Intermission Ended
Ichigo narrowed his eyes at Alice. At the moment the duel was in his favor. He had Cyber Shadow-Gunblader (2400/1500) and Cyber Shadow-Kuriboh Gunman (4300/1000) in play. Also he had two cards in his hand.
Alice- 700
Ichigo- 2200
Alice had nothing in play, but she had just drawn. "Are you ready human? This will be the true test of your skills." She took a card from her hand and placed it onto her disk. "Come out now Cyber Nightmare!" (2400/1400) A giant suit of black robotic armor appeared in play. "This monster will be the beginning of your end. It cannot be destroyed in battle. Attack now!" She took a card from her hand and slid it into her graveyard slot. "For this monster to attack I must discard a card from my hand." The suit of armor came to life and lifted an arm. From the fist it released a blast of electricity that slammed into Gunblader and blew it apart. "Also, I set two cards face-down and end my turn."
Ichigo braced himself against the backlash he felt from his monster's death. ("Darn…this lady is crazy.") He drew. "I play the equipment magic card Breakdown Bow." A black bow appeared next to the Kuriboh. "This card allows me to discard a magic card from my hand to destroy one magic or trap card in play. Also, when Kuriboh Gunman is equipped with an equipment magic card it gains 1000 attack points." (5300/1000) Taking a card from his hand, he slid it into his graveyard. "I discard a magic card to destroy the card on the left!" The little furball pulled on the bowstring…
Alice pointed at the targeted card. "I reveal Computer Reprogramming. This card allows me to readjust the effect of a machine monster in play to remove its downsides. So now my monster can attack without me having to discard a card from my hand."
Kuriboh Gunman squeaked in disappointment.
Ichigo pointed at the armor. "It doesn't matter! Kuriboh Gunman, attack now!" Chirping in pleasure, the furball grabbed a rifle from out of nowhere and pulled the trigger. A bullet flew towards the robot…
Alice pointed at her other set card. "I activate Shielding Armor!" Silver armor replaced the armor of the robot. "Now I cannot take damage from this monster being in battle. Also, when this monster is sacrificed I can draw two cards." The bullet hit the armor of the monster and it brushed itself off.
Ichigo looked at his hand. "I end my turn."
Alice drew. She pointed at her robot and it disappeared in a swirl of golden light. "I sacrifice my monster so that I can summon Cyber Doom Dragon." (2400/2200) A huge golden robotic dragon appeared in play and it roared at the little furball.
Kuriboh Gunman responded by blowing a raspberry at it.
Alice narrowed her eyes. "Little piece of trash…try this…" She held up a card. "I activate Cyber Feather. This magic card…" A steel feather appeared on the field and brushed itself over the graveyard of her disk. Little bits of silver dust went into it and a card slid out of her graveyard. "…allows me to pick up one machine monster from my graveyard and add it to my hand."
She took the picked up the card and threw it down. "Come out now, my special summoned Cyber Sentry!" (1500/1800) A humanoid copper robot carrying a metal staff appeared on the field and turned to look at Kuriboh Gunman. "This monster can be special summoned to the field if I have another machine monster in play. Now I can cut the attack of one monster in play in half." (2650/1000) "Then I play Mystical Space Typhoon!" A blast of wind slammed into the Breakdown Bow and blew it apart. (1650/1000)
Ichigo growled, while the Kuriboh Gunman squeaked and glared at the two monsters on the field.
Alice smirked. "Cyber Sentry cannot attack during the turn it is summoned. Go Cyber Doom Dragon!" The golden dragon opened its jaws and released a globe of flame that slammed into the Kuriboh and blew it away. "Also, I set one card face-down and end my turn."
Alice- 700
Ichigo- 1350
Ichigo looked down at his graveyard. ("Thank you…all of my Cyber Shadows. Thank you for your help. Now though, I'll have to let you go. What I have in my hand must be enough.") He drew. ("This will work.") "I summon Cyber Shadow-Death Mage (1800/700) in attack mode!" A black-robed man holding a huge leather book in its arms appeared on the field. "Attack Cyber Sentry now!" It chanted a few words and the machine monster blew apart.
Alice pointed at her set card. "I reveal Fragmentation Explosion! When a machine on my field is destroyed you take 100 life points of damage times the number of level points of the destroyed monster." The remains of her machine launched through the air and slashed through Ichigo's body. Though there was no blood, he gritted his teeth and dropped to his knees.
Alice- 400
Ichigo- 950
"I set…one card….face-down…." Ichigo slowly stood up. "End turn."
Alice drew. "Now I attack with my dragon!" It opened its jaws and released a globe of fire towards the spellcaster.
Ichigo pointed at his face-down card. "Reveal Mirror Force!" A glowing blue barrier sprang up and stopped the attack cold. "This card destroys all attack mode monsters in play!" The barrier released a shotgun blast of energy that hit the dragon and shattered it. The pieces of it flew across the field and through Ichigo's body, dropping him to knees. He screamed in pain and clutched at his gut.
Alice- 400
Ichigo- 350
Alice looked at her hand and slapped a card down. A lithe robotic humanoid appeared on the field and lifted a pair of laser daggers up. "I summon Cyber Ninja." (1800/1000) "I discard one magic card from my hand to destroy one monster in play." Death Mage shuddered and exploded into dust. "Also, I play the continuous magic card Electro Enhancement Sword." A sword appeared in the arms of the warrior. "This card raises its attack points by 700 and when it is sent to the graveyard you will take 700 life points of damage. End turn." She smirked confidently at the fallen Ichigo. "Hurry up now. Stand up. Or would you prefer all of those humans to die?"
Countdown- 25:22
Ichigo stumbled to his feet….and then collapsed face-first to the ground.
Countdown- 25:11- 22:10- 17:56- 14:17- 8:33
Alice smiled confidently, her infinite patience not faltering.
Ichigo coughed once and slowly stood up. "How long was I out?"
Alice pointed at the timer.
Countdown- 5:00
Ichigo nearly choked on his tongue. "Oh damn! Can't you reset the clock?"
"Sorry, I can't do that for you." She smiled. "Now then…will you let your loved ones die? I have one of the missiles aimed right on the coast of Japan. The tidal wave will swallow up all of the humans on this island. I will survive, but otherwise you shall die. So will everyone on this island."
"Everyone…" Ichigo stood up straight and narrowed his eyes. "You…you…" He snarled and his hand rested over his deck. "Just for that…just for that….I can't forgive you. I won't let you! It's my turn now…Draw!" He snapped the top card off of his deck. His arm froze in the drawing arc, the card still out of his sight. Everything seemed to invert….turning black and white…. ("What's…this?")
Daniel frowned and tapped his foot a couple on the hardwood floor of the office. "Mr. Pegasus…is there that much of a problem with some of these cards that I want printed? I won the tournament fair and square…and I was expecting you guys to be compliant with the card list I came up with."
A much smaller Ichigo sat in the reception office of Industrial Illusions headquarters, listening through the door with his ears. ("What cards?")
"But it's sooo unoriginal. I mean…what's the point of making it. Why don't you just give the boy one of your cards?"
"Because I want a card that ties our decks together. Something that reminds him what his deck was based off of…and what it means to be a hero. So please, do me this favor."
"Very well, but only because you saved the world once."
Ichigo tilted the card's edge enough so that he could see it. ("It is…the card…dad…") He threw the card onto his disk. Up in the air above him a swirling vortex of darkness appeared. And from within it a single dark-clothed form started to slowly lower onto the field. "Awaken now…" The form touched down and opened its crimson eyes.
Alice stared at the new monster. "What kind of…"
Ichigo and the monster both struck a rather ridiculous-looking pose at once and then pointed at Alice. "Meet the power that is a defender of the just! The true heart of the hero! A warrior who defends those who need it!" They both slammed their right foot into the ground and squared off against the ninja and its master. "We are Elemental Hero-Shadow Man!" (700/200)
"Elemental Hero?" Alice blinked in surprise. "What is an Elemental Hero?"
Ichigo broke off from his perfect copying of Shadow Man. "Elemental Hero Shadow Man's special ability activates when it is summoned to the field while there are no other cards in play under my control. I draw two cards." He slid two cards off of his deck. "This is it…my chance to win!"
"Impossible. If you destroy my monster then you'll destroy yourself."
Ichigo held up three cards. "Field magic card Fusion Gate activates! From my hand I fuse Cyber Shadow-Assassin (1000/800), Cyber Shadow-Blademaster (2000/1600) and Cyber Shadow-Soldier (1600/1600) together…" The three named monsters appeared on his field and saluted him. "Get her boys." They leapt together, disappearing in a flash of light. "Descend….Cyber Shadow-Lords of Knives!" (2800/2300) Ichigo punched his fist forward at the same time as his fusion appeared. It was a bearded man in a black trench-coat. "Foolish machines…you cannot defeat a hero."
Alice glanced at her ninja. "My monster, if destroyed, will destroy you. Don't forget now."
Countdown-4:00
Ichigo tapped the side of his head. "I didn't forget. Lord of Knives, when summoned, destroys one magic or trap card in play and one monster!" The warrior lifted its hands to reveal handfuls of glittering knives. "GO!" He threw them and the Ninja and continuous trap card blew apart.
Alice pointed at Ichigo. "You just lost!"
Ichigo winked. "Shadow Man, show her the truth!" The superhero saluted Lord of Knives and disappeared. "During the turn that my life points would hit zero I can end my turn and sacrifice Elemental Hero-Shadow Man to set my life points at 1000!"
Alice- 400
Ichigo- 1000
Alice still didn't look worried. "That means that Lord of Knives cannot attack me. So I can still win."
"Maybe, but the power of Lord of Knives will make him very difficult to defeat."
Alice drew. "Actually…I have the method to beat him right here. I set one card face-down and end my turn."
Ichigo drew. "Lord of Knives, shut her up." The warrior started to reach for something in its trench coat…
Alice pointed at her set card. "And I reveal Painful Demise. This quickplay magic card destroys a monster in play and you lose 800 life points." Lord of Knives shuddered and exploded into dust.
Alice- 400
Ichigo- 200
Ichigo looked at the card he had drawn. "I set one card face-down. End turn."
Alice drew. "You've been fun. But now it's time to put you to sleep, little boy. I special summon this monster because it is the only card in my hand!" A towering golden statue appeared on her field. "Embodiment of Greed (3000/0) allows me to draw six cards when special summoned through its effect." She drew six cards. "I must set all magic and trap cards. They cannot be played until my next turn. Also, I must discard the rest of my hand. Finally, I'll discard this single monster I drew and I will set five cards face-down. End turn."
Countdown-2:00
Ichigo looked down at his deck. ("This is it. The final moments…if I don't draw the right card now then my chances of winning are impossible. She has five cards face-down, but they cannot be activated until the beginning of the next turn. So…please…let me win. Not for my sake, but for the sake of Eri….for life on this planet…") He felt a pulse from within his deck. Without question, he knew what it was. ("Luna, guide my hand!")
He drew, the card leaving a golden arc behind it as it flipped to in front of his face. "This is it…from my hand I activate Call to Heaven! This magic card lets me draw five cards!" He snapped the top five cards off of his deck. And at the look of the last one he frowned. ("You can win easily. But however…for you to work…") He looked at Alice. "Call to Heaven gives me one chance to play a magic or trap card. Then I must discard three cards. So I play Magic Purge! This card sweeps all floating from the field." He held up the remaining four. "Now you can play your cards and I can play mine. Are you ready to see who is better?"
Alice smirked to show that she knew already who was better.
Ichigo looked at his four cards. "This is it…the final blow!"
"Reverse card open!" Alice pointed at one of her set cards. The card flipped up…and then exploded into dust. "How?"
"Because of a card in my hand." Ichigo closed his eyes. "A Cyber Shadow so powerful that traps can't even activate while it is in my hand. So now…" He pointed at his graveyard. "Cyber Shadow-Death Mage's special ability activates now. I remove it from play to lower the level stars of all Cyber Shadows in my hand by the number of cards on your field minus the number of cards on my field. Since you have five cards in total, the levels of all monsters in my hand are reduced by five. Also, I draw a card." He drew. ("Perfect….") He smiled to Alice. "You're incredible. A computer that has learned the tricks of the best duelists in the world. However…your calculations can't account for one thing."
Countdown- 1:00
"And what is that?" Alice found it hard to believe that there was a card capable of negating traps while it wasn't even in play.
"It's this." Ichigo placed a hand over his chest. "The heart. The power to fight for a purpose. And that is your weakness!" He smiled cheerfully. "I'm not big on the concept of reincarnation, but who knows. Maybe you'll come back as a human being."
"As a human being…me?" Alice frowned. "You've lost it."
Ichigo's smiling expression disappeared. "From my hand I play the magic card Shadow Dimension!" The whole field started to warp and twist. "This magic card lets me special summon two level four or lower Cyber Shadows from my hand to the field." He grasped two cards and threw them down. "I special summon Cyber Shadow-Sentinel (1500/1300) and Cyber Shadow-Trainer (300/1200) to the field." A legless silver robot and a grizzled old man in a black bodysuit appeared on the field.
A card appeared on his field behind his two monsters. "I activate Cyber Shadow Mainframe. Now I sacrifice it to special summon two Cyber Shadows to the field." Cyber Shadow-Ninja and Cyber Shadow-Kuriboh appeared in play.
The last card in his hand pulsed, and a growl rumbled across the room. "It wants to be released." Ichigo glanced at the card. "The most powerful of all monsters. The only monster in existence with fifteen level stars. To summon it I must destroy one Cyber Shadow in play for every three level stars it has on it." All four of his monsters exploded into dust.
Countdown- 0:30
"Cyber Shadow-Master of Infinity; King Eclipse Dragon!" Ichigo braced himself as the sky tore open and a huge black and red draconic form lowered itself onto the field. (2400/2000) "Special ability activate now!" He pointed at the Embodiment of Greed. "While this monster is in play magic and trap cards cannot be activated. Also, its attack power rises by 500 for every Cyber Shadow in my graveyard!" (5400/2000) The dragon snarled and buried its fore-claws into the ground. A low rumble came out of its throat and it opened its jaws wide to reveal a glowing ball of fire. "This duel is over. King Eclipse Dragon, attack with Shadow Flare!" The dragon sprayed the ball of fire out into the golden idol, which instantly shattered.
Alice- 0
Ichigo- 200
Countdown- 0:10- Offline
The huge banks of computers hummed for a few more seconds…and then shut down all at once.
Alice stared at Ichigo. "I…I…" She closed her eyes. "You have won. I bow to your skill…" Her form faded away.
Ichigo saluted the bank of computers, and then turned to look at the red eye that sat on the wall. Its light slowly dimmed…and then went dark. "Later. I have to go make sure that Griff is okay." He turned and walked towards a door that had appeared at the far end of the wall. Right before he stepped through it, he glanced back at the silent wall of computers and smiled once more. "By the way, it was a great duel."
Though he got no response, he felt that Alice was smiling back at him. Without another thought about the fact that he would probably never see it again, he knew that he'd never forget this moment. He'd never forget this duel, just like he'd never forget any of them.
Systems shutting down…power failure…
"I'm not big on the concept of reincarnation, but who knows. Maybe you'll come back as a human being."
"A human being?"
"Me?"
Back-up power failing…system breakdown imminent…
"A human…that might be…"
--Offline—
----------------
And let the credits roll folks.
Author's Notes: That completes the first LDD movie. Hope you enjoyed it.
To wolfy: Yup, but the Psycho bitch computer is finished. It's no problem, if someone wants to bash you then you are of course more than welcome to defend yourself.
To Voidtemplar: Yup, that it is.
To falcon demon general: Must you type with broken English?
To Seeker of the Soul: Nearly down to the wire actually.
To G.O.T. Nick: Well I leave it to you to determine whether Alice had a chance.
To Bobbomp: I'm not 'letting' anyone win. He had to earn it just like any duelist would.
To Anime Albino: Of course you don't.
To Rex: Out of the two options you presented neither happened. So bleah.
To Star: No, no it's not.