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Fanfic Chapter 88: The Final Card Pt 4: The Three Knights
Episode Basis: None
Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh! The duel between Harold and Kevin for the final locator card had begun. Kevin proved that he was no amateur, bringing him down to 700 life points with a mismatched deck. Just as Harold was able to destroy Kevin's best monster, Kevin made a startling revelation: that his cousin and mentor was Mai Valentine. Mai had done well in several Duel Monster tournaments over the years, and Kevin was proving to possess better skills than she had. This could be the end of Harold's Battle City.
This card is my last chance, if it's not something I can use, I'm done for! Harold looked at his card, it was a magic card called Even Ground. It could only be activated when there was a 2000 or more life point difference between the players. The player with the lowest number of life points would get his or her life points raised to equal the opponent's life points. Plus it would give the card controller the ability to summon a normal monster in defense mode.
In other words, it was Harold's miracle card.
"I play the magic card Even Ground," Harold cried sliding the card into his Duel Disk and pressing the activation button.
His opponent, Kevin Hunter, glanced at him. The look was one of shock. "What does that do?"
Harold explained, "Even Ground can only be played when there's a 2000 point or more difference between our life points, as is the case here."
(H: 700)
(K: 2750)
"It raises my life points to equal yours plus I can summon a monster from my graveyard. So now I call back Mystical Elf!" Harold's defense monster appeared and his life points were raised.
(H: 2750)
(K: 2750)
"Looks like the playing field is truly even," Harold said.
"Man, is your deck a light deck or a yo-yo deck?" Kevin cracked. "Every time I lower your life points, you find some way to bring it back up."
"Fortunately for you, playing Even Ground requires me to end my turn now."
I can't affect his life points, I can only set cards for now. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn."
I brought myself a little time, Harold thought as he drew a card. But if I can't devastate the rest of his life points soon, I'll lose, and then my only chance to help Yugi out will be taken away from me. "I sacrifice my Mystical Elf to summon Gold Chronos Warrior in attack mode. Gold Chronos Warrior, attack his Harpie!"
"Reveal trap card: Negate Attack!"
"Another one?"
"Another one."
"Nuts, I end my turn."
"I play Pot of Greed, this allows me to draw two cards. Next, I'll reveal my other face-down card, Minor Goblin Official. Now during every one of your turns, you lose 500 life points." Harold growled. "I end my turn."
"You know, I hate to admit it, but you're a better Duelist than your cousin Mai," Harold commented. "When we first met her, she spent most of her time showing off." Harold didn't add Mai's attempt to drive a wedge in between them.
"Hey, I made my first move!" Joey said proudly. Then he noticed something odd about Mai. She was chanting to herself and had her hand on the table but not in a position to summon or set. "Um... what are you doing?"
"Divining my cards. I have to mystically choose which one of them is the best," Mai explained. Her sly smile showed that she knew something the others didn't.
"What are you, some sort of psychic?"
"Look, I'll admit my cousin isn't exactly user friendly, but she took care of me after my father died."
"Your father…" Harold muttered. Suddenly he recalled something Solomon Moto once said.
Years ago, I was feeling rambunctious and decided to go on an adventure. My travels took me to Egypt where I volunteered to participate in an archaeological dig. The head of the dig was named Doctor Adam Hunter; he was the one who discovered an Ancient Egyptian Archives dedicated to an unknown Pharaoh.
"Hunter's your last name, right? By any chance are you related to Doctor Adam Hunter?"
"That's right. My father is Doctor Adam Hunter, former head of the Egyptian Bureau of Antiquities."
"Former?"
"Yes, a couple of years ago, he went to meet one of his associates in the night. He never returned. The call didn't come until the next afternoon. They said he was the victim of a hit and run."
"Do… do they ever find out who…?"
Kevin shook his head, "They didn't even find his body until the next morning. Of course by then, the driver was long gone. There were no witnesses, no suspects, the only evidence of the crime were the skid marks found near his body and that alone wasn't much to go on. My Mother tried carrying on but it was no use. She left me in the care of Cousin Mai and disappeared. Mai had been my only guidance ever since."
"I'm sorry," Harold apologized. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."
"Its okay, in a way, it feels like he's right beside me."
"What do you mean?"
"My father was a pretty good Duelist. I styled my deck to closely resemble the deck he showed me years ago. It's not complete, there are still a few more cards I'm looking for, but I can feel his spirit every time I duel, like he's right besides me."
"Believe it or not, you're lucky," Harold said. "I don't have anyone to duel for."
"What are you talking about? Don't you have family?"
Harold shook his head, "I can't remember anything about my family, the earliest event I can remember is waking up in an apartment with no memory of who I was. A slip of paper I found in my pocket had the name Harold on it and that was all I knew. I've been alone ever since."
"But… you're friends with Yugi Moto!" Kevin pointed out. "Doesn't that count for something?"
"Not since I tried to eliminate him from the tournament."
"Are you sure he resents you for that?" Harold looked up at his opponent shocked. "I don't know about you, but I find it hard to believe that Yugi would resent you for failing at doing something to him."
Harold realized that Kevin was right, why would Yugi hate someone for failing to eliminate him? That sounds more like something Kaiba would do than Yugi. He's right, I really have no idea what Yugi thinks of me.
"When Yugi beat you, he didn't exile you, you did that yourself," Kevin was saying. "If you still consider yourself Yugi's friend, you would stand by him no matter what he thinks of you."
"You're right, Kevin, I was kicking myself in the butt so hard that I forgot why I was kicking myself in the first place. But, no matter what may happen, I will be there for Yugi, I swear it!"
"Good, now that your head's back on straight, let's finish this duel!"
"You've got it," Harold said and drew a card.
"Don't forget, during every one of your turns, you lose 500 life points."
(H: 2250)
(K: 2750)
"I'm not worried," Harold said. "I set one card face-down and end my turn!"
Kevin drew a card. "I play Axe of Despair raising Harpie Brother's attack points by 1000!"
(HB: 1800-2800)
"Harpie's Brother, attack Gold Chronos Warrior now!" The male Harpie swung his axe and cut down Harold's warrior.
(H: 1350)
(K: 2750)
"I end my turn."
Harold drew his new card.
(H: 850)
(K: 2750)
Without any monsters, I can't protect my life points, but I still have my face-down card, so I'll hold on to the card I just drew for now. "I choose to end my turn without playing a card."
"Nothing you could do, huh? Oh well, too bad." Kevin drew a card. "Harpie's Brother, attack his life points."
"Reveal face-down card: Waboku!"
"No! Your battle damage is neutralized!"
"Very smart," Harold said.
"Fine, I end my turn."
Harold started his and Minor Goblin Official kicked in.
(H: 350)
(K: 2750)
With less than 400 life points remaining, I really need to make this next play count. Harold looked at his new card: Freed the Brave Wanderer. "Finally, something good. I summon Freed the Brave Wanderer in attack mode! Next I'll activate its special ability. First, I remove Teva and Mystical Elf from the game. Now I can destroy your Harpie's Brother." Kevin gasped as Freed swung his sword and destroyed. "Now, Freed, attack his life points directly!" Freed stabbed at Kevin's Duel Disk.
(H: 350)
(K: 1050)
"I'll place my remaining card face-down and end my turn." Once again, Harold's hand was empty. "Sorry about destroying your favorite monster."
"Well, it was a fair play so I'll forgive you… this time. But that still doesn't change the fact that you're still 350 life points away from losing and I still have a bunch of monsters who can destroy you." Kevin drew a new card. "Speak of the devil, I summon Queen's Knight (1) in defense mode!" A woman wearing colorful garments carrying a sword appeared on one knee.
"Reveal trap card: Gift of the Mystical Elf!" Harold commanded. "Gift of the Mystical Elf raises my life points by 300 for every monster on the field, and since there are two, that means I gain 600 life points!"
(H: 950)
(K: 1050)
Very clever, Kevin thought. He's trying to keep his life points up in order to stall for time until he can find a better monster. "It's your turn and you lose 500 life points."
"I know," Harold said drawing a card.
(H: 450)
(K: 1050)
"I place one card face-down and end my turn."
I have to hold out for the remaining two cards, Kevin thought as he drew a card. "I…"
"Reveal trap card: Solemn Wishes!"
"Great, now he can gain 500 life points every time he draws a card and since Minor Goblin Official takes away 500 life points during the Standby Phase, it's like we're at a stalemate. "I place one card face-down and end my turn."
Harold drew a card. "I place Light Summoning which allows me to draw cards until I come across a light monster. And since I'm drawing, I gain 500 life points!"
(H: 950)
(K: 1050)
"I end my turn."
"Great," Kevin moaned as he started his turn. "I summon King's Knight (2) in defense mode!" King's Knight was dressed in similar attire to Queen's Knight. "And now I activate his special ability!"
"He has a special ability?"
"That's right, when both Queen's Knight and King's Knight are on the field, I can automatically special summon Jack's Knight (3) from my deck!" Jack's Knight was definitely the offspring of King's Knight and Queen's Knight. "Now, Jack's Knight, attack his Brave Wanderer!" The two warriors clashed swords and in the end Jack's Knight won.
(H: 750)
(K: 1050)
Harold drew a card and the Minor Goblin Official/Solemn Wishes loop went through another cycle. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Gold Chronos Warrior." Gold Chronos Warrior should be able to stand up to Jack's Knight for now, but unless I draw Wingweaver soon, I'm done for!
It's a stalemate, Kevin realized. I have to find a way to break this tie. He drew a card and a small smile appeared on his face. "I play the Shallow Grave, which lets both of us select one monster from our graveyard and brings it back to the field face-down in defense mode." Two face-down monster cards appeared. "Your move."
Harold drew a card. Yes, it's Wingweaver! "I offer two of my monsters on the field as a tribute," he announced. Gold Chornos Warrior and Unhappy Maiden disappeared. "So I can summon Wingweaver!" Harold's favorite monster burst up from the ground in a beam of light. "Wingweaver, attack his Jack's Knight with Light Spark." Wingweaver unleashed its special attack and destroyed Jack's Knight.
(H: 750)
(K: 200)
"You destroyed my Jack's Knight!" Kevin gasped.
"That's right and on my next turn your other two knights are history."
He's right, Kevin realized. I won't be able to summon anything strong enough to beat his Wingweaver. Kevin laid his hand on his Duel Disk.
Harold was confused, "What are you doing?"
"Didn't you read the instruction booklet? When a Duelist lays his hand on top of his Duel Disk, he forfeits."
"You're… giving up?"
"Yup, the duel is yours."
The Duel Disks clicked off. "I can't believe it, I won… I won."
"Congratulations," Kevin said cheerfully. "As proof of your victory, here is your sixth locator card."
"Thank you," Harold said. "At last, my quest is done." He looked up at Kevin. "You're… not upset?"
"Well I'm upset that I loss, but I'll get over yet. In fact, so there're no hard feelings…" Kevin handed Harold his three Knight cards.
"You're giving me your Knight cards?" Kevin nodded. "All three of them?"
"I know how much you like light monsters and they do work better as a set."
"Thank you," Harold said.
"Good luck in the finals," Kevin said.
"Thank you, I'll think of you whenever I play these cards." The two shook hands.
Suddenly Harold's Armlet started to glow. Kevin noticed it, "What the heck is that?"
"It means bad news," Harold said as a loud noise erupted and a blast of wind kicked up. The two looked up to see Kaiba's helicopter zooming overhead. "A Kaiba Corp. chopper!"
"It looks like it's heading for the docks," Kevin pointed out.
"Then that's where I'm heading too."
"Why?"
"I don't know, I just feel like I need to follow that helicopter. Thanks again, Kevin!" Harold used his armlet to propel himself onto the roof of a building and began chasing after the helicopter.
Marik led Joey and Tea, now fully under his control, into a warehouse. "It won't be long now before Yugi and Kaiba come to rescue these two," he said. He turned to look at them. "But there'll be sorely disappointed when they find out that they are now under my control." Marik picked up a spare Duel Disk that already had a deck inserted in it.
"Excuse me, Master Marik," Odion said. "But I have secured twelve locator cards, now we both can enter the finals."
"Excellent, hopefully it won't have to come to that but just in case… Odion, give Joey the modified deck we prepared for him." Odion removed a deck from his cloak and inserted them into Joey's Duel Disk.
"Modifying Wheeler's pathetic dueling deck with rare magic cards was a brilliant move, Master."
"Yes, it was." Marik inserted the Duel Disk onto Tea's arm. "We'll have Little-Yugi duel both of his former friends with stakes so high that I'll be the winner no matter what the outcome is!" Marik burst into laughter.
The End
Duel Monster Database
(1)
Name: Queen's Knight
Level: 4
Type: Warrior
Attribute: Light
ATK: 1500
DEF: 1600
(2)
Name: King's Knight
Level: 4
Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Light
ATK: 1600
DEF: 1400
(3)
Name: Jack's Knight
Level: 5
Type: Warrior
Attribute: Light
ATK: 1900
DEF: 1000
