared in his graveyard.
Yami's jaw clenched tightly as he looked up at the cards, he knew exactly what was coming next. "Now, I'll remove Mirage Dragon and Komouri Dragon from play in order to once again bring forth my Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End!"
That feeling of intense darkness once again permeated throughout Yami's very soul, but this time he was able to endure it with much more success. He looked on with a determined expression on his face as the portal once again appeared on the field. With an equally stunning display of power Draco's ultimate beast once again rested on his side of the field with 3000 attack points.
"I'd say that pretty much seals your fate Yugi. This duel is mine!" Draco crowed happily. "First my Luster Dragon will attack your face down monster!" With a roar the indicated Dragon let loose a stream of blue flame that engulfed Yami's monster card. His Queen's Knight briefly showed itself and wore an expression of great pain before it shattered and went to the graveyard.
Yami let out a noise of frustration as he lowered his arms from his face, no longer protecting himself from the heat and wind from the attack.
"How does it feel King of Games?" Draco asked. "How does it feel to stare your defeat right in the eye and know you have no chance of victory? With all these spectators as witnesses you are about to pass your title onto me, and be ejected from this tournament in the first round!" Draco didn't even bother to give Yami a chance to respond as he lifted his finger to point, "Now my Chaos Emperor Dragon, annihilate his Skilled White Magician, Emperor Fire!" Chaos Emperor Dragon seemed to grin with glee for a moment before opening its maw wide to unleash its rage. A white-hot pillar of fire surrounded by a spiraling blue energy wave issued forth and slammed into Yami's monster.
Even as he covered his face and his clothes were billowing behind him under the ferocity of the attack Yami was still able to call out, "I activate my Miracle Restoring trap card!" His final card lifted itself as Yami continued, "Quickly my Skilled White Magician, offer your power so that your brethren can be called back to the field!"
"What?" Draco called back in shock, "What are you talking about?"
Yami's Skilled White Magician cried out in anguish but still lifted its staff high above its head. Two orbs of light flashed from the tip just before the Skilled White Magician lost its shape and completely disintegrated under the unyielding assault. The two orbs of light quickly spiraled around each other once before flying into Yami's trap card, which began glowing with a beautiful blue aura.
"By offering up two spell counters my Skilled White Magician collected thanks to your magic cards, my Miracle Restoring trap card is empowered with the ability to summon one of two monsters back from my graveyard directly to the field!" Yami answered. "Either my Dark Magician…" He paused for a moment as a satisfied grin spread across his features. "Or my Buster Blader."
Draco's eyes bugged in his head as he took a nervous step back. "No! You can't!"
"Oh, but I can!" Yami responded. "Miracle Restoring! Return my ultimate dragon slaying warrior to the field! I call back Buster Blader in attack mode!" From the face of Yami's trap card a holographic pedestal appeared bearing a blue orb. The orb glowed for a moment before a crack ran along its surface. Finally the orb completely shattered and from the symbol within it a challenging cry echoed throughout the arena. A tall warrior cloaked in purple and gray armor complete with gold trim appeared on the field wielding a massive sword. It swung the blade in a mighty arc as 2600 attack points were displayed.
"I'm sure you're familiar with my warrior's special ability." Yami was wearing a pleased smile on his face as he crossed his arms, "For every dragon monster on your side of the field and in your graveyard he receives 500 attack points, observe!" An azure glow surrounded Buster Blader's sword for a moment as its attack strength climbed to 4100. "This duel ends now!" Yami announced, "Buster Blader, attack his Chaos Emperor Dragon, Dragon Slayer Strike!" Yami's monster assumed a two handed grip on its sword as it lifted it high above its head. It sprinted for three powerful steps before leaping into the air directly at Draco's monster.
"No! My dragon won't be beaten! Chaos Emperor Dragon, counterattack!" Draco cried out in absolute desperation. With an angry roar Draco's monster complied, once again unleashing white-hot fire at its foe. Buster Blader responded by shifting its Blade, holding the edge before it as it continued the attack. The blade was so powerful that when the Chaos Dragon's flames struck it they were completely cut asunder, clearing a path for Buster Blader directly to its foe.
With a great cry Buster Blade swept its blade, a great sonic boom erupted in the stadium as the very air was cut by the ferocity of the attack. Buster Blader returned to its place at Yami's side.
The entire arena was completely quiet, waiting in anticipation for what would happen next. Draco's dragon was completely motionless, staring down at Yami and his monster with pure hatred in its eyes. Finally the ruby glow of its eyes faded as a line appeared down the side of its neck. With a final gurgle as its last words, Chaos Emperor Dragon's head slid of its neck and fell to the field with a great crash, its body followed suit. At last the carcass detonated, completely throwing Draco to his back. He let out an agonized wail as his life points fell to 0.
The tournament officials' voice could barely be heard despite his microphone, the roar of the crowd was so deafening, "Ladies and Gentlemen your winner of this round one duel, the King of Games YUGI MOTO!" It seemed impossible but the roar of the crowd seemed to grow in intensity as Yami looked around and waved wearing a smile on his face.
"NO! I was so close! How could this happen? I had the most powerful dragon in the game on my side!" Draco was lamenting to himself as Yami walked over to him.
"It was a great duel, I was honored to face you Draco." Yami offered his fallen opponent his hand to help him to his feet.
Draco's eyes narrowed as he viciously slapped the proffered hand away. Draco scrambled to his feet and looked at Yami with such pure hatred in his eyes that Yami took an unconscious step backwards. "Don't you ever touch me! I'll make you pay for humiliating me and my Chaos Dragon Yugi Moto, you can count on it. You'll be seeing me again." Draco turned and walked off before Yami could respond.
"How sad. Such a great match shouldn't end like this." Yami remarked quietly.
"I can't believe how angry he seemed, he was almost worse than Kaiba when we beat him for the first time!" Yugi answered.
They were interrupted from any further musing back a hard slap to the back that caught them completely by surprise and pitched them forward slightly before they were able to catch their balance. "Great match Yug! That was amazing!"
Yami smiled as he turned to face Tristan, no doubt the culprit of the enthusiastic greeting. "Thank you Tristan, that was a great challenge. One of the best duels I've fought in a long time."
Tea cut in, "I couldn't believe how powerful those dragons were! I wasn't even dueling but I was shuddering so badly! I almost couldn't believe my eyes when you beat them!"
"Yes." Yami agreed, "They were quite formidable, and I assure you they looked very different from where I was standing." The group shared a laugh and Yami finally noticed that Joey and Mai had joined them as well.
Joey's arm was around her shoulder as he chimed in, "Dat was freakin amazing dueling Yug! We got here just in time ta see him summon dat freaky Chaos Dragon! Its hard ta think dat there's actually a duelist with more powerful dragons den Kaiba!"
"I know, I can't help but wonder if I would've been able to stand up to that thing, it was a monster! You did a great job taking it down." Mai added with a smile.
"Well it looks like Joey and Mai are finally starting to heal." Yami noted with a smile on his face.
"That's so great, they're finally moving on and forgiving the past." Yugi added. "Thank you all." Yami looked at each of his friends in turn wearing a smile.
&&&
Draco had his hands in his pockets as he stalked away from the arena. His gaze was narrowed and his brow furrowed as he played the duel over and over again his mind, wondering how he had been beaten with his Chaos Emperor Dragon at his side.
"Hey loser." A deep voice called from behind him.
Draco stiffened angrily as he turned to face his heckler, "You'd better not be talking to me pal." He responded in a dark tone. By the time he finished turning his eyes widened in shock. "Seto Kaiba?" He asked.
"I see you've heard of me." Kaiba replied as his crossed his arms. "I'll be blunt. I want your Chaos Emperor Dragon, how much do you want for it?"
Draco was stunned for a moment, but quickly let out a laugh as he shook his head, "Are you out of your mind? Why would I give up the most powerful dragon in the game?"
"Because." Kaiba began, "You're too weak to use it properly. That dragon deserves to have a real duelist as its master. Its potential and power is wasted on some low class duelist like you."
Draco's fists and jaws were clenched as a deep rage shot through him, "Do you think that I don't see right through you Kaiba? You're jealous of the power that I possess and you want it for yourself. There's no way in hell I'd give up my Chaos Dragon, with it I'm the most powerful Dragon Duelist in the game!"
Kaiba laughed out loud, "So you think you're stronger than me? Let me tell you something, I'm the best duelist alive today, and I will have that Chaos Dragon one way or the other. You can either name your price or get ready to duel for it."
Draco snarled, "You can get ready to kiss my ass!" Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "There isn't a card in your deck that you could put up that would be worth risking my Chaos Dragon! Now this has been a truly pleasant conversation, but I have better things to do than trade insults with a conceited, stuck up, delusional prick like you!" Without another word Draco turned on his heels and walked away even as Kaiba continued to seethe silently behind him.
"That dragon will be mine you little punk. One way or another." Kaiba promised.
As Kaiba turned to walk away he failed to notice the presence of another person that witnessed the confrontation. "That young man would be absolutely perfect."
End.
Wow, okay, that duel was a lot of fun to write even when it was tough to put together. Okay some notes. Once again if I haven't stayed 100 true to some of the cards, it was just to let the duel run a little smoother, I can probably point out every instance that the cards were different than they are in real life.
Dark Coffin: Its true that since Draco had no cards in his hand when Dark Coffin was activated so he would've lost a monster, but he would've been able to choose which one it was. I guess its up to you guys to decide what would've been a smarter choice, Cave Dragon or Solar Flare Dragon, but I picked Cave Dragon so that Solar Flare Dragon could use its special ability.
Solar Flare Dragon: This monster is technically a pyro monster and not a dragon in the actual TCG, but for the purposes of this duel I just kinda ignored that. I mean for friggin sake that damn thing has "Dragon" in its name!"
True Loyalty: Completely made up, doesn't exist at all. You guys can decide for yourselves whether or not it was a good card, but I thought it was a nifty little idea that helped me run the duel better. I don't think its too far-fetched after all it only worked on direct attacks and the dragons were removed from play afterwards.
Super Rejuvenation: This magic card doesn't actually include dragons that were destroyed, only those that were tributed or discarded from the hand. So technically Draco would've only been able to draw one card.
Oh, and you guys can call Draco a moron all you want for playing that combo of Dimension Hole and Luster Dragon, after all with Yami's life points those two cards would've given him enough power to win the duel. Lets just say that I thought the combo was a cool idea and I needed some way to prevent Yami/Yugi from being defeated. I hope you didn't think that was a cop out, I actually thought it was pretty cool.
I hope I didn't confuse anyone with the duel stuff, Yami was in control of the body so I basically referred to him in the narration, while Draco called him Yugi because he didn't know about Yami. (well obviously right:sweatdrop: )
I'm definitely happier with my Joey Mai stuff, and I hope you guy's thought it was better too!
I hope you liked the duel, and I hope that you review. Thanks again for reading, next chapter will be Kaiba Vs a Warrior deck, with you guessed it, Black Luster Soldier Envoy of the Beginning. Oh and Kaiba will probably be using the Fang of Cridias because he's the kind of guy that wouldn't have any problem playing ridiculously powerful monsters that no average duelist would have any chance of beating…..so yeah! Stay tuned and did I mention review?
madmanmay
