Disclaimer: See Chapter 40 for details
Chapter 41: A New Level of Dueling, Part 2The score stood at Yugi: 4400, Ace: 2200. Yugi had been in control for the past few turns with his Mobile Fortress Stronghold (3000/2000), until Ace tricked him into attacking. Now Yugi's folly has come back to haunt him, as Ace has summoned Horus, the Black Flame Dragon, Lv. 8, but increased its power to 3500! Is there anything in Yugi's deck that can beat it?
"His monster may be strong, but it's not invincible. His monster may be able to negate magic cards, but there's a card in my deck that can negate its effect! I just have to draw it this turn," Atem thought.
"Now go Horus! Attack his Mobile Fortress!" commanded Ace as his dragon flew up into the air. It unleashed a stream of violet flame, drowning the battlefield in fire. The machine tried its best to stand up to the flames, but was ultimately melted. (Y: 3900)
"That leaves your life points wide open!" Ace added, until he noticed Yugi's three gadgets returned to the field. "Oh yeah, forgot about that part." He grumbled. "Be that as it may, your monsters still are outmatched by my dragon, and now I'll end my turn," he announced.
"Come on deck" was the only thing on Atem's mind. He slowly drew his card. He looked at it. "Alright!" he thought. "Now, I set two cards face down and switch all three of my gadgets into defense mode" he announced as two brown cards appeared on the field. Then, his three gadgets shielded themselves with their arms.
"Oh Yugi" Ace thought as he drew. "His plan is powerful, but it's just slow, too slow in fact. It takes several turns for the strategy to unleash its full power. And knowing a duelist like him, he would only use this plan if it were his only way out. And now I'm about to make it a no-way out." He noticed his next card. It was a perfect addition to his plan.
"Prepare Yugi, as I activate Slashing Frenzy! This lets just one of my dragon's attacks destroy all of your monsters! Nothing can save you now! Horus, wipe out his monsters!" called Ace as his dragon once again rose in the air, this time unleashing a flaming blast completely engulfing the field. All three of the gadgets were easily destroyed. Finally, the dragon descended back to the playing field.
Atem had to cover his eyes from the smoke. "Not so hot now Yugi!" wickedly laughed Ace as he concluded his turn.
Atem drew. "Now I'm activating Magical Reign! This trap cancels out your dragon's effect, so I'm free to use my magic cards!" he explained as a sanctuary appeared behind Atem, absorbing some energy from Horus.
"No, Yugi's notorious for using magic cards! I had planned on using that to defeat him," growled Ace. "Oh well" he reassured himself, "there's no way he can bring out a 3500 attack point beast."
"I summon Blockman (1000/1500) to the field! Next, I'll activate this card, Time Jump! This card accelerates time for three turns!" Atem explained.
"Big deal" countered Ace.
"It is when my Blockman's ability is activated! Each turn its on the field it gains one counter!" Atem continued as his Blockman now had three markers above it. "Then, I'll use Blockman's ability to create three more!" his monsters counters disappeared. Blockman then split itself into 3 clones. Now, Yugi had a strong defense. "To end my turn, I place this card on the field, face-down." A new hardback card appeared.
"I've got just three cards left" Atem eyed his Black Magician, Collected Power, and Magical Hats.
Ace drew. "Augh, I've got no monsters!" he thought. "I'll set a card face down! Horus, attack one of his Blockmans!" he commanded as his monster flew into the sky and unleashed another fire blast, drowning the field. The blast died down to reveal two of the Blockmans, but Black Magician as well! (3000/2100)
"There's no way that could have happened from my attack! You had some part in this, Yugi!" pointed Ace towards his opponent. Atem chuckled.
"Yes, actually I did. Magical Academy let me sacrifice two of my monsters to bring forth Black Magician and increasing its attack power by 500!" Atem enlightened his opponent, who stood chuckling back.
"Great try, Yugi, but your monster is still weaker than mine! One more attack and Black Magician will disappear!" Ace countered.
"Funny, it seems to me like our monster's attack points are equal" Atem responded. Ace checked. It was as Atem said! Somehow, Black Magician was at 3500 attack points!
"There's no way," Ace stammered. "You must have cheated! Hacked into the system and altered your monster's attack points!"
"I don't need to cheat! Magic Formula raised my monster's attack points!" Atem revealed his hidden equipment card. A blue glow encased Black Magician, raising it to 3500.
"They may be equal, but our life points sure won't be! Monster Tax, activate!" Ace called upon his facedown card. "This card will deduct your life points by 500 points each turn for every monster you have on the field, so your life points will be gone in no time!"
"Oh no" thought Atem. "If I keep my monsters on the field, I lose life points, but if I don't, then Horus will wipe me out. I'm in a tough spot." He drew.
"I activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two more cards!" he announced as he drew the next two cards. "Then, I'll activate Treasure from Heaven, letting both of us draw until we have six cards in our hands" he continued, drawing five more cards. "I switch both of my Blockmans into attack mode! Now, Black Magician, attack and destroy his dragon!" he commanded.
Yugi's mage obeyed and launched several streams of black lightning, targeting the giant dragon. The dragon countered by launching another purple flame blast. The two attacks collided and cancelled each other out, but in the process creating an enormous glare, too bright to see through. The glare died down, with both monsters gone.
"Now Blockmans, attack his life points directly!" Atem silently asked for forgiveness from the Black Magician. The two rocks collided into Ace's chest, knocking him backwards. (A: 200).
Ace stumbled to regain balance. "You'll pay for that, Yugi," he threatened. "In fact, you'll pay now! With your life points and I use the facedown trap, Dora of Fate! And I select your Blockman for use!" (Y: 2900)
"Dora of Fate? What does that do?" Kevin asked, not remembering exactly.
"Well, it's a trap. If Black Joker can summon a level 3 monster in his next turn, then Yugi loses 2000 life points, which is a steep dive." Miranda explained.
Ace drew. "Yes! Now I summon Phoenix Egg (0/2500) in defense mode! You know what that means, right? I may not be able to use my egg's ability, but I can cause you to lose 2000 life points since my monster is one level lower than yours!" Yugi was hit with a black ball of energy. (Y: 900) "Now I'll end my turn, and in your End Phase, you lose!" smiled Ace.
Atem drew. He studied his hand, which contained four monster cards and a magic card. "I activate Graceful Charity!" he played his sixth card; "letting me draw three cards from my deck, and discard two" he did so. "I activate the magic card, Life-force Exchange! This card lets me draw two new cards and sacrifice my two Blockmans!" he declared as he drew two more cards, and his Blockmans were encased in white magical rings.
"So! None of your monsters can destroy my Phoenix Egg! And, as soon as you end your turn, my trap card will wipe out the rest of your life points! Then your soul is mine!" Ace contradicted.
"No! I'll be victorious by the end of the duel!" Atem responded. "Because now, I sacrifice my Blockmans to bring back Queen's Knight and King's Knight!" his knights took the place of his rock soldiers.
"Then, I'll use Raise Dead to bring back Jack's Knight!" he added, as his third knight rose from the ground, ready to fight. Atem had six cards left in his hand, the six cards that could bring him victory. "Next, I'll activate this magic card, Royal Straight!" Atem added. I offer up my Jack's Knight, Queen's Knight, and King's Knight to bring out the Royal Straight Flush (2300/1600).
"It's no use to you Yugi! There's no way you can win, especially when I use Double Spell! As soon as I discard one card from my hand, I can clone your Raise Dead, bringing back my Horus, Lv. 8!" Ace explained as a Raise Dead card appeared on Ace's side of the field. The silver dragon burst onto the field, extending its wings. It powerfully roared as it towered over all other monsters.
"I win!" declared Ace.
"No! I'll win, because I have one last play! I use Royal Straight Flush's effect!" called Atem.
"Oh yeah! Yugi wins!" declared Kevin.
"Now, I discard Kuriboh, Old Vindictive Magician, Silver Fang, Retrained Elven Swordsman, and Baffomet to use Royal Straight Flush's ability to destroy all of your cards!" Atem explained as his monster charged his sword up a light blue color before smashing it on the ground, sending an energy wave destroying all of Ace's cards. He was wide open.
"No! This can't be!" cried Ace.
"It is! Royal Straight Flush, attack his life points directly and end the duel!" called Yugi as his monster ran up and slashed Ace diagonally in the chest. (A: 0) "I win," said Yugi.
"The winner of this duel is Yugi Moto!" the tournament official announced as Atem and Yugi traded places again.
"Good job Yugi!" congratulated Anzu.
"You're the man!" added Tristan.
"Thanks guys" Yugi replied, but was not as enthusiastic, still worrying about Joey. "Well, the next duel's not for an hour and a half, let's head back downstairs" he suggested.
"Sounds good to me" Kevin walked over towards the elevator. "So it's me and you next eh, Miranda?"
"Yup" she smiled.
"Just remember, I won't show any mercy," Kevin said.
"You have my word that no punches will be pulled either," replied Miranda. Kevin shut up after that. The gang returned to the lobby.
"So, was that an awesome duel or what?" Tristan asked.
"It was pretty cool, kind of short though, so Yugi's getting to be a much better player," commented Anzu.
"Well, thanks, Anzu;" responded Yugi.
"Yup, I've watched Yugi over the years and you're right Anzu" Miranda said.
"So, are you some kind of fan or something?" wondered Tristan.
"Umm…not really, I've just been hoping to duel him myself one day, you know just to see how good I am" replied Miranda.
"Well I'm sure that when we duel, it will be an honorable match I look forward to" Yugi responded.
"Likewise" smiled Miranda.
"Hey guys, its getting kind of cold in here," Anzu stated. "I'll be right back. I'm just gonna go grab my jacket. She walked to the main hallway, where everyone's rooms were, including a small second lobby in the back. Since Anzu had not known where her room was before the tournament, she stuck her jacket in the back lobby. She opened the door and opened the closet door when she thought she heard a voice. She wasn't sure whom it belonged to, so she didn't respond. After a second, the voice picked up again, this time closer to the back lobby.
"Oh no" she thought. "It's that Black Joker guy!" she realized who the voice belonged to. She hid in the closet, leaving a small crack in the doorway so she could see who entered the room. And sure enough, in a matter of seconds, Black Joker, on a cell phone, entered the back lobby. He stood by the closet door. Anzu could hear everything, his cell phone volume loud enough for her to hear both parties.
"Yeah, I know I'm the only one left" Black Joker spoke. A voice on the other end then spoke. "Well, so far, I've captured about 8 souls, the strongest being Joey Wheeler and his Flame Swordsman."
"Joey Wheeler? I've heard he's nearly impossible to beat" the voice said.
"Well, that must mean I'm impossible, eh?" light-heartedly chuckled the joker.
"Yes, but you must hurry and finish the task. The crystal is nearly depleted of all energy, and when it dies, so does our plan. So capture the soul of the Pharaoh as soon as you can. His life force alone can power the crystal enough. I've waited a long time for revenge on that Pharoah. And I finally found the perfect solution. Five thousand long years I've waited to return so that I may rule! As soon as enough energy is gathered, I can finally open the space-time continuum, allowing me to rewrite history, and I shall rule and that Pharaoh will pay!" the voice spoke, angrily.
"Yeah, yeah, we get it!" Black Joker ended the speech.
"This is the last call for lunch provided by KaibaCorp. Anyone wishing to get lunch courtesy of KaibaCorp. report to the grand lobby immediately." A voice spoke over the intercom.
"Got to go" said Black Joker. "Villains got to eat to. Alright. Goodbye" Black Joker hung up the phone. He exited the room, shutting the door behind him. Anzu was scared stiff. She didn't even open the closet door for 3 minutes, terrified of what Black Joker may do to her if he figured out that she figured out his grand plan. Finally, she gathered the courage to open the door and return to the lobby.
"Anzu, you alright? You've been gone for a long time" Kevin noticed her return.
"Not really. Well, I kind of heard something when I was in the back lobby" she said, her tone becoming quieter with each word.
"Yes" Yugi said, becoming more serious.
"Ok. Well I heard Black Joker and he revealed his entire plan" continued Anzu.
"Anzu, you've got to tell us what he's up to" Miranda said.
She paused. "Alright, well, from what I can tell, he plans on absorbing people's souls and feeding them to some giant crystal so that he can rewrite history. Black Joker's not in charge either. There's some other guy. And this guy has some grudge against the Pharoah, Yugi" explained Anzu.
"Hmm" thought Yugi.
"Attention, competitors! The next duel of the tournament will begin in 2 minutes! Again, this is a two-minute warning! Report to the Central Tower immediately" a voice boomed over the loudspeaker.
"Well, guess that's our call" Tristan got up.
"Yeah, we can worry about Black Joker later. It's not like he's dueling next" Kevin concluded.
"Ok" Anzu shook the topic out of her mind. The gang once again took the elevator up to the Central Tower, where they were, once again, last to arrive. This time, however, they were on time.
"The last match of the quarter-finals will begin! Miranda Guinaldo, Kevin Hunter, prepare your decks and report to the playing field!" the official stated as both competitors stood on their platforms, which rose into the air.
"Begin, whenever you are ready!" spoke the official.
"Well, two people I know nothing about. This match should be promising" thought Kaiba.
"Ready Miranda?" asked Kevin.
"Been waiting!" she replied. Their life points rose simultaneously to 4000. They both drew five cards.
"Let's duel!" they announced in unison.
CARDS PLAYED
Slashing Frenzy: QUICK-PLAY MAGIC/Desc: Select one monster on your side of the field. During this turn, this monster may attack and does attack all monsters on your opponent's side of the field. Effects of monsters destroyed by this card cannot be activated.
Magical Reign: CONTINIOUS TRAP/Desc: As long as this card remains face-up on the field, magic, trap, or monster effects that destroy magic cards are negated.
Blockman: Level 4/1000/1500/ Rock Type/Desc: Each turn during your standby phase, place one "Turn Counter" on this monster. During your Main Phase, you remove all turn counters, and divide this monster into as many pieces equal to the number of turn counters that were on this card when it was face-up on the field.
Time Jump: QUICK-PLAY MAGIC/Desc: Accelerate time for three turns. All effects involving turns increase by three turns worth of effects.
Magical Academy: QUICK-PLAY MAGIC/Desc: Discard 2 cards from your hand. Summon one monster from your hand and increase its attack points by 500.
Black Magician: Level 7/ 2500/2100/ Spellcaster Type
Magic Formula: EQUIP MAGIC/Desc: This card may only be equipped to "Black Magician", "Black Magician Girl" or a fusion of any of the two. Increase the monster's attack power by 500.
Monster Tax: CONTINIOUS TRAP/Desc: During your opponent's End Phase, decrease their life points by 500x the number of monsters on their side of the field.
Pot of Greed: MAGIC/Desc: Draw two cards from your deck.
Treasure from Heaven: MAGIC/Desc: Both players draw from their decks until they both hold 6 cards in their respective hands.
Dora of Fate: TRAP/Desc: Select 1 face-up monster on your opponent's side of the field. When you successfully Normal Summon a monster that is 1 Level lower than the selected monster during your next turn, inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the Level of the selected monster x 500 points.
Phoenix Egg: Level 3/ 0/2500/ Winged Beast/Desc: At the end of each of your turns, place one "Turn Counter" on this monster. During your Main Phase, you may sacrifice this face-up card with three turn counters on it to special summon one "Crimson Phoenix" from your hand, deck, or graveyard to the field.
Graceful Charity: MAGIC/Desc: Draw three cards from your deck, then discard any two from your hand.
Life-force Exchange: MAGIC/Desc: Draw two cards from your deck. Sacrifice any number of monsters on your side of the field. Special summon a number of monsters (Level 7 or below) from your graveyard equal to the number of monsters sacrificed in face-up attack position.
Raise Dead: MAGIC/Desc: Select 1 Monster Card from either your opponent's or your own Graveyard and place it on the field under your control in Attack or Defense Position (face-up). This is considered a Special Summon.
Royal Straight: MAGIC/Desc: Sacrifice one face-up "Queen's Knight", "King's Knight, and "Jack's Knight" on your side of the field. Special summon one "Royal Straight Flush" from your hand, deck, or graveyard to the field.
Royal Straight Flush: Level 6/ 2300/1600/ Warrior/Desc: This card may only be special summoned by the effect of "Royal Straight." Discard 5 monster cards from your hand with levels 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 to the graveyard to destroy all cards on your opponent's side of the field.
Double Magic: MAGIC/Desc: Discard one magic card from your hand. Select one magic card from your opponent's graveyard and activate it as your own magic card.