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Fanfic Chapter 30: Joey Against The Machines Pt 1: The Missing Card
Episode Basis: Keith's Mechinations
Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh! Yugi rebounded from his defeat at the hands of Kaiba thanks to Mai's counsel. Yugi and the Spirit made amends and Yugi was able to use Catapult Turtle and Brain Control to destroy Mai's Mirror Wall. But it seemed hopeless because Yugi was one attack away from being defeated and his three best monsters have been destroyed. With little choice left, Yugi attempted the legendary Black Luster Ritual. With only three turns before Mai was free to attack, it seemed hopeless and the spirit hated to risk everything on a single draw. But Yugi gave him strength, showing the Spirit of the Puzzle that nothing was impossible as long as they believe in the heart of the cards. Yugi succeeded in summoning the legendary Black Luster Soldier and destroyed Harpie's Pet Dragon. Rather than see her monsters obliterated at the hands of such a powerful creature, Mai forfeited the duel to Yugi, promising that they would face each other again. Now let's see if Joey can succeed in his match against the Intercontinental Champion, Bandit Keith.
The duel against Mai had just ended with Yugi Moto being declared the victor. The others cheered for Yugi. Yugi just thought, I couldn't have won without the support of all the others, even Mai.
Pegasus clapped his hands. "Well-done, Yugi, superb duel, you certainly know how to put on a good show. That ritual you pulled out at the last minute even caught me by surprise."
Yugi just scowled at Pegasus. Enjoy this while you can, Pegasus, because the only reason I'm here is to rescue my Grandpa, and once I beat you and win him back, you'll have nothing to chuckle about.
"The second match of these finals will proceed shortly. Bandit Keith against Joey Wheeler; prepare your decks."
"Whoa, that was quick," Joey commented.
"Relax, Joey, you'll do fine," Bakura encouraged.
"Yeah, after beating Mai and Rex, I'm confident you can hold your own," Harold agreed. Winning on the other hand…
"Thanks, guess I'm kind of tense."
"Yeah," Tristan agreed getting Joey into a head lock. "You've got a number of reasons to be. First of all, you're going up against Bandit Keith, the Intercontinental Champion, I mean he makes a living creaming opponents like you and winning tournaments like these. The only time he lost was to Pegasus himself, not to mention…"
"Would you shut up!" Joey shouted palming Tristan in the face. "I'm tense, not nervous."
Yugi breathed a sigh of relief as he exited the arena. He could afford to let down his guard a little, now that he and the spirit have made up.
"Yugi…" Joey appeared in the anteroom.
"Oh, hey, Joey, what's up?" Joey was silent, a very unusual feat for him. "Are you okay?"
"Yugi, if I win this, then we have to go up against each other."
"I believe we can look forward to an honorable match. I know you, Joey, and you know me. We'll duel our hardest, but I know we'll remain friends no matter what the outcome." Yugi nodded.
Joey pushed open the doors and walked to his podium. But then he noticed that nobody was facing him. "Hey, where's Keith?"
A loud yawn came from the side. Keith had fallen asleep on a sofa. "What time is it?" He asked drowsy.
"Get over here and take your beating like a man!" Joey snapped after recovering from his face-fault.
"Chill out, the beating of you will commence as soon as I'm good and ready."
"I guess to the Intercontinental Champion, this is just another day at the office," Harold said scowling at the American in shades.
"Stall all you want, Keith, you're going to have to duel me sooner or later."
That's what you think, you dork!
"Tournament verification cards, gentlemen," Croquet requested.
"No problem," Keith said flashing the treasure card. "Glory of the King's Hand entitles me to the prize money, right?"
"That is correct."
"So dweeb, where's your card."
"Its right…" as Joey reached into his pocket, he felt nothing. He checked all his pockets but to no avail.
"Tournament Verification card," Croquet requested again, slowly losing patience.
"Don't tell me Joey lost his card!" Tea exclaimed.
"Okay, I won't tell you Joey lost his card," Harold replied.
"I told you not to tell me."
"Guess I won't need to get off this sofa," Keith said enjoying Joey's plight.
"Don't get too comfortable," Joey said. "As soon as I find that card…"
"If you can find it within the set time limit."
"Time limit?"
"Your match is set to begin at eleven o'clock," Croquet informed him. "If you can not show your card by that time, you will be disqualified." Harold looked at his watch: 10:55. Joey had 5 minutes.
"Joey, are you sure you put it in your coat pocket?" Tea asked.
"I guess it probably could've fallen out in my room. I'll go check."
As Joey ran off, Keith laughed, "Run as fast as you can, there's no way you'll get back here in 5 minutes."
"Bandit Keith," Croquet addressed. "The same restrictions apply to you."
"Huh?"
"If you are not on the arena floor by eleven o'clock, you will be disqualified too."
"Aw man, you suits and your rules," Keith complained.
Joey ripped his room apart looking for the card. "Forget it, I can't find that card anywhere!"
Yugi stared at his own entry card, Glory of the King's Opposite Hand. I'd give Joey this card, but I need it to challenge Pegasus. As scatterbrained as Joey is, even he wouldn't lose something as important as that, especially if it's to save his sister's eyesight. Could it have been stolen?
"Can't we just disqualify that punk right now?" Keith asked. "We all know he ain't coming back anyway."
"You're wrong, he'll be here!" Tea said.
"Oh please, give me a break; your little friend's been scared of me ever since our little run-in back at the cave. He probably lost that entry card on purpose so he wouldn't have to face me."
"Kiss off, Lard Butt!" Harold snapped. "Joey will make it back, I'd bet my life on it."
With what I got, you just might lose that bet in more ways than one.
"Joey will make it," Yugi said firmly. His scowl at Keith was so fierce that it could probably cut through concrete. "Card or no card, he will be back."
I must've searched the whole castle, Joey thought as he tried to catch his breath in the hallway. He dropped to his knees. I can't believe this, after all I've been through, after dueling people with twice my experience, after getting passed all of Pegasus' hired Duelists, after going through everything I've gone through, I'm going to lose the duel because I lost some freaking card? "No way!" Joey slammed the ground, tears streaming from his face.
"You know, if there's one thing I hate, it's seeing a man cry." Joey looked up to see Mai, travel bag in hand. She probably had to return to her room for it before leaving the castle.
"Who's crying, I just have something in my eye, that's all," Joey said quickly drying his eyes with his sleeve. "Stupid thing, it won't come out."
Mai took out a lace handkerchief and handed it to him. "Here, use this to 'get it out.' Just make sure you don't blow your nose in it. You know, every time I think I have you figured out, you surprise me, Joey." Joey noticed that a corner of the handkerchief was damp. Had Mai been crying as well, but about what, her loss to Yugi, or… "Harold told me about your little sister, and about why you duel. Sounds like a bad soap opera but then again, I have a weak spot for soap operas, even bad ones. See you around, Sweetie."
As Joey stared at her handkerchief, something fell out into his other hand. It was Mai's Glory of the King's Hand card. He stared at her back. "Mai… does this mean we're friends?"
"Don't you have a duel to get to? Better hurry or they'll disqualify you. Tardiness is one of Croquet's pet peeves."
"Oh, yeah, right, thanks, Mai!"
"Take him down," Mai encouraged.
"You bet I will."
As Joey ran off, Mai said to her self, "Dork, of course we're friends." And she walked off.
Everyone watched as Joey burst through the doors. Yugi and the others cheered.
"I knew it," Harold said. "Joey never runs from a problem, he tackles it head on."
"So, punk's come back to give us the bad news, huh?" Keith jeered. Joey said nothing as he walked to his podium. "Let me guess, you couldn't find that card anywhere."
Joey triumphantly held the card out for all to see. "What are you talking about; I got a card right here!"
Harold's and Croquet's watches both clicked to 11:00.
Keith gawked, impossible, I'm using his card!
"Very well, the duel will proceed," Croquet declared. Pegasus just watched it indifferently.
"All right, Keith, nap time is over, time to duel!"
"Fine, you know, a part of me wanted you to show up. A nice little warm-up match would do me some good."
"I'll warm you up… and wear you out."
"Just you try it!" Keith said, still furious that his plot to disqualify Joey backfired.
Croquet made the formal announcements. "Joey Wheeler, Bandit Keith, your peers, and gracious host, draw your cards and let the duel begin!"
"Let's duel!"
(J: 2000)
(K: 2000)
"So tell me, dweeb, how does it feel to be an amateur going up against the Intercontinental Champion?"
"Ooh, the Intercontinental Champion, where's my autograph book?" Joey asked sarcastically. "Oh please, give me a break; the only thing you're the Intercontinental Champion of is acting smug."
"I'll teach you to respect my title."
"Probably self-given."
"Watch it, I place one card face-down in defense mode."
"Here we go," Harold muttered.
"Sock it to him, Joey, you got the guts," Tristan cheered.
"And heart," Tea threw in.
Joey gave his friends a thumb up. Okay, time to get serious. Serenity, this duel's for you. "I'll also lay a card face-down in defense mode."
"Well, this won't be a very exciting match if all we do is defending. So I think I'll switch my monster into attack mode. Go, Pendulum Machine (1)!"
"A machine monster?" Joey questioned.
"That's right, and he's about to go into overdrive on that defense monster of yours." The Pendulum Machine picked up Joey's defense monster, Battle Warrior, and sliced it.
"Ouch, that isn't good," Tristan commented.
"Well… it isn't bad," Yugi said trying to cheer him up.
Bakura understood. "Yes, now that Joey knows what his monster is, he can provide an adequate counterattack."
Still, I wonder why Bandit Keith played a machine monster, Yugi thought.
"So you gonna move or what?" Bandit Keith asked.
"Oh, I'll move, and it's a big one too. I summon Giltia the Knight (2) in attack mode! Attack that machine with Soul Spear!" Joey's warrior fired a blast of magical energy but it simply bounced off of Pendulum Machine's armor.
"That can't be right," Harold gasped.
"Oh, it's right," Keith confirmed. "All of my machine monsters are protected by magic resistant armor. So your magic attacks are basically worth squat!"
"That's why he played a machine card, they're magic proof!" Yugi realized.
"So Joey can't use any monsters with magical attacks?" Harold checked.
"Or offensive magic cards," Yugi threw in.
"That sure seems to be the case," Bakura replied.
"My turn," Bandit Keith announced. "And I've got another well-oiled machine all juiced up and ready to steam-role your life points! Launcher Spider (3), shock rocket attack!" The Launcher Spider fired missiles which destroyed Giltia.
(J: 1650)
(K: 2000)
Oh man, I knew I would get a rough match from Keith, but I wasn't prepared for these big metal bullies.
"Come on, tough guy, fight back, it's more fun when you squirm!"
"No machine is without its glitch," Bakura commented. "If Joey concentrates, he can discover Keith's machine's glitch."
"Machine monsters are some of the most powerful of all Duel Monsters, right up there with Dragons and Fiends. Not only are they impervious to magic attacks, but they have a high offense too. However, they can only use that offense one way: against head-on attacks. Maybe if Joey plays his cards right, he can use that to his advantage."
Attacking those metal meatballs head-on would just get me clobbered, so… "I place one card face-down and a monster card in defense mode."
"What's the matter, dweeb, afraid to fight like a man?"
"I would fight like a man if I was fighting a man," Joey came back. "But since I'm fighting someone dumber than me…"
"You'll pay for that!" If this kid keeps throwing monster in defense mode, I'll never get at his life points, I have to draw him out. "I'll lay a card face-down too. And a monster face… oops." Keith "accidentally" dropped the card on the table face-up, meaning it was in attack mode. A blue creature started to pop up before Keith took the card off the table. "Just forget you saw that. Any-who, I'm playing it in defense mode."
"What was that thing?" Harold asked.
"It wasn't a machine monster, I'm sure of that," Tristan said.
Tristan's right, it wasn't a machine monster. It was Zoa (4), a fiend monster, a monster my Flame Swordsman would trounce easily, and unlike machine monsters, it's totally vulnerable to magic.
"Something's odd," Yugi said. "If I'm not mistaken, I think that monster was Zoa."
"So what's so odd about that?" Tea asked.
"Hmmm… Harold, don't you have a Zoa card too?"
"Yeah, your Grandpa gave it to me as a birthday present last year." Harold reached into his backpack and took out the card. He handed it to Yugi.
"I knew it!" Yugi shouted after staring at the card. "Zoa's offense is higher than its defense."
Meanwhile, Joey summoned Flame Swordsman and equipped it with Salamandra.
"So that would mean that there would be no point in playing it in defense mode," Bakura said catching on to what Yugi was thinking.
"But why would Keith do something like that when someone with his experience would know that monsters with low defenses are worthless in defense mode?" Harold asked. "Unless…"
"Joey's walking into a trap!"
"Thanks, dweeb, I wanted you to attack. You set off my trap: Rare Metalmorph!" Zoa was transformed into a machine. "Now Zoa is Metalzoa (5) and 400 attack points stronger because of it."
(MZ: 3000)
"But that's not all, Rare Metalmorph gives Zoa the ability to reflect magic attacks right back to where they came from!"
"My Swordsman!" Joey cried as his favorite monster was destroyed.
(J: 1150)
(K: 2000)
Keith broke into a fit of laughter. "You should've seen the look on your stupid face, dweeb! It was priceless!" Keith drew a card. "And I'm just getting started."
"Say what?"
"That's right, next on my list is that little defense monster of yours. But he won't be defending much longer." Keith held up a magic card.
"A Stop Defense card!"
Joey's Axe Raider appeared.
"Axe Raider, huh, not a problem for Metal Zoa."
"If Metalzoa's attack hits, Joey's life points will be all gone!"
"Sayonara, sucker. Metalzoa, attack the Axe Raider now." As the giant metal monster moved in to attack, it disappeared. "Huh, where'd it go?"
"Ha-ha, you fell right into my trap just like I planned," Joey exclaimed holding up the trap card he laid.
"Awesome, that's the Chasm of Spikes card!" Yugi recognized. "Now not only is Metalzoa destroyed, but one quarter of its attack points get deducted from Keith's life points!"
(J: 1150)
(K: 1250)
"Not bad, huh, I only wish you could've seen your face when your Metal Zoa fell into that trap, it was priceless!"
"It's about time that jerk Bandit Keith got a taste of his own medicine!"
"That's not the only way he's turning the tables on Keith," Yugi revealed. "I think Joey just discovered the glitch in those machine monsters. Rather than attack them out right, he's letting his traps do the attacking for him."
"And now Keith's only leading by 100 life points," Bakura concluded.
"My turn; and I'm laying another card face-down. Oh, by the way, it's a trap so don't bother attacking."
"You sure it's wise to reveal your strategy to your opponent?" Harold asked.
"You amateur!" Keith insulted. "That's got to be the lousiest bluff I ever heard in my entire dueling career."
"And next, I'm switching my Axe Raider back into defensive mode. And I'm summoning Garoozis in attack mode! Attack Pendulum Machine with Battle Blade Strike!" Pendulum Machine was destroyed.
(J: 1150)
(K: 1200)
"Oh yeah, take a permanent vacation in the scrap yard, you hunk of junk!"
"Now it's my turn," Keith said enraged. "Launcher Spider, demolish Garoozis!" Launcher Spider fired its missiles which hit Garoozis. "Hah, I knew you didn't have another trap waiting."
"Wrong again, Keith, you thought I was bluffing and now you're going to pay for it!"
"What's that?"
"Kunai with Chain, it raises Garoozis' attack points by 500 points!"
(G: 1800-2300)
Garoozis swung his axe and destroyed Launcher Spider.
(J: 1150)
(K: 1100)
"It's close, but Joey just earned himself a slight lead," Bakura said.
"I knew he would make a come back!"
Joey's trusting his instinct and trusting in his cards, he's dueling like a true champion!"
"Great job, Joey, keep this up and you'll be dueling Pegasus in no time!"
For the first time since the duel began, Pegasus looked up with a bemused expression.
Bandit Keith pounded the table. I'm not gonna let him make a fool out of me!
"What's wrong, Mister Champ, don't tell me you're losing your cool to an amateur like me!" Bandit Keith laughed. "I must've missed the joke."
"The joke is on you, Blondie, you're already counting the tournament's prize money and this duel ain't even close to being over."
"Oh yeah?"
"You think your traps will last you forever? You gonna run out sooner or later and then I'll bring out my bigger machines and really give our audience a show. You're going down, you sniveling little wanna-be, nobody makes a fool out of Bandit Keith, nobody!"
Joey stared defiantly.
To Be Continued
Monster Glossary
(1)
Name: Pendulum Machine
Level: 4
Type: Machine
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 1750
DEF: 2000
(2)
Name: Giltia the Knight (Giltia the D. Knight) (Version 1)
Level: 5
Type: Warrior/Fusion
Attribute: Light
ATK: 1850
DEF: 1500
(3)
Name: Launcher Spider
Level: 7
Type: Machine
Attribute: Fire
ATK: 2200
DEF: 2500
(4)
Name: Zoa
Level: 7
Type: Fiend
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 2600
DEF: 1900
(5)
Name: Metalzoa
Level: 8
Type: Machine/Effect
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 3000
DEF: 2300
