Hello everyone. This is it, the very first chapter for Tokyo Tournament of 2005. In May this story will be two years old. Which kind of sends a message to me to finish it…
The Helldragon: True, Yami could've destroyed Gravity Bind immediately, but he was a bit distracted at the time and didn't think of using it during his Battle Phase. So he just decided to bide his time until a better opportunity presented itself. Turns out it was the right choice, since he would've lost the next turn to Frost's Cannon Soldier barrage if he didn't have Raigeki Break held ready.
Now then, I'm going to go have tea on the veranda. Read this in the meantime.
Tokyo TournamentChapter Twenty-Eight-A Good Cause
Also Entitled: No, It's Not a Charity Foundation
"Okay," said Term," let me get this straight. You're tying up the Ring guy,"-he motioned to the unconscious form of Wraith, "and throwing him through the wall?"
"Yep," Giyan replied matter-of-factly, "is something wrong with that?"
"Not to me."
"Right then," said Giyan, "any questions?" Lin raised his hand. "Yes? You in the back?"
Lin lowered his arm, "What do we use for rope?"
At this, Yamato's arm extended. Literally. His hand was now connected to the remainder of his arm by a thick metal cable.
"Ah. Okay."
But Tristan spoke up, "Uh, look, I have no sympathies for the spirit of the Ring, but Bakura's our friend. How do we keep him from getting hurt in the process?"
Giyan though for a moment, then muttered to himself for a few seconds, "Well, Bakura and Wraith are light and dark, and since we're in the Shadow Realm…" He walked over to Wraith's unconscious form and tapped him on the head. Wraith's body shimmered momentarily, then split into the Spirit of the Millennium Ring and the young British teenager known as Ryou Bakura. "Now that that's out of the way, would anyone else like to say anything?"
"I would," answered Kirbin. He then said, in a high, squeaky voice, "Ni!"
There was silence for a few moments as everyone stared at him. Then Yamato shook his head and said, "Alright, let's do this."
-…The Tournament Finals…-
Seto Kaiba, millionaire, CEO, champion-level duelist, stared at his opponent, Shaun, teenager, …other stuff…
Shaun: 4000 Kaiba: 4000
Kaiba was scowling, his arms crossed across his chest, a five-card hand held ready, his Duel Disk activated. Shaun looked much more serious than he had before, although he still half-grinned. His Duel Disk was also activated, and he was just now drawing his six cards and preparing to start the duel.
Kaiba was scowling for multiple reasons. The first was that he was Kaiba. The second was because Youkai had placed his brother Mokuba in danger. The third was because Shaun had a Blue Eyes White Dragon. There was a fourth reason as well, but it was one that confused Kaiba. Shaun reminded him of someone, but Kaiba couldn't put his finger on who it was. He only knew it was someone he loathed.
But there was no time to focus on that matter. Shaun had already set three spells or traps and a monster in defense mode and declared the end of his turn. And so Kaiba drew, looked over his hand, and scanned the four cards Shaun had placed. Then a grin crossed his face I have Vorse Raider and Shrink in my hand right now. If I can draw my CRUSH Card, I'll be able to eliminate any strong monsters he may have. I'll soon defeat his Blue Eyes without his being able to disgrace it anymore! "I set one card facedown," declared Kaiba, "and then summon Vorse Raider in attack mode!" The familiar glaive-wielding warrior emerged onto the field, snarling and hefting its weapon as it stared hungrily at Shaun. "Vorse Raider, crush his set monster!" The warrior stamped towards Shaun's set card and swung its blade down, intent on cutting down its prey.
What happened in the next several moments left Kaiba's monster dazed and confused. First it was struck by a white javelin, and then a trio of blue-robed priestesses appeared in its way and formed a barrier of light that thrust it backwards forcefully. "I activated Waboku and Enchanted Javelin," explained Shaun, "which allowed me to negate the damage your Vorse Raider would have dealt and also boosted my Life Points by its Attack Points."
Shaun: 5900 Kaiba: 4000
Kaiba grimaced and crossed his arms, signaling that his turn was over. Shaun calmly drew a card and placed it into his Duel Disk. "I'll just set one card on my field and end my turn."
Kaiba drew and hid his grin Now I'll be able to put my plan into action! Of course, I'll have to wait until my turn is over to activate it, but in the meantime… "I set one card facedown," declared Kaiba as a card appeared next to his first one, "and also summon Enraged Battle Ox (1700/1000), who shall allow me to deal damage through your defenses!" The Vorse Raider turned to look over its shoulder and observed the axe-wielding minotaur approaching from the shadows. It gave its ally a nod, which the Battle Ox returned. Then they both readied their weapons and faced Shaun. "Enraged Battle Ox, destroy his defending monster!" The minotaur clomped forwards rapidly, axe raised. The large blade arced through the air and sliced Shaun's monster cleanly in half, revealing a small flying squirrel, which chattered in panic before it was slaughtered.
"That was my Nimble Momonga (1000/100)," Shaun stated, "upon its death in battle, I gain 1000 Life Points, meaning I only lost a net 600 Life Points from your attack. Not only that, but I may also Special Summon any other Momongas from my deck in facedown defense mode. So I'll summon the other two." Shaun ejected his deck from its slot and briefly sifted through it before taking the other two copies of the card from his deck and placing them on his Duel Disk.
Shaun: 5300 Kaiba: 4000
Kaiba snarled and ended his turn. Shaun's grin slightly widened at the card he drew next, and he held it high. "Now I'll go on the assault! I sacrifice my two monsters to summon my Blue!"
"That's not happening!" yelled Kaiba as he pressed two buttons on his Duel Disk, "I activate my two facedown cards! First, Shrink to cut my Vorse Raider's attack power in half (950/1200), followed by my CRUSH Card!" The Vorse Raider diminished to half its normal size, then burst in a spray of purple. Spiky, glowing balls that somewhat resembled gigantic infected cells spewed from the Raider's corpse and planted themselves on Shaun's deck. "Now you'll be unable to summon monsters with 1500 or less attack power! Not only that, but all monsters with the same high amount of attack points will be discarded from your hand!"
Shaun's grin vanished, and for the first time he seemed to act normally. Then his mouth contorted again into a grin, but this one was different. It was one that showed signs of vengeance being plotted. "Alright, Kaiba," he said in a voice dripping with mock-cheerfulness as he slid the Blue Eyes White Dragon into his graveyard slot, "I'll just end my turn by setting one card facedown." Said card appeared next to Shaun's other two facedown cards, giving him what seemed to be a strong defense.
"It's just as I suspected," stated Kaiba with distaste as he drew, "you rely too much on the Blue Eyes to win your duels. Without it, you can simply defend yourself by hiding behind your Traps. But I'll show you how a real master of dragons duels! I start by playing Graceful Charity!" He snapped three cards off the top of his deck, and a smirk stretched across his face as he examined them. "I choose to discard these two cards," he slipped two others from his hand into his graveyard slot, "then I'll play Silent Doom, reviving my Lord of Dragons (1200/1500) in defense mode!" A large hand emerged from the shadows, palm held downwards. Then a beam of brilliant yellow light extended from it and shot into the ground, pulling up the Lord of Dragons from the earth. "I also play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw another two cards." As he did so, his grin widened. This duel was going to end now. "Now I play Raigeki, clearing the field of your pathetic monsters!" As Kaiba shoved the card into his Duel Disk, the infamous lightning bolt struck down from the heavens, incinerating Shaun's two facedown Momongas.
"Now," said Kaiba, "now is when this duel ends. I'll take that Blue Eyes from you right here, by defeating you with my own three! I play Advent of White Dragon, sacrificing my Enraged Battle Ox to summon the Paladin of White Dragon (1900/1200)!" As Kaiba spoke, his Battle Ox glowed with a glaring white light. As he finished speaking, it vanished without a sound and was replaced with the blue-armored warrior mounted on the blue-skinned dragon infant. "To replenish my hand, I play Life-Slashing Treasure, which lets me draw until I have five cards in my hand!" He quickly snapped five cards off his deck, then suppressed a laugh of triumph before continuing, "I then play Flute of Summoning Dragon, which allows me to Special Summon the two Blue Eyes White Dragons in my hand!" Shaun's eyes widened as the Lord of Dragons pulled the orange dragon-headed horn from the air and placed it at its lips. The bellow that sounded could only be heard for mere seconds before it was drowned out by the loud roars of the two descending dragons.
The holograms of Kaiba's Duel Disks were very detailed and efficient, but they paled in comparison to the real dragons that flew from above now. Their claws, teeth, wings, and scales all shone and gleamed, reflecting the light about them on razor-sharp edges. The sapphire eyes were deeper, and glowed with electric power. The dragons moved fluidly, each of their body parts in constant motion, unlike their holographic images. Their eyes actually blinked, and their maws did not sag open. These beasts were powerful, yes, but also highly intelligent. They studied their prey with their cunning blue eyes, and knew not to underestimate his power.
But Kaiba was not so cautious, "Now I'll win this duel. My Dragons and Paladin have a combined 7900 attack points, well more than enough to defeat you. Say goodbye, you insane whelp! Attack with White Lightning!" The dragons let out loud, resounding roars and then gathered power to release their electric breath weapons. The white energy crackled and hummed as it increased in magnitude, then released an explosive sound wave as the three streams of power were released, barreling towards Shaun.
-…Youkai's prison…-
Giyan leaned against the stone brick wall, calmly and repeatedly banging his head against it. He did so in such a manner that the magical abilities of the wall did not turn it intangible, but also with just enough velocity that it made his head hurt a small amount with each contact.
"You know," said Zachary, who leaned with his back against the wall just next to Giyan, "that's not going to help at all."
"No," agreed Giyan, "but…it…makes…me…feel…better." He emphasized each word with another jerk of his head against the wall. The plan had proved quite entertaining when put into action. The group got to see the ancient thief hurtling through the air at high velocities. However, it had not progressed their plans of escape in any manner, and they had returned to square one.
"All prisons have some means of escape," stated Term as he observed Giyan's actions, "it's necessary, in case the builder is trapped in one himself. We must have missed something."
"But we didn't," replied Kirbin, "we threw the mop-head through each wall several times, and each time the same thing happened. He popped through the opposite wall and slammed into Yamato's back with a resounding crack. Which was pretty funny, I'll admit…"
Indeed, the results of the escape operation had left the group quite downtrodden. Except for Lin, who found the new discovery about the prison to be exhilarating. He was currently dashing in a straight line through set of walls perpendicular to the one the conversers leaned against. As soon as he reached the wall, he gave a leap and soared through, reappearing several seconds later through the opposite wall before he continued running again, every now and then giving a whoop of simple pleasure. These actions were naturally annoying to a group in deep thought over rather serious matters, and Lin's apparent lack of fatigue was wearing hard on the nerves of several of his comrades.
"So," said Mike, "what options do have left?"
"Well," Kevin spoke, "there's always the way we came in. Through the ceiling I mean."
"Woohoo!" Lin chirped gleefully.
"It's not likely that will work," Kai replied, "Youkai would have intended that path to be one-way."
"Most likely," agreed Giyan as he hit his head against the wall again.
"Woohoo!"
"Well, I really don't feel like just sitting around and doing nothing," said Mai with a tone of impatience, "if we're going to try and get out of here, let's stop thinking and take action!"
"If you have any suggestions on what to do," said Kirbin, "let us know."
"Woohoo!"
"He's got a point, Mai," Tea said, "we've tried just about everything now."
"There's something we've missed," stated Term, "there's always a way out. The reason people don't escape is due to a lack of luck or commitment, not a lack of flaws in the prison. We just have to-" he momentarily stopped speaking to stick his foot out and trip Lin.
"Wooho-WAGH!" Lin flew several feet through the air before his face slammed into the floor with a large SLAM!
"Man, that was annoying," murmured Term.
Giyan snapped his head backwards and spun around. "Term, do that again!"
"What? Well, okay…" Term hefted a dazed Lin up to his feet, then stuck his foot at the man's angles and shoved Lin forward, thus tipping him over in much the same manner he had done several moments ago.
SLAM! "You're paying for my medical bills…"
"That was fun," said Term, "but what was the point of it?"
"The floor," said Giyan, "the floor stayed tangible."
Kirbin slapped his forehead, "Of course..."
"Let me get this straight," said Tristan, "it never occurred to anyone to check the FLOOR? Everyone tries to escape through the floor! It's like a prison movie tradition!"
-…The Tournament Finals…-
Shaun stood strong as the beams of electricity crashed through the air towards him. Then he pressed a button on his Duel Disk and one of his facedown cards flipped up, "I activate Wall of Revealing Light, paying three thousand Life Points to block all attacks against me of that amount or lower!"
Shaun: 2900 Kaiba: 4000
A wall of pure light erected itself in front of Shaun's field. The three draconic attacks dissipated harmlessly on its surface, leaving him completely unharmed. Kaiba growled in anger at seeing his attack foiled.
"Oh, don't feel so bad, Kaiby!" said Shaun in a sing-song voice, "Your attacks wouldn't have hit anyways! That's because one of my other cards was Scapegoat, which I'll activate now to form a barrier in case you get your dragons strong enough to get through my Wall." The four familiar cartoon goat appeared behind Shaun's barrier, giving himself a strong defense against Kaiba's attack force.
That attitude… thought Kaiba, he treats my dragons with so little respect, and he seems casual about everything he does. It's so familiar… "I end my turn."
Shaun quickly drew a card from his deck and glanced at it. An expression of exaggerated disappointment formed on his face, "Well, it looks like I can't use this card right now, so I'll just end my turn without playing anything. Over to you, Kaiby!"
Kaiba breathed angrily at the mocking nickname as he drew. Then his lips pulled back into another cruel smirk as he saw the card he had drawn. "I sacrifice my Paladin to summon the third Blue Eyes White Dragon from my deck!" In a flash of light, the Paladin vanished, and his mount had grown. It now stood next to its brethren, glaring down at Shaun through his Wall of Revealing Light. "Next I play Polymerization, fusing my three dragons together to create the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800)!" A vortex now formed on Kaiba's field, sucking his three Blue Eyes White Dragons into itself. Then the vortex opened outwards, releasing the hydra-like dragon that was a combination of Kaiba's three Blue Eyes. "My Dragon is, of course, a Fusion, so I can't attack with it this turn. So you have one chance to defend yourself before I bring your defenses down and destroy you!"
Shaun's semi-serious expression returned as he drew, but then it vanished as he set the card he had drawn in his Duel Disk. "I set one card facedown and then activate one I set earlier. Go Token Thanksgiving!" Suddenly, Shaun's four Scapegoats exploded, and he was bathed in a brilliant blue light. "Token Thanksgiving destroys all tokens on the field," Shaun explained, "it then grants me eight hundred Life Points for each one destroyed."
Shaun: 6100 Kaiba: 4000
Kaiba drew his card and leered at Shaun, "What goes on in that mind of yours? In case you haven't noticed, my Ultimate Dragon is now free to blow you apart! And since you were nice enough to give yourself enough Life Points to exceed mine, I can now equip my Dragon with this: Megamorph!" A yellow circular symbol etched itself on each of the heads of the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, which began to grow. It soon towered over the field, twice as large and powerful as before (9000/3800). "Now, my Ultimate Dragon, attack him directly! Neutron Blast!" An immense ball of electric power formed between the three towering heads of the dragon. As it reached a size as large as half the room, it as released, barreling towards Shaun. The Wall of Revealing Light burst apart as the immense blast connected with it and soared onwards. Shaun would be defeated and most likely vaporized if the blow hit.
"I activate Negate Attack!" declared Shaun as a pick barrier rose up directly in front of him. This barrier held where the first had fallen, and the blast deflected upwards, soon vanishing into the abyss above.
Kaiba yelled out in fury at seeing his victory being snatched away. He clenched both hands into fists and shook with rage as he practically screamed out the end of his turn.
Shaun drew with a sweep of his hand. He was both nervous and cocky from the immense dragon before him and his simple blocking of its attack. "I place a monster in defense mode. Let's see if your high and mighty dragon can reach me this time."
Kaiba glared at the card Shaun had placed as if in an effort to burn it to cinders with his gaze, them ripped a card from his Duel Disk. He glared at the useless card with an even more intense gaze, then pointed at the monster Shaun had set. "Blue Eyes, vaporize his monster! Neutron Blast!" Once again the immense dragon formed its great attack and blasted at Shaun's field. This time the attack was unhindered as it passed through the Wall of Revealing Light instantly and smashed into Shaun's monster.
The card was obliterated, but Kaiba was confused when he saw a new one take its place. "You destroyed my Bubonic Vermin (900/700)," said Shaun with a grin, "and when you flipped it I summoned a second in its place facedown."
Kaiba's head looked ready to explode.
Shaun took Kaiba's reaction to mean his turn was over, and so he drew a card to begin his turn. As he looked at the card, he closed his eyes. This was the moment, the turn that would decide the duel. "I set one card facedown," the single card appeared next to his Wall of Revealing Light, "I also flip up my Bubonic Vermin, summoning the last one facedown." The tiny rodent appeared before him. In trembled in the presence of Kaiba's dragon and shrank away in fear.
"Fool!" Kaiba exclaimed, "You've just given me a target! What was the point of that?"
"I need to increase the chances of drawing the cards I need," explained Shaun as he slid the last card in his hand into his graveyard, "I play Card of Sanctity! Now we both get fresh hands!" Shaun smirked slightly as he drew six cards and Kaiba drew three. And as he looked over the new cards, Shaun knew the duel was his. "I flip up the last Bubonic Vermin," he stated, and a second rat appeared next to his first.
"Feh," spat Kaiba, "just another lamb to the slaughter."
"That's what you think," shot Shaun, "but I place two cards facedown, then activate the card I just set, Gryphon's Feather Duster!" A fierce gale swept across Shaun's field, blowing apart the two cards he had just set as well as his Wall of Revealing Light.
"You're insane," declared Kaiba, "you just wasted two of your cards."
"Did I?" questioned Shaun with a look of confusion, "So you mean I don't get to summon two Wicked Tokens (1000/1000) from the effect of my two Statues of the Wicked that were just destroyed?" At his words, two golden serpents with claws extending from just below their heads appeared. Each had ruby eyes and a headdress adorned with a sapphire at its center. "Not only that, but I gain 500 Life Points for each card Gryphon's Feather Duster destroyed."
Shaun: 7600 Kaiba: 4000
"Now allow me to remind you about a certain card you played," said Shaun, "you see, that CRUSH Card may prevent me from summoning monsters with over 1500 attack strength, but it only lasts three turns. And my last turn was the third turn after its activation." Kaiba's eyes widened at the implications behind this simple statement. Shaun was going to- "I play Monster Reborn, reviving my Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!" Between Shaun's puny monsters now stood the beautiful form of one of the dragons Kaiba had summoned previously. But still it was a dwarf in comparison to Kaiba's Dragon. "Now I equip my dragon with United We Stand, increasing its attack and defense by 800 for each face-up monster on my field!" The Blue Eyes roared as four streams of energy connected it to Shaun's other monsters and it glowed with power (7000/6500).
"You're an even greater fool than I thought," sneered Kaiba, "it doesn't matter how powerful your dragon is, because mine can simply crush one of your rats and wipe out your Life Points!"
"This is true," admitted Shaun, " but you will not be given that opportunity. I now empty my hand by setting my final two cards facedown. End turn."
Kaiba drew and grinned, knowing he was about to win. He opened his mouth to declare an attack-
But Shaun cut him off. "I activate my Mystic Wok, which allows me to sacrifice a monster to add its attack or defense to my Life Points."
Kaiba looked a bit crestfallen. Now Shaun would have enough Life Points to survive his attack. Still, his dragon would be significantly weakened by the losses of two monsters, and soon he would strike it down and tear Shaun apart to win the-
"I choose to sacrifice my Blue Eyes White Dragon," Shaun stated.
Kaiba was now foaming at the mouth, "WHAT?"
But Shaun's order carried through, and his dragon glowed a magnificent blue before turning into a stream of energy that wrapped around Shaun. The Life Point boost was so great that Shaun was now wrapped within an aura of life energy.
Shaun: 14600 Kaiba: 4000
"FOOL!" Kaiba bellowed in rage, "You cast aside your mighty dragon to feel a bit healthier? How DARE you abuse the majestic Blue Eyes!"
"You're the one acting like a fool, Kaiba," stated Shaun, "the dragon is unharmed, it is simply in my graveyard now. I respect the Blue Eyes for its great strength and the strength it gives me, but I shall choose how to use this strength. There are things more important now than the honor of the dragon. In case you haven't noticed, the fates of your brother and the world are at stake." Kaiba stopped cold at these words, knowing full well that they were true. "Besides, the dragon's sacrifice was not in vain, because it will allow me to survive this next card unscathed: activate Ring of Destruction!"
Kaiba gasped in horror as the large metal collar that he had used so much in his duels now wrapped itself about his prize monster, the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Then the discs about the collar exploded, destroying his dragon. Then flames enveloped the field, greatly singing his clothing and skin as he took nine thousand points of direct damage. Shaun took hardly any physical damage, as the aura surrounding him flared and absorbed the damage, keeping him safe. After the explosions ended, Kaiba's body, badly burned, collapsed on the floor.
Shaun: 5600 Kaiba: 0
The remaining monsters on Shaun's field faded, and the duel ended. Joey and Nick worked together to carry Kaiba off the field, careful not to cause any more damage to his body. Then Yami stepped forward. Shaun remained on the field, ready to engage in his second straight duel in a very short amount of time. And while he knew he had just outright dominated Kaiba, he also knew he would have to display an even greater amount of skill and power to compete with the Pharaoh.
-…Youkai's prison…-
"Stuff's pretty hard to get through," observed Zachary as he watched Giyan, Term, Kirbin, and Lin attempt to make a dent in the brick floor.
"It's a magical substance," Kai stated, "its purpose is to withstand great abuse. And with Youkai powering it, there should be great difficulty in breaking through it."
"Alright," said Kirbin, "my turn." His right arm suddenly became encased in rock, and he thrust it with all his might against the ground. The rock around his arm cracked and crumbled to dust, and the floor was unharmed.
Term sighed in frustration, "Great. The floor's impenetrable."
"Nothing's impenetrable," replied Kirbin, who then cringed and shook his stinging arm. Joy gave him a sympathetic look and took hold of the arm, causing Kirbin to blush.
The conversation was stopped as Kaiba fell through the ceiling and landed headfirst on the floor. Mokuba immediately ran to his elder brother's side and began to attempt to wake him. "There, proof," said Term, "it withstanded a blow from Kaiba's head. It's impenetrable." Mokuba shot him a glare that proved he was Kaiba's younger brother and kicked Term in the shin.
"Well, one more option," said Giyan, "Hey, Yamato!"
Yamato, who had been sitting with Serenity and explaining some basic Duel Monsters strategies to her, looked over his shoulder at Giyan, "What?"
"You know that Redeemer weapon you were telling me about a few days ago?"
"Yes. What of it?"
"You got one with you?"
-End of Chapter 28-
So there you have it. Seeker, as I promised, Kaiba got his ass handed to him by Shaun. And now we move straight from the second match of the quarterfinals to the first match of the semifinals! Yugi, Shaun, Joey, and Nick remain. Who shall emerge victorious and duel Youkai? And what is the Redeemer that Giyan speaks of? Well, those of you who play Unreal Tournament will probably already know…
End-of-episode-credits thingy! HUTTAH!