Disclaimer: See Chapter 38 for details
Chapter 39: Demonic Assault, Part 3The score was: Black Joker: 950, Joey: 2850. However, despite a lead in life points, he was down by field terms. Black Joker had just summoned one of his strongest creatures, Insect Goddess- Hecuba, whose base attack was a whopping 3400 points.
"I'm not quite finished yet! Now I summon Insect Soldiers of the Sky (1000/1000)! Then I'll follow up by activating the magic card Cell Division!" Black Joker announced as his tiny orange insect was cloned. "Now I've got two and my goddess' special ability kicks in! First, for each Insect on the field she gains 500 attack points" he started as his goddess' power rose to 4400. "Then, she increases the attack of every insect on my field by 500 points" he completed his explanation, just in time for both Insects Soldiers of the Sky's attack power to rise to 1500.
"Let's go Hecuba! Attack his face-down card!" Black Joker pointed at the target. Hecuba responded by diving down and closing in for the kill when Joey interrupted the attack.
"I'm activating my trap card, Double Magic Arm Shield! This lets me sacrifice both of my face down cards to take control of two of your monsters!" Joey explained with renewed confidence. Both of his monsters morphed into tongs, which stretched out to snatch both Insect Soldiers of the Sky and the goddess of insects. The first tong easily captured the unsuspecting insect of the sky. The second tong, however, would face some problems.
"I'll take this opportunity to reveal another ability of my insect goddess! As soon as I deduct her defense power by 1000 points, she becomes immune to your trap! So I'll do that now, forcing you to take another weak monster for your trap. And you were so close too" he mocked as Hecuba's defense lowered to 2700, but an anti-magical barrier surrounded the creature, deflecting the tong to imprison the second weak insect. The tongs retracted to bring Joey's newest monsters to his side of the field. Black Joker snickered as he had thwarted another plot of Joey's.
"Oh well" reassured Joey. "I still took control of two of your monsters, leaving you with only one!"
"But two restrictions make all the difference, fool. First, since the two Insect Soldiers of the Sky are no longer under my control, they are no longer powered up under my Insect Goddess, so I'll take my attack points back!" Black Joker declared as both monsters' attack points were once again reduced to 1000.
Joey growled. "Man, I completely forgot about that! That's just one more thing I don't need happening," he thought.
"Don't think that's the worst of it! Your monsters are still in attack mode, meaning I can attack, destroy a monster, and wipe you out of the duel all in one move! I'm fixing to end this! Hecuba, attack his Insect Soldier on the right!" called Black Joker as his monster dove down and ripped the defending insect to pieces.
"And that concludes…" Black Joker assumed, until he checked the score. Joey's life points had decreased severely, but he wasn't at 0 yet. Instead, his life points were a mere 450. "What's going on? You should be finished by now and prepare for your "reward." He asked.
"Heh, looks like you forgot how your own card works! Didn't anyone tell you Insect Soldier of the Sky gains 1000 attack points when it battles a wind monster? So that jumped my card up to 2000 attack points, enough to keep me in the game!" Joey protested. "That, was something I actually learned from that bug-freak Weevil Underwood.
"Be that as it may, due to the rules of your Double Magic Arm Shield trap, you can't change the position of your monster, so no matter how many points it gains it still is helpless when compared with my goddess! Now, take your next turn" the Joker ended his speech with the demand to Joey while he set another magic or trap card on the field face down.
"Yeah, I might not get to but it in defense mode, but if I get a high level monster, I can still tribute it" Joey drew his next card. He looked over his hand, nothing too special, only Time Wizard, Kunai with Chain, Masaki the Legendary Swordsman, Giant Trunade, and Skull Dice. "Alright, this magic card I just drew can help out, but first…" he slapped a card on the field. "I'll set a card face down and then activate Coins from the Stars!" he announced.
"Coins from the Stars…never heard of that card" Black Joker thought.
"Yugi, what does that card do?" Anzu questioned.
"Well, Anzu, this card allows Joey to give his entire hand to Black Joker. Then, Joey gets to draw from his deck the same number of cards he gave to him" replied Yugi.
"Wait! That means Joey could be giving him some good cards!" she worriedly responded.
"Actually, I don't think Black Joker will be getting anything useful. Notice how Joey set a card on the field BEFORE activating the magic card. That set card must have been the only card in Joey's hand worth keeping, so while Joey gets 4 new cards, Black Joker won't really gain a thing" he smiled as he informed his friend.
Joey walked over, handing his hand (haha) to Black Joker. He took it as Joey drew 4 cards while walking back to his field. "That card must have been something Wheeler wanted to save, otherwise he never would've played it. Ooh, but what's this? Giant Trunade? Thanks, Joey, I always knew you were a fool" cleverly thought the joker.
"Now I activate the magic card" Joey cut off his thoughts "Mind Reader! Using this baby lets me guess any card I want. If that card is in your hand, then your entire hand goes to the graveyard!" he explained.
"Oh, damn! Since Wheeler just gave me his hand, he knows exactly what cards I have in my hand" Black Joker realized.
"The card I choose is Kunai with Chain, meaning that your hand instantly goes to the graveyard!" Joey called as the Black Joker shoved all 7 cards into his graveyard slot.
"Next order of business is to sacrifice Insect Soldiers of the Sky, so I can summon my Fiend Megacyber (2200/1200)!" Joey slapped his new monster on the field. The Insect Soldier was dragged down into the depths of the graveyard to be replaced with a bulky warrior with gold and purple armor covering every square inch of his body. His face was shaded by armor on both sides of his head. He also held no weapons.
"What's Joey doing? Doesn't he know that insect thing will wipe him out" Tristan cried on the sidelines.
"Yeah! Joey! Switch your card to defense mode, hurry!" Tea pleaded.
"Hold on" Yugi placed his hand before Tea. "Joey knows what he's doing"
"True" Miranda added. "Remember, Joey still has a card face down on the field. That card must be a trap intended to be activated when Black Joker declares an attack. Black Joker isn't a fool. He wouldn't walk into such an obvious ploy" she continued.
"Miranda's right, but I'm not so sure about Joey's move. He has no idea what card Black Joker could draw, and none of us know anything about his style of play. Let's hope Black Joker doesn't draw the card he needs" Yugi began a conversation with his aibou.
"The fool thinks I'll attack, overlooking his face down trap and trigger it" Black Joker swiftly drew his newest card. It was the only card in his hand…perfect. "Looks like I'm more loved than you! I activate the magic card, Charity Case!" he slapped the card into his duel disk. Rays of light emitted from the duel disk.
"I told him not to help Wheeler out" Ace of Spades spat.
Joey covered his eyes from the light, but still managed to speak. "What does this card do?" The light then faded. Joey opened his eyes to notice a black die with white dots, landing on a 6.
"Well, since my die landed on a 6 we both are allowed to draw 6 cards" he explained, rapidly snatching 6 cards from his deck, replenishing his hand. Joey drew his 6 as well.
"Now that that's over with, I'll set one card face down on the field and summon Big Shield Guardna (100/2600) in defense mode!" Black Joker threw a clever grin on his face as his warrior materialized on the field. The warrior knelt, becoming invisible behind his large brown shield, covering his entire body.
Joey drew. "My Fiend Megacyber can't beat either of his monsters, but when I combine it with these cards it will" he planned out his play. "Get ready buddy, because my next combo will wipe you out!"
Yugi instantly responded to himself. "Joey's making a really risky play with this. He shouldn't be so brash."
"Hmm. Maybe Wheeler might win" Kaiba said.
Ace of Spades sighed. "Joey here's like a vulture to a carcass. He just can't resist attacking"
"Now I summon my Axe Raider (1700/1150) to the field in attack mode!" Joey's new monster in yellow armor sprang to the field, wielding an ax. "Then I'll activate a magic card, Strength Teleporter, allowing me to discard one card from my hand to sacrifice Axe Raider and add 1700 attack points to Fiend Megacyber!" he explained as Axe Raider transformed into energy in the shape of armor. The armor then attached to Fiend Megacyber, raising its attack to 3900.
"No! His monster gains nearly 2000 attack points" Black Joker said, trying to bait Joey into attacking.
"With every point aimed right at you! Fiend Megacyber, attack his Insect Goddess!" Joey declared as the fiend lunged at the enormous insect, ready to bash it in the abdomen.
"You're too stupid! Activate hidden card, Barrier Defending The Attack!" Black Joker called as a light blue suit of armor attached to Big Shield Guardna, fitting perfectly. The fiend was instantly reprogrammed and ran at the defending shield monster, whose points were now at 3200.
"Big deal! I'll destroy your Gardna!" Joey was too caught up in surviving this turn to think about the next.
"No you won't! Observe the power of Safeguard! As soon as I discard one card, it raises the defensive power of all of my monsters by 1000! Your Megacyber has mega-met his match!" decreed the joker as a strength-replenishing potion washed upon Hecuba and the Big Shield Guardna. Both showed an astounding increase in defensive strength (Insect Goddess: 3400/3700) (Big Shield Guardna: 100/4200). The Megacyber tried with all his might to break through the shield, but all his efforts were in vain. The shield was too thick and he was sent back to his own side of the field.
"Man, since my attack failed, I lose life points" Joey shrugged as his life points decreased to an even slimmer 150. Now not only was it Black Joker's turn, but his Fiend Megacyber reverted back to 2200 attack points, not well. He formally ended his turn.
Black Joker drew. "Hmm. I'll use this magic card; Pot of Greed! Using it allows me to draw 2 cards," he added to his newest additions to his hand. "Then comes the fun part. First, I'll set these for later, and allow Hecuba to attack your Fiend Megacyber!" For once, Joey noticed he hadn't said anything about him losing. Was he prepared to face a trap? Whatever the situation, Joey was prepared to give him one.
Hecuba was right above Fiend Megacyber, now lowering her altitude in order to decapitate the monster. Her attack was halted however.
"I knew it," murmured Black Joker.
"Skull Dice go!" Joey called before it was too late. "My newest trap lets me roll a die and cut your monster's attack points based upon the roll!" A small demon holding a shiny, orange die appeared on the field. The demon released the die, which began to roll steadily. All eyes of those present were on the roll. Even the tournament official, who usually was staring off into space was focused on it. No one, however, was more anxious to know what would happen than Joey.
The die finally came to a halt on the number 2. "Works for me! Since my die landed on a 2, I can cut your card's attack power in half!" he explained as Hecuba shrunk drastically in size. Fiend Megacyber easily swatted the twin needles away before burying its fist deep within the goddess' abdomen. The pain was too great for her to endure, so she was banished off to the graveyard. (BJ: 450). The Black Joker was extremely upset.
"Augh. I had no idea Wheeler kept traps of that magnitude in his deck. And now one of my prized monsters is destroyed, and I have no way of bringing it back or summoning another powerful creature. Guess Big Shield Guardna will have to do for now. My two face down cards should be enough to end this duel without any intrusion from Wheeler" intended the joker. He knew the next turn would be a key factor in whether his idea worked or not. He, however, showed no signs of uncertainty. He watched Joey draw his card, and Joey watched him watch him.
"This is the last turn!" Joey decreed.
"I couldn't agree more," countered the joker.
"Well agree to this! I'm using a powerful ritual card, the Advent of Black Dragon!" He slammed the card onto his duel disk. Black rays of light shot from the card, and a magic circle appeared in the middle of the field.
"Go Joey, finish him off!" cheered Yugi, knowing which monster would be summoned.
"That's it. Wheeler's already won the match, I can tell" Kaiba predicted the outcome of the match.
"Yeah, Joey sure showed this guy, huh?" Mokuba was marveled by the duel.
"To use the ritual, I'll offer my Gearfried the Iron Knight from my hand!" Joey continued as his metal-covered warrior materialized on the field, floating over until he was in the center of the enchanted circle. He was absorbed down into the depths of hell. Black lightning emerged rapidly and wildly from the circle, accepting the offering. From the circle rose a black dragon with a demonic rider hitched upon its back. The owner of the dragon resembled a knight wearing thickly sewn armor with metal coverings, the ultimate protection. The dragon was not solid, but rather made up of several gases forming a near-solid compound. The dragon shrilled into the air.
"What have you created!?!" an uneasy Black Joker dared to question.
"Nothing compared to his ability! I sacrifice my Dark Knight of Black Dragon in order to summon one of my most powerful creatures! Come forth, Red Eyes Black Dragon!" Joey received his most rare card from his deck holster, bringing it to the field. It shrieked its signature high pitched shriek as it materialized on the field. It's slim head with those dark red eyes meaning doom for many a creature. Following up were its thin but muscular wings and upper torso, followed by the lower torso and lower body, complete with its razor sharp feet. Its stats were an impressive 2400/2000.
"I can't see what everyone's so happy about? Last I checked, even without the added bonuses it received last turn, Big Shield Guardna can easily repel your Red Eyes' attacks" Black Joker stated.
"Yeah, I know, but you just wait. I have faith. And next turn, faith will help me win!" Joey believed.
"Faith does nothing. Skill does everything. Remember that Joey. For when you lose, you'll realize its true! Now let's duel before we turn this into a sermon. I have no reason to be worried. I know all the combinations you can come up with and I know exactly what you play on doing next. The best part is I know just how to counter and destroy you. This duel ends in your next turn!" Black Joker preached.
"Heh" Joey muttered.
"I'm using a spell, Purification of Fate, letting me discard monster cards from my hand to draw the same number of cards I discard! So, I'll say good riddance to these 3 cards and draw 3 from my deck" Black Joker first discarded 3 monsters, then snatched three cards from his thin deck. "And these are just the cards I can use to defeat you" he slapped 3 cards on the field facedown. "I end my move" he declared. "Come on Joey, attack me. Then my prophecy comes true" he thought.
Joey took his turn. He looked at his card, just the card to end this duel and not risk triggering a trap by attacking. "Get ready, folks! I use the magic card Inferno Fire Blast, instantly dealing you 2400 points of damage, you lose!" Joey proclaimed as his magic card activated. A giant red and purple fireball shot out, racing towards the joker.
"Well, they say fight fire with water! Trap card activate, Tactics! This card allows me to negate all of your magic cards and trap cards, but in exchange, you are allowed to attack me directly instead of attacking your monsters" the Black Joker enlightened Joey as his fireball, caused by the magic card, burned itself out before inflicting any damage.
"Oh well, your loss! Go, wipe him out Red Eyes Black Dragon!" Joey commanded, his dragon charging up a raging fireball, which the dragon unleashed, streaming at Black Joker.
"No Joey! You're walking into a trap" called Yugi.
"You sure are!" chained Black Joker. "It's called Contagious Insanity!" he declared. A mirror emerged from the card, reflecting the fireball upon itself. The dragon was destroyed by its own assault. "See, I lose 2400 life points from your dragon's attack, but you lose 1200 life points from my reflection destroying your dragon!" Black Joker explained as both duelists' life points began to decrease.
"So, it's a draw?" Joey asked.
"Not even close" replied Black Joker. "I've got a second surprise. It's a trap your friend Yugi is fond of, and it's called Relay of Soul! This trap works when my life points hit 0. I'm allowed to summon one monster to the field and I will only lose if that card is destroyed, so now I bring out the Demon King (4000/?)" Black Joker slammed the card on the field. Out burst an enormous light gray serpent. It had two massive rows of sharp, yellow teeth. It had two fake eyes it could see out of, but its true eye was located on the top of its head. It had two demonic horns on the top of its head. Finally, being released, it unleashed its long, leathery wings. Its sharp claws were unfolded and the snake roared, finally being set free.
"No" Joey whispered, his life points decreasing to 0. He sank to his knees. He had lost. Black Joker shut off his duel disk, and walked over to the monster, his black necklace gleaming on his neck. He kneeled before the depressed blonde, but said don't worry, Joey won't feel any pain.
"He's in for it now" thought Ace of Spades.
"What do you mean I won't feel any pain?" Joey asked, but then regretted speaking those words.
"Tribuo ego tui phasma" responded the joker. His necklace began to activate once more. To Joey, however, a sensation was overtaking his body. He began to feel a slight numbness which soon spread rapidly over his body. His breaths seemed shorter, his heart was beating faster, and his world was spinning out of control. He remember the numbness reaching his chest before he blacked out.
To the real world it was much different. A thin white mist was escaping from Joey's mouth. It was his spirit. The necklace immediately absorbed his spirit, sealing Joey's fate. Black Joker then rummaged through Joey's deck until he stopped at a particular card in his graveyard. He dragged it out repeating the same words to the Flame Swordsman card. The necklace seemed to be absorbing the spirit of the Flame Swordsman as well! Black Joker then dropped the card and exited the battlefield.
"Umm, the winner of this duel is… the Black Joker" the tournament official stuttered. Yugi and company rushed to Joey's aid.
"Joey! Joey speak!" demanded Yugi, trying to fight back tears.
"It's no use. He's gone, and the only way to bring him back is by destroying the necklace on Black Joker's neck" Miranda informed him. Yugi looked at her.
"Is that the only way?" he responded
"I'm afraid so. And the only way you'd probably do that is by defeating the joker in a duel" Miranda grimly replied. Anzu picked up the Flame Swordsman card.
"Yugi, check this out" she shoved the card before his face. Everyone gathered to see the discovery. To everyone's amazement, the card was blank, with the exception of its attack and defense points.
"What did he do??" Yugi cried out loud. By this time, Kaiba, Mokuba, the tournament official, Ace of Spades, and the Black Joker himself had left from the playing field. It was getting late and the gang decided to head in. Kevin and Tristan carried Joey's body to his bed. Everyone was quiet upon the way in, not cheery as they normally would be, and everyone knew this would be a hard night to get through.
CARDS PLAYED
Insect Soldiers of the Sky: Level 3/ 1000/800/ Insect Type/Desc: This card's attack power increases by 1000 when it attacks a WIND-type monster.
Cell Division: MAGIC/Desc: Select 1 Level 3 or lower Insect-type monster on your side of the field. Special summon one "Cell Split Token" with the same type, level, attribute, attack, defense, and effect as the selected monster.
Double Magic Arm Shield: TRAP/Desc: Sacrifice two monsters that you control. Take control of two of your opponent's monsters. The monster cannot change their positions or attack as they are along on the field.
Coins from the Stars: MAGIC/Desc: Give the rest of your hand to your opponent. Draw a number of cards equal to the number of cards given to your opponent.
Mind Reader: MAGIC/Desc: Declare one card name. If the name of that card is in your opponent's hand, your opponent discards his or her hand.
Fiend Megacyber: Level 6/ 2200/1200/ Warrior Type/Desc: If your opponent has 2 or more monsters than you have on the Field, you can summon this card without offering any Tributes.
Charity Case: MAGIC/Desc: Roll one six-sided die. Draw a number of cards equal to the roll. Your opponent draws an equal amount.
Big Shield Guardna: Level 4/ 100/2600/ Warrior/Desc: If this Monster is facedown when a Magic card affects it that targets 1 Monster, negate that Magic card. At that time, this Monster changes to face-up defense mode. At the end of a Damage Step in which this Monster was attacked, it changes to attack mode.
Axe Raider: Level 4/ 1700/1150/ Warrior Type
Strength Teleporter: MAGIC/Desc: Discard one card from your hand. During this turn, you may sacrifice monsters on your side of the field to increase the attack points of another monster equal to the amount of the sacrificed monster.
Barrier Defending the Attack: TRAP/Desc: When your opponent attacks, transfer the attack to any defense-position monster on the field, whose defense points are then increased by 600.
Safeguard: TRAP/Desc: Discard one card from your hand. Until the End Phase in which this card is activated, all monsters on your side of the field's defense points are increased by 1000.
Pot of Greed: MAGIC/Desc: Draw 2 cards from your deck.
Skull Dice: TRAP/Desc: Roll 1 six-sided die. The result is multiplies by 100 points and subtracted from the ATK and DEF of all monsters in your opponent's control until the end of your turn. Monsters summoned after this card's activation are excluded.
Advent of Black Dragon: RITUAL MAGIC/Desc: This card is used to Ritual Summon "Dark Knight of Black Dragon". You must also offer monsters whose total Level Stars equal 4 or more from the field or your hand as a Tribute.
Gearfried the Iron Knight: Level 4/ 1800/1600/ Warrior/Desc: Any Equip Card equipped to this monster is destroyed.
Dark Knight of Black Dragon: Level 4/ 1200/1900/ Warrior/Desc: You may sacrifice this card in the Main Phase to special summon one "Red Eyes Black Dragon" from your hand, deck, or graveyard to the field in face-up attack position.
Red Eyes Black Dragon: Level 7/ 2400/2000/ Dragon Type
Purification of Fate: MAGIC/Desc: Discard any number of monster cards in your hand. Draw an amount equal to the number of discarded cards.
Inferno Fire Blast: MAGIC/Desc: Select 1 face-up "Red-Eyes B. Dragon" on your side of the field to activate this card. Inflict Damage to your opponent's Life Points equal the original ATK of the selected "Red-Eyes B. Dragon". "Red-Eyes B. Dragon" cannot attack the same turn you use this card.
Tactics: TRAP/Desc: During the turn in which this card is activated, negate all magic and trap card effects controlled by your opponent. All attacks during this turn by your opponent are considered direct attacks on your life points.
Contagious Insanity: QUICK-PLAY MAGIC/Desc: When your opponent attacks, your opponent loses an amount equal to half of the battle damage you have just received from their life points.
Relay of Soul: TRAP/Desc: You may only activate this card when your life points reach 0. Special summon one monster from your hand. You will only lose the duel if the monster is destroyed.