I have crawled back from the depths of yet another writer's block. In my triumphant return, I bring with me…this chapter. Woohoo…
The Helldragon: The Redeemer is the most powerful gun in all three editions of Unreal Tournament. It is actually more of a tactical nuke. 'Nuff said.
KHAN!
Tokyo Tournament
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Escaping Fate
Also Entitled: Getting Away From Destiny…What? It's Not the EXACT Same Thing!
"Let me get this straight," said Tristan, "you're carrying around a highly destructive device. One which could have gone off at any time and killed everyone attending the tournament. And now we're going to BLOW IT UP IN THIS ROOM?"
"Please stop yelling," said Yamato, who was now fiddling with a foot-long explosive shell, "you're making it more difficult for me to concentrate."
"Yeah, Tristan," agreed Tea, "stop criticizing the guy with the nuclear shell." Tristan quieted down at that.
"I will not be detonating the shell in this room," said Yamato as he continued re-wiring the Redeemer shell, "once I have finished modifying it for remote detonation, I will find a way to implant the shell within the floor. That is where the problem lies, however. Not only do we have no prepared method for planting the shell, but we are depending on the floor to shield us from the blast while also giving way to the explosion."
"There's a conundrum," commented Lin as he parried a swipe from Term. The two were currently sparring in the limited space available, Lin using his sword and Term his strange claws.
"I can handle both," said Giyan, "it will be difficult, however."
"What do you have in mind?" asked Term as he blocked a strike from Lin with a flick of his arm.
"I can manipulate objects to some degree in the Shadow Realm," Giyan explained, "it will take some effort, but I'm pretty sure I can form a bubble around the shell. The bubble will nudge aside the brick of the floor and get the shell in position. As soon as the nuke detonates, I'll take the bubble down."
"And the resulting explosion?" queried Lin as he ducked another strike.
"I can form a larger, stronger bubble around us," Giyan stated, "I may have to lie down after a while later on, but my force bubble and the floor's strength should be enough to shield us from the blast. Hopefully, the floor won't hold, but my power will."
"Wonderful," sighed Mai, "so your plan works or we all die."
"No one ever accomplished anything without taking a risk," replied Term as he leapt backwards from a horizontal slash.
"It will only take me a few more minutes to finish modifying the shell," reported Yamato, "hopefully, everything will go right."
Serenity watched as Lin and Term sparred, "Isn't it kind of dangerous for you to be cutting at each other like that?"
"Nah," said Lin, "we've done this often enough that we can predict each other's attacks. We're actually about even in skill and neither of us is trying too hard anyways."
"It may not look like it, but we're actually going much slower than we could be," said Term, "there's not going to be a winner to this little fight."
"Don't be so sure," said Lin with a smirk.
"Oh, please," Term said as he rolled his eyes, "we know each other's tricks, there are no x-factors here."
"Except for one," said Lin as he leapt backwards from one of Term's strikes. Rather than simply landing on his feet, however, the jump carried him backwards into the wall behind him. He quickly emerged from the wall behind Term and whirled about. Term immediately spun on his heel to meet Lin, but was too late. Lin grabbed Term's arm, spun about, and heaved him over his shoulder into the wall he had just come through. Then Lin turned again as Term flew through the opposite wall. Just as a stunned Term came up to him, Lin struck with his left fist and pounded Term in the jaw. Term flipped through the air and fell hardon the floor.
Term slowly stood up and rubbed his jaw, "I hate you."
Lin simply grinned, "I know!"
-…The Tournament Finals…-
Yami drew five cards from his already-shuffled deck and waited for Shaun to finish shuffling his own deck. Yami knew that while Shaun seemed to possess few terribly destructive cards in his deck, this duel would still be a difficult one. Shaun had a very unorthodox strategy, which made it more difficult for Yami to anticipate the boy's actions. The number of cards he had used to defend himself and increase his Life Points in the past two duels was a very high amount, and Yami had had to make changes to his deck to compensate for these cards. However, he doubted such minor changes would greatly affect the duel. Instead, as much as he regretted it, he might be forced to rely upon a single card. The card would instantly remove one aspect from Shaun's strategy. Yami hoped it would make a large enough impact.
Shaun finished shuffling his cards and slid his deck into his Duel Disk. Then he copied Yami's previous action by drawing a five-card hand. "You can take the first move, Pharaoh," he offered.
Yami nodded in response and drew a sixth card, and the duel was on.
Shaun: 4000 Yami: 4000
"I begin this duel with Card Destruction!" called out Yami as he placed the card in his Duel Disk. Both he and Shaun discarded their five-card hands and drew new ones. "However, I'm far from done!" declared Yami as he slid a card into one of his Duel Disk's Spell/Trap slots, "I play Silent Doom, which will Special Summon a monster I discarded. Come forth, Baffomet (1400/1800)!" The monster that emerged by the effect of Yami's card was a demonic, red-skinned humanoid. It stood upon two legs, and four clawed arms extended from its torso. Black hair sprouted from the back of its neck in a clumped heap, and from the small of its back two white, feathered wings had sprouted. It crouched to the ground in a defensive position and shot Shaun a feral glare from beneath the two curved yellow horns that stuck out of the sides of its head.
"By the effect of Baffomet," stated Yami, "I now place Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200) into my hand." His Duel Disk ejected a single card from his deck, and Yami added it to his hand shortly before selecting another card to play, "I activate Polymerization, fusing Baffomet together with Gazelle!" Gazelle momentarily appeared next to Baffomet. Its brown fur and black mane made it look much less unnatural than Baffomet, though it still bore a small horn on its head. The two monsters were then sucked into a vortex and merged together. What then emerged from the vortex highly resembled Baffomet and Gazelle crammed together, with Gazelle's head extending from the right side of its torso and Baffomet's from the other side. The beast had the same shade of fur as Gazelle, and also had Baffomet's wings.
"Behold, Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast (2100/1800)!" declared Yami, "And I shall also summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) from my hand to the field!" The ever-familiar elven warrior appeared next to the twin-headed beast, its broadsword held ready. "Finally, I set one card facedown and end my turn," a facedown card appeared behind Yami's two monsters, and Shaun began his turn.
Shaun examined the five-card hand he had drawn from Card Destruction along with the card he had just drawn from his deck. He then took three of the six cards in his hand and slid them into his Duel Disk. "I summon a monster in defense mode and place two cards facedown. That's all." The three stated cards appeared, facedown, on his field.
Yami drew a card and pressed a button on his Duel Disk, "I activate Dust Tornado, to destroy your right facedown card!" Yami's card flipped up and an immense whirlwind burst into existence. The twister tore across the field on a path towards Shaun's facedown card. However, just before the Tornado reached the card, Shaun's other card flipped up, revealing a green-framed card that depicted canned meat and saltine crackers. Then Shaun's facedown card shimmered out of existence before the Dust Tornado reached it, and the cyclone vanished.
"I activated the quick-play Spell card Emergency Provisions," explained Shaun, "rather than losing my card and receiving nothing in return, sacrificed it to gain 1000 Life Points."
Shaun: 5000 Yami: 4000
While Yami saw that his Trap had failed, he also saw that Shaun had no facedown cards remaining on the field. This gave him the perfect opportunity to strike. He looked over his hand and paused for a moment as he saw the card he had drawn. He felt a small surge of confidence as he realized that in just a few turns he could bring Shaun's strategy down. "I set one card facedown," the pharaoh declared as the card shimmered into view before him, "and then Chimera shall attack your facedown monster! Clear his field of defenders!" The winged beast flapped its immense wings and took flight, gliding a short distance above the ground. At immense speed, it rammed the facedown monsters with both heads, revealing a brown and white flying squirrel before skewering it with all three horns.
Shaun: 6000: Yami: 4000
"You destroyed Nimble Momonga (1000/100)," stated Shaun, "and because of that, I gain 1000 Life Points and Special Summon the other two from my deck in facedown defense mode." He took the two stated cards from his deck and laid them on his Duel Disk, and the cards shimmered into view in front of him.
Yami bit his lip for a moment as he contemplated attacking another of Shaun's Momongas. One the one hand, Shaun's already high Life Points would increase even further when the squirrel was destroyed. On the other, Yami needed to clear the field to make way for his monsters to attack. He glanced at the one card remaining in his hand and made up his mind, "Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, attack another of the Momonga!" The elf readied its broadsword and ran forth, swiftly striking down one of the two remaining Momongas. Shaun's Life Points, however, still increased.
Shaun: 7000 Yami: 4000
Yami nodded at Shaun, and the boy drew to begin his turn. "I set two cards facedown," Shaun stated, "as well as another defensive monster. Then I end my turn." The three cards appeared in front of him, the monster next to his already-set Nimble Momonga and the other two behind each of them.
Yami raised his eyebrow for a moment, wondering why Shaun had not set either card in the previous turn. And then he realized Shaun had fooled him. Shaun's deck seemed extremely reliant on Spells and Traps, so Yami's ability to limit the usage of those cards would be critical. However, Yami only had a handful of methods of doing so, and Dust Tornado had been one. By only setting Emergency Provisions and the card he had intended to sacrifice, Shaun had given Yami the choice of only those two targets, and Dust Tornado had been virtually wasted. Yami could only wonder how many more of Shaun's cards would prevent him from disrupting Shaun's strategy.
"I draw," Yami declared. He looked at the card and smiled. He was ready to put his plan into action…but he would have to get one more card to assure that it would work. "Obnoxious Celtic Guardian will cut down the final Momonga!" Once more, the elf warrior dashed forth and cleanly cut through Shaun's set card, and the final flying squirrel was vanquished. Huzzah…
Shaun: 8000 Yami: 4000
"Now," Yami continued, "Chimera shall destroy your set monster!" The winged beast took flight again, then surged down and slammed into Shaun's set monster. The card was revealed to be a large black bear before Yami's twin-headed beast gored it to death.
"My monster was Mother Grizzly (1400/1000)," stated Shaun as he took his deck out of his Duel Disk's slot, "and her effect allows me to Special Summon a Water monster with 1500 or less attack points." He grinned that strange grin of his as he found the desired monster. "I summon my persona favorite monster, Catapult Turtle (1000/2000)!" The large, mechanical turtle appeared in the Grizzly's place, its turret locked on to Yami. The pharaoh grimaced as he saw the card that had dealt the finishing blow to Term appear, and he finished his turn.
Shaun drew, and he smiled. "I activate both of my facedown cards," he announced, "reveal Scapegoat and Gift of the Mystical Elf. So I summon four Scapegoats (0/0) to the field and then gain 300 for each monster on the field." The four circular, multicolored goats appeared on the field. Then the Mystical Elf appeared with a globe of white light between her hands, which she handed to Shaun. By now the blue energy that had been surrounding Shaun in his last duel had flared around him once more with brilliant strength.
Shaun: 10100 Yami: 4000
Yami grimaced some more. Shaun so far hadn't dealt a single Life Point of damage so far, yet he still had a tremendous tactical advantage. Yami had to end the duel soon, or else Shaun's Life Points would reach an amount that he would be unable to bring down.
"The Life Point gain was just for insurance," stated Shaun, "because I plan to end this duel here and now. In case you hadn't noticed, one of my Scapegoats is in attack mode." At this comment, Yami blinked. Then he looked at the Scapegoats and saw that the orange one was staring through closed eyes at him, rather than dozing like the other three.
"That makes absolutely no sense," stated Yami in disbelief, "Scapegoats have absolutely no attack points, why would you do this?"
"You'll see right about now," assured Shaun, "now, I place my Catapult Turtle in defense mode." The mechanical terrapin shifted its anchorage a bit, presumably so as to better withstand an attack. "Then I equip my Scapegoat with United We Stand." The orange Scapegoat suddenly glowed with a great yellow aura as strands of energy connected it with its three goat brethren and the Catapult Turtle. The tiny, fluffy goat now surged with unseen strength as it reached a level of power equal to that of Obelisk the Tormentor (4000/4000).
Seeing the mixed look of horror and pure shock on Yami's face, Shaun unexpectedly burst into laughter. After a few seconds, he caught his breath and recovered his composure. A huge grin was plastered on his face now as he said, "I'm sorry, but this is too funny! I'm about to win the duel with a Scapegoat! I could've just equipped my Catapult Turtle with United We Stand, but I figured I'd be a little more cautious. Plus, this way is funnier! Now, my mighty Scapegoat of doom, attack Obnoxious Celtic Guardian!"
The orange Scapegoat let out a strange noise and hopped forward, preparing to smite the guardian with its great strength. And Yami knew he was in trouble. While the Scapegoat could not destroy his Guardian, as it had over 1900 attack points now, it would deal him a total of 2600 points of damage. Then, Shaun could simply sacrifice the goat to his Catapult Turtle's effect. And Yami had no way to counter the effect of Catapult Turtle… "I activate Mirror Force!" yelled Yami as his card flipped up. A blue, reflective surface appeared in front of his field, and the pumped-up Scapegoat slammed headlong into it and was destroyed.
Shaun frowned at this latest turn of events. Now Yami was left to continue his attempts to clear the field and, for the moment, Shaun was out of tricks. "I set on card facedown," he stated, "and then end my turn."
Yami drew, and a smirk began to form on his lips. "I order Chimera to destroy Catapult Turtle!" he cried. The great beast took flight once more, and then came down upon the large turtle with all its weight. The great turtle's hard shell cracked, and then the terrapin gave a strange cry of agony as the rest of its body began cracking as well before a sudden spark set off within the catapult's launching mechanism, blowing it apart in a spectacular burst of red energy.
"Now I activate De-Fusion from my hand!" Yami continued as he slammed the quick-play card into his Duel Disk. "Now my Chimera will split into its original Fusion components!" The form of Chimera shifted, and split along its middle. The two halves of its body were swiftly torn apart, and then re-grew the limbs they had lost in the previous fusion in the blink of an eye. "Now, I command my three monsters to attack your Scapegoats! Clear Shaun's field of monsters!" Simultaneously, all three of Yami's monsters leapt forward and felled Shaun's small goats. Gazelle pinned one and bit into it, Baffomet slashed at another with its four claws, and the Guardian cleaved the final one in half. Now, all that remained on Shaun's field was a single facedown card.
"And now, this duel ends," stated Yami. He swept his three monsters off of his Duel Disk; "My monsters have served me well in clearing your field. And now I sacrifice all three of them to ensure that it remains that way." He slammed one of the two cards in his hand onto his Duel Disk, "I summon Slifer the Sky Dragon (1000/1000)!"
Yami's three monsters vanished, and from the ground emerged the awe-inspiring sight of the god of the dead. Its great red- and black-scaled body rose up…and rose…and rose…and rose… Slifer's sinuous form extended to a measurement that seemed to be miles long, and there was obviously more of its body unseen, as it was still at least partially embedded in the ground. In the Shadow Realm, Slifer looked infinitely more powerful than Kaiba's Duel Disk systems rendered it. The blue jewel on its head seemed to practically pulse with power, and the two immense, teeth-filled maws beneath it were crackling with energy. Slifer's two fully extended wings now eclipsed the field, though they were small compared to the rest of the divine dragon's body. Lastly, the two, weak-looking claws just beneath its wings were razor-sharp, and looked as ready to reap destruction as the rest of Slifer's arsenal.
"With only one card in my hand, Slifer is far from his full potential," stated Yami, "however, I aim to repair that problem now. I play Card of Sanctity." Shaun grimaced as Yami played the card. The both of them drew six cards from their decks, and with this action Slifer's power increased sixfold (6000/6000). "I then set one card facedown and end my turn." (Slifer: 5000/5000).
Before Yami drew, Yami spoke to him, "I'm sorry to have to revert to using the gods, Shaun. However, it was the best way possible to deal with your strategy. I've noticed you use a great deal of cards that allow you to summon weak monsters quickly. Slifer's second mouth ability, however, will prevent you from doing so. Also, Slifer's immunities will prevent you from defending yourself with most of your Spells and Traps. This duel is over!"
Shaun drew his card with uncharacteristic silence. He then placed one card in his Duel Disk. "I play Graceful Charity, to draw three cards and then discard two." He snapped the cards off his deck and examined them. Then, with a grin, he added two to his hand and selected another card from it. The selected card and one drawn card left over were sent into his graveyard with a tiny shove. "You have just sealed your own fate, Yami," he declared with a small grin, "by allowing me to draw so many cards, you have given me the cards I need to finish this duel here and now."
Yami looked at Shaun in disbelief, but caught himself. Yes, he himself had been in many circumstances much like the one Shaun was in now, including one instance in which he had been staring down the exact same monster that hovered over his field. He could not doubt Shaun's ability to back up his statement.
"I start with Mystical Space Typhoon," stated Shaun, "that blows your facedown card away." A black monsoon descended upon Yami's card, and shattered it into pixels.
That doesn't have me too worried, thought Yami, my Spellbinding Circle was just for insurance. He'll still have to work to get around Slifer's effect and still have a monster with 5000 attack points left over.
"Now I play Silent Death, as you did," Shaun continued, "and I choose to Special Summon Catapult Turtle from my graveyard." The turtle-like weapon re-emerged onto the field, and set its launched.
"Slifer's ability activates now!" declared Yami, "your monster is now drained of 2000 defense points! Summon Lightning Impact!" Slifer opened it top mouth, and a great sphere of yellow energy burst forth. The ensuing blast left the Catapult Turtle much worse for wear, its previously gleaming shell now charred and dented (1000/0).
"That won't matter now," Shaun stated, "I now play Monster Reborn." The overly-used card slid into his Duel Disk, and next to his Turtle a vortex formed on the ground. From it emerged a sight that always drew attention to itself. "I summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500), which I just discarded!" The white-scaled dragon spread its wings and let out a roar of challenge towards Slifer, despite the fact that it was clearly out-matched. Still, now Shaun had his own dragon to battle for him.
"Your dragon is normally strong," stated Yami, "but Slifer shall weaken it to a level so low even my weaker monsters will be able to deal with it. Summon Lightning Impact!" Slifer's mouth opened again, and a burst of energy shot out of its maw and impacted against the Blue Eyes White Dragon's gleaming white scales. The dragon let out a cry of agony as it was greatly weakened (1000/2500).
"I'm far from done," stated Shaun, "I equip Blue Eyes White Dragon with Megamorph."
Yami blinked in surprise. The Dragon now shrank to half its original size, as Shaun's Life Points were greater than Yami's. "Why would you play that card in these circumstances?" questioned Yami, "Your dragon has now lost half its original attack, giving it a practically nonexistent strength (0/2500)."
"That's true," agreed Shaun, "but it won't remain that way for long. You see, I knew you would try to use Slifer's ability to thwart my deck's strategy, so I prepared myself to counter that ability. Now, my single set card will not only counter Slifer's Summon Lightning Impact…but take advantage of it. I activate Reverse Trap!" Shaun's card flipped up, revealing a picture of a strange humanoid wearing an eyed headdress. "Now, the deductions caused by Slifer's effect will be turned into increases! My Catapult Turtle now gains 2000 defense points (1000/4000), but more importantly my Blue Eyes White Dragon will get every last bit of its strength back, plus an additional 3500 attack points due to the reversal of its loss of strength from Slifer and Megamorph (6500/2500)!" Now Shaun's mighty white dragon enlarged. It grew to an immense height, and let out a bellow that shook the arena.
"Now it ends," said Shaun, "your field is empty of spells and traps, and I can simply sacrifice my dragon to Catapult Turtle's effect to finish you off after it has attacked." He bowed his head and took a small breath, then continued, "Sorry, Yami, but it's over."
Yami took several steps back as he gazed upon the dragon that Shaun had called upon. Its might now was greater than Slifer's, and there was no way he could keep such a monstrosity from attacking. And there was also no way he could negate the damage from Catapult Turtle's effect.
"Now to begin the end!" shouted Shaun, "Blue Eyes White Dragon, attack with White Lightning!" The dragon gathered white energy in its mouth, then released a blast greater than the ones Slifer had moments ago. The stream of energy struck Slifer, causing the god to cry out in pain. Then the serpentine dragon slowly fell, dead. And the excess energy from the dragon's blast continued on its path directly towards Yami.
"It's not over yet, Shaun!" yelled Yami as he slid one card from his hand into his graveyard, "I discard Kuriboh, negating all damage your Blue Eyes would deal to me from this battle!" In front of him, a familiar brown ball of fur appeared. Its big, yellow eyes were set in a determined expression, and it flung itself bravely into the blast that the Blue Eyes White Dragon had unleashed. The brave little creature absorbed every last bit of the blast, then vanished, leaving Yami safe, at least for one more turn.
"You're as lucky as ever, Pharaoh," stated Shaun with a small smile, "I can't finish you off in this turn, but I can at least deal as much damage as I possibly can." He turned to look at his dragon; "My Blue Eyes will lose all its attack strength once my turn ends, as Reverse Trap only works for one turn. So now I sacrifice him to my Catapult Turtle's effect." His dragon spread its wings and leapt straight upwards, then hovered several meters above the ground and made its way towards the crouching Turtle. Once it was positioned directly of the Catapult Turtle's launcher, it transformed into pure white and blue energy, which settled on the turret. Then the Catapult Turtle opened fire, and the mass of white energy surged towards Yami.
While Yami knew he had enough Life Points to survive the blast, he also knew that such a blow would severely injure if not kill him if it hit. With that thought in mind, he called upon the ancient magical energies of the Millennium Puzzle and erected a great golden barrier in front of him. The blast struck his barrier, and both masses of energy shuddered as they battled against each other. Yami's barrier soon won, and the blast from Catapult Turtle dissipated. Yami allowed the barrier to fall, and took a great breath after having deflected the blast.
Shaun: 10100 Yami: 750
Shaun took a moment to take this development in, then slowly came to a decision. "I think my Catapult Turtle will turn into more of a liability in the coming turn than anything else, so I'll sacrifice it to its own effect to deal you a further 500 points of damage." The turtle itself transformed into a mass of energy, this one the pinkish shade it usually launched. Without a catapult to launch from, the mass of energy just surged towards Yami of its own accord. Yami drew up another mass of energy to block the blast. While this one was much weaker than the first, he was still very much drained from his last defensive effort. Still, he managed to shield himself from the burst, and he fell to his knees after the effort.
Shaun: 10100 Yami: 250
Shaun selected two of the three remaining cards in his hand and set them on the field. "Two cards facedown, and that will be all."
Yami drew, a bit more sluggishly than normal, but Shaun cut him off before he could even glance at the card. "I activate Call of the Haunted," Shaun stated as the card in front of him flipped up, "and I re-summon my Blue Eyes White Dragon, this time with its normal attack and defense (3000/2500)." His dragon burst up from the ground for the second time, and let out a bellow that spelled out Yami's doom. Yami has fought well, thought Shaun, but now, there is no way he can win. With Harpie's Feather Duster in my hand, any Spells or Traps he tries to use to buy himself time will be useless, and there aren't any monsters he can summon to protect himself for long. Plus, even if he does summon a monster stronger than my dragon, my facedown Wall of Revealing Light will block anything he summons with up to 10000 attack points.
"I play Pot of Greed," Yami announced as he played the card and then drew two more from his deck. He took a glance at the cards and smiled weakly. He then struggled to his feet and looked at Shaun, "I have drawn the cards that will put me on the path to defeat you, Shaun. First, I play a card I placed into my deck just for you. I noticed you use quite a few revival cards, so I decided to place this in my deck for when we faced each other. Now, I play Card of Safe Return!" A card appeared in front of him, depicting a man hunched on the ground in apparent pain as three large cards hovered above him. This was a card that had been used against him when he had faced down Slifer, but now he intended to exploit its effect.
"Now, every time a card is summoned from the graveyard, I draw a card," Yami stated, "while this effect is almost never extremely useful, I believe I can make use of it. Now, I play Monster Reborn, reviving Slifer the Sky Dragon (4000/4000)!" Yami's immense god card reappeared on the field, now greater and more powerful than Shaun's Blue Eyes White Dragon. It let out a roar of fury at seeing the monster that had defeated it so recently. "And because I summoned Slifer from the graveyard, I draw a card from the effect of Card of Safe Return!" He snapped another card off of his deck (Slifer: 5000/5000) and silently prayed before looking at it. There was one card he could draw that would shift the tide of the duel, and potentially grant him victory. He flipped the card over and smiled as he saw the card he needed.
"Now, I'll take control of this duel!" yelled Yami as he slid the card he had drawn into his Duel Disk (Slifer: 4000/4000), "I play Necromancy, which will summon four random monsters from your graveyard to the field." By playing this card, Yami knew he was making a great gambit. If his card summoned Catapult Turtle to the field, his plan would fail. He was actually relying upon Shaun having discarded a weak monster at some point in the duel. But, much to his relief, all three of Shaun's destroyed Momongas and a Bubonic Vermin (900/700) appeared on the field. "And because of the effect of Card of Safe Return, I now draw four cards (Slifer: 8000/8000)!" He snapped four cards off his deck, and didn't bother to glance at them. He already had the cards he needed to complete his plan held ready. "And now Slifer's effect will drain the monsters summoned by Necromancy of 2000 defense points! Since none of them have that amount, they will all be destroyed! Summon Lightning Impact!" Slifer opened its top mouth for the third time in the duel, and released four bursts of powerful energy that consumed Shaun's four new monsters. "And that's not all," stated Yami, "because monsters summoned by Necromancy were destroyed, the Blue Eyes White Dragon will now lose 600 attack points for each one!" The four spirits of the destroyed monsters rose up from the ground, then converged on Shaun's dragon, which let out a cry of pain as its power dropped significantly (600/2500).
Shaun wiped away the beads of sweat that had begun to form on his brow. That's still not quite enough, but now he has eight cards in his hand. And from the looks of it, he already has the means necessary to give Slifer enough power to run through my Wall if I choose to activate it.
Yami was still far from done, "I play Shallow Grave, allowing us both to summon a monster from our graveyard in facedown defense mode! And, thanks to Card of Safe Return, I'll draw two cards as a result (Slifer: 9000/9000)!" Both duelists selected a monster from their graveyards and set it on the field. Slifer's second mouth opened once again and shot at Shaun's set monster. The Catapult Turtle, however, survived the blast (1000/0).
"And now for the final touch," stated Yami, "I play Book of Taiyou, flipping up my set monster, the Magician of Faith (300/400)." A blue-robed female spellcaster with pale skin, a purple ponytail, and a scepter with a golden crescent moon at its head appeared on the field. Then it waved its staff, which glowed a bright green. "Magician of Faith now allows me to choose a Spell card in my graveyard and add it to my hand." His Duel Disk ejected his graveyard, and he searched a few cards down before he selected the one he wanted. "Now I replay Necromancy, reviving three more monsters from your graveyard!" Now two of Shaun's Momongas and the same Bubonic Vermin from earlier reappeared on the field, not joined by the final Momonga since Shaun didn't have enough open monster zones. "Now Slifer's effect activates! Summon Lightning Impact!" Slifer once more opened its top mouth, and this time shot out three separate blasts of energy that consumed Shaun's three monsters. Then their spirits rose up and drained the Blue Eyes White Dragon of its remaining strength (0/2500). "Lastly, because three monsters were revived from the graveyard, I now draw three cards from the effect of Card of Safe Return (Slifer: 11000/11000)."
Shaun gaped for several moments at Slifer the Sky Dragon, which now had enough power to finish him off all on its own. Shaun's Wall of Revealing Light was useless to him now, and there was no way to protect himself this time. "Well done, Yami," said Shaun with a small smile, "you have performed spectacularly, and in the end proved your true strength. Now…finish it."
"Very well," answered Yami, "Slifer, attack the Blue Eyes White Dragon! Thunder Force!" Now, the Egyptian god finally opened its bottom mouth, and released a stream of power greater than the others it had unleashed combined. The yellow stream of energy surged forth and struck the weakened Blue Eyes White Dragon, and in a massive explosion incinerated it. The shock wave from the blast knocked Shaun off his feet, and he flew backwards before sliding along the floor and coming to a stop quite a distance away from the arena.
Shaun: 0 Yami: 250
Yami sighed as he allowed himself to drop to his knees. Slifer's massive form faded into the Shadows, as did that of the much smaller Magician of Faith. "It was a good duel, Shaun," he murmured, "you fought well, and it was only through a great deal of luck and determination that I was able to defeat you. I congratulate you on your effort."
At that moment, Yami felt a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Joey looking down at him. "Good job, Pharaoh," he said, "get a bit of rest, now, 'cause you'll need it when we duel each other right after this."
Yami smiled at his remark and nodded, then allowed Yugi to take control of his body. While he had not physically exerted himself, the deflecting of Shaun's blows had somewhat depleted his magical energies, and he needed a break.
Yugi took a look at over where Shaun had landed, and saw Nick dragging him towards where the others' bodies had been collected. From the way Nick was treating Shaun's body, it seemed he had suffered only minor injuries. Yugi stood up and walked away to witness who he and Yami would be facing afterwards.
-…Youkai's Prison…-
"Okay, Shaun just got here," said Kirbin as he dragged the boy's form into a corner where the rest of the group was huddled, "better do it now, while we don't have to worry about anyone dropping in when we blow the place up."
"I've modified the shell as best I can," stated Yamato as he handed the explosive device to Giyan, "I can now remote detonate it, and the blast should be even more powerful than usual."
"Alright, then let's start," replied Giyan as he took the shell. Then a sphere of black energy surrounded the shell, and he placed it in the ground. As he had stated, the bubble pushed the flooring aside, until it was completely hidden under the layer of brick.
"Let's go!" shouted Lin as he and Term grabbed Giyan and dragged him into the corner, with Yamato soon behind. Giyan seemed so caught up in concentration that he wasn't quite thinking straight. However, as soon as they had all piled into one corner of the room, a great black barrier swept up around them. Giyan's forehead was now heavily beaded with sweat as he concentrated on keeping up the barrier around them.
Yamato glanced at everyone huddled under the shield Giyan had put up, double-checking that everyone was inside. As he did so, some of them prayed, others braced themselves, and some more covered their heads. Joy and Kirbin held each other close. Yamato finished his head count. He pressed the button.
-…End of Chapter 29…-
So Yami pulled off a huge-ass combo to beat Shaun, but let's get a few things straight before you tell me how screwed up it was. First of all, Necromancy has yet to be released in the card game, even in Japan. Secondly, and more importantly, Card of Safe Return only works if you summon a monster from your OWN graveyard. Thus, Yami would've actually drawn eight less cards than he did. So, even if Necromancy were in the actual card game and even if you were allowed to use Slifer the Sky Dragon, the combo would not have worked.
So, next chapter, Joey duels Nick to see who faces Yugi/Yami. Also, we get to see if our would-be escapees can finally get out of Youkai's seemingly impermeable prison and, if they do, just what awaits them.