Chapter 13: Amy vs. Amethyst Part 2
It seemed to take a while for Amy to recover. The last attack had shaken her up pretty badly but eventually, she regained herself and stood back up. She was still massaging her stomach as she rose off of her knees.
"Are you alright Amy?" Chloe asked worriedly.
"I'll live…for now." Amy muttered, "Though if I don't draw a good card now, I'm gonna be buried alive…" she sighed, looking at the blank gravestone standing behind her. She could already imagine it saying "Here Lies Amy Spears" once the duel was over.
"You can do it Amy!" Kazuki yelled supportively, "From our duels together, I know you're capable of coming back from impossible odds! The last three duels are proof of that! You'll do it again, I know you will!"
"Glad you're so sure of that, because I'm not…" Amy said grimly.
"Hurry up and make your move." Amethyst said gloomily, "We don't have all day and I really want to put an end to your torment. I'm not enjoying making you suffer like so."
"That's reassuring. I'm just glad you're not a sadistic creep like the others were." Amy said appreciatively.
She placed her fingers on the top card of her deck. For a moment, she was almost scared to draw it. Suppose it was just another card she couldn't use? It would be all over for her and Jack's soul would be Hallows's forever.
Jack…if I fail now…please forgive me. I really did try… Amy thought to herself, a small tear escaping from the corner of her eye.
She took a moment to remind herself on what she was up against. Amethyst had Yami in play to give all her Fiend Monsters a Field Power Bonus. She had three monsters in play, one of them being Dark Lucius LV8 which was equipped with Mask of Brutality to make it even stronger. She had two Life Absorbing Machines so she wouldn't have to pay Life Points to keep Mask of Brutality equipped and she had Mask of Restrict preventing either side from offering cards as tributes. She also had another face-down card that might be something to worry about. Amy's hand consisted of cards she couldn't use and in the case of Monster Reborn, a card that wouldn't be of much use. Her only hope was to draw a destructive Trap Card or somehow stall the battle long enough to turn things in her favour. With a deep breath, Amy drew the card. She opened her eye a crack to peek at it…and then immediately set it face-down. Her face remained blank as if the card had been nothing worth using. However, Kazuki and Chloe weren't fooled. They'd seen her do that before against Gypsy. Chloe's stomach tingled with excitement.
"Do you think she just…?" she whispered.
"Oh I'm certain of it." Kazuki whispered back, "She can't fool us twice with that trick."
Amethyst didn't suspect anything, or maybe didn't care that Amy had set an obvious trap. She took in Amy's despair and shook her head in pity.
"I really was hoping you'd be the one to finally beat me." the goth girl murmured, "But I guess you just got lucky against the previous three. Too bad…I would've enjoyed losing to someone like you. But I suppose I gotta do what I gotta do."
She drew her next card and glanced at it. She'd drawn Sinister Yorishiro, a handy Trap Card that would mitigate Mask of Restrict's effects. It would hopefully come in handy for later.
"I'll set this card face-down." Amethyst announced as she set Sinister Yorishiro, "And given you're wide open, I guess I have no choice but to attack you directly. I hate that it has to end so badly Amy, but it's the nature of a duel. I'll have all my monsters attack you for game."
"STOP YOU FOOL!" Hallows bellowed in the goth girl's head, "She played this exact same trick on Gypsy and it cost her the duel! You're doing exactly what she wants you to do!"
Amethyst ignored Hallows. Given she didn't even want to carry on living, she couldn't care less if she was walking into an obvious trap. If anything, it would extend the duel and keep things interesting, which was what she wanted. She didn't want an easy win. Amethyst's attack continued and just as Hallows had tried to warn her, she'd fallen right into Amy's trap. The red-head looked almost sorry to spring this on her nihilistic opponent but she activated it anyway.
"I guess you weren't watching when Gypsy fell for this same trick." Amy said grimly, "I activate Mirror Force!"
"Good. I didn't want this win to be easy anyway." Amethyst muttered.
All three of her monsters were destroyed as Mirror Force activated and redirected their attacks to themselves. Incredibly, Amy and Amethyst now both had empty fields with not a single Monster Card in play. Chloe cheered, glad Amy was still in the game but Kazuki wasn't impressed.
"If I was suspicious, I'd say Amethyst did that on purpose just so she couldn't win." he mused, "She had to have known Amy had an obvious trap lying in wait and she still willingly walked into it! That girl really is a tough nut to crack. It's like she wants to lose, yet simultaneously is trying her best to win with how tough she's been making it for Amy. Is this duel some kind of test for Amethyst? As in she wants to see if her desire to die is stronger than her desire to live…?"
Lord Hallows suspected the same thing. He pounded his bony fists on the sides of his throne in rage.
"You better not throw this duel just so you can have the pleasure of losing your soul and escape from the mortal world, Amethyst, or else I'll make you wish you hadn't!" he snarled, "Win this duel for me and claim me Amy's soul NOW!"
Amethyst continued to ignore Lord Hallows.
"So I guess that ends my turn now." she said casually, "Let's see how you turn this around Amy."
Amy sighed with relief. Thanks to Mirror Force, her situation no longer seemed so hopeless. There was hope for her in this duel yet! But at the same time, Amy once again found herself asking if she even wanted to win this one. Yes she wanted Jack back, but she didn't want Amethyst to be banished to the Shadow Realm. The poor girl deserved better than that and she wanted so badly to rekindle her desire to live. Why did Hallows have to make this challenge so unfair for her?! Every decision she made always felt like the wrong one and it angered her so much that she was being forced into this. This would've been so much easier if she'd only been duelling Lord Hallows!
Amy made her next move. She drew her card and looked at it. Her face lit up with delight.
Ooooh, nice! Summoned Skull! she thought, I already have Polymerization in my hand so if I can draw Red-Eyes Black Dragon soon, I can get Black Skull Dragon in play!
But with Summoned Skull and Barrel Dragon in her hand, she had no monsters she could summon at the moment so she'd need to do something in order to make a move. Luckily, she now had a reason to use Monster Reborn.
"I now play Monster Reborn!" Amy announced as she activated her brother's card, "And I'll use it to bring back your almighty Dark Lucius LV8!"
"Great idea!" Chloe complimented, "That'll really do some damage with how high its attack points are!"
In a flash of light, Dark Lucius LV8 returned to the field, this time under Amy's control. The mighty armoured warrior stood proud and powerful with its sword raised high and ready to strike. It showed no signs of being troubled by the fact it was up against its former master. After all, Duel Monsters showed no biases. They served whoever controlled them regardless. Amethyst took this in with the same amount of disinterest as she took everything else in. She clearly didn't care that she was about to lose 2800 Life Points with this next inevitable attack.
"Dark Lucius LV8, attack Amethyst directly!" Amy ordered.
Dark Lucius LV8 ran in with its huge sword aimed directly for Amethyst. But the pale-skinned girl wasn't ready to go down yet.
"Don't get too ahead of yourself." she warned, "I still have a Trap Card to use. And I activate Mask of Weakness."
Amethyst's Trap Card flipped face-up to reveal yet another mask to hinder Amy's game with. Mask of Weakness attached itself to Dark Lucius LV8 and lowered its attack by 700 points. Now Amethyst only lost 2100 Life Points instead of 2800. The goth girl winced as her own monster slashed at her with its sword. Her Life Points fell from a safe 6200 to a middle-of-the road 4100 from that attack. It seemed as if Amy might be able to close the gap between them and turn the tables on Amethyst. Chloe clapped her hands together and grinned excitedly.
"Nice one! There's that Amy Spears comeback that we all know and love!" she cheered, "Looks like she won't be marking her own grave after all!"
"If all continues to go well, Amy will definitely win this one." Kazuki agreed, "With Dark Lucius LV8 under her control, Amy's got Amethyst in a tight spot."
The pale girl picked herself up and brushed herself off. In spite of the attack, it looked as if Amethyst had barely even registered the fact she'd been hit. Amy imagined that Amethyst was the kind of person that had high tolerance for pain. With how low her opinion on life was, why would she even care if she got hurt? It crept Amy out to see this and she couldn't help but shudder. Amethyst drew her next card.
"Huh…déjà vu." she murmured dryly, "For I now play my own Pot of Greed."
"Yeah, funny that card's showing up a lot in this challenge I'm in." Amy acknowledged.
Amethyst drew two new cards and looked at them. She didn't show any interest or signs that she was particularly excited with what she'd drawn but Amy could see they were cards she was going to use regardless.
"I'll set a card face-down on the field." Amethyst declared as she set her card, "And then I'll banish three Fiend-type Monsters from my Graveyard in order to Special Summon one of the creepiest monsters in my deck. Hope this one doesn't scare you too much for Dark Necrofear is here to play."
She placed the new monster on her Duel Disk in Defence Mode. A blue, cyborg woman appeared on the field knelt down in Defence Mode (2200ATK/2800DEF). It looked inhuman with its cyborg parts, fiendish glare and the broken baby doll in its hands only further added to its creepiness. Amy could see it was no match for Dark Lucius LV8 with even Yami failing to boost its attack points any higher than a mere 2400 but its defences were another story. With Yami boosting it up to 3000, even Dark Lucius couldn't penetrate it. Amy was up against a solid wall and she'd need something very powerful to get past it. Chloe shivered uncomfortably.
"That thing creeps me out!" Chloe whimpered, "And its defence points are so high! How will Amy get past that?"
"She'll need Valkyrion the Magna Warrior or Black Skull Dragon to do so." Kazuki acknowledged, "They're the only monsters in Amy's deck that have attack points high enough to get past Dark Necrofear's defences. But maybe Amy can draw a monster with an effect that can destroy it…"
He looked to Amethyst as she concluded her turn by activating the Sinister Yorishiro Trap Card she'd set on her previous turn. From now on, she could summon Level 5 or high Fiend-type Monsters without needing to Tribute Summon them, a handy way around Mask of Restrict's restriction on tributes. Amy had to admit it was clever of Amethyst to have that card in her deck. This girl really knew how to work around her card's side effects and have a proper functioning deck as a result! Of all the Fiendish Five members, Amethyst was by far the only one Amy found herself respecting as a duellist. If only she wasn't so nihilistic, she'd easily make it through life as a successful duellist with these impressive skills! If Amy could save this girl after she'd saved Jack, she'd try and encourage her to take up this career path. That would hopefully rejuvenate her desire to live.
"You've sure got me good there. I'll need a miracle to get past a brick wall like that…" Amy muttered.
Amy drew her next card, hoping that she'd drawn Red-Eyes Black Dragon so she could Fusion Summon her Black Skull Dragon. Its 3200 attack points would get through Dark Necrofear's defences easily. But instead, Amy drew something even better. Her face lit up as she saw the card she now had in her hand.
"Sweet! You really know when to come out and help me!" Amy cried, "I now summon my Twin-Barrel Dragon in Attack Mode!"
Her gun-faced dinosaur robot materialized onto the field beside Dark Lucius LV8. Kazuki and Chloe both beamed with delight. If Twin-Barrel Dragon could destroy Dark Necrofear with its effect, it wouldn't be able to protect Amethyst's Life Points! They watched as Amy activated its effect and tossed a coin. Lord Hallows watched too, hoping that Amy would lose the coin toss or if Amethyst had a card effect that could negate it. The coin flipped through the air and landed down in Amy's hand. She'd scored one heads. Now she needed to score another heads for this to work. She flipped the coin again. Chloe and Kazuki watched intensely, hoping it would land on heads again. Amethyst just kept her face blank, not caring for the outcome. Amy caught the coin and placed it on top of her other hand. To her amazement, it had landed on heads. Four duels in a row, she'd been successful in getting two heads on the coin toss!
"I swear my luck is unbelievable sometimes!" Amy exclaimed, "It's not like me to get this lucky with Twin-Barrel Dragon's effect! Sorry Amethyst but Dark Necrofear isn't gonna protect you from this next attack."
Twin-Barrel Dragon blasted Dark Necrofear with its guns and the fiendish monster was sent straight to the Graveyard as it was obliterated by the robot dinosaur's effect. Amethyst didn't even react as her monster was destroyed, clearly not caring about that. She was now wide-open for a direct attack once more. With the combined attack strength of Dark Lucius LV8 and Twin-Barrel Dragon, Amethyst wouldn't survive this turn. Amy didn't want to do this, but she knew she had to. She ordered her monsters to attack directly, but Amethyst still had another surprise lurking on the field for Amy. Her face-down card happened to be another Mask of Weakness. Dark Lucius LV8 once again found itself wearing the mask and losing 700 attack points. With only 2100 attack points left to attack with, Amethyst was barely able to survive with only 300 Life Points left as a result of this double onslaught. Amethyst was so low on Life Points that a stiff breeze could wipe them out now. Amy was amazed at Amethyst's resolve. For someone who saw life as meaningless, she seemed determined to hang on and win this duel!
"You know Amethyst, I don't think you're as depressed as you let on." Amy acknowledged, "You say life is meaningless and you see no point in living, yet you're doing everything in your power to cling onto your Life Points and keep this duel going. Why is that?"
Amethyst shrugged casually.
"Just because I don't care what happens to me, doesn't mean I want it to be easy." she muttered, "I see this as my perfect end, going out in a duel so close and so intense that it makes me truly feel alive in those last few seconds I have. And I have a feeling that duel is here now. But it's not the end yet for I have another surprise for you."
"What is it? Does Dark Necrofear have some kind of ability you haven't told me about?" Amy asked anxiously.
"I'm afraid so." the goth girl explained, "During your End Phase, Dark Necrofear allows me to take control of any monster you have when it's sent to the Graveyard for any reason. Destroyed by battle or card effect, it's all fair game here. And I think I'll have my Necrofear bring Dark Lucius LV8 under my control."
"Oh no!" Amy cried in horror.
Dark Lucius LV8 looked down as Dark Necrofear's shadow suddenly slithered across the duelling arena and stopped under it. Then it reached up and wrapped itself around Dark Lucius. The powerful monster was helpless to fight it off as Dark Necrofear took control of it and brought it over to Amethyst's side of the field. It was back under her control now and now it was on her side of the field, Yami gave it a Field Power Bonus. Amy could see her control on this duel was going to slip away now Amethyst had her powerful monster back. She would definitely need to Fusion Summon her Black Skull Dragon if she had any hope of getting past Dark Lucius LV8 all over again! Lord Hallows grinned approvingly at this turn of events.
"Very good Amethyst!" he purred, "Looks like this duel's not going to end in failure for you after all. Amy will have a hard time getting past this one…"
Amethyst began her turn and drew her next card. She'd drawn Curse of the Masked Beast, a Ritual Spell Card that could summon the Masked Beast that had been sitting in her hand for this entire duel. Mask of Restrict prevented her from actually using it for now but she didn't care about that as Dark Lucius LV8 was all she'd need for now. She ordered her mighty monster to destroy Twin-Barrel Dragon. Amy cried out and covered her eyes as Twin-Barrel Dragon was sliced in two and exploded into smithereens as a result. Her Life Points fell down to 2400. If Dark Lucius LV8 was able to attack again, she would be done for! Chloe and Kazuki grew worried. Would Amy's luck run out at last? Was this duel over for her?
"Come on Amy, let's see what else you got." Amethyst demanded.
Amy was almost hesitant to do so. She could very easily just draw a nothing card and the duel would be over for her. But her luck had held out for her in this duel and the previous ones. Maybe it would hold out again? Amy placed her fingers over the top card of her deck and sighed.
Please let this be Red-Eyes Black Dragon… she prayed.
She drew the card and peered at it. To her amazement, she'd drawn exactly what she'd needed again! There in her hand was Red-Eyes Black Dragon, just as she'd been hoping for!
"Do I have some kind of magic power that lets me draw what I need or what?!" Amy joked, "Ah well, better late than never! Thanks to this card I've drawn, I can finally use the Polymerization that's been sitting in my hand for most of this duel to Fusion Summon my all-powerful Black Skull Dragon!"
She played Polymerization and in a flash of light, Summoned Skull and Red-Eyes Black Dragon both disappeared into a swirling vortex of energy that fused them together to create Amy's mighty monster. Chloe and Kazuki cheered upon seeing the colossal dragon making its grand entrance once again. It had been of great help to Amy in her duel against Gypsy and now it would help her again against Amethyst. With 3200 attack points, it was just strong enough to destroy Dark Lucius LV8 all over again. Amethyst would survive with at least 100 Life Points but it would be tough for her to counter attack a Fusion Monster as strong as Amy's dragon. Black Skull Dragon opened its jaws and blazed Dark Lucius LV8 to ashes with a tornado of flames. Amy felt good to have finally used her Polymerization and gotten her dragon out on the field again. But she was still guilty over what was going to become of Amethyst when this was over and the fact Amethyst outright welcomed such a fate. This duel was going to be a hard one to finish and the red-haired girl knew it.
As Amy's dragon finished its attack, Lord Hallows fumed to himself.
"Curse that wretched, stinking girl!" he growled in annoyance, "How does she keep pulling off these miraculous comebacks?! I'd swear she has the power of the ancient Pharaoh at her back and call with how lucky she is! But mark my words, her luck will run out against me…"
He turned his attention back to Amethyst. So would his little minion throw the duel and just give up or would she pull off a miracle herself? The goth girl drew her next card, not caring if it would do any good or not. She looked at it and to her's and Hallows's surprise, she'd drawn something that would be very useful indeed.
"Hey, remember Card of Demise?" Amethyst announced, "Garth's not the only one who has one for I've just drawn my own. Not that I expect it to help but I'll see what it does for me anyway."
Amy was sure it was going to help immensely. It had nearly cost her the duel against Garth when he'd used Card of Demise so who knew what it would do for Amethyst! Chloe felt equally as nervous. Despite liking the card and wanting it for herself if she ever decided to be a duellist, she knew that drawing extra cards was always going to be trouble for Amy if the opponent was able to get what he or she needed as a result of it. Amethyst drew three extra cards as she still had two cards left in her hand. She drew two monsters and a Spell Card. To Amy's amazement, the Spell Card she'd drawn was Remove Trap and Amethyst played it now to destroy Mask of Restrict. How ironic it was that SHE'D been trying to get rid of it a few turns ago and now Amethyst had done the work for her! But Amy knew now why Amethyst had done this. It hadn't been for her benefit, it had been for Amethyst's own. With Mask of Restrict gone, she now could Ritual Summon!
"Now my mask isn't restricting us anymore, I Ritual Summon my Masked Beast by offering Lesser Fiend and Newdoria in my hand as tributes." the Fiend Duellist declared as she sent her two monsters to the Graveyard.
She played Curse of the Masked Beast to activate this. All at once, Amethyst's two monsters were swallowed up by the Ritual Spell and out of it emerged a hideous creature that looked like a bizarre hybrid of a human and a dinosaur with its vaguely human top-half and its dinosaur-like bottom half complete with large legs and a tail. It had many masks all over its body and it wielded a sceptre with a mask on the head of it. The Masked Beast (3200ATK/1800DEF) was a powerful Ritual Monster and a force to be reckoned with for any duellist. Its attack power put it on par with Black Skull Dragon, but not for long as Yami was still in play to provide a Field Power Bonus. Its attack went up to 3400, making it just strong enough to destroy Amy's dragon. The red-head could only watch with dismay as the Masked Beast sprinted towards Black Skull Dragon and clubbed it around the head with its sceptre, destroying it instantly. Amy's mighty dragon was no more and now Amy found herself back at square one with no monsters to defend herself with, nothing in her hand or on the field to help her and only 2200 Life Points left. This duel was like being on a see-saw for Amy. One minute she moved up, the next she plummeted down! It was like no matter what she did, Amethyst kept springing back to bring her down again.
"This is almost too much to watch!" Chloe cried with worry, "This duel's so close that I can barely breathe! It really does feel like anyone can win at this point!"
"It's amazing how well Amethyst is hanging on for someone with only 100 Life Points left." Kazuki murmured, "She's so close to death yet she wants to show she's still got some life left in her. Amy's proper got her back against the wall again. I sure hope she can draw something good again or it's all over…"
Amy nodded in agreement. Her friend was right. The next turn would be her last if all went wrong for her. Amethyst certainly wouldn't have to worry about discarding her entire hand in five turns due to Card of Demise's side-effect because this duel sure as hell wasn't going to last another five turns! It be over in two if things didn't look up for her! Amy drew her next card and looked at it. She hadn't drawn a monster to defend herself with, but it was a card that would be useful to her regardless.
"Not much I can do except set a card face-down and end my turn." Amy said grimly.
Chloe and Kazuki both suspected that Amy had set a Trap Card again. If so, which one was it? Hopefully it was a destruction trap so it could get rid of the Masked Beast. Amy had already used Mirror Force so it wouldn't be that again as Amy didn't have two copies of it. Kazuki suspected what Amy's card might be but he kept it to himself. He didn't want to give Amethyst any hints. The goth girl drew her next card but she didn't bother playing it. She was about to win the duel anyway so why waste a card she wouldn't need to use?
"You've duelled well Amy…but alas, even you can't put me out of my misery." Amethyst muttered, "At least I can put you out of yours. You can be at peace at last, free from the cruelty that is life. Masked Beast, attack her directly and wipe out the rest of her Life Points." she ordered. Her tone of voice had been that of someone who begrudgingly had to give an order as if she really didn't want to give it.
The Masked Beast twirled its sceptre around in its hands and then sprinted towards Amy, its huge clawed feet stomping heavily on the floor as it ran towards her. It looked as if it was all over now…
"I'm still in this duel Amethyst! It ain't over yet for I activate my trusty Trap Card! Go, Widespread Ruin!" Amy declared as she activated her trap.
"I thought she set that one!" Kazuki cried happily.
Widespread Ruin activated and the Masked Beast was destroyed instantly by the card's effect. Amy's Life Points were safe again and Amethyst was left with no monsters left to attack with. But she still had a card she could use.
"Good thing I haven't used up my Normal Summon for this turn then." Amethyst mumbled, "I'll just set this monster in Defence Mode and end my turn."
She set the card on her Duel Disk. Amy observed this with great caution. Amethyst's face-down monster could have a dangerous effect that activated when flipped face-up so she'd have to be very careful when attacking it. That face-down monster could be anything and she had no idea what she'd be up against. Amy made her next move. She still hadn't drawn any monsters but she did draw another card that would come in handy later. She set the card and ended her turn. Amethyst drew her next card and also ended her turn. She'd drawn Sword of Deep Seated, an equip card that was no use to her as she had nothing to equip it to. Even her face-down monster was hardly worth equipping it to so she kept it in her hand for the time being.
"Well that was a whole lot of nothing for two whole turns!" Chloe gasped as if she couldn't believe what she'd said, "Who knows what's gonna happen now on this next turn."
"Hopefully something more eventful." Kazuki murmured, "Otherwise we're not gonna get anywhere anytime soon."
Amy agreed. She wanted to get this duel over with already. It had gone on for long enough and it was time to end it. She still had Barrel Dragon in her hand. If she could get two monsters on the field to sacrifice, she'd be able to summon it now Mask of Restrict was gone. Hopefully the next two turns would give her two monsters she could use. Amy drew her next card and smiled happily. Just as she'd hoped for, she'd drawn a Monster Card but not just any Monster Card. She'd drawn her good luck charm, Ground Attacker Bugroth.
"I'm always glad to see you again, buddy." Amy said sentimentally, "I call forth Ground Attacker Bugroth in Attack Mode!" she announced.
The war-machine materialized onto the field with its engines roaring and its weapons primed, ready to destroy whatever was in its way. Ground Attacker Bugroth took aim at Amethyst's face-down monster and blasted it with its huge cannons. But that ended up proving to be a big mistake for Amy. The monster was destroyed but it had an effect that Amy could not have done with falling victim to.
"That was costly Amy." Amethyst muttered, "For you've destroyed my Doomdog Octhros. If it's sent to the Graveyard, I get to add a Level 8 Fiend-type monster to my hand."
"Oh no!" Amy cried worriedly, "And given you have that Sinister Yorishiro trap in play, you'll be able to summon it without any tributes!"
"True, but this one I'm adding never needed tributes anyway." Amethyst added as she searched her deck for her monster.
She found it and added it to her hand. Amy began to feel nervous. What trap had she unwittingly stumbled into this time and how much as it going to cost her in this duel? Anxiously, Amy concluded her turn and passed it on to Amethyst. The Fiend Duellist drew her next card.
"I'll set another monster in Defence Mode." Amethyst declared as she placed the monster on her Duel Disk face-down in Defence Mode, "And now to show you the monster Doomdog's brought to my hand. By shuffling three banished Fiend Monsters back into my Deck, I can Special Summon a close relative to Dark Necrofear. This one is Curse Necrofear and you'll find it to be quite a curse in this duel…"
Amy watched as Amethyst's newest monster appeared on the field in a whoosh of purple flames. Out of the flames walked Curse Necrofear (2800ATK/2200DEF). It was very similar to Dark Necrofear in appearance only it seemed to have waves of energy flowing all over its body and head. It was much more powerful than Dark Necrofear and its summoning condition made it relatively easy to get out on the field. Amy knew that this monster was going to be the end of her if she didn't stop it now.
"Curse Necrofear, destroy Ground Attacker Bugroth." Amethyst commanded. Her voice just screamed "Let's get this over with" from how disinterested and nonchalant she was in giving that command.
Curse Necrofear took aim at Amy's monster and was about to destroy it with a wave of dark energy that would swallow the machine monster up in darkness and vaporize it instantly. But Amy once again had a handy Trap Card lying in wait for such an occasion.
"Not so fast Amethyst!" Amy cried hotly, "I've got a surprise for you! Activate Spellbinding Circle!"
Curse Necrofear's eyes widened with horror as the magical circle formed around its waist and locked it into place. It was completely immobilized and it voiced its irritation at this turn of events with a screech of anguish. Amethyst's face didn't change. She'd actually expected Amy had a Trap Card to stop her again and just didn't care if she fell for it. It didn't matter in this case for Curse Necrofear may be immobilized, but Amy still couldn't actually get to her Life Points. All Amy had done was create a wall that she couldn't climb over for herself. As long as Curse Necrofear stayed on the field, Amethyst could still win the duel if she found some way to remove Amy's circle. Kazuki knew this too so he didn't let this moment relax him yet. Amy was far from out of danger in this duel.
"OK, Curse Necrofear's stuck for now. Will Amy be able to get past it and to Amethyst's last remaining Life Points…?" he murmured.
"Does Amy even have anything left that can get over that creepy monster?" Chloe asked.
"Unless she draws Blue-Eyes White Dragon, not really." Kazuki said grimly, "And even then, Amy will need two monsters to sacrifice first so she needs another one on the field before she can get Blue-Eyes out."
Amy nodded in agreement. Of course, she already planned to summon something else but Kazuki was still right that she needed another monster to tribute first. Hopefully this next card would be another monster she could summon. Amy made her next move, drawing her next card and looking at it hopefully. To her relief, it was another Monster Card.
"Just what I was hoping for." Amy said happily, "I now summon Twin-Headed Behemoth in Attack Mode!"
Her twin-headed dragon made its entrance beside Ground Attack Bugroth with a pair of furious roars from its heads. Kazuki smiled happily. That was a good monster to bring out. Now it Amethyst tried to destroy it, it would just come back and leave Amy with still two monsters for a Tribute Summon! It looked as if Amy might win this duel after all. Amy ordered Twin-Headed Behemoth to attack Amethyst's face-down monster. With it gone, Amethyst would be left wide open for an attack if Amy was able to get rid of Curse Necrofear. Twin-Headed Behemoth opened its twin mouths and blasted the face-down monster with a twin tornado of flames. The face-down monster was a mere Sangan, a three-eyed fluffy monster that was only useful for its effect in where it added monsters with 1500 or less attack to its owner's hand. Amethyst didn't have any left so Sangan went to the Graveyard with no cards added to Amethyst's hand. Amy was beginning to wonder if Amethyst had truly used up all her resources and her deck was running on empty at this point. She certainly didn't seem to have much left to use at this late stage of the game.
Amethyst drew her next card and glanced at it.
"Too bad Amy, but Curse Necrofear will be set free to torment you now." the goth girl muttered, "For I have Mystical Space Typhoon to get rid of it."
She played the Spell Card and Amy's Spellbinding Circle was blown away in a tornado of wind that swept over the duelling arena. Amy cursed mentally. Now she was done for! If Amethyst attacked Ground Attacker Bugroth, she wouldn't be able to get Barrel Dragon on the field and would be stuck praying for a miracle again! But to Amy's relief, Amethyst chose to have Curse Necrofear attack Twin-Headed Behemoth instead. Curse Necrofear laughed manically, thrilled to have the chance to do some damage at last. It created a shadowy spell that swept over Twin-Headed Behemoth and destroyed it instantly. But just as quickly as it left, it came back in Defence Mode with 1000 attack and defence points. Amethyst's eyes widened slightly, clearly showing she hadn't expected that to happen. It was the first time Amethyst had shown any real signs of being taken aback by Amy's play in this duel. The attack had still done the damage to Amy, leaving her with only 900 Life Points left. It wasn't enough to finish the game and as a result, the end finally came for Amethyst.
Amy drew her next card but she didn't bother using it. She wouldn't need to.
"I'm sorry Amethyst, but it's time for this duel to end." Amy said sadly, "And I really don't wanna have to be the one to grant you your wish to end your life like so…but I know I have to. I now sacrifice my Ground Attacker Bugroth and my Twin-Headed Behemoth in order to summon one of my favourite monsters! Come to the field Barrel Dragon!"
Amy's monsters disappeared from the field and in their place appeared a huge robot shaped like a dinosaur. It had three guns, two in place of hands and one in place of its face and it sported a dark grey colour scheme. Barrel Dragon (2600ATK/2200DEF) was one of Amy's strongest Effect Monsters and the more powerful form of Twin-Barrel Dragon. Not only was its attack points far greater, but its effect was more powerful too. Amy had to toss a coin three times instead of twice and its effect could be used more than once in the duel. Amy didn't get to use it often but when she did, she always got very excited and loved getting to use this monster. Chloe adjusted her glasses in wonder.
"And I thought Valkyrion looked cool!" she gasped, "That looks awesome as well!"
"I felt the same way when she used it for the first time on me." Kazuki concurred.
Lord Hallows stared in disbelief at Amy's new monster.
"That girl really is a walking box of tricks!" he cried, "Just when I think I know all her powerful monsters, she keeps surprising us all with ones we haven't seen before!"
"Looks OK I guess." Amethyst muttered.
"It's more than OK! It's awesome and it's gonna win me this duel!" Amy declared, "I have to toss a coin three times and if two of the results are heads, I get to destroy your Curse Necrofear! And unfortunately for you, you don't have any cards to negate its effect this time so if I'm lucky, which I have been in all four of these duels so far, I'll get to do so!"
"Meh. I couldn't care less at this point. Just put me out of my misery already Amy." Amethyst said gloomily.
That stung. Amy was still feeling guilty over what she had to do and that just twisted the knife in her. Sighing, Amy tossed the coin that had materialized into her hand. The coin flipped into the air and landed back in her hand. Heads. Amy tossed the coin a second time. She caught it and looked at it. Tails. It was all down to the final toss now. Amy had to score a second heads or Barrel Dragon's effect wouldn't work. Chloe and Kazuki watched anxiously, knowing that everything could go pear-shaped if this didn't work. Curse Necrofear was still stronger than Barrel Dragon so if Amy lost this, Curse Necrofear would destroy it and leave Amy wide open for another monster to finish her off if Amethyst drew one next turn. Amy tossed the coin and caught it. Her heart pounded as she placed it on top of her hand. She could feel her hands sweating as she dared to peek at the coin. She looked down and…
"Well…looks like you've got your wish Amethyst." Amy said bluntly.
It was another heads. Barrel Dragon's effect could activate successfully and give Amy the victory she needed. Barrel Dragon took aim at Curse Necrofear and blasted it to smithereens with its three guns firing in unison. The fiendish monster was vaporized by the trio of blasts. With Amethyst now wide-open, Amy could attack directly and win the duel. The red-head hesitated for a moment. She still didn't want to do this. She didn't want Amethyst to leave the world like this, not when she could be shown that life really mattered! But she could still do that, Amy had to remind herself of this. She would save her along with Jack when she beat Hallows.
"Go on Amy. Do it. Please." Amethyst begged, "You have a reason to live. I don't. Don't let me take that away from you. Do it. Do it now!"
It was the first time Amethyst had ever raised her voice and it was unnerving to hear. Amy looked away as she gave the command.
"Barrel Dragon, attack directly for game!" she cried, her voice cracking as she said those words.
Barrel Dragon took aim at Amethyst and blasted at the Fiend Duellist. Her pitiful 100 Life Points were wiped out in an instant. The duel was over and Amy was victorious once more. But unlike the last three duels, this one didn't feel like a victory for her. It felt as if she'd helped someone commit suicide and it wounded her very heart that she'd been the one to do it. The moment the duel was over, Amy fell to her knees and sobbed heavily into her hands. Kazuki and Chloe ran over to comfort her as Lord Hallows returned to the room.
"Now that's a reaction I don't see very often." he noted with interest, "You won Amy, yet you shed tears over your victory. Don't tell me you're actually sorry for this melancholy mess of a human being over there?" he sniffed.
"DON'T TALK TO ME YOU SADISTIC LITTLE SHIT!" Amy screamed at the top of her lungs, "As if you could ever understand what I'm feeling right now! Just fuck off and leave me alone!"
"If you say so." Hallows said with a shrug. He turned to Amethyst and pointed his cane at her, "Amethyst, you disappoint me. Even you couldn't defeat Amy in the end despite your fantastic counters earlier. Nevertheless, you'll go to the Shadow Realm along with your comrades and believe me, you'll wish you were still alive by the time I'm done with you because I'm not going to give you the comfort of death that you desire!"
His cane snatched Amethyst's soul out of her body and the Fiend Duellist was left as a soulless husk just like the others. The creepy thing about this was that Amethyst barely looked any different despite this. It was if she hadn't much of anything to steal from her body anyway and taking her soul made that little difference. Amy couldn't even bear to watch this. She was still sobbing heavily as Hallows claimed another soul for himself. The Shadow Keeper looked disappointed rather than sustained by this.
"Puh. So little life in her that taking her soul barely felt like anything. I may as well have kept her alive just to torment her even more." he sniffed, "Oh well, we now move onto the final member of the Fiendish Five. And I assure you Amy, the last member will not fail. He has a deck that will leave you burnt to cinders…"
Amy got back to her feet, wiping her eyes dry as she turned to Hallows.
"I'm ready. I'm just glad this sick challenge you've subjected me to is nearly over." she growled, "Then I can finally take you down for good and put an end to your evil!"
"If you survive the final member of course." Hallows retorted.
He lead the teens out of the room to the fifth room where Amy's last opponent was waiting for her. Amy looked to Chloe and Kazuki and gave a sad smile to them. She was still upset over what she had to do to Amethyst, but she wanted to reassure them that she hadn't lost her resolve. Chloe and Kazuki smiled sympathetically in return. They were rooting for Amy to finish this once and for all. The sooner this was over, the better. They all looked ahead as they exited Amethyst's room and headed to the final member. Amy dreaded to think what kind of challenge awaited her there…
Amy wins again, but it truly is a hollow victory for the poor girl as she didn't even want to win this one and Amethyst got what she wanted in the end. Still, we're on the final duellist next time. Will Amy conquer the challenge? Find out as the action gets really fired up with "Amy vs. Satoshi"...
Trivia: The duel originally had a different ending but I changed it to the one we have here because I wanted Amy to finish the duel with Barrel Dragon and put it to use so it's not spending the whole duel just stuck in Amy's hand like that. I think that worked out better. ^^
Also I had to run a test on the Yu-Gi-Oh Legacy of the Duellist game on my Switch because I wasn't sure if Widespread Ruin could be activated while Amethyst only had one monster on the field. Turns out it can be activated if your opponent only controls one monster. I wonder how that works then considering it says to "destroy a monster on your opponent's field with the highest attack". Given there's only one monster, how does it still destroy it since there isn't an actual "highest attack" monster to destroy if there's only one? Ah well, I'm not gonna argue with a Yu-Gi-Oh video game, especially as that thing understands better how half these cards work than I do! XD