Disclaimer: See Chapter 39 for details
Chapter 40: A New Level of Dueling, Part 1The sun gleamed over the horizon, catching Tristan and Anzu standing in Joey's doorway. On the bed in the room, Joey was completely unconscious…nearly dead. "Has Joey even moved?" Anzu questioned since Tristan had been there longer than she had.
"Not even a finger" sighed Tristan, turning from the doorway. At the response, Anzu's eyes swelled up with tears. They both shut the door quietly and made their way down the hall towards Yugi's room.
Inside, the teen was just slipping on his trademark blue jacket and sliding his duel disk on his arm. "Anzu" he turned around, noticing the brunette teen in his doorway.
"Hey Yugi" she quietly said. "You ready for a big day? Today you get to duel"
"Yes I know" He responded, beginning a quite silence until Tristan came running past the doorway.
"Hey guys, nobody else is down here! I think we overslept or something, come on!" Tristan rushed off to the elevator. Yugi flicked off the light switch and walked with Anzu to the elevator.
"Come on" Tristan yelled, already inside the elevator. The threesome traveled upwards until they reached the Central Tower, where everyone was staring at them. Some, such as Kevin, were trying to hold back laughter, while some, like Kaiba, were trying to hold back angry comments. In any case, no one said anything. Well, no one said anything for the first few seconds.
"Yugi, we should disqualify you since you failed to be present. However, since we forgot to specify a meeting time for today, I'll let it slide. Just don't let it happen again," Kaiba snapped.
"Well, now that everyone is here, we can begin Duel 3! The first competitor in this round is Ace of Spades??" he began a statement, but ended in a question, puzzled by the name. "O…k" the official stated as Ace of Spades stood on his disk, which hovered in the air.
"You all have 3 minutes to decide on a competitor before we draft" the official concluded. The only remaining duelists were Yugi, Kevin, and Miranda. They turned to converse amongst themselves.
"I'll duel him. I want to win back Joey's soul" Yugi stated. Even though Kevin and Miranda wanted to win his soul back, they both realized that Yugi was more determined than they were.
"Alright Yugi" Miranda gave him.
"Yeah, go ahead but make sure to whoop his ass" Kevin commented. Miranda slapped him on the back of his head. "What??"
Yugi paid no attention to their antics. Instead, he stood on a plate himself, which responded by raising him to the same altitude of Ace of Spades. "Well, Yugi, ready to lose your soul as well?" Ace questioned, showing his necklace, gleaming in the sunlight.
"I won't lose and when I win, I'll win back Joey's soul, you hear me?!" Yugi yelled.
"You wish! I can't return your friend's soul! Only the one who captured the soul can release it. So looks like the only thing you'll get out of winning is a chance to get Wheeler's soul back. But then again, you won't win, so why should you care. Now, I'm anxious to get your soul as soon as possible, so I'll let my cards speak for me! Time to duel!" Ace of Spades unfolded his duel disk, as did Yugi. In unison, their life points skyrocketed to 4000.
"Ready, Yugi because here we go" Ace of Spades and Yugi both snatched five cards from the top of their dueling decks. Ace took a sixth card. "First turn honors are mine. So I'll set a monster in defense mode and place a card face down and end my turn" Ace of Spades called as two skins of cards appeared on the field. The first in a horizontal position, the second in a vertical.
"Then its my turn" Yugi drew. "I'll summon King's Knight (1600/1400) in attack mode! Go, King's Knight, attack his face down monster!" commanded Yugi as his knight covered in golden-orange armor obeyed. He charged at the face down card.
"Activate trap, Demon Mirror Nightmares!" sprung Ace as a large mirror appeared between King's Knight and his target. This didn't stop the knight, however, who continued his charge. An image of Yugi then appeared in the mirror.
"Oh no!" Yugi realized as the knight slashed his sword straight through the mirror before returning to his post.
"Oh yes! You're the new target of your attack, which cost you 1000 life points" Ace said. (Y: 3000)
"Alright, I'll place two cards face down and end my turn" Yugi responded.
"I draw" proclaimed Ace. "I reveal my face-down monster, Dark Mimic, Lv. 1 (100/1000)" he flipped his card to expose a small blue treasure chest with luxurious designs on it. "This lets me draw one card, and now I'll use the magic card Level Up! It lets me sacrifice Dark Mimic, Lv. 1 to bring out Dark Mimic, Lv. 3" he slapped the newest card on his duel disk.
The previous treasure chest was replaced with a bigger and more luxurious one (1000/1000). "Now I'll use Pump Up, doubling my card's attack power for this turn" he added as a yellow glow encased the monster. "Attack his King's Knight!" he instructed as his treasure chest launched, hoping to swallow the knight.
"Hold on! I activate this trap, Dust Tornado! This card destroys your Pump Up!" Yugi countered as his twister swallowed Pump Up, returning Ace's monster to its regular 1000 stats. King's Knight easily slashed the treasure chest before it could devour him. (A: 3600)
Ace of Spades growled. "I'll set a card on the field and end my turn"
Yugi drew. "Hmm. I wonder what he plans on doing. Oh well, I'll just have to hope for the best"
"Come on Yugi. I know you plan on using your knights combo this turn. Then you'll be right where I need you" Ace thought.
"I'll summon Queen's Knight (1500/1600) in attack mode!" he called as his female knight materialized on the field with her sword and shield. "Now since my King's and Queen's knights are on the field, I can summon Jack's Knight (1900/1200) to the field" continued Yugi as a third knight, taller than the other two, wearing indigo armor appeared on the field.
"Now, my knights, win this duel! All three of you, attack his life points directly!" Yugi instructed as his three knights lunged at Ace of Spades, ready to finish him off. Suddenly, all of the knights' attacks were deflected, and they were blown back to their side of the field. "What happened?" Yugi was shocked to see 3 monsters appear on Ace's side of the field. Even more strange, they were replicas of Yugi's knights!
"My trap served its purpose! The Mass Duplication Machine allows me to clone all of your cards and end your battle phase. Pretty powerful, eh?" Ace smiled.
"I've never even heard of that card! Something tells me he didn't get that card fairly, but what good is it now. Kaiba doesn't seem to care" he glanced down at his rival. "I'll end my move" he announced.
"Good" Ace snatched his newest card from his deck. "I'll sacrifice my Queen's Knight to summon a monster in defense mode, but more on that later. Jack's Knight, attack the Queen's Knight!" commanded Ace as his jack obeyed by unsheathing his sword, ready to slash the opposition.
"Activate trap, Cracked Hatchet! This card reduces your Jack Knight's power by 500 points, making it weaker than my queen!" Yugi called as the tip of Jack Knight's sword broke, lowering his attack power. Queen's Knight defended herself from the attack, then countered, slicing Jack Knight into 2 pieces, which exploded. (A: 3400)
"And now it's back to me" Yugi drew. "I'll follow suit, sacrificing my Queen Knight to summon my Black Magician Girl (2000/1700)! Black Magician Girl, attack his King's Knight!" he commanded as the magician girl twirled in the air, then released a stream of pink hearts, wrapping around the King's Knight until they destroyed him. (A: 3000)
Ace growled. "I'm losing control of this match, but not for long" he thought.
"I end my turn" Yugi broke his concentration.
Ace drew. "Now I reveal my monster, Mystic Swordsman Lv. 6 (2300/1700) and I'll keep it in defense mode! Then, I'll set a card on the field and end my turn! Just try and attack" he baited.
Yugi didn't respond, but only drew. "I wonder why he'd place his monster in defense mode? I don't have any set cards, so does he want me to attack? What's he aiming at" he wondered. "Black Magician Girl, attack his Mystic Swordsman!" commanded Yugi as the female mage sent another stream of hearts destroying the warrior.
"You've triggered my trap, Final Refuge! This lets me summon any monster from my hand to the field! Now, arise, Armed Dragon, Lv. 5 (2400/1700)!" A silver-gray dragon appeared on the field. The massive dragon had an orange outer body, though. It roared a fiery roar.
"Wait. There's no way he can summon that monster? He must be cheating…" Kaiba grabbed his radio to alert the guards.
"Hold on! You can't summon that monster until you summon Armed Dragon, Lv. 3!" Yugi protested.
"Normally, yes, but my trap negates that little tidbit, so it's fair play!" Ace responded. Kaiba put his radio back in his holster.
"Oh no! Now I have nothing to beat his monster, he's been planning this all along" realized Yugi. "I'll end my turn" he ended with confidence.
"Works for me" Ace snatched his next card. "Now I'll discard Mystic Swordsman, Lv. 4 to activate Armed Dragon's ability! Now you lose any monsters with 1900 or less attack points!" he explained as his dragon cast a green blast over the arena, annihilating King's and Jack's Knight.
"Oh no, Yugi!" Anzu cried.
"Stay strong, buddy!" Tristan cheered.
"My friends are right. I can't give up! I've got to save Joey!" Yugi thought.
"Go! Armed Dragon, attack and destroy the Black Magician Girl!" Ace called as his dragon sent a fire blast, overwhelming and destroying the magician. (Y: 2600) "And now I can sacrifice Armed Dragon, Lv. 5 to summon Armed Dragon, Lv. 7 (2800/1000)" The previous dragon was replaced with a taller, more ferocious dragon. This dragon had metal plates covering its body with occasional dark red skin. It breathed heavily and small flames were escaping from its mouth.
"Try beating this Yugi!" Ace laughed wickedly.
"Wow. Yugi's in a tough spot" Kevin commented.
"Yeah, but just because its powerful doesn't mean its invincible" reminded Miranda.
Yugi calmly and confidently drew. "I still have faith, Ace, and that is what will allow me to win this duel! You deal for your wicked, demonic ways while I duel to save mankind from your evil plot! And in the end, Ace, it is I who will be victorious not for what cards I play, but for my reason for fighting! Now, I summon Yellow Gadget (1200/1200) in defense mode allowing me to take my Green Gadget from my deck to my hand" Yugi's deck spat out a card, which Yugi grabbed and added to his hand. "Then, I'll place one card face down and end my turn."
"I draw" Ace gracefully snatched his card. "Ooh! I play Ultimate Insect, Lv. 1 (0/0) in defense mode" he slapped the monster on the field. A gross insect materialized on the field. "Also, you should know, as long as my Insect is on the field, none of your spell cards effect it. Now, Armed Dragon, attack his pathetic machine!" he decreed as his monster launched a flaming blast.
"Reveal trap, Spellbinding Circle!" Yugi called as a magical hexagram encased Armed Dragon, negating the fire blast. Ace growled at the turn of events.
"Now it's back to me" Yugi drew. "Now I activate the magic card, Bond of Brothers! As soon as I pay 1000 life points, I can summon two monsters of the same type to the field" he explained. (Y: 1600) "Now I summon Red Gadget (1300/1500) and Green Gadget (1400/600) to the field" Yugi declared as his a red machine and green machine appeared on the field.
Ace drew. "How touching, but sorry Yugi, the reunion will be cancelled! Your Spellbinding Circle wears off now! But first thing's first, I will offer my Insect to bring out Ultimate Insect, Lv. 3 (1400/900) in defense mode! And, as long as it's out on the field, it will reduce all of your monster's attack points by 100!" Yugi's monsters were zapped of a little energy. "Let's go, Armed Dragon, attack the Green Gadget!" he commanded as another fiery inferno enveloped the green gadget. However, the flame died down, and Green Gadget wasn't there, but neither were the other gadgets!
"What's happened?" Ace questioned.
Yugi chuckled. "I activated my trap to save my monsters! Mobile Fortress Stronghold (0/2000)!" he revealed his trap, a machine fortress with three empty slots on its front.
"It won't save you Yugi! I'm afraid it's just another one of your weak monsters!" Ace countered.
"Actually, it will help out tremendously! Because when all three of my gadgets are on the field, they attach to my Mobile Fortress, raising its attack by 3000!" he explained as his gadgets locked in place. The fortress then showed an enormous increase in attack power.
"No, I'm sure it won't help, because I'm about to destroy it! Armed Dragon, don't just stand there, send that fortress to the junk yard!" commanded Ace as his dragon once again launched a fiery inferno. This time a pale, cloudy white barrier reflected it.
"ANOTHER trick of yours Motou!?!" Ace growled, getting tired of his plays.
"No trick! Mirage Magic has taken your attack and turned it into healing for my life points" he explained (Y: 4400)
"No…Yugi's got me trapped. Now his monster is stronger than mine! And I've only got one card that may end up saving me. No choice but to play it" he placed the card on the field. "Now I end my turn"
Yugi drew. "I switch my fortress into attack mode! Mobile Fortress Stronghold into attack mode! Fortress, attack his Armed Dragon!" he commanded as his monster charged up a red, yellow, and green beam of energy, launching it at the dragon, who then disappeared following the hit. (A: 2900)
"And now since you so stupidly attacked me, I can activate this trap! Last Will and Testiment!" sprang Ace. "It lets me select one magic, monster, and trap card from my deck and add them to my hand" he searched his deck, choosing three cards, and showing them to Yugi to prevent cheating.
Yugi was shocked when he saw the cards. "Oh no. Horus, Lv. 4, Evolution Machine, and Level Up! He plans on summoning Horus, the Black Flame Dragon, Lv. 8 in his very next two turns! This is really bad, there's no monster in our deck I can think of that can beat that!" he thought to his aibou.
"All of this for the cost of 700 life points" Ace added. (A: 2200)
"Well, if he's bringing out his strongest card, all we need to do is bring out the Black Magician!" Yugi thought.
"I'm not sure even the Black Magician can handle this" Atem responded.
"Of course he can! If we're really supposed to win and rescue Joey, the only monster who can help us do that is the Black Magician!" Yugi replied.
"You're right" Atem said after a slight pause. "Thanks for helping me see that."
"Are you finished yet?" A bored Ace sighed.
"Yugi, I think I should take over for the rest of the duel. He's playing smarter now and I don't know if you could handle it" Atem told.
"Alright" Yugi's Millennium Puzzle glowed. His normal self was replaced with Atem, smarter, magical, and courageous, Atem was the right person for the duel.
"So…the Pharaoh's now in control" Ace thought. "This will be even better. Now I'll get his soul" he cracked a wicked smile.
"Yes, I'm finished" spoke Atem.
"Good" Ace drew. "Because now I'll set a card face down, and switch my Ultimate Insect into defense mode. End turn" he spoke, staring at Atem. Atem glared back.
Atem drew Dark Magician. "That card he set must have been Evolution Machine. Well, he can't do anything with it right now, so I might as well attack" he planned. "But just in case it isn't Evolution Machine" Atem set a card on the field. "Mobile Fortress Stronghold, attack the Ultimate Insect" he braced himself for the battle. His machine obeyed, launching the same stream of energy, making the insect disappear. The fortress' attack power returned to 3000.
Ace drew. "This is it! Get ready Yugi! I'm going to show you true power! First, I summon Horus, the Black Flame Dragon, Lv. 4 (1600/1000) in attack mode" he announced as a small orange dragon materialized on the field. It seemed harmless.
"Now Yugi's in for it" thought Kaiba. All of his friends were worried Yugi might be over-his-head for this duel.
"Then, I'll throw this into the mix! Level Up will transform my dragon into its Level 6 form!" Ace slapped the card on the field. The tiny orange dragon grew into a large silver dragon with an orange aura surrounding it. This dragon had fully grown wings, and unlike its predecessor was anything but harmless. (2300/1700)
"But wait, now I'm activating Evolution Machine! This card transforms my monster into Level 8 (3000/1800)!" Ace continued his move. Now his monster grew again, with a longer wingspan with a dark, crimson red aura signaling this creature was extremely powerful. Suddenly, Horus' attack increased to 3500.
"No! The secondary effect of Evolution Machine raises the new monster's attack to 3500" Atem remembered. "Now my Dark Magician and Magic Formula combo won't be enough to even match it! But there is one card in my deck that can change that! I just have to believe" Atem closed his eyes.
"Prepare to lose your soul!" Ace laughed.
CARDS PLAYED
King's Knight: Level 4/ 1600/1400/ Warrior Type/ Desc: When this card and "Queen's Knight" are face-up on your side of the field, special summon one "Jack's Knight" from your hand, deck, or graveyard to the field.
Demon Mirror of Nightmares: TRAP/Desc: When your opponent attacks, negate the attack and reduce your opponent's life points by 1000. Afterwards, discard one card from your hand.
Dark Mimic, Lv. 1: Level 1/ 100/1000/ Fiend Type/Desc: FLIP: Draw 1 card from your Deck. Also, during your Standby Phase, send this face-up card to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 "Dark Mimic LV3" from your hand or Deck.
Level Up: MAGIC/Desc: Send 1 face-up monster on your side of the field that has "LV" in its card name to the Graveyard to activate this card. Special Summon the monster that is written in the card text of that monster from your hand or Deck, ignoring the Summoning conditions.
Dark Mimic, Lv. 3: Level 3/ 1000/1000/ Fiend Type/Desc: If this card is sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, the controller of this card draws 1 card from his/her Deck. If this card was Special Summoned by the effect of "Dark Mimic LV1", he/she draws 2 cards instead.
Pump Up: EQUIP MAGIC/Desc: Double one monster's attack points.
Dust Tornado: TRAP/Desc: Destroy one magic or trap card on the field. You can then set one magic or trap card from your hand.
Queen's Knight: Level 4/ 1500/1600/ Warrior Type
Jack's Knight: Level 5/ 1900/1200/ Warrior Type
Mass Duplication Machine: TRAP/Desc: This card may only be activated during your opponent's battle phase. Special summon a number of "Clone Tokens" equal to the number of monsters on your opponent's side of the field in face-up attack position. The "Clone Token" has the same stats as the monster in the corresponding monster zone on your side of the field. Afterwards, end your opponent's battle phase.
Cracked Hatchet: TRAP/Desc: Decrease a monster's attack power by 500 points each turn.
Black Magician Girl: Level 6/ 2000/1700/ Spellcaster Type/ Desc: This card's attack power is increased by 300 for each "Black Magician" or "Magician of Black Chaos" in either player's graveyard.
Mystic Swordsman, Lv. 6: Level 6/ 2300/1700/ Warrior Type/Desc: If you Normal Summon this card, you must place it in facedown Defense Position. If this card attacks a facedown Defense Position monster, destroy the monster immediately with this card's effect without flipping it face-up or applying damage calculation. You can return the monster destroyed with this effect to the top of your opponent's Deck instead of sending it to the Graveyard.
Final Refuge: TRAP/Desc: This trap may only be activated when you have no monsters on the field. Special summon one monster from your hand, regardless of any restrictions.
Armed Dragon, Lv. 5: Level 5/ 2400/1700/ Dragon Type/Desc: Send 1 Monster Card from your hand to the Graveyard to destroy 1 face-up monster on your opponent's side of the field with an ATK equal to or less than the ATK of the sent monster. During the End Phase of a turn that this card destroyed a monster as a result of battle, send this card to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 "Armed Dragon LV7" from your hand or Deck.
Yellow Gadget: Level 4/ 1200/1200/ Machine Type/Desc: When this card is successfully normal summoned, flip summoned, or special summoned, you may add one "Green Gadget" from your deck to your hand.
Ultimate Insect, Lv. 1: Level 1/ 0/0/ Insect/Desc: As long as this card remains face-up on your side of the field, it is unaffected by any Spell Cards. During your Standby Phase, send this face-up card to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 "Ultimate Insect LV3" from your hand or Deck. (You cannot activate this effect the turn this card is Normal Summoned, Special Summoned or flipped face-up).
Spellbinding Circle: TRAP/Desc: Select a monster. As long as this card remains face-up on the field, the selected monster cannot attack or change its battle position except by the effect of a Magic, Trap, or Effect Monster card. When the selected is destroyed, this card is also destroyed. If the selected monster is offered as a Tribute, this card is not destroyed.
Bond of Brothers: MAGIC/Desc: Pay 1000 life points. You may special summon two monsters of the same type to the field.
Red Gadget: Level 4/ 1300/1500/ Machine Type/Desc: When this card is successfully normal summoned, flip summoned, or special summoned, you may add one "Yellow Gadget" from your deck to your hand.
Green Gadget: Level 4/ 1400/600/ Machine Type/Desc: When this card is successfully normal, flip, or special summoned, you may add one "Red Gadget" from your deck to your hand.
Ultimate Insect, Lv. 3: Level 3/ 1400/900/ Insect/ Desc: If this card was Special Summoned by the effect of "Ultimate Insect LV1", as long as this card remains of the field, decrease the ATK of all of your opponent's monsters by 100 points. During your Standby Phase, send this face-up card to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 "Ultimate Insect LV5" from your hand or Deck. (You cannot activate this effect the turn this card is Normal Summoned, Special Summoned, or flipped face-up.)
Mobile Fortress Stronghold: TRAP/Desc: When this card is activated, it becomes a monster card (0/2000) and is summoned in defense position. When "Red Gadget", "Yellow Gadget", and "Green Gadget" are all face-up on your side of the field, this card's attack increases by 3000. This card is still effected by cards that effect traps.
Mirage Magic: QUICK-PLAY MAGIC/Desc: When your opponent attacks, negate the attack and increase your life points by an amount equal to the attacking monster's attack points.
Last Will and Testiment: TRAP/Desc: When one of your monsters has been destroyed as a result of battle, you may activate this card. Pay 700 life points. Select one magic, trap, and monster card from your deck and add them to your hand.
Horus, the Black Flame Dragon, Lv. 4: Level 4/ 1600/1000/ Dragon/ Desc: As long as this card remains face-up on your side of the field, control of this card cannot switch. During the End Phase of a turn that this card destroyed a monster as a result of battle, send this card to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6" from your hand or Deck.
Horus, the Black Flame Dragon, Lv. 6: Level 6/ 2300/1600/ Dragon/ Desc: As long as this card remains face-up on your side of the field, it is unaffected by any Spell Cards. During the End Phase of a turn that this card destroyed a monster as a result of battle, send this card to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8" from your hand or Deck.
Evolution Machine: TRAP/Desc: This card is activated by sacrificing a card with LV in its name on the field. Special Summon the card named in the card sacrificed to the field from your deck or hand. Negate any special summoning requirements. Increase the monster summoned by this card's attack and defense points by 500.
Horus, the Black Flame Dragon, Lv. 8: Level 8/ 3000/1800/ Dragon/ Desc: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by the effect of "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6". As long as this card remains face-up on your side of the field, you can negate the activation and effect of any Spell Cards and destroy them.